The evidence is wafer thin.
I don't know how you can take an underground cave and say it could present itself as a first-century church.
Where did early Christians worship?
by BurnTheShips 19 Replies latest watchtower beliefs
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BurnTheShips
The evidence is wafer thin.
I don't know how you can take an underground cave and say it could present itself as a first-century church.
Agreed. But it is great for tourism.
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Narkissos
So far the Dura-Europos church seems to remain the earliest, safely-dated extant example; it is often described as a "house church," though, in the sense of a specifically dedicated part of a private domus -- which must have been the case of practically all "churches" in pre-Constantinian times btw; the mosaics in Meguiddo are less characteristic of a church (vs. a mere wealthy Christian home) and there doesn't seem to be any evidence that they are earlier anyway.
The pattern of house churches which the Pauline letters and Acts attest (according to the real meaning of the phrases kat'oikon, kat'oikous, mistranslated by the NWT as "from house to house") was the only possibility for a community already distinct from Judaism and still without public recognition. The flip side of this pattern is that it made the community dependent on wealthy patrons, according to the model of Roman clientelism. Whoever hosted the church had power on it. The church was an extension of a private household (including slaves, former slaves and clients; cf. Philemon). The diatribe on "rich" and "poor" in the epistle of James is an isolated but illuminating reaction to the social problems that could result from such an organisation.
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BurnTheShips
A side consideration.
I started in a "domus ecclesia" when I left the JWs (actually I attended in parallel to JWism during my last year). They seem to insist that the practice should be normative since it is the "model" present in the NT.
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SacrificialLoon
The catacombs in Rome was one place.
This was sometime after the 1st century, but there was a whole community that lived underground in Cappadocia in present day Turkey. -
writetoknow
It was not an issue for the early Christian it is only an issue for the religiously correct! They were the temple of God it required going nowhere.
Meeting with others was a part of their faith in order to encourage one another this could be two or more or one if they where in jail. They did not live in fear of not being at meetings or if they weren't at a meeting they were no longer the temple of God on earth.
God had stated He would never leave them da! They were the temple of God.
We worship not in this mountain or that mountain. The hour is coming and it is now that the true worshipers will worship with Spirit and Truth.
In fact they did not need a teacher because they were the temple of God.
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justhuman
They had many places, like public places, homes, catacombs, out in the fields, just to mention a few. When the persecution started they had to go underground to save themselves from been caught and send to the Roman arenas.
In the catacombs in Rome, Greece, Minor Asia, early Christians have their Churches underground. And if you take a look at them, they are very similar with the Orthodox Churches been build until know. The Iconography included scenes fron Jesus life, scenes from the Old Testament, and Christian Martyrs that died for their faith. The floor plan it was based according to Solomons Temple, with a seperation between the Temple and the Holy, were the Holy Table is placed.
In fact we have Churches from the first century with the characteristics I describe. When Christians after of 300 years of persecution finally they were free to build their Churches they did magnificent buildings like Saint Sofia in Constantinoupole
The foto of the Church below is a about 1000 years old, and build within the ruins of the a Basilica build around 320 AD
As I said before this Church is used by the Greek Orthodox Church, The Agglican Church, and the Catholic
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Solace1998
ancient christians worshipped in kingdom halls.
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hamilcarr
That's more than a side consideration. It goes at the heart of the matter of the restorationist house churches.
Were these domi ecclesiae compelling norms, excluding all later dedicated buildings from being valid places of worship? I don't think so ...
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writetoknow
Christ did not come to build and earthly temple or meetings places, on like groups today that boast of God's favor by the numbers of buildings and meetings.
God was making people His temple he was restoring what had been lost a spiritual relationship with Him the Father. The rightful place of worship had never been corrupted because it was in heaven the earthly temple was a small preview of the greather Spiritual temple of which Christain had become a part of.
Meetings were not emphasized for early Christain as the churches do today, To fund large groups require people being made to feel guility. Early Christain did not need to go some where to have God Spirit or be told what God Spirit was, they were the temple of God.
The Law and all the rules condemned them to death they had been set free, but the nature of people that don't walk in the Spirit is to make physical meetings and temples more important then the Spiritual temple. Seeing and being approved of men is more important then God's approval.