Sketches of the Early Days of Christianity: the Testimony of the Catacombs

IT has been already observed that the writings, other than those of the inspired Word of God, coming to us from the early days of Christianity, are but few ; nevertheless, there does exist, graven on stone, a written testimony to early Christianity. This lay hidden from the Church for about one thousand years, but was brought to light in the providence of God in the year 1578; we refer to the testimony graven in the catacombs of ancient Rome. Close to the city, underground, there are lite­rally miles upon miles of passages, where the early saints of Rome found both a shelter and a burying-place-indeed, the burials there are reckoned at some millions, while the inscrip­tions counted upon the tombs amount to thou­sands. What treasures of knowledge may yet be brought to light from this sanctuary of the dead we know not, but by it the life and faith of the early Church may be plainly seen.
Even so soon as the year 71—that is, thirty-six years after our Lord's death—there were deposited in this place the bodies of Christians. The heathen, we should remember, burned their dead—that is, provided the relatives of the deceased had money enough so to do; the bodies of the very poor about Rome were cast into pits. Christianity treated the body with godly solicitude, and laid it in the grave to await the resurrection of the just.
Thousands of the graves in the catacombs bear a symbol of faith in Christ, and hope of the resurrection of the body. Among the fa­vorite symbols was the dove with an olive branch in its mouth, followed by the word “Peace." Sometimes the dove would have an anchor represented upon its heart, the token of security; or an anchor alone would be chosen. Again, a ship with its sail furled was a frequent device—the sign of rest upon entry into the harbor. Emblems of victory, the crown and the palm branch, often occur. Peace, security, rest, victory, are thus present as the en­joyed results of the faith of these early and persecuted believers in Christ, The inscriptions utter the same sweet testimony—"In the Home of the Eternal God "—" Borne away by the angels "—" Resting"—" Sleeping"—" He lives above the stars." Such testimonies in such circumstances are more eloquent than volumes of mere history, and far more definite than piles of tradition.
A fish was a favorite emblem, and for this reason: the word "fish" in Greek has for each of its letters the initials of the sentence, Jesus Christ, God's Son, Savior. This emblem meant much in those pagan days, signifying the faith of Christians in the living God, whose eternal Son is our Savior. As this most interesting symbol was one of the earliest used in the Church, so was it one of the first to be discontinued. The pure faith of the early Christians owned the Lord as Son of God and Savior of man, but as the Church grew older, this, His exclusive honor, became less and less respected. And as faith in Jesus Christ, God's Son, the Savior, diminished, so angels, and others, began to be regarded as having part in our salvation, and as angels and saints became to be regarded as helpers in the work of sal­vation, so did the hearts of men cease to have written upon them the gracious realities, Peace, Security, Rest, and Victory. Let anyone study the inscriptions upon the tombstones of a Romanist burying-place, and work out this problem for himself.
Figures of men and women with outstretched hands occur, this posture being that of the atti­tude of prayer. One of these is that of a man, and has written upon its tablet these words­—"Paulus Pastor + Apostol us." A touching simplicity is here! Paul is first described as pastor. Christ “gave” men to the church, "and some...pastors." (Eph. 4:11) The personal service of Paul, the pastor, is graven upon the tablet, his toiling, tender care for the sheep and the lambs of the flock of God is commemorated, and then conies the mark of the cross, in which he gloried, and then his great and powerful title-apostle. A volume lies in these few simple words; no high-sound­ing eminence, no names of ecclesiastical glory, no, the titles of love and power which Christ Himself bestows. This tablet records that which the early Church highly esteemed.
Here it is a fitting opportunity for noting that the Scripture titles of bishop and presbyter occur many times upon these tombs, and by the mention of the wives and children of the bishops and presbyters interred, indicate that the Scripture order concerning such persons being married was honored in the early days of the Church.
These ancient testimonies to the inner life of the Church of God in Rome make no men­tion of a priesthood, nor of one who offers sacrifice, nor of an altar, save in reference to prayer and praise. No; the faith of Christ was then after the teaching of the Bible,, and we have to betake ourselves to the Church as she had developed in later centuries to learn of these unchristian innovations.
The love-feast, which was common in early Christianity, is also portrayed in the catacombs, a custom which, as formerly followed, has com­pletely died out of the Church.
In this subterranean city there are spots where the galleries join, and the passages broaden into a moderately wide space, and where an air-hole over head lets in a glim­mer of light. Here is an ancient meeting place. By what name shall we term the sacred spot where the Christians in these early days were gathered together? An old chain, from which once a lamp was suspended, still re­minds us of the hours spent by the Church in prayer and praise, and round about the immediate walls are inscriptions in memory of beloved ones asleep in Christ, and also rude pictures or symbols of Scripture subjects.
That the Old Testament was familiar to these early saints is evident from the presence of such texts as these upon their tombs, " The Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away: blessed be the Name of the Lord," and by pictures of Daniel in the den of lions, the symbol of the dove with the olive branch in its mouth, the representation of Jonah cast into the sea, the three children in the furnace, the ascent of Elijah to heaven, and other sub­jects. The New Testament in like manner was evidently their wisdom.
A matter of interest regarding the inscrip­tions in the catacombs is the position in life of those whose gravestones are our witnesses. The greater number of inscriptions bear but the name of the tenant of the tomb, and “In Christ," or other such comforting assurance. In several cases, however, the name of the tenant and the trade he followed occur, for example, under the inscription, "Banto and Maxima made thus during their lifetime," are the figures of a two-handed saw, a chisel, and an adze. "Veneria, in peace," has under it the representation of a comb, and shears, and other implements of the trade of a wool-comber. So also the tablet raised by "Mar­cianus, to his most worthy wife, in peace," has the sign of a pair of shoes.
The fossor, or sexton as we should call him, has also his honorable grave, and the inscription, “Diogenes, the fossor, buried in peace," with the figure of the fossor and his tools, his pick, spike and lamp, under the words. His work was carried on in the depths of darkness, the light of God being that alone which illumined the souls and cheered the hearts of these early believers.
Other tablets bear symbols in connection with the names of those whose memory they record. “Navira, in peace—a sweet soul who lived sixteen years and five months-a soul sweet as honey. This epitaph was made by her parents—the sign a ship." Navis signifies ship.
Here, too, as we should expect, are the graves of martyrs. Thus runs one record, “Here lies Gordianus, Deputy of Gaul, who was executed for the faith, with all his family. They rest in peace. Theophila, a handmaid, set up this." She added a palm branch to her memorial. In after years, and before the discovery of this tomb, records were found, showing how Gordianus, with his wife, Marina, became believers in Jesus through the preach­ing of Januarius, and how they, together with their household of fifty-three persons, were baptized. Theophila's palm-branch says to us, “Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us."
Another inscription runs thus: “Primitius, in peace. After many torments, a most valiant martyr. He lived thirty-eight years, more or less. His wife raised this to her dearest hus­band, the well-deserving."
We will record but one other of these affect­ing testimonies from the catacombs. It is adorned on the one side by the emblem of the palm branch, and on the other with the mono­gram of our Savior, which was formed from the first two letters of the name Christ. “In the time of the Emperor Adrian Marius, a young military officer, who had lived long enough, when with blood he gave up his life for Christ. At length he rested in peace. The well-de­serving set up this with tears and in fear."
This would be about the year A.D. 130.
This brief sketch gives us a distinct idea of the faith and the life of the early Christians and their habits of thought, and also an in­sight into the character of the organization-if we may thus call it-of the early Church. And one, we consider, more graphic than those we may present to ourselves through the wri­tings of the early fathers, for such writings are frequently but the opinions of the writers, whereas these express the life of the Church. These testimonies, moreover, are pure and unsullied, whereas it is not at all easy to say what is absolutely genuine of the writings of the early fathers, as they were tampered with by monks and others. The Christians of the catacombs had the Scriptures, and more, they had the gracious effects of the truths of the Scriptures brought home to them and made their own, and, in circumstances of utter bitter­ness, by the power of God the Holy Ghost. Pagan Rome, its military triumphs, its arts, its temples, its religious processions, its altars and its priests, were glorious overhead, the Church underground was despised, but at peace. The glory of pagan Rome, and its horrible vices, fill our hearts with pity and disgust, whilst the perusal of these inscriptions thrills our souls with triumphant joy, yet fills our eyes with tears.
Voices From the Mission Field
SOUTHERN CHINA
IN the colporteurs' travels some months ago, they came upon a large village containing about three thousand inhabitants. It was most picturesquely situa­ted. It was a long way off from the main road, and surrounded by great mountains that served as huge barriers to keep its people from the outer world. One of the mountains that lay between them and an impor­tant city beyond, took half a day's continual walking to reach the top; so the colporteur told me, with a serious face and a far-off look in his eyes, as though he were recalling that terrible climb, and still had the difficulties of the road visibly before him. The place had a had reputation for murder and robbery, for it was so difficult to be got at, that the mandarins shrunk from the difficulty and expense of bringing the terrors of the law to bear upon the people.
Singular to say, in this unruly village there lived a man who was specially noted for his filial piety. He had become so famous for this virtue, that the Imperial Examiner of the province had given him a tablet with an inscription on it, praising him for his obedience to his parents. This tablet he was allowed to put up in a prominent place in his house. He was also con­spicuous for his benevolence. He helped the poor in many a way unknown to his neighbors, and his heart seemed to delight in acts of kindness to those who were in need.
It is needless to say that he was a most fervent worshipper of the idols. He subscribed liberally to their support, and his offerings on their birthdays were given with no churlish hand. About six years ago, he had occasion to visit a town some twenty or thirty miles off, and there he stumbled into a church where preaching to the heathen was going on. He was very much startled to hear the speaker declare that to worship idols was a great wrong, and that they even committed sin who did so. He was perfectly indignant at this, and at once stood up in their defense, but idolatry is a desperately weak and vulnerable system, and will never bear the strain of logic or reason.
He left the town with his faith shaken, but with no teacher to guide him into the right way. Three years went by, but he had never lost the ring of the preacher's voice, or forgotten the arguments by which he had been worsted when he stood up to defend the idols.
One day the colporteurs, unconscious that such a man existed, came into his village, and taking their stand in front of the house next to his, began to speak to the crowd that gathered round them. To his delight, the man recognized in the words that caught his ear the very same as those that he had heard three years before, and which he had never been able to forget. Rushing out and pressing through the crowd till he came to the side of the speaker, he listened with breathless interest, and found to his delight that the strangers were Christians. He bought fifty gospels, and distributed them at once amongst the people, telling them that they were good books, and that they must read them at their leisure. He next invited the colporteurs to be his guests whilst they stayed in the village. This they gladly consented to do, for it was a treat to them to find a man with such a warm heart towards their work as he had shown himself to be.
Nearly the whole of that night was spent in explain­ing to him the meaning of Christianity. The hours went by, and morning was not far off before they retired to rest. He had so many questions to ask, and they had so much to explain, that they could not tear themselves away from each other. They urged upon him to give up his idolatry and become a Chris­tian, but he was in the twilight yet, and could not see his way to abandon his ancestral worship. From that night, however, his belief in the idols completely van­ished forever, and never again could he worship them.
Three years again went by, eventful ones in his life. He had had but two opportunities of hearing the gospel, and yet these had made a mighty impression upon him. The instruction, however, had not gone far enough to deliver him entirely from his old beliefs, and he had been Left alone with no one to encour­age him, or to show him what were the next steps he should take in his new spiritual life.
By and by, he had great losses in business, and in the midst of his perplexities he had a dream, in which he was told that he ought to worship God, as many would imitate his example if he did so. His difficulty now was as to how he should do this. The colpor­teurs from whom he had learned so much were gone, and where they lived he did not know. He then made a special journey to the town where he had first heard the gospel preached, but the station had been given up, and the preacher had gone, whither he could not discover. Finally, after months of anxiety, in which he was longing after God, he accidentally met his lost friend in the streets of another large city, whither his business had led him. His joy at this wonderful meeting was intense. Every vestige of idolatry was now given up, and it was arranged that religious ser­vices should be regularly held in his own village, where not only the members of his own family might hear the gospel, but the villagers as well.
Last year the colporteurs again visited the village. Three years had gone by since they had last seen the man whose kindness they so well remembered, and whose earnestness had lived in their memory. What had become of him, and had he remembered the teaching of that night when they had sat up till nearly morning?—These were the thoughts that passed through their minds as the great mountains came nearer and they found themselves, as they entered the village, beneath their shadow. What was their delight and surprise to find that not only had the man become an earnest Christian, but also three others of his family, as well as four out of the village, and that every Sunday twenty-five people met for Christian worship.
The meeting between him and the colporteurs was most affecting. That night he told them the story of his deliverance, and the mental struggles that he had experienced before he found rest. He now thanked God for his losses in business, for they had been the means of making him more determined to break entirely with idolatry.
When it became known that he had become a Chris­tian there was a good deal of excitement amongst the natives. Strongly worded letters were written to him protesting, but his only reply was to go to the writers, and tell them what God had done for him, and how He had filled his life with happiness. The gentry had determined to petition the Imperial Examiner to take his honorary tablet from him, but his gentle unassum­ing manners and the loving way in which he acted to­wards his fellow men disarmed their hatred, and they have now agreed to let him worship in his own way without interfering with him.—The Bible Society Monthly Reporter.