Different answers have been given across history.
In the Roman Catholic Church the traditional answer is called transubstantiation. This means that, at the words of consecration, the substance of the bread and wine are changed into the body and blood of Christ – even though they still appear to be bread and wine. The outward form remains, but the inner reality is changed.
At the other end of the spectrum is a view often associated with some Protestant traditions, which sees communion primarily as a memorial. The bread and wine are powerful reminders of Christ’s sacrifice, helping us remember what he has done for us, but they are not thought to change in themselves.
The Church of England sits somewhere between these two. It rejects the idea that the bread and wine become Christ’s body and blood in a physical sense, but it also insists that communion is more than just a memorial. In the words of the Prayer Book, the bread and wine are “spiritual food”, and those who receive them with faith truly feed on Christ in their hearts. In other words, communion is a sacrament – an outward and visible sign of an inward and spiritual grace.
That brings us to another way of thinking about it, sometimes called consubstantiation. This view, linked to Martin Luther, suggests that Christ’s body and blood are present with the bread and wine. The bread remains bread, the wine remains wine, but Christ is truly present alongside them.
And then there is an approach we might call trans-signification. You won’t find the word in official theology books, but it expresses something important. The idea is this: what changes at communion is not the physical substance, but the meaning. The bread and wine take on a new significance. They still look and taste the same, but they now point to – and participate in – something far greater.
This way of speaking fits closely with St Paul’s writings. In 1 Corinthians 10 he says: “The cup of blessing that we bless, is it not a sharing in the blood of Christ? The bread that we break, is it not a sharing in the body of Christ?” The bread remains bread, but through it we share in Christ. In the next chapter Paul warns the church not to eat and drink in an unworthy manner, because to do so is to sin against the body and blood of the Lord. That shows just how significant these elements become. They are not “mere” symbols – their significance is changed, and changed profoundly.
So what does the Church of England teach? It deliberately leaves room for reverent mystery. In the Articles of Religion it rejects transubstantiation as unnecessary speculation. But it also rejects the idea that the bread and wine are only bare signs. Instead it insists that Christ is truly present – not physically, as if the bread were turned into flesh, but sacramentally, by the power of the Spirit.
That means we are free to wonder, and to explore different ways of expressing the mystery. Some will find the language of real presence helpful. Others may prefer to think in terms of trans-signification – that what changes is the meaning and the use of the bread and wine. But all agree on this: when we receive communion with faith, Christ is truly present to us, feeding us, forgiving us, and drawing us deeper into his life.
So what happens at communion? More than we can fully explain. But at the very least this: bread and wine become to us the body and blood of Christ, the means by which he shares his life with us. And that is why we come – to be nourished, renewed, and sent out in his peace.