How has Christ been Understood to be Present in the Eucharist Essay

How has Christ been Understood to be Present in the Eucharist - Essay Example This essay stresses that Christ is not only the author and minister of each sacrament, but equally the exemplar of the grace which each sacrament is designed to realise, by naming explicitly the grace or virtue conveyed in and through each sacrament. In the Eucharist, this particular grace is self-giving. Macquarrie forwards the idea that through these sacraments, â€Å"things† which are considered otherwise ordinary are taken to new spiritual levels, or people’s understanding of them have, by virtue of the persistence of their faith, undergone intense deepening. Hence, bread which is of the earth and which human hands have made become the â€Å"Word of Life† and Wine, normally considered the fruit of the vine and a product of human toil and labor, becomes the â€Å"spiritual drink† and the â€Å"cup of our salvation†. This paper makes a conclusion that there is no doubt that the Eucharist is very important in the Anglican Church. No one by a bishop or presbyter may administer the Eucharist and it mandates that â€Å"pure wheaten bread and wine, being the fermented juice of the grape, are the necessary elements of the Sacrament.† The doctrine of the Catholic Church and the Anglican Church with respect to Transubstantiation was one and the same. When the reign of Edward VI ushered in a more Protestant ideology, transubstantiation was refuted and denied. The Doctrine of Transubstantiation, many Anglicans believe, tend to obscure the deeper meaning of the Eucharist.