From the first apology in defense of the Christians by:
~Saint Justin, martyr
The Celebration of the Eucharist
No one may share the Eucharist with us unless he believes that what we
teach is true, unless he is washed in the regenerating waters of baptism
for the remission of his sins, and unless he lives in accordance with
the principles given us by Christ.
We do not consume the eucharistic bread and wine as if it were ordinary food and drink, for we have been
taught that as Jesus Christ our Saviour became a man of flesh and blood
by the power of the Word of God, so also the food that our flesh and
blood assimilates for its nourishment becomes the flesh and blood of the
incarnate Jesus by the power of his own words contained in the prayer
of thanksgiving.
The apostles, in their recollections, which are
called gospels, handed down to us what Jesus commanded them to do. They
tell us that he took bread, gave thanks and said: Do this in memory of
me. This is my body. In the same way he took the cup, he gave thanks and
said: This is my blood. The Lord gave this command to them alone. Ever
since then we have constantly reminded one another of these things. The
rich among us help the poor and we are always united. For all that we
receive we praise the Creator of the universe through his Son Jesus
Christ and through the Holy Spirit.
On Sunday we have a common
assembly of all our members, whether they live in the city or the
outlying districts. The recollections of the apostles or the writings of
the prophets are read, as long as there is time. When the reader has
finished, the president of the assembly speaks to us; he urges everyone
to imitate the examples of virtue we have heard in the readings. Then we
all stand up together and pray.
On the conclusion of our prayer,
bread and wine and water are brought forward. The president offers
prayers and gives thanks to the best of his ability, and the people give
assent by saying, “Amen.” The Eucharist is distributed, everyone
present communicates, and the deacons take it to those who are absent.
The wealthy, if they wish, may make a contribution, and they themselves
decide the amount. The collection is placed in the custody of the
president, who uses it to help the orphans and widows and all who for
any reason are in distress, whether because they are sick, in prison, or
away from home. In a word, he takes care of all who are in need.
We hold our common assembly on Sunday because it is the first day of
the week, the day on which God put darkness and chaos to flight and
created the world, and because on that same day our Savior Jesus Christ
rose from the dead. For he was crucified on Friday and on Sunday he
appeared to his apostles and disciples and taught them the things that
we have passed on for your consideration.
