218 ÉTIENNE NODET same time as Apollinarius, and we can speculate that Melito may have stressed the exclusive importance of the lunar calendar of the Temple, with Passover on the following day. In any case, it is remark- able that the problems caused by the Synoptic chronology appeared at such a late stage. Some years previously, ca. 150 CE, we have Justin Martyr’s testi- mony. He explains to Trypho (Dialogue 111:3) : “On that day of Passover you seized him, and also in the Passover you crucified him.” This phrasing hides the contradiction, for it combines both calendars by playing on “Passover”, the feast and the lamb: the first part recalls the Synoptics, but the second part links the crucifixion with the slaughtering of the lambs, before the feast itself. We saw above that he insists on the symbolism of the Paschal lamb, but with a peculiar chronology : the slaughtering of the lamb is done in the middle of the Passover day. This is impossible, but Justin, who hardly lets Trypho expound his own views, is not interested in Jewish rituals. He focuses on the fulfilment of Scripture. For him, Jesus’ Passover culminates with the cross. Elsewhere, Justin describes the Eucharist according to the tradition (Apology I :66) : “For the apostles, in the Memoirs com- posed by them, which are called Gospels, have thus delivered unto us what was enjoined upon them; that Jesus took bread and, when He had given thanks, said, ‘Do this in remembrance of me, this is my body’ etc”. Despite a reference to the Gospels 22, the instruction to repeat the rite comes without any allusion to the Passover, since for him the rite is to be performed weekly, but not anymore within an agape meal 23. These two aspects are close to Paul’s formulation more than to that of the Synoptics’. Let us examine another aspect related to the evolution of the ca- nonical Gospels in the IInd century 24. For a long time, it has been ob- served that the Gospels contain very few allusions to the war of 70 CE. According to a classical view, this is because they had been com- Justin may have used a Gospel harmony, combining early stages of the 22 Gospels, see M.-É. BOISMARD – A. LAMOUILLE, Le Diatessaron. De Tatien à Justin (Paris 1992); D. BARTHÉLEMY, “Justin et le texte de la Bible”, Justin Martyr. Ouvres complètes (Paris 1994) 368-375. See G. DIX, The Shape of the Liturgy (London 1945) 98-102. 23 See E. NORELLI, “Papias de Hiérapolis a-t-il utilisé un recueil canonique 24 des quatre évangiles?”, Le canon du Nouveau Testament. Regards nouveaux sur l’histoire de sa formation (eds. G. ARAGIONE et al.) (Genève 2005) 35-56.