Can you tell me the difference?

Question

Can anyone tell me the difference between the
"eucharist" (catholic) and "comunion" (protestant)? I belive they both represent the same thing! am I wrong? explain.

Answer 1

Eucharist comes from the Greek word Eucharistia which means thanksgiving. This is often associated among Catholics during the Communion or the Liturgy of the Eucharist. The sharing of the bread is a symbol of thanksgiving. Likewise Jesus, being commemorated in the Eucharist, is the symbol of the sacrifice which Catholics ought to celebrate in this liturgy. Jesus in the Eucharist is both sign and symbol of this unity. Likewise the sharing of the bread is a symbol of unity as well.

Protestants, especially mainline protestants, also share in the same tradition. In fact, many reflections now-a-days among Catholic theologians are influenced by the Protestants. A significant contribution of protestant theology in Christian theology, especially the Eucharist, is the symbol of Unity or Communion which Jesus ought to bring.

Answer 2

Notice that "coming to Him" He expresses as eating, and "belief in Him" as drinking. Then it is evident and established that the celestial food is the divine bounties, the spiritual splendors, the heavenly teachings, the universal meaning of Christ. To eat is to draw near to Him, and to drink is to believe in Him. For Christ had an elemental body and a celestial form. The elemental body was crucified, but the heavenly form is living and eternal, and the cause of everlasting life; the first was the human nature, and the second is the divine nature. It is thought by some that the Eucharist is the reality of Christ, and that the Divinity and the Holy Spirit descend into and exist in it. Now when once the Eucharist is taken, after a few moments it is simply disintegrated and entirely transformed. Therefore, how can such a thought be conceived? God forbid! certainly it is an absolute fantasy.

To conclude: through the manifestation of Christ, the divine teachings, which are an eternal bounty, were spread abroad, the light of guidance shone forth, and the spirit of life was conferred on man. Whoever found guidance became living; whoever remained lost was seized by enduring death. This bread which came down from heaven was the divine body of Christ, His spiritual elements, which the disciples ate, and through which they gained eternal life.

The disciples had taken many meals from the hand of Christ; why was the last supper distinguished from the others? It is evident that the heavenly bread did not signify this material bread, but rather the divine nourishment of the spiritual body of Christ, the divine graces and heavenly perfections of which His disciples partook, and with which they became filled.

(Abdu'l-Baha, Some Answered Questions, p. 98)

Answer 3

Among the various dogmas of the Catholic Church there is none which rests on stronger Scriptural authority than the doctrine of the Real Presence of Jesus Christ in the Holy Eucharist.

Catholics believe in the Real Presence of Jesus Christ in the Holy Eucharist, because He promised to give His Flesh as food and His Blood as drink (John vi. 48-70); because He fulfilled this promise at the Last Supper (Matt. xxvi. 20; Mark xiv. 22-24; Luke xxii. 19, 20; 1 Cor. xi. 23-25); because St. Paul declares this was the belief of the Apostolic Church (1 Cor. x. 16; xi. 27-29); because the early Fathers explicitly taught that the Eucharist was "the flesh and blood of the Incarnate Jesus" (St. Justin, Apol., i., 66); because Christ's infallible Church solemnly defined this doctrine against the Reformers of the sixteenth century. "The Holy Synod teaches . . . that in the august Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist, after the consecration of the bread and wine, our Lord Jesus Christ, true God and Man, is truly, really and substantially contained under the appearance of those sensible things. ... If anyone denies that in the Sacrament of the most Holy Eucharist are contained truly, really and substantially the Body and Blood, together with the Soul and Divinity of our Lord Jesus Christ, and consequently the whole Christ; but says that He is therein only as a sign, or a figure or virtually, let him be anathema" (Council of Trent, Sess. xiii., ch. 1, can. 1).

At the present day every Christian communion throughout the world, with the sole exception of Protestants, proclaim its belief in the Real Presence of Christ in the Sacrament.

The Nestorians and Eutychians, who separated from the Catholic Church in the fifth century, admit the corporeal presence of our Lord in the Eucharist. Such also is the faith of the Greek church, which seceded from us a thousand years ago, of the Present Russian church, of the schismatic Copts, the Syrians, Chaldeans, Armenians, and, in short, of all the Oriental sects no longer in communion with the See of Rome.

Source(s):

http://www.catholicapologetics.net/qb115...

Answer 4

Protestants and Catholics use the Eucharist (Communion) as a reminder of the Last Supper. Catholics believe the bread and wine become the body of Jesus Christ. Protestants believe that the bread and wine is only a symbol.

"Take this, all of you and eat it. This is my body which will be given up for you"

"Take this, all of you and drink from it. This is the cup of my blood. The blood of the new and everlasting covenant which will be shed for you and for all for the forgiveness of sins."

Answer 5

Yes... they are different in theur respective understanding of the nature of the Lord's Table.

1. Roman Catholic: The Roman Catholic doctrine of Transubstantiation teaches that the elements of the Lord's Supper of bread and wine are changed into the substance of the body and blood of Christ while the accidents, i.e., the
appearance, taste, touch, and smell, remain the same. This si a doctrine rejected by all Protestants and Evangelicals.

2. Protestant/Evangelical:
As a sacrament, the Lord’s Table is a sign and a seal of:
(a) Our interest and share in Christ and in His death
(b) Our continuing portion in the living Christ, i.e., our union with Him
(c) Our interest in all the promises of the New Covenant secured for us by Christ’s death
(d) Our membership in the family of God
(e) Our everlasting inheritance secured for us in Christ

As a memorial, it has three levels of meaning:
(a) It has a past reference to Christ’s sacrificial death on the cross which we recall or remember
(b) it has a present reference to the Church’s corporate feeding on Christ by faith, signifying our need to be continually nourished by Him through His Word and Spirit, with present implications on Church unity and fellowship
(c) It has a future reference as we look forward to Christ’s return and the eschatological banquet with our Savior when all that the promises of the New Covenant will have been fulfilled.
(d) Our abiding fidelity and obedience to the Lord, our Savior


Hope this helps

Answer 6

There is a distinct difference.

Catholics believe when they receive Eucharist that the bread LITERALLY is the Body of Christ and that the Wine LITERALLY is the blood of Christ. They LITERALLY believe that they are physically eating the blood and body of Christ.

In comparison Protestants don't necessarily receive communion every Sunday. And when they do it's never wine, it's grape juice. Protestants believe that the bread and wine/grape juice merely represents Christs sacrifice for us. And they partake in it just as a remembrance. A remembrance of "The Last Supper".

Answer 7

Yes, I believe they are the same. Maybe they are interpreted a little differently. I came from a Catholic upbringing and became a born-again believer as an adult.I am now a Protestant.

Answer 8

Well, I'm not catholic but as I understand it, Catholics say that the "Eucharist" literally becomes the body and blood of Jesus (the physical body and blood). Protestants say that the communion is "cracker" and "grape juice" that symbolizes the body and blood of Jesus. It does not literally become His body and blood (physically).

Answer 9

Yes, the Catholic church believes the bread and wine actually become the body and blood of our Lord. This is called the doctrine of Transubstantion. Protestants believe that it is Symbolic of His sacrifice....theBerean

Answer 10

There are some differences. I don't know them all, but here are some.
Protestants don't follow the catholic pope for a start.
Also they don't believe in the virgin birth of Jesus.
Babies aren't baptized, but baptism is considered a choice to make when you're old enough to consciously become a member of the church.