Portal:Christianity/Selected article/March 2006

  The Eucharist, also known as Communion or The Lord's Supper, is the rite that Christians perform in fulfillment of Jesus' instruction, recorded in the New Testament, to "do in memory of him" what he did at his Last Supper. Jesus gave his disciples bread, saying "This is my body," and wine, saying "This is my blood." Christians generally recognize a special presence of Christ in this rite, though they differ about exactly how, where, and when Christ is present. The word "Eucharist" is also applied to the bread and wine consecrated in the course of the rite.

The word "Eucharist" comes from the Greek noun εὐχαριστία (thanksgiving). This noun or the corresponding verb εὐχαριστῶ (to give thanks) is found in 55 verses of the New Testament. Four of these verses (Matthew 26:27, Mark 14:23, Luke 22:19, 1 Corinthians 11:24) recount that Jesus "gave thanks" before presenting to his followers the bread and the wine that he declared to be his body and his blood.

Most Christians classify the Eucharist as a sacrament, but many Protestant traditions avoid the term sacrament, preferring ordinance. In these traditions, the ceremony is seen not as a specific channel of divine grace but as an expression of faith and obedience of the Christian community.

(more)