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sus come to us in the sacrament, but we also partake of his risen body, and he is
the ?rst fruits of our resurrection. Importantly, this lens of ?rst fruits, while
these ?rst fruits are almost ends and seals of all blessings in themselves, help-
fully sets the Liturgy (and so the Church as a new creation) within the context
of the continuous movement of humanity and creation towards its ?nal goal
(dei?cation), towards its destiny, the ascent and complete union with God. One
further point on the Church as the new creation: this is not merely a theologi-
cal description of a change or a becoming. Indeed, the actual experience of
Orthodox worship is to encounter another reality entirely, for in the Liturgy, in
the temple (????), both dimensions of the Church unite – heaven and earth,
one manifested in the other, one made a reality in the other.46 And all the be-
liever knows ‘is that he has left his everyday life and has come to a place where
everything is di?erent and yet so essential, so desirable, so vital that it illu-
mines and gives meaning to his entire life’.47

Among Maximus’ works is a short piece titled, The Church’s Mystagogy, in
which he explains some of the ‘symbolism’ of the Divine Liturgy. Wainwright
also highlights this work in his study on the Eucharist and eschatology, particu-
larly for its apparent emphasis on the eschatological character of the
Eucharist.48 It is clear from the outset that the Liturgy tells, or rather unfolds,
the whole story of creation, the fall, and redemption – the incarnate life of
Christ and his triumph in glory. Indeed, this is immediately evident in any ex-
perience of the Divine Liturgy.49 The Church itself, the temple (????), the in-
ternal arrangement of its furnishings, and the clear living presence of the Saints
in the icons, are such that the whole liturgical experience points to the ‘heav-
enly’. The Liturgy itself, as Maximus describes, it is actually taking place in the
heavenly realm. The divine readings, the hymns, the entrance of the Holy Mys-
teries, and so forth, all signify an unseen reality. But they are also part of un-
folding the whole story of the world of creation, and certain actions signify
certain parts of this narrative, for example, following the reading of the Gospel
and the Liturgy of the Catechumens ends, ‘the bishop descends from the
throne’ and the unbaptised are dismissed. This is considered to signify ‘in gen-
eral the second coming from heaven of our great God and Saviour Jesus Christ

46 Schmemann, The Eucharist, p. 45.
47 Schmemann, The Eucharist, p. 47.
48 Wainwright, Eucharist and Eschatology, p. 3.
49 Any impressions are based upon personal experience of Russian Orthodox worship in St Peters-
burg and Belarus.

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