Is communion just a symbol, or is Jesus really present in it?

Christians have disagreed about this since the Reformation itself, and it remains one of the most historically significant doctrinal divides in the church.

Catholic teaching holds that the bread and wine actually become Jesus's body and blood in substance during communion, even though they still look, taste, and feel like bread and wine. Lutheran teaching affirms Jesus is truly, physically present "in, with, and under" the bread and wine, without fully explaining how. Many Reformed Protestants, following John Calvin, teach Jesus is really present spiritually, feeding believers by the Holy Spirit as they eat in faith—real, but not physical. Other Protestants, following the Reformation-era teacher Huldrych Zwingli, understand communion mainly as a meaningful symbol and act of remembrance.

Jesus's own words, "this is my body," sit at the center of every view. The real disagreement is about how literally or symbolically to read those four words.