God guided the churches in the third century to serve both believers and non-believers. A severe epidemic swept through the Western Roman Empire in 250 AD and lasted for 20 years. The cause may have been plague or smallpox. At its peak, 5,000 people a day were dying in Rome itself, not including rural areas. Bishop Dionysius tells us there was not a house without at least one death. Besides appealing to the gods, public officials did nothing to stop the spread of disease, treat the sick, or bury the dead.
Pagan Romans, hoping to escape the fatal disease, pushed sufferers away, throwing them onto the roads even before they were dead. But heedless of danger, the believers attended the sick and ministered to them with the love of Christ. Despite the absence of effective medical treatment, caring Christians drew near them, offered a cup of cold water, attended to their physical needs, and shared the comfort of the gospel.
Some were healed, but many who died departed this world trusting Christ. Caring believers also became infected, essentially offering their lives in service to others.
Churches became caring hubs in hundreds of cities throughout the Roman Empire. Stark’s research suggests this was a significant factor in the explosive growth of the early church.
“At a time when all other faiths were called to question, Christianity offered explanation and comfort. Even more important, Christian doctrine provided a prescription for action.” –The Rise of Christianity by Rodney Stark
The gospel promoted ministry to the whole person. Although Christians were still debating how body and soul were integrated, they did not remain cloistered away from the needs of the world. They developed an outward, kingdom-oriented mindset. Their love for Christ and for His people ignited a passion for mission that went beyond the walls of the church.
A century later, the Roman Emperor Julian complained that the moral character of Christians and their love for strangers was causing the growth of the church. He wrote, “The impious Galileans support not only their poor, but ours as well; everyone can see that our people lack aid from us.” No one had to explain to them that evangelism and social action are inextricably linked at the heart of God’s mission.
Does our understanding of the gospel send us out to the sick and marginalized with this same heart of mission today?
Care of the sick in the first hospitals
After three centuries of persecution, Christianity became legal in the fourth century. This outward-focused ministry to the sick began to take shape as the first hospitals.
Bishop Basil of Caesarea (“the Great”), honored for his work in solidifying the doctrine of the Trinity, is widely credited with founding the very first hospital in AD 369. He had to overcome the resistance of some Christians toward the medical profession, which largely prioritized human reason over divine wisdom. He argued that “God gave Adam and Eve agriculture to feed their families, weaving to clothe their nakedness, and the logos [rational approach] of medicine to heal their diseases.” Basil helped convince Christians that medical science was a gift from God, not a pagan deception, which removed doubts about working with physicians in caring for the sick.
The word hospital is rooted in the Latin word hospes, meaning guest. Basil’s unique institution had “guest houses” for pilgrim travelers, places for the aged and sick, and a refuge for those suffering from leprosy, despite physicians having no idea how to treat it. There were also accommodations available for physicians and nurses. “The community of men and women at the Basileias (House of Basil) dedicated themselves both to worshiping God and to assisting the sick and travelers needing a clean, safe place to stay.”
“The hospital was, in origin and conception, a distinctively Christian institution, rooted in Christian concepts of charity and philanthropy. There were no pre-Christian institutions in the ancient world that served the purpose that Christian hospitals were created to serve, that is, offering charitable aid, particularly health care, to those in need.”
What can we learn from the founding of hospitals? Perhaps it is this: when the mission of God is at the heart of the church, she finds new structures by which to declare and display Christ. Ministry was not confined within the walls of churches; Christians developed an outward orientation to care for those who are least in society’s eyes. A love for the gospel led to a heart for mission.
Does our understanding of the gospel compel us to collaborate with churches to care for the sick and needy? What activities, structures, or institutions are needed today to reach communities in need of whole-person care? How can we as healthcare providers strengthen existing mission efforts of the church, and even help create new ones?
Ongoing outward impact of Christian healthcare
The church’s example challenged secular authorities. The 18th century in Europe was called the ‘age of hospitals.’ Christian hospitals introduced “a new attitude toward the sick, an attitude of pity and a desire to help, [which] was quite new in that it extended to strangers and, still more remarkably, to the poor.”
Christians also played a significant role in the founding of modern nursing. German pastor Theodor Fleidner established a hospital to train deaconesses to provide nursing care as a Christian ministry. Florence Nightingale became one of his more famous graduates. Individual Christian physicians and nurses have shaped medical and public health up to and through modern times.
A prominent historian of medicine, Henry Sigerist, wrote that “Christianity introduced the ‘most revolutionary and decisive change in the attitude of society toward the sick,’ giving sick people ‘a preferential position’ in society that they retain to this day.”
Christ Jesus has used His gospel to shape believers throughout the centuries, sending them out on mission to the poor and the sick. This, in turn, has blessed the whole world with this new attitude toward the sick. We have this legacy as Christian healthcare workers.
I will share more on global health and the gospel next time, when we consider modern medical missions together.
A question
How can you, as a healthcare worker, strengthen the mission efforts of the church and even help create new ones?
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