The banquet of the kingdom

Abstract

The use of virtual liturgy during the pandemic has shown dedication on the part of both clergy and laity. Employing virtual means to do this, however, presents questions and concerns about the nature of the Church and the eucharist in their eschatological dimension. This article explores this dimension and how it relates to the practice of virtual liturgy. In this article, the author describes the early eucharist as a meal involving physical bodies gathered to eat physical food and examines the meal as an anticipation of the kingdom of God, referring to literary and archeological examples and reviewing its historical tendency to be abridged into something immaterial. In the final section, the author notes how this history of abridgement, including virtual eucharists, destroys its eschatological dimension while promoting an individualistic, clericalist, and consumerist spirituality. A summary and suggestions for the better use of virtual media close the article.