Life in Christ redirects here. For the ecumenical document, see Life in Christ (document)

In Christian theology

Christian theology

- Divisions of Christian theology :There are many methods of categorizing different approaches to Christian theology. For a historical analysis, see the main article on the History of Christian theology.- Sub-disciplines :...

, the Imitation of Christ is the practice of following the example of Jesus

Jesus

Jesus of Nazareth , commonly referred to as Jesus Christ or simply as Jesus or Christ, is the central figure of Christianity...

. In Eastern Christianity

Eastern Christianity

Eastern Christianity comprises the Christian traditions and churches that developed in the Balkans, Eastern Europe, Asia Minor, the Middle East, Northeastern Africa, India and parts of the Far East over several centuries of religious antiquity. The term is generally used in Western Christianity to...

 the term Life in Christ is sometimes used for the same concept.

The ideal of the Imitation of Christ has been an important element of both Christian ethics and spirituality. References to this concept and its practice are found in the earliest Christian documents, e.g. the Pauline Epistles

Pauline epistles

The Pauline epistles, Epistles of Paul, or Letters of Paul, are the thirteen New Testament books which have the name Paul as the first word, hence claiming authorship by Paul the Apostle. Among these letters are some of the earliest extant Christian documents...

.

Saint Augustine viewed the imitation of Christ as the fundamental purpose of Christian life, and as a remedy for the imitation of the sins of Adam

Adam and Eve

Adam and Eve were, according to the Genesis creation narratives, the first human couple to inhabit Earth, created by YHWH, the God of the ancient Hebrews...

. Saint Francis of Assisi

Francis of Assisi

Saint Francis of Assisi was an Italian Catholic friar and preacher. He founded the men's Franciscan Order, the women’s Order of St. Clare, and the lay Third Order of Saint Francis. St...

 believed in the physical as well as the spiritual imitation of Christ, and advocated a path of poverty and preaching like Jesus who was poor at birth in the manger and died naked on the cross. Thomas à Kempis

Thomas à Kempis

Thomas à Kempis was a late Medieval Catholic monk and the probable author of The Imitation of Christ, which is one of the best known Christian books on devotion. His name means, "Thomas of Kempen", his home town and in German he is known as Thomas von Kempen...

, on the other hand, presented a path to The Imitation of Christ based on a focus on the interior life and withdrawal from the world.

The theme of imitation of Christ existed in all phases of Byzantine theology, and in the 14th century book Life in Christ Nicholas Cabasilas

Nicholas Cabasilas

Nicholas Cabasilas was a Byzantine mystic and theological writer.Cabasilas is a saint within the Orthodox Church. His feast day is June 20.-Life:...

 viewed "living one's own personal life" in Christ as the fundamental Christian virtue.

Early period

The word "imitate" does not appear in the Canonical Gospels, but the word "follow" is often applied to those who believed in Jesus.. But in 1 Thessalonians 1:6 Apostle Paul refers to the imitation of Christ, as well as himself, and states: "And ye became imitators of us, and of the Lord, having received the word in much affliction, with joy of the Holy Spirit".

For Paul the imitation of Christ involves readiness to be shaped by the Holy Spirit

Holy Spirit (Christianity)

For the majority of Christians, the Holy Spirit is the third person of the Holy Trinity—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and is Almighty God...

 as in Romans 8:4 and 8:11, and a self-giving service of love to others as in 1 Corinthians 13 and Galatians 5:13. The imitation of Christ, as in Ephesians 5:1 is then viewed by Paul as a path to the imitation of God: "Be ye therefore imitators of God, as beloved children".

The early Church had little interest in the "historical Jesus

Historical Jesus

The term historical Jesus refers to scholarly reconstructions of the 1st-century figure Jesus of Nazareth. These reconstructions are based upon historical methods including critical analysis of gospel texts as the primary source for his biography, along with consideration of the historical and...

" and this prevented an immediae development of the concept of literal imitation. Instead the earliest concepts of imitation focused on the works of the Holy Spirit, self-sacrifice and martyrdom. In time, this focus changed, and by the time of Saint Francis of Assisi

Francis of Assisi

Saint Francis of Assisi was an Italian Catholic friar and preacher. He founded the men's Franciscan Order, the women’s Order of St. Clare, and the lay Third Order of Saint Francis. St...

 attempts at literal imitation of Christ were well established.

By the 4th century, the ideal of the imitation of Christ was well accepted and for Saint Augustine it was the ultimate goal of conversion, and the fundamental purpose of Christian life. Building on the tradition of 1 Corinthians 15:22 which views Christ as the Second Adam whose birth counter-balanced the fall of Adam Augustine argued that original sin

Original sin

Original sin is, according to a Christian theological doctrine, humanity's state of sin resulting from the Fall of Man. This condition has been characterized in many ways, ranging from something as insignificant as a slight deficiency, or a tendency toward sin yet without collective guilt, referred...

 (the imitation of Adam) can be eliminated by the imitation of Christ.

Book 7 of the Confessions of St. Augustine

Confessions (St. Augustine)

Confessions is the name of an autobiographical work, consisting of 13 books, by St. Augustine of Hippo, written between AD 397 and AD 398. Modern English translations of it are sometimes published under the title The Confessions of St...

 includes a well known passage on "at least imitate the lowly God" that confirms the strong Christian tradition of the imitation of Christ around the year 400. Augustine viewed human beings as creatures who approach the Holy Trinity through likeness, i.e. by imitating the Son

God the Son

God the Son is the second person of the Trinity in Christian theology. The doctrine of the Trinity identifies Jesus of Nazareth as God the Son, united in essence but distinct in person with regard to God the Father and God the Holy Spirit...

, who is bound to the Father

God the Father

God the Father is a gendered title given to God in many monotheistic religions, particularly patriarchal, Abrahamic ones. In Judaism, God is called Father because he is the creator, life-giver, law-giver, and protector...

 through the grace of the Holy Spirit

Holy Spirit (Christianity)

For the majority of Christians, the Holy Spirit is the third person of the Holy Trinity—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and is Almighty God...

. Thus for Augustine, the imitation of Christ is enabled by the Spirit who confers God's grace. Augustine viewed Christ as both a sign of grace and an example to be followed, and in his later writings stated that the imitation of Christ leads to a mystical union with him.

Middle Ages

By the end of the 9th century, the physical imitation of Christ had grown in popularity among Christians and the 895 Council of Tribur

Council of Tribur

The first Christian Council of Tribur was held in Tribur in May 895, and was presided over by Archbishop Hatto of Mainz. This was a provincial council, as opposed to an ecumenical council....

 considered triple immersion in Baptism

Baptism

In Christianity, baptism is for the majority the rite of admission , almost invariably with the use of water, into the Christian Church generally and also membership of a particular church tradition...

 as an imitation of the three days of Jesus in the tomb, and the rising from the water as an imitation of the Resurrection of Jesus

Resurrection of Jesus

The Christian belief in the resurrection of Jesus states that Jesus returned to bodily life on the third day following his death by crucifixion. It is a key element of Christian faith and theology and part of the Nicene Creed: "On the third day he rose again in fulfillment of the Scriptures"...

. This period also witnessed a growing trend towards the denial of the flesh

Mortification of the flesh

Mortification of the flesh literally means "putting the flesh to death". The term is primarily used in religious and spiritual contexts. The institutional and traditional terminology of this practice in Catholicism is corporal mortification....

 in favor of the soul among the monastic communities, who saw the rebuffing of the physical body (as an imitation of the sufferings of Christ) as a path to a higher level of spiritual achievement.
In the 12th century, Saint Bernard of Clairvaux

Bernard of Clairvaux

Bernard of Clairvaux, O.Cist was a French abbot and the primary builder of the reforming Cistercian order.After the death of his mother, Bernard sought admission into the Cistercian order. Three years later, he was sent to found a new abbey at an isolated clearing in a glen known as the Val...

 considered humility and love as key examples of the imitation of Christ. Bernard argued that the Father sent his Son, who in turn sent the Spirit to the Church, and that those who, in imitation of Christ, humble themselves and serve the Church will obtain intimate union with God.

Early in the 13th century, groups of mendicant friars entered the scene, aiming to imitate Christ by living a life of poverty as well as preaching, as Jesus had done, and following him to martyrdom, if necessary. Chief among these were the followers of Saint Francis of Assisi

Francis of Assisi

Saint Francis of Assisi was an Italian Catholic friar and preacher. He founded the men's Franciscan Order, the women’s Order of St. Clare, and the lay Third Order of Saint Francis. St...

, who believed in the physical as well as the spiritual imitation of Christ. Francis viewed poverty as a key element of the imitation of Christ who was "poor at birth in the manger, poor as he lived in the world, and naked as he died on the cross". Francis also drew attention to the poverty of the Virgin Mary, and viewed that as a noble imitation. He was also the first reported case of stigmata

Stigmata

Stigmata are bodily marks, sores, or sensations of pain in locations corresponding to the crucifixion wounds of Jesus, such as the hands and feet...

 in the history of Christianity, and reportedly viewed his stigmata as a key element of his imitation of Christ.

Later in the 13th century, Saint Thomas Aquinas

Thomas Aquinas

Thomas Aquinas, O.P. , also Thomas of Aquin or Aquino, was an Italian Dominican priest of the Catholic Church, and an immensely influential philosopher and theologian in the tradition of scholasticism, known as Doctor Angelicus, Doctor Communis, or Doctor Universalis...

 (who advocated the Perfection of Christ

Perfection of Christ

The perfection of Christ is a principle in Christology which asserts that Christ's human attributes exemplified perfection in every possible sense....

) considered imitation of Christ essential for a religious life. In Summa Theologiæ 2.2.186.5 Aquinas stated that "Religious perfection consists chiefly in the imitation of Christ" and in 3.65.2 he positioned the "perfection of the spiritual life" as an imitation of Christ, with Baptism

Baptism

In Christianity, baptism is for the majority the rite of admission , almost invariably with the use of water, into the Christian Church generally and also membership of a particular church tradition...

 as the first step in the path towards the imitation of a perfect Christ

Perfection of Christ

The perfection of Christ is a principle in Christology which asserts that Christ's human attributes exemplified perfection in every possible sense....

.

The theme of imitation of Christ continued to exist in all phases of Byzantine theology, although some Eastern theologians such as Nicholas Cabasilas

Nicholas Cabasilas

Nicholas Cabasilas was a Byzantine mystic and theological writer.Cabasilas is a saint within the Orthodox Church. His feast day is June 20.-Life:...

 preferred to use the term "Life in Christ", as in his 14th century book of the same title. Cabasilas advocated "living one's own personal life" in Christ as a fundamental Christian virtue. Cabasilas also believed that the Eucharist

Eucharist

The Eucharist , also called Holy Communion, the Sacrament of the Altar, the Blessed Sacrament, the Lord's Supper, and other names, is a Christian sacrament or ordinance...

 forms the new life in Christ.

In the highly influential book The Imitation of Christ first issued in 1418, Thomas à Kempis

Thomas à Kempis

Thomas à Kempis was a late Medieval Catholic monk and the probable author of The Imitation of Christ, which is one of the best known Christian books on devotion. His name means, "Thomas of Kempen", his home town and in German he is known as Thomas von Kempen...

 provided specific instructions for imitating Christ. His book is perhaps the most widely read Christian devotional work after the Bible

Bible

The Bible refers to any one of the collections of the primary religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. There is no common version of the Bible, as the individual books , their contents and their order vary among denominations...

. The approach taken by Kempis is characterized by its emphasis on the interior life and withdrawal from the world, as opposed to an active imitation of Christ (including outward preaching) by other friars. The book places a high level of emphasis on the devotion to the Eucharist

Eucharist

The Eucharist , also called Holy Communion, the Sacrament of the Altar, the Blessed Sacrament, the Lord's Supper, and other names, is a Christian sacrament or ordinance...

 as key element of spiritual life.

Reformation

The Reformation

Reformation

- Movements :* Protestant Reformation, an attempt by Martin Luther to reform the Roman Catholic Church that resulted in a schism, and grew into a wider movement...

 saw a multi-directional shift in focus on the concept of imitation. In the 16th century, Martin Luther

Martin Luther

Martin Luther was a German priest, professor of theology and iconic figure of the Protestant Reformation. He strongly disputed the claim that freedom from God's punishment for sin could be purchased with money. He confronted indulgence salesman Johann Tetzel with his Ninety-Five Theses in 1517...

 initially made the connection between Baptism and imitation even stronger. But in time Luther came to dislike the term imitation, and preferred the term "conformation", seeing imitation as an attempt to conceal a doctrine on the "works of Christ". However John Calvin

John Calvin

John Calvin was an influential French theologian and pastor during the Protestant Reformation. He was a principal figure in the development of the system of Christian theology later called Calvinism. Originally trained as a humanist lawyer, he broke from the Roman Catholic Church around 1530...

 gave a prominent place to the imitation of Christ in his writings and worked out the ideal of a "mystical union" with Christ in a way that resonated with the New Testament.

But the 16th century also witnessed a continuing interest in the imitation of Christ. Saint Ignatius of Loyola

Ignatius of Loyola

Ignatius of Loyola was a Spanish knight from a Basque noble family, hermit, priest since 1537, and theologian, who founded the Society of Jesus and was its first Superior General. Ignatius emerged as a religious leader during the Counter-Reformation...

 continued to advocate the path towards imitation and encouraged a sense of "being with Christ" and experiencing his humanity, e.g. in his Spiritual Exercises

Spiritual Exercises

Spiritual exercises may refer to:* Any spiritual practice dedicated towards increasing one's personal spirituality* Spiritual Exercises of Ignatius of Loyola, a book of spiritual practices of the Roman Catholic Jesuit order...

 he asks the participant to imagine being in Calvary

Calvary

Calvary or Golgotha was the site, outside of ancient Jerusalem’s early first century walls, at which the crucifixion of Jesus is said to have occurred. Calvary and Golgotha are the English names for the site used in Western Christianity...

 at the foot of the Cross, communing with Jesus on the Cross.

Christology

The concept of the imitation of Christ has had a Christological context and implications from the very early days of formalized Christian theology. In the context of the Person of Christ

Person of Christ

In Christology, the Person of Christ refers to the study of the human and divine natures of Jesus Christ as they co-exist within one person.There are no direct discussion in the New Testament regarding the dual nature of the Person of Christ as both divine and human...

 the belief in Monophysitism

Monophysitism

Monophysitism , or Monophysiticism, is the Christological position that Jesus Christ has only one nature, his humanity being absorbed by his Deity...

, which asserted only one divine nature for Christ with no human nature ran against the ideal that humans could imitate him. Those issues were mostly resolved, however, as Monophysitism was declared heretical by the Western Church and much of the Eastern Church.

The acceptance of a human (as well as a divine) nature for Christ

Hypostatic union

Hypostatic union is a technical term in Christian theology employed in mainstream Christology to describe the union of Christ's humanity and divinity in one hypostasis.The First Council of Ephesus recognised this doctrine and affirmed its importance, stating that the...

 by many Christians allowed the pursuit of the goal of the imitation of Christ, but with the realizations that it had inherent limits, e.g. that Christ's death in obedience to the will of the Father had a redemptive value beyond human potential.

While Western Christology of the "imitation of Christ" has had a focus on the sacrifice at Calvary

Calvary

Calvary or Golgotha was the site, outside of ancient Jerusalem’s early first century walls, at which the crucifixion of Jesus is said to have occurred. Calvary and Golgotha are the English names for the site used in Western Christianity...

, that has not been the main theme in the Eastern Church where the term "life in Christ" has been used and the key focus has been the Transfiguration of Jesus

Transfiguration of Jesus

The Transfiguration of Jesus is an event reported in the New Testament in which Jesus is transfigured and becomes radiant upon a mountain. The Synoptic Gospels describe it, and 2 Peter 1:16-18 refers to it....

. No saints in the Eastern Church have reported signs of stigmata

Stigmata

Stigmata are bodily marks, sores, or sensations of pain in locations corresponding to the crucifixion wounds of Jesus, such as the hands and feet...

, but saints in the Eastern Church have frequently reported being transformed by the "inward light" of uncreated grace.

A further Christological issue that differentiates the Eastern and Western approaches is that the Eastern approach sees the Father as the sole hypostatic source of the Holy Spirit. Thus in contrast to Augustine and Aquinas, Eastern Christology does not see the Holy Spirit as the bond of love between the Father and the Son and hence the imitation of the Son does not have the same implications in terms of a unity with the Father.