THE CHURCH OF ANTIOCH AND THE EUCHARISTIC TRADITIONS

332 Pages·2017·2.39 MB·English

by  Amiel Drimbe

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Drimbe, Amiel (2018) The Church of Antioch and the Eucharistic traditions (ca. 35–130 CE).
PhD thesis, Middlesex University / Oxford Centre for Mission Studies. [Thesis]
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THE CHURCH OF ANTIOCH
AND THE EUCHARISTIC TRADITIONS
(ca. 35–130 CE)

Amiel D. Drimbe
Oxford Centre for Mission Studies

May 2018
THE CHURCH OF ANTIOCH
AND THE EUCHARISTIC TRADITIONS
(ca. 35–130 CE)

Amiel D. Drimbe
Oxford Centre for Mission Studies

ABSTRACT

It is a widespread view in modern scholarship that, in the earliest church of Syrian Antioch (ca.
35–130 CE), there came together ‘divergent theological traditions’. Yet here these traditions
were ‘balanced’ and ‘synthesized’. So, from Antioch, there emerged a ‘middle [traditional or
theological] position’, the via media that facilitated the ‘Christian unity’ of the ‘universal
church’. This via media theologica offered a way of keeping together the divergent Jewish and
Hellenistic groups of Antioch.

This study challenges this view and proposes a nuanced understanding of the dynamics of the
theological traditions in the earliest church of Antioch. It is beyond reasonable dispute that
‘divergent traditions’ did emerge at Antioch. However, the case for the formulation of a
‘synthesized… middle position’ needs to be re-examined. To this end, the present study
1) analyses the eucharistic traditions of earliest Christianity, focusing on the following key
texts: 1 Cor. 11.23–25 (Lk. 22.17–20), Matt. 26.26–29, Did. 9.1–10.6, and Ignatius, Phld. 4.1;
and 2) traces their use within the earliest church of Antioch, arguing that all these traditions
were composed (or adapted) and used here, between ca. 35–70 CE.

Having located the eucharistic traditions in the church of Antioch, their internal dynamics are
subsequently investigated. While these internal dynamics cannot be conclusively unravelled,
due to the lack of adequate data, it is highly improbable that, in Antioch, the eucharistic
traditions were ‘balanced’ or ‘synthesized’. Rather, there seems to be a pattern of recurrent
additions: a recent tradition was added to those already existing, while the older traditions were
also kept and revalued. It is by this pattern of the ‘addition’ of new traditions and ‘revaluation’
of older traditions that the church of Antioch sought to keep and consolidate the unity of its
factions.

Finally, since existing scholarship concerns both 1) ‘the divergent groups/traditions’ and
2) ‘the Christian unity… of the universal church’, this study seeks to find an appropriate model
of ‘unity and diversity’ in Antioch, by locating the internal dynamics of the Antiochene
eucharistic traditions into the larger context of the ‘unity and diversity in earliest Christianity’.
The patterns and dynamics uncovered in this study appear to corroborate Hurtado’s more recent
‘interactive diversity model’.

THE CHURCH OF ANTIOCH
AND THE EUCHARISTIC TRADITIONS
(ca. 35–130 CE)

by
Amiel D. Drimbe
B.Th. (University of Bucharest)
M.Th. (University of Alba Iulia)

Biblical Studies
Main Supervisor: Prof Andrew D. Clarke (University of Aberdeen)
Second Supervisor: Prof Mark J. Edwards (University of Oxford)
House Tutor: Dr Timothy Keene (Oxford Centre for Mission Studies)

A thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the degree of
Doctor of Philosophy
in Middlesex University

May 2018
Oxford Centre for Mission Studies
DECLARATION

This work has not previously been accepted in substance for any degree and is not being
concurrently submitted in candidature for any degree.
Signed (Candidate)

Date 01/05/2018

STATEMENT ONE
This thesis is the result of my own investigations, except where otherwise stated. All sources are
acknowledged by inline notes and footnotes, giving explicit references. A bibliography is
appended.
Signed (Candidate)

Date 01/05/2018

STATEMENT TWO
I hereby give consent for my thesis, if approved, to be available for photocopying by the British
Library and for Inter-Library Loan, for open access to the Electronic Theses Online Service
(EthoS) linked to the British Library, and for the title and summary to be made available to
outside organizations.
Signed (Candidate)

Date 01/05/2018
DEDICATION

With utmost reverence, to God – to You alone be all glory.
With love unspoken, to Adina and Eliana – I have just finished writing a (forthcoming) book; still I
cannot find proper words to describe my love for you.
With highest gratitude, to Professor Andrew D. Clarke (University of Aberdeen) and Professor Mark J.
Edwards (University of Oxford) – you truly reinvented the word ‘super’ in the ‘supervision’.
With deepest appreciation, to my OCMS family – the word ‘family’ says it all.
With sincere thanksgiving, to my biological family, to my colleagues, and to the many friends that
supported this long and costly journey – if I were to mention all of you by name and give just a few
details on how much your support means, this section alone would have exceeded the 80,000 word
limit.
TABLE OF CONTENTS

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS .......................................................................................................... vii
1. INTRODUCTION .......................................................................................................................... 1
1.1 Antioch, the cradle of earliest Christianity .................................................................................. 1
1.2 Aims and objectives .................................................................................................................... 3
1.3 A history of scholarship .............................................................................................................. 4
1.3.1 The church of Antioch in modern research .......................................................................... 4
1.3.2 Unity and diversity in earliest Christianity: from W. Bauer to L.W. Hurtado .................... 13
1.4 Outline of the study ................................................................................................................... 20

2. ‘IT IS NOT THE LORD’S SUPPER THAT YOU EAT…’: PAUL, CORINTH, AND THE
LORD’S SUPPER TRADITION ..................................................................................................... 24
2.1 ‘Then he left [Corinth] and sailed for Syria’: On the (long) road to Antioch, via Corinth......... 24
2.2 ‘When you come together [to eat]’: The tradition of the Lord’s Supper in Corinth .................. 26
2.2.1 From the solution to the problem: The difficulty of stating the problem ............................ 27
2.2.2 From the solution to the solution: The redundancy of the tradition? .................................. 46
2.3 Conclusion ................................................................................................................................ 55

3. ‘FOR I RECEIVED FROM [ANTIOCH] WHAT I ALSO PASSED ON TO YOU’: PAUL,
ANTIOCH, AND THE LORD’S SUPPER TRADITION.............................................................. 56
3.1 From Corinth to Antioch: ‘The ways that I teach in every church’ ........................................... 56
3.1.1 Paul in Corinth: Foundational and universal teachings ...................................................... 56
3.1.2 Paul in Antioch: Chronology .............................................................................................. 60
3.1.3 The Lord’s Supper in Antioch: Conflict ............................................................................. 66
3.1.4. Preliminary conclusions .................................................................................................... 69
3.2 From Antioch to Corinth: ‘For I received… what I passed on to you’ ...................................... 70
3.2.1 Paul, Damascus, and the foundational traditions ................................................................ 73
3.2.2 Paul, Mark, and Jerusalem ................................................................................................. 74
3.2.3 Paul, Luke, and Antioch ..................................................................................................... 80
3.3 Conclusion ................................................................................................................................ 88

4. ‘THE NEWS ABOUT [JESUS] SPREAD ALL OVER SYRIA’: ANTIOCH AND THE
GOSPEL OF MATTHEW ............................................................................................................... 90
4.1 ‘As is recorded in the Memoirs of the apostles…’ .................................................................... 91
4.2 Locating the Gospel of Matthew: A history of scholarship ....................................................... 96
4.2.1 From Alexandria to Antioch............................................................................................... 97
4.2.2 Concluding remarks ......................................................................................................... 115
4.3 Locating the Gospel of Matthew: The case for Antioch .......................................................... 116
4.3.1 Antioch after B.H. Streeter ............................................................................................... 120
4.3.2 Matthew and the Didache: Two documents from the same Jewish-Christian milieu........ 126
4.4 Conclusion .............................................................................................................................. 128

5. ‘FOR THE FORGIVENESS OF SINS’: MATTHEW, ANTIOCH, AND THE LAST SUPPER
TRADITION ................................................................................................................................... 130
5.1 Beyond Matthew and Mark: The literary connection, the ritual separation ............................. 131
5.2 Beyond Matthew, Paul, and Luke: The Antiochene connection, the ritual separation............. 136
5.2.1 Several churches, several traditions ................................................................................. 137
5.2.2 Singular church, several traditions ................................................................................... 138
5.2.3 Singular church, singular tradition ................................................................................... 140
5.3 Conclusion .............................................................................................................................. 151

6. ‘THE BROKEN BREAD SCATTERED UPON THE MOUNTAINS’: ANTIOCH AND THE
DIDACHE ........................................................................................................................................ 153
6.1 Locating the Didache: The case for Syrian Antioch ................................................................ 155
6.1.1 Was the Didache composed in Antioch? .......................................................................... 158
6.1.2 From Syria to Antioch. Further narrowing arguments ...................................................... 169
6.1.3 Preliminary conclusions ................................................................................................... 172
6.2 Locating the eucharistic traditions of Didache 9–10: The case for Syrian Antioch ................. 173
6.2.1 Was Didache 9–10 composed in Antioch? ....................................................................... 173
6.2.2 Preliminary conclusions ................................................................................................... 203
6.3 Conclusion .............................................................................................................................. 204

7. ‘YOU SHALL KEEP THE EUCHARIST AS FOLLOWS’: ANTIOCH AND THE
EUCHARISTIC TRADITIONS OF THE DIDACHE ................................................................. 205
7.1 Two traditions, one function: Before the ‘before’ and ‘after’ .................................................. 206
7.1.1 ‘After you have eaten enough… Come!’.......................................................................... 208
7.1.2 ‘With regard to the Eucharist, you shall keep [it] as follows…’ ....................................... 211
7.1.3 Making sense of the incompatibilities: A history of scholarship ...................................... 215
7.1.4 Making sense of the incompatibilities: A proposal ........................................................... 224
7.2 The eucharistic traditions of the Didache and the church of Antioch ...................................... 229
7.3 Conclusion .............................................................................................................................. 232

8. ‘PARTICIPATE IN ONLY ONE EUCHARIST’: IGNATIUS OF ANTIOCH AND THE
EUCHARISTIC TRADITIONS .................................................................................................... 233
8.1 ‘One church, one bishop’: Ignatius and the church of Antioch ............................................... 233
8.1.1 Ignatius of Antioch: One bishop? ..................................................................................... 235
8.1.2 Ignatius’ Antioch: One church? ....................................................................................... 246
8.2 ‘One Eucharist, one flesh, one cup’: Ignatius and the eucharistic traditions............................ 251
8.2.1 Apostolic traditions .......................................................................................................... 251
8.2.2 Eucharistic traditions ........................................................................................................ 254
8.3 Conclusion .............................................................................................................................. 270

9. CONCLUSIONS: THE CHURCH OF ANTIOCH AND THE EUCHARISTIC TRADITIONS
(ca. 35–130 CE) ............................................................................................................................... 271
9.1 Antioch and the eucharistic traditions: Internal dynamics ....................................................... 272
9.2 Antioch and the eucharistic traditions: Internal diversity ........................................................ 280

BIBLIOGRAPHY ........................................................................................................................... 284