Icons: Between Belief and Doubt-Part 6
During the Liturgy, the bread and wine are consecrated and become, in the Orthodox and Catholic faith, the Body and Blood of Christ — not symbolically, but really, mystically. What does the Eucharist signify? It is the bloodless sacrifice of Christ, repeated liturgically but unique in essence. It is the nourishment of the soul, which unites us with Christ and with the other members of the Church — His mystical Body. It is the source and summit of spiritual life: all the other Mysteries lead toward the Eucharist.