A. Birth of the Church at Pentecost

LESSON 12

Birth of the Church. Pentecost. Social and religious situation of the Roman Empire during the 1st century. The community of Jerusalem, the Mother Church: basic features. Relation with the public authorities and the people. “Hebrew” Christians and “Hellenist” Christians.

1. Birth of the Church. Pentecost.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC), no 731 teaches us:

On the day of Pentecost when the seven weeks of Easter had come to an end, Christ's Passover is fulfilled in the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, manifested, given and communicated as a divine person: of his fullness, Christ, the Lord, pours out the Spirit in abundance.

CCC 732 says furthermore:

[...] By his coming, which never ceases, the Holy Spirit causes the world to enter into the 'last days', the time of the Church, the Kingdom already inherited though not yet consummated.

CCC 737:

The mission of Christ and the Holy Spirit is brought to completion in the Church, which is the Body of Christ and the Temple of the Holy Spirit. This joint mission henceforth brings Christ's faithful to share in his communion with the Father in the Holy Spirit. The Spirit prepares men and goes out to them with his grace, in order to draw them to Christ. The Spirit manifests the risen Lord to them, recalls his word to them and opens their minds to the understanding of his death and Resurrection. He makes present the mystery of Christ, supremely in the Eucharist, in order to reconcile them, to bring them into communion with God, that they may 'bear much fruit'.

CCC 738:

Thus the Church's mission is not an addition to that of Christ and the Holy Spirit, but its sacrament: in her whole being and in all her members, the Church is sent to announce, bear witness, make present and spread the mystery of the communion of the Holy Trinity.

2. Social and religious situation of the Roman Empire during the 1st century

The birth and early development of Christianity took place within the political and cultural framework of the Roman empire. It is true that pagan Rome persecuted the Christians for three centuries; but it would be wrong to see the empire as only a negative factor in the spread of the Gospel. Rome had imposed unity on the Greco-Latin world; this meant that over a huge area, under a single supreme authority, peace and order reigned. This situation lasted until well into the third century and good communications among the various parts of the empire made it easy for ideas to circulate. The Roman roads and the sea-routes of the Mediterranean provided channels for the Gospel to spread over the whole Mediterranean area. (cf J Orlandis, A Short History of the Catholic Church, Four Courts Press, Dublin 1993, p 15)

The Empire in which the first Christian "apostles" worked was a vast state whose 40 provinces took in roughly all Europe west of the Rhine and south of the Danube, with the island of Britain, Asia Minor, Syria, Palestine, Arabia and Egypt, and then from Egypt along the north coast of Africa to the Atlantic. These provinces differed greatly in their history and their character, and in the way Roman power "romanised" them. In Greece and Asia there were peoples culturally superior to the Romans. In Syria and especially in Egypt there was a civilisation older even than the Greek, although now "hellenised"; in Gaul the Celts had their own civilisation, etc. Rome had, however, shown a unique capacity for combining diversity in union, a political flexibility always ready to find new relationships on which to build alliances. (cf P Hughes, A History of the Church, vol. I, London 1961, pp 1-2)

There was a common language in the empire -based on Greek, at first, and then on Greek and Latin, later. This made it easier for people to communicate and understand each other. Paganism was in crisis and many spiritually sensitive people were searching for religious truth and so receptive to the message of the Gospel. (cf J Orlandis, A Short History of the Catholic Church, Four Courts Press, Dublin 1993, p 15)

There were roughly three main religious influences abroad in the Empire at the time of the birth of Christianity:

all the religions associated with the culture of classical antiquity, of Greece and of Rome:
the religions which originated in the pre-Roman culture of the Empire, e.g., Celtic religions in the West, and the ancient religions of the East;
the religion of the Jewish people, which although one of the latter, is a religion apart, demanding special treatment. (cf P Hughes, A History of the Church, vol. I, London 1961, p 8)

The first of these, paganism, in its many varied forms was the practice of the majority within the Empire. There was the old paganism: animistic, anthropomorphic. This had developed into a system of naturalistic gods who were conceived as having human form, and among whom there was a hierarchy, and with each god, demi-god, and hero went an appropriate myth and due worship. A particular aspect of Roman religion was its domestic character. The family itself was a sacred thing. The strength of this family element was shown in the cult of the dead. (cf P Hughes, A History of the Church, vol. I, London 1961, p 8)

However, with the growth of the philosophers the inevitable antagonism between Greek religion and Greek intelligence had begun to show. Side by side with the ancient public religions, there began to appear new secret cults, open only to the initiated, in which the dissatisfaction with the older cults' puerility was manifest. (cf P Hughes, A History of the Church, vol. I, London 1961, p 8)

At the same time there had been the criticism of the new moral philosophy according to which belief in gods was futile, a waste of life, the greatest of follies. This scepticism emptied many religious practices of anything but a sense of civic duty. There was no speculation as to the nature of the gods. Cicero described religion as the science of ritual. Religion was something to be used, empty of any spiritual meaning, a legal requirement, a political tool, in which Rome and the Emperor gained divine status. Certainly there was no element of holiness and sanctity in this ritual to the gods, nor did true adoration or love find a place. (cf P Hughes, A History of the Church, vol. I, London 1961, p 8)

3. The community of Jerusalem, the Mother Church: basic features

Acts 1:15 tells us of an initial group of believers "about 120 persons", who, after Our Lord's Ascension, "devoted themselves to prayer" (v. 14), awaiting in the upper room in Jerusalem the coming of the Holy Spirit. On the day of Pentecost "about 3,000 were added to their number" (Acts 2:41). Scripture goes on to tell us something of their lives (Acts 2:42-47):

And they devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. And fear came upon every soul; and many wonders and signs were done through the apostles. And all who believed were together and had all things in common; and they sold their possessions and goods and distributed them all, as any had need. And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they partook of food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having favour with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved. (Acts 2:42-47)

Later in Acts (4:32-35) we read the following:

Now the company of those who believed were of one heart and soul, and no one said that any of the things which he possessed was his own, but they had everything in common. And with great power the apostles gave their testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was upon them all. There was not a needy person among them, for as many as were possessors of lands or houses sold them, and brought the proceeds of what was sold and laid it at the apostles' feet; and distribution was made to each as any had need.

And the general situation is described as follows (Acts 5:12b-16):

And they were all together in Solomon's Portico. None of the rest dared join them, but people held them in high honour. And more than ever believers were added to the Lord, multitudes both of men and women, so that they even carried out the sick into the streets, and laid them on beds and pallets, that as Peter came by at least his shadow might fall on some of them. The people also gathered from the towns around Jerusalem, bringing the sick and those afflicted with unclean spirits, and they were all healed.

And about the time of the ordination if the first deacons we read (Acts 6:1a, 7):

Now in these days when the disciples were increasing [...] And the word of God increased; and the number of the disciples multiplied greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests were obedient to the faith.

4. Relation with the public authorities and the people

"A disciple is not above his teacher" (Mt 10:24), Jesus had told his disciples. The Sanhedrin declared Jesus a criminal to be punished by death for claiming to be the Messiah, the Son of God. It was only logical for the Jewish authorities to be hostile to his apostles, when they proclaimed that Jesus had risen and confirmed their preaching by various public miracles. The Sanhedrin tried to silence them, but Peter replied to the High Priest, "we must obey God rather than man" (Acts 5:29). The Apostles were put under the lash, but neither threat no punishment could silence them, and they left rejoicing "that they were counted worthy to suffer dishonour" for the name of Jesus. The death by stoning of St Stephen the deacon marked the beginning of severe persecution of Jesus' disciples. The split between Christianity and Judaism grew steadily deeper and more overt. (cf J Orlandis, A Short History of the Catholic Church, pp 12ff)

5. “Hebrew” Christians and “Hellenist” Christians

The issue of the universality of redemption was a problematic one. It was difficult for many Jewish Christians, attached as they were to their old traditions, to understand how Gentiles could be members of the Church and inheritors of the promises. They felt that for Gentile converts to have access to salvation they needed at the very least to be circumcised and to keep the regulations of the Law of Moses. Understandably this disturbed Christians of Gentile background, so the Church was forced to examine the whole question of the relationship between the old law and the new law, and to affirm unequivocally the Church's independence of the Synagogue.

To discuss these fundamental problems the so-called 'council' of Jerusalem met in AD 49. At this assembly Paul and Barnabas spoke on behalf of the churches of Gentile background and bore witness to the wonders God had worked among them. Peter once again spoke with authority in favour of Christians' freedom regarding Jewish legal observances. On the proposal of James, bishop of Jerusalem, the council agreed not to lay any unnecessary burdens on Gentile converts: they should only have to obey a few simple rules: keep away from fornication and , as regards the old law, abstain from meat which was strangled or had been sacrificed to idols (Acts 15:1-33), thus definitively solving the question of the relationship between Christianity and Judaism. Jewish Christians in Palestine still followed heir own style for a while, but they were a minority within the Christian Church ever more widespread throughout the Gentile world.

REFERENCES

J Orlandis, A Short History of the Catholic Church. Dublin: Four Courts Press, 1993.
P Hughes, A History of the Church, vol. I. London 1961.
HW Crocker III, Triumph: The Power and the Glory of the Catholic Church. A 2,000-Year History. New York: Three Rivers Press, 2001