Eucharist question

[Mickey]

It seems that different Orthodox Churches have different customs on how to receive the Eucharist. Some Churches I have visited want you to close your mouth over the spoon and others want you to keep your mouth wide open (my Church--OCA).

Does anyone know why there are differences?

[Son of Man]

I'm curious, at these different churches was it considered taboo or morally wrong to do it a different way?  I could understand if it were just a matter of a church expecting people to follow their traditions.

On a more extreme note, I know a woman from Croatia, and members of various Christian churches there would fight each other over things like the exact date to celebrate the same holy day.  It seems counter-productive.

[Mickey]

I'm curious, at these different churches was it considered taboo or morally wrong to do it a different way? 

Of course not. As an Eastern Catholic (Ruthenian) it was always mouth open. In Orthodoxy it seems to vary. If you are receiving at a Church where you close your mouth around the spoon and you are standing there with your mouth open, the priest will quietly tell you to close your mouth around the spoon.

I am simply asking if anyone knows the history of these differences?

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