Life and Practice in the Early Church: A Documentary Reader

By Steve McKinion

A collection of primary texts revealing how early Christians practiced their faith.

Life and Practice in the Early Church brings together a range of primary texts form the church’s first five centuries to demonstrate how early Christians practiced their faith. These original documents shed light on how early believers “did church,” addressing such practical questions as, How did the church administer baptism? How were sermons delivered? How did the early church carry out its mission’s endeavors?

Far from being monolithic, the documents—which present the voices of the early church fathers in their own words—demonstrate variation and diversity regarding how faith was worked out during the patristic period. The texts illuminate who was eligible for baptism, what was expected of worshippers, how the Eucharist was celebrated, and how church offices and their functions were organized. Contextual introductions explain practices and their development for those with little prior knowledge of Christian history or tradition. The pieces included here, all in accessible English translation, represent such sources as Justin Martyr, Tertullian, the Cappadocians, Cyril of Jerusalem, John Chrysostom, and Augustine.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Open Road Integrated Media
• Release date: Aug 1, 2001
• ISBN: 9780814761267

Book preview

Introduction

This collection of primary texts is intended to introduce the story of how the early Christians practiced their faith. It is not a survey of theology per se, but a survey of how theology was actually lived and played out by the community of faith called the Christian church. The selections that follow demonstrate how early believers did church. They stand at the nexus of belief and practice, of theory and action, of theological and social history. They demonstrate variation and diversity regarding how faith was worked out in the patristic period.¹ The reader will discover many different ways in which Christians experienced and expressed their community of faith.

Why is a collection of this nature necessary? The question can be answered at two levels. On the philosophical level, early Christian writings reveal a great deal about the Christian tradition and the wider culture in which Christianity developed. On the practical level, most one-volume document collections tend to be concerned almost exclusively with theological issues and dogma, often to the neglect of more functional matters. Also, they frequently attempt to be all things to all people, encompassing such a vast period of time that the selections must be brief. While there are many good collections, there are few works that provide substantial selections concerned exclusively with life and practice in the patristic period. This volume seeks to fill that void.

The selection of particular passages was guided by a few broad parameters. First, the documents date from the end of the first century C.E. to roughly the fifth century. This interval allowed for a wide range of developments to take place. Second, the writing must have articulated a widely accepted belief or practice, have been written by someone in a position of authority whose instruction would be given considerable weight in its original setting, or have challenged the prevailing position of the time. Third, the document from which the passage is taken must exist in a readily accessible English translation in order to allow the reader to follow up what is presented here. I have chosen to use documents from the Ante-Nicene Fathers (hereafter ANF) and the Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers (hereafter NPNF) series because of their availability in both printed and digital formats. It should be noted, however, that most of the translations presented in this volume have been altered slightly—and some considerably—by dearchaizing vocabulary (e.g., thee and thou to you) and by polishing some of the syntax. In places, what was deemed to be an inadequate translation has been replaced. This collection is not exhaustive (how massive that would be!) but is representative of the patristic writers.

Overarching all of the decisions has been a desire to broadly represent different traditions. Every Christian tradition is concerned with the subjects addressed in this book. While it would be tempting to extract only those passages affirming my own practice, it has not been my intention to do so. There are positions held by some of the Fathers that I would not affirm. The patristic writers were not monolithic in matters of life and practice, and it is important that the early Christians be heard in their own words and in the fullness of their diversity and their sometimes conflicting directives.

Doubtless there are texts omitted that many will consider indispensable, and others included that some would prefer to be absent. The material on the cutting-room floor is more voluminous that I had hoped. Too many important texts did not make the first, second, or subsequent cuts. However, decisions had to be made and important texts excluded. In the final analysis, each text here contributes in its own way to telling the story of life in the early Christian community.

The chapters are arranged to aid in telling this story. Chapter 1, Entering the Community, examines the means by which one became a member of the church. The primary rite of initiation was baptism, which was usually preceded by a time of instruction in the Christian faith. While being prepared for baptism, the candidate was known as a catechumen. Not until after one’s baptism would one be considered a fully participating member of the community.

The second chapter, Assembling the Community, pictures the church at worship. Selections tell what occurred when the people assembled, and show what was expected of the worshippers before, during, and after the service itself.

The next two chapters are actually subsets of Chapter 2. Within the services of worship, the people would be instructed in the Scriptures and would together participate in the Eucharist, or Lord’s Supper. Chapter 3, Instructing the Community, addresses teaching and preaching in the church, and Chapter 4, Uniting the Community, covers the ceremony of the Eucharist.

Chapter 5, Expanding the Community, tells the story of the expansion of Christianity by various means of proclaiming the message of Jesus Christ. Christians won converts not simply by convincing them of the validity of their message through rhetorical means but by means of their moral living. In these selections, one finds numerous exhortations to believers to live properly in order to gain new members of the church.

The final chapter, Leading the Community, shows how the church was organized for administering its various practices. The church was seen as analogous to a flock of sheep. Shepherds were responsible for guiding the flock, keeping it together, and protecting it from harm. Different offices developed to meet the various needs.

This text is intended for both graduate and undergraduate students, as well as pastors, laypersons, and interested observers. It requires little or no prior knowledge of Christian history or tradition. The activities of the early Christians are relevant for the social historian as well. Those interested in researching one or more of the themes addressed in the volume will find a starting place for further investigation.

It is hoped that these documents will together introduce the story of the early Christians. The reasons they give for doing things one particular way and not another, and for rejecting possible alternative practices are both illuminating and interesting. I trust that reading the words of the early Christian writers rather than words about the early Christian writers will enlighten the reader’s understanding of life and practice in the early church.

ADDITIONAL READINGS

Altaner, B. Patrology, tr. H. C. Graef. Freiburg: Herder, 1960. 9th German ed. by A. Stuiber (Freiburg: Herder, 1980).

Baus, K. From the Apostolic Community to Constantine, ed. H. Jedin. New York: Seabury, 1965.

Baus, K., et al. The Imperial Church from Constantine to the Early Middle Ages, ed. H. Jedin. New York: Seabury, 1980.

Di Berardino, A., ed. Encyclopedia of the Early Church, tr. A. Walford. 2 vols. New York, Oxford University Press, 1992.

Ferguson, E., ed. Encyclopedia of Early Christianity. 2nd ed. New York: Garland, 1998.

Kelly, J. N. D. Early Christian Doctrines. 5th ed. New York: Harper and Row, 1978.

Pelikan, J. The Christian Tradition. Vol. 1, The Emergence of the Catholic Tradition (100–600). Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1971.

Quasten, J., et al. Patrology. 4 vols. Westminster, MD: Christian Classics, 1953–1986.

Robinson, T. A. The Early Church: An Annotated Bibliography of Literature in English. Metuchen, NJ: Scarecrow, 1993.

CHAPTER 1

Entering the Community

Baptism in the Early Church

Inherent in the continued existence of any community is the question of entrance. How is one to gain admission into the community? The rite of initiation for Christians has always been the ceremony of baptism with water. The English term baptism is a derivation of the Greek word baptizo, which means to immerse or to dip. It is one of a number of significant rites or ceremonies the Christians saw as indicative of their mission and message. These rites illustrated for the early Christians elements of the message they believed and preached. While the number of these practices varied from writer to writer and place to place, virtually all agreed on the importance of two in particular: baptism and the Eucharist, or Lord’s Supper.¹ The church called these rites sacraments, a term that comes through the Latin sacramentum, typically referring to an oath, which translated the Greek mysterion, meaning mystery. They are also often termed ordinances of the church in many traditions.

Baptism and the Eucharist were both deemed important to the life of the community. The former was the means of initiation. The latter was a key component in the continued development of the believer and a central element in Christian worship. Christians believed that Christ himself had instituted these rites. His parting instruction to his disciples, referred to as the Great Commission,² was to baptize in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. This command became the foundation for the church’s practice of baptizing newly converted disciples. Moreover, Jesus’ own baptism by John in the Jordan River served as an example of the rite of baptism, and was imitated by the early Christians.

Prior to baptism candidates for admission generally participated in a period of instruction. During this time catechumens, as they were called, learned the major tenets of the Christian faith and were examined with regard to their moral living. These catechumens were not considered fully participating members of the community. While they were expected to attend worship services with the other believers, they sat separate from them and were dismissed prior to the sharing of the Eucharist.³ Often this time of training and testing would last up to a year, and sometimes longer. After the church had been convinced of the validity of the candidate’s commitment to the community, baptism would be administered and the new initiate would participate in his or her first Lord’s Supper.

In most cases baptism, which was also termed the bath of regeneration, consisted of immersing the candidate into water and anointing him or her with oil. Some writers allowed for baptism by affusion, or pouring water over the initiate’s head. For the Christians, the act of baptism demonstrated a sharing in the death and resurrection of Jesus. Additionally, the rite represented the washing away of sin, and later was believed to effect it. Baptism was also a twofold seal or pledge between the initiate and the church, and the initiate and Christ. Often elaborate renunciations and professions were associated with the ceremony. The convert would renounce Satan and all his works, and confess Christ and his saving work. A commitment to faithfulness to the community and obedience to Christ was central to Christian baptism.

The emphasis associated with this rite gradually shifted from one of initiation into a community to a symbol of, or even a means of individual salvation. Initially, baptism was most important because it represented a decision to forsake sinful living, to obey the teachings of Jesus Christ, and to become a faithful member of the Christian community. As time passed, the importance of baptism became its effects on the individual, with a lessened focus on the community.

Another significant development in the administration of baptism was the baptism of infants. While there is little reference to such practice in the earliest Christian writings, and no explicit reference to it in the New Testament, there is little doubt that such a practice began quite early. One finds in Cyprian of Carthage an African synod’s [gathering of important church leaders] decision to approve such a practice in the third century. The North African apologist Tertullian and Cappadocian Father Gregory of Nazianzus, writing in the third and fourth centuries, respectively, advised delaying baptism. However, even in the selections from those advocating delay, there is no prohibition of baptizing infants. In the fifth century, Latin theologian Augustine of Hippo firmly supported the practice.

The Didache (Early Second Century)

Didache is the Greek word for teaching, and is the shortened form of the full title of the work: The Teaching of the Lord through the Twelve Apostles to the Nations. Written anonymously in the first part of the second century, the Didache is part of the body of writings known as the Apostolic Fathers. As a church manual, its use and authority are seen in its circulation as well as its inclusion in a later work entitled Apostolic Constitutions as book seven. The fourth-century church historian Eusebius of Caesarea considered the work to be orthodox in its teaching but did not deem it appropriate to include it in the New Testament canon.⁴ Athanasius of Alexandria regarded it as a useful tool for teaching catechumens.⁵

The instructions in the Didache demonstrate the diversity of practice vis-à-vis baptism. While the standard mode was immersion, pouring was allowed when running water was not available. That the wider congregation is encouraged to fast along with the initiates in preparation for the ceremony shows the relationship between baptism and entrance into the community of faith. Jesus’ Great Commission is the obvious basis for the instruction to baptize using the Triune formula: in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

Chapter Seven

Concerning baptism, baptize in this manner: Baptize in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, in running water. However, if there is not running water, baptize in other water. If there is not cold water, then baptize in warm water. If there is neither cold nor warm, pour water three times over the head in the name of the Father and Son and Holy Spirit. Before the baptism let the one baptizing, the one being baptized, and others who can, fast. Instruct the one being baptized to fast one or two days before.

ANF 7, ed. A. Cleveland Coxe. Reprint, Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 1994.

Justin Martyr (110–165)

First Apology

Justin is one of the most significant and well known of the second-century Christian apologists because of his defense of Christianity against Judaism and paganism. His conception of the Logos led him to conclude that the Greek writers were to the pagans what the Old Testament was to the Jews: a method of leading them to Christ. His First Apology, written in the middle of the second century, was intended to explain Christian belief and practice as a means of making the case for just and fair treatment of believers.

In this selection, Justin instructed baptism in the name of the Trinity and preparation of the candidate by prayer and fasting, similar to the Didache. The most significant instruction, however, was that the rite was reserved for those who had chosen to live according to the teachings of the community and had been forgiven of their past sins. This point explains why the Christians observed a period of training and instruction before granting admission to the church. The community would want to ensure that the candidate clearly understood its beliefs and practices. Additionally, the convert would benefit from extensive knowledge of the faith to which he or she had now subscribed. Justin perceived baptism as an act to be performed after one had determined to exhibit faithfulness to the faith of the community.

Chapter Sixty-One

I will also relate the manner in which we dedicated ourselves to God when we had been made new through Christ; knowing that, if we omit this, we seem to be unfair in the explanation we are making. As many as are persuaded and believe that what we teach and say is true, and undertake to live accordingly, are instructed to pray and to entreat God with fasting, for the remission of their sins that are past. We are to pray and fast with them. Then they are brought by us where there is water, and are regenerated in the same manner in which we ourselves were regenerated. For, in the name of God, the Father and Lord of the universe, and of our Savior Jesus Christ, and of the Holy Spirit, they then receive the washing with water. For Christ also said, Unless you are born again, you shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven. That it is impossible for those who have once been born to enter into their mothers’ wombs is clear to everyone. And how those who have sinned and repent shall escape their sins, is declared by Isaiah the prophet: Wash yourself, make yourself clean; put away the evil of your doings from your souls; learn to do well; judge the fatherless, and plead for the widow: and come let us reason together, says the Lord. And though your sins are as scarlet, I will make them white like wool; and though they be as crimson, I will make them white as snow. But if you refuse and rebel, the sword shall devour you. The mouth of the Lord has spoken it.

We have learned from the apostles the following reason for this rite. We were born without our knowledge or choice by our parents coming together; and were brought up in bad habits and wicked training. However, in order that we may not remain the children of necessity and ignorance, but may become the children of choice and knowledge, and may obtain in the water the remission of sins formerly committed, there is pronounced over him who chooses to be born again, and has repented of his sins, the name of God the Father and the Lord of the universe. The one who leads the person that is to be washed to the bath is to call God by this name alone. For no one can utter the name of the ineffable God; and if any one dare to say that there is a name, he raves with a hopeless madness. And this washing is called illumination, because they who learn these things are illuminated in their understandings. In the name of Jesus Christ who was crucified under Pontius Pilate, and in the name of the Holy Spirit, who through the prophets foretold all things about Jesus, he who is illuminated is washed.

ANF 1, ed. A. Cleveland Coxe. Reprint, Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 1994.

Tertullian of Carthage (160–212)

On Baptism

Tertullian was a North African apologist writing in the early third century whose primary opponents were the Gnostics, who considered the flesh to be evil and thus denied its salvation. Tertullian is often referred to as the founder of Western or Latin theology. He was one of the first major theologians and apologists to write in Latin.

In On Baptism Tertullian was writing against a woman named Quintilla, an anti-Christian who wished to denigrate Christianity. This was one of the earliest discussions of baptism, and the only treatise from before the pivotal First Ecumenical Council of Nicaea (A.D. 325) dedicated to the subject. It provides discussions concerning not only the rite itself but also its meaning and purpose.

In this selection Tertullian argued that the effects of baptism were all the more incredible because of the simplicity of the act itself. Where else might one imagine a person being immersed into water, sprinkled with oil, and afterward attaining eternal life? The author instructed that the minister should examine carefully those to be baptized, so as to avoid sharing in the sins of one who might fall into grave sin after baptism. Moreover, Tertullian advised the delay of baptism, especially for children. He expressed reluctance in advocating the baptism of infants. If children were initiated into the community through baptism, their adult sponsors—those who promised to teach these children the Christian faith—shared in the sins of those whom they pledged to instruct. In fact, he implied that children are innocent, and therefore not in need of baptism, demonstrating a view of the rite that emphasized its relationship to the church. Delay should also be exercised in the case of those who were unmarried. Temptation could be great, Tertullian argues, and initiates need to understand the gravity of their decision to be baptized. Each of these admonitions reveals his concern about those who would be considered a part of the community, and what post-baptismal sin might mean to the Christian witness of both the individual and the church.

The ceremony was preceded by preparation of the candidate through fasting, prayers, and the confession of past sins throughout the night prior to the baptism. As with Justin, initiation was subsequent to repentance of sin. When the initiate came to the rite itself, he or she was plunged into the water. The physical act of immersion resulted in the spiritual effect of freedom from sins.

Chapter Two

How great is the force of perversity for so shaking the faith or entirely preventing its reception, that it impugns it on the very principles of which the faith consists! There is absolutely nothing which makes men’s minds more obdurate than the simplicity of the divine works which are visible in the act of baptism, when they are compared with the promise in the effect. The consequent attainment of eternity is esteemed the more incredible because it is with so great simplicity, without pomp, without any considerable novelty of preparation, finally, without expense, that a person is dipped in water, and amid the utterance of some few words is sprinkled and then rises again, not much (or not at all) the cleaner.

Chapter Seven

After this, when we have issued from the baptismal pool, we are thoroughly anointed with a blessed unction, a practice derived from the old discipline, wherein on entering the priesthood, men were anointed with oil from a horn, ever since Aaron was anointed by Moses. From this Aaron is called Christ, from the chrism, which is the unction. When understood spiritually this furnishes an appropriate name to the Lord, because he was anointed with the Spirit by God the Father, as written in the book of Acts, For truly they were gathered together in this city against your Holy Son whom you have anointed. Thus too, in our case, the unction runs carnally (i.e. on the body) but profits spiritually; in the same way as the act of baptism itself is also carnal, in that we are plunged into water, but the effect spiritual, in that we are freed from sins.

Chapter Eight

In the next place is the laying on of hands, invoking and inviting the Holy Spirit through benediction. Shall it be granted possible for human ingenuity to summon a spirit into water, and by the application of hands from above to animate their union into one body with another spirit of so clear sound? Shall it not be possible for God, in the case of his own organ, to produce by means of holy hands a sublime spiritual modulation? But this, as well as the former, is derived from the old sacramental rite in which Jacob blessed his grandsons, born of Joseph, Ephraim, and Manasseh; with his hands laid on them and interchanged, and indeed so transversely slanted one over the other, that by delineating Christ they even foreshadowed the future benediction into Christ.

Chapter Eighteen

But they whose office it is know that baptism is not to be administered hastily. Give to every one who asks you, has a reference of its own, pertaining especially to giving alms. Conversely, one should consider carefully these instructions: Give not the holy thing to the dogs, nor cast your pearls before swine; and, Do not lay hands hastily on anyone; share not in their sins. . . . Therefore, according to the circumstances, disposition, and even age of each individual, the delay of baptism is preferable, especially in the case of little children. Why is it necessary that the sponsors should be thrust into danger if baptism itself is not necessary for salvation? They, by reason of mortality, may fail to fulfill their promises as sponsors, and may also be disappointed by the development of an evil disposition in those whom they sponsored? The Lord does indeed say, Do not forbid them to come to me. Let them come while they are growing up. Let them come while they are learning where they are coming. Let them become Christians when they are able