Eucharistic theology

Branch of Christian theology

Eucharistic theology is a branch of Christian theology which treats doctrines concerning the Holy Eucharist, also commonly known as the Lord's Supper and Holy Communion. It exists exclusively in Christianity, as others generally do not contain a Eucharistic ceremony. In the Gospel accounts of Jesus' earthly ministry, a crowd of listeners challenges him regarding the rain of manna before he delivers the famous Bread of Life Discourse (John 6:22–59), and he describes himself as the "True Bread from Heaven". The aforementioned Bread of Life Discourse occurs in the Gospel of John, John 6:30–59. Therein, Jesus promises to give his flesh and blood, which he states will give eternal life to all who receive it. In John 6:53 (RSV), Jesus says, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of man and drink his blood, you have no life in you"; in verses 54–55, he continues: "he who eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day. For my flesh is food indeed and my blood is drink indeed." Every year, Jews in Israel celebrated the Passover Meal, remembering and celebrating their liberation from captivity in Egypt. In the Gospel of John, Jesus is recorded as celebrating the Last Supper with his Apostles at Passover. Saint Paul, in his First Letter to the Corinthians (1 Corinthians 11:23–26), as well as the Synoptic Gospels of Matthew (Matthew 26:26–28), Mark (Mark 14:22–24), and Luke (Luke 22:19–20), state that Jesus, in the course of the Last Supper on the night before his death, instituted the Eucharist, stating: "This is my body", and "This is my blood". For instance, Matthew recounts: "And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and blessed it, and brake it, and gave it to the disciples, and said, Take, eat; this is my body; And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, Drink ye all of it; For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins." The Gospel of John, on the other hand, makes no mention of this. One explanation offered is that the author of the Gospel of John intended the Gospel to supplement what other evangelists had already written.

Because Jesus is a person, theology regarding the Eucharist involves consideration of the way in which the communicant's personal relationship with God is contributed to by consumption of the Eucharist. However, debates over Eucharistic theology in the West have centered on the metaphysical aspects of Jesus' presence in this ritual.

In the substance theory of the Eucharist, the substances of the bread and wine become the substances in the body, blood, soul and divinity of Jesus; however, it is also believed that the accidents (physical traits, including chemical properties) of the bread and wine remain. This view is taught by the Roman Catholic Church, including in its Eastern Rites.

Eastern Orthodox Christians generally prefer not to be tied down by the specifics of the defined doctrine of transubstantiation, though there is agreement with the definition's conclusion about the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist. Eastern Orthodox Christians use the term "change" (μεταβολή), as in the epiclesis of the Divine Liturgy, to describe the change of the bread and wine into the actual body and blood of Jesus. (See "Objective reality, silence about technicalities", below.) The terminology of transubstantiation was adopted within the Eastern Orthodox Church by the Synod of Jerusalem (1672), although it is not recognized as having the authority of an Ecumenical Council and has been criticized for a perceived tendency toward Latinization.

In the sacramental union view, in the "use" of the sacrament, according to the words of Jesus and by the power of his speaking of them, the consecrated bread is united with his body and the consecrated wine with his blood for all communicants, whether believing or unbelieving, to eat and drink. This is the position of the Lutheran Church, echoing the view of "objective reality, but pious silence about technicalities", with its "pious silence about technicalities" in that it objects to philosophical terms like "consubstantiation."

Consubstantiation is the belief that "The bread retains its substance and Christ's glorified body comes down into the bread through the consecration and is found there together with the natural substance of the bread, without quantity but whole and complete in every part of the sacramental bread." Consubstantiation was the position of the Lollards, as well as the Irvingian Churches, such as the New Apostolic Church. Some High Church Anglicans identify with this position. It is erroneously used to denote the position of the Lutheran Church (see above), who instead affirm the doctrine of sacramental union as their teaching of the corporeal presence of Christ in the Eucharist.

"Objective reality, but pious silence about technicalities" (or "divine [or holy] mystery") is the view of all the ancient Churches of the East, as well as of many Anglicans (including those of Anglo Catholic churchmanship) and Methodists. While they agree that in the sacrament the bread and the wine are really and truly changed into the body and the blood of Jesus, and while they have at times employed the terminology of "substance" to explain what is changed, they usually avoid this language, considering it redolent of scholasticism, as presenting speculative metaphysics as doctrine, and as scrutinizing excessively the manner in which the transformation takes place.

The view known as memorialism is that bread and wine are symbolic of the body and blood of Jesus, and in partaking of the elements the believer commemorates the sacrificial atonement of Jesus for all; Jesus presence in the sacrament is in the faithful minds and hearts of the communicants not in any physical sense. This view, also known as "Zwinglianism" after Huldrych Zwingli, is held by most Anabaptists and Jehovah's Witnesses.

Suspension is the view that Jesus did not intend partaking of the bread and wine to be a perpetual ordinance, or that he did not intend it to be taken as a religious rite or ceremony (also known as adeipnonism, meaning "no supper" or "no meal"). This is the view of Quakers and the Salvation Army, as well as the hyperdispensationalist positions of E. W. Bullinger, and others. Some full preterists, holding that Jesus returned in AD 70, believe on the basis of 1 Corinthians 11:26 that it is no longer required to partake of the Lord's Supper.

Eastern and Western eucharistic traditions generally agree with St. Augustine of Hippo in teaching that the efficacy of the sacraments as a means of divine grace does not depend on the worthiness of the priest or minister administering them. Augustine developed this concept in his controversy with the Donatists. In traditional Christianity, the efficacy and validity of the sacrament does, however, depend on properly ordained bishops and priests with a lineage from the Apostles, a doctrine called "apostolic succession".

In the Catholic Church, the Communion bread is fervently revered in view of the Church's doctrine that, when bread and wine are consecrated during the Eucharistic celebration, they cease to be bread and wine and become the body and blood of Jesus. The empirical appearances continue to exist unchanged, but the reality believed to be changed by the power of the Holy Spirit, who has been called down upon the bread and wine. The separate consecrations of the bread (known as the host) and of the wine symbolizes the separation of Jesus' body from his blood at Calvary. However, since Catholicism also teaches that Jesus rose from the dead and was assumed in body and spirit into Heaven, the Church teaches that the body and blood of Jesus are no longer actually separated, as where one is, the other must be. Therefore, although the priest (or other minister) says "The Body of Christ" when administering the host and "The Blood of Christ" when presenting the chalice, the communicant who receives either one receives Jesus, whole and entire, body and blood, soul and divinity. This belief is succinctly summarised in St. Thomas Aquinas' hymn, Adoro Te Devote. The mysterious change of the reality of the bread and wine began to be called "transubstantiation" in the 11th century. The earliest known text in which the term appears is a sermon of 1079 by Gilbert of Savardin, Archbishop of Tours, (Patrologia Latina CLXXI 776). The first appearance of the term in a papal document was in the letter of Pope Innocent III Cum Marthae circa to John of Canterbury on 29 November 1202, then briefly in the decree Firmiter credimus of the Fourth Lateran Council (1215) and afterward in the book "Iamdudum" sent to the Armenians in the year 1341. An explanation utilizing Aristotle's hylomorphic theory of reality did not appear until the 13th century, with Alexander of Hales (died 1245). The actual moment of change is believed to be the priest's liturgical recitation of the Words of Institution: "This is my Body  " and "This is the Chalice of my Blood  ". The Eucharist is a sacrifice in that it literally re presents (in the sense of "makes present again") the same sacrifice offered by Jesus on the cross, wherein the sacrifice of Jesus and the sacrifice of the Eucharist are considered one single sacrifice; the Eucharist is not considered to sacrifice Jesus a second time. The Mass is a liturgical representation of a sacrifice that makes present what it represents through the action of God in an unbloody manner. The Eucharist is not merely a commemoration of Jesus' sacrifice on Golgotha: it also makes that sacrifice truly present. The priest and victim of the sacrifice are one and the same (Jesus), with the difference that the Eucharist is offered in an unbloody manner. The only ministers who can officiate at the Eucharist and consecrate the sacrament are ordained priests (either bishops or priestly presbyters) acting in the person of Christ ("in persona Christi"). In other words, the priest celebrant represents Jesus himself, who is the Head of the Church, and acts before God the Father in the name of the Catholic Church, always using "we" not "I" during the Eucharistic prayer. The matter used must be wheaten bread and grape wine; this is considered essential for validity. Catholics may receive Holy Communion outside of Mass, normally only as the host. Consecrated hosts are kept in a tabernacle after the celebration of Mass and brought to the sick or dying during the week. A large consecrated host is sometimes displayed in a monstrance outside of Mass, to be the focus of prayer and Eucharistic adoration. The Eucharistic celebration is seen as the foundation and the very centre of all Catholic devotion. One of the seven Sacraments, it is referred to as the Blessed Sacrament, and is taught to bestow grace upon the recipient, assisting with repentance and with the avoidance of venial sin. The "self offering of the believer in union with Christ", and the transformation of the believer into conforming with the Holy Spirit implicit in the symbolism, is understood as integral to the disposition needed for the fruitful reception of Communion. Reception of Communion and of the sacrament of Confession is a condition for receiving indulgences granted for some acts of piety. For fear of desecration, the Eucharist may not be received by any in a state of mortal sin, nor by non Catholics; Catholics aware of being in a state of mortal sin must repent and make confession to a priest before they can receive the Holy Eucharist. For a Catholic to receive the Eucharist in a state of mortal sin is considered to be a grave sacrilege.

The Eucharist is at the center of Eastern Christian faith communities, both Eastern Orthodox and Eastern Catholic. Eastern Orthodox Christians affirm the real presence in the Sacred Mysteries (consecrated bread and wine), which they believe to be the actual body and blood of Jesus, transformed through the operation of the Holy Spirit. The Eucharist is normally received in the context of the Divine Liturgy. In Orthodox Eucharistic theology, though many separate Divine Liturgies may be celebrated geographically, the bread and wine present is considered to be part of one whole, rather than numerous different existences of the body and blood of Jesus appearing, separate from each other. The Eastern Orthodox Church has never clarified or made statement on the exact nature of transformation of the bread and wine, nor gone into the detail that the Roman Catholic Church has with the doctrine of transubstantiation, which was formulated after the Great Schism of 1054; the Eastern Orthodox churches have never formally affirmed or denied this doctrine, preferring to state simply that it is a "Mystery", while at the same time using, as in the 1672 Synod of Jerusalem, language that may appear similar as to that used by the Roman Catholic Church. The Anaphora (Eucharistic prayer) contains an anamnesis (lit. "making present"), a liturgical statement recounting the historical facts of Jesus' death, including the Eucharist, Passion, Resurrection and Ascension; in the Eastern Christian churches, the anamnesis is also considered to make these aspects of Jesus' ministry present, forming a link to these events. The Anaphora ends with an epiclesis ("calling down from on high") during which the priest invokes the Holy Spirit to come and "change" the Gifts (elements of bread and wine) into the actual body and blood of Jesus. The Orthodox do not link the moment the Gifts change to the Words of Institution, or indeed to any one particular moment, instead affirming that the change is completed at the Epiclesis. Communion is given only to baptized, chrismated Orthodox Christians who have prepared by fasting, prayer, and confession (different rules apply for children, elderly, sick, pregnant, etc. and are determined on a case by case basis by parish priests). The priest administers the Gifts with a spoon directly into the recipient's mouth from the chalice. From baptism, young infants and children are carried to the chalice to receive Holy Communion. The holy gifts reserved for the Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts or communion of the sick are specially consecrated as needed, especially on Holy Thursday. They are kept in an elaborately decorated tabernacle, a container on the altar often in the shape of a church or of a dove. Generally, Eastern Christians do not adore the consecrated bread outside the Liturgy itself. However, they prostrate to the ground during the transfer of the Holy Gifts during the Presanctified Liturgy (the "Entrance"), as a sign of utmost reverence. After the Eucharist has been given to the congregation, the priest or the deacon has to consume the Holy Gifts that are left. The most perfect expression of the Eucharistic unity of the Eastern churches is considered to be found in the Hierarchical Divine Liturgy (a liturgy at which a bishop is the chief celebrant), as, following the writings of Ignatius of Antioch, the church is considered to be fully present in the presence of a bishop surrounded by clergy and members of the congregation.

Lutherans believe that the body and blood of Jesus are "truly and substantially present in, with and under the forms" of consecrated bread and wine (the elements), so that communicants eat and drink both the elements and the true body and blood of Jesus himself in the Sacrament of the Eucharist whether they are believers or unbelievers. The Lutheran doctrine of the real presence is also known as the sacramental union. This theology was first formally and publicly confessed in the Wittenberg Concord. The Lutheran view has erroneously been called "consubstantiation", and Lutheran theologians reject the use of this term as it creates confusion with an earlier doctrine of the same name. Lutherans use the term "in, with and under the forms of consecrated bread and wine" and "sacramental union" to distinguish their understanding of the Eucharist from those of the Reformed and other traditions.). This is also practiced in many European Lutheran churches as well. Other American Lutheran churches, such as the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, practice open communion (meaning the Eucharist is offered to adults without receiving the catechetical instruction, as long as they are a baptized Christian).

Nicolaus Zinzendorf, a bishop of the Moravian Church, stated that Holy Communion is the "most intimate of all connection with the person of the Saviour". The Moravian Church holds to the real presence of Jesus in the Eucharist, but does not define the precise way that he is sacramentally present. Many Moravian theologians though, believe that the Lutheran doctrine of the sacramental union properly defines the way that Christ is present in Holy Communion, and have historically promulgated that view. During the Moravian service of Holy Communion, only the scriptural words of institution are used, and thematic hymns are sung during the serving of the sacrament. The Moravian Church practices open communion: all baptized Christians who have confirmed their faith may join in Holy Communion.

Quakers' Eucharistic theology is Memorialism: "The bread and wine remind us of Jesus' body and blood." However, they also hold to suspension: they do not practice Holy Communion in their worship, believing it was not meant to be a perpetually mandated ritual. Nonetheless, Quakers understand all of life as being sacramental: "We believe in the baptism of the Holy Spirit and in communion with that Spirit. If the believer experiences such spiritual baptism and communion, then no rite or ritual is necessary. The Quaker ideal is to make every meal at every table a Lord's Supper."

Some Protestant groups regard the Eucharist (also called the Lord's Supper or the Lord's Table) as a symbolic meal, a memorial of the Last Supper and the Passion in which nothing miraculous occurs. This view is known as the Zwinglian view, after Huldrych Zwingli, a Church leader in Zürich, Switzerland during the Reformation. It is commonly associated with the United Church of Christ, Baptists, the Disciples of Christ and Anabaptists, such as the Mennonites. Elements left over from the service may be discarded without any formal ceremony, or if feasible may be retained for use in future services. The successor of Zwingli in Zurich, Heinrich Bullinger, came to an agreement theologically with John Calvin. The Consensus Tigurinus lays out an explanation of the doctrine of the Sacraments in general, and specifically, that of Holy Communion, as the view embraced by John Calvin and leaders of the Church of Zurich who followed Zwingli. It demonstrates that at least the successors of Zwingli held to the real spiritual presence view most commonly attributed to Calvin and Reformed Protestantism. The Plymouth Brethren hold the Lord's Supper, or the Breaking of Bread, instituted in the upper room on Christ's betrayal night, to be the weekly remembrance feast enjoined on all true Christians. They celebrate the supper in utmost simplicity. Among "closed" Brethren assemblies usually any one of the brothers gives thanks for the loaf and the cup. In conservative "open" Brethren assemblies usually two different brothers give thanks, one for the loaf and the other for the cup. In liberal "open" Brethren assemblies (or churches/community chapels, etc.) sisters also participate with audible prayer.

Edward Irving, who founded the Irvingian churches, such as the New Apostolic Church, taught the real presence of Jesus in the Eucharist, emphasizing "the humiliated humanity of Christ in the Lord's Supper." Additionally, the Irvingian Churches affirm the "real presence of the sacrifice of Jesus Christ in Holy Communion":

In the Irvingian tradition of Restorationist Christianity, consubstantiation is taught as the explanation of how the real presence is effected in the liturgy.

The Jehovah's Witnesses view the bread and wine of the Lord's Supper as symbolically representing and commemorating the sinless body and blood of the Jesus, but do not consider that the elements become supernaturally altered, or that Jesus' actual physical presence is literally in the bread and wine. Instead, the elements (which they generally call "emblems") are commemorative and symbolic, and are consecrated for the Lord's Supper observance, being figurative of the body and blood of Jesus, as the true "Lamb of God", and view the celebration as an anti typical fulfillment of the Jewish Passover celebration, which memorialized the freeing and rescuing of God's people, the Israelites, from bondage in Egypt. The Witnesses commemorate Jesus' death as a ransom or propitiatory sacrifice by observing a Memorial annually on the evening that corresponds to the Passover, Nisan 14, according to the Jewish calendar. They refer to this observance generally as "the Lord's Evening Meal" or the "Memorial of Christ's Death", taken from Jesus' words to his Apostles, "do this as a memorial of me" (Luke 22:19). They believe that this is the only annual religious observance commanded for Christians in the Bible. Of those who attend the Memorial, a small minority worldwide partake of the wine and unleavened bread. Jehovah's Witnesses believe that only 144,000 people will receive heavenly salvation and immortal life and thus spend eternity with God and Jesus in heaven, with glorified bodies, as under priests and co rulers under Christ the King and High Priest, in Jehovah's Kingdom. Paralleling the anointing of kings and priests, they are referred to as the "anointed" class and the only ones who should partake of the bread and wine. They believe that the baptized "other sheep" of Jesus' flock, or the "great crowd", also benefit from the ransom sacrifice, and are respectful observers and viewers of the Lord's Supper remembrance at these special meetings of Jehovah's witnesses. The Memorial, held after sundown, includes a sermon on the meaning and importance of the celebration and gathering, and includes the circulation and viewing among the audience of unadulterated red wine and unleavened bread (matzo). Jehovah's Witnesses believe that the bread symbolizes and represents Jesus' perfect body which he gave on behalf of mankind, and that the wine represents his perfect blood which he shed at Calvary and redeems fallen man from inherited sin and death. The wine and the bread (sometimes referred to as "emblems") are viewed as symbolic and commemorative; the Witnesses do not believe in transubstantiation or consubstantiation; so not a literal presence of flesh and blood in the emblems, but that the emblems are simply sacred symbolisms and representations, denoting what was used in the first Lord's Supper, and which figuratively represent the ransom sacrifice of Jesus and sacred realities.

Among Latter Day Saints, the Eucharist (referred to as the "Sacrament") is partaken in remembrance of the blood and body of Jesus. It is viewed as a renewal of the covenant made at baptism, which is to take upon oneself the name of Jesus. As such, it is considered efficacious only for baptized members in good standing. However, the unbaptized are not forbidden from communion, and it is traditional for children not yet baptized (baptism occurs only after the age of eight) to participate in communion in anticipation of baptism. Those who partake of the Sacrament promise always to remember Jesus and keep his commandments. The prayer also asks God the Father that each individual will be blessed with the Spirit of Christ. The Sacrament is offered weekly and all active members are taught to prepare to partake of each opportunity. It is considered to be a weekly renewal of a member's commitment to follow Jesus, and a plea for forgiveness of sins. The Latter Day Saints do not believe in any kind of literal presence. They view the bread and water as symbolic of the body and blood of Jesus. Currently the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter day Saints uses water instead of wine. Early in their history, the Sacrament wine was often purchased from enemies of the church. To remove any opportunity for poisoned or unfit wine for use in the Sacrament, it is believed a revelation from the Lord was given that stated "it mattereth not what ye shall eat or what ye shall drink when ye partake of the sacrament, if it so be that ye do it with an eye single to my glory—remembering unto the Father my body which was laid down for you, and my blood which was shed for the remission of your sins." After this time, water was permitted in place of wine, but the church continued to use wine for the sacrament until the early 20th century. As the church's prohibition on alcohol became solidified in the early 20th century, water became the liquid of choice for the Sacrament, although in situations where clean water and/or fresh bread is unavailable the closest equivalent may be used.

The Seventh day Adventists believe that the Lord's Supper is "a participation in the emblems of the body and blood of Jesus as an expression of faith in Him, our Lord and Saviour". In the communion service "Christ is present to meet and strengthen His people."