SAINT GREGORY THE GREAT

On March 25 (12), Orthodox Churches that follow the ancient Julian calendar in their liturgical life celebrate the memory of Saint Gregory of Rome (540–604). Gregory is one of the generally recognized Fathers of the Church, a great righteous man, thinker, and pastor. The ancient church tradition of the Christian West called him Gregory the Great.

Since in the East, “Gregory the Great” was usually used to refer to another, more ancient Father of the Church, Saint Gregory of Neocaesarea (213–275), the Roman bishop Gregory was given the title of “Gregory the Dialogist.”

“Dialogues on the Lives of the Italian Fathers” is the name of Gregory’s main written work. This is an ancient Italian patericon, from which we learn about the life and deeds of the great teacher of monastics, saint Benedict of Nursia (480-547), and many other saints.

During Great Lent, the Divine Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts is celebrated in Orthodox churches. In the Orthodox Church, this service is called the Liturgy of St. Gregory. In its composition, it is “just” Vespers with Communion. We partake of the Holy Gifts. This service is of a penitential nature. The prayer of St. Ephraim the Syrian is read, and prostrations are made.

At the same time, according to tradition, the service of the presanctified gifts is called “Liturgy”. This name “liturgy” is conditional, in the literal sense, such a name is incorrect. Because the Body and Blood of Christ for communion were consecrated on the previous Sunday at the Liturgy of Basil the Great. During the service of the presanctified gifts, we only partake of the sacrament. There is no consecration, change, or transubstantiation of bread and wine into the Body and Blood of Christ.

The Eucharistic prayer is not performed at all on weekdays of Great Lent in the Orthodox Church. The exception is the Feast of the Annunciation. Then, according to ancient statutes, the Liturgy of John Chrysostom is performed. The coincidences of days and calendars are sometimes miraculous. Thus, the day of memory of Gregory the Great in Orthodoxy falls on the day, March 25, when the Churches following the modern Gregorian calendar celebrate the Annunciation.

“For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes,” writes the Apostle Paul (1 Cor. 11:26). Christians expect the Second Coming of Christ every moment. It is in this context of expectation that Paul commands that the Eucharist be celebrated at all times.

Why does the Orthodox Church refuse to celebrate the Eucharistic Liturgy on weekdays during Great Lent? It is important to remember that such a refusal does not and cannot have any dogmatic justification.

However, it is precisely this absence of the Eucharist during Lent that has become one of the most important characteristics of Orthodoxy. This is a paradoxical example of the Eucharistic fast, when preparation for Communion and Communion itself seem to change places. Ascetic virtue, without wanting it, in fact becomes a reason for distance from the sacrament!

Initially, it was simply an ancient practice that became widespread in the Orthodox Church. Time, the many centuries that have passed since its establishment, have made it obligatory. Theology and popular piety have found various explanations for this practice of refusing to perform the liturgy.

Some of these explanations are very edifying, some of them no longer correspond to reality. An Orthodox Christian should be able to distinguish dogmatic truth from simple human interpretations. The latter can be very useful, but they are always temporary.

Orthodox tradition names Saint Gregory the Great as the author of the Service of the Presanctified Gifts. Gregory’s example and model in faith and morality, the Church Father Saint Augustine (354-430), who lived almost two centuries before him, wrote: “The Son of God, being outside of time, Himself became temporal. He became time in order to free us from time.”

We become one with Christ God in the communion of the Holy Mysteries. Saint Gregory wrote about the miraculous, beneficial reality of the Eucharist and Communion in his “Dialogues”.