Essential constituents of the content of the liturgical activitiesperformed according to Justin Martyr and their evolution

Jarosław A. Superson SAC

Wydział Teologiczny, UPJPII

Abstract

In the First Apology of Justin Martyr we find information about Christians and their practice of celebrating the Eucharist. In this work, the reading of the word was also described, which consisted of: one reading, preaching, oratio universalis, and also the kiss of peace during the administration of the sacrament of initiation together with the Holy Mass. The author of the article, using sources earlier than the First Apology, as well as those dated over a dozen or several decades after it, tries to present the contemporary state of the liturgy of the word along with its elements and its development. This allowed the identification and closer approach to the essential components of the liturgical activities performed during the Eucharist celebrated in the second century

Keywords:

Saint Justin, the First Apology, Bible reading, preaching, oratio universalis, kiss of peace