Transubstantiation

The term "transubstantiation" (transsubstantiatio) appears in Latin theology in the 9th century, and then becomes widespread in Catholicism. At the 4th Lateran Council in 1215, the doctrine of the conversion of bread and wine ( Holy Gifts ) into the Body and Blood of Christ was set forth. In the Catholic Church, the doctrine of “ transsubstantiation ” (transsubstantiatio) or “ transubstantiation ” of bread and wine into the true Body and Blood of Jesus Christ was finally formed in the writings of Thomas Aquinas . This teaching is called doctrina de fide . According to him, during the Eucharistic prayer, the essence ( substance ) of bread and wine is transformed into the essence of the Body and Blood of Christ, while the properties of bread and wine ( accidents ) available to the senses remain unchanged ^[1] .

The term “transubstantiation” (μετουσίωσις) was never used by the Holy Fathers in the Orthodox Church until the middle of the 15th century in relation to the consecration of the Holy Gifts. For the first time, it was transferred from Catholic literature by Gennady Scholarius , using as a synonym for the traditional patristic terms “ addendum ” (μεταβολή) and “implementation” (μεταποίημα).

The Patriarch of Constantinople Gennady Scholarius sets forth his private theological opinion on the transubstantiation in his sermons “On the Mysterious Body of Our Lord Jesus Christ”:

However, the term “transubstantiation” (μετουσίωσις) did not take root in Orthodox theology, and only at the end of the XVI century it again began to be used among individuals of the Greek clergy who were educated in Roman Catholic educational institutions. Subsequently, at the Greek local councils (always without the participation of the Russian Local Church): in 1672 in Constantinople, in 1672 in Jerusalem, the term "transubstantiation" (μετουσίωσις) was adopted; and in 1691, at a council in Constantinople, all those who deny the term “transubstantiation” indulge in strict anathemas and even eternal damnations ^[3] . In the Russian Orthodox Church there was not a single local cathedral that would approve the term "transubstantiation" and even more so would repeat the anathema of the Greek local cathedrals of the 17th century to those who do not accept this term. But, nevertheless, this term begins to be used among Orthodox theologians of the Russian Orthodox Church , for example, it is included in the message of the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia Adrian . ^[4] Since that time, the term “transubstantiation” has become a common term in Orthodox Eucharistology: it is used in official letters of hierarchs, synodically approved confessions of faith and dogmatic manuals, etc. ^{[5] [6]} . Currently, individual interpretations of private individuals of the term “transubstantiation” in Orthodoxy differ from the teachings of the Catholic Church and Protestant denominations ^[7] .

The term “transubstantiation” is an innovation in Orthodox theology, and the glorified Orthodox Holy Fathers neither collectively nor in their works explained in detail the very process of converting the Holy Gifts into the Body and Blood, they limited themselves only to the concept of “Sacrament” as applied to this process. For this reason, the teaching of Thomas Aquinas on the preservation of accidents when changing the physical nature of bread and wine in the human body and blood is not the teaching of the Orthodox Church.

Some Orthodox theologians, for example, A. S. Khomyakov , N. D. Uspensky and some others, do not accept the term “transubstantiation” due to the lack of it in patristic theology and the lack of an explanation of the mechanism for changing the Holy Gifts of the Holy Fathers during their consecration at the Divine Liturgy .

Lutheranism teaches about consubstance (lat., From con - c, and substantis - essence) ^[8] , that is, about the actual presence in the Holy Communion of the Body and Blood of Christ.

Anglicanism does not accept the term “transubstantiation” (see “ 39 Articles ”, Liturgy in the Church of England ), recognizes the presence of the true Body and Blood of Christ in the Holy Gifts, received with faith; in relation to such an understanding, the High Church sometimes uses the term “transubstantiation,” although it would be more accurate to speak of the term “proposals”, which is more blurred in meaning.

The transcendence is denied by Calvinist faiths , such as, for example, Presbyterianism . Among the later Protestant denominations, transubstantiation is recognized by the “Community of Christians” by Rudolf Freeling.

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