Guard the good deposit (tradition)

In my line of work I often encounter young Christians zealous to understand the Bible and live it out in their everyday lives. It is always refreshing to interact with those who have recently come to faith. Just like we all go weak at the knees when we see a newborn baby. This is the future!

Something else which often comes up is tradition. Perhaps not surprisingly, young Christians, that is to say Christians who are starting out in their Christian walk and still "learning the ropes" often have no time for what they see to be 'dead tradition'. For them is all about the Bible. When presented with particular truths or practices, a common response is, "I can't see that in the Bible." One is reminded of Admiral Nelson, looking through the telescope with his blind eye: "I see no ships."

It struck me once again, that we do our newborns a disservice, when, besides rejoicing in their conversion, we give them the impression that novelty and unbridled radicalism ('convert's zeal') is everything. While child-like faith is commended by the Lord, and rightly so, the Apostles are constantly exhorting newborns to crave spiritual milk, strive towards maturity - and follow the pattern (typos) given by those more mature in the faith.

A lot of it comes down to a misplaced rejection of tradition. Of course, human traditions are condemned by the Lord in respect of the Pharisees, and, under the Old Testament, by Isaiah and others. But, in so doing, the Lord and prophets were not berating a misplaced faithfulness to the past or insistence on Ancient Truth, but rather an innovation that had become fossilised. The answer to such bad tradition is not the rejection of tradition, but the rediscovery of what tradition really is.

So, what do I mean by tradition? I certainly don't mean ways of doing things that no-one can explain and everyone must adhere to, and certainly not doing things for their own sake without appreciating the meaning. By tradition I mean what the Apostle Paul refers to when he says the following:

"What I received from the Lord, I also handed on [paradokeo, "traditioned"] to you" (1 Corinthians 11:23)

"What do you have that you did not receive? And if you did receive it, why do you boast as if you did not?" (1 Corinthians 4:7)


"So then brothers, stand firm and hold to the traditions we passed on to you, whether by word of mouth or by letter." (2 Thesssalonians 2:15)

"What you heard from me, keep as the pattern of sound teaching, with faith and love in Christ Jesus. Guard the good deposit that was entrusted to you - guard it with the help of the Holy Spirit who lives in us." (2 Timothy 1:13-14)

"And the things you heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable men who will also be qualified to teach others." (2 Timothy 2:2)

Tradition is not about extra-Biblical content beyond Scripture; it is about how we receive Scripture - and we do so by someone handing it on to us, i.e. in the context of a father-son (mother-daughter) discipleship relationship in the communion of the church. And this line of tradition not only about handing on the truth, but about living it out with road-tested Christian experience. (see 2 Timothy 1:13,14)

These same truths are taught by the Apostles Peter, John, James and Jude - and by the Lord Jesus himself.

So tradition is about 'receiving' and 'handing on'. And it is about guarding the deposit of the truth with faith and love by the Holy Spirit. We have because we have received, and we receive in order to hand on. That is the way each one of us came to faith. Someone told us the gospel and we believed. Unless you are in the category of the Apostle Paul, arrested on the way to Damascus by the Lord himself, it can be said of you "how can they hear unless someone preaches" (Romans 10). That is tradition. Likewise, as we grew as Christians we did so as we were taught and discipled by those mature in the faith. That is tradition. And as we continue to live as Christians we do so in the fellowship of Christ's church, submitting to those ordained to the ministry of the Word, and learning from those older (and younger) than us. That is tradition. It is the lifeline of the church. This is how the Holy Spirit has worked and continues to work.

What is the alternative to tradition? You might think it is pure Bible, uncompromised radical living and tradition-free life. But, actually, it is being limited by your own personal opinion, engaging in untested experiments in Christian living and the wallowing in the chaos of a church without a past or a structure. Not the body of Christ but more like an amoeba. I have been a Christian for about 30 years and in my experience these churches do not last very long. And, when they do peter out, those left behind may well go looking for answers in the oddest of places - or sometimes abandon the faith altogether.

So, when it comes to tradition, "He who has ears to hear, let him hear what the Spirit is saying to the churches." 

Timeline of Protestant Christianity in Poland

As many of you will know, Polish is one of the most spoken languages in Britain at the present time. In Scotland, after the indigenous languages, English, Scots and Gaelic, it represents a community of over 50 thousand and in terms of the number of speakers is surpassed only by Urdu (see graph from 2011 census).

Besides Urdu Christians in Scotland, I am delighted that there are now a number of Polish believers in evangelical churches, as well as at least one fellowship group at a church and even a Polish church.

For the benefit of my Polish brethren, here is a timeline of some events in the history of Poland since the Reformation. (I will update this as I find more information.)

1499 Birth of Jan Łaski, the Polish reformer (depicted here at an audience with King Edward of England).

1530s Mennonite Christians from the Netherlands move to Gdansk area (Vistula delta).

1549 Menno Simmons visits Mennonite Christians

1569 Dirk Philips founded the first Mennonite Church in Danzig. Soon there would be 1000 Mennonite Christians in Gdansk.

1556 Jan Łaski recalled to Poland, where he became secretary to King Sigismund II and was a leader in the Reformed church.

1560 Death of Jan Łaski

1563 Bible translated into Polish (Brest Bible)

1563 Polish Reformed Church (Ecclesia Major) loses non-Trinitarians, who break away to form Ecclesia Minor

1570 Consensus Sandomiensis unites Lutheran, Reformed and Czech Brethren in Poland around the Confession of Sandomir (Konfesja Sandomierska), a Polish rendering of the Second Helvetic Confession. The map to the right shows the spread of different Christian confessions in 1570.

1573 Warsaw Confederation, guaranteeing the right for Polish nobles to be Protestant or Roman Catholic

1588  Change of leadership in Mennonite church; Quirin Vermeulen deposed; church splits into Frisian and Flemish factions, reflecting divisions in Dutch church.

1595 Reformed–Lutheran Union in Poland fell apart.

1598  Dutch language Bible published by Polish Mennonites

1632 Gdansk Bible translated. This was the translation used by Polish Protestants up until the Warsaw Bible in 1975.

1638  Frisian faction of Mennonites in Poland purchase a building for church meetings and poor house.

1648 Flemish faction of Mennonites in Poland purchase a building for church meetings and poor house.

1656 Provisions of Warsaw Confederation annulled, ending toleration for Protestants

1658 Polish brethren, including the Vistula delta Mennonites are expelled from Poland

1668 Conversion from Roman Catholicism punishable by death

1671 Mennonite confession of faith by Georg Hansen

1717 Protestant nobility were stripped of all their political rights, public worship banned.

1724 Execution of Protestants, including two Protestant mayors.

1768  Flemish Mennonites complete German catechism

1764 Under enlightened king Stanisław August Poniatowski (1764–95), the Reformed quickly began to rebuild themselves from ruins.

1768 Political rights of Protestants reinstated

1786 Mennonite Christians start to emigrate from Poland to Russia

1808 Flemish and Frisian Mennonites in Poland reunited.

Some links to internet resources in Polish: 

https://omniglot.com/babel/polish.htm

https://baptysci.pl/kosciol/historia

http://www.kech.pl/historia/

https://przeglad.olkuski.pl/narodziny-rozkwit-i-upadek-reformacji-w-polsce/

My thanks go to Krzysztof Rutkowski of Legatio for his help, updating this page and providing internet resources.

«Аще и во гроб» - пасхальный знаменный распев, славление (and English translation)

«Во гроб сошёл бессмертным,
разрушил силы ада
и воскрес, как победитель,
говорил жёнам-мироносицам „Радуйтесь“,
апостолам дал мир,
и своим воскресением дал воскресение всем остальным,
и все праведники взошли с Ним на небо».

«Аще и во гроб» - пасхальный знаменный распев, славление


"He descended to the grave immortal,
destroyed the power of hell
and rose as a victor,
he said, "Rejoice," to the Myrrh-bearing women
gave peace to the Apostles
and by his resurrection he
gave resurrection to all the rest,
and all the righteous ascended with Him to heaven."

Kontakion for Easter (my translation)

Воля Бога и свобода человека (1647)

"Бог от всей вечности, по мудрейшему и святому благоволению воли Своей, свободно и неизменно предусмотрел всё, что происходит: но таким образом, что Бог не есть автор греха, воля его творений не насилуется, и свобода или условность вторичных прични не упраздняется, а утверждается."

Вестминстерское вероисповедание, глава 3, раздел 1, 1647 

"God from all eternity did, by the most wise and holy counsel of His own will, freely, and unchangeably ordain whatsoever comes to pass: yet so, as thereby neither is God the author of sin, nor is violence offered to the will of the creatures, nor is the liberty or contingency of second causes taken away, but rather established."

Westminster Confession of Faith, chapte
r 3, section 1, 1647

Библейская истина и реальность (К С Льюис, Просто Христианство)

Я помню, во время одной моей беседы пожилой офицер, побывавший, видно, во многих переделках, поднялся и сказал: "Мне вся эта болтовня ни к чему. Hо, доложу вам, я тоже человек религиозный. Я знаю, что Бог есть. Как-то ночью, когда я был один в пустыне, я чувствовал Его присутствие. Это величайшая тайна. Именно поэтому я не верю всем вашим аккуратным формулам и догмам. Да и каждому, кто пережил реальную встречу с Hим, они покажутся жалкими, сухими и ненастоящими".

В каком-то смысле я согласен с этим человеком. Вполне вероятно, что он и в самом деле пережил встречу с Богом в той пустыне. И когда от личного опыта он обратился к христианской доктрине, то, видимо, почувствовал, что переходил от чего-то реального к отвлеченному и не очень значительному. Hаверное, что-то подобное испытывал бы человек, который видел Атлантический океан с берега, а теперь рассматривает его на карте. Сравнимы ли океанские волны с куском раскрашенной бумаги? Однако дело вот в чем. Карта - действительно кусок раскрашенной бумаги, но вы должны понять две вещи. Во-первых, она составлена на основании открытий, сделанных сотнями и тысячами людей, плававших по настоящему Атлантическому океану, то есть как бы впитала в себя богатый опыт, не менее реальный, чем тот, который пережил человек, стоявший на берегу. За одним исключением. Человек этот видел океан лишь в каком-то одном, доступном ему ракурсе. Карта же сконцентрировала в себе все опыты, вместе взятые. Во-вторых, если вы хотите куда-то отправиться, карта вам необходима. Пока вы довольствуетесь прогулками по берегу, впитывать в себя величественное зрелище гораздо приятнее, чем рассматривать карту. Hо пожелай вы отправиться в Америку, она будет вам несравненно полезнее, чем ваши прогулки. 

К С Льюис, Просто Христианство

What is your wall? (a reading of Nehemiah)

(No, this is not about the Coronavirus.)

Since October I have been meeting up with a friend on a weekly basis to read through the Old Testament book of Nehemiah. Notwithstanding occasional interruptions, we have met up pretty much every week. Some of the passages have been really engaging, full of new insights and discussion points, while others, such as chapter 3 (a list of names of those who worked on which bit of the wall), have been harder work. But there hasn't been a passage we have got nothing from, albeit at times the passage has been a springboard to talk about other related topics.

Nehemiah, written at the time of restoration after exile in Babylon, is about rebuilding a wall.

Chapters 1-6 begin with Nehemiah, who is in government service for the powerful Persian Empire, hearing of the reproachable state of his home city. This drives Nehemiah to prayer, followed by boldly petitioning the Persian for permission to remedy the situation. While his compatriots catch his vision, he has to overcome the opposition of those "with no claim or historical right" to Jerusalem.  In the end the wall is rebuilt - in a record fifty-two days - with the involvement of many in the city. 

Chapter 7 represents a bridge between the two sections of the book.

Then from, chapter 8 onwards, the rebuilding continues, but now it is about rebuilding the community spiritually - another "wall" but of a different kind. This involves heeding God's Word and calling on Him in confession and worship, addressing the spiritual causes of the exile. I am still on chapter 9, so there is more to come...

As I have been long-term reading this book, a sermon I found helpful asked, "What is your wall?" In other words, what is the particular focus and task God has set you at the present time. I think I have an answer for me, but I wonder how you might answer that question?  

The origin of the Pentarchy (Five Patriarchates)

The earliest churches, founded by the Apostles, were governed by a plurality of elders, as confirmed by church father Jerome in the 4th century.

By the end of the first century the leading elder, who would preside at the church gathering, preach and celebrated the Lord's Supper, came to be known as bishop. It was he who was responsible for receiving, preserving and passing on the Apostolic Teaching.

In a further development the bishop in the capital city of a given province, which was often also the mother church (first founded), came to be known as the metropolitan and had certain rights over the other bishops in his province, who were known as suffragan bishops.

By the third century, the metropolitans in capitals of dioceses (provinces were grouped into dioceses) came to be known as exarchs, mirroring the political structure of the Roman Empire. For example in the diocese of Thrace, the bishop of Heraclea was an exarch, in Asia Ephesus and in Pontus Caesarea.

In 325 at the First Ecumenical Council at Nicaea, after the accession of Constantine, it was ruled as follows: "Let the ancient customs in Egypt, Libya and Pentapolis prevail, that the Bishop of Alexandria have jurisdiction in all these, since the like is customary for the Bishop of Rome also. Likewise in Antioch and the other provinces, let the Churches retain their privileges." (Canon 6)

At the Second Ecumenical Council in 381 it was added, "Because it is new Rome, the bishop of Constantinople is to enjoy the privileges of honour after the bishop of Rome." (Canon 3) The Fourth Ecumenical Council later clarified the jurisdiction of Constantinople, "Consequently, the metropolitans and they alone of the dioceses of Pontus, Asia and Thrace, as well as the bishops among the barbarians of the aforementioned dioceses, are to be ordained by the previously mentioned very holy see of the very holy Church of Constantinople; that is, each metropolitan of the above-mentioned dioceses is to ordain the bishops of the province along with the fellow bishops of that province as has been provided for in the divine canons." (Canon 28) In other words those metropolitans with their see in diocesan capitals (exarchs) of Caesarea, Ephesus and Heraclea were now subject to the higher, ordaining authority of Constantinople.

We can see this pyramid-like structure (bishop-metropolitan-exarch-Constantinople) in canon IX of the Fourth Ecumenical Council: "If any Clergyman has a dispute with another, let him not leave his own Bishop and resort to secular courts, but let him first submit his case to his own Bishop, or let it be tried by referees chosen by both parties and approved by the Bishop. Let anyone who acts contrary hereto be liable to Canonical penalties. If, on the other hand, a Clergyman has a dispute with his own Bishop, or with some other Bishop, let it be tried by the Synod of the province. But if any Bishop or Clergyman has a dispute with the Metropolitan of the same province, let him apply either to the Exarch of the diocese or to the throne of the imperial capital Constantinople, and let it be tried before him."

At the same Council of 451 Jerusalem was granted autonomy from the See of Antioch and "the bishop of Jerusalem, or rather the most holy Church which is under him, shall have under his own power the three Palestines".

These five elevated episcopal sees, Rome, Constantinople, Alexandria, Antioch and Jerusalem, which enjoyed "jurisdiction" and "privileges of honour", were later designated 'patriarchates' by Justinian in 531.

Within the Empire Cyprus had autocephalous (autonomous) status from 431.

Outwith the Empire, the heads of churches were designated Catholicoi (singular 'Catholicos'), e.g. the Sassinian Church or the Armenian Church.