Eucharist

Chief Christian sacrament, in which bread is eaten and wine drunk in memory of the death of Jesus. Other names for it are the Lord's Supper; Holy Communion; the Holy Liturgy (Eastern Orthodox); and the Mass (Roman Catholicism). Roman Catholics believe that the bread and wine are transubstantiated – that is, converted to the body and blood of Jesus. The doctrine of transubstantiation was rejected by Protestant churches during the Reformation.

The word comes from the Greek for ‘thanksgiving’, and refers to the statement in the Gospel narrative that Jesus gave thanks over the bread and the cup.