Lutherans do not teach consubstantiation.Martin Luther didn’t accept the Church’s teaching of transubstantiation, so he came up with the idea of consubstantiation. I hear many times that Lutherans believe that consubstantiation is the Real Presence, so what’s the difference between the two?
We believe that the “how” of Christ’s presence in the Eucharist is a mystery. It matters not how it happens but that it happens.So you believe in transubstantiation?
Lutherans believe in the real presence, but they do not use the term transubstantiation because they believe the actual mystery of it should remain that - a mystery. There is no need to try to explain it.So you believe in transubstantiation?
What a crazy thought !We must strip from our Catholic prayers and from the Catholic liturgy everything which can be the shadow of a stumbling block for our separated brethren that is for the Protestants." – Archbishop Annibale Bugnini
That’s a little off topic, but indeed.“We must strip from our Catholic prayers and from the Catholic liturgy everything which can be the shadow of a stumbling block for our separated brethren that is for the Protestants.” – Archbishop Annibale Bugnini
We believe that the “how” of Christ’s presence in the Eucharist is a mystery. It matters not how it happens but that it happens.
But it’s still transubstantiation. To Catholics, even though transubstantiation helps explain the Real Presence in the Eucharist, it is still the mystery of Faith.Lutherans believe in the real presence, but they do not use the term transubstantiation because they believe the actual mystery of it should remain that - a mystery. There is no need to try to explain it.
According to the Old Catholic Encyclopedia (OCE), consubstantiation predates Protestantism, and had already been rejected by the time of the Reformation. It was proposed and rejected over the course of the 11 century, but never fully died out in the following centuries. It was most closely associated with High Church Anglicanism in the early 20th century, and is likely still common in Anglicanism.Who were the ones that taught consubstantiation?
I have never met any Anglican who espoused consubstantiation, as an explanation of how the Real Presence is manifested. But since I’ve not met all Anglicans, that is not definitive.According to the Old Catholic Encyclopedia (OCE), consubstantiation predates Protestantism, and had already been rejected by the time of the Reformation. It was proposed and rejected over the course of the 11 century, but never fully died out in the following centuries. It was most closely associated with High Church Anglicanism in the early 20th century, and is likely still common in Anglicanism.
(source: newadvent.org/cathen/04322a.htm)
It may have been a personal belief of Luther (at least according to OCE), but it isn’t official Lutheran doctrine. It might be part of Methodism and Presbyterianism, which have historical ties to Anglicanism, but I’m not sure.
Using words like transubstantiation doesn’t take the mystery away.Like Lutherans, I believe in the Real Presence, but decline to use words like transubstantiation or consubstantiation to describe it. It’s better to let it simply be a mystery.
The left over elements are either consumed or reserved for the next Communion but never mixed with non-consecrated elements. We don’t know if Christ’s Body and Blood is still in elements after the Communion service is over but they are handled with respect. We don’t venerate the host.Just curious, what do Lutherans do with the left over blood/wine and hosts? Do they retain them or do they destroy them?
Are the remaining elements considered the Lord’s Body and Blood once they are consecrated?
Thanks for a response.
Yours in the Hearts of Jesus and Mary
Bernadette
I wonder if this is different within the different Lutheran denominations, because my priest asked a Lutheran pastor friend of his the same question and got a different answer. The pastor he talked to said they do, in fact, mix the elements. He said that they believe that Christ’s body and blood is there until the service is over.The left over elements are either consumed or reserved for the next Communion but never mixed with non-consecrated elements. We don’t know if Christ’s Body and Blood is still in elements after the Communion service is over but they are handled with respect. We don’t venerate the host.