theophagy means the eating or consumption of a god, typically in a sacramental context. It carries an Arena rating of 1603, earned across 5 head-to-head judged battles.
Why “theophagy” is a great word
Theophagy is the ritual consumption of a deity as a sacred act. From theo- (from Greek theos, meaning 'god') + -phagy (from Greek -phagia, from phagein, meaning 'to eat'). Unlike anthropophagy, which denotes the secular or savage consumption of human flesh, or the Eucharist, which is its specific Christian instantiation, theophagy is the broader, primal principle of ingesting the divine. It is the crumbling of a god-shaped wafer on the palate, the faint metallic warmth of consecrated wine, and the consuming of a totem animal to absorb its spirit—a corporeal transaction where faith meets hunger, transforming the eater in the hope of becoming what they eat.
Etymology
From theo- + -phagy (“to feed on, to eat”); compare theophage.
noun
- The eating or consumption of a god, typically in a sacramental context.