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Edited certain statements to more accurately reflect Roman Catholic and Lutheran theology of the Lord's Supper, both of which do not affirm a "physical presence" or "capernaic eating" of Christ in the Eucharist, but rather describe a "substantial" presence received through oral consumption of the elements. |
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[[File:Avontmael des Heeren cropped.jpg|thumb|upright=1.3|This image from the frontispiece of a book on the subject depicts a [[Dutch Reformed]] service of the [[Eucharist|Lord's Supper]].{{sfn|Mentzer|2013|p=246}}]]
In [[Reformed theology]], the [[Eucharist|Lord's Supper or Eucharist]] is a [[sacrament]] that spiritually nourishes [[Christians]] and strengthens their [[union with Christ]]. The outward or physical action of the sacrament is eating bread and drinking wine. [[Reformed confessions]], which are official statements of the beliefs of Reformed churches, teach that Christ's body and blood are [[real presence|really present]] in the sacrament, and that believers receive, in the words of the [[Belgic Confession]], "the proper and natural body and the proper blood of Christ." The primary difference between the Reformed doctrine and that of Catholic and Lutheran Christians is that for the Reformed, this presence is believed to be communicated in a spiritual manner by faith rather than by
Early Reformed theologians such as [[John Calvin]] and [[Huldrych Zwingli]] rejected the Roman Catholic belief in [[transubstantiation]], that the bread and wine of the Eucharist change into Christ's body and blood, but taught that Christ's person, including his body and blood, are presented to Christians who partake of it in faith. They also disagree with [[Martin Luther]] and the [[Lutheran]] tradition which taught that Christ's body is
==History==
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[[File:Calvin heart coin.png|thumb|This seventeenth-century medal commemorating [[John Calvin]] depicts a hand holding a heart to heaven. Calvin believed Christians were lifted up to heaven by the Holy Spirit in the Lord's Supper.]]
[[Martin Luther]], leading figure of the [[Protestant Reformation]] and leader of the [[Protestant]] movement which would be called [[Lutheranism]], rejected the doctrine of transubstantiation, but continued to hold that Christ is bodily present "under the bread and wine".{{sfn|Riggs|2015|p=55}} Luther insisted that Christ's words during the institution of the sacrament, "this is my body", be taken literally. He believed that anyone who ate and drank during the Eucharist (often called the "Lord's Supper" by Protestants)
[[Huldrych Zwingli]], the first theologian in the Reformed tradition, also rejected the view of transubstantiation,{{sfn|Riggs|2015|p=55}} but he disagreed with Luther by holding that Christ
[[John Calvin]], a very influential early Reformed theologian, believed the Lord's Supper fed Christians with the spiritual food of [[union with Christ]]. He believed that in the Supper Christians feed on Christ's flesh, which he saw as an inexplicable miracle.{{sfn|Letham|2001|p=32}} Calvin taught that the Supper confirms the promises communicated to Christians in the preaching of the [[Gospel]]. He also saw its purpose as provoking praise for God and love for other people. He believed it necessary for Christians to partake of Christ's humanity in the Supper as well as his Spirit, and that the bread and wine really present, rather than simply symbolize or represent, Christ's body and blood.{{sfn|Letham|2001|p=33}} Calvin spoke of the communication involved in the Lord's Supper as spiritual, meaning that it originates in the [[Holy Spirit]]. Calvin's teaching on the Lord's Supper was followed by many others in the Reformed tradition, including [[Martin Bucer]] and [[Peter Martyr Vermigli]]. Calvin, like Zwingli and against Luther, did not believe that Christ is bodily present in the elements of the Eucharist. He taught that Christ remains in heaven and that we commune with him in the Lord's Supper by being raised up to him rather than him descending to us.{{sfn|Letham|2001|p=35}} Calvin believed the elements of the Supper to be used by God as instruments in communicating the promises which they represent, a view called symbolic instrumentalism.{{sfn|Riggs|2015|p=110}}
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