𝐏𝐀𝐓𝐑𝐈𝐌Ō𝐍𝐈𝐔𝐌 — 𝐀𝐍𝐓𝐄-𝐍𝐈𝐂𝐄𝐍𝐄 𝐒𝐓𝐔𝐃𝐈𝐄𝐒 SERIES… — Patrimōnium — TG.ME

𝐏𝐀𝐓𝐑𝐈𝐌Ō𝐍𝐈𝐔𝐌 — 𝐀𝐍𝐓𝐄-𝐍𝐈𝐂𝐄𝐍𝐄 𝐒𝐓𝐔𝐃𝐈𝐄𝐒 SERIES III.10: THE LANGUAGE OF LINEAGE — HIPPOLYTUS Israel • Gentiles • One Flock In III.4, Hippolytus described the nations as descended peoples formed “according to race.” In III.8, he spoke of “various nations” being gathered into one body. In III.9, he showed that captivity and living among non-Israelite communities did not erase Israel’s inherited covenantal identity. Zabulun will dwell by the sea… [speaking] of Israel as mingling with the Gentiles, the two nations being brought as it were into one flock. …in the future Israel would mingle with the Gentiles, the two peoples being brought together into one fold and under the hand of one chief Shepherd… Christ. And this is manifest from the fact, that formerly there were two peoples, Israel and the Gentiles; but now they are made one in faith, and those of the blood of Israel shall occupy the cities of the Gentiles. The land of Zabulun was Galilee. For this reason it is said that ‘the land of Zabulun and the land of Nephthalim were first to be degraded; but at the last He shall glorify the way of the sea beyond Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles.’.. The Church of the Gentiles, which is bound to the Lord, is like a foal… — Hippolytus of Rome, Fragments on Genesis 49:13, c. AD 200–235; ANF 5; ANF 5. At first glance, Hippolytus’ language of Israel and the Gentiles being brought into “one flock” can sound universal in the modern sense, as though ancestry has ceased to matter. But that interpretation does not fit the way Hippolytus has been speaking throughout these works. This same language is then carried directly into his understanding of the Church. In the Apostolic Tradition, the Church is framed as “the righteous race of Abraham,” a holy people, election, a priesthood just a Peter quoted the Most High to Moses, to report to the children of Israel. Therefore, when Hippolytus later speaks of Israel and the Gentiles as “two peoples” brought into one flock, whom we are his sheep that hear is voice and do follow him; the one flock is not presented as a people stripped of ancestry. In the Refutation, he repeatedly defines peoples genealogically. He uses γένος (genos) for the royal race from Judah, for Abraham’s line through Isaac, and for the race of the worshippers of God. He describes Noah’s descendants as multiplying “according to race,” then derives named peoples from named progenitors. In Daniel, he speaks of righteous seed, tribe, forefathers, and Christ’s unadulterated race “according to the flesh.” The same Hippolytus who distinguishes race, nations, tribes, and ancestral descent now describes Israel mingling with the Gentiles as “two nations” and “two peoples” brought into one flock. This directly parallels Series I.5, where Irenaeus says Christ “gathered from the ends of the earth into His Father’s fold the children who were scattered abroad.” Across both writers it’s evident that the recurring language of dispersion, retained racial identity, and Christ bringing his lost sheep which are scattered abroad into his fathers fold is common understanding, being so close to the apostolic age that it would be impossible to dismiss that these early church authors viewed themselves as “gentiles grafted in” as the modern Church sees themselves. Ad fontes.