holy communion, Part 2: Beliefs and Practices

Mar 14, 2023

This post is part of a series on the Sacraments. You can go back to the beginning of the series here, or you can go back to part 1 of holy communion, the origins and history, here.

We saw in our last post that holy communion has a rich history that developed very early in the church, from the Passover meal that Jesus shared with his disciples to a religious rite that all Christians participated in, often on a weekly basis. Today, though, many of the beliefs, as well as how the communion rite is carried out, can differ from church to church. Let's dive right in and look at some of those differences.

literal or symbolic?

The biggest single question about communion is that of what actually happens to the bread and wine (or grape juice) in the process of communion. Jesus introduces the elements to his disciples with these words:

Now as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and after blessing it broke it and gave it to the disciples, and said, “Take, eat; this is my body.” And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he gave it to them, saying, “Drink of it, all of you, for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. I tell you I will not drink again of this fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father’s kingdom.”
Matthew 26:26-29

In the early centuries of the church, the meaning of Jesus' words came to be taken literally: the bread becomes the actual flesh of Christ, and the wine becomes his actual blood. Today, this is the position of both the Catholic and Orthodox churches,1 and it is commonly called transubstantiation: the communion elements literally cease to be bread and wine and become the body and blood of Christ, though they maintain the form of bread and wine to our senses.

In the Protestant Reformation, many scholars and theologians pushed back against this idea. Some went as far as to say that the bread and the wine were no more than symbols of Jesus' body and blood. This view, of course, will be very familiar to many of us coming from less traditional church backgrounds. Communion, from this perspective, is viewed with reverence, and it is certainly a commandment of Christ, but there is no change, perceived or otherwise, to the elements.

Against the doctrine of transubstantiation, Protestants have argued that Jesus was using metaphorical language, just as he was when he called himself "the door" in John 10:9, to cite one example. Additionally, some argue that in Matthew 26:29, Jesus refers to the wine as "fruit of the vine," right after calling it his blood. If the wine literally became his blood, it was no longer the fruit of the vine.

real presence?

Some reformers, though, took a middle road. Martin Luther himself coined the term consubstantiation, which meant that the substance of the bread and wine existed alongside the substance of Christ's flesh and blood.2 Others believed that Christ was actually present in the elements, termed "Real Presence," although they did not cease to be bread and wine. Today, this is the view of many traditional denominations, such as the Episcopal church and other Anglican groups. The Episcopal Church, for instance, says that they don't claim to know how Christ is present in the elements, but they believe in the Real Presence. The Anglican Book of Common Prayer actually states that the doctrine of transubstantiation "is repugnant to the plain words of Scripture, overthroweth the nature of a Sacrament, and hath given occasion to many superstitions."3

It must be noted that the bread and wine are not believed to always contain the real presence. Before the elements are chosen for communion, they are ordinary food. The general consensus among different traditions is that there is some point in the prayer or blessing process that consecrates the elements for communion. For instance, the Catholic church teaches that when the priest or bishop recites the words of Jesus' institution of communion, at that moment transubstantiation takes place. An Orthodox priest, on the other hand, calls down the Holy Spirit onto the elements and asks Him to change them into the body and blood of Christ.4

reverence

The importance of when the elements change is immensely important if you believe in transubstantiation or real presence. After all, if you believed that the thing you were holding was actually the body and blood of your savior, you would treat it with great reverence as well! Accordingly, these traditions take special care of how the elements are treated during and after the communion service.

An especially illustrative example can be found in a video tour of a Coptic Orthodox church in Chicago. The priest demonstrates many elements of their Eucharistic service, starting with the untying of a bundle of materials used in the service. Even this action is done with a special prayer of reverence and preparation! He goes on to point out that most of the linens that are used are white; but one, sitting right under the plate that holds the bread, is red. And the reason for this is not that it represents the blood of Christ or anything like that, but because it makes it easier to see any breadcrumbs that fall. Because those crumbs are the body of Christ in their belief, they make sure that every crumb is eaten.5 Even if I don't agree with the doctrine of transubstantiation, I can see the beauty in such reverence.

You can also imagine that in these traditions, it is important who prays over and administers communion and how they do it. At most non-traditional churches, the elements can be prayed over by most anyone the pastor chooses and trusts, but in more traditional churches, it must be a priest or bishop who blesses the elements, since they are operating in the apostolic authority passed down to them through their ordination.

Finally, at non-traditional churches, you're more likely to see the elements distributed to the congregation in their seats by ushers. (In fact, this happens before the prayer, in my experience!) Traditional churches will have congregants come up and stand or kneel at or near the altar to receive the elements directly from the priest or deacons. Honestly, I have found this to be a rich experience: I must get out of my seat and approach the altar in order to receive the blessing of communion. There is something significant in that.6

centrality

Considering the reverence with which many traditions hold communion, it's not surprising that the rite holds a much more central role in worship in those traditions. Catholics call their normal weekly service "Mass." For the Episcopal Church, it's called "Holy Eucharist," and among the Orthodox, they attend a weekly "Divine Liturgy." All three of these services have one thing in common (and the Episcopals give it away in their service's name): the central focus, and indeed the climax of the worship service, is communion! Everything else in the service, the music, the prayers, especially a time of repentance, prepares the worshiper for this moment in the presence of the Savior, remembering his sacrifice and his saving grace. The frequency of communion in more traditional denominations comes straight from the book of Acts, where we are told that believers "broke bread" together in their homes daily.7 That verse, of course, refers to a meal rather than just a ritual, but as we mentioned in our last post, that's exactly how communion started in the early church: the meal and the ritual were one and the same.

should we change how we do communion?

For the most part, I want to avoid openly saying what we non-liturgical Christians should or shouldn't change about how we worship or what we believe. My goal in this space is understanding and, ultimately, unity (as opposed to uniformity) among Christians of every stripe. Don't get me wrong: there are some very important things that we believe, and we must hold firm to what is essential to our faith. But at the same time, we must respect each other's differences in the non-essentials.

If I could change one thing about my church, it very well might be to take communion every Sunday. I truly believe it's that important and that powerful. I'm honestly not sure why many churches moved away from weekly communion. (I have a theory, but perhaps I'll research it for a future post.)

Should we all believe in the doctrine of Real Presence? Well, I believe that when I take communion, Jesus is really present with me.8 Whether or not he's present in the communion elements is, to me, just a detail.

At the same time, I think we would also do well to take a communion perspective on every meal that we share with fellow believers. Any meal that we share in remembrance of Christ is an opportunity to fulfill his commandment and to glorify him. In that way, communion should be a part of our daily lives.

the most important part of communion

All that said, I also think it is important to note how we should take communion, and by that I don't mean whether we should go forward to the altar or drink actual wine. The most important part of communion is not what we believe about how it works or the precise steps that we take in the ritual. Rather, the most important part of communion is the state of our hearts.

First, communion should always be preceded by repentance. In I Corinthians 11, Paul says "Whoever, therefore, eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty concerning the body and blood of the Lord," and he goes on to say that some of the believers at Corinth were actually bringing sickness and even death on themselves through this!9 So, we should always begin our journey to the Lord's table with introspection and repentance.

Second, we must have a right attitude as we partake of communion. You might expect me to say that it should be done very solemnly, and to some degree, that is true. After all, we are remembering Christ's death through this ritual, and since he died for my sins, there should even be an element of sorrow that my actions made his sacrifice necessary.

But the overwhelming attitude that we should bring to the Eucharist is in that very name, which comes from the Greek word eucharisteo, meaning "to give thanks, be grateful." There are only three times that we're told in the Gospels that Jesus gave thanks (though I'm sure he was thankful a lot more often than that!): one is when he gives thanks before breaking the bread to feed the five thousand. Another is when he gives thanks that the Father "has heard me," before calling Lazarus out of the tomb. And finally, he gives thanks before breaking the bread at the Last Supper. In each case, Jesus is giving life (whether through food, resurrection, or his own sacrifice) with thanksgiving.

Above all else, Christians are called to be a people of gratitude. That's what communion is about.

Read the next post in this series: Where did Baptism Come From?