For Roman Catholics, the weeks following the celebration of Pentecost feature a variety of special feasts, such as the feast of the Holy Trinity, and the feasts of the Sacred Heart and Immaculate Heart.
Included in that mix is the feast of Corpus Christi, a special day to honor the Most Holy Body and Blood of Jesus Christ, present in the Eucharist.
The feast of Corpus Christi was instituted during the 13th century, and at the time, it only spread in the Roman Rite. This was due in large part because of the Great Schism in the 11th century, when Orthodox Christians and the Roman Catholic Church split.
Any liturgical feasts that were instituted after the 11th century were designed only for the Roman Rite, and so Eastern Christians did not initially adopt them.
Feast of the Divine Body
However, at various points many Eastern Christians wanted to be brought into union with Rome, such as members of the Melkite Greek Church. These included Christians who were descendants of Christians in ancient Antioch, modern-day Syria and Lebanon.
By the 18th century, these Christians signed a formal agreement to be in union with Rome. Shortly after this happened, Melkite Catholics were inspired by the Roman feast of Corpus Christi and wanted to incorporate it into their own calendar.
According to St. Anne Melkite Church, "For the Melkite Church this feast became popular in the 18th century during the time of Patriarch Maximos II Hakeem. By 1737, Patriarch Maximos III Mazloum added it to the Pentecostarion."
They developed their own liturgical texts, such as this Troparion:
Christ, having loved his own, loved them until the end and gave then his body and his blood as food and drink. Therefore, let us offer them our own adoration and say with fear: “Glory to your presence, O Christ! Glory to your compassion! Glory to your condescension, for you alone are the Lover of Mankind!"
Eucharistic processions remain a popular devotional activity of both Eastern and Western Catholics in Lebanon and in many Melkite Churches throughout the world.
