Eucharistic Theologies Summarised - Reformed Churches

Reformed Churches

• Eucharistic theology: historically, real spiritual presence, i.e., pneumatic presence.
• Reformed theology has taught that Jesus' body is seated in heaven at the right hand of God and therefore is not present in the elements nor do the elements turn into his body. When the eucharist is received, however, not only the spirit, but also the true body and blood of Jesus Christ (hence "real") are received in a pneumatic (spiritual) sense, but these are only received by those partakers who eat worthily (i.e., repentantly) with faith. The Holy Spirit unites the Christian with Jesus though they are separated by a great distance.
• See, e.g., Westminster Confession of Faith, ch. 19; Belgic Confession, Article 35; open communion.
• Theology in this tradition is in flux, and recent agreements, especially A Formula for Agreement, between these denominations and the Lutherans have stressed that: "The theological diversity within our common confession provides both the complementarity needed for a full and adequate witness to the gospel (mutual affirmation) and the corrective reminder that every theological approach is a partial and incomplete witness to the Gospel (mutual admonition) (A Common Calling, page 66)." Hence, in seeking to come to consensus about the Real Presence, the churches have written:

"During the Reformation both Reformed and Lutheran Churches exhibited an evangelical intention when they understood the Lord's Supper in the light of the saving act of God in Christ. Despite this common intention, different terms and concepts were employed which. . . led to mutual misunderstanding and misrepresentation. Properly interpreted, the differing terms and concepts were often complementary rather than contradictory (Marburg Revisited, pp. 103-104);"

and further:

"In the Lord's Supper the risen Christ imparts himself in body and blood, given up for all, through his word of promise with bread and wine....we proclaim the death of Christ through which God has reconciled the world with himself. We proclaim the presence of the risen Lord in our midst. Rejoicing that the Lord has come to us, we await his future coming in glory....Both of our communions, we maintain, need to grow in appreciation of our diverse eucharistic traditions, finding mutual enrichment in them. At the same time both need to grow toward a further deepening of our common experience and expression of the mystery of our Lord's Supper (A Formula for Agreement)."

• Communion is now celebrated either the First Sunday of the Month or some congregations weekly. In the past is was generally held less frequently than some . In the Church of Scotland Holy Communion in the past was traditionally held four times a year, the first Sunday of March, June, September and December, though many churches hold it more frequently . It was traditionally taken by all confirmed members of the church, but nowadays is also often open to children baptized in the church.