History of Eucharist

The early Church

Church tradition teaches how the Eucharist began at the Last Supper and how the early community obeyed Jesus' command to "break bread" in his name (Acts 2:42).

In his First Letter to the Corinthians, Paul describes a Eucharist celebrated in connection with a common supper shared in the homes of the early Christians. This supper included the blessing of the bread and wine, the breaking of the bread, and communion. Paul tells of abuses at this common meal. For example, some people drank too much; others neglected to share their food with the poor in their midst. This shocked Paul because the purpose of the meal was to celebrate the Lord in their midst. Acting selfishly brought a serious warning: "Everyone is to examine himself and only then eat of the bread or drink from the cup; because a person who eats and drinks without recognising the body is eating and drinking his own condemnation" (1 Cor 11:28-29).

Before long, the Eucharist was no longer celebrated at a meal. For example, when St. Justin writes of the Eucharist in 150CE he does not mention a meal. As the numbers of Christians grew, the Eucharist took place independent of a common meal.

Second and third centuries

Once the apostolic community was no longer on the scene, the developing liturgy increasingly used, read and reflected on the writings of the first-generation leaders such as Paul. When Jewish-Christians were no longer welcome at the synagogue service, they added its prayers, singing, chanting and homily to the Eucharistic liturgy. Today, we recognise this development as the Liturgy of the Word.

In these early days, the celebrant at the liturgy had considerable freedom to compose his own prayers for the liturgy. Soon, however, standardisation set in as the various communities began to adopt the prayers of their more eloquent celebrants such as Hippolytus (circa 215 C.E.).

Fourth to eighth centuries

Constantine's tolerance of Christianity (313C.E.) led to its rapid spread throughout the Roman Empire. This led to significant changes in the celebration of the liturgy.

Latin became the standard language of the liturgy (384C.E.), as it was now the common language of the Roman world. The increase in the numbers led to a move out of the homes. At first, the assemblies met in basilicas (imperial buildings); later they built and dedicated churches.

The clergy grew in numbers. During this era, they began to wear special clerical clothes. The need for liturgical books grew. At first, the church allowed much variety according to the region one lived in. But in the seventh century Pope Gregory the Great (540 C.E.- 604 C.E.) declared that the Latin Mass in Rome was the standard for the Western church. Pope Gregory's decree, with some changes made by Pope Pius V in 1570, gave the Roman rite its basic form until the reforms of Vatican II.

The sacrificial aspect of the Eucharist grew in importance while the meal symbolism faded into the background. Around this time, the consecrated bread was considered too holy to be touched by lay people and was placed on the tongue. This emphasis on the divinity of Christ prevented people from receiving communion; they felt too unworthy. The Church then legislated that communion be received at least once a year.