{"id":51470,"date":"2020-03-31T15:33:52","date_gmt":"2020-03-31T20:33:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/praytellblog.com\/?p=51470"},"modified":"2020-05-01T11:34:26","modified_gmt":"2020-05-01T16:34:26","slug":"pandemics-and-public-worship-throughout-history","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/praytellblog.com\/index.php\/2020\/03\/31\/pandemics-and-public-worship-throughout-history\/","title":{"rendered":"Pandemics and Public Worship Throughout History"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><em><a href=\"https:\/\/worship.calvin.edu\/resources\/resource-library\/pandemics-and-public-worship-throughout-history?fbclid=IwAR3zu8YU-di7z_6PpbImKfeCrpCBCl9i_oz2fEMp-7BYuzU2tfshorSPN3c\">This article<\/a> was originally published by the <a href=\"https:\/\/worship.calvin.edu\/\">Calvin Institute of Christian Worship<\/a> on March 23, 2020. It was written by<\/em><em>\u00a0John D. Witvliet, Noel Snyder, Mar\u00eda Cornou, Chan Gyu Jang.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n<p>As the pandemic COVID-19 brings isolation and unprecedented challenges to congregations around the world, it can be of great comfort to reflect and learn about how Christian churches have responded to epidemics and pandemics throughout history.<\/p>\n<p>This resource page highlights articles and primary sources from several online resources that tell stories of the Christian church and epidemics\u2014stories filled with both despair and hope, both agonizing pain and inspiring pastoral innovations.\u00a0What a gift it is to have resourceful historians, editors, and writers making this material available across the web! We are happy to help readers find this good work and\u00a0look forward to updating this page with additional materials over time.<\/p>\n<p>As you read through the historical timeline, you may find several key themes that emerge from these materials:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><em>Nurturing the church to trust in a loving God;<\/em><\/li>\n<li><em>Returning to the Psalms as an indispensable source of spiritual insight;<\/em><\/li>\n<li><em>The importance of relationships within the body of Christ that provides comfort and support;<\/em><\/li>\n<li><em>The value of both honest lament and deep gratitude in our public and private prayers;<\/em><\/li>\n<li><em>The importance of having our public worship practices\u2014public prayers, sermons, songs, and celebrations of baptism and the Lord\u2019s Supper\u2014respond to the unique needs created by the times of crisis; and<\/em><\/li>\n<li><em>The importance of having pastoral leaders share wisdom with each other, teaching and learning as God\u2019s Spirit equips, so that the entire body of Christ is built up.<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>One additional benefit of this learning is that each of us is\u00a0<em>de-centered<\/em>. Christian wisdom has emerged across many centuries. It is displayed in many different denominational traditions. And it takes shape in a stunning variety of cultural contexts. A\u00a0beautiful act of Christian humility is to realize how much we have to learn from believers in historical and cultural contexts far different from our own.<\/p>\n<p>We also want to thank respondent John Ross for his helpful point: &#8220;In the case of most of the epidemics listed below, Christians simply had\u00a0not discovered or understood\u00a0the underlying science of transmission and dispersal of disease\u00a0as we do today.&#8221;\u00a0We are grateful for the insights of science to inform us as we\u00a0discern the ways in which we express our love toward each other and the world God loves.<\/p>\n<h2>Timeline<\/h2>\n<h3><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ancient.eu\/article\/992\/plague-of-cyprian-250-270-ce\/\">Plague of Cyprian, 250-270 CE<\/a><br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/www.ancient.eu\/article\/992\/plague-of-cyprian-250-270-ce\/\">St. Cyprian, Bishop of Carthage (200-258 CE)<\/a><\/h3>\n<blockquote><p><em>The Plague of Cyprian erupted in Ethiopia around\u00a0Easter\u00a0of 250 CE. It reached\u00a0Rome\u00a0in the following year eventually spreading to\u00a0Greece\u00a0and further east to\u00a0Syria. The plague lasted nearly 20 years and, at its height, reportedly killed as many as 5,000 people per day in Rome.\u00a0Contributing to the rapid spread of sickness and\u00a0death\u00a0was the constant\u00a0warfare\u00a0confronting the\u00a0empire\u00a0due to a series of attacks on the frontiers: Germanic tribes invading\u00a0Gaul\u00a0and Parthians attacking\u00a0Mesopotamia. Periods of drought, floods and famine exhausted the populations while the emperorship was rocked with turmoil. St. Cyprian bishop of\u00a0Carthage, remarked that it appeared as if the world was at an end&#8230; The outbreak was named after Cyprian as his first-hand observations of the illness largely form the basis for what the world would come to know about the crisis. He wrote about the incident in stark detail in his work\u00a0<\/em><a href=\"http:\/\/www.ntslibrary.com\/PDF%20Books\/MORTALITY%20by%20St%20Cyprian.pdf\">De Mortalitate<\/a>\u00a0<em>(\u201cOn Mortality\u201d).<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ancient.eu\/article\/992\/plague-of-cyprian-250-270-ce\/\">\u2014John Horgan, &#8220;Plague of Cyprian, 250-270 CE,&#8221;\u00a0<em>Ancient History Encyclopedia<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n<h3><a href=\"https:\/\/www.apg-wi.com\/ashland_daily_press\/covid-19\/let-s-spark-an-epidemic-of-people-helping-people\/article_a0264ccc-692f-11ea-8043-d319702fd4d0.html?wdf\">Plague of Cyprian, 250-270 CE<\/a><br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/www.apg-wi.com\/ashland_daily_press\/covid-19\/let-s-spark-an-epidemic-of-people-helping-people\/article_a0264ccc-692f-11ea-8043-d319702fd4d0.html?wdf\">Dionysius, Bishop of Alexandria (d. 265 CE)<\/a><\/h3>\n<blockquote><p><em>Dionysius, during the second great epidemic around 260 CE, [writes]: \u201cMost of our brother Christians showed unbounded love and loyalty, never sparing themselves and thinking only of one another\u2026 nursing and curing others.\u201d Later in the letter, he described that those without this kind of care fared much worst. He writes that, \u201cat the first onset of the disease, [the healthy] pushed the sick away and fled from their dearest\u2026hoping to avert the spread and contagion of the fatal disease.\u201d<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.apg-wi.com\/ashland_daily_press\/covid-19\/let-s-spark-an-epidemic-of-people-helping-people\/article_a0264ccc-692f-11ea-8043-d319702fd4d0.html?wdf\"><em>\u2014<\/em>Stacy Craig, &#8220;Let&#8217;s Spark an Epidemic of People Helping People,&#8221;\u00a0<em>Ashland Daily Press<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n<h3><a href=\"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/history\/issues\/issue-30\/black-death.html\">The Black Death, Italy, 1348<\/a><br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/history\/issues\/issue-30\/black-death.html\">Catherine of Siena (1347-1380)<\/a><\/h3>\n<blockquote><p><em>Catherine of Siena was born in 1347. That year, according to writer Charles L. Mee, Jr., \u201cin all likelihood, a flea riding on the hide of a black rat entered the Italian port of Messina.\u2026 The flea had a gut full of the bacillus\u00a0Yersinia pestis.\u201d With that rat, flea, and bacillus, came the most feared plague on record.\u00a0In just three years, 1348 to 1350, the Black Death killed more than one-third of the entire population between Iceland and India. Remarkably, the young Catherine survived the onslaught.\u00a0Catherine of Siena lived\u2014and helped others\u2014during the most devastating plague in human history.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/history\/issues\/issue-30\/black-death.html\">\u2014&#8221;The Black Death,&#8221;\u00a0<em>Christianity Today<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n<h3><a href=\"https:\/\/www.newworldencyclopedia.org\/entry\/Saint_Julian_of_Norwich\">The Black Death, England, 1348<\/a><br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/www.newworldencyclopedia.org\/entry\/Saint_Julian_of_Norwich\">Julian of Norwich (1342-1416)<\/a><\/h3>\n<blockquote><p><em>Julian of Norwich lived in a tumultuous time, the\u00a0Black Death\u00a0was raging in Europe. The first such plague occurred when she was only six years old. The road beside Saint Julian&#8217;s Church was used to remove the bodies of the dead from subsequent plagues, and she probably heard the carts rumble by. The\u00a0Hundred Years&#8217; War\u00a0between England and France had begun in 1337, as did the papal schism in which two popes each suspected the other of being the\u00a0Antichrist.\u00a0Famine\u00a0and cattle disease contributed to the forces that caused the Peasants&#8217; Revolt, and John Wycliff and his followers, the\u00a0Lollards, were declared heretics. Some were burned and buried near Julian&#8217;s church cell. She must have been aware of the suffering of the time. In such tumultuous time, Julian saw visions from God and recorded them as his message to her fellow Christians.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.newworldencyclopedia.org\/entry\/Saint_Julian_of_Norwich\">\u2014&#8221;Saint Julian of Norwich,&#8221;\u00a0<em>New World Encyclopedia<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Read also the book\u00a0<em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Laughing-Devil-Seeing-Julian-Norwich\/dp\/1478000252\/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&amp;qid=&amp;sr=\">Laughing at the Devil:\u00a0Seeing the World with Julian of Norwich<\/a><\/em>\u00a0by Amy Laura Hall<\/p>\n<h3><a href=\"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/history\/issues\/issue-4\/black-death-inspires-zwinglis-plague-hymn.html\">The Black Death, Zurich, 1519<\/a><br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/history\/issues\/issue-4\/black-death-inspires-zwinglis-plague-hymn.html\">Ulrich Zwingli (1484-1531)<\/a><\/h3>\n<blockquote><p><em>Zwingli was on a mineral-springs vacation in August, 1519, when the Black Death broke out in Zurich. Though weak already from exhausting work, he hurried back to his city to minister to victims. Before long he himself caught the disease and seemed likely to perish. But his work not yet done; Zwingli recovered. His famous\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/history\/issues\/issue-4\/black-death-inspires-zwinglis-plague-hymn.html\">\u201cplague hymn\u201d<\/a>\u00a0recounts his sense of trust and then his joy at regaining health.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/history\/issues\/issue-4\/black-death-inspires-zwinglis-plague-hymn.html\">\u2014&#8221;Black Death Inspires Zwingli&#8217;s Plague Hymn,&#8221;\u00a0<em>Christianity Today<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n<h3><a href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/chorusinthechaos\/martin-luther-and-the-black-plague\/\">The Black Death, Wittenberg, 1527<\/a><br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/chorusinthechaos\/martin-luther-and-the-black-plague\/\">Martin Luther (1483-1546)<\/a><\/h3>\n<blockquote><p><em>In August of 1527 the plague struck Wittenberg and numerous people fled in fear of their lives. Martin Luther and his wife Katharina, who was pregnant at the time, remained in their beloved city in order to treat the infected. Despite the calls for him to flee Wittenberg with his family, Luther\u2019s mind was set on helping the infected. He inevitably came to the conclusion that it was not inherently wrong for one to so value their life that they did not remain, but only so long as the sick had someone of greater faith than they to care for them.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>During this time of immense challenge and uncertainty, Luther wrote a letter to Johann Hess and his fellow Christians in Breslau, titled &#8220;Whether One May Flee from a Deadly Plague.&#8221; Visit\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/blogs.lcms.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/Plague-blogLW.pdf\">here\u00a0<\/a>to view the full translation of the letter.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/chorusinthechaos\/martin-luther-and-the-black-plague\/\">\u2014Grayson Gilbert, &#8220;Martin Luther and His Incredible\u00a0Response to the Black Plague,&#8221;\u00a0<em>Patheos<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n<h3><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ligonier.org\/blog\/serving-christ-in-a-time-of-plague\/\"><strong>The Black Death, Geneva, 1542<\/strong><\/a><br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/www.ligonier.org\/blog\/serving-christ-in-a-time-of-plague\/\"><strong>John Calvin (1509-1564)<\/strong><\/a><\/h3>\n<blockquote><p><em>During Calvin\u2019s ministry, Geneva was terrorized by the plague on five occasions. During the first outbreak, in 1542, Calvin personally led visitations into plague-infected homes. Knowing that this effort likely carried a death sentence, the city fathers intervened to stop him because of their conviction that his leadership was indispensable. The pastors continued this heroic effort under Calvin\u2019s guidance, and they recounted the joy of multiple conversions. Many pastors lost their lives in this cause. Unknown to many, Calvin privately continued his own pastoral care in Geneva and other cities where the plague raged.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ligonier.org\/blog\/serving-christ-in-a-time-of-plague\/\">\u2014Greg Bailey, &#8220;Serving Christ in a Time of Plague,&#8221;\u00a0<em>Ligonier Ministries<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n<h3><a href=\"https:\/\/www.logcollegepress.com\/blog\/2020\/1\/27\/when-the-plague-comes-pastoral-compassion-in-centuries-past\">Smallpox Epidemic, Princeton, New Jersey, 1758<\/a><br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/www.logcollegepress.com\/blog\/2020\/1\/27\/when-the-plague-comes-pastoral-compassion-in-centuries-past\">Jonathan Edwards (1703-1758)<\/a><\/h3>\n<blockquote><p><em>Jonathan Edwards, among his first acts as President of the College of New Jersey (Princeton), preached a New Year\u2019s Sermon in 1758 on Jeremiah 28:16 (&#8220;This year thou shalt die&#8221;), while Princeton, New Jersey was in the midst of a smallpox epidemic. He later received an inoculation, which led to his death two months later. Once Edwards had spoken in his sermon titled,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.apuritansmind.com\/puritan-favorites\/jonathan-edwards\/sermons\/the-preciousness-of-time-and-the-importance-of-redeeming-it\/\">&#8220;The Preciousness of Time and the Importance of Redeeming It&#8221;<\/a>\u00a0(1734): &#8220;Time ought to be esteemed by us very precious, because we are uncertain of its continuance. We know that it is very short, but we know not how short&#8230;&#8221;<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.logcollegepress.com\/blog\/2020\/1\/27\/when-the-plague-comes-pastoral-compassion-in-centuries-past\"><em>\u2014<\/em>&#8220;When the Plague Comes: Pastoral Compassion in Centuries Past,&#8221;\u00a0<em>Log College Press<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n<h3><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thegospelcoalition.org\/article\/spurgeon-ministry-cholera-outbreak\/\">Cholera, London, 1854<\/a><br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/www.thegospelcoalition.org\/article\/spurgeon-ministry-cholera-outbreak\/\">Charles Spurgeon (1834-1892)<\/a><\/h3>\n<blockquote><p><em>As a young village preacher, Charles Spurgeon admired the Puritan ministers who stayed behind to care for the sick and dying during the Great Plague of London in 1665. In [the] fall [of] 1854, the newly called pastor of London\u2019s New Park Street Chapel pastored the congregation amid a major cholera outbreak in the Broad Street neighborhood just across the river. How did Spurgeon respond? 1) He prioritized local ministry.\u00a02) He adjusted his meetings, but continued meeting.\u00a03) He cared for the sick.\u00a04) He was open to new evangelistic opportunities. 5) He entrusted his life to God.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thegospelcoalition.org\/article\/spurgeon-ministry-cholera-outbreak\/\">\u2014Geoff Chang, &#8220;Five\u00a0Lessons from Spurgeon\u2019s Ministry in a Cholera Outbreak,&#8221;\u00a0<em>The Gospel Coalition<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n<p>For the autobiography of C. H. Spurgeon, visit\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.spurgeon.org\/resource-library\/books\/the-autobiography-of-c-h-spurgeon-volume-i#flipbook\/380\">this website<\/a>.<\/p>\n<h3><a href=\"https:\/\/origins.calvin.edu\/2020\/03\/13\/the-flu-epidemic-of-1918-1919-and-churchless-sunday\/?fbclid=IwAR2emqjTLVDB-QmbBl4397FIageMFsT3ZaJFUYQSh_aDLC5TCD1oaYz7y5Y\">The Flu Epidemic in 1918-1919<\/a><br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/origins.calvin.edu\/2020\/03\/13\/the-flu-epidemic-of-1918-1919-and-churchless-sunday\/?fbclid=IwAR2emqjTLVDB-QmbBl4397FIageMFsT3ZaJFUYQSh_aDLC5TCD1oaYz7y5Y\">Christian Reformed Church in North America<\/a><\/h3>\n<blockquote><p><em>During this epidemic in which the state prohibited social and religious gatherings, Christian Reformed Church&#8217;s magazine\u00a0<\/em>The Banner\u00a0<em>called its readers to \u201cpray earnestly that the scourge may soon be removed\u201d so that churches could reopen. It also suggested \u201clessons from this appointment of Providence\u201d to learn:<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<ul>\n<li>\n<blockquote><p><em>\u201cthe value of our church privileges,\u201d as we really understand what blessing they are when they are withheld,<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<blockquote><p><em>\u201cthe value of fellowshipping with God\u2019s people,\u201d \u201cthe communion of the saints,\u201d which might lead to a renewal of devotion in the church, and<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<blockquote><p><em>\u201cto appreciate religious literature more than we have done,\u201d as that is what people turn when they cannot come to church.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/origins.calvin.edu\/2020\/03\/13\/the-flu-epidemic-of-1918-1919-and-churchless-sunday\/?fbclid=IwAR2emqjTLVDB-QmbBl4397FIageMFsT3ZaJFUYQSh_aDLC5TCD1oaYz7y5Y\">\u2014&#8221;The Flue Epidemic of 1918-1919 and &#8216;Churchless Sunday,'&#8221; The Heritage Hall of Calvin University<\/a><\/p>\n<h3><a href=\"https:\/\/www.spectator.com.au\/2020\/03\/coronavirus-climate-change-and-c-s-lewis\/\">Mass Hysteria regarding the Threat of Nuclear War<\/a><br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/www.spectator.com.au\/2020\/03\/coronavirus-climate-change-and-c-s-lewis\/\">C. S. Lewis (1898-1963)<\/a><\/h3>\n<blockquote>\n<p class=\"p2\"><em><span class=\"s2\">In 1948, C. S. Lewis&#8230;\u00a0wrote an essay titled, &#8220;On Living in an Atomic Age.&#8221;\u00a0In it, he talks about the anxiety that the majority of people in his day had regarding the threat of nuclear war&#8230; It was a serious, legitimate concern [in his time]. Lewis wrote:<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><em><span class=\"s1\">In one way we think a great deal too much of the atomic bomb. &#8220;How are we to live in an atomic age?&#8221; I am tempted to reply: &#8220;Why, as you would have lived in the sixteenth century when the plague visited London almost every year, or as you would have lived in a Viking age when raiders from Scandinavia might land and cut your throat any night; or indeed, as you are already living in an age of cancer, an age of syphilis, an age of paralysis, an age of air raids, an age of railway accidents, an age of motor accidents.&#8221;\u00a0<\/span>In other words, do not let us begin by exaggerating the novelty of our situation&#8230;<\/em><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><em><span class=\"s1\">This is the first point to be made: and the first action to be taken is to pull ourselves together. If we are all going to be destroyed by an atomic bomb, let that bomb when it comes find us doing sensible and human things\u2014praying, working, teaching, reading, listening to music, bathing the children, playing tennis, chatting to our friends over a pint and a game of darts\u2014not huddled together like frightened sheep and thinking about bombs. They may break our bodies (a microbe can do that) but they need not dominate our minds.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p class=\"p1\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.spectator.com.au\/2020\/03\/coronavirus-climate-change-and-c-s-lewis\/\"><span class=\"s1\">\u2014Mark Powell, &#8220;<\/span>Coronavirus, Climate Change, and C. S. Lewis,&#8221;\u00a0<em>Spectator<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n<h3><a href=\"http:\/\/orthochristian.com\/75263.html\">Ebola, 2015<\/a><br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/orthochristian.com\/75263.html\">Orthodox Church of Sierra Leone<\/a><\/h3>\n<blockquote><p><em>During the global outbreak of Ebola in 2015, Archimandrite Themistocles Adamopoulos was among his people\u00a0in Sierra Leon, a epicenter of the outbreak. In this report he writes: &#8220;People from abroad constantly call me and ask me: &#8216;Father, why don\u2019t you leave and save yourself from a potential infection and even death?&#8217; The answer is very simple. For the present time God has placed me here in West Africa. As the shepherd of the flock in Sierra Leone, it is my duty to stay with them, to care for them, to instruct them, to console them, to guide them and to protect them from an evil that kills without pity. Furthermore our Lord Jesus Christ instructs the Christian shepherd not to abandon the sheep when danger comes. It is only the hireling who abandons the sheep in moments of crisis (John 10:12-13). We are relying on Christ\u2019s protection.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/orthochristian.com\/75263.html\">\u2014Archimandrite Themistcoles Adamopoulos, &#8220;Ebola Crisis in Sierra Leone and the Orthodox Mission,&#8221;\u00a0<em>Orthodox Christianity<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>It can be of great comfort to reflect and learn about how Christian churches have responded to epidemics and pandemics throughout history.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":28,"featured_media":51471,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"_wpas_customize_per_network":false},"categories":[3117,3405],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-51470","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-new-scholarship-new-ws","category-theology"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.3 - 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