Transubstantiation

Transubstantiation (in Latin, "transsubstantiatio") is the actual "change of the substance" of bread and wine into the Body and Blood of Christ occurring in the Eucharist according to the teaching of some Christian Churches, including the Roman Catholic Church, while all that is accessible to the senses remain as before. In Greek it is called , ] and Saint Paul's First Epistle to the Corinthians [, where, speaking figuratively, he said of water that had been obtained at the risk of men's lives: "Is not this the blood of the men who went in jeopardy of their lives?" They point to ), shocked at the idea, which appeared to be in conflict not only with ordinary human sentiment but also with the Noahide Law's prohibition against consuming the blood even of animals (see and Council of Jerusalem).

In response to a report that, when Corinthian Christians came together to celebrate the Lord's Supper, there were divisions among them, with some eating and drinking to excess, while others were hungry (] "transformation", [John Chrysostom, Homily 1 on the betrayal of Judas, 6 (PG 49:380): ) of the bread and wine. "Met-ousi-osis" is the Greek form of the word "Tran-substantia-tion".

Anglicanism

During the reign of Henry VIII, the official teaching was identical with the Roman Catholic Church's doctrine before and after Henry's break with Rome by declaring that the Pope had no jurisdiction over the Catholic Church in England. A decade before the break the king wrote a book in defence of Catholic doctrine for which the Pope rewarded him with the title of Defender of the Faith, a title still claimed and held by English and after 1701 British monarchs. Under Henry's son, Edward VI, the Anglican Church accepted a more Protestant theology, and directly opposed transubstantiation. Elizabeth I, as part of the Elizabethan Religious Settlement, gave royal assent to the Thirty-nine Articles of Religion, which sought to distinguish Anglican from Roman Church doctrine. The Articles, declared: "Transubstantiation (or the change of the substance of Bread and Wine) in the Supper of the Lord, cannot be proved by holy Writ; but is repugnant to the plain words of Scripture, overthroweth the nature of a Sacrament, and hath given occasion to many superstitions."

Anglicans generally consider no teaching binding that, according to the Articles, "cannot be found in Holy Scripture or proved thereby." Consequently, some Anglicans (especially Anglo-Catholics and High Church Anglicans) accept transubstantiation, while others do not. In any case, the Articles are not considered binding on any but Church of England clergy, especially for Anglican Churches other than the Church of England. While Archbishop John Tillotson decried the "real barbarousness of this Sacrament and Rite of our Religion", considering it a great impiety to believe that people who attend Holy Communion "verily eat and drink the natural flesh and blood of Christ. And what can any man do more unworthily towards a Friend? How can he possibly use him more barbarously, than to feast upon his living flesh and blood?" ("Discourse against Transubstantiation", London 1684, 35), official writings of the Churches of the Anglican Communion have consistently upheld belief in the Real Presence. Some recent Anglican writers explicitly accept the doctrine of transubstantiation, or, while avoiding the term "transubstantiation", speak of an "objective presence" of Christ in the Eucharist. On the other hand, others hold views, such as consubstantiation or "pneumatic presence", close to those of Reformed Protestant Churches.

Theological dialogue with the Roman Catholic Church has produced common documents that speak of "substantial agreement" about the doctrine of the Eucharist: the ARCIC Windsor Statement of 1971, [ [http://www.prounione.urbe.it/dia-int/arcic/doc/e_arcic_eucharist.html Pro Unione Web Site - Full Text ARCIC Eucharist ] ] and its 1979 Elucidation. [ [http://www.prounione.urbe.it/dia-int/arcic/doc/e_arcic_elucid_euch.html Pro Unione Web Site - Full Text ARCIC Elucidation Eucharist ] ] Remaining arguments can be found in the Church of England's pastoral letter: "The Eucharist: Sacrament of Unity". [ [http://www.cofe.anglican.org/info/ccu/england/catholics/eucharist.pdf Eucharist 2 ] ]

Lutheranism

Lutherans believe that within the Eucharistic celebration the body and blood of Jesus Christ are objectively present "in, with, and under the forms" of bread and wine (cf. Book of Concord). They place great stress on Jesus' instructions to "take and eat", and "take and drink", holding that this is the proper, divinely ordained use of the sacrament, and, while giving it due reverence, scrupulously avoid any actions that might indicate or lead to superstition or unworthy fear of the sacrament. However, Luther explicitly rejected transubstantiation, believing that the bread and wine remained fully bread and fully wine while also being fully the body and blood of Jesus Christ. Luther instead emphasized the sacramental union (not exactly the consubstantiation, as it is often claimed).

Other Protestants

Many Protestant denominations believe that the Lord's Supper is a symbolic act done in remembrance of what Christ has done for us on the cross. He commanded the apostles: "This do in remembrance of me", after "he took bread, and gave thanks, and broke it, and gave unto them, saying, This is my body which is given for you" () of faith in what they consider Christ's "finished" (, and on their interpretation of the central message of the Gospel. Scripture does not explicitly say "the bread was transformed" or "changed" in any way, and therefore they consider the doctrine of transubstantiation to be unbiblical from more than one approach. As already stated above, they also object to using early Christian writings to support belief that the bread of the Lord's Supper is more than a metaphor for Christ's body, because such writings are not Scripture nor writings that were able to be verified by any prophet or apostle, especially when they believe such doctrines contradict inspired Scripture. They believe that the Roman Catholic Church has been thoroughly corrupted from the inside out and that this corruption started not long after the church's beginnings. They also believe that the Roman Catholic Church has resorted to using philosophy and semantics to redefine and twist the meanings of words used in early Christian writings in order to manufacture support their practice of idolatry.

A few Protestants apply to the doctrine of the Real Presence the warning that Jesus gave to His disciples in ), and leaven (), as metaphors. They believe that when Christ returns in any substance with any physical [The Catholic teaching is that the presence of Christ in the Eucharist is not "physical" in the ordinary sense of this word; it can be called "physical" only in the sense of "real", as opposed to "symbolic", "figurative", "subjective", "dynamic". It is thus quite different from Christ's presence in his final coming. See [http://www.ccel.org/a/aquinas/summa/TP/TP076.html#TPQ76OUTP1 "Summa Theologica," III, 76] ; [http://www.30giorni.it/us/articolo.asp?id=9352 Christ’s Presence in the Eucharist: True, Real and Substantial] ; [http://www.adoremus.org/0302RealPresence.html The Reality of the Real Presence] .] form (accidental or actual), it will be apparent to all and that no man will have to point and say "there He is".

Protestant Churches that hold strong beliefs against the consumption of alcohol replace wine with grape juice during the Lord's supper. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (also referred to as Mormons), a Restorationist sect, uses bread and water to commemoratively symbolize Christ's body and blood.

Others, such as some Presbyterian denominations, profess belief in the Real Presence, but offer explanations other than transubstantiation. Classical Presbyterianism held the Calvinist view of "pneumatic" presence or "spiritual feeding." However, when the Presbyterian Church (USA) signed " [http://archive.elca.org/ecumenical/fullcommunion/formula/official_text.html A Formula for Agreement] " with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, both affirmed belief in the Real Presence.

References

ee also

*Consubstantiation
*Eucharist
*Eucharistic adoration
*Eucharistic theologies contrasted
*Host desecration
*New Covenant
*Real Presence

Persons killed for believing in or disbelieving transubstantiation

*Saint Tarcisius
*John Frith
*John Rogers (Protestant minister)
*Rowland Taylor
*Ulrich Zwingli

External links

* [http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/05573a.htm#3 "Transubstantiation" in "Catholic Encyclopedia"]
* [http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/paul_vi/encyclicals/documents/hf_p-vi_enc_03091965_mysterium_en.html Pope Paul VI: Encyclical "Mysterium Fidei"]
* [http://www.ewtn.com/library/papaldoc/p6credo.htm Pope Paul VI: "Credo of the People of God"]
* [http://www.bringyou.to/apologetics/num31.htm Eastern Orthodox Church statements on transubstantiation/metousiosis]
* [http://www.catholicculture.org/docs/doc_view.cfm?recnum=1192 The Antiquity of the Doctrine of Transubstantiation]