The memorial service once a year or once a week? Which is apostolic? (page 3)

Elsewhere

Jesus only did it once every 33 years. If that's good enough for him then it should be good enough for you!

Narkissos

The Christians of Asia Minor were called Quartodecimans [Fourteenthers] from their custom of celebrating the pascha [Lord’s Evening Meal] invariably on the 14th of Nisan . . .

I can't believe they wrote that.

Pascha of course doesn't mean the "Lord's Evening Meal" (= Cene or Eucharist) but (the Christian) Passover = Easter. The Quartodeciman issue is about the date of Easter, not the Eucharist. Afaik the Quartodecimans celebrated the Eucharist at least each week like all the 2nd century Christians...

Speak of "misrepresentation brackets"!

greendawn

Narkissos that was well spotted, it is a classical act of mispresentation and deception that intentional confusing together of the Eucharist and the christian Pascha (easter). Can the GB validly deny that the early Christians celebrared the Eucharist? Of course not. Listener thanks, that was a very useful WT text that you found.

jaffacake

As a young seventh day adventist I celebrated the eucharist once a year at the time of the passover. Yes, it was we adventists who taught the early JWs everything they know now, especially the wrong stuff. Before partaking of the bread and wine (grape juice as we were 100% teetotal) all the men went into one small room, and all the women into another. There we washed each others' feet. I vividly remember at 15 or 16 having my feet washed by one of the elders, and me returning the gesture.

Which reminds me...my only ever visit to a KH was at last year's memorial. I was shocked and astounded at several things, not least by the text of the day not even referring to Jesus Christ whose memorial we were supposed to be commemorating. No the text was about the FDS appointment. Not even on that one day could the text honour him!

Narkissos

Jaffacake,

I thought the SDAs celebrated the Eucharist four times a year (as some Calvinists do):

See http://www.sdanet.org/atissue/books/27/27-15.htm (footnote 19)

barry

Jaffacake What type of SDA were you ? Every SDA church that I know celebrates commumion 4 times a year and I should know Im one myself. I never like the footwashing much though. Actually SDAs have open communion so anyone from other denominations can partake even JWs. Barry

greendawn

Jaffa that goes to show how little regard the JWs have for Jesus and why some people accuse them of being Judaism under a Christian guise.

TheListener

Narkissos and Greendawn,

Do you have any information on the quartodecimans and how often the celebrated the pascha and eucharist?

TheListener

*** w03 2/15 p. 14 Why Observe the Lord’s Evening Meal? ***

11

So, then, it is appropriate to observe the Memorial annually on Nisan 14. Says one reference work: "The Christians of Asia Minor were called Quartodecimans [Fourteenthers] from their custom of celebrating the pascha [Lord’s Evening Meal] invariably on the 14th of Nisan . . . The date might fall on Friday or on any of the other days of the week."—The New Schaff-Herzog Encyclopedia of Religious Knowledge, Volume IV, page 44.

The WTS puts the words "fourteenthers" and "Lord's Evening Meal" in brackets because they don't exist in the cited text. I can't seem to put the link to the publication up but if you search for it you can find the encyclopedia online and read page 44 for yourself. It makes it pretty clear that the discussion wasn't about the Lord's Evening Meal but Easter.

I'm blown away by this blatant misrepresentation. I never even thought about checking this out. I shouldn't be surprised but I am.

AuldSoul

Narkissos: Pascha of course doesn't mean the "Lord's Evening Meal" (= Cene or Eucharist) but (the Christian) Passover = Easter. The Quartodeciman issue is about the date of Easter, not the Eucharist. Afaik the Quartodecimans celebrated the Eucharist at least each week like all the 2nd century Christians...

That matches what I found, Narkissos. Pascha was the celebration for the sacrifice of the Paschal Lamb which JWs and Christians alike believed was the antetype of Jesus, whose blood also saves from death.

So JWs stretch and stretch and stretch the truth until it can stretch no farther, then, what they are left with they nudge into a barely untruth. Easter has nothing whatever to do with the Eucharist, and never did. Does anyone have the encyclopedia reference in question from which to fill in the context? I am curious to see what the full text says.

Respectfully,
AuldSoul

The memorial service once a year or once a week? Which is apostolic?

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