© EMANUEL UNIVERSITY of ORADEA PERICHORESIS 8.2 (2010) The Eucharist in the Theology of Martin

ABSTRACT. Several, divergent interpretations of the Eucharist had been cir-culating even before the Reformation. Yet, it was with the advent of the writ-ings of Martin Luther, John Calvin and other reformers that the subject of the Eucharist―and of Sacraments in general―was given a special attention. The following study reviews the main aspects of the theology of the Euchar-ist in the writings of Luther and Calvin. The study attempts to analyze the degree to which their writings were grounded in the Scriptures and/or in-fluenced by other theologians. It also sets the two authors in the context of their time, by analyzing the different sources that influenced the two and helped shape their theology of the Eucharist. In this sense, the study also takes into account the views of Thomas Aquinas and Zwingli, two of the main actors whose views must be taken into account if one wishes to under-stand the views of Luther and Calvin