[Kolokotronis]

"How can the sacraments administered be considered to have efficacy?"

Its really simple. It is the Holy Spirit Who consecrates the bread and the wine, not the priest. Indeed that is so in all the sacraments of The Church. The priest, whether he be a virtual devil or the greatest of saints, is never more than the "minister" of the service, though he stands "in the place of Christ", ex opere operato as the Latins say. The sinfulness of the priest is taken as a given, Blogger, in both the Latin and the Orthodox Churches. +John Chrysostomos, a very, very great saint and compared to the likes of me, a very holy man who ultimately died for The Faith in exile, said this:

"I believe and confess, Lord, that You are truly the Christ, the Son of the living God, who came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the first.

And a bit later, this:

"How shall I, who am unworthy, enter into the splendor of Your saints? If I dare to enter into the bridal chamber, my clothing will accuse me, since it is not a wedding garment; and being bound up, I shall be cast out by the angels. In Your love, Lord, cleanse my soul and save me." The worthiness of priests and hierarchs has absolutely nothing whatsoever to do with any sacrament or with the apostolic succession. Are such men a scandal to the faithful? Yes. Do they and did they deserve to be removed? Yes. Are some of them likely damned? Absolutely! Remember what +John Chrysostomos reminded his brother hierarchs about the pavement of hell! But in fact, none of these evil men are The Church, though the ecclesiology of the Latin Church at that time certainly made it look that way. The remedy though was not to reject The Church and the sacraments which we to this day and most of the original reformers in the beginning, believe are established for our theosis. In so doing, the reformers fell to the same curse that those evil hierarchs had, pride.

[jo kus]

But in fact, none of these evil men are The Church, though the ecclesiology of the Latin Church at that time certainly made it look that way.

ARGGHHH!

You were doing so well! Is it necessary to throw in such comments?

Regards

[kosta50]

Blogger: "How can the sacraments administered be considered to have efficacy?"

Kolokotronis: It's really simple. It is the Holy Spirit Who consecrates the bread and the wine, not the priest. Indeed that is so in all the sacraments of The Church

It's amazing how they can say the Holy Spirit guides them reaidng the Bible but they simply refuse to accept the possibility that the Holy Spirit somehow makes sacraments 'efficacious,' which is why they call them 'mere rituals.'

The rest of your post is, of course, what we recite every Sunday before the Eucharistic Communion.