Eucharist

The Eucharist is the rite that Christians perform in fulfillment of Jesus's instruction, as recounted in the New Testament (Luke 22:19; 1 Corinthians 11:24-25), to do in memory of him what at his Last Supper he did when he gave his disciples bread, saying: "This is my body", and wine saying:"This is my blood." The rite is classified as one of the Christian sacraments. The word Eucharist is also applied to the bread and wine consecrated in the course of the rite and in which Christians in general recognize a special presence of Christ, though they differ about the mode, locus and time of that presence.

Open and closed communion

:{{See also|Full communion}}

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Christian denominations differ in their understanding of whether they may receive the Eucharist together with those not in full communion with them. The ancient Churches such as the Roman Catholic and the Eastern Orthodox exclude it in normal circumstances, though they may allow exceptions, e.g. for non-members in danger of death who share their faith in the reality of the Eucharist and are unable to have access to a minister of their own religion. Other Churches that teach the Real Presence of Christ in the Sacrament ? such as conservative Lutheran Churches like the Lutheran Church, Missouri Synod or the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod ? tend to do the same.

Related Topics:
Christian - Full communion - Roman Catholic - Eastern Orthodox - Real Presence - Christ - Lutheran - Lutheran Church, Missouri Synod - Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod

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Closed communion was the universal practice of the early Church. The famed apologist St. Justin Martyr, ca. A.D. 150, wrote: "No one else is permitted to partake of it, except one who believes our teaching to be true...." For the first several hundred years of Church history, non-members were forbidden even to be present at the sacramental ritual; visitors and catechumens (those still undergoing instruction) were dismissed halfway through the liturgy, after the Bible readings and sermon but before the Eucharistic rite. The Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom, used in the Byzantine Churches, still has a formula of dismissal of catechumens (not followed by any action) at this point.

Related Topics:
Closed communion - St. - Justin Martyr - 150 - Catechumen - Divine Liturgy

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Most Protestant communities, including some Reformed, Evangelical, Methodist, and more-liberal Lutheran (such as the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and the Church of Sweden) practice open communion. Some open communion communities adhere to a symbolic or spiritual understanding of the Eucharist, so that they have no fear of sacrilege against the literal body and blood of Christ, if someone receives inappropriately. Believing that the benefits of communion are a matter of the individual?s faith, they are unwilling to judge who may or may not be "worthy" to partake, and distribute the elements to all who present themselves, even if known not to be members. However, groups such as the Mennonites or Landmark Baptist Churches, which do not teach the Real Presence, practice closed communion as a symbol of exclusive membership and loyalty to the distinctive doctrines of their fellowship.

Related Topics:
Protestant - Reformed - Evangelical - Methodist - Lutheran - Evangelical Lutheran Church in America - Church of Sweden - Open communion - Mennonite - Landmark Baptist Church - Real Presence

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