You Episcopals ... You Think You're So Different (cont.)

Well yes, we Episcopalians are different! One of the things that does make us different is our theology. Now, before anyone bails out, don't worry, I promise: no lofty concepts or 50-cent words!

Theology is just another word for the way a person or group of people understand their experience of God and God-related topics. Simple enough? Now let's look at Episcopalian/Anglican theology about the Eucharist, or Communion ...

Whenever people familiar with the Roman Catholic Mass witness our Eucharist for the first time, the first thing that they notice is how remarkably alike our service is to theirs. There's a reason for this: we believe in a very real presence of Christ in the elements (aka, the bread and wine). For this reason, we also believe in not taking it for granted because it is a VERY sacred gift of God's presence among us.

We also require that the Eucharist be celebrated by a man or woman authorized through laying on of hands by a legitimate bishop. However, to be able to preside at the Eucharist and a priest may not celebrate unless there is at least one other baptised Christian in attendance. This is because church is NOT an "I" thing; it is a "WE" thing and all of our sacramental practice reflects this reality.

Having said this, we believe that Christ is truly present in the elements of bread and wine, but we also believe that it is also still bread and wine. How can this be so? The most complex answer we can offer is "we dunno!" Remember, we're dealing with the power of God; we don't have to understand the way this happens. This is where we differ from our Roman Catholic brothers and sisters who believe that it is the actual body and blood of Christ, even if it looks like bread and wine. That is what they call "transubstantiation."

There is also a difference in our communion practice: in our tradition, we welcome any baptised Christian to share in communion. The reason for this is simply that there is no Scriptural basis for excluding others from the Lord's table. This includes those with whom we might not agree or those with whom we might prefer not to share this great mystery.

In the Episcopal/Anglican tradition, we do, in fact, share many ideas with other churches and do not necessarily think that we are the holders of all truth and wisdom. This brings us to the next thing we'll look at, which is is our view on authority.