The Eucharist as Sacrifice

Abstract

The assignment is divided in three parts with seven chapters. The first part is an introduction in chapter one. The second part presents an historical background of the Eucharistic sacrifice from the Church Fathers to the Reformation. I will consider the third chapter in the light of the Lutheran tradition and Luther’s critique of the sacrifice of the mass is highlighted from a Lutheran point of view. Chapter four gives a Catholic response to Luther’s critique on the Eucharist as a sacrifice. The discussion between Catholics and Lutherans on the Eucharistic sacrifice will be highlighted in chapter five. I will link it to how the Eucharist as sacrifice has been understood from a Catholic point of view. The discussion will be picked up from the Lutheran and the Catholic teaching and tradition. The two last chapters will sum up a conclusion and an outlook of the thesis. The Eucharist is still a central issue within the ecumenical reports. In the second chapter. The final chapter deals with the ecumenical discussions and documents between both denominations and discuss what possibilities there are for Catholics and Lutherans to draw nearer to one another from a theological and practical level on the issue of the Eucharist today. The Eucharist is a sacrifice from a Catholic perspective, which is not the case in the Lutheran tradition.