The Mystery of the Eucharist

1. The Mystery of the Eucharist University Meeting 2008 Ehab Roufail

2. Outline • The Institution • What the Early Church Believed • Passover and Eucharist • Celebration in the Early Church • Partakers of the Eucharist

3. The Institution • At the Last Supper, Jesus took bread, and blessed, and broke it, and give it to the disciples and said, ‘ • Take, eat; this is My body'. And He took a cup, and when He had given thanks He gave it to them, saying, 'Drink of it, all of you; for this is My blood of the new covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins' (Matt. 26:26-28; cf. Mark 14:12-16; Luke 22:7-13; 1 Cor. 11:23-30). • The Institution

4. The Institution • Mark 14:12-26 12 On the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, when it was customary to sacrifice the Passover lamb, Jesus' disciples asked him, "Where do you want us to go and make preparations for you to eat the Passover?"   13 So he sent two of his disciples, telling them, "Go into the city, and a man carrying a jar of water will meet you. Follow him. 14 Say to the owner of the house he enters, 'The Teacher asks: Where is my guest room, where I may eat the Passover with my disciples?' 15 He will show you a large upper room, furnished and ready. Make preparations for us there."   16 The disciples left, went into the city and found things just as Jesus had told them. So they prepared the Passover. • The Institution

5. The Institution • Mark 14:12-26 17 When evening came, Jesus arrived with the Twelve. 18 While they were reclining at the table eating, he said, "I tell you the truth, one of you will betray me—one who is eating with me." 19They were saddened, and one by one they said to him, "Surely not I?" 20"It is one of the Twelve," he replied, "one who dips bread into the bowl with me. 21The Son of Man will go just as it is written about him. But woe to that man who betrays the Son of Man! It would be better for him if he had not been born." • The Institution

6. The Institution • Mark 14:12-26 22 While they were eating, Jesus took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to his disciples, saying, "Take it; this is my body." 23 Then he took the cup, gave thanks and offered it to them, and they all drank from it.  24 “This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many," he said to them. 25 "I tell you the truth, I will not drink again of the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it anew in the kingdom of God." 26 When they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives. • The Institution

7. From the Gospels • John 6: 53 - 59 53 Jesus said to them, "I tell you the truth, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. 54 Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day. 55 For my flesh is real food and my blood is real drink. 56 Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in him. 57 Just as the living Father sent me and I live because of the Father, so the one who feeds on me will live because of me. 58 This is the bread that came down from heaven. Your forefathers ate manna and died, but he who feeds on this bread will live forever." 59 He said this while teaching in the synagogue in Capernaum. • The Institution • From the Gospels

8. From the Epistles • 1 Cor. 10:16-17 • The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not a participation in the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not a participation in the body of Christ? Because there is one bread, we who are many are one body, for we all partake of the one bread. • The Institution • From the Gospels • From the Epistles

9. From the Epistles • 1 Cor. 11:23-27 23 For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you: that the Lord Jesus on the same night in which He was betrayed took bread; 24 and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, “Take, eat; this is My body which is broken for you; do this in remembrance of Me.” 25 In the same manner He also took the cup after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood. This do, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.” 26 For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death till He comes. 27 Therefore whoever eats this bread or drinks this cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord. • The Institution • From the Gospels • From the Epistles

10. The Meaning of Remembrance • In order for the words ‘take eat this is my body…’ and ‘do this in remembrance of me’ not to contradict, the church has always understood ‘do this in remembrance of me’ to mean: • The Eucharist is part of the sacrifice on the cross and so in the Eucharist we are not re-sacrificing the Lord but being and taking part in that one and only Sacrifice (Heb 9:12 & 10:10) • In the Eucharist we are remembering by actively taking part – not even re-enacting. To remember how we love someone does not mean that we are acting or had stopped loving them it is to put aside time and continue to love them by bringing to mind. • The Institution • From the Gospels • From the Epistles • The Meaning of Remembrance

11. The Meaning of Remembrance • St. John Chrysostom in his Homily about Hebrews chapter 27 writes around A.D. 390 : “What then? do not we offer every day? We offer indeed, but making a remembrance of His death, and this remembrance is one and not many. How is it one, and not many? Inasmuch as that Sacrifice was once for all offered, and carried into the Holy of Holies. This is a figure of that sacrifice and this remembrance of that. For we always offer the same, not one sheep now and to-morrow another, but always the same thing: so that the sacrifice is one. • The Institution • From the Gospels • From the Epistles • The Meaning of Remembrance

12. The Meaning of Remembrance • St. John Chrysostom in his Homily about Hebrews chapter 27 writes around A.D. 390 : And yet by this reasoning, since the offering is made in many places, are there many Christs? but Christ is one everywhere, being complete here and complete there also, one Body. As then while offered in many places, He is one body and not many bodies; so also He is one sacrifice. He is our High Priest, who offered the sacrifice that cleanses us. That we offer now also, which was then offered, which cannot be exhausted. This is done in remembrance of what was then done. For saith He "do this in remembrance of Me." ( Luke xxii. 19.) It is not another sacrifice, as the High Priest, but we offer always the same, or rather we perform a remembrance of a Sacrifice • The Institution • From the Gospels • From the Epistles • The Meaning of Remembrance

13. What the Early Church Believed • St. Ignatius of Antioch around 50-110 A.D. St. Ignatius became the third bishop of Antioch, succeeding St. Evodius, who was the immediate successor of St. Peter. He heard St. John preach when he was a boy and knew St. Polycarp, Bishop of Smyrna. Seven of his letters written to various Christian communities have been preserved. Eventually, he received the martyr's crown as he was thrown to wild beasts in the arena. • The Institution • What the Early Church Believed • St. Ignatius 80-110 A.D.

14. What the Early Church Believed • St. Ignatius of Antioch around 50-110 A.D. "Consider how contrary to the mind of God are the heterodox in regard to the grace of God which has come to us. They have no regard for charity, none for the widow, the orphan, the oppressed, none for the man in prison, the hungry or the thirsty. They abstain from the Eucharist and from prayer, because they do not admit that the Eucharist is the flesh of our Savior Jesus Christ, the flesh which suffered for our sins and which the Father, in His graciousness, raised from the dead." Letter to the Smyrnaeans", paragraph 6. circa 80-110 A.D. • The Institution • What the Early Church Believed • St. Ignatius 80-110 A.D.

15. What the Early Church Believed • St. Ignatius of Antioch around 50-110 A.D. "Come together in common, one and all without exception in charity, in one faith and in one Jesus Christ, who is of the race of David according to the flesh, the son of man, and the Son of God, so that with undivided mind you may obey the bishop and the priests, and break one Bread which is the medicine of immortality and the antidote against death, enabling us to live forever in Jesus Christ." Letter to the Ephesians, paragraph 20, c. 80-110 A.D. "I have no taste for the food that perishes nor for the pleasures of this life. I want the Bread of God which is the Flesh of Christ, who was the seed of David; and for drink I desire His Blood which is love that cannot be destroyed." Letter to the Romans, paragraph 7, circa 80-110 A.D. • The Institution • What the Early Church Believed • St. Ignatius 80-110 A.D.

16. What the Early Church Believed • St. Justin Martyr 100-165 A.D. St. Justin Martyr was born a pagan but converted to Christianity after studying philosophy. He was a prolific writer and many Church scholars consider him the greatest apologist or defender of the faith from the 2nd century. He was beheaded with six of his companions some time between 163 and 167 A.D. • The Institution • What the Early Church Believed • St. Ignatius 80-110 A.D. • St. Justin Martyr 100-165 A.D.

17. What the Early Church Believed • St. Justin Martyr 100-165 A.D. "This food we call the Eucharist, of which no one is allowed to partake except one who believes that the things we teach are true, and has received the washing for forgiveness of sins and for rebirth, and who lives as Christ handed down to us. For we do not receive these things as common bread or common drink; but as Jesus Christ our Savior being incarnate by God's Word took flesh and blood for our salvation, so also we have been taught that the food consecrated by the Word of prayer which comes from him, from which our flesh and blood are nourished by transformation, is the flesh and blood of that incarnate Jesus." First Apology, Ch. 66, inter A.D. 148-155. • The Institution • What the Early Church Believed • St. Ignatius 80-110 A.D. • St. Justin Martyr 100-165 A.D.

18. What the Early Church Believed • St. Irenaeus of Lyons 2nd Century - 202 A.D. St. Irenaeus succeeded St. Pothinus to become the second bishop of Lyons in 177 A.D. Earlier in his life he studied under St. Polycarp. Considered, one of the greatest theologians of the 2nd century, St. Irenaeus is best known for refuting the Gnostic heresies. • The Institution • What the Early Church Believed • St. Ignatius 80-110 A.D. • St. Justin Martyr 100-165 A.D. • St. Iranaeus of Lyons 2nd C to 202 A.D.

19. What the Early Church Believed • St. Irenaeus of Lyons 2nd Century - 202 A.D. "So then, if the mixed cup and the manufactured bread receive the Word of God and become the Eucharist, that is to say, the Blood and Body of Christ, which fortify and build up the substance of our flesh, how can these people claim that the flesh is incapable of receiving God's gift of eternal life, when it is nourished by Christ's Blood and Body and is His member? As the blessed apostle says in his letter to the Ephesians, 'For we are members of His Body, of His flesh and of His bones' (Eph. 5:30). • The Institution • What the Early Church Believed • St. Ignatius 80-110 A.D. • St. Justin Martyr 100-165 A.D. • St. Iranaeus of Lyons 2nd C to 202 A.D.

20. What the Early Church Believed • St. Irenaeus of Lyons 2nd Century - 202 A.D. No, he is talking of the organism possessed by a real human being, composed of flesh and nerves and bones. It is this which is nourished by the cup which is His Blood, and is fortified by the bread which is His Body. The stem of the vine takes root in the earth and eventually bears fruit, and 'the grain of wheat falls into the earth' (Jn. 12:24), dissolves, rises again, multiplied by the all-containing Spirit of God, and finally after skilled processing, is put to human use. These two then receive the Word of God and become the Eucharist, which is the Body and Blood of Christ." Five Books on the Unmasking and Refutation of the Falsely • The Institution • What the Early Church Believed • St. Ignatius 80-110 A.D. • St. Justin Martyr 100-165 A.D. • St. Iranaeus of Lyons 2nd C to 202 A.D.

21. What the Early Church Believed • St. Clement of Alexandria 150 - 211 A.D. Studied under Pantaenus. He later succeeded him as the director of the school of catechumens in Alexandria, Egypt around the year 200 A.D. He united Greek philosophical traditions with Christian doctrine and valued gnosis that with communion for all people could be held by common Christians specially chosen by God. He used the term "gnostic" for Christians who had attained the deeper teaching of the Logos. He developed a Christian Platonism. He presented the goal of Christian life as deification, identified both as Platonism's assimilation into God and the biblical imitation of God. Like Origen, he arose from Alexandria's Catechetical School and was well versed in pagan literature. Origen succeeded Clement as head of the school. Alexandria had a major Christian community in early Christianity, noted for its scholarship and its high-quality copies of Scripture. • The Institution • What the Early Church Believed • St. Ignatius 80-110 A.D. • St. Justin Martyr 100-165 A.D. • St. Iranaeus of Lyons 2nd C to 202 A.D. • St. Clement of Alexandria 150 – 211 A.D.

22. What the Early Church Believed • St. Clement of Alexandria 150 - 211 A.D. "The Blood of the Lord, indeed, is twofold. There is His corporeal Blood, by which we are redeemed from corruption; and His spiritual Blood, that with which we are anointed. That is to say, to drink the Blood of Jesus is to share in His immortality. The strength of the Word is the Spirit just as the blood is the strength of the body. Similarly, as wine is blended with water, so is the Spirit with man. The one, the Watered Wine, nourishes in faith, while the other, the Spirit, leads us on to immortality. The union of both, however, - of the drink and of the Word, - is called the Eucharist, a praiseworthy and excellent gift. Those who partake of it in faith are sanctified in body and in soul. By the will of the Father, the divine mixture, man, is mystically united to the Spirit and to the Word.", "The Instructor of the Children". [2,2,19,4] ante 202 A.D., • The Institution • What the Early Church Believed • St. Ignatius 80-110 A.D. • St. Justin Martyr 100-165 A.D. • St. Iranaeus of Lyons 2nd C to 202 A.D. • St. Clement of Alexandria 150 – 211 A.D.

23. What the Early Church Believed • St. Clement of Alexandria 150 - 211 A.D. "The Word is everything to a child: both Father and Mother, both Instructor and Nurse. 'Eat My Flesh,' He says, 'and drink My Blood.' The Lord supplies us with these intimate nutrients. He delivers over His Flesh, and pours out His Blood; and nothing is lacking for the growth of His children. O incredible mystery!", "The Instructor of the Children" [1,6,41,3] ante 202 A.D. • The Institution • What the Early Church Believed • St. Ignatius 80-110 A.D. • St. Justin Martyr 100-165 A.D. • St. Iranaeus of Lyons 2nd C to 202 A.D. • St. Clement of Alexandria 150 – 211 A.D.

24. What the Early Church Believed • St. Athanasius the Apostolic 293 – 373 A.D. St. Athanasius was born in Alexandria ca. 295 A.D. He was ordained a deacon in 319 A.D. He accompanied his bishop, Alexander, to the Council of Nicaea, where he served as his secretary. Eventually he succeeded Alexander as Bishop of Alexandria. He is most known for defending Nicene doctrine against Arian disputes. • The Institution • What the Early Church Believed • St. Ignatius 80-110 A.D. • St. Justin Martyr 100-165 A.D. • St. Iranaeus of Lyons 2nd C to 202 A.D. • St. Clement of Alexandria 150 – 211 A.D. • St. Athanasius the Apostolic 293 – 373 A.D.

25. What the Early Church Believed • St. Athanasius the Apostolic 293 – 373 A.D. “The great Athanasius in his sermon to the newly baptized says this:' You shall see the Levites bringing loaves and a cup of wine, and placing them on the table. So long as the prayers of supplication and entreaties have not been made, there is only bread and wine. But after the great and wonderful prayers have been completed, then the bread is become the Body, and the wine the Blood, of our Lord Jesus Christ. 'And again:' Let us approach the celebration of the mysteries. This bread and this wine, so long as the prayers and supplications have not taken place, remain simply what they are. But after the great prayers and holy supplications have been sent forth, the Word comes down into the bread and wine - and thus His Body is confected.", "Sermon to the Newly Baptized" ante 373 A.D. • The Institution • What the Early Church Believed • St. Ignatius 80-110 A.D. • St. Justin Martyr 100-165 A.D. • St. Iranaeus of Lyons 2nd C to 202 A.D. • St. Clement of Alexandria 150 – 211 A.D. • St. Athanasius the Apostolic 293 – 373 A.D.

26. What the Early Church Believed • Conclusion • The Early Church were in no doubt as to the real meaning of the Eucharist being the real Body and Blood of Christ. • Are you? • The Institution • What the Early Church Believed • St. Ignatius 80-110 A.D. • St. Justin Martyr 100-165 A.D. • St. Iranaeus of Lyons 2nd C to 202 A.D. • St. Clement of Alexandria 150 – 211 A.D. • St. Athanasius the Apostolic 293 – 373 A.D. • Conclusion