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The earliest visual references to Communion are found in cat- acomb paintings and sarcophagi of the second and third cen- turies; these depict refrigeria (blessed meals), with an emphasis on mutual sharing and celebration. A particularly striking example is the Breaking of the Bread fresco in the Catacomb of Priscilla in Rome (late second century). Depicted are seven fig- ures, of whom at least four, and possibly all, are female. The

Chalice of Abbot Suger of Saint-Denis,

French school, circa 1140, sardonyx, gold, silver gilt, gems, and pearls, Washington, D.C., National Gallery of Art.

(Courtesy of the National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.)

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central figure—definitely a woman—appears to be breaking bread for the company. All seven persons are ranged behind a

sigma (crescent-shaped table) that bears the bread plate, a sec-

ond plate, and a small, two-handled jug or cup. Whether this work represents a generalized heavenly banquet or an actual Eucharist is uncertain, although the scene’s intimate quality— with figures all reclining close together and reaching out to touch one another or the bread—suggests the latter. Another noteworthy portrayal of a blessed banquet with sacramental overtones is in a Christian sarcophagus relief of the late third century, now in the Museo delle Terme in Rome. This time the figures are apparently all male. Three recline close together at an outdoor sigma on which rest three loaves of bread; the ban- queter on the right holds a cup. All three extend their right hands across the top of the table, so they almost touch one another. Their facial expressions are gentle and affectionate. At the far left of the scene is a fourth figure, reaching for more bread from a basket on the ground; while at the far right stands a shepherdlike person (the Good Shepherd?) next to an orant (a male or female figure with arms raised at shoulder height in pious supplication).

Curiously, Jesus’s Last Supper cannot be recognized any- where in art before the sixth century. Depictions of other bibli- cal meals, sacrifices, and offerings that may be construed as symbolic references to the Last Supper begin to appear much earlier, however. Because some believe the multiplication of loaves and fishes (John 6) foreshadows the events of the Last Supper, the motif of juxtaposed bread and fish in certain cata- comb paintings may well be Eucharistic. Similar meanings were attached to the Old Testament miracles of manna in the wilder- ness (Exodus 16:4–36; John 6:31–33, 49–51; I Corinthians 10:3) and water from the Rock of Horeb (Exodus 17:5–7; I Corinthians 10:4–5) and to Habakkuk’s feeding of Daniel in the lions’ den (Bel and the Dragon 33–39), the meal shared by Abraham and the three angels (Genesis 18), and the sacrifices of Abel (Genesis 4), Isaac (Genesis 22), and Melchizedek (Genesis 14:18–20; Psalm 110:4; Hebrews 7). All these events are specifically referred to in Eucharistic prayers of the early church and were portrayed in monumental art from at least the fourth century. Occasionally, the reference to Christ is quite explicit, as in the Melchizedek mosaic (432–440) in the nave of Sta. Maria Maggiore in Rome. Here, as art historian Michael Gough observes, “Melchizedek . . . advances to meet [Abraham] with a basket of loaves. . . . There is a goblet of wine at the high priest’s feet and a bearded, Christ-like figure in the sky above.”

Although the chalice, or common cup of blessing, had been central to Eucharistic celebrations from the very start (I Corinthians 10:16, 21), it is not until the early fourth century that the use of elegant, costly Communion vessels is document- ed. When Roman emperor Diocletian’s persecutions reached a Christian community in Cirta (later Constantine), Algeria, the faithful were forced to surrender a collection of silver and gold chalices and silver liturgical dishes (which presumably included patens, or bread plates). Far more impressive, no doubt, were the liturgical vessels housed in old St. Peter’s in Rome. A liter- ary source describes a great, jeweled “tower” (perhaps a taber- nacle for consecrated bread), above which hovered a golden dove, symbol of the Holy Spirit. Perhaps also from the fourth century—certainly no earlier—is the Antioch Chalice, a large,

silver-gilt cup adorned with relief images of Christ, the Gospel writers, and six apostles, all arranged within a dense and elab- orate thicket of fruited patens, which—along with various other objects for storing, displaying, and serving the elements— would henceforth be a major specialty in Christian art.

The early Byzantine period saw the creation of two impor- tant new Eucharistic subjects in the visual arts. First to appear was the Last Supper, of which the earliest known portrayal is in an early sixth-century nave mosaic at S. Apollinare Nuovo in Ravenna, Italy. Christ and his 12 disciples recline together on a single bench, which curves around a sigma. The sigma is draped with a white cloth (henceforth, a standard motif in Last Suppers) and set with half a dozen small loaves and an immense platter of fish; the cup, oddly enough, is missing. Christ, clad in royal purple, reclines at the far left end of the composition. The direction of his eyes and gesture of his raised right hand indi- cate that he is addressing the company. Directly opposite him reclines Judas, the traitor, his back to the other disciples so that, as iconographer Gertrud Schiller observes, “he has the appear- ance of a twisted counterpart to Christ.” The remaining 11 fig- ures are tightly packed together behind the sigma; the four clos- est to Christ look solemnly at him, while the rest turn their accusing gaze toward Judas. A related but slightly more subtle treatment of the Last Supper occurs in a painted miniature in the Codex Purpureus Rossanensis (circa 550–575). In this ver- sion, Judas reclines among the faithful, but his eager gesture of reaching into the dish (a massive gold bowl) at the table’s cen- ter identifies him; so, too, does Christ’s arm, outstretched in his direction. The motif of Christ pointing out the traitor (Matthew 26:23) was to become immensely popular in Western art, as did the convention—seen here for the first time—of plac- ing the beloved disciple John next to his Lord’s side.

Whereas the Last Supper was destined to be shown quite commonly in both Eastern and Western church art, the second new Eucharistic scene to emerge in the sixth century was for a long time restricted to Byzantium alone. This was the Communion of the apostles, which forms the subject of another miniature in the Codex Purpureus Rossanensis. In the two-page composition, six apostles move to the left to receive bread from the risen Christ, while another six move to the right to receive wine from him (Christ’s image is shown twice). Judas, of course, is absent from this scene, having been replaced by Paul. Christ feeds the apostles directly—there is no table or altar—and, although they bow deeply as they move toward him, they also smile as befits the great thanksgiving. Prophets appear below, and accompanying Old Testament texts (written on hanging scrolls) carry references to divinely given bread and wine.

A somewhat more formal treatment of the communing apostles theme can be viewed on the Stuma Paten and the Riha

Paten (565–578), which, despite obvious differences in style,

are iconographically quite close. In each composition, rendered in relief on a silver-gilt surface, two identical figures of Christ stand behind a draped central altar. They bend outward to dis- pense bread (on the right) and wine (on the left) to the clus- tered, bowing apostles. Peter and Paul are first to be served, with bread and wine, respectively. Peter’s gesture of holding the bread in his right hand while cupping his left underneath, sym- bolizing Christ’s throne as present in the sacrament, is well worth noting. The gesture was to have a very long liturgical (and iconographic) history in all Christendom.

Most middle and late Byzantine portrayals of the com- muning apostles theme are derived from the same iconograph- ic source as the sixth-century patens. Minor variations includ- ed replacing the twin Christs with a single Christ or adding angels who act as deacons. The communing apostles occur not only in manuscript paintings, patens, and painted icons but also in mosaic—for instance, in the apse of the Church of Hagia Sophia in Kiev, Ukraine (circa 1051–1100)—and in the dalmatic of Charlemagne (early fifteenth century), a blue silk clerical vestment embroidered with threads of gold. The Kiev mosaicist has placed a large figure of the Virgin Mary directly above the communing apostles, so that viewers can recall the different ways in which Christ has become present on Earth. The maker of the vestment combined the imagery of apostolic Communion (shown on both shoulders) with the splendor of Christ Transfigured and the glory of Christ Enthroned on high among angels and saints.