What is the foundation of the social work of the Church?

The Bible was the foundation of the social work of the early Church, and the purpose of this work was to give people a taste of heaven through the experience of love lived out. This social work revolved around the following principles:

• a. Social relationships were governed by the law of brotherly love that is inseparably intertwined with divine love and the fulfilment of justice.

• b. Their main goal was always the common good of all humanity, without neglecting any individual insofar as that was possible.

1002 Tertullian, Apology 39 (ANF 3:46).

1003 Sozomen, Ecclesiastical History 6.34 (NPNF II/2:371).

• c. They strove for the equality of all human beings, regardless of social situation, and without showing favor to any race, class, or skilled community.

• d. Following on from this sense of equality, every member honored every other member. Honor was to be given where honor is due, but without allowing anyone to be humiliated, regardless of their position or status, whether in society or in the Church.

• e. They revered human freedom and respected every person’s individuality, so that every person might express themselves as the Lord Christ’s ambassadors and as stewards of heaven, fulfilling that mission for which God created them and saved them.

• f. They consecrated and sanctified every skill and talent, whatever it may be.

• g. The Church was an active Church, with each member playing a positive role in both society and Church, with a disposition of the spirit of faithful leadership, the spirit of humility, and a sense of commitment and responsibility.