How often did the Ancient Church partake in Communion?

                                                                          1. Introduction 


Previously, I did nine posts on why I believe Scripture teaches the Eucharist to be the literal Body and Blood of Christ. Now, I wish for this post to address how often Christians should partake in the Lord's Table. 


              2. The Frequency of the Eucharist in the New Testament/First Century Church


Although many Baptists and Presbyterians only partake in Holy Communion quarterly or monthly, this practice is not supported by Scripture. In Acts 2: 46, we learn that the Jerusalem Church partake in the Lord's Table every day. This remains the practice of Roman Catholics toward the Mass today. 

On the other hand, a careful examination of Scripture shows that not all churches followed the same practice. Acts 20: 6-11 and 1 Corinthians 16: 2 reveal that the church of Troas engaged in the Eucharist on Sundays, the first day of the week. This remains the same practice of Eastern Orthodox Lutherans, as well as other Christians. 

In short, the church of Jerusalem and the church of Troas followed different disciplines. The former celebrated the Eucharist every day, while the latter practiced it once a week. While Scripture does not record how often the other churches partook in the Eucharist, we have these two churches as our only examples. Because of this, we should conclude that churches are Biblically bound to celebrate the Eucharist at least once a week. If we avoid the practices of the first-century church on the insistence that they are not a command for us, why do we believe anything that the New Testament teaches, and how do we decide what parts to keep or reject?

It should also be noted that some people have misread the passages in Acts about referring only to a potluck and not the Lord's Table. They conclude that we are not bound to gather every day, or even weekly, to partake in the Eucharist.

But when we appeal to the New Testament, we learn that the Lord's Table was originally meal*1, celebrated on the same night as the Jewish Passover.  a Thus, those reading into the passages of Acts of them being merely about a ''potluck'' demonstrate their misunderstanding of both Judaism and Early Christianity. 

I personally prefer the practice of the Jerusalem Church, but that is not to say that either is wrong. Roman Catholics and Western Orthodox still partake in the Eucharist several days a week. Since Jerusalem was the first of all Christian Churches and since the Eucharist is essential to our salvation, it seems reasonable, I believe,  to practice it as often as possible. But again, neither view is wrong. Eastern Orthodox and Eastern Catholics have long practiced the giving of the Eucharist only on Sundays---at least as the norm. 

In the Middle Ages, Eastern Orthodox and Roman Catholics differed over the frequency of Communion. The former believed in weekly communion, emphasizing the unity of Christians together on Sunday. However, the latter emphasized daily participation based on their belief that the Eucharist is a sacrifice for our sins. Today, Eastern Catholics follow the practice of Eastern Orthodox on this issue, while most Protestants have different interpretations on the matter. 

Traditionally, Lutherans and Calvinists practiced the Lord's Table every Sunday. Tragically, many Protestants and Evangelicals today have liberalized on the issue. Although many Lutherans still frequently engage in the Eucharist, many Presbyterians and Baptists seldom practice it. 

So, if the orthodox practice of Christianity (as found in the Scriptures) was that believers partook in Holy Communion at least once a week (as was the case at Troas), when did many Christians forsake this practice? 

As a historical note, we should remember that during the Protestant Reformation, many Protestants, in seeing abuses concerning the Catholic Mass, gradually turned their focus away from the Eucharist and to the minister's sermons (especially the reformed churches). Where did quarterly communion originate from? Ulrich Zwingli. That is right! Not until 1500 years after Christ did some Christians begin to move away from weekly communion. Zwinglie's liberal view changed the practice of the Lord's Table from either every day or once a week to only quarterly. Over time, his view has been accepted by many in the Evangelical world, though some Evangelicals only practice it now once a year or not at all. 

But Zwinglie is not the standard, and nor is memorialism, which many believe he endorsed. Oddly, if moralism is only about remembering what Christ did for us, why can we do that without wine and bread at all? Because as I explained in previous posts, the Lord's Table is far more than us recalling what Christ did for us...though it certainly includes that. 

Christians should return to the practice of the Scriptures, in which we see that Christians frequently partook in the Table. While the abuse of Mass, especially the denial of the chalice to the laypeople, was indeed an abuse of Rome, the abuse gives Protestants no reason to abandon Biblical practice by their own abuses. 


                                                                          3. Conclusion


For all fifteen hundred years following Christ and Pentecost, Christians, both West and East, practiced the Eucharist at least once a week (though some did every day). The Eucharist was the center of the Christian service and remained so until the Reformed Church diverted from Scripture and orthodox Christian practice by replacing the focus on Christ's Body and Blood with the performance of the minister instead. This has altered Christian history for many since, though it is time that Evangelicals live up to the claim they make of themselves, and actually be Bible believing Christians. 


Notes:

*1-https://redeeminggod.com/lords-supper-is-a-meal/

Further Sources:

https://holyjoys.org/how-often-lords-supper/

https://christiancourier.com/articles/did-the-early-church-observe-the-lords-supper-on-a-daily-basis

Comments

  1. Allen DotsonMarch 12, 2024 at 10:21 AM

    I believe we should celebrate the lord supper every sunday and also have a potluck every sunday! 😊

    ReplyDelete

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