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Last week we looked at the Church Fathers on the Eucharist. I’d like to introduce you to four more of my friends among the Church Fathers, this time on a different topic: was the early Church Catholic?
A dear friend of mine, who is a Baptist, likes to claim that “the early Church was Baptist – that was the pure, unadulterated church until it had to go underground due to persecution from the Roman hierarchy. It wasn’t until the sixteenth century that the real Church (the Baptists) resurfaced and corrected what the Catholic Church corrupted.” But this goes against the testimony of the early Church, who were clearly Catholic, Apostolic, and hierarchical!
One of the earliest Christian documents we have is the Didache (literally, “The Teaching of the Twelve Apostles”) which comes from approximately 90 AD. Outside of the Bible, it is the oldest Christian document – thus, should give us some insight into what they truly believed! Listen to these words:
Elect, therefore, for yourselves bishops and deacons worthy of the Lord, men who are meek and not covetous, and true and approved, for they perform for you the service of prophets and teachers. Do not, therefore, despise them, for they are those who are honored among you, together with the prophets and teachers.
Another early Church Father is St. Ignatius of Antioch, who wrote approximately around 120AD. At this point the Church was going through growing pains, and certain churches were still trying to understand the need for a hierarchy. Ignatius writes to the Church in Smyrna, explaining the need to remain within the flock, led by a shepherd:
Wherever the bishop appears, there let the people be; as wherever Jesus Christ is, there is the Catholic Church. It is not lawful to baptize or give communion without the consent of the bishop. On the other hand, whatever has his approval is pleasing to God. Thus, whatever is done will be safe and valid.
You may hear, during one of the Eucharistic prayers, the names of “Linus, Cletus, Clement, and Sixtus” as the Church prays for their intercession. Who are these random saints? They are the popes who succeeded St. Peter! St. Clement of Rome was the fourth Pope, reigning around 100AD. He wrote a letter to his own church in Rome, explaining to them thus:
For you did all things without respect of persons, and walked in the commandments of God, being obedient to those who had the rule over you, and giving all fitting honor to the presbyters (priests) among you.
Finally, St. Polycarp, who was a disciple of St. John the Evangelist, writes in the first century after Christ about the different levels of hierarchy already present in the Church:
In like manner deacons should be blameless in the presence of His
righteousness, as deacons of God and Christ and not of men; not
calumniators, not double-tongued, not lovers of money, temperate in
all things, compassionate, diligent, walking according to the truth
of the Lord who became a minister (deacon) of all. For if we be
well pleasing unto Him in this present world, we shall receive the
future world also, according as He promised us to raise us from the
dead, and that if we conduct ourselves worthily of Him we shall
also reign with Him, if indeed we have faith.
In like manner also the younger men must be blameless in all things,
caring for purity before everything and curbing themselves from every
evil. For it is a good thing to refrain from lusts in the world, for
“every lust warreth against the Spirit, and neither whoremongers
nor effeminate persons nor defilers of themselves with men shall
inherit the kingdom of God,” neither they that do untoward things.
Wherefore it is right to abstain from all these things, submitting
yourselves to the presbyters and deacons as to God and Christ. The
virgins must walk in a blameless and pure conscience.
And the presbyters also must be compassionate, merciful towards all
men, turning back the sheep that are gone astray, visiting all the
infirm, not neglecting a widow or an orphan or a poor man: but
providing always for that which is honorable in the sight of God
and of men, abstaining from all anger, respect of persons,
unrighteous judgment, being far from all love of money, not quick to
believe anything against any man, not hasty in judgment, knowing that
we all are debtors of sin.
Finally, one bonus quote! This one from St. Ambrose, the bishop of Milan during the late 300s who was instrumental in the conversion of St. Augustine. He writes, “Where Peter is, there is the Church. And where the Church is, no death is there, but life eternal.” Clearly the early Church was Catholic, with an established hierarchy from the very first days. It wasn’t a Christian free-for-all where everyone had the authority in the early Church, as some would have us believe (such as my friend Bill the Baptist), but rather, there is a clear order and structure to the Church – one which we would recognize today in our Catholic Faith!
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