Prayer and ritual

Prayer

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Prayer is the means by which Christians communicate with their God.

The New Testament records that Jesus taught his disciples how to pray and that he encouraged them to address God as Father. Christians believe that they continue this tradition.

Sometimes the prayers are formal and part of a ritual laid down for hundreds of years.

Others are personal and spontaneous, and come from personal or group need.

Whilst prayer is often directed to God as Father, as taught by Jesus, some traditions encourage prayer to God through intermediaries such as saints and martyrs.

Prayers through Mary, as the mother of God, are central to some churches and form a traditional part of their worship.

The Church

The Christian church is fundamental to believers. Although it has many faults it is recognised as God's body on earth.

The church is the place where the Christian faith is nurtured and where the Holy Spirit is manifest on earth.

It is where Christians are received into the faith and where they are brought together into one body through the Eucharist.

Baptism

The Christian church believes in one baptism into the Christian church, whether this be as an infant or as an adult, as an outward sign of an inward commitment to the teachings of Jesus.

Eucharist

Eucharist is a Greek word for thanksgiving. Its celebration is to commemorate the final meal that Jesus took with his disciples before his death (the Last Supper).

This rite comes from the actions of Jesus who, at that meal, took bread and wine and asked his disciples to consume them and continue to do so in memory of him.

At the meal, the wine represented his blood and the bread his body.

The Eucharist (also known as a Communion meal in some churches) is central to the Church and is recognised as a sign of unity amongst Christians.

Different Churches understand and practice the Eucharist in different ways. As a result, the central ideas of the Eucharist can cause disharmony rather than unity.

For example, the idea that Christ is present in the bread and wine is interpreted literally by some churches and metaphorically by others. This has given rise to substantial and often irreconcilable disagreement.