Corpus Christi
Transubstantiation Consubstantiation
The Anglican / Catholic View: Transubstantiation
Transubstantiation occurs when the priest elevates first the wafer and then the chalice of wine mixed with water and rehearses the institutional narrative, the story of the Last Supper. The bread and the wine are transformed into the body and blood of Jesus Christ.
Trans means "change" and substantiation means "substance." There's a change in the substance of the elements used in the Eucharistic celebration.
Now, to be very specific about this view, it's not the of the bread and the wine that changes.
The bread still looks like bread and tastes like bread. The wine smells like wine, tastes like wine. There's no change that's perceptible to us as human beings.
Instead, what has changed is the , the very nature, the of the bread and wine. They are no longer bread and wine. .
This is then received into the life of the communicant when he or she consumes the Eucharistic elements. By this means, God pours or imbues a grace into the receiver's life for salvation.
Compare the Post Communion Prayers. Look especially at #3 and compare it with #1 and #2 (pages 147-148 BOCP) and then see and read below.
Another (Protestant) View (re Martin Luther):
Consubstantiation
A second historical view is that of Martin Luther, generally called consubstantiation, though that was not a term that he himself used.
By consubstantiation, we mean that Jesus Christ is present in, with, and under the bread and the wine whenever the Lord's Supper is celebrated.
Luther very clearly distinguished his view from transubstantiation. There's no mystical change of the substance of the bread and the wine. However, when the church celebrates the Lord's Supper, Christ is present in, with, and under the elements of the bread and wine.
How is that possible?
Think of it this way. Jesus Christ is not confined in heaven. He's not only seated at the right hand of the Father, but he's everywhere present.
Thus when we celebrate the Lord's Supper, he can be with the bread and the wine. He can be in, with, and under the elements.
An analogy that is often used to explain this is like a sponge and water. Wherever a sponge is that's soaked with water, there is the water. And wherever the water is, it's there contained by the sponge. The sponge is not the water, the water is not the sponge but the two are there together and this is an analogy that's used to help us understand the Lutheran view of consubstantiation.
Please, please note that there are numerous Anglicans (including many High-Church Clergy) who prefer and subscribe to this interpretation and to this view and will therefore use ONLY PCP #3.
This, interestingly enough, also appears to be the default position of the Anglican church (see below).
Please further note that all research would suggest that NO Roman catholic has this choice. He MUST subscribe to the concept of or be found "guilty" of heresy.
The Main Views: A summary
Transubstantiation and consubstantiation are two distinct theological doctrines regarding the presence of Christ in the Eucharist, with transubstantiation asserting a complete change of substance, while consubstantiation maintains that Christ's presence coexists with the elements of bread and wine.
Huldrych Zwingli's View: A Memorial (Memorialism)
A third view is that of Huldrych Zwingli.
This is the . It suggests that what is most important about the Lord's Supper is Christ's command to celebrate the Lord's Supper in remembrance of him: his death on behalf of our sins.
So what the elements (the bread and the cup of wine) really do for us is help us to remember that Christ's body was broken for us and his blood was shed for us. The celebration of the Lord's Supper really on what Christ has done through his death.
This viewpoint asserts that the bread and wine serve as symbols, reminding believers of Christ's sacrifice rather than involving any physical or mystical change.
John Calvin's View: Spiritual Presence
A fourth view is that of John Calvin, usually called the spiritual presence view.
It's not transubstantiation, and it's not consubstantiation and it goes beyond Zwingli's memorial view.
John Calvin's doctrine highlights the importance of faith, the Holy Spirit, and the spiritual nourishment believers receive through the Lord's Supper.
For him, there are symbols that are very powerful. They are the signs of the bread and the wine. He says they are indeed symbolic (they are signs) but they are not empty signs.
They really do render that which they portray, so they render to us the presence of Jesus Christ and the benefits of his salvation: all the work of salvation that he has accomplished on our behalf.
How is this possible?
Calvin explained it in two ways, always affirming that it is a mystery.
1. It could be that when the church celebrates the Lord's Supper, the Holy Spirit raises up the church so the church ascends to fellowship with Christ, commune with Christ who is in heaven.
2. Another possibility is that the Holy Spirit causes Christ to descend, to fellowship and commune with the church as it celebrates the Lord's Supper.
In either case, there is a spiritual presence of Jesus Christ. It goes beyond just mere memorial.
Christ is present with all of the benefits of his salvation when the church celebrates the Lord's Supper.
Specific to Us (Anglicans)
Pro:
insomuch that to such as rightly, worthily, and with faith receive the same, the bread which we break is a partaking of the body of Christ, and likewise the cup of blessing is a partaking of the blood of Christ.
Con:
Anglicans have cherished a broad range of sentiments with respect to These range from near memorialism (symbolic remembrance) to consubstantiation (Christ is with and under the bread and wine), while avoiding an overly technical theology of Eucharist (like transubstantiation).
However, there are some Anglicans, who (in faith) believe, do accept and practice the theology of transubstantiation.
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