Do Episcopalians believe in transubstantiation

Answer 1

The Episcopal/Anglican understanding of the Eucharist is that of the "Real Presence" of Jesus Christ in the Sacrament. This doctrine of the "Real Presence" has always been unspecified within the Anglican Communion and has had various different understandings. Although (Archbishop of Canterbury under Henry VII) Thomas Cranmer specifically wrote against the doctrine of Transubstantiation in his 39 Articles of the Anglican Church, many "high church" Episcopalians/Anglicans accept this doctrine and recognize the 39 Articles more as a document of historical relevance rather than a declaration of faith.

Other Anglicans/Episcopalians believe that the "Real Presence" is Christ "in with and under" the elements of bread and wine similar to the understanding of constubstantiation, but different in that Christ's presence remains among the consecrated elements permanently, even after the mass ends, which is different from the Lutheran understanding.

Essentially, the Episcopal Church has a wide range of Eucharistic theologies which all fall into the category of "Real Presence." The one thing they all have in common is that they all believe that when the priest or bishop consecrates the bread and wine some how and in some way, it is no longer just bread and wine, but it is also the Real Presence of Our Lord Jesus Christ.

Answer 2

No, Lutherans do not believe in transubstantiation. The bread and wine are bread and wine, while also being the literal body and blood of Christ. The Bible, in 1 Corinthians 11:24, says and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, "This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me." and similarly with the wine.

Answer 3

No, it does not. Lutherans believe in the doctrine of the Sacramental Union when it comes to the Eucharist. It is similar to transubstantiation, and also to consubstantiation in some ways, but at the core it remains a mystery.

Transubstantiation is the literal changing of the elements of the bread and wine, when consecrated in the Eucharist, into the body and blood of Christ.

Consubstantiation is the coexistence of the substance of the body and blood of Christ in and with the substance of the bread and wine, when consecrated in the Eucharist.

Each of these is a philosophical explanation of the Real Presence in the Eucharist, whereas the Sacramental Union is a description of the doctrine.

In the Sacramental Union, the integrity of the bread and wine remain though united with the body and blood of Christ. The consecrated bread of the Eucharist is united with the body of Christ and the consecrated wine of the Eucharist is united with the blood of Christ by virtue of Christ's original institution with the result that anyone eating and drinking these elements--the consecrated bread and wine--really eats and drinks the physical body and blood of Christ as well. However, it does not assert a three dimensional, circumscribed presence of the body and blood in the sacramental bread and wine respectively. The body and blood of Christ are present in, with, and under the bread and wine when the words of Christ are announced: "This is my body" and "This is my blood." We need not understand how or why this happens in order for it to be true; it is true because Christ says it is true.

Martin Luther distinguished the Sacramental Union from that of transubstantiation and consubstantiation in this way:

"... we do not make Christ's body out of the bread ... Nor do we say that his body comes into existence out of the bread. We say that his body, which long ago was made and came into existence, is present when we say, 'This is my body.' For Christ commands us to say not, 'Let this become my body,' or, 'Make my body there,' but, 'This is my body.'"

Answer 4

Methodism view the bread and wine as symbolic of Christ's broken body and shed blood and celebrate this sacrament in remembrance of Him and His death at Calvary

Answer 5

No.