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Dr. Ann T. Orlando Course Structure and Requirements Meaning of word ‘priest’ in antiquity St. Augustine Sacrifice in City of God and The Trinity Objective: explore how the Church Fathers understood the meaning of ‘priest’ Requirements ◦ Class attendance ◦ Participation in weekly discussions MANDITORY (50% of grade) ◦ Papers submitted weekly (the other 50%) No ‘big’ paper ◦ Although I would be very happy for you to submit one No final NB This is a work in progress. I reserve the right to amend the syllabus as our study progresses Focus on primary readings Select specific theme Graded based on ◦ ◦ ◦ ◦ Theme Research (careful reading of primary sources) Discussion (insightful analysis) Composition Due on discussion day Morning hour ◦ Class discussion of texts read previous week ◦ Discussions should be based on short papers Afternoon hour ◦ Lecture ◦ Background on texts for coming week What is the sacrifice that is offered Who and how is one authorized to be a priest What is relation of priest to society Categories of priesthood ◦ Jesus Christ ◦ Old Testament and its relation to Jesus Christ ◦ Bishops and those ordained, and their relation to Jesus Christ ◦ Baptized faithful, and their relation to Jesus Christ Built on model of ‘beard of Aaron’ ◦ ◦ ◦ ◦ Priesthood of Christ Apostles Ordained ministers Laity From Psalm 133:2 (LXX 132), reflecting on Leviticus 8:22 ◦ It is like the precious oil upon the head, Coming down upon the beard, Even Aaron’s beard, Coming down upon the edge of his robes. Deeper appreciation of Church Fathers use of Scripture Deeper understanding of the priesthood A robust bibliography Understanding Informed by your insights A personal (spiritual) awareness of connection between my priesthood and suffering Deeper study of one Patristic author or period? Reading specific text Pastoral application? ??? Bible, preferably LXX for Old Testament Augustine selections primarily from New City Press translations Most others from Fathers of Church (CUA) translations Most are internet-accessible texts though BC Please bring a Bible to class each week ◦ Greek NT and LXX if you have it Idiosyncratic Selected Texts were NOT part of Introduction to Patristics ◦ ◦ ◦ ◦ ◦ I Clement Didache Ignatius of Antioch Tertullian John Chrysostom, On Priesthood A selection from Augustine will be included each week ◦ Not from Confessions ‘Priest’ etymologically from German via ◦ Latin, presbyter, via ◦ Greek, presbyteros ◦ Ancient Latin and Greek have basic meaning of elder, or a community leader, which may or may not have a religious connotation Our use of ‘priest’ includes more precisely the liturgical connotations of ◦ Latin, sacerdos ◦ Greek, hiereus Greek word for ‘priest’ or one who is associated with a temple and religious rituals In Stoicism a priest was a wise man whose sacrifice was his study of the cosmos In the LXX: ◦ Genesis first (only) used at 14:18 in reference to Melchizedek; only other references are in Ch 47 concerning the Egyptian priests ◦ First used in Exodus 2:16 describing Jethro as a priest of Midian; Who are the elders (presbyteros) and who are the priests (hiereus) in Exodus 19…read Ex 18 and 19 Aaron and his sons commissioned as priests Ex 28 In Philo of Alexandria, priest and Word (logos) are one In NT High priest (Archiereus) ◦ See On Drunkenness (Ebr 126-128) ◦ Fusing of Stoic ‘priest’ with Levitical priest ◦ In Gospels, ‘priest’ refers exclusively to Levitical (Temple) priesthood; not to Jesus or His followers ◦ Hebrews is the primary study of Jesus as priest ◦ 1 Peter 2 refers to followers of Jesus as being a priesthood (hierateuma) ◦ Book of Revelation is only place where followers of Jesus (martyrs) are called hiereus ◦ First mentioned in Lev 4:3 and Joshua 22:13 ◦ Figures prominently in I and II Maccabees as well as New Testament Associated with political ruler and appointed by king Means elder In Exodus, Moses calls the 70 leaders from each tribe the elders ◦ But can also mean the president of a college ◦ Oversee sacrifice of passover lamb for each family (Ex 12:21) ◦ Representatives from all the people, in distinction to Levitical (inherited) priesthood In Gospels refers to elders of Jews (Pharisees??) In Acts, Epistles and Revelation associated with followers of apostles as leaders of Christian communities (1 Peter 5:1, Peter refers to himself as a fellow elder) Literally means overseer, protector, watcher, patron ◦ Greek gods were sometimes said to be ‘episkopos’ when they were acting as protectors and patrons to humans ◦ In Cynic philosophy, an episkopos was a wondering preacher calling men to judgment for their sins ◦ Also used as a title for a municipal office of a magistrate (judge) In LXX ◦ God is referred to as episkopos as a judge of men (see Job 20:29, Wis. 1:6) ◦ Philo describes Moses as episkopos Christ is called episkopos in 1 Pt 2:25. Presbyters (elders) as episkopoi in Act 20:28 and 1 Pt 5:2 Episkopos as a distinct office in 1 Tim 3:1 ◦ See role of presbyters in 1 Tim 5 as teachers and preachers Hierov, or temple, the place where (pagan) priest offers sacrifice. Prior to 2nd C BC (Maccabees), heieron, not used in LXX. ◦ Rather God resides in ark, tabernacle ◦ Solomon builds a house of God (regardless of how it may be translated in English) Josephus frequently refers to Herod’s construction as the Temple New Testament frequently refers to Temple in Jerusalem Sacer: someone or something given to the Sacerdos: literally, one who does a sacred act gods ◦ No hereditary Roman priesthood ◦ All Roman citizens are priests in so far as they preside over their domestic household cult Sacramentum: Something given in bond or oath to the gods which makes the giver sacer ◦ Related to consecration Pontifex: priest of high ranking college of priests in Rome ◦ Responsible for Roman calendar ◦ Responsible for family ‘civil’ law such as adoptions and inheritance ◦ Recording events (births, deaths) Pontifex Maximus: Leader of the pontifex college of priests ◦ Elected office ◦ With Julius Caesar, also becomes a political office Basic definition: A priest is a person authorized to perform religious rituals Most important religious ritual: offering sacrifice This is true in pagan antiquity, ancient Judaism, Christianity Greek, thysia Latin, sacrificium First mentioned in Genesis 4; Cain and Abel Extensive description in Leviticus In Paul and Hebrews, Christ as the sacrifice ◦ In I Cor 10:14-22 Eucharist as sacrifice Related word: holokautoma (burnt offering) ◦ See for example, Genesis 22 and the ‘sacrifice’ of Isaac Literally means work of the gods ◦ NB Liturgy literally means work of the people Becomes important concept for Porphyry in 3rd C AD Theurgy is the Neoplatonic fusing of philosophy about the One and virtue with pagan cultic notions of liturgy ◦ Recommends performing rituals to purify the intellect and soul ◦ A way to ‘redirect’ common sacrificial practices to selfimprovement through meditation on the One ◦ Material sacrifice is a way to connect to love of the One ◦ Prayers to the One are important part of sacrifice Julian the Apostate attempts to replace Christianity with pagan theurgy Fall of Rome in 410 to Alaric had an enormous, devastating psychological impact The Goths sacking Rome were Arian Christians “My voice sticks in my throat, and as I dictate, sobs choke my utterance. The City which had taken the whole world, was itself taken.” St. Jerome 24 Augustine wrote City of God to explain how this could happen Traces the history of Roman Empire to show that without Christ Roman Empire was great only in eyes of man; human societies are destined to rise and fall Only true society is society of pilgrim Church moving toward heavenly Jerusalem ◦ But even pilgrim Church is a mixtures of wheat and tares Takes up many of themes of Confessions, plus Pelagian Controversy, plus theory of history and society, plus, plus, plus… Systematic work analyzing all of these issues 25 Marcus Dods, Modern Library (1886) Henry Bettenson, Penguin (1943) R. W. Dyson, Cambridge (1998) William Babcock, New City Press, 2 vol. (2013) 2 6 Augustine presents his arguments in 22 Books ◦ Gives directions as to their relationship Book I: Immediate historical circumstance ◦ Destruction, individual and civic unhappiness Part I: Books II – X, Happiness is from the true God ◦ Rome’s gods (civic theology) do not give happiness in this life (Books II-V) ◦ Philosophy’s god (natural theology) do not give happiness in the life (though it does better than the civic gods) (Books VI-X) Part II: Books XI-XII, Opposing cities of man and God ◦ Their different developments in history (Books XI-XVIII) ◦ Their different destinies (Books XIX-XXII) Review of desire for happiness and relation of happiness to worship of God X.1 ◦ Note Augustine’s ‘word work’ with Greek and Latin What the Platonist teach (X.2-X.3) True Christian sacrifice (X.4-X.6) Angels worship and obey God (X.7-X.8) Arguments against Porphyry (X.9-X.11) Miracles (X.12-X.19) Need for visible sacrifice (X.19-X.22) Against Porphyry’s concept of God, especially Christology (X.23-X.31) Conclusion (X.32) Written between 389 and 421 ◦ See “Letter 11 to Nebridius” ◦ Support of Nicene Creed against Arians and Platonists Outline ◦ Book I-IV: Biblical Foundations and Exegesis ◦ Books V – VII: Analysis and rebuttal of Christological heresies ◦ Books VII-XV: Lingual and philosophical analysis of Trinity; The image of Trinity in man: memory, knowledge, will And what priest could there be as just and holy as the only Son of God… Now there are four things to be considered in every sacrifice: 1. 2. 3. 4. Whom it is offered to Whom it is offered by What it is that is offered Whom it is offered for 1. 2. 3. 4. Would remain one with Him to whom He offered it And make one in Himself those for whom He offered it And be Himself who offered it One and the same as what was offered And this one true mediator, in reconciling us to God by His sacrifice of peace Read CoG Book X, especially X.1-8, 19-22, 32 (NCP available online at BC) ◦ civ. Dei PL (Patrologia Latina, Migne) 41, CSEL (Corpus Scriptorum Ecclesianticorum Latinorum) 40, CCL (Corpus Christianorum Latina) 47-48 Read De Trinitate IV.13-24 (NCP available online at BC as well as CUA FC 45 available online at BC) ◦ Trin. PL 42, CCL 50 Prepare paper #1