The Coptic Orthodox Church – as well as the Catholic Church and all other orthodox churches – has always professed that in the Eucharist, the bread and wine are truly transformed into the body and blood of Jesus Christ. This belief, known as the doctrine of transubstantiation, is based on the clear teachings of Scripture and the unbroken tradition of the Church for over 2,000 years.
Jesus’ Explicit Teaching
In the Gospel of John, Jesus makes an unambiguous claim about the Eucharist: “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you do not have life within you. Whoever eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him on the last day. For My flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink” (John 6:53–55).
When many of His disciples objected to this “hard saying,” Jesus did not try to explain it away as merely symbolic, but rather let them walk away if they didn’t believe in His words (John 6:60–66).
Jesus goes on to say that his words are “spirit and life” (John 6:63) and that the “flesh counts for nothing” (John 6:63). By saying that His words are “spirit and life” and that the “flesh counts for nothing,” He was not contradicting His earlier statements that His flesh is “true food”, and His blood “is true drink”. He was pointing out to His disciples how the Pharisees misunderstood His claims as some form of cannibalism. So Jesus clarifies that while the bread is truly His flesh and the wine is truly His blood, they are not for physical sustenance, but for spiritual sustenance. Therefore, Jesus did not clarify His earlier claims as metaphorical as He meant His words to be taken literally, yet not as some form of cannibalism as interpreted by the Pharisees.
The Last Supper
At the Last Supper, Jesus took bread, blessed it, broke it, and gave it to His disciples, saying, “Take and eat; this is My body” (Matthew 26:26). He then took a cup, gave thanks, and 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” (Matthew 26:27-28).
The language Jesus uses here is unambiguous. He does not say “this represents My body” or “this symbolizes My blood.” Rather, He states clearly that the bread and wine are His actual body and blood. The apostles would have understood this in a literal sense, as the Orthodox Church – and all apostolic churches, and even Martin Luther – has always maintained for the first 1500 years of Christianity.
On the road to Emmaus
The encounter of Jesus with the disciples on the road to Emmaus in Luke 24:13-35, profoundly illustrates the real presence of Jesus in the Eucharist. After His resurrection, Jesus joins the two disciples, and “beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, He explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning Himself.” Yet, “they were kept from recognizing Him” (Luke 24:16). It was only when Jesus broke the bread and gave them to eat that “their eyes were opened, and they recognized Him, and He disappeared from their sight” (Luke 24:31).
This moment signifies that Christ is truly present in the act of breaking bread, and how the Eucharist opens our eyes to the meaning of the word of God. Even if we read the Bible and Jesus Himself appears to explain it to us, we will not fully understand its meaning, except when our eyes are opened by having Jesus abiding inside us as He promised (John 6:56)
Paul
St. Paul’s letters provide clear evidence that he interpreted the Eucharist as the real body and blood of Jesus. In 1 Corinthians 10:16-17, Paul states, “The cup of blessing that we bless, is it not a participation in the blood of Christ? The bread that we break, is it not a participation in the body of Christ?” This language indicates a profound connection between the Eucharistic elements and Christ’s actual body and blood.
Also in 1 Corinthians 11:23-26, St. Paul recounts the Last Supper, emphasizing Jesus’ words: “This is My body, which is for you. Do this in remembrance of Me.”
Furthermore, Paul described how “whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of sinning against the body and blood of the Lord. For those who eat and drink without discerning the body of Christ eat and drink judgment on themselves. That is why many among you are weak and sick, and a number of you have fallen asleep.” (1 Corinthians 11:27-30). If the bread and wine were just symbols, why would Jesus punish believers who undeservingly partake of the “bread” and “wine” with sickness and even death? Isn’t “faith alone” all that it takes to get saved?
Therefore, St. Paul’s teachings align with the belief in the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist, countering any claims that Jesus spoke metaphorically.
The Early Church
The earliest Christians, who were instructed directly by the apostles, likewise believed in the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist. St. Ignatius of Antioch, a disciple of the apostle John, wrote around 107 AD that heretics “abstain from the Eucharist and from prayer, because they do not confess that the Eucharist is the flesh of our Savior Jesus Christ” (Letter to the Smyrnaeans 7:1).
St. Justin Martyr, writing around 150 AD, describes the Eucharistic celebration and states that “we do not receive these as common bread or common drink; but as Jesus Christ, our Savior being incarnate by God’s Word took flesh and blood for our salvation, so also we have been taught that the food consecrated by the word of prayer that comes from Him, from which our flesh and blood are nourished by transformation, is the flesh and blood of that incarnate Jesus” (First Apology 66).
Responding to Protestant Objections
Some Protestants argue that Jesus was speaking metaphorically in John 6 and at the Last Supper. However, the language He uses is simply too strong and explicit to be taken as a mere metaphor. He does not say the bread and wine “represent” or “symbolize” His body and blood, but rather that they “truly are” His body and blood and that His body and blood are “real food” and “real drink.” Jesus’ statement that His words are “Spirit and Life” and that the “flesh counts for nothing” was in response to the Jews, who understood it to be cannibalism and that His body and blood are for physical sustenance like the manna of the Old Testament. By this response, Jesus did not contradict the nature of the bread and wine, but clarified that its effects are Spiritual as He described earlier in John 6:50-58.
Furthermore, the early Church clearly understood Jesus’ words literally, as evidenced by the writings of the Church Fathers. If Jesus had meant His words to be taken symbolically, it is difficult to explain how the entire Church could have misunderstood Him from the very beginning and for 1500 years.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the Coptic Orthodox doctrine of the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist is firmly grounded in Scripture and Tradition. Jesus’ own words, the testimony of the early Church, and the unbroken faith of the Coptic Orthodox Church for 2,000 years all point to the Eucharist as the true body and blood of our Lord.”
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