by Marie Symington
In the year 40 A.D. the number of Christians totaled to around a thousand. By the year 400, this figure had increased to nearly 40 million. How did Christianity grow so quickly in numbers in an empire once dominated by paganism? The author Bart Ehrmman argues that Christianity grew due to its singularity compared to other religions at the time: no other religion was missionary and exclusive like Christianity.
Jesus’ instructions to his disciples highlight these two principles that characterize the Church’s mission, namely in Matthew’s Gospel, “go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit” and in John’s Gospel “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” . Christians are to spread the Word of God so that all may believe truly and solely in Jesus Christ, for to be saved, one cannot serve two masters at the time. According to Ehrman, this combination of evangelism and exclusion was unique to Christianity and proved to be decisive for the growth of the Church in its early days.
Yet, to understand the mission of the Church under such terms risks undermining the spirit in which Christians spread and are to spread the Word of God. If the Church excludes the worship of any other gods — whether that be pagan deities or money and power — it does so because it values the Truth revealed by God, and if it calls Christians to evangelise, it does so out of Love for all of God’s children. Understanding how the Church Fathers and Doctors encouraged the spread of the Good News in the first centuries of Christianity can continue to aid Christians in their mission today.
Through teaching
As Thomas Aquinas teaches in his work Summa Theologiae, the intellect and the will represent two distinct powers of the human soul: while the intellect searches for the Truth, the will pursues the Good. That does not mean to say that these two powers are isolated from one another. The intellect directs the will toward the Good in that “the will’s object [the Good] is proposed to it by reason” . In light of this, teaching the Truth in order to persuade the intellect of the truth of Christianity represents an important aspect of the Church’s mission to spread the Word.
In his work On Christian Doctrine which instructs Christians how to be effective orators in the teaching of the Word, Saint Augustine emphasises the importance of clarity and intelligibility in teaching for those who listen to the orator. Christian truth must always be proposed suaviter, gently, out of respect for both the nature of the Truth and the listener’s capacity to receive it. As Augustine writes, “He, then, who speaks with the purpose of teaching should not suppose that he has said what he has to say as long as he is not understood; for although what he has said be intelligible to himself it is not said at all to the man who does not understand it” . Thus, it is vital that the intellect of the listener can understand the teaching so that their will may then pursue the true Good accordingly.
Through prayer
That being said, it is possible that the will refuses to adhere to the Truth. Aquinas adopts Saint Augustine’s definition of faith as an act of reason under the impulse of the will guided by God’s grace: “the act of believing is an act of the intellect assenting to the Divine truth at the command of the will moved by the grace of God, so that it is subject to the free-will in relation to God” . But just as the will can direct the intellect to believe, it can also hinder belief.
In these cases, and not limited to, prayer for God’s grace to intervene is the most effective tool for missionaries, and yet, as Christians of the post-modern world, we sometimes underestimate the great mysterious power of prayer. Writing to the Ephesians, Saint Ignatius, Bishop of Antioch, insists on prayer as a way of supporting the spread of the Gospel “And pray without ceasing on behalf of other men. For there is in them hope of repentance that they may attain to God” .
The value of prayer is further emphasised in Saint Augustine’s work On Christian Doctrine. Augustine writes the following: “And so our Christian orator, while he says what is just, and holy, and good […] he will succeed more by piety in prayer than by gifts of oratory; and so he ought to pray for himself, and for those he is about to address, before he attempts to speak […] For, as in regard to every matter of faith and love there are many things that may be said, and many ways of saying them, who knows what it is expedient at a given moment for us to say, or to be heard saying, except God who knows the hearts of all? And who can make us say what we ought, and in the way we ought, except Him in whose hand both we and our speeches are?” . In this way, Christians must pray for the grace of God to move the will of those who refuse the Good News so that they may one day believe.
Through good works
God’s grace may work through Christians’ good works. In some instances, non-believers are not well-disposed to listen to the Christian missionary, as they may have experienced hurtful interactions with other Christians in the past. Indeed, in many cases, actions speak louder than words. Thus, in his Address to Catechists in 2023, Pope Francis reminded that “Being a catechist means witnessing to the faith, being consistent in our personal life”, quoting Saint Francis of Assisi’s instructions to his friars — “Preach the Gospel at all times; if necessary use words”— to stress the importance of being a witness in what we do, just as much as in what we say .
In his Epistle to the Magnesians, Saint Ignatius points to the need for coherency between Christians’ actions and words, writing that it is “fitting, then, not only to be called Christians, but to be so in reality”. . In addition to prayer, he calls on believers to instruct others through their works in his Epistle to the Ephesians: “Be meek in response to their wrath, humble in opposition to their boasting: to their blasphemies return your prayers; in contrast to their error, be steadfast Colossians 1:23 in the faith; and for their cruelty, manifest your gentleness. While we take care not to imitate their conduct, let us be found their brethren in all true kindness; and let us seek to be followers of the Lord , that so no plant of the devil may be found in you, but you may remain in all holiness and sobriety in Jesus Christ, both with respect to the flesh and spirit” .
Saint Augustine reiterates this point in his work On Christian Doctrine, arguing that “the life of the speaker will count for more in securing the hearer’s compliance” . For the hearer would then ask “Why do you not do yourself what you bid me to do?” and then “cease to listen with submission to a man who does not listen to himself, and in despising the preacher [he would] learn to despise the word that is preached” . As the Apostle Paul writes, “set an example for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith and in purity” .
Therefore, the Church’s mission to spread the Word not only serves to convert the hearts of others but also offers the opportunity for all Christians to grow in faith, through teaching, prayer and good works.
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