Annotatio IV §.VIII open: Fourth century — Nicene Fathers’ complexus and the Marchic Reformed formula
§.VIII: stepping into the FOURTH century, first remember the Nicene Fathers’ complexus — opening the whole Church’s sentence on the Sacred Supper.
Our Marchic Reformed administration formula seems drawn from it: communicants must not cling to the sensed symbols, but lift the mind’s eyes to heaven and by divine faith hold that souls are fed by Christ’s true substantial body and blood no less than the mouth takes the symbols.
Latin
§. VIII. Ad QUARTI SECULI Testimonia excutienda pedem promoturus, non possum non meminisse primo omnium locô præstantissimi hujusmodi Testimoniorum complexûs, PATRUM NICÆNORUM verbis concepti, totiusque Ecclesiæ ejus temporis christianæ de S. cœna sententiam aperientis; tantóque magis meminisse, quantò certiùs Formulæ administrandi Cœnam S., in Ecclesiis nostris Reformatis Marchicis aliisque receptæ, verba, administrationem ipsam immediatè antecedentia, complexui isti accepta ferenda videntur, quibus nempe Communicantes admonentur, cogitationibus suis non usque adeò Symbolis Sacris, in S. Cœna sensibus evidentissimè expositis, inhærere, sed verò oculos mentis in Cœlum dirigere, certòque certiùs, quin fide divina, statuere atque tenere, animas suas non minus ipso corpore sanguineque Christi veris ac substantialibus, saginari, quàm Symbola S. ore corporis à se assumantur ac percipiantur.