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How to Name the Eucharist

Question:

How do I deal with someone concerned with the nomenclature of the Eucharist? He quotes Revelations 22:19 and says the Last Supper was called the Passover and so should Communion be.

Answer:

First off, Revelation 22:19 refers only to the book of Revelation, often called by Catholics and Orthodox by its Greek name, the Apocalypse. Thus the curse pronounced is on those who would corrupt the text of “the book of this prophecy.” It was not meant to refer to the whole Bible. After all, the book of Revelation was not included in many Bibles, especially in the Greek East, until late in the Patristic period, as there were many who denied it was part of the canon of Sacred Scripture.

(Please note also: “Revelation” is singular. Lots of Evangelical Protestants make it plural, but this is incorrect. The Bibles they use will show them the correct usage!)

Now for the question: There are many names for the Eucharist, and we are free to use them all. The Eucharist is fittingly called the Pasch or Passover, since it fulfills the ancient passover that was the prophetic sign of the true and eternal passover of the Lord’s sacrifice on the Cross. But St. Luke in his Gospel and in Acts also calls the Eucharist “the breaking of the bread,” and St. Paul calls the Eucharist “the Lord’s Supper.” Then there are the names that come from Tradition, especially the name “Divine Liturgy” or the “Holy Mass” or, in the churches of Syrian origins, the “Offering” or “Sacrifice.”

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