But that is not all.  As Christians we have received from Our Lord his unqualified command to take our part in the Eucharist, “Do this in remembrance of me”; and while it is true that one can pray, read the Bible or sing hymns alone, whether at home or out of doors, one can obey his command “Do this” only within the fellowship of the Church, the gathered Family of Christ.

For that reason, as in the Early Church, so today, to take one’s part in the Eucharist is a necessary part of one’s loyalty to Christ.  Those who persecuted the Church in the first centuries recognised that fact, and that is why they destroyed the churches and concentrated against the communicants.

We have the transcript of a trial in North Africa of 49 Christians who were arrested in the house of one Octavius Felix while they were celebrating the Eucharist.  They were sent for trial before the provincial governor on a charge of being “…Christians who, contrary to the decree of the Emperors and Caesars, had frequented the Lord’s assembly…”.

When it was Felix’s turn to be questioned the governor said to him, “I do not need to ask whether you are a Christian…You can hold your tongue about being a Christian: but, tell me, were you one of the congregation?” (our emphasis).  Whereupon Felix replied, “As if a Christian could exist without the Eucharist, or the Eucharist without a Christian…We attended our assembly right gloriously”.  And the account continues, “Seriously perturbed at this confession, Anulinus (the governor) had him beaten to death with clubs...”. (1)  The date was February 12th 304 AD, ten months after the martyrdom of St George many miles away in Palestine.