I suppose I should have posted this on Maundy Thursday, but I had other commitments. The rather provocative title of this YouTube clip, introduced by a scholar, is "The Greco-Roman origins of the Eucharist". Originally, the Christian eucharist was a real meal, similiar in many ways to Greco-Roman social events. The presenter points out that terms such as ekklesia (usually translated "church") or episkopos ("bishop") were common pagan terms for citizen assemblies and their supervisors, respectively. Indeed, the word used to designate the Lord´s Supper in the Bible simply means (any) "banquet" in Greek. Note also that early Christian apologists explicitly compared the Christian rituals to pagan ditto, accusing the latter of having "stolen" them from the Church! But the pagan rituals were part and parcel of communal meals...
There seems to be documentary evidence for the more sacramental version of the Lord´s Supper evolving gradually over a longer time-period. Interestingly, some Christians didn´t use wine in the eucharist but preferred water. While this was often associated with heresy, the proto-orthodox Church (especially in North Africa) was split on the issue. If read carefully, even Paul´s epistles could be read as to imply that wine wasn´t absolutely necessary for the eucharist/meal.
It seems sacramentalism and sacerdotalism are "Catholic" deviations from primitive Christianity. At least in the forms we know them today. After all, the entire communal meal was seen as sacred, so in *that* sense, the earliest Christians were also sacramental.
Make of this information whatever you wish.
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