The mass invented by four popes?

[6glargento]

ok, i recieved this from a fundementalist what i was having a discussion with on the mass/eucharist

"To the early church the practice of the Lord’s Supper was a time of fellowship and a meal memorializing Christ’s sacrifice. The bread and wine were taken in a Thanksgiving celebration that came to be known as the Eucharist. Eucharist comes from the Greek word, eucharistia, which means “thanksgiving”. 1 It was a celebration held in expectation of the Marriage Supper of the Lamb that awaits all believers before the Glorious Appearing (Rev. 19:9). The transubstantiation doctrine of the Catholic Church was not taught or practiced until the middle ages, long after the emergence of Roman Catholicism in the 6th Century A.D.

Four Catholic Popes can be credited with the evolution of the Eucharist to include several of the traditions now held by Catholics.

1. Sixtus III, bishop of Rome AD 432-440 was the first to establish an “altar” within basilicas where the elements of bread and wine were blessed.

1. Felix IV, (AD 526-530) separated the altar as a holy place to be used exclusively for blessing the Eucharist elements.

1. Boniface II (AD 530-532) came up with altar coverings

1. Gregory I (AD 590-604) in his early 7th century reforms added candles, tabernacles to hold the elements, and the vestments worn by priests.

The early church never practiced these traditions. The Mass did not change from a celebration meal of thanksgiving to a ceremonial encounter with the literal body and blood of Jesus until the 12th century. The doctrine of transubstantiation was decreed in AD 1215 at the fourth Lateran Council."

Taken from “Contender Ministy”

i’ve already shown him stuff from the catholic answers library on the ECF but he condends that they were all speaking symbolically which is just plain rediculous. rather can anyone show me what in fact these four popes REALLY did to help refute this mess.

 

[awalt]

That’s not right.

Many books cite descriptions of the early Church celebrations.

The Mass of the early Christians, by Aquilina, quotes Tertullian discussing chalices. In 303, a Roman court confiscates chalices, silver dishes, silver lamps, torches, lampstands of various types from a house-church.

In early 300s (311?) Constantine legalized the Catholic Church, and churches started to spring up everywhere. Are you saying there were no altars in these churches for 200 years or more? Unlikely.

St. Jerome in the 400s discusses the altar.The Didache, which could be as early as AD 60 or as late as AD 100, describes an early Eucharistic prayer and blessings over the bread and wine.

“Apostolic Tradition”, written by St. Hippolytus in 215, likely describes a formalized rite of the liturgy (some say it was the rite used in the Eastern Church). It describes a complete Eucharistic prayer, which is clearly the foundation of our current Eucharistic Prayer II.

Of course the Hebrews worshiped at altars, and included rituals with bread and wine, long before Christ; and the early Gentiles modified their rituals. So it is believed altars, etc. were around from day 1. That is why the chalices, candles, etc. were found.

There are so many references in the early church fathers’ writings, I suspect this either came from a questionable resource or was taken out of context. Yuo might want to investigate further the complete text of where this came from, it sure seems wrong to me.

 

[jimmy]

ok, i recieved this from a fundementalist what i was having a discussion with on the mass/eucharist

i’ve already shown him stuff from the catholic answers library on the ECF but he condends that they were all speaking symbolically which is just plain rediculous. rather can anyone show me what in fact these four popes REALLY did to help refute this mess.

Refer him to the Liturgy of St. James, which dates to over 200 years before the earliest of the four popes he gives. The liturgy of St. James is still in use in syriac Christian churches and in Byzantine churches. The liturgy of St. John Chrysostom is based on the liturgy of St. James.