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Essay / Research Paper Abstract
A 9 page research paper that examines the Eucharist and how the ritual of communion originated in early church practice. The writer examines pertinent scripture and historical writing. Bibliography lists 7 sources.
Page Count:
9 pages (~225 words per page)
File: D0_khhost.rtf
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Unformatted sample text from the term paper:
when scholars examine the manner in which this ritual developed, specifically the meaning of breaking bread and drinking wine in Jesus name in the centuries immediately following the cross, scholars
admit that little is actually known concerning the worship practices of early Christian communities within the first three centuries of church history.1 It is only in the fourth century, when
Christianity was adopted by the Roman Empire, that liturgical worship equated with public worship. Over the course of these centuries, the Eucharist was transformed from a celebration that had its
origins in a shared meal to a "hieratic pageant" and a central significance in Christian theology.2 Examination of literature on this topic shows that the evolution of the liturgical practice
in regards to the Eucharist is often misunderstood. In Christian practice, the Eucharist occupies a central position. This ritual culminates with the entire congregation coming forward, as Augustine put
it, to receive "what you are, the symbolic Body of Christ.3 Scholarship asks, "Is this what Christ did at the Last Supper? Did the Last Supper employ a Eucharist in
this full sense of the word?"4 While Jesus actions at the Last Supper are obviously the generative moment for what would come afterward, scholars agree that it did not yet
carry its full symbolic meaning, which was formulated over time.5 At the time of the historical Last Supper, the Holy Spirit had not, as yet, been given to the church;
the theology of the Trinity had yet to be developed.6 John Meier brings clarity to issues regarding the evolution of Eucharist theology by askng two questions. First of all, "Is
it historically true that Jesus held a last supper with his disciples?" Secondly, "Is it historically true that, during that supper, Jesus did and said certain things regarding bread and
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