Der vergossene Becher. Ritual und Gemeinschaft im lukanischen Mahlbericht

In the word over the cup according to Luke's account of the Last Supper (Luke 22:20), the syntactically correct translation implies that the cup, not the blood, is poured out, thus indicating a libation. The paper explores the ritual form and functions of sympotic libations and, by this means, establishes a coherent understanding of the cup and its interpretation as the New Covenant. As a consequence, the so-called Eucharistic words refer to the main parts of the ritual rather than to the foodstuffs. This understanding first begins to change from the 3rd century onward when the ritual form of the Eucharist as a real meal was gradually replaced by token meals.