We use real wine. Red wine, specifically. It’s fermented grape wine mixed with a little water, and it becomes the Blood of Christ.
That’s the short answer. But if you’re coming from a Baptist or non-denominational background here in Southeast Texas, you might be used to grape juice in tiny plastic cups. That’s not what we do. The Orthodox Church has always used actual wine in the Eucharist, and there’s no getting around that fact.
Why Wine, Not Grape Juice?
Christ used wine at the Last Supper. The Greek word in Scripture is oinos, which means fermented wine. The early Church used wine. The liturgical prayers we’ve prayed for two thousand years assume wine. When St. John Chrysostom wrote about the Eucharist in fourth-century Antioch, he was talking about wine.
Grape juice as a communion substitute is a nineteenth-century American Protestant innovation, tied to the temperance movement. We don’t follow that path. We’re not being difficult about it. We’re just doing what the Church has always done.
Red Wine, Usually
Most Orthodox parishes use red wine because it looks like blood. That visual connection matters when you’re standing at the chalice receiving what we believe is truly Christ’s Body and Blood. The symbolism reinforces the reality.
But there’s no absolute canonical requirement that it be red. Some parishes use other wines. The key is that it’s real, fermented wine made from grapes. Not grape juice, not wine-flavored anything, not a substitute.
The Water Matters Too
During the Divine Liturgy, the priest pours a little water into the chalice with the wine. This happens during the preparation of the gifts, before the consecration. The mixing of water and wine is an ancient practice with layers of meaning.
It shows the union of Christ’s divinity and humanity. It represents the water and blood that flowed from Christ’s side on the cross. It symbolizes our union with Christ, we’re joined to Him like water mixed into wine. And practically speaking, it makes the wine easier to distribute when the priest is giving communion to a hundred people with a spoon.
What About People Who Can’t Have Alcohol?
This is a real pastoral question. Some folks are recovering alcoholics. Some take medications that interact badly with alcohol. Some are kids.
Here’s what you need to know: the amount of alcohol you receive in the Eucharist is tiny. We’re talking about a spoonful of wine-soaked bread. It’s not enough to intoxicate anyone or trigger a relapse in most recovering alcoholics. Many people in recovery receive communion without problems.
But if someone genuinely can’t have any alcohol at all, they should talk to the priest. There are pastoral solutions. The Church has dealt with this for centuries. We don’t just say “tough luck.” But we also don’t change the normative practice of the whole Church for individual cases.
It’s Not Just Wine Anymore
Once the priest consecrates the gifts during the Liturgy, we’re not dealing with wine anymore. We’re dealing with the Blood of Christ. That’s not symbolic language. We believe the bread and wine truly become the Body and Blood of our Lord.
So when people ask “what kind of wine,” they’re asking the right question for understanding our practice. But they’re also asking a question that becomes less relevant after the consecration. At that point, it doesn’t matter if it started as Merlot or Cabernet or some red table wine the priest bought at Kroger. It’s Christ’s Blood now.
This isn’t magic. It’s mystery. The Greek word is mysterion, which we translate as “sacrament.” Something happens at the altar that we can’t fully explain or reduce to a formula. We can describe what we do and what we believe, but the how belongs to God.
If you’re visiting St. Michael for the first time, you won’t be receiving communion yet. That’s reserved for Orthodox Christians who’ve prepared themselves through prayer and fasting. But you’ll see people come forward to receive from the chalice, and you’ll see the priest give them a spoonful of wine-soaked bread. Watch closely. You’re seeing something that’s been happening since the upper room.
