Scriptural Interpretations, Heresies, and the Seeds of Orthodoxy

The Heretics

Once tolerant of new ideas, the Church thereafter became intolerant of those that deviated from official Church doctrine as set by Church Council.  The first such Council was led by Constantine – so much for separation of Church and State . . .

Durant notes that oftentimes a Church heresy was associated with political rebellion.  The principal heresies of the fourth and fifth centuries were as follows:  Arianism was strongly associated with the barbarian invasion; it taught that Jesus was not literally the Son of God but of similar being with God.  Manicheism was associated with Persian dualism of God and Satan, Good and Evil, Light and Darkness.  The Donatists in Africa asserted that the sacraments would have no benefit when administered by a clergyman in a state of sin.  Pelagius argued against the doctrine of original sin. We will discuss his ideas more in our discussion of St. Augustine. Nestorius argued against the notion of the “Mother of God.  When he refused to recant at the Council at Rome in 430 A.D., he was deposed and excommunicated. Mopsuestia developed principles textual analysis of scripture, predating the principles of Higher Criticism. When he examined scripture with these principles, Mopsuestia concluded that the Book of Job was of pagan origin.  But, perhaps the claim that got him into the greatest trouble was that Mary was not the mother of God but the mother of the human Jesus.

Nestorius retired to Antioch, but because he insisted that Mary was not the mother of God, Emperor Theodosius II banished him to the Libyan desert.  Here is where church matters become entangled with political power and favor: the Byzantine court granted him an Imperial pardon. His followers settled in eastern Syria translating the Bible and classics. Will Durant tells us that they “played a vital part in acquainting the Muslims with Greek science, medicine, and philosophy.” Further persecution caused this sect and its ideas  to disburse into Persia, two areas of India, China and throughout Asia. Their communities survive to this day and still reject Mariolatery.

Eutyches taught that Jesus was not both human and divine, but only divine. The patriarch of Constantinople called a local synod and condemned his “Monophysite” doctrine as heretical. Eutyches appealed to Rome, and the church authorities there convinced Emperor Theodosius to call the Council at Ephesus in 449 A.D.. Essentially, appealing to the Roman political authority to take its fight with Constantinople with some clout, it held that religion was subordinated to politics. Eutyches was exonerated and Flavian, the patriarch of Constantinople, was assailed with such vitriol that he died. Upon Flavian’s last VS death there was no further need to support Eutyches.  The Roman church called to the Council at Chalcedon in 451 A.D., which compliantly condemned Eutyches, reaffirming the nature of Christ as both human and divine. The Church authorities in Syria continued to teach Eutyches’ Monophysistic doctrine, which thereafter became adopted by the Christian church-states of Egypt and Abyssinia.

Durant at p.50 writes ”The bishops of Rome, in the fourth century, did not show the Church at her best. . . . The conversion of the Western barbarians immensely extended the authority and influence of the Roman see. As rich and aristocratic families abandoned paganism for Christianity, the Roman church participated more and more in the wealth that came to the Western capital.” With political infusion of wealth into the Church, by 400 A.D., the Roman Catholic Church was able to build opulent churches.

The Saints

Approximately contemporaneous with heresy, were several persons who would be approved by the Church as Saints. The first of these is St. Jerome.  He was a passionate Christian. He founded a monastic brotherhood at Acquileia, choosing to leave it to its unrelenting wickedness to move in 374 A.D., to a monastic settlement in the desert near Antioch.  He found the atmosphere unhealthy fear and retreated to live as an anchorite in the desert.  He had been trained in the Latin classics, and while in the desert he studied those in addition to other subjects at least he did so until he had a dream that he had died and, as Durant quotes him, he was “dragged before the Judge’s judgment seat. I was asked to state my condition, and replied that I was a Christian. But He who presided said, ‘Thou liest; thou art a Ciceronian, not a Christian. For where thy treasure is, there will thy heart be also.’”  Then, as so many other persons of enlightenment have felt guilty for their thinking independent of the perceived authority, he felt the perceived scourge of that authority and succumbed to it.  In 379 A.D. he returned to Antioch, and was ordained a priest. He became a secretary to Pope Dasmasus, who commissioned him to make a new Latin translation of the New Testament. The extravagant atmosphere of the papal court seem to conflict with his aesthetic vows.  A Christian aristocrat couple admitted him to their home as their spiritual advisor. However, others believed that his enjoyment of the company of women contradicted his claimed commitment to celibacy.  He satirically castigated the pagan Roman society that criticized him. As Durant describe it at page 52, “He scolds a Roman lady in terms that suggest an appreciative eye.”  Again, as Durant describes it at page 53, “He is shocked to find, concubinage even among Christians, and more shocked to find it covered by the pretense of practicing chastity.”  Durant concludes at page 54, “Jerome was a saint only in the sense that he lived an ascetic life devoted to the church; he was hardly a saint in character or speech. It is sad to find in so great a man so many violent outbursts of hatred, misrepresentations and controversial ferocity. “

The next great saint of this era is St. Augustine ( 354 to 430 A.D.). Whereas St. Jerome was a passionate Christian from early years, St. Augustine’s mother was a devout Christian, but Augustine preferred the company of the most vile youth of his day. Durant quotes him at page 65 to say, despite his mother’s anxious pleas that he reject their life style and company,“ I ran headlong with such blindness that I was ashamed among my equals to be guilty of less impudency and . . . I heard [them] brag mightily of their naughtiness; . . . And I took pleasure to do it, not for the pleasure of the act only, but for the praise of it also; . . . And when I lacked opportunity to commit a wickedness that should make me as bad as the lost, I would feign myself to have done what I never did.”   It has been said that Augustine at some point in his early life, prayed, “Lord, give me celibacy . . . but not yet.”

For nine years, Augustine accepted Manichaean dualism as a proper explanation of the existence in the world of evil and good. His study of Plato and Plotinus influenced him toward  Neoplatonism, which was later to dominate Church theology and doctrine.

Like St. Jerome, St. Augustine had a visionary experience that led him to orthodoxy. One day, as Augustine sat contemplating, he heard a voice that kept ringing in his ears; “Take up and read; take up and read.” He picked up a Bible and read Paul: “Not in rioting and drunkenness, not in clamouring and wantonness, not in strife and envying; but put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh to fulfill the lusts thereof.”

He was moved by the sermons of St. Ambrose.  On Easter Sunday, 387 A.D., St. Ambrose baptized Augustine. Thereafter, Augustine and several of his friends who were baptized with him went to Africa where St. Augustine established in 388 A.D. the Augustinian order. That is the oldest monastic group in the Western church. He helped in administering a diocese, where he also preached eloquently, with renown. Four years later, the Bishop of that diocese died and, over his protests, Augustine was unanimously elected to fill that position.

With that ecclesiastical power, he undertook a long battle against the Donatists. Ultimately, the Donatists were ordered to hold no further meetings and turn all of their church property over to the Catholic Church. Previously, Augustine had held to the position that no person should be coerced into the Christian faith. But now that he was Bishop, he urged the Church to chasten the Donatists as a father might chastise an unruly son.

Augustine did have some concerns about the doctrines of the Church. He labored for many years to reconcile its doctrines with classical philosophic principles,  The Trinity, the problem of free will of man with the foreknowledge of God, and the problem of damnation for those predestined to do what they did, were really tough, but he managed to do so to his satisfaction.

Perhaps, considering his own youthful, morally rudderless  indulgences, Augustine concluded that humankind is born inclined to evil. That he attributed to Original Sin as inherited from Adam.  Being naturally inclined to evil, only the grace of God can turn man to good. “Through a woman we were sent to destruction; through a woman’s salvation was it restored to us.” Durant at page 69.  St. Augustine was prone to extreme statements, even for his taste.  At page 69, Durant notes that, “At times he propounded the Calvinistic doctrine that God arbitrarily chose, from all eternity, the “elect” to whom he would give his saving grace.”  As to creation, Augustine held that it was not necessary to believe that it occurred in six days.

The contemporary of Augustine, Pelagius, argued that mankind has freedom to choose evil or good, and that, as Jesus taught in Matthew 25, good works could save. God leaves our fate to our choosing. The theory of innate human depravity, he said, was a cowardly shifting to God of the blame for man’s sins. Man feels, and therefore is, responsible: “if I ought, I can.”  Durant  at 69. Pelagius moved to Rome about 400 A.D. to live with Christian families there, where he built a reputation of being virtuous. Augustine attacked him as heretical.  One must wonder if he had to attack Pelagius to cover his own gilt for placing the blame for his youthful sinfulness on God by the Doctrine of Original Sin, which Pelagius had attacked.  Through a series of political machinations, Pelogius was finally declared a heretic.

Two of Augustine’s literary works are among the world’s classic literature: the Confessions, written about 400 A.D., is his autobiography, and City of God, is, in Durant’s words, a philosophy in history. When Rome fell to the barbarians, it shook the faith of many Christians, including that of Augustine. City of God was Augustine’s effort to provide a logical basis for why God would allow such a disaster.  Although the Church was an ally to the Roman State, Augustine attempted to distance the church from this political debacle, arguing that it was not reasonable to conclude that the defeat of Rome impugned Christianity. As Durant puts it, “Augustine’s initial answer was Rome had been punished not for her new religion but for her continued sins.” Perhaps influenced by that position, the barbarians ransacked the pagan shrines, but they left the Christian churches untouched and available as a refuge for all that fled there. As a result of the pagan option for Christianity, former pagan festivals were replaced by Christian celebrations. “… The feast of the purification of Isis became the feast of the Nativity; the Saturnalia were replaced by Christmas; the Floralia by Pentecost; the ancient festival of the dead by All Souls Day; and the resurrection of Attis by the resurrection of Christ. See Durant page 75.

Whether incidentally or by influence, Augustine accepts the Persian notion of a world divided between good and evil, lightness and darkness.  That duality had its natural roots in Neoplatonism, contrasting the actual on earth as a poor reflection upon the ideal, above the earth, which it imitated.  Augustine adapted that dualism to his own purposes: there are two cities: the earthly city which worldly men, devoted to earthly affairs, enjoy; and the divine City of the one true God, preserved for the elect. Not surprisingly, the Church has throughout its history identified itself with the City of God.

The church, spared by the barbarians for whatever reasons, survived the fall of Rome to become a repository of classical learning through the Dark Ages until  the Renaissance was to rediscover them. With the dissolution of the Roman Empire, the Church filled the political vacuum and validated those feudal powers that played to its power.

Links to my site:

Introduction https://bibleartists.wordpress.com/2013/07/14/introduction/

Graphic Arts https://bibleartists.wordpress.com/2013/07/14/i-graphic-arts/

Architecture https://bibleartists.wordpress.com/2013/07/14/ii-church-architecture-and-its-incorporation-of-art/

Music https://bibleartists.wordpress.com/2013/07/14/iii-music/

Theology https://bibleartists.wordpress.com/2013/07/14/iv-theology/

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From Monody to Polyphony with contribution by Guido d’Arezzo

When we had previously discussed early church music, we mentioned the use of instruments with singing. The vocal performances, however, were a single melody.  These recognized melodies by which the liturgy was sung were called Plainchant.  The church excluded instrumental music because of its association with pagan cellebrations and practices.  In the late sixth and early seventh centuries, Pope Gregory I codified the chants and liturgies that had developed among the churches of Catholicism.  The resultant officially recognized chant became known as Gregorian chant.

Two treatises appeared in the 10^th century, Musica enchiriadis and Schola enchiriadis. These provide descriptions of how music can be ornamented, either by embellishing the melody or by adding parallel parts at the octave, fourth or fifth, but they did not indicate the actual pitches.  These added lines had no particular interest in themselves. This style of ornamentation was called origanum.  The Winchester Troper, appearing in about 1000 A.D., is the earliest sample of musical writing that specified the pitches and durations of the melodies.

In the 11^th century, the Christian educator, Guido d’Arezzo, developed pedagogic tools for singing. He found a song that had certain syllables on an assending scale. From those syllables, we have today the basis of the solfeggio system of sight singing: ut (now do), re, mi, fa, sol, la .   He also developed a four line staff on which he could indicate precise pitches as well as durations.  He could combine several staves for different pitches of singing at the same time, which he identified with clefs.  To teach his system of sight singing, he developed what became known as the Guidonian Hand.  This system became the source of modern notation.  It enabled composers to notate different melodies to be sung simultaneously, which became known as polyphony.

Guidonian Hand and Music Manuscript of the Eleventh Century

http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.designwritingresearch.org/music/images/3.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.designwritingresearch.org/music/index.php%3Fid%3D8&h=274&w=400&sz=34&tbnid=Kx5DsIjIFGb1AM:&tbnh=90&tbnw=131&prev=/search%3Fq%3Dguidonian%2Bhand%26tbm%3Disch%26tbo%3Du&zoom=1&q=guidonian+hand&docid=TolRsC2__yHMpM&hl=en&sa=X&ei=-4_NTuDGBK3E2QXhtZimDw&sqi=2&ved=0CDYQ9QEwBg&dur=3166f

For a demonstration of how the Guidonian Hand was used to aid sight singing, see http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RlleweQuq14.

For an excellent synopsis of the development of polyphony and a scrap of music manuscript of the greatest master of polyphony, J.S. Bach, see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polyphony .

For a sample of the music of Hildegard von Bingen, who succeeded d’Arezzo, go to http://www.last.fm/listen/artist/Hildegard%2Bvon%2BBingen/similarartists.

Links to my site:

Introduction https://bibleartists.wordpress.com/2013/07/14/introduction/

Graphic Arts https://bibleartists.wordpress.com/2013/07/14/i-graphic-arts/

Architecture https://bibleartists.wordpress.com/2013/07/14/ii-church-architecture-and-its-incorporation-of-art/

Music https://bibleartists.wordpress.com/2013/07/14/iii-music/

Theology https://bibleartists.wordpress.com/2013/07/14/iv-theology/

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For a sample of early development of polyphony in the Orthodox tradition, see http://www.orthodoxphotos.com/readings/SJK1/breath.shtml.

Sant Quirze de Pedret, Catalonia, Spain, 11th and 12th Centuries

Located in the mountains of Spain,  Sant Quirze de Pedret  is an example of 11^th and 12^th centuries Romanesque architecture.  Romanesque architecture is characterized by the Roman arch which, during that time, spread throughout the Roman Empire, including Europe. As there were aqueducts built in Europe as far as France, Roman architectural features, such as the arch, likewise were employed for ecclesiastical purposes.

First, some background: the Roman Empire is considered to have fallen in the fifth century A.D. At that time the former Roman Empire, extended well into Europe; it was considered to have entered the “Dark Ages.”  As the name suggests, this was a time in which Roman civilization, including all its arts and learning, was  archived and preserved in reclusive monastic libraries. When Charlemagne was crowned in 800 A.D. as Holy Roman Emperor, Europe is considered to have taken its first steps, although haltingly, out of the Dark Ages, toward a rebirth of classical civilization, imitating in many ways the Roman model some 600 years later. That laster time is known as the Renaissance, which refers literally to a “rebirth of civilization. During that time, Europe began to rediscover classical arts and learning.

Charlemagne, perhaps in an attempt to portray his allegiance to the Roman Catholic Church, a political as well as an ecclesiastical force of the time which had to be dealt with in some degree, began a building campaign utilizing Roman architectural features, notably the arch.  That architectural renaissance extended beyond the area now known as France, north into Britain. Sant Quirze de Pedret is a church built shortly after Charlemagne’s reign but as an extension of that architectural renaissance.  Its arches represent the Romanesque style.  Moreover, it employed early church graphic arts to tell the Christ – story.

http://smarthistory.khanacademy.org/Romanesque.html

Exterior of Sant Quirze de Pedret

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b2/Sant_quirze_pedret-exterior.jpg

Interior of Sant Quirze de Pedret

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/21/Sant_Quirze_de_Pedret_-_una_absidiola_lateral_al_MNAC.jpg

For video see https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FLYAJVzQ2Hw

See http://professional.barcelonaturisme.com/files/8684-773-pdf/MNAC.ang.pdf for a sampling of examples and discussion concerning Romanesque art, including a piece from Sant Quirze de Pedret.

See http://smarthistory.khanacademy.org/wise-and-foolish-virgins-sant-quirze-de-pedret for a video exploration and expert discussion of the gospel story of the wise and foolish virgins.

See https://www.google.com/search?q=Sant+Quirze+de+Pedret&hl=en&prmd=imvns&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=cETMTqy6G-aOiAK9tInUCw&sqi=2&ved=0CDIQsAQ&biw=1096&bih=744 for pictures of art work and the interior of Sant Quirze de Pedret.

Links to my site:

Introduction https://bibleartists.wordpress.com/2013/07/14/introduction/

Graphic Arts https://bibleartists.wordpress.com/2013/07/14/i-graphic-arts/

Architecture https://bibleartists.wordpress.com/2013/07/14/ii-church-architecture-and-its-incorporation-of-art/

Music https://bibleartists.wordpress.com/2013/07/14/iii-music/

Theology https://bibleartists.wordpress.com/2013/07/14/iv-theology/

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Basilica of Santa Prassede, Rome Eighth Century

The Basilica of Santa Prassed was commisioned in the eighth century by Pope Hadrian I.

Interior of Basilica of Santa Prassede, Rome

See http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/85/Interior_of_Basilica_di_Santa_Prassede%2C_Rome.JPG for the source of the above photograph.

For video of this church see https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6FL81EVJTUE&list=PLOF8CAav1A6YGsEvjlBWXlgEsvj_IHujd

See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Santa_Prassede and http://rometour.org/church-chiesa-di-santa-prassede-allesquilino.html for photographs and descripion in English of mosaic pictures in the interior.

Links to my site:

Introduction https://bibleartists.wordpress.com/2013/07/14/introduction/

Graphic Arts https://bibleartists.wordpress.com/2013/07/14/i-graphic-arts/

Architecture https://bibleartists.wordpress.com/2013/07/14/ii-church-architecture-and-its-incorporation-of-art/

Music https://bibleartists.wordpress.com/2013/07/14/iii-music/

Theology https://bibleartists.wordpress.com/2013/07/14/iv-theology/

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Sixth Century San Vitale, Ravenna, Italy and its Mosaics

Following Constantine, Roman emperors viewed themselves as defenders of the Christian faith.  That included defending Christianity from heretical diversions such as Arianism.  These subsequent emperors saw themselves not only as defenders of the faith, but elected by God for Roman Rule.  It was also true of Justinian.  He is known for codifying and clarifying Roman Law.

The octagonal  shape of San Vitale was understood to honor the martyrdom of St. Vitale.  As is typical of many of the early churches and cathedrals  the art that adorned its walls and ceiling were intended to convey to the common, illiterate Christian Biblical stories, interpretation, and connections with their common lives.  It was not unusual to portray some contemporary political figure as participating in such stories.  This teaching function of church architecture and decoration continued in San Vitale.  Indeed, San Vitale is a remarkable example of the practice,  displayed  in the round, making it fully accessible from a single vantage point.

San Vitale Floor Plan

From early Christendom, there had been various church leaders who cautioned against taking all Biblical stories literally.  That caveat continued  in the mosaics of San Vitale, as described at http://employees.oneonta.edu/farberas/ARTH/arth212/san_vitale.html:

In order to “read” the mosaics and gain an understanding of the richness of their meaning, we must have an understanding of the nature of Biblical interpretation. From Early Christianity, Biblical interpretation played an integral role in religious experience. Biblical exgesis, or interpretation, traditionally defines four different levels of meaning: 1) literal or historical; 2) allegorical; 3) tropological or moral; 4) anagogical. Reading of the Bible is, thus, not limited to a record of past events, but is seen as a key to an understanding of a universal plan of history. Critical here is the relationship of the Old and New Testaments. The Old Testament is not seen as just an account of events before the time of Christ, but the events of the Old Testament are seen to “prefigure” or typologically connect to events of the New Testament. Saint Augustine of Hippo (354-430), one of the Four Church Fathers, in his City of God (XVI. 26) states that “the New Testament is hidden in the Old; the Old is clarified by the New.” Christ himself articulates this relationship when he compares Jonah’s three days spent in the belly of the sea monster to the three days he would spend in the tomb awaiting Resurection (Matt. 12:40). The story of Jonah can also be seen to link to the sacrament of Baptism. In the ritual of Baptism, the immersion in water is seen as a dying of the old self and a rebirth through Christ. In a more general sense, the story of Jonah refers to the importance of faith and prayer as the way of salvation of the “elect” from damnation. Because of his belief in God, Jonah was willing to have himself cast into the sea in order to save his shipmates. This self-sacrifice by Jonah was regularly seen as an Old Testament prefiguration of Christ’s Sacrifice on the Cross on behalf of humanity.

In your study of the mosaics, try to find the typological parallels and relationships between the different parts of the mosaic program. From the perspective of our knowledge of later Christian art, it is significant to acknowledge the absence in the mosaics of San Vitale of direct representations of New Testament images, but they are typologically alluded to in the other mosaics. Pay special attention to the importance of the figures of Christ and the Emperor Justinian. Note the number of different figures represented in the mosaic program which can be typologically related to Christ or Justinian.

San Vitale Interior

San Vitale Apse

http://www.oneonta.edu/faculty/farberas/arth/arth212/san_vitale.html

For a video presentation of this church see https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=It3i-dKusIM ; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IGKbvgv0Nko

See the above-referenced site for pictures of the church and its mosaics and for commentary.  See http://smarthistory.khanacademy.org/byzantine-justinian for a video presentation and discussion of that art work.

Links to my site:

Introduction https://bibleartists.wordpress.com/2013/07/14/introduction/

Graphic Arts https://bibleartists.wordpress.com/2013/07/14/i-graphic-arts/

Architecture https://bibleartists.wordpress.com/2013/07/14/ii-church-architecture-and-its-incorporation-of-art/

Music https://bibleartists.wordpress.com/2013/07/14/iii-music/

Theology https://bibleartists.wordpress.com/2013/07/14/iv-theology/

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Basilica of Santa Sabina and Santa Maria Maggiore, Rome, Fifth Century

Santa Sabina is a basilica built in Rome about 432 A.D on a classical rectangular form. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Santa_Sabina notes,

Together with the light pouring in from the windows, this makes the Santa Sabina an airy and roomy place. Other basilicas, such as Santa Maria Maggiore, are often heavily and gaudily decorated. Because of its simplicity, the Santa Sabina represents the crossover from a roofed Roman forum to the churches of Christendom.

Exterior Santa Sabina Basilica, Rome

Interior Santa Sabina Basilica, Rome

See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:RomaSSabinaEsterno.JPG for the source of the above photographs.

See http://smarthistory.khanacademy.org/santa-sabina for an expert discussion of the interior of Santa Sabina and the source of the photograph of its interior, including columns demarking side isles and ceiling.

Santa Sabina Apsis and Triumphal Arch

Depiction of the crucifixion on the wooden door of Santa Sabina.

This is one of the earliest surviving depiction of the crucifixion of Christ.

See a video presentation of the cathedrals at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SEIs8nPaEQo ; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YwujR6zeCxI ; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sQWYg2dLbdA

See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Santa_Sabina for the source of the above photographs and descriptions.

A church structure contemporary with Santa Sabina is that of Santa Maria Maggiore.  See http://smarthistory.khanacademy.org/santa-maria-maggiore for a video presentation and expert duscussion of its interior; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TE72yuH91EY;

Links to my site:

Introduction https://bibleartists.wordpress.com/2013/07/14/introduction/

Graphic Arts https://bibleartists.wordpress.com/2013/07/14/i-graphic-arts/

Architecture https://bibleartists.wordpress.com/2013/07/14/ii-church-architecture-and-its-incorporation-of-art/

Music https://bibleartists.wordpress.com/2013/07/14/iii-music/

Theology https://bibleartists.wordpress.com/2013/07/14/iv-theology/

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Fourth Century Christian Music

As a music student and teacher, I developed an interest in church history and music, particularly as it developed into Gregorian Chant and then into polyphonic church music.  We have already seen in the art of Santa Pudenziana the influence of imperial Rome, or, more particularly, Constantine, in embracing Christianity as its state religion by taking the catacomb image of Jesus as the simple shepherd and teacher and transforming him into Ruler of Heaven who legitimatized imperial Rome as His political representative on earth.  The Roman adoption of the Church as its servant also effected the Church’s music.

I have found an excellent essay on early church music that far exceeds my own knowledge of it.  I will outline some of its principle observations and encourage the reader of this blog to read the actual writing.  The source of the treatise is http://jcsu.jesus.cam.ac.uk/~mma29/essays/dissertation/.  The educational institution for which it was written is the Jesus College at Cambridge, Massachusetts, whose web site is http://www.jesus.cam.ac.uk/about-jesus-college/.  I am unable to identify the author, but I am greatly indebted to, and appreciative of, him or her.

The author organizes the Fourth Century attitudes toward music into several categories of approval or disapproval: as born of the physical world which should be rejected by the Christian, as transcendent experience drawing attention to Heaven; as raising and offering great value to God; as “revealing to us the harmony of the cosmos, through which we may discover God.”  The conclusion drawn by the author of this essay expresses vividly the tension that has remained in the Christian Church in all its forms, orientations and traditions from that time to the present:

“[A]ll sides were agreed that music was powerful – the question was whether that power could be controlled and directed towards good ends.”

A similar question that has recurred through the ages from that time to now has been whether, if music is to be allowed at all, instrumental music belongs in church or if it should be only presented with the unaccompanied voice.

The author sets out his or her purpose for that essay:

There had always been Christian use of music, but it is in the fourth century that we find a new debate about music. Music was now openly used as a medium for theological contention, by figures as diverse as Arius and Augustine; in this context the old philosophical concerns about music’s power over emotion gained a new relevance. In this essay I intend to explore the historical development of fourth-century Christian attitudes to music, and to show how those attitudes related to wider theological concerns.

It would appear that the principal congregational use of music in worship was to participate in hynms and Psalms.  This essay is highly recommended for all persons who have either an interest in church music, per se, or the theological ideas associated with its use.   I particularly like the graphic image the author uses at the head of the essay: the experience of worshipful music is worth a thousand words.  Whoever the author is, that person is not only well-acquainted with the history of sacred music but also with historical Church practices and church literature, especially that relating to the development of its religious and theological ideas.

For an excellent description of early music and how it involved, see http://www.liturgica.com/html/litEOLitEarly.jsp and its related sites.  It also has some examples of chant, particularly.

Links to my site:

Introduction https://bibleartists.wordpress.com/2013/07/14/introduction/

Graphic Arts https://bibleartists.wordpress.com/2013/07/14/i-graphic-arts/

Architecture https://bibleartists.wordpress.com/2013/07/14/ii-church-architecture-and-its-incorporation-of-art/

Music https://bibleartists.wordpress.com/2013/07/14/iii-music/

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The Oldest Basilica Style Christian Church, Santa Pudenziana, Rome

Built in the 4^th century A.D., Santa Pudenziana is the oldest existing church in Rome.

See http://smarthistory.khanacademy.org/santa-pudenziana-rome for the source and description of the above photographs. Note in the description given there the imperial source of the halo signifying a holy Christian figure.  Further, the site comments on the mosaic, noting its transformation of the Christ figure from the catacomb presentation as teacher to this post-Constantine presentation as King of Heaven.  Notice, also, the imperial influences in the presentation:

The language of this passage shows the unmistakable influence of the Roman emphasis on triumph. The Cross is characterized as a trophy or victory monument. Christ is conceived of as a warrior king. The order of the heavenly realm is characterized as like the Roman army divided up into legions. Both the text and mosaic reflect the transformation in the conception of Christ. These document the merging of Christianity with Roman imperial authority.

It is this aura of imperial authority that distinguishes the Santa Pudenziana mosaic from the painting of Christ and his disciples from the Catacomb of Domitilla, Christ in the catacomb painting is simply a teacher, while in the mosaic Christ has been transformed into the ruler of heaven. Even his long flowing beard and hair construct Christ as being like Zeus or Jupiter. The mosaic makes clear that all authority comes from Christ. He delegates that authority to his flanking apostles. It is significant that in the Santa Pudenziana mosaic the figure of Christ is flanked by the figure of St. Paul on the left and the figure of St. Peter on the right. These are the principal apostles.

For videos of this church, see https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wmVVif6_9VY ;

See https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CchCLY_T9go; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TE72yuH91EY ; http://www.paradoxplace.com/Perspectives/Rome%20&%20Central%20Italy/Rome/Rome_Churches/Santa_Pudenziana/Santa_Pudenziana.htm   for photographs of its exterior and interior:

See, also, https://www.google.com/search?q=Santa+Pudenziana&hl=en&pwst=1&prmd=imvns&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=g8HGToaHDMf-2QWP9vXcDw&ved=0CEcQsAQ&biw=1424&bih=775 for twenty-one pages of small pictures, without description, of its exterior, interior and art works.

See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Santa_Pudenziana for some history of this basilica.

Links to my site:

Introduction https://bibleartists.wordpress.com/2013/07/14/introduction/

Graphic Arts https://bibleartists.wordpress.com/2013/07/14/i-graphic-arts/

Architecture https://bibleartists.wordpress.com/2013/07/14/ii-church-architecture-and-its-incorporation-of-art/

Music https://bibleartists.wordpress.com/2013/07/14/iii-music/

Theology https://bibleartists.wordpress.com/2013/07/14/iv-theology/

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Architecture of Christian Meeting Places Pre- and Shortly Post-Constantine

Wikipedia is not a recognized source of scholarly research.  However, I have a Wikipedia site that has information that is consistent with legitimate sources available to me and is comprehensive and organized better than any other source.  See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Church_architecture for that source, as follows:

The church building as we know it grew out of a number of features of the Ancient Roman period:

• The house church
• The atrium
• The basilica
• The bema
• The mausoleum – centrally-planned building
• The cruciform ground plan – Latin or Greek cross

Atrium

When Early Christian Communities began to build churches they drew on one particular feature of the houses that preceded them, the atrium, or courtyard with a colonnade surrounding it. Most of these atriums have disappeared. A fine example remains at the Basilica of San Clemente in Rome and another was built in the Romanesque period at Sant’Ambrogio, Milan. The descendants of these atria may be seen in the large square cloisters that can be found beside many cathedrals, and in the huge colonnaded squares or piazze at the Basilicas of St Peter’s in Rome and St Mark’s in Venice and the Camposanto (Holy Field) at the Cathedral of Pisa.

Basilica

Early church architecture did not draw its form from Roman temples, as the latter did not have large internal spaces where worshipping congregations could meet. It was the Roman basilica, used for meetings, markets and courts of law that provided a model for the large Christian church and that gave its name to the Christian basilica.

Both Roman basilicas and Roman bath houses had at their core a large vaulted building with a high roof, braced on either side by a series of lower chambers or a wide arcaded passage. An important feature of the Roman basilica was that at either end it had a projecting exedra, or apse, a semicircular space roofed with a half-dome. This was where the magistrates sat to hold court. It passed into the church architecture of the Roman world and was adapted in different ways as a feature of cathedral architecture.^[2]

The earliest large churches, such as the Cathedral of San Giovanni in Laterano in Rome, consisted of a single-ended basilica with one aspidal end and a courtyard, or atrium, at the other end. As Christian liturgy developed, processions became part of the proceedings. The processional door was that which led from the furthest end of the building, while the door most used by the public might be that central to one side of the building. This is the case in many cathedrals and churches.^[3]

Bema

As numbers of the clergy increased, the small apse which contained the altar, or table upon which the sacramental bread and wine were offered in the rite of Holy Communion, was not sufficient to accommodate them. A raised dais called a bema formed part of many large basilican churches. In the case of St. Peter’s Basilica and San Paolo fuori le Mura (St Paul’s outside the Walls) in Rome, this bema extended laterally beyond the main meeting hall, forming two arms so that the building took on the shape of a T with a projecting apse. From this beginning, the plan of the church developed into the so-called Latin Cross which is the shape of most Western Cathedrals and large churches. The arms of the cross are called the transept.^[4]

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Introduction https://bibleartists.wordpress.com/2013/07/14/introduction/

Graphic Arts https://bibleartists.wordpress.com/2013/07/14/i-graphic-arts/

Architecture https://bibleartists.wordpress.com/2013/07/14/ii-church-architecture-and-its-incorporation-of-art/

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The Debt of Christian Art and Architecture to Classical Forms

In the prior post, we had explored theological ideas in Christianity that appeared in prior pagan traditions.  Whether Christianity recognizes those prior pagan sources as contributory to Christian ideology, mere coincidence or as some Christian Fathers claimed, the work of the Devil to confuse feeble minds, ultimately, it is a matter of personal choice and faith.  In the world of art and architecture, on the other hand, experts are in agreement that early Christian art was greatly influenced by classical forms (which were associated with pagan and Jewish sources), and that, in fact, Christian art adapted those forms to its own purposes.  We have no examples of Christian art until after 100 a.d.  With the construction of the catacombs, which were initially and substantially for full body burial (anticipating bodily resurrection of the Faithful in a Roman society that preferred cremation) we have our first extant Christian art.
Only later were the catacombs used for secret Christian meetings, and then use was quite limited.  As we can expect, the first arts to be adapted to Christian use were painting and sculpture.  Until Christianity was adopted as a State religion by Constantine there was little architectural imitation other than to model small meeting houses after domestic architectural forms.  See http://www.answers.com/topic/early-christian-art-and-architecture.  It was after Constantine that classical forms were used in the construction of larger and more visible structures such as the basilica.  We will examine that later as we explore various churches, cathedrals and basilicas.

That artistic debt to classical forms is acknowledged and demonstrated in http://www.oneonta.edu/faculty/farberas/arth/arth212/Early_Christian_art.html.  From that source, consider:

The beginnings of Christian art can be dated to the end of the second century or the early years of the third century A.D. The appearance of a comparatively large body of material from this period is a good testament to the dramatic growth of Christianity in this period. The newly won converts to Christianity were products of the classical culture of the Ancient world. Rather than reject their cultural heritage, the new Christians assimilated the classical culture into Christianity. Christian theology, literature, and art of this period bears the unmistakable imprint of this mixing of Christian and classical. For example, the Christian writer Clement of Alexandria, writing at the end of the second and the beginning of the third century, infuses his texts with a strong knowledge of classical literature, mythology, and philosophy. This is well illustrated by an excerpt from a text entitled The Protreptikos. Here we find references to Homer and Plato along side Biblical citations. The image of Christ the Word as the logos and teacher is derived from Greek philosophy. Christ and the Christian as a philosopher are important themes in Early Christian art. For example, in a catacomb painting, Christ as the philosopher is flanked by his disciples much like a representation of Socrates surrounded by his students:

 

Notice here how Christ is given authority by being represented with the gesture of authority while holding onto a scroll. Even his dress, a toga, is the dress associated with authority. A fourth century painting of St. Paul already has his characteristic pointed beard and dark hair with receding hairline:

Paul’s dress, the scroll in his hands, and the container with more scrolls at his feet, all identify Paul as a philosopher. A third century sarcophagus or tomb now in the church of Sta. Maria Antiqua has at its center a representation of a seated man holding a scroll and a standing woman:

This is clearly based on the Classical formula of the philosopher and his muse. A sixth manuscript made in Constantinople known as the Vienna Dioscorides includes miniatures showing Dioscorides, a first century Greek physician and compiler of this medical encylopedia, accompanied by muses:

http://www.essentialhumanities.net/s_art_ec.php describes this early Christian art as owing a great debt to Roman art forms and providing transition from that to Medieval art:

The Early Christian period of Western art corresponds roughly with the Late Empire period of the Roman Empire (ca. 180-476). During the Early Christian period, Roman art forms were harnessed for Christian expression. Early Christian visual art embodies a transition away from realism to stylization, as artists focused on conveying spiritual power rather than physical accuracy (see realism vs stylization).1 Early Christian art thus served as the transitional phase from Roman art to medieval art, the latter of which is highly stylized.

With the fall of Rome, the West became politically fragmented, and Western art splintered into various regional styles (known as the “barbarian styles”).2 Unity in Western art was restored in the Romanesque period. In the Eastern Empire (which did not fracture), Early Christian art served as the transition to the Byzantine style.

Links to my site:

Introduction https://bibleartists.wordpress.com/2013/07/14/introduction/

Graphic Arts https://bibleartists.wordpress.com/2013/07/14/i-graphic-arts/

Architecture https://bibleartists.wordpress.com/2013/07/14/ii-church-architecture-and-its-incorporation-of-art/

Music https://bibleartists.wordpress.com/2013/07/14/iii-music/

Theology https://bibleartists.wordpress.com/2013/07/14/iv-theology/

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From the Ashes of Paganism Arises a New Religion: Christianity

This post will rely heavily on Will Durant and his Story of Civilization, published by Simon and Schuster, Inc., copyright 1944.  In it, Will Durant addressed history, not only as a record of wars, which certainly had their significant influence, but also as reflected in all the arts and disciplines: literature, philosophy, theology, graphic arts, sculpture, architecture, religion, music, and even dance.  Other writers that have influenced me over the years include Eric Fromm, Karen Armstrong, Hans Kung, Edward Schillebeeckx, Robert Wright, Matthew Fox, and Teilhard de Chardin.

In  Story of Civilization, Vol. 2, The Life of Greece, at 186, 187, Will Durant describes the beliefs and rituals of the ancient Greek god, Dionysus.  Dionysus began as a goddess of fertility, became a god of brewed liquor, then of intoxication, and ended as a “son of god,” dying to save mankind.

Mourning for Dionysus’ death, and joyful celebration of his resurrection, formed the basis of a ritual widespread among the Greeks.  In the spring, Greek women went up into the hills to meet the reborn god.  For two days they drank without restraint.  They marched in wild processions; they listened intensely to the story they knew so well, of the suffering, death, and resurrection of their god; as they drank and danced they fell into a frenzy in which all bonds were losed.  The height and center of their ceremony was to seize upon a goat, a bull, sometimes a man (seeing in them incarnations of the god); to tear the live victim to pieces in commemoration of Dionysus’ dismemberment; then to drink the blood and eat the flesh in a sacred communion whereby, as they thought, the god would enter them and possess their souls.  In that divine enthusiasm they were convinced that they and the god became one in a mystic and triumphant union; they took his name, called themselves, after one of his titles, Bacchoi, and knew that now they would never die.  Or they termed their state an ecstasies, a going out of their souls to meet and be one with Dyonysus; thus they felt freed from the burden of the flesh, they acquired divine insight, they were able to prophesy, they were gods.  [It] was a ritual that satisfied the craving for excitement and release, the longing for enthusiasm and possession, mysticism and mystery.

Id. at 187.

In Durant’s  Story of Civilization, Vol. 3, Caesar and Christ, citing he notes a number of pagan practices that preceded similar Christian practices.    At page 595, he notes,” Christianity did not destroy paganism; it adopted it.”  He goes on to note that the Greek mind entered Christian theology and liturgy; that Greek language became the language of Church literature and ritual; that Greek mysteries entered the mystery of the Mass; that the notion of Trinity and Last Judgment and eternal personal reward or punishment was first developed in Egypt; that Egypt also first modeled adoration of Mother and Child, of mystic Neoplatonism and Gnosticism and of monasticism; and

From Phrygia came the worship of the Great Mother; from Syria the resurrection drama of Adonis;  . . . [f]rom Persia came millenarianism, the””ages of the world,” the “final conflagration,” the dualism of Satan and God, and of “Darkness and Light” . . .  The Mythraic ritual so closely resembled the Eucharistic sacrifice of the Mass that Christian fathers charged the Devil with inventing these similarities to mislead frail minds. . . . Christianity was the last great creation of the ancient pagan world.

Id. at 595.  It cannot be denied that pagan forms of art and architecture were adopted and adapted to Christian purposes.  More of that later.

Of the early Church, Will Durant notes from sources available to him:

They met in private rooms or small chapels, and organized themselves on the model of the synagogue.  Each congregation was called an ekklesia – the Greek term for the popular assembly in municipal governments. . . . Women were admitted to the congregations, and rose to some prominence in minor roles; but the Church required them to shame the heathen by lives of modest submission and retirement.

Id. at 596.

We know that the early Christians were known for “how they love each other.”  Durant notes that “Lucian, in about 160, described ‘those imbeciles,’ the Christians, as “disdaining things terrestrial and holding these as belonging to all in common.” Id. at 597.  Durant goes on, “A generation later Tertullian declared that ‘we’ (Christians) ‘have all things in common except our wives,’ and added, with his characteristic bite, ‘at that point we dissolve our partnership, precisely where the rest of men make it effective.'”  Id. at 597.  Durant notes that the early Christian who did not share his wealth was considered a thief.  Alfred North Whitehead noted in his book, Adventures of Ideas, that the belief of the first Christians in the promise of Jesus to return before the last of those watching him ascended to Heaven had passed away caused them to eschew wealth because it would do no good for one to hoard it when the End Times were coming soon.  Gradually, he noted, when they adjusted to the passing of time, that expectation weakened, and they became more invested in the world and its treasures; and they became less willing to share their wealth communally.  After Constantine elevated the Church to the service of the State, while still expecting Christ’s imminent return during each successive generation, those who were able to accumulated wealth did so and they protected it should that event be delayed.

One interesting note of Durant is the agape or love feast.  Modern Christianity has referred to agape as referring to a love as between father and son, and Father and Son with the faithful.  As Durant describes the historical documentation of the feast, in practice, it was anything but love of father to son:

An element of communism entered into the custom of the common meal.  As the Greek and Roman associations had met on occasion to dine together, so the early Christians gathered frequently in the agape or love feast, usually on a Sabbath evening.  The dinner began and ended with prayer and scripture readings, and the bread and wine were blessed by the priest.  The faithful appeared to believe that the bread and wine were, or represented, the body and blood of Christ; the worshipers of Dionysus, Attis and Mithras had entertained like beliefs at the banquets where they ate the magical embodiments or symbols of their gods.  The final symbol of the agape was the “kiss of love.”  In some congregations this was given only by men to men and women to women; in others this hard restriction was not enforced.  Many participants discovered an untheological delight in the pleasant ceremony; and Tertullian and others denounced it as leading to sexual indulgences.  The Church recommended that the lips should not be opened in kissing, and that the kiss should not be repeated if it gave pleasure.  In the third century the agape gradually disappeared.

Id. at 597, 598.  Despite such excesses, Durant notes that Christian expectations that God the Judge exercised “divine surveillance” assured in general morally excellent conduct that would put pagan culture to shame.  As Whitehead had noted, so observed Durant: “Much of this difficult code was predicated on the early return of Christ.  As that hope faded, the voice of the flesh rose again, and Christian morals were relaxed . . .”  Id. at 599.

Durant elsewhere observes how Greek philosophy, rationalism and pagan influences contributed to the development of movements that separated from the dominant movement of the Church and came to be condemned as heresies.  That discussion is not within the scope of this blog and will not be addressed further. For the inquiring mind, there is much to be found in such diversions, their origins, their appeal, their ultimate extinction from the Catholic Church, and in some cases their continuing vitality in other separate Christian communities.

Next, we will explore the early influence of pagan Roman and Greek arts, particularly sculpture and architecture, and their adaptations and conversions for Christian purposes.

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Introduction https://bibleartists.wordpress.com/2013/07/14/introduction/

Graphic Arts https://bibleartists.wordpress.com/2013/07/14/i-graphic-arts/

Architecture https://bibleartists.wordpress.com/2013/07/14/ii-church-architecture-and-its-incorporation-of-art/

Music https://bibleartists.wordpress.com/2013/07/14/iii-music/

Theology https://bibleartists.wordpress.com/2013/07/14/iv-theology/

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The First 300 Years of Christian Worship

The first Christians were disciples, who became the Apostles.  Those included women.  That is, perhaps, unusual for any religious movement. Please take the time to review an excellent study of the importance of women in the Jesus movement at http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/religion/first/women.html .  Of course, it was limited in what remained a man’s world, and it was not long-lived.

The disciples, being Jewish, first worshiped in the synagogues. Their scripture was Jewish, of course reinterpreted to have foretold “Jesus the Christ,” the Jewish Messiah,  Its forms of worship, including music, were Jewish.  It was only with the expansion of the Christian message to the non-Jews, “the Gentiles,” through the missions of Paul and others, that pagan practices associated with non-Jews entered Christian worship  and practice.

Ephesians 5:19 and Collosians 3: 16 refer to Christian worship in “psalms, hymns and spiritual songs.”  “The earliest Christians were Jews who recognized and accepted Jesus Christ as the promised Messiah, and the worship that they practiced was liturgical because Jewish worship was liturgical.”  See http://www.liturgica.com/html/litEChLit.jsp.  That site provides an excellent and succinct description of the earliest Christian music: and an excellent recording of an “Allelujah” chant which it implicitly suggests is representative of early Christian music.  The Psalms also described various ways of praising God with instruments, singing and dancing.  To the degree such Jewish practices continued in Jesus’ time, I presume that the first Christians also adopted them for their own praise and adoration.

I suggest that shared worship practices developed along two main paths: Jewish practices and traditions for Jewish Christian, and pagan inheritances for non-Jewish or Gentile Christians.  That took some time to develop.  We know that it took some time for Christianity to work out whether a Christian had to be a Jew, or at least had to observe Jewish purity and Mosaic laws.  That was not finally settled until the Council of Jerusalem at which time the question was decided in the negative.

I had not understood the distinction of “Jesus” and “Christ” until I read  some 30 years ago Schillebeeckx’s Jesus: An Experiment in Christology.  Put succinctly, the study of Jesus concerns the historical Jesus.  The first writings concerning the life of the earthly Jesus did not begin to appear until 40 years or so after his death.  That raises problems for a scholar in that he or she is confronted with records of similar accounts with different chronological orders, or which otherwise conflict.  It was after Jesus’ death that various disciples, and ultimately Paul, experienced the risen Lord. That necessarily raised questions of what was the meaning of the Jesus they knew and of the apparitions of him which they experienced after his death.  It was only after two disciples had walked with “the stranger” a significant distance on the road to Emmaus, after which they invited him into their home for a meal, and then only after he blessed the bread, broke it and gave thanks, that the disciples recognized him as Jesus.  Upon recognition, he vanished. Jesus is reported then to have appeared to the original Disciples, minus Judas, who had hanged himself, and minus Thomas, who was to become “Doubting Thomas,” as they were hiding in a reclusive room for a meal.  We are told that some of them experienced Jesus’ ghost while others experienced the person of Jesus, but a different Jesus than they had known.  This Jesus was not constrained by physical barriers, such as walls and closed doors, for we are told in the account that all access to the room in which he appeared to them was closed.  Actual physical bodies, whether alive or resurrected, do not walk through closed doors or walls.  It was only after such experiences that they were able to “put together” what Jesus had said during his life with them.  Once such meaning was identified and assigned, that became a faith statement of his new role  as the Christ, forfetold by the prophets.  See, also, the Frontline article, From Jesus to Christ, at http://web.archive.org/web/20020603123523/http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/religion/.

It took some time for Christians to develop a body of writings that their spiritual leaders considered to be authentic and authoritative.   Those had been written, collected, and canonized as the New Testament by the end of the First Century.

The first writing we have concerning Christian organizational matters is the Didache, dated generally in the first part of the Second Century.  It addressed the appointment of bishops and deacons and criteria for the discernment of true prophets from false prophets.  About two centuries later, Constantine adopted the symbol of the cross to lead his soldiers into battle, transforming the prior meaning of the “power of the cross.” Perhaps, more as a talisman for his own continued military and political success, Constantine recognized the church as the official state religion.  He then organized and presided over its Council at Nicaea.  That council agreed upon a statement of beliefs that was intended to unify Christians throughout the Roman Empire.  Itlaid the foundation for the Church’s doctrinal development thereafter as a political tool to bolster and justify political authority. Upon the collapse of the Roman Empire, the Church assumed that military power in the form of the Papal States.

Christianity would never be the same after Constantine.  Its rituals and practices would also be changed forever.  But the social stability that the Church provided also allowed its music, art, and architecture to flourish.

For an excellent article on early Christian art, see http://smarthistory.khanacademy.org/early-christian-art.html.

Links to my site:

Introduction https://bibleartists.wordpress.com/2013/07/14/introduction/

Graphic Arts https://bibleartists.wordpress.com/2013/07/14/i-graphic-arts/

Architecture https://bibleartists.wordpress.com/2013/07/14/ii-church-architecture-and-its-incorporation-of-art/

Music https://bibleartists.wordpress.com/2013/07/14/iii-music/

Theology https://bibleartists.wordpress.com/2013/07/14/iv-theology/

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Copyright Considerations and Opportunities For Growth and Service

Yohan raises an important point to be considered: copyright.  You will find an excellent treatise on copyright law, its purposes, general limitations and exceptions at http://www.unc.edu/~unclng/public-d.htm.

I am a retired attorney, cognizant of copyright law but not having an expert knowledge in it.  I have taken a practical view of this issue, with due regard to the general law and its purposes.   Firstly, this blog is not for profit but for educational and spiritual edification.  None of my use of the art resources, whatever their source, have been for personal gain, and, if anything, have given that art exposure which may lead to greater personal gain to anyone who, perchance, has a copyright.  Secondly, I have predominantly used art works that are older than a century and appear to be in the public domain.  Those Twentieth Century works that I have used generally are from sites (such as http://www.biblical-art.com/biblicalsubject1.asp, particularly, and also http://www.artbible.info/ and http://www.spaightwoodgalleries.com/index.html) that appear to have made a serious and active effort to inquire into and protect any unknown copyright.

Yohan, as to your church’s use of any artistic expression on a church letter, it might be argued that the church is a non-profit organization and exempt, although that has serious problems and risks.  It would be better to attempt to contact the source of the art to determine the copyright status and, if there are current copyright protections, to seek permission or waiver.

You will see in one of the early posts on this blog that I used art of my sister as a contemporary expression of the creation process and our response to it.  She used an artistic style associated with certain artists and art pieces to express her own original response to the biblical creation stories.   That is permissible under copyright law.

For a purpose such as you mention, I think you would be likely to obtain the most satisfying results by looking within your church body for talent and for contribution.  Most churches have artistic talent within their folds that is not only competent but also invested in the church’s values, traditions and the life of its fellowship and, are willing to make a meaningful contribution to its body.  My sense is that it is no different with your church.  My suggestion is that you address your particular need to your larger membership.  It enriches the fellowship, and pr0vides an opportunity for an individual or number of individuals to respond to the invitation or perceived need of the body for their own edification and that of the church.  Never underestimate “God’s” gifts and work right there at home.  And, when genuinely rendered, it involves no risk of copyright infringement.

 

Links to my site:

Introduction https://bibleartists.wordpress.com/2013/07/14/introduction/

Graphic Arts https://bibleartists.wordpress.com/2013/07/14/i-graphic-arts/

Architecture https://bibleartists.wordpress.com/2013/07/14/ii-church-architecture-and-its-incorporation-of-art/

Music https://bibleartists.wordpress.com/2013/07/14/iii-music/

Theology https://bibleartists.wordpress.com/2013/07/14/iv-theology/

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Another Experience of Resurrection

I had originally intended this blog to merely capsulize and share more broadly the Biblical art that I had gathered and shared with my Sunday School class.  Recently, I considered that accomplished and finished.  Then, Yohan responded positively to my blog and requested some early Christian art expressive of Christian fellowship.  That caused me to explore early Christian art, its environment within the caticombs and then within that of the early Christian churches.  That reminded me, first, of my early interest in architecture.  I then was reminded of my interest in the humanities early in my  career as a music teacher.  That included music, art, architecture, dance and literature.  What I thought was finished I now see is a further invitation to, or at least opportunity for, a process in which I can explore architecture as an expression of religious ideas and values, then music from simple hymns, chants, plainchant, simple Medieval polyphony, and then development through each of the artistic periods thereafter: Baroque, Classical, Romantic, Twentieth Century and Contemporary.  Perhaps we will consider all these aspects of the humanities together for each period or locati0n.  Perhaps we can also explore literature through those same time or stylistic periods, and even theological developments not only within Christendom but also in Judaism and Islam. (Karen Armstrong has written knowledgeably and extensively on each of those religious orientations, their paths in common or parralel to each other and their divergences).

I don’t know how this will procede, but I have never let early fears to limit me.

“We are called upon, not to be successful but to be faithful.”  (Mother Theresa)  What is your calling to faithfulness?

Looking back on this post almost two years later, I see that as I was developing the section that I have entitled “Architecture” I was exploring the environment in which Christian art was displayed, which also included historical settings, literature and music.  This section is the most broadly humanities-oriented.

Links to my site:

Introduction https://bibleartists.wordpress.com/2013/07/14/introduction/

Graphic Arts https://bibleartists.wordpress.com/2013/07/14/i-graphic-arts/

Architecture https://bibleartists.wordpress.com/2013/07/14/ii-church-architecture-and-its-incorporation-of-art/

Music https://bibleartists.wordpress.com/2013/07/14/iii-music/

Theology https://bibleartists.wordpress.com/2013/07/14/iv-theology/

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How These Christians Love One Another

Yohan kindly requested some early Christian art expressive of the eary church’s commitment to fellowship.  I have had some difficulty in finding anything expressly on that subject.

I note the statement of the early Church leader, Tertullian:  “See how these Christians love one another.”  If we look to the example of Christ which inspired such rich fellowship, there is significant art on such related subjects that would lend itself to the Christian fellowship that abounded in the early church.

I will begin by introducing some of the earliest Christian art that we have, that of the catacombs in Rome.  For background to that art, one of the most direct and helpful sites I have found is http://www.sacred-destinations.com/italy/rome-catacombs.  The immediately following information and photographs come from that site.

The Roman catacombs were a maze of underground tunnels and coves on the outskirts of Rome where Christians burried their dead on small shelves dug into the dirt lining the tunnels.  In times of severe persecution the Christians also worshiped there.  For these purposes the Christians came to adorn the catacombs with art intended to reflect their values in worship.  There were certain themes and symbols common to that art.  One of those was the symbol of the fish, representing the Christ:

See, http://www.hayas.edu.mx/art/christianart.html, for an excellent description of the various factors deriving the association of the fish with Christ and their symbolic expressions.

Another very common theme was the depiction of Jesus as the Good Shepherd:

or another,

See http://www.scrollpublishing.com/store/catacomb-pictures.html for the origin of the following catacomb artistic reference to the Christ as the Good Shepherd:

Certainly, the depiction of the Good Shepherd would help His flock to feel safe under His care, freeing them for fellowship with each other and with Him.

For photographs of immediately post-Constantine art in the Church at Rome, see http://smarthistory.khanacademy.org/santa-pudenziana-rome.

We don’t have artistic representations of the gatherings of the early Christians or of how they “loved one another.”  But we do have artistic interpretations of Jesus’ compassion for all who sought his fellowship or aid, his love of the company of women – even of the disreputable, of children, of men -even of sinners.

Relating in part back to the early church prior to Constantine but constructed perhaps as late as the Ninth Century is the Basilica of Santa Prassede in Rome.  For an excellent video discussion of the art in that church see http://smarthistory.khanacademy.org/santa-prassede, and for an excdellent photographic presentation of its art see http://www.arttrav.com/rome/santa-prassede-mosaics/.  For a video discussion of the architecture of the early Roman church, Santa Sabina, see  http://smarthistory.khanacademy.org/santa-sabina, for photographic representations of its interior art, see http://www.sacred-destinations.com/italy/rome-santa-sabina and of the art on its carved wooden door, see http://www.sacred-destinations.com/italy/rome-santa-sabina-door.htm.  I note that upon legalization of the Christian Church by Constantine, the Church took no time to adopt and transform Roman architectural and visual arts to serve its purposes.  The size of the basillicas also suggests to me, compared to prior Christian art and architecture (the catacombs) a dramatic mushrooming of the Church’s membership and patronage lended to it.

For the architecture of another church of that same era, Santa Maria Maggiore, see  http://smarthistory.khanacademy.org/santa-maria-maggiore.

Yohan, I hope this is some help to you, but my suspicion is that you will want to look at some modern Christian art which may be less representational and more allegorical or expressive of fellowship.  For any modern art, I, and likely you, will be more restricted by copyright law.  Here are some sites of Christian art that might help you: http://www.christianlink.com/art/ or http://christian-artists.us/2.html.  Or, you might search for art of your favorite artist or particular themes or passages at http://www.biblical-art.com/artist.asp. or http://www.artbible.info/bible/new-testament.html.

I suspect you may find something of simple design that is also symbolic of the fellowship that your church enjoys or envisions.  Perhaps some visitor to the site will have some ideas for you.  I would be interested to know what is your solution.

Links to my site:

Introduction https://bibleartists.wordpress.com/2013/07/14/introduction/

Graphic Arts https://bibleartists.wordpress.com/2013/07/14/i-graphic-arts/

Architecture https://bibleartists.wordpress.com/2013/07/14/ii-church-architecture-and-its-incorporation-of-art/

Music https://bibleartists.wordpress.com/2013/07/14/iii-music/

Theology https://bibleartists.wordpress.com/2013/07/14/iv-theology/

Home Page https://bibleartists.wordpress.com/