Christian Education in the Early Church

During the early centuries of the Church education was limited to the theological interest of the Church. The persecution of the early church made it difficult for most Christian communities to participate in serious theological discourse. The educated clergy were products of what we would recognize as a classical education based on the great thinkers of the predominant Roman and Greek culture at the time. Other Christian communities were influenced by the education systems predominant in Middle Eastern and African culture at the time.

This all provided fertile intellectual ground for the early leaders of Christian communities to draw from and refine Christian teaching. In periods of time when the Church was not driven so far underground monasteries were established .These monasteries were the first centers of Christian learning. Later, schools were established by Teutonic Christians to teach the Catechism. These Catechumen schools were initially for adult converts.

Later, they catered to children and focused on matters of orthodox faith. They can be thought of as early Sunday schools. Eventually these schools taught reading and writing .The also took on curriculums that taught the philosophical foundations of Greek and Roman society as a way to understand the theology and history of the Church. The by product of this teaching was that during the dark ages much of most important teaching of classical cultures was preserved. Even in times of persecution the early Church fathers had views on what constituted a good Christian education.

Clement of Alexandria (150-220)

He saw faith as the foundation of all learning including secular. Clement looked to impart the concept of reason into early Christian teaching. Clement used Mosaic Law and the classical philosophies of ancient Greece and Rome to "prove" that intellectual thought had prepared the way for the Gospel.

Origen (186-253)

Origen took a more personal approach to early Christian education. He believed that the Christian instructor could not legitimately teach any as ethic practice they did not engage in themselves.Oriegen took this approach because he believed the goal of all education was to become more Christ like. The Christian instructor was to be a spiritual director of sorts and help students focus on their own character flaws that had the potential to draw their focus away from God and the work of the church. Still the role of teacher was to direct students into their own spiritual discovery rather than insist on some sort of spiritual conformity.

.

Basil the Great (329-379)

Basil was the first to advocate Christian education for very young children. He saw no separation between preparing young Christians for a holy life and parenting. Correction for young children and older students revolved around monastic practices such as fasting and solitude. In formal Christian education, Basil advocated classical education playing a secondary role to use of Christian and Hebrew scriptures to teach theology.

.

Chrysostom (347-407)

Chrysostom saw mothers as the first and primary educators in Christianity for young children. The Christian home was to be the foundation of all later religious education with mother's being the most important examples of Christ-like behavior for young children. He did advocate formal instruction in Christian teaching for older children at which point the instructor became the example of Christ in the world for the student.

Chrysostom believed that a teacher must have an understanding of the world that the child had in order to effectively teach. Religious teaching moved a child from rote instruction to one in which a child would come to their own conclusion without the instruction of the teacher. In Chrysostom view a teacher did not do for a student what they in the end learned to do for themselves. Religious instruction was seen as the foundation of all later secular learning and lens which secular learning was judged. Chrysostom saw his own ability to be a great orator as a result of his pagan education and did not see that type of training in conflict with essential Christian teaching. He advocated using secular learning in all forms to advance the work of the Church.

During the Dark Ages, 401 to 451 A.D Benedictine Monks who were missionaries among Anglo-Saxon, Frisians, and Thurigians peoples preserved libraries they encouraged scholars to study the agricultural knowledge of the great ancient civilizations and apply it to local farming. This is just one example of how religious instruction in the early church came to preserve and promote practical knowledge of humanity at a time of great social upheaval. The church in this time was the only social structure with enough power to preserve centuries of vital human knowledge in a world where such things could have been lost for eternity. The Church becoming main source of secular as well as religious instruction by being truly catholic in nature became the foundation of all education in Europe and eventually in the United States as well.

Sources:

http://www.catholiceducation.org/articles/history/world/wh0144.htm

http://www.christendom-awake.org/pages/mcgovern/newmanfathers.htm

Anglo Catholic Prespective.

http://www.antiochian.org/node/17013

http://oce.catholic.com/index.php?title=Socrates_(historian_of_the_early_Church)

http://www.medieval-life-and-times.info/medieval-religion/medieval-benedictine-monks.htm