Before the legalization of Christianity, and before the public churches and basilicas of the fourth century AD, there were only two places the paleo-Christians got together to celebrate their secret Eucharist. It was either in subterranean catacombs like the one I’m about to inspect with Father Francis. Or it was in the house churches, with the doors closed and the curtains drawn. To see how different they were from today’s Mass, the ritual dinners that filled wealthy homes across the Mediterranean deserve a quick review.
