A Publication of the ORTHODOX CHRISTIAN LAITY
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| Volume 6 Number 36 - Tuesday, September 7th, 2004 |
A Publication of the ORTHODOX CHRISTIAN LAITY |
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Jerusalem 46 A.D.— The First Synod
This is a widely unknown page from the early days of Christianity. In the year 46 A.D., 13 years after the crucifixion of Jesus, St. Paul and Barnabas had just returned to Antioch after their first journey through Asia Minor, where they had established churches in Iconium, Derbe, Lystra and other towns. The Christian community in Antioch had been growing, rivaling in importance the community led by the Twelve Apostles in Jerusalem. It was also a different community compared to that in Jerusalem. In Antioch, the majority of converts were Gentiles. In Jerusalem, most of the converts were Jewish. The Twelve Apostles in Jerusalem continued to see their movement not as a new religion but as a superior interpretation of the Law of Moses, and Jesus as the Messiah promised by God to the Jewish people to bring their liberation from the foreign (Roman) yoke. To them, circumcision was the sacred ritual which connected a male Jew to the God of Abraham and the prophets. In Paul’s mind, the
central question was whether
But circumcision presented a serious, very practical problem in Paul’s efforts to win over Gentiles. Circumcision in the case of an adult Gentile was a painful and dangerous procedure. In the case of Jews, of course, there was no problem since Jewish infants were circumcised eight days after birth. Facing this problem, Paul had decided to ignore the requirement of circumcision in the case of adult Gentile converts. The Twelve in Jerusalem found this to be a serious departure from the tenets of Judaism. In the spring of 46 A.D., they asked Paul to come to Jerusalem to discuss this divisive issue. Paul and his companions received a warm welcome when they arrived in Jerusalem, but the good feeling did not last long. During the meeting, a number of Jewish converts rose and started arguing that Gentiles should be circumcised and instructed to follow the Law of Moses if they were to be accepted in their community. The controversy over circumcision, which had brought Paul to Jerusalem, was laid bare. According to the Acts, "there was much disputing." This was to be expected because the issues involved were truly fundamental. In Paul’s mind, the central question was whether the movement Jesus had started would remain merely a Jewish sect, within the traditions of Judaism, or if it were to become a new "faith" open to all mankind. Was it necessary for the Gentile converts to embrace the rules held sacred by the Jews? Was this a Jewish sect, no different from other sects such as that of the Essenes? The Twelve Apostles, and especially James, the brother of Jesus, seemed to think so. According to the Gospels, James, the brother of Jesus, was not very close to Jesus while he was alive. Yet, Peter had accepted him as senior leader of the Jerusalem community soon after the resurrection. Why? There was a practical reason for this. To the Twelve, Jesus was the Messiah who would restore the kingdom of David. They believed that he would return in glory soon to free the Jewish people. Until the return of Jesus, James, the brother next in line, was entitled to act as a "regent." James had a good reason to uphold the Jewish beliefs and traditions. His position was dependent on them. On his part, Paul believed that the "Gospel" of Christ had come to replace the Law of Moses as the road to salvation. He also believed that Jesus was not the traditional Messiah who had come to liberate the Jewish people but the divine Son of God who had willingly accepted crucifixion for the salvation of all mankind and who had promised the gift of eternal life to all who believed in him. In the next few years, Paul would articulate this new "faith" in the letters he later wrote to his followers. It is doubtful, however, that he presented these views to the Twelve and the other members of the Jerusalem community in such apocalyptic terms. His main concern was to convince them that circumcision should not be a requirement for the Gentile converts. When Peter took the floor, he spoke in a spirit of conciliation. While James was a zealous observer of the Law of Moses, Peter showed more flexibility. According to the Acts, "after there had been much disputing, Peter rose up and said unto them…a good while ago God made choice among us, that the Gentiles by my mouth should hear the word of the gospel and believe." He continued with words which seemed to echo Paul’s phraseology. "We believe that through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ we shall be saved, even as they [the Gentiles], (Acts 15:3, 7-11)." Whether Peter used these words cannot be certain. Nevertheless, his comments had a palpable effect on the first "Synod." Even James, who seems to have had always the last word, did not raise a strong argument. The requirement of circumcision could be set aside but only in the case of Gentile converts. The sons of Jewish converts would still have to be circumcised. In trying to justify his concession, James invoked biblical passages. "Simeon," he is quoted saying, "had declared how God at first did visit the Gentiles, to take out of them a people for his name." James still sees the Jerusalem community as a Jewish messianic movement. Invoking the prophets, he goes on. " After this [God] will return, and will build again the tabernacle of David, which is fallen, [so that] the residue [the rest] of men might seek after the Lord, and all the Gentiles upon whom my name is called, said the Lord who does all these things, (Acts 15:13-18)." James’ effort to tie everything to the restoration of the throne of David by the returning Messiah is much too obvious. After this self-serving introduction, James came up with a rather moderate and practical ruling. "Therefore, my sentence is, that we trouble not them which from among the Gentiles are turned to God. But that we write unto them that they abstain from pollutions of idols, and from fornication, and from things strangled, and from blood, (Acts, 19-20)." This a remarkable passage because it shows in bold relief that James is the man who sets the rules. Although James had accepted the main compromise—circumcision was no longer a requirement for Gentile converts—his four rules were in keeping with the Jewish dietary laws and ethical rules and traditions. At the same time, they were rules the Gentile converts would have no problem accepting. The first rule James set as absolutely essential was "abstention from the pollution of the idols." In those days, the meat from the animals sacrificed to the pagan gods was consumed after the sacrifice by the Gentiles as ordinary food. The meaning of the rule set by James was that the Gentile converts were not only required to stay away from any sacrifices to the pagan gods but they should also avoid eating the meat of animals sacrificed to these gods. This was not a
difficult rule to follow. Gentile converts needed
only, if they were invited to have dinner with
other Gentiles who were not converts, to make sure
that the meat they ate did not come from
sacrificial animals. The third rule requiring abstention "from things strangled" was related to the dietary laws observed by the Jews. According to the Bible (Leviticus 3:17 and Deuteronomy 14:3-21), an animal should be slaughtered in such a manner (Kosher), so that all the blood was drained. [The dietary laws were designed to prevent too close social relations with non Jews—thereby preserving the purity of the Jewish people). The fourth rule James imposed on the Gentile converts was to abstain from "blood." At first glance this appears to be a repetition of the previous dietary rule (eating kosher meats). However, it may be that in an era when a Roman had the right to kill a slave for insubordination, the Mosaic commandment "do not kill" was of cardinal importance. Quite possibly, with his fourth ruling, James was asking the Gentile converts to respect human life. The rules James set for the Gentiles indicate that he continued to see all converts—Jewish and Gentile—as people who had accepted Jesus’ interpretation of the Torah. He had agreed to remove circumcision as a requirement for Gentile converts but only because it was an obstacle to the expansion of the community. The pronouncements of James were written down. "And they wrote letters by them after this manner" addressed "to the brethren who are Gentiles in Antioch and Syria and Cilicia." This letter, the first "encyclical" as well as the first "canon" of the Church, was sent to the Gentile converts "with our brethren Barnabas and Paul, men that have hazarded their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ." Through a practical compromise, the first "Synod" had resolved a crisis which could have split the nascent movement in two. In a way, it had ended with a victory for Paul since circumcision, a major impediment to his efforts to win over Gentiles, had been removed. But Paul was not going to limit himself to the concession he had extracted from James and the community of Jerusalem. In his letter to the Galatians, written soon after the first "Synod," Paul went much further, stating clearly his break with the law of Moses. "But before faith came [faith in Jesus Christ, the Son of God] we were kept [guarded by] under the law [of Moses] shut out from the faith which was to be revealed in the future. Wherefore, the law was our schoolmaster to lead us unto Christ so that we might be justified [saved] by faith. But since now the faith has come we are no longer under a schoolmaster; for all of you are the children of God by the faith in Jesus Christ." Paul is not speaking only of the Gentiles. "There is neither Jew nor Greek, no slave nor free, neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus, (Galatians 3:23-28)." After that, Paul went
on with his preaching of the new faith, ignoring
the Jewish orientation of James. In the end, the
community of Jerusalem drifted into becoming a
minor group to be known as the Ebionites, while
the churches Paul had established and the
doctrines he had conceived became the foundation
of Christianity. |
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