HISTORY OF CONSECRATED LIFE BULLET POINTS FOR LECTURE 2 RELIGIOUS LIFE BEFORE THE CONSTANTINIAN REVOLUTION

RELIGIOUS LIFE AMONG SYRIAC CHRISTIANS By Syriac Church we refer to Christian Churches in Asia which used Syriac (a form of Aramaic) as their primary written and spoken language. The rise of Syriac Christianity is bafflingly obscure, difficult to date and to place historically. However, by the 3rd century C.E., the Syriac Churches were already present in parts of Asia that were under the Roman Empire (Syria, Osrhoene & Armenia), the Persian Empire (Adiabene), and the Mauryan Empire (India). The Syriac Christians of the Persian Empire were a religious minority in an empire whose predominant religion was Zoroastrianism Such was the case whether the region was under the Parthians (until 226 C.E.) or the Sasanians (from 226 C.E. until 651) or the Islamic Arabs (from 651 C.E. onwards).

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HISTORY OF CONSECRATED LIFE BULLET POINTS FOR LECTURE 2

ENCRATITES

As early as the 2nd Century C.E., a form of monastic asceticism had become visible among the Syriac-speaking Christians of Parthian Persia. Its development was not, however, accepted by the Greek-speaking Churches in the Roman West who called its adherents Encratites and labeled it as heresy ( = airesis). o Those who we called Encratites preached against marriage, thus setting aside the original creation of God, and indirectly blaming Him who made the male and female for the propagation the human race. Some of those reckoned among them have also introduced abstinence from animal food, thus proving themselves ungrateful to God, who formed all things. A certain man named Tatian first introduced the blasphemy He was a hearer of Justin's and as long as he continued with him he expressed no such views: but after his martyrdom he separated from the Church, and, excited and puffed up by the thought of being a teacher, as if he were superior to others, he composed his own peculiar type of doctrine. (Irenaeus, Contra Heresiae, xxviii.1)

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HISTORY OF CONSECRATED LIFE BULLET POINTS FOR LECTURE 2 The Encratites, literally meaning those who practiced self-control ( = enkrateia), were noted for their refusal of marriage, abstinence from animal meat, and intense fasting. Tatian (ca. 110-180) was a remarkable biblical scholar, linguist, and ascetic of Assyrian origin. He was a pupil of Justin Martyr, one of the earliest Christian apologists. About the year 172, he shook the dust of the West off his feet and returned to Assyria where he established a theological school of Syriac character. Where did the Greeks learn their astronomy? From Babylon. Their alphabet? From the Phoenicians. Their poetry and music? From Phrygia. Their postal system? From Persia. In every way the East excels and most of all in its religion, the Christian religion, which also comes from Asia and which is far older and truer than all the philosophies and crude religious myths of the Greeks. Apart from their opposition to marriage, the Encratites were also noted for their abstinence from animal meat and intense fasting. 3rd and 4th century writers like Sozomen, Theodoret, and Ephrem also spoke of how the Encratites chained themselves to rocks, bent their bodies under iron weights, and walled themselves up in caves. Apparently, the Encratites were also other-worldly ascetics who became wandering missionaries, healing the sick, feeding the poor, and preaching the Gospel as they moved from place to place One can say that they strongly represented the non-dichotomized ethos of the Syriac churches: fiercely ascetical and thoroughly mission-oriented on the same time. Nonetheless, their loathing of sex and disregard for the body may also be a manifestation of some form of Gnosticism. It is strongly opined that this was brought about by Zoroastrian influence. Zoroastrianism emphasizes a cosmological dualism of two warring gods (one of good and the other of evil) who were engaged in an eternal conflict.

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HISTORY OF CONSECRATED LIFE BULLET POINTS FOR LECTURE 2

BNAI AND BNAT QYAMA

By the 3rd and 4th centuries, the Syriac Christians could seemingly be divided into two: o The majority who adhered to a strong ascetic ideal that emphasized celibacy and sexual abstinence; o The minority who advocated a less ascetic lifestyle which was moderated by a Graeco-Roman-modeled hierarchy. The committed ascetics were called Bnai Qyama (Sons of the Covenant) and Bnat Qyama (Daughters of the Covenant) Qyama, a still disputed term, seems to have been understood in the sense of a formal agreement, promise, or vow, of an ascetic nature, made probably at baptism itself. They did not live isolated in monasteries but rather lived sometimes alone, with each other, with their parents, or in small informal groups in the midst of the larger Christian community. They seem to have consisted of two categories: the bthl or virgins (the term is used for both sexes), and the qaddsh, married people who practiced chastity. Although they could not marry or engage in sex, the bnai and bnat qyama could own property, and they seemingly were not under the same strictures like other ascetics in the fringes of Syriac society. The consecration of the bnai and bnat qyama took place during the Qurbana, i.e. the celebration of the Eucharist in Syriac churches. Here are the questions asked during the Scrutinies: o Do you denounce Satan and all his deeds, services, worship, vain pomp, his worldly deceit and all his adherents? o Do you commit yourself to the Lord God and his Messiah, trusting all the teachings he entrusted to the Prophets and the Apostles? o Do you further freely and in the presence of Almighty God and the presence of these witnesses, his holy people, take upon yourself the way of chastity and the way of obedience to your bishop, Mar _____, and to the Rule of the Qyama, and the way of simplicity, forsaking fleshly love and self-will and earthly riches? The Rules given to the Bnai and Bnat Qyama by Mar (i.e. Bishop) Rabbla in the 4th century manifest a very different disposition toward women and male non-clerics:

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HISTORY OF CONSECRATED LIFE BULLET POINTS FOR LECTURE 2 o Rule 2: None of the periodeutae, priests, and deacons, or the bnai qyama shall live with women except with his mother or sister or daughter and they shall not make households for these women outside their own dwellingplaces and be constantly with them. o Rule 3: Priests and deacons and bnai qyama shall not compel the bnat qyama to weave garments for them. o Rule 4: Priests and deacons shall not be served by women, and particularly not by the bnat qyama. o Rule 6: Priests and deacons shall not impose tributes on the bnai qyama. o Rule 19: If anyone among the bnai and bnat qyama are in want, the priests or deacons of the village shall take care of them

RELIGIOUS LIFE IN THE ROMAN EMPIRE BEFORE CONSTANTINE THE CHRISTIAN CONTEXT: GROWTH IN THE WEST

From 193 to 249 C.E., Christianity began to experience a period of dynamic change and expansion in the Roman Empire; Numerical growth of adherents resulting from a more aggressive missionary policy moved Christianity from its self-proclaimed status as a third race to one of the major religions of the empire. Sociologists on early Christianity project that if the Church grew at 40% per decade, there would have been throughout the Roman Empire 217,795 adherents by 200 C.E. (0.36% of the population) and 1,171,356 by 250 (1.9% of the population); This numerical growth was marked by: o Greater effectiveness of family networking than proselytism; and o Prevalence of female conversions, especially from the upper classes The period also saw the gradual development of the canon of Christian Scriptures and the consolidation of rules of faith (creeds) emerging in different dioceses; Selection of bishops became less democratic and there was an emergence of more disciplinary, powerful, and long-reigning bishops all over the empire; An important movement arose around 155-60 from Phrygia (central Asia Minor) and spread to North Africa called Montanism.

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HISTORY OF CONSECRATED LIFE BULLET POINTS FOR LECTURE 2 o Centered upon fundamental importance and imminence of the parousia and the immediate work of the Holy Spirit; o All theological enterprise and praxis are impermanent in view of the impending parousia; o Arose as a reaction to and in an environment of a decline in intensity of Christian charismatic experience and an increased structuralization of the episcopate. The Church in Rome was still considered as primus inter pares (first among equals) by other churches, but it shared its dominance over the affairs of the entire Church with the dioceses of Antioch, Carthage, and Alexandria.

THE CHRISTIAN CONTEXT: PERSECUTION

After Neros attack against Christianity in 64 C.E., there was an abating but not an abeyance of persecution of Christians, except for some isolated and localized persecutions in Carthage and Alexandria. The intermittent toleration of Christianity ended when Emperor Decius decreed in January 250 that all imperial subjects make a sacrifice to the Roman deities in the capitols of each city and to obtain a certificate (libellus) to prove that they had done their duty; A few years later, Emperor Valerian (253-60) decreed in 257 that Christians honor not only their God but also the other gods of the empire. A year later, he ordered the execution of members of the Christian clergy who persisted in their faith. His son and successor, Gallienus (260-68), reversed Valerians policy by ordering the restoration of the Churchs confiscated properties. Though not technically, Christianity became a religio licita (lawful religion). The so-called Great Persecution took place during the last years of the reign of Emperor Diocletian (284-305). On 23 February 303, he decreed the destruction of all Christian churches, deprived believers of honors and privileges, and disbarred them from being plaintiffs in lawsuits. Later, he ordered the imprisonment of members of the Christian clergy, to be freed only after they sacrificed to the Roman gods. Diocletians actions should be seen, however, as part of his effort to restore the unity of the state, whose religious cohesion was threatened by the ceaseless progress of Christianity.
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HISTORY OF CONSECRATED LIFE BULLET POINTS FOR LECTURE 2 If sociologists of early Christianity are correct, then there would have been about 6,299,332 Christians in the empire (10.5% of the over-all population) by 300 C.E. Likewise, it should be pointed out that the persecution was only fully enforced in parts of the empire directly under Diocletian and Galerius, his junior emperor.

Also, Diocletian explicitly forbade the execution of any Christian but this was not heeded in the areas where Galerius reigned. The persecution formally ended in the Roman West in 305 C.E. when Constantius, the father of Constantine, became augustus. That in the Roman East ended formally when the dying Galerius issued his Palinode in 311: They may once more be free to live as Christians and may re-form their churches provided they do nothing contrary to public order. In all, there were only 6 years of persecution in the West and 12 years in the East from 250 to 311 C.E. a span of 61 years.

FORMS OF RELIGIOUS LIFE: SYNEISACTISM

Documents from 250 C.E. point out to a phenomenon within the Church concerning virgines Deo dicatae (virgins dedicated to God) associating themselves with celibate males, including bishops, for mutual support and encouragement. These women were referred to in Greek as parthnos synesaktos [ ] and in Latin as virgines subintroductae [lit. virgins brought in/introduced into (a house)].

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HISTORY OF CONSECRATED LIFE BULLET POINTS FOR LECTURE 2 The geographical origin of these documents show how widespread Syneisactism was: Carthage (North Africa), Ancyra (Asia Minor), Elvira (Spain), Antioch (Syria), Bordeaux (France), and even in parts of Italy. Exactly when and how Syneisactism originated is not clear. Some opine that Paul alludes to the phenomenon in 1 Corinthians: Have we not every right to take a Christian woman (gynaika) around with us, like all the other apostles, the brothers of the Lord, and Cephas? (1 Cor 9:5). The repeated reference to it in patristic writings, synodal injunctions, and canons down to the 604 C.E. attests to its prolonged existence four to five centuries at least; Syneisactism showed the conviction in certain segments of early Western Christianity that oneness in Christ was able to eliminate barriers of gender so as to allow for close, interpersonal male/female relationships outside the bonds of regular marriage. Some of these celibates (male and female) saw the spiritual relationship as a substitute for real marriage, so-called castimony or spiritual marriage. There was a strong economic rationale for the popularity of syneiscatism. A woman who wanted to lead a virginal life, but did not come from a family which could support a single girl, or a woman without any family or means of self-support at all, found financial sustenance by living with celibate men in castimony. For men in syneisactism, the benefit was obvious. They were not only attended by women beyond all suspicion, but they also performed a constant act of charity in introducing these virgins into their house. However earnest was the intention of the men and women in syneisactism, rumors abound concerning their lifestyle. The acerbic Jerome wrote around the 4th century: Where did these unwedded wives come from, these novel concubines, these harlots (I call them such even though they cling to one partner)? They share the same house, the same room, and often the same bed, and yet they call us suspicious if we fancy anything amiss. A brother leaves his unmarried sister; a virgin, slighting her unmarried brother, seeks a brother in a stranger. Both profess to have one purpose to obtain spiritual consolation from those not relate to them. (Letter of Jerome to Eustochium, 22) Cyprian of Carthage wrote around 255: (You asked us) what we thought of those virgins who, after having once determined to continue in their condition, and firmly to maintain their continence, have afterwards been found to remain in the same bed side by side with menWe must interfere at once with such as these, that they may
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HISTORY OF CONSECRATED LIFE BULLET POINTS FOR LECTURE 2 be separated while yet they can be separated in innocence. By and by they will not be able to be separated by our interference Moreover, what a number of serious mischief we see to have arisen hence; and what a multitude of virgins we behold corrupted by unlawful and dangerous conjunctions of this kind, to our great grief of mind. (Cyprian to Pomponius, 61) Fear of scandal (real or imagined) brought abouth the reprimanding and even prohibition of Syneisactism in the local synods of Elvira (ca. 306) and Ancyra (314). The Council of Nicaea (325) also provided that the great Council stringently forbids any bishop, presbyter, deacon, or any one of the clergy whatever, to have a syneisaktos dwelling with him, except only a mother, or sister, or aunt, or such persons only as are beyond suspicion. (Canon no. 3) Syneiscatism persisted after the Council of Nicaea. However, for a variety of reasons (e.g., actual abuse, fear of scandal, jealousy of prelates who viewed the male partners as usurpers of the bishops power), traces of Syneisactism disappeared by the late 7th century.

FORMS OF RELIGIOUS LIFE: VIRGINS WITH FAMILIES AND VIRGINS IN COMMUNITIES

Another form of consecrated virginity for women (as well as men) during this period involved incorporation with ones own family. The parents of these consecrated virgins were not to impede in any way those who desire with fervor to practice virginity, be they a son or a daughter, a servant or a maid. The homilies lay heavy emphasis on the relationship between a father and his daughter wishing to consecrate herself as a virgin. The father has to ascertain his daughters capacity to lead the life of a virgin of God: her comportment has to be measured, her gestures regulated, her eyes respectful. He ought to be conscious of her thoughts, her love for all matters human and divine, her endurance in fasting, and her works of Christian charity. No man is to be allowed near her, not even under the pretext of religion. He is not to allow the daughter to visit the church at night and to attend funerals. He must constantly guard her bed; he must control her laughter, anger, and words, in short all her passions and desires. This dedication through virginity, for both sexes, is spoken of as an engagement to Christ. But it is a private, personal declaration, made within the family under the auspices of the paterfamilias.
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HISTORY OF CONSECRATED LIFE BULLET POINTS FOR LECTURE 2 We know from the Life of Antony that around 270 C.E., Antony placed his younger sister in the charge of respected and trusted virgins. Based on the Egyptian Canons of Hippolytus, these virgins would have included both virgins and widows living in virginity. They were required to fast frequently, lead a chaste life, and pray for the Church. They also did not live subintroductae with the clergy. But these women lived as part of their village. According to the Historia Monachorum in Aegypto, these virgins and widows outnumber their male counterparts by two to one. Documents from the period and later spoke of an organization of apotactic nuns [ = monacha potaktika] involved in various commercial transactions that include lines of credit and the transfer of goods. Such an organization appears to fit a pre-Antonian form of Christian asceticism in which hesychasm (flight from the world) was not primary. Thus, their embracing of the solitary life does not preclude the use of their talents to help their brothers and sisters in the Lord. The Acta of Nymphodora, Menodora, and Metrodora describes the three as siblings who lived as recluses in a tumulus, a domelike mound formed in hardened lava, near the hot springs of Pythiis (Asia Minor). They were spiritual elders and mentors to many and were known for their powerful healing prayers. The Acta of Theodosius of Ancyra described the life of seven old veiled-virgins led by a seventy-year-old presbytera parthenos Tekousa. They were seven virgins, from their earliest age trained in abstinence, each of them educated to esteem continence above all and to have the fear of God always in their minds. Some of these communities of virgins emphasized a rigorous regime that rejected second marriages, attachment to worldly goods, and refused to readmit people who had lapsed under persecution. The chronicler Epiphanius described the life of these virgins: Often, in their own church, a group of seven virgins enters, carrying torches and clad in white robes, and they go out from there to prophesy to the people. They put on a kind of enthusiasm; they cause the people to weep, as though they were inducing the mourning of repentance, shedding tears and bewailing human life.

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HISTORY OF CONSECRATED LIFE BULLET POINTS FOR LECTURE 2

FORMS OF RELIGIOUS LIFE: APOTACTICS

The Life of Antony spoke of Antony following the example of an old man on a neighboring village who from his earliest youth led an ascetic life. Such an ascetic is not one who, in his quest for solitude [] fled to the desert, but one who remained an active member of his community. This form of asksis, whether practiced alone or in common with like-minded individuals, involved withdrawal from certain social patterns of human life, specifically family and sex. The apotactics [] represented a class of male ascetics in Egypt who at last followed the pattern long set for virgins and widows, and set up houses of their own in town, in which the life of renunciation and service in the church would be practiced. It is known that their numbers were large and lived in villages within Egypt and even Pannonia (present day Hungary) They were not clerics, and evidences point that the apotactics clashed head-on with clerical authorities in doctrinal, economic, and legislative terms. Jerome labeled them as remnuoth: They live together in small groups within the cities, refuse to subordinate themselves to anyone, quarrel frequently, dress ostentatiously and sigh constantly for the effect, visit virgins, and disparage the clergy. (Jerome to Eustochium, 22.34) The unfavorable literary efforts of the likes of Athanasius and Jerome, as well as the subsequent development of anchoritic monasticism (Antony) and coenobitic monasticism (Pachomius) brought an end to apotactism in the 4th century.

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