Will the Church continue to pray Divine Liturgy until the second coming?

The answer

The Apostle says, “For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death till He comes” (1 Cor. 11:26). By saying, “you proclaim the Lord’s death till He comes,’ the Apostle reveals the eschatological aspect of the life of the Church. The main role of the Church is to be united with Christ the Lord in His death, and in the continuous waiting for His second coming, so that she may partake in His glory and see Him face to face. We delight in Him here by partaking in His body and blood, but at His coming, He will carry us to the bosom of His Father, wherein we partake of His glory and fulfill the pleasure of the Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit.

St. Ambrose says, “So, as often as you receive, what does the Apostle say to you? As often as, we receive, we proclaim the death of the Lord (cf. 1 Cor. 11:26). If death, we proclaim the remission of sins. If, as often as blood is shed, it is shed for the remission of sins, I ought always to accept Him, that He may always dismiss my sins (cf. Matt. 26.28). I, who always sin, should always have a remedy.”¹⁴⁹¹

Fr. Tadros Yacoub Malaty