Stercoranism (from

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

, "belonging to dung", from , "dung") is a supposed belief or doctrine attributed reciprocally to the other side by those who in the eleventh century upheld and those who denied that the bread and wine offered in the

Eucharist 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 instit ...

become in substance, but not in form, the body and blood of Jesus Christ. Those who upheld the view that the Eucharistic species do change, but only in substance, accused their opponents of asserting that what is presented as the body and blood of Christ is no more than what subsequently is subject to the normal digestive processes after ingestion, eventually passing through the intestines and being excreted through

defecation Defecation (or defaecation) follows digestion, and is a necessary process by which organisms eliminate a solid, semisolid, or liquid waste material known as feces from the digestive tract via the anus. The act has a variety of names ranging f ...

. Those who held the opposite view (e.g believers in the pneumatic presence, or memorialism) retorted that the same accusation applied rather to the upholders of the change of substance (e.g believers in

transubstantiation Transubstantiation (Latin: ''transubstantiatio''; Greek: μετουσίωσις ''metousiosis'') is, according to the teaching of the Catholic Church, "the change of the whole substance of bread into the substance of the Body of Christ and of th ...

). On this, see the explanation given by the Protestant theologian and historian

Johann Lorenz von Mosheim Johann Lorenz von Mosheim or Johann Lorenz Mosheim (9 October 1693 – 9 September 1755) was a German Lutheran church historian. Biography He was born at Lübeck on 9 October 1693 or 1694. After studying at the '' gymnasium'' of Lübeck, he ent ...

, who calls it an "imaginary heresy".

Later attributions to believers in transubstantiation

While Mosheim considered that nobody really held the belief in stercoranism that their opponents charged them with, the charge has been repeated by opponents of the doctrine of transubstantiation. The accusation was made in the 17th century by French writer Jean Claude, and is still made in the 21st century by Larry Ball in his ''Escape from Paganism: How a Roman Catholic Can Be Saved''.

Karl August von Hase Karl August von Hase (25 August 1800 – 3 January 1890) was a German Protestant theologian and church historian. Background He was born at Steinbach (near Penig) in Saxony. He studied at Leipzig and Erlangen, and in 1829 was called to Je ...

said that early Church theologians, such as

Origen Origen of Alexandria, ''Ōrigénēs''; Origen's Greek name ''Ōrigénēs'' () probably means "child of Horus" (from , "Horus", and , "born"). ( 185 – 253), also known as Origen Adamantius, was an Early Christianity, early Christian scholar, ...

(184–253), were willing to allow that the consecrated elements of Christ's body were digested and excreted in the manner of typical food.

Catholic Church doctrine

The ''

Catechism of the Catholic Church The ''Catechism of the Catholic Church'' ( la, Catechismus Catholicae Ecclesiae; commonly called the ''Catechism'' or the ''CCC'') is a catechism promulgated for the Catholic Church by Pope John Paul II in 1992. It aims to summarize, in book for ...

'' states: "The Eucharistic presence of Christ begins at the moment of the consecration and endures as long as the Eucharistic species subsist. Christ is present whole and entire in each of the species and whole and entire in each of their parts, in such a way that the breaking of the bread does not divide Christ." Thus, in the judgment of the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

, when the sacramental signs of bread and wine are changed out of existence, the body and blood of Christ that they point to is no longer there: "The Sacrament of the Eucharist is the body and blood of Christ really present under the appearances of bread and wine; if the appearances cease to be present, then the sacrament no longer exists, and so the Real Presence ceases." In relation to the process of digestion, the Catholic Church's teaching has been expressed in this way: "The substance of Christ's body is not subject to processes of digestion or to any chemical reactions. The qualities of bread of course behave in their normal way, undergoing a change as they are affected by digestion. Our Lord's substantial presence ceases as these qualities cease to retain those characteristics proper to bread."Questions and answers on Catholicism and Protestantism given from the Catholic Broadcasting Station 2SM Sydney Australia, question 863
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References

{{CatholicMass, collapsed Christology Eucharist in the Catholic Church it:Stercorianismo

Later attributions to believers in transubstantiation

Catholic Church doctrine

See also

References