{"id":30557,"date":"2021-01-11T09:30:00","date_gmt":"2021-01-11T14:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.cccc.org\/news_blogs\/?p=30557"},"modified":"2022-09-30T15:48:14","modified_gmt":"2022-09-30T19:48:14","slug":"how-the-church-responded-to-previous-pandemics","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cccc.org\/news_blogs\/john\/2021\/01\/11\/how-the-church-responded-to-previous-pandemics\/","title":{"rendered":"How the Church Responded to Previous Pandemics"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

[Published January 11, 2021]<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Facing a pandemic is not a new experience for the Church and we can learn today from how the Church responded to previous pandemics and epidemics. CCCC members who would like to discuss this post may talk about it here<\/a> in The Green.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The world has dealt with pandemics and plagues for thousands of years, and social distancing, quarantining, and even wearing masks have been ways humanity has responded  before. Even closing churches in Canada for in-person services is not new, as the following two pictures show.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Public
Churches were closed in Kingston, ON in 1918<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"Public
Churches in Kelowna, BC were closed due to the Spanish Flu.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

If you like to go down rabbit trails, although it does not deal with churches, this 432 year old manual<\/a> written during the Black Death (Bubonic Plague) includes many measures that we are still using today!<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Here is a brief overview of how the Church responded in previous pandemics. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Ancient Church Responds to Pandemics<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The ancient Church grew significantly because of its actions<\/a> during the Antonine (165-180 A.D.) and Cyprian (249-262 A.D.) plagues. The Church did not social distance in those pandemics, but their refusal wasn\u2019t so they could hold worship services\u2014it was so they could care for the sick and bury the dead. Because everyone who was healthy, other than Christians, fled, these pandemics showed the pagan world by the actions of the Christians<\/a> who remained how the Christian faith was a powerful new way to live<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Early Protestant Church Responds to Pandemics<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Martin Luther and John Calvin both adjusted their ministry activities<\/a> to be socially responsible and deal with the plagues of their times (Calvin had to deal with five plagues!).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The North American Church Responds to a Pandemic<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Finally, during the Spanish Flu epidemic of 1918, churches were closed<\/a> all over the United States and Canada, yet they found creative ways to continue their work. Clergy of that time mostly supported<\/a> public health measures that closed their churches and gave advice about what to do instead. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The link above about churches being closed includes this little nugget about the attitude of pastors to enforced church closings: the Washington DC Protestant ministerial recorded that, “An emergency meeting of ‘Protestant ministers’ on October 5, 1918, decided unanimously to ‘place ourselves on record as cheerfully complying<\/em> with the request of the Commissioners.'” (I’ve added the italics for emphasis.) Dr. Mark Steinacher, church historian and an expert on the Canadian church, confirmed to me that \u201cchurches did indeed largely comply a century ago.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There is very little documentation about legal challenges and civil disobedience during the Spanish Flu epidemic. One report<\/a> refers to many legal challenges from the general public but that the judges were not sympathetic at all. Another report<\/a> includes the following:<\/p>\n\n\n\n