Feast of the Body and Blood of Christ among Western Christians (16/06)

The Feast of the Body and Blood of Christ (Corpus Christi) is celebrated annually on the Thursday after Trinity and is a solemn celebration of the sacred Eucharist (Holy Eucharist) compared to the daily holy Mass.

The Catholic Church views the Eucharist (the sacrament of communion) as a sacred gift left by Christ to his church, established during the last supper. The sacrifice made by Jesus under the guise of bread and wine in the Jerusalem Upper Room, — is a kind of «form» into which the sacrifice of the cross is clothed in the life of the Church. Holy Communion — is the participation of believers in the sacrifice of Christ, which helps us become like the Son of God.

The custom of solemn veneration of the Eucharist dates back to 1247 in the Diocese of Liege in Belgium. In 1264, Pope Urban IV gave this holiday the status of a church-wide holiday, granting indulgences to everyone who took part in the festive mass.

The official sequence of the Feast of the Body of Christ was composed by Thomas Aquinas, and the text of this service is considered one of the most beautiful in the Roman Breviary.

The holiday, truly religious in origin, over time became a truly national holiday in many countries. It combined the strict ritualism of the church service, the ceremonial procession and game elements characteristic of noisy pre-Christian celebrations. There is a beautiful tradition of — scattering flower petals during the procession.

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