Number DOI: http://doi.org/10.33209/2519-4348-2707-9627-2025-13-167

Volynskyi Blahovisnyk. № 13. 2025. P. 29-46

Summary

This article undertakes an in-depth exploration of the ecclesiological foundations for understanding the Church as a dynamic personal community, responding to the challenges posed by the contemporary «culture of presence». It thoroughly analyzes the fundamental shifts in cultural paradigms, as outlined by Hans Ulrich Gumbrecht, where the dominance of a «culture of meaning» is gradually being superseded by a «culture of presence». In this context, particular emphasis is placed on the theological understanding of the Eucharist as the primary act of producing the real, ontological presence of God on earth and among people. The study consistently reveals how the medieval practice of the Eucharist, which presupposed the real presence of Christ in the transformed gifts, can serve as a model for understanding not only religious but also broader cultural and social phenomena, where direct interaction and shared experience play a crucial role.

A central part of this work is a detailed analysis of the concepts of eucharistic ecclesiology by prominent Orthodox theologians – Metropolitans John Zizioulas and Alexander Schmemann. Their teachings reveal the Church not merely as a social institution or a collection of believers, but as an ontological reality whose being is inextricably linked to the Eucharist. Through the Eucharist, the Church becomes the living Body of Christ, in which the communion of persons – God and humanity, as well as humans among themselves – is realized. The contributions of Luigi Giussani, who develops the idea of the Church as the continuing historical presence of Christ transmitted through generations of believers, are examined, alongside Christos Yannaras’s understanding of the Church as a dynamic divinely-human reality where each member is called to free personal interaction.

Special attention is paid to the connection between Christ’s Ascension and His sacramental presence in the Church. Drawing on the reflections of Pantelis Manoussakis, it is demonstrated that Christ’s physical Ascension is not a departure but, on the contrary, enables His new, all-encompassing presence through the eucharistic breaking of the Body. In this context, it is emphasized that the concreteness of Christ’s Body is «sublated» into the Body of Christ – the Church, which emerges from a twofold movement: Christ’s Ascension and the descent of the Holy Spirit. This safeguards against the risk of idolatry of Christ’s flesh and prevents His kerygma (the moral teaching of the Gospel) from becoming an empty ideology if it is not rooted in the eucharistic presence. The article also highlights the danger of reducing Christianity to individual pietism, detached from the synodal and liturgical nature of the Church, which leads to the loss of its ontological essence. The study’s aim is to systematically identify and substantiate the ontological link between the Eucharist, the Ascension, and the nature of the Church as a true personal community.

Key words: Church, religion, communication, ontology, Eucharist, science, presence, personality, science and religion.

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