“He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.”  (John 6:54)

The Feast of the Blessed Eucharist appeared in the ХІІІ century. Thursday was chosen as the celebration day because on that day Jesus Christ established the Eucharist on His Last Supper. The feast is always celebrated on the second Thursday after the Descent of the Holy Spirit  or on Thursday after the Sunday of All Saints. It is the solemn celebration of the Eucharist, a sacred gift that was left by Jesus Christ to His Church.

Since the XII century the Western Church had made attempts to make special devotion to Holy Eucharist outside Mass. Bishop Robert from the city of Liège in Belgium established a feast in honor of the Blessed Eucharist in his eparchy in 1246. For the first time the feast was celebrated in 1247 at the St. Martin’s Church in the city of Liège.

The feast of the Blessed Eucharist had spread to other European countries. In 1264 Pope Urban IV initiated the celebration of the Feast of Corpus Christi in the entire Catholic Church. However, in many eparchies the initiation of this feast was confronted with the resistance of the local priests. That is why the Pope Clement V at the Council of Vienne in 1311 finally approved the decision of his predecessor to celebrate the Feast of Corpus Christi. Since 1311 the Feast of Corpus Christi had become common in the entire Catholic Church.

The Western Church initiated the celebration of the feast as the confrontation with the heresy that denied the presence of Jesus Christ in the bread and wine. The celebration of the feast had an influence on the Eastern Catholic Сhurches. The feast was introduced to the Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Church  by the regulations of the Synod of the Uniate Church that was held in 1720 in Zamość, and since then it is celebrated annually.

A special feature of this holiday is a solemn procession with the Holy Eucharist around the temple or streets of the city. The festive procession is headed by a priest who is carrying a ciborium.  The tradition to held a solemn procession with the Holy Eucharist dates back to the 14th century. The first procession took place in Germany in the city of Cologne in 1279.

On this day, the wreaths, that are symbols of eternal life, are blessed in  temples. It is believed that blessed wreaths serve as  amulets to protect  houses from harm. They are made of healing herbs. It is believed that in the middle of June herbs have their magic properties. The wreaths are made of the best herbs and flowers such as: oregano, thyme, chamomile, mint, ground-ivy, yarrow, and others. Blessed wreaths are usually hang near doors or icons. If necessary, they are used for treating members of the family and domestic animals. The dried wreaths are burned and used to smoke the house.

Zdjęcie: lublin.gosc.pl