- Also called:
- Holy Communion or Lord’s Supper
Eucharist
-
What is the Eucharist in Christianity?
In Christianity, the Eucharist, derived from the Greek word for "thanksgiving," is a ritual commemorating Jesus’ Last Supper with his disciples and is a central act of Christian worship practiced across most Christian churches. The rite was instituted by Jesus during the Last Supper, where he blessed bread and wine, symbolizing his body and blood, shared with his disciples, and asked them to repeat it in his memory.
Different Christian traditions have varying beliefs regarding the Eucharist. Some believe Jesus is specially present in the Eucharist, while others consider it symbolic. The Roman Catholic Church believes in the real presence of Jesus in the bread and wine, calling it transubstantiation, where the bread and wine become the body and blood of Jesus Christ.
3 Britannica SourcesCreated from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles. -
Why do Christians celebrate the Eucharist?
Christians celebrate the Eucharist, also known as Holy Communion or the Lord’s Supper, as a central act of Christian worship in commemoration of Jesus’ Last Supper with his disciples. The Eucharist enhances the communion of believers with Christ and each other through the partaking of bread and wine.
Instituted by Jesus during the Last Supper, the Eucharist is rooted in the Gospels, where Jesus blessed bread as his body and wine as his blood of the covenant, shared with his disciples. The rite is a memorial of Christ's sacrifice, symbolizing Christian unity.
The Eucharist is regularly enacted by Christians as a repetition of the common meal with the addition of bread and cup signifying Jesus' presence. The Eucharist strengthens community, contact with Jesus, participation in his sacrifice, and focuses attention on the ultimate goal, the return of Jesus Christ.
3 Britannica SourcesCreated from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles. -
What happens during a typical Eucharist ceremony?
The Eucharist, central to Christian worship, commemorates Jesus' Last Supper. The ceremony is divided into the liturgy of the Word and the liturgy of the Eucharist.
During the liturgy of the Eucharist, bread and wine are presented at the altar. The priest then says a prayer of thanks, recalling the Last Supper, and asks that the gifts be acceptable to God. The Eucharistic prayer follows, where the bread and wine are consecrated, honoring God's holiness. The priest elevates the host and chalice, proclaiming praise, to which the people respond with "Amen". The Lord’s Prayer is recited, and a sign of peace is exchanged. Holy Communion is administered, and a final blessing is offered.
5 Britannica SourcesCreated from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles. -
What do the bread and wine represent in the Eucharist?
In the Eucharist, the bread and wine are central to Christian worship, commemorating Jesus’ Last Supper with his disciples.
The bread and wine serve as a memorial, recalling Jesus Christ's life, teachings, and sacrifice. Many Christian traditions believe that Jesus is present in the Eucharist in a special way, though there are different views on how this presence is manifested. Some believe the bread and wine become the body and blood of Christ, while others consider them symbolic or commemorative. The Eucharist enhances the connection of believers with Christ and with each other.
5 Britannica SourcesCreated from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles. -
How do different Christian churches understand or practice the Eucharist?
The Eucharist, a central rite in Christianity commemorating Jesus’ Last Supper, varies in understanding and practice across different churches.
The Roman Catholic Church believes in transubstantiation, where the bread and wine become the body and blood of Christ, retaining only their appearances. They view the mass as a sacrifice and a repetition of Christ's original sacrifice.
Eastern Orthodoxy shares many beliefs with Roman Catholicism but emphasizes the invocation of the Holy Spirit during the Eucharist. They use leavened bread and refer to the sacramental change as metabolē, rather than transubstantiation.
Protestant churches differ widely. Some, like Anglicans and Lutherans, consider the Eucharist a sacrament, while others see it as an ordinance. Lutherans believe in consubstantiation, where Christ's body and blood coexist with the bread and wine. Zwingli viewed the Eucharist as a symbolic memorial, while Calvin emphasized Christ's spiritual presence. Some denominations, such as Quakers, do not practice the Eucharist at all.
5 Britannica SourcesCreated from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles. -
What is the significance of the Eucharist for Christians today?
The Eucharist, also known as Holy Communion, is a central act of Christian worship rooted in Jesus' Last Supper with his disciples. It is a memorial action where Christians consume bread and wine, recalling Jesus Christ's life, teachings, and sacrifice.
For many, the Eucharist enhances the sense of unity with Christ and with other believers. While some denominations view it as a sacrament and a channel of grace, others consider it an ordinance and an expression of Christian faith. The Eucharist is seen as both a memorial and a sacrifice. The differing views and practices surrounding the Eucharist have been a source of both unity and disunity among Christians, playing a central role in ecumenical discussions.
2 Britannica SourcesCreated from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.
Eucharist, in Christianity, ritual commemoration of Jesus’ Last Supper with his disciples. The Eucharist (from the Greek eucharistia for “thanksgiving”) is the central act of Christian worship and is practiced by most Christian churches in some form. Along with baptism it is one of the two sacraments most clearly found in the New Testament.
Origin in Scripture
The story of the institution of the Eucharist by Jesus on the night before his Crucifixion is reported in the Synoptic Gospels (Matthew 26:26–28; Mark 14:22–24; and Luke 22:17–20) and in the First Letter of Paul to the Corinthians (I Corinthians 11:23–25). According to the Gospel accounts, Jesus established the practice at the Last Supper, a traditional Passover seder, when he blessed the bread, which he said was his body, and shared it with his disciples. He then shared a cup of wine with his disciples and told them that “this is the blood of my covenant, which is poured out for many.” According to St. Luke, Jesus called on his followers to repeat the ceremony in his memory, and the letters of the Apostle Paul and the Acts of the Apostles in the New Testament demonstrate that early Christians believed that they were to continue the celebration as an anticipation in this life of the joys of the banquet that was to come in the kingdom of God.
Historical development
It is clear that the earliest Christians regularly enacted the Eucharist. Originally, the rite was a repetition of the common meal of the local group of disciples with the addition of the bread and the cup signifying the presence of Jesus. St. Paul’s earliest record of the ordinance in his first letter to the Corinthians, written about 55 ce, suggests that some abuses had arisen in conjunction with the common meal, or agapē, with which it was combined. It had become an occasion of drunkenness and gluttony. To rectify this, St. Paul recalled and reestablished the original institution and its purpose and interpretation as a sacrificial-sacramental rite. Fellowship meals continued in association with the postapostolic Eucharist, as is shown in the Didachē (a Christian document concerned with worship and church discipline written c. 100–c. 140), and in the doctrinal and liturgical development described in the writings of the early Church Fathers little was changed. During the late 2nd century the meal became vestigial and was finally abandoned. The Eucharist was originally celebrated every Sunday, but by the 4th century it was celebrated daily. The eucharistic formula was set in a framework of biblical readings, psalms, hymns, and prayers that depended in form somewhat on the synagogue service. This remained one basis of the various liturgies that arose, including the Roman rite.
" height="20" alt="HEW Logo">
The “presence” of Jesus in the elements of bread and wine has been variously interpreted in actual, figurative, or symbolic senses, but the sacramental sense, as the anamnesis, or memorial before God, of the sacrificial offering on the cross once and for all, has always been accepted. A eucharistic theology gradually took shape in the apostolic and early church without much controversy or formulation. Not until the beginning of the Middle Ages did controversial issues arise that found expression in the definition of the doctrine of transubstantiation at the Fourth Lateran Council in 1215. This definition opened the way for the Scholastic interpretation of the eucharistic presence of Christ and of the sacramental principle, in Aristotelian terms. Thus, St. Thomas Aquinas maintained that a complete change occurred in the “substance” of each of the species, while the “accidents,” or outward appearances, remained the same. During the Reformation, though the medieval doctrine was denied in varying ways by the reformers, it was reaffirmed by the Council of Trent in 1551. Holy Communion was retained as a sacrament by most of the Protestant groups, except that those churches that see the supper solely as a memorial prefer to speak not of a sacrament but of an ordinance.