Page:History of the Nonjurors.djvu/355

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History of the Nonjurors.
337

Holy Eucharist. "The bread," says he, "before consecration is called bread, but after it has passed through the force of the solemnity and been consecrated by the Priest, it is then discharged from the name of bread, and dignified by the name of the Lord's body, though the nature of the bread still remains in it." And thus by the form of the expression and the application of the instance, he shews clearly that he believed the nature or substance of bread remained, after the consecration. Theodoret, who is the last Greek father we shall mention, has a passage full to the same purpose. It is in his second dialogue between Orthodoxus and Eranistes: the latter of these two persons represents an Eutychian. Now by the doctrine of the Eutychian heresy our Saviour's human nature was absorbed in the Divine. To make good this point Eranistes argues from the change of the elements in the Holy Eucharist. "As the symbols of our Saviour's body," says he, "are one thing before the invocation of the Priest, but after the Prayer of consecration has passed upon them, they are changed and become another, so our Lord's body after his ascension is changed into the divine substance." "You are catched in your own net," replies Orthodoxus, who stands for Theodoret. Ουδε γαρ μετα τὸν ἁγιας μον τα μυστικα συμβολα τὴς οιχιας εξισταται φυσεας μενει γας επι της προτερας ουσιας, &c. That is, "the mysterious symbols dont lose their nature upon consecration, but continue in their former substance." And to apply this matter farther, it is well known St. Chrysostom and Theodoret were never charged with any unorthodoxy or singularity of opinion with regard to the Holy Eucharist. We may therefore safely conclude, that their opinions in the matter were no other than the Catholic doctrine