Eucharist_Confucian_Chesa

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Sungmu Lee

The Eucharist and the Confucian Chesa1

(Ancestor Rite)

As Christianity has been diffused in the world, it has encountered

various cultures and adapted them into its own liturgy. Conse-

quently, each liturgical tradition has developed multiple styles of

the eucharistie rite according to different times and places. How-

ever, in spite of the diversity of tradition, there has been the unity

in the eucharistie faith and practice. In other words, the concept of

liturgical inculturation, the unity in diversity and the diversity in

unity, has existed throughout the history of Christian liturgy.Yet, when making the western styles of liturgy definitive and

eradicating Korean culture from the Korean Protestant liturgy, the

early Protestant missionaries in Korea in the late nineteenth

century were disconnecting the historical continuity of liturgical

inculturation. The early Protestant missionaries sought liturgical

uniformity rather than unity in diversity. As a result, the eucha-

ristie forms and contents in the Korean Protestant Church have

become almost the same as those in the American Protestant

Church. In order for Korean Protestants to create a uniquely Korean

liturgical identity and approach the Eucharist more effectively, it is

indispensable that they utilize ritual sources in Korean culture.

In order to demonstrate the great potential for Korean Protestants

to experience God more effectively through the Eucharist, I illumi-

nate eucharistie aspects in the Korean Confucian chesa (ancestor

rite), one of the most sacred rites in the minds of Korean people,

for adapting Korean cultural features into the liturgy. From a socio-

logical perspective, I study the Korean Confucian chesa, and then,

from a theological perspective, connect it with the Eucharist in the

Sungmu Lee is a pastor in the United Methodist Church in Bay Shore, New

York.

1

Chosang chesa is the full title of the ancestor rite in Korea. Chosang meansancestor, and chesa means rite. Koreans usually call it chesa instead of chosang

chesa.

The Eucharist and the Confucian

323



Korean chesa does not reflect the Chinese Confucian view of

humankind. According to the pre-Confucian view of humankind,

' "man is composed of the earthly aspect of the soul (jp'6) and its

heavenly aspect (hurt). . . . When a man dies, p'o returns to the

earth and hurt disperses, as it were, into the air."7 In other words,

the spirit of humankind did not include that of an eternal being inpre-Confucianism. "Even during the Neo-Confucian period, the

cosmological significance of ancestor worship was still poorly

developed because the Neo-Confucian ideas of ch'i (material force)

and liturgy (principle) were not related to the idea of gods and

spiritual beings. . . . Thus, ancestor worship, even for the Neo-

Confucianists, had little cosmological or ontological significance,

and its moral significance was still the dominant aspect of ancestor

worship."8

The lack of a cosmological dimension in Chinese Confucianism

resulted in adapting native Korean religious features into chesa.

"Specifically, Shamanism played an important role in providing an

adequate world view for ancestor worship. The shamanistic world

view provided an effective way of relating life to death, and the

world of a departed spirit to the world of man. Ancestors were

supposed to possess the power to create calamities for their de-

scendants or to give them blessings. Thus, ancestor worship, with its

moral, ritual, and cosmological aspects, now (during the Yi Dynasty)

became a rich religious form of worship in Korea. Ancestor worship

was no longer a ritual exclusively belonging to the Confucian

tradition, but rather it was the most important and popular family

ritual for all Koreans regardless of their religious affiliations, until

Christianity was introduced."9 As chesa was inculturated into

Korea, it became a powerful institution and the most sacred rite in

Korean culture. "[Chesa] was a sacred symbol in which all Koreans

found meaning and purpose for their lives and the enhancement

of their sense of belonging. Without both ancestor worship and

family, Koreans lost the sense of meaning of their existence."10

7Ro, 14.

8 Ibid., 15.9

Ibid., 16.10 WiJo Kang, "Confucian Elements of Korean Culture with Special Reference to

Ancestor Worship/' Korean Cultural Roots: Religion and Social Thoughts, ed. Ho-Youn

Kwon (Chicago: North Park College and Theological Seminary 1995) 169.

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326



Church followed the new instruction as well and as a result met

with great difficulties and even persecution in 1784/'14 Thus, all

missionaries in China were supposed to "take the oath against the

Chinese rites according to its formula — otherwise they were

liable to be recalled by their superiors and sent back to Europe/'15

In this situation, Catholicism was introduced to Korea via Chinain 1784. In 1790, the early Korean Catholic Church wondered about

the practice of Korean chesa and heard from the priests in Beijing

that Korean chesa was incompatible with the doctrine of the

church.16 Therefore, the early Korean Catholic Church prohibited

the believers from practicing Korean chesa, which caused the Yi

Dynasty to severely persecute Roman Catholics in Korea. The

prohibition of Korean chesa represented direct opposition against

the moral norms and polity of the Korean government. As a result,

the Korean Catholic Church had more than 10,000 martyrs by 1880.

However, in the mid-twentieth century, the Roman Catholic

Church began to approach Chinese chesa from a new perspective.

In 1939, the newly elected pope, Pius XII, declared that "in a

modern age in which the spirit of traditional customs has greatly

changed, Confucian ancestor worship should be regarded merely

as a civil rite to express filial affection to ancestors."

17

As a result, itwas finally nullified through the two century controversy that the

missionaries should take the oath against Chinese rites, because

"their symbolism and meaning would not be judged simply from

the standpoint of European and Judeo-Christian culture."18 In 1940,

the Korean Catholic Church had changed its attitude toward

Korean chesa in "allowing such behavior as bowing in front of a

corpse, a tomb, or a picture of the deceased; burning incense in

front of a corpse or at the ancestral worship; and preparing andoffering foods in memory of the deceased."19

Yet, the Korean Protestant Church has never approached Korean

Confucian chesa with a new perspective, but rather prohibited the

14 Kim, 23.15 Minamiki, 76.16

Kim, 24.17 Ibid., 25.18 Minamiki, 203.19 Kim, 25.

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believers from practicing it. The reason is that the Korean Protes-

tant Church has been continuously influenced by the instructions

of the early American missionaries in the late nineteenth century

who regarded Korean rites as idol worship. Thus, modern Korean

Protestants need to realize those aspects of chesa that were mis-

understood by the early missionaries and to determine what shouldbe revived for the sake of their faith. George Minamiki notes: "The

meanings of the rites, it should be remembered, are not altogether

subjective and arbitrary. They are greatly influenced by the cultural

environment and social milieu in which the rites are practiced. The

bows, the bending of the knees, the offering of flowers and incense,

the use of candles and spirit tablets are all part of a particular

society — in this case, in the Far East. They have to be understood

in that context and not as they may exist or may have developed inthe Western world. The cultural milieu gives its own peculiar,

sometimes subtle, meaning to these ceremonial actions."20

For the early American missionaries, making a deep bow21 at the

ancestral tablet during the ritual of chesa was an act of idol wor-

ship, but, for the Koreans, it was a gesture of honoring their elders,

just as they had done when their ancestors were alive. This mis-

understanding of the early missionaries is based on the form of

Korean greetings. In the past, Koreans made a deep bow to their

parents and grand parents every morning and every evening, <

which was a norm based on filial piety. Modern Koreans still prac-

tice making a deep bow on special occasions, such as New Year's

Day and on parents' birthdays, or when they meet after not seeing

one another for a long time. Making a deep bow in the Korean

society is just one example of a formal greeting. It is not an act of

worship.

Further, another of the early missionaries' misunderstandings of

Korean culture was caused by the misinterpretation of the ances-

tral tablet at chesa as an idol. However, "the ancestral tablet or

picture itself is not an idol. It can become an idol when it is wor-

shiped. . . . [Yet], the ancestral tablet is none other than an image

20Minamiki, 208.

21A deep bow is usually made in the living room or parents' room. To do so, Koreans kneel down, put their hands on the floor, and put their heads on their

hands.


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or a symbol that recalls the dead ancestor. Thus, in [this] view the

ancestral tablet becomes a memorial."22

Therefore, making a deep

bow to the ancestral tablet or picture at chesa is not an act of idol

worship, but a beautiful tradition that God has given to Korean

people who express their respect for their ancestors or their elders,

just as they did when their ancestors were alive.

EUCHARISTIC ASPECTS IN KOREAN CO NF UC IA N CHESAl

THANKSGIVING, ANAMNESIS (COMMEMORATION),

COMMUNION, THE WORK OF THE SPIRIT

Korean ancestor rites have three forms: charye (general ceremony),

sije (ceremony for the time), and ktje (Chesa or ceremony for the

memorial).23

Korean Confucian chesa is performed at home on the

day of the death of the ancestor. The forms and contents vary

according to different regions, but they are generally based on the

following order.

ι. Lighting incense (punhyang): Sticks of incense are lit and

placed in a censer. The incense cleanses the ritual site. The

principal participant prostrates himself before the ceremonial

table and bows twice.

2. The descent of the spirit (kangsin): The ancestor(s) is/are

invited to descend from heaven. The principal participant

pours wine in a cup and bows twice.

3.Participation by the spirit: The ancestor(s) is/are welcomed.

All participants bow twice.

4.Offering food: Food is offered to the ancestor(s). Noodles, rice,

and soup are placed on the table, which is already laden with

other foods. Spoons and chopsticks are placed on the table.

22

Jung Yong Lee, "Ancestor Worship: From a Theological Perspective," Ancestor

Worship and Christianity in Korea, 84.23

Ho Nam, Liturgical Inculturation in the Marriage and Funeral Rites of Korean

Protestants (Ph.D. Dissertation: Drew University 1999) 140�41. "Charye is performed

regularly every month and on special holidays, such as, by lunar calendar, on the

first day of the New Year and on the 15th day of August which is called Chusök,

the Harvest Moon Day. Sije, a seasonal rite, is held by the entire clan once a year

in the tenth lunar month at the grave site, whereas Kije is held on the day of the

death of the ancestor/'

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5· Making the first offering and reading the invocation: Wine is

offered and an invocation is read. The invocation states that

the humble dishes have been prepared by descendants who

cannot endure their sorrow. The descendants entreat the

ancestor to enjoy the offerings.

6. Making the second offering: Wine is offered again. In the

past, women were not permitted to attend these ceremonies,

but now they are allowed to participate. The principal woman

participant offers wine and bows four times. Women always

bow twice as many times as men, because in accordance with

traditional cosmology, women represent yin, and it takes two

yin to make one yang, the male element.

7. Making the final offering: Wine is offered once again, prompt-

ing the ancestor(s) to eat his/her/their fill.

8. Waiting for the ancestor(s) to eat: The ancestor is encouraged

to have more food. The spoon and chopsticks are stuck verti-

cally in the rice bowl.

9. Leaving the room: The light is then turned out and everyone

leaves the room. The idea is to allow the ancestor(s) to eat atleisure if he/she/they is/are shy.

10. Opening the door: The participants open the door and reenter.

They make sure to cough a few times before opening the door

to avoid surprising the ancestor(s).

11. Putting rice in soup: In order to prompt the ancestor(s) to eat

more, three spoonfuls of rice from the ritual offerings are

placed in the ancestors'bowls of soup.

12. Bidding farewell to the ancestors' spirit: Wine is offered and

all participants bow in farewell to the ancestors' spirit.

13. Burning prayer paper: Now that the ancestor(s) has/have

departed, the spirit tablet is moved to its original place and

the prayer paper and wishing paper are immolated in an act

of cleansing.

14. Taking away the food: All food is cleared from the ceremonial

table.


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15.Eating the ceremonial food (ümbok): The food from the cere-

monial table is thought to hold the ancestor's spiritual touch.

Sharing the food brings the ancestor's grace to living

relatives.24

There are significant eucharistie features in the Korean traditionalchesa, such as thanksgiving, anamnesis (commemoration), com-

munion, and the work of the spirit.

First, the Korean Confucian chesa includes strong expressions of

"thanksgiving." After the first offering, a principal celebrant recites

a written invocation: "Dear father /mother, because of your endless

grace as great as the heaven, we have another anniversary of your

death. We miss you so much that we make a deep bow, offering

various dishes. Please come to us and accept what we have pre-

pared for you."25 The invocation implies that since their ancestors

have cared for them during the past year, the participants could

have another year. They give thanks to their ancestors for their

grace, keeping them safe in everyday life. The expression of thanks-

giving to their ancestors is even stronger in chary e performed on

the fifteenth of August, according to the lunar calendar, which is

called Chusok, Harvest Moon Day. Korean ancestor rites are filled

with the expressions of thanksgiving to their ancestors, which is

one of the significant eucharistie features.

The word "Eucharist," derived from the Greek word,

"eucharistéo,"16 is commonly translated as "thanksgiving." Yngve

Brilioth indicates that "in the second century'eucharist'becomes

the regular name for the rite — perhaps in imitation of the usage of

Hellenistic Judaism, for in Philo the word is used of various ritual

acts — and at the same time the note of thanksgiving is evermorestrongly accentuated."27 The Eucharist in the early church was

dominated by "thanksgiving," related to praise, wonder, and

24Young Duk Kim, "Ancestral Rites," Korean Cultural Heritage Vol TV (Seoul:

Korea Foundation 1996) 48-49.25 Ryu, 76.26 James F. White, The Sacraments in Protestant Practice and Faith (Nashville:

Abingdon Press 1999) 100.27Yngve Brilioth, Eucharistie Faith & Practice (London: S.RC.K. 1930) 18.

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adoration of the Lord. In the Didache28 is found the expression of

thanksgiving in the Eucharist of the early church: "We thank you,

our Father, for the holy vine of David. . . . We thank you, our

Father, for the life and knowledge. . . . For yours is the glory and

the power through Jesus Christ forever. . . . We thank you, holy

Father, for your sacred name. . . . Above all, we thank you that

you are mighty. To you be glory forever."29 As in the Didache,

thanksgiving is one of the main subjects in the Eucharist of the

early Christian Church.

However, thanksgiving in the Eucharist became a minor theme

enuring the medieval period. "The pervading spirit [in the medieval

Church] was one of penitential gloom, focusing on the unworthi-

ness of those present rather than the supreme worth of God. The

mass had become a highly individualistic groveling before God

because of human sin. . . . There is little joy there for the damned."30

The eucharistie metaphor of thanksgiving was not fully recovered

during the sixteenth century Reformation. For example, although

Cranmer approved of the sacrifice of praise in the Eucharist, he

still reflected on the penitential attitude based on late-medieval

piety, as in the "Prayer of Humble Access": "We be not worthy so

much as to gather up the crumbs under thy table."

31

The penitential tendency prevailed in the Eucharist until modern

Protestants began to stress the joyful aspect of the Eucharist as

thanksgiving in the 1960s. "Biblical studies have . . . made us

realize the strong continuity of Jewish worship and early Christian

worship. In particular, the Jewish means of giving thanks by recit-

ing God's saving acts has come to the forefront. . . . Certainly the

tide has turned in the direction of emphasizing the eucharist as

thanksgiving. What seems newest is actually, as so often happens,

28"The Teaching of the Twelve Apostles, Commonly Called the Didache/' Early

Christian Fathers, ed. Cyril C. Richardson (New York: Macmillan 1970) 161. The

Didache is a compilation of various documents including the organization,

liturgy, and customs in Christian communities, dating from the late-first century

to the mid-second century.29

Ibid., 175-76.30White, 100-01.

31 The Two Books of Common Prayer of King Edward The Sixth, ed. Edward Cardwell

(Oxford: Oxford University Press 1852) 302.


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also the oldest layer in the Christian tradition/ 732 The eucharistie

prayer in the United Methodist Church supports a shift from one

of penitential gloom to one of joyful thanksgiving in the Eucharist:

"It is right, and a good and joyful thing, always and everywhere to

give thanks to you, Father Almighty, creator of heaven and earth/'33

Korean Protestants have a great advantage in recovering thejoyful feature of the Eucharist as thanksgiving, in that the Korean

traditional chesa is filled with the expression of thanksgiving. One

of the features of Korean religious sentiments is to actively and

joyfully celebrate a religious event. If modern Korean Protestants

earnestly inherit the wisdom of blending religious solemnity and

human joy as in the Korean Confucian chesa, they will be able to

experience not only pious repentance but also joyful moments

with the assurance of salvation in the Eucharist.

Another vivid eucharistie feature at chesa is commemoration or

anamnesis. Koreans perform chesa on the day of the death of an

ancestor, remembering his/her life and death. Yet, they prepare the

altar table in chesa for two people, so that the souls of a husband

and wife may come and eat together. That is, Korean ancestors are

invited into chesa twice a year, one at their own chesa and the other

at their spouses' chesa. Before chesa, participants open their front

door so that their ancestors' spirits can come in. They prepare a

regular meal that their ancestors customarily ate when they were

alive. During the ritual, they also pour wine into a cup several

times for their ancestors and accumulate it in a special bottle for

the participants. They also move the spoons and chopsticks34 from

dish to dish, so that their ancestors can eat various foods. Then, the

participants leave the room for a while, so that their ancestors eat

comfortably in the event that they are shy. In addition, when theparticipants come back to the room, they cough a few times in

order to let them know that they are coming back. They act as if

32 White, 103-04.33 The United Methodist Hymnal (Nashville: The United Methodist Publishing

House 1989) 9.34 The Korean utensils include a spoon and chopsticks, unlike the utensils of

many other Asian nations.

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their ancestors are present at chesa. This feature is not just an act of

remembrance, but an act of anamnesis.35

"For ancient Jews and early Christians, remembrance was a

corporate act in which the event remembered was experienced

anew through ritual repetition. To remember was to do something,

not to think about something./,36 Since anamnesis is beyond themeaning of remembrance, it is difficult to translate the term into

modern English. However, unlike the Westerners, Koreans not

only have an equivalent word for anamnesis, chumo, 37 but also

reflect on its concept in their traditional chesa. Thus, it is necessary

for Korean Protestants to adapt the features of anamnesis at their

traditional chesa into their liturgy, so that they have the opportu-

nity to experience vividly the image of anamnesis in the Eucharist.

Third, the Korean traditional chesa reflects the eucharistie meta-phor of communion. At the end of the ritual, they eat the ceremo-

nial food. According to the strict age order, the participants drink

the rice wine that they have accumulated. Even if one does not

drink the alcoholic beverage, he/she pretends to drink or just wets

his/her lips with a drop. Every participant is supposed to share the

wine from which, they believe, their ancestors have come and

drunk. Then, they also share the meal that their ancestors, they

believe, have eaten. By sharing the food and wine, the participants

naturally feel the vibrant and meaningful sense of communion

with each other as well as the spirits of their ancestors, which

reflects one of the significant eucharistie metaphors.

35James White explains the difference in meaning between anamnesis in Greek

and "remembrance" in modern English, in his text, Introduction to Christian

Worship (Nashville: Abingdon Press 2000) 233: "No single English word conveysits full meaning; remembrance, recalling, representation, and experiencing anew

are all weak approximations. Anamnesis expresses the sense that in repeating

these actions one experiences once again the reality of Jesus himself present."

Robert Cabié also mentions the meaning of anamnesis, in his text, The Church at

Prayer Vol. II: The Eucharist (Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press 1986) 28: "In the

biblical acceptance of the word, 'to remember' is not simply to refer back to the

past, as it is in our modern languages. The celebration takes us into the very

memory of God himself, for whom 'a thousand years are as a day,' makes us

contemporary, after a fashion, with his wonderful deeds in the past."

36 Laurence Hull Stookey, Eucharist (Nashville: Abingdon Press 1993) 28.37 The Korean traditional chesa is also called chumoche, which means chumo rite

or anamnesis rite.


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The eucharistie concept of communion with those who have died

in the faith has been developed in the Christian liturgy, especially

by the Roman Catholic Church. For example, in inculturating the

existing liturgy, the Zairean Roman Catholic Church included the

invocation of the African ancestors as well as the Christian saints

at the beginning of the mass. "After a general invitation to prayer, it takes the form of a litany, addressed not only to the usual catego-

ries of saints, but also to the African ancestors. It is a very direct

appeal to something very deep in African religious consciousness,

a profound sense of communion with the ancestors/'38

The Protestant tradition does not reflect the concept of the com-

munion with those who have passed away in the faith through the

Eucharist as much as the Roman Catholic tradition does. Yet, some

denominations in North America include that image. The eucha-ristie prayer D in the Episcopal Church prays: "Remember all who

have died in the peace of Christ, and those whose faith is known to

you alone; bring them into the place of eternal joy and light. And

grant that we may find our inheritance with [the Blessed Virgin

Mary, with patriarchs, prophets, apostles, and martyrs, (with )

and] all the saints who have found favor with you in ages past. We

praise you in union with them and give you glory through your

Son Jesus Christ our Lord/'39 In addition, most denominations in

North America, in celebrating the Eucharist on All Saints Day

(November 1) or All Saints Sunday (the first Sunday of November),

specify the communion with those who have died in the faith. For

instance, the United Methodist eucharistie prayer for All Saints Day

includes "Renew our communion with all your saints, especially

those whom we name before you — Name(s) — (in our hearts)!"®

On the other hand, the Korean Protestant Church, although theKorean traditional chesa is filled with the sense of communion with

the spirits of their ancestors, does not even celebrate All Saints Day

or All Saints Sunday. The Korean Methodist New Book of Worship

38 Raymond Moloney, "The Zairean Mass and Inculturation" Worship 62 (1988)

436.39 The Book of Common Prayer (New York: The Church Hymnal Corporation 1979)

375·40 The United Methodist Book of Worship (Nashville: The United Methodist Pub-

lishing House 1992) 75.

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(2002) presents seasonal eucharistie prayers, such as Advent,

Christmas, Epiphany, Lent, Easter, Pentecost, and Thanksgiving

Day, but excludes All Saints Day.41 When Korean Protestantism has

intentionally been against the Korean traditional chesa, it has un-

intentionally eradicated the eucharistie image of communion with

ancestors or saints from the liturgy.Fourth, the Korean traditional chesa reflects on the action of the

spirit, as in the Eucharist as the work of the Holy Spirit.42 Although

the work of the Holy Spirit is not directly mentioned in the New

Testament, it was soon emphasized in the early Christian eucha-

ristie practices. In the Apostolic Tradition (c. 217), the early Chris-

tians prayed to God, "Thou wouldest send Thy Holy Spirit upon

the oblation of Thy holy Church, Thou wouldest grant to all Thy

Saints who partake to be united [to Thee] that they may be fulfilledwith the Holy Spirit for the confirmation of their faith in truth/'43

In the early church, the work of the Holy Spirit had become indis-

pensable in consecrating the elements.

However, in the Western Church, the priest was regarded as the

one playing a major role in the consecration, rather than the Holy

Spirit. As a result, "the Holy Spirit was marginalized in the eucha-

ristie consciousness of the West, simply being rattled off in doxo-

logical formulas pro forma/'44 Although some sixteenth-centuryReformers, especially Calvin, tried to revive the major role of the

Holy Spirit in the Eucharist, their efforts had not been fully inher-

ited until recent years. Since the Second Vatican Council, most

mainline churches in North America have included the epiclesis in

the eucharistie prayers in revising their liturgical sources for public

41 Sae Yebaesö [The Korean Methodist New Book of Worship] (Seoul: The Korean

Methodist Church Publishing House 2002) 141-63.42 James White, Sacraments as God's Self Giving: Sacramental Practice and Faith

(Nashville: Abingdon Press 1983) 59-61. James White adds two more eucharistie

images: The action of the Holy Spirit and the foretaste of the final consummation

of things, to the five key eucharistie images in the New Testament that Yngve

Brilioth presents in his text, Eucharistie Faith & Practice: Evangelical & Catholic,

18-69: Thanksgiving, Communion and Fellowship, Commemoration, Sacrifice,

and Christ's presence.

43 Gregory Dix, The Treatise on the Apostolic Tradition of St Hippolytus of Rome(London: SPCK1968) 9.

44White, The Sacraments in Protestant Practice and Faith, 114.


337



worship. For example, the eucharistie prayer in the United Meth-

odist Church contains the epiclesis: "Pour out your Holy Spirit on

us gathered here, and on these gifts of bread and wine. Make them

be for us the body and blood of Christ, that we may be for the

world the body of Christ, redeemed by his blood/'45

Korean Protestants have the great advantage of experiencing theimage of the work of the Holy Spirit in the Eucharist, in that their

traditional chesa reflects this eucharistie metaphor. Korean people

believe that the spirits of their ancestors come and eat the food

and the wine at chesa. After that, the food and wine is believed to ( j

hold the ancestors' spiritual touch. Sharing the food and wine

brings the grace and blessing of ancestors to living relatives.

These sentiments, based on the Korean traditional chesa, thanks-giving, anamnesis, communion, and the work of the spirit, are

natural for Koreans. However, as mentioned before, the practice of

chesa has been forbidden in the Korean Protestant denominations,

influenced by the early missionaries who misunderstood Korean

culture and regarded chesa as idol worship. While the Korean

Catholic Church has permitted its believers to practice Korean

traditional rituals at chesa since 1940, the Korean Protestant Church

has not officially made any positive comment on the Korean tradi-tional chesa. Korean Protestants need to reconsider their traditional

chesa and to retain it as much as possible, because chesa is a very

important part of Korean culture, reflecting Korean people's senti-

ments. In addition, in adapting the significant eucharistie features

at chesa, Korean Protestants have the great potential of experienc-

ing God more effectively through the Eucharist. When the Eucha-

rist and the Korean traditional chesa enrich and respect each other

without damaging each other's identity, Korean Protestants experi-

ence God more faithfully, more effectively, and more naturally

through the Eucharist filled with their cultural characteristics.

45 The United Methodist Hymnal, 10.

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Eucharist_Confucian_Chesa

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