Bishop Athanasius Schneider: First, I would like to say, and return once again to my parish priest in Estonia. He led me to my First Holy Communion. It was secret, and we received it. For us, it was so great. For me, as a child, we had to kneel. We were aware that here, here is God with His majesty and sanctity, but also with His love. Of course, it is altogether. We cannot separate the love and the sanctity of God.
Fr. Mitch Pacwa: In fact, too. Just so folks remember, for you as a little boy, to receive Holy Communion, to even go to church, was against the law.
Bishop Athanasius Schneider: Yes. Then, when we traveled to Germany, I remember when we said farewell to our Holy Father, Pavlovsky. He told us something that was a shock to us. He said, “Be aware when you go to Germany. There are some churches where they distribute Holy Communion in the hands of the people.” We said, “Father, it is impossible.” We were shocked. As a child, it was impossible for me to understand how our Lord could be treated in such a banal manner, like a common cake.
He consoled us, saying In some places, please do not enter these churches. We promised our holy priest, “Oh yes, Father, we will not go to these churches.” Then we arrived in Germany, and in the first church we attended for Holy Mass, almost everyone received in their hand. We were shocked. My mother said, “Children, we will never go to this church.” But there were only four Catholic churches in that city. The next Sunday, we went to the second church, same situation. Third church, same. Fourth church, same.
When we came home from the last church, my mother began to weep at how superficially they treated our Lord. This profoundly impressed my soul as a child. Later, when I became a priest and studied the Church Fathers, I noticed their profound spirit of reverence. What you mentioned about communion in the hand being a myth is correct. It is incorrect information given to the faithful by priests and even bishops.
Fr. Mitch Pacwa: So, there is a myth or legend about communion in the hand that is not factual.
Bishop Athanasius Schneider: Yes. Perhaps this was intentional. Returning to a practice from the fourth or fifth century is anachronistic and against the law of growth. The Holy Communion was distributed differently. Nobody was allowed to touch the Holy Sacrament with their fingers. It is important to notice this.
Even in the early Church, holy people did not have permission to touch the Blessed Sacrament. It was placed in the palm of the right hand, not the left. Today, many receive with the left hand, which would horrify the ancient Fathers. Then, they would bow their head profoundly and pick up the Holy Sacrament directly with their mouths. Therefore, communion was in the mouth, not the hand, because it was received with a profound gesture of reverence.
Before receiving, people cleaned their hands, because we touch so many things, even money, which is dirty. After receiving, they had to pick up every fragment so that nothing was lost.
Fr. Mitch Pacwa: Some of the Fathers even said that from each fragment, thousands of people could be saved.
Bishop Athanasius Schneider: Yes, as I wrote in my book. Women were not allowed to receive directly on the hand. They had to use a white cloth, a corporal. The body of Christ was placed on the corporal and reverently received with a bowed head. Any fragments were carefully collected so that none would be lost. The Church, instinctively, in both East and West, sought to improve gestures of reverence and reduce the risk of losing fragments. This led to the organic development of administering communion directly in the mouth.
Fr. Mitch Pacwa: I have also heard proponents of receiving Communion in the hand say, “I am an adult, I feed myself, so I can receive Communion myself. I don’t need someone to feed me like I was a baby.” How would you respond?
Bishop Athanasius Schneider: That is profoundly wrong. It does not correspond to the spirit of the Gospel or Christianity. Our Lord said we must become like children. Without becoming children, we cannot enter the kingdom of heaven.
Fr. Mitch Pacwa: As a matter of fact, He said this in the context of the apostles arguing about which of them was the greatest. He put a little child in their midst and said, “Unless you become like little children…”
Bishop Athanasius Schneider: We must be like children before God, before Christ, who nourishes us with His blood. Children receive nourishment directly in the mouth. Likewise, it is more fitting that we receive Holy Communion in the mouth, as children would.
Fr. Mitch Pacwa: One quotation you give is from St. John Chrysostom: just like a little baby automatically opens its mouth to suckle at its mother’s breast, so must we open our mouths like little children.
Bishop Athanasius Schneider: Not only St. John Chrysostom, but other Fathers wrote similarly. This is common in the Church Fathers. We must go deeper into this. The Church, guided by the Holy Spirit through the ages, even the Middle Ages, preserved this practice. We must rediscover and re-establish this treasure, passed from generation to generation. Our fathers and grandfathers received it this way, and they handed down this veneration to us.
Fr. Mitch Pacwa: As soon as your book is translated into English, it will be available for those interested in receiving it through our religion.