Christocentric asceticism

by D/n Shimelis Mergia
(one part of my SENIOR ESSAY)

28/07/2004

Any Christian teaching must be Christ centered. When I say Christ centered teachings, I mean that which follows the teaching and doing of Christ. Our Lord Jesus Christ taught about Asceticism practically, when he went to wilderness after His baptism. After He passed there with fasting and praying for forty days, He went back to the people and preached the Gospel to them.

 After He finished His preaching He usually went to the wilderness and led the solitary life by spending his time on prayer (Luke, 6:13). He was not restricted himself in wilderness or lived within the people. He has a time to be alone and to spend with his sheep. This is practical teaching of Jesus Christ about Asceticism.
In His word, He taught that any Christian, who wants to be eunuch to the kingdom of God, can follow this way of life. That means virginity.

 Adam was single person before Eve created at the side of him. By his singleness he became similar to Christ, because Christ is single on his life. Therefore the bible called Him, the New Adam. When we baptized with water and Spirit we became the members of Christ’s body. That means, we became the New Adam.

 So that St. Paul said “for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ (Gal. 3:27). Therefore we have a responsibility to live with the new life which we have received from Our Lord Jesus Christ. We are single by Him. So we must follow Christ’s exemplary life, like St. Paul said “follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ.” To be the follower of the exemplary life of Christ marriage is not the Obstacle.

 These are the Ascetical teaching of Christ in doing and words. Based on this concept St. Ephrem taught his ascetical teachings for all Christians. Asceticism in St. Ephrem’s view means to exercise and train oneself to be like a new Adam Christ. This is the main hope of St. Ephrem who wanted to preach Ascetical teachings interchangeably, that means to married and unmarried (Virgins) persons.

In the mirror of these concepts, Ephremic view Asceticism is absolutely Christ centered. His teaching is begun by Christ and ended by Christ. All his symbolic expressions which he used to express the Ascetical life were pointed to Christ. This shows that the Ascetical teaching of St. Eprhem is not focused on the virgins who are consecrated themselves to be Christ’s spouses only. But also to all those Christians who are virgins by Baptism. This is why I said the Ascetical teaching of St. Ephrem is Christocentric asceticism.
 .