Abstract / DOI
Gift, Community, and Constant Transformation. On the Chance of (Re)Discovering the Eucharist (Ecumenically) in Digital Media. The paper starts with an overview of the discussion about the possibility of online Eucharist in German Protestantism before and in times of the Corona pandemic and of the empirical studies on the relevance of this theme in German Protestant churches. The thesis of the paper is twofold: (1) Forms of celebrating the Eucharist are in a constant process of transformation, and (2) ‘gift’ and ‘community’ are the axes opening up a wide space of forms of celebration which are theologically possible in a Lutheran (and ecumenical) context. Following this line of thought, the paper argues that forms of online Eucharist in a video-conference format (synchronous celebration) seem very well possible. In summary, there is the chance to discuss the manifold questions of the Eucharist anew following the Corona disruption.