James And The Early Jerusalem Church
HOW THINGS WORK – CONSIDERATION #149
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Tuesday August 13, 2024
“The Greek Orthodox theologian Philip Sherrard has written that ‘Creation is nothing less than the manifestation of God's hidden Being.’ This means that we and all other creatures live by a sanctity that is inexpressibly intimate, for to every creature, the gift of life is a portion of the breath and spirit of God.”
– Wendell Berry (Christianity and the Survival of Creation)
PREFACE
Welcome Everybody!
Generally, we consider the Roman Catholic Church to be the dominant sect of Christianity until the Protestant Reformation under Martin Luther in 1517 CE. However, there is also a “Greek Catholic Church” that follows its roots back to the apostle James and the original Jerusalem Church.
“The first elected Bishop of the Church of Jerusalem was James the Brother of Christ (+62) who shouldered the pastoral care of the whole Christian community. He himself struggled personally for the internal organization of the Church and proved a counseling leader of the whole ecclesiastic life from the first days of the dissemination and prevalence of Christianity.”
– “History of the Church of Jerusalem” (atlantaserbs.com)
The Greek Orthodox Church, or Eastern Orthodox Church, recognizes the original Jerusalem Church as the “Mother” of all Christian Churches.
“This Church despite the persecutions of the apostles and the internal strife between the Hellenists and the Jewish Christians gradually grew larger and in a short time was recognized by all the Christians as the Mother of all the Churches.”
– “History of the Church of Jerusalem” (atlantaserbs.com)
According to Greek orthodoxy, James is responsible for setting up the original “catechism” of Christianity and finding a solution to the “Jewish/Gentile” problem related to Gentile converts being required to follow Jewish Law. In the Greek Orthodox tradition James was stoned to death by the temple priests in Jerusalem.
“Specifically he defined the ecclesiastic Order, he provided for the divine worship and composed according to tradition the text of the first divine Liturgy, which were adopted by the other sibling Churches from Jerusalem. Finally regarding the issue of the relationship of the Law of the Old Testament with the Holy Gospel, namely the disagreements between Jewish Christians and Ethnic (Hellenist) Christians, he provided the solution as president of the Apostolic Synod and emerged as the head exarch among the Apostles and leader of the hierarchs. For his major contribution for the dissemination and consolidation of the new religion, the Sadducees together with the Scribes and the Pharisees condemned him to a martyric death by stoning.”
– “History of the Church of Jerusalem” (atlantaserbs.com)
The Welcome Page of the Saints Peter and Paul Serbian Orthodox Church of Atlanta, an Eastern Orthodox Church, reads as follows:
We are a Serbian Orthodox parish, part of the oldest Christian tradition dating back to 33 A.D., the day of Pentecost. We trace our roots back to the Apostles and their teachings. We are a stronghold of the moral, theological, liturgical and spiritual traditions of the Early Church. We invite you to come and join us to experience the worship of Early Christianity in a modern setting.
atlantaserbs.com
This week we will consider the very first Christian Church established in Jerusalem by the original apostles led by the obscure and enigmatic apostle known as “James, the brother of the Lord.”
CONSIDERATION #149 – James and the Early Jerusalem Church
The first Christian church was not established in Rome, it was established in Jerusalem by Peter immediately after the Pentecost. However, when Peter is forced to flee Jerusalem, James becomes the leader of the Jerusalem Church.
“The foremost authority on James is Dr. Robert Eisenman, who I was fortunate enough to have had as a professor for several graduate classes…”
Our understanding of James is a conglomeration of Biblical reference, Biblical inference, and other non-biblical texts from the time. The foremost authority on James is Dr. Robert Eisenman, who I was fortunate enough to have had as a professor for several graduate classes at California State University Long Beach. This is where I was first introduced to the unique tradition of the original Jerusalem Church and its forgotten influence on Christianity.
“In fact, the only truly exhaustive study of the apostle to date is Robert Eisenman’s magnum opus, James the Brother of Jesus: The Key to Unlocking the Secrets of Early Christianity and the Dead Sea Scrolls (1997). The thousand-page tome is one of the few recent works devoted to the subject of James, and it offers much carefully argued evidence about the apostle… Unlike most treatments, which are reduced to arguments about whether James was a half brother of Jesus or a cousin (depending on the theology of whether Mary remained a virgin), Eisenman fully engages all the relevant evidence we have of the man.”
– Peter Nathan: James and Paul: Why the Conflict?
There are up to seven different “James’’ associated with Jesus in the New Testament. However, this James is unique. The James that becomes the first bishop of the Jerusalem Church is described as “the brother of the Lord.”
“Some readers will recall that in the early days of the Church, about 44 C.E., King Herod Agrippa killed the apostle James, the son of Zebedee and one of the original 12 (see Acts 12:1–2). Thus it must be another James to whom Luke refers in verse 17 of the same chapter, where he records that Peter sent news of his release from prison to someone named James. Though as many as seven different people by the same name have been identified in the New Testament, it is James the brother of Jesus (Galatians 1:19) who is the most likely in this case. As we have just seen, Jesus’ brothers were present with the apostles in Jerusalem as the Church began after Jesus’ departure (Acts 1:14). This same James appears later in Acts as the leader of the church at Jerusalem…”
– David Hulme: James, Brother of Jesus
Paul mentions James, Peter, and John as the three “pillars of the church.” However, James becomes the leader of the Jerusalem Church after Peter is forced to flee Jerusalem because of persecution.
“The leaders of the church then (St. Paul calls them ‘pillars’ in his Letter to the Galatians) were James, Peter and John. Many argue that this was not James the Apostle (James the Greater) but “James the brother of the Lord” (Gal 1:19). He was known as the Tzaddik, the Righteous Man. The earliest tradition of the Church is that he was the oldest son of Joseph, thus Jesus’ half-brother legally (though not biologically). He had not been one of Jesus’ followers—in fact, there were strained relations between Jesus’ family and his apostles—but was one of those Jesus appeared to after his resurrection (1 Cor 15:7).”
John F. Fink – The Early Christian Church In Jerusalem
James was known as a pious Jew, thus earning him the moniker, “James the Just.” He believed that Christianity was a sect of Judaism, and therefore Christians, including Gentile Christians, were obligated to follow Jewish practices and tradition. However, after coming into conflict with Paul over this issue he appears to soften his strict requirements for Gentile converts to Christianity. But there is still some evidence that James considered these Gentile converts to be “less righteous” than Jewish converts.
“James the Tzaddik was known to live an austere and ascetic life. He also considered himself to be a Jew. Although he was a layman, he was scrupulous about following the Jewish laws of ritual purity and was allowed to wear the priestly robes and to pray in the Court of the Priests in the Temple. So far as James was concerned, those who followed Jesus had to fulfill every commandment of the Jewish law, the Torah. In fact, they were to go beyond what was expected. They must live as exemplary Jews. So they could be found worshiping daily in the Temple.”
John F. Fink – The Early Christian Church In Jerusalem
Unlike the other apostles, James strictly maintains his Jewish heritage and is even well-respected by other Jews. However, some temple priests did not appreciate his Messianic message regarding Jesus and plotted to kill him.
“James became very well-known and influential in Jerusalem. Some say he was the only one allowed to enter the temple alone to pray, and because he prayed so often, people joked that he had ‘camel knees.’
His constant, daily prayer is why he was called James the Just. As far as everyone was concerned, no one was more righteous than him. He was a very devout Jew and held tight to Jewish law, but he also embraced his brother’s teachings…
James commonly spoke about Jesus when he preached, and the people loved it. But the temple priests did not. They still did not believe that Jesus was the Messiah. Despite that issue, the early church members promoted James to Lead Pastor of the Jerusalem church. The priests accepted his new position, but they didn’t like it.
He became widely known and very powerful in the early church. He likely even led a few Roman rulers to accept Jesus as God. Of course, this made the Pharisees even more upset for they feared they would lose their power and influence from people leaving the temple and joining the Christians instead.
So, the Pharisees plotted to kill James just as they did Jesus.”
– Steppes of Faith: The Unsettling Truth of James’ Martyred Death
There is no direct reference to James’ death in the New Testament, however it is commonly believed that he was stoned to death by the Jewish leaders of the temple.
“Although there is no Biblical record, according to the first-century Jewish historian Josephus, James was summoned by the Pharisees in A.D. 62 and accused of breaking Jewish law at the request of the outgoing high priest, Ananus. No one knows why Ananus wanted James to die other than what Josephus recorded, which was James ‘was of an exceeding bold and reckless disposition.’
James’ punishment was that he be stoned to death unless he publicly renounced Jesus.”
– Steppes of Faith: The Unsettling Truth of James’ Martyred Death
The second-century scholar and historian, Hegesippus, describes the event as follows:
“…They went up and threw down the just man [from the temple height] and said to each other, ‘Let us stone James the Just.’ And they began to stone him, for he was not killed by the fall, but he knelt down and said, ‘I entreat thee, Lord God our Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.’ One of them, who was a fuller [launderer], took the club with which he beat the clothes and struck the just man on the head. And thus he suffered martyrdom.”
– Biblical Archaeology Review, 2002
The irony of the most devout Jew in Jerusalem being put to death for not following Jewish Law upset many of the Jewish leaders, and Ananus was chastised and removed from his post immediately. Many believe it is this incident that leads to a rebellion against the Pharisees resulting in the Jewish-Roman War four years later; the ensuing consequences being the destruction of Jerusalem, the Holy Temple, and the Jerusalem Church.
POSTSCRIPT
After her destruction by the Roman armies, Jerusalem was demoted to a small and insignificant large village, built on the ruins of her glorious past…
– “History of the Church of Jerusalem” (atlantaserbs.com)
The strong influence and impact of the Jerusalem Church was cut short when Rome destroyed the city of Jerusalem in 70 CE, including the destruction of the second temple. It was also responsible for destroying the Jerusalem Church along with the rest of the city. Jerusalem, the capital of Judaism and the birthplace of Christianity, was no more. With it, went the culture and traditions of the original Jerusalem Church founded by the apostles. The Eastern Orthodox Churches remain the closest modern incarnation of the original Jerusalem Church, founded by the original apostles in 33 CE.
“The Roman Catholic Church assumed a large amount of this power as feudal lords fought for political control of Western Europe.”
In 286 CE, emperor Diocletian divided the Roman empire into Eastern and Western empires. In 476 CE the Western Empire fell: leaving Western Europe in a power vacuum. The Roman Catholic Church assumed a large amount of this power as feudal lords fought for political control of Western Europe. The fall of the Eastern Empire occurred in 1453 CE when their capital city of Constantinople fell to the Ottoman Empire, an Islamic caliphate. After the fall of both Romes, the Roman Catholic Church emerges as the essential spiritual and political power influencing Western culture.
In 1895 CE the Patriarch of Constantinople, Anthimus VI, responded to Pope Leo XIII’s invitation to re-unite into one universal church (under his authority) with the following open letter:
“The Western Church, from the tenth century downwards, has privily brought into herself through the papacy various and strange and heretical doctrines and innovations, and so she has been torn away and removed far from the true and orthodox Church of Christ. How necessary, then, it is for you to come back and return to the ancient and unadulterated doctrines of the Church in order to attain the salvation in Christ after which you press.”
– Ecumenical Patriarch Anthimos (Synodal reply to the Encyclical of Pope Leo XIII, 1895)
The Orthodox Catholic Church, or Eastern Orthodox Church, is currently the second-largest Christian church with over 200 million baptized members.
Next week we will consider the impact of Paul’s teaching on Christian theology after the fall of Jerusalem…
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• UNTANGLING THE KNOTS OF REALITY: Podcast #108 – “Untangling Traditional Religious Concepts”
How is Artificial Intelligence connected to the Spiritual Paradigm? How do Mathematics and Language define human reality? How does time affect both language and mathematics? How are the words used in theology, like fingers pointing at the moon? Why has solving the “mind-body” paradox become an existential crisis for our species? These are some of the knots we will attempt to untangle in this week’s podcast. That’s a lot of religious concepts for one podcast! So, let’s get started…
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