Spirituality and Communion in the Orthodox Liturgy

In Spirituality and Communion, Staniloae presents the liturgical life of the Church as a spiritual experience that deepens our communion with God and neighbor. Staniloae argues that the worshipping Church is raised into the Trinity, and the Eucharist is the Kingdom of the Trinity. The Church is a union sharing in the love between the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. As adopted children of the Father, those who are united with Christ through faith, Baptism, and the Eucharist, experience this filial relationship in the Church. More specifically, in the Eucharist, we discover our quality as members of the Body of Christ. When we partake of the eucharistic sacrifice, Christ empowers us to present ourselves as spiritual sacrifices to the Father, united with the Son's sacrifice. As the Church-the Body of Christ-is sacrificed to the Father, we, its members, grow into the likeness of Christ, are clothed with grace, and the love of the Father descends upon us.

-From the Foreword by Fr. Radu Bordeianu