Inter-mutual Communion (Bright Tuesday) – Metropolitan of Strumica, Mr. Nahum
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In these days when, according to the holy Canons of the Church, we receive Holy Communion every day, I would like to remind you of a dimension of this Holy Mystery that seems to have been somewhat forgotten. We all know that we take Holy Communion with Christ; at the same time, our intention should be – to give ourselves to Him, and not to seek or expect something from Him; you will see later why this attitude is important.
What many people, in terms of the life they live, forget is that in Christ all of us – Christians – also take communion with one another (intermutually); thus, each one of us lives through all, and all live through each one of us; and the life of all becomes the content of the life of our heart. But although inter-mutual communion is made possible for us by Christ, in Him, the sequence in which this communion is arranged is in the reverse order – first we must take communion with one another, with the way of our life, so that we can then also take communion with Christ.
Communion among ourselves means that we should cultivate a loving relationship with our neighbours, and this is a condition – to take Holy Communion with Christ. From where does this conclusion originate? It comes from the entire Holy Tradition – oral and written. It is sufficient to recall only the fact that first we need to gather as a Church – loving one another and confessing God with one mind, so that Christ, through us, can offer, as well as offer Himself, i.e. to minister His Body and Blood, let alone what is said in other places of His teaching where, for example, He says: “Inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brothers, you did it to Me” (Matthew 25:40), or “Go first be reconciled with your brother, and then come and offer your gift [i.e. yourself] before the altar” (Matthew 5:24), or “If anyone says, ‘I love God,’ and hates his brother, he is a liar. For he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he has not seen?” (1 John 4:20) and the like.
The simplest way to remember this, is as follows: first we take communion with our neighbour – and most importantly, with our Bishop, and then with Christ, and if we do not take communion with our neighbour, we will not take Holy Communion with Christ either. Therefore, it is important to love our neighbour and give ourselves to him, not expecting or demanding anything in return from him; and to preserve our love and freedom towards everyone. So, let us urgently reject the great demonic temptation – “I should take Holy Communion with Christ, and I do not care about others”; by thought, by feeling, by word, and by deed, if we want to truly take Holy Communion with Christ and for the grace of His Death and Resurrection to start functioning from within our hearts.
And now I wonder, will this written message make people aware, or, will they continue to think that they can take Holy Communion with Christ, whilst at the same time, hating their neighbours? Christ is Risen!
Metropolitan of Strumica Mr. Nahum
22 / 04 / 2025
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Divine Liturgy with Monk Tonsure at the monastery “Most Holy Mother of God Eleusa” in Veljusa.
