Historia Eucharystii w pierwszych wiekach chrześcijaństwa w świetle wybranych źródeł (II–IV w.)

Abstract

The author presents in his article the Eucharist in early centuries of the Church in the light of the most important sources available today. He shows that it is a reality very rich in the theological, liturgical and pastoral aspects. The author analyzes and presents the most important documents such as the Didache. Science of the Twelve Apostles (I/II), Apology of St. Justin Martyr (150), Apostolic Tradition of St. Hippolytus of Rome (215), Records of Martyrs. The martyrs of the Sunday Eucharist in Abitene (304) and Apostolic Constitutions with the so called “klementynian” mass (380), which division into the mass of the catechumens (currently liturgy of the word) and the mass of the faithful (now the liturgy of the Eucharist) survived to the new Roman Missal (1970) edited by the Second Vatican Council (1962–1965). Analyzed by the author of this article the most important source of the Eucharistic of the early centuries of the Church (II–IV c), confirms the teaching of pope St. John Paul II (1978–2005), that “the Eucharist, understood as Christ’s saving presence in the community of the faithful and its spiritual food, is the most precious possession which the Church has on the roads of history” (John Paul II, encyclical “Ecclesia de Eucharistia”.