Present-day preaching is so often tame and boring, but it is reported that congregations burst into applause during the sermons of the foremost representatives of the ‘golden age’ of preaching in the Early Church - not always to the joy of the preachers themselves! But what was the secret of their success? Can we learn from these preachers principles that could enrich preaching today? To grapple with this matter presumably some knowledge of classical rhetoric is necessary and of course familiarity with the sermons of the greatest preachers. To make the study manageable it might be wise to focus on just a few eminent preachers, say, Gregory of Nazianzus, Chrysostom and Augustine. As time permits, I should like to engage in this project, but since my Patristic studies hitherto have focused very largely on the Pre-Nicene Church, I scarcely know where to start! I would greatly value the advice of anyone familiar with classical rhetoric and with the sermons of these Fathers. If you think you might be able to help please contact me during the Patristics conference (there is a noticeboard for contacts), or simply leave a message and reply here at this blog and we can get in touch.
(Rev. Dr.) Andrew Daunton-Fear
"Present-day preaching is so often tame and boring, but it is reported that congregations burst into applause during the sermons of the foremost representatives of the ‘golden age’ of preaching in the Early Church - not always to the joy of the preachers themselves! But what was the secret of their success?"
ReplyDeleteHeresy. Modern preaching is boring because the pastors are orthodoxy-mongers. Their preaching has been so reigned into the box of orthodoxy, which is itself a contradiction, a combination of contradictory doctrines forced together in such a way that there is only one way to put them without transgressing into the 'heresy' that lies on either side. For example, one must juggle a certain amount of works being necessary with the doctrine of justification by faith alone. Rather than choosing one or the other, as an ancient would have done, the Ebionites choosing works, the Gnostics faith: modern pastors must take both positions, which means they are always pressed between a rock and a hard place. There is no room for any imagination, nor any emotion: there is only cold-dead-contradictory 'orthodoxy'.
"Can we learn from these preachers principles that could enrich preaching today?"
No. Not unless we are willing to jettison 'orthodoxy'.
"To make the study manageable it might be wise to focus on just a few eminent preachers, say, Gregory of Nazianzus, Chrysostom and Augustine."
I doubt these preachers in particular (especially Augustine) were as spontaneously popular as their propagandists have made it seem. Their popularity was undoubtedly imposed by the sword.