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The Communion Spoon as Icon

by Vassa Larin

One of the “icons” of the Byzantine Divine Liturgy that is receiving a lot of press in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic is the communion spoon. In what follows I will first explore what is meant by “icon” in Byzantine theology, why it is that the sacramental life of the Church operates through sacred images or symbols, and why it is important for the faithful who participate in Byzantine Liturgy to know its symbolic language.

Vassa Larin

A liturgiologist and ryassofor nun of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia. She is also host of the online catechetical programs, “Coffee with Sister Vassa”. Sister Vassa is a member of two commissions of the Intercouncil Presence of the Moscow Patriarchate, – the commission on Canon Law, and the Commission on Liturgy and Church Art.

All articles by this author

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