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Our Centre has organized the course on "History of the Church" for teachers and students of EdUHK for the second time. I hope the three lessons I taught helped the participants know more about the past and present of the Church. The three lessons included the history of the Church in two thousand years, the Apostles' Creed as the core of Christian faith, the rise of heresy, and the discussion of the formation of the canon and the doctrine of Trinity.
Most of the believers I know are afraid of reading Church’s history. One reason is that too many characters and events are involved. Another reason is history is about something in the past, which is not important in our daily life. In fact, our beliefs are by no means something created in the 20th or the 21st century. The challenges the Church face today also existed in ancient times. In the past, Christian faith was challenged by the impact of political, ethnic, cultural, and ideological issues. On the contrary, corruption of the church and distortion of human nature were also witnessed. All kinds of heretical religions have been existing since ancient times in different formats. There is nothing new. If believers fail to discern the tradition of authentic faith, they will easily deviate from the right path.
After the Reformation that happened five hundred years ago, Protestantism was developed into different denominations, with different emphases in doctrine. Due to various factors of separation and fission, many independent churches have set up recently. Their members are not interested in the history and tradition of the Church as well as the communion of saints. However, the Almighty God is still governing the Church’s history. We should know the historical traditions of the catholic Church. Insufficient teaching, respect and communication will bring about misunderstandings between denominations. When the value of Christian faith is questioned and challenged by secular culture, disputes within the church are inevitable. I hope that every believer has the basic knowledge of the history of the church and understands how God governs history. There were still many faithful believers in history who committed themselves to Christ, keeping the truth and responding to the call.
When we understand the history of the church and the world, we would learn to be humble and strive for the greater unity. Jesus said, "Make them all one. Just as the Father is in me, I am in you, and they are in us, so that the world will believe that you sent me." (John 17:21) I hope the unity of the church can be strengthened and we can effectively spread the correct gospel in this chaotic era.
Servant pastor
Rev. Benedict Shum
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