For me, this REALITY hit like a sledge hammer the first time I read Ecclesiastical History by Eusebius. Crazy that a book written 1700 years ago would have that effect, but it did. It took things (for me) from a theological, intellectual realm to a concrete “this really happened” realm. Here was the “rest of the story” after what we know from the Bible. Where did the apostles travel after Jesus’ death? What churches were established? What happened to Herod? What were the names, dates and circumstances of the early martyrs? It made the early church come so alive, made that world become so corporeal, that it blew me away. These are events that happened inside history. These are people that lived in a location, these are artifacts that can still be seen, these are events that were written down and remembered. I was drawn to the writings of the early church because I could look around THAT world and see mine. It took Christianity out of my head as an abstraction, and gave it solid flesh. I’ve been fascinated with the early church ever since.
Easter is quickly approaching, and for Lent this year I decided to give up my excessive Facebook time and replace it with a more comprehensive study of the writings of the Early Church. So far, I’ve focused on the works of those earliest Christians – the first 200-250 years of Christianity, as found in Volume 1 of “The Faith of the Early Fathers” compiled by William Jurgens. These are the letters and homilies of the first great orthodox Christians - some were the students of the Apostles themselves, others only a few generations removed. This, to me, is Christianity in it’s purest form. This is what it means to be Christian. It’s mentioned only briefly in the introduction to each author, but the realization of how many of these men were martyred for the faith is staggering. The deaths of these Christians give testimony to the TRUTH of what they were preaching and living. They believed it so much, they were willing to die horrible deaths because of it. Just as my first reading of Eusebius brought the people of early Christianity alive for me, these studies are illuminating the Church for me. I’ve been staggered to discover how complete, and developed the theology was, so early in Christianity. It was not a theology that grew from simplicity to complexity over time. It was there, completely, right off the bat. To me, that gives additional witness to the TRUTH of that deposit of faith.
Matthew 16:18
18"I also say to you that you are (A)Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church; and the gates of (B)Hades will not overpower it.
I Timothy 3:14-15
14I am writing these things to you, hoping to come to you before long; 15but in case I am delayed, I write so that you will know how one ought to conduct himself in (AB)the household of God, which is the (AC)church of (AD)the living God, the (AE)pillar and support of the truth.
It’s apparent that, from its earliest beginnings, there were attempts to corrupt the Church’s message. There were schismatics nearly as soon as there was a Christian Church from which to divide. From the get-go, people decided to interpret Jesus and what He taught in their own ways. And it was undeniably the Orthodox Church’s job to call foul – to protect what they had been handed down from the Apostles themselves, because that was the “gold standard” for determining truth. The entire hierarchy of the church was obviously developed for the sole purpose of protecting this information, this deposit of faith. Not just anyone could preach. It was not a democracy. Only those who were instructed by those who could trace their lineage back to the apostles directly had the imposition of hands that gave them the authority to teach and preach.
There are those today who claim that the truth of the Church’s message was infiltrated and corrupted by paganism and other influences, concluding that what it teaches today is not what was intended by Christ. My question to them would be this: WHERE are those people, then, who “had the truth”? Where was Christ’s message protected, if not within the walls of His church? Where is the physical record throughout all of Christian history? Jesus promised that His Spirit of Truth would NEVER leave the Church. He didn’t say that the Spirit of Truth would go away for 1500 years or so, and suddenly return. That He would keep millions in the dark, only to reveal Himself years later, ala Joseph Smith. And He didn’t say that the spirit of Truth would be in written form only. Rather, He told Peter that on this rock He would establish His CHURCH, and the gates of Hell would not overcome it. The pillar and support of the truth was the household of God, which is the church of the living God. If you don’t believe that the universal catholic Church was the safeguard of that deposit of faith given from Christ to the Apostles, then you should be able to pinpoint exactly who WAS. Because it was what Christ promised. Who, then? The Gnostics? The Marcionites? Who? All of those schismatic sects are dead, replaced by thousands of new, unrelated ones. What message survives with unbroken continuity? Where do we find that deposit of faith that can be traced in a direct line to Christ and His Apostles? The orthodox Church is the only entity that can make such a claim.
As I read, I started jotting down a list of the theology and customs that were already an integral part of the early church by 250 AD . This was before the time of Constantine – before Christianity had even become LEGAL. And it wasn’t just one author that painted such a picture of their Church. There was a harmony to the teaching amongst ALL of the writers. The same concepts were taught over and over and over. Where the schismatics had numerous differing theologies, the catholic church had ONE, regardless of location. It’s what made it “catholic” – it was universal. This is what I found:
1. The church had a hierarchy of a pope, bishops, presbyters, deacons, lectors and more
2. Rome was the center of the church, and the successor of Peter was its head.
3. The Church was active in promoting seven sacraments: baptism, marriage, holy orders, confession, Eucharist, confirmation, and anointing of the sick. If the modern names were not used, the sacraments themselves certainly were.
4. The Church believed in the free will of man to obey or disobey God
5. The Church was active in fighting against heresies and schisms, in order to protect the truth that was handed down to them from the Apostles
6. The Eucharist was undeniably the TRUE presence of Christ – His literal body and blood, and necessary for salvation and grace
7. Baptism was regarded as the washing clean from the stain of sin, a re-birth into the family of Christ, and necessary for salvation
8. Infant baptisms were widely practiced
9. There was a well-developed theology that man can cooperate with God’s will on earth, and that it is God’s will that we actively love Him and one another in works of service
10. The perpetual virginity of Mary
11. The nobility of celibacy and virginity when serving Christ
12. The idea of virgins becoming the “Brides of Christ”
13. The entire cannon of scripture, Old and New Testament, including that which Protestants see as “Apocrypha”
14. The idea that Hell was a separation from God, brought on by our own sin and choices – that we live with the consequences of our actions
15. The idea of penance for sins after confession to the church, before full reconciliation
16. The idea that bishops can act to forgive sins that are confessed to them
17. The need for confession and repentance in the church for the forgiveness of sins
18. Purgatory, or a time of cleansing prior to entrance into Heaven, for those who are saved by faith
19. The Trinity
20. A difference between minor and major sins
21. Original sin
22. Apostolic succession, continued on by the imposition of hands
23. Oral tradition – a passing on of what one was taught by those that went before
24. Worship in a liturgy, with readings from the scriptures, the Eucharist being shared, a kiss of peace, music, litanies, prayers and creeds being recited
25. Sacrifice as a way to make one holy, and martyrdom the ultimate sacrifice, as a baptism of blood
26. The celebration of the lives of saints and martyrs, with preservation of their graves and relics, as well as recognition on the anniversaries of their deaths.
27. The well-developed concept that Jesus calls all to Him to be saved, and that there is no compulsion to Christ. If a man is not saved, it is because he chooses to reject the call of Christ, and not because Christ does not WANT him.
28. The idea that man was created good, and fell because of disobedience, but has the capacity still for choosing good because he is made in the image and likeness of God.
29. An interpretation of scripture that was deep, well-developed, exegetical, and not merely literal and at face value.
And so, I have to ask....where is THIS SAME church today? If an early Christian were to arrive 2000 years into our modern world, where would they find their church? What would they recognize as the faith they were willing to sacrifice their lives for?
One of the tragedies of Sola Scriptura is that it robs modern Christians of their own history, their roots, and their ability to see the whole picture of Christianity. It leaves interpretation up to an individual’s reasoning or feeling – both highly subjective processes. It makes an individual the final authority on interpretation, and not Christ and His apostles, through the wisdom they passed on in the Church. Truth is not subjective. So how do we know the TRUTH? And if the Bible alone is the only means of understanding Christ, who is protecting the Bible??? It was under attack from the utter beginning, and continues to be under attack today! THIS is why the early church matters. This is why the authority of that same church today matters. This is why we cannot be myopic in our view of history. If there is a question on interpretation of scripture, then logic states that we go back to those closest to the source (those directly taught by Christ and the Apostles), and not someone literally thousands of years later, in a different culture, to interpret those questions. And what awes me is that the what the church was teaching and being back THEN, is the same as what it is NOW – fully 2000 years later.
The record is there for us. We just have to pay attention to it, rather than ignore it.
