History of the Eucharist

By elysse.halliday

  • The Early Church

    Church tradition teaches how the Euchariset began at the Last Supper. In Paul's first letter to the Corinthians he describes a Eucharist celebrated in connection with a common supper shared in the homes of the early Christians.The supper included the blessing of the bread and wine, the breaking of the bread and communion. The purpose of the meal was to celebrate the Lord in their midst.

  • Second and Third Centuries

    The developing liturgy increasingly used. red and reflected on the writings of the first-generation leaders such as Paul. The added prayers, singing, chanting and homily to the Eucharistic liturgy. Today, we recognise this developement as the Liturgy of the Word. In these early days, the selebrant at the liturgy had considerable freedom to compose his own prayers for the liturgy.

  • Fourth to Eigth Centuries

    Latin became the standard language of the liturgy, as it was the cmmon language of the Roman World. The clergy grew in numbers. During this era they began to wear sprecial clerical clothers. The need for liturgical books grew. The sacrifical aspect of the Eucharist grew in importance while the meal symbolism faded into the background. The Church legistated that communion be recieved at least once a year.

  • The Middle Ages (Ninth-Fifteenth Centurires

    Theologians of this era debated the meaning of the ''real presence'' of Christ in the Eucharistic bread and wine. Emphasis fell not on receiving Jesus in communion, but on seeing and adoring Christ in the bread and wine. Because so few recieved Holy Communion, the Fourth Lateran Council passed a law that required Catholics to recieve communionat least once a year.

  • Reformation to Twentieth Century

    Most significantly, Pop Pius V published a Roman Missal to brin uniformity to the Eucharist. The church used it for the next 100 years. Devotion tho the Blessed Sacrament continued to flourish, although people rarely recieved communion, when Pope Pius X permitted children who attained the age of reason to recieve Holy Communion and encouraged frquent communion by all the faithful.