Defence of the True and Catholic Doctrine of the Sacrament of the Body and Blood of Christ

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The Defence of the True and Catholic Doctrine of the Sacrament of the Body and Blood of Christ is a book by Thomas Cranmer, Archbishop of Canterbury. It was published in July 1550, and was Cranmer's first full-length book, but at his trial in September 1555, he said that it had been written seven years earlier, in 1548.

Thomas Cranmer 16th-century English Archbishop of Canterbury and Protestant reformer

Thomas Cranmer was a leader of the English Reformation and Archbishop of Canterbury during the reigns of Henry VIII, Edward VI and, for a short time, Mary I. He helped build the case for the annulment of Henry's marriage to Catherine of Aragon, which was one of the causes of the separation of the English Church from union with the Holy See. Along with Thomas Cromwell, he supported the principle of Royal Supremacy, in which the king was considered sovereign over the Church within his realm.

Archbishop of Canterbury senior bishop of the Church of England

The Archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and principal leader of the Church of England, the symbolic head of the worldwide Anglican Communion and the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Canterbury. The current archbishop is Justin Welby, who was enthroned at Canterbury Cathedral on 21 March 2013. Welby is the 105th in a line which goes back more than 1400 years to Augustine of Canterbury, the "Apostle to the English", sent from Rome in the year 597. Welby succeeded Rowan Williams.

Contents

Purpose

Although Cranmer is concerned that "very simple and unlearned people" would understand and be edified by his book, the Defence is largely a polemic work, in which Cranmer attacked the Roman Catholic doctrine of his opponents, particularly Bishop Stephen Gardiner. In the preface he compares "beads, pardons, pilgrimages, and such other like popery" with weeds, but says the roots of the weeds are transubstantiation, the doctrine of the corporeal presence of Christ in the Eucharist, and the sacrificial nature of the Roman Catholic mass.

Stephen Gardiner English bishop

Stephen Gardiner was an English bishop and politician during the English Reformation period who served as Lord Chancellor during the reign of Queen Mary I and King Philip.

Contents

The book itself is divided into five parts. Focusing mainly on using arguments based on reason, Cranmer quotes frequently from Scripture and patristic texts, structuring his argument in a lucid manner. Cranmer deals with the following topics:

Church Fathers group of people who were ancient influential Christian theologians

The Church Fathers, Early Church Fathers, Christian Fathers, or Fathers of the Church were ancient and influential Christian theologians and writers. There is no definitive list. The era of these scholars who set the theological and scholarly foundations of Christianity largely ended by AD 700.

Eucharist Christian rite

The Eucharist is a Christian rite that is considered a sacrament in most churches, and as an ordinance in others. According to the New Testament, the rite was instituted by Jesus Christ during the Last Supper; giving his disciples bread and wine during the Passover meal, Jesus commanded his followers to "do this in memory of me" while referring to the bread as "my body" and the cup of wine as "the new covenant in my blood". Through the Eucharistic celebration Christians remember both Christ's sacrifice of himself on the cross and his commission of the apostles at the Last Supper.

Transubstantiation Catholic doctrine that the body and blood of Jesus are present in Eucharist

Transubstantiation is, according to the teachings of the Roman Catholic Church, the change of substance or essence by which the bread and wine offered in the sacrifice of the sacrament of the Eucharist during the Mass, become, in reality, the body and blood of Jesus Christ.

Cranmer argues that for someone to eat the body and drink the blood of Jesus Christ means for that person to "dwell in Christ and to have Christ dwelling in him." To truly partake in the sacrament requires faith. [1]

Cranmer distinguishes Christ's spiritual presence from his sacramental presence. Avoiding the Lutheran doctrine of consubstantiation, he argues that the spiritual presence occurs only through Christ's divine nature, he being in heaven in regards to his human nature. Cranmer follows a symbolic reading of the phrase "This is my body", and develops a view "remarkably close to that developed by Zwingli and Oecolampadius." [2]

Consubstantiation Christian theological doctrine

Consubstantiation is a Christian theological doctrine that describes the real presence in the Eucharist. It holds that during the sacrament, the substance of the body and blood of Christ are present alongside the substance of the bread and wine, which remain present. It was part of the doctrines of Lollardy and considered a heresy by the Roman Catholic Church.

Reception

During the summer and autumn of 1550, during which Gardiner was in the Tower of London, he wrote a retort which was presented to Cranmer at the conclusion of his trial in 1551. Gardiner was severely critical of Cranmer's arguments and cited a range of sources that he believed supported the doctrine of the corporeal presence of Christ in the elements of the Eucharist. Among these sources, were the Book of Common Prayer, Martin Luther, Cranmer's own catechism, and other Lutheran writers.

Cranmer's use of the Church Fathers has drawn criticism. At his trial, he was charged with corrupting patristic texts and falsifying their meaning by "evil translating." [3] Cyril Richardson argues that "as a keen controversialist who wants the Fathers on his side," Cranmer "is not above purposely leaving them unclear in order to win a point in a debate." [4]

Geoffrey Bromiley has suggested that in the Defence, Cranmer becomes "so enmeshed in the detailed refutation of a false teaching that he cannot work out the implications of his positive statements." [5]

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Berengar of Tours Transubstantiation controversy (999–1088)

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Thirty-nine Articles doctrinal statement of the Church of England and other Anglican churches

The Thirty-nine Articles of Religion are the historically defining statements of doctrines and practices of the Church of England with respect to the controversies of the English Reformation. The Thirty-nine Articles form part of the Book of Common Prayer used by both the Church of England and the Episcopal Church. Several versions are available online.

Peter Martyr Vermigli Italian Reformed theologian

Peter Martyr Vermigli was an Italian-born Reformed theologian. His early work as a reformer in Catholic Italy and his decision to flee for Protestant northern Europe influenced many other Italians to convert and flee as well. In England, he influenced the Edwardian Reformation, including the Eucharistic service of the 1552 Book of Common Prayer. He was considered an authority on the Eucharist among the Reformed churches, and engaged in controversies on the subject by writing treatises. Vermigli's Loci Communes, a compilation of excerpts from his biblical commentaries organized by the topics of systematic theology, became a standard Reformed theological textbook.

Ratramnus a Frankish monk of the monastery of Corbie, near Amiens in northern France, was a Carolingian theologian known best for his writings on the Eucharist and predestination. His Eucharistic treatise, De corpore et sanguine Domini, was a counterpoint to his abbot Paschasius Radbertus’s realist Eucharistic theology. Ratramnus was also known for his defense of the monk Gottschalk, whose theology of double predestination was the center of much controversy in 9th-century France and Germany. In his own time, Ratramnus was perhaps best known for his Against the Objections of the Greeks who Slandered the Roman Church, a response to the Photian schism and defense of the filioque addition to the Niceno-Constantinopolitan Creed.

Real presence of Christ in the Eucharist in Christianity, the doctrine that Jesus Christ is really or substantially present in the Eucharist, not merely symbolically or metaphorically

The real presence of Christ in the Eucharist is a term used in Christian theology to express the doctrine that Jesus is really or substantially present in the Eucharist, not merely symbolically or metaphorically.

Monstrance vessel used to display religious object in the Christian tradition

A monstrance, also known as an ostensorium, is the vessel used in Roman Catholic, Old Catholic and Anglican churches for the more convenient exhibition of some object of piety, such as the consecrated Eucharistic host during Eucharistic adoration or Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament. It is also used as reliquary for the public display of relics of some saints. The word monstrance comes from the Latin word monstrare, while the word ostensorium came from the Latin word ostendere. Both terms, meaning "to show", are used for vessels intended for the exposition of the Blessed Sacrament, but ostensorium has only this meaning.

Body of Christ

In Christian theology, the term Body of Christ has two main but separate meanings: it may refer to Jesus' words over the bread at the Last Supper that "This is my body" in Luke 22:19–20, or to the usage of the term by the Apostle Paul in 1 Corinthians 12:12–14 and Ephesians 4:1–16 to refer to the Christian Church. It may also refer to Christ's post-resurrection body in Heaven. Christ also associated himself with the poor of the world and this is also called the Body of Christ.“If we truly wish to encounter Christ, we have to touch his body in the suffering bodies of the poor, as a response to the sacramental communion bestowed in the Eucharist. The Body of Christ, broken in the sacred liturgy, can be seen, through charity and sharing, in the faces and persons of the most vulnerable of our brothers and sisters.” said Pope Francis on launching the World Day of the Poor.

Eucharistic miracle miracle involving the Eucharist: e.g. consecrated Hosts visibly transforming into flesh; being preserved for extremely long stretches of time; surviving being thrown into fire, bleeding, or even sustaining people for decades

In Christianity, a Eucharistic miracle is any miracle involving the Eucharist. In the Roman Catholic, Lutheran, Eastern Orthodox, Methodist, Anglican and Oriental Orthodox Churches, the fact that Christ is really made manifest in the Eucharist is correctly deemed a Eucharistic miracle; however, this is to be distinguished from other manifestations of God. In general, reported Eucharistic miracles usually consist of unexplainable phenomena such as consecrated Hosts visibly transforming into myocardium tissue, being preserved for extremely long stretches of time, surviving being thrown into fire, bleeding, or even sustaining people for decades. Verification of Eucharistic miracles often depends on the religious branch reporting the supposed miracle, but in the case of the Catholic Church, a special task-force or commission investigates supposed Eucharistic miracles before deciding whether they are "worthy of belief." As with other miracles, such as Marian apparitions, belief in approved miracles is not mandated by the Catholic Church, but often serves to reassure believers of God's presence or as the means to "send a message" to the population at large. Anglican Churches have also confirmed extraordinary Eucharistic miracles. It is also not uncommon for religious authorities to allow secular sources to investigate, and verify, at least specifics of the supposed miracle.

The Ubiquitarians, also called Ubiquists, were a Protestant sect that held that the body of Christ was everywhere, including the Eucharist. The sect was started at the Lutheran synod of Stuttgart, 19 December 1559, by Johannes Brenz (1499–1570), a Swabian. Its profession, made under the name of Duke Christopher of Württemberg and entitled the "Württemberg Confession," was sent to the Council of Trent in 1552, but had not been formally accepted as the Ubiquitarian creed until the synod at Stuttgart.

Eucharistic theology branch of Christian theology

Eucharistic theology is a branch of Christian theology which treats doctrines concerning the Holy Eucharist, also commonly known as the Lord's Supper. It exists exclusively in Christianity and related religions, as others generally do not contain a Eucharistic ceremony.

Sacramental union Lutheran doctrine of the real presence

Sacramental union is the Lutheran theological doctrine of the Real Presence of the body and blood of Christ in the Christian Eucharist.

Transignification

Transignification is an idea originating from the attempts of Roman Catholic theologians, especially Edward Schillebeeckx, to better understand the mystery of the real presence of Christ at Mass in light of a new philosophy of the nature of reality that is more in line with contemporary physics.

Anglican eucharistic theology

Anglican eucharistic theology is diverse in practice, reflecting the comprehensiveness of Anglicanism. Its sources include prayer book rubrics, writings on sacramental theology by Anglican divines, and the regulations and orientations of ecclesiastical provinces. The principal source material is the Book of Common Prayer, specifically its eucharistic prayers and Article XXVIII of the Thirty-Nine Articles. Article XXVIII comprises the foundational Anglican doctrinal statement about the Eucharist, although its interpretation varies among churches of the Anglican Communion and in different traditions of churchmanship such as Anglo-Catholicism and Evangelical Anglicanism.

Body and Blood of Christ may refer to:

Mysterium Fidei is an encyclical letter of Pope Paul VI on the Eucharist, published in September 1965.

Lords Supper in Reformed theology

In Reformed theology, the Lord's Supper or Eucharist is a sacrament that spiritually nourishes Christians and strengthens their union with Christ. The outward or physical action of the sacrament is eating bread and drinking wine. Reformed confessions, which are official statements of the beliefs of Reformed churches, teach that Christ's body and blood are really present in the sacrament, but that this presence is communicated in a spiritual manner rather than by his body being physically eaten. The Reformed doctrine of real presence is sometimes called mystical real presence or spiritual real presence.

Stercoranism is a supposed belief or doctrine attributed reciprocally to the other side by those who in the eleventh century upheld and those who denied that the bread and wine offered in the Eucharist become in substance, but not in form, the body and blood of Jesus Christ.

References

  1. ↑ Cyril C. Richardson, "Cranmer and the Analysis of Eucharistic Doctrine," JTS 16 [1965], 428.
  2. ↑ Alister E. McGrath, Reformation Thought: An Introduction (Oxford: Blackwell, 1999), 257.
  3. ↑ Cited in K. J. Walsh, "Cranmer and the Fathers, especially in the Defence," JRH 11 [1981], 227.
  4. ↑ Richardson, "Cranmer and the Analysis of Eucharistic Doctrine," 424.
  5. ↑ G. W. Bromiley, Thomas Cranmer: Theologian (London: Lutterworth, 1956), 81.
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