The Eucharist/Lord’s Supper - Introduction

I am currently engaged in an extensive study of the Eucharist and liturgy. I began this study a month ago after a number of comments were posted in two older threads here at AF. [See comments by posted by Noah here; and comments by Ian Miller here]

In their posts, Noah and Ian brought to my attention the polemical efforts by two anti-Catholic gents whose goal is to disprove the material/substantial real presence of Jesus Christ in the Eucharist—i.e. that the Eucharistic bread and wine are in no real sense converted into the body and blood of Jesus Christ.

Such polemical efforts are not new. The first known attempt to challenge the centuries old interpretation that the Eucharist is materially and substantially the body and blood of Jesus Christ was put forth by the Frankish monk Ratramnus in the ninth century. The controversy raised by Ratramnus was localized and short lived, but reemerged two centuries later via the French theologian Berengar (Latin: Berengarius).

Interestingly enough, prior to Ratramnus and Berenger, teachings by the Church Fathers concerning the Eucharist precipitated no controversy. Note the following:

The Patristic period was full of controversy over many weighty doctrines, such as the Incarnation, the Trinity, original sin and the necessity of grace, and the use of images. Surprisingly, however, Eucharistic doctrines concerning Christ’s real presence in the Eucharist and the substantial conversion of bread and wine into His Body and Blood were not key topics of controversy. Dispute began in the ninth century in France and returned in heightened form in the eleventh century in the dispute with Berengarius. This controversy and the effort to refute the doctrine of Berengarius enabled the Church to reach greater clarity on the doctrine of the real presence of Christ and the substantial conversion of the Eucharistic species. (Lawrence Feingold, The Eucharist - Mystery of Presence, Sacrifice, and Communion, 2018, p. 233)

The controversial efforts of Berengar and his followers were effectively negated by two contemporary Catholic theologians—Lanfranc of Canterbury and Guitmund of Aversa. Controversy over the Eucharist became virtually nonexistent until the 16th century. The Protestant reformation/revolt created discord over a wide range of doctrines, with the Eucharist being no exception. Disputations over the Eucharist emerged quite early. Calvin, Luther and Zwingli each held opposing views, views which created even further fragmentation amongst Protestants as time went on.

The numerous doctrines/variants concerning the Eucharist can be broadly classified under two competing concepts. First, those who maintain that Jesus Christ is materially/substantially present in Eucharistic elements—the bread and wine have become the body and blood of Jesus Christ in a real sense—a concept known as the Real Presence. The other concept denies the Real Presence of Jesus Christ in the Eucharist, interpreting the Biblical statements that the Eucharistic bread "is my body", and the cup/wine "is my blood", in a figurative sense only.

The doctrine of the Real Presence can be divided into two categories: those who believe that the Real Presence is 'spiritual' only—i.e. only the divinity of Jesus Christ is present, and those who maintain that the Real Presence includes both the 'spiritual' and material/substantial presence of Jesus Christ—i.e. both of Christ’s two natures are present.

With the above, brief introduction in place, I would now like to move forward to our two 21st century controversialists: Brian Culliton and Timothy F. Kauffman.

Brian Culliton (initially posting under the pseudonym 'onefold') began a series concerning a few early Church Fathers and the "real presence doctrine" back on January 26, 2008. He started with Clement of Alexandria and Origen (link). In February 2008 he added Tertullian, Irenaeus, Justin Martyr, and Ignatius (link). In the late spring of 2008 he combined his January and February posts, adding a "Conclusion" that displays the anti-Catholic, polemical nature of his contributions (link).

Since June of 2008, Brian has made numerous, though minor, modifications to the 'Early Church Evidence Refutes Real Presence' post (see this link). Interest in the thread has continued up to February 28, 2024, with the last comment bringing the total to 21,680—an impressive total!

One of the major problems I have with 'Early Church Evidence Refutes Real Presence' post is that it ignores the extremely important issue of doctrinal development. It is a historical fact that doctrine/s develop. If Brian were to examine the doctrines of God and Christology as found in the Church Fathers he references in his 'Early Church Evidence Refutes Real Presence' post, comparing them with the developed doctrines of God and Christology as found in the creeds and confessions of the major historical churches, he would have to conclude that all of those Church Fathers were heretical! But, if one allows for the organic develop of doctrine, one will discover that those Church Fathers provided the 'seeds' for positive growth in what became the orthodox doctrines of God and Christology as found in the Ecumenical Creeds. The same holds true concerning the doctrines of the Eucharist and Real Presence. In later posts I will provide solid evidence that the early Church Fathers provided the core elements for the formulation of the doctrine of the Real Presence in the Eucharist.

Another problem that I have with the 'Early Church Evidence Refutes Real Presence' post is that it seems to limit its criticisms of the Real Presence doctrine to just the Catholic tradition. Fact is, the Eastern Orthodox Churches, Lutherans, and many Anglicans also embrace the doctrine. Interestingly enough, one Anglican apologist has provided some solid critiques of Brian's musings. I highly recommend that interested folk take the time to investigate the following posts:

Early Church Refutes real presence? An introduction

https://cooperscorner338720667.wordpress.com/2018/05/08/early-church-refutes-real-presence-an-introduction/

Early Church evidence refutes real presence?-A reply to Brian Cullition Part 1: Ignatius of Antioch

https://cooperscorner338720667.wordpress.com/2018/05/12/early-church-evidence-refutes-real-presence-a-reply-to-brian-cullition-part-1-ignatius-of-antioch/

Early Church Evidence Refutes Real Presence?-Origen’s Exegesis and the Eucharist

https://cooperscorner338720667.wordpress.com/2021/05/14/early-church-evidence-refutes-real-presence-origens-exegesis-and-the-eucharist/

Early Church Evidence Refutes Real Presence: Dialogue with Culliton

https://cooperscorner338720667.wordpress.com/2020/05/22/early-church-evidence-refutes-real-presence-dialogue-with-culliton/

Shall end here for now. In my next post, the Lord willing, I will begin my examination of our second 21st century controversialist, Timothy F. Kauffman.

 

Grace and peace,

David