The Sanctity of the Holy Sanctuary: Only the Body and Blood of Christ Shall Be Consumed

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The Altar Is Not a Dining Hall: A Syrian Orthodox Appeal to Reverence

No Other Food in God’s House: Biblical, Patristic, and Canonical Reasons

The Syrian Orthodox Church has always held the Eucharist, the Body and Blood of Christ, as the holiest act of worship and the centre of Christian life. Inside the church, especially within the sanctuary, nothing else is to be consumed except the divine mysteries. To eat or drink anything else within the house of God is to disregard the holiness of the altar and the very presence of Christ Himself.

This principle is firmly rooted in Scripture. St. Paul warns the Corinthians that “whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of sinning against the body and blood of the Lord. For those who eat and drink without discerning the body of Christ, eat and drink judgment on themselves” (1 Corinthians 11:27-29). The Lord Himself declared: “My house shall be called a house of prayer” (Matthew 21:13). The Old Testament also makes clear that once God consecrates an altar, it cannot be used for common purposes (Exodus 29:43-44; Leviticus 10:1-3).

The canonical laws of the Church affirm this with clarity. The Apostolic Canons state: “If anyone, whether bishop, presbyter, deacon, or layman, eats meat in the temple, let him be excommunicated” . The Council of Laodicea forbids agape meals inside the church: “It is not permitted to hold feasts in the Lord’s house” . The Council in Trullo likewise condemns the eating of meals within church buildings. The Hudoyo Cannon of Bar Hebraeus, the Syriac Orthodox code of canon law, repeats these prohibitions and safeguards the holiness of the sanctuary.

The Syriac Fathers spoke with one voice on this matter. St. Ephrem the Syrian described the altar as “the fire of holiness” and the Eucharist as “the medicine of immortality”, making clear that no common food could be mingled there. St. Jacob of Sarug preached that the altar is “the throne of the King”, a place set apart for Christ alone. Mor Severus of Antioch emphasised that the Eucharist alone belongs to the holy place, for it is there that heaven and earth unite. Our liturgy itself, the Anaphora of St. James, depicts the altar as the very place where angels minister in awe. How, then, could common food or drink be allowed where angels stand in reverence?

Furthermore, the ordination vows of every priest in the Syrian Orthodox Church make this obligation clear. At the time of ordination, the priest is commanded to guard the sanctuary, to allow no profane act within it, and to administer only the Body and Blood of Christ at the holy altar. The rubrics of the priestly ordination charge him never to permit food, drink, or secular activity within the holy place, for the temple is consecrated as the dwelling of God. The Apostolic Constitutions echo this charge: “Let not the church be used as a place of common feastings. For the church is the place of prayer. Let no one bring into it what belongs to common life”. To violate this command is not only to break the canons, but also to break the very vows of the priesthood and to dishonour the holy altar entrusted to their care.

It is, therefore, deeply troubling to witness what took place at Mar Thoma Cheriyapally, a historic Malankara Jacobite Syrian Orthodox Church in Kothamangalam, Kerala on the occasion of Kanni 20 Perunnal (feast celebrated on the Dukhrono of St Basil Eldho), where food other than the consecrated mysteries was distributed and consumed inside the church. Such acts directly contradict the Bible, the canons of the Church, the teaching of the Fathers, and the vows of the priesthood. This is not merely an issue of etiquette; it is sacrilege. To eat or distribute common food in the sanctuary is to desecrate the very house of God and dishonour the Body and Blood of Christ.





The faithful must remember that the only food allowed inside the church is the Eucharist the Body and Blood of our Lord. The church is not a dining hall, but the dwelling place of God’s glory, where heaven meets earth in the celebration of the Holy Qurbana. As the Psalmist prays: “Lord, I love the habitation of Your house, and the place where Your glory dwells” (Psalm 26:8).

The incident at Kothamangalam should serve as a call to repentance and vigilance. We must return to the reverence handed down to us through Scripture, the Apostolic Canons, the Fathers, the vows of priesthood, and our liturgical tradition. The Church is holy, and only the mysteries of Christ are to be received within it. Anything else diminishes its sanctity and draws judgment upon us.

Let us preserve the purity of the house of God, honouring Christ’s Body and Blood with the reverence it deserves, so that our worship remains true and our sanctuaries remain holy.

References

Apostolic Canons, Canon 70.
Council of Laodicea, Canon 28.
Council in Trullo (Quinisext, 692 AD), Canon 74.
Bar Hebraeus, Hudoyo (Nomocanon), 13th century.
St. Ephrem the Syrian, Hymns on the Eucharist.
St. Jacob of Sarug, Homilies on the Church.
Mor Severus of Antioch, Homilies and Letters.
Anaphora of St. James, Syriac Orthodox Liturgy.
Apostolic Constitutions, Book VIII, ch. 31–32.
The Holy Bible

 

Location: Kothamangalam, Kerala, India

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