The Cross and the Eucharist in Early Christianity

An investigation on ancient sources (patristic and liturgical) on the Cross and the Eucharist that sheds light on contemporary discussions.

This book is intended for those interested in patristics, liturgy, and sacramental theology: scholars, theology students and seminarians. While making available critical material, it presents a substantial and rich amount of early texts in a comprehensible way, showing their significance for the liturgical debate of the recent decades.The Cross was present at the Eucharist in early Christianity as an idea, a gesture, and an object. Over time, these different actualizations of the quintessential symbol of Christianity have generated important questions about their meaning and function, among them: is the Eucharist a meal and/or a sacrifice? Can the sign of the Cross illuminate the absence of a Roman epiclesis? Is it pertinent -historically and theologically - to use an altar Cross? In this study, Daniel Cardó explores the relation between the Cross and the Eucharist. Offering a thorough and fresh reading of patristic and Roman liturgical texts, he identifies their emphases and common themes on the Cross and the Eucharist, and demonstrates their significance for the liturgical debates of recent decades.