''Metousiosis'' is a

Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...

term () that means a change of ''

ousia ''Ousia'' (; ) is a philosophical and theological term, originally used in ancient Greek philosophy, then later in Christian theology. It was used by various ancient Greek philosophers, especially Aristotle, as a primary designation for philoso ...

'' (, "essence, inner reality").

History

The declaration of the 1672 Synod of Jerusalem is quoted by J.M. Neale (''History of Eastern Church'', Parker, Oxford and London, 1858) as follows: "When we use the word ''metousiosis'', we by no means think it explains the mode by which the bread and wine are converted into the Body and Blood of

Christ Jesus ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ, Jesus of Nazareth, and many other names and titles, was a 1st-century Jewish preacher and religious leader. He is the Jesus in Christianity, central figure of Christianity, the M ...

, for this is altogether incomprehensible ..but we mean that the bread and wine are changed into the Body and Blood of the Lord, not figuratively or symbolically, nor by any extraordinary grace attached to them ..but ..the bread becomes verily and indeed and essentially the very true Body of the Lord, and the wine the very Blood of the Lord."

Theology and dogmatic status

The

Eastern Orthodox Church The Eastern Orthodox Church, officially the Orthodox Catholic Church, and also called the Greek Orthodox Church or simply the Orthodox Church, is List of Christian denominations by number of members, one of the three major doctrinal and ...

's 1672 Synod of Jerusalem released what the ''Encyclopædia Britannica'' called "the most vital statement of faith made in the Greek Church during the past thousand years". Philip Schaff wrote in his ''Creeds of Christendom'': "This Synod is the most important in the modern history of the Eastern Church, and may be compared to the

Council of Trent The Council of Trent (), held between 1545 and 1563 in Trent (or Trento), now in northern Italy, was the 19th ecumenical council of the Catholic Church. Prompted by the Protestant Reformation at the time, it has been described as the "most ...

. Both fixed the doctrinal status of the Churches they represent, and both condemned the evangelical doctrines of Protestantism ..the Romish icdoctrine of

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

(μεταβολή etabolí μετουσίωσις etousiosis is taught as strongly as words can make it." ''The Encyclopedia of Eastern Orthodox Christianity'' states: "The Greek term ''metousiosis'', which is comparable to the Latin '' transsubstantiatio'', does appear in asternOrthodox liturgical and theological texts – though not as often as other vocabulary (e.g., ''metastoicheiosis'', a "change of elements"). A. Osipov states that the Eastern Orthodox use of the Greek word μεταβολή (''metabole''), meaning "change", and the Russian преложение in relation to the Eucharist should not be taken as equivalent to the word "transubstantiation", which has been rendered as ''metousiosis''.Проф. А. Осипов. Μεταβολή или transsubstantiatio?
/ref> Nikolaj Uspenksij appeal to

Church Fathers The Church Fathers, Early Church Fathers, Christian Fathers, or Fathers of the Church were ancient and influential Christian theologians and writers who established the intellectual and doctrinal foundations of Christianity. The historical peri ...

who, when speaking of other doctrines, drew analogies from the Eucharist and spoke of it as bread and wine, but as having also a heavenly nature. Some Eastern Orthodox theologians thus appear to deny transubstantiation/metousiosis, but in the view of

Adrian Fortescue Adrian Henry Timothy Knottesford Fortescue (14 January 1874 – 11 February 1923) was an Catholic Church in England and Wales, English Catholic priest and polymath. An influential liturgist, artist, calligrapher, composer, Polyglot (person ...

, what they object to is the associated theory of substance and accident, and they hold that there is a real change of the bread and wine into the body and blood of Christ.

Eastern Orthodox use of the term ''metousiosis''

The first edition of ''The Longer Catechism of the Orthodox, Catholic, Eastern Church'', known also as ''The Catechism of St. Philaret'', did not include the term ''metousiosis''; but it was added in the third edition: "In the exposition of the faith by the Eastern Patriarchs, it is said that the word ''transubstantiation'' is not to be taken to define the manner in which the bread and wine are changed into the Body and Blood of the Lord; for this none can understand but God; but only thus much is signified, that the bread truly, really, and substantially becomes the very true Body of the Lord, and the wine the very Blood of the Lord

The official Greek version of this passage (question 340) uses the word "metousiosis". Writing in 1929, Metropolitan of Thyatira Germanos said that an obstacle to the request for union with the

presented in the 17th century by some

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the State religion#State churches, established List of Christian denominations, Christian church in England and the Crown Dependencies. It is the mother church of the Anglicanism, Anglican Christian tradition, ...

bishops was that "the Patriarchs were adamant on the question of Transubstantiation", which, in view of the Thirty-Nine Articles, the Anglican bishops did not wish to accept.

Oriental Orthodox

The

Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria The Coptic Orthodox Church (), also known as the Coptic Orthodox Patriarchate of Alexandria, is an Oriental Orthodox Christian church based in Egypt. The head of the church and the See of Alexandria is the pope of Alexandria on the Holy Apo ...

does not use a term corresponding to transubstantiation/metousiosis, but it speaks of "change" and rejects the denial of "the reality of the change of the bread and wine to the body and the blood of our Lord Jesus Christ" held by memorialists such as the

Plymouth Brethren The Plymouth Brethren or Assemblies of Brethren are a low church and Nonconformist (Protestantism), Nonconformist Christian movement whose history can be traced back to Dublin, Ireland, in the mid to late 1820s, where it originated from Anglica ...

.Coptic Orthodox Diocese of the Southern United States, "Transubstantiation".
/ref>

References

External links

''The Longer Catechism of the Orthodox, Catholic, Eastern Church'', questions 338-340
{{Byzantine Rite, state=expanded Eastern Orthodox theology Christian terminology Greek words and phrases ru:Пресуществление