(Current notable autocephalous churches include those of Constantinople, Russia, Antioch, and Greece, among others. For all its faults, it has persevered in the faith of its ancestors, both as an established church—as in Greece today—and as a persecuted church—as in the Soviet Union. The Orthodox Church possesses a rich cultural history and nearly unrivaled theological depth that attracts converts, even where the Church has fallen into evangelistic passivity. With the establishment of the formal church, the development of creeds and formal theology, this view of God as Omni-Everything became nearly universal in the Christian World. Orthodoxy reflects an early Christianity with all its beauty and with all its faults. Influences of Hellenistic Philosophy on Christianity [Here we have another account of the influence of Hellenistic philosophy on Christianity, from 1997 TA Mike Bone.] Since God was perfect, any change would make him less than perfect, so they asserted that God was unchanging, or immutable. [5] Ware, Orthodox Church, 7. [43], As a result, the Orthodox Church, particularly its “approaches to prayer and worship,” has begun to attract the attention of other Christian denominations. [17], It seems strange that a Church that places so much emphasis on the authority of councils has not called an ecumenical council since 787, particularly considering that the Roman Church has called many in the intervening years—one as recent as the 1960s. These churches together make up the modern Eastern Orthodox Church. Anselm of Canterbury, a priest, monk, and philosopher defined God as the "Being than which no greater can be conceived." ), While the Patriarch of Constantinople holds a place of special honor, like the Archbishop of Canterbury within the Anglican Communion, he is the “first among equals” and “does not have the right to interfere in the internal affairs of other Churches.”[4], While, as in Catholicism, bishops are essential to the Church’s ecclesiastical structure, there is no Eastern Orthodox pope. In this post in my series “God and Man at Yale Divinity,” I share my paper on Hellenistic Christianity, otherwise known as Eastern Orthodoxy. [13] Payton, 111, 13; Ware, Orthodox Church, 223-24; Garvey, 34; Timothy Ware, The Orthodox Way: Revised Edition (Crestwood, NY: St. Vladimir’s Seminary Press, 1995), 61. Different hierarchies from different national churches exist side by in contradiction to the Orthodox requirement of “one bishop in one city.”[40], A Russian-led effort to unify the various factions into one American Orthodox Church fell apart at the onset of the Russian Revolution, leaving the current situation—which a previous Ecumenical Patriarch labeled a “scandal”—intact. Martyr was an early apologist, explaining Christianity to this new Greek flock within their own system of philosophy. But of course it is not unique to him or to Christianity. [11] Ware, Orthodox Church, 21; Payton, 132, 37-38; Fairbairn, 68-73. The cultural tradition of the Greeks is called Hellenism. Consequently, Hellenistic Christianity places great emphasis on the authority of councils of bishops, which the Church believes to be “the chief organ whereby God has chosen to guide his people…”[7] While all councils possess some level of authority, only ecumenical councils are considered infallible. Adrian Fortescue, The Uniate Eastern Churches, ed. Early Christianity and Hellenistic Judaism Peder Borgen These studies break new ground in the exploration of early Christianity and Judaism towards the end of the Second Temple period.Professor Borgen introduces fresh perspectives on many central issues in the complexity of Judaism both within Palestine and in the Diaspora. 1. Consequently, “[n]ationalism has been the bane of Orthodoxy for the last ten centuries.”[31] As a result, for those living outside such nations, “Orthodoxy often seems a badge of ethnicity, something alien and exotic.”[32], Such nationalism was strengthened after the fall of Constantinople to the Turks in 1453. This makes them very fit to take the gospel crossculturally. [34] See Bartholomew, 13; Payton, 38; Fortescue, Orthodox Church, 240; Fairbairn, 146. Remaining currents of Hellenistic Judaism in all probability, as would be expected, merged into gnostic movements in the early centuries CE. As Christianity spread throughout the Hellenic world, an increasing number of church leaders were educated in Greek philosophy. This is in reference to the origins and beliefs of early Christianity, so before 500 AD. They are a mixture, having spent their formative years in two cultures: their parents' home culture and their parents' place of service. Christianity and Hellenistic philosophies experienced complex interactions during the first to the fourth centuries. The cross and the empty tomb are intrinsically linked. In those philosophies, Forms were the ideals of every object in the physical world, and objects in the physical world were merely shadows of those perfect forms. Because church lines have generally been synonymous with state lines, church membership was often as much a cultural marker as an expression of religious belief. Hellenistic Christianity is notable for its combination of Greek philosophy, ethics and morality with Christian belief. [40] Garvey, 34; see also Ware, Orthodox Church, 174-75. [26] Fortescue, Orthodox Church, 420; Ware, Orthodox Church, 275, 277, 283. Ware, Orthodox Church, 2, 13, 51, 291; John Garvey, “Eastern Orthodoxy,” The Atlantic, May 1989, 34; Bartholomew, 3, 57. Hellenistic Christianity represents one of the most ancient expressions of the Christian faith still in practice today. [35], Such nationalistic missteps are rooted deep in its early history as an established church of empire. There were Platonists, Aristotelians, Stoics and Epicureans each espousing a differing interpretation of the world around them. Concerning the Eucharist, while the Orthodox Church affirms the real presence of Christ in the elements, it eschews attempts to explain exactly how this happens. From the chapter on “Liturgy and Theology and Byzantine Culture” in The Formation of Christendom by Christopher Dawson (Sheed & Ward, 1967): The essential achievement of the patristic age was the synthesis of Eastern religion and Western culture, or, to be more precise, the uniting of the spiritual traditions of Hellenism and the … The Septuagint was created three hundred years before Christ. Size, intelligence, beauty, power, benevolence, and so forth: all the qualities are called perfections. Sadly, the strife between the two groups was not automatically eliminated by their conversion to Christianity, as the complaints concerning food distribution to widows of the two groups show. Upon the Jews' return from exile in Babylon, they endeavored to protect their national identity by following the law closely. They then concluded that God was omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent and omnibenevolent. [15] Ware, Orthodox Church, 229; see also Payton, 98-99, 121-22; Fairbairn, 79-81. http://www.theaudiopedia.com What is HELLENISTIC JUDAISM? HELLENISM, term generally used by historians to refer to the period from the death of Alexander the Great (323 B.C.E.) Despite its heritage, however, Hellenistic Christianity is not limited to the territories of the former Greek Byzantine Empire. Almost 200 years later, Thomas Aquinas, in his Summa Theologiae, article 3, wrote succinctly: "By 'God', however, we mean some infinite good". [44] In addition, Western theologians dissatisfied with the penal substitution theory of the atonement have begun to give the Orthodox view a fresh look.[45]. Shaped the world-view in which the NT writers articulated the Christian revelation. Icons hold a prominent place in the life and worship of the Orthodox Church. In contrast, the West was able to maintain relative unity for fifteen hundred years before Martin Luther nailed his ninety-five theses to the door of the Castle Church in Wittenberg, Germany in 1517. Just look at Christianity. Photo by Saint-Petersburg Theological Academy is licensed under CC BY-ND 2.0. What is more intelligent is more perfect as regards intelligence, what is more beautiful is more perfect as regards beauty, and so forth. The Hellenization of Christianity was a complex interaction between Hellenistic philosophy and early Christianity during the first four centuries of the Common Era. The "Christian" churches of this world are predominantly antinomian to some extent. Prof. Jerry Dell Ehrlich in his book Plato's Gift to Christianity also lays out the importance of the Septuagint upon the Hellenistic world and upon Christianity. [28] See Ware, Orthodox Church, 3-4; Bartholomew, 2-3. In the Septuagint, Greek words led to the Hellenization of the Jews at home and in the Diaspora. Christianity - Christianity - The early liturgy, the calendar, and the arts: St. Paul’s letters mention worship on the first day of the week. It held, in contrast to Nominalism, that things such as "green" and "big" were known as universals, which had a real existence in an abstract realm, as described by Plato. Some of these churches remained in communion with Rome at the time of the Great Schism, while others entered back into communion at a later date. Hellenistic Christianity. It is the first of three Read more…, Spread the loveIn this post in my series “God and Man at Yale Divinity,” I share my paper comparing pluralism and inclusivism and how they relate to understandings of personal salvation and religious diversity. Unlike Catholicism, however, men married before ordination may enter the priesthood. There's a substantial gap in most religions between religious practices and source mythology. Rather, according to Orthodox belief, the icons in the sanctuary remind the congregants, through the divine liturgy, that they are with Christ and the saints worshiping together in God’s presence. [8], The source of Orthodox authority is “Tradition”—to be distinguished from “traditions,” which are simply customary ways of doing things. Icons and fasting periods are unique aspects of such communal worship. [4] Ware, Orthodox Church, 7; Bartholomew, Encountering the Mystery (New York: Doubleday, 2008), 1-2. [41] Ware, Orthodox Church, 174-75; Garvey, 34. [39] Lamin Sanneh, Translating the Message: The Missionary Impact on Culture, 2nd ed. Indeed, Orthodox missions in Africa began when Anglican converts came to the Church, not as a result of contacts with Orthodox believers, but through personal study. [35] Philip Jenkins, The Next Christendom: The Coming of Global Christianity (New York: Oxford University Press, 2002), 95-96. Google Scholar With reference to Hahn he further writes: ‘To be sure, Hellenistic Jewish Christianity was a mediating element between the Aramaic-speaking Jewish Christianity of Palestine and Hellenistic Gentile Christianity. In particular, Martyr used the Greek concept of internal and external thought to illustrate Jesus Christ'… Fortescue, Orthodox Church, 152-54; Fairbairn, 15-16. Orthodox territory then became officially isolated—after centuries of deteriorating relations—from the Latin West in 1054 with the Great Schism that separated the Orthodox and Roman Catholic Churches.[30]. It has expanded over the centuries into other lands and encompasses all churches in communion with the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople. Hellenistic Christianity represents one of the most ancient expressions of the Christian faith still in practice today. I have also included a pdf copy of my paper below for those who prefer that format. 620).[2]. [41], The Orthodox Church, with its resistance to both doctrinal and liturgical change, has subjected itself to the charge of being “an ossified relic of the Christian past.”[42] Far from being a dead institution, however, the Church has preserved a very early form of Christianity and stands as an ever-present witness to continuously modernizing Western churches. Hellenistic (2 Occurrences) Noah Webster's Dictionary (a.) The opposition of the Jews to them led to breaches of the peace. Interestingly, the Orthodox Church holds that this “first among equals” position rightly belongs to the Pope. [23] Fairbairn, 43; Ware, Orthodox Church, 300; Fortescue, Orthodox Church, 426; see Bartholomew, 81-84. MKs--missionary kids--are ulturally "green." A common criticism of historic orthodox Christianity is the claim that early Christianity was corrupted by the intellectual forces of 'Hellenism.' [46] Orthodoxy offers heritage, a link to the past. (Stromata 6. What makes a council ecumenical, however, is not any particular trappings or procedures—though broad participation from across the entire Orthodox Church is generally a prerequisite—but whether the whole Church accepts its decrees. [14] Ware, Orthodox Church, 225; see also Payton, 122-24. The Orthodox Church, for example, denies the Augustinian idea of inherited guilt and the related Calvinist tenant of total depravity. Bartholomew, 6, 20-21, 25; Payton, 175, 78-79; Ware. [37], One Catholic scholar criticized the Orthodox Church’s missionary apathy toward the Arabs, arguing that Orthodox leaders “allowed [the Arabs] to remain pagan, while they quarreled over abstruse points of theology, and intrigued for the Emperor’s favor at the court.”[38] A successful mission among the Arab peoples would have required an “adaptive response to the message,” which the elites of the Imperial Church could not abide. While these are the same sacraments as those found in the Catholic Church, the Orthodox administer them in unique manners. Baptism, for example, is always performed by immersion, even on infants. Thus, the Christians could very well be unpopular, and they often were. What is often missed is the Greek influences on Christianity, that Christianity is as Hellenistic as it is Jewish. If you've enjoyed my website and would like to help me keep it going, I would really appreciate it. In addition, infants receive both confirmation and the Eucharist. Through stumblings, shortcomings, and adversities, the Orthodox Church has persisted, safeguarding the traditions handed down to it and persevering as an ever-shining light from the too often forgotten Christian East. [11] As Saint Athanasius wrote, “For, [Christ] was made man, that we might be made gods.”[12], As a result, the anthropology of Hellenistic Christianity differs from prevailing Western views. Christianity - Christianity - Relations between Christianity and the Roman government and the Hellenistic culture: The Christians were not respectful toward ancestral pagan customs, and their preaching of a new king sounded like revolution. [3] Donald Fairbairn, Eastern Orthodoxy through Western Eyes (Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 2002), 25-26. “We did not set out to discover Orthodoxy. Daniel W. Graham and James L. Siebach, "Philosophy and Early Christianity," 210-220. Christian Hellenism — The Foundation of Western Culture. The Platonic concepts of realism, perfection and a god that defined as infinite thus became incorporated into Christian medieval philosophy. The Platonic Theory of Forms had an enormous influence on Hellenic Christian views of God. See Bartholomew, 13; Payton, 38; Fortescue, Satan and the Problem of Evil: Constructing a Trinitarian Warfare Theodicy, Progressive Revelation of the Divine Character, Joseph Ratzinger and the Purpose of Theology, Pluralism v. Inclusivism: Salvation and Diversity. We set out to find out what the ancient Church was really like, and in doing so we discovered Orthodoxy.”[49]. The Incarnation was “part of the eternal purpose of God, and not simply…an answer to the fall.”[14], It is unsurprising, therefore, that the Orthodox Church presents the crucifixion in a unique light as well. Hellenistic Christianity could also arguably include some of the Uniate Churches, which are churches with heritages in the old Patriarchates of Constantinople, Alexandria, Antioch, and Jerusalem that are today in communion with the Pope. Many schools of thought made up Hellenism. [16] Payton, 126; Ware, Orthodox Way, 80-81. The Hellenistic period begins formally with the arrival of Alex­ander the Great in the Near East in 334BCE, but this date is not the beginning of Greek influence in the region. Elaine Ruth Fletcher, “Orthodox Leaders Closer to Unity,” Christianity Today, February 7, 2000, 30; see also Bartholomew, 6. Churches that have not achieved autocephalous or autonomous status, however, generally fall under the Ecumenical Patriarch’s jurisdiction. [10], At the heart of Orthodox theology is deification, or theosis, the process by which God saves humanity. [26], Eastern Orthodoxy claims to possess a history free of “Reformations or Counter-Reformations.”[27] However, this history obscures reality. Philosophical realism was the dominant philosophical school of Anselm's day, and stemmed from Platonism. Christian engagement with Hellenistic philosophy is reported in the New Testament in Acts 17:18 describing the Apostle Paul's discussions with Epicurean and Stoic philosophers. [5] While some bishops may hold special honor, all bishops are nonetheless equal.[6]. James Atkinson, “Reform,” in Introduction to the History of Christianity, ed. George D. Smith, The Eastern Churches Trilogy (Piscataway, NJ: Gorgias Press, 2001), 1, 3-4, 7-8. Augustine of Hippo, who ultimately systematized Christian philosophy, wrote in the 4th and early 5th century. What does HELLENISTIC JUDAISM mean? Accordingly, if a concept could be formed in the human mind, then it had a real existence in the abstract realm of the universals, apart from his imagination. Through its preservation of ancient Christian beliefs and practices, Hellenistic Christianity stands as a living statement of the heritage all Christians share. Orthodox theologians have argued, for example, that God, in His love for humanity, would have become man even if humanity had not fallen. Stoicism and, particularly, Platonism were readily incorporated into Christian ethics and Christian theology. [15], Instead, “Christ is the victor over death.”[16] Therefore, in Orthodox theology, there is no salvation apart from the resurrection. Cook, "How Deep the Platonism," 269-286 in Farms Review of Books, vol. This is seen today in the labeling of the various Orthodox Churches by their national designations—the Russian Orthodox Church, for example. [18] In recent years, however, the Church has discussed the possibility of calling a new council to address contemporary issues it faces. Fasting also occupies an integral part of the Church’s communal liturgical cycle with a degree of rigor and asceticism generally lacking in the West. Hellenist definition is - a person living in Hellenistic times who was Greek in language, outlook, and way of life but was not Greek in ancestry; especially : a hellenized Jew. Tim Dowley (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2002), 366-68; see also Lamin Sanneh, Disciples of All Nations: Pillars of World Christianity (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2008), 65. Hellenistic Christianity sees in the crucifixion a great triumph for Christ, rejecting the emphasis on the cross “as an act of satisfaction or substitution to propitiate the wrath of an angry Father” that became predominant in the West after Anselm of Canterbury in the eleventh century. [2] Their unity comes not through a united ecclesiastical structure but liturgical and sacramental communion.[3]. All animal products, oil, and wine are forbidden during these times. Anselm of Canterbury composed the ontological argument for the existence of God, which he believed to be irrefutable. [45] See, for example, Gustaf Aulén, Christus Victor: An Historical Study of the Three Main Types of the Idea of Atonement, trans. [1] While maintaining its Hellenistic foundations, Eastern Orthodoxy is an ethnically diverse group of independently governed churches. This was my final paper for the World Christianity class that I took my first semester at Yale. [47], The Church has likewise attracted converts in the United States from a variety of backgrounds who found the Church on their own. Much of the Church’s uniformity stems from early Greek cultural hegemony resulting from two early schisms: the separation from the Church of the East in 431 and the separation from the Oriental Orthodox Church in 451.[28]. The Aristotelian view of God grew from these Platonic roots, arguing that God was the Infinite, or the Unmoved mover. Specifically, the doctrines of Trinity and the deity of … (Hellenism, of course, refers to the influence of ancient Greek philosophy and culture, which spread throughout the Mediterranean world after the conquests of Alexander the Great in the fourth century BC.) There is an emphasis on mystery within Orthodoxy that is often lacking in the West. Ibid., 27; see also Fortescue, The Orthodox Eastern Church, 10-11. [30] Ibid., 4; Bartholomew, 8; Payton, 33. Orthodox worship centers around communal expressions of faith. [7] Ware, Orthodox Church, 15; see also Garvey, 32. The Ecumenical Patriarch, therefore, occupies a position the Pope would hold in a reunited Church. Independence and autonomy are key features of the Orthodox churches. Platonic philosophers were able to theorize about the forms by looking at objects in the material world, and imagining what the "Perfect" tree, or "Perfect" man would be. It was my final paper for the History of Early Christianity class Read more…, In recent years, however, the Church has discussed the possibility of calling a new council to address contemporary issues it faces. While Lent is the West’s great time of fasting and prayer, there are four significant fasting periods in Orthodoxy (in addition to most Wednesdays and Fridays throughout the year): (1) Lent; (2) the Fast of the Apostles from eight days after Pentecost until 28 June; (3) the Dormition Fast from 1 to 14 August; and (4) the Christmas Fast from 15 November to 24 December. Philo's blend of Judaism, Platonism, and Stoicism strongly influenced Christian Alexandrian writers such as Origen and Clement of Alexandria, as well as, in the Latin world, Ambrose of Milan. Answer: Hellenism is the term used to describe the influence of Greek culture on the peoples the Greek and Roman Empires conquered or interacted with. In essence, he argued that because God is, by definition, the being than which no greater can be conceived, and it is more perfect to exist than not to exist, God must exist. In Orthodox teaching, people cannot be united with God unless they become like God themselves. (Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books, 2009), 75. Elaine Ruth Fletcher, “Orthodox Leaders Closer to Unity,”. [1] Timothy Ware, The Orthodox Church: New Edition (London: Penguin Books, 1997), 4. [43] See ibid., 47-48. Contacts between the Orthodox Church and their Arab neighbors in the centuries preceding the rise of Islam, for example, demonstrate a failure to translate the Christian faith into a form palatable to Arab culture. Christianity and Hellenistic philosophies experienced complex interactions during the first to the fourth centuries. This page was last edited on 18 November 2020, at 02:10. Ibid., 15. As in Roman Catholicism, a celibate episcopate leads the Eastern Orthodox Church. James Ridgway (Oxford: James Parker and Co., 1880), 54. Both Roman Catholicism and Protestantism belong to what can be termed Hellenistic Christianity, that is, a form of Christianity heavily influenced by Greek philosophies, particularly Gnosticism. The phrase "Hellenic polytheism" is actually, much like the word "Pagan," an umbrella term. The Church historian Eusebius suggested in his Praeparatio Evangelica that Greek philosophy, although in his view derivative, was concordant with Hebrew notions. By Tradition, the Church means “the faith and practice which Jesus Christ imparted to the Apostles, and which since the Apostles’ time has been handed down from generation to generation in the Church.”[9], Tradition includes particularly the Bible, the Nicene Creed, and the seven ecumenical councils. Therefore, the argument proceeded, God could not be conceived not to exist. 2 (1999). Plenty of texts from early Jewish and Christian history are currently entering translation or are being discovered, providing significant new historical context to the history of Christianity and its ideas. Nonetheless, the definition of “ancient” is relative. As a result, the Orthodox Church is particularly susceptible to losses caused by demographic changes in Europe where both population and religious participation are declining. Alt. James Beilby and Paul R. Eddy (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2006); Gregory A. Boyd, Satan and the Problem of Evil: Constructing a Trinitarian Warfare Theodicy (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2011), 36. Nonetheless, the nationalism persisted beyond its usefulness, and Orthodoxy has struggled to expand beyond its early strongholds in Eastern Europe. [33] Identification with the Church within the new Muslim empire allowed citizens of the former Greek-speaking Byzantine Empire to maintain a sense of cultural unity.[34]. We did not set out to discover Orthodoxy licensed under CC BY-ND 2.0 a. the Christianity... To breaches of the former Greek Byzantine Empire in Farms Review of Books vol. Men married before ordination may enter the sunshine of the Jews to led. Merged into gnostic movements in the early centuries CE in Introduction to the centuries! Orthodoxy reflects an early Christianity, ed an emphasis on mystery within Orthodoxy that is lacking. 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