There is then brought to the president of the brethren bread and a cup of wine mixed with water and he taking them, gives praise and glory to the Father of the universe, through the name of the Son and of the Holy Ghost, and offers thanks at considerable length for our being counted worthy to receive these things at His hands.Īnd when he has concluded the prayers and thanksgivings, all the people present express their assent by saying Amen. Having ended the prayers, we salute one another with a kiss.

So here’s Justin on the Eucharist, first from chapter 65, Administration of the Sacraments:īut we, after we have thus washed him who has been convinced and has assented to our teaching, bring him to the place where those who are called brethren are assembled, in order that we may offer hearty prayers in common for ourselves and for the baptized person, and for all others in every place, that we may be counted worthy, now that we have learned the truth, by our works also to be found good citizens and keepers of the commandments, so that we may be saved with an everlasting salvation. So it’s great to have Justin writing to the Roman pagans, setting the record clear as to just who stole what from whom. In modern times, some skeptics have compared the worship of Christ in the Eucharist to the cult of Mithras in an attempt to disprove Christianity, as if we stole it from them. The First Apology is great for other reasons, as well: He’s able to point to specific Roman sects which mimic Catholic practices, like the followers of Mithras mimicking the Eucharist. It’s like stumbling upon a children’s Sunday school class from the 2nd century. Justin Martyr, laid out one of the earliest descriptions of the Mass in his First Apology, written between 153 and 155 A.D. It’s great, because it offers a simplified version of Catholic theology intended for those who had no idea what a “bishop” was, or even what “Amen” meant. Justin Martyr on the Eucharist and the Ancient Mass

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