Routinization of Charisma in Early Christianity Routinization of Charisma in Early Christianity -------- Table of Contents --------- Introduction Charisma Routinization Of Charisma Nature Of Community Sect And Church Charismatic Community In Jerusalem Communism Of Love Intrusion Of Traditionalism Brotherly Love In The Pauline Community The Pauline Sect Routinization Of Pauline Christianity Institutionalization Of The Christian Church The Roman Church Conclusion Endnote References ------------------------ INTRODUCTION This paper analyzes the "routinization" of charisma in the early Christian community from the viewpoint of Max Weber's sociology of religion. Sociology of early Christianity has been studied in detail by many scholars such as Gerad Theissen, John Schutz, Howard Kee, Wayne Meeks, Begnet Holmberg, Margaret MacDonald and among others. In particular, Holmberg and MacDonald discuss institutionalization of charisma in early Christianity. In Paul and Power, Holmberg analyzes the "routinization" of charisma in the primitive Christian Church, employing Peter L. Berger and Thomas Luckmann's concept of "institutionalization." He first examined Weber's concept of "charisma" and its "routinization," and found more usefulness in contemporary scholars' terms "charisma" and "institutionalization" rather than Weber's terms. He argues that the early Christian community from the beginning institutionalized a religious enterprise developing system of doctrine, cult and organization (Holmberg 1978: 161-192). He classifies the early Christianity into primary institutionalization for the movement of Jesus by itself and secondary institutionalization for the Jerusalem community and the Pauline community. Holmberg's sociological analysis of early Christianity is stimulating yet problematic for my standpoint. First, Holmberg analyzes no hereditary and virtuoso religiosity in the transformation of charisma. Weber's routinization implies three ways of depersonalization of charisma: hereditary, virtuoso, and office; Weber's term "institution" is only one of characteristics of office charisma among his categories of "routinization." Second, Holmberg has no perspective on the tension between charisma and institutionalization. Rather he attempts to integrate elements of both charisma and institutionalization: "charisma ._ actively seeks institutional manifestation" (Holmberg 1978: 165). Third, Holmberg lacks an ideal typical construction of concept. He employes the average type of concept with cumulative classification, reflecting an timeless generalization of a ubiquitous phenomenon. Such generalization does not make sense of understanding a specific significance of a historical reality. In The Pauline Churches, MacDonald, on the other hand, discusses "institutionalization" in more substantial and sophisticated way. She too employs Berger and Luckmann's "institutionalization," attempting to harmonize it with Weber's "routinization." Drawing on Weber's insights on the routinization of charisma, she views "the transformation from an apparently structures church to one where bishops made their presence felt" (MacDonald 15-16). Such transformation is driven by the forces of economic and social status interests: "unconscious needs and desires which are inherent in human interaction, such as the need to secure one's own leadership position" (MacDonald 16). In contrast to Holmberg's average type of concept, she uses concept as an ideal type of reality: "everywhere it is impossible to find a perfect fit between the ideal type and the historical reality, the ideal type remains useful as a means of underlining the particularity of the development which stand out sharply against this constructed tool for investigation" (MacDonald 15). Yet she lack a polarized setting of concept, and does not see basic conceptual distinction between charisma and institution: "there institution building impulses inherent in the charisma itself" (MacDonald 14). Her cumulative construction of institutionalization is not polarized concepts but successive classifications such as "community-building institutionalization" for the Pauline community, "community-stabilizing institutionalization" for the deutro-Pauline community, and "community-protecting institutionalization" for the Pastoral community. Ideal typical concept is constructed in bipolar or tridimensional setting in order to measure the direction of a movement among conflicting forces. It goes without saying that concept is a mere means to fulfill a work. Employed concepts do not represent the superiority or inferiority of a work per se., but conversely a work by itself demonstrates the usefulness of the concepts, i.e., the tools. Old used tools may do a better and sharper work than new improved tools; it totally depends on the understandability and clarity of the work. As a Weberian, I venture to present an analysis of early Christianity employing Weber's original concepts of charisma and its "routinization." The point of this paper is not the question of which concept is correct, Weber's "routinization" or Berger's "institutionalization," but of how clearly and understandably the dynamic change of early Christianity can be analyzed by such concepts. The purpose of this paper is not to criticize Holmberg's study and MacDonald's, but a counter presentation attempting to demonstrate the usefulness and applicability of Weber's "routinization." This paper presents first an interpretation of Weber's charisma and routinization, and then an analysis of the routinization of the early Christian community. In the footnotes, I discuss the difference between Weber's terms and contemporary scholars' terms. CHARISMA Charisma is an extraordinary quality of an individual person. The power of religious charisma is mainly revealed by the demonstration of magic (or miracle), or of the word of prophecy. Since charisma goes beyond normal human qualities, it is regarded originally as supernatural. The authority of charisma rests upon a belief in its extraordinary quality of its power, revelation or personality; the source of these beliefs, in turn, is rests on the proving of the charismatic quality through magic and miracles, or through victories and other successes. Charisma has been a revolutionary power of history because the bearers of charisma, the oracles of prophets, or the edicts of charismatic war lords alone could create a new order within the world (Weber 1946: 297). Charisma is genuinely anti-traditional and anti-rational force. In its height, charismatic followers of the prophet are subject to anti-economic force of charisma. Yet as soon as their work is done, original charisma is to be replaced by the rule of everyday life. Here the process of routinization of charisma has set in. "When the tide that lifted a charismatically led group out of everyday life flows back into the channels of workaday routines, at least the pure form of charismatic domination will wane and turn into an institution" (Weber 1978: 1121). Since charisma in the pure type is the very opposite of a continuous institution of everyday life, those who have a share in charisma must inevitably turn away from the routine and order of the world (Weber 1978: 1113-4). However, charisma does not last. "In every case charisma is henceforth exposed to the conditions of everyday life and to the powers dominating it, especially to the economic interests" (Weber 1978: 1121-2). ROUTINIZATION OF CHARISMA 1. The Desire of the Possession of Charisma All routinization of charisma has basically one and the same cause: the desire to transform charisma from a unique gift of extraordinary time and person into a permanent possession of everyday life (Weber 1978: 1121). In other words, the interests of concerned people modifies the nature of religious charisma into acquisitional goods. All who has economic interest to live off become employees, teachers and other occupations in the religious enterprise. The lay people, in turn, become dues-paying members of a religious enterprise. For the desire to transform charisma into a lasting good, the first basic problem is to find a successor to the charismatic prophet. This problem inescapably channels charisma into the direction of traditionalism or rationalism (Weber 1978: 1123). [1] If the strong desire to have a charismatic leader at all times is accommodated, the direction of routinization has been made to the recurrent incarnation of charisma like the Dalai Lama, or the temporal representative like the Pope if the founder is considered a unique incarnation such as Christ. In all these examples, the designation of a successor or a representative has been a typical means of assuring the continuity of a religious enterprise (Weber 1978: 1124). "Charisma cannot remain stable, but becomes either traditionalized or rationalized, or a combination for both" (Weber 1978: 246). The routinization of charisma takes place in the ways of the depersonalization, that is, the separations of charismatic quality from a unique personality. It transforms a unique gift of charisma into a quality that is either (A) transferable or (b) personally acquirable or (c) attached to an office or to an institutional structure. By the routinization, charisma becomes a component of everyday life and fulfills its social function on behalf of its extraordinary quality that overshadowed the charismatic lay people (Weber 1978: 1135). 2. Hereditary Charisma Charisma may be transferred though succession of heredity. On this belief, charisma is transformed from its anti-traditional quality into object of tradition. In this process, the basis of the authority is radically changed from the belief in the purely personal quality of charisma into the belief in the sanctity of existing tradition. Thus, charisma is traditionalized, and becomes hereditary charisma Although charisma and tradition are fundamentally different in the type of authority, both rest on a similar basis of their religious aura, that is, a sense of loyalty and obligation. The external forms of the two structures of authority are also often similar to the point of being identical. Both depend upon the spirit which predominates the community, though not directly visible. In other words, both depends upon the basis of the leader's claim to legitimacy: authority sanctified by tradition, or faith in the person of the prophet (Weber 1978: 1122). 3. Virtuoso Charisma Charisma may be personally acquirable though means and method. It is transformed into the object of methodical practices or ecstatic contemplation. Charisma becomes a rationalized goal of everyday life. It is transformed from a state that only few individuals can achieve through their genuine endowment into a goal that many can reach through unidentifiable means (Weber 1978: 1169). We need to take into consideration, however, the fact that the faculty of charisma is possessed unequally among human beings. Charismatic quality such as the ecstatic and visionary capacities of shamans, sorcerers, prophets, ascetics and pneumatics of all sorts, could not be attained by everyone. Charisma becomes the faculty of the virtuoso, that is to say, virtuoso charisma. In accordance with the differences in charismatic qualifications, the virtuosos distinguish themselves from the lay people, those who are religiously unmusical yet in need of charismatic dispensation (Weber 1946: 287). The leagues of sacred dancers, the status group of the Indian Sramana, the Gnostic pneumatics, the early Christian ascetics, the Pietist ecclesiola and all sorts of monk communities are associations of only religiously qualified persons, that is to say, they are sociologically genuine "sects." Yet the virtuosos may see themselves compelled to adjust the demand of the religiosity of masses on account of maintaining their patronage both materially and ideologically. The religion of the virtuoso has been a genuinely exemplary and practical religion. For the lay person, such exemplary practices of the virtuoso provide magical enforcement or the efficacy of a living savior for the needs of lay people (Weber 1978: 1112). 4. Office Charisma Finally, charisma can be attached to the incumbent of an office or to an institutional structure. The charisma of office is "the belief in the specific state of grace of a social institution" (Weber 1978: 1140). This linkage of charismatic quality with institutional office, in turn, is based on the belief that charismatic quality can be transferred though artificial, magical means such as ordination and sacrament. The transformation into office charisma completes the depersonalization of charisma, that is, the separation of quality of person and function of office. Then, the belief in the charismatic functionality of office replaces the belief in the revelation and heroism of charismatic personalities (Weber 1978: 1139). Here charisma becomes part of an established social "institution," which Weber defines as permanent structures with established tradition. [2] Institution of church consist of (1) established system of hierarchal office with specific duty and rights, (2) rationalized dogma with the sacred canon, and (3) sophisticated sacraments and corporate grace (Weber 1978: 1164). [3] Office charisma is a combination of traditionalism and rationalism; charisma is traditionalized , for example, in sanctity of the permanent seat of the See of Rome and in efficacy of sacrament and ordainment, and it is also rationalized to the hierarchy of office, the dogma of the teaching, and the codified order and regulation. The struggles between virtuoso charisma and office charisma which incorporates with the mass religiosity have always existed. The religiosity of the Ulema stood against the religiosity of the Dervishes in Islam; the Lutheran preacher's office against the Pietists; the Anglican against the Puritans; the Russian state church against the sects; the Confucian cult against the Buddhist and the Taoist (Weber 1946: 288). To end theoretical interpretation of Weber's "charisma" and "routinization," I would like to reaffirm that routinization of charisma has three directions: traditionalization (hereditary charisma), rationalization (virtuoso charisma), and the combination of both (office charisma). Institutionalization of charisma is a process of office charisma, and only a part of routinization of charisma. Therefore, we should not confuse routinization of charisma with institutionalization of charisma. NATURE OF COMMUNITY Before going to analyze the routinization of charisma in early Christianity, we need to look over the sociological nature of religious community: whether a congregation is occasional or permanent, and whether a community is a sect or a church. These two bipolar perspectives are, of course, ideal typical concepts to measure the nature of the reality. Whether a congregation has occasional nature or regulatory nature is of a basic importance at the initial formation of a congregation. The sermons of Jesus were held at occasional congregations, whereas the Christian community at Jerusalem and the Pauline community had the nature of regulatory and permanent congregation. Naturally, occasional gathering does not satisfy the interests of those who conducts the cult or the preaching, if only because of purely economic considerations. As a consequence, they endeavor to create a congregation of permanent organization with regular services of sacrament and communion, and fixed rights and duties. Such a transformation from occasional gathering into a permanent community is the normal process by which the doctrines of the prophets enter into everyday life. The disciples of the prophets thereupon become mystagogue, teachers, priests or pastors, serving an organized congregation of lay persons (Weber 1963: 62). Primarily, a religious community arises in connection with a prophetic movement as a result of routinization, i.e., as a result of the process whereby either the prophet himself or his disciples secure the permanence of his preaching and the congregation's distribution of grace, hence insuring the economic existence of the enterprise and those who man it, and thereby monopolizing as well as the privileges reserved for those charged with religious functions (Weber 1963: 60-61). SECT AND CHURCH Another basic nature of a religious community is whether it stands on the principle of a sect or a church. A sect is a voluntary association in which one becomes a member by own will proving one's specific religious qualification, whereas a church is an compulsory organization in which one becomes a member by birth regardless one's religious qualification (Weber 1978: 56). In other words, a sect is an exclusive community of the virtuosos, whereas a church is an universal institution for everyone, organized by office-holders. Every hierocratic and official authority of a church opposes against all virtuoso-religion and against its autonomous development. The holders of institutionalized grace seek to organize the religiosity of the masses and to monopolize the provision of the cared values. By its interests of economic foundation, the church must make the sacred values accessible to the masses. "This means that the church stands for a universalism of grace and for the ethical sufficiency of all those who are enrolled under its institutional authority" (Weber 1946: 288). At the beginning of routinization of charisma, the community much likely stands on the principle of sect rather than the principle of church, though the distinction is fluid in reality. The principle of sect takes for granted the personal quality of charisma for the elected, and strong against the depersonalization of charisma into the goods for everybody. The principle of church, on the other hand, stands on functioned charisma in which institutional office bestows gifts of corporate grace. Only Roman Catholic and, lesser degree, Tibetan Buddhism reached the level of the church institution. Both organizations have succeeded to exclude the hereditary and vis-a-vis nomination of the successor. In stead, Roman church established the anonymous election of Pope, and Tibetan church institutionalized the search of the incarnated child of Dalai lama. CHARISMATIC COMMUNITY IN JERUSALEM "An organized group subject to charismatic authority will be called a charismatic community. It is based on an emotional form of communal relationship" (Weber 1978: 243). Since the death of Jesus, the Jewish Christians at Jerusalem were "the old charismatic disciples and followers, but instead of a visible hero, the prophet removed to the hereafter is their invisible leader" (Weber 1978: 1169). [4] The Jewish Christian community at Jerusalem had kept a charismatic feature of the community until its end by the Jewish War (66-70 C.E.). It maintained an emotional form of communal life of consumption for about 30 years. The staffs of this community did not consist of officials, i.e., payed and fixed position. They had no such thing as promotion or dismissal, no career, no election; they had only a call from the leader on the basis of the charismatic qualification; they had no hierarchy, or technically training institution (Weber 1978: 243). Thus, charismatic staffs are sociologically distinguished from institutional officials. Disciples and followers did not have a system of codified rules, of abstract legal principles, and hence no process of rational judicial decision oriented to them. Although they chose staffs to judge among themselves, their judgements were case by case decisions according to staffs' charismatic divine judgments and revelations. COMMUNISM OF LOVE In its charismatic stage, religious community is formed by the anti-economic force of genuine charisma, affecting the nature of a permanent religious community. The community of Jerusalem was a communism of love, in which they lived in brotherly love, provided consumption by voluntary gift. Communism of love is directed to reject any this worldly interest, even land property. Their way of living is not directed to a desire to maintain their economic and social status. Weber mentions this situation: During the charismatic period of a religion, the perfect disciple must also reject landed property, and the mass of believers is expected to be indifferent toward it. An expression of this indifference as that attenuated form of the charismatic communism of love which apparently existed in the early Christian community of Jerusalem, where the members of the community owned property 'as if they did not own it' (Weber 1978: 1187). To be sure, we can find conflicting directions between following an ideal charismatic life and accommodating everyday necessity. The sociological characteristic of a community is determined by not specific phenomena but general movement as a whole. Until the exodus from Jerusalem by the Jewish war, the Jerusalem community of Jesus, as a whole, is characterized by charismatic principle, not everyday need or economic interests (Weber 1978: 1122). They have never tried to established their enterprise to earn economic prebend, but they were preoccupied by the coming of Jesus, the apocalyptic expectation of the end of this world. INTRUSION OF TRADITIONALISM The Jerusalem community had also faced the conflict between charismatic purity and traditionalism of hereditary charisma. At the beginning, the family of Jesus apparently occupied important positions in the community. James, a brother of Jesus, was called a pillar of the community (Gal. 2:9). After the death of James (62 C.E.) , however, the influence and power of the family of Jesus was apparently disappeared. [5] "It was easier to displace Jesus' family from its originally important position in the community" because of decisive fact that Jesus did not have a heir (Weber 1978: 1138). This community succeeded to restrain followers' desire to have a living leader. In addition to the force of hereditary charisma, traditionalism influenced the Jerusalem community on the traditional rituals and the Temple cult, and observing the law. The community favored the traditional handling of non-circumcised proselytes, and formulated a minimum ethic (Acts 15:20). [6] James and the elders demanded that Paul should undergo the purity probe in the Temple because he was suspicious of misleading full Jews not to observe the ritual (Acts 21:21 ff.). "The Jerusalemites acceded to Paul's standpoint only step by step and in part, Peter, apparently after the death of James. The old Ebonite congregation of Palestine, however, which continued to observe the law, treated Paul as an apostate" (Weber 1952: 422). Yet, the Jerusalem leaders were compelled to meet Paul's claim halfway because "the converts from the Gentiles were just as well seized by the spirit and showed the same symptoms as the Jewish Christians" (Weber 1952: 422). Therefore one could not deny that uncircumcised converts were equally true Christians. This was the great transformation of Christianity from a peculiar Jewish sect to ethnicity-free religion. Here charisma (the power of pneuma) works. For early Christianity, the spirit was a standard determining the requisite for membership. To be sure, the watershed of this transformation did not come until Paul rebuked Peter for the retraction from the communion with uncircumcised Christians when the representative of James came to the community at Antioch from the Jerusalem community (Gal. 2:11-14) The dynamic tension between charisma and traditionalism in the Jerusalem community was mainly settled by political interruptions. In addition to charisma, political enforcement and migration are major forces to break down the force of traditionalism. First, James' martyr by the theocratic Sanhedrin waned the power of hereditary charisma and seniority based on traditionalism, and thereby the charismatic disciple took the leadership of the community. Second, the Jewish War (66-70 C.E.) destroyed the enterprises of the Jerusalem Christian community as well as the Temple of Jerusalem. The main body of apostle compelled to leave Jerusalem to Gentle Christian communities. Finally, the second destruction of the Temple under Hadrian (76-138 C.E.) terminated the temple worship and to become the holy church for the pilgrimage as the Rome church did. BROTHERLY LOVE IN THE PAULINE COMMUNITY Like the Jerusalem community, the Pauline community is a charismatic community subjected to charismatic authority of the leader and to brotherly love. Paul ruled over his community authoritatively. This agrees with the nature of charisma as a source of authority. Charismatic authority doesn't need democratic procedure, or approval from the followers. The members of the community are occasionally regarded to Paul's children, i.e. charismatic subjected believers. More important is brotherly love as paramount principle in the Pauline community. Paul always called his followers brethren, which eventually distinguished his authentic letters from the deutro-Pauline letters and the Pastoral letters (Meeks 87). [7] His hymn of love in 1 Corinthians 12 is one of the most elaborated description of love ethic. Corresponding the community of a living prophet, the Pauline community is more intensive in brotherly love than the Jerusalem community, the community after the death of the prophet. The love ethos of and discipleship is the only guarantor of the purity of charisma and community vis-a-vis everyday interests (Weber 1978: 1120). Two hundreds later, brotherly love was still dominant in the early Christian community. Yet Paul did not form the communism of love out of the world, but formed the community of brotherly love in the world. In so far as the adherents of a religious community cannot live from patronage or begging, they must live from their own work. "Work with own hand" was a command of the Pauline community. "To abide in the same occupation" (1 Cor. 7:20) was exhorted not because work as such was esteemed, but because economic independency was necessary to keep the purity of the sect (Weber 1978: 1187). [8] To be sure, it expresses complete eschatological indifference toward anything that happens in the world, just as the prescription "to render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar's" (Luke 20:25). THE PAULINE SECT In contrast to Jesus, who never organized a permanent community of followers, Paul formed his permanent communities, that is, sects. Although Paul was a charismatic prophet, the Pauline community was also directed to the principle of the sect. Paul initiated the formation of permanent community to secure his preaching. He wrote authoritative letters to his community in order to establish his doctrine, order and ethic. At the crisis of taking over his community by other's leadership, he passionately defended his doctrine, ethic, and his authority, otherwise his mission and effort was in vain (Gal. 4:11). Paul's mission and responsibility to God is the forming of the community of God besides preaching the gospel as such. Like the Pharisees, the Pauline community had baptism, the love feast, the support of the poor, the apostolic gifts of grace, above all prophecy desired as a holy state. Paul made emphasis on the eschatological actuality, the coercion of unity, indifference in the worldly matters, the purity of community, which often employed by the propaganda of a millennialist sect. "Paul learned the technique of propaganda and of establishing an attractive community from the Pharisees" (Weber 1952:387). Yet Paul never took for granted baptism and the communal meal as visible and necessary qualifications of sect's membership, although he presupposed such symbolic practices within the sect. Paul never thought charisma (pneuma) can be transferred by such ritual performance per se, although he made emphasis on the spiritual meaning and significance of such practices. He thought that the gift of pneuma is exclusively of individual, and comes directly from God. Charisma has no human mediator, magical manipulation, influence on the side of human beings. Every ethical prophecy by its very nature devalues the magical elements of the priestly enterprise. Salvation could be achieved only by a distinctively religious and meaningful relationship to the eternal. All ethical prophets, by virtue of their rejection of magic, were necessarily skeptical of the priestly enterprise, as Buddha had nothing to do with the knowledge and rituals of the Vedic priesthood in his quest for salvation. Like the Israelite prophets, Paul addressed not ritual offerings or casuistic of the law, but obedience to God's spirit, flowing out of love, and doing justice. Thus, the rejection of magical efficacy of religious grace identifies the Pauline community as a sect, not a church, in which the priest enterprises magical provision of sacraments and corporate grace. The goal of a pure sect is to share emotional brotherly love, which also distinguishes from a church, the rational and depersonalized institution. ROUTINIZATION OF PAULINE CHRISTIANITY After Paul's death, unavoidably the Pauline community took the courses of routinization of charisma, i. e., traditionalization and rationalization. Although we can find initial sings of routinization in Paul by himself and in his community, his death, i. e., the disappearance of the charismatic leader, was decisive for the routinization. [9] For traditionalization , we can find the intrusion of Jewish traditionalism such as genealogy (1 Tim. 1:4, Tit. 3:9, cf Matt. 1:1-17), ritual sacrifice for sin (Heb. 10:18), and the elderly influence in the community (Tit. 1:5). [10] Yet the Pauline community was not ruled by traditionalism. In contrast to strong peasantry traditionalism in the Jerusalem community, Paul's citizenry community was relatively free from traditionalism; the taboo barriers of ethnicity, occupation, locality, and religious stereotype. The Pauline community "rejected the Talmudic law and even the characteristic ritual laws of the Old Testament, while taking over and considering as binding--for all their elasticity--various other expressions of God's will witnessed in the Old Testament." (Weber 1963:260-1). What is more, the specific qualities of an ethical and personal piety of Occident Christianity found its real nurture in the urban environment, in contrast to the ritualistic, or formalistic religiosity of rural Palestine Christianity (Weber 1978: 472). Another routinization of charisma took place of rational and formalistic depersonalization though aristocratization and institutionalization. Aristocratization here means rational transformation of the ecstatic state of charisma into methodical and codified goal, and institutionalization means a combination of rationalism and traditionalism in the transformation of charisma into systematic and intellectual office of magical manipulation of sacrament and corporate grace. In other words, aristocratization stands on the principle of virtuoso charisma, leading to particularism of the religious qualification, whereas institutionalization stands on the principle of office charisma leading to universalism of religious qualification on account of the mass religiosity. We can see the tension between virtuoso charisma and office charisma already in the Pastoral letters, where the bishop opposes to virtuoso's celibacy, vegetarianism and anti-drinking (1 Tim. 4:2-3; 5:23). Thus office charisma of the Pastoral denounces virtuoso charisma as devilish: "doctrines of devil,_ forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain for meats" (1 Tim. 4:2-3). The more officaldom of priesthood and system of dogma were established, the more early Christian bishops opposed against the pneumatics and heroic sectaries. Legalism in the letter of James is another example of rational transformation of charisma (puneuma) into formalistic conduct of life, casuistic dogma and order. Lay people's desire to have a shepherd (practitioner) of their soul made Paul the teacher (1 Tim. 2:7), and made Jesus the high priest who preforms sacrificial ritual for individual's sin (Heb. 3:1). [11] Even though Paul admonished his followers to maintain the purity of the spirit, his charismatic messages inevitably became dogma, doctrine, theory, regulation, law or petrified tradition after his death (Weber 1978: 1122). INSTITUTIONALIZATION OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH At the beginning of its routinization of charisma, Pauline Christianity cannot be called institutionalization. There are no paid priest, system of hierarchy and office, established religious dogma, sacred canon, formulated sacrament and mass. Of course, there are favorable conditions for the institutionalization of Pauline Christianity from the beginning. For early Christianity presupposed as already extant certain conception, viz,_ the concept of office, and the concept of the community as a compulsory organization (city-state) with specific functions._ particularly in Hellenistic and definitely in Roman urban law (Weber 1978: 472). In ancient Greece the word bishop (episkopos) was used for official titles, in some case as a governor or a local officials who arrange and appoint the assembly (ekklesia). (Beyer 608-622). The Pastoral letters already indicate a fixed position of the office: "the office of a minister" (1 Tim. 3:1), "the office of a deacon" (1 Tim. 3:10), without economic compensation. At that time, the wandering, charismatic preachers, the apostles, prophets and teachers, were never called bishop (episkopoi). "This title arises only where there are settled local congregations in which regular acts are performed" (Beyer 615). The Pastoral letters set the qualifications of the offices: for a minister (1 Tim. 3:2-5) and for a deacon (1 Tim. 3:8-13). No reference to the Spirit made for these qualifications, but simply to essential human qualifications. This shows "how strongly the development is already affected by everyday needs" (Beyer 617). This is the beginning of regularly service by professionals, and of the system of office and organized management of the religious enterprise. "Canonical scriptures contain the revelations and traditions themselves, whereas dogmas are priestly interpretations of their meaning" (Weber 1978: 458). The driving force for canonization and dogmatization is simple interests of the priesthood in securing its own position against attack by the prophets and against scepticism of the laity. Canonizations was a consequence of a struggle between various competing groups and prophecies for the control of the community (Weber 1978: 459). This direction already took place in Pauline communities. To secure his community, Paul endeavored to write letters of revelations and doctrines against attacks of his opponent Jewish traditionalists, lay anomie, and Hellenistic mystagogue. Needless to say, there was no established text of New Testament until 4th century. "The Christian canon was formalized because of the threat to the piety of the petty-bourgeois masses from the intellectual salvation doctrine of the Gnostics" (Weber 1978: 459). [12] As a products of the priesthood, the closing of canon was generally conclude with that only a certain period had been allowed with such prophetic revelations and spiritual writings, and no more. This is not only the case of New Testament, but also Old Testament, Pali Canon, Koran and Vegas. Dogma is a product of priestly rationalization of doctrine to interpret of priestly meaning. Priest systematize the content of prophecy or of the sacred traditions by supplying them with a casuistic, rationalized framework of analysis, and by accommodating them to their interests, especially needs for controlling the laity and for their own intellectualism (Weber 1978: 460). Institutionalization of charisma means the separation of facility from personal entity. The letter of 1 Timothy presupposes the separate entity of the house of God from the ecclesia of God (3:15). Here the separation of the house of church and the congregation of the believers set in. Institutionalization also means universalization of charisma for all men and women. This direction is already found in the Deutro-Pauline letters; "our Saviour will have all men to be saved" (1 Tim. 2:1-3). Here also we can see the shift from Paul's sectarianism into the Pastoral's universalism-- from Paul statements of "a remnant according to the election of grace" (Rom. 11:5) and "faith of Jesus Christ to each person who believe" (Rom. 3:22) to the Pastoral's statements of "Saviour who will have all men to be saved" (1 Tim. 2:1-3) and "God that brings salvation that appeared to all men" (Tit. 2:11). Universalism of salvation is not the rejection of the world but the acceptance of the world. Paul's warning: "this present evil world" (Gal. 1:3) and "do not compromise to this world" (Rom. 12:2) here shifts into the acceptance of the custom and reputation of this world; "kings, and for all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty. For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God" (1 Tim. 2:2). THE ROMAN CHURCH Weber characterizes the emergence of the Roman church by four features: (1) a professional priesthood with salaries, promotions, duties and a distinctive conduct of life; (2) universal domination overcoming ethnic and national barriers; (3) rationalized dogma and rites recorded in sacred scriptures; (4) compulsory organization of office charisma (Weber 1978: 1164). The apostolic succession in the Roman Catholic Church is secured through episcopal ordination, the indelible charismatic qualification acquired through the priest's ordination. After the Donatist controversy, the Catholic theory of the priest's office-holding was established the strict distinction between the charisma of office and the worthiness of the person. This differentiation between person and function is by no means a civilized phenomenon, but widely diffused beliefs that all kind of animals, humans and superhumans can be influenced by magical functionaries. The Catholic church only put them deliberately in the service of a great organizational idea: that of bureaucratization (Weber 1978: 1141). As the church administration was bureaucratized in the hands of the bishops and presbyters, the charismatic prophets and journey men and women declined. The church apparatus adapted everyday conditions of technical and economic operations. As a consequence, the Roman church developed "an office hierarchy with delimited jurisdictions, regular channels, reglementation, fees, benefices, a disciplinary order, rationalization of doctrine and of office-holding as a vocation" (Weber 1978: 1166). The more the bureaucratization of office and the rationalization of doctrine become involved, the more the institutionalization of the church is advanced. The establishment of the Roman church involves many elements of historical conditions. The watershed of institutionalization of Christianity took place when Christianity became the official religion of the Roman Empire in 380 C.E. Preceding persecutions made the Roman church a strict administrative and hierarchy apparatus. As political power organized a centralized and highly developed administration in conquered areas, the hierocratic power of the Roman church developed under continuous threat of the Roman gentiles. [13] The strict centralization of Catholic church and the most radical depersonalization of charisma was completed in the wake of the French Revolution which destroyed the power of the local clergy: as ecclesia militants the church created its technical apparatus though the bureaucratized and intellectualized church of modern history (Weber 1978: 1140, 1170). CONCLUSION Weber distinguishes charisma radically from tradition and legality because of quite different bases of their beliefs. The authority of charisma rests on the belief in the extraordinary quality of power, revelation or personality, whereas the authority of tradition rests on the belief in the sanctity of continued presence, and the authority of legality rests on the belief in the rational and logical persuasiveness. Routinization of charisma means a radical shift of the belief in legitimacy from actual extraordinariness to continued tradition, rational-legal presence, or the combination of both. Routinization of charisma takes three ways of depersonalization: hereditary charisma, virtuoso charisma, and office charisma. Institutionalization of charisma is the process of office charisma. Therefore, institutionalization of charisma is not identical with routinization of charisma, but it is a part of the routinization. As a whole, both the Jerusalem community and the Pauline community are charismatic communities, not routinized communities or institutionalized enterprises. The Jerusalem community formed a communism of love, and the Pauline community formed a pure sect of brotherly love. Even if both communities entailed the initial sings of routinization of charisma, they cannot be categorized to the community of routinized charisma such as hereditary charisma, virtuoso charisma, and office charisma. Charismatic followers and disciples in both the Jerusalem community and the Pauline community did not become privileged office-holders, i.e., payed priests, even if there were some force to establish certain offices and administrations, these positions were without economic benefit, and not a permanent coded office, but rather an accommodation to minimum necessity in everyday life. The turning point of routinization of charisma always involves economic and social interests to assure the privileged's well-being and social status. Jerusalem community was an anti-economic communism, and the Paul community was a brotherly sect indifferent to worldly matters. In addition, routinization of charisma usually takes place soon after the death of the charismatic leader by the strong desire to have a charismatic leader. The Jerusalem community avoided having the charismatic leader of hereditary succession or of election among the disciples, even if elements of hereditary and seniority traditionalism affected the direction of the Jerusalem community. After Paul's death, the Pauline communities did not chose the successor, although his disciples such as Timothy and Titus took leadership among the communities. It goes without saying that everyday existence brings charismatic community nearer to its end under the heavy weight of material interests (Weber 1978: 1120). Even though Paul warned the letter kills, and the spirit gives life, it was inevitable Paul's spiritual teaching became a doctrine, dogma and ethical teaching. The more the bureaucratization of office and the rationalization of doctrine were involved, the more the institutionalization of the community was advanced. ENDNOTE [1] Holmberg poses a question of combing charisma with traditionalism and rationalism. "It is confusing and self-contradictory to combine routine and charisma in the one concept, according to Weber, they are opposites. It would be more appropriate to just talk about the transformation of charismatic authority into other types of authority (traditional and rational-legal). As it is one gets the impression that there remains some fundamental difference between routinized charisma and traditional, or rational-regal, authority, which is not the case" (Holmberg 1978: 163). The reason why Weber distinguishes the term "routinization of charisma" from "traditionalization" or "rationalization" lies in quite different bases of their legitimations. At the beginning of the routinization of charismatic enterprise, there is not enough tradition or rationalized system of rules and institutions to assure their economic and status privileges. The strongest motive for the preservation of charismatic elements in the depersonalized form is the interests of privileged strata to legitimize their economic and social conditions, that is, to transform them from unstable power relationships into acquired rights, and hence to sanctify them (Weber 1978: 1146). [2] "Here we find that peculiar transformation of charisma into an institution: permanent structures and traditions replace the belief in the revelation and heroism of charismatic personalities, charisma becomes part of an established social structure" (Weber 1978: 1139). [3] Thus Weber's definition of "institution" is quite different from Berger-Luckmann's definition: "Institutionalization occurs whenever there is a reciprocal typification of habitualized actions by types of actors. Put differently, any such typification is an institution"; "We can properly begin to speak of roles when this kind of typification occurs in the context of an objectified stock of knowledge common to a collectivity of actors.-- Institutions are embodied in individual experience by means of roles" (Berger-Luckmann 1967: 54, 73). This difference reflects their incompatible directions toward sociological conceptualization: the former directed to ideal-typical construction, and the latter to an average type of construction for common knowledge. I perceive the usefulness in the distinction of routinization and institutionalization, instead of Holmberg's exclusion of routinization. From my stand point, the turning point from the routinization to the institutionalization in early Christianity came to third century C.E. when the payed office of bishop was established. [4] "The disciples were called Christians first in Antioch" (Acts 11:26). Luke calls both members of the Jerusalem community and Paul's followers "disciple" including himself (Acts 1:15; 20:7; 21:1). [5] Josephus speaks of James being sentenced to death in the year 62 C.E. The high priest, Ananos II "assembled the Sanhedrin of Judges and brought before them the brother of Jesus who is called the Christ, whose name was James, and some of his companions. And when he had laid an accusation against them as having broken the law, he delivered them to be stoned" (Antiquity 20, 9, I). [6] According Acts 6:6, the Jerusalem community already introduced the ritual of laying hand. However, in other occasion, Peter denounced a magician who wanted to manipulate charisma of the spirit by laying hand (Acts 8:19). [7] I follow orthodox distinction of Pauline letters: (1) for Paul's authentic letters, Romans, 1 and 2 Corinthians, Galatians, Philippians, 1 Thessalonians and Philemon, (2) for the deutro-Pauline letters--Ephesians, Colossians, 2 Thessalonians , (3) for the Pastoral letters, 1 and 2 Timothy and Titus. [8] Unlimited, irrationalist sharing with needy brother in the Jerusalem community forced the missionaries, especially Paul, to collect alms abroad for the anti-economic central community (Weber 1978: 1187). This is a reason why Paul formed the community of workers within the world, as contrast to Jerusalem communism out of the world life. [9] Keeping the Jewish rituals, especially, circumcision was the Paul's biggest battle against traditionalism. Paul's new doctrine, the fulfillment of the law by the faith in Jesus Christ, abolished the traditional authority of the Jewish law and the practice of Jewish rituals. For this cause, Paul had to suffer persecution until his death from Jewish traditionalists. [10] The Pauline community experienced little tension against hereditary charisma because of Paul's celibacy. Long after its development, the Roman Catholic established the celibacy of the priest in order to avoid hereditary charisma of the Pope as well as to demonstrate priest's charisma against celibacy monks. [11] Paul in the letters of Timothy was "ordained" to "a teacher" besides an apostle (1 Tim. 2: 7, 2 Tim. 1:11), whereas Paul writes himself only as being "called" to "an apostle" distinguishing from a teacher (Cor. 12:18). The author of 1 Timothy practiced the laying on the hand to the members of the community, and probably ordained the presbyters by laying on hand on the head (1 Tim. 2:8;4:14; 5:22). [12] In contrast to Christian canonization to protect the piety of lay citizen against Gnosis intellectualism, Buddhistic canonization took place to protect its intellectual salvation against popular salvation religion: "the soteriology of the intellectual classes of ancient Buddhism was crystallized in the Pali canon as a result of the danger posed by the missionizing popular salvation religions of the Mahayana" (Weber 1978: 459). [13] "It is no accident that Buddhism evolved the Lamaist hierarchy, which corresponds even in the ceremonial details to the Occidental curia, not in India but in Tibet and Mongolia, where it was continuously threatened by the wildest barbarian peoples of the world. In the same manner, the Occidental mission produced the most typical form of Latin monasticism in barbarian countries" (Weber 1978: 1135). REFERENCES Berger, Peter L. Luckmann, Thomas. 1966. The Social Construction of Reality. New York: Doubleday and Company Inc. Berger, Peter L. 1967. The Sacred Canopy. New York: Doubleday and Company Inc. Beyer, Marianne F. 1964. "Bishop (episdopos)" in Theological Dictionary of the New Testament. edited by Kittel, Gerhard. vol. III, p. 608 Grand Rapids: Mich., Eerdmans. Holmberg, Beng. 1990. Sociology and the New Testament : an appraisal Minneapolis : Fortress Press,. ________. 1978. Paul and Power : the structure of authority in the primitive church as reflected in the Pauline epistles. Minneapolis : Fortress Press Kee, Howard C. 1980. Christian Origins In Sociological Perspective:Methods And Resources Philadelphia: Westminster Press. MacDonald, Margaret. 1988. The Pauline Churches. Cambridge (England): Cambridge University Press Meeks, Wyane A. 1983. The First Urban Christians. New Heaven: Yale University Press Schutz, John H. 1975. Paul and the anatomy of Apostolic Authority. London ; New York : Cambridge University Press,. Theissen Gerad. 1982. Social Setting of Pauline Christianity. Philadelphia: Fortress Weber, Max. 1946. "The Social Psychology of the World Religions." H. H. Gerth and C. W. Mills (eds). From MaxWeber:Essay in Sociology. New York: Oxford University Press: Originally (1920) 1972 'Einleitung,' in GARS, vol. 1. _______. 1952. Ancient Judaism. Translated and edited by Hans H. Gerth and Don Martindale. New York: The Free Press. Originally (1920) 1972 'Das antke Judentum,' in GARS, vol. 3. _______. 1963. The Sociology of Religion. Translated by Ephraim Fischoff. Boston: Beacon Press. _______. 1978. Economy and Society. Edited by G. Roth and C. Wittich. Berkeley: University of California Press Return to Abukuma's Home May 31. 1996