The Real Presence in the Eucharist

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Anissa Boyers
Dr. Scheppard
REL 331-W-01
26 October 2020
The Real Presence in the Eucharist
The Reformation occurred in the sixteenth century and was the age in which the theology
and practices of the Christian church evolved heavily. Differing beliefs and practices caused
certain Christian theologians to separate from the Catholic church, which led to the development
of Protestantism. The Reformation did not consist of a single movement, but rather a series of
differing views. Thus, there were multiple Reformations. While many branches of Protestantism
emerged, The Catholic church advanced in its own ways. One of the major differences between
Catholics and Protestants was their perception of the bread and wine in the eucharist. The
controversy on whether Christ was present in the eucharist led to the development of three
formal viewpoints: Transubstantiation, Consubstantiation, and Memorialism.
The Counter Reformation occurred in the Roman Catholic church in response to the
formation of Protestantism. Unlike the Protestant Reformations, the Counter Reformation
focused on preserving the traditional views and previous customs in the Catholic church.
Catholics were firm in their stance that Christ is present in the bread and wine during the
sacrament of communion (Historical Theology 141). It was during this time that the Doctrine of
Transubstantiation developed. Transubstantiation contains Greek influence, as it relies heavily on
Aristotle’s concept of “substance” and “accident” (Historical Theology 164). Aristotle referred to
substance as the essential nature and accident as physical characteristics. Transubstantiation uses
this concept as it states that the accidents of the bread and wine are unchanged, while the

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substance is converted into the body and blood of Christ. When one partakes in communion, they
are not only ingesting bread and wine, but they are also receiving Christ. There is support for this
ideal from the patristic theologian, Aquinas, as he stated that this conversion of the bread and
wine into the body and blood of Christ was done through the supernatural power of God (The
Christian Theology Reader 464). Although this was the original belief that Catholics had about
the eucharist, Transubstantiation was declared the standard principle by the Council of Trent in
1551.
Differentially, Consubstantiation is an ideal that was proposed by Martin Luther, a
Protestant theologian. Consubstantiation considers an explanation of the eucharist where there is
never a change in the bread and wine to the body and blood of Christ. Luther acknowledged
Christ’s presence in the eucharist; however, he believed in a co-occurrence of the bread and body
of Christ. An example that Luther referred to was by Origen: “if iron is placed in a fire and
heated, it glows – and in that glowing iron, both the iron and heat are present” (Historical
Theology 165). By using this statement, Martin Luther agreed with the aspect of
Transubstantiation that states Christ is part of the eucharist. The difference between
Transubstantiation and Consubstantiation according to Luther’s beliefs as the idea that the bread
was converted into the body of Christ (The Christian Theology Reader 465). This idea of
substance and accidence is Aristotelian, making it heretical to Luther.
The third and final position that was developed on the presence of Christ in the eucharist
is Memorialism. It is distinguished as radical for rejecting the belief that Christ is present in the
bread and wine. Rather, these elements are considered a representation of Christ’s body and
blood. Memorialism was derived from Ulrich Zwingli; however, there were a lineage of
Theologians that assembled the foundation for Zwingli. The first occurrence in favor of

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Memorialism was Cornelius Hoen’s discovery of On the Sacrament of the Eucharist written by
Wessel Gansfort (Historical Theology 166). At this time, the ideal of transubstantiation was not
denied. This writing described a communion that was between Christ in spirit and believers.
Hoen wrote a letter critiquing Gansfort’s writing and Transubstantiation. One of the most
significant parts of his critique was his interpretation of the Latin word “est.” The Latin phrase
“hoc est corpus meum” translates to “this is my body.” Instead of “est” meaning “is,” Hoen
believed that “est” meant “signifies.” In other words, the bread and wine were not physically the
body and blood of Christ, but a representation of Christ. Another phrase that Hoen referred to is
when Jesus said, “Do this in remembrance of me.” By using this phrase Hoen argued that the
purpose of communion is to remember Christ and his sacrifice while he is physically absent from
the earth.
Zwingli received Hoen’s letter in 1523, allowing him to develop his radical interpretation
of the real presence. In agreeance to the concepts in Hoen’s letter, Zwingli professed that at a
certain point in time, Christ could have been physically present in the bread and wine of the
eucharist, but this does not mean that he is currently present. Another important analysis of
Zwingli was his interpretation of scripture, as he referred to many scriptures as figures of speech.
Zwingli points out many other examples when the word “is” means “signifies.” An example of
this found in John 15 when Jesus says, “I am the vine.” It is apparent that Christ is not physically
a vine but represents one in earthly terms. Zwingli stated that these figures of speech are used to
describe Christ in means that are understandable to humans (Historical Theology 167). While
Christ may have been physically present in the eucharist, he is not currently present, as the
essentials used in communion are only a metaphorical representation.

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The main differences in the three positions of Transubstantiation, Consubstantiation, and
Memorialism are based on whether Christ was and still is present in the sacrament of the
eucharist. Whether Christ is present in the eucharist is important to many Christians as it
determines whether or not they are receiving the body and blood of Christ when partaking in
communion.
Works Cited
McGrath, Alister. Historical Theology: An Introduction to the History of Christian Thought.
Wiley Blackwell, 2013.
McGrath, Alister. The Christian Theology Reader. Wiley Blackwell, 2017.