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An Unbroken Circle: Linking Ancient African Christianity to the African-American Experience
Ancient, apostolic, Orthodox Christianity has gone full circle, from continent to continent. From Christ to His Apostles, from the Apostles to ancient Africa, from Africa to America, and from black Americans to their sons and daughters. The ancient African Christian tradition is beginning to be passed on and take root in America today, growing out of the seed of the blood of the black American slave-martyrs for Christ.
In this collection of talks from the Ancient Christianity and African-American Conferences, we see how deep the resonances are between the faith of the early Church and the heartfelt Christianity born out of the slaves' experience on American soil. Indeed, the 'sad joyfulness' that characterized the African Desert Fathers and Mothers of the 4th century and that permeates traditional Christianity today, is our legacy from the suffering Church of the African-American slaves, our elders in the faith. Now that the link between America and the African Christianity tradition has been restored, the time has come to embrace the Unbroken Circle which is our rich heritage from the past...and our hope for the future.
In this collection of talks from the Ancient Christianity and African-American Conferences, we see how deep the resonances are between the faith of the early Church and the heartfelt Christianity born out of the slaves' experience on American soil. Indeed, the 'sad joyfulness' that characterized the African Desert Fathers and Mothers of the 4th century and that permeates traditional Christianity today, is our legacy from the suffering Church of the African-American slaves, our elders in the faith. Now that the link between America and the African Christianity tradition has been restored, the time has come to embrace the Unbroken Circle which is our rich heritage from the past...and our hope for the future.
- GenresChristian HistoryHistory
193 pages, Paperback
First published January 8, 1998
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June 28, 2020
One of the writers in An Unbroken Circle states the aim of this book is not to split Orthodox Christianity and create a black American faction, but it is to expose the African side of church history to African (black) Americans. The majority of us has never heard of or been taught about this history. The authors of the book hope that from the acquisition of this knowledge the black community in America can move to healing and righteousness in our Lord.
This is such an important book especially for African (black) Americans and also for anyone else who believes the church's roots are European. This will aid in correcting some very wrong thinking and information.
In recent times, some of the social media radicals and misinformation groups sent out to black youth stating that the church is the tool and invention of the white slave master to make our ancestors believe the white man is God and that black people should be eternally submissive to a white supremacist system. These kinds of statements reveal a complete lack of knowledge of at least 1500 years of church history. The church did not begin five centuries ago in Europe with the Reformation.
An Unbroken Circle is an introduction for those who do not know that the church's most ancient roots were in not only in the Middle East but also in Africa. Christianity was in Africa over a millennia before European missionaries arrived with their Western interpretation of Christianity. This book is also aimed at presenting to the black American community, which is in social and moral decay like the overall society, that we must learn about and return to our ancient African Christian roots to become a people once again strong in God. Our ancestors who were slaves often were not allowed to pray. The book explains why. Even though the slaves did not know about ancient African Orthodox Christianity, the slaves in America had a spiritual connection to it. The roots run deep with the Desert Fathers and Mothers in the Thebaid (Egypt) like saints Antony (Anthony) the Great, Mary of Egypt, and Moses the Black, who is also called the Ethiopian or the Strong.
This book mentions the ancient theologians who lived on the African continent such as St. Athanasius and the Catechetical School of Alexandria, Egypt, one of the seats of ancient Christian learning. St. Mark, who was one of the writers of the Gospel, was born in what is now Libya. The Ethiopian eunuch was baptized by one of Christ's disciples, Philip. In Ethiopian church tradition, this court official brought Christianity to Ethiopia. Then the book progresses forward to modern times and tells the story of how Ethiopia was able to win its struggle against Italian colonialism and fascism because their ancient faith was one of the weapons in their arsenal. A type of protoevangelium of the slaves in America is their use of the supplication to God, "Lord have mercy." The book says this is very similar to the Jesus Prayer of Orthodox Christianity. The author interprets this as proof that even though the slaves did not know about African Orthodox Christianity, their crying out to God was proof He had provided a spiritual lifeline to them and the ancient church in the wilderness of North America.
This book grew out of a series of conferences and is dense with African and general Orthodox church history centered on ancient Africa and the Middle East, old testimonials by slaves about how their Christian faith sustained them, stories of slaves who were severely beaten and even martyred, along with essays by the assorted writers on how they as African Americans came to Orthodox Christianity. One of my favorite stories is of a former gang-banger who found his way one day to a Coptic church and because of the kindness of a priest from Egypt, he and a handful of his boys turned away from a life of self destruction to following Jesus.
I highly recommend this book. It along with others I have read this and last year provide so much evidence that those in social media who are trying to turn African Americans away from God and on to the anti-God, anti-family, nihilist agenda which has already leveled our community in a huge and tragic way are woefully wrong and ignorant about the breadth of church history. This is a very good introduction to the ancient African church and will increase interest in ancient African saints like Moses the Black who was himself, as the book describes "a gang member" in the early centuries of the church . After An Unbroken Circle I hope to continue my self education of church history this year by reading the book The Roots of Nubian Christianity Uncovered: The Triumph of the Last Pharaoh.
An African American Orthodox nun Catherine Weston contributed a chapter in the book called The Challenge of Meekness. The following link is of her giving an interesting lecture on the history of racial identities and racism from a Christian perspective:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Swk3e...
This is such an important book especially for African (black) Americans and also for anyone else who believes the church's roots are European. This will aid in correcting some very wrong thinking and information.
In recent times, some of the social media radicals and misinformation groups sent out to black youth stating that the church is the tool and invention of the white slave master to make our ancestors believe the white man is God and that black people should be eternally submissive to a white supremacist system. These kinds of statements reveal a complete lack of knowledge of at least 1500 years of church history. The church did not begin five centuries ago in Europe with the Reformation.
An Unbroken Circle is an introduction for those who do not know that the church's most ancient roots were in not only in the Middle East but also in Africa. Christianity was in Africa over a millennia before European missionaries arrived with their Western interpretation of Christianity. This book is also aimed at presenting to the black American community, which is in social and moral decay like the overall society, that we must learn about and return to our ancient African Christian roots to become a people once again strong in God. Our ancestors who were slaves often were not allowed to pray. The book explains why. Even though the slaves did not know about ancient African Orthodox Christianity, the slaves in America had a spiritual connection to it. The roots run deep with the Desert Fathers and Mothers in the Thebaid (Egypt) like saints Antony (Anthony) the Great, Mary of Egypt, and Moses the Black, who is also called the Ethiopian or the Strong.
This book mentions the ancient theologians who lived on the African continent such as St. Athanasius and the Catechetical School of Alexandria, Egypt, one of the seats of ancient Christian learning. St. Mark, who was one of the writers of the Gospel, was born in what is now Libya. The Ethiopian eunuch was baptized by one of Christ's disciples, Philip. In Ethiopian church tradition, this court official brought Christianity to Ethiopia. Then the book progresses forward to modern times and tells the story of how Ethiopia was able to win its struggle against Italian colonialism and fascism because their ancient faith was one of the weapons in their arsenal. A type of protoevangelium of the slaves in America is their use of the supplication to God, "Lord have mercy." The book says this is very similar to the Jesus Prayer of Orthodox Christianity. The author interprets this as proof that even though the slaves did not know about African Orthodox Christianity, their crying out to God was proof He had provided a spiritual lifeline to them and the ancient church in the wilderness of North America.
This book grew out of a series of conferences and is dense with African and general Orthodox church history centered on ancient Africa and the Middle East, old testimonials by slaves about how their Christian faith sustained them, stories of slaves who were severely beaten and even martyred, along with essays by the assorted writers on how they as African Americans came to Orthodox Christianity. One of my favorite stories is of a former gang-banger who found his way one day to a Coptic church and because of the kindness of a priest from Egypt, he and a handful of his boys turned away from a life of self destruction to following Jesus.
I highly recommend this book. It along with others I have read this and last year provide so much evidence that those in social media who are trying to turn African Americans away from God and on to the anti-God, anti-family, nihilist agenda which has already leveled our community in a huge and tragic way are woefully wrong and ignorant about the breadth of church history. This is a very good introduction to the ancient African church and will increase interest in ancient African saints like Moses the Black who was himself, as the book describes "a gang member" in the early centuries of the church . After An Unbroken Circle I hope to continue my self education of church history this year by reading the book The Roots of Nubian Christianity Uncovered: The Triumph of the Last Pharaoh.
An African American Orthodox nun Catherine Weston contributed a chapter in the book called The Challenge of Meekness. The following link is of her giving an interesting lecture on the history of racial identities and racism from a Christian perspective:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Swk3e...
Currently reading
November 27, 2007My husband and I got this book from a dear man, Father Moses Berry. We are reading it together. Father Moses is in Ash Grove, MO and he has a museum dedicated to African American history with artifacts from his ancestors who were slaves in Southwest Missouri. He has quilts from the Underground Railroad also. And he pastors the church: Theotokos "Unexpected Joy" Orthodox Mission. http://unexpectedjoychurch.org/ There will be a documentary made about him soon.
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