Cosmic Spirituality in the Early Church Fathers
A small summary on the Early Fathers Christocentric Spirituality...
The Early Church Fathers, who were influential sources to the Dogmas of Catholicism, most of which were principal theologians and leaders in the early Church, contributed significantly to the development of Catholic Dogma, spirituality, and theology developing the proper hermeneutics in the understanding of Biblical theology according to the Apostolic teaching. Their deeply spiritual insights and commentary on the realities of the Cosmic Christian Priesthood and the role of all humanity as Divine Agents of the Creator of the Cosmos reflect a truly essential flux of the fundamental principles of thought in early Christian tradition that ought not be forgotten nor abandoned.
The Historical Context which the Early Fathers lived and ministered…
The Early Church Fathers (100–500 AD) include heroes of the Faith such as Clement of Rome, Ignatius of Antioch, Justin Martyr, Irenaeus of Lyons, Tertullian, Origen, and Augustine of Hippo. These early Fathers were instrumental in guiding and shaping Catholic Dogma and Spirituality, as well as were fierce warriors for the Church against all threats of Heresy and Schism.
During the times of the Roman Empire, the early Christians faced persecution and struggled with defining their beliefs in relation to both Jewish traditions and the Greco-Roman world. Their writings and teachings reflect efforts to articulate uniformity in Christian identity, Ecclesiology, Spirituality, and Dogma in increasingly challenging circumstances, not too much different from the current Crisis we are living in as Catholics. A return to the Fathers and Christocentric Spirituality will give us a glimpse into the perrennial teaching of the Church that is unchanging and essential to our identity as Catholics.
The Cosmic Priesthood of Christ and His people
The conception of the Cosmic Priesthood refers to the idea that the God-Man Jesus Christ, through his incarnation, death, and resurrection, acts as Supreme Priest not only for the Sacred Heart's Love of humanity, but also for His deep Love for the entire cosmos. To put it quite simply, Jesus Christ's Creative work transcends human history and affects the entire created order.
For example, Irenaeus emphasizes Christ as the new Adam, who restores the fallen creation in its entirety in a New Creation of Resurrection. He viewed Christ's role as encompassing both the redemption of humanity and the reconciliation of all creation to God. This is the foundation of Christocentric Spirituality, which not only cares for man, but also treats Creation with Love and the tender kindness of our King of the Cosmos.
“According to Irenaeus’ incarnation theology, creation is not a barrier to beholding God, but is the very means by which God reveals himself to us. If our eternal happiness consists of beholding the glory of God (as the beatific vision claims, and as Irenaeus affirms), must this “beholding” be unmediated by creation in order for it to be eternal and beatific? Has not the illuminating fact of the incarnation—Jesus’ body—shown us we can indeed have a beatific vision mediated by creation? Irenaeus is careful to insist (much like Barth) that the only way we can know God is through the embodied man Jesus Christ.” -Gerald Hiestand, St. Irenaeus, the Beatific Vision, and the instrumentalization of Creation
St. Ireneaus emphasized the ontological tramsformation of human beings through their union with Christ by the infusion of grace. He taught that humans, as a central part of the divine plan through Christ, have a role in fulfilling the purposes of God. “The glory of God,” Irenaeus says, “is a living man [or ‘a man fully alive’]” (4.20). And that life consists of beholding God. That we might see God, the Father has made himself known to us in his Son, who took on our human nature, was present in this creation, and saved it, that we might participate in the glory of the Father. We are made fully alive in Jesus, who came that he might “vivify those who receive and behold him through faith (4:20).” -Chad Bird, Church Fathers: St. Irenaeus of Lyon, Champion of the Incarnation, 7/25/22.
Augustine of Hippo elaborated on the idea of Christ as the Universal Mediator who restores the divine order through His redemptive work, thus portraying the Cosmic Priesthood as integral to the divine plan for salvation. “The conversation led us towards the conclusion that the pleasure of the bodily senses, however delightful in the radiant light of this physical world, is seen by comparison with the life of eternity to be not even worth considering….Step by step we climbed beyond all corporeal objects and the heaven itself….We ascended even further by internal reflection and dialogue and wonder at your works, and we entered into our own minds….In this wisdom there is no past and future, but only being, since it is eternal. We touched in some small degree [eternity]. And we sighed and left behind us ‘the first fruits of the Spirit’ bound to that higher world, as we returned to the noise of our human speech where a sentence has both a beginning and an ending”- St. Augustine (Confessions 9.10)
Ignatius of Antioch's writings also reflect an understanding of believers as active participants in the cosmic drama of salvation. “in heaven a star flashed, more brilliantly than all the stars. Its light was beyond description, and its remarkable newness caused astonish-ment. All the rest of the stars, together with the sun and the moon, made a chorus around that star, and its light transcended them all.
There was a great disturbance as to where its remarkable newness came from, so dissimilar it was to them. Because of it, all magic began to be dissolved and every wicked bond began to vanish. Ignorance began to be abolished, the old kingdom began to be destroyed, when God appeared in human form to bring the newness of eternal life.
What God had fashioned was beginning! The whole universe [ta panta] was set in commotion from then on, because the destruction of death was being accomplished (Eph. 19:2-3).” - St. Ignatius of Antioch
Theological Implications
Some Biblical Foundations for the Christocentric Spirituality of the Cosmic Priesthood are found in Hebrews 4:14-16, Describing Jesus Christ as the great High Priest who has entered the Heavenly Sanctuary, emphasizing His priestly role; and Colossians 1:16-20 speaks of Christ's intimate and immediate role in Creation and reconciliation of all things to Himself, underlining His cosmic authority.
The theological notion of humans as Divine Agents reflects the mystically inspiring concept that human beings, by their relationship with God through Christ are able to truly participate in God's redemptive work and have a role in the Divine plan. This is attributed to the ancient belief that human beings are called to act as intermediaries between God and the world, a kingdom of priests. Genesis 1:26-28 depicts humans as being lovingly created in the image of God and given dominion over creation, being Divinely assigned a role as stewards and agents in the divine order of Faith, Hope, and Charity founded in God's Goodness. 2 Corinthians 5:20 speaks of believers as the royal ambassadors for Christ, sharing in His mission of cosmic reconciliation with all of Creation to the Creator.
The teachings of the Early Church Fathers reflect a theological vision where Christ’s Cosmic Priesthood and the role of humans as Divine Agents are certainly and intimately interconnected. Christ's work is Truthfully seen as cosmic in scope, and humans, through their union with Him, participate in and extend this divine work through the Church and giftings in the Holy Ghost. The theological concept of humans as Divine Agents emphasizes that salvation is not only a matter of personal redemption in the subjective but also involves a transformative participation in God’s ongoing work in the world, in the primary objective. This perspective highlights the central call for Christians to act in alignment with divine purposes, contributing to the restoration and renewal of creation by Faith working through Love.
In summary, the Early Church Fathers provided a profound understanding of the Cosmic Priesthood and the role of Christocentric Spirituality in the lives of all believers. Their teachings reflect a holistic view of salvation that encompasses both the cosmic and human dimensions, rooted in a deep internal and external engagement with Scripture and the early Christian tradition.