The Lord's Supper Theology History Practice Elements

The supporters of the minimalist viewpoint usually hold that the Lord's supper is a church ordinance, and shy away from the term sacrament ¹ . Proponents view the ordinance as a remembrance of the suffering and death of Jesus Christ, instituted by Jesus as a perpetual memorial until His return. Transubstantiation, consubstantiation, and "means of grace" views are rejected. The institution of Lord's supper from the four gospels is emphasized, as well as the Apostle Paul's account in 1 Corinthians 11:23-27:

2 History

This viewpoint is most often historically associated with the Anabaptists of the Radical Reformation (i.e., Conrad Grebel, Felix Manz, Pilgram MarpeckPilgram Marpeck (unk-1556) was an important South German Anabaptist leader in the 16th century. Some writings may also give Pilgram Marbeck or Pilgrim Marpeck''. Marpeck was a native of the Tyrol, Austria. His father, Heinrich Marpeck, moved from Rosenhei), Huldrych (or Ulrich) Zwingli, and the English BaptistThe Baptist church is a movement within the Protestant branch of Christianity that emphasizes a believer's baptism by full immersion, which is performed after a profession of faith in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. A congregational governance system givs. Nevertheless, supporters of the doctrine of the Lord's supper as a memorial believe their position to be historically connected to the institution of Jesus and His apostles, and the practice of the apostolic church.

3 Practice

3.1 Elements

The elements of the Lord's supper are most commonly unleavened bread and wine ² . In traditions in which temperance movements have had strong influence, grape juice is substituted for the wine. In a few HolinessHoliness means the state of being holy that is, set apart for the worship or service of a god or gods. It is most usually ascribed to people, but can be and often is ascribed to objects, times, or places. The concept is found in almost all religions, espe bodies, water is substituted for the wine.

3.2 Participants

There is wide variation of practice on who may partake of the bread and wine. The traditional BaptistThe Baptist church is a movement within the Protestant branch of Christianity that emphasizes a believer's baptism by full immersion, which is performed after a profession of faith in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. A congregational governance system giv position favors restricted communion, in which the participants are limited to believers who are immersed church members. A variation on this is closed communionClosed Communion is the practice of restricting the serving of the elements of communion (also called Eucharist, The Lord's Supper) to those who are members of a particular church, denomination, or sect. Though the meaning of the term varies slightly in d, in which only members of the church observing the ordinance participate in the Lord's supper ³ General BaptistBaptists were first identified by the name General Baptists in 17th century England. They were called General Baptists because they believed in a general atonement holding that the death of Christ made salvation possible for any persons who voluntarily exs and non-denominational groups favor open communion, in which all professed believers are invited to participate.

3.3 Frequency

The frequency with which the Lord's supper is observed is often a matter of tradition rather than doctrine for most groups. It may be observed annually, bi-annually, quarterly, monthly, or weekly. The Churches of ChristAlternate meanings: see Church of Christ (disambiguation). The Churches of Christ are a body of autonomous Christian congregations that have their roots in the American Restoration Movement of the 19th century. The Churches of Christ have the following di hold the position that the Lord's supper must be observed on the first day of each week. Jehovah's WitnessesJehovah's Witnesses JW are members of a worldwide religion who actively share with others their beliefs about God. They are widely known for their: : Use of the Hebrew name of God, commonly rendered Jehovah in English : Neutral stand in all political affa celebrate it annually, because they consider it the "Lord's Memory" and consider the Lord to be their passover, beliefs they base on 1 CorSee also: Second Epistle to the Corinthians The First Epistle to the Corinthians is a book of the Bible in the New Testament. It is a letter from Paul and Sosthenes to the people of Corinth, Greece. It was written from Ephesus (16:8) about the time of the. 5:7; 11:23-25. The earliest tradition seems to be that communion was frequent. E.g., "[H]ear the Savior: '...I supply daily the Drink of immortality'" St. Clement of Alexandria [2] (d. 217) (Jurgens §436a).

4 External links

a Baptist viewpoint
a Church of Christ viewpoint
a Mennonite viewpoint
a Reformed (Presbyterian) viewpoint
The Lord's Supper: Four Views by Joe Slowiaczek
Four Views of the Lord's Supper - discusses transubstantiation, consubstantiation, spiritual presence, and symbolism (from spiritual presence point of view)

5 References

Close Communion and Baptists, by J. H. Grime
The First Communion, by S. E. Anderson
The Lord's Supper: Believers Church Perspectives, by Dale R. Stoffer
The Meal Jesus Gave Us, by N. T. Wright

6 Footnotes

1. as Anabaptist leader Pilgam Marpeck put it, "The true meaning of communion is mystified and obscured by the word sacrament."
2. e.g., see What is It to Eat and Drink Unworthily, by J. R. Graves
3. ibid.

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1 Theology