There are indeed a lot of spirituality
been practiced in and outside of one’s religion. For instance, the spirituality
in one’s religion differs to the other religions in the world. Why read about
the spirituality in the Early Church and what can this teach us about the
scriptures and faith? It is easy to underestimate the contributions of the past
and to exaggerate the wisdom of the present. Can we trust the Christian
teachers of the early church period? Did they read the scriptures well? Did
their own cultural and religious blind spots prevent them from understanding
the heart of the gospel?
Today there is a renewed interest in the
writings of the early church Fathers among Protestants,
Catholics, and Orthodox. Many are rediscovering the rich treasure of wisdom and
insight of the early church scholars, pastors, and teachers who devoted their
lives to the study of scriptures and the spirituality of the people. The early
fathers had a tremendous zeal for God and the Scriptures. What we see dose up
because of their access to the teachings of the apostles and the disciples of
the apostles who also passed on their wisdom and insight.
Here below are discussed area about the
spirituality of the early church, thus, I would be basing my arguments and
topic on the three most interesting areas. These areas are; a background of the
Apostolic Fathers, Christian life and Christian Gnosticism. Followed by these
areas is also to contrast and compare between the spirituality of the Early and
Modern Church.
In the Didache or Teaching of the
Twelve Apostles, written sometime between 70 and 100, we find a great deal of
information about the Christian life in the early Church. It mentions, for
example, the organization of the hierarchy that emerged at this period:
apostles, prophets, doctors, bishops, priests and deacons. The moral teaching
of the Didache is explicit and severe, as a protection, no doubt, against the
immorality and superstition of the pagan world in which the early Christians
lived. It is probable that, except for the Gospel of St. John, Letters and the
Book of Revelation, the entire New Testament was composed before the writing of
the Didache is an important link between the Acts of the Apostles and the
Apostolic Fathers, and it is to their writings that we turn for a more detailed
description of the spirituality of the early church.
o
The Apostolic Fathers
The works of the earliest Christian
writers, called the “Apostolic Fathers,” were a transmission of the teachings
of the apostles. These fathers are believed to have personally known some of
the Twelve Apostles, or to have been significantly influenced them.
It’s been seen and realized that most
of their writings and works at the time period and geographical location as
other works of early Christian literature. One interesting fact is, though
their writings were popular in the New Testament.
The following writing, are generally
grouped together as having been written by the Apostolic Fathers;
§ The Epistle of Diognetus
§ Letters attributed to Clement of Rome
(First Epistle and Second Epistle of Clement)
§ The Didache
§ The Epistle of Barnabas
§ Seven epistles attributed to Ignatius
of Antioch
§ The Epistle of Polycarp
§ The Martyrdom of Polycarp
§ The Shepherd of Hermas
The patrologist Coteher seems to have
been the first to classify some of the early writers as “Apostolic Fathers” (in
1672). He listed them as follows:
Barnabas, considered by ancient writers
such as St. Clement and Origen to be the apostle by the same name and companion
of ST. Paul, but modern criticism rejects the theory and refers to
pseudo-Barnabas who was an intellectual and possibly a Gnostic. He was the
author of a work consisting of 21 chapters and known as the Letter of Barnabas.
St. Clement of Rome, the third
successor of St. Peter as Bishop of Rome, who addressed a Letter to the Church
of Corinth in the year 95 or 96, during or immediately after the persecution by
Domitian. The occasion of the Letter was the division caused in the Church of
Corinth by certain proud, ambitious and envious members.
In any case, Hermas (author of The
Shepherd), St. Ignatius of Antioch, St. Polycarp, and the Didache are some
other sources of the “Apostolic Fathers”.
o
Christian Life
First of all, early Christian
spirituality was Christocentric, both because the words and deeds of Christ
were still fresh in the minds of Christians and because Christians lived in
anticipation of the return of the risen Christ. In the liturgical context of
the Eucharist, prayer and biblical homily the presence of Christ was felt or
experienced.
Secondly, early Christian spirituality
was eschatological, for the primary concern of the first Christians was
vigilantly prepared for the Parousia or second coming of Christ. A lot were in
the church in the vigil, because of the fear they had and felt the Parousia was
imminent, their lives were lived differently.
Thirdly, primitive Christian
spirituality was ascetical, but the word “ascetical” should be understood in
its original meaning of the practice and growth of the virtues rather than acts
of austerity and self-denial. Later, asceticism would develop into a way of
life practiced by a particular class of people within the Church, but inn these
early days asceticism was a logical consequence of the Christocentric and
eschatological aspects of Christian spirituality.
Following the teaching of St. Paul, St.
Ignatius of Antioch had urged the initiation of Christ as a duty for all
Christians. Martyrdom, of course, was considered the supreme example of the
imitation of Christ, and of this, St. Ignatius gives a clearest and most
inspiring testimony; but for the generality of Christians as yet untouched by
persecution, the imitation of Christ was achieved by the practice of virtue.
Finally, early Christian spirituality
was communal. The common life of the Church was such, right from the beginning
of the Acts of the Apostles. Another requirement to live this in the very
nature of the Eucharistic liturgy and common prayer. The testimony of the Acts
of the Apostles can be found in the text Acts 2:42-47.
o
Christian Gnosticism
Gnosticism was merely the last
“incarnation” of a very old belief system, going back at least to the 6th
century BCE and probably much further even than that. It is said that; belief was known by as
Orpheunism, named after the Greek hero Orpheus. Orpheus as the son of Zeus, and
incredibly skilled musician.
Unfortunately, the majority of Orphean
beliefs are lost to us. This is not merely because of late Christian
eradication of any record of them, but because they did not generally put their
teachings in writing. The earliest Orpheans used music, songs and poetry, via
oral tradition, to convey their teachings. They appear to have depended on
songs, thereafter.
The Orphean version of Christianity did
not emerge as a distinct Christian movement, until late second century CE. By
this time it went by name “Gnostic”, from the Greek word ‘gnosis’ meaning
‘knowledge, to know’. Which is referring to its quest for knowledge of the
divine.
Although it had a label, Gnosticism was
not a comprehensive package of doctrines, but rather, simply a mystical,
Orphean-inspired approach to the spirituality of Christians. As such, not all
Gnostics were actually ‘heretical’ or teaching things that other Christians did
not.
Perhaps the greatest issue diving
Gnosticism from mainstream Christianity, in addition to the “secret doctrines”,
was Docetism, which is to say the belief that Jesus did not actually die.
Gnostics claimed that Jesus had never actually come in true physical form. For
if he had, he would have been corrupted by the inherent evil of the physical-
but that his bodily existence had been merely an illusion.
In fact, another interesting aspect is
that many Christians even of the mainstream variety were Docetists. Among them
was Origen, a Church Father whose writings show a good deal of varieties among
Gnostic congregations.
Some
Contrast and Comparison of the spirituality of the Early and Modern Church
First, one uncomfortable value
trumpeted by the early Christians was their view of the Church as a family. The
first Christians saw themselves as brothers and sisters and mothers and fathers
to everyone who was part of the Christian community. This is of course, well
known to anyone who reads the New Testament.
In the first century, the family unit
extended far beyond the nuclear family and was held together by an
unconditional bond of commitment and service. You did not have to like your
relatives, but you were expected to love them.
It’s within this context that Jesus and
Paul blew open the doors of the home and welcomed in all believers as brothers
and sisters. They created a new focus on the family that extended far beyond
one’s nuclear relatives and included people of every race and social strata who
gave their allegiance to the risen Christ.
Secondly, many churches today special
most of their reverence on salaries, building mortgages and other material
supplements to ministry. For instance, look at any Church budget and you will
probably find 1 or 2 parent of church funds allocated to benevolence- helping
poor people in need. Maybe another 5 percent, or 10 percent at best, is given to
needs outside the church that on some level help the poor.
But such distribution of funds runs
counter opposite to how the early church spent its money. The New Testament
talks a lot about giving money but rarely- it ever talks about giving money
toward a building.
Another modern value that was unknown
to the early church is militarism. Militarism refers to the “belief or desire
that a country should maintain a strong military capability and be prepared to
use it aggressively to defend or promote national interests.” There’s no doubt
about it- militarism profoundly shapes American values.
But the early Church was unmistakably
not militaristic. Early Christians were never fascinated with the power of the
Roman military; rather, they belong to the rhythm of the cross, where evil is
conquered not by swords and spears but by suffering and love.
Let me summarize. Many evangelicals know
little or nothing about the spirituality of the early Church. These ancient
writers were the early Christians who taught and wrote about the Church
Fathers, Christian life, Christian Gnosticism, to mention but a few. In fact, they
also contributed to the sacred truths of the faith in the centuries after the
death of the apostles and the Gnostics. And so, it is of that importance for
one to discover and research on the impact of the spirituality of the early
church.
