The Early Church and the World

1969 ◽  
Vol 38 (2) ◽  
pp. 242-247
Author(s):  
Robert M. Grant

Our text is taken from one of the valuable and important articles by Hans van Campenhausen now presented in English under the title Tradition and Life in the Church. These essays deal with aspects of church life from Easter to the early middle ages and reflect their author's learning and sober judgment on such diverse topics as early Christian aceticism, church order, military service, images, and priesthood (the problem of the character indelebilis). At the beginning of an interesting study of “Augustine and the Fall of Rome.”

2006 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 131-168
Author(s):  
Giuliano Volpe

Two Early Christian complexes will be presented here: one urban (San Pietro in Canosa), and one rural (San Giusto in the territory of Lucera). Both cases represent clear evidence of the Christianising policy promoted by the Church in the cities and countryside, especially during the 5th and 6th centuries A.D., which led to a new definition of urban and rural landscapes. The Early Christian complex of San Pietro in Canosa—the most important city in Apulia et Calabria in Late Antiquity—and the Early Christian complex of San Giusto, most likely the seat of a rural diocese, are notable expressions of ecclesiastical power in the city and the countryside during the transitional period between Late Antiquity and the Early Middle Ages.


Vox Patrum ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 62 ◽  
pp. 81-92
Author(s):  
Bogdan Czyżewski

The theme of this paper is the exegesis of Gen 2:1-3 in selected writings of the Church Fathers and early Christian writers. The Early Church authors pon­dered over the passage in question, seeking to find the meaning of God’s resting on the seventh day from all his work of creation of the world and man. In their statements, early Christian writers clearly stated that the Biblical text should be read spiritually while treated as a metaphor. For God does not need rest, but man. It is for man that the Creator made the Sabbath day, and made it holy, and since the Resurrection of Christ, Sunday has been a holy day designated for rest and celebration. Concurrently, it was the announcement of the eighth day, or eternity, in which a man, free from all the trouble and bodily decay, will forever rest in God and live a true union with Him.


Author(s):  
Angelo Nicolaides

A critical question to be asked in the modern world is whether or not women should have leadership roles in churches. Saint Paul teaches us that we should have a vision of a church that is unified and which embraces diversity. When he discusses the various gifts of grace within the church in Ephesians (4:11), he is by no means suggesting that the roles of the gifted are linked to gender. It is however also clear from the holy scriptures that no woman was selected to be an apostle. Nonetheless, the Eastern Orthodox Church recognizes that there were a number of woman who were equal in status to the apostles, inter-alia, Saint Helena and Saint Mary Magdalene. In the Graeco-Roman world of New Testament Palestine, religion operated in a highly paternalistic and patriarchal society in which there was often much debate on issues of sexuality and the belief that women per se were not suitable to serve in ecclesial roles was commonplace. When it came to widows however, they enjoyed somewhat of a special status and were able to serve in a particular manner which was deemed to be acceptable. The widows in the early Church provide a thought-provoking Christian character, which springs from their innate desire to do good deeds and from their austere practices that point to solid Christian discipleship even though they functioned honorifically. This article investigates what the Didascalia Apostolorum has to say concerning the status and function of widows in early church life. The Order of Widows which existed in the early Church decayed in importance at the advent of the fourth century, as numerous of its functions were adopted by deaconesses. If we accept that human beings have natures which are created in the imageo Dei, then women are invariably equal in their humanity to men. Why is it then that they are precluded from serving as priests or other ecclesial orders in various denominations? A historical-critical methodology was employed in this brief study making use of literature emanating from academic journals, theological books, early church documents and a range of online sources. This article hopefully enables the reader to develop a great understanding of early Christian widows as consecrated women, serving the Church and God.


Rusin ◽  
2021 ◽  
pp. 13-33
Author(s):  
V.V. Vasilik ◽  

The article presents the first Russian commented translation of St. Niceta of Remesiana’s treatise “On the Benefirt of Psalmody”. St. Nicetas of Remesiana (350–420) was the Apostle of Dacians, Getes, Goths, and, possibly, Early Slavs. His treatese justifies the practice of psalmody in the Early Church and describes an Early Christian vigil in the Balkan-Carpathian region. The translation is preceded by a research on St. Nicetas of Remesiana’s life and oeuvre as well as the particularities of the treatese under study, its historical and liturgical context. According to the treatese, there was an opposition to the practice of All-Night Vigils in the Balkans, while the arguments for the defense of vigils were largely drawn from the writings of Basil of Caesarea. The treatese contains indications of the antiphonic method of Church Chant singing, which spread from Phenicia and Syria throughout the Christian world in the 4th century. The order of the Matins reconstructed in the treatese is similar to the Gallican rite on the one hand (Ode to Jeremiah) and, on the other hand, to the Jerusalem liturgical tradition (the composition and sequence of the other Odes mentioned in the treatese), which can be connected with phenomenon of pilgrimage. In general, the treatese is an important source on the church life of the Balkan-Carpathian region.


1973 ◽  
Vol 10 ◽  
pp. 21-37
Author(s):  
Kathleen Hughes

Ireland was odd in the early middle ages. She lay on the outer edge of the world, the survivor of that Celtic civilisation which had once covered much of the west. She had never immediately known the pervading influence of Rome, which continued in so many ways for so long after the Roman empire collapsed. Christianity had reached her rather early (there were enough christians to make it worth while to send a continental bishop, Palladius, in 431) and it came before many of the developments which determined the nature of monasticism in early medieval Europe. Ireland’s political and social organisation were somewhat different from those of the Germanic peoples of the west; and though the early church in Ireland had an episcopal, diocesan structure, within two hundred years or so of its inception it had been fundamentally modified by native Irish laws and institutions. It is therefore not surprising to find that both Ireland’s sanctity and her secularity had peculiar features.


1959 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 21-31
Author(s):  
R.P.C. Hanson

There is an old tradition which can be traced back to the Middle Ages that the moon is made of green cheese. If we are to take as authentic all the traditions in all the old inns of England to the effect that Queen Elizabeth I slept a night in them, then we shall have to envisage that queen as spending most of her reign in bed. In other words, the word tradition is today used very loosely and vaguely, and there is such a thing as unreliable tradition as well as authentic tradition. These facts apply to tradition in the early Church as well as to other sorts of tradition. Indeed, we are sometimes tempted to ask whether there was such a thing as a consistent tradition of doctrine in the early Christian centuries, for some evidence suggests that there was not, or at any rate that ‘the tradition of the Church’, is not an easy phenomenon to identify in the early centuries. Justin Martyr, for instance, says that all orthodox Christians believe in a literal Kingdom of Christ which is to last on this earth in a restored Jerusalem for a thousand years. Origen says that it was part of the Apostles' teaching that accounts of such a Kingdom should be allegorised. Which of them is reproducing the tradition of the Church? Or (as seems to me most likely) are they both either exaggerating or mistaken and is neither reproducing it? Again, both Clement of Alexandria and Origen claim that the necessity of allegorising the Scriptures is part of the rule of faith.


1946 ◽  
Vol 39 (3) ◽  
pp. 189-212 ◽  
Author(s):  
Roland H. Bainton

The attitude of the early church toward the problem of participation in warfare has been not a little studied and controverted. The data with regard to participation and the attitude toward it have been assiduously compiled by a series of investigators among whom four may be mentioned for their distinctive and permanent contributions. Adolf Harnack in his Militia Christi pointed out that the early Christians rejected the militia of the world in favor of the militia of Christ. In theory the Church was pacifist until the time of Constantine though in practice some Christians were in the legions. James Moffatt in the course of a fruitful survey called attention to the shift in early Christianity from marital to martial metaphors. Whereas in the Old Testament infidelity was called adultery, in the New Testament and the early church it is described as desertion. Such militant terminology could be used by the early Christians “without the slightest risk of misconception” because their pacifist principles were so well known. C. J. Cadoux in The Early Christian Attitude to War set the entire problem in the broad context of theological and political thinking. His work remains the indispensable point of departure for all subsequent investigation. Leclercq supplied in French translation the recorded acts of the soldier martyrs and the texts of the extant inscriptions which mention Christians in the army.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ferdinan Pasaribu

Tema kita pada minggu ini ialah “Saksi Itu Mempertaruhkan Hidup”. Sehingga jika berangkat dalam logika tema ini, kemungkinan besar bahwa ada seorang jemaat Kristus pada akhir-akhir ini yang tidak lagi setia menjadi seorang saksi Kristus. Mungkin saja oleh karena beratnya tekanan hidup, mengalami banyak tantangan atau lebih tertarik pada perkara dunia. Seperti halnya dalam cerita (2 Timotius. 4: 10) mengisahkan seorang pelayan Kristus yang meninggalkan pelayanannya oleh karena ia (Demas) lebih mencintai dunia dibanding Kristus. Secara sederhana “Seorang Saksi Kristus” haruslah (Mengikuti jejak-Nya) setiap waktu dan sampai selamanya. Setiap orang yang telah ditebuh oleh Kristus secara langsung telah terlibat dalam Panggilan Gereja yaitu menjadi saksi (1 Pet. 2: 9). Kehadiran saksi-saksi Kristus ditengah dunia akan menjadi terang. Terang yang mengubah setiap manusia.Salah satu “Panggilan Gereja” ialah menjadi SAKSI dan BERSINAR bagi dunia. Dan hal itu haruslah dimulai dari keluarga kita. GEREJA yang kuat dan dewasa adanya kehidupan jemaat yang (1) Hanya suka memberi (2) Rajin pelayanan (3) Rajin ibadah, Dll. Tapi GEREJA yang kuat dan dewasa juga haruslah RAJIN BERSAKSI. Karena Fondasi gereja yang kuat terletak pada (Iman, Persekutuan, Pelayanan, Kesaksian Hidup).Our theme for this week is "Witnesses Risking Life". So if we go into the logic of this theme, it is very likely that there is a church of Christ recently who is no longer a faithful witness of Christ. Maybe because of the heavy pressure of life, experiencing many challenges or being more interested in world affairs. As in the story (2 Timothy 4:10) tells of a servant of Christ who leaves his ministry because he (Demas) loves the world more than Christ.In simple terms "A Witness of Christ" must (Follow in His footsteps) every time and forever. Everyone who has been formed by Christ is directly involved in the Call of the Church who is a witness (1 Pet. 2: 9). The presence of Christ's witnesses in the middle of the world will be a light. The light that changes every human being.One of the “Church Vocations” is to be WITNESSES and SHINE to the world. And it must start with our families. A strong and mature church has a church life that (1) only gives (2) is diligent in serving (3) diligent in worship, etc. But a strong and mature CHURCH must also TESTION. Because the foundation of a strong church lies in (Faith, Fellowship, Service, Life Testimony)



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