The Early Church Liturgy During the Apostolic Age

The Apostolic Age, spanning from the death of Christ (c. 30 AD) to the death of the last apostle, St. John (c. 100 AD), was a formative period in the history of the Christian Church, during which the foundations for Christian worship were laid. This period was characterized by the oral transmission of Christ's teachings, the establishment of communities of believers, and the development of practices that would eventually become standardized in the liturgy of the Catholic Church. The early Christian liturgy, deeply rooted in Jewish worship, was simultaneously a response to Christ's salvific work and a means of fostering unity within a burgeoning community that had no earthly ruler but Christ Himself.

The earliest Christian worship was predominantly communal and took place in private homes, often under the threat of persecution from the Roman authorities. The liturgy, at this stage, was simple but profound, focusing on the remembrance of the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, and the hope of eternal life through Him. The central act of Christian worship during the Apostolic Age was the Eucharist, which was celebrated in a manner that closely resembled the Jewish Passover meal, a connection that would shape the future of Christian liturgy. The Eucharist, alongside baptism, served as the two primary sacraments of the early Church, marking the initiation and participation of the faithful in the life of Christ.

A crucial element in understanding early Christian worship is the continuity with the Jewish traditions from which Christianity emerged. Jesus Himself was a Jew, and His early followers, including the apostles, were immersed in Jewish liturgical practices. The synagogues served as the locations for the early gatherings of Christians who, while initially continuing to observe the Jewish Sabbath and other feasts, gradually distinguished themselves from Judaism as they became followers of Christ. The early Christian liturgy thus bears a dual character?both a fulfillment and a transformation of Jewish worship. The Eucharistic meal, for instance, was not simply a Jewish Passover meal, but rather a new covenant in Christ's blood, transforming the old ritual into a living memorial of the Passion and Resurrection.