Docetism

This term comes from the Greek word: dokein (“to seem,” “to appear”). This is the doctrine that Jesus wasn’t a human being of flesh & blood. But Jesus was a pure spirit who only appeared to be human, that his human form was an illusion. If God is perfected Spirit, He couldn’t possibly “unite” with matter. Therefore, Jesus’ body was a sort of divine hologram.

The word Doketai (“Illusionists”) referring to early groups who denied Jesus’ humanity, first occurred in a letter by Bishop Serapion of Antioch (197-203). It appears to have arisen over theological contentions concerning the meaning, figurative or literal, of a sentence from the beginning of John’s Gospel: “the Word was made Flesh.”

Docetism was unequivocally rejected at the First Council of Nicaea in 325. This doctrine is heretical by the Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox Church, Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria, Armenian Apostolic Church, Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church, & Anglican Communion & many Protestant denominations such as Calvinist (Reformed Christians), Reformed Baptists, Waldensians, & all Trinitarian Christians.

There are 2 varieties of Docetism. In 1 version, called Marcionism, Jesus was so divine that couldn’t have been human. Since God lacked a material body, which couldn’t physically suffer. Jesus only appeared to be a flesh & blood man. His body was a phantasm.

Marcion of Sinope is perhaps the most famous figure associated with Docetic teachings. He was a wealthy shipowner who moved to Rome around 140 CE. Marcion was obsessed with the contrast between the “wrathful” God of the Old Testament & the “loving” Father of Jesus.

Marcion argued that Jesus was a completely new entity who descended directly from Heaven to Capernaum in 29 CE. He didn’t have a birth, childhood, or biological body. Marcion was the 1st to try & create a “closed” New Testament canon. This forced mainstream Christianity to define its own scriptures.

The other group who were accused of Docetism held that Jesus was a man in the flesh. But Christ was a separate entity who entered Jesus’ body in the form of a dove at His baptism, empowered him to perform miracles, & abandoned Him upon His death on the cross.

Ignatius of Antioch, writing in the early 2nd century while on his way to be executed in Rome, he was the main “anti-Docetist.” He realized that if Jesus didn’t have a real body, His death & resurrection were meaningless.

Ignatius argued that if Jesus’ suffering was a fake, then the suffering of Christian martyrs was also a waste of time. He insisted on the physical reality of the Eucharist, calling it the “medicine of immortality” because it represented real flesh.

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#140CE #203 #29CE #2ndCentury #325 #AnglicanCommunion #ArmenianApostolicChurch #BishopSerapionOfAntioch #BookOfJohn #Calvinist #Capernaum #CatholicChurch #Christianity #CopticOrthodoxChurchOfAlexandria #DivineHologram #Docetism #EasternOrthodoxChurch #EthiopianOrthodoxChurch #Eucharist #FirstCouncilOfNicaea #Gospel #Greek #IgnatiusOfAntioch #Jesus #Marcionism #martyrs #OldTestament #OrthodoxTewahedoChurch #Phantasm #ReformedBaptists #ReformedChristians #Rome #TrinitarianChristians #Waldensians

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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#1Peter #14July2019 #14March2013 #14thOfNisan #26AD #2ndCentury #Ampelakiotissa #Anglicanism #ApostolicFathers #atheists #Bishop #BishopOfSmyrna #CatholicChurch #Christian #ChurchFathers #ChurchOfEngland #Circa154AD #ClementOfRome #CopticOrthodoxChurch #Docetism #Easter #EasternOrthodoxChurch #EmperorTiberius #EpistleOfPolycarp #EpistleOfPolycarpToThePhilippians #Eucharist #February23 #Gospels #Greece #GregorianCalendar #IgnatiusOfAntioch #Irenaeus #Izmir #Jesus #Jewish #JohnTheApostle #LesserFestival #LutheranChurch #Lutheranism #March8 #MartyrdomOfPolycarp #MonasteryOfTheDormitionOfTheTheotokosSantPolycarp #Nafpaktos #NewTestament #OrientalOrthodoxChurch #Pagans #PolycarpOfSmyrna #PopeAnicetus #Quadratus #Quartodecimanism #relics #RomanProconsul #Saint #SantAmbrogioDellaMassima #Satan #StPolycarp #synagogue #Tertullian

Quote of the day, 20 January: Hermann Cohen

Holy Communion! That is my safeguard, and I ask only one thing of this great God, so full of love: that He grant me, at the hour of death, that inestimable grace of being able to receive Communion—the holy viaticum of the poor traveler!

Oh! it already seems to me that I see it, that delightful and ardently desired hour, when the chains that hold me captive far from my God will finally fall into dust.

Ah! it seems to me that I see it, that final hour, that hour of love! Yes—there, in my poor little cell, lying on the hard floor, surrounded by my Carmelite brothers, who will exhort me to weep for my faults and to lift up my heart to God, and who will sing the hymns of our homeland!…

And then I hear footsteps in the distance, and as it were plaintive voices chanting in cadence; it is a procession… it advances, it draws near to my narrow retreat. Oh my brothers, quickly, I beg you, scatter flowers along my path; it is my Beloved—it is Jesus, my Spouse, who is coming to fetch me!… He Himself!

Great God! You deign to descend into the hovel of this wretched and unworthy sinner! From where does this favor come to me? Unde hoc mihi? (Why has this happened to me? Lk 1:43). What! My God, You enter under my humble roof to visit me and to give me the kiss of peace—and I would fear Your justice?

But do You not Yourself come to reassure me by Your gentle embraces, and does not the priest, in showing You to me, say: “Behold the Lamb of God, behold Him who takes away the sins of the world… Lord, I am not worthy that You should enter under my wretched dwelling; but say only the word, and my soul shall be saved.”

Servant of God Augustine Mary of the Blessed Sacrament (Hermann Cohen)

Death Before the Eucharist (1860)

Note: On January 9, 1871, Hermann Cohen contracted smallpox while anointing two prisoners of war in Spandau—likely through a small scratch on his finger—and his condition steadily worsened. By January 13, he was confined to bed, already entrusting the work he had begun to others and expressing a calm readiness to be taken by God. On January 15, after a seizure, he received the last rites with visible joy and peace, renewed his Carmelite vows, and joined in the Te Deum, Salve Regina, and De Profundis, before bidding farewell to his brothers and requesting burial at St. Hedwig’s Cathedral in Berlin. As his strength failed further, he told the sister caring for him, “So I am going to die. May God’s holy will be done; besides, if I were cured, I would have to witness distressful things.” He gave his final blessing to those around him and died quietly on the morning of January 20, 1871, at the age of forty-nine—a true martyr of charity, having laid down his life in loving service, and yielding his generous soul into the arms of eternal love.

Augustin-Marie du Très-Saint Sacrement 2020, Qui nous fera voir le bonheur? : sermons et autres textes, ed. S-M Morgain, Éditions du Carmel, Toulouse.

Featured image: A Discalced Carmelite nun in Valladolid receives Holy Communion on Saint Teresa’s feast day in 2016. Image credit: Angel Cantero, Iglesia en Valladolid / Flickr (Some rights reserved).

#AugustineMaryOfTheBlessedSacrament #death #Eucharist #HermannCohen #ServantOfGod

Quote of the day, 19 January: St. Mary of Jesus Crucified

You who fly… little birds, good news!
At the foot of the altar I saw myself wholly naked.

At the feet of Mary, cast off everything!
O mountain so vast, hide us from the roaring lions…
Show me the path of the narrow way…
Wash me in the blood of the Innocent…

I see the Lamb, and the flock that follows the Beloved
and sings to the Most High.

Rise up, rise up!
You who sleep here below, awaken!
Time is passing—awaken!

The Lamb advances and knocks at the door—open to Him.
Prepare the incense of your heart to bring it to Him,
to be offered before the Lamb.

Awaken, you who sleep!

I delight in Jesus; I am about to delight in Him.
He has promised me four days of rest.

The bread destined for me—
it is the adorable Mother who has blessed it.

Praise, my soul, your Creator made a little Lamb—
it is out of love!

Cover yourself with your own dung.
Ah! the King offers Himself for you always, always.

Annihilate yourselves.
Your salvation is forever offered to His Father
for love of you.

Do you know from where this happiness comes?
The hardest Rock has become like wax.
At Your presence everything softens,
everything melts like wax consumed by fire.

O Power—who can understand You?
O hidden mystery my soul cannot grasp—

Come down to bless Your Creator.
Go, rest within Yourself the purest wheat.

The Most High will make His dwelling.
He comes to live everything with us,
O purest wheat.

The Lord does not love wheat mixed with impurities.
Choose it Yourself, O Most High.
Wash away the dust that covers it,
that dims its whiteness.

O Most High, enlighten it with Your light;
purify it with love.

The Most High is coming.

My soul—at every moment the Most High continually descends.
He has come to my soul; He has chosen it.
My soul delights and trembles
when the Lord makes His dwelling.

Your salvation has come to you.

Farewell, land of exile.
My soul can endure it no longer—
for a little while, I have rest.

Fly, my soul…

Saint Mary of Jesus Crucified (Mariam Baouardy)

Cahiers Réservés, 6

Note: Mariam’s reference to her nakedness echoes the spiritual doctrine of Saint John of the Cross. In The Dark Night, II.9, he writes: “the spirit must be simple, pure, and naked as to all natural affections, actual and habitual, in order to be able to communicate freely in fullness of spirit with the divine wisdom in which, on account of the soul’s purity, the delights of all things are tasted to a certain eminent degree.”

Access to the unpublished Cahiers Réservés courtesy of the Carmels of Bethlehem and Haifa.

Translation from the French text is the blogger’s own work product and may not be reproduced without permission.

Featured image: Oxford, Bodleian Library MS. Douce 180: Adoration of the Lamb. Illumination on parchment, anonymous Anglo-Norman artist, created ca. 1265-1270, England. Image credit: Bodleian Libraries, University of Oxford / Wikimedia Commons (public domain).

#awakening #Eucharist #LambOfGod #openness #StMaryOfJesusCrucified

I visited the #Mezquita-Catedral this morning.

The first visit of the day is free at 8.30am. Stragglers can then hang on for 9.30 #Eucharist - if so inclined - for some wondrously vulgar smells and bells, and some hardcore throbbing #organ action.

Love and Devotion. Catholics pray before the Blessed Sacrament and holy adoration.

https://fineartamerica.com/featured/love-and-devotion-frank-j-casella.html

#FJCasellaPhoto #Catholic #eucharist #prayer #love #devotion #fineart #photography