RISE OF CHRISTIANITY

1. RISE OF CHRISTIANITY History of Preaching O.C. Edward Jr.

2. History of Preaching: Definition of Preaching A speech delivered in a Christian assembly for worship by an authorized person that applies some point of doctrine, usually drawn from a biblical passage, to the lives of the members of the congregation with the purpose of moving them by the use of narrative analogy and other rhetorical devices to accept that application and to act on the basis of it. p. 2-4

3. History of Preaching: Patterns of Education Rhetoric: • Elementary and Secondary Education • Study of classic literature-Homer for the Greeks, and Virgil for the Romans • The early patristic fathers were influenced by this type of education or how literature was taught, i.e., it influenced their preaching, e.g., • Plot, handwritten text-teacher laboriously went through the text-same words • Read passage aloud-no grammar. • Memorized text/explanation of text (exegesis) • Define words, grammatical structure noted, and historical context

4. History of Preaching: Patterns of Education Greek/Roman Education: Influence Christian Culture • Christian culture: being a religion of the Book, Christianity required a certain level of literacy and literary understanding; the explication of the Bible required the methods of the grammarian; preaching a new field of action required rhetoric; theology required the equipment of philosophy. The synthesis of Christianity and Classical education had become so intimate that, when the “barbarian” invasions swept away the traditional school along with many other imperial and Roman institutions, the church, needing a literary culture for the education of its clergy, kept alive the cultural tradition that Rome had received from the Hellenistic world.

5. History of Preaching: Origen Origen: Born ca. 185 in Alexandria Educated by father Leonides of Alexandria. Hellenistic Education (good citizens for developing culture) Father: Martyred during the reign of Septimius Severus. Father was a grammarian. Bishop Demetrius of Alexander put him charge of teaching the catchumens for baptism. Did not complete his secondary education. However he was influenced by philosophy rather than rhetoric. He became enamored by the study of Platonism. Very popular preacher At 2nd Council of Constantinople (531) Charged as a Heretic. (teachings of plato shaped his Christian doctrine)

6. History of Preaching: Origen The Preacher Began Preaching in his mid fifties Preached three year period from 239 -240 (delay-not ordained). P. 37 What was his preaching like? Origen preached from a position raised above the congregation. P. 39 Sermons: a rereading of the text like a good grammarian (Explain) Began with an introduction-with a question to be addressed in his interpretation. Many times he would skip the intro and delve into the scriptures. He would end with a doxology and an invitation to prayer. Nautin suggested that Origen wished only to explain Scripture as well as he could, and that he was inspired in that task. He also quoted freely from the Bible. P. 40.

7. History of Preaching: Origen The Preacher Two Principles that Governed Origen’s Preaching: All Scripture is inspired by God for the edification and nourishment of the soul. Nothing in the Bible-not a word, the choice of a word, even the repetition of a word was there by accident. P 40-41 Allegorical Interpretation: Critisms/defense of Allegorical Interpretation Reformers called for a literal instead of an allegorical interpretation of the Bible. Historical meaning of biblical passages is in reference to the first readers, therefore the need to transfer meaning to the lives of latter-day parishers (analogies) Used to illustrate Christian beliefs. P 42

8. History of Preaching: Origen The Preacher Themes in Origen’s Preaching Style: Preacher’s Important Role: Defense of Christian Faith, and Christian Doctrine. Edward’s Examines one of Origen’s Homilies for Content. (Put on Screen) Go to page 44 of Edwards for Interpretation. (Class) Goal of Preaching for Origen was the spiritual formation of the congregation.

9. History of Preaching: Eloquence of Cappadocia Christianity becomes respectable. The Roman Empire: Explain

10. Cappadocian Fathers: Eloquence of Christianity Basil the Great (330-379) – Bishop of Caesarea (Man of Action) Gregory of Nyssa (332-395)- Bishop of Nyssa (Thinker) Gregory of Nazianzus (329-389)-Patriarch of Constantinople (Orator) They became known or named by their sees that they were in charge of. Sermons of the Cappadocian Father showed the marriage between preaching and classical Rhetoric. (church no longer persecuted) These three Bishops led the way for the rule of ministry, i.e., selection of a Bishop-departed from the traditional way from the congregation. Monasticism became regarded as the moral equivalent to martrydom. However, as close as they were to one another they had different styles of preaching

11. Cappadocian Fathers: Eloquence of Christianity Basil Sermons reflected pastoral ongoing activities. He understood the his pastoral task in dispensing moral lessons based on Scripture. Forty-six of the eighty-nine surviving sermons are exegetical homilies. He used the Bible in the same way that Pagan contemporaries used the literature of classical Greece. He used the Bible to provide His congregation with a program for reflection and life. Gregory’s sermons that were preserved were very different from Basil’s. His sense of vocation was that of the contemplative life—He didn’t have the same years of pastoral activity as the others. Sermons that were published were for special occasions. He had a different purpose for his sermons, i.e., autobiographical in character, and to show bishops how to go about their work-more emphasis on doctrine.

12. Cappadocian Fathers: Eloquence of Christianity Nyssa’s sermons are of those of a bishop in charge of a flock. Nyssa preached during the triumph of orthodoxy due to the accession of Theodosius and the Council of Constantinople (381) He preached mostly during liturgical occasion: Lent and the great feasts of the church year. Examples of his preaching are: against sin, usary, fornication, and not accepting reprimands. He was noted for his ability to blend ideas, images, and feelings to create an emotion and direct it towards efficacious action, i.e., he was a great observer of people. However, little of his preserved sermons show the personality of the bishop. They do show how much he traveled and how he was responsive to the church at large.

13. Christianity in the 1st Century

14. John Chysostom • Born 349 • Sermons from the courtroom • How to apply the scriptures • The best medicine • Trades in his robes for a Bible • Became a monk • Found a tremendous desire to learn the scriptures. • Led a Monastic Life

15. John Chysostom • Became know for his sermons • His education formed his sermons • He never used notes (wrote his notes) • Sermons were applauded • Wrote a number of treatise (unworthy to be a priest). • Wrote sermons on marriage and family life. • Anytime you want to correct your wife first tell her you love her.

16. John Chrysostom • Edited the liturgy (mystical prayers) • Arian controversy • Liturgy of Chrysostom • Coexist with the emperor w/ authority to God • Wrote a number of treatise (unworthy to be a priest. • Wrote 21 homilies on the statues • 49 becomes Bishop of Constantinople..

17. John Chrysostom • Inherited a mess (lack amongst the priest) • Care for the sick and to preach sermons • Empress (Distaste for John) • Theopolis condemns John (misappropriation of funds / ordaining priest, etc. • Chrystom exiled in 403 / earthquake happens. • 403 AD brings back John • Permanently exiled in 404.

18. John Chrysostom (Biblical Interpr) • Homilies (applauded) • He was there for their salvation / enter. • Built his application on the last verse. • He raises questions about the authors in interpreting scripture (read 78, para – 2) • Uses a literal rather than an allegorical interpretation.

19. John Chrysostom (Content & Style) • He wished to leave his audience with moral and scriptural guidance. • He wanted people to live consistently with their calling. In his treatise On the Priesthood, he a said, “this is the ultimate aim of teaching: to lead their disciples, both by what they do and what they say, into the way of that blessed life which Christ commanded.” pg. 80. • Sermons written by a scribe. He did not write them out in advance. • He created vivid scenes that brought his sermons to life.

20. Other Contemporaries of John • Theodore of Mopsuestia • Cyril of Jerusalem • Ambrose of Milan • Conclusion • Difference in catechetical preaching

21. : Augustine Church Learns Latin Augustine (354-430) Know as Augustine of Hippo (Father Pagan, later becomes Christian) Mother Great influence on his life. Studied in Carthage (philosophy influenced by Cicero) Become Manichee in his search for truth (Manichaen belief) Teacher in Carthage. Rome: Becomes friends with Symmachus—Influential in the Empire Appoints Augustine to the chair of Rhetoric in the city of Milan (30)

22. : Augustine Becomes disillusioned w/Manichaean position decides to become a Catholic catchumen in his search for truth Ambrose—Bishop of Milan (allegorical interpretation of the Bible) Begins his study of the neo-platonist/Pauline Letters Becomes enamored with the monastic life of Anthony (Retires) Hippo-Bishop Valerius—Made priest to stand in for Valerius (Donatists) Devoted the rest of his life to serving the congregation in Hippo. Bishop of Carthage: Theological debates—Manichaean, Donasit, Pelagians heresies. Through his writing he achieved a world wide prominence and authority.

23. : Augustine Augustine develops a guide to his preaching method called concerning Christian Doctrine (teaching Christianity) I also added the last book, and thus completed this work in four books, of which the first three help in the understanding of the scriptures, while the fourth suggests how what we have understood is to be passed on to others Begins by saying that all teaching is about either things or signs First three books are about teaching Christianity (exegetical homily) Classical rhetorical task of invention, i.e., deciding what to say in a speech (explication of a text). Devoted to biblical interpretation. Book Four is about how to put across to others what has been understood., i.e., the subject matter of homiletics (Cicero

24. : Augustine • Urged others to study rhetoric in the schools. • In book 4 I (how to preach) Augustine argues that Cicero’s three duties of rhetoric for the orator are important: to prove, to delight, and to move. • Augustine suggests that in teaching Christianity that the Bible should be taught according to signs and things. He did not use the term Allegory like Gregory the Great in understanding scripture, but used the word sign. • They believed that how they interpreted the passages of the Bible is what God meant them to say, i.e., inspired by the spirit. • Augustine believed that every word of the Bible was put their by God, but much of it did not make literal sense. • Read paragraph pg. 109. • “Anything in the divine writing that cannot be inferred to good honest morals or to truth of the faith, you must know is said figuratively.

25. : Augustine • Urged others to study rhetoric in the schools. • In book 4 I (how to preach) Augustine argues that Cicero’s three duties of rhetoric for the orator are important: to prove, to delight, and to move. • Augustine suggests that in teaching Christianity that the Bible should be taught according to signs and things. He did not use the term Allegory like Gregory the Great in understanding scripture, but used the word sign. • They believed that how they interpreted the passages of the Bible is what God meant them to say, i.e., inspired by the spirit. • Augustine believed that every word of the Bible was put their by God, but much of it did not make literal sense. • Read paragraph pg. 109. • “Anything in the divine writing that cannot be inferred to good honest morals or to truth of the faith, you must know is said figuratively.

26. : Augustine Chap. 1. This Work Not Intended as a Treatise on Rhetoric 1. This work of mine, which is entitled On Christian Doctrine, was at the commencement divided into two parts. For, after a preface, in which I answered by anticipation those who were likely to take exception to the work, I said, “There are two things on which all interpretation of scripture depends: the mode of ascertaining the proper meaning, and the mode of making known the meaning when it is ascertained. I shall treat first of the mode of ascertaining, next of the mode of making known, the meaning.” As, then, I have already said a great deal about the mode of ascertaining the meaning, and have given three books to this one part of the subject, I shall only say a few things about the mode of making known the meaning, in order if possible to bring them all within the compass of one book, and so finish the whole work in four books. 2. In the first place, then, I wish by this preamble to put a stop to the expectations of readers who may think that I am about to lay down rules of rhetoric such as I have learnt, and taught too, in the secular schools, and to warn them that they need not look for any such from me. Not that I think such rules of no use, but that whatever use they have is to be learnt elsewhere; and if any good man should happen to have leisure for learning them, he is not to ask me to teach them either in this work or any other.

27. : Augustine Chap. 4. The Duty of the Christian Teacher 6. It is the duty, then, of the interpreter and teacher of holy scripture, the defender of the true faith and the opponent of error, both to teach what is right and to refute what is wrong, and in the performance of this task to conciliate the hostile, to rouse the careless, and to tell the ignorant both what is occurring at present and what is probable in the future. But once that his hearers are friendly, attentive, and ready to learn, whether he has found them so, or has himself made them so, the remaining objects are to be carried out in whatever way the case requires. If the hearers need teaching, the matter treated of must be made fully known by means of narrative. On the other hand, to clear up points that are doubtful requires reasoning and the exhibition of proofs. If, however, the hearers require to be roused rather than instructed, in order that they may be diligent to do what they already know, and to bring their feelings into harmony with the truths they admit, greater vigor of speech is needed. Here entreaties and reproaches, exhortations and upbraidings, and all the other means of rousing the emotions, are necessary.

28. : Augustine Chap. 5. Wisdom of More Importance than Eloquence to the Christian Teacher Chap. 6. The Sacred Writers Unite Eloquence with Wisdom Chap. 8. The Obscurity of the Sacred Writers, Though Compatible with Eloquence, Not to Be Imitated by Christian Teachers Chap. 9. How, and with Whom, Difficult Passages Are to Be Discussed Chap. 10. The Necessity for Perspicuity of Style Chap. 11. The Christian Teacher Must Speak Clearly, But Not Inelegantly Chap. 12. The Aim of the Orator, According to Cicero, Is to Teach, to Delight, and to Move. Of These, Teaching Is the Most Essential Chap. 13. The Hearer Must Be Moved as Well as Instructed Chap. 14. Beauty of Diction to Be in Keeping with the Matter Chap. 15. The Christian Teacher Should Pray Before Preaching Chap. 16. Human Directions Not to Be Despised, Though God Makes the True Teacher 33. Now if anyone says that we need not direct men how or what they should teach, since the Holy Spirit makes them teachers, he may as well say that we need not pray, since our Lord says, “Your Father knoweth what things ye have need of before ye ask him”; or that the Apostle Paul should not have given directions to Timothy and Titus as to how or what they should teach others. And these three apostolic epistles ought to be constantly before the eyes of every one who has obtained the position of a teacher in the church.

29. : Augustine Chap. 17. Threefold Division of the Various Styles of Speech Chap. 27. The Man Whose Life Is in Harmony with His Teaching Will Teach with Greater Effect Chap. 28. Truth Is More Important Than Expression. What Is Meant by Strife about Words. Chap. 29. It Is Permissible for a Preacher to Deliver to the People What Has Been Written by a More Eloquent Man Than Himself Chap. 30. The Preacher Should Commence His Discourse with Prayer to God Chap. 31. Apology for the Length of the Work 64. This book has extended to a greater length than I expected or desired. But the reader or hearer who finds pleasure in it will not think it long. He who thinks it long, but is anxious to know its contents, may read it in parts. He who does not care to be acquainted with it need not complain of its length. I, however, give thanks to God that with what little ability I possess I have in these four books striven to depict, not the sort of man I am myself (for my defects are very many), but the sort of man he ought to be who desires to labor in sound, that is, in Christian doctrine, not for his own instruction only, but for that of others also.