Lord's Supper Table
The Lord's Supper table is the name given to the table at which the Lord's Supper is celebrated in the Reformed Church and many Protestant free churches . The designation of this table as an altar as well as the celebration of the service at an altar is rejected in these churches.
Biblical-theological justification
With this expression, which is reminiscent of the ancient communal term table of the Lord ( 1 Corinthians 10:21), one distinguishes oneself from the Roman Catholic sacrificial theology, according to which the body and blood of Jesus Christ is present in a bloodless manner in every so-called mass offering . According to the Reformed understanding, this contradicts biblical statements which emphasize the uniqueness of the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross of Golgotha .
Other special features
In order to emphasize the table character of the communion table, many of the churches mentioned have set up seating behind the table. In some churches, sacrament participants sit here in small groups. In other churches (for example the Baptists; see picture ) the seating is intended for the parishioners who serve at the Lord's table and take care of the celebration of the meal and the distribution of the Lord's Supper. In the Herrnhut Brothers Church , the middle seat remains empty - a symbol of the invisible presence of the actual Lord of the table, Jesus Christ.
If the Lord's Supper is not celebrated in the divine service , the liturgical leadership usually takes place exclusively from the pulpit , although this tradition is declining at least in the Reformed churches in Switzerland. On the Lord's Supper table there is often an open Bible and a simple flower arrangement. Burning candles are extremely rare to find table decorations in the denominations mentioned.
In originally Reformed, but now Uniate churches, the differentiation between the Lord's Supper and the altar is now becoming blurred .
literature
- Wiard Popkes: Last Supper and Congregation. The Last Supper from a biblical-theological point of view and in Protestant-free church practice , Kassel 1983, ISBN 3-7893-7881-X
- Eckhard Lessing: Last Supper , Bensheimer Hefte 72 / Ökumenische Studienhefte 6, Göttingen 1993 (Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht), ISBN 3-525-87160-0
