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Most of the Holy Fathers of the 3rd-6th centuries readily used the term “antitype” while adhering to Eucharistic realism. For instance, Tertullian already argued for the truth of God’s incarnation pointing at the actual presence of the Body and Blood of Jesus in the Holy Gifts (Tertull. All of this is understandable but it would seem that there is no difference what theological term the Holy Fathers used to describe the greatest Sacrament of the Eucharist? The problem arose due to the fact that, using the term “antitype”, which had become traditional and suggested some symbolism, the Fathers in no way denied the reality and presence of the real Body and Blood of Christ in the Eucharistic Gifts. 3) served as equivalents of the Greek word ἀντίτυπα. In the West, the Latin words figura and similitudo (Tertull. This word is also used in the Apostolic Constitutions (Const. It is used by such Fathers as Gregory the Theologian and Cyril of Jerusalem. This term remained in wide use until the fifth century as the Orthodox teaching of the Eucharist developed. 36), as well as in the liturgical and canonical text The Apostolic Tradition (Ch. The term “antitype” appears in the works of the Holy Fathers and in the context of the Eucharist for the first time in the third century in the writings of St. The second mention of this term is found in Hebrews 9:24, where the Temple of Jerusalem is considered ἀντίτυπα (modeled copy) of the heavenly sanctuary. Peter uses a phrase with this word in 1 Peter 3:21 when describing how Noah and his family were rescued in the Ark from the Flood, which is the prototype of Baptism (ἀντίτυπον βάπτισμα). There are only two occurrences of this word in the New Testament. For the first time it is used as such by the Gnostics, as evidenced by Plotinus, who denounced the Gnostics for departing from the classical language of Greek philosophers and using such new words as ἀντίτυποι (Plot. The word ἀντίτυπα was not used in Ancient Greek literature as a specific term, but was used in the meaning of “resisting”, “opposing”. What does this word mean and how is it interpreted by Orthodox theologians? First mentions
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Notably, this term is used in the Epiclesis of St. We encounter this term of Orthodox Sacramentology both in Scripture and in the writings of the Fathers, and also at the Liturgy. There is an unusual and incomprehensible word Antitype in the Eucharistic theology (Greek: ἀντίτυπα – instead of the image), used in relation to the Eucharistic bread and wine that have not yet been consecrated.