Origin of the Eucharist line of development from the established Eucharist of later centuries back close to the time of the historical Jesus. Paul F. Bradshaw argues in "Eucharistic Origins" that it is not until after the 1st century and much later in some areas that the Eucharist and the Last Supper became placed in a relation of dependence: many Eucharists did not relate to the Paschal mystery and/or the Last Supper. On the other hand, in the middle of the 1st century Paul the Apostle explicitly placed the celebration of the Lord's Supper in relation to what Jesus did on the night he
Origin of the Eucharist and beliefs regarding the Eucharist took definitive shape as central to Christian worship. At first, they spread through word of mouth, but within a generation Christians had begun writing about Jesus and about Christian practice, the Eucharist included. The theology of the Eucharist and its role as a sacrament developed during this period. Basing himself on the "First Apology" and the "Dialogue with Trypho" of Justin Martyr writing around 150 AD, K.W. Noakes deduces the following liturgical structure was in use at that time: This corresponds in general outline to the structure of the rite as used today and is