A Meal to Change A Heart

The book The Patient Ferment of the Early Church by Alan Kreider is a fantastic book on the early church and how it grew under formidable odds - a minority religion and persecuted. The church were not 'seeker' friendly since outsiders in the church could be viewed as Roman spies. Instead it was the 'hubris' or habits of the early church - their way of living in public that caused many to come to ask 'why?' or 'how?'.

It was bread from those that followed The Bread of Life and gave out of their poverty.

One such man was Pachomius.

The practical application of charity was the most potent single cause of Christian success. More than words - deeds. A life lived of faithfulness to the teachings of Christ.

“Mine” and “thine” – these chilling words which introduce innumerable wars into the world – should be eliminated from the church. Then the poor would not envy the rich, because there would be no rich. Neither would the poor be despised by the rich, for there would be no poor. All things would be in common. - Saint John Chrysostom