Hellenization of Christianity

Talk about the Romanization or Hellenization of Christianity. Please explain this phenomenon and discuss specific ways in which Christianity changed through this process.

Christianity began as a sect of Judaism, or as a radical cult that was still affiliated with the nation of Israel and Israel's state religion. However, as apostle to the gentiles, Paul wrote in his letter to the Philippians: "In Christ there is no Jew nor Greek," in other words, that Christ came to save humanity, and was not a Messiah who belonged to the Jewish people alone (4:1-9). In his letter to the Galatians, Paul spends a great deal of time explaining how and why gentiles do not need to uphold Jewish practices such as circumcision, because Christ's teachings had superseded Mosaic Law.

These teachings of Paul made it theologically or intellectually 'possible' for gentiles to adopt Christian beliefs without adopting Hebraic customs and culture. It also disassociated Christianity from the land of Israel, because Christianity, as interpreted by Paul was a universal religion, rather than a state religion tied to the land or to a history of practices of a specific nationality. Of course, the Roman conversion of the Emperor Constantine in the early 4th century, who made the religion the state religion of the Roman Empire was quite influential in spreading the faith, but although this made Christianity a national religion, it was still not a land 'of the people' like Judaism, but a religion now imposed upon many different peoples within the auspices of the Empire (Kries, 2001). Later Church fathers such as Augustine who had been educated in Latin and in the Greek philosophy of Plato further Hellenized the religion with their teachings (Kries, 2001).

Early mystery cults such as the cult of Isis show that it was not unusual for Romans to adopt foreign religions (Kries, 2001). Christianity was unusual in its exclusivity -- a Christian could not worship other gods. The institutionalization of a separate authority in the form of the Pope, and the notion of heresy, that there was one correct teaching for Christians, made the religion a separate and unique governing 'body' apart from its Hebraic origins.

Works Cited

Kries, Stephen. "Lecture 16: The Church Fathers St. Jerome and St. Augustine."

The History Guide: Lectures on ancient and medieval European history. 2001

Last updated 28 Feb 2006. 16 May 2007. http://www.historyguide.org/ancient/lecture16b.html