scholarly journals Catechesis and baptism in the early Christian church

1996 ◽  
Vol 30 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
M. E. Nelson

This article which originated as a background study for what Augustine says about his own baptism, presents the facts, as far as they could be ascertained, on practices concerning catechesis and baptism in the early Christian church down to about 400 AD, without going into any doctrinal issues. Public confession of faith and baptism was preceded in the early church by lengthy preparations: catechetical, liturgical and ascetical. Baptism was also followed by mystagogical instruction. All of these are set out concisely, based on a number of primary sources, namely some writings by Augustine, Ambrose and Tertullian, the Traditio Apostolica by Hippolytus and the Didache. A number of secondary sources are also cited. Attention is drawn to the significance of the custom to baptise at Easter this explains why Easter was seen as the climax of the church year in the time of the early Christian church.

2015 ◽  
pp. 168-220
Author(s):  
Алексей Иванович Сидоров

Публикация представляет собой продолжение очерка по истории становления первохристианской Церкви. Исследование основано на свидетельствах первоисточников и привлечении широкого спектра мнений отечественных и зарубежных специалистов по истории Древней Церкви. События проповеднической деятельности апостола Павла, возникновение разногласий в первохристианской общине и последовавший за ними Апостольской Собор, который утвердил необязательность соблюдения ветхозаветных постановлений, рассматриваются в контексте появления в среде первых христиан так называемых «эллинистов». Последние вывели проповедь Евангелия за пределы Палестины, а апостол Павел и его сподвижники основали христианские Церкви во многих частях «ойкумены». Кроме того, повествуется о кончине святого Иакова Праведного и судьбе Иерусалимской Церкви, деятельности апостола Петра и Иоанна, как и прочих апостолов, вплоть до завершения апостольского периода в истории древней Церкви. This publication is a continuation of the essay on the history of the formation of the early Christian Church, based on first-hand evidence and engaging a wide range of views of domestic and foreign researchers of early Church history. Both the results of Paul’s preaching, the emergence of differences among early Christians, and the subsequent Apostolic Council, which approved some sort of compliance with the regulations of the Old Testament, are all considered in the context of the emergence among early Christians of the so-called «Hellenists», who brought the preaching of the Gospel beyond Palestine, while Paul and his associates founded Christian communities in many parts of the «Oecumene». Moreover, the article tells the story of the death of St. James the Just, and the fate of the Church of Jerusalem. It describes the activities of Apostle Peter and John, as well as the other apostles, up until the end of the apostolic period in the history of the ancient Church.


2020 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 77-92
Author(s):  
Rotimi Williams Omotoye

Pentecostalism as a new wave of Christianity became more pronounced in 1970's and beyond in Nigeria. Since then scholars of Religion, History, Sociology and Political Science have shown keen interest in the study of the Churches known as Pentecostals because of the impact they have made on the society. The Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG) was established by Pastor Josiah Akindayomi in Lagos,Nigeria in 1952. After his demise, he was succeeded by Pastor Adeboye Adejare Enock. The problem of study of this research was an examination of the expansion of the Redeemed Christian Church of God to North America, Caribbean and Canada. The missionary activities of the church could be regarded as a reversed mission in the propagation of Christianity by Africans in the Diaspora. The methodology adopted was historical. The primary and secondary sources of information were also germane in the research. The findings of the research indicated that the Redeemed Christian Church of God was founded in North America by Immigrants from Nigeria. Pastor Adeboye Enock Adejare had much influence on the Church within and outside the country because of his charisma. The Church has become a place of refuge for many immigrants. They are also contributing to the economy of the United States of America. However, the members of the Church were faced with some challenges, such as security scrutiny by the security agencies. In conclusion, the RCCGNA was a denomination that had been accepted and embraced by Nigerians and African immigrants in the United States of America.


2011 ◽  
Vol 91 (4) ◽  
pp. 141-158
Author(s):  
Milutin Tadic ◽  
Aleksandar Petrovic

The subject of the paper is an exact analysis of the orientation of the Serbian monastery churches: the Church of the Virgin Mary (13th century), St. Nicholas' Church (13th century), and an early Christian church (6th century). The paper determines the azimuth of parallel axes in churches, and then the aberrations of those axes from the equinoctial east are interpreted. Under assumption that the axes were directed towards the rising sun, it was surmised that the early Christian church's patron saint could be St. John the Baptist, that the Church of the Virgin Mary was founded on Annunciation day to which it is dedicated, and that St. Nicholas' Church is oriented in accordance with the rule (?toward the sunrise?) even though its axis deviates from the equinoctial east by 41? degrees.


2019 ◽  
Vol 75 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Willem H. Oliver ◽  
Erna Oliver

Two notions are discussed in this article, namely, the (unity of the) Trinity and God’s omnipresence. These two notions are deeply embedded in the Christian faith system and religion – they actually form both the basis and point of departure for the Christian religion. The aim of this article is to revisit the (Early Church and present) dogma of the Church about the Trinity and omnipresence of God as a result of the heresies and apologies linked to this dogma, and to rethink the notion of the concept ‘Trinity’ linked to God’s omnipresence. The historical method is used in the discussion of the (primary) sources and to reach the outcome.


1961 ◽  
Vol 14 (3) ◽  
pp. 279-294
Author(s):  
Harry Sawyerr

In 1932, Professor Dodd published in the Expository Times an article on ‘The Order of Events in St. Mark's Gospel' which broke fresh ground in the Study of that Gospel. Dr Dodd then stated that in planning the first ten chapters St. Mark had a skeleton outline of our Lord's earthly career which he broke up into what now stand as editorial summaries. This outline he suggested was in the nature of a summary of the kerygma and approximated to the Petrine speech of Acts 10.37–41 or the Pauline speech in Acts 13.23–31. Into this outline were inserted the pericopae Mark collected sometimes on a historical, and at other times on a topical basis. This hypothesis held the field for a considerable time but it has recently been questioned by Professor Nineham in an examination of Dr Dodd's hypothesis in his contribution to Studies in the Gospels published in 1955. Indeed Professor Nineham takes the line that the presupposition of such a skeleton outline of our Lord's ministry which Mark used in the way Dr Dodd suggests is ‘highly improbable’.1 He questions the probability of such an outline having been preserved by the early Church. Referring to the changes in the Marcan pattern which both Matthew and Luke felt free to introduce when using St. Mark's Gospel as a basis, and to the difference in outlook between St. John's Gospel and the Synoptics, he concludes: ‘It does not appear that the precise order in which the saving events occurred seemed to the early Christian mind a very vital element in the saving proclamation or kerygma.'2 Professor Nineham is of course prepared to admit that the Passion narrative is in a class by itself and does not appear to question the accepted opinions of scholars that it was an early compilation of the primitive Church. But he rightly contends that there is no cogent evidence that the Church quite early agreed on ‘a formal outline account of the progress of the Lord's earthly ministry’.3


2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 209-236
Author(s):  
Demetrios E. Tonias

Abstract Concentrating on the Orthodox theology of biblical Israel within the context of fulfillment theology, the argument is that the early Church envisioned itself as the continuation of Israel of the Jewish Bible rather than its replacement. In the author’s view, the current understanding of the distinction between replacement and fulfillment theology, the early Christian theological conception of the Church as Israel, and the ways in which both contemporaneous pagans and Jews viewed the nascent Christian faith support this assertion.


Recent Literature in Church HistoryKleine Texte für theologische Vorlesungen und Uebungen. Hans LietzmannHistory of Sacerdotal Celibacy in the Christian Church. Henry Charles LeaRegesta Pontificum Romanorum. P. F. KehrDas Mönchtum, seine Ideale und seine Geschichte. Adolf HarnackThe Censorship of the Church of Rome and Its Influence upon the Production and Distribution of Literature: A Study of the History of the Prohibitory and Expurgatory Indexes, Together with Some Consideration of the Effects of Protestant Censorship and of Censorship by the State. George Haven PutnamChristliche Antike. Ludwig von SybelPersecution in the Early Church. Herbert B. WorkmanLo Gnosticismo storica di antiche Lotte Religiose. E. BuonaiutaThe Stoic Creed. William L. DavidsonLa théologie de saint Hippolyte. Adhémar d'AlèsDer Traktat des Laurentius de Somercote, Kanonikers von Chichester, über die Vornahme von Bischofswahlen; Entstanden im Jahre 1254. Alfred von WretschkoLes réordinations. Louis SaltetLes martyrologes historiques du moyen âge. Dom Henri QuentinHistory of the Christian Church. Vol. V, Part I: The Middle Ages from Gregory VII, 1049, to Boniface VIII, 1294. Philip Schaff , David S. SchaffLehrbuch der Kirchengeschichte. Wilhelm Moeller , Gustav KawerauW. Capito im Dienste Erzbischof Albrechts von Mainz. Paul KalkoffAhasver, "der ewige Jude," nach seiner ursprünglichen Idee und seiner literarischen Verwertung betrachtet. Eduard KönigLes leçons de la défaite; Ou la fin d'un catholicisme. Jehan de BonnefoyDer Solinger Kirchenstreit und seine Nachwirkung auf die rheinisch-westfälische Kirche bis zum Fall César. Friedrich NippoldA Short History of the Baptists. Henry C. VedderJames Harris Fairchild; Or Sixty-Eight Years with a Christian College. Albert Temple SwingDisestablishment in France. Paul SabatierA History of the Inquisition in Spain. Henry Charles LeaThe Inquisition in the Spanish Dependencies. Charles Henry LeaKirchliches Jahrbuch. Kirchliches Jahrbuch. Auf das Jahr 1907, J. SchneiderNachwirkungen des Kulturkampfes. Georg GrauePaul Gerhardt. Artur BurdachDie russischen Sekten. Karl Konrad GrassHistory of the Christian Church since the Reformation. S. CheethamThe English Reformation and Puritanism, with Other Lectures and Addresses. Eri B. Hulbert , A. R. E. Wyant

1908 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 291-319
Author(s):  
Franklin Johnson ◽  
Edward B. Krehbiel ◽  
Albert Henry Newman ◽  
J. W. Moncrief ◽  
David S. Muzzey ◽  
...  

Open Theology ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 238-247
Author(s):  
Kitty Bouwman

Abstract The Book of Ben Sira was popular in the early Christian church and influenced the Church Father Augustine (354–430). He adopts the person of Wisdom as a divine mother and adapts her within the context of the early Christian church. He links to Mother Wisdom a wisdom theology, in which Jesus is her envoy. Augustine describes Mother Wisdom as an eternal nourishing divine mother. She has a permanent revelatory status by continuously giving life-giving power, which she mediates through Jesus of Nazareth. He presents her grace which she has prepared for the competentes (the candidates for Baptism), who are working towards initiation into Christian Faith. Mother Wisdom serves as hostess in biblical Wisdom literature. For Augustine, Jesus Christ has taken this place. Mother Wisdom serves instead the angels and the spiritual persons as a representative of divine nourishment.


2021 ◽  
pp. 55-68
Author(s):  
Phillip Sidney Horky

AbstractThis essay tracks a brief history of the concept of ‘co-breathing’ or ‘conspiration’ (συμπνοία), from its initial conception in Stoic cosmology in the third century BCE to its appropriation in Christian thought at the end of the second century CE. This study focuses on two related strands: first, how the term gets associated anachronistically with two paradigmatic philosopher-physicians, Hippocrates and Pythagoras, by intellectuals in the Early Roman Empire; and second, how the same term provides the early Church Fathers with a means to synthesize and explain discrete notions of ‘breath’ (πνεῦμα) through a repurposing of the pagan concept. Sources discussed include figures associated with Stoic, Pythagorean, and early Christian cosmologies.


Vox Patrum ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 62 ◽  
pp. 81-92
Author(s):  
Bogdan Czyżewski

The theme of this paper is the exegesis of Gen 2:1-3 in selected writings of the Church Fathers and early Christian writers. The Early Church authors pon­dered over the passage in question, seeking to find the meaning of God’s resting on the seventh day from all his work of creation of the world and man. In their statements, early Christian writers clearly stated that the Biblical text should be read spiritually while treated as a metaphor. For God does not need rest, but man. It is for man that the Creator made the Sabbath day, and made it holy, and since the Resurrection of Christ, Sunday has been a holy day designated for rest and celebration. Concurrently, it was the announcement of the eighth day, or eternity, in which a man, free from all the trouble and bodily decay, will forever rest in God and live a true union with Him.


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