Worship and

Cultural Patterns

of the Early Christian Church

  Written by Robert Jones

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Table of Contents

Table of Contents

Introduction

Worship patterns of the Early Church – First Century

Where they worshipped

How they worshiped

Leadership in the Early Church

How Christians were to treat each other

Worship patterns of the Early Church – second and third centuries

How they worshipped

Church officials

Sources

Introduction

We will examine the worship and cultural patterns of the early Christian Church, from it’s establishment in Acts, to roughly the time of the Council of Nicea (325 A.D.)  How Christians worshipped in the early church is an enduring topic of interest in the modern church – many churches today continue to want to model themselves after the style of the ancients.  Among the topics covered:

• Where early Christians worshipped

• How they worshipped

• Baptism & the Eucharist

• Church leadership and hierarchy

Somewhat surprisingly, given the antiquity of the sources, we actually have quite a bit of information about how Christians worshipped in the first three centuries.  Among the more prominent ancient sources referenced in this work are:

• The New Testament, especially Acts of the Apostles and Paul’s letters

• The Teachings of the Twelve Apostles, an early second century guide for new converts (catechumens).  This work was referred to by Eusebius (325 A.D.) and Athanasius (367 A.D.), but was lost until its rediscovery in Turkey in 1873.

• Justyn Martyr’s First Apology (c. 150 A.D.), which describes an early worship service, as well as the Eucharist

• The 3^rd or 4^th century Apostolic Constitutions (which includes much of the Teachings of the Twelve Apostles), which is a detailed guide for church form and practice

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Worship patterns of the Early Church – First Century

Our primary source for information on how Christians worshipped in the first century is the Acts of the Apostles and Paul’s letters, in the New Testament.   Parts of the Teachings of the Apostles may have been written in the latter part of the 1^st century, and therefore may also be useful.

Where the worshipped:
Reflecting the Jewish roots of Christianity, the earliest worship practices in the Christian Church centered around the Temple in Jerusalem.  For example, in Acts 2:46 (see also Acts 2:46, 4:1, 5:12, 5:17-21, 5:42):

^“46Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, ⁴⁷praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people.”  (NIV, Acts 2:46-47)

In time, Temple worship became less important, as Paul spread his ministry throughout the Roman Empire, preaching primarily to the Gentiles.  However, in the early part of Paul’s ministry, he would often preach first in a Jewish synagogue as he entered a new city.  Some of those references are listed below.

Temple worship, of course, was completely wiped out in 70 A.D. when the Romans destroyed Jerusalem.

In addition to public worship in the synagogues and in the Temple Court, more private worship services containing only believers were conducted in private homes, often located on the upper levels of small shops.  These services typically accommodated 10-20 people.  One example of a reference to a house church can be found in 1 Corinthians 16:

^“19The churches in the province of Asia send you greetings. Aquila and Priscilla greet you warmly in the Lord, and so does the church that meets at their house.”  (NIV, 1 Cor 16:19)

Other examples of New Testament references to house churches can be found in the table below:

Over time, as the worship communities grew, houses were converted to places of worship, often by removing walls to enlarge common areas for worship and meals.  (In Rome, these were sometimes referred to as "title churches", after the name of the original donor).  The earliest (c. 232 A.D.) extant known church is located in Dura-Europos in modern day Iraq.

One other location of worship was common in the early church - cemeteries.  Commemorative feasts were sometimes held at graves to worship "in the company of martyrs".  Worship services were often held in the catacombs of Rome, to avoid the detection of the authorities.

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How they worshiped

So what was a first century Christian worship service like?  Acts tells us that the early primitive Jerusalem church practiced a form of communal worship that included shared ownership of property:

^“32All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of his possessions was his own, but they shared everything they had. ³³With great power the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and much grace was upon them all. ³⁴There were no needy persons among them. For from time to time those who owned lands or houses sold them, brought the money from the sales ³⁵and put it at the apostles’ feet, and it was distributed to anyone as he had need. ³⁶Joseph, a Levite from Cyprus, whom the apostles called Barnabas (which means Son of Encouragement), ³⁷sold a field he owned and brought the money and put it at the apostles’ feet.”  (NIV, Acts 4:32-37)

^“44All the believers were together and had everything in common. ⁴⁵Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need. ⁴⁶Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, ⁴⁷praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.”   (NIV, Acts 2:44-47)

This communal worship pattern existed only in the primitive Jerusalem church.  There is no evidence that it ever appeared in the Gentile church, probably because the Gentile church realized that if they sold of all of their possessions and means for generating wealth, they wouldn’t have any money for the church to survive on in the future.  (The early Jerusalem church believed that Christ’s return was imminent; thus, they probably weren’t focused on a long term “business plan” for the church!)  However, this communal form of worship was a model followed by early monastics such as St. Antony and St. Benedict.

The early 2^nd century guide for catechumens, The Teaching of the Twelve Apostles, gives a brief description of a Gentile church “Christian Assembly on the Lord’s Day”:

“But every Lord’s day do ye gather yourselves together, and break bread, and give thanksgiving after having confessed your transgressions, that your sacrifice may be pure. But let no one that is at variance with his fellow come together with you, until they be reconciled, that your sacrifice may not be profaned. For this is that which was spoken by the Lord: In every place and time offer to me a pure sacrifice; for I am a great King, saith the Lord, and my name is wonderful among the nations.”  (Teachings of the Twelve Apostles, Chapter 14)

Various sources indicate that in the early church, a fellowship meal (agape, the "love feast") was followed by the Eucharist (“thanksgiving”).  Early Christians gave thanks during the meal and prayers were said over wine and broken bread (Acts 2:42, 2:46, 20:7, 20:11).

We discover in 1 Cor 11:20-29 that there were some difficulties in combining the fellowship meal with the Eucharist:

"²⁰When you come together, it is not the Lord’s Supper you eat, ²¹for as you eat, each of you goes ahead without waiting for anybody else. One remains hungry, another gets drunk. ²²Don’t you have homes to eat and drink in? Or do you despise the church of God and humiliate those who have nothing? What shall I say to you? Shall I praise you for this? Certainly not! ²³For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you: The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread, ²⁴and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, “This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me.” ²⁵In the same way, after supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me.” ²⁶For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes. ²⁷Therefore, whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of sinning against the body and blood of the Lord. ²⁸A man ought to examine himself before he eats of the bread and drinks of the cup. ²⁹For anyone who eats and drinks without recognizing the body of the Lord eats and drinks judgment on himself.”  (NIV, 1 Cor 11:20-29)

In time, the practice of combining the fellowship meal with the Eucharist faded.

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Baptism

The New Testament gives fascinating clues as to how the Early Church practiced baptism.  However, there is no “Handbook on Baptism” in the New Testament.  We can only surmise the proper form and meaning of baptism based on various verses that mention the sacrament.  Some of those verses are referenced in the table below.

The late 1^st-century/early-2^nd century Epistle of Barnabas (possibly written by the Apostle) contains the following description of Christian baptism:

"...we indeed descend into the water full of sins and defilement, but come up, bearing fruit in our heart, having the fear [of God] and trust in Jesus in our spirit..." (Epistle of Barnabas, Chapter 11)

The Shepherd of Hermas, an early 2^nd-century work, describes the meaning of baptism as follows:

"...before a man bears the name of the Son of God he is dead; but when he receives the seal he lays aside his deadness, and obtains life. The seal, then, is the water: they descend into the water dead, and they arise alive."  (Shepherd of Hermas - Similitude IX, Chapter 16)

The Teaching of the Twelve Apostles describes the baptism ceremony as follows.  Notice the requirement for fasting prior to the ceremony:

“And concerning baptism, thus baptize ye: Having first said all these things, baptize into the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, in living water. But if thou have not living water, baptize into other water; and if thou canst not in cold, in warm. But if thou have not either, pour out water thrice upon the head into the name of Father and Son and Holy Spirit. But before the baptism let the baptizer fast, and the baptized, and whatever others can; but thou shalt order the baptized to fast one or two days before.”  (The Teaching of the Twelve Apostles, Chapter 7)

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Celebrating the Eucharist

We get an ancient description of the celebration of the Eucharist from The Teaching of the Twelve Apostles:

“Now concerning the Thanksgiving (Eucharist), thus give thanks. First, concerning the cup: We thank thee, our Father, for the holy vine of David Thy servant, which Thou madest known to us through Jesus Thy Servant; to Thee be the glory for ever. And concerning the broken bread: We thank Thee, our Father, for the life and knowledge which Thou madest known to us through Jesus Thy Servant; to Thee be the glory for ever. Even as this broken bread was scattered over the hills, and was gathered together and became one, so let Thy Church be gathered together from the ends of the earth into Thy kingdom; for Thine is the glory and the power through Jesus Christ for ever. But let no one eat or drink of your Thanksgiving (Eucharist), but they who have been baptized into the name of the Lord; for concerning this also the Lord hath said, Give not that which is holy to the dogs.”  (The Teaching of the Twelve Apostles, Chapter 9)

Note that the Eucharist (as opposed to the fellowship meal) was reserved for baptized believers.

Charismatic worship

1 Corinthians 14 discusses a variation on the worship service as we have so far described it – what we today might refer to as “charismatic worship”:

“Everyone has a hymn, or a word of instruction, a revelation, a tongue or an interpretation." (NIV, 1 Cor 14:26)

Paul didn't discourage this sort of service, but he cautioned that interpretation (prophesy) was more important than simply speaking in tongues:

^“1Follow the way of love and eagerly desire spiritual gifts, especially the gift of prophecy. ²For anyone who speaks in a tongue does not speak to men but to God. Indeed, no one understands him; he utters mysteries with his spirit. ³But everyone who prophesies speaks to men for their strengthening, encouragement and comfort. ⁴He who speaks in a tongue edifies himself, but he who prophesies edifies the church. ⁵I would like every one of you to speak in tongues, but I would rather have you prophesy. He who prophesies is greater than one who speaks in tongues, unless he interprets, so that the church may be edified.”  (NIV, 1 Cor 14:1-5)

An extreme form of charismatic worship grew up in the mid-2^nd century.  Around c. 156 A.D., a self-styled prophet named Montanus started to attract followers in Phrygia, Asia Minor (early church father Tertullian was among their ranks for a period of time).  Montanus fostered a very charismatic environment, and believed that the Holy Spirit spoke directly through him, and his followers.  Montanists believed that they were receiving Divine Revelation, like the Old Testament prophets. 

Some of the bishops of the time (such as Serapion, bishop of Antioch) were concerned that such prophesizing might be viewed on the same level as Holy Scripture – and could interfere with people’s understanding of the core message of the Scriptures.

Around c. 190 A.D., Monatanus was excommunicated, but his movement forced the established church to examine the role of the Holy Spirit in the contemporary church.  In time, the response of the church was that revelation ended with the Apostolic Age.  Those with the gift of prophesy after the Apostolic Age were simply explaining the already existing Word of God – not adding to it.

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Music in the Early Church

There are few extant references to singing in the early church – the New Testament only mentions the practice twice (Col 3:16, Eph 5:19) and then somewhat obliquely.  The most striking reference of the two is in Ephesians:

“…be filled with the Spirit, ¹⁹speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord.” (NIV Eph 5:18-20)

Church Father Clement suggests that hymns should be "austere". 

Leadership in the Early Church

The early church was extremely egalitarian in nature.  Every baptized member was seen to have a gift (see Rom 12:4-8, 1 Pet 4:10-11, 1 Cor 12:1-31, 1 Cor 14:26, Eph 4:11-13).  But in time, some formal positions of church leadership evolved, probably because of the ever-increasing size of the congregations.  Congregations are exhorted several times in the New Testament to obey and submit to their leaders:

"Obey your leaders and submit to their authority. They keep watch over you as men who must give an account."  (NIV, Heb 13:17; see also 1 Thess 5:12-13 and 1 Tim 5:17)

The late-first century First Epistle of Clement to the Corinthians (probably written by Clement, Bishop of Rome) discusses a line of succession in the churches that was established by the apostles themselves:

"The Apostles have preached to us from the Lord Jesus Christ; Jesus Christ from God...And thus preaching through countries and cities, they appointed the first fruits of their conversion to be bishops and ministers over such as should afterwards believe, having first proved them by the Spirit...So likewise our Apostles knew by our Lord Jesus Christ, that there should contentions arise, upon account of the ministry.  And therefore having a prefect fore-knowledge of this, they appointed persons, as we have before said, and then gave direction, how, when they should die, other chosen and approved men should succeed in their ministry." (First Epistle of Clement to the Corinthians, Chapter 42)

We discuss the different “church officials” that appeared in the first century church below.

Apostles
The first custodians of the early church were the apostles – and more specifically, the "The Twelve" chosen by Jesus.  The word “apostle” comes from the Greek word apostolos that means:

“a delegate; specifically an ambassador of the Gospel; officially a commissioner of Christ (“apostle”), (with miraculous powers):—apostle, messenger, he that is sent. (Strongs Hebrew and Greek Dictionaries)

There are four different lists of “The Twelve” mentioned in the New Testament, with slight variations between them:

Immediately before his ascension, Christ instructs his remaining 11 apostles to carry on his ministry:

^“8But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” (NIV, Acts 1:8)

After the ascension, the 11 remaining apostles wished to replace Judas Iscariot, and decided that a prime qualification for the replacement apostle was to have participated in Jesus' earthly ministry from the start:

^“21Therefore it is necessary to choose one of the men who have been with us the whole time the Lord Jesus went in and out among us, ²²beginning from John’s baptism to the time when Jesus was taken up from us. For one of these must become a witness with us of his resurrection.” (NIV, Acts 1:21-22)

Matthias (never to be heard from again in the New Testament) is chosen as the Judas-replacement. 

However, the original twelve plus Matthias are not the only apostles referred to in the New Testament.  Paul & Barnabas (Acts 14:14), Andronicus and Junias (Rom 16:7) and, possibly, James the brother of Jesus (Gal 1:19) also receive the appellation.  However, no one after the first century used the title.

The reference to Junias as an apostle in Romans 16:7 is interesting because Junias is the feminine form of a Greek name (see below).  Depending on how one interprets the passage (is it saying that Andronicus and Junias are well known to the apostles, or that they are outstanding apostles?), we may have grounds to identify a female apostle. 

^“7Greet Andronicus and Junias, my relatives who have been in prison with me. They are outstanding among the apostles, and they were in Christ before I was.”

Junias (Iounias)is clearly of the feminine form, as Thayer’s Greek Definitions states:

“1) a Christian woman at Rome, mentioned by Paul as one of his kinsfolk and fellow prisoners

Part of Speech: noun proper feminine”

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Bishop (or overseer)

Next in importance to the apostles were the bishops (or overseers) and the elders.  The term bishop comes from the Greek word episkopos:

“a superintendent, that is, Christian officer in general charge of a (or the) church (literally or figuratively):—bishop, overseer.” (Strongs Hebrew and Greek Dictionaries)

In the New Testament, bishops are instructed to be “shepherds of the church of God”

^“28Keep watch over yourselves and all the flock of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers. Be shepherds of the church of God, which he bought with his own blood.”  (NIV, Acts 20:28)

The qualifications to be a bishop are steep:

^“1Here is a trustworthy saying: If anyone sets his heart on being an overseer, he desires a noble task. ²Now the overseer must be above reproach, the husband of but one wife, temperate, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, ³not given to drunkenness, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money. ⁴He must manage his own family well and see that his children obey him with proper respect. ⁵(If anyone does not know how to manage his own family, how can he take care of God’s church?) ⁶He must not be a recent convert, or he may become conceited and fall under the same judgment as the devil. ⁷He must also have a good reputation with outsiders, so that he will not fall into disgrace and into the devil’s trap”.  (NIV, 1 Tim 3:1-7)

See also Phillipians 1:1  and 1 Titus 1:5-9.

By the 2nd century, the role of the bishop was more formalized, with a bishop presiding over a diocese or see.  Bishops of churches founded by the apostles were said to be in succession to the apostles (for example – John-Polycarp-Irenaeus).

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Elder (or presbyter)

The term “elder” comes from the Greek word presbuteros.  Both “presbyter” and “priest” are derived from this word.  According to Strong’s:

“Comparative of presbus (elderly); older; as noun, a senior; specifically an Israelite Sanhedrist (also figuratively, member of the celestial council) or Christian “presbyter”:—elder (-est), old.” (Strongs Hebrew and Greek Dictionaries)

The term is used in two different ways in the New Testament, depending upon whether it is used in reference to the Jerusalem Church or the Gentile church.  In the former, the concept of elder was modeled after the Old Testament pattern, with elders acting as a decision making council in the Jerusalem church (see Acts 15, Acts 21:17-26).  The term as we use it today comes from the Gentile church, and is often used to denote the highest official in a particular church or area:

^“23Paul and Barnabas appointed elders for them in each church and, with prayer and fasting, committed them to the Lord, in whom they had put their trust.”  (Acts 14:23)

The qualifications for elders are similar to the aforementioned ones for bishop.  In fact, one could read Titus 1:5-9 as indicating that there was no distinction between bishops (overseers) and elders in the 1^st century church:

“⁵The reason I left you in Crete was that you might straighten out what was left unfinished and appoint elders in every town, as I directed you. ⁶An elder must be blameless, the husband of but one wife, a man whose children believe and are not open to the charge of being wild and disobedient. ⁷Since an overseer is entrusted with God’s work, he must be blameless—not overbearing, not quick-tempered, not given to drunkenness, not violent, not pursuing dishonest gain. ⁸Rather he must be hospitable, one who loves what is good, who is self-controlled, upright, holy and disciplined. ⁹He must hold firmly to the trustworthy message as it has been taught, so that he can encourage others by sound doctrine and refute those who oppose it.” (Titus 1:5-9)

See also James 5:14-15, 1 Tim 4:14, and 1 Peter 5:1-4 for other references to elders.

Adding further confusion to the hierarchy of the first century church (were bishops and elders on the same level?), the apostles sometimes referred to themselves as elders  - John refers to himself simply as “the elder” in 2 John 1:1 and 3 John 1:1.

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Deacons

Finally, we have the deacons, which comes from the Greek word diakonos, often translated as "servant":

“an attendant, that is, (generally) a waiter (at table or in other menial duties); specifically a Christian teacher and pastor (technically a deacon or deaconess):—deacon, minister, servant.”  (Strongs Hebrew and Greek Dictionaries)

Traditionally, the first deacons were seven Hellenistic Jewish Christians chosen by the apostles to assist in the “daily distribution of food” to the poor:

"They chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit; also Philip, Procorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolas from Antioch, a convert to Judaism." (NIV, Acts 6:5)

Stephen has the distinction of being the first martyr in the history of the church (his murder being aided and abetted by one Saul of Tarsus). 

The qualifications to be a deacon are similar to those of being a bishop or elder – with the distinction that there is no requirement to have the gift of teaching:

^“8Deacons, likewise, are to be men worthy of respect, sincere, not indulging in much wine, and not pursuing dishonest gain. ⁹They must keep hold of the deep truths of the faith with a clear conscience. ¹⁰They must first be tested; and then if there is nothing against them, let them serve as deacons. ¹¹In the same way, their wives are to be women worthy of respect, not malicious talkers but temperate and trustworthy in everything. ¹²A deacon must be the husband of but one wife and must manage his children and his household well. ¹³Those who have served well gain an excellent standing and great assurance in their faith in Christ Jesus.”  (NIV, 1 Tim 3:8-13)

By the end of the first century, deacons assisted church leaders, managed the church treasury, and served the needs of the poor.  In time, they also assisted (but not administered) in sacraments such as baptism.

Both women and men served as deacons in the early church, as can be seen by the Phoebe mentioned by Paul in Romans 16:1-2.  The NIV translates it as follows:

^“1I commend to you our sister Phoebe, a servant of the church in Cenchrea. ²I ask you to receive her in the Lord in a way worthy of the saints and to give her any help she may need from you, for she has been a great help to many people, including me.”  (Romans 16:1-2, NIV)

The word that the NIV (and KJV) translates as “servant” is actually from the Greek word diakonos, defined above (the NIV has a note which gives an alternative translation of diakonos as “deaconess”).

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Women in leadership positions

There is ample evidence that Christianity was an egalitarian religion at it’s inception – both men and women were welcome in leadership positions.  We’ve already mentioned Phoebe the Deacon, and (possibly) Junias the Apostle.  The table below summarizes some of the church leadership positions of women in the New Testament.