Crumbs from the Table

α. Jerusalem (30 or 33 AD) The place where Christ, the Son-of-God-become-man, died on the Cross, was raised from the dead on the third day, and from where he ascended back to heaven. This is also where the Holy Spirit was poured out on the first disciples. Sometime after AD 44 (Acts 12), Peter, John and other Apostles dispersed across the world to bear testimony to the risen Christ. 1. Ephesus (approx. 100 AD) The place where the Apostles, Paul and John, handed over to the next generation of Christian leaders, which included the “Apostolic Fathers”. One such “Apostolic Father”, Ignatius of Antioch, passed through Ephesus on his way to martyrdom at Rome, and addressed a letter to the church at Ephesus. 2. Athens (second century) The centre of Greek thought, which Justin Martyr and other Second Century Apologists addressed in their presentations of the Christian faith, proclaiming Christ as the Logos (the Word or principle underlying the universe). 3. Lyon (from 177) The church in ...

Rome began its outward expansion in the 200s BC. The first Roman colony was Sicily, conquered during the course of the First Punic war in 254 BC. Carthage was subsumed after three Punic wars, and Greece later likewise included in the ongoing expansion.  By the time of the late Roman Empire, from 284 AD, the Empire was divided into 4 Praetorian prefectures, totalling 15 or so civil dioceses:  Praetorian prefecture of the Gauls   Gallia (including, in part or in whole, areas of what is now Belgium, Germany, the Netherlands and Switzerland)  Vienennsis (southern, Romanised Gaul)  Hispania Britannia Praetorian prefecture of Italy & Africa Italia suburbicaria (around Rome) Italia annonaria (northern Italy) Africa (north Africa)  Praetorian prefecture of Illyricum (Balkans) Pannonia Dacia (modern-day Romania)  Macedonia (including modern-day Greece) Praetorian prefecture of Oriens (from Bulgaria across modern Turkey and down to the Levant and Egypt) ...

After centuries of domination by non-church rulers and society (872-1046), at the Synod of Sutri in 1046 the western Catholic church broke free and a new Pope was installed, Clement II. After a succession of similarly reforming popes, in 1073 the Benedictine monk, Hildebrand, part of the Cluny movement for monastic reform, became Pope Gregory VII. He continued the trend towards centralisation in the name of reform, declaring the pope as universal bishop and vicar of St Peter (Dictatus Papae, 1075) and purging the church of simony (church positions being bought) and sexual immorality among the clergy. Gregory VII's face-off with western Emperor Henry IV, temporarily led to the latter's humiliation, but eventually led to the Pope spending his final years in exile. The longstanding controversy over what was called "lay investiture" (whereby clergy were seen to be appointed with the support of powerful sponsors outside the church) was finally resolved at Worms in 1122, at...

By 750 the “centre of gravity” of the western Christian world had moved from Rome in the south to the Kingdom of the Franks in the north. For centuries, since the fall of the western Roman Empire, Europe had been dominated by Arian (or former Arian) Germanic tribes (such as the Goths). By the eighth century, the Franks, also a Germanic people, but who had been Nicene Christians since the baptism of their ruler, Clovis, in 496, assumed hegemony. This was sealed with military victories, defeating Muslim forces at Poitiers in 732 and defending Rome against the Lombards in the 740s. By the mid-8th century the Pope was transferring his political allegiance from the eastern Christian Empire at Constantinople to the Frankish ruler, Peppin. Later, at Christmas 800, Pope Leo III famously crowned Charles the Great as Emperor of a renewed Roman Empire. Charles saw himself as a ruler with religious and moral responsibility.  About the same time, following in the footsteps of Irish monks the pr...

By 381, Christianity was quite established. Internally, at the Councils of Nicea (325) and Constantinople (381), the church had settled its understanding of the Trinity. Externally, Christianity had become the religion of the Roman Empire. In 380, Emperor Theodosius I had decreed illegal all religions except that of “catholic Christians” (by which he meant mainstream Nicene Christians, i.e that held to the faith proclaimed at the Councils of Nicea and Constantinople). At this time, there were even some cases of Christian religious violence, often spearheaded by monks, such as the destruction of the synagogue at Callinicum in 388, or the assault on the library in the pagan Serapeum temple at Alexandria in 391. This did not of course mean that paganism ceased to exist or was inactive, but it did demonstrate the extent to which, within 70 years, Christianity had come to dominate the Empire.   A short time later, in 395, the Roman Empire was divided into two administrative halves,...

While the western Roman Empire had been invaded and overthrown by Germanic tribespeople, culminating in the overthrow of the final Roman Emperor in 476, the eastern half of the Empire with its capital at Constantinople survived and thrived for another thousand years.  The most illustrious ruler of Constantinople was Justinian, who ruled 527-565. During that time he was able, albeit temporarily, to reclaim lands occupied by Germanic peoples (such as the Vandals in North Africa), engage in a building programme (most famously reconstructing the Hagia Sophia after the Nika riot) and codify Roman law. Justinian also supported missionary work in various directions, and personally sponsored the baptism of various pagan chieftains. The two-headed eagle of Constantinople represented the "harmony" of the priesthood and the kingdom, the church and state working in tandem. In the East, unlike in the west, this always meant the state had the upper hand (this is sometimes termed "Caes...

Of the Apostles, it is Thomas, along with Thaddeus of Edessa and Mari, who is associated with the spread of the gospel in Mesopotamia; there were established Christian communities here by the mid-third century. The  lingua franca  of these areas was Syriac, closely related to the Aramaic spoken by the Lord. These churches initially came under the patriarchal see of Antioch in Syria. The political power in control of this area was first the Parthian Empire, and then, from 224, the Sasanid Empire. From 311 Christianity was first tolerated and then officially adopted in the Roman Empire. This meant that Christians in the Sasanid Empire become politically suspect, and there were persecutions of Christians, particularly under rulers Shapur II (339-379) and Khosrau I (ending 545).  In the fifth century, both for the above political reasons, and also in connection with the Nestorian controversy, the Christian church in the Persian empire became autonomous. In 410 the Catholicos ...

From the late 500s, non-Christian populations of Slavs, Avars and others moved into large areas of the Balkans right down into what is now Greece. As a result, the system of bishoprics collapsed, although some Christian presence remained. From the point of view of Constantinople, this became a "Scythian wilderness." The process of reclaiming this area for the Empire and also for the Christian faith is sometimes referred to as "Reconquista". These lands were Hellenised, imperial control reasserted, and the Eastern Orthodox faith spread.  This took place from as early as the mid-600s and continued into the 800s, particularly under Emperor Nicephorus I. Later, evangelist-monk Nikon Metanoite (d. 998) continued the work of reclaiming and re-evangelising Orthodox areas inside the boundary of the Empire ("limes") such as southern Greece, as well as areas where Orthodox had converted to Islam. It was this "internal" mission of "reconquest" whi...

For most people, "godparents" is all about dressing up for a special wedding-like occasion (i.e. the christening), and the honour of having a special place in the life of a friend's child. Godparents are often relatives or family friends who send you an extra Christmas card and/or a birthday present.  For some Christians who hold to infant baptism, godparents have a more serious role, answering the questions at baptism on behalf of the infant being baptised (see below), and pledging to be involved in their Christian upbringing. In other infant baptism traditions, for example, Presbyterianism, it is the parents who take on this role, the infant being granted baptism based on an understanding of the covenant whereby believer's children are also part of the covenant on account of the faith of their parents.  So what do Baptists, and others who hold to a believer's baptism position, make of "godparents"? (Believer's baptism means baptism based on the per...

Yesterday, I attended another church locally which is quite different from the one I pastor. My family and I were very encouraged that the preached message was clear and helpful, as well as being very ably and winsomely delivered. It was based on Numbers 22 and the incident with Balaam and the donkey (also referenced in 2 Peter 2).  The helpful message yesterday focused on Balaam's resistance to the plain truth of God, and how God used unexpected ways, and people to get his Word across. Towards the end of the message, the preacher focused on Numbers 22:34 which says, "Now therefore, if it is evil in your sight, I will turn back." The verb turn back is the Hebrew verb "shoove" which is about turning around, changing direction. Legitimately, the preacher applied this to our own turning to God in repentance and faith.  While the verse above does indeed relate to our *response* to God, I have been reflecting on what the "gospel" is in this passage. By ...

It used to be the case, and probably still is, that Archbishops of Canterbury (ABC) are appointed alternately from different wings of the church. In recent years, this has meant that representatives of the High Church/liberal wing have alternated with representatives of the Low Church/Evangelical wing. Coggan (Low Church), Runcie (High Church), Carey (Low Church), Williams (High Church), Welby (Low Church). By this logic, the next ABC will be a representative of the High Church/liberal wing of the church.  My prediction is that Rose Hudson-Wilkin (currently bishop of Dover) or  Guli Francis-Dehqani  (currently bishop of Chelmsford) will be the next ABC.  I should point out, that while I began my Christian life as an Anglican, I have been a member of non-Anglican churches since 1998. I have been an ordained elder/pastor of Baptist churches since 2000.  That does not, however, mean that the fate of the Anglican church is irrelevant to me, or indeed to any other Ch...