The short answer
Holy Communion is the Christian practice of sharing bread and cup in obedience to Jesus, who instituted it at his final meal with his disciples. Lifting the bread and the cup, he said "this is my body" and "this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins" (Matthew 26:26–28), and he told them, "do this in remembrance of me" (Luke 22:19). Known by several names — the Lord's Supper, the Eucharist, the breaking of bread — it is one of the most sacred acts of Christian worship, kept by nearly every branch of the church across two thousand years.
Its meaning is layered rather than single. As one clear summary of the biblical teaching puts it, the Lord's Supper is "a reminder of what Jesus did in the past, a symbol of our present relationship with him, and a promise of what he will do in the future." It looks back to the cross, gathers up the present in union with Christ and his people, and reaches forward to his return. The Divine Principle sets all three within the wider story of restoration — God's long work to recover the relationship of love that was broken at the fall — which gives the simple act of eating and drinking a depth that rewards a closer look.
Where communion comes from: the Last Supper
Communion has a precise origin: the night before Jesus died, at a Passover meal with his disciples. The timing is significant. Passover itself was a memorial — Israel's annual remembrance of being delivered from slavery in Egypt by the blood of a lamb marked on their doorposts (Exodus 12). Into that ancient meal of deliverance, Jesus placed a startling new meaning. Taking the bread, "he gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, 'This is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me'" (Luke 22:19). Then the cup, "the new covenant in my blood" (Luke 22:20). He was announcing himself as the true Passover lamb, whose self-offering would accomplish a greater deliverance.
Paul preserves the earliest written account of this, received and handed on as sacred tradition: "The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, 'This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me'" (1 Corinthians 11:23–24). From the very beginning, then, the church did not invent communion as a later ritual; it received it as a direct command from Jesus, tied to the meaning of his death. This is why the connection between the Supper and the cross is inseparable — and why understanding one requires understanding the other. On the significance of the sacrifice communion remembers, see whether the cross was God's plan from the beginning.
Remembering: looking back to the cross
The first meaning of communion is remembrance, but the biblical sense of remembering is far more than recalling a fact. In Scripture, to remember is to actively lay hold of an event's meaning and let it shape you afresh — the way Israel did not merely recall the Exodus at Passover but re-entered it, telling the story as though they themselves had been brought out of Egypt. So when Jesus says "do this in remembrance of me," he is not asking for a moment of nostalgia. He is inviting each generation to make the once-for-all event of the cross its own, to stand again beneath it and receive its meaning.
What is remembered is the sheer cost of love. The broken bread and poured cup are not abstract symbols; they speak of a body given and blood shed, of a love that held nothing back. To take communion is to be brought back, again and again, to the center of the Christian faith: that God's response to the brokenness of the world was not condemnation but self-giving. This is why communion is so often a quiet and searching moment — it confronts the receiver with grace that was purchased at great price. For a fuller account of that unearned gift, see what grace actually is. Remembrance keeps the church from ever drifting away from the sacrifice on which it stands.
Communion: union with Christ and one another
The very word "communion" means union with, and this is the second layer of meaning. Paul asks pointedly, "Is not the cup of thanksgiving for which we give thanks a participation in the blood of Christ? And is not the bread that we break a participation in the body of Christ?" (1 Corinthians 10:16). To receive the bread and cup is to be joined to Christ — to take his life into our own, to belong to him more fully. It is not a transaction observed from a distance but an act of intimate connection, an expressed desire to be one with the One who gave himself for us.
That union runs horizontally as well as vertically. Because all who share the one bread are joined to the one Christ, they are joined to one another: "we, who are many, are one body, for we all share the one loaf" (1 Corinthians 10:17). This is why Paul was so troubled when the Corinthians took the Supper while despising the poor among them — they were contradicting the very thing communion enacts. To receive communion is to accept membership in a family bound by Christ's love, and therefore to be called to that same love in practice. The Divine Principle deepens this, understanding communion as an expression of the desire to be grafted into Christ's life and to inherit the true love he embodied — the love that is the very substance of the Kingdom. On the nature of that love, see what true love means.
The new covenant and the promise of his return
When Jesus called the cup "the new covenant in my blood," he was invoking one of the deepest hopes of Scripture. The prophets had promised that God would one day make a new covenant with his people — not written on stone tablets but on their hearts, sealing a restored relationship in which "I will be their God, and they will be my people" (Jeremiah 31:33). Communion is the sign and seal of that covenant. Every time it is received, the promise is renewed: God has bound himself to his people in love, and they are called to belong to him in return.
But communion also leans forward. Paul writes that "whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes" (1 Corinthians 11:26). The phrase "until he comes" turns the meal into an act of hope. Jesus himself said at the table that he would not drink again of the fruit of the vine "until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father's kingdom" (Matthew 26:29). Communion therefore stretches across all three tenses of faith: it remembers the cross, it unites us with Christ now, and it anticipates the day when God's Kingdom is fully established and the whole family of God shares the feast together. It keeps the church living in expectation rather than settling into mere routine.
How to receive communion worthily
Paul's one extended instruction on communion is a call to receive it with the right heart. He warns against taking it "in an unworthy manner" and urges, "everyone ought to examine themselves before they eat of the bread and drink from the cup" (1 Corinthians 11:27–28). This is easily misheard as a demand for perfection, as if only the sinless could approach. But that is precisely backwards. Communion is not a reward for the flawless; it is nourishment for those who know they need Christ. To receive worthily is to come with reverence, honesty about one's failings, and a genuine desire to be reconciled — with God and with others.
This is why self-examination and communion belong together. Jesus taught that if you are bringing your gift to the altar and remember that someone has something against you, you should "first go and be reconciled" (Matthew 5:23–24). The heart that approaches the table should be a repentant and reconciling heart, willing to let go of grudges and to seek peace. On what that turning of heart involves, see what repentance really means. Approached this way, communion becomes what it was always meant to be: not an empty ritual, but a repeated and living act of choosing to belong to Christ, to receive his love, and to carry that love into the world he came to restore.
Frequently asked questions
What is Holy Communion?
Holy Communion — the Lord's Supper, Eucharist, or breaking of bread — is the sharing of bread and cup as Jesus commanded at the Last Supper. Taking them, he said "this is my body" and "this is my blood of the covenant," and told his followers "do this in remembrance of me" (Luke 22:19; 1 Corinthians 11:24–25). It is at once a remembrance of the cross, a sign of union with Christ and his people, and an anticipation of his return — one of the most sacred acts of Christian worship.
What do the bread and wine represent?
The bread represents Christ's body given for us, and the cup his blood poured out for the forgiveness of sins (Matthew 26:26–28). Christians differ on exactly how Christ is present in the elements, but agree on what they point to: the whole self-giving of Jesus in his death. In the Divine Principle's frame, receiving the bread and cup expresses our desire to receive Christ's life into our own and to become one with the love he poured out.
Why did Jesus tell us to keep doing it?
Jesus said "do this in remembrance of me" (Luke 22:19) because biblical remembering means laying hold of an event's meaning and being shaped by it, not merely recalling a fact. Paul explains that "whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes" (1 Corinthians 11:26). The repeated act anchors the community in the sacrifice that saves it and keeps it oriented toward Christ's return.
Who can receive Holy Communion?
Practices vary among traditions, but the New Testament's central concern is the heart of the receiver. Paul urges self-examination so no one partakes "in an unworthy manner" (1 Corinthians 11:27–28) — without reverence, repentance, or love. The invitation is extended to those who come with faith in Christ, a repentant heart, and a desire for reconciliation. Communion is not a reward for the perfect but nourishment for those seeking to belong more fully to Christ.
What is the deeper meaning of communion in the Divine Principle?
The Divine Principle sets communion within the story of restoration — God's work to recover the relationship of love broken at the fall. Salvation is the restoration of true life and true love through Christ. Receiving the bread and cup expresses the desire to be grafted into Christ's life, to inherit the love he embodied, and to become one with God's heart. Communion is thus not only remembrance but participation — repeatedly choosing to belong to the new lineage of love Christ opened.