The Eucharistic ''Credo'' (''credo'', comes from the Latin word meaning "I believe") is a profession of faith in the

Real Presence The real presence of Christ in the Eucharist is the Christian doctrine that Jesus Christ is present in the Eucharist, not merely symbolically or metaphorically, but in a true, real and substantial way. There are a number of Christian denominati ...

Jesus Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religious ...

in the

sacramental A sacramental in Christianity is a material object or action (in Latin ''sacramentalia'') ritually blessed by a priest to signal its association with the sacraments and so to incite reverence during acts of worship. They are recognised by the Cat ...

Eucharistic The Eucharist (; from Greek , , ), also known as Holy Communion and the Lord's Supper, is a Christian rite that is considered a sacrament in most churches, and as an ordinance in others. According to the New Testament, the rite was instituted ...

elements written in 1078 by

Pope Gregory VII Pope Gregory VII ( la, Gregorius VII; 1015 – 25 May 1085), born Hildebrand of Sovana ( it, Ildebrando di Soana), was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 22 April 1073 to his death in 1085. He is venerated as a saint ...

(Latin: Gregorius VII; c. 1015 – 25 May 1085). Until the eleventh century, there is no record of a Christian theologian challenging the belief in the Real Presence, that is, the physical, personal reality of Jesus in the Eucharistic elements (the bread and wine believed to become the body and blood of Jesus). The first known challenge comes from

Berengarius of Tours Berengar of Tours (died 6 January 1088), in Latin Berengarius Turonensis, was an 11th-century French people, French Christianity, Christian theologian and archdeacon of Angers, a scholar whose leadership of the cathedral school at Chartres set a ...

. Drawing upon the writings of

Ratramnus Ratramnus (died ) a Frankish monk of the monastery of Corbie, near Amiens in northern France, was a Carolingian theologian known best for his writings on the Eucharist and predestination. His Eucharistic treatise, ''De corpore et sanguine Domini'' ...

of the ninth century who considered Jesus ''spiritually present'' in the Eucharist, Berengarius denied that the

historical Jesus The term "historical Jesus" refers to the reconstruction of the life and teachings of Jesus by critical historical methods, in contrast to religious interpretations. It also considers the historical and cultural contexts in which Jesus lived. ...

, born of the

Virgin Mary Mary; arc, ܡܪܝܡ, translit=Mariam; ar, مريم, translit=Maryam; grc, Μαρία, translit=María; la, Maria; cop, Ⲙⲁⲣⲓⲁ, translit=Maria was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Joseph and the mother o ...

was present in the Eucharistic elements. His teaching on the subject became known throughout Europe by around 1047. His position was condemned subsequently by several regional councils including Rome (1050), Verecelli (1050) where for reasons unclear he was imprisoned briefly by the King, Tours (1055), Rome (1059), Poitiers (1075), and St. Maixeut (1076). While Berengarius had signed several vague retractions, it was when summoned to the Council in Rome by Pope Gregory VII in 1078 that he was given the historically famous ''credo'' to affirm publicly. As a result, Berengarius was condemned by the Council with the Pope's consent. This credo has been considered by theologians through the centuries as the first succinct doctrinal definition by the Church on the Eucharist. It is credited with crystallizing the ancient teachings of the Church on the Eucharist and ushering in the "Eucharistic Renaissance" of the High Middle Ages typified by a flourishing of various Eucharistic devotions.

Text of the Credo

The text of Gregory VII's Credo was quoted in it entirety in

Pope Paul VI Pope Paul VI ( la, Paulus VI; it, Paolo VI; born Giovanni Battista Enrico Antonio Maria Montini, ; 26 September 18976 August 1978) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City, Vatican City State from 21 June 1963 to his ...

's encyclical letter, '' Mysterium fidei'', published on September 3, 1965.

"I believe in my heart and openly profess that the bread and wine placed upon the altar are, by the mystery of the sacred prayer and the words of the Redeemer, substantially changed into the true and life-giving flesh and blood of Jesus Christ our Lord, and that after the consecration, there is present the true body of Christ which was born of the Virgin and offered up for the salvation of the world, hung on the cross and now sits at the right hand of the Father, and that there is present the true blood of Christ which flowed from his side. They are present not only by means of a sign and of the efficacy of the Sacrament, but also in the very reality and truth of their nature and substance".

References

External links

CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA article on Berengarius
{{DEFAULTSORT:Eucharistic Credo Catholic spirituality