Founding of Christendom: Paul's First Mission-- post 8

We have covered the Apostles that were the most obscure. So let us now turn our attention to one of  the best documented--- the Apostle St. Paul. We won’t cover his whole story here.

We already witnessed his conversion, and  his short attempt at preaching, before he left to live in Arabia in the desert for three years praying and meditating, to prepare for his mission to preach. He probably had other private revelations and visions of instructions from our Lord at this time too.

St. Paul was already established as a leader in the Church. He was present in Jerusalem when Herod Agrippa the first  died. He was bringing supplies and money from Antioch. St. Paul is the best documented of the Apostles. He earned it. He worked tirelessly and without compromise.

The faithful gathered, in Antioch, for a liturgical  mass in 45 AD for guidance in evangelization. It must have been a great feast for the celebrants were the bishops:
 St. Paul and Barnabas, Simone Niger (thought to be Simone of Cyren the one who helped Jesus' carry his cross) and Manhen, foster brother of Herod Antipas--the same Herod who questioned Jesus himself. Some speculate that this is how we got some of the information of what happened at Jesus' trial with Herod.

St. Luke says in Acts (13:2) that St. Barnabas and St. Paul were to be set aside for a great work. This begins St. Paul the Evangelist on his first missionary journey.

St. Barnabas and St. Paul headed for Cyprus, Barnarbas' home land, with Barnabas' cousin, the young St. Mark, whose house Pentecost took place. The three traveled the whole island and established a method of preaching first in synagogue, and once rejected there, they turned to the Gentiles.

Preaching through the whole island, they reached the  town of Paphos, on the western end. They were asked to explain their doctrine to the Roman proconsul, Sergius Paulos. They were opposed by a Jewish magician, who felt challenged by these foreigners. St. Paul rebuked him and he was stuck blind for his deceit. We are told the proconsul Sergius believed in Christ.

The group of three headed for the main land and they decided to go through the Taurus mountains to the city of Antioch in Pisidia, (Not to be confused with the town of Antioch in Syria) which was a major military colony, the Legion of Lark, started by Julius Caesar. They were mostly soldiers from Gaul (Celtics from western Europe-- mainly France)

The Taurus Mountains would be intimidating to the little group. They towered 2 miles high and the pass to the city they beheld was a real challenge. There were robbers,  no rest areas, or towns along the way-- a grueling haul. It was such a challenging decision that St. Mark decided to go home to Jerusalem. But St. Paul and St. Barnabas decided to go on.

Paul and Barnabas entered the synagogue in Antioch and preached; attracting large crowds even of Gentiles. St. Paul debated the Jews and created quite a stir. Thrown out of the synagogue, Paul and Barnabas went to the Gentiles and established a flourishing Christian community. After so many troubles they went southeast, about a hundred miles, to the town of Iconium.

The same pattern was repeated; they preached in the synagogue first, and then to the Gentiles. Again establishing communities. Then went to the Lystra, where St. Paul healed a cripple. He and Barnabas were hailed as gods. Paul and Barnarbas rejected this, saying "we are just men''. The Jews from the nearby towns came to stir up problems, which ended with St. Paul being stoned and being left for dead. He survived, and went to the next town Derbe, establishing another community.

They backtracked through the four towns again, to firm up the faith and ended up on the shores of the Mediterranean, where they started, when St. Mark had left them. Paul and Barnabas sailed back to Antioch in Syria. This was the year of 49 AD; this ended their 4 year first missionary journey.


Continue to next chapter

faith formation: Fatherhood Prudence and Leadership

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There are three styles of fathering:

1.Authoritarian

2. Permissive

3. Leadership

1.) Authoritarian fathering:

uses lots of commands, yelling and threats but little reasoning--draconian in nature.

"Fathers, provoke not your children to indignation, lest they be discouraged." (Colossians 3:21)

“My sons, in my long experience very often I had to be convinced of this great truth. It is easier to become angry than to restrain oneself, and to threaten a boy than to persuade him." (St. John Bosco; Office of Readings, Jan. 31.)

2.) Permissive fathering:

is high on affection but low on authority. Subconsciously children can feel un-loved because they feel not worth the effort to set boundaries. Children raised by permissive parents do not learn age-appropriate behaviors and the consequences for performance or non-performance.

"What  will  become  of  boys  when  from  earliest  youth  they  are  without  teachers?...  to  exercise  this  child’s  soul  in  virtue,  to  that  no  man  any  longer  pays  heed." (St. John Chrysostom-- Vainglory and the Right Way for Parents to Bring Up Their Children #18)

3.) Leadership  fathering:

combines confidence  with reasoning, love, and encouragement. Yelling is avoided.

"Let us be ashamed to assume an attitude of superiority. Let us not rule over them except for the purpose of serving them better.
This was the method that Jesus used with the apostles. He put up with their ignorance and roughness and even their infidelity." (St. John Bosco; Office of Readings, Jan. 31.)

We wish to focus on leadership fathering, which is what Christ wishes of us. Leadership is the "mean"-- the virtue of prudence, between the Authoritarian and the Permissive approach.


A good  understanding of  the Catholic Faith must be instilled in the children. The Theological Virtues of faith, hope, and love, like perfume, should leave their scent in all activities.

Founding of Christendom: St. Thomas' Second Journey to India- post 7

We rejoin St. Thomas and his travels, after the council of Jerusalem  he traveled back to India, by sea this time.

 A new route to India  was being used by 50 AD ---the monsoon route. discovered by the Greek seaman Hippalos, from Arabia to India;  it shortened the route from a year to about 40 days.

 St. Thomas seems to have stayed on the island of Socotra off the Arabian coast  for some time making converts there, waiting to sail to India. This island was on the sea route using the monsoons.



There is evidence of Christians on the island of Socotra in the 10th century, the Arab geographer Abu Muhammad al-Hasan al-Hamdani, stated that in his time most of the inhabitants were Christians.  When St. Francis Xavier arrived on the island in 1542, on his way to India, there was still a Christian community in the hills of the island. They claimed St. Thomas brought them the Faith.

A Christian community existed on the island of Socotra all the way up to the 1800's, until they were wiped out by Mulism Wahabis.

There is a strong tradition from both Christian and Hindu that St. Thomas arrived in Cranganore on Malabar on the south west coast of India in the year 52 AD (the time St. Paul was in Corinth). Cranganore was the capital of the Chera kingdom. It is relatively the same area as the present Kerala.




It seems Thomas arrived alone. There was no Jewish community in India at this time, so he went to the locals from the start. He probably learned some Prakrit, the language in the north.  on his first mission, using this briefly, till he acquired Tamil, the local language.

The Bramans wrote in Keralolpathi about St. Thomas' arrival:

"Thoman, an opponent of all vedas [came to the Malabar coast and converted] many prominent people in the land"

In another writing, [I can't even pretend to pronounce] Nagargarandhravaryolam, a record  from the family Kalathu Mananotes writes:

"Kali year 3153 [52AD] the foreigner Thomas Sanyasi  came to our village, preached there, causing pollution. We therefore came away from that village."

This Town, Palayoor,  still has a Syro-Malabar  Church on the ruins of a Hindu temple to this day.

Christian tradition holds that there were miracles by the hundreds and baptisms by thousands, St. Thomas was quite successful on his second mission. Jews, who came later, in 68 AD, found a thriving Christian Church.

Though documentation of his efforts are rare, we can see his work by its fruits. When the Europeans arrived in the 1500's, they found a Church, honoring St. Thomas, with a priesthood, which still exists today, with hundreds of thousands of believers.

St. Thomas labored 17 years preaching. When he saw it was a solid community; he moved on to the next kingdom of Chola, near the city of Madras. This is where he was killed by Brahmans, pierced through the heart, by a knife, or a spear; we are not sure. But His tomb is honored by Christian Indians to this day, in the area of Mylapore.

Founding of Christendom,--St. Jude, the King and the Shroud of Turin-- post 6

St. Jude, carrying the image of Christ

 St. Judas-Thaddaeus

Tradition has changed his name to Jude, if you remember there were two Judases in the Apostles, so as not to be confused with Judas who betrayed Jesus, it was thought better to make a distinction, thus Jude.  If you ever see an Icon or picture of St. Jude he is usually carrying a portrait of Jesus. We will answer here  why.


We begin St. Jude's story in  Edessa in Arminia Mesopotemia. The modern name of the city is Urfa and it is located in  the Southeast  Region of Turkey.




There is a strong tradition that King Abgar, king of Edessa sent a message to Jesus. Speaking Aramaic in Edessa, the stories of Jesus' miracles most likely reached him. He needed a miracle. This story traces back as far as the 3rd century when it was first written down.

King Abgar suffered from a severe illness, probably leprosy. Hoping for a cure he wrote to Jesus. Unfortunately we do not have this letter. Most likely the Apostles received this contact after the baptism of Cornelius---and the apostolate to the Gentiles. Seeing an opportunity to convert a king --a major figure; they sent St. Jude.

Not only Jude but a picture of Jesus--- most likely his shroud. Why the Shroud?

The Gospels of Matthew [27:59–60], Mark [15:46] and Luke [23:53] state that Joseph of Arimathea wrapped the body of Jesus in a piece of linen cloth and placed it in a new tomb.  After the resurrection, the Gospel of John [20:6]

        Aramaic Bible in Plain English

    "Then Shimeon [Peter] came after him [John] and entered the tomb, gazing at the linens where they were lying,"

Founding of Christendom,--St. Thomas First Mission to India-- post 5

St. Thomas.



St. Thomas, is famous for his "doubting."  But he was a realist. He knew how things work and wanted proof.

It is ironic he was sent to India, whose land was dominated by a religion that denied objective reality-Hinduism claims that reality is an illusion.


Many of the Apostles went beyond the borders of the Roman Empire. So it appears that the Apostles took Christ at his word and went to all the world they were capable of going to.

Though the evidence for all this speculation is murky, we can reconstruct evidence to get a picture.

Particularly St. Judus-Thaddaeus (also known as, St. Jude, not to be confused, with Judas the traitor) and St. Thomas are the best documented, after St. Paul, St. Peter, and St. John.

Let's piece together first, the travels of St. Thomas.


Thomas met a merchant from India, possibly a Christian, named Habban, who told him that King Gundofarr of Taxila, in India, needed a carpenter. It appears that St. Thomas had some skill as a carpenter, like our Lord.

Thomas most likely traveled by land there, because there is a strong tradition that he founded Churches in the Mesopotamia region.

Iran, claims he preached and founded their Church, on his way to India.

India was a trading partner with the Roman Empire at this time. Taxila had strong connections with the Persion Empire too, so they probably spoke Aramaic, the official language of Persia.

So St. Thomas  could communicate since he spoke Judean Aramaic, which is closely related.

More than likely India had a Jewish community where he could preach, and give him time to learn some of the local Indian language, and prepare to go to the Gentiles of India.

King Gundofarr was not Indian; he was Parthian, that is Iranian, and seemed open to allowing the preaching of the Gospel. St. Thomas managed some converts and a small community.

He left  it to the care of a man named Gaurasva. Unfortunately, the kingdom of Gundofarr was wiped out. Kushan barbarians attacked and completely destroyed it, including the small Christian community.

Thomas traveled back to Israel, for the council of Jerusalem, but he would return. Thomas, was not finished in India.

continue to next chapter

faith formation: Understanding Fatherhood

 This is a very good video that explains how fatherhood is a reflection of God the Father. Scott's father had a tragic fathering but he didn't let that stop him. He sought out a true father figure. While all humans have flaws, even fathers, we need to seek out virtuous men we know to help us reflect on God as Father.

Founding of Christendom: The Dispersion of the Apostles -- post 4

Go to the whole world baptizing in the name of
the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit

 

With news of the son of Herod becoming the reigning king of Judea and Samaria, the handwriting was on the wall. Persecution was coming to the Holy Land. The first persecution in Judea was because of a political vacuum in Rome, it resulted with the Martyrdom of St. Stephan.  

But Roman order soon  returned-- though un-easy, until the appointment of Herod Agrippa, the first son of Herod-- his father was the one who  questioned Jesus. His grandfather was Herod the Great, who murdered the Holy Innocents in Bethlehem, at Christ’s birth.  Persecution was clearly coming.


Evangelization could still be done under Roman Law, before then.

Now that Herod Agrippa would be king, the Apostles needed to leave for all the world.

St. Mathew probably already had his Gospel written. Some speculate he had 2-- one in Aramaic and one in Greek. This would make sense in preparation for preaching in lands unknown, since the Persian Empire spoke a form of Aramaic and the Roman Empire, Greek. He was probably already keeping notes even while Jesus was alive. [Eusebius (Church History III.39.16)]

The Church celebrates the feast of the dispersion on July 15th. The time the apostles chose to leave Palestine. Peter was planning to go to Rome --to firm up the believers who were already there, as he had done in other places; and stop on route in Antioch.

Antioch was already under the able hands of St. Barnabas. The future traveling companion of St. Paul.

Herod, to please the Jews, started a persecution on the  Passover of 43 or 44 AD-- capturing St. James son of Zebedee, (the Greater)-- brother to St. John the Apostle. He was beheaded.


 St. James "the Greater" was the  first of the Apostles to suffer martyrdom.

( Legend has it, that St. James son of Zebadee preach in Spain, before this persecution and was visiting Jerusalem at the time; and his converts who accompanied him back to Jerusalem, took his body back to Spain-- His burial spot becoming the famous Medieval  pilgrimage site ---Santiago de Compostela.)

Most of the Apostles had left Jerusalem by 44 AD, except  St. James "the Just" or  James, the younger or  the less...

Eusebius of Caesarea  reports the tradition that James the Just was the son of Joseph's brother Clopas and therefore was a cousin of Jesus, not a brother in a strict sense as described in the New Testament.

This is echoed by Jerome (c. 342 – 419) He  said James is  the son of another Mary, wife of Clopas. One of the Marys found at the foot of the Cross during Christ’s crucifixion.

Jesus and St. James the less, were “brothers” in the Arimaic expression, but really cousins in English.  In Jesus' native language, Aramaic, which, like Biblical Hebrew, does not contain a word for "cousin"; so "brother" or "sister '' is used instead.

St. Peter was arrested at this time and was miraculously freed from prison and found his way to St. Mark's home, where the Last Supper was held.

 It was decided the Christians of Jerusalem should  not be abandoned--- so, St. James --cousin to Jesus, known as "the Just" would stay in Jerusalem and be their Bishop.

He was so pious and good, that even the Jews admired him.


Our most reliable information is about the Apostles:  Peter, Paul, and John,  but sketchy about the others. We will attempt to piece together what we can.

St. Peter probably arrived in Rome in 43 or 45 AD, after visiting Antioch, on the way. Rome was a huge city, by ancient standards, maybe about a million people. With towering buildings sometimes 6 stories high--immense for the times. Quite an intimidating place for Peter--a Jewish Fisherman.

He  sought out the Jewish district to find some sense of security in the bustling city. Probably there were some Christian Jews already there. This area was called the 14th district, north western corner of the city across the river. The hills of which are now the  Vatican city of today. Most likely he followed the plan of St. Paul, and  preached in synagogue to Jews and then  turned to the Gentiles.

One of his possible converts was Pomponia Graecina, wife of Aulus Plautius--general of the army in Britannia. She was known to have turned to a new religion after losing a loved one. Most likely a convert of St. Peter's. It isn't conclusive, but she withdrew from the parties of Rome and became a virtuous woman, it was not one of the other mystery religions popular at the time. We can strongly  suspect it was Christianity.
(It is interesting that in a few hundred years Constantine, who would free the Christians by the Edict of Milan in February 313, would come from the Britannia army)

Where did the other Apostles go?