No one may share the eucharist with us unless he
believes that what we teach is true, unless he is washed in the regenerating
waters of baptism for the remission of his sins, and unless he lives in
accordance with the principles given us by Christ.
We do not consume the eucharistic bread and wine as
if it were ordinary food and drink, for we have been taught that as Jesus Christ
our Savior became a man of flesh and blood by the power of the Word of God, so
also the food that our flesh and blood assimilates for its nourishment becomes
the flesh and of the incarnated Jesus by the power of his own words contained in
the prayer of thanksgiving.
The apostles, in their recollections, which are
called the gospels, handed down to us what Jesus commanded them to do. They tell
us that he took bread, gave thanks and said: Do this in memory of me, This is my
body. In the same way he took the cup, he gave thanks and said: This is my
blood. The Lord gave this command to them alone. Ever since then we have
constantly reminded one another of these things. The rich among us help the poor
and we are always united. For all that we receive we praise the Creator of the
universe through his Son Jesus Christ and through the Holy Spirit.
On Sunday we have a common assembly of all our
members, whether they live in the city or in the outlying districts. The
recollections of the apostles or the writing of the prophets are read, as long
as there is time. When the reader has finished, the president of the assembly
speaks to us; he urges everyone to imitate the examples of virtue we have heard
in the readings. Then we all stand up together and pray.
On the conclusion of our prayer, bread and wine and
water are brought forward. The president offers prayers and gives thanks to the
best of his ability, and the people give their assent by saying, "Amen." The
eucharist is distributed, everyone present communicates, and the deacons take it
to those who are absent.
The wealthy, if they wish, may make a contribution,
and they themselves decide the amount. The collection is placed in the custody
of the president, who uses it to help the orphans and widows and all who for any
reason are in distress, whether because they are sick, in prison, or away from
home. In a word, he takes care of all who are in need.
We hold our common assembly on Sunday because it is
the first day of the week, the day on which God put darkness and chaos to flight
and created the world, and because on the same day our savior Jesus Christ rose
from the dead. For he was crucified on Friday and on Sunday he appeared to his
apostles and disciples and taught them the things that we have passed on for
your consideration.
