Theological glossary · FaithLogic

Transubstantiation

The Roman Catholic teaching that the whole substance of the bread and wine becomes the body and blood of Christ, the outward appearances remaining.

Latin trans- ('across') + substantia; the 'accidents' (appearances) of bread and wine remain while the 'substance' changes.

Matthew 26:26–28; 1 Corinthians 10:16; 1 Corinthians 11:23–29; John 6:53–58.

The term appears in the twelfth century, is used conciliarly at Lateran IV (1215), and is defined at Trent (1551) using Aristotelian substance/accident language.

Affirms a total, objective change; the Eastern churches affirm a real change but generally decline the scholastic term.

Rejected by all Protestant traditions and not the language of the Christian East.

Open in the glossary for related terms and the doctrines this concept appears in.