The '''Eucharist''' (Grk: Thanksgiving) is a term for the central [[Sacrament]] as celebrated among members of the older [[Christian]] churches, including [[Catholic]]s, [[Anglican]]s, [[Orthodox]] Christians, and some [[Protestantism|Protestants]] (most notably the [[Lutheran]]s). The ceremony is also called the Holy Eucharist, Holy Communion, Communion, and The Lord's Supper. This act of [[worship]] in Christian churches re-enacts the Last Supper when [[Jesus Christ|Jesus]] served bread and wine, perhaps miraculously, to his disciples on the night before he was crucified. The essential role of the Eucharist is emphasized at [[John_1John 1-7_7 (Translated)#6:51|John 6:51-58]].
Christians generally see it as obeying Christ's call to "Do this in remembrance of me" (see 1 Cor 11: 23-26). Different denominations present a range of interpretations of the meaning of the Eucharist. For some Protestant churches the bread and wine only symbolize the body and blood of an omnipresent Christ Jesus while other Protestants accept the [[real presence]] no less than the Catholic churches do. The [[Roman Catholic Church]] also believes that the bread and wine will be literally transformed into the body and blood of Jesus during the Mass (see [[transubstantiation]]). A few Christians don’t participate in any taking of the Communion elements because they feel no need for sacraments (sometimes termed "ordinances") at all.
The people in certain churches take the bread and wine while sitting in the pews; in others, they receive communion before the altar or holy table in the front of the church. The body of Christ has its own feast day known as Corpus Christi, and churches and other institutions can be dedicated to it instead of a [[saint]]; examples are Corpus Christi College in [[Cambridge]] and Corpus Christi, [[Texas]].
==Ancient writings about the Eucharist==
===The Didache ("the Teaching") - 1st Cent.===
<blockquote>Chapter 9. The Eucharist. Now concerning the Eucharist, give thanks this way. First, concerning the cup: We thank thee, our Father, for the holy vine of David Thy servant, which You madest known to us through Jesus Thy Servant; to Thee be the glory for ever.. And concerning the broken bread: We thank Thee, our Father, for the life and knowledge which You madest known to us through Jesus Thy Servant; to Thee be the glory for ever. Even as this broken bread was scattered over the hills, and was gathered together and became one, so let Thy Church be gathered together from the ends of the earth into Thy kingdom; for Thine is the glory and the power through Jesus Christ for ever.. But let no one eat or drink of your Eucharist, unless they have been baptized into the name of the Lord; for concerning this also the Lord has said, "Give not that which is holy to the dogs." Chapter 10. Prayer after Communion. But after you are filled, give thanks this way: We thank Thee, holy Father, for Thy holy name which You didst cause to tabernacle in our hearts, and for the knowledge and faith and immortality, which You modest known to us through Jesus Thy Servant; to Thee be the glory for ever. Thou, Master almighty, didst create all things for Thy name's sake; You gavest food and drink to men for enjoyment, that they might give thanks to Thee; but to us You didst freely give spiritual food and drink and life eternal through Thy Servant. Before all things we thank Thee that You are mighty; to Thee be the glory for ever. Remember, Lord, Thy Church, to deliver it from all evil and to make it perfect in Thy love, and gather it from the four winds, sanctified for Thy kingdom which Thou have prepared for it; for Thine is the power and the glory for ever. Let grace come, and let this world pass away. Hosanna to the God (Son) of David! If any one is holy, let him come; if any one is not so, let him repent. Maranatha. [[Amen]]. But permit the prophets to make Thanksgiving as much as they desire.</blockquote>
</blockquote>
===Irenaeus, 180 A.D. Against Heresies, 2,===
<blockquote>
We offer him what is his, and so we proclaim communion and unity and profess our belief in the resurrection of flesh and spirit. Just as bread from the earth, when it receives the invocation of God, is no longer common bread but the Eucharist, made up of two elements, one earthly and one heavenly, so also our bodies, in receiving the Eucharist, are no longer corruptible, for they have the hope of resurrection.
==The Shared Theology and Practice of the Eucharist==
This sacrament is rarely, if ever, referred to as the "Eucharist" in most Protestant churches. Among Orthodox, Catholic, and Anglican churches the term is common. "Eucharist" comes from the [[Greek]] word meaning "giving thanks." The central theme is one of being grateful to God for His gift of His Son Jesus and for Jesus' sacrificial death on the cross for our sins. It also may be related to the the 3rd cup of wine drunk immediately after the Passover Seder dinner, although it is a matter of dispute among Christians whether or not Jesus followed this part of the Passover during his "Last Supper."
The following is the basic Eucharistic [[theology]] of the Catholic and Orthodox churces, East or West, Latin, Greek, or Aramaic:
The Priest then says the Eucharistic prayer. He is representing all the people assembled. This is the Thanksgiving proper. Thanksgiving is made for Creation and sustenance and protection, but the core of the thanksgiving in all the liturgies is the giving by the Father of His Son, and for the willing sacrifice of Himself that Jesus performed. Then the prayer of thanksgiving settles on the words of Jesus spoken when he instituted the Eucharist at the Last Supper. That is, Jesus commanded that something be done. He is recorded in the Gospel as saying, "Do this!...."
These churches stand apart from the rest of Christianity in believing that Jesus meant that he was giving his literal, physical self under the appearance of bread and wine. "This is my body which is given for you...This is the cup of my blood, the blood of the New Covenent which is poured out for you, and for many...." These words--when words—when recited by the priest--are priest—are called the Words of Institution, and they are one of the two "essentials" of the Eucharist. One essential is the prayer of calling for the sanctifying Holy Spirit (the Invocation) upon both the elements of bread and wine that they
will become, for the people, the body and blood of Jesus and, also, that the people will be made worthy to make a "fruitful" communion.
What takes place at the Eucharist is understood to be two-fold: one, there is a line of development of Old Testament teachings and, for the other, a certain view of the intent of the Gospels. The bread and the wine not only signify the willing sacrifice of the Lord for the sins of the whole world, a perception shared with most Protestant churches, but they are considered signs of the covenant, in Hebrew, ''Otot haBrit''. Like the Signs of the Covenant in the Old Testament, they are primarily for the eyes of God. This differs from the approach of the Protestant churches of the Baptistic and Holiness traditions which understand the Lord's Ssupper to be merely "pedagogic", that is, a reminder to the people of what Christ has done for us on the cross, and a call for them to evaluate their lives in view of Christ's great sacrifice on the cross.
According to Catholic teaching, the people of the Lord are lifting up the signs of the Covenant to heaven itself. Heaven (God) looks down and sees the signs, sees the faith of the people that are under the sign, sees them taking refuge in what the signs represent, so that the people are found safe under the wings of God's grace and mercy. The signs of the New Covenant are thus analogous to the Old Covenant signs that God looked upon -- the upon—the blood of the lamb at the first Passover which was placed by the people who believed, which was seen by the angel, and so the people were spared; the circumcision of the Israelites at eight days of age, which Moses neglected to do for his own son, and was spared only because of the faithful love and determination of his wife who did the job for him; and the rainbow in the skies, which, when God would look at, he would remember His promise to spare the earth from more destruction by water as in the days of Noah. These are all echoes of the Jewish "Remembrance" prayers from the time of Jesus and thus provide the setting for the celebration of the Eucharist.
Aside from the setting up of the sign of the New Covenant, there is the other of the two-fold understandings of what takes place at the Catholic Eucharist:
Taking their cues from the sixth chapter of the Gospel of John where Jesus speaks about eating His body and drinking His blood, Catholics believe that Jesus meant to refer to the Eucharist and in a literal, not a metaphorical, way. The body and blood are presented to the people at the time of communion. How this is done differs according to which church body is in question.
The Roman Catholic church, influenced by Aristotle through the writings of Thomas Aquinus, has adopted the understanding and belief that there is nothing any longer of the substance of bread and wine after the Celebrant's words are spoken over them, that the substance of bread and wine are no longer extant. The "accidents"--the —the taste, smell, and feel of bread and wine--remainwine—remain, however(Transubstantiation).
The Orthodox believe otherwise, holding that the words of Christ ("This [is] my body; This [is] my blood") indicate what happens, but without any need for an explanation of the mechanics of the miraculous change. What both of these churches agree upon here is the belief that the worship service offers a sacrifice. They assert that any offering is acceptable to God, even the offering of Christ himself in Christian worship, and that this understanding is supported by the Book of Hebrews.
==See Alsoalso==
*[[Christianity]]
*[[Sign of the Cross]]
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[[Category : Catholic Church Sacraments]][[Category : Catholic Church]][[Category : Christian Rites]][[Category:Christian Theology]]
==External Linkslinks==
See [http://www.eacna.org/], (Document: Liturgy of the Eucharist, annotated) for example of how the above Eucharistic basics may be adapted by Apostolic succession church for modern usage and worship service.