Eucharist

Liturgy is the customary public ritual of worship performed by a religious group. As a religious phenomenon, liturgy represents a communal response to and participation in the sacred through activities reflecting praise, thanksgiving, remembrance, supplication, or repentance. It forms a basis for establishing a relationship with God or the divine.

Technically speaking, liturgy forms a subset of ritual. The word liturgy, sometimes equated in English as "service", refers to a formal ritual enacted by those who understand themselves to be participating in an action with the divine.

Reformed Christianity, also called Calvinism, is a major branch of Protestantism that began during the 16th-century Protestant Reformation. In the modern day, it is largely represented by the Continental Reformed, Presbyterian, and Congregational traditions, as well as parts of the Anglican (known as "Episcopal" in some regions), Baptist and Waldensian traditions, in addition to a minority of persons belonging to the Methodist faith (who are known as Calvinistic Methodists).

Reformed theology emphasizes the authority of the Bible and the sovereignty of God, as well as covenant theology, a framework for understanding the Bible based on God's covenants with people. Reformed churches emphasize simplicity in worship. Several forms of ecclesiastical polity are exercised by Reformed churches, including presbyterian, congregational, and some episcopal. Articulated by John Calvin, the Reformed faith holds to a spiritual (pneumatic) presence of Christ in the Lord's Supper.

Baptists are a Protestant tradition of Christianity distinguished by baptizing only believers (believer's baptism) and doing so by total immersion. Modern Baptist churches generally subscribe to the doctrines of soul competency (the responsibility and accountability of every person before God), sola fide (justification by faith alone), sola scriptura (the Bible as the sole infallible authority) and congregationalist ecclesiastical polity. Baptists generally recognize at least two sacraments or ordinances: Baptism and the Lord's Supper.

Diverse from their beginnings, those identifying as Baptists today may differ widely from one another in what they believe, how they worship, their attitudes toward other Christians, and their understanding of what is important in Christian discipleship. Baptist missionaries have spread various Baptist churches to every continent. The largest Baptist communion of churches is the Baptist World Alliance, and there are many different groupings of Baptist churches and Baptist congregations.

An ordinance is a term used by certain Christian denominations for a religious ritual that was instituted by Jesus for Christians to observe.

Examples of ordinances include baptism and the Lord's Supper, both of which are practiced in denominations including the Anabaptist, Baptist, Churches of Christ, and Pentecostal denominations. Some churches, including those of the Anabaptists, include headcovering and footwashing as ordinances.

The Last Supper is the final meal that, in the Gospel accounts, Jesus shared with his apostles in Jerusalem before his crucifixion. The Last Supper is commemorated by Christians especially on Holy Thursday. The Last Supper provides the scriptural basis for the Eucharist, also known as "Holy Communion" or "The Lord's Supper". Jesus having a final meal with his disciples is almost beyond dispute among scholars, and belongs to the framework of the narrative of Jesus' life.

The New Testament mentions the Last Supper in four of its books. The First Epistle to the Corinthians (I Cor. 11:23–25) contains the earliest known mention. The four canonical gospels state that the Last Supper took place in the week of Passover, days after Jesus's triumphal entry into Jerusalem, and before Jesus was crucified on Good Friday (Matthew 26:17–29; Mark 14:12–25; Luke 22:7–38). During the meal, Jesus predicts his betrayal by one of the apostles present, and foretells that before the next morning, Peter will thrice deny knowing him.

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.

Sacramental wine, Communion wine, altar wine, or wine for consecration is wine obtained from grapes and intended for use in celebration of the Eucharist (also referred to as the Lord's Supper or Holy Communion, among other names) and the blood of Christ. It is usually consumed after sacramental bread (the body of Christ).

Communion table and Lord's table are terms used by many Protestant churches—particularly from Reformed, Baptist and low church Anglican and Methodist bodies—for the table used for preparation of Holy Communion (a sacrament also called the Eucharist). These churches typically prefer not to use the term "altar" because they do not see Communion as sacrificial in any way. However, in colloquial speech, the word "altar" is often used interchangeably with "communion table".