An Early Church Theology Of The Lord’s Supper

Christian writers of the first two centuries affirmed, without attempting a theological explanation for the fact, that the risen Christ is present in the eucharistic action that transforms those who receive it. Christ's Presence What can be said confidently about the theology of the Lord's Supper in the earliest centuries is that the writings available to modern researchers attest to the conviction that the risen Christ is present in the eucharistic action and assembly. What cannot be said with confidence is how in the earliest eras this presence was explained philosophically, if indeed it was. What must be avoided (though frequently it happens) is the attempt to read back into those times later explanations and controversies, particularly the medieval and Reformation debates about Christ's presence in the Eucharist. Certainly the understanding of the early centuries was related to the Lukan affirmation that the risen Lord "was known to them in the breaking of bread" (Luke 24:35,…