Transubstantiation

Transubstantiation is the Roman Catholic dogma that in the sacrament of the Eucharist (also known as Holy Communion) the bread and wine are transmuted in substance into the Body and Blood of Christ (although retaining the physical "accidents" of bread and wine).

Contrast the belief held by most Protestant churches that Holy Communion merely symbolically commemorates Jesus' Last Supper with the disciples; this belief is known as "Symbolism," "Commemoration," or "transignification."

Finally, some churches (notably the Anglican Churches) (others?) profess the doctrine of Consubstantiation, which holds that both the Body and Blood of Christ and the bread and wine are present in substance in the consecrated Eucharist. This doctrine agrees with Transubstantion, and disagrees with Commemoration, that the Real Presence of Christ is in the Eucharist.