Consubstantiation

Consubstantiation referred to in the Lutheran doctrine of the Eucharist, the sacramental unity of body and blood of Jesus Christ with the bread and wine. The Lutheran understanding of the Lord's Supper is so out of a real presence of the Body and Blood of Christ in the Supper gifts of bread and wine.

Theological Significance

However, the Konsubstantiationslehre is not a genuinely Lutheran conception of teaching. The Lutheran Reformation drew on older traditions. So already theologians such as Duns Scotus, William of Ockham, John Gerson, Pierre d' Ailly and Gabriel Biel of the opinion that the Konsubstantiationslehre is more compatible with reason. Nevertheless, the said Roman Catholic theologians held formally to the transubstantiation of the Fourth Lateran Council.

The authoritative formulation of the Lutheran doctrine of the Eucharist is found in the Formula of Concord, which the faithful receive the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ, sub et cum bread and wine with his mouth for the forgiveness of sins. Luther has not conceptually defined in this way; he illustrates the idea by the image of the fire brought to annealing iron: iron and fire are connected in the red-hot iron, but both still exist. This therefore means that form a sacramental unity through the consecration of the Body of Christ and the bread and the blood of Christ and the wine.

The real presence of the true body and blood of Christ under the bread and wine should not be misunderstood in such a way, however, that Christ is divided. Rather, the whole Christ ( totus Christ ) is in the consecrated gifts truly present ( concomitance ). However, this should not serve to justify the chalice withdrawal: because Jesus Christ Himself, the communio sub specie utraque, the sacrament in both kinds, told in the words of institution.

Ecumenical importance

Unlike advocated by the Lutheran Reformation doctrine of the Eucharist, the Roman Catholic doctrine of transubstantiation assumes that the substance of the Supper elements of the conversion of a new substance, namely Jesus Christ, soaked and only the accidents of bread and wine remain. In addition to the already formulated in the late Middle Ages objection that this doctrine is incompatible with reason, the Reformation, criticized the lack of anchoring of the doctrine in Scripture.

The 1973 found the formula Leuenberg that Christ is "in his all body and blood, given up by his word of promise with bread and wine " gives the understanding of consubstantiation in the sense of the Formula of Concord takes only imperfectly. She puts in a clear way, the emphasis on the act of communion service, and less on the sacramental unity of the Body and Blood of Christ, truly present under the bread and wine. Therefore, not all Lutheran churches have been able to sign this consensus text, such as the Independent Evangelical Lutheran Church.