It is common knowledge that the Holy Mystery of the Eucharist is the Body and Blood of Christ, presented to the faithful in the form of bread and wine. Many people by this time have also heard of celiac disease, an auto-immune condition in which people react to gluten, a protein found in wheat. The flour which is used to create prosphora must be of wheat according to the canons of the church, and it is this prophora which is transformed into the Body of Christ during the divine liturgy. What are people with celiac disease to do if they want to receive communion, since they normally react to the gluten contained in wheat? This will be the subject of today's stream. An article was recently published on OrthoChristian.com regarding a statement that had recently been made by the Russian Orthodox Church’s Synodal Commission on Bioethics. The statement said that the faithful can commune of the Blood of Christ. This statement was criticized by many of the faithful who read the article because they hold to the belief that it is not possible for a person to become ill from taking the Eucharist. Many Orthodox Christians report that they are able to partake of the Body of Christ without suffering the effects that they normally would on consuming bread. I had an opinion contrary to the prevailing sentiment of these criticism which were voiced on line which is based on my own personal experience with celiac disease/non-celiac gluten sensitivity. I will share those views in this stream.


