fliction, fignifies no more, then, This is in remembrance only of that Bread of Affliction.

It is therefore most plain to me, that Chrift, according to the common way of fpeaking then in ufe, meant no more by, This is my Body, This is my Blood, then, This is in Remembrance of my Body, and of my Blood; and he therefore added that most expreffive Command to fhew his meaning, This do, εis Thr éμà avaμrow, in Remembrance (or for a Remembrance) of me. There- Luk. 22.19. fore to give you my Opinion clearly and plainly in this point, I verily believe 1 Cor. 11.244 that Chrift neither meant nor intended more then this, As you had a Custom after the Pafchal Supper to break Bread, and eat it in Remembrance of the Bread of Affliction, which your Fathers have eaten in the Land of Egypt, and to drink Wine, bleffing God for the Fruit of the Vine, thereby owning your felves to be of the House of Ifracl, and under the fame Law and Government which God prefcribed by his fervant Mofes; fo you fhall hereafter most folemnly break Bread, and eat it in Remembrance of my Body broken for you, and drink the Cup, not meerly blessing of God for the Blood of the Grape (as you did at the After-Supper, and at your Common Meals) but in Remembrance of my Blood Shed for you. And St. Paul feems plainly to me 1 Cor. 10. 16. to allude this, The Cup of Bleffing which we bless, it is not that Cup now, which was drank after the Jewish way, and fo named from their bleffing of God for the fruit of the Vine, but it is a true Cup of Bleffing ftill, whereby we remember the Blood of Chrift fhed for us, and bless God for the innumerable Benefits received thereby. And by this our folemn Remembrance of Christ, we own and confefs that he is our Lord and Master, and publickly fubmit our Selves to all his Divine Laws, and declare our unfeigned Faith, and Hope, and Truft in all his Promises, and are by this Spiritually united to Him, and mutually to one Another, by perfect Charity and brotherly Love. And this, I humbly conceive, is the full meaning of what follows in St. Paul, This breaking of Bread and drinking the Cup now, is now woría, The Communion, or Communication, of the Body and Blood of Chrift, and we being many are one Spiritual Bread, and one Myftical Body thereby, and are thus diftinguished and feparated from the unbelieving Jew, and the Idolatrous Gentile. And he feems most clearly to declare the Intent of the whole Sacrament to be no more then a folemn Remembrance of Chrift's Paffion, in thofe Words which he fubjoins to his Narration of its first Inftitution. This, (that is break Bread and 1 Cor. it. eat it, and drink the Cup thus folemnly) do ye in Remembrance of me; for as 24, 25. oft as ye eat this Bread and drink of this Cup, ye do fhew (or publickly declare) the Lord's Death till he comes. To which words of St. Paul, St. Bafil V. 26. De Baptifm. immediately adds this Question and anfwer of his own, What Profit have 1.1. p. 67 2. b. thefe Words? (Or what Good do they do?) That Eating and Drinking we Parif. 1618. might always remember Him, who died for us and rofe again, making that the main end and use of them.

248. c. Col.

Therefore the Celebration of the Sacrament amongst the Primitive Christian Jews, and from Them amongst all the rest of the first Christians, was very Vid. R. Simon folemn indeed, but very fhort and plain, as Goar himself confeffeth. For befides Gabr. Phidelph. Apolog the brief Narration of Chrift's Inftitution (as it is in the Gofpels and St. Paul) 77. a. they added only the Lord's Prayer, and either very little or nothing of their P.139.137. own. St. Jerom tells us, that Chrift taught his Apoftles that daily in the 1. 3. Contra Sacrifice of his Body, Believers fhould be bold to fay, Our Father which Pelagian. p. art in Heaven, &c. and makes the fpiritual Senfe of that Petition, Give us Agrip. 1616. our daily Bread, to be this, that they might be counted worthy to receive Chriff's Body, that Bread, which is above all Substances. And Gregory 1.7. Indict. 2. the Great (perhaps from him as Hofpinian faith) faith, that only the Lord's Ep.63. p. 230. Prayer was used. In our daily Maffes immediately after the Prayer, (Lord Hift. Sacram. have mercy upon us, Chrift have mercy upon us) we therefore fay the Lord's par.1.1.1.c.3. Prayer, because it was the Custom of the Apostles, that at That only Prayer de mija 1. 1. they should confecrate the Hoft of Oblation, and Bellarmine knew not well C. 27.P 340, 2.

how

G. Antu. 1573.

edit.
P.549. C.22.

Cochla.

how to deny this. Some Body had compofed another Prayer for that purpose. which he there blames, and faith, it was very inconvenient to use that, and not that very Tradition, which our Redeemer compofed, over his Body and De reb. Ecclef. Blood. And I think that remarkable which I find in Walafridus Strabo. Relatio Majorum eft, ita primis temporibus Miffas fieri folitas ficut modo in parafcene Pafcha (in quo die apud Romanos Mife non aguntur) communicationem facere folemus; id eft, præmiffa Oratione Dominica, & ficut ipfe Dominus præcepit, commemoratione Paffionis ejus adhibita, eos Corpori Dominico communicaffe & Sanguini, quos ratio permittebat. Proficiente dehinc Religione amplius aucta funt a Chrifti Cultoribus officia Miffarum, &c. Our Fore-fathers have told us, that Maffes were used in the firft Times to be made, as we use now to make the Communion in the Preparation of the Paffover, (on which day there are no Maffes made amongst the Romans) that is, Thofe, whom reafon permitted, Communicated the Lord's Body and Blood, the Lord's Prayer being premifed, and as the Lord himself have commanded, a Commemoration of his Paffion being added. Afterwards Religion making a greater Progress, the Offices of Maffes were more increafed Ibid. p. 1. §. 1. by the Worshippers of Chrift, &c. And Amalarius in the Times of Charlemagne, faith thus, Satis effet fine Cantoribus & Lectoribus & cæteris que ibi aguntur, fola Benedictio Epifcoporum aut Presbyterorum, ad benedicendum Panem & Vinum, quo reficeretur populus ad animarum falutem; ficut primavis temporibus fiebat apud Apoftolos. Only the Benediction of the Bishops or Presbyters, without the Singers and Readers and other Things there used, would be fufficient to the blessing of the Bread and the Wine, by which the People would be refreshed to their Souls Health; as it was done amongst the Apofiles in the primitive Times. And the Author of that Trea6.p.204.c.13. tife there under the Name of Micrologus, faith (citing St. Ambrofe and St. Auftin much to the fame purpose) Quapropter & nos ibi tantum, &c. Wherefore we alfo (at the Eucharift) remember only Chrift's Paffion, Refurrection. and Afcenfion. Therefore without doubt He, whoever shall diligently inSpect the older and more correct Copies of the Synaxis, will judge all thofe Things which we have noted as Patches added to that Service, fuperfluous F. 192. c.58. and fuch things as ought to be rooted out. And we there read in Gemma Anima, That the Bread of old was a big large Loaf, but now (in both the Latin and the Greek Church) it is fhrunk to a little Pittance; long, as in This; or round like a Penny, as in That. And the learned R. Simon ingenuIn Apolog. Gab.Ously confesseth as much; All Men must own, faith he, that in the firft times Sev. p. 77. a. of the Church, Chriftians had left off Ceremonies, and more of Piety, or Devotion. Durandus owns the very fame thing, as Hofpinian quotes him; and I fhall mention no more out of Him, but what I find in Platina; fpeaking of the Celebration of the Sacrament, he faith, Thefe Things were naked (or plain) at firft, and all things were fimply (or without Ceremony) performed. For Peter when he confecrated, used the Lord's Prayer. Then he confeffes, and fhews at large, that Multitudes of Obfervances and Ceremonies were by Degrees added in following Times; and he particularly names many. who after one another brought in these Innovations; and without doubt the fame was practifed by the Greeks.

1.4

In vita fexti primi.

Vid. p. 32. hic.

Prov.

Conft. Apoft. 1.8. c.12. p.

480. e. Tho. Aquin. 3a. q.

Next the Bread was broken at the Sacrament for feveral Ages after the Custom in the Eaft both of Jew and Gentile; and accordingly the Wine was mixt with Water, as the Eastern People used to do at their common Mcals. And from this latter Custom to this very day the Greeks have no other word 74. Art. 6. in their vulgar Tongue for Wine, then xegoi, (Crasi) from xeãos, (Crafis ) fecundum mo- mixture or mingling. For proof of both thefe Primitive Ulages, amongst ut fupra. 1. 2. many other Inftances of them brought by Hofpinian, let that Paffage alone c.1.& 1.5.c.3. fuffice in Irenæus. The Bread which we break is the Communication of his 1.5.c.2. p.434. Body. And again, When the mixt Cup and the broken Bread receive the Col. Agrip. Word of God, it is made the Eucharift of the Blood and Body of Chrift. And

rem iftius terra.

& 5. & alibi.

1625.

121. d. Rigalt.

Mat. 26. 26.

vid.

And Tertullian speaking of fome Customs in his time received by Tradition, De Corona. p. faith, We take the Sacrament of the Eucharift both in time of Victuals (at Meals) and as commanded to all by the Lord even in the meetings before day; perhaps he alluded (by the time of Victuals) to the Antient Agape 1 Cor. 11.20. or Love Feafts, when the Sacrament was alfo Celebrated; the manner of Eat- 21, 33, 34 ing and Drinking by him feeming to have been the fame in both. I chose here to mention that Paffage of Irenæus abovefaid, because I find, fome afferters of Tranfubftantiation lay a great ftrefs upon that Phrase, (percipit Verbum Dei) Receives the Word of God, ftretching it most wretchedly to ferve their purpofe; as if the Words in Chrift's Inftitution this is my Body, this is my Blood, which here feem to be understood) turn'd the Bread and Wine literally into the very Body and Blood of Chrift; but Irenæus fays only, the Bread and Wine are thus made the Eucharift; and he explains Himself in another place, the Bread faith he, which is of the Earth, receiving the Invocation 1. 4. c. 34. p. of (or calling upon) God, is not now common Bread, but the Eucharift, con- 363. b. fifting of two things, an Earthly, (for it is Bread still,) and a Heavenly, it is now Confecrated or made Holy; and he feems, by the Word of God in the first place Quoted, and by Invocation of God here, to mean one and the fame thing, the addreffing of our felves to God in the Sacrament and calling upon him according to Chrift's Inftitution, which is the Word of God. I would fain know what these Men think that St. Paul meant by thofe words, every Crea- 1Tim. 4. 4. 5. ture of God is Good, if it be received with Thanksgiving, for it is Sanctified by the Word of Goa and Prayer. First uλoyer and Euxagise to Bless Vid. Gros. in God and to thank him or give him thanks for a thing, is the same; nay, to crave a Blessing from God for a Man, or upon a Thing, is fometimes meant àLapid. in Mat. alfo by turoyer to blefs; as in our common fayings, Blefs me Sir, or pray to 26.26. p.480. God to blefs me, fo to bless the Table, to beg or crave a Blessing from God Gen. 27. 340 upon it, to give Thanks, to say Grace, is all one. Now as our common 38. Food, which by the Word of God is very Good and Clean of it felf, and there- Mat. 15, 11. fore is so far fanctified already, yet by Prayer, (by faying Grace, or craving a Bleffing upon it) receives a higher degree of his Allowance and Bounty and is now doubled, to wit, it is his good Creature, with a peculiar Blessing annext; fo the Elements in the Sacrament are God's Good, but common Creatures from the Earth, but being folemnly fet a part and fanctified by the Form and Words of Chrift's Inftitution, which is his Word, and by the Lord's Prayer or fuch Apoftolical Invocations of God, they are made the Eucharift, that is, a compound thing, Creatures ftill from the Earth, and Heavenly Symbols or Remembrances of Chrift's Paffion; this latter addition conveighing Heavenly nourishment to our Souls, as the Earthly Creatures do to our Bodies. And if you will believe Amalarius, the Latines believed the very fame thing, for he fpeaking of the Elements being communicated faith, Hic credimus natu- De officio Missa. ram fimplicem panis & vini mixti verti in naturam Rationabilem, fcilicet Cor- 34. P. 43. poris & fanguinis Chrifti, we believe the fimple or fingle, nature of the Bread and Wine mixt, to be turn'd into a rational nature, that is, of the Body and Blood of Chrift. And this I take to be the plain meaning of Irenaus, for fo indeed he explains himself in the words which there immediately p. 363. b. follow, fo alfo, faith he, our works (percipientia Euchariftiam) receiving the Eucharift, are not now corruptible having the Hope of the Refurrection; as if he had faid, our Works in themselves are Earthly, Corruptible, and Dead ; but by our Faith and Hope in Chrift, which we folemnly profefs in receiving the Eucharift, they are Enliven'd and made acceptable to God; Faith being added as a living Soul, breathed into, and going through the whole Body of

Our Works.

I think it is plain that the Latines fealed Wafer was not used or known in thofe Primitive times; neither was the Pieces of the Sacred Bread, when diftributed, put into the receivers Mouths, by the Pricft, or Deacon, but deliver'd into their Hands; nay, in Clem. Alexand. his time, when the Eu

B

Gen. 1. 31.

Strom. 1.

charift 271. c.

P

Apol. 2. p. 76.

32. edit. Sylb. 1593. p. 98. Paris 1636.

charist or Holy Bread, was divided, every one was permitted to take his Piece, or Portion, and feed himself with it as at common Meals. But he that defires to see more of the Primitive ufages, and know what Corruptions by deHift. Sacram grees followed afterwards, may be fully fatisfied by that copious work of Hofpinian above mention'd. I fhall here only add that account which we have of this matter in Justin Martyr. "After their common Prayers were ended the chief of the Brethren or Prefident took Bread, and a Cup of Wine and Water, which was offer'd to him, and gave Thanks and Glory to the Father of "all things, through the Name of the Son, and of the Holy Ghoft, and made a Thankful acknowledgment, at large, for being counted by him worthy "of these things. When he had ended the Prayers and Thanksgivings, the People faid aloud, Amen. Then the Deacons diftributed to every one prefent, that they might partake of the Bread and Wine and Water, which had been thus Blessed with Thanksgivings, and carried it to them that were abfent. And this (peculiar) nourishment they call'd the Eucharift, and it was "given to none but to true Chriftian believers; for it was not counted as com"mon Bread, or common Drink, but as Chrift was by the word of God made "Flesh, and had Flesh and Blood for our Salvation, fo we are taught that That "Nourishment, whence our Blood, and Flesh, by its change are nourished, after "it hath been by the Prayer of the Word, which is from him, Blessed with Thanksgiving, is the Flesh and Blood, of that Jefus who was made Flesh. As the Jews Cake was the Bread of Affliction.

66

Here we see how folemn, but withal how fimple and plain the celebration of the Eucharift was in the Primitive Church; and to me it feems moft evident, That although the Bread and Drink after Confecration were no more indeed counted Common, yet they were then thought to be ftill true and really Bread, and Wine, and Water; and are fo called plainly in this place when Diftributed by the Deacons. And they are accordingly elsewhere called, the Bread Tryph. p. 201. of the Eucharift, and the Cup of the Eucharift; where a little above you have also with it fet down the very end for which Chrift commanded this Bread of the Eucharift to be made, that is, in Remembrance of his Paffion. The Ut fupra Apol, Latins ftrangely wreft thofe words, By the Prayer of the Word, which is 2. p. 77. 2. from Him, to favour their abfurd notion of Tranfubftantiation, but they P. 76. 1. 36. can fignify no more than what is meant before by (uxaiciav metai) making

Dial. cum

1. 45

1. 24.

bleffing of Thanks, or as I have rendred it, a Thankful acknowledgment; P. 77. 30, 32. and fo Repeating briefly (as gone) the very fame Thing or Practice, he explains it by (xas y suxapıçías amatéμa) putting up Prayers and Thankfgivings, or Thankful acknowledgments, or Bleflings with Thanksgivings. So that Juftin here feems to fay the very fame with Irenæus, The Elements are Still real Bread and Wine and Water, but they have received the most ample addition of being now fanctified by Prayer and Thanksgiving according to Contra Celf. 1. Chrift's Inftitution, which is his Word. And Origen gives the very fame ac8. p. 399. edit. count of this matter in his time; we eat, faith he, agress, thofe Loaves, which are offer'd with Thanksgiving and Prayer for the Things given to us; ołoμa γενομένες διὰ τὴν ἐυχε ἅγιόν τι να ἁγιάζον τῆς μετὰ ὑγιες προθέσεως αυτῷ χρωμένων, which Loaves are made by Prayer, Body, being a certain Holy Thing, and what fanctifieth those who use it with a found intent. The Loaves were ftill accounted Bread, but not common, being now made Holy.

Spencer.

I'

CHA P. II.

Concerning the Greek Communion.

Have thus far fet down my Opinion (for fo I must call it, and offer it only as fuch) concerning the primitive Administration of the Sacrament; and I cannot but be amazed when I think how this plain and easy Institution of Chrift hath been abused by the Inventions and Contrivances of fuperftitious or defigning Men, and disguised by the blind Zeal and mifguided Devotion of over forward Governors of the Church in fucceeding Ages. How that which He appointed only for a fhort, but most folemn Remembrance of his Death and Paffion for us, hath been quite changed into the most abfurd and grossest Idolatry in the World; How that familiar and primitive way of breaking and eating Bread, and drinking Wine together like Brethren, joining with plain and known Forms of Prayer and Thanksgiving in a devout Remembrance of Him, hath been loaded and clog'd with amufing Rites and empty Ceremonies, and perplext with tedious and fruitless, and fometimes unintelligible, Stuff, and by the Great Churches at laft turn'd into a meer Shew or Piece of Pageantry; I fay, the Confideration of these things do ftrangely astonish me, as furely it must needs do any other fincere and upright Christian.

The strange Innovations of the Latin Church in this Point are very well understood by us, and have been fufficiently expofed, and juftly caft off by the Reformation in the Weft; but the Practice of the Greek Church herein being not fo well known, especially to those of the Communion of our own English Church, I fhall now give you a clear View of it, and humbly add my own Reflections thereupon.

p.108. §.2.

ad 4.

C.

The Manuscripts and the printed Editions of Chryfoftom's Liturgy are fo numerous, and fo various, and different from one another, that Goar (who Eucholog. mentions eight feveral Copies of it) justly confeffeth that he was perfectly affrighted at it. But truly this ftrange Difference cannot much be wondred at; for we may well conceive (not to mention any of the other Liturgies of differing Chriftians in the Eaft, as Armenians, Abyffines, or others) that in many Churches difperfed under the four Patriarchs of the Greek Church, they had and used (especially before Printing came in) for a long Time far different manuscript Forms and Readings of St. Chryfoftom's Liturgy, (as well as of those other two hereafter mention'd) as there were feveral different Miffals in Tho. Aqu. tert. the Latin Church, till the Council of Trent, and Pope Pius the fifth order'd 9, 78. art. 1. one uniform Edition to be used every where, and abolished all other whatsoever. We are told by Walafridus Strabo and Micrologus, how the Latins added c. 22. p.93. continually to the Mals whatever Pope or Great Man thought good, and you 4, 5, 6. will find the very fame thing taken notice of by the Centuriators out of Cent. 11. Berno; concerning the French, German Miffals; and without doubt the P. 137. b. Greeks did the fame. And hence I guess, the feveral Copies and Readings p. 131.p. 108, which we now have of that Liturgy arofe; that is, from the different and di- 109. 106. stant Places where they were formed and used, and from the Additions which 80. p. 137. were frequently made. It is plain from the thing it felf, that the Liturgy 129. p. 140. which we have now under his Name, is a miserable Jumble, or patcht Piece of Service; and Goar himself plainly confeffes, that many new things which are ut fupra. now to be faid and done by the Deacon and Priest, have been foifted into feveral places (frequentius quam par eft) oftner then was fitting; which make the whole fo confufed and fo tedious, as it takes away all Devotion. Micrologus de Befides Chryfoftom's Liturgy, there are thofe two alfo under the Name of mia, c. 4 p.198. St. Bafil, and St. Germanus, (or as fome will have it of Greg. Nazianzen) Vid. Dallaum ufed upon certain Occafions by the prefent Greeks; and thofe of St. James de cult. 1. 3. floruit initio fecul. octav. Coetaneus Damafceni. Arcud. 1. 3. c. 35. p. 305. b. Germano tribuitur Liturgia Prafandificatorum. Goar. p. 200. not. b. & p. 210.44. and

В 2

p. 130. p. 106.

N. B. p. 127.

138.

C.13. P. 357.