Anglicans celebrate the traditional sacraments, with special emphasis being given to the Holy Eucharist, also called Holy Communion, the Lord's Supper or. The Eucharist is central to worship for most Anglicans as a communal offering of prayer and praise in which the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ are proclaimed through prayer, reading of the Bible, singing, and the offering of the bread and wine, giving God thanks over them for the innumerable benefits obtained through the passion of Christ, the breaking of the bread, and reception of the body and blood of Christ as instituted at the Last Supper. While many Anglicans celebrate the Eucharist in similar ways to the predominant western Catholic tradition, a considerable degree of liturgical freedom is permitted, and worship styles range from the simple to elaborate. http://sr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anglicanism

Anglican Eucharistic theology http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anglican_Eucharistic_theology 14.08.2012.

Anglican Eucharistic theology is diverse in practice, reflecting the essential comprehensiveness of the tradition. Some High church Anglicans, especially those considered to be Anglo-Catholics, hold beliefs identical with, or similar to, the Roman Catholic doctrine of transubstantiation. It was first promulgated by Scholastic theologians in the Middle Ages and understands the Eucharist to be a "re-presentation" of Christ's atoning sacrifice, with the elements transubstantiated into Christ's physical as well as spiritual Body and Blood. Low church or Evangelical Anglicans, expressing a view similar to that of the Reformed churches, deny that the presence of Christ is carnal or can be localised in the bread and wine. Instead, they believe that Christ is present in a "heavenly and spiritual manner" only, with the faithful receiving Christ's presence by faith.

While the Thirty-nine Articles and the Homilies rejected the Roman Catholic doctrine of transubstantiation, at the forty-first meeting of the Anglican-Roman Catholic Dialogue in the United States of America (ARC/USA), on January 6, 1994, the bishops assembled affirmed "that Christ in the eucharist makes himself present sacramentally and truly when under the species of bread and wine these earthy realities are changed into the reality of his body and blood. In English the terms substance, substantial, and substantially have such physical and material overtones that we, adhering to The Final Report, have substituted the word truly for the word substantially..." The bishops concluded "that the eucharist as sacrifice is not an issue that divides our two Churches."[1]

Some Anglicans, however, implicitly or explicitly adopt the eucharistic theology of consubstantiation, associated with the Lollards and, later, with Martin Luther.[citation needed]. Luther's analogy of Christ's presence was that of the heat of a horseshoe thrust into a fire until it is glowing. In the same way, Christ is considered present in the bread and the wineSacramental theologyMain article: Anglican sacraments

With the Eucharist, as with other aspects of theology, Anglicans are largely directed by the principle of lex orandi, lex credendi (i.e., "the law of prayer is the law of belief"). In other words, sacramental theology as it pertains to the Eucharist is sufficiently and fully articulated by the Book of Common Prayer of a given jurisdiction. As defined by the 16th century Anglican theologian, Richard Hooker, the sacraments are said to be "visible signs of invisible grace"[2] while the Catechism of the 1662 Book of Common Prayer states that a sacrament is "an outward and visible sign of an inward and spiritual grace given to us, ordained by Christ himself, as a means whereby we receive the same, and a pledge to asure us thereof." It thus has the effect of conveying sanctification in the individual participating in the sacrament. According to the Catechism, in the Eucharist the outward and visible sign is "Bread and Wine" and the "thing signified", the "Body and Blood of Christ", which are verily and indeed taken and received by the faithful in the Lord's Supper".

Sacraments have both form and matter. A form is the verbal and physical liturgical action, while the matter refers to any material objects used. In an Anglican Eucharist the form is contained in the rite and its rubrics, as articulated in the authorised prayer books of the ecclesiastical province. Central to the rite is the Eucharistic Prayer or "Great Thanksgiving". The matter is the bread and wine.

For the vast majority of Anglicans, the Eucharist (also called "Holy Communion", "Mass" or the "Lord's Supper"), is the central act of gathered worship and is the means by which Christ becomes present to the Christian community gathered in his name. For the majority of Anglicans this event constitutes the renewal of the Body of Christ as the Church through the reception of the Body of Christ as the Blessed Sacrament, his spiritual body and blood. In this sacrament, Christ is both encountered and incorporated. As such, the eucharistic action looks backward as a memorial of Christ's sacrifice, forward as a foretaste of the heavenly banquet and to the present as an incarnation of Christ in the lives of the community and of individual believers.Varieties of eucharistic theology

Anglican incarnational theology emphasizes the importance of God using the mundane and temporal as a means of giving people the transcendent and eternal. For many who hold such a view, they consider the manifestation of Christ in the eucharistic elements to belong to the realm of spirit and eternity, and not to be about Christ's corporeal presence. This "middle view" does not necessarily negate memorialist and transubstantiationist views, but instead allows for a comprehensive range of perspectives and for an emphasis on the fundamental mystery of how Christ is present. This respect for the mystery of the Real Presence is reflected in the aphorism attributed by some to John Donne, by others to Elizabeth I:[3] "He was the Word that spake it; He took the bread and brake it; And what that Word did make it, I do believe and take it" without any further explicit detail. Indeed, the Catechism of 1604 states the belief in a non-defined Real Presence:

Question. What is the outward part or signe of the Lords Supper? Answer. Bread and wine, which the Lord hath commanded to be received. Question. What is the inward part or thing signified? Answer. The Body and Blood of Christ, which are verily and indeed taken and received of the faithful in the Lords Supper."

Transubstantiation

Article XXVIII of the Thirty-Nine Articles declares that "Transubstantiation cannot be proved by Holy Writ; but is repugnant to the plain words of Scripture, overthroweth the nature of a Sacrament, and hath given occasion to many superstitions." Nevertheless, some Anglo-Catholics adhere to a belief in transubstantiation and, in this respect, they subscribe more closely to the eucharistic theology of Roman Catholicism than with that of mainstream Anglicanism.

Representatives of the Anglican and Roman Catholic churches declared that they had "substantial agreement on the doctrine of the Eucharist" in the Windsor Statement on Eucharistic Doctrine[4] developed by the Anglican-Roman Catholic International Commission, as well as the commission's Elucidation of the ARCIC Windsor Statement.[5]

On January 6, 1994, the ARC/USA bishops affirmed "that Christ in the eucharist makes himself present sacramentally and truly when under the species of bread and wine these earthy realities are changed into the reality of his body and blood," while stating "In English the terms substance, substantial, and substantially have such physical and material overtones that we, adhering to The Final Report, have substituted the word truly for the word substantially..." The bishops concluded "that the eucharist as sacrifice is not an issue that divides our two Churches."[6] This amounts to an acceptance of the doctrine, with an expression of a reservation about the use of the name of the doctrine in English because the word is misunderstood by English speakers.Spiritual presence

Low-church Anglicans reject belief in Transubstantiation, as well as, usually, the reservation and adoration of the sacrament, which is also forbidden by one of the Articles of Religion. Instead, they hold to a "spiritual presence" view of the Eucharist similar to the views held by Reformed Protestant denominations such as Presbyterians. Low-church parishes tend to celebrate the Eucharist less frequently (e.g., monthly) and prefer the terms "Holy Communion" or "Lord's Supper".

Though typically criticized by Anglo-Catholics,[citation needed] this view has historical precedent. During the seminal years of the English Reformation, Thomas Cranmer was in correspondence with many continental Reformers, several of whom came to England at his request to aid in reforms there. These included Martin Bucer, Paul Fagius, Peter Matyr, Bernardino Ochino and Jan aski. The views of these men were in line with the Reformed doctrine of the sacrament.[citation needed]

Cranmer himself wrote on the Eucharist in his treatise On the True and Catholic Doctrine of the Lord's Supper that Christians truly receive Christ's "self-same" Body and Blood at Communion--but in "an heavenly and spiritual manner".[citation needed]

This is in agreement with the continental Reformed view found in Chapter XXI of the Second Helvetic Confession:

There is also a spiritual eating of Christ's body; not such that we think that thereby the food itself is to be changed into spirit, but whereby the body and blood of the Lord, while remaining in their own essence and property, are spiritually communicated to us, certainly not in a corporeal but in a spiritual way, by the Holy Spirit, who applies and bestows upon us these things which have been prepared for us by the sacrifice of the Lord's body and blood for us, namely, the remission of sins, deliverance, and eternal life; so that Christ lives in us and we live in him, and he causes us to receive him by true faith to this end that he may become for us such spiritual food and drink, that is, our life. But he who comes to this sacred Table of the Lord without faith, communicates only in the sacrament and does not receive the substance of the sacrament whence comes life and salvation; and such men unworthily eat of the Lord's Table. Whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord, and eats and drinks judgment upon himself (I Cor. 11:26-29). For when they do not approach with true faith, they dishonor the death of Christ, and therefore eat and drink condemnation to themselves.

Likewise, the Thirty-Nine Articles of the Church of England state the following in Articles XXVIII and XXIX:

The Supper of the Lord is not only a sign of the love that Christians ought to have among themselves, one to another, but rather it is a sacrament of our redemption by Christ's death: 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.

Transubstantiation (or the change of the substance of bread and wine) in the Supper of the Lord, cannot be proved by Holy Writ, but is repugnant to the plain words of Scripture, overthroweth the nature of a Sacrament, and hath given occasion to many superstitions.

The body of Christ is given, taken, and eaten in the Supper, only after an heavenly and spiritual manner. And the mean whereby the body of Christ is received and eaten in the Supper is Faith. The Sacrament of the Lord's Supper was not by Christ's ordinance reserved, carried about, lifted up, or worshipped. The wicked and such as be void of a lively faith, although they do carnally and visibly press with their teeth (as S. Augustine saith) the sacrament of the body and blood of Christ, yet in no wise are they partakers of Christ, but rather to their condemnation do eat and drink the sign or sacrament of so great a thing.

The Catechism of the Church of England also expresses this view:

Question - What meanest thou by this word Sacrament?

Answer - I mean an outward and visible sign of an inward and spiritual grace given unto us, ordained by Christ himself, as a means whereby we receive the same, and a pledge to assure us thereof.

Question - How many parts are there in a Sacrament?

Answer - Two: the outward visible sign, and the inward spiritual grace.

Question - Why was the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper ordained?

Answer - For the continual remembrance of the sacrifice of the death of Christ, and of the benefits which we receive thereby.

Question - What is the outward part or sign of the Lord's Supper?

Answer - Bread and Wine, which the Lord hath commanded to be received.

Question - What is the inward part, or thing signified? Answer - The Body and Blood of Christ, which are verily and indeed taken and received by the faithful in the Lord's Supper.

"Consubstantiation" or "sacramental union"

The word "consubstantiation" is sometimes used to denote the Lutheran view of the Eucharist, though improperly as Luther and the Lutheran Confession deny this teaching.[7] "Sacramental union" is also used.[citation needed] It is sometimes confusing to differentiate the Lutheran view from the Reformed view on this sacrament since the term "sacramental union" is also used in some Reformed confessions. Nevertheless, some[who?] in the Anglican Communion propose that the historical view of the Church of England is more in line with Lutheran teaching on the Eucharist than Reformed teaching.[citation needed] Mainly, because of geography, it is hard to classify the English Reformation as a Lutheran or Reformed movement.[citation needed] It is typically seen[who?] as a uniquely English movement, influenced by, but separate from Continental movements.[citation needed]

A maxim in Anglicanism concerning Christ's presence is that "it may not be about a change of substance, but it is about a substantial change."[8] Some[who?] would argue this view is the Lutheran view.[citation needed] However, it might as easily by called the Reformed view, since, after consecration, the elements are only fit for holy use and may no longer be used as common bread and wine.

This view is expressed in the allied but metaphysically different doctrines of consubstantiation and sacramental union. Both views hold that Christ is present in the eucharistic elements spiritually. Such spiritual presence may or may not be believed to be in bodily form, depending on the particular doctrinal position.[citation needed] It may in fact be a mystical, yet still physical, Body of Christ, as some Anglicans[who?] hold, or a superphysical reality "superimposed" in, with, and under the bread and wine. Although this is similar to consubstantiation, it is different as it has a decidedly mystical emphasis.[citation needed]

Many contemporary Anglicans[who?] would concur with the views of the 19th century Anglo-Catholic divine Edward Bouverie Pusey (a leader of the Oxford Movement), who argued strongly for the idea of sacramental union.[citation needed] In this doctrine, the bread and wine do not disappear at the consecration, but that the Body and Blood become present without diminishing them.[citation needed] How the nature of the Body and Blood is to be defined remains to be addressed, however.Receptionism

An imprecisely defined view common among 16th and 17th-century Anglican theologians is known as receptionism, a term not found before 1867. According to this view, although in the Eucharist the bread and wine remain unchanged, the faithful communicant receives together with them the body and blood of Christ.[9]Shape of the riteMain articles: Eucharist and Book of Common Prayer

As mentioned above, the liturgy for Eucharist is important in Anglican Eucharistic theology because of the principle of lex orandi, lex credendi. The liturgy is defined in the authorised prayer books of the various national churches and ecclesiastical provinces of the Communion. Their communion rites follow one or other of two main sources, either the First English Prayer Book of 1549 or the Second of 1552 which with minor modifications became the 1662 BCP which is still today the liturgical legal reference-point for the Church of England.[10] The author of both rites was Thomas Cranmer who maintained that there was no theological difference between the two,[11] but was forced to make its protestantism more obvious when traditionalists claimed that they could still find the doctrine of the Mass in the earlier version.[12]

Some or all of the following elements may be altered, transposed, or absent depending on the rite used by the province or national church. In modern liturgies whichever source (1549 or 1552) they follow for the Sacrament, the Liturgy of the Word has, with variations, a fairly standard pattern [13] :

The Liturgy of The Word The Gathering of the Community: Beginning with a Trinitarian-based greeting or seasonal acclamation; followed by the Prayer of Humble Access; the Gloria in Excelsis Deo, Kyrie eleison, and/or Trisagion; and then the Collect of the day. During Lent and/or Advent especially, this part of the service may begin or end with a penitential rite. The Proclamation of the Word: Usually two to three readings of Scripture, one of which is always from the Gospels, plus a psalm (or portion thereof) or canticle. This is followed by a sermon or homily; the recitation of the Apostles' or Nicene Creed; The Prayers of the People: Very varied in form. The passing of the peace may be placed here. The Liturgy of Sacrament (1549 style) The Celebration of the Eucharist: The gifts of bread and wine are received, along with other gifts (such as money and/or food for a food bank, etc.), and an offertory prayer is recited. Following this, a Eucharistic Prayer (called "The Great Thanksgiving") is offered. This prayer consists of a dialogue (the Sursum Corda), a preface, the sanctus and benedictus, the Words of Institution, the anamnesis, and the epiclesis. The Lord's Prayer usually follows, followed by the fraction (the breaking of the bread), the Prayer of Humble Access, the Agnus Dei, and the distribution of the sacred elements (the bread and wine). Dismissal there is a post-Communion prayer. A doxology or general prayer of thanksgiving may follow. The service concludes with a Trinitarian blessing and the dismissal. The Liturgy of Sacrament (1552/1662 style): The priest prepares the table. Invitation to examine oneself, confession, absolution, "comfortable words"[14]. The Sursum Corda, preface, the sanctus, Prayer of Humble Access, Words of Institution. Then comes the distribution of the elements, the Lord's Prayer, concluding prayer of thanksgiving, the Gloria in Excelsis Deo and blessing.

Customary of the riteTypical style of an Anglican altar

The rubrics of a given prayer book outline the parameters of acceptable practice with regard to ritual, vestments, ornaments and method and means of distribution of the sacrament. The communal piety of a given parish or diocese will determine the expression of these rubrics and the implicit eucharist theoligy.

Until the latter part of the 19th century, the so-called "Ornaments Rubric" of the 1662 Prayer Book was interpreted to inhibit much of the ceremonial contemporary Anglicans take for granted. Priests were directed to stand at the north side or north end of the altar and candles on the altar were considered forbidden, as was the wearing of a chasuble or maniple. The Ritualist controversies of the late 19th century solidified the ascendancy of the Catholic Revival in the United Kingdom and many other parts of the Anglican Communion, introducing a much greater diversity of practice.Low ChurchWilliam White celebrating communion in choir dress in the 19th century. Such practice is still typical of low church clergy, who object to the use of sacramental vestments.

In Low Church parishes ceremonial is generally kept at a minimum, according to the rubrics of historical Anglican prayer books. The service is more often called "Holy Communion" than the "Eucharist". The priest is typically attired simply in a cassock, surplice and a black scarf (called a tippet). This is a priest's "choir habit", but may also be worn as eucharistic vestments as was commonly done in earlier years. Manual action is kept to the standards of the rubrics found in the Book of Common Prayer (often confined to placing one's hands on the elements during the words of institution). The altar is usually referred to as the "Lord's table", the "holy table", or simply the "table". Candles are either absent or two in number. The material on the table may be limited to the chalice and paten, a cloth covering and, in some instances, the prayer book. The celebration of Holy Communion may be weekly or monthly. This frequency is in keeping with the Anglican practice that predominated prior to the 20th century. After the service, and following historical rubrics, the unconsumed bread and wine are reverently eaten by the priest and other ministers. If there is more than the clergy can finish, lay persons are called to help eat the remaining elements. In accordance with the Articles of Religion, the remaining bread and wine are not reserved in a tabernacle or aumbry.Broad Church/Central Churchmanship

In most Broad Church parishes there is slightly more elaboration. Attending the Eucharist at a Broad Church parish nowadays is likely to be similar in many respects to a contemporary Roman Catholic Mass. Priests will generally be vested in an alb and stole and also, in many instances, a chasuble. They may make use of a lavabo in preparation for the celebration and the chalice and paten may be initially concealed by a burse and ornamental veil. Candles will almost always be present on the altar. Broad Church Anglicans typically celebrate the Eucharist every Sunday, or at least most Sundays. The rite may also be celebrated once or twice at other times during the week. The sacrament is often reserved in an aumbry or consumed. Broad Church Anglicans may not reverence the sacrament, as such, but will frequently bow when passing the altar.Anglo-Catholic

Anglo-Catholic worship involves further elaboration. The priest will often be joined by a deacon and subdeacon (the deacon being ordained in Holy Orders and the subdeacon a lay person) dressed in the historic Eucharistic vestments specific to their office (chasuble, dalmatic and tunicle, respectively). They will sometimes wear maniples and ornamented amices. In many churches the altar will be fixed against the "east wall" and the sacred ministers will celebrate Mass facing the tabernacle (often surmounted by a crucifix) above the altar, i.e., the sacred ministers and the congregation will all be facing the same direction. Apart from the tabernacle (containing the reserved sacrament) the altar is often adorned with six candles. Incense and sanctus bells are often used during the liturgy and the Eucharist itself is often supplemented by a number of prayers from earlier liturgies prayed by the priest, sacred ministers, and servers and sometimes the people as well.

Anglo-Catholic eucharistic theology places an emphasis on frequent communion, ideally daily. The unconsumed elements are typically reserved in a tabernacle, either attached to a fixed altar or placed behind or to one side of a free-standing altar. When the sacrament is present, Anglo-Catholics will often genuflect when passing in front of it. When absent they will bow to the altar. Often an aumbry is dignified in the same way. Many Anglo-Catholics practice eucharistic adoration and Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament, either informally or through a corporate liturgical rite.Administration

While the matter is always bread or wine, there is some variation. The bread may be in the form of individual wafers or an actual loaf from which pieces are torn off and distributed. Wine is typically red, but may be white (to avoid unsightly staining of the linens). In some instances, fortified wine such as sherry or port wine is used. In still others, the option of juice is offered, usually in consideration of recipients who may be alcoholic (although it is perfectly acceptable and valid to receive the sacrament only in one kind, i.e., the bread, pace the rubrics of the 1662 Book of Common Prayer).

Anglican practice is that those who administer the sacrament (that is, distribute the bread and the wine) must be licensed by the diocesan bishop. Traditionally, priests and deacons were the only ones authorised to administer; however, many provinces now permit the licensing of so-called "lay administrators." In some localities, a lay-person is restricted to distributing the wine, while the clergy administer the bread.

Most Anglican provinces keep an "open table," that is, all baptised Christians are welcome to receive Communion. In many others, access to the sacrament is reserved for those who have been both baptised and Confirmed, either in the Anglican or affiliated denomination.

Today, only in a minority of Anglican dioceses, is reservation of the sacrament (other than for use with the sick) not authorised. In these cases, reverent consumption or disposal is often practiced. When disposed, the elements may be broken/poured over the earth or placed down a "piscina" in the sacristy, a sink with a pipe that leads underground to a pit or into the earth. What is done with the remaining elements is often reflective of churchmanship.[15]

Eucharist: Scripture clearly teaches what has traditionally been called the Doctrine of the Real Presence.[21] In short, Jesus Christ is really, truly, and uniquely present in the Eucharistic celebration in which the dominical elements of bread and wine serve as focus. Our Lords Presence is also to be celebrated in the life of the whole Church militant and triumphant of which the Eucharistic community is the local manifestation. Anglicans have been loath to go beyond this basic definition, except to reject as dogmatic the theory of transubstantiation and to stress the role of the Holy Ghost in the celebration of the sacrament.[22] In the words of John Cosin, "as to the manner of the presence of the Body and Blood of Our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament, we...do not search into the manner of it with perplexing inquiries; but, after the example of the primitive and purest Church of Christ, we leave it to the power and wisdom of Our Lord..."[23]