Words of Institution
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The Words of Institution are those of Jesus Christ at his Last Supper, used in Christian liturgy to consecrate the Eucharist.
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[edit] Catholic Church
The Words of Institution are present in almost all known liturgies of the Christian church, and the most common formulation is combination of the texts from the Gospels of Mark, Matthew and Luke and the Pauline form, as recorded in 1 Corinthians 11:23-26.
These words are presented in the present English translation of the Roman Missal in the form given in the following italicized text. The distinction here made by bolding is not found in the Missal.
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- Take this, all of you, and eat it:
- this is my body which will be given up for you.
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- Take this, all of you, and drink from it:
- this is the cup of my blood,
- the blood of the new and everlasting covenant.
- It will be shed for you and for all
- so that sins may be forgiven.
- Do this in memory of me.
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From the time of Peter Lombard on, the prevailing theology of the Catholic Church considered the words put in bolding above to be on their own the necessary and sufficient "sacramental form" of the Eucharist. This, however, was never the Church's defined doctrine, and does not appear, for instance, in the Catechism of the Catholic Church. Especially since the publication of the 17 January 2001 decision by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith in favour of the validity of the Anaphora of Addai and Mari, which is the oldest Eucharistic Prayer still in use and which does not contain the Words of Institution in explicit form, attention is given to the rite as a whole, not just to a few words within it, although these words or their equivalent are considered to be essential.
The theology of the ancient Eastern Churches generally believes the Epiclesis also to be a required part of the sacramental form.
[edit] Protestant Churches
Protestant Churches generally, with the exception of the Anglican Communion, rely exclusively on the words of St. Paul as recorded in 1 Corinthians 11:23-26. (ESV):
- "For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took bread,
- 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.'
- In the same way also he took the cup, after supper, saying, 'This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.'
- For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes."
Protestantism has typically utilized the words of institution as a central part of its Eucharistic liturgy, though precise traditions vary by denomination. The debate over the force and literalness of the words of institution underlies the arguments between consubstantiation and transubstantiation. Most of the established churches in the Protestant tradition employ a mirroring of Paul's words surrounding the words of institution, while most of the Congregationalist churches (the Baptist Church, Presbyterian Church, and other post Calvinist churches) will use the words themselves without the full citation of Paul's wording.
[edit] External links
- Catechism of the Catholic Church - The sacrament of the Eucharist
- Guidelines For Admission To The Eucharist Between The Chaldean Church And The Assyrian Church Of The East
[edit] References
- Catechism of the Catholic Church - The sacrament of the Eucharist
- Cross, F. L., ed. The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church. London: Oxford UP, 1974.
