And he took bread, and when he had given thanks he broke it and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body which is given for you.  Do this in remembrance of me.”  And likewise he took the cup, after having dined, saying, This cup is the new covenant in My blood, which is being poured out for you.”

Luke 22: 1-20

The purpose of our participation in the Divine Liturgy is to receive Holy Communion.

The Holy Communion is based on the Last Supper, a Passover meal to which Jesus gave new meaning.  Thus the Christian Eucharist is a meal specifically connected with the Passover meal of the Old Testament.  At the and of His Life, Jesus, the Messiah, ate the Passover meal with His disciples.  Originally a ritual supper in commemoration of the liberation of the Israelites from slavery in Egypt, Christ transformed the Passover meal into an act done in remembrance of Himself; of His life, death and resurrection as the new and eternal “Passover Lamb” who frees humanity from the slavery of evil, ignorance and death and transfers it into the everlasting life of the Kingdom of God.