Elcesaites

Also known as Elkasaites, Elkesaites, or Elchasaites. The name comes from the alleged founder, Elkhasai, Elksai, or Elkesai.

They were an ancient Jewish Christian sect in Lower Mesopotamia. Then the province of Asoristan in the Sasanian Empire, which was active between the early 2nd century & the 5th century CE. The members of this sect, which began in the Transjordan, performed frequent baptisms for purification & had a Gnostic orientation.

The movement blended elements of Second Temple Judaism, early Jewish Christianity, Gnosticism, & apocalyptic mysticism. It’s mainly known through the writing of early Church Fathers such as Hippolytus of Rome, Origen, & Epiphanius of Salamis.

The sect is mentioned directly only in the commentaries on “heresies” by the Early Church Fathers. Hippolytus of Rome records that, in the time of Pope Callixtus I, a Jewish Christian named Alcibiades of Apamea came to Rome, bringing a book that he said had been received in Parthia by a just man named Elchasai.

According to Alcibiades, the book had been revealed by an angel 96 miles (154 km; 337,920 cubits) high, 16 miles (26 km; 56,230 cubits) broad, & 24 miles (39 km; 84,480 cubits) across the shoulders, whose footprints were 14 miles (23 km) long, 6 miles (9.7 km) wide & 2 miles (3.2 km) deep.

This giant angel was the “Son of God,” who was accompanied by his sister, the Holy Ghost/Spirit, of the same dimensions. Alcibiades announced that a new remission of sins had been proclaimed in the 3rd year of Trajan (100 AD). He described a baptism which should impart this forgiveness even to the grossest sinners.

Hippolytus says that Alcibiades teaches the natural birth, preexistence, & reincarnation of Jesus. Also, Alcibiades teaches circumcision & the Law of Moses. Hippolytus then goes on at length to describe the group’s teaching on baptism. For all sins of impurity, even against nature, a 2nd baptism is enjoined “in the name of the great & most high God & in the name of His Son the great King,” with a plea of the 7 witnesses written in the book (sky, water, the holy spirits, the angels of prayer, oil, salt, & earth).

One who has been bitten by a mad dog is to run to the nearest water & jump in with all his clothes on, using the foregoing formula, & promising the 7 witnesses that he’ll abstain from sin. The same treatment – 40 days consecutively of baptism in cold water – is recommended for consumption & for the possessed. Hippolytus discusses in more detail the teaching of the book, including Elchasai’s Sabbatarian teaching & the instruction not to baptize under certain astrological stars.

Eusebius records a summary of a sermon of Psalm 82 delivered in Caesarea by Origen circa 240-250 AD, which warns his audience against the doctrine of “the Elkesaites.” Eusebius’ record of this sermon forms the 2nd source on the group.

150 years later, Epiphanius of Salamis ground it into use among the Sampsaeans (descendants of the earlier Elceasites). Also among the Essenes & many other Ebionite communities. Epiphanius also mentions that the book condemned virginity & continence & made marriage obligatory.

It allowed the worship of cult images to escape persecution, provided the act was merely an external one, disavowed in the heart. Prayer was to be made to the East. But always towards Jerusalem. He also records that the saints of Elcesaites were 2 women: Martha (“mistress”) & Marthana (“our mistress”).

All animal sacrifice was condemned, with a denial that it had been offered by the Patriarchs or in the Torah. The Prophets & the Christian Apostles were rejected. As well as Paul the Apostle & all his writings.

The Cologne Mani-Codex (dated from the 4th century) describes the parents of Mani (founder of Manichaeism) as “followers of the prophet Alchasaias.” Scholars have identified with Elchasai. Alchasaios is stated to be a prophet also honored by Mani. His name appears in several other sources on Manichaeism. But in such an altered form that the identification with Elchasai was clear only with the publication of the Cologne Codex.

The Codex deals with the Elceasites extensively and confirms some of the Church Fathers’ statements about them. It pictures Mani as a “reformer” with the purpose to “restore” the true doctrine of the prophet Alchasaios, which his followers had “misunderstood.” In particular, Mani criticizes their repeated baptism rituals.

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Chrysostom, with admirable bluntness, notes that some happily dress a prostitute in gold while stepping over Christ shivering in the poor. Same wallet, different priorities. He wonders what sort of forgiveness—or punishment—fits that logic. It’s an uncomfortably practical question, then and now: who exactly are we most eager to clothe?

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Polycarp of Smyrna

Polycarp (69-155 AD) was a Christian bishop of Smyrna (modern-day Turkey). According to the Martyrdom of Polycarp, he passed away a martyr, bound & burned at the stake, then stabbed when the fire failed to consume his body. Polycarp is regarded as a saint & Church Father in the Eastern Orthodox Church, Catholic Church, Oriental Orthodox Church, Lutheranism, & Anglicanism.

Irenaeus & Tertullian said that Polycarp had been a disciple of John the Apostle, one of Jesus’ disciples. This is Polycarp’s primary claim to fame. John the Apostle was the 1 who ordained Polycarp as Bishop of Smyrna. Polycarp is regarded as 1 of 3 chief Apostolic Fathers, along with Clement of Rome & Ignatius of Antioch.

In an period before the New Testament was fully formed into its modern version, Polycarp represented the “Living Voice.” If a dispute came around about what Jesus had meant, people went to Polycarp because he’d heard it from people who were actually there.

The only 1 authentic surviving work credited to Polycarp is the: Epistle/Letter of Polycarp to the Philippians. This Epistle/Letter is essentially a “mosaic” of early Christian writings. Polycarp quoted or alluded to almost 1/2 of the New Testament books (including Paul’s letters, 1 Peter, & the Gospels).

As early as the 2nd century, Polycarp was already fighting Docetism. This is the idea that Jesus only seems to have a body. He called, famously, anyone who denied the reality of Christ’s physical suffering “the 1st born of Satan.”

In particular, Irenaeus had heard the account of Polycarp’s discussion with John & with others who had actually seen Jesus. Irenaeus reports that Polycarp was converted to Christianity by the apostles, was consecrated a presbyter, & communicated with many who had seen Jesus.

Smyrna (modern-day Izmir, Turkey) was the center of “Emperor Worship.” In 26 AD, it won the right to build a Temple to the Emperor Tiberius. Smyrna also had a large, & influential, Jewish population. The tense relationship between the synagogue & the emerging Christian “sect,” which would play a role in Polycarp’s eventual arrest.

In his old age, Polycarp traveled to Rome (circa 154 AD) to meet with is fellow Syrian, the Bishop of Rome, Pope Anicetus. They come together to talk through a major secular & religious disagreement: Quartodecimanism.

Polycarp & the Eastern Churches celebrated Easter on the 14th of Nisan (the Jewish Passover), regardless of what day of the week it fell on. Rome, however, insisted it must ALWAYS be a Sunday. The Pope & Polycarp couldn’t find a compromise. This would become a problem in later centuries.

But Polycarp & the Pope stayed respectful, & friendly, towards each other. Pope Anicetus even let Polycarp celebrate the Eucharist in his own church in Rome as a sign of respect.

The Martyrdom of Polycarp is the 1st recorded account of a Christian martyrdom outside the New Testament. During a period of local unrest, the crowd in the Smyrnaean stadium began shouting for Polycarp. Initially, he didn’t flee but retreated to a small farm.

When he was eventually betrayed by a young servant under torture, he welcomed the guards, fed them a meal, & asked for an hour to pray. The Roman Proconsul, Quadratus, didn’t want to actually kill Polycarp. He pleaded with Polycarp to “have respect for our age” & to simply say, “Away with the atheists” (in this case, “the atheists” were the Christians).

Polycarp looked at the pagan crowd in the stadium, pointed at them (the pagans), & said “Away with the atheists!” Also in Martyrdom of Polycarp, Polycarp is reported to say on the day of his death: “Eighty & six years I have served Him, & He has done me no wrong.”

Polycarp was sentenced to death for not burning incense to the Roman Emperor. He was “burned” at the stake but the flames arched around him like a sail, refusing to touch him. Eventually, he was killed with a dagger/spear.

Relics of Polycarp are under the main altar of the church of Sant’Ambrogio della Massima. The right arm of St. Polycarp had been kept at the Monastery of the Dormition of the Theotokos-Saint Polycarp, in Ampelakiotissa near Nafpaktos, Greece, for over 500 years.

It was stolen on March 14, 2013 & was never found. A fragment, however, taken from the arm on a previous occasion, was discovered & returned to the monastery on July 14, 2019.

In the Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, & Greek Catholic Churches, the feast day of St. Polycarp is February 23. In the Coptic Orthodox Church, his feast day is on Amshir 29 (March 8 in the Gregorian Calendar). In the Church of England, he was honored with a Lesser Festival on February 23. In the Lutheran Church, his feast day is on February 23.

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Why Did John Write His #Gospel? | What the #ChurchFathers Said

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eBC2lFMkFZA

#bible #apologetics #deconstruction #christian

St. Theophan the Recluse

He is also known as Theophanes the Recluse or the Enlightener Theophan the Recluse of Vysha. He was a Russian Orthodox bishop & theologian. He was born January 10, 1815 & passed away on January 6, 1894. He was 78 years old when he passed away. He was canonized as a saint in 1988. He was born as Georgy Vasilievich Govorov. He became a monk in 1841, taking the name Theophan.

He’s best known by the books & letters he wrote concerning spiritual life & the training of youth in the faith. He also played an important role in translating the Philokalia from Church Slavonic into Russian. The Philokalia is a classic of Orthodox spiritually, composed of the collected works of a number of Church Fathers. This was edited & placed in a 4 volume set in the 17th & 18th centuries.

In his works, a persistent theme was developing an interior life of continuous prayer & learning to “pray without ceasing.” This is what St. Paul teaches in his 1st letter to the Thessalonians.

Theophan was canonized by the Local Council of the Russian Orthodox Church of 1988. His canonization was declared because of his “deep theological understanding of the Christian theology…” His feast day is celebrated on January 6th or 10th.

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St. Augustine of Hippo

St. Augustine of Hippo was a theologian & philosopher of Berber origin & the bishop of Hippo Regius in Numidia, Roman North Africa. Hippo Regius is in modern-day Annaba, Algeria. He was born I 354 in the municipium of Thagaste (now Souk Ahras, Algeria) in the Roman province of Numidia.

His mom, Monica/Monnica, was a devout Christian. His dad, Patricius, was a pagan, who converted to Christianity on his deathbed. Augustine, in his writings, mentions his identity as a Roman African.

His writing deeply influenced the development of Western philosophy & Western Christianity. He’s viewed as one of the most important Church Fathers of the Latin Church in the Patristic Church.

Patristics, a.k.a. Patrology, is a branch of theological studies focused on the writings & teachings of the Church Fathers, between the 1st-8th century AD.

St. Jerome said of Augustine: he “established anew the ancient Faith.”

In his youth, he was drawn to the Manichaean faith & later to the Hellenistic philosophy of Neoplatonism. After his conversion to Christianity & baptism in 386, Augustine developed his own approach to philosophy & theology, that had a variety of methods & perspective.

Believing the grace of Chris was indispensable to human freedom, he helped formulate the doctrine of original sin & made significant contributions to the development of just war theory.

The just war theory is a doctrine of military ethics that aims to ensure that a war is morally justifiable through a series of criteria, all of which must be met for a war to be considered just.

When the Western Roman Empire began to fall apart, Augustine imagined the Church as a spiritual City of God, which is distinct from the material Earthly City.

There’s a segment of the Church that follows the concept of the Trinity as defined by the Council of Nicaea & the Council of Constantinople closely identified with Augustine’s On the Trinity.

Augustine is recognized as a saint in the Catholic Church, the Eastern Orthodox Church, Lutheran church, & Anglican church. He’s also a Catholic “Doctor of the Church.” And he’s the patron of the Augustinians. His feast day is on August 28th, the day he passed away. The Church of England also celebrates August 28th as his feast day. In the Greek & Russian Orthodox Churches, his feast day is June 15. He’s the patron saint of brewers, printers, theologians, & a number of cities & dioceses.

Many Protestants, especially Calvinists & Lutherans, consider Augustine one of the theological fathers of the Protestant Reformation due to his teachings on salvation & divine grace.

In the East, Augustine’s teachings are disputed. The most controversial doctrine associated with him is the filioque. It was rejected by the Eastern Orthodox Church. Other disputed teachings include Augustine’s views on original sin, the doctrine of grace, & predestination. Despite this, Augustine is considered mistaken on some points, he’s still considered a saint.

Filioque is a Latin phrase meaning “and the Son.” This was added to the Nicene Creed by the Western Church to clarify that the Holy Spirit proceeds “from the Father & the Son.”

In 1842, a portion of Augustine’s right arm (cubitus) was secured from Pavia & returned to Annba. It now rests in St. Augustin Basilica within a glass tube inserted into the arm of a life-sized marble statue of the saint. It’s considered a relic.

Augustine was canonized by popular acclaim. He was later recognized as a Doctor of the Church in 1298 by Pope Boniface VIII.

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#OpenAccess on
#MENAdoc:

"Geschichte der altkirchlichen Literatur" by Otto Bardenhewer

[Freiburg im Breisgau: Herder, 1902]

http://dx.doi.org/10.25673/100910

#patristics #earlychristianity #literature #theology #churchfathers #manual

It's Holy Thursday!
Nice time for a good reading while having an ice tea!

PATRISTIC Bible Study Centuries I to IV The Wisdom of the Ancient Christianism.

[Spanish edition from the infamous CLIE Publishing, Spain 2024]

#HolyWeek2025 #HolyThursday #Bible #ChurchFathers #Theology

Medieval Philosophy, Armand A. Maurer, Random House, New York, 1962. Hb with dj. VG. A History of Philosophy series. Generally tight and clean, no marks

https://www.splendorsolisbooks.com/product/3111/Medieval-Philosophy

#splendorsolisbooks #philosophy #medeival #churchfathers #churchphilosophy #usa #newengland #massachusetts