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THE DIVINE LITURGY OF ST JOHN CHRYSOSTOM

C.11 THANKSGIVING

At this point the priest gives thanks to God for his—and for the congregation's—partaking of the Holy Communion.

The prayer of thanksgiving refers to the Holy Communion as something that comes from the heavens ('Heavenly Mysteries') and gives immortality to the communicants ('Immortal Mysteries'). It is 'the medicine of immortality and the antidote to prevent us from dying'. It shows to the communicants what life everlasting will be like. It is a foretaste of immortality here and now. The prayer of thanksgiving is a loud reiteration of the same thing that each one of the faithful heard upon receiving Communion: 'The servant of God partakes (...) for the remission of his/her sins and unto life everlasting'. By participating in the Divine Liturgy and partaking of Holy Communion, every Christian has an experience of the resurrected Christ and a foretaste of his or her own resurrection.