The Concept of Medicine in the Early Church

Pellegrino Edmund , and Thomasma David Christian Virtues in Medical Practice (Washington, D.C.: Georgetown University Press, 1996), 45.

The Oxford Classical Dictionary, eds. Hornblower Simon , and Spawforth Anthony (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1996), 945.

The American Medical Association reports that while 98 percent of U.S. medical schools administer a “Hippocratic” Oath, only 1 percent of schools (about two or three) administer the original oath (2002 data).

Magill Frank N. , ed., Great Lives from History: Ancient and Medieval Series, vol. 3 (Pasadena: Salem Press, 1988), 993. Gerald Hart points out that the story of Asclepius's birth, life, death, and resurrection is strikingly similar to that of Jesus Christ, and that numbers of Christian converts were familiar with the cult of Asclepius. Hart proposes that St. Paul's focus on the body (1 Cor 12: 12-31) may have been an attempt to appeal to those who still sought the assistance of the Greek god. I do not find this particular passage a compelling argument for Hart's position. See Gerald D. Hart, Asclepius: The God of Medicine (London: The Royal Society of Medicine Press, 2000), 183-94

Hippocrates , “The Art,” in Hippocrates, vol. II, Prognostic. Regimen in Acute Diseases. The Sacred Disease. The Art. Breaths. Law. Decorum. Physician (Ch. 1). Dentition (London: William Heinemann, 1953), 193.

Hippocrates , “The Art,” in Hippocrates, vol. II, Prognostic. Regimen in Acute Diseases. The Sacred Disease. The Art. Breaths. Law. Decorum. Physician (Ch. 1). Dentition (London: William Heinemann, 1953), 995

Longrigg James Greek Medicine from the Heroic to the Hellenistic Age: A Source Book (London: Duckworth Press, 1998), 101.

Longrigg James Greek Medicine from the Heroic to the Hellenistic Age: A Source Book (London: Duckworth Press, 1998, 104–5.

From chs. 13 and 14 in Leviticus, it is evident that this dual concern of both preservation of the community and ritual cleanliness were of paramount importance as this applies to skin lesions, scabs, and infections.

See, for example, Dt 28: 58-61: “If you are not careful to observe every word of the law which is written in this book, and to revere the glorious and awesome name of the LORD, your God, he will smite you and your descendents with severe and constant blows, malignant and lasting maladies. He will again afflict you with all the diseases of Egypt which you dread, and they will persist among you. Should there be any kind of sickness or calamity not mentioned in this book of the law, that too the Lord will bring upon you until you are destroyed.”

Prioreschi Plinio , History of Medicine, vol 1, Primitive and Ancient Medicine (Omaha: Horatius Press, 1995), 474–8, 496.

Jackson Ralph Doctors and Diseases in the Roman Empire (Norman, OK: University of Oklahoma Press, 1988), 129, 134-5.

Scarborough holds that Roman medicine was characterized by a crude, yet effective innovation, most especially in the area of wound dressing. This competence was probably due to the experience gained on the battlefield as well as the considerable profit and prestige gained by practicing medicine within elite circles of Roman citizens. In fact, it is from this Roman intellectual culture that Greek-born Roman physician Galen emerges. John Scarborough, Roman Medicine (Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 1969). See esp. ch. 5, “Medical Practice and the Roman Army”; and ch. 8, “The Doctor and His Place in Roman Society.”

Jackson Doctors and Diseases in the Roman Empire, 139.

Mk 6: 3: “Is this not the carpenter's son?”

The question of the social network, education, and literacy of Jesus is itself a fascinating subject, but it suffices here to say that the idea of Jesus as a poor, uneducated peasant is simply no longer tenable. John Meier, in his seminal work A Marginal Jew holds that Jesus was at least probably tri-lingual, speaking his native Aramaic, Hebrew, and some “business-oriented” Greek. See Meier John , A Marginal Jew: Rethinking the Historical Jesus, vol. 1, The Roots of the Problem and the Person (New York: Doubleday, 1991), 255–68. O'Collins and Kendall count Jesus' linguistic abilities as placing him in the very top echelon of orators as “one of history's most extraordinary communicators,” having far greater ability to sway, influence, and teach than any of his peers. See Gerald O'Collins and Daniel Kendall, Focus on Jesus (Herefordshire: Gracewing, 1996), 64-5.

Latourelle Rene The Miracles of Jesus and the Theology of Miracles (New York: Paulist Press, 1988); and Herman Hendrickx, The Miracle Stories of the Synoptic Gospels (London: Chapman, 1987). This count does not include the so-called “reanimations” of the deceased: The Widow's Son (Lk 7: 11-7), Jairus's Daughter (Mk 5: 22-43), and Lazarus (John 11: 1-45).

Jackson Doctors and Diseases in the Roman Empire, 121–3.

“Christ's message to a suffering humanity proclaimed worldly medicine unnecessary. Christ himself was the supreme healer, the savior of body and soul. Faith in him, in his disciples, and in the gospel would heal the sick, the maimed, and the suffering…. Implicit faith in divine mercy made inquiry into the causes of disease unnecessary and even culpable. The doctor who cured patients by rational methods of his own devising actually meddled sinfully with God's designs.” Bettman Otto L. , History of Medicine (Springfield, IL: Charles C. Thomas Publishers, 1956), 47.

Dörnemann Michael Krankheit und Heilung in der Theologie der frühen Kirchenväter (diss.) (Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2003), 58–67.

Dörnemann Michael Krankheit und Heilung in der Theologie der frühen Kirchenväter (diss.) (Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2003, 59–61.

From The Ritual of the Antiochian Maronite Church (English translation), courtesy of the Diocese of St. Maron, Detroit, MI (not dated), emphasis added.

Augustine , “Letter 219: To Proclus and Cylinis,” in Letters, vol. 5, 204–270 (Washington, D.C.: The Catholic University of America Press, 1956), 100.

“They said, ‘This is Joseph's son, surely?’ But he [Jesus] replied ‘no doubt you will quote me the saying ’Physician, heal thyself,' and tell me ‘We have heard all that happened in Capernaum, so the same here in your own country.’ And he went on, ‘In truth I tell you, no prophet is ever accepted in his own country’” (Lk 4: 23).

Lk 5: 29-32; Mt 9: 10-3; Mk 2: 17.

Shemunkasho Aho Healing in the Theology of St. Ephrem (Piscataway, NJ: Georgias Press, 2004), 381.

Shemunkasho Aho Healing in the Theology of St. Ephrem (Piscataway, NJ: Georgias Press, 2004, 383.

Shemunkasho Aho Healing in the Theology of St. Ephrem (Piscataway, NJ: Georgias Press, 2004, 385–6.

Kasper Walter Jesus the Christ (New York: Paulist Press, 1976), 96–7.

Introduction to Basil, Letters, vol. 1, 1–185, trans. Sr. Agnes Clare Way, C.D.P. (New York: Fathers of the Church, Inc, 1951), xiv–xv.

Basil “Letter 189,” in Letters, vol. 2, 186–368, trans. Sr. Agnes Clare Way, C.D.P. (New York: Fathers of the Church, Inc., 1955), 25.

Augustine The Catholic and Manichaean Ways of Life, trans. Donald A. Gallagher and Idella J. Gallagher (Washington, D.C.: The Catholic University of America Press, 1966), 41.

This mode of choice was contrasted with the non-virtuous who acted only as an animal might (akousion) tending to make choices without much deliberation or forethought. This, in the Greek estimation, led to erratic behavior and a cessation of the operation of the accompanying virtues of courage, self-control, and justice. See Aristotle, Nichomachean Ethics, bk. 3.

Basil Ascetical Works, trans. Sr. M. Monica Wagner, C.S.C. (New York: The Fathers of the Church, Inc., 1950), 436.

Basil Ascetical Works, trans. Sr. M. Monica Wagner, C.S.C. (New York: The Fathers of the Church, Inc., 1950), 436.