Lessons from Ephesus (II)

IN the Roman period, Ephesus was one of the largest cities in the Mediterranean world. The city grew in importance to the extent that by the 5th. Century AD, it hosted three major Councils of the Early Church:

* The First Council of Ephesus of 431.

* The Second Council of Ephesus of 449.

* The Third Council of Ephesus of 475.

The Third Council of Ephesus was presided over by Pope Timothy II of Alexandria, and also attended by Peter the Fuller, then Patriarch of Antioch, Paul the Exarch of Ephesus and Anastasius I of Jerusalem. There were reportedly 500 to 700 bishops present at the Council. The Council took action to correct erroneous teachings which compromised the humanity of Christ, and also dealt with issues of order in the church.

Ephesus had a rich spiritual legacy, which was kept alive for several centuries. Remember that the city was named Agios Theologos, – the city of the holy man who discourses on a holy God – in honour of John the Theologian. So, the Bishops found it easy to resort there. In fact, the 6th century Basilica of St. John the Apostle was built in Ephesus. Some church historians claim that the Basilica is built on the site of the Apostle’s tomb, another effort to preserve his legacy. However, by how much can physical monuments preserve a spiritual legacy?

Before we answer that question, let us examine the text in Revelation 2: 1 – 7. In verses 1 to 3, we learn about the strength of the church at Ephesus. The church at Ephesus had endured in the faith. They had suffered for Christ’s name and had not grown spiritually tired. The church had also suffered the assault of false prophets trying to infiltrate the church with their heretical teachings. There were two categories of false teachers who did this; those who claimed to be apostles but were not, and the Nicolaitans.

The Ephesian church was diligent to eliminate false teaching, before and after John’s days. If we agree that Revelation was the last book of the New Testament to be written, about twenty years later, Ignatius also praised the church in Ephesus for rejecting those who promulgated heretical doctrines. This should give us an idea of for how long the Ephesian church resisted heresy.

However, we also see that what the Ephesian church did right was the same thing that led them into trouble. There is this adage that says, “too much of everything is bad.” The Ephesian church and its leadership went too far in rooting out heresy. The excessive urge to stamp out heresy birthed suspicion and intolerance of one another’s differences and weaknesses. Mercy and compassion were thrown away, and they were replaced with judgmental attitude and tests of loyalty. They were so preoccupied with being “correct,” and this resulted in the proverbial “straining at a gnat and swallowing a camel.”

This is an important lesson for us.

• To be continued

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