RELG 330 - History of Christianity
Course Notes
Chapter 7
Page 85 - "Women who attempted to pray with uncovered heads" - At that time, and in that community, for a woman to appear in public with an uncovered head was a sign that she was a prostitute looking for customers. Corinth was a sea-port filled with sailors, and was also the site of a temple with several hundred prostitutes who descended on the town every night
Worship Services
During the Second century the worship services were quite simple. There were probably meetings early every day, and the Eucharist every Sunday. There were readings from the writings of the Apostles, and collections of food and clothing for those in need. Worshipers stood to pray, with their hands raised. Prayers at the Eucharist were not yet in a set form, but were extempore, though they included Jesus' words over the Bread and the Wine. They fasted on Wednesdays and Fridays.
By the Third century the services had become more standardized. They included readings from the Old and New Testaments. The local bishop presided over the service and gave a sermon based on the Scripture readings. There were prayers for those in need, and for the Roman Emperor and the Empire.
Private devotions of Christians during the second and third centuries
Some Christians prayed three times a day (following Dan. 6:10 - on getting up, at noon, and at going to bed), others prayed seven times a day (following Psalm 119:164). They might also pray before getting into a bath (in memory of their baptism). Tertullian advised Christians to kneel for prayer, except when they stood on Sundays. Prayer might be silent or aloud.
Page 90 - the Codex Sinaiticus - A "Codex" is a book, rather than a scroll. The Codex Sinaiticus is the oldest book containing all the Books of the New Testament. It also contains portions of the Old Testament and some other early Christian writings. It was written ca. 350 BC. It was found at St. Catherine's monastery at the foot of Mt. Sinai, and the monks may have been tricked into "loaning" it to the Russian Czar in 1859. The communists sold it to the British Museum in 1933.
The Codex Vaticanus dates to the fourth century and may be the oldest surviving (nearly) complete copy of the whole Bible. It is missing some of the pages from the beginning and the end (Genesis, the Pastoral Epistles and Revelation) due to damage through the years. It is kept in the Vatican Library.
The Rylands Fragment is a small piece of papyrus containing part of the text of John
It is known to scholars as the "John Rylands Fragment P52" because it is housed in the John Rylands Museum in Manchester, England. "P" indicates that it is papyrus, rather than vellum or other material, "52" is its identification number
Copyright © 2005 Shirley J. Rollinson, all Rights Reserved
