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The eschatological dimension of the Eucharist in the Orthodox is rich,
cosmic, and very much the character of the liturgical experience itself. Here,
the Eucharist is the eschatological sacrament. Indeed, it could hardly be other-
wise when we consider that the Eucharist is conceived as the act of passage in
which the Church ful?ls herself as the new creation and ascends into the heav-
enly realm. The cosmic character of the Liturgy is evident in how everything in
it is ‘seen and comprehended as expectation and thirst for its complete spiritu-
alisation: “that God may be all in all”.’55 In this way, the close connection be-
tween eschatology and creation is made a part of the Liturgy, and especially
how the Liturgy is integral to the whole of creation’s movement towards its
?nal goal, where man, and all creation made transparent to its creator, rests in
the eternal blessings of full union with God.
55 Schmemann, The Eucharist, p. 39.
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