Life, Worship and Doctrine Under Romanism

F. W. Mattox, The Eternal Kingdom: A History of the Church of Christ, Delight,

Arkansas: Gospel Light Publishing Company, 1961.

The Establishment of Catholicity• The increase of heresy led the bishops to

desire more centralization of authority and a set pattern of doctrine.– Though the NT was recognized as authoritative,

they believed it needed an authoritarian interpretation.

• The bishops became the spokesmen of orthodoxy and official representatives of the organism.

• From the beginning of the Sixth Century there was a pattern of doctrine designated as “Catholic.”

Catholic

• The primary meaning of “Catholic” is “universal.”

• The term began to be used in the 2nd Century in reference to the universal church of Christ.

• Soon, however, it came to be applied to doctrine and organization that received the approval of the majority of the bishops.

Sacerdotalism • A “religious belief emphasizing the powers of

priests as essential mediators between God and humankind.”– Priesthood of the believers (1 Peter 2)

• A priestly class developed.– Christians were told priests had to do things for

them that they could not do for themselves.– This was a retrogression to Jewish days and a

compromise with paganism.– If the ministers were priests, they had to interpret

the items of worship in such a way as to give themselves special functions to justify their positions.

Sacerdotalism

• The priestly idea grew up with the episcopacy.– The administration of the Lord’s supper and

baptism became the sole privilege of the bishop.– As the bishop enlarged his responsibilities, he

authorized elders to perform these services.– The services then became official in nature and

could only be performed by a specially ordained individual.

– There was a general increase in ceremonialism, with simple services becoming ritualistic.

Baptism• Baptism became a ceremony that could only

be performed by an approved official.– Only on Easter and Pentecost– Candidates were required to go through a period

of training.– The act itself became an elaborate ceremony

where the candidate renounced the Devil, had salt sprinkled on his head.

– After immersion, he received milk and honey as a token of entering the spiritual promised land.

– He was dressed in white robes and paraded home wearing crowns of victory.

Baptismal Issues• Infant baptism was occasionally practiced

before 325, but it only became a common practice after Augustine (c. 450).

• Sprinkling for baptism– Baptism was recognized as necessary for the

remission of sins and salvation.– Many unbaptized would become seriously ill and

immersion seemed unwise.– The priests would pour small amounts of water

on the subject’s head and called it baptism.– The first known case was Novatian in 251, but

the exception became the rule.

The Lord’s Supper• Justin and Irenaeus both speak of the Lord’s

supper as an offering, similar to the incense the Jews offered to God.– Church members began to give bread and wine

to the bishop who, in turn, presented it to God with a portion being used in the communion service.

– Taking the form of an oblation, or offering, it soon began to be thought of as a sacrifice and an offering.

– First it was a sacrifice of man unto God, then it became an offering of Christ unto God.

Changing the Lord’s Supper

• Cyprian said the service reenacts the offering of Christ as High Priest when he presented His blood to God.– In this, the priest takes the place of Christ, the

emblems stand for the body of Christ and the priest offers the body and the blood for the sins of men.

• Tertullian believed the bread and wine were only symbols, but that the Lord’s supper could also be applied to the dead.

Changing the Lord’s Supper• Cyril of Jerusalem (315-386) was first to

advocate clearly that the Eucharist had power to help the dead.

• Chrysostom (347-407), bishop of Constantinople, separated the idea of sacrifice from communion, believing the priest offered the sacrifice to God and the people took communion.

• Augustine supported the idea that the Supper is a sacrifice.

• By the time of Gregory the Great (540-604) the sacrifice of the mass was fully established.

Transubstantiation

• Eusebius and Athanasius strongly repudiated the idea of partaking of real flesh and blood.

• Cyril of Jerusalem believed the elements were changed spiritually into the body and blood.

• John of Damascus (700-750) seems to be the first to clearly defend a literal change from the elements into actual flesh and blood.

Sacraments

• Sacrament suggests the relationship of an outward sign to the spiritual purposes of God.

• Tertullian was the first to apply the term sacrament to significant Christian rites.

• In all ages, baptism and the Lord’s supper have been looked upon as sacraments.

• By the time of Gregory the Great, the original two had grown into the seven sacraments of the medieval Catholic Church.

Confirmation as a Sacrament• As infant baptism came into common

practice, it was believed necessary to have a confirmation service for such children.– This ceremony consisted of the laying on of

hands by the bishop.– Soon the bishop began also to anoint the

child with oil.– This was considered necessary before the

child could partake of communion, thus confirmation was given the status of a sacrament.

Penance as a Sacrament• The idea developed that Christians who fell

into sin needed to do more than simply confess wrong.– It became the priest’s duty to determine whether

contrition was genuine and whether the church should require some proof of good intentions before granting readmittance to membership.

– The priest might require the penitent to make some satisfaction for his sin which, once fulfilled would absolve him from his sin.

– Gregory the Great was the first to make penance a sacrament.

The Sacrament of Ordination

• As the priesthood increased in importance, elaborate rites developed to initiate one into the exclusive order.

• The priesthood was looked upon with unusual respect.

• The mysterious event that bestowed a common man with such privileges and powers came to be looked upon as the sacrament of ordination.

The Sacrament of Unction

• Through special ceremony the sick could be anointed with oil and receive special grace.

• By anointing a baptized person just before death all sin would be removed.

• This became the sacrament of unction.

Marriage as a Sacrament

• “Augustine was inclined to believe that marriage should be regarded as a sacrament” (Cairns, p. 153).

• “Marriage is the way Christ unites a Christian man and woman in a lifelong union” (Anthony J. Wilhelm, Christ Among Us: A Modern Presentation of the Catholic Faith, New York: Paulist Press, 1975, p. 187).

Instrumental Music• It is generally admitted that the early church

used no instrumental music.– Chrysostom states, “It was the ancient custom, as

it is still with us, for all to come together, and unitedly to join in singing. The young and the old, rich and poor, male and female, bond and free, all join in one song.”

– In the 4th Century, special singers were appointed as a distinct class of officers in the church, which encouraged singing by a choir.

– By the 5th Century, some mechanical music began to be introduced.

– Organs were not used until the 8th Century.

Asceticism• Many early Christians were influenced by

Gnosticism in their attempt to overcome the temptations of life.

• Some went into the desert to escape the contamination of society.

• Origen, Cyprian, Tertullian and Jerome all taught celibacy was necessary to obtain the highest spirituality.

• As society became more corrupt, the most devout sought closer contact with God through isolation.

Monasticism• Anthony (250-356) gave away his possessions

at the age of 20 and went to live in a cave.• In the 4th Century, hermits began to organize

monastic groups.• It is believed Pachomius (292-346) was the first

to organize the hermits and form a monastery.– In 340, he took a group of hermits to an island in

the Nile.– He organized other groups and soon several

thousand monks in Egypt and Syria were under his supervision.

Monasticism

• Pachomius worked out a system for division of their time in prayer, study and work.– He made obedience a requirement and set

the pattern for monastic life.• Fanatical ascetics were also called

anchorites. – These exposed themselves to all manner of

hardship.– The aim was to destroy themselves through

suffering.

Fanatical Asceticism• They believed every torment was endured for

the sake of Christ and they would be blessed if they killed themselves through torture and starvation.

• Such came into Christian communities by untaught monks who came under the influence of Mani.– He had been influenced by the monastic

practices of the monks of Buddhism and Jainism of India.

– The Manichaean monks thought all physical existence was the work of the Devil.

Western Monasticism Was Organized by Benedict (480-543)

• His twin sister, Scholastica, founded a convent which set the pattern for organized societies of female ascetics.

• The Rule of Benedict consisted of three “virtues”: poverty, chastity and obedience.

• The monastery was ready to receive all who wanted to take the sure way to heaven.– Many of the most devout, whose leadership was

badly needed, were thus lost to the church.– Monasteries kept learning alive during the “dark

ages” and preserved manuscripts which are a valuable source of information.

The Human Will and Grace

• The doctrine of original sin led to a violent controversy over the relation of the human will to divine grace and regeneration.

• One group emphasized the ability of man of his own will turning from sin and accepting saving grace.

• The other group reasoned man’s sin so removed him from God that he required grace to bring him into a position to accept salvation.

Man Has the Power to Overcome Sin

• Pelagius, a devout monk, stressed the moral responsibility of the individual, saying man had it in his power to overcome sin.

• He formulated a system of theology based upon the freedom of the human will.

• He believed man is born with no tendency toward good or bad and with complete freedom to choose his path.

• He thought it was possible for a human to live without sin, even going so far as to say some probably had.

Pelagius Taught Man Has Freedom of Will

• Sin is an act of the will and not transmitted through heredity.

• Each soul is created at the time of birth and, being made by God, has no sin.

• Each infant is as Adam was before the fall.• Children dying in infancy are saved and

have no need of baptism.• By good works, a man can be saved apart

from the death of Christ.• Grace is available to the sinner after he

proves himself worth it.

Augustine

• Augustine was born in North Africa (354) to a Christian mother and pagan father.

• He reached manhood unconverted and his evil desire caused him to be guilty of all the immorality of his day.

• At 19, he became an auditor of the sect of the Manichaeans and remained with the group for 9 years.

• He thought Christianity was for those who could not understand true philosophy.

Augustine• He became more interested in Christianity

through the preaching of Ambrose, bishop of Milan.

• He had a strong desire to be married and thought real Christians had to remain unmarried.

• Through a violent emotional experience, he overcame his desire to satisfy the flesh and gave himself to spiritual life.

• His experience led him to believe the individual was not responsible for his sinful nature.

Man Cannot Choose the Good

• Augustine taught Adam had the choice of following God or sin.

• When Adam sinned, his soul became so depraved and perverted that he was cast out of the Garden of Eden.

• He could no longer have fellowship with God, which deprived him of any connection with good.

• His nature was now such that he could not choose the good.

Inherited Depravity

• Augustine believed depravity was transferred to all his posterity.

• Birth is the result of sinful concupiscence.• Salvation is the result of God’s grace.• Man needs grace to start in the direction of

salvation.• Grace is further given when through baptism

past sins are forgiven.• The Christian life is lived by grace, without

which man could not move toward holiness.

Augustine and Election

• Augustine believed God made it possible for man to will.

• This excludes any real freedom for man.• Those elected by God are predestined to

eternal life and cannot resist His grace.• He believed man would persevere unto

salvation.• No one, however, can be sure he is of the

elect.