Review article
Origin and Development of First Christian Communities
Stipe Nimac
; Catholic Faculty of Theology, University of Split
Abstract
This study deals with the origin and development of the
first Christian communities starting from Jesus’ movement and
evangelical communities to the Edict of Milan.
One cannot say that Jesus founded a community during his
lifetime activity. It is more appropriate to say that initially Jesus’
movement was actually an internal Jewish renewal movement. The
first communities and the institutionalization of the core ideas and
values of that movement emerge only after Jesus’ resurrection and
ascension.
The Christians first gathered in the Temple, and broke bread
“at homes”. Then, gradual separation from Jewish tradition
and Temple follows. They stopped gathering in the Temple and
gathered only in houses at “breaking the bread”. These Christian
communities already show some specific characteristics of the
Church as a whole: martyria, leiturgia, diakonia, koinonia. The
communities are mainly formed according to two models, i.e.
either according to Johannine or Pauline model: in Pauline model
the head of the community is not a superior but a presbyterian or
episcopal collegium dependant on Paul; in Johannine communities
there is a superior who is at the same time a sign of the Church’s
unity. Regarding the pastoral structure, in this historical period
there are several types of communities: a closed city community
headed by bishop, an open city community headed by bishop; nonurban
communities headed by bishop and priestly communities.
In conclusion, in this period we cannot talk about the parish in
the modern sense of the word, but about the communities which
in an intimate circle celebrate liturgical actions.
Keywords
Jesus’ movement; ancient communities; first Church; home Church; types of Christian communities; parish; titulary churches
Hrčak ID:
84260
URI
Publication date:
11.7.2012.
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