06-A Glance at History

While it is true to say that the origin of 'a Christian service'
is lost in the fog of history, there is can be little doubt where
the buck stops – or, rather, starts: the Fathers. After all, it
was the Fathers who started the ruinous process of bringing
the old covenant into the new, thereby setting in train fearful
and lasting changes in the ekklēsia which culminated in the
monstrosity of Christendom.1 And it was not only the old
covenant that the Fathers drew on; they even incorporated
pagan ideas and practices into ekklēsia life.2 But, as with so
many corruptions of the ekklēsia, it was Rome who took
these 'novelties' and developed them to their current level.
The gangrene, alas, has spread much further than Rome.
Anglicans, for instance, are unashamedly patristic. And
nonconformist 'church services', even though most of those
who attend do not realise it, are infected with the errors
brought in by the Fathers.3 Christendom, not Scripture, sets
the pattern, and has done so for 1800 years.