The seat of Judeo-Christianity, the center of operations for the whole Church in the pre-70 CE period, was the mother Church of God at Jerusalem with the apostle James, a brother of Jesus of Nazareth,F1 as its overseer followed by Jesus� cousinF2 Simeon (bishop, ca. 63�ca. 98) the son of Clopas (or Cleophas). During this time (CE 30-70), the cultural heritage of Christendom remained predominantly Jewish. Judeo-Christians referred to their fellowship as the Church of God, or more exactly as the Congregation of God, understanding it to be the company elect of God determined by God to be the center and crystallization-point of eschatological Israel.
By CE 70, the phenomenon of backing away from Jewish lifeways had slowed in the Jewish homeland due to cultural restraints but had accelerated in the Hellenistic Dispersion. Social intercourse, intermarriage among believers in the Hellenistic Dispersion, and anti-Jewish resentment from the protracted war between the Jews and the Romans integrated Jews and Greeks into a common cultural fold. This led to the rise of two distinct Judeo-Christian communities divided by cultural heritage and language�the Hebrews (Palestinians of Jewish ethnicity) and the Hellenists (non-Palestinians born in the Hellenistic Diaspora of mixed ethnicity).
As the first Christian generation of Peter, Paul, John, James, and their second generation successors passed away, rising heresy within Judeo-Christianity challenged its doctrines and threatened its very existence. The mother congregation at Jerusalem no longer served as the focal point of the greater church but functioned more as a regional center for Hebrew-speaking Judeo-Christians known locally by Jewish outsiders as Nazarenes. Nearly wholly devoid of any centralized form of leadership or ecclesiastical authority, Christianity throughout the Roman world became increasingly divided in faith and praxis.
Nevertheless, a large Judeo-Christian population existed at Jerusalem until the time of the siege of Hadrian. In deed, there is no reason to doubt that a line of Judeo-Christian bishops continued to serve the local Judeo-Christian community well into the fourth century. The presence of the Judeo-Christian synagogue on Mt. Sion until its seizure by the Greco-Roman orthodox CE 381 suggests it.
In Judeo-Christian thinking, the Church of God succeeded the literal descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob as the people of God. The promises to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob had passed from the physical nation to the possession of spiritual Israel. The death of the Messiah had permanently and conclusively closed the Mosaic Covenant. In this context, Judeo-Christians built their small synagogue on Mt. Sion.
Some members of the church at Jerusalem returned to the city after the fall of Masada, where they built their synagogue on what is presently Mount Zion near the House of the High Priest, Caiaphas. This synagogue later became known as the Church of the Apostles (see The Cenacle) as it was the mother church congregation. However, the Jerusalem congregation no longer served as the center of operations of the greater Church of God but became simply a regional administrative center. Peter appears to have centered his later ministry at Babylon while John based his at Ephesus.
The original structure, a relatively small Church of God, dated to the interim period between the two Jewish wars with the Romans (CE 70� 130) and likely to the late first century. Before the war with Rome broke out in CE 66, the Jerusalem Judeo-Christian community left the city and migrated to Pella and other places of refuge. Segments of this community, those who would have constructed the small Church of God on Mount Sion as their synagogue, presumably returned following the cessation of hostilities.
Roman emperor Hadrian observed this Judeo-Christian synagogue on Mt. Sion, referred to by his guides as a small Church of God, on his ca. CE 130 visit to Jerusalem. The architectural proportions of their synagogue were presumably those of the Solomonic Temple with the height one-half the sum of the length and width. There is reason to believe, therefore, that the Judeo-Christian builders chose to include symbolic elements into their synagogue.
Although this account described the church of God as small, subsequent authors describe it as large, indicating the construction of a larger building, perhaps incorporating the original church of God.
Chapter 15. So Aquila, while he was in Jerusalem, also saw the disciples of the disciples of the apostles flourishing in the faith and working great signs, hearings and other wonders. For they had returned from the city of Pella to Jerusalem and were teaching. For when the city was about to be seized by the Romans, all the disciples were forewarned by an angel to migrate from the city, since it was about to be completely destroyed. After they emigrated, they settled in Pella, the city previously mentioned, across the Jordan, which is said to be of the Decapolis. But after Jerusalem was destroyed, they returned, as I said, and performed great signs. Therefore since Aquila was prodded in his mind, he believed in Christianity. (Koester 1989:93.)De Mensuris et Ponderibus
Eusebius, writing ca. CE 385, reported that a large Judeo-Christian population existed at Jerusalem until the time of the siege of Hadrian (Eusebius Demonstratio Evangelica 3.5; Klijn and Reinink 1973:139). He listed 13 bishops, following Simeon son of Clopas, as serving this Judeo-Christian community (Eusebius Eccl. Hist. 4.5; Boyle 1955:130-131). The list of bishops appears to have been collapsed by Eusebius. Epiphanius held that Judeo-Christians had left Jerusalem and migrated to Pella just prior to the Roman siege of the city. They returned to Jerusalem after the fall of the city in CE 70 (Epiphanius De Mensuris 15; Koester 1989:93).
The list of Jerusalem bishops, as preserved by Eusebius, suggests that this synagogue and a succession of Judeo Christian bishops (overseers) served the Jerusalem church until the time of Bar Kochba Rebellion and the CE 135 Second Jewish Revolt. Of significance is that this synagogue survived the Roman destruction of Jerusalem in CE 135. Two centuries later it still remained under the control of Jewish Christians. The remaining three passages list the Jerusalem bishops, indicating that a significant portion of that Judeo-Christian community returned to Jerusalem.
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F2Eusebius records the tradition, relying on Hegesippus, that Simeon the son of Cleophas was a cousin of Jesus (Eusebius Ecclesiastical History 3.11, 3.32).
Page last updated: 04/30/06 03:05 PM.
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