Receptionism
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Receptionism is a Christian theological doctrine that in the Eucharist service the communicant receives the body and blood of Christ, but that the bread and wine are not the body and blood of Christ outside the moment of reception.
[edit] Within Anglicanism
This doctrine originated in the Church of England during the Reformation and appears to have been held by the eminent Anglican theologian Richard Hooker. According to him, the bread is unchanged at the blessing of the priest, but becomes an effectual spiritual sign when received by someone in faith.
[edit] Roman Catholic criticism
A consequence of receptionism is that it makes it theologically impossible to justify practicing a Eucharistic adoration outside the Mass. Such a practice is rejected as unscriptural by Protestants in any case, but the Roman Catholic Church has rejected this teaching on the grounds that it denies that Jesus would be truly present within the sacred host for an unspecified amount of time. Pope Paul VI notably criticized it in the encyclical Mysterium Fidei, having claimed to notice a tendency to reject worship outside the Sunday liturgy.[1]
