Shepherd Of Hermas
The Shepherd of Hermas is a Christian work of the second century, excluded from the New Testament canon.
Summary |
The Shepherd of Hermas is a Christian work of the second century. It is not part of the New Testament canon, although it is recommended reading. Yet Pastor has a great authority during the Second and Third Centuries. Tertullian and Irenaeus of Lyons cite it as "Scripture", it is linked to the New Testament in the Codex Sinaiticus and included in the catalog of stichomtrique Codex Claromontanus between the Acts of the Apostles and the Acts of Paul. Originally written in Rome , in Greek, a Latin translation made its appearance very quickly (perhaps made by Hermas himself). Only the last version we received is complete.
Author and date
It is in the language and the theological message of the work that we can determine when and where it was written. The reference to Pope Clement I would place the first two visions between 88 and 97. But in the Epistle to the Romans (16:14), Paul commends the Christians in Rome that some Hermas. Some think so, as already suggested by Origen , that he is the author of the Shepherd. But textual criticism, the nature of theology and the similarity with the Johannine texts which the Apocalypse direct us instead to the second century AD.
Three former testimony, one is willing to contemporary, declare that Hermas was none other than the brother of Pope Pius I , whose reign stretched more or less between the year 140 and 155 AD. This corresponds to the dating given by JB Lightfoot in 1891. Here's the evidence:
- The fragment of Muratori is a compilation written about 170 AD which is the first canon of the New Testament. It identifies Hermas, author of "Pastor," as the brother of Pius I , bishop of Rome.
- "As Hermas, The Shepherd he wrote recently in our time, in the city of Rome, while bishop Pius, his brother, occupied the seat of the church in the city of Rome. And therefore we should in fact read it, but it can not be read publicly in church because it is not part of the Prophets, whose number is complete, nor the Apostles because they find it later. "
- The Liberian Catalogue of popes, later used to document the composition of the Liber Pontificalis , states in part that dates 235: "Under the episcopate of Pius, his brother Ermes wrote a book in which are contained the precepts issued to it the angel appearing to him as a pastor. "
- The poem of Pseudo-Tertullian against Marcion dating from the third or fourth century. "Then, after him, Pius, whose brother was in the flesh Hermas, the angelic shepherd, because he recited the words that were given to him by the angel."
These three authorities may cite the same source, namely Hegesippus , including lost work "History of the Church" was used by Eusebius of Caesarea to develop his "Ecclesiastical History". As the Pseudo-Tertullian notes that some details are missing from the list Liberian Catalogue , it seems that it is independent of Pseudo-Tertullian. The statement that Hermas wrote during the pontificate of his brother is probably explained by the fact that his name be placed alongside of Pius I in the list of popes. Without doubt he was the elder brother of the pontiff, who was himself an old man in 140. It is not impossible Hermas had been thirty years in the death of Clement, a period when he received the first two visions.
Content
The book consists of five visions, 12 precepts (or commandments) and 10 similarities (or dishes). The tone is directly given by the use of first person singular: "He (my master) had sold some Rhode Rome. Many years later I saw her and began to love her like a sister. " While the narrator was going to Cumae, he was "seized by the spirit" and had a vision of his former mistress (probably deceased). She explained she had been transported to Heaven to denounce his sins because he had to respect his thoughts unworthy (but fleeting) while he was married. To get God's forgiveness for him and his house, he began to pray. He is comforted by a vision of the Church as a woman "clothed in brilliant" but old, frail and helpless against the sins of the faithful. She asks him to do penance and to correct the sins of his own children. As of repentance as the vision of the woman changes. At first it rejuvenates but keeps wrinkles and white hair, and then it seems even younger, although his hair remains white, and finally took the appearance of a bride.
This allegorical language continues throughout the work. In the second vision she gives a book the narrator so that the feedback and the work, snatches of hands. The fifth vision, taking place 20 days after the previous one, introduces "the Angel of repentance" in the guise of a shepherd, where the work takes its name. It delivers to Hermas a series of precepts which represent an interesting development on the morality of the early Christian communities. One point deserves special attention: the assertion that a husband cuckolded by his wife to resume it if she repents. The 11th commandment for humility and specifically addresses the false prophets who wish to occupy the front ranks. Some saw a reference to Marcion , who came to Rome in 140 AD and wanted to be admitted among the priests (or become Pope).
After the 10 commandments are similarities (or parables) as explained by visions of the Angel. The longest (sim. 9) is a parable that tells of the construction of a tower which had spoken the 3rd. The tower represents the Church and its stones, the faithful. But this vision only 3 saints seem to be the Church while in the 9th similarity is clearly includes all the baptized. However they must remain vigilant, ask forgiveness for their sins, otherwise they could be excluded!
As in most early Christian texts, the Shepherd of Hermas a sounding very optimistic and hopeful despite the seriousness of the topics it covers.
Sources
Pastor indirectly quoted on a regular basis the Old Testament. According to Henry Barclay Swete, Hermas never cites the Septuagint but uses a translation of Daniel that was close to that Theodotion. It uses at least one of the synoptic (and why not three?) And the Gospel of John. There are references to certain letters including one to the Ephesians , to the Hebrews and the First Epistle of Peter. But the Epistle of Jacques and the Apocalypse are the books he uses most often.
The role of the pastor in Christian literature
Reviews of Tertullian and Clement of Alexandria offers an interesting perspective on the controversy and resistance aroused by Pastor among the listeners of the time. Tertullian implies that Pope Callistus I presented the work as authoritative (so that obviously was not one of the books of the Bible), he replied: "I accepted your argument if the wording of the Shepherd had deserved to be included in the Divine Instrument and if the council of churches, your own churches are included, did not consider this text as " apocryphal "and false. He said although the Epistle of Barnabas had more credibility with the churches as "apocryphal Shepherd". (From pudicitia, 10 and 20). As to Clement of Alexandria , he never missed an opportunity to cite this work for its usefulness and inspiration, but often lamented the contempt it caused among the people. Let's not forget two important controversies that divided communities Christian Rome in the middle of the century. The first was the Montanism (also known as "Phrygian heresy among"). Montanus predicted the imminent return of Christ through prophecy received during states of trance or ecstasy. The similarity between these practices and disclosures outlined in the Shepherd could lend weight to this trend. The other was the Docetism who taught that the body of Jesus Christ was only an appearance, thus emphasizing his divine nature rather than human.
Cyprian makes no reference to Pastor, suggesting that the Christian community in Africa in the early third century, did not know or did not use the book of Hermas. A little later the author of the treatise Aleatoribus (Pseudo-Cyprian) calling it "Scriptura divina" Although virtually unknown to the Latins in the time of St. Jerome. In the East, the book is curiously old-fashioned, there are only two incomplete manuscripts in Greek, while the scribes of the Middle Ages were common in the West.
Bibliography
Modern Edition
- The Shepherd by Hermas, introduction, critical text, translation and notes by Robert Joly , a professor at the Universities of Mons and Brussels ; reprinting of the second edition, Paris , Cerf, coll. Christian sources, 1997.
Studies
- The Apostolic Fathers, Full Text, Cerf, 2001. Also available online: See also
Internal Links
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