Luther on the Lord’s Supper

Martin Luther (1483–1546).
Eyn Sermon von den Hochwirdigen Sacrament, des Heyligen waren Leychnamsz Christi.
Leipzig: Valentin Schumann, 1520. (BRA2640)

Luther’s reflections on the sacraments began well before the publication of De captivitate Babylonica ecclesiae. An earlier trilogy of sermons on the subject concluded in 1519 with his first extended statement on the Lord’s Supper. In the present sermon he proposed that the laity should receive both the bread and the wine at Communion. Although Luther did not yet refute the doctrine of transubstantiation, the sermon was promptly attacked. The woodcut on the title page shows the Seven Sacraments, with the Savior above the chalice at the center.