Exploring the Early Church - Lesson 1
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In this presentation we look at how the early church worshiped.
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Exploring the Early Church - Lesson 1
- 1. Before the Bible A Six Part Journey in the Apostolic Faith Lesson 1 – How did the early Church worship?
- 2. Course Syllabus In six parts we will survey several essential questions about the early Church to gain a better understanding of Christian worship in the three centuries following Christ’s crucifixion. ◦ Lesson 1 – How did the early Church worship? ◦ Lesson 2 – How was the early Church governed? ◦ Lesson 3 – How were the faithful instructed? ◦ Lesson 4 – What did the early Church believe? ◦ Lesson 5 – Icons, Incense and Saints, Oh My! ◦ Lesson 6 – Early Church Myths and Legacies
- 3. Course Scope This is a survey course, and the readings will reflect survey level discussions. We will examine the first 350 years of the Christian Church, from 33 A.D. until the Second Ecumenical Council in 381 A.D. This time period roughly coincides with the acceptance of the Canon of the New Testament in both the Eastern and Western Church – the time before the Bible as we know it.
- 4. Preparation and Study Each Lesson will have assigned readings. You should finish your readings before you begin the Power Point video (or attend live class sessions). Watch the full video to synthesize your readings (online students). Submit questions on the lesson page (for online classes) or ask questions as we go during live classes.
- 5. Prayer Before Study Christ my Lord, the Giver of light and wisdom, who opened the eyes of the blind man and transformed the fishermen into wise heralds and teachers of the gospel through the coming of the Holy Spirit, shine also in my mind the light of the grace of the Holy Spirit. Grant me discernment, understanding and wisdom in learning. Enable me to complete my assignments and to abound in every good work, for to You I give honor and glory. Amen.
- 6. How Did the Early Church Worship? 33 A.D. – Crucifixion of Jesus Christ 64 A.D. – Official persecution of Christians (under Nero) begins Circa 100 A.D. – John (the Apostle) dies For less than 70 years the Church had leadership from the apostles themselves. After the death of John, we begin a period of just less than 300 years during which time there was no commonly accepted canon of the New Testament.
- 7. How Did the Early Church Worship? We’ll study more on the determination of the New Testament Canon in Lesson 3. Our focus in this lesson is on what Early Church worship looked like. ◦ Bible is not an instruction manual on worship ◦ Even if it were, Church flourished for 350 years without agreed Canon of Scripture. To answer this question, it is helpful to understand who the first leaders of the Church were.
- 8. How Did the Early Church Worship? Observant Jews The 12 apostles were each faithful Jews. While most were not formally educated, they had learned the practices of the Jewish faith through their upbringing. It should not be a surprise that this background influenced the development of the Early Church
- 9. How Did the Early Church Worship? Worshiping in the Temple The initial worship of the Early Church took place in the Jewish Temple or synagogues following Jewish rituals ◦ “At Iconium Paul and Barnabas went as usual into the Jewish synagogue. There they spoke so effectively that a great number of Jews and Greeks believed.” Acts 14:1 (NIV)
- 10. How Did the Early Church Worship? Worshiping in the Temple To this worship practice they added the distinctly Christian components which were, in fact, transformed Jewish worship practices. These included Baptism, the Eucharist, the Agape meal, and others.
- 11. How Did the Early Church Worship? Worshiping in the Temple The new Christian practices were viewed through a messianic lens, and understood by those Jews who became followers of “the Way.” However, as the Church expanded to the Gentile population, some aspects of the temple worship caused confusion Probably explanation for the extinction of the Agape meal.
- 12. How Did the Early Church Worship? Worshiping in the Temple Persecution and the widespread conversion of Jews led to the inability of the followers of “the Way” to continue worshiping in the Temple. ◦ "The Jews from Asia, seeing him in the temple, stirred up the whole crowd and laid hands on him, ◦ crying out, "Men of Israel, help! This is the man who teaches all men everywhere against the people, the law, and this place;" And all the city was disturbed; and the people ran together, seized Paul, and dragged him out of the temple; and immediately the doors were shut.” (Acts 21)
- 13. How Did the Early Church Worship? Structure of Jewish Worship ◦ The Litany - A series of liturgical prayers ◦ The Confession - Acknowledgment of God's goodness and man's sinfulness ◦ Intercessory Prayer - Prayers for the people ◦ Scripture Readings - Torah, the Law, the Prophets ◦ Preaching - Teaching or sermon on applying the lessons to life ◦ Benediction - An ending blessing
- 14. How Did the Early Church Worship? Early Christian Worship Described ◦ The Didache (The Teaching of the 12 Apostles) – 40-60 AD ◦ “On the Lord's day, gather yourselves together and break bread, give thanks, but first confess your sins so that your sacrifice may be pure.” ◦ - A Sunday gathering – (the liturgy of the Church) ◦ - Confession of sins ◦ - The Eucharist (“breaking bread”)
- 15. How Did the Early Church Worship? Early Christian Worship Described ◦ First Apology of St. Justin Martyr (155-157 AD) ◦ “And on the day called Sunday, all who live in cities or in the country gather together to one place, and the memoirs of the apostles or the writings of the prophets are read, as long as time permits; then, when the reader has ceased, the president verbally instructs, and exhorts to the imitation of these good things. Then we all rise together and pray, and, as we before said, when our prayer is ended, bread and wine and water are brought, and the president in like manner offers prayers and thanksgivings, according to his ability, and the people assent, saying Amen; and there is a distribution to each, and a participation of that over which thanks have been given, and to those who are absent a portion is sent by the deacons. And they who are well to do, and willing, give what each thinks fit; and what is collected is deposited with the president, who succours the orphans and widows and those who, through sickness or any other cause, are in want, and those who are in bonds and the strangers sojourning among us, and in a word takes care of all who are in need. But Sunday is the day on which we all hold our common assembly, because it is the first day on which God, having wrought a change in the darkness and matter, made the world; and Jesus Christ our Saviour on the same day rose from the dead.”
- 16. How Did the Early Church Worship? Jewish Worship ◦ The Litany ◦ The Confession ◦ Intercessory Prayer ◦ Scripture Readings ◦ Preaching ◦ Benediction Early Christian ◦ Confession ◦ Readings ◦ Preaching ◦ Prayers ◦ Eucharist
- 17. How Did the Early Church Worship? Jewish Worship ◦ The Litany ◦ The Confession ◦ Intercessory Prayer ◦ Scripture Readings ◦ Preaching ◦ Benediction Divine Liturgy St. Basil (350), St. John Chrysostom (400) ◦ Litanies ◦ Intercessory Prayer (Trisagion/Troparia/ Kontakia) ◦ Epistle/Gospel Readings ◦ Homily ◦ Eucharistic Prayers ◦ Distribution of Eucharist ◦ Benediction
- 18. How Did the Early Church Worship? Distinctives of Early Church Worship ◦ Worship on Sunday ◦ Liturgical Prayer – not spontaneous Derived from Jewish tradition ◦ Use of Scripture and Oral Teaching ◦ The sharing of the Eucharist (communion)
- 19. How Did the Early Church Worship? Distinctives of Early Church Worship ◦ A Note on Liturgical Prayer Very common for evangelical churches to claim that Early Church was unstructured and spontaneous in worship. Bible is clear that specific prayers were said. Acts 2:42 – “And they devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.” (ESV) Many Protestant Bibles take the word “the” out before prayers. ◦ “They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.” (NIV) The Greek has the definite article for “the” (“τόν”) before each of those object nouns, but the Protestant translations omit it only from prayers because reveals the true nature of Early Church worship.
- 20. How Did the Early Church Worship? Distinctives of Early Church Worship ◦ Worship on Sunday ◦ Liturgical Prayer – not spontaneous Derived from Jewish tradition ◦ Use of Scripture and Oral Teaching ◦ The sharing of the Eucharist (communion)
- 21. How Did the Early Church Worship? Distinctives of Early Church Worship ◦ Music/Singing Derived again from Jewish Practices Psalms and “spiritual songs” ◦ Included Gospel Passages (Magnificat) ◦ Also included original hymnography 250 A.D. – “Beneath your Compassion” “Beneath your compassion we take refuge, Theotokos! Our prayers, do not despise in necessities, but from danger deliver us, only pure, only blessed one. ◦ Early church music was not instrumental!
- 22. How Did the Early Church Worship? Summary ◦ Early Christian worship began in synagogues and patterned itself after Jewish worship ◦ Liturgical prayer and structured services ◦ Included sung hymns and psalms ◦ Was always centered around the Eucharist
Notas del editor
- Imagine with me, if you would, that rather than joining in this online class to study the early Church, instead you were miraculously transported back in time to 150 A.D. More than a century has passed since Christ was crucified. Persecution of Christians has been government policy for over 75 years. The last of the Apostles died half a century ago, and the Chuch has been led since that time by the various bishops, priests and deacons they appointed. Depending upon what scholar you wish to believe, the last of the Old Testament books were either finished about 55 years ago, or are about to be written by an unknown pseudonymous author. Of course we are still about 200 years from having an actual Canon of the New Testament and the chances of any Church having all the books that would eventually be accepted as Scripture is incalculably small. But here you are, and being a Christian, you need to go to Church. Assuming you could, by chance, find a Church, and assuming you would be admitted inside, what would see? Would it seem familiar to you, or would it seem like some bizarre world that you’ve never encountered? What would this Church, led by people who in many cases actually knew and were selected by the original Apostles of Jesus Christ, do to worship him? If you are in this class, perhaps you have wondered this before. Perhaps you have hoped to find that church here in the 21st century. Perhaps you’ve been told that the Church you attend is faithful to practices of the ancient Church. That is what this lesson is about. How did the early Church worship, and why? Let’s open the doors and go inside. The service is about to begin.
- Imagine with me, if you would, that rather than joining in this online class to study the early Church, instead you were miraculously transported back in time to 150 A.D. More than a century has passed since Christ was crucified. Persecution of Christians has been government policy for over 75 years. The last of the Apostles died half a century ago, and the Church has been led since that time by the various bishops, priests and deacons they appointed. Depending upon what scholar you wish to believe, the last of the Old Testament books were either finished about 55 years ago, or are about to be written by an unknown pseudonymous author. Of course we are still about 200 years from having an actual Canon of the New Testament and the chances of any Church having all the books that would eventually be accepted as Scripture is incalculably small. But here you are, and being a Christian, you need to go to Church. Assuming you could, by chance, find a Church, and assuming you would be admitted inside, what would see? Would it seem familiar to you, or would it seem like some bizarre world that you’ve never encountered? What would this Church, led by people who in many cases actually knew and were selected by the original Apostles of Jesus Christ, do to worship him? If you are in this class, perhaps you have wondered this before. Perhaps you have hoped to find that church here in the 21st century. Perhaps you’ve been told that the Church you attend is faithful to practices of the ancient Church. That is what this lesson is about. How did the early Church worship, and why? Let’s open the doors and go inside. The service is about to begin.
- Imagine with me, if you would, that rather than joining in this online class to study the early Church, instead you were miraculously transported back in time to 150 A.D. More than a century has passed since Christ was crucified. Persecution of Christians has been government policy for over 75 years. The last of the Apostles died half a century ago, and the Church has been led since that time by the various bishops, priests and deacons they appointed. Depending upon what scholar you wish to believe, the last of the Old Testament books were either finished about 55 years ago, or are about to be written by an unknown pseudonymous author. Of course we are still about 200 years from having an actual Canon of the New Testament and the chances of any Church having all the books that would eventually be accepted as Scripture is incalculably small. But here you are, and being a Christian, you need to go to Church. Assuming you could, by chance, find a Church, and assuming you would be admitted inside, what would see? Would it seem familiar to you, or would it seem like some bizarre world that you’ve never encountered? What would this Church, led by people who in many cases actually knew and were selected by the original Apostles of Jesus Christ, do to worship him? If you are in this class, perhaps you have wondered this before. Perhaps you have hoped to find that church here in the 21st century. Perhaps you’ve been told that the Church you attend is faithful to practices of the ancient Church. That is what this lesson is about. How did the early Church worship, and why? Let’s open the doors and go inside. The service is about to begin.
- Imagine with me, if you would, that rather than joining in this online class to study the early Church, instead you were miraculously transported back in time to 150 A.D. More than a century has passed since Christ was crucified. Persecution of Christians has been government policy for over 75 years. The last of the Apostles died half a century ago, and the Church has been led since that time by the various bishops, priests and deacons they appointed. Depending upon what scholar you wish to believe, the last of the Old Testament books were either finished about 55 years ago, or are about to be written by an unknown pseudonymous author. Of course we are still about 200 years from having an actual Canon of the New Testament and the chances of any Church having all the books that would eventually be accepted as Scripture is incalculably small. But here you are, and being a Christian, you need to go to Church. Assuming you could, by chance, find a Church, and assuming you would be admitted inside, what would see? Would it seem familiar to you, or would it seem like some bizarre world that you’ve never encountered? What would this Church, led by people who in many cases actually knew and were selected by the original Apostles of Jesus Christ, do to worship him? If you are in this class, perhaps you have wondered this before. Perhaps you have hoped to find that church here in the 21st century. Perhaps you’ve been told that the Church you attend is faithful to practices of the ancient Church. That is what this lesson is about. How did the early Church worship, and why? Let’s open the doors and go inside. The service is about to begin.
- Imagine with me, if you would, that rather than joining in this online class to study the early Church, instead you were miraculously transported back in time to 150 A.D. More than a century has passed since Christ was crucified. Persecution of Christians has been government policy for over 75 years. The last of the Apostles died half a century ago, and the Church has been led since that time by the various bishops, priests and deacons they appointed. Depending upon what scholar you wish to believe, the last of the Old Testament books were either finished about 55 years ago, or are about to be written by an unknown pseudonymous author. Of course we are still about 200 years from having an actual Canon of the New Testament and the chances of any Church having all the books that would eventually be accepted as Scripture is incalculably small. But here you are, and being a Christian, you need to go to Church. Assuming you could, by chance, find a Church, and assuming you would be admitted inside, what would see? Would it seem familiar to you, or would it seem like some bizarre world that you’ve never encountered? What would this Church, led by people who in many cases actually knew and were selected by the original Apostles of Jesus Christ, do to worship him? If you are in this class, perhaps you have wondered this before. Perhaps you have hoped to find that church here in the 21st century. Perhaps you’ve been told that the Church you attend is faithful to practices of the ancient Church. That is what this lesson is about. How did the early Church worship, and why? Let’s open the doors and go inside. The service is about to begin.
- Imagine with me, if you would, that rather than joining in this online class to study the early Church, instead you were miraculously transported back in time to 150 A.D. More than a century has passed since Christ was crucified. Persecution of Christians has been government policy for over 75 years. The last of the Apostles died half a century ago, and the Church has been led since that time by the various bishops, priests and deacons they appointed. Depending upon what scholar you wish to believe, the last of the Old Testament books were either finished about 55 years ago, or are about to be written by an unknown pseudonymous author. Of course we are still about 200 years from having an actual Canon of the New Testament and the chances of any Church having all the books that would eventually be accepted as Scripture is incalculably small. But here you are, and being a Christian, you need to go to Church. Assuming you could, by chance, find a Church, and assuming you would be admitted inside, what would see? Would it seem familiar to you, or would it seem like some bizarre world that you’ve never encountered? What would this Church, led by people who in many cases actually knew and were selected by the original Apostles of Jesus Christ, do to worship him? If you are in this class, perhaps you have wondered this before. Perhaps you have hoped to find that church here in the 21st century. Perhaps you’ve been told that the Church you attend is faithful to practices of the ancient Church. That is what this lesson is about. How did the early Church worship, and why? Let’s open the doors and go inside. The service is about to begin.
- Imagine with me, if you would, that rather than joining in this online class to study the early Church, instead you were miraculously transported back in time to 150 A.D. More than a century has passed since Christ was crucified. Persecution of Christians has been government policy for over 75 years. The last of the Apostles died half a century ago, and the Church has been led since that time by the various bishops, priests and deacons they appointed. Depending upon what scholar you wish to believe, the last of the Old Testament books were either finished about 55 years ago, or are about to be written by an unknown pseudonymous author. Of course we are still about 200 years from having an actual Canon of the New Testament and the chances of any Church having all the books that would eventually be accepted as Scripture is incalculably small. But here you are, and being a Christian, you need to go to Church. Assuming you could, by chance, find a Church, and assuming you would be admitted inside, what would see? Would it seem familiar to you, or would it seem like some bizarre world that you’ve never encountered? What would this Church, led by people who in many cases actually knew and were selected by the original Apostles of Jesus Christ, do to worship him? If you are in this class, perhaps you have wondered this before. Perhaps you have hoped to find that church here in the 21st century. Perhaps you’ve been told that the Church you attend is faithful to practices of the ancient Church. That is what this lesson is about. How did the early Church worship, and why? Let’s open the doors and go inside. The service is about to begin.