![]() ![]() Even though this designation is found nowhere in the New Testament and, albeit, Hippocratic/Galenic medicine was regarded a pagan art 6, this title, nevertheless, stuck. It is telling that as early as the second century, Christians could refer to Christ as “physician” (Cristo.ς ivatro,ς / Christus medicus). Christus medicus - Interpreting the redemptive work of Christ as healing ![]() The exposition of the two topics - Christus medicus and imitatio Christi - will be followed by brief conclusions. 5 What follows attempts to remedy this crucial blind spot by first providing an informative sketch of the Christus medicus trope (I) before dealing in a second part with the call to imitate Christ - typical for medical missions in the early days and important for comprehending the corporeality of salvation more adequately (II). But, unfortunately, that challenge was seldom realized and rarely properly understood. Such an approach, however, was challenged to its core with the emergence of medical missions in the nineteenth century. 4 They narrowed their focus on the rescue of an undying soul from eternal damnation, regarding the frail, decaying body not fit for life everlasting - an attitude heavily indebted to philosophical concepts held by (Neo)Platonism and Stoicism, not to Scripture. Yet, while Christians throughout the ages and churches everywhere engaged in sometimes remarkable works of charity, they nonetheless increasingly lost sight of the bodily dimension of salvation. 160 – 220) in his famed phrase: “The body is the pivot of salvation.” 3 2 Rather than appealing to Jesus’ healing ministry, the Christus medicus trope implies reference to God’s ultimate redemptive sacrifice on the cross in Christ and his resurrection while simultaneously insinuating that redemption is as corporeal in nature as is the work of medical practitioners, an aspect pointedly caught by the North-African Church Father Tertullian (ca. 15:26 as “the one who heals,” Jesus is never referred to as “doctor” nor did he declare himself a “healer” despite several other allusions to who he is, notably so in the Gospel according to John. Further, unlike God’s self-designation in Ex. 9:35) 1 On a second look, however, things turn out to be not as plain as initially assumed since the trope speaks about Christus medicus, not Jesus medicus. At a first glance, such comparison seems more than obvious given that Jesus went about Galilee “healing every disease and every sickness.” (Mt. It might not be known to many outside the academy that in early Christianity the work of Christ was - among others - likened to, nay, identified with that of a physician. Key words: Christus medicus, imitatio Christi, medical missions, Asclepius, Hippocrates, disinterested benevolence, healing, physician, Church. ![]() Concluding remarks plead for reckoning the unique vocation and ministry of medical missions within and for the Church, namely to hold fast to the corporeality of salvation. Pious doctors, thus, felt urged to imitate Christ by going out on missions to share the Good News and to heal (II). This had to do with breath-taking developments in medicine beginning in the latter part of the nineteenth century, which suddenly empowered physicians to effectively heal diseases plaguing people from time immemorial. In the second part, the article addresses the imitatio Christi motif, that is, the call to imitate Christ, because imitatio Christi had become somewhat typical for arguing the cause of medical missions in their nascent stage. This article first provides a sketch of the early occurrences of the Christus medicus trope documenting only some of the crucial texts (I). It implied that redemption is as corporeal as the work of medical practitioners, an aspect crucial for Christian medical missions. Yet, despite its polemic background, that designation grew into an accepted rhetorical trope for Christians since it was regarded as well-suited to illustrate the corporeality of salvation. Not being scriptural, this nomenclature originally reflected the looming rivalry with the pagan Asclepius cult very popular in Hellenistic times. ![]() Only a few people will know that as early as the second century AD, Christ was called a physician. HISTORICAL REVIEW ARTICLE Christ as Physician: The ancient Christus medicus trope and Christian medical missions as imitation of ChristĪ M.Th., D.Th., Professor in Religion and the Healing Arts, Valparaiso University, Valparaiso, Indiana, United States of America Abstract Christ as Physician: The ancient Christus medicus trope and Christian medical missions as imitation of Christ ![]()
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