ABSTRACT
THE central fact in the piety of the Early Church was the clearness with which the believers perceived Christ’s presence in their midst. He had appeared frequently between the resurrection and the ascension. Even after the latter event He had appeared to S. Stephen, S. Paul, and the seer of the Apocalypse. But whether seen or unseen He was always there. It seemed no presumption for the Council of Jerusalem to say that their own conclusions were those of His Spirit. S. Paul felt Him as the animating power of all his activities. Martyrs like Ignatius and Polycarp went to their death sustained, if not by the sight of Him who is invisible, at least by a firm faith in the real presence of their King who had saved them. 1
