Well, dear Presbytera, that\'s why so many left following the Lord when He told them, quite literally, \"Eat Me\" in John Chap. 6. They thought it sounded cannibalistic. But the Lord was quite serious. It is interesting to note that many Protestants, who interpret almost everything else in the Bible literally, insist that John 6 is figurative. The Orthodox intrepretation from the beginning is literal on this point. Holy Communion is the literal Body and Blood of Jesus Christ Who is God, therefore, we eat God. And, as Fr. Alexander Schmemman related--we are what we eat. So, we eat God and by God\'s grace and mercy become gods. (Although, not in the Mormon sense.)
To attempt to clarify Namees point, we DO partake of the Divine Nature (as St. Peter says in his epistle as well), however, it would seem to me that Holy Communion relates to the energies, not the essence of God. I could be wrong.
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