transubstantiation
[ tran-suh b-stan-shee-ey-shuh n ]
/ ˌtræn səbˌstæn ʃiˈeɪ ʃən /
noun
the changing of one substance into another.
Theology.
the changing of the elements of the bread and wine, when they are consecrated in the Eucharist, into the body and blood of Christ (a doctrine of the Roman Catholic Church).
Compare
transignification.
Origin of transubstantiation
1350–1400; Middle English
transubstanciacioun < Medieval Latin
trānssubstantiātiōn- (stem of
trānssubstantiātiō). See
transubstantiate,
-ion
WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH transubstantiation
consubstantiation transubstantiationWords nearby transubstantiation
British Dictionary definitions for transubstantiation
transubstantiation
/ (ˌtrænsəbˌstænʃɪˈeɪʃən) /
noun
(esp in Roman Catholic theology)
- the doctrine that the whole substance of the bread and wine changes into the substance of the body and blood of Christ when consecrated in the Eucharist
- the mystical process by which this is believed to take place during consecrationCompare consubstantiation
a substantial change; transmutation
Derived forms of transubstantiation
transubstantiationalist, nounCultural definitions for transubstantiation
transubstantiation
According to the traditional teaching of the Roman Catholic Church, the presence of Jesus in the sacrament of Communion. Through transubstantiation, the bread and wine consumed by worshipers become the body and blood of Jesus when a priest, acting on Jesus' behalf, speaks the words “This is my body” and “This is my blood” over them.
notes for transubstantiation
Transubstantiation was the focus of a great controversy during the
Reformation, because most other groups of
Christians (see also
Christian) do not maintain this doctrine. They usually hold that the body and blood of Jesus are only symbolically present in the bread and wine or that the bread and wine are the body and blood of Jesus and bread and wine at the same time.