Monthly Archives April 2011

<em>In persona Ecclesiae</em>

In persona Ecclesiae

While the contemporary Eastern Orthodox fixation on the bishop runs just as deeply as the Roman Catholic tradition, there are differences in the iterative understanding of the episcopal role in the Lord's Supper. The modern Eastern tradition shares the understanding of the bishop's privilege in the Eucharist found in St. Ignatius' writings. But a fundamental difference remains within Orthodox theology that could open the possibility of women celebrants: the rejection of the doctrine of Eucharistic celebrant acting in persona Christi.
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<em>In persona Christi</em>: the rise of the phallogocentric Eucharist

In persona Christi: the rise of the phallogocentric Eucharist

In the middle of the third century a conflict emerged in the church over the use of water instead of wine as an element in the Eucharistic feast.  Attacking the practice in a letter to a fellow bishop, Cyprian of Carthage argued: "For if Jesus Christ, our Lord and God, is Himself the chief priest of God the Father, and has first offered Himself a sacrifice to the Father, and has commanded this to be done in commemoration of Himself, certainly that priest truly discharges the office of Christ, who imitates that which Christ did; and he then offers a
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