What Is Communion? The Lord's Supper Explained — Catholic vs. Protestant, How Often, Who Can Participate

Communion — also called the Lord's Supper, the Eucharist, the Breaking of Bread — is the central sacrament of Christian worship. It's practiced by every Christian tradition, debated by every Christian tradition, and has divided the church since the Reformation.

What's actually happening when Christians eat bread and drink wine? Why does it matter so much? And who gets to participate?

The Institution: What Jesus Did

All three Synoptic Gospels and Paul (1 Corinthians 11) record the institution of the Lord's Supper at the Last Supper.

Matthew 26:26-28: "While they were eating, Jesus took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to his disciples, saying, 'Take and eat; this is my body.' Then he took a cup, and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them, saying, 'Drink from it, all of you. This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.'"

"This is my body." "This is my blood." Four words that have been argued about for two thousand years.

What "Is" Means: The Central Debate

The great Reformation debate over the Lord's Supper centered on this: what does Jesus mean when he says "this is my body"?

Catholic Teaching: Transubstantiation The bread and wine literally become the body and blood of Christ — their substance is transformed, even though the accidents (appearance, taste, smell) remain unchanged. Christ is fully present — body, blood, soul, and divinity — in each element. This is what Catholics mean by the "Real Presence." The Eucharist is also a re-presentation of Christ's sacrifice — not another sacrifice, but the same sacrifice made present.

Lutheran Teaching: Sacramental Union / Consubstantiation Luther rejected transubstantiation but insisted on the real bodily presence of Christ "in, with, and under" the bread and wine — both are present together, the physical elements and the body and blood of Christ. Luther famously wrote "This IS my body" on the table with chalk during a debate, refusing to move from the literal "is."

Reformed/Calvinist Teaching: Spiritual Presence Calvin rejected both transubstantiation and Luther's view. Christ is not bodily present in the elements — his glorified body is at the right hand of the Father. But Christ is genuinely present spiritually, by the power of the Holy Spirit, and the elements are means through which the Spirit lifts the believer's heart to the exalted Christ. Something real happens; it's not merely symbolic.

Memorial/Symbolic View (Zwingli, Baptist tradition) The bread and wine are signs — memorials of Christ's body and blood. "Do this in remembrance of me" (1 Corinthians 11:24-25) — the emphasis is on remembrance, looking back at the cross. Christ is not present in any special sense in the elements. The Lord's Supper is a public declaration of faith.

Most Protestant evangelicals today hold a Zwinglian or soft-Reformed view. The Catholic and Orthodox churches hold the real presence in stronger form. Lutherans hold a middle position.

The pastoral reality: Serious scholars committed to Scripture have held all four positions for centuries. The debate will not be resolved here. But dismissing it as unimportant is theologically naive — what you believe is happening at the table shapes how you approach it.

Why It Matters Theologically

It proclaims the gospel. 1 Corinthians 11:26: "For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes." The Lord's Supper is not just for those present — it's a proclamation to the watching world and the powers and principalities. The church eats and drinks the announcement: the Lord died, and is coming again.

It is participation in Christ. 1 Corinthians 10:16: "Is not the cup of thanksgiving for which we give thanks a participation in the blood of Christ? And is not the bread that we break a participation in the body of Christ?" Koinōnia — participation, fellowship, sharing. Whatever else happens at the table, something is communicated: union with Christ and with each other.

It is eschatological. Matthew 26:29: "I tell you, I will not drink from this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father's kingdom." Every Lord's Supper is held in the tension between remembrance (looking back to the cross) and anticipation (looking forward to the messianic banquet). The table is a foretaste of the feast to come.

How Often?

The New Testament doesn't prescribe frequency. Acts 2:42 describes the early church "breaking bread" — likely the Lord's Supper — as part of their regular community life. Acts 20:7 records breaking bread on "the first day of the week." The Didache prescribes the Lord's Day. Justin Martyr (2nd century) describes weekly Eucharist as the practice.

Most historical churches celebrate weekly. Many evangelical/Baptist traditions observe monthly or quarterly — partly as a reaction against anything that might feel routine or Catholic.

The case for weekly: the Lord's Supper is meant to be central to Christian worship, not an occasional addition. The case for less frequent: it preserves the sense of solemn occasion. Both have pastoral legitimacy; the tradition tilts toward frequent.

Who Should Participate?

Open communion: All baptized Christians may participate, regardless of church membership or denominational tradition.

Closed communion: Only members in good standing of that specific church or denomination may participate. (This was historically common in Lutheran and Reformed contexts, based on the argument that sharing the table implies doctrinal agreement.)

Close communion: Only baptized believers who are members of a church in fellowship with that congregation.

Fencing the table: Paul's warning in 1 Corinthians 11:27-30 about eating "unworthily" — which he defines as not "discerning the body" (v.29), likely meaning not recognizing the community implications — is taken seriously in many traditions. Communion is offered "only to those who have examined themselves" (v.28), which means baptized believers who are in a state of faith and repentance, not unbelievers or the baptized-but-unbelieving.

Most evangelical churches today practice open or broadly open communion. Children who have not professed faith are typically invited to watch but not participate.

The general principle: The table is for the baptized who are trusting Christ — not for the righteous (perfect Christians don't exist) but for those who acknowledge their need and come in faith.

How to Prepare for Communion

Paul's instruction (1 Corinthians 11:28): "Everyone ought to examine themselves before they eat of the bread and drink from the cup."

What does self-examination look like?

• Have you confessed recent sin, honestly, to God?
• Are you trusting Christ — not your own goodness — as your basis for standing before God?
• Are you holding unresolved bitterness toward a fellow believer? (v.29's "discerning the body" may include recognizing the relational dimension of the community)
• Do you understand what you're doing and why?

This is not perfection before the table. It's honesty before the table. The table is for sinners who know they're sinners — not for those who've got it together.

Coming to the Table

However your tradition practices it — weekly or monthly, intincting or a full cup, leavened bread or wafers, open table or fenced table — the Lord's Supper is an irreplaceable gift.

You eat and drink with the millions of believers who have done so across 2,000 years, in every language, on every continent, in palaces and in prisons and in houses and in underground caves. You proclaim his death. You anticipate his return. You receive, by whatever mysterious means, the grace he promised.

"As often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes."

Eat. Drink. Remember. Anticipate.

Related: What Is Baptism? | Christian Community — Why It Matters