On the
Eucharist in general in the opening two centuries, Jungmann (in his seminal
study of the original and development of the Mass) wrote:
. . . before Irenaeus
. . . no offering was recognized in the Church except that which consisted in
thanksgiving . . ."God does not demand an offering of victim or drink, nor
of any visible things" [Aristides, Apology, 1]. He requires "not
blood-oblations and drink, not the order of flowers or of incense, since He is
the perfect perfume, without want or blemish." The highest sacrifice one
can offer Him is to acknowledge Him and tender Him our spiritual service
[Athenagoras, Legatio, c. 13]. The
only honor worthy of Him is to put His gifts to use for ourselves and for the
poor, and to "be thankful and by our spirit send heavenward songs of
praise and hymns of glory for our creation . . ." [Justin Martyr, Apology, 1.13]. For this reason, the
apologists explained, the Christians had no altar and no temple" [Minucius
Felix, Octavius, c. 32, 1]. (Joseph
A. Jungmann, The Mass of the Roman Rite, Volume 1 [trans. Francis A. Brunner;
Christian Classics, 2012], 24-25).
On the Eucharistic theology of the Didache (variously dated between AD
50-100) specifically, Henk Jan de Jonge wrote:
The congregation thanked God not only for material
food and drink, but also for spiritual food and drink: knowledge, faith,
immortality, and eternal life. It is not stated in these prayers of thanks that
the bread and wine stand for Christ’s body and blood. The Didache therefore did
not interpret them as representations of his body and blood, and consequently
it does not see the meal as a way of becoming one with Christ. It does,
however, regard eating and drinking them as an anticipated, proleptic participation
in a future salvation, namely the coming kingdom of God. According to 9:2 the
wine represents the vine of king David, God’s servant; according to 9:3 the
bread symbolizes the unity of the church gathered into God’s kingdom” (Henk Jan
de Jonge, The Community Supper according to Paul and the Didache: Their
Affinity and Historical Development, eds. Jan Krans, L. J. Lietaert Peerbolte,
Peter-Ben Smit, Arie W. Zwiep, Paul, John, and Apocalyptic Eschatology,
[BRILL, 2013], p. 34).
For a discussion of commonly cited proof-texts from the Didache,
writings of Ignatius, Origen, and others, see:
