Apostolic & Early Church · AD 101–200
The 2nd-Century Witness to the Real Presence
From AD 101 to 200, 2 voices of the Church — St. Ignatius of Antioch, and St. Justin Martyr — testified that Christ is truly present in the Eucharist. These are their primary-source words, with dates and sources.
St. Ignatius of Antioch
c. 110c. 35 – c. 108 · Bishop of Antioch and martyr, a disciple of the Apostle John
“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.”
Letter to the Smyrnaeans 6:2–7:1 · Read more →
St. Justin Martyr
c. 150c. 100 – c. 165 · Early Christian apologist and martyr
“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.”
First Apology · Read more →