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Intro to Orthodoxy - Lecture 3 by Fr. John Brown — Transcript

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0:01hello this is father john brown
0:04a priest at holy transfiguration greek
0:06orthodox church
0:07in marietta georgia and welcome back to
0:10the series entitled intro to orthodoxy
0:12purpose of this class is to prepare
0:15people in our own church
0:16who are either considering or planning
0:18to become orthodox
0:20and also to make this information
0:21available to anyone who wants to see it
0:23on the internet so let's go ahead and
0:25get started
0:31in the last couple of classes we looked
0:33at what the early church fathers had to
0:35say about a variety of subjects
0:37and now we're moving to the subject of
0:39holy communion and what the early church
0:40fathers
0:41of uh set of the first few centuries
0:44said about holy communion
0:46christ established holy communion at the
0:49last supper before his crucifixion
0:52it's a quotation from matthew 26
0:55as they were eating jesus took bread
0:58blessed it
0:58and broke it and gave it to the
1:00disciples and said
1:02take eat this is my body then he took
1:05the cup
1:05and gave thanks and gave it to them
1:08saying drink
1:09from it all of you for this is my blood
1:11of the new covenant
1:13which is shed for many for the remission
1:15of sins
1:17before christ inaugurated holy communion
1:20he taught extensively about it
1:22in john chapter 6. this is a
1:26small portion it's a very extended
1:28chapter and very very well worth
1:30reading with the view towards what
1:32christ taught
1:33about holy communion this is just a
1:37portion of that
1:41this is the bread which comes down from
1:43heaven that one may eat of it and not
1:45die
1:46i am the living bread which came down
1:48from heaven
1:49if anyone eats of this bread he will
1:51live forever
1:53and the bread that i will give is my
1:55flesh
1:56which i will give for the life of the
1:58world most assuredly
2:00i say to you unless you eat the flesh of
2:03the son of man and drink his blood
2:05you have no life in you whoever eats my
2:08flesh and drinks my blood has eternal
2:10life
2:11and i will raise him up at the last day
2:13for my
2:14flesh is food indeed and my blood
2:17is drink indeed he who eats my flesh
2:20and drinks my blood abides in me and i
2:24in him any plain reading of this passage
2:27would conclude that
2:28communion is supernatural like the old
2:31testament manna which supernaturally
2:34fell from heaven
2:35and sustained the israelites this manna
2:38is also
2:38from heaven as christ said in this
2:40passage this is the bread which comes
2:42down
2:43from heaven christ also
2:46of the storm this continues unlike the
2:49old testament manna
2:51this manna is christ himself christ
2:54said i am the living bread which came
2:56down from heaven
2:58this manna is not a symbol of christ it
3:01is christ
3:02our lord himself says in this very
3:04passage for my flesh
3:06is food indeed and my blood is drink
3:10indeed the benefit of partaking of this
3:13manna is eternal life
3:15as our lord says in this passage whoever
3:17eats my flesh and drinks my blood
3:19has eternal life and i will raise him up
3:22from the last day
3:23at the last day he who eats my flesh and
3:26drinks my blood
3:27abides in me and i in him
3:30the result of not partaking of this
3:32manna as separation from christ
3:35is profound our lord says most assuredly
3:39i say to you unless you eat the flesh
3:42of the son of man and drink his blood
3:44you have no life
3:46in you the apostle paul
3:49received christ's exact words of
3:51institution of holy communion
3:53it is important to note that he received
3:56these words
3:57through oral tradition of the apostles
3:59since the gospels had not even been
4:01written yet
4:02he recited them verbatim in his letter
4:04to the corinthians
4:05first corinthians 11 the apostle paul
4:08writes
4:09for i received from the lord that which
4:11i also delivered
4:12to you that the lord jesus on the same
4:15night
4:16in which he was betrayed took bread and
4:19when he had given thanks he broke it
4:21and said take eat this is my body which
4:24is broken for you
4:26do this in remembrance of me in the same
4:28manner
4:29he also took the cup after supper saying
4:32this cup
4:33is the new covenant in my blood this do
4:36as often
4:37as you drink it in remembrance of me
4:40paul also recognized the supernatural
4:43presence of christ
4:44in holy communion in first corinthians
4:47chapter 10
4:48he writes this the cup of blessing which
4:51we bless
4:52is in not the communion of the blood of
4:54christ
4:55the bread which we break is it not the
4:57communion
4:58of the body of christ he also taught the
5:02supernatural effects of holy communion
5:04it unites worthy communicants to each
5:07other and to christ
5:09he writes in verse 17 for we though many
5:13are one bread and one body for we all
5:16partake of that one bread
5:18but paul also warned of a possible
5:21negative result
5:22of improper partaking of holy communion
5:25he writes in verses 28 through 30. but
5:28let a man examine himself
5:30and so let him eat of the bread and
5:32drink of the cup
5:33for he who eats and drinks in an
5:35unworthy manner
5:36eats and drinks judgment to himself not
5:39discerning the lord's body
5:41for this reason many are weak and sick
5:44among you and many sleep
5:46and in this case when whenever very
5:48often in the new testament when they
5:49someone says
5:51it says they sleep it's as our lord said
5:54that
5:54once before that that's a sin in them
5:56for they they've passed away they've
5:57died
5:59now this these verses here reject the
6:03idea that holy communion
6:04is merely a symbol as is often thought
6:07for what symbol can cause death sickness
6:10and even death
6:12the early church fathers believed and
6:14taught what christ
6:16and paul taught about communion its
6:18supernatural origin
6:20christ's real present in it and its
6:22powerful effects upon the soul and the
6:24body
6:25ignatius writes breaking one
6:28and the same bread which is the medicine
6:30of immortality
6:32and the antidote to prevent us from
6:34dying so that we should live forever
6:36in jesus christ he writes elsewhere i
6:39desire the
6:40bread of god the heavenly bread the life
6:44give the life which is the flesh of
6:47jesus christ
6:48the son of god and i desire the drink of
6:50god
6:51namely his blood which is incorruptible
6:54love
6:54and eternal life justin martyr
6:57writes we do not receive these as common
7:01bread and common drink
7:03rather jesus christ our savior having
7:06been made flesh by the word of god
7:08had both flesh and blood for our
7:10salvation
7:12so likewise we have been taught that the
7:14food
7:15which is blessed by the prayer of his
7:17word
7:18and from which our our blood and flesh
7:21by transmutation
7:22are nourished is the flesh and blood
7:25of that jesus who was made flesh
7:28irenaeus writes the wine and the bread
7:31having received the word of god
7:33become the eucharist which is the body
7:35and blood of christ
7:37clement of alexandria writes the vine
7:41produces wine as the word produces blood
7:45and both of them drink health to men
7:47wine for the body
7:49and blood for the spirit clement
7:52of alexandria writes to drink
7:55the blood of jesus is to become partaker
7:58of the lord's immortality
7:59as wine is blended with water so is the
8:02spirit with man
8:04and the mixture of both of the water and
8:06of the word
8:07is called the eucharist renowned and
8:09glorious grace
8:11those who by faith partake of it are
8:12sanctified both in
8:14body and soul tertellian writes of
8:17communion
8:18he declared plainly enough that
8:22what he meant by the bread and when he
8:24called the bread his own body
8:26he likewise when mentioning the cup
8:30and making the new testament to be
8:31sealed in his blood affirmed the reality
8:34of his body origen writes
8:38we also eat the bread presented to us
8:41and this bread becomes a prayer
8:43a sacred body which sanctifies those who
8:46sincerely partake of it
8:49to the early church holy communion was
8:51far more than a symbol
8:53it was an actual sacrifice to god on the
8:56same level as the sacrifices
8:58of the old testament the apostle paul
9:01said
9:01for indeed christ our passover was
9:04sacrificed for us
9:06therefore let us keep the feast
9:09just as god commanded israel to
9:11celebrate passover repeatedly
9:13as a re-experience of the first the
9:16church
9:16celebrates holy communion repeatedly
9:19where the passion of christ
9:21is re-experienced and made present
9:24the did i k says this
9:28about the sacrificial nature of
9:30communion
9:32but every lord's day gather yourselves
9:34together and break bread
9:36and give thanksgiving after having
9:38confessed your transgressions
9:40that your sacrifice may be pure but let
9:43no one
9:44that is at variance with his fellow man
9:46come together with you
9:47until they are reconciled so that your
9:50sacrifice may not be profaned
9:52for this is the thing that was spoken of
9:54by the lord
9:56in every place and time offered to me a
9:58pure sacrifice
9:59for i am a great king the lord says and
10:03my name is wonderful
10:04among the nations justin martyr also
10:07forced points to the sacrificial nature
10:10of the eucharist the holy communion god
10:14anticipated all the sacrifices
10:16which we offer through his name this
10:18name
10:19and which jesus the christ enjoined us
10:22to offer
10:23i.e in the eucharist of the bread and
10:26the cup
10:27which are presented by christians in all
10:29places throughout the world
10:31so he bears witness that they are well
10:33pleasing to him
10:34now that the prayers and giving thanks
10:36when offered by worthy men
10:38are the only perfect and well pleasing
10:41sacrifices
10:42to god irenaeus writes
10:47the oblation of the church which the
10:50lord gave instructions to be offered
10:52throughout all the world
10:53is considered by god to be a pure
10:55sacrifice and is acceptable to him
10:58cyprian writes certainly only the priest
11:01who imitates that which christ did
11:03i.e using wine mixed with water
11:07is the one who truly discharges the
11:09office of christ
11:10he only offers a true and full sacrifice
11:13in the church
11:14to god the father when he proceeds to
11:17offer it in the manner that he sees
11:19christ himself to have offered it
11:23holy communion was also called the
11:25eucharist from the greek word for
11:27giving thanks it was the central act of
11:30collective worship
11:31not just anyone could preside
11:35ignatius writes let that be deemed a
11:38proper eucharist
11:39which is administered either by the
11:41bishop or by one
11:43to whom he has entrusted it there was an
11:45established order to it
11:48justin martyr writes and on that day on
11:51the day called the lord's day the greek
11:53word for that is kiryaki
11:56all who live in cities or in the country
11:59gather together in one place
12:01and the memoirs of the apostles or the
12:03writings of the prophets are read
12:05as long as time permits then when the
12:08reader has ceased
12:09the president verbally instructs us and
12:11exhorts us
12:12to imitate these good things then we all
12:14rise together and pray
12:17and as we have said before when our
12:18prayer is ended
12:20bread and wine and water are brought
12:22then the president
12:24in like manner offers prayers and
12:27thanksgivings according to his ability
12:29and the people ascent saying amen then
12:32the eucharist is distributed
12:34to everyone and everyone participates in
12:37that over which
12:38thanks have been given and a portion of
12:41it is sent by the deacons to those who
12:43are absent
12:45justin martyr elsewhere gives us another
12:47glimpse
12:48at the very early church practice of the
12:50eucharist the holy communion
12:53having ended the prayers we greet one
12:56another with a kiss
12:58then there is brought to the president
12:59of the brethren bread and a cup
13:01of wine mixed with water he takes them
13:04and gives praise and glory
13:06to the father of the universe and when
13:08the president
13:09has given thanks and all the people have
13:11expressed their ascent
13:12those whom we call deacons give to each
13:15of those present
13:16the bread and wine mixed with water over
13:18which the thanksgiving
13:20was pronounced to partake of and they
13:23carry away a portion for those who are
13:24absent
13:25and this food is called among us the
13:27eucharist or thanksgiving
13:30and no one is allowed to partake of it
13:32but the one who believes
13:34that the things which we believe are
13:35true and who has been washed with the
13:37washing
13:38that is for the remission of sins that
13:39is referring to baptism
13:41unto regeneration and who is living as
13:44christ has commanded
13:47the earliest christians were jews christ
13:50jesus christ was a jew
13:52and lived as a jew every day of his
13:54earthly life
13:55even though he condemned some of the
13:57religious leaders of his day for
13:58hypocrisy
13:59he never called for an abolition of the
14:02practice of jewish worship
14:03in fact he fulfilled it in every way he
14:06was born
14:07to a jewish mother he was circumcised at
14:09eight days old in accordance
14:11with the jewish law and was brought to
14:13the temple on the 40th day
14:15for the appropriate dedication and
14:17sacrifice as a boy his
14:19parents took him to jerusalem for the
14:22required feasts there
14:23he learned to read hebrew he studied the
14:26torah
14:27he worshiped and read the scriptures at
14:29the synagogue in his hometown
14:31of nazareth judaism was a very
14:34liturgical religion
14:36their order of service was fixed they
14:39followed a strict schedule
14:40required animal sacrifices they had a
14:43series of other services
14:45such as circumcis circumcisions weddings
14:47and blessings
14:48their services were led by trained and
14:50ordained priests and
14:52rabbis who were robes reflecting their
14:54office
14:56their prayers were pre-written they
14:58followed a calendar of scripture
15:00of readings and fasts and feast days
15:04christ's disciples and apostles were
15:06also jews
15:07like the master they followed all the
15:09norms of jewish practice
15:11even after christ's ascension the
15:13apostles still worshipped in the temple
15:16therefore it should not be surprising
15:17that the early
15:19church worship was very much based on
15:21the first century jewish worship
15:23which was liturgical the parallels
15:26between
15:26first century jewish worship and
15:29christian worship
15:30are striking a study of these parallels
15:32would be too extended
15:34and complex for this class however for
15:36those
15:37interested here is an excellent paper on
15:39the subject and i'll pause here for a
15:40couple of moments
15:42so you can hit the pause button and jot
15:44down or
15:45copy and paste this is a fascinating
15:48study of comparison
15:50comparison between first century jewish
15:52worship
15:54and christian worship also in the first
15:56century
16:02the important thing to remember is
16:03judaism was liturgical
16:05and so was early christianity
16:09they the christians had an order of
16:11service that was fixed
16:12they followed a schedule of sacrifices
16:15of the eucharist
16:16they had a series of supporting services
16:19such as baptisms weddings and blessings
16:21their services were led by trained and
16:23ordained bishops and priests
16:25their prayers were pre-written they
16:28followed a calendar of scripture
16:29readings and feast days and fast days
16:33there are also extensive records of the
16:36early christian liturgies
16:38the first began in the first century and
16:40were based on the jewish liturgies
16:42these were developed in the second and
16:44third centuries
16:45an example of the second century
16:47liturgies can be found
16:49in what was what's called the apostolic
16:51tradition
16:52attributed to saint hippolytus of rome
16:54for those interested the complete text
16:56can be read here so when you if you i'll
16:59pause you for a moment
17:00so you can jot down or
17:04hit pause and jot down that website too
17:07but this gives extensive insight into
17:10the liturgies of
17:11early christian church as early as the
17:13second century
17:15by the third century and early fourth
17:18centuries
17:18there were four widely practiced
17:20patterns of christian liturgies
17:23in the east the liturgy of saint basil
17:26and its
17:26successor the liturgy of saint john
17:28chrysostom became the standard and is
17:30still used
17:31in the orthodox church today
17:34it was in the first four centuries that
17:36the christian bible was canonized
17:40that word comes from a greek word which
17:42means measuring stick
17:43and refers to the process of determining
17:45the official
17:46bible of the entire christian church
17:50the first bible of the christian church
17:52was the jewish bible
17:53this was the bible that christ quoted
17:55and preached this was the bible that the
17:58apostles quoted and preached to the
17:59world
18:00for decades this was the only bible
18:02because the new testament had not been
18:04written
18:05and compiled yet it is important to know
18:07that the jewish bible quoted by christ
18:10and preached by the apostles was just
18:12not any
18:13was not just any jewish bible but a
18:15specific version of the jewish bible
18:18the greek translation of the 70 jewish
18:20scholars
18:21is called the septuagint sometimes also
18:24septuagint
18:26the original writings of the jewish
18:28bible were written
18:30almost entirely in hebrew but two
18:32centuries before christ
18:34the hebrew language was nearly a dead
18:36language
18:37understood mostly by rabbis
18:40in jerusalem most jews in palestine now
18:43spoke aramaic
18:45and most jews outside palestine
18:49now spoke greek this presented
18:53a major problem for the jewish leaders
18:55at the time
18:56fewer and fewer jews could read their
18:58own bible
18:59they assembled a group of scholars in
19:01alexandria egypt to translate the jewish
19:04bible from hebrew into greek
19:06greek was widely spoken throughout the
19:09middle east
19:09and southern europe because of the
19:11conquests of alexander the great two
19:13centuries earlier
19:15therefore most jews in the middle east
19:17and mediterranean countries could all
19:19could read greek it was basically the
19:22very
19:23closest thing to a universal language uh
19:26then or since
19:27the project of these 70 scholars in
19:30alexandria was completed in the year 132
19:33bc
19:35bc at this point out this is before
19:36christ it was called the septuagint
19:39which means of the seventy because there
19:42were seventy scholars
19:43who made the translation except the word
19:45septuagint is often
19:47abbreviated as lxx or for the number
19:5070 in latin it was widely published and
19:53accepted by christ's time
19:55as the official version of the jewish
19:58righteous because a translation of the
20:00jewish
20:01scriptures the influence of the set to
20:04have of
20:05septuagint can clearly be seen in the
20:08christian new testament
20:09again the septuagint came first the
20:12christian
20:13new testament every time the new
20:15testament quotes the old testament which
20:17it does very often
20:19it cites the septuagint translation the
20:21septuagint contained
20:23one through four maccabees tobit judith
20:26this wisdom of solomon sirach baruch
20:30solem psalms of solomon and the prayer
20:33of manasseh
20:34the early church accepted the septuagint
20:36translation of the old testament as the
20:38inspired word of god without question
20:41for the first three centuries each
20:43christian community had its own list of
20:45books
20:46that they considered to be divinely
20:48inspired
20:49in addition to the septuagint old
20:52testament
20:53most local communities also accepted the
20:56gospels of matthew mark luke and john
20:58as well as most of the epistles of saint
21:01paul as the word of god
21:03but again this was more or less a
21:04localized decision what what
21:06each a major christian community
21:10decided for themselves what they
21:12considered to be the word of god and
21:14divinely inspired
21:16the earliest record of a church-wide
21:18bible
21:19specifically including the new testament
21:21books was by
21:23is reported by the early church
21:25historian
21:26eusebius who mentioned in addition
21:29commissioned by constantine the first
21:32christian
21:32roman emperor the oldest copies of the
21:35christian bible
21:37codex vaticanus and codex sciaticus
21:41may have been two of those bibles both
21:43are from that period so this is a
21:45these are just snapshots of the if you
21:48wanted to know what the two oldest new
21:50testaments
21:51are in the world these are the two of
21:53them vaticanus is considered to be
21:55slightly
21:56they think it's probably slightly older
21:58but they came from the same era
22:00and so these may have been those
22:03versions of the new testament that were
22:06that were commissioned by constantine
22:08uh the first roman emperor in the 3rd
22:11century
22:13the early church leaders decided to
22:15establish a worldwide list of canonical
22:17books
22:18in the 4th century there were 3 criteria
22:21they used to select
22:23books as divinely inspired and placed in
22:25the canon of scripture
22:27again as a reminder canon means
22:29measuring stick so these were the
22:30approved official
22:32recognized books of the new testament
22:36by the christian church the first
22:39criterion was was the book written by an
22:42apostle or close follower of an apostle
22:45secondly is the book already accepted
22:48and used by most of the churches
22:50in their worship third does the book
22:53conform
22:54with the accepted traditions of the
22:56church
22:57this is kind of striking because many
22:59people think that
23:01the traditions of the church were formed
23:04by the bible actually the bible was
23:06shaped to some degree by what was
23:09already accepted as the oral tradition
23:10of the church
23:11before the the canon was even
23:13established
23:16many books were considered but they
23:18decided upon
23:19the septuagint version of the old
23:21testament and this includes by the way
23:23books maccabees judith tobit etc
23:27and the books of the new testament used
23:29by all the christians today
23:31in the greek speaking east the canon
23:34used
23:34today is first mentioned by saint
23:37athanasius patriarch of alexandria
23:39andrea in his easter letter in 367 a.d
23:44in the latin speaking west the canon was
23:47established at the council of hippo
23:49north africa in 393 this council was
23:52attended and probably influenced by
23:54saint augustine
23:56it was later confirmed by the council of
23:59cars carthage in 397 a.d
24:05so now we'll talk a little bit about the
24:06persecution of the early church
24:10the early christian church was pers a
24:12persecuted church from its
24:14inception christ warned his followers of
24:17this
24:18he said in matthew chapter 5 blessed are
24:21you when they revile and persecute you
24:23and say all kinds of evil against you
24:25falsely for my sake
24:27rejoice and be exceedingly glad for
24:29great is your reward
24:31in heaven and john our lord says
24:35remember the word that i said to you a
24:37servant is not greater than his master
24:40if they persecuted me they will also
24:42persecute
24:43you however christian animosity soon
24:47broke out between the first century
24:49christians and first century jews
24:51the christians were frustrated that so
24:53many jews did not recognize jesus as
24:55their messiah
24:57the jewish leadership was opposed to the
24:59claim that jesus was divined
25:01and risen from the dead they were also
25:03concerned that
25:04christians were winning so many converts
25:07amongst the jews
25:08the jews sought out to have the
25:10christians arrested by the romans
25:12in fact the apostle paul initially was a
25:14persecutor of christians
25:16until he became one the account of his
25:18conversion is recounted
25:20in the books of act in the book of acts
25:23chapters 9
25:24and 26. the book of acts records several
25:28occasions of jewish persecution
25:30of the christians acts chapter 7
25:34says when they heard these things they
25:36were cut to the heart
25:38and they gnashed at him with their teeth
25:41but he this is this is a saint stephen
25:44but he saint stephen being full of the
25:46holy spirit gazed into heaven
25:48and saw the glory of the lord and jesus
25:50standing at the right hand of god
25:52and said look i see the heavens opened
25:55and the son of man standing at the right
25:57hand of god
25:59then he cried out with a loud voice
26:01stopped their ears
26:02and ran at him with one accord and they
26:04cast him out of the city
26:06and stoned him in acts
26:09chapter 12 is another biblical account
26:12of
26:12persecution of the early christians
26:16by at least the leaders of judaism at
26:18that time
26:19now at that time herod the king
26:21stretched out his hand to harass
26:23some from the church then he killed
26:25james the brother of john
26:26with the sword the jewish persecution of
26:30christians
26:31was short-lived the jews rebelled
26:34against their roman
26:35occupiers who retaliated ferociously
26:38in 70 a.d the romans conquered or
26:41reconquered jerusalem
26:43destroyed the temple and forced the jews
26:45into exile from
26:47the region in the meantime the romans
26:50began their own persecution of the
26:52christians
26:52they persecuted christians because the
26:55christians refused to offer worship to
26:56the emperor
26:57or any of the roman gods which the
26:59romans considered to be
27:01treason against the roman state
27:04they the romans also noticed that the
27:06christians had no idols
27:08which was unthinkable for them which
27:10they the romans mistook as
27:12atheism finally they heard that the
27:14christians consumed
27:16quote the body and blood of their
27:17founder
27:19which they mistook as cannibalism
27:23the roman persecution of christians
27:25surged under
27:27the emperor nero who ruled between 54
27:29and 68
27:30a.d nero wanted a large construction
27:33project in rome
27:35but the senate refused to fund it on the
27:37night of july 9
27:3919 64 a.d what was called the great fire
27:43of rome began
27:44it lasted for five days and two-thirds
27:47of the city were destroyed
27:49nero blamed the fire on the small number
27:51of christians in rome
27:53although it was widely believed at the
27:56time
27:56that he had set the fire himself to
27:59force the construction that the senate
28:00had denied him
28:03according to according to the roman
28:05historian
28:06tacitus he writes this following emperor
28:10nero's command
28:11let the christians be exterminated they
28:14the christians
28:15were made the subject of sport they were
28:17covered with the highest of wild beasts
28:20and worried to death by dogs or nailed
28:22to crosses
28:23or set fire to and when the day waned
28:26served to burn
28:27to serve to be burned to serve for the
28:30evening
28:31lights as you see there in that
28:33depiction
28:34of what tacitus a roman was talking
28:36about
28:38roman persecution of christians
28:40continued for the next 250 plus years
28:44so it's remarkable to think that the
28:45christians were persecuted by the romans
28:48about the same time as as the united
28:50states has existed as a country
28:53the nature of the persecutions varied
28:55during that time
28:56sometimes they were localized sometimes
28:59they were widespread
29:01sometimes they were mild sometimes they
29:03were brutal
29:04the persecutions became more intense
29:06with the passage of time
29:08yet the more the romans tried to destroy
29:11them
29:11the more the the more the number of
29:14christians
29:14increased there's a fascinating series
29:18of letters between pliny
29:20a an official in the roman province of
29:23bithynia
29:24and the emperor trajan regarding the
29:26christians
29:27it gives an amazing picture of how the
29:29christians were viewed by the roman
29:31government
29:32for those interested here is the link
29:35listed there
29:37some christians wrote letters to their
29:40roman persecutors usually under
29:42assumed names for obvious reasons
29:44explaining who the christians were
29:46and what they believed appealing for the
29:48persecutions to stop
29:50one such letter is from a christian
29:52writer calling himself
29:54a thetis which is the greek word for
29:56disciple obviously a pen name
29:58to a roman official named diagnitis
30:02a link to this letter is here so i'll
30:04pause for a moment so you can
30:06hit the pause button and jock jot these
30:08links down if you are interested
30:10in the actual original sources of the
30:12written and surviving correspondence
30:14between romans what to do with the
30:16christians
30:17and from the christians writing through
30:19the roman persecutors
30:20explaining what they really were all
30:22about and how harmless they were
30:24to the roman government
30:28this 250-year experience of persecution
30:31profoundly influenced the early church
30:34it produced countless martyrs and
30:36strengthened the christian belief
30:38in the enter intercessory relationship
30:41between the faithful on earth and the
30:43faithful in heaven
30:45inscriptions like this can be found in
30:47the catacombs
30:48where christians were bare where the
30:50christians buried their dead
30:52and you could i will probably
30:53mispronounce this latin but
31:04which means in latin peter pray for us
31:06for parents for spouses
31:08for sons and daughters now that may not
31:10be the apostle peter
31:12it may very well be and probably was
31:14that this was a
31:16christian named peter who had been
31:18recently martyred
31:19a lot of the inscriptions show names of
31:21people with names other than
31:22the apostles and they're probably not at
31:24this point talking
31:26about or addressing this prayer to
31:29saint peter but to someone who recently
31:32had died for them
31:33for the early christians their strong
31:35sense was that when a christian
31:37who they loved and knew and respected
31:39had been martyred
31:41that that person went straight to heaven
31:43and was still
31:44available for intercession to those who
31:46they had left behind
31:49so this concludes today's class here is
31:51my email address please feel free to
31:53give me
31:54a uh send an email to me and
31:58i will certainly try to answer these
32:01questions
32:02and stay tuned about a week from today
32:05we will have
32:05our next class on our ongoing series
32:09called intro to orthodoxy have a blessed
32:12day

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