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Glite Dictionary
Holy Communion

Holy Communion

8 6.3
A Christian ceremony when people eat bread and drink wine to remember the Last Supper
  • noun
  • /ˈhoʊli kəˈmjunɪn/
  • Formal
translation icon : Sagrada Comunión
  • Children dressed in white prepared to receive their first Holy Communion at the church ceremony.
  • receive Holy Communion
  • sacrament of Holy Communion

You did go and get your, your Holy Communion and you were confirmed.

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Examples

  • The guidelines remind Catholics of the discipline for receiving Holy Communion and welcome non-Catholics to worship with the Catholic assembly.

    Academic text (2002)

  • Father Martin has brought Holy Communion if Michael wishes to receive it today.

    Fiction book (1997)

  • And it was the day of my first Holy Communion.

    Heaven (2002)

  • "I have just received Holy Communion.

    Blood Freak (1972)

  • We are here to celebrate with you today your first Holy Communion.

    Devil's Due (2014)

  • Respondents also reported church attendance and participation in Holy Communion every week for 10 weeks.

    Academic text (1997)

  • The Christian sacrament of Holy Communion reenacts the Last Supper, at which Jesus Christ presided nearly 2,000 years ago.

    Academic text (1997)

  • The literal "making flesh" of Christ is celebrated in the Catholic Mass and the sacrament of Holy Communion, in which Catholics symbolically consume the body and blood.

    Academic text (2016)

  • During the mass, many parishioners lined up to receive Holy Communion from the priest.

  • After the service, he expressed how special it was to share Holy Communion with his family.

Synonyms

Mass
vsHoly Communion
104 4.9

A Christian church service where people receive bread and wine to remember Jesus

focuses on receiving the elements broadly not just the denominational service
sacrament
vsHoly Communion
46 9.5

A religious ceremony that shows a person's faith and God's blessing

is the specific act of receiving the consecrated bread and wine, not any rite
Eucharist
vsHoly Communion
17 9.3

A Christian service when people bless and eat bread and drink wine to remember Jesus' Last Supper

highlights the act of sharing those elements with believers
communion
vsHoly Communion
9 4.9

A Christian ceremony where people share bread and wine to remember Jesus

emphasizes individual reception of the elements as sacramental act
Lord's Supper
vsHoly Communion
2 7.7

A Christian ceremony where people share bread and wine to remember the meal Jesus had before he died

focuses on receiving the elements rather than the historical meal itself
Holy Eucharist
vsHoly Communion
  • Formal
1 8.1

A Christian ceremony when people bless and eat bread and wine to remember Jesus' Last Supper

focuses on receiving the elements as an act of partaking
Holy Sacrament
vsHoly Communion
  • Formal
1 9.8

A religious ceremony where Christians bless bread and wine to remember Jesus' Last Supper

frames the practice as receiving those consecrated elements personally
sacrament of the Eucharist
vsHoly Communion
9.8

A Christian ceremony where people eat bread and drink wine to remember Jesus' death and his rising from the dead

stresses the act of receiving rather than naming the sacrament
Eucharistic liturgy
vsHoly Communion
9.9

A Christian ceremony where bread and wine are blessed and eaten to remember Jesus' Last Supper

is about the act of receiving elements as a personal sacrament

Surface Forms

Holy Communion singular
Holy Communions plural

Morphology

holy + Communion

The phrase combines 'holy' (sacred) with 'Communion' (participation in the Eucharistic rite), so a learner who knows both constituents can directly infer it refers to the sacred Christian sacrament of bread and wine. This compositional pattern is cross-linguistically common and follows standard modifier + noun semantics, making it immediately comprehensible to B1 learners.

Etymology

Holy Communion comes from an old Christian ceremony where people share bread and wine, like at Jesus' Last Supper. Holy means religious and communion means 'sharing', so the phrase means taking part in this special shared meal to remember Jesus.