In 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘌𝘮𝘦𝘳𝘨𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘊𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘪𝘤 𝘛𝘳𝘢𝘥𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 (100-600𝘈𝘋) the first volume of Jaroslav Pelikan’s classic series 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝘾𝙝𝙧𝙞𝙨𝙩𝙞𝙖𝙣 𝙏𝙧𝙖𝙙𝙞𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣: 𝘼 𝙃𝙞𝙨𝙩𝙤𝙧𝙮 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝘿𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙡𝙤𝙥𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩 𝙤𝙛 𝘿𝙤𝙘𝙩𝙧𝙞𝙣𝙚, he specifically addresses belief in the Eucharist and the early Church.
Professor Pelikan, who for decades taught history at Yale University and was not Catholic, noted that, “…the doctrine of the real presence of the body and blood of Christ in the Eucharist…did not become the subject of controversy until the ninth century.” (page 166). In other words, from the Apostolic era of the first century until the ninth, history records no dispute over the real presence of Jesus Christ in the Eucharist.
Pelikan further observed that “no orthodox father of the second or third century of whom we have record…declared the presence of the body and blood of Christ in the Eucharist to be no more than symbolic…”(page 167). Indeed, to the Early Fathers it was anything but a symbol.
Just from the second, third and fourth centuries alone we can look to Early Fathers such as St. Ignatius of Antioch, St. Justin Martyr, St. Irenaeus, St. Cyril of Jerusalem, St. John Chrysostom, St. Ambrose of Milan and St. Augustine for guidance. All of these Fathers repeatedly speak of their belief that the Eucharist is the body and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ:
“𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘢𝘣𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘪𝘯 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘌𝘶𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘱𝘳𝘢𝘺𝘦𝘳, 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘧𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘌𝘶𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘩 𝘰𝘧 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘚𝘢𝘷𝘪𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘑𝘦𝘴𝘶𝘴 𝘊𝘩𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘵, 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘴𝘶𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘴, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘍𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳, 𝘰𝘧 𝘏𝘪𝘴 𝘨𝘰𝘰𝘥𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴, 𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘶𝘱 𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯. 𝘛𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘦, 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦, 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘢𝘬 𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘨𝘪𝘧𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘎𝘰𝘥, 𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘶𝘳 𝘥𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘩 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘪𝘥𝘴𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘱𝘶𝘵𝘦𝘴.” +St. Ignatius of Antioch, Epistle to the Smyrnaeans 7:1-2 (AD 105).
“𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘪𝘴 𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘶𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘌𝘶𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘵, 𝘰𝘧 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘯𝘰 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘯 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘣𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘸𝘦 𝘵𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘩 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘦, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘸𝘢𝘴𝘩𝘦𝘥 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘰𝘧 𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘴, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘳𝘦𝘨𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘪𝘴 𝘴𝘰 𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘴 𝘊𝘩𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘦𝘯𝘫𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘥. 𝘍𝘰𝘳 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘢𝘴 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘰𝘯 𝘣𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘰𝘯 𝘥𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘬 𝘥𝘰 𝘸𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘦𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘴𝘦; 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘪𝘯 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘯𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘴 𝘑𝘦𝘴𝘶𝘴 𝘊𝘩𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘵 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘚𝘢𝘷𝘪𝘰𝘶𝘳, 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘮𝘢𝘥𝘦 𝘧𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘩 𝘣𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘞𝘰𝘳𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘎𝘰𝘥, 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘣𝘰𝘵𝘩 𝘧𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘩 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘣𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘴𝘢𝘭𝘷𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯, 𝘴𝘰 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦𝘸𝘪𝘴𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘸𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘢𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘪𝘴 𝘣𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘢𝘺𝘦𝘳 𝘰𝘧 𝘏𝘪𝘴 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘥, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘣𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘧𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘩 𝘣𝘺 𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘴𝘮𝘶𝘵𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘯𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘩𝘦𝘥, 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘩 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘣𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘑𝘦𝘴𝘶𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘮𝘢𝘥𝘦 𝘧𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘩.” +St. Justin Martyr, First Apology 66 (AD 151).
“𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘦𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘥, 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘨𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘦𝘪𝘷𝘦, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘦𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘥𝘢𝘪𝘭𝘺. 𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘉𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘴𝘦𝘦 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘭𝘵𝘢𝘳, 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘦𝘤𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘎𝘰𝘥, 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘉𝘰𝘥𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘊𝘩𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘵. 𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘤𝘦, 𝘰𝘳 𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳, 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘤𝘦 𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘥𝘴, 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘦𝘤𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘎𝘰𝘥, 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘉𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘊𝘩𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘵. 𝘛𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘢𝘤𝘤𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘓𝘰𝘳𝘥 𝘞𝘪𝘴𝘩𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘶𝘴 𝘏𝘪𝘴 𝘉𝘰𝘥𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘉𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘏𝘦 𝘱𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘰𝘧 𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘴.” +St. Augustine 430 AD, Sermons (No. 227).
[Photo credit: Patrick Craig]

Author: Nicola

I love Jesus Christ and heaven is my only home