The Method of Holy Communion & the Temptation of Little Faith: A Talk with Professor Demetrios Tselengides

The Professor of Dogmatic Theology at the University of Thessaloniki, Demetrios Tselengides, talks to us about the move by some to change the method of Holy Communion and the ensuing temptation of little faith.

- - - -

00:35 - Question 1: The use of many lavides ("spoons"), is it blessed and in accordance with Holy Tradition?

02:14 - The "good uneasiness" of the Faithful is a god sign.

03:31 - The Church is led by the Holy Spirit; those faithful who are spiritually "deactivated" are in danger

06:01- The Canons of the Church define what may be done

07:10 - The Church is always caring pastorally for the exactitude of safeguarding [Holy Communion]

10:22 - We commune of the very Body and Blood that defeated death itself, defeated the evil one, defeated sin, and is thereafter a carrier of life.

12:21 - If during this trial, this temptation, we fall into the temptation, we are essentially falling away from the Church

15:03 - There are no testimonies for 2,000 years that any harm has come to priests through Holy Communion.

16:45 - Question 2: So it isn’t correct to say that we separate the spoon from Holy Communion, that the spoon does not participate, and so that it could be a carrier of sicknes?

16:58 - This rationale leads us into rationalism and considering all the Holy Vessels as conduits for illness.

18:02 - The critical and all-important question is not so much what is done as why it is done.

- - - -

Biographical Details:

Professor Tselengidis’ depth of knowledge, his education and studies, and his diligent research and labor have made him an internationally renowned academic theologian of Orthodox Dogmatic Theology. His most important offering and characteristic, however, is his work’s fidelity to the Holy Tradition and the Deposit of the Holy Fathers, a faithfulness he acquired by following experiential theologians of our day, such as Saints Paisios of Mt. Athos and Ephraim of Katounakia. He considers himself a humble minister, always emphasizing the absolute interrelation of right doctrine with the right way of life, distancing himself from the creation of a sterile and cold academic discourse.

He is the author countless articles and seven books on Dogmatic Theology, covering a wide range of topics, including the theology of the icon, grace and freedom, critical studies of the doctrine of salvation in Luther and the satisfaction of divine justice in Anslem of Canterbury, the Soteriology of Western Christianity, and the presuppositions and criteria of Orthodox Theology. Through his many lectures, articles, and appeals to the hierarchy on pressing ecclesiastical matters such as the Orthodox-Roman Catholic, and Orthodox-Anti-Chalcedonian Dialogues, the documents of the Cretan council, and the Ukrainian schism Professor Tselingides has given much courage and consolation to the faithful.

- - -

Utilize the Orthodox Ethos Podcast Interactive Transcripts!:

-- https://oe-transcripts.now.sh

*For all who would like to support The Orthodox Ethos, donations can be made via Paypal at the following link:

-- http://paypal.me/FrPeterHeers

Share and Subscribe to the OE YOUTUBE CHANNEL:

https://www.youtube.com/c/OrthodoxEthos

OE WEBSITE:

https://orthodoxethos.com

UNCUT MOUNTAIN PRESS (UMP) Website:

https://www.uncutmountainpress.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/frpeterheers