The Eucharist (/ˈjuːkərɪst/ YOO-kər-ist; from Koine Greek: εὐχαριστία, romanized: eucharistía, lit. 'thanksgiving'), also called Holy Communion, the Blessed Sacrament or the Lord's Supper, is a Christian rite, considered a sacrament in most churches and an ordinance in others. Christians believe that the rite was instituted by Jesus Christ at the Last Supper, the night before his crucifixion, giving his disciples bread and wine. Passages in the New Testament state that he commanded them to "do this in memory of me" while referring to the bread as "my body" and the cup of wine as "the blood of my covenant, which is poured out for many".[1][2] According to the synoptic Gospels, this was at a Passover meal.[3]

The elements of the Eucharist, sacramental bread—either leavened or unleavened—and sacramental wine (among Catholics, Anglicans, Lutherans, Eastern Orthodox and Oriental Orthodox) or non-alcoholic grape juice (among Methodists, Baptists and Plymouth Brethren), or water among the Latter-day Saints are consecrated on an altar or a communion table and consumed thereafter. The consecrated elements are the end product of the Eucharistic Prayer.[4]

Christians generally recognize a special presence of Christ in this rite, though they differ about exactly how, where, and when Christ is present. The Catholic Church states that the Eucharist is the body and blood of Christ under the species of bread and wine. It maintains that by the consecration, the substances of the bread and wine actually become the substances of the body and blood of Christ (transubstantiation) while the form and appearances of the bread and wine remain unaltered (e.g. colour, taste, feel, and smell). The Eastern Orthodox and Oriental Orthodox churches agree that an objective change occurs of the bread and wine into the body and blood of Christ. Lutherans believe the true body and blood of Christ are really present "in, with, and under" the forms of the bread and wine, known as the sacramental union.[5] Reformed Christians believe in a real spiritual presence of Christ in the Eucharist.[6] Anglican eucharistic theologies universally affirm the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist, though Evangelical Anglicans believe that this is a spiritual presence, while Anglo-Catholics hold to a corporeal presence.[7][8] Others, such as the Plymouth Brethren, hold the Lord's Supper to be a memorial in which believers are "one with Him".[9][10] As a result of these different understandings, "the Eucharist has been a central issue in the discussions and deliberations of the ecumenical movement."[3]

Terminology

The Eucharist has been a key theme in the depictions of the Last Supper in Christian art,[11] as in this 16th-century Juan de Juanes painting, after Leonardo da Vinci's Last Supper.

Eucharist

The New Testament was originally written in the Greek language and the Greek noun εὐχαριστία (eucharistia), meaning "thanksgiving", appears a few times in it,[12] while the related Greek verb εὐχαριστήσας is found several times in New Testament accounts of the Last Supper,[13][14][15][16][17] including the earliest such account:[14]

The term eucharistia (thanksgiving) is that by which the rite is referred to[14] in the Didache (a late 1st or early 2nd century document),[19]: 51 [20][21]: 437 [22]: 207  in the writings of Ignatius of Antioch (who died between 98 and 117)[21][23] and Justin Martyr (First Apology written between 155 and 157).[24][21][25] Today, "the Eucharist" is the name still used by Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, Catholics, Anglicans, Presbyterians, and Lutherans. Other Protestant denominations rarely use this term, preferring "Communion", "the Lord's Supper", "Remembrance", or "the Breaking of Bread". Latter-day Saints call it "the Sacrament".[26]