Sacramental wine

The Eucharist (/ˈjuːkərɪst/ YOO-kər-ist; from Koine Greek: εὐχαριστία, romanized: eucharistía, lit. 'thanksgiving'), also called Holy Communion, the Blessed Sacrament or the Lord's Supper, is a Christian rite, considered a sacrament in most churches and an ordinance in others. Christians believe that the rite was instituted by Jesus Christ at the Last Supper, the night before his crucifixion, giving his disciples bread and wine. Passages in the New Testament state that he commanded them to "do this in memory of me" while referring to the bread as "my body" and the cup of wine as "the blood of my covenant, which is poured out for many". According to the synoptic Gospels, this was at a Passover meal.

The elements of the Eucharist, sacramental bread—either leavened or unleavened—and sacramental wine (among Catholics, Anglicans, Lutherans, Eastern Orthodox and Oriental Orthodox) or non-alcoholic grape juice (among Methodists, Baptists and Plymouth Brethren), are consecrated on an altar or a communion table and consumed thereafter. The consecrated elements are the end product of the Eucharistic Prayer.

Sacramental bread, also called Communion bread, Communion wafer, Sacred host, Eucharistic bread, the Lamb or simply the host (Latin: hostia, lit. 'sacrificial victim'), is the bread used in the Christian ritual of the Eucharist and the body of Christ. Along with sacramental wine, it is one of two elements of the Eucharist. The bread may be either leavened or unleavened, depending on tradition.

Catholic theology generally teaches that at the Words of Institution the bread's substance is changed into the Body of Christ, a process known as transubstantiation. Conversely, Eastern Christian theology generally views the epiclesis as the point at which the change occurs.

The Mass is the central liturgical service of the Eucharist in the Catholic Church, in which bread and wine are consecrated and become the body and blood of Christ. As defined by the Church at the Council of Trent, in the Mass "the same Christ who offered himself once in a bloody manner on the altar of the cross, is present and offered in an unbloody manner". The Church describes the Mass as the "source and summit of the Christian life", and teaches that the Mass is a sacrifice, in which the sacramental bread and wine, through consecration by an ordained priest, become the sacrificial body, blood, soul, and divinity of Christ as the sacrifice on Calvary made truly present once again on the altar. The Catholic Church permits only baptised members in the state of grace (Catholics who are not in a state of mortal sin) to receive Christ in the Eucharist.

Many of the other sacraments of the Catholic Church, such as confirmation, holy orders, and holy matrimony, are generally administered within a celebration of Mass, but before the Second Vatican Council were often or even usually administered separately. The term Mass, also Holy Mass, is commonly used to describe the celebration of the Eucharist in the Latin Church, while the various Eastern Catholic liturgies use terms such as Divine Liturgy, Holy Qurbana, and Badarak, in accordance with each one's tradition.

Memorialism is the belief held by some Christian denominations that the elements of bread and wine (or grape juice) in the Eucharist (more often referred to as "the Lord's Supper" by memorialists) are purely symbolic representations of the body and blood of Jesus Christ, the feast being established only or primarily as a commemorative ceremony. The term comes from the Gospel of Luke 22:19: "Do this in remembrance of me", and the attendant interpretation that the Lord's Supper's chief purpose is to help the participant prayerfully remember Jesus and his sacrifice on the Cross, and symbolically renew commitment.

This viewpoint is commonly held by Anabaptists, the Plymouth Brethren, many Restorationist denominations (such as Jehovah's Witnesses), some Baptists, Pentecostals, and most Non-denominational churches, as well as those identifying with liberal Christianity.

Devotional objects (also, devotional articles, devotional souvenirs, devotional artifacts) are religious souvenirs (figurines, pictures, votive candles, books, amulets, and others), owned and carried by the religious, who see them as imbued with spiritual values, and use them for votive offering. Production and sales of devotional articles have become a widespread industry in the vicinity of various religious sites all over the world.

Devotional articles have a long history; in Christianity they have been mentioned in historical works such as those related to Paul the Apostle and in older religions they have been traced as far back as the times of ancient Egypt and ancient Mesopotamia. International law defines "devotional articles" as including "the Bible, the Koran, prayer and service books, hymnals, ritual articles, sacramental wine, crucifixes and rosaries". Such items may be natural and hardly processed (such as earth from the Holy Land), but majority of modern devotional articles are mass-produced (strips of paper with prayers, pictures of holy figures, prayer books, etc.) Such items are usually seen as having little artistic value, as their primary function is not decorative but spiritual. In Hinduism, devotional articles include the japamala (prayer beads), diyas (oil lamps), kalashas (metal pots), incense sticks, plants such as tulasi, and conches.