# Poll: Have you heard of the Eucharist? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [April 12, 2007, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-have-you-heard-of-the-eucharist/399841 "2007-04-12T19:12:26Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2007, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-have-you-heard-of-the-eucharist/399841/41 "2007-04-12T23:44:11Z")
I’m not Catholic, but given the rest of my mother’s family is, I’ve been to enough masses to know what it is. ---
**Author:** ![Bobotheoptimist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/919ad9/32.png) [@Bobotheoptimist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bobotheoptimist)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2007, 11:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-have-you-heard-of-the-eucharist/399841/42 "2007-04-12T23:52:54Z")
I’ve heard the word, thought it was just another branch of christianity - Protestant, Methodist, Eucharist ---
**Author:** ![zelie\_zelerton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/59ef9b/32.png) [@zelie\_zelerton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zelie_zelerton)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2007, 12:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-have-you-heard-of-the-eucharist/399841/43 "2007-04-13T00:14:38Z")
[QUOTE=Walloon] She was human in all other ways. She was conceived through sexual intercourse between her parents, she was mortal, she was capable of committing sin — although, she did not, according to the dogma. [/QUOTE] Thanks for fighting my ignorance on that. I also consulted ex-Catholic **Romola des Loups** for advice and she assures me that I’m \*supposed \* to be confused about the whole thing. So I’m happy. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2007, 12:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-have-you-heard-of-the-eucharist/399841/44 "2007-04-13T00:31:33Z")
I knew it was a Catholic ritual, mainly through it being mentioned in fiction. I was never interested enough to look up the details. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2007, 12:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-have-you-heard-of-the-eucharist/399841/45 "2007-04-13T00:34:09Z")
[QUOTE=WhyNot] Wait, it’s not? 😕 [www.thefreedictionary.com:](http://www.thefreedictionary.com/Eucharist+) [/QUOTE] I don’t know anymore, this thread is confusing me. I think it appears to be what I said and something more. Jim ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2007, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-have-you-heard-of-the-eucharist/399841/46 "2007-04-13T01:40:41Z")
[QUOTE=Walloon] She was human in all other ways. She was conceived through sexual intercourse between her parents, she was mortal, she was capable of committing sin — although, she did not, according to the dogma. [/QUOTE] “And Jesus said, 'Let he who is without sin cast the first stone.” **THWACK!** “Knock it off, Mom!” ---
**Author:** ![Caridwen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c89c15/32.png) [@Caridwen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Caridwen)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2007, 1:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-have-you-heard-of-the-eucharist/399841/47 "2007-04-13T01:58:11Z")
[QUOTE=What Exit?] I don’t know anymore, this thread is confusing me. I think it appears to be what I said and something more. Jim [/QUOTE] That’s what it is in the Episcopal Church. One of the sacraments. One is baptism and the other is communion. During the holiday they call it Easter Service with Holy Eucharist. At least that’s what it said when I looked it up. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Alan\_Smithee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/2acd7d/32.png) [@Alan\_Smithee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alan_Smithee)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2007, 4:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-have-you-heard-of-the-eucharist/399841/48 "2007-04-13T04:26:19Z")
I wasn’t raised in the church, but I attended a United Methodist seminary for grad school before becoming an atheist. (Yeah, it’s complicated.) I definitely know about Eucharist through my education. I find it a bit odd that it is thought of as a Catholic term, since at seminary it was encouraged as an ecumenical alternative to the other names that tend to vary by denomination (Mass, Lord’s Supper, etc.) ETA: I had to look it up to be sure I remembered correctly, but in the Catholic tradition, “Communion” refers specifically to that portion of the Mass in which the elements are distributed to the congregation. In Protestant usage, it (like _Eucharist_), refers to the entire Sacrament. ---
**Author:** ![Sunrazor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sunrazor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunrazor)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2007, 5:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-have-you-heard-of-the-eucharist/399841/49 "2007-04-13T05:19:30Z")
If I recall my Episcopal Enquirer’s Classes correctly, Eucharist is the service in which communion is received by those attending. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2007, 8:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-have-you-heard-of-the-eucharist/399841/50 "2007-04-13T08:59:56Z")
I’m Catholic and I’ve met theoretically-Catholic people about my age (late 30s) who, after I identified an image in a restaurant as Our Lady of Guadalupe asked me “how do you know that’s what it is?” and “is there a difference between the Virgin and any other saint?” And yes, I know what the Eucharist is. The sacrament usually refered to as “communion”. Well, at least in Spanish Eucaristía refers to the Sacrament, not to the ceremony: Eucaristía de los Enfermos (Eucharist of the Ill) is when it’s brought to somebody’s house and delivered without a Mass. It also refers to the consecrated form and wine themselves (again, Spanish, I don’t want to get into a theological-linguistic debate). ---
**Author:** ![Kyla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/eada6e/32.png) [@Kyla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kyla)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2007, 9:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-have-you-heard-of-the-eucharist/399841/51 "2007-04-13T09:25:50Z")
I’m Jewish and was raised atheist, and I knew what the Eucharist is. Of course, I took enough classes in religious studies in college to earn a BA in the subject.\* I guess it’s not really a common phrase. \*there was too much overlap with my actual major, anthropology. If I’d dropped the anthro, I could have had an RS degree, but I was damned if I’d spent all that time reading about pot sherds for nothing. ---
**Author:** ![guizot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guizot/32/3636_2.png) [@guizot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/guizot)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2007, 9:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-have-you-heard-of-the-eucharist/399841/52 "2007-04-13T09:39:27Z")
[QUOTE=amarinth] It means “thanksgiving,” from _eukharistos_ “grateful.” Raised Protestant and we never called it that - always “Communion” or “Lord’s Supper.” So while I was more than aware of the basic idea (though not every detail of the Catholic rite), I would have missed that particular terminology. [/QUOTE] Of course I’ve heard of it. I stopped giving my thanks when they stopped giving the wine. ---
**Author:** ![Bogdan99](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Bogdan99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bogdan99)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2007, 10:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-have-you-heard-of-the-eucharist/399841/53 "2007-04-13T10:08:20Z")
I heard of it in the church and that is the official word for it, that I also saw in books.I am Orthodox and we do this when we go to church and drink the wine and eat the bread.From what I understand, Eucharist is only this part, the rest of the prayers are the usual liturgy. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2007, 12:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-have-you-heard-of-the-eucharist/399841/54 "2007-04-13T12:35:30Z")
[QUOTE=Nava] I’m Catholic and I’ve met theoretically-Catholic people about my age (late 30s) who, after I identified an image in a restaurant as Our Lady of Guadalupe asked me “how do you know that’s what it is?” and “is there a difference between the Virgin and any other saint?” And yes, I know what the Eucharist is. The sacrament usually refered to as “communion”. Well, at least in Spanish Eucaristía refers to the Sacrament, not to the ceremony: Eucaristía de los Enfermos (Eucharist of the Ill) is when it’s brought to somebody’s house and delivered without a Mass. It also refers to the consecrated form and wine themselves (again, Spanish, I don’t want to get into a theological-linguistic debate). [/QUOTE] Question to **Nava** , \*_Gigi \*\* & **Caridwen** : So the Eucharist is the Wafer and the Wine {grape juice} and what exactly? I am missing a key part here_ and I always thought it was just the Wafer and the Wine. Between the three of you, I see it is something more, but what exactly? This is from the [Catholic Encyclopedia](http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/05572c.htm) > [@](#): > > The name given to the Blessed Sacrament of the Altar in its twofold aspect of sacrament and Sacrifice of Mass, and in which \*\*Jesus Christ is truly present \*\* under the bread and wine. It appears the mystery part is the portion I bolded. Does this match what what you were all saying? Jim - Not surprising, I am an agnostic that left the RCC when I was 8. ---
**Author:** ![Walloon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/fbc32d/32.png) [@Walloon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walloon)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2007, 12:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-have-you-heard-of-the-eucharist/399841/55 "2007-04-13T12:51:51Z")
In the RC Church, the bread and the wine mystically become the body and blood of Jesus during the sacrament of the Eucharist. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2007, 1:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-have-you-heard-of-the-eucharist/399841/56 "2007-04-13T13:14:28Z")
Yeppers. But I think I first heard the term when I went off to college; there was an Episcopal chapel on campus. Before then, I’d just heard it referred to as “Holy Communion” or “the Lord’s Supper.” Even the Episcopal school I attended from 7th-10th grades referred to it as Communion, IIRC. ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2007, 1:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-have-you-heard-of-the-eucharist/399841/57 "2007-04-13T13:46:32Z")
It’s got two closely related definitions. It is not, despite this thread, limited to Catholic usage, although theirs is the most well-known, I’m sure. The first definition refers to the \*\*ritual \*\*during which a congregation shares food. The meaning of this varies by faith. For Catholics, the Eucharistic Ritual, also known colloquially as Communion, is a sacrament - a ritual believed to show that the church as a whole and the people in it as individuals have received the Grace of God. For some Wiccans and other neopagans, it’s to build community and share in the bounty of the God and Goddess in their manifestations as the force of growth (God) and the earth (Goddess). The second definition refers to the \*\*foodstuffs \*\*used during the ceremony known as the Eucharist. The foodstuffs vary by religion or sect. The Catholics, of course, use wafer and wine/juice that is actually and literally turned into Jesus’s actual body and blood through the ritual and miracle of transubstantiation. It is also actually and literally still wafer and wine/juice. Don’t think about it too hard, it’s a miracle. For Episcopalians, bread and wine. For many Wiccans, the Eucharist is apples and juice or tea. For Ceremonial Magickians, it is fourfold - scent, heat of fire, wine and salt/wafer. For other neopagans, it may change to relate to the theme of the holiday or the Priestesses choice. (My personal favorite being the common Beltane Eucharist of chocolate dipped fruit and mead!) So one consumes the Eucharist during the Eucharist, if you will. ---
**Author:** ![Bogdan99](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Bogdan99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bogdan99)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2007, 1:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-have-you-heard-of-the-eucharist/399841/58 "2007-04-13T13:55:13Z")
In the Orthodox church is the same, the wine is Jesus Christ`s blood and the bread ( I never saw wafer being used ) is his body.And when you eat these, it is like Jesus is entering your body and soul and you become one. Probably that is why the Catholics call it the Holy Communion. At least this is what I understand of this ritual. ---
**Author:** ![Lanzy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/74df32/32.png) [@Lanzy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lanzy)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2007, 1:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-have-you-heard-of-the-eucharist/399841/59 "2007-04-13T13:55:27Z")
Thought I knew, but guess I didn’t. After reading this thread I know a lot more. Ignorance fought? ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2007, 2:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-have-you-heard-of-the-eucharist/399841/60 "2007-04-13T14:23:08Z")
[QUOTE=Bogdan99] In the Orthodox church is the same, the wine is Jesus Christ`s blood and the bread ( I never saw wafer being used ) is his body.And when you eat these, it is like Jesus is entering your body and soul and you become one. Probably that is why the Catholics call it the Holy Communion. At least this is what I understand of this ritual. [/QUOTE] I have little vague memories of tasteless wafers that served as the bread. Perhaps calling it a wafer is not correct. Jim [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-have-you-heard-of-the-eucharist/399841.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-have-you-heard-of-the-eucharist/399841.md?page=4)