The Purpose of the Eucharist according to Liturgical Theology

Abstract

The diversity of aspects of the Eucharist is based on diversity in comprehending the goal of the Eucharist. The principle research topic of this study is to provide answers to the question of the purpose Christ had in establishing the Eucharist, and of the Church in celebrating it. The research field here is liturgical theology, which combines Christ’s mystery of salvation, its celebration, and Christian life. This connection is the primary common denominator - for various approaches to liturgical theology - pointing to the purposefulness of the Eucharist. This goal of the Eucharist is most strongly accented by the Roman school of liturgical theology. At the heart of the various schools of liturgical theology are two theologians of the Christian East, Alexander Schmemann and Jean Corbon, for whom the main purpose of the Eucharist is the celebration of the ongoing revelation and providence of God, which makes the Eucharist a constant immersion of everyday life into eschatology. In the American concept of liturgical theology, the main purpose of the Eucharist is the continual formation of its participants into an ecclesial community of priests of creation, united with Christ and acting through His power. All these theologians, despite their differences, emphasize the singular mode of the Eucharist in building up the community of the Church and the worship offered to the Father by Christ incorporating the Church into Himself and integrating the spiritual offerings of the faithful into His own sacrifice.