The Eucharist, origins and a comparison between traditions
One of the key rituals of the Christian faith is the celebration of the Eucharist. The word Eucharist is derived from the greek word "Eucharistia", which means thanksgiving. The word is used by Christ in the Last Supper narrative. In Luke 22:19 Christ says: “And when He had taken some bread and given thanks, He broke it and gave it to them, saying,...” What we translate here as “given thanks”, is this word “Eucharistia”, or often written as “Eucharisteo”. This developed into simply “Eucharist”. The Eucharist is where Christians can come together and share a meal. It is a way of encountering the life of Christ personally.
In this essay I will outline three key questions:
What is the Eucharist (history of the ritual, where it is found in the Bible)?
What are different beliefs about the Eucharist?
How is the Eucharistic as a ritual performed?
When people discuss the Eucharist, we often also use the word “communion”. My understanding of the difference between the two terms is that Communion is the act of the community communing together to share a meal and the Eucharist is the actual meal that the community is coming together to share.
WHAT IS THE EUCHARIST?
The Eucharist is a ritual that comes directly from Christ Himself, however it has its origins in the Jewish tradition. One of the earliest prefigurations of the Eucharist is found in Genesis 14, where we read that the High Priest Melchizedek brings out bread and wine for Abraham, and then blesses him. Another prefigurative symbol of the Eucharist is the “presence bread”, mentioned in Exodus 25. God instructs the presence bread to be placed upon a table at all times within the tabernacle — a practice that has carried over into the New Covenant where many churches still today keep the Eucharist in a tabernacle to be always present within the church.
The Jewish people have a festival called the Passover, which celebrates the Israelites being freed from Egypt. A key concept to keep in mind is that when Jews celebrate the Passover, it is in a sense is a reenactment of the Exodus events. The Passover is a highly ritualistic and spiritual experience, where celebrants will act as if they themselves are present at that time of the Israelites leaving Egypt. During the Passover feast the Jewish people sacrifice lambs, and eat a ceremonial meal together which includes bread and wine.
Jesus is described in the New Testament as the “Lamb of God”. This can be viewed as a direct reference to the Eucharist; which fulfils this role of the Passover feast in the New Covenant. Throughout the life of Jesus and within His ministry work there are many events that foreshadow the appointment of the Eucharist. As Jesus commences public ministry He turns water into wine and feeds large crowds — all of which are miraculous events involving food and drink. Food and drink are the primary symbols Jesus uses throughout scripture to explain His role in administering the New Covenant. In John chapter 6 Jesus parallels His coming to the manna from Heaven — which God gave the Israelites as they wandered the desert.
The way in which Jesus describes the bread is a clear indication of the Eucharist, its central role within Christianity, and how it connects with the Passover celebration.
The first Eucharist was performed at the Last Supper, not long before Jesus was crucified. Matthew 26:26-28 say this: “While they were eating, Jesus took bread, said the blessing, broke it, and giving it to his disciples said, “Take and eat; this is my body.” Then he took a cup, gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you, for this is my blood of the covenant, which will be shed on behalf of many for this forgiveness of sins.” It is at this moment where Jesus performs the first Holy Communion. And we are instructed to do this celebration in remembrance of Him. This was not a singular event Jesus performed, it was intended to become a form of ritual that would be at the heart of Christian life. We see later in Luke 24 when Jesus has risen from the dead, he goes to the disciples again to share a meal with them in a similar fashion. Verse 30 says: “And it happened that, while he was with them at table, he took bread, said the blessing, broke it, and gave it to them.” We might notice a common theme here in terms of structure. This is a demonstration of the liturgical side of the Eucharist. When the ritual is performed there is a series of steps. Firstly, Jesus is at a table, then he took bread. Next he said a blessing over it. Afterwards he broke the bread — representative of His body breaking, and finally gave it to the disciples. This is where all the many variants of Eucharistic liturgy today originate. These are the essential elements that make a Communion Celebration what it is. Later in Acts we see that the disciples begin to share the ritual with the wider church. It was the sharing of the Eucharistic meal that characterised Christian gatherings, it was what brought the community together. The Apostles went out, and “broke bread” with the community. All of early Christian life was centred around the celebration of the Eucharist.
One of the earliest texts we have outside the Bible on the Eucharist is the Didache, a text by the Church Fathers. The Exact origin of the Didache is disputed, however most sources affirm it was written around the year 60 — about the same time as the gospel of Mark. It says this on the Eucharist:
“1. And concerning the Eucharist, hold Eucharist thus:
2. First concerning the Cup, "We give thanks to thee, our Father, for the Holy Vine of David thy child, which, thou didst make known to us through Jesus thy Child; to thee be glory for ever."
3. And concerning the broken Bread: "We give thee thanks, our Father, for the life and knowledge which thou didst make known to us through Jesus thy Child. To thee be glory for ever.
4. As this broken bread was scattered upon the mountains, but was brought together and became one, so let thy Church be gathered together from the ends of the earth into thy kingdom, for thine is the glory and the power through Jesus Christ for ever."
5. But let none eat or drink of your Eucharist except those who have been baptised in the Lord's Name. For concerning this also did the Lord say, "Give not that which is holy to the dogs.”
On the Lord's Day of the Lord come together, break bread and hold Eucharist, after confessing your transgressions that your offering may be pure; But let none who has a quarrel with his fellow join in your meeting until they be reconciled, that your sacrifice be not defiled.”
The Eucharist as a ritual continues out the Apostolic age and we see record of it being performed in the early Church, developing in terms of structure and liturgy. In St. Justin Martyr’s First Apology he outlines the structure of Christian worship and the Eucharist. This text was written in the Post-Apostolic age in the year 155 as a defense of the Christian faith addressed to the Roman Emperor Antonius Pius. We read in the 66th Chapter of his apology:
“And this food is called among us Εὐχαριστία [the Eucharist], of which no one is allowed to partake but the man who believes that the things which we teach are true, and who has been washed with the washing that is for the remission of sins, and unto regeneration, and who is so living as Christ has enjoined. For not as common bread and common drink do we receive these; but in like manner as Jesus Christ our Saviour, having been made flesh by the Word of God, had both flesh and blood for our salvation, so likewise have we been taught that the food which is blessed by the prayer of His word, and from which our blood and flesh by transmutation are nourished, is the flesh and blood of that Jesus who was made flesh.”
The 67th chapter of his apology outlines how the Christian worship and routine was centred around this breaking of bread and reading of the word, primarily on the day of Sunday.
“And on the day called Sunday, all who live in cities or in the country gather together to one place, and the memoirs of the apostles or the writings of the prophets are read, as long as time permits; then, when the reader has ceased, the president verbally instructs, and exhorts to the imitation of these good things. Then we all rise together and pray, and, as we before said, when our prayer is ended, bread and wine and water are brought, and the president in like manner offers prayers and thanksgivings, according to his ability, and the people assent, saying Amen; and there is a distribution to each, and a participation of that over which thanks have been given, and to those who are absent a portion is sent by the deacons."
And here we have one of the first descriptions of what we would call a “Sunday Church Service”, the Mass, the Divine Liturgy, or the Holy Eucharist, depending on what tradition you are from. It is this structure that Justin Martyr outlines in his First Apology that we still use today. Almost every church tradition uses this formula. Most affirm that this structure is the exact same as the Apostles used and was handed directly down from them to this next generation of believers, however the First Apology is one of the earliest accounts that outlined with such precise detail on how the Eucharist Ritual was performed. The Eucharist was the heartbeat of the early church, it was what bound them together. As history went on, and the church became fragmented and spread around the world, naturally there was much variety in terms of culture. Traditions developed and because of that and differing culture there came disagreement surrounding the Eucharist. Most disagreement we see over history is in regard to what the Eucharistic elements are themselves. We have disputes on how literal Jesus’ words are meant to be taken when he says “this is my body”. Other tension involves the importance of the Eucharist as a ritual; how necessary it is for a believer.
NO EUCHARIST
There is the occasional occurrence now to ignore the Eucharist altogether, and not perform the ritual. The reasons for this might vary. Sometimes it is because there is too much conflict revolving around the topic so groups would rather just exclude the practice for the sake of peace. Other traditions say that beyond the Last Supper, Jesus did not intend for it to actually become a ritual people actually carry out, but only the meaning behind it was meant to be applied to one’s life. I am not going to dwell on this subject as it is multi-faceted and is not a primary perspective in mainstream Christianity.
Please take note: fitting various Christian traditions that all have such rich, complex, and often sensitive history and context behind them into four categories is a difficult task. This is to a certain extent an oversimplification of some beliefs and traditions, and is meant only as a starting guide to understanding different traditions. For example I placed the Lutheran and Uniting Church in the same section, yet both have nuances that make them different from each other, it simply is “best fit” categorically. There is also the problem that within individual traditions there might be varying opinions held by individuals.
Some notable communities that do follow this idea are the Salvation Army and Quakers.
Memorial
A common modern day evangelical stance on the Eucharist is that the ritual is a meal of recalling the sacrifice of Jesus, a memorial to remember an event. The bread and wine (or grape juice in many cases) is just that: bread and wine. There is no transformation of the elements, nor any spiritual interventions. This does not mean, however, that the Eucharist has no purpose in Christian life. There is real meaning found in the Eucharistic meal. The meaning is found in the coming together of the community to share the meal in memory of Jesus. The Eucharist is a time for remembering what Christ did and focusing our minds on what matters. There can be a wide variation of theology within this evangelical context.
Reformer Ulrich Zwingli was one of the major theologians to develop this teaching10. He argued against the views of both Martin Luther and the Catholic/ Orthodox traditions, arguing there was no need for the doctrines surrounding the Real Presence concept. The purpose of the Eucharist for Zwingli is to remember a past grace, as opposed to the idea that a past grace is renewed or re-experienced by means of the Eucharist11. This view, Zwingli argued, can be defended by having a close read of scripture and taking note of the symbolic nature of the words of Christ. During the Last Supper Jesus instructed the disciples to “do this in remembrance of me” (Luke 22:19). For a Memorialist the word remembrance does not denote a literal translation of the Eucharist; it is meant as a way of remembering what Christ did but does not suggest any sense of spiritual experience.
Zwingli also argued against the Real Presence idea on the basis of Jesus’ ontology. He used this logic: Jesus has two natures of being: human and divine, and these two natures cannot be separated; they are a Hypostatic Union. For there to be a presence of Jesus in the Eucharist, the result would be that those two natures become separated and distinct from each other, as Human Nature cannot be in multiple places at once, only Divine Nature can. If this was true, then it would be a return to the Nestorian heresy, which was deemed to be a false perspective by Christendom in the First Council of Ephesus in 431 AD. As Nestorianism is not true, Christ cannot be present in the Eucharist.
Sometimes it is hard to distinguish between those who hold a Memorialist view and Spiritual Presence view, as often a church have a mix of both. For example I placed Pentecostals in the Memorialist category but not all Pentecostals would be comfortable in this category as many do affirm a more Spiritual Presence view of the Eucharist.
In terms of Liturgy, Memorialists are very low in tradition. They are low church as in; the liturgy is not as structured or as defined. It is less sacramental. High Church liturgy has a set methodology, and is more ritualistic. A communion service will be casual, and often there is no requirement of an ordained minister that has to consecrate the elements. Memorialists do not normally use actual wine, however substitute wine with grape juice. In terms of bread there can be large variation. Some communities use leavened bread, others unleavened. A large physical difference you may notice in a Memorialist Eucharist is that the grape juice is arranged in seperate individual cups, instead of one common cup. This came about due to increasing medical knowledge on how diseases are spread in the 1800s, which raised concerns initially among Baptist circles about the notion of sharing the one cup. The first church recorded to use the seperate communion cups was North Baptist Church in New York, 1854.
This Memorialist view is followed by Baptist, most Pentecostals, Anabaptists, Brethren, and other “non-denominational” or “home churches”.
Spiritual Presence
During the Reformation this was the stance that John Calvin and many of the other reformers took. This teaching claims that the Eucharist is more than a memorial and does have intrinsic meaning in of itself. During communion, the Holy Spirit descends upon the Eucharist. When one consumes the Eucharist, they are also elevated by the Holy Spirit towards Heaven. This is one of the primary concepts regarding the Spiritual Presence view; the Eucharist lifts up man towards God by power of the Holy Spirit.
Calvin’s Spiritual Presence is in part a rejection of the Memorialist stance of Zwingli, whilst also a rejection of the Catholic and Orthodox Church’s view on the Real Presence, and Martin Luther’s Sacramental Union. Calvin disagreed that Christ could be made present on earth, since Calvin affirmed that Christ’s physical body currently resides in heaven, similar to Zwingli. However Calvin agreed that there had to be some level of meaning in the Eucharist beyond the physical elements, hence this notion of instead of Christ descending to the earth, us being lifted up to Christ.
Reformed Baptist Pastor John Piper says this on the Eucharist (https://www.desiringgod.org/messages/the-lords-supper-as-worship):
We see here that there is this presence of Jesus in the Eucharist, except it is a presence by means of the Holy Spirit. The Eucharist is also a spiritual sign of God’s covenant, a symbol of Christ’s sacrifice and God’s promise to mankind. It is not itself connected to the sacrifice, nor does the physical elements experience any form of change. The Eucharist itself does not have any power. However, for one who possesses faith and receives it, there will be strengthening of spirit in that action which goes beyond the observable realm. As John Piper says: it feeds our faith and provides sustenance to our belief.
John Knox, the founder of the Presbyterian church, spoke quite adamantly against the Memorialist view and affirmed there was a presence in the Eucharist biblicaly, yet Jesus never meant the presence to be interpreted as a literal eating of His flesh.
“This union and conjunction which we have with the body and blood of Jesus Christ in the right use of the sacraments is wrought by operation of the Holy Ghost, who by true faith carries us above all things that are visible, carnal and earthly, and makes us to feed upon the body and blood of Jesus Christ which was once broken and shed for us which is now in heaven”
(Scots Confession in Dennison, Reformed Confessions, 2:201)
John Knox emphasises how we are feeding upon the “body and blood” of Jesus, however this is not a literal and physical feeding, it is an act of the Holy Spirit.
Today with large development in Pentecostal theology which emphasises the moment of the Holy Spirit and the active use of spiritual gifts and miracles, it will interesting to see how this will affect their stance on the Eucharist. In many ways Pentecostal theology seems to be beginning to take a step “backward” towards these Spiritual Presence concepts with a slightly different slant. It will be fascinating to see how the Pentecostal doctrines on the Eucharist develop.
Liturgy for those who hold a spiritual presence can vary. Most of the time the blessing of the elements is simple without extensive emphasis ritual. Some classical High Church Reformed Churches have a more ritualistic approach that is reminiscent of the Catholic Mass, whereas the Low Church is far less liturgically complex. Usually leavened bread is used, and either grape juice or wine is used. Some churches use a common cup, whilst others use the seperate cups. Within Protestantism this is one of the primary views on the Eucharist. It is held by Reformed, Presbyterian, some Reformed Baptists, and some Evangelical Anglicans.
Sacramental Union
Sacramental Union (sometimes mis/identified as Consubstantiation) is when there is a legitimate presence of Jesus’ body and blood during communion, however it appears alongside the Eucharist: it is not the Eucharist itself. The Priest does take an action during the liturgy which issues an actual change. However the presence of Jesus is only there in addition to the elements.
This is the general idea of Martin Luther’s theology regarding the Eucharist. Whilst Luther did not use this exact term, he upheld the idea that there was a presence of Christ in the Eucharist, however the bread and wine did not transform themselves. Christ is received with the bread and wine. The Lutheran church often prefers to use this term Sacramental Union for their Eucharistic theology instead of the often used term “consubstantiation”. The term Sacramental Union describes Luther’s theology very plainly: within the Sacrament of the Eucharist two natures are brought together. The physical is united with the divine. There is a level of symbolism here that echoes the humanity and divinity of Christ Himself. The important difference between this and a Real Presence view is that that bread is still completely bread, there is no change to the bread physically or spiritually.
(Sourced from: https://thinktheology.co.uk/blog/article/luther-on-breaking-bread )
This quote from Luther describes Christ being “under” the bread and wine. The Lutheran church often uses that phrase “in, with and under the forms of consecrated bread and wine”. It was this teaching that caused major disagreement between the early Reformation leaders. Other Reformers adhered to a Memorialist or Spiritual Presence view, and this caused tension between them and Luther and his followers.
One motivation of Luther for this distinct view on the Eucharist that emerged was that it helped distance the Eucharist from the Catholic notion as Luther perceived it that the Mass was a perpetual sacrifice of Christ. The Sacramental Union belief was a sort of middle ground that allowed Luther to retain his strong affirmation that Christ was present in some sense in the Eucharist, however removing the sacrificial context that is implied with the bread literally transforming into Christ’s body when the Priest offers it to the Father.
Traditions that have this view are often very liturgical. The elements are consecrated on an altar which symbolises the sacrifice of Christ, and there is a set series of prayers that need to be said in order for the consecration to take place. Usually real wine will be used, and there is varying use of unleavened and leavened bread between traditions. The priest will where vestments to show the they are taking on the “role of Christ” in the Last Supper and have no power in themselves. They conduct the service in accordance to their tradition’s prescribed liturgy. Churches that generally have this view are the Lutheran, some Anglicans, and the Uniting Church of Australia.
Real Presence
The Eastern Orthodox uphold the view the there is indeed a real presence of Christ within the Eucharist. Unlike Catholics however, they are not as formulaic as to how this takes place, rather a large amount of the meaning of the Eucharist is held within its mystery. It is for this reason the Orthodox reject the term “Transubstantiation”, as that term seeks to describe exactly how the Eucharist becomes the body and blood of Christ. It is not the end result that is questioned between Real Presence traditions, just the way of describing the process. The majority of Anglicans and Methodists also take this approach. They affirm that Jesus is present in the Bread and Wine, however do not attempt in describing how this occurs.
For the Catholic Church, the consecration ritual of the Eucharist is called the Mass. This is the centre of Catholic life. The Catechism of the Catholic Church states that the Mass is the “source and summit of Christian life” (CCC #1324), as it is where we can encounter the sacrifice of Christ in a very powerful manner. One of the primary methods used to describe how the Real Presence occurs is the idea of Transubstantiation. To understand what this concept is, one must understand what the word means. “Trans” means change, and the second part “substantiation” is an extension of the word “substance”: the substance changes. The substance in this case is the true essence of an object. It is the spiritual reality that makes an object what it is. This logic is similar to Platonic philosophy, which talks about “forms”: which is the true reality of every object hidden behind the physical world.
The “Plato’s Cave” allegory deals with this, where the subjects experience a two-dimensional world locked inside a cave watching shadows against a wall, then they move outside and see a three-dimensional world full of life and colour. Our physical reality is that of the shadows, all we can see is a mere illusion of true existence. The forms is this true existence that is masked to us. In a Christian world, the Holy Spirit is the one that helps us see past this physical world, and gives us insight into the transcendent. One of the ways in which this occurs is through receiving the Eucharist, where the transcendent all powerful Logos is hidden behind the appearance of bread and wine. The transcendent then enters our soul. This is where the notion of a Sacrament is important. The definition of a Sacrament is a “visible sign of an invisible grace”. Every Sacrament contains a visible sign, and an invisible grace, in this case the Bread and Wine, and Jesus' body. The visible sign is what is perceivable to the eye and the immediate senses. The invisible grace is the substance of the object, its truest reality. This is not perceivable to the eye, only the spirit. When the Priest says the words of consecration during the Mass, the visible sign remains the same: it is bread and wine. However the "mysterium", as many theologians call it, is transformed from the substance of true bread and wine, to the substance of the Body and Blood of Christ. In fact during Mass the faithful are transported to Calvary itself, brought spiritually to the foot of the cross. Calvary is made present upon the altar, the sacrifice of Christ is made present. It is the way in which the faithful are able to experience Christ’s sacrifice in a tangible manner, without having to be there ourselves and undergo physical crucifixion and resurrection. The Mass is the result of Christ’s sacrifice, it is Calvary taking effect on the entirety of our reality. St. Thomas Aquinas in his Summa Theologiæ testifies to this idea that sacraments are results of Christ’s sacrifice:
(Thomas Aquinas, sourced from: http://www.newadvent.org/summa/4061.htm)
A unique practice of the Catholic faith that stems from this doctrine of Transubstantiation is Eucharistic Adoration. There is this concept that whilst the Eucharist’s primary purpose is for the consumption of the faithful, there is great benefit from prayer and contemplation in its presence — as it is for all purposes the true body and blood of Christ. This practice is normally uniquely Catholic, however there are other traditions that have similar practices. For a believer this is a great comfort and aid in prayer and sitting in the presence of Christ, which over time begins to make a change to one’s thoughts. An example is the ministry of Mother Theresa, who attributed her community’s success to the one hour of Adoration they did per day. Eucharistic Adoration plays a large part in the Catholic prayer life.
To understand the idea of the Real Presence we have to understand the reality of the Passover in the Old Testament. They used real blood and sacrificed a real lamb. They ate true bread. Then in the New Testament Jesus is described as firstly the Lamb of God (John 1:29) and secondly the Bread of Life (John 6:35). These two terms due to the religious context of the Jewish people would have been challenging for Jesus’ disciples. We observe in Jesus’ Bread of Life discourse in John 6:25-68, Him challenging His disciples on this issue. Jesus says to the disciples: “Very truly I tell you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day. For my flesh is real food and my blood is real drink.” Verse 66 gives account of some of His disciples turning their backs on Jesus and walking away as this teaching was too hard for them to follow, as they knew how they ate the bread during the Passover, and now Jesus literally said we was this bread, the flesh. His blood was true drink. However Jesus provided no further explanation. He gave no attempt to stop the disciples leaving by reassuring them, he simply reiterated his stance. Defence for the Real Presence view can also be found in early Church Fathers’ writing such as St. Ignatius of Antioch who said:
Many theologians who object this view claim that the Real Presence doctrine only came about after Emperor Constantine legalised Christianity with the Edict of Milan in 313, and the Church "intermingled with paganism". However this claim can be refuted by the sheer number of accounts from the early Church testifying that the Eucharist is indeed the Body and Blood of Christ.
The Liturgy for churches who uphold this view are very ritualistic. There is a set order for how to consecrate the Eucharist. Certain words must be said, and the correct physical elements must be used. For Catholics, unleavened bread and wine must be used. Eastern Orthodox churches use leavened bread instead.
This would be the view held by the majority of Christian Churches. Some examples of traditions that upload the Real Presence view include the Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox Churches, most Anglicans, Methodist Church, and Oriental Orthodoxy.
Conclusion
The Eucharist is one of the most prominent issues that still cause division within the Body of Christ today. It is also such as challenging issue to find an answer too, as all the viewpoints provide relatively convincing evidence for their legitimacy. Ultimately the deciding factor is how one interprets the Last Supper narrative — what hermeneutical lens one uses, taking into account surrounding contextual scripture, culture, and history. From a historical perspective it is fascinating how there is so much division over such few words given by Christ.
My personal viewpoint is that of a Real Presence in the Eucharist, so there is a natural bias in my writing for that perspective. I uphold this view because of the biblical evidence and since the early church testifies to this interpretation of scripture. Additionally, I uphold the view due to my personal experience. I have encountered Christ in a powerful way through the Eucharist which testifies for me personally that He is truly present. It is visible that as a result of this viewpoint, my life has been impacted in a positive way and it has brought me into a far closer relationship with God.
However each perspective has its own importance and meaning to it, and is taken seriously by its adherents. Whatever tradition you uphold, I think we can all agree on one thing — that the Eucharist is a significant way we can come to be closer to Christ, and as Christians.
VIDEO RESOURCES
Orthodox Divine Liturgy: https://www.youtube.com/watch? v=XDUMf7oFt2s&t=191s
Catholic Mass: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cOa5dDawxVA ]
Pentecostal Communion: https://www.youtube.com/watch? v=qJBwFbSxG7I, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=98fOIk8hDYk,
Reformed Church Communion: https://www.youtube.com/watch? v=4ws2QGyUzM8
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