Evening Prayer | Feb 5

Evening Prayer - Pg 25 

Collect for Pardon: 140 or 141

Psalm 139 - Pg 459

OT: Exodus 17

Hymn: Psalm 103 - Pg 30

Three Collects (Pg 124), Collect for Sickness (Pg 66), Conditions for All Men to End
^Bookmark Variable prayers and psalm

Discussion Reading: Revelation

Preface: 

• Thanks for blessing me by allowing me to read aloud this prophecy (v. 3); may you be blessed in hearing and doing what Christ revealed to St. John the Divine.
• Apocalyptic Symbols:
• A fundamental misunderstanding is to think the image is irrelevant to the substance if you know the significance of the emblem.
• In ancient world, symbol meant to tie two things together -- usually a physical/visual to an unseen reality. (The core behind sacrament/mystery)
• Apocalypses revealed the significance behind present, ongoing crises to help the hearer faithfully endure rather than seek to escape their life-threatening difficulties (Let the hearer understand)
• Apocalypses relied heavenly on shared past cultural language to redefine present experiences = prophetic recapitulation of the past to reveal the present in a heavenly perspective. (You need a thorough grasp of the OT and the Second Temple Church to read St John with better familiarity. John Calvin could not complete an exegesis of Revelation beyond chapter seven for a reason...)

Revelation 1 affirms the essential elements of the Creed:

- God the Father, the eternal Creator and almighty Lord (v. 6, 8)

-Jesus Christ His Son, the only son who is also eternal (v. 4, 8, 17-18)

-Jesus came as a faithful servant, suffered, bled, died, descended into Hades, resurrected, ascended on the clouds, and rules from heaven with God the Father over the nations, heaven, and earth. His death and resurrection provided everlasting life to His Church. (v. 1, 5-7, 13-18, 20)

- The Spirit of God unites the earthly faithful with the blessed company of heaven, which is the one holy Catholic Church, a kingdom and priesthood unified in Christ Jesus, forgiven through washing in His blood, resurrected in their bodies to life everlasting. (v. 10, 1-20)

"Article VIII

Of the Creeds. 

The Three Creeds, Nicene Creed, Athanasius' Creed, and that which is commonly called the Apostles' Creed, ought thoroughly to be received and believed: for they may be proved by most certain warrants of Holy Scripture."

Gospel Outro

Revelation has so much Gospel frontloaded. Christ the heavenly Son of Man who died and resurrected is God's sole mediator, the Ruler over Life, Death, and the Grave; the forgiver of our sins through His suffering, death, descent to Hades, resurrection, and ascension; the fashioner of the everlasting Kingdom and Priests; the First and Last as the Father is the Alpha and Omega, which is to say "True God of true God." Christ Jesus reveals the heavenly realities to empower us to live faithfully while worshipping Him in Spirit and Truth (John 4).

Wisdom Dwells With Us: Advent III/Ember Saturday, 20 December

 

Advent III / Ember Saturday in Advent

Hymn: Ode 13 / Benedictus (BCP Pg. 14)

Psalm 104 (Pg. 11-13)

OT Malachi 3:1-6

Magnificat / Song of Mary (Pg. 26)

NT Heb. 4:14-5:10

Psalm 103 (Pg 29)

Collects: Advent III (Pg. 93), Ember Saturday (Red BCP Pg. 330-332 Second, Third, Fourth Collects)

Lesson from Advent III in Devotional.

Pericopes for discussion:

• Baruch 3:26-4:3
• John 1:1-18

Discussion Emphases:

• Four Hundred Years of Prophecy: Baruch to John
• The Benedictus defies the four-year-silence theory, which Anglicans sing & pray every morning prayer. ("Your prophets which have been since the world began")
• God's icons walking in the Garden
• Christ forms Adam in His image as a living icon to defy pagan idols, which were spiritless / dead images of pretender gods.
• Christ walks in Paradise: Incarnate in eternity, always envisioned as coming to dwell with humanity in the presence of God.
• Christ the Giantkiller
• Undoing the devil's defiance in the Garden.
• Giants / Nephilim are the inversion of Christ's incarnation, born from unholy mingling of wicked spirits and wicked women to birth wicked 'divine kings' (false "Eves" who birthed false christs/antichrists).
• Christ as Wisdom-made-Flesh
• Prophet Baruch & Apostle John share the same vision of Christ coming to earth to converse with men as the Word of God.

End of Time

 

"Awake, and strengthen what remains and is on the point of death, for I have not found your works perfect in the sight of my God. Remember then what you received and heard; keep that, and repent. If you will not awake, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what hour I will come upon you."
-Revelation 3:2-3

End of (Ordinary) Time: Christ Draws Near

Evening Prayer: Saturday after Sunday Next before Advent, Wisdom 13, Revelation 3

Didache 15-16

Do all as you have in the Gospel

• Prayers: Our Father prayed corporately three times a day (Ch 8)
• Alms: Give freely for then you are blameless; the deceitful receiver will be judged strictly (Ch 1)
• Fasts: Corporately on Wednesday and Friday each week (Ch 8)
• Receive Apostles, Prophets, and Teachers as the Lord (Ch 11, 13)
• Reprove sinners in peace (Ch 15)

Perfected in the Last Day

• "Beware, lest anyone lead you astray from this way of righteousness, for he teaches apart from God. For if you can bear the whole yoke of the Lord, you will be perfect; but if you cannot, do as much as you can." (Ch 6)
• "Remember, Lord, your Church, and deliver it from all evil and to perfect it in Thy love." (Ch 10)
• "all your years of faith will count for nothing unless you are perfected in the last days." (Ch 16)
• *Perseverance necessary to salvation (Lk 18. "When the Son of man comes, will he find faith[fulness] on earth?")
• Syriac / Greek / Latin: word for faith includes faithfulness.
• Perfection seen in communal context: No one perfected alone.

Sacramental Eschatology: Perfection found in seeking what is necessary for your souls

• "Will not God vindicate his elect, who cry to him day and night? Will he delay long over them?" (Lk 18:7)
• Gathering frequently for common prayer, sacred sacrifice, & supplying alms, tithes, & offerings (Ch 13-14)
• Sacraments purify and perfect us in love through grace:
• The prophetic, apostolic bishops supply Christ's spirit-infused gifts (Ch 13, 15)
• Baptism: washing in water and Spirit unto renewed life (Ch 7)
• Eucharist: feasting on Christ's body as heavenly bread and blood as celestial wine (Ch 9-10, 14)
• Confirmation: increasing Spirit’s presence in Christians; commissioning them for service (Ch 7, 10)
• Confession: unburdening and renewing souls wracked with sin (Ch 14-15)
• Marriage: Spirit-bonded couples who protect each other's bodies and souls through chastity, fathering holy children (Ch 2,4-5; Mal 2; Heb. 13)
• Anointing sick: cleansing the body of illness and spirit of sin; preparing the body/temple for rest and reunion in the Last Day (Ch 10, 16)

Corruptors and False Prophets: Destroy Love & Sow Division

• When did corruptors enter the Church?
• Hegesippus
• Nicene Gospel
• Hobart: love = fulfilling all of Christ's commands (Companion to the Altar)

O God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, our only Savior, the Prince of Peace: Give us grace to take to heart the grave dangers we are in through our many divisions. Deliver your Church from all enmity and prejudice, and everything that hinders us from godly union. As there is one Body and one Spirit, one hope of our calling, one Lord, one Faith, one Baptism, one God and Father of us all, so make us all to be of one heart and of one mind, united in one holy bond of truth and peace, of faith and love, that with one voice we may give you praise; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God in everlasting glory. Amen.

Readings from the Fathers

Hegesippus, 2nd C. Christian Jew & Church Historian

Some of these heretics, forsooth, laid an information against Symeon the son of Clopas, as being of the family of David, and a Christian. And on these charges he suffered martyrdom when he was 120 years old, in the reign of Trajan Caesar, when Atticus was consular legate in Syria. And it so happened, says the same writer, that, while inquiry was then being made for those belonging to the royal tribe of the Jews, the accusers themselves were convicted of belonging to it. With show of reason could it be said that Symeon was one of those who actually saw and heard the Lord, on the ground of his great age, and also because the Scripture of the Gospels makes mention of Mary the daughter of Clopas, who, as our narrative has shown already, was his father.

The same historian mentions others also, of the family of one of the reputed brothers of the Saviour, named Judas, as having survived until this same reign, after the testimony they bore for the faith of Christ in the time of Domitian, as already recorded.

He writes as follows: They came, then, and took the presidency of every church, as witnesses for Christ, and as being of the kindred of the Lord. And, after profound peace had been established in every church, they remained down to the reign of Trojan Caesar: that is, until the time when he who was sprung from an uncle of the Lord, the aforementioned Symeon son of Clopas, was informed against by the various heresies, and subjected to an accusation like the rest, and for the same cause, before the legate Atticus; and, while suffering outrage during many days, he bore testimony for Christ: so that all, including the legate himself, were astonished above measure that a man 120 years old should have been able to endure such torments. He was finally condemned to be crucified.

... Up to that period the Church had remained like a virgin pure and uncorrupted: for, if there were any persons who were disposed to tamper with the wholesome rule of the preaching of salvation, they still lurked in some dark place of concealment or other. But, when the sacred band of apostles had in various ways closed their lives, and that generation of men to whom it had been vouchsafed to listen to the Godlike Wisdom with their own ears had passed away, then did the confederacy of godless error take its rise through the treachery of false teachers, who, seeing that none of the apostles any longer survived, at length attempted with bare and uplifted head to oppose the preaching of the truth by preaching "knowledge falsely so called."

And the church of the Corinthians continued in the orthodox faith up to the time when Primus was bishop in Corinth. I had some intercourse with these brethren on my voyage to Rome, when I spent several days with the Corinthians, during which we were mutually refreshed by the orthodox faith.

On my arrival at Rome, I drew up a list of the succession of bishops down to Anicetus, whose deacon was Eleutherus. To Anicetus succeeded Soter, and after him came Eleutherus. But in the case of every succession, and in every city, the state of affairs is in accordance with the teaching of the Law and of the Prophets and of the Lord....

And after James the Just had suffered martyrdom, as had the Lord also and on the same account, again Symeon the son of Clopas, descended from the Lord's uncle, is made bishop, his election being promoted by all as being a kinsman of the Lord.

Therefore was the Church called a virgin, for she was not as yet corrupted by worthless teaching. Thebulis it was who, displeased because he was not made bishop, first began to corrupt her by stealth. He too was connected with the seven sects which existed among the people, like Simon, from whom come the Simoniani; and Cleobius, from whom come the Cleobiani; and Doritheus, from whom come the Dorithiani; and Gorthaeus, from whom come the Gortheani; Masbothaeus, from whom come the Masbothaei. From these men also come the Menandrianists, and the Marcionists, and the Carpocratians, and the Valentinians, and the Basilidians, and the Saturnilians. Each of these leaders in his own private and distinct capacity brought in his own private opinion. From these have come false Christs, false prophets, false apostles-men who have split up the one Church into parts through their corrupting doctrines, uttered in disparagement of God and of His Christ....

There were, moreover, various opinions in the matter of circumcision among the children of Israel, held by those who were opposed to the tribe of Judah and to Christ: such as the Essenes, the Galileans, the Hemerobaptists, the Masbothaei, the Samaritans, the Sadducees, the Pharisees.

Nicea (Anonymous Syriac History)

Of the resurrection of the dead: The Lord did not merely give his flesh over to suffering and death for us. His goal was to procure our salvation despite being free from death (as the explanation above has demonstrated). The Lord also predicts through the prophet the coming mystery of his incarnation in flesh: ‘I became like a helpless person, free among the dead’ [Ps. 88:4-5]. But who is free from death besides God? According to the passages cited above, he became flesh due to his love for mankind and became ‘like a helpless person,’ humbling his flesh ‘to the point of death, even death on a cross’ [Philip. 2:8]. It also proclaims that his flesh arose so that, by making us immortal, he might obtain for us forsaken humans hope for our own resurrection through our firstfruits. Thus we are no longer slaves to eternal death, but free like Christ, our firstfruits, as the blessed apostle Paul says: ‘Christ, the firstfruits, then, when he comes, those who belong to him’ [1 Cor. 15:23]. He also testifies that we expect this very Savior, our Lord Jesus Christ, the only-begotten Son of God the Father, to come from heaven to raise our bodies from their graves: ‘Our citizenship is in heaven, and we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly bodies to be like his glorious body’ [Philip. 3:20-21]. Thus must the Lord glorify our bodies like his, no longer subject to wickedness nor any sufferings which presently exist, free from death and sin, and holy, so that we can live a new life with him in heavenly light, reigning forever with Christ himself. In this hope we have received holy baptism and receive saving communion with his holy members. This is the doctrine of the catholic church.

That there is one church of God: There is one church in heaven. The same church is also on earth. The Holy Spirit rests on it. The heresies outside of it, to which people adhere, are not the teachings of our Savior nor of the apostles but of Satan, their father the devil. They teach the heresies of Jews and Greeks in a different form to take away true life from people.

Hobart: Companion to the Altar

Pages 200-206 

Sons of Samuel

 

“Has the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices,

    as in obeying the voice of the Lord?

Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice,

    and to hearken than the fat of rams.

For rebellion is as the sin of divination,

    and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry.

Because you have rejected the word of the Lord,

    he has also rejected you from being king.”

- 1 Samuel 15:22-23

Didache 11, 13: The Archetypical Prophet?

• Samuel
• 1 Samuel 1, 9: Samuel as Head Seer, Priest, & Judge
• 1 Samuel 1: Samuel called by the Lord as prophet in the priesthood
• 1 Samuel 9:9. "Let us go to the seer...for a prophet was formerly called a seer"
• Seer leads liturgy / sacrificial feast: calls feast, blesses sacrifice, appoints feasters (v. 12-13)
• 1 Sam. 9:19-24 "I am the seer; go up before me to the high place, for today you shall eat with me, and in the morning I will let you go and will tell you all that is on your mind...Samuel said, “See, what was kept is set before you. Eat; because it was kept for you until the hour appointed, that you might eat with the guests. I have invited the people."
• 1 Samuel 19:20-24. Samuel stood at the head of the company of the prophets
• 1 Samuel 8: Samuel appoints successors
• Judicial succession is not purely a charismatic event
• Judges can act corruptly (cf. Judges' descent into apostasy)
• People demand their own ruler like their neighbors: a warlord
• "they have not rejected you, but they have rejected me from being king over them."
• 1 Samuel 15: Samuel Judges Kings
• Samuel renders divine justice on Saul, on Agag, & on Israel
• Rebellion equal with witchcraft & idolatry
• Sirach on Samuel
• Sirach 46:13-20
• "Samuel, beloved by His Lord, a prophet of the Lord."
• "By the Law of the Lord He judged the congregation."
• "By his faithfulness he was proved to be a prophet, and by his words he became known as a trustworthy seer."
• "He called upon the Lord...and offered in sacrifice a sucking lamb." (priesthood)
• "Before the time of his eternal sleep, Samuel called men to witness before the Lord and his anointed: 'I have not taken any one's property, not so much as a pair of shoes.' And no man accused him."
• "Even after he had fallen asleep he prophesied and revealed to the king his death, and lifted up his voice out of the earth in prophecy, to blot out the wickedness of the people."
• Jeremiah on Samuel
• Jeremiah 15:1 "Then the Lord said to me, “Though Moses and Samuel stood before me, yet my heart would not turn toward this people. Send them out of my sight, and let them go!"
• God equals Samuel with Moses (both served as Prophet, Judge, and Priest)
• David on Samuel
• Psalm 99:6 "Moses and Aaron were among his priests, Samuel also was among those who called on his name. They cried to the Lord, and he answered them."
• Apostles on Samuel
• St Peter preached, "And all the prophets who have spoken, from Samuel and those who came afterwards, also proclaimed these days." (Acts 3:24)
• St Paul preached, "And after that he gave them judges until Samuel the prophet." (Acts 13:20)
• Hebrews 11:32 "And what more shall I say? For time would fail me to tell of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, of David and Samuel and the prophets..."
• Didache's Prophet
• Prophet as liturgist:
• 10 "But permit the prophets to offer thanksgiving as much as they desire."
• 15: "For bishops and deacons also perform the service [liturgy] of the prophets and teachers."
• 15: "Bishops and Deacons are honorable men along with the prophets and teachers."
• Prophet as Calendarist:
• Fasts 
• 8: "Do not let not your fasts fall on the same days as the hypocrites, for they fast on Mondays and Thursdays. Keep your fast on Wednesdays and Fridays."
• Feasts
• 11: "Any prophet who orders a meal in Spirit will not eat from it, but if he does eat of it, he is a false prophet."
• 14: "Gather together each Sunday, break bread and give thanks, first confessing your sins, that your sacrifice may be pure."
• Prophet as Samuel's Son:
• 11: "But if he asks for money, he is a false prophet."
• 11: "not everyone who speaks in the Spirit is a prophet, but only he who follows the ways of the Lord. From his behavior, then, you will know a false prophet from a true prophet." (cf. Sirach 46:15, 19)
• 11: "Any prophet who orders a meal in Spirit will not eat from it, but if he does eat of it, he is a false prophet."
• 11: "Any prophet who teaches the truth, but does not do the things he teaches, is a false prophet."
• 11: "He has his judgment in the presence of God, as with the prophets of old."
• 11: "If anyone says in the Spirit, “Give me money,” do not listen to him. But if he tells you to give to others who are in need, let no one judge him."
• 13: "Every true prophet who desires to settle among you is worthy of his food. Likewise, a true teacher, like the worker, deserves his food."
• 13: "give as the first-fruit to the prophets, for they are your high priests. But if you do not have a prophet, give your first-fruits to the poor."

*Rightly succeeded shepherds guarantee the Lord's favor, while rebellion (even against corrupt shepherds) has not His acceptance.

• Sons of the Apostles
• 1 Corinthians 15: "Then he appeared to more than five hundred brethren at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep. Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles."
• Apostles were unsurprised by the need for successors
• Apostles provided successors in their own lifetime, shepherding locations/regions
• St James as bishop of Jerusalem with council of presbyters (Acts 15; 21; 24)
• Gospel tied up with the testimony of the apostles and the community of the faithful
• Hegesippus: Second generation Jewish Christian (170s)
• "They came, then, and took the presidency of every church, as witnesses for Christ, and as being of the kindred of the Lord. And, after profound peace had been established in every church, they remained down to the reign of Trojan Caesar."
• "And the church of the Corinthians continued in the orthodox faith up to the time when Primus was bishop in Corinth."
• "On my arrival at Rome, I drew up a list of the succession of bishops down to Anicetus, whose deacon was Eleutherus. To Anicetus succeeded Soter, and after him came Eleutherus. But in the case of every succession, and in every city, the state of affairs is in accordance with the teaching of the Law and of the Prophets and of the Lord."
• "And after James the Just had suffered martyrdom, as had the Lord also and on the same account, again Symeon the son of Clopas, descended from the Lord's uncle, is made bishop, his election being promoted by all as being a kinsman of the Lord."
• "Therefore was the Church called a virgin, for she was not as yet corrupted by worthless teaching. Thebulis it was who, displeased because he was not made bishop, first began to corrupt her by stealth..."
• Rt. Rev. John Henry Hobart's A Companion for the Altar
  
• Saturday Evening meditation: Christ's shepherds sacrifice as means of salvation
• "To this statement, which makes the blessings of the gospel to depend on communion with the church by the participation of its ordinances administered by duly authorized ministers, the formidable objection may be opposed, that it is narrowing the path of salvation. But if a solicitude be commendable to prevent the path of salvation from being unduly narrowed and confined ; the solicitude to prevent it from being made more wide and easy than God has made it, is surely also commendable. To undervalue or remove those institutions which God hath rendered necessary to salvation, is to contemn his authority and power, and in the highest degree to endanger the souls of men. It is an unauthorized, a criminal, a cruel charity, which would present salvation to men, stripped of those conditions on which alone it is attainable. Real charity, the charity which most effectually promotes the welfare of men, would lead us faithfully to point out the conditions on which God will restore fallen man to his favour ; and then earnestly and affectionately to enforce these conditions..."

All Saints

OPENING VERSE 2 Macc. 12:44-45

PSALMS 146

OT Wisdom 5:1-16

NT Revelation 21:1-4, 22-22:6

ATHANASIAN CREED

COLLECTS All Saints, Commemoration for the Saints, & For the Faithful Departed

Let us remember the Saints of God.

V. The Righteous live for evermore;

R. Their reward also is with the Lord.

O God, the King of saints, we praise and glorify your holy Name for all your servants who have finished their course in your faith and fear: for the blessed Virgin Mary; for the holy patriarchs, prophets, apostles, and martyrs; and for all your other righteous servants, known to us and unknown; and we pray that, encouraged by their examples, and strengthened by their fellowship, we also may be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light; through the merits of your Son Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Let us pray for the faithful departed.

V. Rest eternal grant unto them, O Lord.

R. And light perpetual shine upon them.

O God of the spirits of all flesh, we praise and magnify thy holy Name for all thy servants who have finished their course in thy faith and fear [especially thy servants

Debbie, 

Denny, 

Don,

Bill, 

Wilford, 

Violet,

Clyde,

Mary,

Peg,

Phyllis,

Herbert,

______]; 

and we beseech thee that, encouraged by their examples and strengthened by their fellowship, we also may be found meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light; through the merits of thy Son Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.

O Almighty God, the God of the spirits of all flesh, who by a voice from heaven didst proclaim, Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord: Multiply, we beseech thee, to those who rest in Jesus, the manifold blessings of thy love, that the good work which thou didst begin in them may be perfected unto the day of Jesus Christ. And of thy mercy, O heavenly Father, vouchsafe that we, who now serve thee here on earth, may at the last, together with them, be found meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the Saints in light; for the sake of the same thy Son Jesus Christ, our Lord and Saviour. Amen.

LITANY FOR THE DYING

ST CHRYSOSTOM'S PRAYER

CLOSING VERSE

 

Fire in the Cup

Fire in the Cup: Apostolic Worship & Thanksgiving Sacrifice

Note: This is the leader's outline for group study of the Teaching of the Twelve, with the referenced readings from the Fathers attached.

Didache 14, 9-10

Apostolic Sacrifice: Day of the Lord

• Day of the Lord? Why Sunday? (Cf verses in pdf)

• What is the Thanksgiving Sacrifice? (Lev. 7:12-15; 22:29-33; Ps. 50:12-23; 116:15-19; Jonah 2:7-10; cf. Amos 4:2-5). Passover the ultimate Thanksgiving Sacrifice (Christ = Pascha/Passover. 1 Cor 5:6-7)

• Pure & Impure Sacrifices (Malachi 1)

  cf. post-revolt Jewish interpretation of Malachi: sacrifice=prayer (St Justin)

• What renders the sacrifice impure? Unconfessed Sin & Unreconciled Conflict

• Book of Common Prayer (1662): Exhortation to priest’s to bar notorious sinners & participants in known feuds (Recommended reading)

Apostolic Liturgy: Messianic Worship

• Notice warning: Baptized only allowed to partake of sacrifice (Holy/Unholy Persons, Objects, & Services) [Gospel warning]

• What constituted the pure, holy sacrifice?

• The Cup & The Broken Bread

• Syriac Acts 2:42,46; 20:7 Eucharistic Bread (Syr. wafer/Host)

• Greek Justin Martyr: οἴνου καὶ ὕδατος = alcoholic wine with water

• Order of Worship

• Corporate Confession & Prayer

• Blessing the Cup & Bread

• Holy partake while unholy repent (penitents & post-baptism penance)

• Post-Communion Praise & Thanksgiving

Apostolic Offering: Fire in the Cup

• Spiritual Food & Drink

• Through Christ: “This is My Body/Blood”

• The Vine yields the wine/blood

• Bread unifies Body, the Catholic Church (1 Cor 10:17)

• Immortality given through the offering (medicine of immortality/antidote to dying)

• Two Cups in One: Of life & Of Death (John 13:2, 26-30; 1 Cor 11:23-30; Luke 22:3-6, 14-22)

• Read Nicaea I’s definition (apostolic fathers upheld)
• Anglicans retain Sacrifice & Oblation (exhortation to not forsake eucharist)

Apostolic Healing: Fire in the Oil

• Blessing oil for healing: Mark 6:13

• Apostolic delegation to Presbyters: Luke 10:9

• 72 Presbyters = Sanhedrin of Christ (Lk 10:1)

• Bishop James exhorts people to come to presbyters for prayer and healing (James 5:13-20)

• Prayer of faith by the righteous = Presbyters in the role of prophets (v. 16-18)

• Prayer combined with confession of sins and healing of body and soul (v. 15-16; 20)

Testimony of the Early Fathers

First Clement (70-96 AD)

Forasmuch then as these things are manifest beforehand, and we have searched into the depths of the Divine knowledge, we ought to do all things in order, as many as the Master hath commanded us to perform at their appointed seasons. Now the offerings and ministrations He commanded to be performed with care, and not to be done rashly or in disorder, but at fixed times and seasons. And where and by whom He would have them performed, He Himself fixed by His supreme will: that all things being done with piety according to His good pleasure might be acceptable to His will. They therefore that make their offerings at the appointed seasons are acceptable and blessed: for while they follow the institutions of the Master they cannot go wrong. For unto the high priest his proper services have been assigned, and to the priests their proper office is appointed, and upon the levites their proper ministrations are laid. The layman is bound by the layman's ordinances. Let each of you, brethren, in his own order give thanks [eucharist] unto God, maintaining a good conscience and not transgressing the appointed rule of his service, but acting with all seemliness. Not in every place, brethren, are the continual daily sacrifices offered, or the freewill offerings, or the sin offerings and the trespass offerings, but in Jerusalem alone. And even there the offering is not made in every place, but before the sanctuary in the court of the altar; and this too through the high priest and the aforesaid ministers, after that the victim to be offered hath been inspected for blemishes. They therefore who do any thing contrary to the seemly ordinance of His will receive death as the penalty. Ye see, brethren, in proportion as greater knowledge hath been vouchsafed unto us, so much the more are we exposed to danger. The Apostles received the Gospel for us from the Lord Jesus Christ; Jesus Christ was sent forth from God…For this cause therefore, having received complete foreknowledge, they appointed the aforesaid persons, and afterwards they provided a continuance, that if these should fall asleep, other approved men should succeed to their ministration. Those therefore who were appointed by them, or afterward by other men of repute with the consent of the whole Church, and have ministered unblamably to the flock of Christ in lowliness of mind, peacefully and with all modesty, and for long time have borne a good report with all these men we consider to be unjustly thrust out from their ministration. For it will be no light sin for us, if we thrust out those who have offered the gifts of the bishop's office unblamably and holily.

Ignatius’ Letters to Ephesus, Smyrna, & Magnesia (105-115 AD)

"If Jesus Christ shall graciously permit me through your prayers, and if it be His will, I shall, in a second little work which I will write to you, make further manifest to you [the nature of] the dispensation of which I have begun [to treat], with respect to the new man, Jesus Christ, in His faith and in His love, in His suffering and in His resurrection. Especially [will I do this ] if the Lord make known to me that you come together man by man in common through grace, individually, in one faith, and in Jesus Christ, who was of the seed of David according to the flesh, being both the Son of man and the Son of God, so that you obey the bishop and the presbytery with an undivided mind, breaking one and the same bread, which is the medicine of immortality, and the antidote to prevent us from dying, but [which causes] that we should live for ever in Jesus Christ."

They abstain from the Eucharist and from prayer, because they confess not the Eucharist to be the flesh of our Saviour Jesus Christ, which suffered for our sins, and which the Father, of His goodness, raised up again. Those, therefore, who speak against this gift of God, incur death in the midst of their disputes. But it were better for them to treat it with respect, that they also might rise again. It is fitting, therefore, that you should keep aloof from such persons, and not to speak of them either in private or in public, but to give heed to the prophets, and above all, to the Gospel, in which the passion [of Christ] has been revealed to us, and the resurrection has been fully proved. But avoid all divisions, as the beginning of evils. See that you all follow the bishop, even as Jesus Christ does the Father, and the presbytery as you would the apostles; and reverence the deacons, as being the institution of God. Let no man do anything connected with the Church without the bishop. Let that be deemed a proper Eucharist, which is [administered] either by the bishop, or by one to whom he has entrusted it. Wherever the bishop shall appear, there let the multitude [of the people] also be; even as, wherever Jesus Christ is, there is the Catholic Church. It is not lawful without the bishop either to baptize or to celebrate a love-feast; but whatsoever he shall approve of, that is also pleasing to God, so that everything that is done may be secure and valid."

"Take heed, then, to have but one Eucharist. For there is one flesh of our Lord Jesus Christ, and one cup to [show forth ] the unity of His blood; one altar; as there is one bishop, along with the presbytery and deacons, my fellow-servants: that so, whatsoever you do, you may do it according to [the will of] God."

Justin the Philosopher/Martyr (130s AD)

But we, after we have thus washed him who has been convinced and has assented to our teaching, bring him to the place where those who are called brethren are assembled, in order that we may offer hearty prayers in common for ourselves and for the baptized [illuminated] person, and for all others in every place, that we may be counted worthy, now that we have learned the truth, by our works also to be found good citizens and keepers of the commandments, so that we may be saved with an everlasting salvation. Having ended the prayers, we salute one another with a kiss. There is then brought to the president of the brethren bread and a cup of wine mixed with water; and he taking them, gives praise and glory to the Father of the universe, through the name of the Son and of the Holy Ghost, and offers thanks at considerable length for our being counted worthy to receive these things at His hands. And when he has concluded the prayers and thanksgivings, all the people present express their assent by saying Amen. This word Amen answers in the Hebrew language to Γένοιτο [so be it]. And when the president has given thanks, and all the people have expressed their assent, those who are called by us deacons give to each of those present to partake of the bread and wine mixed with water over which the thanksgiving was pronounced, and to those who are absent they carry away a portion.

And this food is called among us Eukaristia [the Eucharist], of which no one is allowed to partake but the man who believes that the things which we teach are true, and who has been washed with the washing that is for the remission of sins, and unto regeneration, and who is so living as Christ has enjoined. For not as common bread and common drink do we receive these; but in like manner as Jesus Christ our Saviour, having been made flesh by the Word of God, had both flesh and blood for our salvation, so likewise have we been taught that the food which is blessed by the prayer of His word, and from which our blood and flesh by transmutation are nourished, is the flesh and blood of that Jesus who was made flesh. For the apostles, in the memoirs composed by them, which are called Gospels, have thus delivered unto us what was enjoined upon them; that Jesus took bread, and when He had given thanks, said, "This do ye in remembrance of Me, this is My body;" and that, after the same manner, having taken the cup and given thanks, He said, "This is My blood;" and gave it to them alone. Which the wicked devils have imitated in the mysteries of Mithras, commanding the same thing to be done. For, that bread and a cup of water are placed with certain incantations in the mystic rites of one who is being initiated, you either know or can learn.

"And the offering of fine flour, sirs," I said, "which was prescribed to be presented on behalf of those purified from leprosy, was a type of the bread of the Eucharist, the celebration of which our Lord Jesus Christ prescribed, in remembrance of the suffering which He endured on behalf of those who are purified in soul from all iniquity, in order that we may at the same time thank God for having created the world, with all things therein, for the sake of man, and for delivering us from the evil in which we were, and for utterly overthrowing principalities and powers by Him who suffered according to His will. Hence God speaks by the mouth of Malachi, one of the twelve [prophets], as I said before, about the sacrifices at that time presented by you: 'I have no pleasure in you, saith the Lord; and I will not accept your sacrifices at your hands: for, from the rising of the sun unto the going down of the same, My name has been glorified among the Gentiles, and in every place incense is offered to My name, and a pure offering: for My name is great among the Gentiles, saith the Lord: but ye profane it.' He then speaks of those Gentiles, namely us, who in every place offer sacrifices to Him, i.e., the bread of the Eucharist, and also the cup of the Eucharist, affirming both that we glorify His name, and that you profane . The command of circumcision, again, bidding [them] always circumcise the children on the eighth day, was a type of the true circumcision, by which we are circumcised from deceit and iniquity through Him who rose from the dead on the first day after the Sabbath, [namely through] our Lord Jesus Christ. For the first day after the Sabbath, remaining the first of all the days, is called, however, the eighth, according to the number of all the days of the cycle, and [yet] remains the first.

Accordingly, God, anticipating all the sacrifices which we offer through this name, and which Jesus the Christ enjoined us to offer, i.e., in the Eucharist of the bread and the cup, and which are presented by Christians in all places throughout the world, bears witness that they are well-pleasing to Him. But He utterly rejects those presented by you and by those priests of yours, saying, 'And I will not accept your sacrifices at your hands; for from the rising of the sun to its setting my name is glorified among the Gentiles (He says); but you profane it.' Malachi 1:10-12 Yet even now, in your love of contention, you assert that God does not accept the sacrifices of those who dwelt then in Jerusalem, and were called Israelites; but says that He is pleased with the prayers of the individuals of that nation then dispersed, and calls their prayers sacrifices. Now, that prayers and giving of thanks, when offered by worthy men, are the only perfect and well-pleasing sacrifices to God, I also admit. For such alone Christians have undertaken to offer, and in the remembrance effected by their solid and liquid food, whereby the suffering of the Son of God which He endured is brought to mind, whose name the high priests of your nation and your teachers have caused to be profaned and blasphemed over all the earth. But these filthy garments, which have been put by you on all who have become Christians by the name of Jesus, God shows shall be taken away from us, when He shall raise all men from the dead, and appoint some to be incorruptible, immortal, and free from sorrow in the everlasting and imperishable kingdom; but shall send others away to the everlasting punishment of fire. But as to you and your teachers deceiving yourselves when you interpret what the Scripture says as referring to those of your nation then in dispersion, and maintain that their prayers and sacrifices offered in every place are pure and well-pleasing, learn that you are speaking falsely, and trying by all means to cheat yourselves: for, first of all, not even now does your nation extend from the rising to the setting of the sun, but there are nations among which none of your race ever dwelt. For there is not one single race of men, whether barbarians, or Greeks, or whatever they may be called, nomads, or vagrants, or herdsmen living in tents, among whom prayers and giving of thanks are not offered through the name of the crucified Jesus. And then, as the Scriptures show, at the time when Malachi wrote this, your dispersion over all the earth, which now exists, had not taken place."

Justin: "this is he who is the king of Salem after the order of Melchizedek, and the eternal Priest of the Most High. The former is said to have circumcised the people a second time with knives of stone (which was a sign of this circumcision with which Jesus Christ Himself has circumcised us from the idols made of stone and of other materials), and to have collected together those who were circumcised from the uncircumcision, i.e., from the error of the world, in every place by the knives of stone, to wit, the words of our Lord Jesus. For I have shown that Christ was proclaimed by the prophets in parables a Stone and a Rock. Accordingly the knives of stone we shall take to mean His words, by means of which so many who were in error have been circumcised from uncircumcision with the circumcision of the heart, with which God by Jesus commanded those from that time to be circumcised who derived their circumcision from Abraham, saying that Jesus (Joshua) would circumcise a second time with knives of stone those who entered into that holy land....So that you ought rather to desist from the love of strife, and repent before the great day of judgment come, wherein all those of your tribes who have pierced this Christ shall mourn as I have shown has been declared by the Scriptures. And I have explained that the Lord swore, 'after the order of Melchizedek,' and what this prediction means;"

Irenaeus of Lyon (125-202 AD)

Those who have become acquainted with the secondary (i.e., under Christ) constitutions of the apostles, are aware that the Lord instituted a new oblation in the new covenant, according to [the declaration of] Malachi the prophet. For, from the rising of the sun even to the setting my name has been glorified among the Gentiles, and in every place incense is offered to my name, and a pure sacrifice; Malachi 1:11 as John also declares in the Apocalypse: The incense is the prayers of the saints. Then again, Paul exhorts us to present our bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. Romans 12:1 And again, Let us offer the sacrifice of praise, that is, the fruit of the lips. Hebrews 13:15 Now those oblations are not according to the law, the handwriting of which the Lord took away from the midst by cancelling it; Colossians 2:14 but they are according to the Spirit, for we must worship God in spirit and in truth. John 4:24 And therefore the oblation of the Eucharist is not a carnal one, but a spiritual; and in this respect it is pure. For we make an oblation to God of the bread and the cup of blessing, giving Him thanks in that He has commanded the earth to bring forth these fruits for our nourishment. And then, when we have perfected the oblation, we invoke the Holy Spirit, that He may exhibit this sacrifice, both the bread the body of Christ, and the cup the blood of Christ, in order that the receivers of these antitypes may obtain remission of sins and life eternal. Those persons, then, who perform these oblations in remembrance of the Lord, do not fall in with Jewish views, but, performing the service after a spiritual manner, they shall be called sons of wisdom.

The oblation of the Church, therefore, which the Lord gave instructions to be offered throughout all the world, is accounted with God a pure sacrifice, and is acceptable to Him; not that He stands in need of a sacrifice from us, but that he who offers is himself glorified in what he does offer, if his gift be accepted. For by the gift both honour and affection are shown forth towards the King; and the Lord, wishing us to offer it in all simplicity and innocence, did express Himself thus: Therefore, when you offer your gift upon the altar, and shall remember that your brother has anything against you, leave your gift before the altar, and go your way; first be reconciled to your brother, and then return and offer your gift. Matthew 5:23-24 We are bound, therefore, to offer to God the first-fruits of His creation, as Moses also says, You shall not appear in the presence of the Lord your God empty; Deuteronomy 16:16 so that man, being accounted as grateful, by those things in which he has shown his gratitude, may receive that honour which flows from Him.

And the class of oblations in general has not been set aside; for there were both oblations there [among the Jews], and there are oblations here [among the Christians]. Sacrifices there were among the people; sacrifices there are, too, in the Church: but the species alone has been changed, inasmuch as the offering is now made, not by slaves, but by freemen. For the Lord is [ever] one and the same; but the character of a servile oblation is peculiar [to itself], as is also that of freemen, in order that, by the very oblations, the indication of liberty may be set forth. For with Him there is nothing purposeless, nor without signification, nor without design. And for this reason they (the Jews) had indeed the tithes of their goods consecrated to Him, but those who have received liberty set aside all their possessions for the Lord's purposes, bestowing joyfully and freely not the less valuable portions of their property, since they have the hope of better things [hereafter]; as that poor widow acted who cast all her living into the treasury of God.

Then, again, how can they say that the flesh, which is nourished with the body of the Lord and with His blood, goes to corruption, and does not partake of life? Let them, therefore, either alter their opinion, or cease from offering the things just mentioned. But our opinion is in accordance with the Eucharist, and the Eucharist in turn establishes our opinion. For we offer to Him His own, announcing consistently the fellowship and union of the flesh and Spirit. For as the bread, which is produced from the earth, when it receives the invocation of God, is no longer common bread, but the Eucharist, consisting of two realities, earthly and heavenly; so also our bodies, when they receive the Eucharist, are no longer corruptible, having the hope of the resurrection to eternity.

Ephrem of Edessa (306-373 AD)

To the Angels which are spiritual Abraham brought bodily (Gen. 18), food, and they ate. A new miracle it is, that our mighty Lord giveth to bodily creatures Fire and the Spirit, as food and drink. Fire came down upon sinners in wrath, and consumed them. The Fire of the Merciful in bread cometh down and abideth. Instead of that fire which devoured men ye eat a Fire in bread and are quickened. As fire came down on the sacrifice of Elijah and consumed it, the Fire of Mercy hath become to us a Living Sacrifice'. Fire ate up the oblations, and we, O Lord, have eaten Thy Fire in Thy Oblation.

Nicaea I (325 AD)

Of the table of God and the mystery of the body and blood of Christ, which occurs on it: Likewise, we should not scorn the bread and cup placed on the table of God but should lift up our minds to understand by faith that on that holy table is ‘the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world’ [John 1:29], a bloodless sacrifice by the clergy. Since we truly receive his precious body and blood, we believe they guarantee our resurrection. We do not receive much, but little, so that we realize its purpose is not to satisfy our hunger but to sanctify us.

1662 BCP Eucharistic Rubrics, Exhortations, and Prayer

If a Minister be persuaded that any person who presents himself to be a partaker of the holy Communion ought not to be admitted thereunto by reason of malicious and open contention with his neighbours, or other grave and open sin without repentance, he shall give an account of the same to the Ordinary of the place, and therein obey his order and direction, but so as not to refuse the Sacrament to any person until in accordance with such order and direction he shall have called him and advertised him that in any wise he presume not to come to the Lord's Table; Provided that in case of grave and immediate scandal to the Congregation the Minister shall not admit such person, but shall give an account of the same to the Ordinary within seven days after at the latest and therein obey the order and direction given to him by the Ordinary; Provided also that before issuing his order and direction in relation to any such person the Ordinary shall afford him an opportunity for interview…

Dearly beloved in the Lord, ye that mind to come to the holy Communion of the Body and Blood of our Saviour Christ, must consider how Saint Paul exhorteth all persons diligently to try and examine themselves, before they presume to eat of that Bread, and drink of that Cup. For as the benefit is great, if with a true penitent heart and lively faith we receive that holy Sacrament; (for then we spiritually eat the flesh of Christ, and drink his blood; then we dwell in Christ, and Christ in us; we are one with Christ, and Christ with us;) so is the danger great, if we receive the same unworthily. For then we are guilty of the Body and Blood of Christ our Saviour; we eat and drink our own damnation, not considering the Lord's Body; we kindle God's wrath against us; we provoke him to plague us with divers diseases, and sundry kinds of death. judge therefore yourselves, brethren, that ye be not judged of the Lord; repent you truly for your sins past; have a lively and stedfast faith in Christ our Saviour; amend your lives, and be in perfect charity with all men; so shall ye be meet partakers of those holy mysteries…

I, for my part, shall be ready; and, according to mine Office, I bid you in the Name of God, I call you in Christ's behalf, I exhort you, as ye love your own salvation, that ye will be partakers of this holy Communion. vouchsafe to yield up his soul by death upon the Cross for your salvation; so it is your duty to receive the Communion in remembrance of the sacrifice of his death, as he himself hath commanded: which if ye shall neglect to do, consider with yourselves how great injury ye do unto God, and how sore punishment hangeth over your heads for the same; when ye wilfully abstain from the Lord's Table, and separate from your brethren, who come to feed on the banquet of that most heavenly food...

O Lord and heavenly Father, we thy humble servants entirely desire thy fatherly goodness mercifully to accept this our sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving; most humbly beseeching thee to grant, that by the merits and death of thy Son Jesus Christ, and through faith in his blood, we and all thy whole Church may obtain remission of our sins, and all other benefits of his passion.