EUCHARIST

—The beginning of the to be fouhd in the Last Supper by Christ. According to the Gospels it was a Paschal meal, to St. John it was not. Prob the latter is right. The ideas under it of sacrifice and communion are found among the Jews and other peoples (see Ropertson SmrirxH, of the Semites). The earliest New account is in 1 Corinthians where the words, ‘I have received of Lord,’ refer to a special divine revel a to Paul. The account in St. Mark next, where the words, ‘I will not drink of the fruit of the vine,’ it has been said, an antique ring them. The Lucan and Mat the an add the words, ‘This is my etc.,’ but are probably due to the of the Pauline pa age. St. puts the delivery of the cup before bread. St. John is very different, no commemorative rite. In the we read that the Christian Church continual in the ‘breaking of bread in prayers.’ Catholic theologians believed this justifies communion one kind.’ Of extra canonical of Eucharistic observance one most important is that in the in which occur the words, ‘As broken bread was ‘scattered upon mountains and being gathered to became one, so may Thy Church gathered together from the ends of earth into Thy kingdom,’ the Anglican Church various views prevalent, the Anglo-Catholic party belief in a real though not a presence. In most Non-con churches the E. is observed, in some it is dropped. Quakers never observed it. It has not the importance in religious life Protestants which it has with The forms of celebration widely, the Anglican is like the the Rom. very ancient in the Gk. considerably different.