but, certainly, the
idea, as it was already developed at the time of Justin, had been
created by the churches. Various reasons tended towards seeing in the
Supper a sacrifice. In the first place, Malachi I. 11, demanded a solemn
Christian sacrifice: see my notes on Didache, 14. 3. In the second
place, all prayers were regarded as sacrifice, and therefore the solemn
prayers at the Supper must be specially considered as such. In the third
place, the words of institution [Greek: touto poieite], contained a
command with regard to a definite religious action. Such an action,
however, could only be represented as a sacrifice, and this the more
that the Gentile Christians might suppose that they had to understand
[Greek: poiein] in the sense of [Greek: thuein]. In the fourth place,
payments in kind were necessary for the "agapae" connected with the
Supper, out of which were taken the bread and wine for the Holy
celebration; in what other aspect could these offerings in the worship
be regarded than as [Greek: prosphorai] for the purpose of a sacrifice?
Yet the spiritual idea so prevailed that only the prayers were regarded
as the [Greek: thusia] proper, even in the case of Justin (Dial. 117).
The elements are only [Greek: dora, prosphorai] which obtain their value
from the prayers, in which thanks are given for the gifts of creation
and redemption, as well as for the holy meal, and entreaty is made for
the introduction of the community into the Kingdom of God (see Didache,
9. 10). Therefore, even the sacred meal itself is called [Greek:
eucharistia] (Justin, Apol. I. 66: [Greek: he trophe haute chaleitai
par' hemin eucharistia]). Didache, 9. 1; Ignat., because it is [Greek:
trophe eucharistetheisa]. It is a mistake to suppose that Justin already
understood the body of Christ to be the object of [Greek: poiein], and
therefore thought of a sacrifice of this body (I. 66). The real
sacrificial act in the Supper consists rather, according to Justin, only
in the [Greek: eucharistian poiein], whereby the [Greek: koinos artos]
becomes the [Greek: artos tes eucharistias]. The sacrifice of the Supper
in its essence, apart from the offering of alms, which in the practice
of the Church was closely united with it, is nothing but a sacrifice of
prayer: the sacrificial act of the Christian here also is nothing else
than an act of prayer (see Apol. I. 13, 65-67; Dial. 28, 29, 41, 70,
116-118).]

[Footnote 289: Justin lays special stress on thi