Transcript Document 7286588

The Early
Christians
 The
first Christians had to endure some of the
worst persecutions that the Church would
experience.
 Yet Christians proposed a radically new vision of
human life, where its morality demanded that the
believer make difficult choices concerning his
witness to Jesus Christ and on vital issues that
effected daily life.
Guiding them through it all
were the words and life of
Christ, along with the
sacraments, both of which
were transmitted to them
through the Apostles.
 The challenges that these first
Christians had to deal with in
the first three hundred years
of Christianity in many ways
resemble the challenges we
face as Christians in the 21st
century.

Beliefs and Practices:
The Spiritual Life of the
Early Christians
1. Baptism
a) A believer is
forgiven of original
and personal sin,
begins a new life in
Christ, and is
incorporated into
the Church, the
Body of Christ.
b) Initially, adult converts were baptized freely, but
gradually the catechumenate develops.
i. Catechumens (those being instructed)
ii. Lasted Two Years; baptized at Easter Vigil
Service
c) Gradually, by the Middle Ages the
catechumenate fell into disuse, as there were
fewer adult converts; the time for instruction
was shortened to 10 weeks and received any
time of the year.
e) The program was restored at Vatican II
for adult converts and is the standard
preparation today in most parishes
(RCIA).
f)
Infant baptism became common
practice by the third century, if
not before.
g) Advantages to infant baptism are
1. original sin is forgiven,
2. the child is incorporated into
the Body of Christ.
3. the baptismal character
imprinted on the soul renders
the infant a child of God who
now shares in the priesthood of
Jesus Christ.
4. the child receives a special
grace through which he may
grow more fully in Christ.
2.
Agape and the Eucharist –
a)
“love”- refers to an early Christian religious
meal that was at first closely related to the
celebration of the Eucharist and often
preceded this celebration.
b) The ritual of the Mass develops
gradually over time, with readings from
the Bible, singing of hymns, common
prayers, and then the celebration of the
Eucharist.
c) Eucharist (thanksgiving)
i. the central act of
worship for the
Church
ii. where Christians
received the
Sacrament of Holy
Communion, the true
Body and Blood of
Christ, under the
appearance of bread
and wine.
3. Churches
a) Christians
generally
worshipped
together in private
homes, or in the
catacombs (see p.
67);
4. It is not until the Edict
of Milan (313 AD) that
churches begin to be
built.
5. Holy Days
a) Originally, the first Christians kept the
Sabbath (Saturday) holy.
b) Gradually, Sunday became the day of
Sabbath for Christians, being the day of
the Resurrection of Christ and the day
of Pentecost.
c) Wednesdays (the day of Christ’s
betrayal) and Fridays (the day of His
death) were days of fasting and
penance.
1.
The Papacy
a) historical sources
indicate that the
authority of the Bishop of
Rome was the supreme
authority in all Church
matters from the earliest
days of the Church.
b) For example, The First
Epistle of St. Clement I, St.
Ignatius of Antioch’s
Epistle to the Romans, and
the writings of St.
Irenaeus.
2. The Episcopacy
a) refers to the bishops who were appointed by
the Apostles to succeed them; they would
administer the sacraments, teach the people,
and administer the running of the local Church
community.
3.
The Priesthood
a) “priest” comes from the
Greek “presbyter”;
b) church elders who along
with the deacons helped
the bishop in the
running of the local
Church
c) there is evidence that
they were celebrating
the Mass by the second
century.
1.
Monotheism
a) Christians were often
at odds with their
polytheistic, pagan
neighbors of the
Roman Empire.
b) There could be no
compromise on this
issue of one God; they
therefore rejected all
acts of sacrifice and
public ritual which
acknowledged pagan
belief.
c) This led many Christians to suffer greatly for
their faith, even to the point of martyrdom,
dying for the faith, particularly after the Edict
of Nero, making Christianity illegal.
2.
Scripture:
a) First centuries of Christianity
i. there was no set book for Christian doctrine;
ii. the Bible was actually a number of separate
books and letters, along with the Torah.
b) It was also during this time that a number of
books written by heretical groups were written to
promote their own view of Christ,
i. Ex. ~ the Infancy Gospel of Thomas written by
the Gnostics.
c) Beginning of the
5th century
i.
formal list or
“canon” of
Scripture was
established
d) Not until the
Council of Trent in
1546 that this list
was considered
definitive.
e) The early Christians never
considered the Scriptures
to have authority apart
from the interpretation of
the Church through her
hierarchy, under the
guidance of the Holy Spirit.
f) Here we see the
importance of the Church’s
Tradition which helps
understand and interpret
the Scriptures.
3.
Slavery and Christianity:
a) The teachings of Christ on the dignity of every
human gradually will undermine the practice
of slavery.
b) Many of the first Christians themselves were
slaves yet were treated as equals by their
fellow Christians; the first three popes after
Peter (Linus, Anacletus, and Clement) were
former slaves.
4.
Non-Violence:
Differing opinions on
serving in the Roman
army.
b) Some writers
seemed to
discourage it, while
others outright
condemned it.
a)
c) Many early Christians
did serve in the Roman
army and are
recognized as saints,
such as St. Maurice,
d) Over the centuries the
Church has developed a
“just war theory”,
developed by St.
Augustine and St.
Thomas Aquinas.
5. The Just War Theory – 3 Criteria
a) Must be declared by a legitimate authority, not
by private groups or individuals.
b) It must be waged for a just cause like
protecting innocent life or preserving
conditions necessary to basic human life.
c) It must be waged for the right intention, not for
vengeance, cruelty or power.
6. Other criteria were added later.
a) must be the last resort; all other
avenues to peace must have been
tried.
b) The means used to win must be
moral.
7. The State
a) Followed all the just laws laid down by the
state.
b) The Christians would not compromise in what
would go against their commitment to Christ,
(polytheism & emperor worship).
8. Money Matters
a) Christians tended to the
material needs of the whole
Christian community,
engaging in education,
medical care, and the
distribution of alms to the
poor.
b) Forbidden from practicing
usury (charging excessive
interest on a loan).
9. Sexual Ethics
a) Early Christians rejected practices which were
common in Roman culture at this time:
abortion, infanticide, and the use of
contraception (see p. 81).
10. Women
a) In Roman and Greek
cultures, women were
seen as inferior to men in
all areas.
b) Christianity greatly
improves the position of
women.
c) Many of the great saints
and martyrs of the early
Church were women, and
the most venerated
person after Jesus was the
Blessed Virgin Mary.
11. Family Life (domestic
church)
a) where the ideal of
Christian charity
took its roots, and
where love and
service form its base
b) this contrasted with
the pagan culture’s
approach to the
family where women
and children were
treated as property.
Important Writings of
the Early Christian
Period
1. “Apostolic Father”
a) the earliest Christian writers
who came immediately after
the Apostles,
b) some have direct links to
either the Apostles
themselves or the
communities the Apostles
founded.
c) special witnesses of the faith
and give the Church a record
of the beliefs and practices of
the earliest Christians.
1. “Apologetics”
a) theology that defends and explains Christianity;
from the Greek “apologia” meaning “defense”.
2. Apologists of the early period of the Church would
have to face three groups which raised objections to
Christianity
a) Judaism, Gnosticism, and Pagansim
3. Most of the
apologists of this
time were merely
explaining
Christian practices
to a culture which
viewed them with
suspicion.
a) EX ~ St. Justin
Martyr
1.
The Didache (Teaching)
a) known as The Doctrine
of the Twelve Apostles
b) it is an important work
which covers early
Christian views on
moral life, Baptism,
fasting, prayer, the
Eucharist, and the
developing Christian
hierarchy.
2. Tertullian:
a) One of the greatest
early apologists, who
argued that far from
Christianity being a
threat to the Empire,
were actually a great
asset to it
b) left the Church to
join the Montanist
heresy.
3. St. Hippolytus and
The Apostolic
Tradition
a) he gives us a lot of
information on the
early rituals of the
Church, particularly
the sacraments.
Martyrdom as the
Greatest Testimony
to Christianity
1. The word “martyr”
means “witness”.
2. The majority of
martyrs were average
people who
experienced the
normal fears of the
pain and suffering
they would have to
endure.
3. The martyrs would become great witnesses to
the faith, who amidst the ridicule and sadistic
pleasure of the crowds in their suffering, would
face their death with great peace, joy, and
faithfulness, often leading bystanders to
conversion.
4. Christians saw martyrdom as an honor and
privilege, and ultimately a gift from God, for it
was seen as the surest way of entering heaven