MythicMithraic sacraments: communion and Sunday worship
UBMithraic ritual as proto-Christian practice
Mithraic ritual as proto-Christian practice = Mithraic sacraments: communion and Sunday worship
The Connection
The UB identifies Mithraic sacramental practice as a direct precursor to Christian ritual. Mithraism practiced a sacred meal of bread and wine, designated Sunday as its holy day (the day of the Sun), and organized its worship around initiatory sacraments. These practices were absorbed into Christianity rather than independently invented.
UB Citation
Academic Source
Clauss, The Roman Cult of Mithras (2000); Lease, Mithraism and Christianity (1980)
Historical Evidence(Strong evidence)
The UB draws explicit parallels between Mithraic and Christian ritual. Manfred Clauss documents the Mithraic sacred meal (bread, water, and sometimes wine), Sunday observance, and graded initiatory system. Gary Lease examines the "complex interplay" between Mithraic and Christian practice in the 2nd-4th centuries CE. Justin Martyr (c. 150 CE) himself noted the Mithraic communion parallel and attributed it to demonic imitation, acknowledging the pre-Christian origin of the practice.
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