Eastern Orthodox Churches

The Divine Liturgy of the Eucharist has been the historic center of life in Eastern Orthodox churches. The liturgy is the means of spiritual formation. All other ministries of the church--such as education, evangelism, or pastoral care-serve to relate people to the liturgy as the locus for experiencing the presence and power of God. For the Eastern Orthodox church, the eucharistic liturgy is the central constituting experience of the church. In the Eucharist, the church both expresses what it is-the body of Christ-and is made into what it is by partaking of the body of Christ. Worship is the center and the reason for the church's existence. Every other aspect of the church's life flows from participation in this sacrament. In the Eucharist, the fullness of communion with God is found. Salvation, for the Orthodox Christian, is to be transformed, both individually and corporately, into the fullness of the image and likeness of God. We, Orthodox Christians, exist for God and exist to co…