The Deacon and the Distribution of the Blessed Bread
The Deacon and the Distribution of the Blessed Bread
Question:
Is it permissible for the deacon to cut and distribute the blessed bread to the congregation in the church, as happened in our church in…?
And is it permissible for this to happen during the priest’s distribution of the Holy Mysteries, in order to save time so that the people may leave quickly?
Answer:
It is assumed that the priest is the one who distributes the blessed bread (Eulogia) to the congregation as they depart from the church, after the end of the Divine Liturgy and the pronouncement of the blessing upon the people.
And when the believers receive this Eulogia from the hand that was carrying the Body of Christ only minutes before, this matter has a better effect in their hearts, feeling that the blessing comes from the hand of the father, from the hand of God’s priest…
Also, in the priest’s distribution of the blessing, there is an opportunity for him to know who attended the church and who was absent, so that he may ask about him and seek to care for him pastorally. And sometimes it is an opportunity during which he says a few words to his people, or they speak to him. It is, in every case, a connection that has its benefit… an opportunity in which he may say to one person a word of congratulations, to another a word of consolation, to another a word of encouragement or a word of prayer…
And some may ask during it for an appointment or a prayer for a certain matter, or another may promise him a visit to his relative…
It is also an opportunity during which the people receive the blessing of their priest father and greet him before departing from the church…
As for the deacon, he is one of them… And generally, it is rare nowadays to find someone in the rank of a full deacon (Diacon), devoted to the service and wearing clerical garments. Most of them are in the rank of Anagnostis or Subdeacon, nothing more.
As for distributing the blessed bread during the distribution of the Holy Mysteries, this is entirely inappropriate… It is a distraction from those divine Mysteries by something else, and nothing is fitting in those moments except praise.
And the expression “to save time” is an unacceptable justification, for the spiritual state comes first and has the importance. As for time, it can be managed in other ways. It is not permissible for us to commit a spiritual error under the pretext of time…! Like one who leaves the church before the blessing and dismissal under the excuse of time..! Or one who exits the church during the Divine Liturgy, and in holy moments, under the excuse of time!!
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