Class
Article
College
College of Humanities and Social Sciences
Department
History Department
Presentation Type
Oral Presentation
Abstract
The Eucharist, a ritual meal which is also called communion, the Mass, and the Lord's Supper, is, for many Christians, the central activity of their worship. This study examines the phenomenon of the Eucharist in its early, Greco-Roman context, focusing on the period between the missions of Paul up to the First Council of Nicaea (approximately 50 C.E. to 325 C.E.). First, it describes the early practice of the Eucharist and then compares it to other ritual meals celebrated in Greek and Roman religion, especially the "mystery cults" of Demeter, Isis, Mithras, Cybele, and Dionysus. Christians of this period, the paper argues, would have seen and understood their tradition in conversation with the wider cultural trends which these cults represent. The project then defines the function of the Eucharist in this early context and argues that the practice of the Eucharist was a contributing factor to the success of Christian worship due to the social function it played in building a strong sense of community, focusing on the surviving descriptions of liturgy and ritual. The goal of such a study is to better understand the Eucharist as a lived phenomenon of Christians during the Imperial period.
Location
Room 101
Start Date
4-11-2019 1:30 PM
End Date
4-11-2019 2:45 PM
Included in
First Among Equals: The Pre-Nicene Christian Eucharist in the Context of Greco-Roman Mystery Cults
Room 101
The Eucharist, a ritual meal which is also called communion, the Mass, and the Lord's Supper, is, for many Christians, the central activity of their worship. This study examines the phenomenon of the Eucharist in its early, Greco-Roman context, focusing on the period between the missions of Paul up to the First Council of Nicaea (approximately 50 C.E. to 325 C.E.). First, it describes the early practice of the Eucharist and then compares it to other ritual meals celebrated in Greek and Roman religion, especially the "mystery cults" of Demeter, Isis, Mithras, Cybele, and Dionysus. Christians of this period, the paper argues, would have seen and understood their tradition in conversation with the wider cultural trends which these cults represent. The project then defines the function of the Eucharist in this early context and argues that the practice of the Eucharist was a contributing factor to the success of Christian worship due to the social function it played in building a strong sense of community, focusing on the surviving descriptions of liturgy and ritual. The goal of such a study is to better understand the Eucharist as a lived phenomenon of Christians during the Imperial period.