St. John of Damascus—The bread and the wine are not merely figures of the Body and Blood of Christ …
The bread and the wine are not merely figures of the Body and Blood of Christ (God forbid!) but the deified Body of the Lord itself, for the Lord has said: “This is my body,” not “This is a figure of my body.” And [he has said]: “My blood,” not “a figure of my blood.”
— St. John of Damascus
