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The
Book: HISTORY
OF
THE TRUE ORIGINAL CHURCH
("The History of Spiritis Church")
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Introduction
| The Way | The
Apostolic Movement | Constantine
& The Council of Nicea | The
Tree & The Branches | Spiritis
Church | Apostolic
Successions of Spiritis Church
 By
Bishop Glenda Green, D.D.
with Archbishop Larry Jensen, D.D., Ph.D.
Introduction
It is with great humility, in respect of this true privilege, that I present the history of Spiritis Church. For in so doing, I am presenting evidence of the Original Church of Jesus and the Apostles continuing to spread in yet another generation. This is a story as old as the faith itself, moving through history in unbroken succession, one person at a time. This is not the story of institutional hierarchy and doctrine, although both of those powers were also important in shaping Christianity as we know it today. This is essentially the story of how the Jesus fellowship, known in his lifetime and for a generation beyond as "The Way" (or Ortha in Aramaic) moved through history under the power of the Holy Spirit and Love regardless of - and often in spite of - institutional organization and issues of doctrine.
I was
once asked by one of our seminary candidates why I wanted to "found" a new church at a time when
religious conflicts were reaching a fever pitch and enlightenment had demonstrated that faith was the greater power over organization anyway. Stunned for a moment by her unexpected question, I paused to examine the truth of my position. Just as quickly I surprised myself with the answer. "I did not found a church. The Church "found" me!" Were this not the case, and were it not for the splendid education and guidance of Bishop Lee Petersen and Bishop Larry Jensen I would not be in this position of furthering an ancient and eternal work.
Even though I have been blessed with a sacred visitation by Jesus Christ on more than one occasion, and the anointing of the Holy Spirit many times, it would not have been my choice to serve their will through organized religious venues. Until the time that I was chosen for inclusion in the original apostolic movement I had envisioned my service to be loosely and specifically under the guidance of Love alone. Even when I was first invited to accept an Apostolic Vicarage to protect the new messages of Jesus, I accepted only out of respect for the honor that was being paid to the labors of my heart. I also reasoned that by way of fellowship with others of similar dedication I would receive support and perhaps a tempering discipline that could only strengthen my service. Otherwise, I would have continued as before, with a spirit of freedom under the guidance of Love. Little did I know at the time that this is exactly what Jesus originally ordained? Through the guidance of the Holy Spirit, I had been lifted into "The Way" and not consciously realized it.
When Jesus said to His Apostles, "Go into all the world and preach the good news to every creature," he released them from all confining structures and commissioned them to serve with the utmost compassion, tolerance, and acceptance everywhere. This is a radical concept even now, but imagine the impact of such an instruction at a time when "The Way" was thought to be just another sect within Judaism! What happened in the succeeding 2000 years is a marvel and a miracle. Not every act within every chapter is something to be proud of, but the extraordinary victory of a small group of believers has changed the world. Not only did this faith surmount opposition from external forces, but also it resisted and survived the internal domination of corrupting structures. When Jesus said, "You shall know the truth, and the truth shall set you free," he was referring most intimately to the future destiny of his own following.
The triumph
of Christianity has immense historical significance. It
began with a small group of faithful men and women from
the back waters of the Roman Empire and expanded so
vigorously in three centuries that their beliefs
permeated the whole Empire and somehow become the
official religion. In fact, by the end of the 4th
century, it was the only tolerated religion of the Roman
Empire! That is a truly remarkable phenomenon. How it
happened is not clearly known but is definitely a
miracle of perseverance. We can clearly identify various
stages on the path of Christianity, as it moved toward
its ultimate victory. In its first stage, Christianity
begins not as a religion, but as a movement of people
around the man we call Jesus - a single charismatic
teacher. He offered a love-directed, egalitarian
worldview at a time in Jewish history when unification
was imperative if destruction was to be avoided. Those
who followed him had often had different opinions about
who he was, but we know that he was generally regarded
as a holy man by those who assembled in crowds to hear
him speak or receive healing.
[
Index }
The
Way
In
the New Testament stories, it is clearly
revealed that Jesus was preparing his
disciples for a level of leadership and
spiritual knowledge that was not yet
revealed to the throngs of people who
crowded to hear him speak. In one
particularly direct statement, Jesus is
quoted as saying, “Unto you it is given
to know the mystery of the kingdom of God:
but unto them that are without, all these
things are done in parables.” (Mark
4:11) Jesus
was teaching within a Jewish context
having ancient laws, teachings, and
prophecies, a new way to spiritual
fulfillment and to reunion with God.
He had no intention of changing
that foundation, but rather of fulfilling
it through providing an expanded
understanding and more compassionate
applications of it to life.
As his teachings gained more notice
and his followers became more cohesive,
this new power being unleashed first
emerged as a sect within Judaism known as
“The Way” or
Ortha
in Aramaic, the language
that Jesus and his followers spoke.
The
arrest and crucifixion of Jesus had a
terrifying impact on his followers —
especially the inner circle of Apostles.
But of greater importance was the
miracle of revelation that the
resurrection gave them. He
appeared to them over a period of forty
days and spoke about the kingdom of God. On
one occasion, while he was eating with
them, he gave this command:
“Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait
for the gift my Father promised, which you
have heard me speak about.
For John baptized with water, but
in a few days you will be baptized with
the Holy Spirit.” With their typical
worldly orientation, they asked him: “Will
the kingdom of Israel be restored at this
time?” He
said to them, “It is not for you to know
the times or dates the Father has set by
his own authority. But
you will receive power when the Holy
Spirit comes on you.
And you will be my witnesses in
Jerusalem, and all Judea and Samaria and
to the ends of the earth.”
Upon saying this, he ascended into
Heaven.
The Apostles walked back to
Jerusalem, spending much time together in
prayer to strengthen their unity.
But overall, they were despondent
with the loss of their beloved leader and
somewhat unfocused. Jesus had taught them “a way” of living and worshipping,
of valuing and serving, but after his
apparent departure there was a great slack
in the line, and they were sad.
The apostles remained together as
instructed, along with the women beloved
of Jesus and his family.
Then a miraculous event happened on
the feast day of Pentecost, an
agricultural festival celebrating and
giving thanks for the "first
fruits" of the early spring harvest.
On that day, some fifty days after
the Resurrection, the faithful in Jesus
received the baptism of Holy Spirit as
Jesus had promised. Through the fulfilling
of his covenant, the First Church was
born.
This story may be found in the Book
of Acts, Chapter 2.
It reads as follows:
-
When
the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place.
-
Suddenly
a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and
filled the whole house where they were sitting.
-
They
saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to
rest on each of them.
-
All
of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in
tongues as the Spirit enabled them.
-
Now
there were staying in Jerusalem God-fearing Jews from every nation
under heaven.
-
When
they heard this sound, a crowd came together in bewilderment,
because each one heard them speaking in his own language.
-
Utterly
amazed, they asked: Are not all these men who are speaking
Galileans?
-
Then
how is it that each of us hears them in his own native language?
-
Parthians
and Medes and Elamites and those who live in Bet Nahrein, Judeans
and Cappodocians and from the country of Pontus and Asia,
-
And
from the country of Phrygia and Pamphylia and Egypt and the
countries of Libyans that are neighbors of Cyrenia, and those that
came from Rome, Jews and adherents.
-
And
those from Crete and Arabia, behold, we heard them speaking in our
language, wonders of God!
-
Amazed
and perplexed,
they asked one
another, “What
does this mean?”
-
Others,
however,
laughed at
them, as they
said,
"They
have had too
much
wine."
-
Then
Peter stood
up with the
Eleven,
raised his
voice and
addressed
the crowd: “Fellow
Jews and all
of you, who
live in
Jerusalem,
let me
explain this
to you;
listen
carefully to
what I say.
-
These
men are
not drunk,
as you
suppose.
It’s
only nine
in the
morning!
-
No,
this is what the prophet Joel spoke:
-
‘In
the
last
days,’
God
says,
‘I
will
pour
out my
spirit
on all
people. Your
sons
and
daughters
will
prophesy,
your
young
men
will
see
visions,
your
old
men
will
dream
dreams.
-
Even
on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in
those days, and they will prophesy.
By
the power of the Holy Spirit, on Pentecost the First Church was born.
This was about ten days after the ascension of Jesus.
The event was so profound, and those who experienced it were so
ecstatic that 3,000 more people were baptized and added to the followers
of Jesus that day. In this
manner, the Church of The Holy Spirit (Spiritus
Sancti) was established. This is the Church that would spread
throughout the world. It
would diversify greatly in the nature of service, acceptance, and
inclusion. But two things were ever constant: there was reverence for
the Holy Spirit, and all the sacraments that conveyed its presence and
redeeming power. The
love expressed and taught by Jesus was central to the message, which was
retold endlessly in the stories of his life and resurrection.
Though there was no official organization of the Church at this
time, the Power behind it was known by all, and the remembrance of this
Power threads its way through all the sacraments celebrated through all
the ages: It was the Church of
Spiritus
Sancti, which is Latin for Holy Spirit.
Christianity
did not start out as a unified movement. We have to remember that the
disciples were probably dispersed at the very beginning.
That was at a time before they knew themselves as Christians,
before there were any fixed ideas about what Christian beliefs or
rituals should be. There
were no uniform requirements even about their perceptions of Jesus or
what they should tell others about him. The sources that we have tell us
that Christianity started as a multiform process, and the Church adapted
as it moved into very different cultural and language contexts.
In the first century we would be more correct to call it the
Jesus movement. In the
early days after his departure, the teaching began to organize and
reorganize around his memory. The
central theme was the resurrection.
That profound miracle seems to have spread very quickly among his
followers, but the earliest form of that movement was still thoroughly a
sect within Judaism. He was a Jewish Messiah. They were followers of a
Jewish apocalyptic tradition, and they were expecting the coming of the
kingdom of God on earth.
The
earliest
congregations
were
probably
small
sectarian
groups.
At
least
one of
them
seems
to be
based
in
Jerusalem,
and
there
were
others
as
well
spread
throughout
the
countryside.
In
all
probability
there's
at
least
one or
more
in the
Galilee.
It
is
reasonable
to
believe
that
the
earliest
gatherings
of
people
to
celebrate
Jesus’
memory
and
practice
his
teachings
were
really
small
pockets
of
communal
support
all
focused
on
this
identity
of
Jesus
as the
Messiah
and
the
healing
power
of the
Holy
Spirit.
It's
hard
to
know
in all
the
cases
who
the
earliest
group
members
were.
We
know a
few
names
largely
from
the
New
Testament
itself.
In
Jerusalem,
James
the
brother
of
Jesus
seems
to
have
been
the
leader.
There
was a
woman
by the
name
of
Mary
in the
Jerusalem
congregation
as
well
as
Peter
and
some
of the
other
original
apostles
of
Jesus. Beyond
that
we
know
very
few
names.
There
were
just
small
conclaves
of
people
holding
on
tightly
to
their
new
beliefs
and
expectations
while
at the
same
time
continuing
in
their
Jewish
tradition.
The
Jesus
movement
was at
first
a
sect,
and
sects
have
an
interesting
behavior
pattern.
One of
the
things
they
must
do is
to
distinguish
themselves
from
their
dominant
cultural
environment
while
remaining
to
some
degree
part
of it.
A
sect
always
arises
within
a
community
with
whom
it
shares
a
basic
set of
beliefs,
and
yet it
needs
to
find
some
mechanism
for
identifying
itself
as
different.
The
tension
that
arose
from
that
was
manifested
in a
variety
of
ways. There
were
controversies
over
belief
and
practice
such
as
different
ideas
of
purity
and
piety.
But,
another
manifestation
of
tension
was a
restlessness
and
zeal
to
spread
the
message
out,
to hit
the
road,
and to
convince
others
that
their
version
of the
truth
was
better.
What
we
would
call
evangelists
today
were
called
in
those
days
"wandering
charismatics,"
traveling
preachers
and
prophets
who
continued
vigorously
proclaiming
that
the
kingdom
of
heaven
was at
hand,
apparently
continuing
the
legacy
of
Jesus'
own
preaching.
They
traveled
around
without
money
or
extra
clothes,
performing
miracles
and
healing
the
sick
for
free. They
apparently
begged
for
food
or
expected
the
charity
of
those
who
received
them.
This
is a
different
picture
than
what
we've
come
to
expect
from
the
pages
of the
New
Testament
and
yet,
it's
within
the
tradition
itself. Even
Paul
reports
that
he
encountered
people
who
came
from
Judea
with a
different
kind
of
gospel
message. Variety—not
conformity—was
the
typical
presence
of
early
Christianity.
This
runs
contrary
to the
view
that
mainstream
Christianity
has
always,
understandably,
wanted
to
convey.
That
is, at
the
beginning
there
was
only
clarity
and
conformity
of
belief—that
only
gradually,
under
outside
influences,
did
heresies
arise
and
conflict
emerge.
One
of the
most
challenging
aspects
of
modern
historical
scholarship
is
precisely
that
easy
answers
elude
us.
The
harder
we
work
to
determine
the
first
moment
when
Christianity
was
unified
and
everything
was
clear,
the
more
we
must
realize
that
the
only
true
unity
the
Church
has
ever
known
is the
person
of
Jesus
Christ
himself
and
the
power
of the
Holy
Spirit.
“The
Way”
was
propagated
through
the
service
of
love
and
development
of
communities
with a
strong
will
to
find
liberation
and
deliverance
from
Roman
oppression. The
voice
of
freedom
would
always
be
strong
within
it. This desire for liberation and the spirit of caring seemed to
defy
conformity. On
the
contrary
it
created
a turn
of
heart
and
mind
infinitely
adaptable
to the
many
cultures
it
would
enter
and
infuse
with
its
spirit.
Invisibility
was
the
greatest
ally
of the
early
congregations,
a
sense
of
community
was
their
greatest
strength,
and
conviction
in
deliverance
was
their
driving
force. Therefore,
“The
Way”
had
little
need
for
naming
itself,
and
congregations
rarely
considered
their
collective
unit
to be
a “church.” They were united in Spirit — Spiritus
Sancti
—
but
the
congregations
would
not
commonly
refer
to
themselves
as “Christians”
until
after
the
burning
of
Jerusalem
by
Rome
in 70
AD. “The
Way”
was a
sect
within
Judaism,
and it
considered
its
greatest
value
to be
the
fulfillment
of
messianic
prophecy.
For
this
reason,
it
upheld
the
greater
good
of
Israel.
Ironically,
the
catastrophic
destruction
of
Jerusalem
created
a new
opportunity.
For a
short
while,
it was
safer
to be
a “Christian”
than a
Jew!
There
was a
need
for
distancing
and
protection,
and it
was in
this
pursuit
that
congregations
first
began
to use
openly
the
word
Christian. But,
I am
moving
ahead
of the
story. To
understand
the
origins
of the
word
“Christian”
and
its
full
impact,
we
need
to
first
look
at the
contributions
of
Paul
and
the
Apostolic
movement
in
general.
[
Index }
The
Apostolic Movement
The
first Christian fellowships put a great emphasis upon unity amongst one
another, yet the odd thing is they seemed always to have been squabbling
over what kind of unity they were to have. The oldest authentic
documents we have concerning their beliefs, customs, and struggles are Paul’s
letters. In
these letters, he is frequently defending himself against some other
messenger of the faith who has refuted his message, saying, “No, Paul
didn’t tell it right. We have now to tell you the real thing.” So,
it is clear from the very beginning, that there are different ways of
interpreting the fundamental message. There are different kinds of
practice, with many arguments over how “Jewish” are they to be; how
“Greek” are they to be; how do they adapt to and penetrate the
surrounding culture? There
were also no uniform answers about the real meaning of Jesus death; was
the resurrection in body or spirit only; what teachings of Jesus were
most important, and what did they mean?
Paul's
conversion as an Apostle may date as early as three years after Jesus'
death, and no later than the year 35. He was in Damascus when he was
called, according to his own witness. So it looks like there are
already, within two to five years after Jesus' death, Greek speaking
congregations outside of Palestine, and very early in Antioch.
There were also very early communities in Samaria and Galilee.
The
Apostle Paul is, next to Jesus, the most intriguing figure of the 1st
century of Christianity, and far better known historically than Jesus
because of his many letters that have survived as primary documents of
the era. There are many
astonishing things about him. Paul's mission carried Christianity through Asia Minor, and
present-day Turkey, into Macedonia, and Greece, and before his life was
over into Rome (although he did not found the Church of Rome). In his
own time, he saw himself primarily as a prophet to the non-Jews, to
bring to them the message of the crucified Messiah, and he does this in
an extraordinary way. This
is especially interesting because he began his career as one of the
highest Jewish authorities. His impact has resounded throughout the
history of Christianity through his writings which comprise about
two-thirds of the New Testament.
In
the writings of Paul we see for the first time the language that will
become the hallmark of all the later Christian tradition. Indeed this is
where we get much of the vocabulary that makes Christianity distinctive.
The term "Christ" is a title. It's the Greek translation of
the Hebrew word Messioc
and
they both mean exactly the same thing. They both refer to someone who is
anointed. The term is identifying Jesus as a religious figure in a new
way.
For
Paul, however, the term "Christ" does not automatically signal
a Christian frame of reference that everyone today would have
recognized. The term Christ, Messiah, could have been used by any number
of different Jewish people and still meant different things. So just to
hear that term, even in the Syrian city of Antioch, probably wasn't all
that unique, and yet it must have sparked some interest. It is
significant therefore that the Book of Acts tells us that the term
“Christian” (which meant Christ’s men) was first coined in Antioch
as a reference to the Apostle Paul and St. Barnabas, who were indeed
Christ’s men. This could have been as much as ten years after the
death of Jesus.
It
is good to remember, however, that while we think of the term Christian
in lofty and positive terms, at the time that it was coined it was
probably a slur. It was probably thrown at these early followers of
Jesus as some derogatory designation of them.
It is typical with any new religious movement that the insiders
may have their own self identity, while those outside label them with
another term designed to exclude and repel. So when we hear at Antioch
that they are called "Christians" we have to think of that
more in the vein of them being called "Messianists" or
"Christies."
But
Paul had his opponents
— sometimes
from
the leaders of the Jerusalem church led by James the brother of Jesus.
With great concern they cautioned the congregation of
Galatia. "Wait a minute, Paul told you a very simplified gospel
that makes it easy for you to become a member of this new group.
But we know, after all, that if you're really going to be a real
Christian, you first have to be a real Jew and that means, you have to
be circumcised and you have to keep dietary regulations of the Torah.”
And Paul would reply, "No, you don't understand how radically new
this thing is, which God is doing here."
Paul
commands with unprecedented authority this Jewish school, this Jewish
philosophy, this Jewish sect, and declares that its teachings are so
important that the entire map of the world needs to be redrawn. As
this happens the simple dichotomy of Jews and gentiles fades away and we
no longer simply have a Jewish school arguing with other Jews about
interpretations of law and theology. We now have a new map of the world.
The teachings of Jesus have within them the secret to understanding the
new cosmic order. The old distinctions between Jews and gentiles are now
obliterated. That distinction has been supplanted by a new, more
wonderful and beautiful idea in which we have a new Israel that will now
embrace both Jews and gentiles. Through
those who accepted the new covenant and the new faith we can see the
beginnings of what might be called the emergence of Christianity as
distinct from Judaism.
For
some Christians, this never happens. They can't bring themselves to say
that God has thoroughly redrawn the map of the cosmos and has taken them
out of the Jewish world and pushed them onto the stage of history.
Others disagree with Paul on exactly how to read this new map and
exactly what it means, and most importantly, where do the Jews fit in
now, those Jews who are "being left behind."... But, in any
case, the Christian Church itself was now emerging as a new independent
group by the middle of the 2nd century.
With
this explosive spread of Christian churches it cannot be expected that
everywhere, everybody was doing and believing the same thing, singing
the same hymns and reading the same scriptures and telling the same
story. So we have a beginning with great diversity, and the slow
process, particularly in the second century, to establish a greater
unity among the very diverse churches. Developing unity was already a
process in Paul's church. In
fact that was his main motivation for writing letters, to insure that
these newly converted Christians in Ephesus and Philippi and
Thessaloniki and in Corinth have some unanimity in their beliefs.
Christianity,
or one would rather say "Christianities," of the second and
third centuries were a highly variegated phenomenon. We really can't
imagine Christianity as a unified coherent religious movement. Certainly
there were some religious organizations. There were institutions
developing in some Christian churches, but only in some. And, this was
not universal by any means. We know from the literature recovered at Nag
Hammadi, Egypt, that gnostic Christianity did not have the
kind of clear hierarchy that other forms of Christianity had developed.
They still clung to a charismatic leadership model.
There
were also very different views of Jesus in the various types of
Christianity. Perhaps the starkest contrast was among those who considered
themselves as gnostic Christians, and those who considered themselves
Christians in the old Pauline view of things. On the one hand, Paul,
and Pauline Christianity, would have placed all of the emphasis on
Jesus' death and resurrection, and the saving power of that death and
resurrection. Gnostic Christianity, on the other hand, would have placed
its prime emphasis on the message, the wisdom, the knowledge, the gnosis
(which means ‘knowledge’ in Greek)—the knowledge that Jesus
transmits, and even the secret knowledge that Jesus transmits. So one
would have on the one hand faith in the saving event of Jesus' life and
death, and on the other hand knowledge as the great source of adherence
to the Jesus movement on the other hand.
The
second century was the age of definition before Christianity. Now that
it realized it no longer was Judaism, or no longer was a form of Judaism
it had to figure out well then, what is it exactly? What is
Christianity? What makes it not Judaism? How is it able hold on somehow
to the Jewish Scriptures (the Old Testament), and still not be Judaism?
This was one of the major questions confronting Christian thinkers,
writers, and Church leaders of the second century. This was the great
age of Christian diversity, sects, schools, and “heresies” of all
kinds. It was only in the
second century that we begin to see the emergence of what might be
called orthodoxy, or something that might simply be called
"Christianity" in a kind of uniform body of doctrines and
text, that is to say the New Testament. The New Testament as a
collection of texts is a product of the second century, as Church
leaders decided which books were sacred, which books were authoritative
and which ones were not.
By
the third century of our era, we have something called Christianity with
its own sacred books, its own rituals, its own ideas.
But this is also the great age of confrontation with the Roman
Empire. The third century was the great age of persecutions. The Roman
Empire wakes up to realize that there is something new afoot, and from
their perspective, sinister, in new groups that are threatening the
social order and ultimately the political order of the Empire.
And, the Roman Empire was correct. The Romans correctly intuited
that the victory of Christianity would mean the end of the Roman Empire,
the end of the classical world. When we think of persecution we see it, of course, from a
Christian perspective. We see it as heroic martyrs confronting the might
of Rome. The martyrs are indeed a spectacle of tragic devotion. Their
sacrifices were magnificent demonstrations of Christian faith. On the
other side of the coin, however, we must realize that the Roman Empire
was doing what all bureaucracies do. It was trying to protect and to
perpetuate itself.
The
Romans tried to suppress Christianity but failed by such a staggering
measure that in the fourth century, Christianity has become the state
religion. By the end of the
fourth century the newly official Christian Church of Rome is
persecuting all non-Christian groups in the Empire! By the end of the
fourth century it was illegal to practice any form of public worship
other than Christianity in the entire Roman Empire. There is a great
mystery here. How could
there have been such an extraordinary reversal?
Jesus was executed by the Romans as a public criminal and a
threat to their way of life. Yet three centuries later he is being
hailed as a God, as part of the one true God, who is the God of the new
Christian Roman Empire. That is a remarkable progression of
possibilities, an astonishing development in the course of three
centuries. It’s hard to
understand exactly how it happened or why it happened that way, but it
is important to realize that Christianity of the fourth century is not
the same as the Jesus movement of the first or even the second century.
This
of course takes place gradually. It doesn’t happen everywhere all at
once, in the same way. It’s a complex protracted process that must
allow for variety. Early Christianity, by moving into different
cultures, different universes of thought and religion in the ancient
world also adopted numerous concepts from other religions, which
enriched the early Christian movement tremendously.
[
Index }
Constantine
& The Council of Nicea
The
transformation of Christianity over the first 325 years of its existence
is really a profound one. The one who started out as a messianic
claimant, or a religious-political rebel, a victim of the Pax Romana,
had by the time of the conversion of Constantine established the
official religion of the Roman Empire. Even then, that’s not a simple
transformation. It would take another hundred years before most of the
Roman world really converted to Christianity. But still, with the
conversion of Constantine, it w |
