From Paul Evdokimov’s The Art if the Icon: a Theology of Beauty:
“…everything is destined for a liturgical fulfillment…. The final destiny of water is to participate in the mystery of the Epiphany; of wood, to become a cross; of the earth, to receive the body of the Lord during his rest on the Sabbath; of rock, to become the ‘sealed Tomb’ and the stone rolled away from in front of the myrrh-bearing women. Olive oil and water attain their fullness as conductor elements for grace on regenerated man. Wheat and wine achieve their ultimate raison d’ être in the eucharistic chalice. Everything is referred to the Incarnation and everything finds its final goal and destiny in the Lord. The liturgy integrates the most elementary actions of life; drinking, eating, washing, speaking, acting, communing. It restores to them their meaning and true destiny, that is, to be blocks in the cosmic temple of God’s glory….Nothing in the world remains foreign to [Christ’s] humanity, everything has received the seal of the Holy Spirit. This is why the Church in turn blesses and sanctifies all of creation… The brilliance of divine actions is hidden under the veil of the things of this world….Cosmic matter thus becomes a conductor of grace, a vehicle of the divine energies.”