READING GUIDE, WEEK TWO: the Christian Heritage
A. The Passion of Perpetua
A passion story is the story of a martyrdom; that is, one in which
someone dies for their beliefs and is later celebrated by others who hold
those beliefs. In this case, Perpetua was a young Christian woman from
a noble Roman family who was tried and executed by Roman authorities in
Carthage (North Africa) in the early 200s CE. Famous martyrdoms,
such as Perpetua's, obviously took place while the Roman Empire was officially
‘pagan' (whatever that means, and it is hotly debated ...); remember that
after Emperor Constantine legalized Christianity in 312 CE, it was impossible
for a young Christian to attain martyrdom in the way that Perpetua did.
1. Describe how the trial took place (what procedure was followed?).
What was the reason for each step in the trial? How might Perpetua have
saved herself from a gruesome death? Why didn't she take this option?
2. Why did Roman political leaders think the Christians were a threat?
What did the Christians think about Roman political authority?
3. Perpetua has a series of visions or dreams. Summarize each one,
and try to figure out what they mean.
4. What is the point of telling this gruesome tale? Who would want
to preserve it (ie., write it down?), and for what purpose? Hint:
look at the reaction of the other martyrs.
5. If we are going to take Theodosius' Code as our epitome of "Rome,"
we are likewise going to take the story of Perpetua as one of our epitomes
of Early Christianity. What, then, are the values of early Christians?
Remember to look at the text. If you are Christian, remember that
you cannot assume that all Christians at all times think alike. There
is a distinctive set of early Christian beliefs and values that we must
decode from the text.
6. Are the values expressed by Perpetua and her friends necessarily
incompatible with Rome? Why or why not?
7. Did Perpetua and Felicity WANT to die? If so, why?
8. What role did Perpetua's family play in this drama? What is her
father's attitude towards her faith? Why?
9. Subsequent Christians (that is, after 312) considered the martyrs
to be heroes and heroines. Why?
B. The World of the Church Fathers (on-line texts, found here)
Introduction: The story of Perpetua represents one pole of the early
Christian experience: the charismatic, faith-driven obedience to God at
the expense of one's own life. It (and others like it) were meant to be
inspirational, both for fellow Christians and for their pagan neighbors.
Yet once Christianity became legalized in 312, new challenges presented
themselves to the leaders of the Christian communities. Now it was
equally important for those communities to organize themselves around logical,
theologically sound principles. It meant that Christianity would have to
develop sophisticated doctrine that could help guide the flood of new converts
in proper Christian thought and behavior. The great achievement of the
fourth and fifth centuries, therefore, was the fusion of Roman intellectual
and administrative culture with Christianity; the product was an explosion
of sophisticated thought about the nature of the Christian faith and the
ways in which Christian communities (including the Empire as a whole) ought
to be organized. Thus, if Perpetua and the martyrs helped show the power
of individual faith, it was really the theologians of the 4th and 5th centuries
who provided Christianity with a system of thought and behavior. Their
achievement was so great that their ideas and interpretations shaped the
political, social, and religious structure of Europe for at least the next
1000 years. As a result, these theologians became known as the Church Fathers
(for they in a very real sense helped to construct a church out of previously
fragmented and disparate Christian communities). The most important
of the Fathers (also known as the Doctors of the Church) were St Jerome,
St Ambrose of Milan, St Augustine of Hippo, and St Gregory the Great.
Jerome's great achievement lay in the creation of the standard Bible, for
up until his day there was no unified bible, but simply a variety of different
texts floating around. Jerome and his colleagues selected what they felt
were the canonical texts (leaving aside many other texts, such as the Apocrypha)
and provided a uniform edition of them in readable Latin. This first
‘complete' Bible, known as the Latin Vulgate Bible, was the standard text
used up until 1500. St Ambrose, as you shall see in your reading,
was instrumental in helping set forth doctrines concerning the interaction
of the new Christian church with secular political leaders. St Augustine
was probably the most theologically influential of the Fathers, for his
prolific pen helped define and fix most of the theological controversies
of the day; among his works were the definitive argument concerning Original
Sin, a defense of married life, a systematic treatise on how to interpret
the scriptures, an astoundingly beautiful account of his own conversion
and experiences as a Christian, and his magnum opus, the City of God, in
which he discusses the interaction between the spiritual world and the
material world. You will encounter St Gregory in several weeks.
1. The Nicene Creed (I provide further introduction to this text
on the website). Recall that the context of the production of this statement
of faith was a bitter theological dispute between a large group known as
Arians (who lost the argument, and were subsequently labelled heretics)
and those who opposed them (who won, and are therefore the ‘orthodox' Christians).
Remember that Creed comes from the Latin "Credo" ("I believe").
a. Why does the Creed start with a statement about the Trinity?
b. Why did church leaders and the emperor both think it was important
to produce a Creed?
c. Did Christians of the fourth century accept the possibility of an
ecumenical Christianity (that is, did they think it OK if there were lots
of different varieties)? Why or why not?
2. Bishop Ambrose of Milan humbles the Emperor Theodosius, 390 CE
a. Notice that this is a heavily pro-Ambrose account of the dispute
between the two men. What was Theodoret's purpose in telling this story?
b. Why did Ambrose become upset with the Emperor? What had Theodosius
done? Why did Ambrose object?
c. What do you imagine was the Emperor's justification for his actions?
Do you think he felt he was acting in an unusual way when he did what he
did?
d. How did Ambrose force Theodosius to admit he had made an error?
What does this tell us about the authority of bishops (and priests) by
390 CE?
e. What are the implications of this episode for relations between
Church and state? What does it suggest about the nature of Imperial authority?
What limits does Ambrose seem to see to Theodosius' power?
f. Was Ambrose trying to depose Theodosius, or get rid of the position
of Emperor? What does he see as the role and function of Emperor?
3. St Augustine, from The City of God, on the two cities, c. 420
CE
a. Recall the context in which Augustine wrote the City of God. What
were pagans saying about Christians? How does Augustine's distinction between
an Earthly City and a Heavenly City help answer them?
b. What is the ultimate message of Augustine's text? Is it practical,
spiritual? In what ways?
c. Is Augustine suggesting that everyone should simply party hardy
and wait for the afterlife? Is there any function for the Earthly City?
If so, what is it (or what are they)?
d. Notice the sophistication of Augustine's argumentation. It is a
far cry from the simple faith of Perpetua. In Augustine we see the fusion
of old pagan educational traditions (of logic, reason, and argumentation)
with Christian precepts.
4. St Vincent of Lerins defines orthodoxy, 434
a. What does ‘orthodox' mean? Why does St Vincent think it necessary
to define orthodoxy? What is heresy? Why does St Vincent consider heresy
to be ‘degraded' and dangerous? Was he alone in thinking this? Why or why
not?
b. St Vincent's second point is absolutely critical for any understanding
of early and medieval Christianity. What authorities underly an ‘orthodox'
Christianity? What does he mean by the ‘interpretation of the church'?
What does St Vincent say to those who insist that scripture is sufficient
authority? [In point two, he lists the names of many men - all espoused
theological opinions that were declared incorrect, or heretical, by men
such as Augustine]
c. Remember that before "Catholic" was a denominational description
(ie., the modern Catholic Church), the word ‘catholic' meant simply ‘true
and correct'. So, when St Vincent describes the ‘catholic church' he in
fact is referring to that one universal church of those who believe correctly
about Christianity.
d. St Vincent's fourth point is also absolutely critical. He brings
up the obvious point the scripture is open to lots of very differing interpretations.
How is the ‘catholic' Christian to know which is correct? What should such
a person do when encountering other interpretations? Note especially the
value that St Vincent assigns to ‘antiquity' over ‘novelty'. What does
this mean?
Homework Assignment: Write a 1 page, typed response to one of
the following. Due in class, September 1.
1. Which of the four readings from the World of the Church Fathers
do you find most instructive in understanding early Christianity? Why?
Be sure to compare your choice to the others.
2. What were Perpetua's personal characteristics and religious values
that made her considered a true heroine of the faith for early Christians?
Why did these make her a heroine?