Consubstantiation

Consubstantiation is a term in Christian theology used to describe a view of the Eucharist in which the Body and Blood of Christ coexist with the elements of bread and wine in the sacramental rite. It implies that the bread and wine remain and that Christ’s body and blood are truly present alongside them. The term is often used to distinguish this view from transubstantiation, in which the substances of the bread and wine are said to be transformed into Christ's body and blood.

The term is mainly associated with Protestant polemics during the Reformation, particularly with Martin Luther and Lutheran theology. However, Luther and his followers typically preferred the language of sacramental union and real presence rather than consubstantiation. Luther himself reportedly rejected the label as imprecise or misleading, preferring to describe the Eucharist as Christ's true presence “in, with, and under” the bread and wine.

In contemporary usage, “consubstantiation” is more common in Catholic and some Reformed discussions as a shorthand, though many theologians caution that it can oversimplify or misrepresent Lutheran doctrine. The key distinction for Lutherans is not a change of substance but a real, bodily presence of Christ in the sacrament, inseparable from the reception of the elements.