What does this mean for the Christianity of the 21st century? For the house church movement, it means that we should not think of oikos as a monolithic and normative form for the ekklēsia. Instead, the house church served a purpose at a particular point in history. In the first century, the oikos provided a place of gathering that was relatively secure from social and religious persecution. As observed in Laodicea, the oikos was more than simply the home of a family. It also provided the economic, social, and spiritual well-being of a web of relationships that were common in the patron-client system of the Roman Empire (cf. Philemon). Out of such a network, the community transformed from the domain of darkness to the kingdom of light (Col 1:13).
Symbols of crosses, the wheel, possibly a literal icthus along the western wall of the Laodicea Church (fig 21) testify to the depth of impact of Christianity on the city. Yet, it demonstrated not only the impact, but also the commitment of the saints to Jesus Christ, God’s Son, and Savior. Equally as important are the clear signs of Christian space. From house churches, to the use of the theater, and dedicated buildings, to places of business marked by crosses, what we learn is that the Christians adapted to the needs of the community. In essence, they utilized the space around them to regularly gather together. As Huttner concludes, “Besides the Jewish synagogues in the Lycus Valley, several models were therefore available to serve as a precedent for the formation of the Christian congregations” (2013:31). The congregation had examples in the private home with apsidal halls, theater, bouleuterion, and even the pagan temple when its material was not used as spolia. However, L. Michael White challenges us to keep in mind the irony of sacred space, “It is perhaps ironic, then, that a religious movement that began by challenging the very notion of the gods who resided in the pagan temples should over time come to adopt a form of pagan public architecture as its standard for church building” (1997:31).
Along with the adaptation of space came the creation of rituals and traditions commiserate with White’s observation. The beautiful baptistry at the Laodicea Church is a clear architectural confirmation of the development of ritual (fig 22). The same cross-shaped style baptistry found its way into both St. Mary’s (fig 23) and St. John’s churches in Ephesus. The ongoing development of rituals tempt some to believe that Christianity had not fully formed in the first century. However, to suggest some need for Christian maturation in ritual evolution privileges one time period over another. First century Christianity had all it needed to be a fully formed expression reminiscent of philosophical schools (hairesis) and guilds or associations (collegia) who required metanoia for membership as opposed to religious cults which voluntarily poured out libations to whichever god or goddess one might appease in order to meet a need.
Figure 21: Icthus(?) outside the western wall of the Laodicea Church. Courtesy of the author. 
Figure 22: Baptistry at Laodicea Church. Courtesy of the author. 
Figure 23: Baptistry at St. Mary’s Church in Ephesus. Courtesy of the author. 
Figure 24: Apse of Laodicean Church. Courtesy of the author. 
Figure 25: Bouleuterion at Laodicea. Courtesy of the author. 
Figure 26: Apse at the Synagogue (maybe church) of Sardis. Courtesy of the author.
Just as architecture is fluid so also language is fluid. It would not be long until the ekklēsia evolved from an identity as the people of God, the body of Christ, to a location. Architecture is here to blame in part. The space for gathering took on the moniker intended for God’s people. By the third century, Christians began to “go to church.” Clement of Alexandria (AD 150-220) hints at this change, “Women and men should go to church decently attired, with natural step, clinging to silence, possessing genuine love, being pure in body and pure in heart, and fit to offer prayers to God” (Paedagogus 3.11; emphasis added). If we did not know any better, we might think that Clement is describing early 20th century Western Christianity.
Yet, the same is true of the 21st century church. We still “go to church.” We continue to speak of multiple churches in our communities: First Methodist Church, Second Baptist Church, Third Reformed Church, and so on. Christianity has become so fragmented over the centuries that the word “church” has lost its meaning (see Korner 2017). So, if Laodicea offers us any hope, it is this. A church once threatened to be spewed out of Jesus’ mouth for its complacency repented and became zealous to such an extent that it left an archaeological record that testifies to its faithfulness during the tumultuous first three centuries marked by the birth of Christ. That is a church we might consider emulating in all its simplicity and adaptability.
Additionally, there is a caution that we must heed. Along with numerical increase comes the search for means to manage the increases. As noted, we see this in the archaeological record as spaces for Christian gathering are eventually called “church.” At the same time, the development of ritual and tradition often conflate influences of the religious and even secular culture with Christianity. In the Laodicea Church, the pastophoria housed sacred items similar to the pastophoria of the pagan temple. Similarly, the apse area took on the look of the bouleuterion where prominent members of society ruled the assembly (fig 24, 25, 26). Over time, the saints in Laodicea were governed by formal positions of authority that were foreign to the first century church. As observed in the fourth century regional Council of Laodicea[1]where leaders from many Asian provinces gathered, some canons seemed remarkably out of touch with the New Testament. Consider the following:
Canon 20: It is not right for a deacon to sit in the presence of a presbyter, unless he be bidden by the presbyter to sit down. Likewise the deacons shall have worship of the subdeacons and all the [inferior] clergy.
Canon 21: The subdeacons have no right to a place in the Diaconicum, nor to touch the Lord’s vessels.
Canon 22: The subdeacon has no right to wear an orarium, nor to leave the doors.
Canon 24: No one of the priesthood, from presbyters to deacons, and so on in the ecclesiastical order to subdeacons, readers, singers, exorcists, door-keepers, or any of the class of the Ascetics, ought to enter a tavern.
Canon 28: It is not permitted to hold love feasts, as they are called, in the Lord’s Houses, or Churches, nor to eat and to spread couches in the house of God.
The regional council also provides a clear indication of a move toward the language of membership demonstrated not only by interdictions, but also requirements. For example:
Canon 9: The members of the Church are not allowed to meet in the cemeteries, nor attend the so-called martyries of any of the heretics, for prayer or service; but such as so do, if they be communicants, shall be excommunicated for a time; but if they repent and confess that they have sinned they shall be received.
Canon 10: The members of the Church shall not indiscriminately marry their children to heretics.
Canon 19: After the sermons of the Bishops, the prayer for the catechumens is to be made first by itself; and after the catechumens have gone out, the prayer for those who are under penance; and, after these have passed under the hand [of the Bishop] and departed, there should then be offered the three prayers of the faithful, the first to be said entirely in silence, the second and third aloud, and then the [kiss of] peace is to be given. And, after the presbyters have given the [kiss of] peace to the Bishop, then the laity are to give it [to one another], and so the Holy Oblation is to be completed. And it is lawful to the priesthood alone to go to the Altar and [there] communicate.
Canon 46: They who are to be baptized must learn the faith [Creed] by heart, and recite it to the bishop, or to the presbyters, on the fifth day of the week.
Canon 48: They who are baptized must after Baptism be anointed with the heavenly chrism, and be partakers of the Kingdom of Christ.
The saints of Laodicea span seven centuries of Christianity. Their first two centuries began with instructions from Paul, Timothy, and Epaphras, and Jesus. The saints seemed to heed the loving discipline of Christ and returned to the zealous ways as the archaeological record unearthed. Yet, as they experienced their new-found freedom beginning with the reign of Constantine, two things occurred: one negative and one positive. First, their numerical increase created new forms of being the church. Certainly, they emerged out of the culture and naturally took on qualities of the culture. Yet they began to distance themselves from previous generations and expressed influences from the once pagan cults surrounding them (see Arnold 1996). Second, their numerical increase placed them in a position of influence in the city. The church and the bishop assumed an authority equal to the aristocrats and political powers. This resulted in their responsibility growing from the care for the spiritual needs of their flock to their involvement in the secular affairs of the city (Ceylan 2007:171). Such influence is desperately needed for the reputation of the church today. However, it must be measured and constrained by leadership expectations in the New Testament.
| Lessons from Laodicea | |
| Missiological Application | Missiological Caution |
| -The house church provides an example of the adaptive nature of the Christian gathering. -Christians were comfortable using public space for gathering (ex. Western theater). -Allegiance marked the early Christians as shown by the Christogram. -Growth demands structure and the church adapted from leadership models in the culture. -Christianity permeated every aspect of society – business, religious, arts – and demonstrated is transformative impact. -Care must be given to ensuring adapted forms are infused with Christian meaning. | -The house church is not a normative model as the early church employed many spaces for gathering. -Dedicated buildings as space for gatherings do not appear until late third or early the fourth century. -Membership marked the later Christians as shown by the canons of the regional council. Growth demands structure and the church must guard against hegemonic leadership forms. -Ministry began to focus on a growing hierarchy of clergy – clergy were not permitted to attend the theater and assumed a political status by election. -Adaption of cultural forms can result in over-contextualization or syncretism. |
To be continued . . . Final Thoughts
[1] Several canons address the relationship between Christians and Jews. Keir Hammer and Michele Murray argue that these canons provide literary evidence for religious fellowship between the two groups. This, they contend, is the backdrop for the Sardis synagogue and the Jewish and Christian shops along its north exterior wall (see Hammer and Murray 2005:175-196).
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