Paul's World
Copyright 2015 - 2020 by Paul Baumgartner
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Christian Charity 0 to 1,000 AD
The deeds of the early church - up to 1000 AD
By Paul Baumgartner
Copyright 2015
The deeds and miracles of healing did not stop with Jesus or the apostles. This work continued on in the early church as well. In researching this, I came across many books on the subject which I could not sub-sequentially run out and buy. This research is limited only to what I could find on the Internet. I would like to thank Steve Shives for what precipitated this study because of his video about chapter 9 of the book, "God is not dead." In this video, Steve states that 'there were no good deeds by Christians during the first 1,000 years of Christendom.' So I started looking and the following list is what I found. One thing that is interesting is that Christians continued having miracles of healing occur through their prayers and visitation to those that were ill. Iraeneus talks about this in his apology. An apology then was a statement of proof for arguing that Christianity was a true and valid religion. These were offered to the emperors of that time and this was before Christianity was a legal religion in the Roman Empire, so one would dare not offer any evidence that could not be verified. And then I found much more. Some dates are approximate.
25 AD - Jesus turns water into wine to help out at a wedding. Turning Water to Wine (John 2:1-12).
26 AD -Jesus heals the son of a nobleman. Nobleman (John 4:46-54)
26 AD - Jesus heals a man with an Unclean Spirit (Mk 1:21-28; Lk 4:31-37).
26 AD - Jesus heals Simon's Wife's Mother (Mat 8:14-17; Mk 1:29-34; Lk 4:38-41).
26 AD - Jesus heals a Leper Came to Him (Mat 8:2-4; Mk 1:40-45; Lk 5:12-16).
26 AD - Jesus heals a Paralytic (Mat 9:2-8; Mk 2:1-12; Lk 5:17-26).
27 AD - Jesus healing at the Pool of Bethesda on the Sabbath day (John 5:1-47).
27 AD - Jesus Raises the Dead Son at Nain (Lk 7:11-17).
28 AD - Jesus sends out the 12 disciples to preach and heal the sick (Matt 10).
28 AD - Jesus heals the demon possessed daughter of A Woman of Canaan (Mat 15:21-28; Mk 7:24-30).
28 AD - Jesus Feeding Four Thousand (Mat 15:32-39; Mk 8:1-9).
28 AD - Jesus helps the disciples with their taxes with a Miracle of the Coin in the Fish's Mouth (Mat 17:24-27).
28 AD - Jesus heals The Ten Lepers (Lk 17:11-19).
28 AD - Jesus Raises Lazarus from the Dead (John 11:1-46).
28 AD - Jesus heals The Blind and Lame Came to Him (Mat 21:14).
30 to 50 AD
Peter Heals a Lame Beggar Acts 3-4
The Apostles Heal Many people Acts 5-9
Paul heals the lame man at Lystra Acts 14
58 AD - Paul wants to go West to Rome and Spain, but first to collect & deliver money for poor Christians in Jerusalem (1 Cor 16:1-4; Rom 15:22-32; Acts19:21); Paul stays in Corinth three more months (Acts 20:3), and writes Rome from there (Rom 16).
Paul and some associates deliver this collection to Jerusalem; soon he is arrested in the Temple (Acts 20–21).
108 AD - Saint Ignatius of Antioch writes in his letters noting that the deacons are entrusted with the ministry of good works:
"I exhort you to strive to do all things in harmony with God: the bishop is to preside in the place of God, while the presbyters are to function as the council of the apostles, and the deacons, who are most dear to me, are entrusted with the ministry (i.e., good works) of Jesus Christ" (Letter to Magnesians 6, 1).
Notice that the early church had deacons in addition to elders (presbyters, a council), and a bishop (like God or ruling over all in the church). This tradition has continued throughout the church to this day. Deacons are typically given the responsibilities of dispersing the funds donated to the church in ways to help the needy.
110 AD to 312 AD - The Roman and Greek world had a habit of exposing female children and leaving them to die. The early church had inordinate numbers of females because Christians came around to pick up these exposed children and care for them.
http://thewardrobedoor.com/2012/02/adoption-movement-recaptures-early-church-distinctive.html
https://www.christianhistoryinstitute.org/magazine/article/women-in-the-early-church/
112 AD - Governor Pliny writes Emperor Trajan for advice in dealing with "The Christian Problem," AD 112
Pliny, the Roman governor in Bithynia, in present day Turkey, had a problem. What was he to do with the Christians who were spreading rapidly? He wrote to his emperor Trajan in Rome, seeking advice. He describes the Christian problem and shows how some under pressure were willing to renounce their faith and others were not. He then gives valuable description of Christian life, practice and worship at that time.
"An anonymous document was published containing the names of many persons. Those who denied that they were or had been Christians, when they invoked the words dictated by me, offered prayer with incense and wine to your image, which I had ordered to be brought for this purpose together with statues of the gods, and moreover cursed Christ -- none of which those who are really Christians, it is said, can be forced to do -- these I thought should be discharged. Others named by the informer declared that they were Christians, but then denied it, asserting that they had been but had ceased to be, some three years before, others many years, some as much as twenty-five years, They all worshipped your image and the statues of the Gods, and cursed Christ. They asserted, however, that the sum and substance of their fault or error had been that they were accustomed to meet on a fixed day before dawn and sing responsively a hymn to Christ as a god, and to bind themselves by oath, not to some crime, but not to commit, fraud, theft, or adultery, not falsify their trust, nor to refuse to return a trust when called upon to do so. When this was over, it was their custom to depart and to assemble again to partake of food -- but ordinary and innocent food. Even this, they affirmed, they had ceased to do after my edict by which, in accordance with your instructions, I had forbidden political associations. Accordingly, I judged it all the more necessary to find out what the truth was by torturing two female slaves who were called deaconesses. But I discovered nothing else but depraved, excessive superstition."
130 AD - "As citizens, they share in all things with others and yet endure all things as if foreigners. They marry, as do all others; they beget children; but they do not destroy their offspring. They have a common table, but not a common bed. They are in the flesh, but they do not live after the flesh. They pass their days on earth, but they are citizens of heaven. They obey the prescribed laws, and at the same time surpass the laws by their lives. They love all men and are persecuted by all... they are put to death and restored to life. They are poor yet make many rich; they are in lack of all things and yet abound in all; they are dishonored and yet in their very dishonor are glorified. They are evil spoken of and yet are justified; they are reviled and bless; they are insulted and repay the insult with honor; they do good yet are punished as evildoers. When punished, they rejoice as if quickened into life; they are assailed by the Jews as foreigners and are persecuted by the Greeks; yet those who hate them are unable to assign any reason for their hatred. To sum it all up in one word -- what the soul is to the body, that are Christians in the world."
-Epistle to Diognetes
135-40 AD - Hermas circa AD 135-40 AD in his list of good deeds which ought to be done after faith and the fear of the Lord love concord words of righteousness truth patience places the helping widows looking after orphans. Shepherd Comm viii
150 AD - "True Christians do no evil and are the empire's best ally, since they believe in the resurrection of the dead and in continued conscious existence after death, with reward for good deeds, and punishment for evil. " - Apology, Justin
150 AD - In his Dialogue with Trypho, Justin says “For the prophetical gifts remain with us even to the present time.” Later in the same work, he says, “Now it is possible to see among us women and men who possess gifts of the Spirit of God.” Also “[Christians] are also receiving gifts, each as he is worthy, illuminated through the name of this Christ. For one receives the spirit of understanding, another of counsel, another of strength, another of healing, another of foreknowledge, another of teaching and another of the fear of God." Dialogue with Trypho, Sect. 39
It is in the second apology that we find some significant comments. "For numberless demoniacs throughout the whole world, and in your city, many of our Christian men exorcising them in the name of Jesus Christ, who was crucified under Pontius Pilate, have healed and do heal, rendering helpless and driving the possessing devils out of the men." Apol. II. Chapter 6.
His reference to gifts of the Spirit being commonly exercised by many in local Christian communities does not speak of revival but nevertheless underscores the continued vibrancy, including healing and casting out demons, of the Christian faith during this century. God was living and active in this church, just as he was in apostolic days, the spiritual gifs were being used to help others.
178 AD - According to Irenaeus, the city of Lyons, Gaul, (present day France) was the scene of a local revival at some time subsequent to A.D. 178. In it many people were delivered from demons and came to Christ and many others were healed of sicknesses through the laying on of hands. Irenaeus also reported that prophetic gifts were in operation at this time and that people were raised from the dead. Irenaeus, Against Heresies 2. 32. 4 (quoted in Richard Riss, A Survey of 20th century Revival Movements, p8)
This is the full quote from Irenaeus, Against Heresies Book 2. 32. 4-5:
"4. If, however, they maintain that the Lord, too, performed such works simply in appearance, we shall refer them to the prophetical writings, and prove from these both that all things were thus predicted regarding Him, and did take place undoubtedly, and that He is the only Son of God. Wherefore, also, those who are in truth His disciples, receiving grace from Him, do in His name perform [miracles], so as to promote the welfare of other men, according to the gift which each one has received from Him. For some do certainly and truly drive out devils, so that those who have thus been cleansed from evil spirits frequently both believe [in Christ], and join themselves to the Church. Others have foreknowledge of things to come: they see visions, and utter prophetic expressions. Others still, heal the sick by laying their hands upon them, and they are made whole. Yea, moreover, as I have said, the dead even have been raised up, and remained (5) among us for many years. And what shall I more say? It is not possible to name the number of the gifts which the Church, [scattered] throughout the whole world, has received from God, in the name of Jesus Christ, who was crucified under Pontius Pilate, and which she exerts day by day for the benefit of the Gentiles, neither practicing deception upon any, nor taking any reward (6) from them [on account of such miraculous interpositions]. For as she has received freely (7) from God, freely also does she minister [to others]."
"5. Nor does she perform anything by means of angelic invocations, (8) or by incantations, or by any other wicked curious art; but, directing her prayers to the Lord, who made all things, in a pure, sincere, and straightforward spirit, and calling upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, she has been accustomed to work (9) miracles for the advantage of mankind, and not to lead them into error. If, therefore, the name of our Lord Jesus Christ even now confers benefits [upon men], and cures thoroughly and effectively all who anywhere believe on Him, ……"
http://www.revival-library.org/pensketches/revivals/04secondcentury.html
197 AD - " On the monthly day, if he likes, each puts in a small donation; but only if it be his pleasure, and only if he be able: for there is no compulsion; all is voluntary. These gifts are . . . not spent on feasts, and drinking-bouts, and eating-houses, but to support and bury poor people, to supply the wants of boys and girls destitute of means and parents, and of old persons confined now to the house; such, too, as have suffered shipwreck; and if there happen to be any in the mines or banished to the islands or shut up in the prisons, for nothing but their fidelity to the cause of God's Church, they become the nurslings of their confession. But it is mainly the deeds of a love so noble that lead many to put a brand upon us. See, they say, how they love one another, for they themselves are animated by mutual hatred. See, they say about us, how they are ready even to die for one another, for they themselves would sooner kill. "
Tertullian preserves the amazing pagan observation of the Christians: "See how they love one another."
-Apology of Tertullian
200 AD - St Valentine restored the sight of the jailor.
251 AD - "In the year 251 the church in Rome has on its books the bishop (in other words the pope), 46 priests, 7 deacons, 7 sub-deacons, 42 acolytes, 52 exorcists, readers and doorkeepers, and the very large number of 1500 widows and paupers being 'fed by the grace and kindness of the Lord."
http://www.historyworld.net/wrldhis/PlainTextHistories.asp?ParagraphID=dfg#ixzz3XcWK8R
251 AD - Saint Anthony - Anthony was born in Coma (or Koma) near Herakleopolis Magna in Lower Egypt in 251 to wealthy landowner parents. When he was about 18 years old, his parents died and left him with the care of his unmarried sister. Shortly thereafter, he decided to follow the words of Jesus, who had said: "If you want to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasures in heaven; and come, follow Me",[Mt 19:21] which is part of the Evangelical counsels. Taking these words quite literally, Anthony gave away some of the family estate to his neighbors, sold the remaining property, donated the funds thus raised to the poor, placed his sister with a group of Christian virgins,[6] a sort of proto-monastery of nuns, and himself became the disciple of a local hermit.[3]
251 AD - "The term fossor is of frequent occurrence in the inscriptions of the catacombs Marchi p 91 gives several epitaphs of fossores Boldettt I 15 gives the following from St Callistus Sergio et Junius Fossores BNM in pace bisom, but the most common appearance of the term is in the later epitaphs which testify to the purchase of graves from individuals of this class The burial of the departed was probably at first a work of Christian charity performed without fee or reward by their surviving brethren."
252 AD - Justin Martyr has well summarized the loved duty To undertake the care and support of the sick who need someone to assist them is the part of the greatest kindness and is of great beneficence and he who shall do this will both offer a living sacrifice to God and that which he has given to another for a time he will himself receive from God for eternity Justin vi 12 So prominent a place did the giving of alms to the sick occupy among the exhortations addressed to the Christians of the first days that the injunctions to succour the sick sufferers seem not infrequently to have been extended beyond the circle of the Household of faith We find S Cyprian for instance on the occasion of the great plague of Carthage AD 252 telling in one of his addresses his audience that to cherish our own people was nothing wonderful but surely he who would become perfect must do more he must love even his enemies as the Lord admonishes and expects It is our duty not to fall short of our splendid ancestry In the saintly bishop's own grand untranslatable words “Respondere nos decet natalibus nostris 1” The Christians of Carthage as their reply at once raised amongst themselves an abundant fund and forming a company for the succour of the sick absolutely helped all without any inquiry as to whether the sick sufferers were pagan or Christian. – Pontius, Life of Cyprian
280 AD - Saints Cosmas and Damian are said to have been brothers from Arabia and physicians, who left their native place and settled in the Mediterranean port city of Aegea in Cilicia, modern south east Turkey. They practiced medicine without taking any fee for their services, for which reason the Greek Church gives them the title “Unmercenary Saints”, (ἀνάργυροι, literally ‘un-moneyed’, Slavonic ‘бєзсрєбрєники’), a title which they share with several others. During the persecution of Diocletian at the beginning of the fourth century, their Christian charity brought them to the attention of the local Roman governor, and they were martyred for the Faith, along with their brothers Anthimus, Leontius and Euprepius.
http://beforeitsnews.com/christian-news/2014/09/the-feast-of-ss-cosmas-and-damian-2502796.html
300 AD - Arnobious writes of good deeds done by Christians in India.
300 AD - The pagan Greco-Roman world did not give modern Western civilization hospitals, however. These institutions first appeared in the fourth century A.D., organized by Christian churches in the Greek (eastern) half of the Roman Empire. Christians, however, were the first to open public hospitals—institutions designed to offer room, board, and therapeutic care, based on scientific medicine, to anyone who needed such assistance. These hospitals evolved from earlier Christian welfare institutions known in Greek as xenodocheia or xenones (hospices or hostels).
312 AD - In 312 the emperor Constantine converted to Christianity, and that faith began its climb to dominance in the Roman Empire. Bishops assumed civic leadership roles, often while remaining true to Christ’s command (Matthew 25) to feed the hungry, shelter the homeless, and visit the sick. With Christianity’s new prominence, people were increasingly seeking help from the churches. And the bishops responded, establishing xenodocheia as a new type of welfare institution capable of providing material assistance to far more people than ever before.
https://www.christianhistoryinstitute.org/magazine/article/from-poorhouse-to-hospital/
313 AD - The Council of Arles (313) encourages Christians to take in abandoned children.
http://www.dominicansavrille.us/tag/charity/
350 AD - In 312 the emperor Constantine converted to Christianity, and that faith began its climb to dominance in the Roman Empire. Bishops assumed civic leadership roles, often while remaining true to Christ’s command (Matthew 25) to feed the hungry, shelter the homeless, and visit the sick. While the fourth-century church grew, population surged in rural areas of the eastern Roman Empire. And as families in the countryside grew larger, younger children migrated from villages to cities in search of jobs. Their immune systems were not prepared to resist the new diseases that they encountered in urban areas. Among the worst of these was leprosy, which also increased during the fourth century. The need was great: with Christianity’s new prominence, people were increasingly seeking help from the churches. And the bishops responded, establishing xenodocheia as a new type of welfare institution capable of providing material assistance to far more people than ever before.
Christian xenodocheia began as poorhouses where homeless men and women could find clean beds, nourishing meals, and new clothes. These poor houses also supported local residents who had homes but were unable to feed their families. As these instruments of public charity grew to serve more and more needy people, fourth-century bishops found that their expensive services could not be financed solely through donations from the faithful at Sunday services. Thus they pleaded with wealthy Christians to donate estates as endowments for the xenodocheia. Some even managed to convince emperors to assign tax revenues to cover expenses.
Christian xenodocheia grew so successful that when an emperor came to the throne who was not a Christian—Julian the Apostate (361–63)—he was embarrassed at the obvious inferiority of pagan charity and sought to establish a network of pagan xenodocheia to compete with Christian welfare agencies. This was a canny proselytizing move, as the emperor realized that many followers of the traditional gods were turning to Christianity precisely because of such agencies. In a letter to a pagan high priest, Julian claimed: “It is disgraceful that, when no Jew ever has to beg, and the impious Galilaeans [Christians] support not only their own poor but ours as well, all men see that our people lack aid from us.”
With growth in Christian social services came specialization. During the 350s the Christian monastic leader Eustathios from Sebasteia and his communities of urban monks developed a new type of xenodocheion that served that most socially visible class of the sick: the lepers. Eustathios founded a leprosarium outside Sebasteia in 355, providing care for these sufferers for whom medicine offered no cure but who nonetheless needed food, shelter, and baths for their oozing sores. Meanwhile, xenodocheia began to specialize in serving other categories of needy people. Alongside those that offered long-term care for lepers, others arose with a special mission to shelter poor homeless people. A third type of xenodocheion concentrated on curing treatable diseases. The transformation from poorhouse to hospital was underway.
Perhaps best signifying Christianity's triumph in transforming the pagan culture into one which actually valued virtues such as charity is that Constantine -- the first Christian Emperor -- set about to widen the scope of charity in the Roman Empire. "He [] acknowledged the new ideal of charity. Previous emperors had encouraged schemes to support small numbers of children in less favored families, the future recruits for their armies. Constantine gave funds to the churches to support the poor, the widow and orphans." Moreover, according to Fox, the church used the funds it received from Constantine to fund their charitable efforts. "Swollen by the Emperor's gifts, it helped the old, the inform, and the destitute." Fox, op. cit., page 668. Thus, with its first Emperor convert, Christianity had an immediate, practical impact on Roman society's approach to charity.
http://www.christiancadre.org/member_contrib/cp_charity.html
353 AD - "St. Nerses also became known for his concern for moral purity and preserving the sanctity of marriage and family life. He built schools and hospitals, orphanages, shelters for the poor and the lepers, and he urged his people to maintain these institutions. Thus, St. Nerses has been described by many as the founder of Christian charity in Armenia and recognized as the clergyman who established the Church's role as the guardian of the Armenian people in its spiritual, social, and educational aspects. "
http://www.armenianchurch-ed.net/feasts/catholicos-st-nersess-the-great/
360 AD - Saint Basil builds a complex of buildings in Ceasarea centered around humanitarian services and charity.
368 AD - One such woman was named Olympias in Constantinople. She was a very good friend and, in fact, the confidante of John Chrysostom, who became the Bishop of Constantinople the last few years of the 4th century and the first years of the 5th century. She had enormous property; it's been calculated, using rather conservative estimates of how you translate ancient money into modern American dollars, that her contributions to the Church of Constantinople and surrounding areas was something like $900 million. You can see why churchmen liked women like this and why it was very important for the charity operations of the church, which were now feeding hundreds, indeed thousands, of poor people, orphans, widows; hospitals needed to be built that Christians were organizing. Her good works included building a hospital, an orphanage and even looking after Monks who had been led in exile from Nitria. All of this even led to John Chrysostom telling her that she had done almost too much.[12] Her support for John Chrysostom led her to being exiled in 404, which resulted her in losing her house and living the rest of her life in exile at Nicomedia, where she would die on July 25, 408, after a long illness.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olympias_the_Deaconess
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/religion/first/roles.html
361 AD - Emporer Julian “It is disgraceful that, when no Jew ever has to beg, and the impious Galilaeans [Christians] support not only their own poor but ours as well, all men see that our people lack aid from us.”
https://www.christianhistoryinstitute.org/magazine/article/from-poorhouse-to-hospital/
369 AD - St Basil of Caesarea founded a 300 bed hospital. This was the first large-scale hospital for the seriously ill and disabled. It cared for victims of the plague. There were hospices for the poor and aged isolation units, wards for travelers who were sick and a leprosy house. It was the first of many built by the Christian Church.
http://www.cmf.org.uk/publications/content.asp?context=article&id=827
"Hospitals were a very altruistic Christian invention. The word itself is all mixed up with the words hotel and hospitality. By the 4th century AD, newly Christianized Romans began running homes for the sick and needy. By the 8th century, the functions of Christian hospitals, or hospices, were highly specialized. Some served the sick, some the needy, lepers, the insane, and orphans."
http://www.uh.edu/engines/epi991.htm
382 AD - Jerome first met Paula in Rome in about 382. She was one of a group of high-born women who devoted themselves to strict asceticism and benevolent service. The leader of the group was Marcella (325–410), an ardent student of the Bible to whom Jerome referred questions from bishops and presbyters after he left the city. With her friend Principia, she opened the first convent for women. The group included Ascella, Albina, Marcellina, Felicitas and Fabiola. Their lives came to revolve around charity-blankets for the poor, money and food for the bed-ridden, burial for the paupers. With the help of Paula’s widowed son-in-law, Pammachius, Fabiola founded Rome’s first hospital.
https://www.christianhistoryinstitute.org/magazine/article/paula-a-portrait-of-4th-century-piety/
390 AD Around 390, John Chrysostom, the virtuoso preacher who was then serving as priest at Antioch (Syria), described two separate charitable facilities maintained by Antioch’s Christians. One was a leprosarium for lepers and people with incurable cancer. The other he called a xenon (synonym for xenodocheion). Here one could see patients with “every cause of illness, strange forms of disease and many different types of suffering.” Chrysostom did not mention physicians, but later, as bishop of Constantinople, he built two institutions which he called nosokomeia (places for the sick). Over these he appointed clergymen as supervisors, and he staffed them with physicians and urban monks who worked as nursing attendants. Even the cooks he hired for these houses of healing served a medical purpose: in Greek medicine, diet was considered a vital part of curing illness.
In one of his sermons, Chrysostom explained the rationale for Christian work with the poor and sick: “Do you wish to honor the body of Christ? Do not ignore him when he is naked. Do not pay him homage in the temple clad in silk, only then to neglect him outside where he is cold and ill-clad. He who said: ‘This is my body’ is the same who said: ‘You saw me hungry and you gave me no food,’ and ‘Whatever you did to the least of my brothers you did also to me.’ What good is it if the eucharistic table is overloaded with golden chalices when your brother is dying of hunger?”
If you hear a note of rebuke in these words, you catch a common theme in Chrysostom’s preaching: frustration at wealthy congregants who did nothing while the poor suffered.
A few years after Chrysostom opened these hospitals, Neilos of Ancyra in Asia Minor wrote a letter using a hospital as a metaphor for the world and its spiritually sick inhabitants. Like a hospital physician, Christ examines each patient to determine the right medicines and diet to restore spiritual health: “Many are the sick people in the hospital of this present age. The same medicine does not fit them all, nor is the same diet right for all. The physician (Christ) assigns the medicines and diet appropriate for each patient.” By the end of the fourth century, everyone knew what a Christian hospital was.
397 AD - St Ninian came to Scotland healing the ill.
http://www.whithorn.com/saint-ninian.htm
399 AD - Said to have lived in the late Third Century AD and to have performed a miraculous first leg transplant on a patient, and later martyred under the Emperor Diocletian, Cosmos and Damian appear in the heraldry of barber-surgeon companies.
The legacy of this early period was, in the words of Porter, that "Christianity planted the hospital: the well-endowed establishments of the Levant and the scattered houses of the West shared a common religious ethos of charity."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catholic_Church_and_health_care
400 AD - Fabiola establishes the 1st Christian Hospital in Europe.
https://www.christianhistoryinstitute.org/magazine/article/from-poorhouse-to-hospital/
405 AD - Salvian divests himself of his property to live the monastic life.
http://www.tertullian.org/fathers/salvian_gov_00_intro.htm
430 AD - Cyril of Alexandria sent 1,000 pounds of gold to the church in Constatinople.
506 AD - The Council of Agde commands that slaves made free by their masters should not be oppressed or taken advantage of, and that the church was to care for and protect them. Bishops were commanded to provide resources for those they freed:
‘7. Concerning slaves of the Church, if any bishop shall reasonably have bestowed liberty freely upon well-deserving cases, it is pleasing that the liberty conferred should be cared for by his successors, with whatever the manumitter conferred on them in granting liberty; yet nevertheless we order him to give them the sum of twenty solidi and to set bounds to their lands, little vineyards, or house.
Whatever was given above this the Church will revoke after the death of the manumitter. But little things, or things less useful to the Church, to pilgrims, or to the clergy, we permit to remain for their use, saving the right of the Church.’
’29. The Church shall take care of freedmen legitimately freed by their masters if necessity demands it; but if any one presume to plunder them or to oppress them before the hearing of their case, he shall be prevented by the Church.’
https://bibleapologetics.wordpress.com/christians-and-slavery-13/
526 AD - Guest Houses for Travelers - During the fifth and sixth centuries, organized monasticism grew up in the West, patterned on the large ascetic communities organized by Saint Pachomius in Egypt. The most significant Western monastic leader was Saint Benedict, who founded Monte Cassino in 526. For this monastery he wrote the Rule that later became the handbook for Western monasticism. Unlike Eustathios and Basil, Benedict strove to keep his monks separated from the world and away from cities, but he required them to welcome guests (hospites) and maintain a guest house (hospice): “All arriving guests should be welcomed like Christ, for He Himself will say, ‘I was a stranger and you welcomed me.’”
538 AD - Council of Orleans mandated the ransoming of Christian slaves. "Hence the Church regarded it as a duty to take a special interest in such slaves The Council of Orleans 53S 44 insists that they shall be protected if their Jewish master exacts from them anything contrary to the Christian religion or if he punishes them for a fault which has been already remitted by the Church A Synod held three years later in Orleans goes still further It appoints that if a Christian who is slave to a Jew flees to a church or to another Christian he is to be ransomed according to a just valuation which appointment the Synod of Macon extends to the decree that every Jew must submit to the redemption of his Christian slaves at the settled price of ten solidi 6 7s 45 If he refuses to accept this price they are without further ceremony free Finally Gregory the Great entirely forbids the keeping of Christian slaves by Jews He declares it to be an objectionable and abominable thing He even permits such slaves as only intend to be Christians to flee from their masters and assures them of the protection of the Church He likewise limited the trading of the Jews in Christian slaves a limitation46 which was the more important because as it was just the Jews who carried on so flourishing a trade in slaves the prohibition must have directly co operated in the limitation of slavery itself."
540 AD - "Procopius’ invective also encompasses Theodora’s charitable works. The chronicler John Malalas describes Theodora assisting girls living in poverty to avoid being forced into prostitution. In his work Buildings, Procopius describes how Theodora and Justinian established a refuge for prostitutes and lavishly praises their generosity." (Although there are some negative perceptions of Theodora's actions per how she treated some of those that were in the refuge and how she orchestrated the massacre in the hippodrome, this does show that charity was at the regular intent of those that claimed to be Christians).
http://www.academia.edu/9653757/Procopius_and_the_Empress_Theodora
540 AD - Justinian built a hospital an hospice complex in Jerusalem. "The Nea Church complex faced the Cardo Maximus, as well as the hospice and the hospital. According to Procopius, this important street was expressly resized during the building of the Nea Church, and archaeologists agree in ascribing to Justinian’s building activity the construction – or reconstruction, according to Y. T SAFRIR 14 – in a monumental look of this south segment of the Cardo. Their central location, the presence of the main street serving them, and the endowing of a large sum of money for the whole Nea Church complex (which included the hospice and the hospital), reveal the relevance and the fortune of these two charitable structures and justify the interest of a sixth-century pilgrim in Jerusalem."
5th-6th century AD - When Christians in Arles were being sold in the market as a result of being captured in recent wars, the bishop Caesarius stripped his church of its expensive silver plate and utensils, in order to purchase those who had been enslaved and set them free, saying ‘Our Lord celebrated his last supper in mean earthen dishes, not in [silver] plate, and we need not scruple to part with his vessels to ransom those he has redeemed with his life’
https://bibleapologetics.wordpress.com/christians-and-slavery-13/
600 AD - Geoffrey Blainey likened the Catholic Church in its activities during the Middle Ages to an early version of a welfare state: "It conducted hospitals for the old and orphanages for the young; hospices for the sick of all ages; places for the lepers; and hostels or inns where pilgrims could buy a cheap bed and meal". It supplied food to the population during famine and distributed food to the poor. This welfare system the church funded through collecting taxes on a large scale and possessing large farmlands and estates.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catholic_Church_and_health_care
600 AD - St John the Almsgiver, Patriarch of Alexandria (died 619), for example, devoted all the wealth of his see to helping those whom he called 'my brothers and sisters, the poor'. When his own resources failed, he appealed to others: 'He used to say,' a contemporary recorded, 'that if, without ill-will, someone were to strip the rich right down to their shirts in order to give to the poor, he would do no wrong.'' Those whom you call poor and beggars,' John said, 'these I proclaim my masters and helpers. For they, and they alone, can really help us and bestow upon us the kingdom of heaven.' The Church in the Byzantine Empire did not overlook its social obligations, and one of its principal functions was charitable work.
http://orthodoxinfo.com/general/history3.aspx
603 AD - Pope Gregory I built a hospice in Jerusalem.
630 AD - Eligius, Bishop of Noyon, frees large numbers of slaves by purchasing them with church funds and then giving them their liberty:
‘Religious men from all parts came to him, foreigners also and monks, and in whatever way he could serve he would either give them the money or share the price of the captives; for he had the greatest enthusiasm for this kind of work.
Indeed, whenever he understood that a slave was being offered for sale, he hastened with the utmost speed in his mercy and immediately gave the price and freed the captive. Occasionally he redeemed from captivity at the same time as many as twenty, thirty, or even fifty; sometimes even the whole body of slaves up to a hundred souls, coming from various peoples, and of both sexes, he would free as they left the ship; there were Romans, Gauls, and Britons also, and men of Marseilles, but they were chiefly men of Saxony, who at that time in large numbers like flocks were expelled from their own lands and scattered in different countries.’
Monumenta Germaniae Historiae, Scriptores, Bruno Krusch, ed., (Hanover, 1902), Tome IV, p. 677; reprinted in Roy C. Cave & Herbert H. Coulson, A Source Book for Medieval Economic History, (Milwaukee: The Bruce Publishing Co., 1936; reprint ed., New York: Biblo & Tannen, 1965), pp. 292-293.
https://bibleapologetics.wordpress.com/christians-and-slavery-13/
6th-7th century AD - Gregory the Great, bishop of Rome, officially declares slavery is ‘a cruel evil, ‘a great crime‘, and commands any bishop who permits it in his diocese to be punished. Speaking of the importance of freeing slaves, he said ‘a good and salutary thing is done when men, whom nature from the beginning created free, and whom the customs of nations had subjected to the yoke of servitude, are presented again with the freedom in which they were born.’
Gregory made generous pronouncements on the freeing of serfs and slaves, encouraging the use of church funds to obtain their freedom and stating that those who had been freed with money would not have to pay it back to the church:
‘Since our Redeemer, the Creator of all creatures, wished to assume human flesh, so that by the grace of His divinity He might restore us to our pristine liberty, which has been taken away from us so that we are thereby held captive under the yoke of servitude, it is done wisely if those whom nature brought forth as free men in the beginning, and whom the law of nations placed under the yoke of servitude, are returned in freedom to that state of nature in which they were born by the benefits of manumission. So, moved by consideration of this and by feelings of piety, we make you, Montana and Thomas, serfs of the Holy Roman Church, over which with the help of God we rule, free and Roman citizens from this day, and we free all property held by you in serfdom.
The statutes of the holy canons and lawful authority permit that the goods of Holy Church may be used for the redemption of captives. And so because we were taught by you, before we reached the age of eighteen, that a certain holy man named Fabius, Bishop of the church of Firman, used eleven pounds of silver from that same church for your redemption and for the redemption of your father Passivus, your brother and co-bishop, a priest at that time, and also of your mother, from the enemy, and on account of this fact you are obsessed by the fear that what was paid will be required of you after a certain interval of time, we wish to see your fear allayed by this command, that you and your heirs suffer no molestation at any time by reason of any demand for this money, nor shall you be harassed by any questioning, for the spirit of charity demands that what pious zeal expends ought not to be imposed as a burden or affliction on the redeemed. ‘
(However, although Gregory was generous towards Christian serfs and slaves, he inconsistently sanctioned the enslaving of pagans.)
https://bibleapologetics.wordpress.com/christians-and-slavery-13/
650 AD - France, the Queen Saint Bathilda (626-680) established the prohibition of slavery.
http://www.dominicansavrille.us/tag/charity/
700-800 AD - Christians from France recued Spain from Muslim invaders.
742 AD - Charlemagne had decreed that a hospital should be attached to each cathedral and monastery. Following his death, the hospitals again declined, but by the tenth century, monasteries were the leading providers of hospital work - among them the Benedictine Abbey of Cluny.[5] Charlemagne's decree required each monastery and Cathedral chapter to establish a school and in these schools, medicine was commonly taught.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catholic_Church_and_health_care
800 AD - In Charlemagne, Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire, enlarged the hostel and added a library to it (Muristan, the hospital and hospice complex in Jerusalem).
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muristan
800 AD - "Three important factors determined the success of the Salernitan School: first, medical education in Salerno began in the Benedictine monasteries, resulting in association between medical learning and hospitals of the Church."
https://www.christianhistoryinstitute.org/magazine/article/timeline-healthcare-and-hospitals/
800 AD - Records of Charitable works were found in the Nestorian Church in China.
http://www.atour.com/religion/docs/20011114a.html
800 AD - There were at least 24 Christian hospitals in Rome.
800-900 AD - Benedictine monks in the West preserve ancient medical science during a time of unrest as they copy medical manuscripts, maintain herb gardens, and experiment with elixirs to cure diseases. Hospitals enter period of decline, lack of funds, and in some cases destruction, but many bishops and clergy still work to do what they can for the poor.
800-900 AD - Jerusalem Hospital founded by a community of Augustinians.
https://www.christianhistoryinstitute.org/magazine/article/timeline-healthcare-and-hospitals/
807 AD - Christians made pilgrimages to the Holy Shrines of Christ as early as the 5th Century. Jerusalem fell to the Saracen nomads from Syria and Arabia in 683 A.D. but, by the start of the 9th Century, the Emperor Charlemagne had a protectorate over the Holy Places which was recognized in 807 by Caliph Haroun-al-Rachidin. Charlemagne founded a Latin hospice for pilgrims along with other Christian establishments. Peaceful coexistence ended in 1010 when a tyrant Caliph destroyed the hospice and the Church of the Holy Sepulcher.
http://www.sosj-victoria.ca/about-us-2/purpose-history/
930 AD - The first recorded almshouse was founded in York by King Athelstan.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Almshouse
946 AD - Gerbert of Aurillac (c. 946 – 12 May 1003), known to history as Pope Sylvester II, taught medicine at one such school.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catholic_Church_and_health_care
988 AD - "Returning to Kiev, Vladimir began the conversion of his people to Christianity. He formed a great council out of his boyars, and set twelve of his sons over his various principalities. He put away his former pagan wives and mistresses and destroyed pagan temples, statues, and holy sites. He built churches and monasteries and imported Greek Orthodox missionaries to educate his subjects. He also reportedly gave generously to various charitable works."
http://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Vladimir_I_of_Kiev
1000 AD - "By the 10th century, when pagan Europe was converted, there were over 20,000 Christian hospitals in cities and monasteries across the continent."
http://www.worldhistoryinstitute.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/WHI_09SEPT2012_JournaL3-1.pdf
The observations of a prominent present day researcher.
Sociologist Rodney Stark analyzed the survival and growth of the early church in the first few centuries. Here is his fascinating summary of the Early Church.
". . . Christianity served as a revitalization movement that arose in response to the misery, chaos, fear, and brutality of life in the urban Greco-Roman world. . . . Christianity revitalized life in Greco-Roman cities by providing new norms and new kinds of social relationships able to cope with many urgent problems. To cities filled with the homeless and impoverished, Christianity offered charity as well as hope. To cities filled with newcomers and strangers, Christianity offered an immediate basis for attachment. To cities filled with orphans and widows, Christianity provided a new and expanded sense of family. To cities torn by violent ethnic strife, Christianity offered a new basis for social solidarity. And to cities faced with epidemics, fire, and earthquakes, Christianity offered effective nursing services. . . . For what they brought was not simply an urban movement, but a new culture capable of making life in Greco-Roman cities more tolerable." Rodney Stark, The Rise of Christianity, Princeton University Press, 1996, page 161.
Conclusions:
1) "Christianity has, from the beginning, been charitable. The Christians of the first century were concerned with looking after the widows and others in need. In more recent times, many charities, such as the Red Cross and World Vision, have been started by Christians and because of Christian principles. And studies today show that Christians give more to charity than is given by non-religious people. "
http://www.astorehouseofknowledge.info/w/Christianity
2) Although charity is not a new idea, charity in the Christian sense took on a whole new perspective. In Matthew 25:40 (New International Version), Jesus said, “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’" With Christianity, the object of charity and the object of worship are one in the same. It is certainly one thing to give a bit of what you have extra to help others, it is another to give precedence to the other. In Galatians 5:13 it says, "Serve one another humbly in love." Throughout Christian history we find people that sell all they have, live on the bare minimum and live their entire lives giving to the poor and helping others, truly centering their lives on others.
3) In studying the issue of Christian charity in the first 1,000 years of Christianity, it also becomes very clear that the Christian church made serious advancements for equal rights of women and the abolishment of slavery.
4) It is a good idea to do some research before formulating beliefs.