Restorationism and the Catholic Church

"To be deep in history, is to cease to be a Protestant"
- Cardinal John Henry Newman

Among many Protestant sects, anti-Catholicism is taught early and often. While the Catholic faith is essentially a mystery to most Baptists, evangelicals, and non-denominational Christians, to them, a few things are certain: Catholics worship Mary, idols, saints, and wafers. Yet perhaps by the prompting of the Holy Sprit, a few evangelicals are willing to examine the claims of the Roman Catholic Church -- most notably, its holding as the Church that Christ established under Peter, as well as its corresponding claims of Apostolic Authority.

Oftentimes evangelicals, yearning for authentic -- if orthodox -- Christianity, skip the apostolic tradition altogether in an attempt to "go back" to the Christianity of the apostles. This movement, called restorationism -- or Christian primitivism -- is popular among Charismatic evangelical groups in America. Since its onset, Christianity was banned in the Roman Empire, and Christians had to worship in the privacy of their homes; accordingly, that is why "home church" is a popular movement in evangelical circles today. But the problem that immediately comes to mind is: how did the early Church worship? What did they believe in?

For evangelicals, the answers may be unsettling. Let's consider the the writings of Justin Martyr in the middle of second century. In his First Apology (AD 150-155) to the Roman Emperor Antoninus Pious, which detailed the importance of Christianity, Justin Martyr provided one of the earliest accounts of Christian worship outside of Scripture:

On Sunday we have a common assembly of all our members, whether they live in the city or the outlying districts. The recollections of the apostles or the writings of the prophets are read, as long as there is time. When the reader has finished, the president of the assembly speaks to us; he urges everyone to imitate the examples of virtue we have heard in the readings. Then we all stand up together and pray.

On the conclusion of our prayer, bread and wine and water are brought forward. The president offers prayers and gives thanks to the best of his ability, and the people give assent by saying, “Amen”. The eucharist is distributed, everyone present communicates, and the deacons take it to those who are absent.

For those who are familiar with Catholicism, this particular account of Christian worship is, to this day, almost identical to the Holy Mass celebrated around the world. Notice that Justin Martyr mentions the Eucharist, which he describes in detail at another part of the First Apology:

"For not as common bread and common drink do we receive these; but in like manner as Jesus Christ our Saviour, having been made flesh and blood for our salvation, so likewise have we been taught that the food which is blessed by the prayer of His word, and from which our blood and flesh by transmutation are nourished, is the flesh and blood of that Jesus who was made flesh."

So, if evangelicals desire to return to the "purity" of the early Church, are they willing to accept the teachings and liturgy of the early Church? If so, it is important for their journey of faith to understand that the Catholic Church has defended and preserved the teachings of the early Church for nearly two-thousand years; and, once they understand these claims, along with their desire to return to the Christianity of the early Church, a decision must be made. Accordingly, in AD 110 -- less than one-hundred years after Christ -- Ignatius of Antioch, in his Epistle to the Symyrnaens, wrote:

Follow the bishop, all of you, as Jesus Christ follows his Father, and the presbyterium as the Apostles. As for the deacons, respect them as the Law of God. Let no one do anything with reference to the Church without the bishop. Only that Eucharist may be regarded as legitimate which is celebrated with the bishop or his delegate presiding. Where the bishop is, there let the community be, just as where Jesus Christ is, there is the Catholic Church.