The Eucharist, or the Sacrament of Communion, was instituted by Jesus Christ during the Last Supper, as narrated in the Synoptic Gospels (Mt. 26:26–28, Mk. 14:22–24, Lk. 22:19–20) and in the First Epistle to the Corinthians by St. Paul (1 Cor. 11:24–25). Mark 14:22–24 states:
“…While they were eating, Jesus took bread, gave thanks, broke it, and gave it to them, saying, ‘Take it; this is my body.’ Then he took a cup, and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them, and they all drank from it. ‘This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many,’ he said to them…”

The Last Supper, as a festive meal celebrating Passover, was a ritual event strictly following ancient Jewish traditions. The sharing of a cup of wine, from which all the apostles drank, was customary for this ritual. Before drinking, each person recited the Berakhah prayer. Christ gave new meaning to this ritual by stating that the wine was His Blood and the bread was His Body. In the Gospel of Luke, we also read the words (Lk. 22:19): “Do this in remembrance of me!” Hence, Christ desired His disciples to repeat this ritual after His Ascension, transforming it into the Sacrament of Communion.

As Christianity evolved, the apex of the Divine Liturgy—the Eucharist—developed certain differences among various denominations. In the Eastern Church, believers partake only after the Sacrament of Confession and consume the Eucharist as a piece of bread soaked in wine (thus incorporating both components of Communion). In the Western Church, it is traditionally received as unleavened bread in the form of a wafer, with only the clergy partaking of both components, unless the local Bishops’ Conference permits otherwise. In the Armenian Church, a piece of unleavened bread is dipped in wine, then broken and given to the faithful. Evangelical churches perceive Communion not as the actual Blood and Body but merely as a symbol of the Last Supper, differing from Lutherans, who recognize Communion as both bread and wine and the Body and Blood of Christ simultaneously.

Iconography

There are two main types of Eucharistic depictions. The more realistic one, showing the Biblical Eucharist at the Last Supper, is characteristic of the Western tradition. The symbolic depiction, the Heavenly Eucharist, features Christ before an adorned altar (often shown with two figures of Christ), while the apostles stand in prayer. This version is typical of the Eastern Church and originates from Byzantium.

In Ukrainian iconography, the Byzantine Eucharist appeared first. For example, in Kyiv’s Saint Sophia Cathedral and Saint Michael’s Golden-Domed Monastery, we see mosaics of the Heavenly Communion in the altar section, where the earthly Communion takes place. However, as altar screens developed into iconostases, this composition of Eucharistic prayer by apostles to Christ disappeared, replaced by the Deesis tier of the iconostasis, which covered it.

An interesting depiction of the Eucharist is found in the frescoes of the Holy Trinity Chapel in Lublin (1420). It is located not on the eastern wall of the altar but on the northern side. Christ is depicted in a Trinitarian form: two figures offer bread and wine to the disciples, while the central figure, God the Father, holds bread and blesses it.

Eucharistic depictions in iconostases of the 16th–17th centuries are rare, either appearing on the Royal Doors or above them, flanking the icon of Christ the Pantocrator. This rarity is because, starting in the 16th century, the more comprehensible scene of the Last Supper increasingly appeared in the feast tier. Only from the late 19th century, with the revival of many forgotten traditions, did the Byzantine Eucharist reemerge.

Special mention should be made of Eucharistic depictions in book graphics. In the 17th–18th centuries, they took on a very different form. For example, one of the Seven Sacraments depicts a priest administering Communion to monks or a dying person. Often, the compositions of the Seven Sacraments surround a flourishing Cross. Notably, Christ’s wounds are shown streaming blood directly into the chalice held by a priest or into each sacramental vignette separately.

Another depiction of Communion involves an altar with the elements of the Eucharist—a plate with bread and a cup of wine (not to be confused with the scene “Blessing of the Loaves,” which includes wheat and oil). A fascinating variation shows the Infant Emmanuel in the plate, with “IC XC” inscribed above to clarify that this is literally the Body of Christ.

Mykhailo Skop