The original liturgy:
The Roman liturgy:
Didache
FishEaters does not cite The Didache—found here—most likely because it describes a Eucharistic liturgy that is mutually exclusive with the Roman liturgy. The Didache is not a long read. I’ll quote portions of it here, but you can read its entirety quickly without worrying about out-of-context quotations.
Now concerning the thanksgiving [eucharistia] thus give thanks. First, concerning the cup: We thank you, our Father, for the holy vine of David Your servant, which You made known to us through Jesus Your Servant; to You be the glory forever. And concerning the broken bread: We thank You, our Father, for the life and knowledge which You made known to us through Jesus Your Servant; to You be the glory forever. Even as this broken bread was scattered over the hills, and was gathered together and became one, so let Your Church be gathered together from the ends of the earth into Your kingdom; for Yours is the glory and the power through Jesus Christ forever. But let no one eat or drink of your thanksgiving [eucharistia], but they who have been baptized into the name of the Lord; for concerning this also the Lord has said,
But after you are filled, thus give thanks: We thank You, holy Father, for Your holy name which You caused to tabernacle in our hearts, and for the knowledge and faith and immortality, which You made known to us through Jesus Your Servant; to You be the glory forever. You, Master almighty, created all things for Your name’s sake; You gave food and drink to men for enjoyment, that they might give thanks to You; but to us You freely gave spiritual food and drink and life eternal through Your Servant. Before all things we thank You that You are mighty; to You be the glory forever. Remember, Lord, Your Church, to deliver it from all evil and to make it perfect in Your love, and gather it from the four winds, sanctified for Your kingdom which You have prepared for it; for Yours is the power and the glory forever. Let grace come, and let this world pass away. Hosanna to the God (Son) of David! If any one is holy, let him come; if any one is not so, let him repent. Maran atha. Amen. But permit the prophets to make Thanksgiving as much as they desire.
But every Lord’s day gather yourselves together, and break bread, and give thanksgiving after having confessed your transgressions, that your sacrifice may be pure. But let no one that is at variance with his fellow come together with you, until they be reconciled, that your sacrifice may not be profaned. For this is that which was spoken by the Lord:
Citation: “The Didache.” Chapters 9, 10, 14
Chapters 9, 10 and 14 of The Didache describe the Eucharistic thank offering (the offering of praise and tithes), which concludes with the prayer and the “Amen”. No one could participate that was not baptized or had unconfessed sins. The Didache includes the (1) Dismissal, (2) Eucharist, (3) Prayer and Amen (in that order), but no mention of the (4) Consecration (described in 1 Corinthians 10:16-17) or (5) the Lord’s Supper. However, by logical deduction, both (4) and (5) must have occurred after the (3) “Amen”, because the food for the Lord’s Supper was taken out of the Eucharistic tithe offering, which was not itself sacrificed (i.e. ‘the eucharist’) until the (3) “Amen” was complete. This is more evident in “Part 2: Justin Martyr,” but even without his writings, logic still dictates our course.
The Didache describes a banquet taken out of the Eucharist offering, a meal to ensure the poor were fed, which is itself a eucharistic sacrifice and had to be concluded with prayer and “Amen”. The church thus took Paul’s instructions—in 1 Corinthians 10:16-17 and 14:16—literally. It could not be the Lord’s Supper, for that was a solemn occasion that contained only bread and wine, not a feast. This is also why Part 12: Hippolytus talked of offering olives, cheese, and oil in the Eucharist: the eucharist was, properly, the tithe offering. The banquet was a regular meal sourced from the eucharist (or tithe), which fed the congregation.
In this way, the early church ensured that everyone, whether poor or rich, were fed—from the eucharist—prior to eating the bread and wine of the Lord’s Supper. The word eucharist could not have referred to the offering of consecrated bread and wine (i.e. Christ’s body and blood).
As with Part 4: Ignatius of Antioch, Part 5: Clement of Rome, and other patristic writers, the Didache treats the (1-3) offering of the Eucharist as distinct from the (4-5) celebration of the Lord’s Supper. This is precisely how most modern Protestant liturgies work: where the collection of the tithes and offerings are separated—sometimes by completely different gatherings for that purpose—by a service of Communion. This separation of the offering from the communion is simply not possible in the Roman liturgy, so Roman Catholics just assume that it is present by unstated “apostolic” agreement.
The presence of the Eucharistic banquet and the absence of the Lord’s Supper in the Didache has led Roman Catholics, like Odo Casel, to conclude that any part of the eucharistic prayer—not just the words of institution “this is my body; this is my blood” which are missing from the Didache—must qualify as a Consecration. But this anachronistic attempt to avoid the logical conclusion—that the Didache is evidence against the Roman liturgy—is circular reasoning: attempting to take current Roman doctrine and apply it in reverse to history.
The Didache also notes that the tithe (or firstfruits) offering—to support those in need—includes more than merely bread and wine:
Every first-fruit, therefore, of the products of wine-press and threshing-floor, of oxen and of sheep, you shall take and give to the prophets, for they are your high priests. But if you have not a prophet, give it to the poor. If you make a batch of dough, take the first-fruit and give according to the commandment. So also when you open a jar of wine or of oil, take the first-fruit and give it to the prophets; and of money (silver) and clothing and every possession, take the first-fruit, as it may seem good to you, and give according to the commandment.
Citation: “The Didache.” Chapter 13
The (2) Eucharist includes many agricultural products, out of which, after it is (3) sacrificed, are sourced the bread and wine for (4-5) the Lord’s Supper.
The Didache, as our first writing examined, begins an important trend that we will see repeated throughout the series: interpreting the prophesy of Malachi to refer to a tithe offering:
But every Lord’s day gather yourselves together, and break bread, and give thanksgiving after having confessed your transgressions, that your sacrifice may be pure. But let no one that is at variance with his fellow come together with you, until they be reconciled, that your sacrifice may not be profaned. [Matt. 5:23–24] For this is that which was spoken by the Lord:
Citation: “The Didache.” Chapter 14
Roman Catholics—like FishEaters in “The Eucharist“—believe that Malachi prophesied a Mass Sacrifice of Jesus’ actual, literal body and blood. But the early writers thought something quite different. Here is what we learn about “the offering that the Lord has said” when we check the references:
Now recall what John the Revelator said:
The Didache is quite plain: the prophesy of Malachi is fulfilled in the prayer of thanksgiving offered for the tithe.
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