Christianity

ucharist (yoo' - kuh - rist)

General Information
Since early Christian times, the word Eucharist, from the Greek eucharistia ("thanksgiving"), has been used to describe the Sacrament that Jesus Christ instituted at the Last Supper.

Four accounts of the origin of the Eucharist are given in the New Testament (Matt. 26:26 - 29, Mark 14:22 - 25, Luke 22:15 - 20, and 1 Cor. 11:23 - 26). There are minor variations, but all accounts agree that on the night before his crucifixion, Christ met with his disciples for a Last Supper. After solemn ritual acts he spoke of the bread as his body and the wine as his blood of the new Covenant.

In the earliest written account, that of Saint Paul to the Corinthians, and in Luke, it is recorded that the disciples were instructed to continue the rite in remembrance of their Lord's death. The celebration of the Eucharist was accordingly regarded as an essential part of worship in the early church and has remained a central observance of the Christian church ever since. It is variously described as the Lord's Supper, Holy Communion, and the Mass. Christians of all traditions, with very few exceptions, regard the observance of the sacrament as a binding obligation.

Interpretations of the meaning of the Eucharist vary. Some Christian writers of the 2d century held that the Eucharist consists of two realities, an earthly and a heavenly. In the Middle Ages, the doctrine of transubstantiation was developed; it has remained the official doctrine of the Roman Catholic church. According to this position, the substance, or inner reality, of the bread and wine are changed into the substance of the body and blood of Christ, but the accidents, or external qualities known through the senses (color, weight, taste), remain unchanged.

Other interpretations of the Eucharist were emphasized at the time of the Reformation. Protestant positions range from the Lutheran view of consubstantiation, which holds that Christ is present along with the unchanged reality of the bread and wine, to the symbolic interpretation of the Eucharist as a simple memorial of Christ's death.

Despite differences of interpretation and variations in the manner and frequency of the rite, Christ's command, "Do this in remembrance of me," has been obeyed by Christians of every tradition throughout the centuries. Thus the Eucharist has remained a central and universal expression of Christian devotion.

Charles W Ranson

Bibliography
W R Crockett, Eucharist (1989); G D Kilpatrick, The Eucharist in Bible and Liturgy (1984); J M Powers, Eucharistic Theology (1967).

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