Church and society in documents, 100-600 A.D

Church and Society in Documents 100-600 A.D. 23/04/2011 10:58 rights reserved. May not be reproduced in any form witho...

Author: Alan Lauffer Hayes

22 downloads 984 Views 29MB Size Report

This content was uploaded by our users and we assume good faith they have the permission to share this book. If you own the copyright to this book and it is wrongfully on our website, we offer a simple DMCA procedure to remove your content from our site. Start by pressing the button below!
Report copyright / DMCA form

DOWNLOAD PDF

Church and Society in Documents 100-600 A.D.

23/04/2011 10:58

rights reserved. May not be reproduced in any form without permission from the publisher, except fair uses permitted under U.S. or applicable copyright law.

Cliurcli aru£ Society in Vocuments 100-600 )t[.'lJ.

edited by

Alan L. Hayes

Canadian Scbolan'

~s Inc.

Toronto

1995

Hayes, Alan L.. Church and Society in Documents 100-600 A.D.. Toronto, ON, CAN: Canadian Scholars' Press and Women's Press, 1998. p i. http://site.ebrary.com/lib/utoronto/Doc?id=10214794&ppg=2 Copyright © 1998. Canadian Scholars' Press and Women's Press. All rights reserved. May not be reproduced in any form without permission from the publisher, except fair uses permitted under U.S. or applicable copyright law.

http://site.ebrary.com.myaccess.library.utoronto.ca/lib/utoronto/…39f12614d84118394d10e100904f4a1eaeb78da16ea4bcd51d42dd7651cb67187

Page 2 of 99


23/04/2011 10:58

under U.S. or applicable copyright law.

First published in 1995 by Canadian Scholars' Press Inc. 180 BloorSaect Wes~ Ste. 801 Toron! ~ will> Henna•, Mand.

'

2 :4·7, on whlcl! k '' 11 11

ts apparenlly dependent.

Sc:lul« unknown. :Ex. 20:1~17; d . Matt. 19:18; 5:33.

Prov. 21:6.

H

Jsa. 66:2.

"

Heb. 17.7. Deut1:16. 17; Prov. ~1:9.

M 11

" ll'

Mearting uncertain.

Litenlly, ·Do 1101 willltt. 15:19; Marlc 7:21, 22; Rom.l: 29 ·~1; Gal. 5:19-21.

2l

Rom. 12:9.

u

Ps. .f:2.

'1J

lsa. 1:23.

"

Wls. 12:6.

" • ..

M>tt. 2M. Maa. 28:19. Il>ld.

•

I.e., the]ews. Cf. M>tt. &16.

..

Man. &s.

,

Cf. Moll. 6:9-13-.

,,

I.e., "!he lbankssfvins. •The tenn. h.,...,ver, had beoome a technlcal one in Chri5tianiry for the special giVing of !banks • t the l.o!d's Supper. One might render the verbal form . ~3). It may also refer ro the Messianic promlse (cf.lsa. l1:1), or to the Messlanlc community (d. Ps. 80:8), ie., the Ch=h. /In odd phrase, but one that refers to the Jewish custom (taken ~r in the Chri>ti2n Lord's SUpper) of grace before meals. The head of the house would dlsttlbute to each ollhe guests a piece of bread broken off a loaf, after uttering the appropriate thanksgiving to God.

"

The reference is likely to the sowing of wheat on !he hillsides of Judea.

"

M>tt. 7:6. Or •g;ve thanks.• See nOte 31.

" "

For the phrase cf. Neh. 1:9.

"

Wis. 1:14; Sir. 18:1; Rev. 4:11.

"

M>n. 24:31. A title fO< Chri$1.

.

Cf. Man. 21:9, 15.

17

Hayes, Alan L.. Church and Society in Documents 100-600 A.D.. Toronto, ON, CAN: Canadian Scholars' Press and Women's Press, 1998. p 17. http://site.ebrary.com/lib/utoronto/Doc?id=10214794&ppg=32 Copyright © 1998. Canadian Scholars' Press and Women's Press. All rights reserved. May not be reproduced in any form without permission from the publisher, except fair uses permitted under U.S. or applicable copyright law.


Page 32 of 99


23/04/2011 10:58


"

Or perhaps "be convened.•

..

Cf. [Cor. 16:2:2..

.. "

'l1>ese terse excbmatiOnS may be vers~le$ and ""f'fnses. More likely they derive frOm the Jewish a>stom of reading ve..es CClrlCe1'ning mel's future redemption and glory, after the final benediction. I.e., rhey are no< bound by the textS given.

Matt. 10:40,41.

Uterally, "speaking in a spiril, • i.e., speaking while~ by a divine or demonic spirit. 'lbls whole passage (eh. 11:7-12} iu sort of P2f2)1el to Matt. 12d1ff. There is an lnlerpmation o f the sln against tbe Holy Ghost, followed by a comment on good and evil oonduct (cf. Matt. 12:33-37>, and ooncluded by the prophels' signs wh;,;h are suggested by the sign of the Son of Man (Matt. 1 2:~ If.}. Matt. 12:31.

"

"

"»

"»

"'

.." ..,," "

The sense is not dear, but SUggestS a dramatic portrayal of the Messiank banquet. 1t was chllnlaerlslic of the BibliCal propbet$ to drive home their reaching by dram.ttlc and symbolic actioos (cf.Jer., eh. 19: AaS 21:11; etc.}. l.lterally, "acts ,.;m a view to a worldly mystery of the Church."The meaning is not certain, but some dramatic actloo, symbollzing the mystiCal marriage of the Church to Christ, is prtlbobly wended. The reference may, indeed, be to the prophet's being ae.l SISter (cf. I Cor. 7•36 If.}. Matt. 21.9: Ps. us:26; cr.]ohn 5:43. Matt. 10:10. The provision le< the prophet or teacher to settle and to be supported by the congreg2tion implies the birth of the monarchical episOOpate. Note the connectloo of this wirh the high priesthood (cf. Hippolytus, Apost. Trod. 3•4} and tithing. No prov;s;on is made for the support of the local clergy in cb. 15.

Deut.

18:~5 .

Literally, "On every Lord's Day of the Lord.• Mal. 1:11. 14.

Mau. 24:42, 44; LllJre 12:35. Bam. 4:9.

Matt. 24:24. Matt. 2HO.

Matt. 10:22; 24:13. An obscure reference, but poosibly meaning the Chris< who suffered the death of one accuroed (Gal. 3:13; Barn. 7:9}. Cl two other titie$ for the Christ: Groce (eh. 10:6) and Truth (v. 6},

18



Page 33 of 99


23/04/2011 10:58


" '"

Maa. 24,32. Ano!her obscure refereoce, pooslbly to che belief !hac lhe Christ would

appear on a glorified""""· cr. Barn. 12lt- 24,30.

The Ll!lter of 1~ Blsbop of.Mrtlocb, To tbe EpHslafiS Heartiest greetings of pure joy in Jesus Christ from lgnatius, the "God-inspired, •• to the church at Ephesus in Asia.' Out of the fullness' of God the Father you have been blessed with large numbers and are

predestined from eternity to enjoy forever continual and unfacling glory. The source of your unity and election is gen~ suffering which you \llldergo by the will of the Father and of Jesus Christ, our God Hence you deserve to be considered happy. I. I gave a godly welcome to your church which has so endeared itself to us by reason of your upright narure, marked as it is by faith in Jesus Chris~ our Saviour. and by love of him. You are lmlc.ators of God; and it wa$ God's blood that stirred you up once more to do the sort of

thing you do naruraUy and have now done 10 perlection. For you were all zeal to visit me when you heard that l was being shipped as a prisoner from Syria for the sake of our common Jl.'ame' and hope. I hope, indeed, by your prayers to have the good fortune to fight with wild beasu in Rome, so that by doing this I can be a real disciple. In God's name, therefore, I received your large congregation in the person of Onesimus,' your bishop in this world,6 a man whose love is beyond SOwce' lptius, "To the Ephesiians•, in Cyril C. Richarcamatiotl -..ere somelhmg for which Satan MS unprepared.

"

.J.'

An expansiOn of the $tOI)' in Man. Z:2, and influenced by Gen. 37:9. Cf. Rom. 6:1. Le., the name of "Ovl:stian...

'"

Rom.. 1:3.

»

26



Page 41 of 99


23/04/2011 10:58


Gospel of'l1lomM (1501 syria?)

T

be Gospel of Thomas iS one of the New Testament apocrypha. The word ' apoaypha• ~ 'hidden". ln pan an apocryphal work iS hidden in that it U$\Jally intends to communicate seaet knowledge, but more precisely it iS hidden in that it is not in the public use of the Church. In other words, an apocryphal work is not ScriptUte, not recognized as the Church's public written standard of truth or •canon· (a Greek Word meaning 'measuring stick•). Nevertheless, not every non "If you do not fast as regards the world, you will

no« fllld the kingdom. If you do not observe the Sabbath as a Sabbath, you will not see the father. • (28) Jesus said, •I took my place in the midst of the world, and I appeared eo them in flesh. I found all of them intolticated; I found none of !hem thirsty. And my soul became afflicted for the sons of men, because they are blind in their hearts and do nO! have sigh~ for empty they came inro the world, and empty too they seek to leave the world. But for the moment they are intoxicated. When !hey shake off their wine, !hen !hey will repent.•

(29) Jesus said, "If the flesh came into being because of spirit, it is a wonder. But if spirit came into being because of the body, It is a wonder of wonders. Indeed, I am amazed at how this great wealth has made itS home in this poverty." (30) Jesus said, "Where !here are three gods, they are gods. Where there are two or one, I am with him.•

(31) Jesus said, "No prophet is accepted in his own village; no physician heals those who know him." (32) JesU$ saia, ·A city being buih on a ~gh moulllain cannot fall, nor can it be hidden."

ana fottiliea

(33) Jesus said, "Preach from your Cpl.) housetops !hat which you (sg.) will hear in your (sg.) ear. For no one lights a lamp and putS it under a bushel, nor does he put it in a hidden place, but rather he sets it on a lampstana so !hat everyone who enters and leaves will see itS light.• (34) Jesus said, •If a blind man leads a blind man, they will bOih fall into a pll"

(35) Jesus said, "It is not possible for anyone to enter the house of a strong man and take it by force unless he binds his hands; then be will (be able to) ransack his house." (36) Jesus sala, "Do not be concemea from morning until evening and from evening until morning about what you will wear." (37) Hl$ disciples said, "When will you become reve21ed to us and when shall we see you?" Jesus said, "When you disrobe without being ashamed ana take up your garmentS and place them unaer your feet like little children and

34



Page 49 of 99


23/04/2011 10:58


Gosm. OF 7ltoow

r:read on them, then {will you see} the son of the living one, and you will not be afraid." (38) Jesus sal
has."

( 42) ]esus said, "Beoome passers-by.• (43) His disciples said to him, "Who are you, that you should say these thiQgs to us?"

<Jem s~id !Q !hem,> "Yov do nol~e;~lize who I am from~ I say to you, but you have become like the Jews, for they (either) love the tree and hate its fruit (or) love rhe fruit and hate the uee." ( 44) Jesus said, "Whoever blasphemes againSt the father will be forgiven, and whoever blasphemes against the son will be forgiven, but whoever blasphemes against the holy spirit will not be forgiven either on earth or in heaven... ( 45) Jesus said, "Grapes are nOI' harvested from thorns, nor are figs gathered from thistles, for they do not produce fruit. A good man brings fonh good from his storehouse; an evil man brings forth evil things from his evil storehouse, which is in his bean, and says evil things. For out of the abundance of the heart he brings forth evil things." (46) Jesus said, • Among rhose bom of women, from Adam until John the Baptist, there is no one so superior to John the Baptist that bis eyes should not be lowered (before him). Yet I have said, whichever one of you comes to be a child will be acquainted with the ldngdom and will become superior to John.•

35



Page 50 of 99


23/04/2011 10:58


( 47) Jesus said, "It is impossible for a man to mount two horses or to suerd> two bows. And it is impossible for a seMtU to serve two masters; otherwise, he will hooor the one and treat the other contempcuously. No man drinks old wine and immediately desires to drink new wine. And new wine is not put into old wineskins, lest they burst; nor is old wine put into a new wineskin, lest it spoil it An old patch is not sewn into a new garmem, because a tear would result· (48) Jesus said, •If two make peace with each other in this one house, they will say to the mountain, 'Move away,' and it will move away.•

(49) Jesus said, ·Blessed are the solitary and ele '1 am your dlsdple." < ... >"Therefore I say, if he Is destroyed be will be filled With light, but if be is divided, be will be IUled With darlmess..

37



Page 52 of 99


23/04/2011 10:58


(62) Jesus said, "lt is to those [who are wonhy of myl mysteries that 1 tell my mysteries. Do no let your (sg.) left hand know what your (sg.) tight band is doing.• (63) Jesus said, "There was a rich man who had much money. He said, 'I shall put my money to use so that I may sow, reap, plant, and fill my storehouse with produce, with the result that I shall lack nothing.' Such were his intentions, but that same night he died. Let him who has ears bear." (64) Jesus said, "A man had reap~9

Lest any one repeat the mistake of those S0
61



Page 76 of 99


23/04/2011 10:58


married woman about twentyr= old, of good family and upbringing. She had a father, mother, two biOibers (one was a catecllumen like hetself), and an infant son at the breas!. The following account of her martyrdom is her own, a record in her own words of her peroeplions of the event.

3. While I was sliU wkh me police authorities (she said) my father out of love for me tried to dissuade me frotn my resolution. "Father; 1 said, "do you see here, for eJt we should appear in good condition on that day?" The officer grimaced and blushed, ~ordered that they be treated more humanely and that her brothers and others be allowed to Visit and dine w ith them. By this time the prison warden was himself a believer. 17. On the day before the public games, as they were eating
69



Page 84 of 99


23/04/2011 10:58


with. you.· Injustice bowed 10 justice and th.e guatd conceded !hat they could enter th.e arena in th.eir ordinary dress. Perperua was singing vietol)' psalms as if already crushing th.e head of th.e Egyptian. Revocatus, Satuminus and SaturuS were warning th.e spectators, and as they came within sight of Hilarion they informed him by nods and gesrures: "You condemn us; God condemns you.• 1bis so infuriated th.e crowds that they demanded the soourging of these men in front of th.e line of gladiator.;. But th.e o nes so punished rejoiced in that th.ey had obtained yer another share in the Lord's suffering. 19. Whoever said, "Ask and you shall receive," gr:mted to these petitioners the partk:ular death that each one chose. for whenever th.e mafl)'<S were discussing among themselves their choice ofdeath, Sarurus used 10 say that he wished to be thrown in with all the animals so that he mlghr wear a more glorious Acoordlngly, at che outset of the show he was matct>ed against a leopard but then called back; then he was mauled by a bear on the exhibition platform Now Sarurus detested nothing as much as a bear and be had already decided to die by one bite from the leopard. Consequently, when he was tied to a wild boar th.e professional gladiator who had tied th.e two together was pierced instead and died shortly after the games ended, while Saturus was merely dragged abouL And when he was tied up on the bridge in front of the bear, th.e bear refused to come out of his den; and so a second time Sarurus was called back unharmed.

ao""'·

20. For the young women the devil had readied a mad cow, an animal not usually used at these games, but selected so that the women's sex wou.l d be matched with !hat of the animal. After being saipped and enmeshed in nets, the women were led into the arena. How horrified the people were as they saw !hat one was a young girl and the other, her breasts dripping with milk, had just recently given birth to a child. Consequently bo!b were recalled and dressed in l~ly fining gowns. Perperua was t05sed first and fell on her back She sat up, and being more concerned with her sense of modescy than with her pain, covered her thighs with ber gown which had been tom down one side. Then finding her hair-clip which had fallen out, she pinned back her loose hair thinking it oot proper for a martyr to suffer with dishevelled hair; it mlght seem that she was mourning in her hour of aiumph. Then sbe stood up. Noticing that Peliciw was badly bruised. she went 10 her, reached out her hands and helped ner to her feeL As they stood there

70



Page 85 of 99


23/04/2011 10:58


the cruelty of the aowds seemed to be appeased and they were sent to the Sanavivarian Gate. There Perperua was taken care of by a certain cat«tn"' on Gera ·s birthday helps .,..blisb the date of the manyrdorn someom of the holy Spirit and the Virgin. Fulfilling your will and gaining for you a holy people, he stretched out Ills hands when he should suffer, that he might release from suffering those who have believed in you. And when he was betrayed to voluntary suffering that he might destroy death, and break the bonds of the devil, and tread down hell, and shine upon the righteous, and fix a tenn, and manifest the resurrection, he rook bread and gave thank$ to you, saying, 'Take, eat; this is my body, which shall be broken for you'. Likewise also the cup, sayin8. 'This is my blood, which is shed for you; when you do this, you make my remembrance'. Remembering therefore Ills death and resuaection, we offer to you the bread and the cup, giving you thanks because you have held us worthy to stand before you and minister to you. And we ask that you would send your holy Spirit upon the offering of your holy Chutch; that, gathering Ot) into one, you would grant to all who partake of the holy things (to partake) for the fullness of the holy Spirit for the strengthening of faith in uuth, that we may praise and glorify you through your child Jesus Christ. through whom be glory and honour to you, with the holy Spirit, in your holy Church, botb now and to the ages of ages. Amen.

77



Page 92 of 99


23/04/2011 10:58


Of the Offering ofOU 5. If anyone offers oil, (the bishop) shall render thanks in the same way M for the offering of bre2d and wine, not 5aying it word for word. but to similar effea, saying: 0 God, sanctifier of this oil, M you give health to those who are anointed and receive U.Ot with which you anointed kings, priests, and prophets, so may it give strength to all those who taste it,

and health to all that are anoin ted with it. (Of the Ofl'eriQa of Cheese and Olives)

6. Likewise, if anyone offers cheese and olives, he shall say thus: Sanctify this milk which ha$ been coagulated, coagulating us also to your love. Make this fruit of the olive not to depatt from your 5Weetness, which is an example of your richness which you have poured from the tree for life to those who hope in

you. But in every blessing shall be said:

To you be glory, to the father and !he Son with !he holy Spirit. in the holy Church, both now and always and to all the ages of ages.

Of Presbyters

7. And when a presbyter is ordained, the bishop shall lay his hand on his head, the presbj.1ers aiso touching him; and he sbaU say according to what was said above, as we said before about the bishop, praying and saying: God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, look upon this your servant, and impart the Spirit of grace and counsel of the presbyterate,-that be may help and govern your people with a pure heatt; just as you looked upon your chosen people, and commanded Moses to choose presbyters whom you filled with your Spirit which you granted to your servanL And now, Lord, grant the Spirit o f your grace to be preserved unfailingly in us, and make us wottby to minister to you in faith and in Sill\plicity



Page 93 of 99


23/04/2011 10:58


of heart, praiSing you through your cblld Christ Jesus; through whom be glory and power to you with the boly Spirit, in the holy Churcll, boil\ now and to the ages of ages. Amen. Of Deacons 8. And when a deacon is ordained, let him be chosen •cwrdina to w11at was said above, the bishop alone laying on bands, in the same way as we also directed above. In the ordination of a deacon, the b!sllop alone shall lay on bands, because be is not being ordained to the priesthood, but to the service of the bishop, to do what is ordered by rum. For ne does oot share in tile counsel of tile presbyterate, but a~ and informs the bishop of what is fitting; be does not receive the common spirit of seniority in whicll the presbyters share, but that

whkh is entrusted to him under the bishop's autbodty. For this reason the bishop alone shall ordain a deacon; but on a presbyter the presbyters alone shall lay bands, because of the common and like spirit of their order. For a presbyter has autilority only to =eive; ne has not authority to give. For this reason be does not ordain the clergy, but at the ordination of a presbyter be seals, while tile bisbop ordains. Over a deacon, then, (tile bishop) shall say thus: God, who created all things and ordered them by your Word, Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, whom you sent to serve your will and mal<e known to us your desire, giVe the holy Spirit of grace and caring and diligence to this your servant whom you have chosen to serve your Cllurcll and to present

In )')Ur boly of holies tbat td>icb is off~ «> )')U by )')Ur appointed blgb-prle$1 1 the glory of>our name; that, :serving blawwkssly and purely, be may atrain the rank of a higber order, and praise andg/.orifyyou through )')Ur Son Jesus Cbrist our ll>rd; through td>om be glory and power and praise 10 you, wUh the boly Spirll, now and always and «> the ages of ages. Amen.

Of Collfesson

9. But a conjeSSQr, ifbe was In chains for the natr!4 oftbe Lord, sba/J not bewe bands laid on him for the diaconate or the presbytemte, for be 79



Page 94 of 99


23/04/2011 10:58


bas t/Hlxmouroflbe~ ~Iris ctmfesskm. BUJ if~M is appointed blsbcp, bands sbaJJ be laid on blm. BUJ iftbtml is a conftJSSOrumo uw not brougbt beforet!H aUJborilies, norpunisbed wilb chains, rwr sbUJ up in prison, rwr condemned 1 any

otber penally, but bas only b«n derided on occasion for tbe na""' of our L<mJ, andpunisbed wilb a domesticpunisb~~ ifhe am[essed, let hands be laid on him for "'VV order of which " is worthy. And tbe /nshopshaUgive thanks according I wbas we said above. It is net at all necessaryfor bim I utter tbe same uords as we said above, as though reciting them from memory, when giving thanks to God; hut let each pray according to bis abilgy.lfindeed anyone has lbe ability 1 pray Ill length and wilb a solemn prayer, it is good. But ifanyone, wben IM prays, uners a br/8fprayer, t:W notprevent bim. On!y, " mustpray what is sound and orthodox. Of Widows

10. WlHm a widow is appointed, ~ is not ordairuld, but is chosen by natM. Ifher husband has t-n dead a long litM, let her not be taken on tntn; 1ll.lfH if~ is iJ/d, let ber be umd for a tii'M, for ofttm the passi<ms grow old with bim !dJo mallss a place for tbem in himself. A widow sbaJJ be appointed /:>y word only, and shall join lbe rest. But bands sbaJJ not be laid on her, because ~ does nol offer the offering, nor has siM a IUUf8kal duty. Ordination isfor the clmgy, on aCC<Junt of their liluJ1iical durws; but a widow is appointed for praJ'"' which beJcngs «>all.

Of a Reader 11. A reader is appointed /:>y tbelnshop giving him the book, for he does not have hands laid on blm.

OfaV!raiA 12. Hands shall not be laid on a virgin: her choice alane mallss IMr a virgin,

80



Page 95 of 99


23/04/2011 10:58


Of a SUIM'eaC01l

13. Hands sbaJI not be laid on a subdeacon, but be sbaJJ be named In order that be may fo/Jow the deacons. Of Gifts of lfMiiOS 14. lfanyone says, 'I have received a gift ofbea/ing l>y a revelation', bands sball not be laid on bim, /&r the facts lbemse/ve$ will sbow ~er be bas spoken the tn4lb.

Of Newcomus to tbe Fall:h

15. 7bose who comeforwardf&r the first time to bear the word sbaJI first be lm>ugbtto the teachers bofore aJI the people arrive, and shall be questtoned about their reason for coming 1 the faith . And those who haw /m>ugbt them sball boar witness about them, whether they are capable ofbearing the word. They sbaJI be questioned about tbelr slate of life: has be a wife? Is be the siaVB ofa believer? Does his mastm' a/Jow bim? Let him bear the word. lf bis master tkJes not boar witness about bim that be iS a good !'JD'I, be sbaJI be rejected. If bis master iS a bealhen, teach bim to please bis master, that them bo no scandal. ifany man bas a wife, or a woman a husband, they shaJI be taught to be contented, the man with his wife and the woman with her husband. But if any man is not living with a wife, be sball be Instructed not to /omicale, but to take a wife lawfully or .r emain as be is. lf an_,.,ne is possessed l>ya demon, be shall not bear the word of teaching until he Is

pure. OfCnlfts and Profc8slons 16, Inquiry sbaJI be matk about the crafts and professions of those who are lm>ught/&r lnslTuaton. lf a man is a lm>tbei-RHper, kt blm cease or be rejected. lf ""-"'"" is a sculptor &r a painter, let them be instructed not to maloe Idols; let them cease &r be rejected. lfan-""'" Is an actor or gives theatrical petformances, kt bim cease &r be rejected. He who teaches cbildren bad best cease; but if be bas no craft, kt him

baVBpermts.ston.

81



Page 96 of 99


23/04/2011 10:58


Similarly, a charioteer who compel~!$ in tbe games, or goes to tbem, let him cease or be rejected. One who Is a g/adla!qr or ll!aehes g/adiatrs tofigh~ or one who fights with beasts in tbe games,_or a public ojJicial emplst. For it is the body of Christ, to ~ eaten by believers, and not to ~ despised. NothlJig Must FaD from the CUp 38. For having blessed (the cup) in the name of God, you received

as it were the antitype of the blood of Christ. Therefore do oot pour any out, as though you despised it, lest an alien spirit lick it up. You will~ guilty of the blood, as one who despises the price with which one has been bought. Of the Sign of tbe Cros$ 42A. If you are tempt«J. sign your forehead. For this sign of the passion is displayed against the Devil, if it is made in faith, 110( to please people, but through knowledge, presenting it like a breastplate. For when the Adversary sees the power of the Spirit (which comes) from the bean, outw2tdly displayed in the likeness of baptiSm, h e will tremble and flee, wben you do not strike him but breathe on him. Moses dld this symbolically with the sheep wbich was sacrificed at the Passover. By sprinkling the blood on the threshold and by anoinllng the two doorposts,

92



Page 8 of 100


23/04/2011 11:00


he signified that faith which is now in us, in the ped'ect sheep. Let us sign forehead and eyes with the hand, and escape from him who is trying to destroy us.

43A. And so, when these thit\gs are heard with thankfulness and true orthodox faith, they provide edification for the Churcll and eternal

life for believers. I oounsel those who •re sensible to gua.td them. For to all who hear the apos(toUc tradition).. .

39. 1be Mt:cons and priests shall assemble daily at tbe place wblcb tbe bishop appoints for them. I.st tbedeacom nolfai/10 asumble at ail limes, unless il1nns binders tbtlm. Wben ail bave assembled, let them teach those wbo are In tbe cburcb, and in this way, wben they bewe prayed, let them go to tbe worlr whicb falls to each one of them. Of Cemeteries

40. No

one may be betwJly charged for burying a

perron in tbe

·c111118teries; it is tbe property ofail tbe poor. But tbe fee of the workman and the price of the tUes shail be pafd to btm wbo digs. 7be bisbop sban provide for those wbo

are in that place and look after it, so that there

may be no beavy cbargefor rbose wbo come to rbose p/llces. Of tbe Time When One Oup! IO Pray

41. 1£1 every faithful man and woman, when they have risen.from sleep in the momJng, before they tx>uch any worlt at ail, wasb their bands and pray to God, and so go to their worlt. But if instruction in the word of God is given, each one sboufd choose to go to that plac4, reckoning In tbe heart that it is God who is beard In the i>Utructor. For the one who pmys In the cburcb wiO be able to pas$ by the wickedness oftbe day. 7bose wbo are pious sbould tbinlt it a groat evil I/ they do not go to tbe place where instruction is given, and especiaJiy if they can road, or if a teacher comes. l£t none of you be /ale in the cburcb, tbe place where teacbing is glrJen. 7ben il sbail be girJen to the speaker to .say that is useful to eacb one; you will bear thingS which you do not thinlt of, and profit.from things wbidria that Jewish scholars had tranSlated their Bible intO the very influen!ial Greek version known as the Septuag!nt. The philosophy called neoplaroniSm was born !here, and neopythagoreanism may have been as weU. Other philosophical traditions had academies in !he dry. The Mouseion (Musewn) of Alexandria was one of tbe finest research institutes in the andent world, with a "mother" hbrary that housed half a million scrolls, and a "daughter" Ubrary which w as even larger. Panly because Alexandrian Christianity had to answer !he criticisms of the local non-Chrislian inte!UgeniSia, and partly because it wanted to evangelite people whose way of thinking had been formed by other philo$ophical uaclicions, it grew accustomed to thinking and speaking in the categories of philosophy, especially the philosophy of Pla!o. And because it wanted to unlod< the hidden meanings of Scripture, it borrowed academic tools of literary analysis from i1s cultured milieu.


http://site.ebrary.com.myaccess.library.utoronto.ca/lib/utoronto…9f12614d84118394d10e100904f4a1eaeb78da16ea4bcd51d42dd7651cb67187

Page 13 of 100


23/04/2011 11:01


According to Odgen's best biographer, the very competent historian Eusebius of Caesarea, writing about ~25. Origen was taised in a Christian home. In about 202, during the persecutlons ~the Emperor Septimius Severus, his father was mattyrecl. About the same time the head of the diocesan school for catechumens fled the per.;ecutions, and Orlgen in effect took his place, although be was still only a teenager. Later, the bishop appointed him to do what he was already doing. Origen proved a btilliant scholar and an inspiring and demanding teacher. He developed a curriculum for carechumetlS which began with philosophy, logic, and science, and then proceeded to ethics and theology. Meanwhile, be eoolinued his own education, studying Hebrew with local Jewish scholrus, attending lectureS by the founder of neoplaionism, and reading Scripture very carefully. HiS lifestyle was highly ascetiC, almost pathologically so. It was said that, inspired by Matthew 19:12, he castrated himself. In 230, on a trip to Palestine, he allowed himself to be ordained Without the permission of the bishop of Alexandria. His biShop was

furious, and in 231 Origen found himself exconununicated. He then moved to Caesarea, the Roman capital of the province of Syria Palaestioa, aboutl05 kilometers nonhwest of}e~em. caes;uca was ~n impoiWlt sea-port and commercial cenue, and it could boas! an apostoUc tradition datitlg back to Peter and Paul. Origen felt as if, Ul<e Israel, be had been released from the bondage of Pharaoh and had found freedom in the laod of canaan. He directed the school for catechumens there, and, being now a priest, began preaching homilies, or explanations of passages of Saiprure. In a lime when different churches and different synagogues weno using diffetertt versions of Saiptute, he used scientific means for establishing the true text. He wrote hundreds, possibly thousands of works. Because doubts later arose about his orthodoxy, and because many of his works were soaked in the philosophy of Plato, only a few of them have survived in their original Greek, and a few more in Latin tranSlation. He is generally considered the most outSWlding Christian scholar and rhlnl<er of the second and third centuries. In 250 he was arrested dutitlg the persecutlons under the Emperor Dedu.s, and suffered long periods of t0f1ure. He died rwo or three years

afterwards.



Page 14 of 100


23/04/2011 11:01


Most of Orlgen's works were on Biblical subjects, and his preferred method of interpretation w:os allegorical. ibis approach W2S a stand2t
4. TKY ""'"" rs AS l'flii'VMt POU1\et> FOmIYUIS, andyoung maidens wilboul number. One is my .UWS, my peifec1 one, sbe is lbe only 0n4 of ber mother, sbelbat conceiwd her batb no other one. 'After thee,' therefore, 'We will run into the fagrance of thy perfumes.' lt was entirely appropriate that these words, 'We will run into the f!'llgrance of thy perfumes,' were used of lovers; they aocord with I bave finished lbe course, and tbey lbal nm In the race all nm indeed, but 0n4 receivlltb lbe prize- which prize is Christ. And these maidens who, as we know, are $landing without bec2use their love is only just beginning, are like tbe friend of lbe !Jrltkgroom, wbo standetb and bearetb Him, and rej0ic8tb wilb joy because of lbe !Jrltkgroom's voice. The maidens undergo a like experience: when the Bridegroom enters, they remain without. But when the Bride, the fuir, the perfect one who is without spot or

wrinkle. has entered the Bridegroom's cllamber, the secret place of the ~ng,

she comes back to the maidens and, telling them the things that she alone has seen, she says: ,.. J<JNG BaOUGKT "" INTO ms owm... She does not say: 'He brought us'- using the plural- 'into His chamber'; the others remain without, the Bride alone is brought into the chamber, that she may see there l!'!!lmorao.u, AS 'I>!ECtiRTAJNS BEAtnmJt. 0 YE DAUCHTPIS or ]EOUSAWI -

Of SoLOMON. LOOK NOT AT M£, fOK THAT I AM 8LACKtNED; FOit TH2 SUN RAS LOOm>

OOWNONMt.

Beautiful indeed is the Slide, and I can find out in what manner she is so. But tbe question is, in what way is she black and how, Ifshe lacks whiteness, is she fait. She has reperued of her sins, beauty is the gift conversion has bestowed; !hat is the reason she is hymned as beautiful. She is called black, however, because she has not yet been purged of every stain of sin, she has not yet been washed unto salvation; nevertbeless she does not stay dark-hued, she is becoming white. When. therefore, she alises towards greater things and begins to mount from lowly things to lofty, they say concerning he" Who it tbit lbal cometh up, having been washed while? And in order that tbe mystery may be more dearly expressed, they do not say leaning upon her Nephew~ ann, as we read in most versions - that is to say, eplsterlzomble, but epWelblz<mWne, that is, leaning upon Hit bnrast. And ii is signilicant that tfie expression used concerning the blide·soul and the BlidegroomWord is lying upon Hit breast, because there is the seat of our heart. Forsaking carnal things, therefore, we must perceive those of the spirit and understand that it is much better to love after this manner than to refrain from love. She cometb up, then, leaning on her Nephew~ breast; and of her, who at the canticle's beginning was set down as black, it is sung at the end of the marliage·song' Who is Ibis that cometh up, balling been washed u,'blre? We understand, then, why the Blide is black and beautiful at one and the same time. But, if you do not likewise pmctise penitence, take heed lest your soul be desclibed as black and ugly, and you be hideous with a double foulness - black by reason of your past sins and ugly because you are continuing in the same vices! If you have repented, however, your soul will indeed be black because of your old sinS, but your penitence will give it something of what I may call an Ethiopian beauty. And having once made mention of an Ethiopian, l want to summon a Scliprural witness about this word r.oo. Aan>n and Mary murmur against Moses, because Moses has an Elbii:Jpilm wife. Moses

108



Page 24 of 100


23/04/2011 11:01


FILIT lloo&Y C1t1 THI! SoMa 01 SoMas

weds an Ethiopian wife, because his Law has passed over to the Ethiopian woman of our Song. Let the A2ron of the Jewi$11 prieSthood mumrur, and let the Mary of their synagogue murmur too. Moses c:ateS nothing for their murmuring; He loves His Ethiopian WOtlla11, concerning wbom it is said elsewhere through the prophet: From tbe ends of the rivm of Etblopfa shall tbey bring offerings, and again: EJbiopia shall get ber bands In first wllb God lt is well said that sbe shall get in first; for, as in the Gospel the WOOJan With the issue of blood received attemlon before the daughter of the ruler of the synagogue, so also has Ethiopia been healed wblle lsrnel is SliD sick. By tb<Jir offence sa!mlion bas been Bjfet:ted for tlw Gmtiles, so as to malo~ tbmt jM/ous. 'I am black and beautiful, 0 ye daughters of Jerusalem: Address yourself to the daughters of Jerusalem, you member of the Cburcb, and

say: 'The Bddegroom loves me more and holds me dearet than you, wbo are the many daughters of Jerusalem; you stand without and watch the Bdde enter the chamber.' !Let no one doutx that the black one is beautiful, for an sbe is caDed black. For we exist in order that we may acknowledge God, that we may teU fonh songs of a song, that we may be those who bave come from the borders of Ethiopia, from the ends of the earth, to hear the wisdom of lhe true Solomon.) And when lhe Saviour's voice is heard thundering out the words: 71H <JUNn of tbe South shall come to judgement and shaU condemn tbe ,.... of tbls genmztton, because sbe came from tb' ends of the eatfb to bear tb' wisdom of Solomon, and bebold, a gmater tban Solomon Is bere, you must understand wbat Is said in a mystical sense: the queen of the South, who comes from the ends of the eanh, is the Church; and the men of this generatiOn whom she condemns, are the Jews. who are given over to flesh and blood. She comes from the ends of the eanh to hear the wisdom, not of that Solomon about whom we read in the Old Testament, but of Him wbo is said in the Gospel to be greater than Solomon.

'I am black and beautiful, 0 daughters of Jerusalem, black as the tents of Cedar, beautiful as the curtains of Solomon.' The very names aa:ord With the Bride's comeliness. The Hebrews say that Cedar is the word for darkness- 'I am black,' therefore, ·as the tents of Cedar,' as the EthiopianS, as Ethiopian tents; and 'beautiful as the curtains of Solomon,· wbic:b be prepared as adornments of the tabernacle at the time when b.e buUt the Temple with the utmoSt care and toil. Solomon was rich indeed,

109



Page 25 of 100


23/04/2011 11:01


and no one surpassed him In any branch of wisdom. 'I am black and beautiful, 0 daughters ofJerusalem, as the tents of Cedar, as the cunains of Solomon. Look not at me, for that I am blackened.' She apologizes for her blackness; and being turned to beaer tblngs through penitenoe, she tells the daughters ofJerusalem that she is black indeed, but beautiful for the reason which we gave above, and says: 'Look not at me, for that 1am blackened.' 'Do not be surprised,' she says, 'that I am of a forbidding hue; the Sun has looked down oo me. With full radiance His bright Ught has shone on me, aod I am darkened by His heat. I have not indeed received His Ught into myself as it were fining that I should, and as the Sun's own dignity requited.·

By their offence saluaticm has been effected for the Gentiles. And again: Through the unheli4f of the Gentiks is the /mew/edge of lsnl81. You fmd both these texts in the ApoStle. 7. THE SONs Of >fY 'IO'lliEO HAV! FOUCHT AGAINSt ME. We mu& consider in what sense the Bride says: 'The sons of my mother have fought against me; and at what time her brothers launched this aaack. You have only to look at Paul, the persecutor of the Church, to see how a son of her mother fought against her. The persecutors of the Church have repenred, and her opponents have turned to their siste(s banners and have preached the faith which they formerly sought to destroy. .foreseeing this. the

Bride now sings: THEY I{.\V£ COm"EN'OW ACA~'T M£, THEY &vt MAO£ ME TliE vrNEY.UOSo 1(¥ ~nAAO J HAVE NOf lC£P'T, ;l. tbe Church, the

KEEPER Ho: THE

spotless one,' she says, 'have been appoirued keeper of many vineyards by my mother's sons, who once had fought against me. Harassed by the responsibility and care involved in guarding many vineyards, I have not kept my own.' Apply these words to Paul or any other of the saints who care for the salvation of all people, and you will see how he guards others' vine· plantations while not guarding his own; how he himself bears loss in some respectS so that he may gain others; and how, though he was free as to all, he made himself the seJVant of all that be might gain all, being made weak to the weak, a Jew to the Jews, as subject to the Law to those who are so subject, and so forth - how, in a word, he can ~y; 'My vineyard I have not kepL' The Bride then beholds the Bridegroom; and He, as soon as s he has

110



Page 26 of 100


23/04/2011 11:01


seen Him, goes away. He does this frequently duoughout the Song; and that is something nobody can understand wno has not suffered it himself. God is my witness that I have often perceived the Bridegroom dr2wing near me and being most intensely present With me; then suddenly He has Withdlllwn and I could not fmd Him, though I sought to do so. I long, therefore, for Him to come again, and sometimes He does so. Then, when He has appeared and I lay hold of Him, He slips away once more; and, when He has so slipped away, my search for Him begins anew. So does He act with me repeatedly, until in uuth I hold Him and go up, 'leaning on my Nephew's arm.· 8. Tl!lL )of£, THOU WKOW MY SOUl. KAS LOVED, WHlJI£ 11101) FUDEST, W"KD:! nteu lJEST' 1s 'THE MIDDAY. I am not asking about other times, I ask not where Thou feedest in the evening, or at daybreak, or when the sun

goes down. I ask about the full day-lime, when the light is brightest and Thou dwellest In the splendour of Thy roajesty: 'Tell me, Thou whom my soul has loved, where Thou liest in the midday.' Observe attentively where else you have read about midday. In the story of Jooeph his brethren feast at noon; at noon the angels were e nten:tined by Abraham, and there are other instances bes!<Jes. You will find if you look into it, thatHolyScriprure never uses any word haphazard and without a purpose. Who among us, do you think, is worthy to attain the midday, and to see where the Bridegroom feeds and where He lies at noon? 'TeU me. Thou whom my soul has loved, where Thou feedest, where Thou liest in the midday.' For, unless Thou tell me, I shall begin to be a vagrant, dm~n to and fro; while I am looking for Thee, I shall begin to run after other people's flocks and, because these other people make me feel ashamed, I shall begin to rover my f•ce and my mouth. I am the beautiful Bride in sooth, and I show not my naked face to any save Thee only, whom I kissed rettderly but now. 'Tell me, Thou whom my soul has loved, where Thou feedest, where Thou liest in the midday, lfST I HAVE TO GO VEllED Bl.SQ,)!. m! l"'...CKS Of nN OOMPANtONS.'

That {suffer not

these things - that I rnay need not to go veiled nor hide my face; that, mixing With others, I run not the risk of beginning to love also them whom I know not - tell me, therefore, where I may seek and fmd Thee in the mlddoy, 'lest I have to go veiled beside the flocks of Thy companions.•

Ill



Page 27 of 100


23/04/2011 11:01


9. After these words !be Bridegroom wams her, saying: 'Either know thyself, that thou art the Bride of the King and beautiful, an d made beautiful by me because I have presemed to myself a g/criou.s Church, nt having spot or wrlnllk; or undetstand that if thou has! 001 known thyself nor gtasped thy dignity, thou must endure the things that follow.· What may these be? (f11fOU Hhvt NOT KNOWN nfY'Sll.P, THE rnJ>S

0

FIJ'R ONE AMONG WO..'IEN, GO f'Oimi IN

or THE FlOCJ(5 """ mo- not the flocks of sheep, nor of l:unbs,

but - 1HY GOA!S. He will set the sheep on the right hand and the goat:s upon the left, assuredly. 'If thou have not known thyself, 0 fair one among women, go fonh in the steps of the flocks and feed lhy goat:s AMONG nu! SHEPHl!I1DS'1!NTS.' 'In the steps of the flocks,' He says, 'wilt thou find thyself at the last, oot among the sheep, but among lhe goat:s; and when thou dweUest with them thou can.st not be with me - that is, wilh lhe Good Shepherd. 10. 1'0 MYCONPAHVOP HOISE'MEN ..ulONO PHAltAO'S atAJUOTS HAVE (

UJCEN!O

nm:. If tbou wouklst understand, 0 Bride, how thou must know thyself, think what it is to which I have compared thee. Then, when thou hast

recognized lhy likeness, thou wilt see that thou a.n such as must not be

disgraced.' What then is lhe meaning of these words: 'To my company of horsemen among Phano's chariotS have I likened lhee? I myself know that the Bridegroom is likened ro a horseman in the words of the propl\et: Thy riding is saltxzti<m, so thou art compared to 'my company of horsemen amoQg Phan.o's chariots.' As different is lhe company of 1\orsemen that belongs to me, who am lhe Lord and drown lhe Pharao and his generals, his riders and his horsemen In the waves - as different, I tell you, ismycavalryfromPhan.o's horses as thou, the Bride, art better than aU daughters, and thou, the soul belonging to !be Church, art better than aU souls that are not of the Church. 'To my company of horsemen among Pharao's chariotS have I likened thee.• He next describes the beauty of the Bride in teons of spiritu21Jove; He pfllises her face, and is kindled to admltation by her rosy cheeks. A woman's beaUty is considered to reside supremely in her cheeks. So let us likewise take !be cheeks as revealing the beauty of the soul; by Ups and toQgUC, however, let the intelligence be represented to us.

1HY QII!ElCS """AS ""' Ttllt1U•OOVE's.

llZ



Page 28 of 100


23/04/2011 11:01


THY N!CI< IS .s • ~- Thy neck, that is to say, even when unadorned is of itself as much an omament as is the Utile necklace called bormislros, that virgins are woot to wear.

After these things the Spouse takes His re~. lie has~ as a lion, and as a lion's whelp lie has slept. so that in due course He may hear. Wbo sbaU arouse liim? While He reposes, His companions the angels appear to the Bride and comfott her with these words: 'We cannot make thee golden ornaments - we are Dot so rich as is thy Spouse, who gives thee a necklace of gold; we will make thee Uke.nesses of gold, for gold we have Dot got. Yet this also is matter for rejOiCing, lf we make likenesses of gold, if we make studs of silver..... W!ll. tMliZ 1II!E UXENESSES o• GOtD """' snro. OF SJLVEO; but not for always, only until thy Spouse arises from His rest. For, when He has arisen, He Himself will make thee gold and silver, He will Himself adorn thy mind and thy understanding. and thou shalt. be rich indeed, the Bride made perfect in the House of the Bridegroom, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.•

113



Page 29 of 100


23/04/2011 11:01


This page intentionally left blank



Page 30 of 100


23/04/2011 11:01


Cyprian, l'tYaltuiO ~NS (:ZS:Z1, Carthajpo)

Cwrian \llla$cius Cae,ilius Cyprianus, d. 258), bi:ihop of Canhage, followed in a theological ~r.~dltion laid out by an earlier Catthaginian Christian, TerrullW!, who died ftfteen or twenty years before Cyprian's conversion. Ternillian is oonsldered a deeper theologian with a wider range of interests, Cyprian the clearer writer with the more practiC21 bent and the more compassionate heart. Cyprian was born into a cultuted and wealthy pagan family, probably in Carthage, the p remier dty of North Africa, and the second most important dty of the western Roman Empire after Rome. (Its ruins remain on its site on the Bay of Tunis, quite near modem Tunis In Tunisia.) He was ciassically educated, and made his living as a teacher of rhetoric. While the field of rhetoric could be, at its worst, simply the skill of speaking impressively in public and winning argumetliS, it could also be, at its best - as the philosopher Aristotle had explained it more than five centuries earlier - a sophisticated art that integrated philosophy, logic, dialectic, grammar, and literary analysis. Moreover, the rhetorician could be expected to serve as the remembrancer of the politiC21 and social uaditions of the community. A good teacher of thetoric, therefore, was an eminent person in classiC21 culture. Cyprian gave up his social standing when he converted to Christianity at an unknown date under the influence of a Christian presbyter. He stopped read!nS pagan titenture.



Page 31 of 100


23/04/2011 11:01


and devoted himself to !be $tUdy of Scriprure instead He apparently also gave •WliY IIX)SI of his wealth. Soon he was made a presbyter in !he Church, and by early 249, relucranrly and after demonstrations by laypeople who supported him, he was made bishop. He had probably been a Christian only a few years, because several car!haginian clergy opposed his conseaarion as bishop on !be grounds that be was stiU new to !be faith.

Cyprian had been bi.shop for only about a year when the Emperor Oecius unleashed an intense petsecution of the Church. Cyptian went into hiding. Some altidz.ed him as a coward and a bad example, but he defended his decision as good strategy for the church, and he also quored Revebtion 18:4, "Come out of her, my people, .. . so that you do nor share in her pbgues: and Matthew 10:23, "When !hey persecute you in one town, flee to the next.• From his refuge, be oorulnued to administer his diocese. He rerumed to canhage !he foUowing year. In the wake of !be pet>eCUtion, the Church faced a very practical question: what should be done With the "lapsed", those who had in some measure denied their faith under duress? And what should be done with the "llbeUatici", !hose who had nor exactly denied !heir faith, but who bad oblaincd certificates C"libelli") statlng that they had vene!'ited. the RollWl gods? Two exueme posWoo.s sptit the Church In cartilage. Some, who may be called "the bxists; were willing to re-admit the lapsed and the "JibeUatid" immediately. Others, who may be called "the maintained that their sin was unforgiwble. Between the bxists and the rlgourists Cyprian made his way to a mediating position. He persuaded his syood (the church council of his diocese) that aD the lapsed might be reconciled to the Church, but only after a period of penance commensurate With the gravity of the offence, or else on their deathbed

n8ourists:

Two related matters troubled Cyprian. Among the bxists were some •confessors•, Christians who had maintained their faith even through imprisonment and tottute, but had not been martyred; and many of them were claiming authOrity from God 10 forgive the lapsed and 10 readmit them into the Church. Did they reaDy have this authoriry? Cyprian's answer was that they did not. Only the bishop and clergy could reconcile sinners on God's behalf. Moreover, some of !be rigourists were setting up their own churches, in schism from the true Church. Were the people

116



Page 32 of 100


23/04/2011 11:01


they baptUed truly baptized? Cyprian answered that they were not; and should they later want to enter the Catholic Churcll, they would need a proper baptiSm. He thus contradicted the bishop of Rome of his day. In 257 a new Emperor, Valeriatl, began a new persecution of Christians. Cyprian was fon:ed into exile, and !ben finaJJy, in 258, he WliS martyred, by beheading.

Most of Cyprian's works attend to churclly themes, !-ut the treatise To Demetrianus, printed below, is an exception, at least at fust sight. Instead it aims to answer a question which baunted anotbet North Aftican, Sl Augustine, over a century and a half later: if Christianity is from God, then why did so many bad things swt happening as soon as the Church began attr.lcting people away from paganism' Written against a background o f persecution, the work refleas some of the phil060phical and other dlfferences that divided Christian from pagan. Demelrianus was ·the proc:onsul of Aftic:a. The work bears some resemblance to an Apology by T ertullian, whom Cyprian m uch admired. Cyprian. lilce Tertullian, wrote in Latin, .and the manuscript tradition raises no unusual problems.

Questloas on the r

1

1Qg

What prompts Cyprian to write? What, according to Cyprian, has Demetrlanus been saying about the Christians' What tone does Cyprian take? What evidence of the social background of the controversy can be found within the texl? To what extent is Cyprian really addressing Demetrianus personally, and to wbat extent a Christian or pagan public? What does Cyprian understand as authoritative evidence for his position? Would Demetrianus be impressed with citations of Scripture? What common understanding might they share, if any, as a basis of conversation? Is Cyprian·s classical education in evidence in the document? What is Cyprian's understanding of the world, and bow histocy works? What is his view of the day of judgment? What are the apologetic goals and suategies of the treatise? What might be considered distinctive of North African Christianity in this document?

117



Page 33 of 100


23/04/2011 11:01


1. I had frequently, Demetrianus, treated with contempt your railing and noisy clamoor with sacrilegious mouth and impious words against the one and true God, thinking it more modest and better, silently to scorn the ignorance of a mistaken man, than by speaking to provoke the fury or a senseless one. Neither did 1 do this without the authority or the divine teaching, since it is written, "Speak not in the ears or a fool, lest when be hear thee be should despise the wisdom of thy words;"' and again, •AAswer not a fool according to his folly, lest thou also be like unto him."" And we are, moreover, bidden to keep what is holy within our own knowledge, and not expose it to be trodden down by swine and dogs, since the Lord speaks, saying, •Give not that which Is holy unto the dogs, neither cast ye your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and rum again and rend you.·• For when you used often to come to me with the deslre or oontradlalng rather than with the wish to learn, and preferred Impudently to insist on your own views, which you shouted with noisy words, to patiently listening to mine, it seemed to me foolish to oontend with you; since it would be an easier and slighter thing to restrain the angry waves or a turbulent sea with shouts, than to checl< your madness by arguments. Assuredly it would be both a vain and ineffecrual labour to offer tight to a blind man, discourse to a deaf one, or wisdom to a bMe; since neither ean a brute apprehend, nor can a blind man admit the light, nor can a deaf man hear. 2. In consideration or this, I have frequently held my tongue, and overcome an impatient person with patience; since I could neither teach an unteachable person, nor check an Impious one with religion, nor restrain a frantic person with gentleness. But yet, when you say that very Source: Cyprlan, Thl'mouthed for the dead. The same men are timid in the duties of affection, but rash In quest of impious gains; shunning the deaths of the dying, and craving the spoils of the dead, so that it may appear as if the wretched are probably forsaken In their sickness for this cause, that they may not, by being cured, escape: for he who enters so eagerly upon the estate of the dying, probably desired the sick roan to perisb. 11. So great a terror of destru< 23. Look, therefore, while there is time, to the uue and eternal salvation; and since now the end of the world is at band, rum your minds to God, in· the fear of God; nor let that powerless and vain dominion in the world over the just and meek delighl you, since in the field, even among the eultiw.ted and fruitful com, the t2reS and the <Wnel ha~ domln!on. Nor say ye that Ill forrunes happen because your gods are not wot$hipped by us; but know that this is the judgment of God's anger, that He who is not acknowledged on account of His benefits may at least be acknowledged through His judgments. Seek the Lord even late; for long ago, God, forewarning by His prophet, exhons and says, "Seek ye the Lord, and your soul shall Uv~ "" Know God even late; for Christ at His coming admonishes and teaches this, saying, "Thhs is life eternal, that they mighl know Thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom Thou has! sent."" Believe Him who deceives not at an. Believe Hlro who foretold that all these things should come to pass. Believe Hlro who will give to an that believe the reward of eternal Ufe. BeUeve Him who will call down on them that believe not, eternal punishments in the ftres of Gebenna. 24. What will then be the glory of faith? What the punishmem of faithlessness? When the day of judgment shall come, what joy ofbelievers, what sorrow of unbelievers; that they should have been unwilling to believe here, and now that they should be W>3b!e to return thllt they

131



Page 47 of 100


23/04/2011 11:01


might believe! An ever-burning Gehenna will' bum up the condemned, and a punishmeru devouring with living flames; nor will !here be :1t1y source whence at any time !hey may have either respite or end to !heir torments. Souls with their bodies will be reserved in infinite tortures for suffering. Thu$the man will be for ever seen by us who here gazed upon us for a season; and !he short joy of !hose auel eyes in !he persecutions !hat they made for us will be compensated by a pes a united religion in a united Empire. The deleglltes to the Council were bishops, mainly from the eastem pan of the Roman Empire; a number had been victims oi the Great Persecution na so many years before, permanently disabled by torture and the conditions of their imprisonment. The meeting$ were beld at Nicea in Bithynia (now lznik in Turkey), about a hundred kllomecers southwest o f the future cap!W, Constantinople, and quite dose to the then capital, Nioomedia. The politiclting was considerable, but it Is not possible to know exactly how the Council proceeded; there are no records of the debates, and much of the historical evidence that does exist glosses over the disagreements. The outcomes were influenced not only by theological argument but also by the interventions of the Emperor, the interplay of the local interests represented, and personal relationships, among other things. The documents promulgated by the Council were the synodallettet, the creed, and the IWenty canons (laws) presented below. It seems unlikely that there were other acts of the Council,, though conceivably some may have been lost.

The concerns of the Council can be inferred from these documents. Some background may be helpful, however, concerning three specific



Page 51 of 100


23/04/2011 11:01


controVersies: Arianism, the treaunent of the 12psed, and the paschal controversy. Arius was a presbyter in a wealthy parish in Alexandria who, in disagreement with his bishop, asserted that "there was when the Son was not.• He meant that the Son of God. who became incarnate in Jesus Chris~ was not eternal, and therefore must have come into being, and therefore must have been made, and therefore was a crearure, and therefore was not God Controversy flared. Constantine's representatives could not settle the conflict. Perhaps, Constantine thought, a council of b ishops could. During the Decian persecution in 249 and 250, the Church at Rome had been divided between those who wanted to re-admit the lapsed on rebtively lenient tenns, and !hose who did not. The dgourist party went into schism, and consecrated a presbyter named Novatian as lheit own bishop of Rome. Similarly, in EgypeN-Crt!M We believe in one God, the Father Almighty, Maker of all things both visible and invisible. And in one Lordjesus Chlist, the Son of God, begotten of the Father, the only begotten, that is of the substance of the Father, God of God, Light of light, very God of very God, begoaen not made, consubstantial with the Father, by whom all lhings were made, both those in heaven and those in earth who for us men, and for our salvadon, came down, and was incarnate, made man. sulfered, and rose aSl'ln the lhird day, ascended into the heavens, and will come to judge the living and the dead And in the Holy Ghost. B\11 those who say that lhere was once a time when he was not, and that he was not before he was begonen, and that he was made out of things which did nO< exist, or who say that he is of another substance or essence, or that the Son of God is created. capable of change, or alteration, the Catholic Church anathematizes.

21>e Canoll.s oftb
140



Page 56 of 100


23/04/2011 11:01


are found worthy, the canon allo'M them to be admitted to the Clerical

office. Since many things have been done by men ei.t her from necessity, or some other pressing cause, conttaty to the canons of the Church, as that persons who have come over to the faith from a heathen life, and have been taught for a sbon time, have been p~dy to the spirlruallaver, and at the same time that they have been baptized, have been promoted to the Episcopate, or Presbytery; it appears rigl1l to detetmine, that nothing of the son shall be done for the future: for some time is neoessaty for the state of a Cated\umen, and a fuller probation after Baptism; for the Apostolic decree is cle2r, which says, 'Not a novice, lest being lifted up with pride be fall into a snare, and the condemnation of the devil." But if in process of time any narural fault should be discovered about the person let him be deposed from the Oergy. Whosoever shall act conttaty to these rules will endanger his own orders, as boldly opposing the great Synod.

m. The great Synod altogether forbids any Bishop, Presbyter, or Deacon, or any one of the Oergy, to have a woman dwelling with him excepting a mother, or sister, or aunt, or such persons only as are above all suspicion. TV. lt is most proper that a Bishop should be constituted by all the Bishops of the Province: but if this be difficult on accounl of some urgent necessity, or the length of the way, that at aU everus three should meet together at the same place, those who are absent also giving their suffrages, and theif consent in writing, and then the ordination be performed. The conllnning however of what is done in each Province, beiongs to the Meu-opotitan of it. V. Concerning those, whether of the Oergy or Laity, who have been excommunicated by the Bishops in the different Provinces, let the sentence of the Canon prevail, which pronounces, that those persons wbo have been cast out by one Bishop are not to be received again into communion by any others. lnquify should h~ever be made whether they have been excommunicated through the peevishness or contentiousness, or other such Uke bitterness, of the B!sbop. And in order that this inquify may be conveniently made, it is decreed to be proper, that Synods should be assembled twice every year in every Province, that all the Bishops of the Province being assembled together,

141



Page 57 of 100


23/04/2011 11:01


such questions may be ex:aminelith that which is subject to time), yet he is not two (persons). God fotbid! For both {natureS) are one by the combination, the deity being made human being, and the humanity deified or bowever one should express it. And I say different (elements). because it is the

151



Page 67 of 100


23/04/2011 11:01


rever.e of what Is the case in the Trinity; for there we acknowledge different [Persons! so as not to confound the Persons; but not different (elements}, for the three are one and the same in Godhead. If any should say that it wrought in him by grace as in a prophet, but let him be empty of the higher energy, or rather fuU of the opposite. If any worship not the Crucified, let him be anathema and be numbered among the deicides. If any assen that he was made perfect by works, or that after his baptism, or after his resurrection from the dead, he was counted wonhy of an adoptive sonship, like those whom the Greeks interpolate as added to the ranks of the gods, let him be anathema. For that whJch has a beginning or a progress or is made perfect is not God, although the expr=ions may be used of his gradual manifestation. If any assen that he has now put off hls holy flesh, and that his Godhead is stripped of the body, and deny that he is now with his body and will come again with ir, let him not see the glory of his coming. For where is his body now, if not with him who assumed it? For it is not laid by in the sun, according to the babble of the Manicbaeaos, that it shooJd be honored by a dishonor; nor was it poured fonh into the air and dissolved. as is the narure of a voice or the flow of an odor, or the coor.e of a lightning flash that never stands. Where in that case were his being handled after the ~urrection, or his being seen hereafter by them that pierced him, for Godhead is in its narure invisible' Nay; he will come with his body- so I have learned - such as he 'ivas seen by his disciples in the Mount, or as he showed himself for a moment, when his Godhead overpowered the camality. And as we say thJs to disann suspicion, so we write the other to correct the novel teaching. If anyone assen that his flesh came down from heaven, and is not from hence, nor of us though above us, let him be anathema. For the words, -rhe seke 4:2;John 19:28; 4:6; MaJic 4:38.

wke 2:14 or Mark 1:13; MaJic 6:~5-51 and parallels. ..

John 11:34, 43.

" "

Luke2H4. Cl. Mark 6:50; John 16:33.

Epistle 202 JOhn 3:13. I Cor. 15:47.

'

AS a c=lt of lhls lelter, or $imll~r r MarceUIMa, his sister (Easter 386) In most of your letters you make anxious inquiry about the churcll. Hear, then. what is going on: The day after I received your letter, in which you remarked that your dreams were troubling you, a great wave of serious disturbances began overwhelming us. This time it was not the Pottian BasUica, that is, the one outSide the walls, which was being demanded [by the Adansl, but the new basilica, that is, the one inside the walls, the larger one. First, the military authorities, imperial counts, came with their command to me to hand over !be [new] basilica and also to see to it that the people caused no disturbance. I answered, as was proper. that a bishop could not hand over the temple of God On the following day in church this [statement of mine} was loudly approved by the people; then the praetorian prefect arrived there and began to urge us to give up the Porlian Basilica. The people protested again, whereupon be left, saying that he would make a repon of matters to the emperor. The following day, the Lord's day, after the lessons and sermon, 1 dismissed the catechurnens and then went on giving an exposition of the Creed to several candidates for bap 1 will take your lifl!:l' I answered: 'May God grant you to fulfiJJ what you threaten, for I shall suffer what bishops suffer, and you wiU act as eunuchs act.' May God turn them from the Church and direct their weapoos all on me, and sbke their thirst with my blood

179



Page 95 of 100


23/04/2011 11:01


This page intentionally left blank



Page 96 of 100


23/04/2011 11:01


John~ Homil/68 mo t1H GMp.l of.Sf. ]olm, number 62 Qohn 11:1-29) (3911, Aolioc:h)

Christian

antiquity gavejohn the title "Chrysostom", "the one with the golden mouth", because he was the greatest preacher in the early Church. But his eloquence was not only a great asset, but also a great liability.

John was born betWeen 344 and 354 at Antioch, where he spent most of his life. Anlioch, in northern Syria (modem Antakya, Turkey), was lhe four1h city of the Empire, after Rome, Constantinople, and Alexandria. lt was almost a sea-pon, being just a few ldlometers up-river from Seleucia on lhe Mediterranean. lt was a military headquarters for the imperial defence of the Euphrates frontier. Its main sueet was a broad Roman avenue two roUes long with oolonnades on both sides. Like Alexandria, Antiocb originated with Alexander the Great, who conquered much of the territory around the eastern Mediterranean in lhe late fourth century B.C.E. He seru coloniStS from Athens to senle it, and the Alhenlans brought with them the traditions of their city-state, such as plillosophy, rhetoric, religious festivals, and Olympic contests. Antiocb liked to think of itself as a kind of Athens in Asia. In the fourth century, Antiochene Christianity developed a school of Biblic:ol exegesis that opposed the aliegOric:ol methods of the Alexandrians. Antiochenes analy%ed Scripture grammaticaliy, sought the meaning intended by the teXt, and investigated Biblical history. In this way they bid a foundation for most modem Biblic:ol schoi2rship.



Page 97 of 100


23/04/2011 11:01


John's famlly was well to do !hough not socially prestigious. His father died when he was an infant, and he receiVed his eady Christian orienlatiOn and education from his mother. He then oontinued with higher srudies under good classical teachers, including one of the moot dislingulshed teachers of rhetoric. He was baptized in 368. His inteiiecrual gifts caught the attention of the bishop, who taught him the ScrlpWres and mentored him in the Cbristlao life. John reaeared from the world for sevetal years and lived an austere ascetic life. Hls heallh aJ!lleted, he returned to Antioch, where he was ordained deacon in 381, and presbyter in 386. From 386 to 397 he preached in the principal church in Antioch, often three times a week. He was apparently the first to preach n01 from the altar but from the deaoon·s pulpit, in order to be closertolhe people. His preaching aar:aeted large crowds and excited considerable applause. Where Origen, consistently with the Alexandrian school, interpreted Scripture aUegorically, John, consistently with the school of Antloch, interpreted it historicaUy. Then, working from his exegesis, he sought the spiritual truth of !he passage, and applied it to the Christian life. In doing so he often critiqued the social e thos and practices of his community, and he characteristically summoned his audience to commit themselves to higher st3lldards of Chrisriaa morality. He partieulllrly targeted the wealthy on account of their luxutious living and their indifference to the poor; weallh itself, he thought, was usuaUy a sign of unjust gain. He sometimes used violently disparaging language concerning the Jews, who had a vigorous community in Antloch and whose theology and services of worship were, in Cb.rysostom's view, rather too appealing to many Christians. Thus Chrysostoro has won an unhappy place in the ugly history of Christian anti-semilism. He Is also known as one of the most anti-feminist of early Christian leaders, allhough he appears to have mellowed in this respect as be advanced in years. 1n 396, most unwillingly, be was made bishop of Constantinople. Chrysostom, transparent, impulsive, uncompromising, and tactless, was scarcely suited to the most politiciZed ecclesiastical office in the worid. The Empress Eudoxia took umbrage at his aaacks on wealth and luxury, his clergy were grievously provoked by his attempts to reform their moral and spiritual lives. and his brother bishops wished that he would learn to ntind his own business. He was deposed by a synod In 403, but

182



Page 98 of 100


23/04/2011 11:01


the deposition was quashed by another synod. On Easter eve 404, soldiers raided hls chtJtch and attacked the faithful, and at Pentecost the Emperor sent him into exile ln Armenia. There he continued to attroa a la.ge following, so in 407 the emperor had him marched through severe weather Into a Still more remote exile. He died on the way. Chrysostom's literary legacy iS the largest of any Greek Ch.ristlon of the first six ceiiiU!ies, and it iS atlested by a huge number of manuscrlptS. He left hundreds of sermons. He likely did 1101 preach from a saipt, and it is thought that the most authentic copies of his sennons are acruaUy tnnsalptions or paraphrases taken down by stenographers. His woded and confused their souls. Moreover, when He said: 'He sleeps,' He continued: 'I go that I may wake him.' On the conlra!)', when He declared: 'He is dead,' He did not now add: 1 go that I may raise hlm up: For He did not wish to make known ahead of time by His words what He intended to aJflnn by His deeds. This was to teach us always to avoid vainglory and that we ought not to make promises too freely. However, if He did this when He was appealed to in the case of the oenturion (for He said: 1 will come and cure him') , He did so in order to

mow l!le f.lith of~ ~911.• Now, someone may say: 'How is it that the disdples conceived the idea that it was titerally sleep He meant and did not understand that Lazarus was dead - I mean because He said: "I go that I may wake hlm"' And I saythisforitwasstupid if they thought that He was tra.veling fifteen stadia to wake bim from sleep.' In reply we should say this: 'They supposed that this was a riddle like many things He said.' Accordingly, they ati feared the hostility of the Jews, and Thomas was more fearful than all the rest. Therefore he said: 'Let us also go, that we may die with him. • Some maintain that Thomas himself wished to die, also, but this is so, for the statement was rather one that proceeded from fear. However, be was not reproved, for Christ still was making atiowance for his weakness. Later, in fact, he became strongest of ati and even swept ati before him. It is indeed a wonderful thing that we see hJm who was so weak. before the aucifixion becoming most fervent of ati after the crucifiXion, and after he came to beUeve in the Resurrection. So great is not

187



Page 3 of 98


23/04/2011 11:07


!he power of Christ. For, the same man who did not dare to go into Bethany in company with Christ traversed almost the whole world, !hough he could no longer see Christ, and freely moved about in !he midst of murderous people who even wanted to kill him. 'But if Belhany 'M.S fifteen stadia distan~ and this is but two miles.' how 'M.S l.azarus dead for four days?' He remained ~" all our actions with material ends in view. Moreover, we uner things full of stupidity and a great deal of nonsense. The Lord said: 'Blessed are they who mourn, '16 m~ 'who mourn for their sins,' yet no one mourns with that kind of sooow or cares about the loss of his soul. But we were not enjoined to do this other thing and we do iL 'What, then.' you will ask, 'is a man not allowed to weep, though he is human?'

192



Page 8 of 98


23/04/2011 11:07


HOMIU ON 7?f'B GoSI'EL OF Sr. JOHN

I do Dot forbid this, but I do fOen aw;ly fro111 him.

On the contrary, if he was a just man, you ought to be still happier, now rests secure and he is free from uncenainty for the time to come. If he is a young man, you ouglu to be happy bec:luse he has been quickly freed from the evils of this life; if he is old, because he has departed this life after having reeeived in its fullness what seems to be desirable. However, neglecting to consider these truths, you urge on your maid-servants to tear themselves to pieees, as if by this means honoring the departed, while acrually it is a rnark of the greatest dishonor. Truly, honor for the dead does not consist in lamentations and moanings, but in singing hymns and psalms and living a noble life. For the man who has depaned this life will go on his way in the company of the a~tgels, even if no one is present at his funeral; while be who has been corrupt will gain no profit. even if he has the entire dty sending him off to the grave. ~ause his fate

Do you wish to honor the departed? HoDor him in other ways; namely, by giving alms, performing good works, talting pan ln the divine services. What good is done him by copious weeping? Moreover,

t93



Page 9 of 98


23/04/2011 11:07


I have heard also of another serious fault. I have heard that many women, fornooth, attract lover.; by their mournful cries, gaining for themselves the reputation of loving the ir husbands because of the vehemence of their waUings. Oh, what deviUsh. scheming! Oh, what diabolic tlickery! What advantage for us who are but earth and ashes, for us who are but flesh and blood?

Let us look heavenward; let us reflect on spiritual considerations. How shall we be able to refute the heathen? How shall we be able to exhort them if we do such things? How shall we preach to them of the resurrection? How shall we discuss with them the rest of the Christian doeuines? How shall we ourselves live in security? Do you not know that death may be caused by grief' Darkening the soul's spirirual vision not only prevents if from perceiving what it should, but even causes it much harm. By showing excessive grief, therefore. we offend God and help neiiher ourselves nor the departed. By resttaining our grief, on the contrary, we both please God and conduct ourselves becomingly in people's eyes. For, if we ourselves do not succumb unresttainedy to grief, He will quickly take away the portion of grief we feel; whereas, if we give way to excessive grief, He will pennlt us to beoa.sting could noc be given enay where pinched humility betook irself and entered, because it was more pinched than the plocbed emaciation of a sorrowful heart.

3. May your prayers intefcede for me, so that the needle of the Lord's aoss may be lhreaded with the word of salvation, and repair my soul which is extensively worn and haphazardly pinned with the thorns" of feeling. For I think that the faith and word of Chnst's cross are the needle by which the clothing of our llfe is repaired. by which our mind is pricked, and by wblch we are sewn on God Hlmself through the inlercession of the Mediato< Hlmself. The eye of the needle, too, lies in Christ, for through Him and in Him lies the path to llfe desired by =ny but attainable by few; on that path the humility of wickedness enters more easily than the pride of righteousness. So I owe you greater gratitude for being my spiritual physician, since even your bodily ·gifts to me are spiritually useful; for you have sent these cloaks to me to indte me to prayer and to the practice of humility, as if you were sending a bag of dung to the barren fig tree." I think that this parable reveals the perennial profit of loving humility, which feJtillses the barren soul so that il should noc become oomplacent like the Pharisee with an empty show of pride, or be like a uee wblch yields no fruit yet blossoms With unprodUctive foliage. The blessed Job teaches us how good and useful such dung is for

cultivating salvation, for after he sat on a dunghill he ceased to be tempted." He had exhausted the hatred of the tempter by hls perfect humility, which can rise more easily than be thrust down. For by sitting in the dirt it cannoc fall further, but can rise up from there through Him who rrllm up tiH needyfrom the earth, and lifts up Ibe poqr out of the

dungbiiJ," and relegates the proud to the dung because, as Scripture says, every proud person is unclean in the sight of God'' So those who accuse their own Wickedness are more righteous in God's siglu than thooe who proclaim their own justice. The Pharisee accused himself

201



Page 17 of 98


23/04/2011 11:07


with his self·p!alse, whereas the pubUcan defeoded hlmselfwirh his selfaege. About the same time she fed flVe thousand monks, who Jay in hiding, for tluee days with her own bread, so that by her hand the Lord Jesus again fed in the desen the same number as of old." But now His kindness was all the greater as the hidden monks were being accorded less freedom and affection than that fonner five thousand who had voluntarily assembled before the Lord in freedom and in peace.

But Melania did not fear arrest. Untroubled she provided the assistance which was forbidden. She wished to ob~ no recognition or glory from her work, but the scale of her assislance brought fame, and she was renowned by as many attestations before men as the number whom she fed in league with God. Let us assess the extent.of her medt.



Page 24 of 98


23/04/2011 11:07


Abdias is famemes soft as she studies, for her pleasure in reading reduces me hardship of cbal stiff bed. That holy soul is at rest when she is awake for cheLord. Up to now che daughter of Sion has possessed her, and longs for her; but now the daughter of Babylon possesses and admires her. For now even Rome herself in the greater number of her population is the daughter of Sion rather than of Babylon. So Rome admires Melania, as she dweUs in me shadow of humility and the light of truch, as she offers incentives to flaith among the rich and the consolations of poverty among the poor. Yet now that she is amongst che crowds of Rome, she yearns for her silence and obscurity at Jerusalem, aod cries' Woe is me

210



Page 26 of 98


23/04/2011 11:07


/bat my sojourning is prol~dl Has my journey been po&poned that I might now dwell wilb the inhabitants of Cedar~ (J'or I have discovered that Cedar in Hebrew means datlcness.)

So I think she is to be felk:iwed on the vitrues I have mentioned provided that she is featful about her present abode, and as long as so outstanding a soul bestows more on Rome than she draws from it. She must sit on tbe riven ofBaby/on yet remember Sion." She must keep the lnsttumeru of her body above all the ambushes and anraaions of hostile Babylon, secure in the steady course of her committed life, which we may call the willows always thriving on true moisture. So sbe may flourish unceasingly, and with the enduring constancy of faith and the grace of virtUe, her kafWill notfall off."'Just as on the jOurney of th!s life she Is a model, so at its end her praise will be sung.

14. My bro!her, I could oot allow Melania to go in Ignorance of you. So that she might savour more fully the grace of God In you, I made you plain to her through your own words rather than mlne, for with my own lips I declaimed to her your life of our Martin. She iS most interested in such historical works. In the same manner I poruayed you both to the revered annor but as a form of ooncession; otherwise there might arise In the monastery that hateful reversal whereby, as far as it can be done, the dch beoome toilets and the poor enjoy luxury. Cettainly,ln the case of the sick, as they must of ne
223



Page 39 of 98


23/04/2011 11:07


keepsakes of any klnd from a man, she iS to be spared and prayed for if she confesses it voluntarily, but if she iS caught and her guilt is proved, she is to receive a more serious punishment at the discretion of the Superior or the splrir:ual director or even the bishop. Have your clothing kept under the care of one or two or as many as may be needed to shake out the gannents in order to presetVe them from mod\s; and just as you receive food from one storeroom so you must be clothed from one wardrobe. Whenever something is offered you to wear in accord with the season, do oot be concerned, if that is possible, wbether each one of you receives back what sbe had given up, or something else which another had wom, so long as no one is refused what she needs. If strife and murmurings arise among you from thiS source, when one complains that she has received something worse than she had previously worn, and thinks she is slighted in being dressed as another of her Sister.; was, let this prove how far you are from that inward 'holy attire"' of the heart when you quarrel about the atdte of the body. However, if your weakness is indulged so far that you receive back the dress which you had put off, let what you 12ke off still be kept in one place under community care. Thus, no one will work at anything for her own use, whether it be clo thing or bedded you: and behold I am with you aU days even to the consummation of the world." And again He says: "Go ye therefore into the whole world, and preach the Gospel to every creature. He that believeth and is baptised shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be condemned. • And again: •This Gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in the whole wodd for a testimony to aU nations, and then shall come the end.• And so too the Lord announces through the prophet, and says, "And it shall come to pass, in the last days, saith the Lord, l wlli pour out of my Spirit upon aU flesh; and your SOtlS and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams. And upon my servants indeed, and upon my handmaids will 1 pour out in those days o f my Spirit, and they shall prophesy." And in H06ea He saitlt: "! will call that which was not my people, my people; ... and her that had noc obtained mercy, one that hath obtained mercy. And it shall be in the place where it was said: 'You are noc my people,' there they shall be called the sons of the living God."

240



Page 56 of 98


23/04/2011 11:07


41. Hence, bow did it come to pass in J.reland that those who never had a knowledge of God, but until now always wo!Shipped idols and things impure, have o.ow been made a people of the Lord, and are called sons of God, that the sons and daughters of the kings of the Irish are seen to be monks and virgins of Christ>

42. Among others, a blessed Irishwoman of noble birth, beautiful, full-grown, whom I bad baptised, came to us after some days for a particular reason; she told us that she had reoeived a message from a messenger o f God, and be admonished her to be a virgin of Christ and draw near to God. Thanks be to God, on the sixth day after this she most laudably and eagerly chooe what all virginS of Christ do. Not that their fathers agree· with them; no - they often even suffer persecution and undeserved reproaclles from their parents; and yet their number is ever increasing. How many have been reborn there so as to be of our kind, I do not know - not to mention widows and those who practice continence.

But greatest is the suffering of those WOfllell who live in slavery. All the time they have to endure terror and threats. But the Lord gave His grace to many of His maidens; for, though they are forbidden to do so, they follow Him bravely. 43. Wherefore, dten, even if' I wisbed to leave them and go to Britain -:- and how 1would have loved to go to my courury and my parentS, and also to Gaul in order to visit the brethren and to see the face o( the saints of my Lord! God lc:nows it that I much desired i~ but I am bound by the Spirit, who giVes evidence against me if I do this, telling me that I shall be guilty; and I am afraid of losing the labour wltich I have begun nay, not I, but Christ the Lord who bade me oome h ere and stay with them for the rest of my life, if the Lord will, and will guard me from every evil way that I may not sin before Him. 44. This, 1 presume, I ought to do, but I do not trust myself •as long as I am in this body of death,· for strong is he who daily saives to rum me away from the fairh and tbe pudty of aue religion to which I have devoted myself to the end of my life to Christ my Lord. But the hostile flesh is ever dragging us unto death, that is, toWards rhe forbidden satisfaction of one's desires; and I lc:now !hat in part I did not lead a perfect life as did rhe other faithfu~ but I acknowledge it to my Lord, and do not blush before Him, because !lie not, from the time I came to know

241



Page 57 of 98


23/04/2011 11:07


Him in my youth, the love of God and the fear of Him have grown in me, and up to now, thanks to the grace of God, I have kep< the faith.

45. And let those who will, laugh and scorn - I snail nO( be sUen~ nor shall I hide the signs and wonders which the Lord has shown me many years before they Clllne to pass, as He knows everything even "before the times of the wodd.• 46. Hence I ought unceasingly to give thanks to God who often pardoned my folly and my carelessness, and on more than one occasion spared His great wrath on me, who was chosen to be His helper and who was slow to do as was shown me and as the Spirit suggested. And the Lord had mercy on me thousands and thousands of times because He saw that I was ready, but that I did nO( know what to do in the drcurostances. For many tried to prevent this my mission; they would even talk to each Q(her behind by back and say' "Why does this fellow throw himself Into danger among enemies who have no knowledge of God?" It was not malice, but it did not appeal to them because - and to this I own myself - of my rustidty. And I did not realise at once the grace that was then in me; now I understand that I should have done so before. 47. Now I have given a simple a ccount to my brethren and fellow servantS who have believed me because of what I said and still say in order to strengthen and confum your faith. Would that you, too, would strive for greater things and do better! This will be my glory, for ·a wise son is the glory of his father. • 48. You know, and so does God, how I have lived among you from my youth in the true faith and In sincerity of heart. Likewise, as regards the heathen among whom I live, I have been faithful to them, and so I shall be. God knows it, I have overreached none of them, nor would I think of doing so, for the sake of God and His Church, for fear o f raising persecution against them and all of us, and for fear that through me the name of the Lord be bbsphemed; for it is written: "Woe to the one through whom the name of the Lord is blasphemed. • 49. "'For although I be rude in all things; nevertheless I have tried somehow to keep myself safe, and that, too, for my CM.stian brethren, and the virgins of Christ, and the pious women who of their own accord made me gifts and laid on the altar some of their ornaments; and I gave

242



Page 58 of 98


23/04/2011 11:07


P.mKX's C:O...S..O..

them back to them. and they were offended that I did so. But I did it for the hope of lasting success - in orda to preserve myself cautiously in evaything so that they mig:ht not seize upon me or the minisU'y of my setvlce, under the pretext of dishonesty, and that I would not even in the

smallest matter give the infidels an opponunity to defame and defile. 50. When I baptised so many thousands of people, did I perhaps expect from any of them as much as half a saepall? "Ten me, and I will restore it to you." on.'hen the Lo
251



Page 67 of 98


23/04/2011 11:07


came down an did not take upon Himself the cause of all peopW How, indeed, ntight anyone fulfil! the realiry of a mediator unless he shared in the nature of God, equal to the Father, aod also in our servile narure, so that the bonds of death, brought aboot by the lie of one person, ntight be loosed by the death of One who alone was in no way subject to death? nie outpouring" of Chrisrs blood for sinners was so rich in value that, if all the enslaved believed In their Redeemer, none of them would be held by the chains of the Devil. For, as the Apostle says: 'Where the offense has aboonded, grace has abounded yet more.'" And since those born under the sentence of original sin have received the power of rebirth unto justification, the gift of freedom became stronger than the debt of slavery. Consequently, what hope do they leave themselves in the refuge of this mysteJY who deny the reality of the human body in our Saviour? Let them say by what sacrifice they have become reconciled: let them say by what blood they have been redeemed. Who is there, as the Apostle says, that 'has delivered himself up for us an offering anion o( the N"~<ene Creed used by St. Leo. cf. Turner, Monumenra I 306. In the Tome, Leo had rdied upon the Apoo11es Creed. Since the heretics kept d•iming to abide by N~e definilions, Leo proved them wrong there, also. Cf. Leaers 54 and 69.

••

John 1.14.

11

Cf. 2 Cor. 5.19.

"

From here to no<e 19 is taken brgely from his sermo64.6(PL54359-;361).

IJ

Rom. 5.20.

H

Eph.S.2.

•$

Cf. Ps. 11.5.14.

•• John 12.32. I? Matt. 3,17~ .. John 1.29.

,.

Cf. Man. 16.16.

"

)obn 1.14.

"

Luke 2-4.39.

"

Cf. John 20.27.

"

Ac:t$4.12. 1 nm.2.6. PhU. 2.6-11.

"

"

Cf. )Obn 10.30; 5.30.

31!1

John 5.26. Cf. Matt 26.38.

"

"

John 1.1·3, 14; cf. 2 Cor. 8.9.

,.

Cf. Cot 2.H.

"

These .news are uanslated at the end of !his loner; cf. Leaer 117 n. 8.

n

1 Tun. 3. 16.

258



Page 74 of 98


23/04/2011 11:07


Autonlus, The Lifo arul Daily JII.O viUage and town? nobility and commoner? health and sickness? Why does be receiVe such honour at his death? What is his contribution to Christian life in Syria'

260



Page 76 of 98


23/04/2011 11:07


T&e Life a1Ul Dally Mn Publications, 1992, 87·100.

261



Page 77 of 98


23/04/2011 11:07


4. When he heard this, holy Simeon went out of the cbutch and came to a desened area. He lay face down and, taking neither food nor drink, wept for seven days as he pnyed to God. After the seven days, be got up and ran full-speed to a monastery. Falling at the ~ of the abbot. be cried out and said, 'Have mercy on me, father, for I am a lowly and wretched man. Save a soul which is perishing and which yet desires to serve God.· The abbot said, 'Who are you, and what is your background? What is your name and from where did you corner Blessed Simeon said, 'I am a ~man named Simeon, but do not ask me, master, I pray, how I came here or who my parents are! Redeem a soul which perishes.' When he heard this, the abbot lifted him up from the growld and said, 'If you come from God, the Lord will protect you from every evil and deceitful deed; you will setve all, so that all may love you.•

5. Meanwhlle, his parents, with tears, ceaselessly sought him. The saint, however, stayed in the monastery, serving aU and loved by all and observing the rule of the monastery. One day he went out from the monastery and came a bucket in front of the well from which the water was drawn. It had a rope aaached, and he untied the rope, went to a secluded place and wrapped the rope around his whole body. Over the rope he put arunic made of hair. Then he re-entered the monastery and said to the brethren, 1 went out to draw water and did n Where does this stench come from? Why do you deceive the hre1hren? Why do you undo the rule of the monastery? Are you some kind of spirit? Go somewhere eise and die a"'liY from us. Wretch that I am, am I to be tempted by you? For if you are really a man from real parents, surely you would have told us who your father and mother and kinsfolk are and from whence you came?' When he heard these things, the saint, bowing to the ground, was absolutely silent, but the place where he was standing was filled with his tears. Quite beside himself, the abbe! said to his·monks, 'Stlip him so we can see where this stench comes from.' 8. Then they wanted to stlip him, but they could not do it, for his garment was stuck f2st l)ecause of the puttefied flesh. So for three days they kept soaking him in warm water mixed widl oil and in this way, after a great deal of trouble, they were able to strip him: but with the garment they also took off his putrefied flesh. They found the rope wrapped around his body so that nothing of him could be seen, only the ends of the rope. There was no guessing bow many worms were on him. Thtn all the monks were astounded when they saw that terrible wound and they asked themselves how and by what means they could take the rope off him. But holy Simeon cried ou~ saying, 'Let me be, my masters and brethren. Let me die as a stinking dog, for so I ought to be judged because of what I have done. For all injustice and covetousness are in me. for I am an ocean of sins.'

The monks and the abbot wept when they saw that terrible wound, and the abbo!said to him, 'You are not yet eighteen years o ld: what kind of sins do you have?' Holy Simeon said to him, 'The prophet David said, "Behold, I was brought forth in iniquities, and in sins did my mother conceiVe me."' I have betn clothed the same as everyone else.' The abbe! was astonished at his wise answer, that such an uneducated man

263



Page 79 of 98


23/04/2011 11:07


had been spurred on to lhe fear of God. However, the abbot called cwo physicians, and, alchough the distress and che tabor was so great that at one point !hey gave him up for dead, they finally separated from him the rope with flesh stuck on it. They tended him for fifty days and helped him somewha~ and the abbot said to him, 'Look, son, you are now healthy. Go where you wish.' 9. Then holy Simeon left the monastery. Now there was a well near the monastery which contained no water, but many unclean, evil spirits lived it: o()( only unclean spirits, but also unimaginable numbets of asps, vipers, serpentS and scorpions so that everybody was afraid 10 pass by that place. Unknown to anyone, holy Simeon went there and, making che sign of che cross, threw himself into that well and hid himself in the side of the ~11. 10. Seven days after Simeon had left the monastery, the abbot saw in a dream an unimaginable number of men clad in white encircling the monastery. They held torches and said, 'We will bum you up this very moment, unless you hand over 10 us the servant of God, SimeOn. Why did you persecute him? What did he do that you cast him fonh frotn the monastery? What was his fault? TeU us before we bum you. Do you not know what you had in your monastery? For be will be found greater than you in that fearful, terrible day.' When che abbot awoke trembling from his sleep, be said to his monks, 'Truly I see that that man is a true servant of God! For I have suffered much evil this night in a dream because of him. I beseech you, brethren, spread out and find him for me, ()()lerwlse none of you can come hack here.' 11. They went out and looked for him everywhere, and when they could o()( find him they went back to the abbol and said, 'Truly, master, there is no place left where we have not looked except that place where no one would dare to travel because of che hordes of wild beasts.' The abbot said to them, 'My sons, praying and bearing torChes, go out and look for him there.' Alter praying above the well for chree bours, they, with ropes, let down into the well five monks holding torches. AI the sigh~ che reptiles fled into the corners, but on seeing them holy Simeon called o~ saying, 'I beseech you, brochers and servantS of God, grant me a Uttle time to die. That I cann()( fulfiU what I set out to do is too much for me.' But the mooks overpowered him with much fooce and pulled him out of the well, dragging him as if he were a criminaL They broqght

264



Page 80 of 98


23/04/2011 11:07


him to the abbot wbo, when be saw him, fell at his feet, saying, ·~ 10 my request, servant of God: become my teacher, and reach me what patient endurance is and what it offers.' 12. Holy Simeon wept uncea.Wlgly and prayed to God; he stayed in the monastery three years and then, Without anyone knowillg, left and 'Oie1\t into a sparsely inhabited area where there were several villages, the nearest being called Talanis. He built for himself there a small place from unmortared stOneS and stood in the middle of lt for four years through snow, rain and burning sun, and many came to him. He ate soaked lentils and drank water. After this be made a pillar four cubits high and stood on it for seven years, and his fame spread everywhere. After this the crowds built for him rwo enclosures from unmortared stone and they put up a door to the inner enclosure. They made for him a pillar thirty cubits higb, and he stood on it for fiheen years during which time he perlonned many heal.ings, for many who were poosessed went there and were healed. 13. Holy Sirneon imitated his teacher, Christ. Calling on him, he made the lame walk, cleansed lepers, made the dumb speak, made paralytics move about with ease, healed the chtoni.:ally ill. Each one he warned and exhorted, 'lf someone asks you who healed you, say, "God healed me". Do not even think of saying, •sirneon healed me•, otherwise you will find yourself again in the very same diflk:ulties. I say unto you: never lie or take an oath by God. If you are forced to take an oath, swear by me, your humble servant, either in uuth or in deceit. For swearing by God is a great sin and a fearlul thing to do. • !4. Hear this awesome and exxraordinary wonder. After rwenty years the mother of holy Simeon learnt where he was. She came In baste and wanted, after so many years, to see him. She wept much to see him, but she was nor aUowed to view him. Since she wanted so much to be blessed by his holy hands, she was obliged to climb the waU. While she was climbing the waU of the enclosure, she was thrown to the ground and could not see him. Holy Simeon sent a message to her, 'Le2ve me alone for now, mother. lfwe are worthy, we will see one another in the next life.' When she heard this, she only longed more to see him, but holy Simeon sent this message to her, 'Rest, my honored mother, since you have come a long way and grown weary on my humble accounL Ue down at least a little while; rest and get your strength back. I will see you

265



Page 81 of 98


23/04/2011 11:07


soon.' When she heard this, she lay down before the ernrance and inlmediately gllVe up her spirit to God. Tbe doo
leasned the life of a monk at a



Page 89 of 98


23/04/2011 11:07


Celtic rites and traditions, including the Celtic date of Easter. About 610 he embarked on a new pilgrimage; in pan he was forced out because his ways were not popular with the local clergy or with the queen. Owing this new mission journey he founded a monastery in Switzetbnd. Shonly thereafter he was on the move again, and he founded a last monastery at Bobbio in the Apennines of northern Italy. He died in 615. For many years in Europe Columbanus' form of monastlcism competed with the more humane approach or Benedict of Nursia (480'~550); Benedictine monasticism eventually prevailed. Another distinctive of Irish Christianity was private confession. The Church in earlier centuries had provided that those separated from the Christian communiry because of grievous sin might be re·admiaed, onoe in a lifetime, after pubtic confession, a lengthy period of what was called 'penanoe· (the Latin poena means 'penalty"), and a public ceremony of ceconciliation administered by the bishop. (Cyprian was influential in this development.) The Irish system was different from this older arrangemeru in several respectS, as the following reading will make dear. The first swvlving Irish penitential book was authored by a St. Finnian, the abbot of an Irish monastery, in the years around the middle of the sixth cent\liy. The peni!tt\tiaJ of eoluml»llus reproduced below drew from it freely. Celtic and Anglo-Saxon pilgrims spread the Irish system of private confession and repeatable penance throughout Europe. At first the new system was resisted, but by the twelfth century, with some modifications, it had become a universal feature of Christian life in the Western world Medieval priests came to rely on penitential manuals to help them classify sins and assign appropriate penances.

The Penitential of Columbanus is known from two manuscript copies of the ninth or tenth oenruries, at Bobbio. A third manuscript was used for an edition of the seventeenth century, but has since been lost. lt is generally agreed that Columbanus was the author, although partS of the text as we have it may have been added by later hands. Questions on the reading For whom is the penitential inreoded? How is it structured? How are "A" and 'B" related to each othel" (Might they have been originaUy independent documents? or are they addressed to different audiences?

274



Page 90 of 98


23/04/2011 11:07


or might they be two YetSions of the same document?) How is the penitential intended to function? (For instance, is it an Instrument for assisting people in their growth in bolineos; for civilizing a barbarian people; for establishing ecclesiastical authority; for curing sickness; for checking temptation?) What kinds of s.ins are identified? What is the author's understanding of s.io? (Error; guilt; sickness; sacrilege; ob&acle to holiness?) What is penance? What kinds of penances are assigned? Why does the author think that they might be helpful? Is his altirude legalistic, flexible, pastoral, or otherwise? What authority might the document have had in its original setting? From both the character and severity of !he various punishments, what might you infer about the moral values of the author and of the author's sodety?

(A;)

On penanoe here begins 1. True penance is not to commit things deserving penanoe but to lament such things as have been committed. But since this is broken by the weakness of many, not to say of all, the measures of penance must be known.. A scheme of ihese has been handed down by the holy fathers, so that in accordance with the greatness of the offences the length also of the penances should be ordained

2. Therefore, if anyone has sinned in thought, that is, has desired to kill a man, or to commit fornication, or to steal, or to feast In secret and be drunken, or indeed to strike someone, or to desen, or to do anything else like this, and has been ready in his bean to cany out these s.ins: let Source: "The Penitential of Colwnbanus: in LUdwig Bieler, ed., 11>e lrlsb Penitential$. Oublin, 1963, 97-107, alternate p:~ges (i.e., omittinS parallel text in Latin).

275



Page 91 of 98


23/04/2011 11:07


him do penance for the greater ones half a ye2t, for the lesser ones forty days on bread and water. 3. But if any one lw slMed in aa with the common sins, if be has committed the sin of murder or sodomy, let him do penance for ten year.;; If be has committed fornication once only, let him do penance three years, if oftener, seven Ye2J'S. If a monk has deserted and broken his vows, if be reperus and returnS at once, let him do penance three forty-day pertods, but if after a periOd of years, three years.

4. If anyone has stOlen, let him do penance for a year. 4a. If anyone has petjUred bimself, let him do penance for seven years. 5. If anyone has struck his brother in a quarrel and spilt blood, let him do penance for three years.

6. But if anyone lw got drunk and has vomited, or, being overfed, for this reason has vomited the sacrifice, let him do penance forty days. However, if be is forced by ill health to vomit the sacrifice, let him do penance seven days. If anyone has lost the sacrifice itself, let him do penance for a year. 7.1f anyone has defiled himself, let him do penance for a Ye2J', if be is a junior.

8. If anyone lw borne false wimess knowingly, let him do peoance for two years, together with the loss or restitution of the object in dispute.

So much about matters of importance; now about small matters of disorderly behaviour. 9. He who does something by himself without asking, or who contradiets and says: 'I am not doing it', or who murmurs, If the matter is serious, let him do penance with three special fasts., if slight, with one. Silnple contradiction of another's word is to be punished with fifty strokes; if out of contention, with an imposition of silence. If it is made in a quarrel, the penance should be for a week. 10. He wbo slanders or willingly hears a slanderer, let him do penance with three special fastS; if it concerns the superior, let him do penance for a week.

276



Page 92 of 98


23/04/2011 11:07


11 . He who has despised Ills superior in pride, or has spoken evil of the rule, is to be cast out, unless he has said Immediately: '1 am sony for what I said'; but if he has not 1l'llly humbled hlmself,ler him do penance for fony

Church and society in documents, 100-600 A.D

Church, State, And Society in Eastern Europe

Church, State and Civil Society

The Church in Anglo-Saxon Society

The Nineteenth-Century Church and English Society

Warfare and Society in Imperial Rome. 31 BC-AD 280

Word and Church: Essays in Church Dogmatics

Church and Society in Catholic Europe of the Eighteenth Century

Church and Society in Byzantium under the Comneni, 1081-1261

Church and Society in the Last Centuries of Byzantium

Documents in Medieval Latin

Rome and Its Empire, AD 193-284 (Debates and Documents in Ancient History)

CSS and Documents

CSS and Documents

Documents in Early Christian Thought

The Celtic Church in Britain (Church Historical Society series, no. 91)

A History of the Early Church to AD 500

UFO Documents

Documents in Early Christian Thought

Studies in Church Leadership

Conferences and Combination Lectures in the Elizabethan Church: Dedham and Bury St Edmunds, 1582-1590 (Church of England Record Society)

Sport and Society (Issues in Society)

Church in age danger

UFO Documents

UFO Documents

UFO documents

Documents in International Economic Law

2568 Ad In Harms Way

F.R. Leavis: Essays And Documents

Church and Society in England, 1000-1500 (Social History in Perspective)

Church and society in documents, 100-600 A.D

Church, State, And Society in Eastern Europe

Church, State and Civil Society

The Church in Anglo-Saxon Society

The Nineteenth-Century Church and English Society

Warfare and Society in Imperial Rome. 31 BC-AD 280

Word and Church: Essays in Church Dogmatics

Church and Society in Catholic Europe of the Eighteenth Century

Church and Society in Byzantium under the Comneni, 1081-1261

Church and Society in the Last Centuries of Byzantium

Documents in Medieval Latin

Rome and Its Empire, AD 193-284 (Debates and Documents in Ancient History)

CSS and Documents

CSS and Documents

Documents in Early Christian Thought

The Celtic Church in Britain (Church Historical Society series, no. 91)

A History of the Early Church to AD 500

UFO Documents

Documents in Early Christian Thought

Studies in Church Leadership

Conferences and Combination Lectures in the Elizabethan Church: Dedham and Bury St Edmunds, 1582-1590 (Church of England Record Society)

Sport and Society (Issues in Society)

Church in age danger

UFO Documents

UFO Documents

UFO documents

Documents in International Economic Law

2568 Ad In Harms Way

F.R. Leavis: Essays And Documents

Church and Society in England, 1000-1500 (Social History in Perspective)

Recommend Documents