A Companion to Anglican Eucharistic Theology

Book excerpt: Anglican eucharistic theology varies between the different philosophical assumptions of realism and nominalism. Whereas realism links the signs of the Eucharist with what they signify in a real way, nominalism sees these signs as reminders only of past and completed transaction. This book begins by discussing the multifomity of the philosophical assumptions underlying Anglican eucharistic theology and goes on to present extensive case study material which exemplify these different assumptions from the Reformation to the Nineteenth century. By examining the multiformity of philosophical assumptions this book avoids the hermeneutic idealism of particular church parties and looks instead at the Anglican eucharistic tradition in a more critical manner.