The position taken up by the Protestant re formers in the 16th century was that the Church had deviated in the celebration of the Lord's Supper from the purpose of Christ and the example of the apostolic age. Both the German and Swiss reformers agreed in reject in the doctrine of Transubstantiation and the Mass, maintaining that the Lord's Supper ought always to be celebrated before the whole con gregation, and with the administration of both bread and wine. In explaining the words by which the supper was instituted, Luther and Zwinglius differed, and their different opinions on this subject formed the principal subject of the dissension between the Lutheran and Cal vinistic churches. Luther took the words, "This is my body," etc., in their literal sense, and maintained that the body and blood of Jesus Christ were united, in a mystical way, with the bread and wine, which, however, remain un changed, so that the communicant receives, in, with and under the bread and wine, the real body and blood of the Redeemer. Zwinglius, on the other hand, understood the words in a figurative sense: that Jesus Christ meant to say, "The bread and the wine represent my body and my blood." He maintained, there fore, that the bread and wine were mere sym bols of the body and the blood of Christ, and that the Lord's Supper was a simple com memoration of the death of Christ, and a pro fession of belonging• to his church, and this view was in substance adopted by the Socin ians and Arminians. From this difference of opinion arose a violent dispute between Luther and Zwinglius, which in later times has been continued between the Lutheran and Cal vinistic divines. The opinion advanced by Cal vin, by which the spiritual presence of the body and blood of Christ is manifest in the com munion, and by partaking of which the faith ful receiver is brought into union with Christ, through the medium of the Holy Ghost, though it came nearer to the Lutheran doctrine than that of Zwinglius did, yet was essentially dif-, ferent, and therefore also met with a strong opposition from the strict adherents of Luther. The Calvinist position is known as Reception ist or virtualist. Melanchthon inclined to the Calvinistic notion, and so did many other Lutheran divines, who were called, by the op-, posite party, Philippists and Crypto-Calvinists. The formula concordia', or articles of religious peace, suppressed the Crypto-Calvinists in the greatest part of the Lutheran Church, and established the position of Luther; conse quently there was a final separation of the Lutheran and Reformed or Calvinistic churches, but in recent times many Lutheran divines have inclined to the Calvinistic doc trine. The Greek Church has substantially held the doctrine of Transubstantiation in its whole extent. The Oriental Christians differ from the Western in using leavened bread in the Lord's Supper and in administering it to chil dren. (See GREEK CHURCH).
It thus appears that the differences between, the contending churches hinge on the mode in which the body and blood of Christ are present in the elements of bread and wine, for that they are in some way way present is admitted by them all.. The majority of Protestant churches hold that presence means presence in efficacy, and will admit that it is ureal° in the sense of being efficacious, though not in the sense of being corporeal. However, when they are called on to define efficacy they differ in this, that some mean by it a sacrificial, and others a mysterious supernatural efficacy, ema nating from Christ's glorified body. The con fessions of the Protestant churches were framed expressly to conciliate the Lutherans, and contain, in consequence, more of the mys tical element than is consistent with the senti ments of the framers, as expressed in their writings. The 28th article of the Church of England, while repudiating Transubstantia tion as °repugnant to the plain words of Scripture," declares ethat 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" It further declares that "the body of Christ is given, taken, and eaten in the supper only after a heavenly and spiritual manner. And the
mean whereby the body of 'Christ is received and eaten in the supper is faith." But the High Church party in the Anglican Church makes an approach to the Roman position by belief in what is termed the "objective real presence." The Westminster Confession, chap. xxix, s. 6 and 7 thus formulates the doctrine adopted by the Presbyterian Church of Scot land, which in the main agrees with that pro pounded by Calvin: "That doctrine which maintains a change of the substance of bread and wine into the substance of Christ's body and blood (commonly called Transubstantia tion) by consecration of a priest, or by any other way, is repugnant not to Scripture alone, but even to common sense and reason, over throweth the nature of the sacrament, and hath been and is the cause of manifold superstitions, yea, of gross idolatries. Worthy receivers, out wardly partaking of the visible elements in this sacrament, do then also inwardly by faith, really and indeed, yet not carnally and cor porally, but spiritually, receive and feed upon Christ crucified, and all benefits of his death: the body and blood of Christ being then not corporally or carnally in, with or under the bread and wine; yet as really, but spiritually, present to the faith of believers in that ordi nance, as the elements themselves are to their outward senses." The elevation, adoration and carrying about of the host, practised in the Greek and Roman Catholic churches, is thus spoken of in the 28th article of the Anglican Church: "The sacrament of the Lord's Supper was not by Christ's ordinance reserved, car ried about, lifted up, or worshipped." While the Roman Catholic Church makes its com municants receive the consecrated wafer with the mouth from the hands of the priest, the Protestant churches put the bread and the chalice into the hands of the communicant.
In the Greek and Roman Catholic churches the Eucharistic sacrifice is offered daily; in the Anglican Church the practice varies, the High Church ideal being a daily celebration of Holy Communion. It was formerly the custom in the Scottish Presbyterian Church to observe the rite once a year; but it is now more fre quently administered, generally four times a year.
Bibliography.— Only a partial and frag mentary list can be included here: Adamson, R. W., 'Christian Doctrine of the Lord's Sup per) (Edinburgh 1905); Armstrong, 'Sacra ments of the New Testament' (New York 1880) ; Bridgett, T. E., 'History of the Holy Eucharist in England' (London 1908); Bright man, 'The. Eucharistic Sacrifice' (ib. 1890); Dimock, N., 'On Eucharistic Worship in the English Church' (ib. 1911) ; 'Papers on the Doctrine of the English Church Concerning the Eucharistic Presence' (2 vols., ib. 1911); Frankland, W. B., 'The Early Eucharist' (Cambridge 1902) ; Gardner, P., 'Origin of the Lord's Supper) (London 1893); Gore, C. 'The Body of Christ' (ib. 1901); Groton, W. M., 'Christian Eucharist and the Pagan Cults' (New York 1914) ; Harnack, 'History of Dogma' (Eng. trans. London 1894-99) ; bert, J. C., 'The Sacraments in the New Testament' (Edinburgh 1905); Mortimer, A. G., 'Catholic Faith and Practice' (Philadel phia 1898) ; Moule, 'The Supper of the Lord' (London 1889) ; Perowne, J. J. S., 'The Doc trine of the Lord's Supper' (London 1887); Pusey, F.. B., 'The Doctrine of the Real Presence as contained in the Fathers' (Oxford 1870) ; Sanday, W., 'Priesthood and Sacrifice' (London 1900) ; Stone, D., 'History of the Doctrine of the Holy Eucharist' (ib. 1909); Wilberforce, R. I., 'The Doctrine of the Eu charist) (ib. 1854) ; Wiseman, Cardinal, 'Lec tures on the Real Presence' (Dublin 1852); and the article in the 'Encyclopaedia of Reli gion and Ethics.'