Page 245 - Orthodoxy Zizioulas

H O L I N E S S A S A N E C C L E S I A L E X P E R I E N C E
Christ, to the glory of God the Father.” Only one is holy: Jesus
Christ. We are all sinners. At that moment the Church experi-
ences holiness at its summit. By confessing that “One is Holy,”
all our virtues and all our worth vanish before the holiness of
the Only Holy One.
This does not mean that we approach Holy Communion
without preparation. It does mean, however, that no matter
how much we prepare, we do not become saints before Com-
munion. Holiness does not precede Eucharistic communion;
it follows it. If we were already holy before Holy Communion,
what purpose would Holy Communion serve? Only our par-
ticipation in the holiness of God sanctifies us, and that is pre-
cisely what Holy Communion offers.
From this follow several important truths. First, we can
understand why in the Epistles of Saint Paul all the members
of the Church are called “saints,” even though they were not
morally perfect. They are called saints because they participate
in the sanctification offered by Christ in the Eucharist. Sec-
ond, for the same reason, from the earliest centuries the Eu-
charistic gifts themselves were called “the holy things,” though
by nature they are not holy. Third, it also explains why bishops
were called “saint.” This title was not bestowed because of their
personal virtue, but because in the Divine Eucharist they por-
tray the Only Holy One, standing in the place and manner of
God, as Saint Ignatius says. The bishop’s place in the Eucharist
justifies the title.
Thus the Divine Eucharist is the par excellence “commu-
nion of saints.” That is what the labors of ascetics aspire to.
These labors are never the end; they are only the means toward
the end, which is Eucharistic communion. This point is often
forgotten today, when holiness is too easily linked to ascetic
effort itself. The case of Saint Mary of Egypt is especially re-
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