WHAT'S WORSE? PERSECUTION BY UNBELIEVERS OR POLITICAL ATTACKS IN THE CHURCH? - A LOOK AT JOHN CHRYSOSTOM

 When I first started reading Getting to Know the Church Fathers: An Evangelical Introduction by Bryan Litfin, this was where I stood on the twelve people he dealt with in the second edition:

1. Ones I knew absolutely nothing about before reading - 3
2. Ones I recognized the name but knew nothing more about them - 2
3.  Those I could give a one sentence summary of - 4
4. Those I could give more than just a one sentence summary of - 1
5. Those that I considered a hero of the faith - 2.

After reading the book, only the final two categories remain. I can give a two or more sentence  description of all of them. The two heroes (Tertullian and Athanasius) are still heroes, but they are now joined by a third: John Chrysostom (i.e. Golden Mouth).

Chrysostom was an interesting character. He had an excellent education, studying under Libaneus, the greatest orator of that time. When Libaneus was asked on his deathbed which of his students should be his successor, he said, "It ought to have been John, had not the Christians stole him from us."

So how did John use his education and oratory skills? By committing himself to Christ. First, he got involved in his local church, but that wasn't enough. So he sojourned in a monastery for four years and lived in a cave for two more. 

After that, he returned to his hometown of Antioch and preached there. You may remember three days ago that Origen, practiced Alexandrian (allegorical) interpretation of Scripture? John was trained in the Antiochene method which recognized the Bible was a spiritual book, but it focused on understanding what the text meant and remained grounded in what the text said. 

Litfin included an excerpt of a sermon John preached. Riots had occurred in Antioch, including vandalizing statues of the Emperor and his family. Among other consequences, Antioch lost the designation as a "Metropolis". John pointed out that Antioch has a greater glory than having that worldly title - it was the city where Christians received their name. He also reminded that the church at Antioch sent Paul and Barnabas with relief for a famine in Jerusalem, and later sent the duo again to the Jerusalem council when the circumcision issue cropped up (Acts 15).

John received an imperial order where he was informed he was appointed Bishop of Constantinople, not only to his surprise, but also that of Theophilus, Bishop of Alexandria, who was trying to get his protege plugged into that spot to give him more political influence. To make matters worse for Theophilus, John was from Antioch. If you picture the greatest college rivalry, it pales between the competitiveness between Alexandria and Antioch, two communities that often took opposing sides in church controversies.

Constantinople was a city of affluence, with two newly built cathedrals in town. How well do you think a former monk fit in that area? As you'd expect, John spoke out against the extravagance and put more emphasis on ministering to the poor. He also didn't hesitate to speak out against the sins of the church. His criticisms were sometimes ill-advised. Standing against the Judaizers that were around in that day, John responded with some anti-Semitic remarks. He also referred to the Emperor's wife as "Jezebel."

Theophilus and his Alexandrian co-horts used that to their advantage. They managed to get John Chrysostom exiled. They even offered bribes to the guards if John did not survive his exile. Being weakened by his earlier aescetic wilderness years, John died in exile.

As everybody else, Chrysostom had his shortcomings. But there are things I admire about John. His zeal for the Lord that resulted in living in the wilderness. His faithfulness to preach the Word of God and not look for hidden meanings. His concern on serving the poor rather than having a luxurious church. His message to Antioch to rejoice in their place in the spread of the Gospel.

 

 

THE LONG ROAD TO MARTYRDOM - A LOOK AT IGNATIUS OF ANTIOCH

 

Ignatius of Antioch

I believe it was last year that I saw a meme which said, "If I get killed by a mountain lion, know that my last words were 'Here, kitty, kitty.'" Is it possible that those were the last words of a church father?

 

There are a pair of Saint Ignatiuses. My guess is the better known one is Ignatius of Loyola (1491-1556), founder of the Jesuit movement. Fourteen hundred years earlier was the Saint he was probably named after, Ignatius of Antioch. Note of interest: Before moving to Indy, Becky and I lived in the part of Nashville, TN known as Antioch, and we were about a mile from St. Ignatius of Antioch Catholic Church.

Ignatius (from here on in this blog, "Ignatius" refers to the one from Antioch) was the first Church Father dealt with in Getting to Know the Church Fathers: An Evangelical Introduction by Bryan Litfin. We know very few details about his life; the year his death was set approximately at 115, at that death was assumed to be via a lion or the like in the Roman Colesium. How long he lived, why was he arrested and sent to Rome for execution, and what the name of Budd Abbott's famous third baseman was all have the same answer: "I don't know."

Here are the few facts we know of Ignatius:

• He was a bishop from Antioch of Syria, the city where followers of Jesus were first called Christians, from where Paul started his three missionary journeys. It is possible that Ignatius may have known of Paul, though it might have been as a child.
• He was arrested and traveled to Rome, writing seven letters during the journey. During a holdover in Smyrna, Asia Minor. he was visited there by Smyrna's bishop Polycarp -if you're not familiar with him, look up his inspiring martyrdom defense at age 86 - and bishops from other neighboring cities including one name Onesimus (Philemon's former slave?), who came to encourage their captive brother. Five of his letters were to churches that sent representatives to him along the journey, with the other two being a personal note to Polycarp and a letter to the Church in Rome asking them not to interfere in any way with his martyrdom.
  

We often think of the church of the first three centuries as being persecuted from without but faithful to Christ. That picture is not true. In his ministry in Antioch, he faced two different forms of false teaching that despite their differences shared a dangerous similarity: Both minimized the value and necessity of Jesus' death and resurrection.

On one hand are the Judaizers. You may remember that the important Council in Jerusalem was convened due to Paul and Barnabas being confronted in Antioch following the first missionary journey by believing Pharisees who stated the Gentile converts needed to be circumcised. Antioch was also the location where Paul publicly rebuked Peter for giving mixed messages about the Gospel by changing his eating partners when they had Jewish visitors sent by James. If you think the verdict of the Jerusalem Council and Paul's letter to the Galatians ended the conflict, guess again. I've seen groups today 2000 years later still Judaizing believers, as well as other forms of legalistic teaching. 

How does this teaching weaken the Christian faith? Simple. Christ's death was not enough for salvation. God's grace is not sufficient. Rather, we need to help God save us by obeying Him.

On the other hand were early Gnostics. The emphasis of Gnostics is knowledge, and they believed Jesus came to be a spiritual teacher, a guru if you will. They held to a belief called Docetism, which had little problem of Christ being deity but a big problem with His humanity. For them, it was not necessary for Him to be born, and much less for Him to die a tortuous death. Instead, we are saved by knowledge, by mystical teachings of Jesus (as well as other Gnostic leaders).

What is the solution? Ignatius proposed the concept of a single bishop in each city. The purpose was not to give authority to that bishop but for the sake of unity. The church needs to be unified by both truth and love. Too many focus so intently on one or the other that they don't focus enough on the other.

As I hinted in describing his letter to Rome, Ignatius did not consider a painful criminal's death as a mark of failure. Rather, he viewed it as the cry of a victor, that his demise validated his stands against the Judaizers and the Docetists. Ignatius asked the Romans not to interfere with his martyrdom, and added that some of the wild beasts were on the timid side, so he planned to coax them to eat him. Is it possible that Ignatius' final words were the Greek equivalent of "Here, kitty kitty?"

Are you willing to die an unpleasant death for the sake of Christ? Do you deal with either legalists (including but not limited to Judaizers) or with those who relegate Jesus to being a wise teacher rather than a Sacrifice and Savior? What are you doing to encourage (or discourage) unity in your local church? Do you support, encourage, and even submit to your church leader(s) for the sake of unity and the Gospel?