Daily prayers during Christmas and Epiphany: 25, 18 January 2024

Saint Peter (right) and Saint Paul (left) in windows in the west porch in Saint Patrick’s Cathedral, Skibbereen, Co Cork (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Patrick Comerford

The celebrations of Epiphany-tide continue today (18 January 2023), and this week began with the Second Sunday of Epiphany (14 January 2024). Christmas is a season that lasts for 40 days that continues from Christmas Day (25 December) to Candlemas or the Feast of the Presentation (2 February).

The Calendar of the Church of England in Common Worship today recalls Amy Carmichael (1951), founder of the Dohnavur Fellowship and spiritual writer. Today is also the first day of the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity.

Before today begins, I am taking some time for reflection, reading and prayer. My reflections each morning during the seven days of this week include:

1, A reflection on one of the seven people who give their names to epistles in the New Testament;

2, the Gospel reading of the day;

3, a prayer from the USPG prayer diary.

The Apostle Peter and the Apostle Paul holding the church in unity … an early 18th century icon in the Museum of Christian Art in Iraklion, Crete (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

5, Saint Peter:

Saint Paul does not give his own name to any of his letters, but seven people give their names to a total of seven of the letters or epistles in the New Testament: Timothy (I and II Timohty), Titus, Philemon, James, Peter (I and II Peter), John (I, II and III John), and Jude.

The attribution of the authorship of the two letters of Peter (I and II Peter) to the Apostle Peter has been challenged by many commentators and critics in recent years.

I Peter is addressed, with a Trinitarian invocation, to the ‘exiles of the Dispersion’ scattered throughout ‘Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia,’ five Roman provinces in Asia Minor (see I Peter 1: 1).

The author of I Peter presents himself as Saint Peter the Apostle, and the epistle was traditionally said to have been written while he was either Bishop of Rome or Bishop of Antioch. However, these titles are not used in the epistle.

The author describes himself as ἀπόστολος (apostolos, apostle; I Peter 1: 1) and as συμπρεσβύτερος (sympresbyteros, fellow priest; see I Peter 5: 1), a title that appears a little later in the development of early ecclesiology.

Saint Peter lived his early life in Bethsaida, which was granted city status under Philip the Tetrarch. Philip was a Helleniser or advocate of Greek culture, and Bethsaida probably had a large Greek speaking population.

There is general consensus, because of an internal reference to ‘Babylon’ (see I Peter 5: 13), that the epistle was written from Rome.

Those who favour the Petrine authorship date the letter to sometime shortly before Saint Peter’s martyrdom, which may have been as late as 68 CE. The reference to Silvanus at the end of the letter may indicate a date following Saint Paul’s arrival in Rome, and it may then date from as early as 63-64 CE.

The language, dating, style, and structure of this letter have led many scholars to conclude that I Peter letter is pseudonymous. They see evidence that the author had a formal education in rhetoric and philosophy, advanced knowledge of Greek, along with geometry, arithmetic and music, and a reading of classical authors such as Homer.

Some say it is most likely that I Peter was written during the reign of Domitian in the year 81, when the persecution of Christian became widespread – a date that is long after the death of Peter. On the other hand, the persecutions described in this letter do not need a time period outside of the Saint Peter’s lifespan.

Other scholars doubt the letter’s Petrine authorship. They say I Peter is dependent on the Pauline epistles – especially Ephesians, Colossians and the Pastoral Letters (I and II Timothy and Titus) – and so it was written after Saint Paul’s ministry. Yet others argue that it makes little sense to attribute the work to Saint Peter when it could have been ascribed to Saint Paul.

One theory supporting the Petrine authorship is the ‘secretarial hypothesis,’ which suggests that I Peter was dictated by Peter and was written in Greek by his ‘faithful brother; or secretary, Silvanus (see I Peter 5: 12). However, we could ask whether Silvanus was not the secretary, but the courier or bearer of I Peter?

Some scholars believe the language, dating, literary style and structure of the letter make it implausible to conclude that I Peter is the work of Saint Peter. They say I Peter is a pseudonymous letter, written later by one of Saint Peter’s disciples in his honour.

Yet there are similarities with Saint Peter’s speeches in the Acts of the Apostles, and the earliest attestation of Peter as author comes from II Peter (see II Peter 3: 1) and the letters of Clement.

One possible context for I Peter is by provided the trials and executions of Christians in the Roman province of Bithynia-Pontus under Pliny the Younger. In a letter to Emperor Trajan, written in 112 CE, Pliny asks Trajan if the accused Christians should be punished for the name ‘Christian’ alone, or for crimes associated with the name (for the use of the word ‘name,’ see I Peter 4:14-16). But this theory is rejected by those who argue the suffering in I Peter is caused by social, rather than official, discrimination.

The second letter, II Peter, is the first book in the New Testament to regard other New Testament writings as scripture (see II Peter 3: 15-16). The letter is addressed to the churches in general. II Peter is written to warn Christians about false teachers and to exhort them to grow in their faith in and knowledge of Christ.

II Peter opens with greeting: ‘Simon Peter, a servant and apostle of Jesus Christ’ (II Peter 1: 1). The letter is ascribed by some scholars to Saint Peter, and the letter says that it is written shortly before the apostle’s death (II Peter 1: 14), and that it is Peter’s second letter (see II Peter 3: 1).

According to the letter, it was composed by the Apostle Peter, an eyewitness to Christ’s ministry. It criticises ‘false teachers’ who distort the authentic, apostolic tradition, and predicts judgment for them.

II Peter contains eleven references to the Old Testament, and also shows some knowledge, albeit, perhaps, second-hand knowledge of marginal apocryphal books. II Peter also refers to many of Saint Paul’s letters (II Peter 3: 15) and specifically (II Peter 3: 15, 16) to one letters (see I Thessalonians 4: 13 to 5: 11).

Most noticeably, though, II Peter quotes from Jude and adapts from that letter extensively, sharing a number of passages with the Epistle of Jude.

When it comes to dating II, commentaries vary, placing the letter in almost every decade between 60 and 160.

II Peter was not accepted into the Biblical canon without some difficulty, but doubts about the letter’s authorship were never used for definitive rejection. By the time of Jerome (ca 346-420) it had been mostly accepted as canonical.

Saint Peter’s Day (29 June) and Petertide are one of the two traditional periods for the ordination of new priests and deacons – the other being Michaelmas, around 29 September.

The Cambridge poet-priest Malcolm Guite says on his blog that Saint Peter’s Day and Petertide are an appropriate time for ordinations because Saint Peter is ‘the disciple who, for all his many mistakes, knew how to recover and hold on, who, for all his waverings was called by Jesus “the rock,” who learned the threefold lesson that every betrayal can ultimately be restored by love.’

In the Orthodox Church, Saint Peter and Saint Paul are seen as figures of Church Unity, sharing a common faith and mission despite their differences. They are often seen as paired, flanking images at entrances to churches, and the icon of Christian Unity in the Orthodox tradition shows the Apostles Peter and Paul embracing each other – signs of the early Church overcoming its differences and affirming its diversity.

When Pope Francis marked the feast of Saint Peter and Paul some years ago, he stressed the importance of unity in the Church and allowing ourselves to be challenged by God, urging people to spend less time complaining about what they see going wrong, and more time in prayer.

He noted that Saint Peter and Saint Paul were two very different men who ‘could argue heatedly’ but who ‘saw one another as brothers, as happens in close-knit families where there may be frequent arguments but unfailing love.’

God, he said, ‘did not command us to like one another, but to love one another. He is the one who unites us, without making us all alike.’

Saint Peter in chains (see Acts 12) … the window by Charles Eamer Kempe in Lichfield Cathedral commemorating Dean Herbert Mortimer Luckock (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Mark 3: 7-12 (NRSVA):

7 Jesus departed with his disciples to the lake, and a great multitude from Galilee followed him; 8 hearing all that he was doing, they came to him in great numbers from Judea, Jerusalem, Idumea, beyond the Jordan, and the region around Tyre and Sidon. 9 He told his disciples to have a boat ready for him because of the crowd, so that they would not crush him; 10 for he had cured many, so that all who had diseases pressed upon him to touch him. 11 Whenever the unclean spirits saw him, they fell down before him and shouted, ‘You are the Son of God!’ 12 But he sternly ordered them not to make him known.

Saint Peter’s Basilica in Rome (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Today’s Prayers (Thursday 18 January 2024):

The theme this week in ‘Pray With the World Church,’ the Prayer Diary of the Anglican mission agency USPG (United Society Partners in the Gospel), is: ‘Climate Justice from Bangladesh perspective.’ This theme was introduced on Sunday by the Right Revd Shourabh Pholia, Bishop of Barishal Diocese, Church of Bangladesh.

The USPG Prayer Diary today (18 January 2024) invites us to pray in these words:

Let us pray for ourselves, asking God to guide us so that we can play the stewardship role and take responsibility to heal the planet and protect it for future generations.

The Collect:

Almighty God,
in Christ you make all things new:
transform the poverty of our nature by the riches of your grace,
and in the renewal of our lives
make known your heavenly glory;
through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord,
who is alive and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever.

The Post-Communion Prayer:

God of glory,
you nourish us with your Word
who is the bread of life:
fill us with your Holy Spirit
that through us the light of your glory
may shine in all the world.
We ask this in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord.

Additional Collect:

Eternal Lord,
our beginning and our end:
bring us with the whole creation
to your glory, hidden through past ages
and made known
in Jesus Christ our Lord.

Yesterday’s reflection (James)

Continued tomorrow (John)

Saint Peter and Saint Paul in a pair of stained glass windows in Saint John’s Church, Wall, near Lichfield (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Scripture quotations are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicised Edition copyright © 1989, 1995, National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide. http://nrsvbibles.org

‘Celtic Spirituality’ and mission in a Lent study webinar with USPG

Patrick Comerford

I was due to take part in an international webinar on ‘Celtic Spirituality’ this afternoon (24 March 2022), organised by the Anglican mission agency USPG (United Society Partners in the Gospel).

However, my minor stroke last weekend means I was only been able to take part in the webinar in a passive way. A video clip I had recorded in the ruined Franciscan Abbey in Askeaton, Co Limerick, was part of this afternoon’s programme. But the key contributor to the discussion this afternoon was the Rector of Bunclody, Co Wexford, the Revd Trevor Sargent, who is a Trustee of USPG.

This afternoon’s webinar was part of USPG’s Lent Study for this year, ‘Living Stones, Living Hope,’ exploring contextual theology around the world with an emphasis on I Peter, the Biblical passage that has been chosen for the Anglican bishops attending the Lambeth Conference later this year.

In all, there are five sessions in this series of Lent webinars. Previous webinars have focussed on African women’s theology and gender justice, with a view from Zambia (3 March), Korean Theology (10 March) and liberation theology in Brazil (17 March). This afternoon’s webinar was, ‘Study 4: Celtic Spirituality,’ and the fifth and final webinar explores Dalit Theology and the Church of North India’s ‘Let My People Go’ programme (31 March).

As well as recording a video clip for today’s webinar, I also prepared the notes in USPG’s Lent Study package, drawing on my experiences of contextual theology, mission and community reconciliation in Rathkeale, Co Limerick:

An image of Rathkeale in the USPG Lent Study Course 2022, ‘Living Stones, Living Hope’ (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Study 4: Celtic Spirituality

From Latin America we move to the context of the United Kingdom and Ireland and focus on the Celtic Christianity that emerged in the early Middle Ages in Celtic countries. Despite the diversity of Celtic churches today, which renders the idea of a homogenous Celtic church difficult, it might still be possible to speak of Celtic spirituality as a set of distinctive features that bind these churches together. For many Christians globally some of the best known Celtic spiritual resources might arguably be the symbol of the Celtic Cross and St Patrick’s Breastplate, a prayer for protection usually attributed to Saint Patrick. These symbols capture the world-embracing nature of Celtic spirituality and the importance of pilgrimage within Celtic Christianity.

Celtic spirituality is considered to be influenced by many traditions including the pagan and the monastic traditions beyond the Celtic context. It is a good example of the intercultural nature of Christian spirituality. There is a strong, life-affirming dimension to Celtic spirituality that is based on an incarnational theology of God embracing the world. This life-affirming dimension emerges in the way in which Celtic spirituality affirms the sacredness of the ordinary. Such affirmation can also be linked to the sacramental vision of the Celts that perceives God in and through all creation. This vision finds resonances in the biblical tradition through the idea of God’s immanence in the world.

Oliver Davies identifies the following as important characteristic features of Celtic spirituality: the strongly incarnational character of its theology, the appearance of nature as a dominant theme without being objectified as a means to serve human ends, an emphasis on human creativity and imagination, and a positive and empowering portrayal of women. According to Davies, theologically these different characteristics, ‘find a unity in the centrality of the doctrine of the Trinity, which profoundly shaped the religious imagination of the early Celtic peoples.’ There is potential in these characteristics of Celtic spirituality not just to engage with some of the important challenges that we face today as human beings, but also to encounter the divine in the midst of, and despite, these challenges in the mundane and the marginal.

A VIEW FROM THE CHURCH OF IRELAND

By Canon Patrick Comerford,

Priest-in-Charge of the Rathkeale Group of parishes, and Director for Education and Training in the Diocese of Limerick and Killaloe

The Church of Ireland is quite different to many other member churches in the Anglican Communion: we are a crossborder church, geographically embracing both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. Four of the eleven dioceses are cross-border dioceses and some benefices even find themselves on both sides of the border. Half of the Church finds itself in the European Union; half the Church is within the United Kingdom. The social problems that have resulted are far more – and far deeper – than the variety of goods on supermarket shelves, or the different expectations in health care and education. Brexit has created problems and divisions across the island that pose the greatest challenges since the peace agreements of the 1990s.

The challenges and opportunities in mission for the Church of Ireland today are many and set within a context that is both fluid and unpredictable. Apart from daily fears about the return of political and sectarian violence, all the churches on the island are facing challenging questions about cultural and political diversity and cross-community respect. Any cross-community conversation is in danger of losing trust and respect because of underlying fears of sectarianism, memories of violence, and agendas that remain without articulation.

In the Republic of Ireland, the changes in culture and values reflect a changing society: Irish is no longer the second language, having ceded place to Polish and Chinese; by popular referendum, and not by legislation, the people have voted for equal marriage and changes in abortion law; the Churches have lost the public trust and authority they once had not just through growing secularism, but as a consequence of scandals and stories of abuse. The political agenda is overwhelmed by concerns for housing, homelessness and health care. A far-right lobby is vocal in opposing immigration and public vaccination programmes, and gives voice to racism, xenophobia, Islamophobia and anti-Semitism; it may be small at present, but its presence is worrying.

In the south-west of Ireland, being remote does not isolate my parish from these experiences. The credibility of the church is fading, yet it needs to be heard speaking out on the issues of the day, and speaking out for the vulnerable, the marginalised, the neglected and the minorities.

In one small example of applying our understanding of ‘the stone that the builders rejected,’ the three main churches in West Limerick have sponsored a project to create understanding and a shared space for Travellers, who are a large ethnic minority in the area, and the people of Rathkeale, who fear losing their social, economic and cultural place in the town. As the Church takes stock once again, it needs to be less worried about how it is perceived or whether it is losing credibility, and more willing to engage with these questions, even when this is costly.

Therefore, we need to rid ourselves of ‘all malice, and all guile, insincerity, envy and all slander’ (verse 1). Instead of worrying about our survival, our finances or our structures, we need to place our trust in Christ, ‘a living stone … rejected by mortals’ (I Peter 2: 4), so that we may invite the people into ‘a spiritual house’ and become part of ‘a holy priesthood, a holy nation, God’s own people’ (verses 5, 9).

Questions:

• What are the main political and social issues in your parish or local area? Is your church united in its response to these issues?
• What are the borders, visible or invisible, between different sections of your community?
• In what ways does your church enable the voices of the vulnerable to be heard?

1 Peter 2: 1-10:

1 Rid yourselves, therefore, of all malice, and all guile, insincerity, envy, and all slander.
2 Like newborn infants, long for the pure, spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow into salvation—
3 if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is good.
4 Come to him, a living stone, though rejected by mortals yet chosen and precious in God’s sight, and
5 like living stones, let yourselves be built into a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.
6 For it stands in scripture: ‘See, I am laying in Zion a stone, a cornerstone chosen and precious; and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame.’
7 To you then who believe, he is precious; but for those who do not believe, ‘The stone that the builders rejected has become the very head of the corner’,
8 and ‘A stone that makes them stumble, and a rock that makes them fall.’ They stumble because they disobey the word, as they were destined to do.
9 But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s own people, in order that you may proclaim the mighty acts of him who called you out of darkness into his marvellous light.
10 Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.

Questions:

• Who comes to mind when you think of ‘the stones that the builder rejected’? How can you better include them in church life?
• We’re called to be ‘living stones revealing a living hope’’? What does that mean for the world today?
• “Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people”. What does this mean for you as a church?

Closing Prayer:

Almighty God, No border can limit your love and mercy. You reach the most remote of places And the unlikeliest of people. May we emulate your generosity, Loving and respecting all around us. Help us to build community, trust and dignity. Teach us to be living stones.

Good Friday in the streets and churches of Rethymnon

The Square in front of the Church of the Four Martyrs in Rethymlon was crowded as each church brought its own Epitaphios in procession through the streets (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2019)

Patrick Comerford

Throughout the afternoon yesterday [26 April 2019], I spent much of Good Friday visiting the churches in the heart of Rethymnon to see the decoration of the Epitaphios, the ceremonial bier of Christ. In each church, the Epitaphios is dressed with ribbons, topped with the Book of the Four Gospels, and strewn with petals.

All through the day, people queue up in church to reverence the Epitaphios, some coaxing their children to slip under the bier, all kissing the representation of the dead Christ and the Gospels, and then moving on to reverence the tall, bare cross erected in front of the icon screen.

As the day grew longer, the queues in the churches grew longer too.

The tourist season has not started properly yet, although a few hotels and restaurants are opened already. But, apart from tourists, most of the streets of Rethymnon were still and calm throughout the day. The one furtive piece of buying was by godparents, grandparents and kind aunts seeking Easter candles for children.

Before darkness bean to fall, we went to the Church of the Four Martyrs, the newest and largest church in the centre of Rethymnon.

In the evening, people from the cathedral and other parish churches throughout Rethymnon paraded their Epitaphios solemnly through the narrow streets of the town, headed by brass bands and robed clergy. All converged late in the evening in the large public square in front of the Church of the Four Martyrs, the largest church in Rethymnon, where we had waited throughout the evening for the climax of this unique Greek commemoration.

Brass bands, uniformed soldiers, flower-bedecked biers, robed choirs all stood before the steps of the largest church in the town as The Bishop of Rethymnon, Metropolitan Evgenios of Rethymnon and Avlopotamos, spoke from the steps of the church of the need for love and to dispel fear. There was a ripple of titters as he repeated it in English, ‘Don’t panic.’

We followed the procession of the Epitaphios from the Church of the Four Martyrs back to the Cathedral, headed once again by a brass band, uniformed soldiers in red berets, robed clergy and Metropolitan Evgenios. As people dispersed, they carried their candles home with them.

Throughout today, people are preparing to celebrate the Resurrection after dark this evening.

Tomorrow is a day for families, and nothing moves in Greece on Easter Day.

The Epitaphios in the Cathedral in Rethymnon before the Good Friday processions through the streets last night (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2019)

Heroes of the Bible, heroes of the faith (5): Saint Peter ... author of I Peter and II Peter?

Saint Peter with Christ and the Apostles above Saint Peter’s Basilica in Rome (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Patrick Comerford

In our series of tutorial group studies of heroes of the Bible and the faith, we have looked in recent weeks at Saint John the Divine, Ananias of Damascus, the Prophet Elijah, the Prophet Daniel, and Rahab, who features in the Book of Joshua (see Joshua 2: 1-22, 6: 15-25), and who is also mentioned three times in the New Testament.

This morning we are looking at the Apostle Peter, and I want to add some discussion of the two New Testament letters (epistles) that bear his name, I Peter and II Peter, for the attribution of their authorship to the Apostle Peter has been challenged by many commentators and critics in recent years.

I Peter:

I Peter is addressed to churches in areas of Asia Minor that had been evangelised by Saint Paul

I Peter: structure and content:

We could outline this structure for I Peter:

1, Greeting (1: 1-2)
2, Praise to God (1: 3-12)
3, Being God’s Holy People (1: 13 to 2: 10)
4, Living a life in exile (2: 11 to 4: 11)
5, Being steadfast in the Faith (4: 12 to 5: 11)
6, Final Greeting (5: 12-14).

I Peter is addressed, with a Trinitarian invocation, to the “exiles of the Dispersion” scattered throughout “Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia,” five Roman provinces in Asia Minor (see I Peter 1: 1).

The order in which these provinces are listed may reflect the route for the messenger delivering the circular letter. The sequence of provincial boundaries mentioned in I Peter 1: 1 was set out by Emperor Vespasian in AD 72. The recipients lived in the eastern and central regions of Asia Minor, and regions bordering the Black Sea.

They are urged to “live in reverent fear during the time of your exile" (1: 17). Are they “exiles” (1:1) because as Christians they are longing for their home in heaven? Or, are they literal “exiles” (NRSV) or “strangers” (NIV), outsiders who have come to live in this region?

They have faced oppression and hostility from local people, but Peter advises them to maintain loyalty to their religion and to the Roman Empire (I Peter 2: 17).

The author advises them to be steadfast and to persevere under persecution (1: 1 to 2: 10); and to attend to the practical duties of a holy life (2: 11 to 3: 13). He points to the example of Christ. He urges patience and holiness (3: 14 to 4:19); and he concludes with advice to pastors and people (I Peter 5).

Why were the Christians who first received this letter experiencing opposition and persecution? The exhortations to live blameless lives (2: 15; 3: 9, 13, 16) may suggest they were accused of immoral behaviour. The exhortations to civil obedience (2: 13-17) may imply they were accused of disloyalty to the civil authorities. Did they suffer social discrimination, such as verbal derision, or were they the victims of violent persecution?

The author urges them to respect authority (2: 13), and even: “Honour the emperor” (2: 17), suggesting they were not suffering official Roman persecution. The first official worldwide persecution of Christians throughout the Roman Empire did not occur until the year 250 in the reign of Decius.

Nevertheless, Christians were brought before the courts and even faced executions. The aggressive claims to divinity by the Emperor Domitian would have been rejected and resisted by Christians, even though there was no official policy targeted specifically at Christians.

I Peter: authorship and dating:

The first internal evidence in I Peter that Saint Peter the Apostle is the author is provided by the opening greeting: “Peter an apostle of Jesus Christ …” (I Peter 1: 1). Similar claims are found in the concluding words: (I Peter 5: 12-14). I Peter was known to the early patristic writers but they do not describe it as Petrine. So, is there any evidence, internal or external, that the Saint Peter of the Gospels, who we have been looking at this morning, is the author of these two epistles?

The author of I Peter presents himself as Saint Peter the Apostle, and the epistle was traditionally said to have been written while he was either Bishop of Rome or Bishop of Antioch. However, these titles are not used in the epistle.

The author describes himself as ἀπόστολος (apostolos, apostle) (I Peter 1: 1) and as συμπρεσβύτερος (sympresbyteros, fellow priest) (see I Peter 5: 1), a title that appears a little later in the development of early ecclesiology.

But then, Saint Peter lived his early life in Bethsaida, which was granted city status under Philip the Tetrarch. Philip was a Helleniser or advocate of Greek culture, and Bethsaida probably had a large Greek speaking population.

There is general consensus, because of an internal reference to “Babylon” (see I Peter 5: 13), that the epistle was written from Rome.

Those who favour the Petrine authorship date the letter to sometime shortly before Saint Peter’s martyrdom, which may have been as late as AD 68. The reference to Silvanus at the end of the letter may indicate a date following Saint Paul’s arrival in Rome, and it may then date from as early as AD 63-64.

The language, dating, style, and structure of this letter have led many scholars to conclude that I Peter letter is pseudonymous. They see evidence that the author had a formal education in rhetoric and philosophy, advanced knowledge of Greek, along with geometry, arithmetic and music, and a reading of classical authors such as Homer.

Some say it is most likely that I Peter was written during the reign of Domitian in the year 81, when the persecution of Christian became widespread – a date that is long after the death of Peter. On the other hand, the persecutions described in this letter do not need a time period outside of the Saint Peter’s lifespan.

Other scholars doubt the letter’s Petrine authorship. They say I Peter is dependent on the Pauline epistles – especially Ephesians, Colossians and the Pastoral Letters (I and II Timothy and Titus) – and so it was written after Saint Paul’s ministry. Yet others argue that it makes little sense to attribute the work to Saint Peter when it could have been ascribed to Saint Paul.

One theory supporting the Petrine authorship is the “secretarial hypothesis,” which suggests that I Peter was dictated by Peter and was written in Greek by his “faithful brother” or secretary, Silvanus (see I Peter 5: 12). However, we could ask whether Silvanus was not the secretary, but the courier or bearer of I Peter?

Some scholars believe the language, dating, literary style and structure of the letter make it implausible to conclude that I Peter is the work of Saint Peter. They say I Peter is a pseudonymous letter, written later by one of Saint Peter’s disciples in his honour.

Yet there are similarities with Saint Peter's speeches in the Acts of the Apostles, and the earliest attestation of Peter as author comes from II Peter (see II Peter 3: 1) and the letters of Clement.

One possible context for I Peter is by provided the trials and executions of Christians in the Roman province of Bithynia-Pontus under Pliny the Younger. In a letter to Emperor Trajan, written in AD 112, Pliny asks Trajan if the accused Christians should be punished for the name ‘Christian’ alone, or for crimes associated with the name (for the use of the word ‘name,’ see I Peter 4:14-16). But this theory is rejected by those who argue the suffering in I Peter is caused by social, rather than official, discrimination.

The Harrowing of Hell

The Harrowing of Hell ... The author of I Peter refers to Christ, after his death, proclaiming to spirits in prison (3: 18-20)

The author of I Peter refers to Christ, after his death, proclaiming to spirits in prison (3: 18-20). The passage says: Christ “went and made a proclamation to the spirits in prison, who in former times did not obey, when God waited patiently in the days of Noah, during the building of the ark, in which a few, that is eight people were saved through water” (I Peter 3: 19–20).

In the original Greek: “ἐν ᾧ καὶ τοῖς ἐν φυλακῇ πνεύμασιν πορευθεὶς ἐκήρυξεν, ἀπειθήσασίν ποτε ὅτε ἀπεξεδέχετο ἡ τοῦ θεοῦ μακροθυμία ἐν ἡμέραις Νῶε ...”

Later, he says: “For this reason the gospel was preached also to those who are dead, that they might be judged according to men in the flesh, but live according to God in the spirit” (I Peter 4: 6); “εἰς τοῦτο γὰρ καὶ νεκροῖς εὐηγγελίσθη …”

This passage (see also Matthew 27: 52 and Luke 23: 43) provides the basis for the description in the Apostles’ Creed and the Athanasian Creed of Christ’s descent into hell, but it is not mentioned in the Nicene Creed. This event is known to the Orthodox as “the harrowing of hell.”

Between the time of his Crucifixion and Resurrection, Christ visits the “the spirits in prison” or the souls of pre-Christian people waiting for the Gospel.

The Greek wording in the Apostles’ Creed is κατελθόντα εἰς τὰ κατώτατα (katelthonta eis ta katôtata), and in Latin descendit ad inferos. The Greek τὰ κατώτατα (ta katôtata, “the lowest”) and the Latin inferos (“those below”) may also be translated as “underworld,” “netherworld,” or “abode of the dead.”

The term Harrowing of Hell refers not merely to the idea that Christ descended into Hell, as in the Creed, but to the rich tradition that developed later, asserting that he triumphed over inferos, releasing Hell’s captives, particularly Adam and Eve, and the righteous men and women of the Old Testament period.

The Early Church taught that after his death Christ descended into hell and rescued all the souls, starting with Adam and Eve, who had died under the Fall. The Harrowing of Hell is intimately bound up with the Resurrection, the Raising from the Dead, for as Christ is raised from the dead he also plummets the depths to bring up, to raise up, those who are dead, no matter where that may be in time and in space. The Harrowing of Hell carries us into the gap in time between Christ’s death and his resurrection.

In icons of the Harrowing of Hell, Christ stands on the shattered doors of Hell. Sometimes, two angels are seen in the pit binding Satan. And we see Christ pulling out of Hell Adam and Eve, imprisoned there since their deaths, imprisoned along with all humanity because of sin. Christ breaks down the doors of Hell and leads the souls of the lost into Heaven. It is the most radical reversal we can imagine. Death does not have the last word, we need not live our lives buried in fear. If Adam and Eve are forgiven, and the Sin of Adam is annulled and destroyed, who is beyond forgiveness?

In discussing the “Descent into Hell,” Hans Urs von Balthasar argues that if Christ’s mission did not result in the successful application of God’s love to every intended soul, how then can we think of it as a success? He emphasises Christ’s descent into the fullness of death, so as to be “Lord of both the dead and the living” (Romans 5).

However, in her book Light in Darkness, Alyssa Lyra Pitstick says Christ did not descend into the lowest depths of Hell, that he only stayed in the top levels. She cannot agree that Christ’s descent into Hell entails experiencing the fullness of alienation, sin and death, which he then absorbs, transfigures, and defeats through the Resurrection. Instead, she says, Christ descends only to the “limbo of the Fathers” in which the righteous, justified dead of the Old Testament waited for his coming.

And so her argument robs the Harrowing of Hell of its soteriological significance. For her, Christ does not descend into Hell and experience there the depths of alienation between God and humanity opened up by sin. She leaves us with a Christ visiting an already-redeemed and justified collection of Old Testament saints to let them know that he has defeated death – as though he is merely ringing on the doorbell for those ready to come out.

However, Archbishop Rowan Williams has written beautifully, in The Indwelling of Light, on the Harrowing of Hell. Christ is the new Adam who rescues humanity from its past, and who starts history anew. “The resurrection … is an introduction – to our buried selves, to our alienated neighbours, to our physical world.”

He says: “Adam and Eve stand for wherever it is in the human story that fear and refusal began … [This] icon declares that wherever that lost moment was or is – Christ [is] there to implant the possibility … of another future.” [Rowan Williams, The Dwelling of the Light: Praying with Icons of Christ, p. 38.]

I ask myself: what is the difference between the top levels of Hell and the bottom levels of Hell? Is my Hell in my heart of my own creation? In my mind, in my home, where I live and I work, in my society, in this world? Is hell the nightmares from the past I cannot shake off, or the fears for the future when it looks gloomy and desolate for the planet? But is anything too hard for Lord?

The icon of the Harrowing of Hell tells us that there are no limits to God’s ability to search us out and to know us. Where are the depths of my heart and my soul, where darkness prevails, where I feel even Christ can find no welcome? Those crevices even I am afraid to think about, let alone contemplate, may be beyond my reach. I cannot produce or manufacture my own salvation from that deep, interior hell, hidden from others, and often hidden from myself.

But Christ breaks down the gates of Hell. He rips all of sinful humanity from the clutches of death. He descends into the depths of our sin and alienation from God. Plummeting the depths of Hell, he suffuses all that is lost and sinful with the radiance of divine goodness, joy and light.

Hell is where God is not; Christ is God, and his decent into Hell pushes back Hell’s boundaries. In his descent into Hell, Christ reclaims this zone for life, pushing back the gates of death, where God is not, to the farthest limits possible. Christ plummets even those deepest depths, and his love and mercy can raise us again to new life.

II Peter:

The end of II Peter and the beginning of I John in the same column of the Codex Alexandrinus

II Peter: content and structure:

The second letter, II Peter, is the first book in the New Testament to regard other New Testament writings as scripture (see II Peter 3: 15-16).

The letter is addressed to the churches in general. II Peter is written to warn Christians about false teachers and to exhort them to grow in their faith in and knowledge of Christ.

The letter is usually outlined as follows:

1, Address (II Peter 1: 1-2)
2, Exhortation to Christian Virtue (II Peter 1: 3-21)
3, Condemnation of the False Teachers (II Peter 2: 1-22)
4, The Delay of the Second Coming (II Peter 3: 1-16)
5, Final Exhortation and Doxology (II Peter 3: 17-18).

II Peter opens with greeting: “Simon Peter, a servant and apostle of Jesus Christ” (II Peter 1: 1).

II Peter is ascribed by some scholars to Saint Peter, and the letter says that it is written shortly before the apostle’s death (II Peter 1: 14), and that it is Peter’s second letter (see II Peter 3: 1).

According to the letter, it was composed by the Apostle Peter, an eyewitness to Christ’s ministry. It criticises “false teachers” who distort the authentic, apostolic tradition, and predicts judgment for them.

II Peter explains that God has delayed the Second Coming of Christ so that more people will have the chance to reject evil and find salvation. It calls on Christians to wait patiently for the παρουσία (parousia), for the new heaven and the new earth (καινοὺς δὲ οὐρανοὺς καὶ γῆν καινὴν, see Revelation 21: 1) and to study scripture.

In both content and style, this letter is very different from I Peter. While I Peter is written to teach about handling persecution (trials from without), II Peter is written to teach about dealing with heresy (trials from within).

The letter is important theologically for it identifies Christ with God, and addresses a threatening heresy about the anticipated Second Coming.

II Peter contains eleven references to the Old Testament. The letter also shows some knowledge, albeit, perhaps, second-hand knowledge of marginal apocryphal books: Tartaros (Ταρταρός) is mentioned in II Peter 2: 4 as the place where certain fallen angels have cast into and are held in chains. This place-name is missing in many English translations, including the KJV, NRSV and NIV, where it is translated as hell. But it is named again in the Greek of Jude 6, where there is a clear reference to the Book of Enoch.

II Peter also refers to many of Saint Paul’s letters (II Peter 3: 15) and specifically (II Peter 3: 15, 16) to one letters (see I Thessalonians 4: 13 to 5: 11).

Most noticeably, though, II Peter quotes from Jude and adapts from that letter extensively, sharing a number of passages with the Epistle of Jude:

● 1: 5 (Jude 3);
● 1: 12 (Jude 5);
● 2: 1 (Jude 4);
● 2: 4 (Jude 6);
● 2: 5 (Jude 5);
● 2: 6 (Jude 7);
● 2: 10-11 (Jude 8-9);
● 2: 12 (Jude 10);
● 2: 13-17 (Jude 11-13);
● 2: 18 (Jude 16);
● 3: 2f (Jude 17 f);
● 3: 3 (Jude 18);
● 3: 14 (Jude 24);
● 3: 18 (Jude 25).

Because the Epistle of Jude is much shorter than II Peter, and because of various stylistic details, the scholarly consensus is that Jude is the source for similar passages in II Peter.

II Peter: authorship and dating

Two sides of the Papyrus Bodmer VIII. This Papyrus today is the oldest source to the Second Epistle of Peter

When was II Peter written? Commentaries vary, placing the letter in almost every decade between 60 and 160.

II Peter says it is the work of “Simon Peter, a servant and apostle of the Lord Jesus Christ” (see II Peter 1: 1), and the author says he personally knew Christ (see II Peter 1: 14). However, most biblical scholars conclude Saint Peter is not the author and they regard the letter as pseudepigraphical. Their reasons include linguistic differences with I Peter, its apparent use of Jude, possible allusions to second-century gnosticism, encouragement in the wake of a delayed parousia, and weak external support.

Many scholars say the epistle was written between ca 100 and 150. On the other hand, Richard Bauckham opts for an earlier date between 80 and 90 AD. He suggests that II Peter 2: 4 is partially dependent on Jude 6 but is independently drawing on tradition that also lies behind Jude 5-7.

II Peter was not accepted into the Biblical canon without some difficulty, but doubts about the letter’s authorship were never used for definitive rejection. By the time of Jerome (c. 346-420) it had been mostly accepted as canonical.

Canon Patrick Comerford is Lecturer in Anglicanism, Liturgy and Church History, the Church of Ireland Theological Institute, and an Adjunct Assistant Professor, Trinity College, Dublin. These notes were prepared for a Bible study in a tutorial group with MTh students on 20 November 2013.