Shepherd of Hermas

[Richard McBride]

The Shepherd of Hermas

These are a series of revelations made to Hermas, dealing mainly with the problems of sin of after Baptism. The whole work is in three parts: Visions, Mandates (or Commandments), and Parables (or Similitudes), probably taken down in Rome around 148 AD. Following is a conspectus of the Mandates.


Mandate 1
Believe that the Lord is One; believe in Him, Fear Him and be content in that fear;

Mandate 2
Have Simplicity; be as a children; speak no evil of anyone;

Mandate 3
Love Truth; remember that we received the Spirit Free from lies;

Mandate 4
Keep your body, heart and mind Pure; commit no adultery; but if you do, repent -- but only once;

Mandate 5
Be long suffering; be prudent and not double tongued; reign in all temper; be offended by Nothing!

Mandate 6
In keeping the First Mandate by having Faith and Fearing God, be modest;

Mandate 7
Fear God, but have no fear of satan; for by Fearing God, you have power over the enemy;

Mandate 8
Refrain from adultery, fornication, drunkenness, luxury, extravagance, boastfulness, blasphemy;*

Mandate 9
Be not double minded; that is, do not think that your sins prohibit you from petitioning God; have no doubt in approaching God (as did Peter on the water);*

Mandate 10
Take yourself out of your own grief; do not wallow in self pity, but weep with others;

Mandate 11
Doublemindness wears out the Holy Spirit; it keeps one in turmoil over their sins;

Mandate 12
Desires of passion must be put away; desire must be saved for what is Good and Holy.

****************
* Note what Saint Peter of Damascus says: “And if you fall again, then rise again, without despairing at all in your Salvation, no matter what happens. So long as you do not surrender yourself willingly to the enemy, your patient endurance...will suffice for your salvation.”

In like vein, Saint John (Of the Ladder) of Krondstadt says: “Observe temperance and simplicity in food and drink; preserve chastity; do not foolishly squander the balsam of your life; do not seek after riches or luxury...”

Above all, teach this to your children; for they are responsible to you, and their learning and awareness of God is upon your shoulders.

[Gregory Myron]

The text of the Shepherd of Hermas is on this website, over in the patristic source texts area, underneath the main patristics page.

I'll try posting the link:

http://www.monachos.net/patristics/hermas/index.shtml

Gregory

[Razhden Guriadze]

Richard,
The revelations sound a lot like the Didache.
ICXC,
Razhden

[Richard McBride]

Yes, Razhden;

And I may have been wrong here -- again!
The first time I sent these Mandates to my son, I sent them as being from the Didache; but I believe the correction of the Mandates to the Shepherd is on the right path.
Anymore, my brain is more a sieve than a sponge.

richard -- with holes in his head

[M.C. Steenberg]

For those who may be curious, the Shepherd of Hermas was long considered part of the canon of Christian (i.e. 'New Testament') Scripture by members of the early Church -- Irenaeus refers to it as such, for example, as do others.

It obviously did not end up as part of the NT canon, but for many years it was considered.

INXC, Matthew

[Kusanagi]

For those who may be curious, the Shepherd of Hermas was long considered part of the canon of Christian (i.e. 'New Testament') Scripture by members of the early Church -- Irenaeus refers to it as such, for example, as do others.

It obviously did not end up as part of the NT canon, but for many years it was considered.

INXC, Matthew

was it?

I just thought it was written by St Hermas one of the 70.

[Michael Stickles]

For those who may be curious, the Shepherd of Hermas was long considered part of the canon of Christian (i.e. 'New Testament') Scripture by members of the early Church -- Irenaeus refers to it as such, for example, as do others.

It obviously did not end up as part of the NT canon, but for many years it was considered.

INXC, Matthewwas it?

I just thought it was written by St Hermas one of the 70.

It was. From what I've read, Irenaeus and Cyprian considered it Scripture, Origen thought it inspired, Clement and Didymus also quoted from it, and it was included in the Codex Sinaiticus. Athanasius considered it useful reading for new converts, but not canonical. The Muratorian Canon apparently included a note that it could be read, but not given to the people. Eusebius listed it as "spurious" (as far as its attribution to the Hermas mentioned by Paul at the end of Romans); he lists its canonicity as "disputed". The only Father I know of who anyone claims to have considered it as false was Tertullian, and that during his Montanist period (he apparently speaks favorably of it in his earlier writings).

There is a website devoted to tracing the development of the NT canon; they have a cross-reference table (http://www.ntcanon.org/table.shtml) which indicates which authorities held what views about the various writings.

In Christ,
Mike

[Jorgo Ristevski]

As an Orthodox Christian should I read the "Shepherd of Hermas"?

[M.C. Steenberg]

St Irenaeus of Lyons would certainly say yes.

[Nina]

St Irenaeus of Lyons would certainly say yes.

:) Loved this reply.

[Jorgo Ristevski]

Then from reading it I can have benefit?

[Fr Raphael Vereshack]

Most definitely.

In Christ- Fr Raphael

[Jorgo Ristevski]

Thanks all.

[Roger Pearse]

A caution: the Muratorian canon (http://www.textexcavation.com/muratoriancanon.html)states that the Shepherd does not originate from the apostolic circle:



Pastorem vero nuperrime temporibus nostris in urbe Roma Hermas conscripsit, sedente cathedra urbis Romae ecclesiae Pio ep{i}s{copo} frater eius.

However Hermas composed the Shepherd recently, in our own times, in the city of Rome, while his brother Pius the bishop was sitting in the [episcopal] chair of the city of Rome.


This would place the composition of the work in the early second century.

All the best,

Roger Pearse

[Michael Stickles]

A caution: the Muratorian canon (http://www.textexcavation.com/muratoriancanon.html)states that the Shepherd does not originate from the apostolic circle:
...
This would place the composition of the work in the early second century.


That speaks to why it is not considered "canonical"; however, it was still considered "useful". As St. Athanasius wrote:


But for greater exactness I add this also, writing of necessity; that there are other books besides these not indeed included in the Canon, but appointed by the Fathers to be read by those who newly join us, and who wish for instruction in the word of godliness. The Wisdom of Solomon, and the Wisdom of Sirach, and Esther, and Judith, and Tobit, and that which is called the Teaching of the Apostles , and the Shepherd. But the former, my brethren, are included in the Canon, the latter being [merely] read; nor is there in any place a mention of apocryphal writings. But they are an invention of heretics[I], who write them when they choose, bestowing upon them their approbation, and assigning to them a date, that so, using them as ancient writings, they may find occasion to lead astray the simple.

In Christ,
Mike

[Fr Raphael Vereshack]

From St Athanasius provided by Mike:


But for greater exactness I add this also, writing of necessity; that there are other books besides these not indeed included in the Canon, but appointed by the Fathers to be read by those who newly join us, and who wish for instruction in the word of godliness. The Wisdom of Solomon, and the Wisdom of Sirach, and Esther, and Judith, and Tobit, and that which is called the Teaching of the Apostles [i.e., the Didache], and the Shepherd. But the former, my brethren, are included in the Canon, the latter being [merely] read

Eusebius in his History of the Church has a similar testimony about The Shepherd. He says specifically about St Irenaeus that, "he not only knows but accepts the Shepherd. (V8).

And about the Church of an earlier time he writes: "it is to be noted that this [ie The Shepherd], too, has been rejected by some authorities and therefore cannot be placed among the accepted books. Others, however, have judged it indispensable, especially to those in need of elementary instruction. Hence we know that it has been used before now in public worship, and some of the earliest writers made use of it, as I have discovered."

In other words although the Shepherd at a later time was not placed in the canon of Scripture it was at an earlier time held as being useful for instruction.

A danger here is of reading back into the early Church standards for Scripture which in fact were developed by and were applicable to the later Church. The canon of Scripture as we know it in fact was developed by the later Church in response to the Gnostic/dualist & then to the Montanist heresies. In response to heretical claims of possessing 'the unadulterated message of Christ', the Church countered with its understanding of the continuity of the apostolic witness from Christ to the present.

We see this especially in St Irenaeus. Indeed it is around this first impulse to present the continuous witness of the Church in its integrity that the New Testament is first formed. From this point on faithfulness to the apostolic witness concerning Christ becomes paramount. Although even here apostolic was meant in a loose sense since a number of Epistles were eventually included within the Canon without unanimity about their apostolic authorship. What was important was their apostolic message.

In other words the New Testament was put together by the later Church to present its consistent witness to the apostolic message concerning Christ. The New Testament is a prime witness of the Church of the unbreakable connection and consistency of its message and that of Christ. This connection is due to the fact that its message is apostolic; ie is authentic as it was understood by the Apostles then handed down through the Church in continuity.

The understanding of the early Church on these issues was not as concise as what came later for the reason that it did not face the same critical issues from heresy. Its use of Scripture reflected this. It relied mainly on the canon of the Old Testament read in a prophetic sense. But as of yet the criterion for what was read in church beyond the OT was based on a witness to Christ and His death & resurrection. In other words the later theological issues had not yet come up at least in the critical way they would later on. And thus at the time in the early Church there was found a great variety of writings along with an oral tradition.

A last point which also connects with what we mean by the canon of Scripture: even with the OT which was seen as a complete canon there was no absolute unanimity as to where the canon ended. Thus in St Athanasius' quote above we see how he says that the Wisdom of Solomon is included as one of the books useful for 'reading.' Anyone who has attended our Vespers services enough however knows that the Wisdom of Solomon is heavily used especially for the commemoration of monastic or ascetic saints. So time and conditions change the canonical understanding of Scripture for us.

In Christ- Fr Raphael

[Budimir Lazich]

I am looking for literature (digital, docs and pdf) in english on Eschatology in The Shepherd of Hermas. I need to write an essay on that topic and there is not much of such works in my native language. I searched on Google for it, but i did not find enough to the actual topic.

I would appreciate any help.

Your brother in Christ,
Budimir

[Kseniya M.]

Mandate 4
Keep your body, heart and mind Pure; commit no adultery; but if you do, repent -- but only once;

I don't understand this one. It sounds for all the world like you can only repent of adultery once -- and after that, yer a lost cause?

-Kseniya

[Paul Cowan]

Or, you get scolded so bad, you never want or should do it again.

I read it a little differently.


but if you do, repent -- but only once

but if you do, don't repent of it again. ( I am probably reading it poorly)

I heard sins unto death can carry a 20+ year penance. So, if an older person committed adultry, murder, etc. theoretically, he would be dead before he finished his penance so he could not repent again. Or can you hear confession during penance?

[Fr Raphael Vereshack]

I don't understand this one. It sounds for all the world like you can only repent of adultery once -- and after that, yer a lost cause?

-Kseniya

These were the standards of the early Church concerning what are sometimes called mortal sins.

In Christ- Fr Raphael

[Michael Stickles]

I am looking for literature (digital, docs and pdf) in english on Eschatology in The Shepherd of Hermas. I need to write an essay on that topic and there is not much of such works in my native language. I searched on Google for it, but i did not find enough to the actual topic.

I would appreciate any help.

Your brother in Christ,
Budimir

This is just a quick list, since I don't have lots of Googling time right now. Be forewarned that because of this I can't vouch for the Orthodoxy (or lack of it) of any of these sources.

- The Hope of the Early Church (http://books.google.com/books?id=S6NOAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA16&lpg=PA16&dq=hermas+eschatology&source=bl&ots=pgeLF0Siyl&sig=RY52O6e48rVbaq5LcFHI8yqCt6w&hl=en&ei=B4nHSd7PE86rtgfvkNnHCg&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=7&ct=result#PPA16,M1) by Brian Daly has a page on the Shepherd of Hermas.
- Regnum Caelorum (http://books.google.com/books?id=hTjxqdsHnbEC&pg=PA92&dq=hermas+eschatology) by Charles Evan Hill has a few pages on general and individual eschatology in Hermas.
- Hermas and Christian Prophecy (http://books.google.com/books?id=GIEeAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA130&dq=hermas+eschatology#PPA30,M1) by J. Reiling might have something useful; I didn't scan through it in any depth.
- Messiah and Exaltation (http://books.google.com/books?id=0YJ3nxSYf0QC&pg=PA452&dq=hermas+eschatology) by Andrew Chester has three pages on eschatology in Hermas.
- From Clement to Origen (http://books.google.com/books?id=CR4123vV0-MC&pg=PA36&dq=hermas+eschatology#PPA35,M1) by David Ivan Rankin has a section on Hermas which includes discussion of the apocalyptic elements. The link actually goes to the second page of the section.
- Sayings of the Risen Jesus (http://books.google.com/books?id=FTg8AAAAIAAJ&pg=PA113&dq=hermas+eschatology#PPA114,M1) by M. Eugene Boring has a fair number of references to Hermas (search for "Hermas" in the search box at the upper right of the page); a few of these do seem to cover eschatological matters.
- Christian Life in the Primitive Church (http://books.google.com/books?id=CogcAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA343&dq=hermas+eschatology#PPA343,M1) by Dobschutz, Bremner, and Morrison, has a section on Hermas' eschatology which (from my brief glance) seems to come to different conclusions than some of the other works.

I'm out of time for now, but I got all these from Google Books limited previews and full views, using a search for "hermas eschatology" (http://books.google.com/books?ct=result&q=hermas+eschatology&btnG=Search+Books). You can follow the link to see the other books that came up. I didn't look at anything below the last work listed above.

Hope that's of some use.

In Christ,
Michael

[Ryan]

I have read in a bunch of places that the Shepherd of Hermas expresses an adoptionist Christology, specifically in Parable 5:


The Holy Pre-existent Spirit. Which created the whole creation, God made to dwell in flesh that He desired. This flesh, therefore, in which the Holy Spirit dwelt, was subject unto the Spirit, walking honorably in holiness and purity, without in any way defiling the Spirit. When then it had lived honorably in chastity, and had labored with the Spirit, and had cooperated with it in everything, behaving itself boldly and bravely, He chose it as a partner with the Holy Spirit; for the career of this flesh pleased [the Lord], seeing that, as possessing the Holy Spirit, it was not defiled upon the earth. He therefore took the son as adviser and the glorious angels also, that this flesh too, having served the Spirit unblamably, might have some place of sojourn, and might not seem to have lost the reward for its service; for all flesh, which is found undefiled and unspotted, wherein the Holy Spirit dwelt, shall receive a reward

I personally don't know how to interpret this passage or whether it is adoptionist or not. Has anyone from the Church refuted the claim that Hermas is adoptionist here?

[Ken McRae]

I happened upon the following passage which attributes authorship of The Shepard to the brother of Pope Pius. Does that accord with Orthodox tradition?

"This book is thus entitled, because it was composed by Hermas, brother to Pius, bishop of Rome (http://passtheword.org/GOSPEL-REDISCOVERY/hermas-excerpts.htm); and because the Angel, who bears the principal part in it, is represented in the form and habit of a shepherd.

"Irenaeus quotes it under the very name of Scripture. Origen thought it a most useful writing, and that it was divinely inspired; Eusebius says, that, though it was not esteemed canonical, it was read publicly in the churches, which is corroborated by Jerome; and Athanasius cites it, calls it a most useful work, and observes, that though it was not strictly canonical, the Fathers appointed it to be read for direction and confirmation in faith and piety. Jerome, notwithstanding this, and that he applauded it in his catalogue of writers, in his comments upon it afterwards, terms it apocryphal and foolish. Turtullian praised it when a Catholic, and abused it when a Montanist.

"Although Gelasius ranks it among the apocryphal books, it is found attached to some of the most ancient MSS, of the New Testament; and Archbishop Wake, believing it the genuine work of an apostolical Father, preserves it to the English reader by the following translation, in which he has rendered the books not only more exact, but in greater purity than they had before appeared. The archbishop procured Dr. Crabe to entirely collate the old Latin version with an ancient MS, in the Lambeth library; and the learned prelate himself still further improved the whole from a multitude of fragments of the original Greek never before used for that purpose."

[Luke C.]

I have read in a bunch of places that the Shepherd of Hermas expresses an adoptionist Christology, specifically in Parable 5:



I personally don't know how to interpret this passage or whether it is adoptionist or not. Has anyone from the Church refuted the claim that Hermas is adoptionist here?

I think if we include the sentence prefacing your quote, things become more clear. It is quite fashionable in some heretical circles to quote-mine the Fathers for support of their heresies. The immediate context of the quotes, however, typically are sufficient to refute their alleged meaning.

And why the Lord took His Son as councillor, and the glorious angels, regarding the heirship of the slave, listen. The holy, pre-existent Spirit, that created every creature, God made to dwell in flesh, which He chose. This flesh, accordingly, in which the Holy Spirit dwelt, was nobly subject to that Spirit, walking religiously and chastely, in no respect defiling the Spirit; and accordingly, after living[/URL] excellently and purely, and after labouring and co-operating with the Spirit, and having in everything acted vigorously and courageously along with the Holy Spirit, He assumed it as a partner with it. For this conduct of the flesh pleased Him, because it was not defiled on the earth while having the Holy Spirit. He took, therefore, as fellow-councillors His Son and the glorious angels, in order that this flesh, which had been subject to the body without a fault, might have some place of tabernacle, and that it might not appear that the reward [of its servitude had been lost (javascript:toggle('fnf_ii.iv.v-p24.1');)], for the flesh that has been found without spot or defilement, in which the Holy Spirit dwelt, [will receive a reward].[URL="javascript:toggle('fnf_ii.iv.v-p27.1');"]
(emphasis added)

I highly doubt that Irenaeus and Athanasius, to name two, would endorse a work that advocated adoptionism. We need, then, to see if the text lends itself to an interpretation other than adoptionism. As far as I can see, the text is affirming that God sent His Spirit to indwell believers, and that they will receive a future reward. In fact, taking into account the first sentence I quoted, it's difficult for me to see how this could apply to adoptionism for it's clearly not focusing on Christ.

Luke