489 Early Church History 9: Early Church Orders

Mar 30, 2023

Discover how early Christians organized their communities and governance through fascinating church orders. Explore the vital roles of bishops, presbyters, and deacons, and the unique responsibilities of women and widows. Delve into the evolution of baptism practices and communal worship, including the significance of rituals like the kiss of peace. Uncover the debates surrounding the origins of the Trinity and how early theological concepts evolved over centuries. This journey into early church history reveals both familiar and surprising insights!

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Intro

00:00 • 3min

Roles and Structure in Early Christian Communities

02:45 • 16min

Roles of Women and Widows in Early Church Ministry

18:20 • 2min

Roles and Responsibilities in the Early Church

20:36 • 9min

Early Christian Baptism and Worship Practices

29:16 • 17min

Exploring Early Church Worship Practices

45:57 • 3min

Reassessing the Trinity's Origins

49:05 • 18min

This is part 9 of the Early Church History class.

How did Christians organize themselves in the first few centuries? We're taking a break from theology and switching to focus on practical matters of church offices, church governance, church discipline, conversion, and charity. As it turns out we have a surprising amount of information about how early Christians did church not only from scattered quotes, but from a series of church manuals that have survived. In some ways these church orders sound eerily familiar to modern ears and in other ways, utterly foreign. See what you think.

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v7tCjuTbHx8&list=PLN9jFDsS3QV2lk3B0I7Pa77hfwKJm1SRI&index=9&t=1892s

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—— Notes ——

Sources

The Didache (100)[1]
Apostolic Tradition (215) (Hippolytus?)[2]
Didascalia Apostolorum (230)[3]
Apostolic Church Order (300)[4]
Apostolic Constitutions (380)[5]
quotes from others like Justin, Tertullian, Hippolytus, Cyprian, etc.

Church Orders are notoriously hard to date (composite documents). They don’t necessarily reflect the whole church and sometimes disagree with each other. They simply represent a snapshot of what Christians were doing in a particular time and place.

Joseph Lynch: “In the innermost circle were the people who were full members, the baptized faithful. Two groups were in the second circle: the unbaptized catechumens (“those under instruction”) who were seeking entry to the inner circle and the baptized penitents who had been expelled from the inner circle and were trying to get back in. The huge third circle held the non-believers (pagans and Jews), the former Christians (apostates), and the unacceptable Christians (heretics).”[6]

Bishops (Overseers)

qualifications in 1 Timothy 3.1-7; Titus 1.7-9
extraordinary honor as God’s representative
50 years old (if possible)
learned (if possible) and skillful with words
preach, administer communion, baptize, rebuke sin, restore repentant, visit the sick
supported financially, but live moderately
coordinate burying believers

Presbyters (Elders)

qualifications in Titus 1.6-9
functions