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InChristian theology, theimitation of Christ is the practice of following the example ofJesus.[1][2][3] InEastern Christianity, the termlife in Christ is sometimes used for the same concept.[1]
The ideal of the imitation of Christ has been an important element of bothChristian ethics and spirituality.[4] References to this concept and its practice are found in the earliest Christian documents, e.g. thePauline Epistles.[3]
Saint Augustine viewed the imitation of Christ as the fundamental purpose of Christian life, and as a remedy for the imitation of thesins ofAdam.[5][6] SaintFrancis of Assisi 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.[7][8]Thomas à Kempis, on the other hand, presented a path toThe Imitation of Christ based on a focus on the interior life and withdrawal from the world.[9]
The theme of imitation of Christ existed in all phases ofByzantine theology, and in the 14th-century bookLife in ChristNicholas Cabasilas viewed "living one's own personal life" in Christ as the fundamentalChristian virtue.[1][10]
Why art thou proud, O man? God for thee became low. Thou wouldst perhaps be ashamed to imitate a lowly man; then at least imitate the lowly God.
— Saint Augustine,In Iohannis evangelium, tractatus 25, 16
The wordimitate does not appear in thecanonical gospels, but the wordfollow is often applied to those who believed in Jesus,[3] and Jesus is quoted as requiring imitation in some form (Matthew 10:38;16:24;Luke 14:27). But in1 Thessalonians 1:6Paul the Apostle 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".[1][3] Similarly, in1 Peter 2:21, theApostle Peter explains the duty of Christians to "follow his [Christ's] steps".
For Paul the imitation of Christ involves readiness to be shaped by theHoly Spirit as inRomans 8:4 andRomans 8:11, and a self-giving service of love to others as in1 Corinthians 13 andGalatians 5:13.[1] The imitation of Christ, as inEphesians 5:1 is then viewed by Paul as a path to the imitation of God: "Be ye therefore imitators of God, as beloved children, and walk in love, even as Christ also loved you".[2]
The earliest concepts of imitation focused on the works of theHoly Spirit, self-sacrifice andmartyrdom.[4] In time, this focus changed, and by the time of SaintFrancis of Assisi attempts at literal imitation of Christ were well established.[4]
By the 4th century, the ideal of the imitation of Christ was well accepted and forSaint Augustine, it was the ultimate goal of conversion, and the fundamental purpose of Christian life.[5][11]
Book 7 of theConfessions of St. Augustine 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.[3] Augustine viewed human beings as creatures who approach theHoly Trinity through likeness, i.e. by imitating theSon, who is bound to theFather through the grace of the Holy Spirit.[12] Thus for Augustine, the imitation of Christ is enabled by the Spirit who confers God's grace.[12] 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 amystical union with him.[3]
The 895Council of Tribur considered triple immersion inbaptism as an imitation of the three days of Jesus in the tomb, and the rising from the water as an imitation of theResurrection of Jesus.[3] This period also witnessed a growing trend towards thedenial of the flesh 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.[3]
In the 12th century, SaintBernard of Clairvaux considered humility and love as key examples of the imitation of Christ.[3] 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.[13]
Early in the 13th century, groups ofmendicant 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.[14] Chief among these were the followers of SaintFrancis of Assisi, who believed in the physical as well as the spiritual imitation of Christ.[7] 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".[7] Francis also drew attention to the poverty of theVirgin Mary, and viewed that as a noble imitation.[15] He was also the first reported case ofstigmata in the history of Christianity, and reportedly viewed his stigmata as a key element of his imitation of Christ.[7][8]
Later in the 13th century, SaintThomas Aquinas (who advocated theperfection of Christ) considered imitation of Christ essential for a religious life. InSumma Theologica 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 as the first step in the path towards the imitation of aperfect Christ.[3]
The theme of imitation of Christ continued to exist in all phases ofByzantine theology, although some Eastern theologians such asNicholas Cabasilas preferred to use the term "Life in Christ", as in his 14th-century book of the same title.[1] Cabasilas advocated "living one's own personal life" in Christ as a fundamental Christian virtue.[10] Cabasilas also believed that theEucharist forms the new life in Christ.[16]
In the highly influential bookThe Imitation of Christ first issued in 1418,Thomas à Kempis provided specific instructions for imitating Christ.[3] His book is perhaps the most widely read Christian devotional work after theBible.[17] 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.[9] The book places a high level of emphasis on the devotion to theEucharist as key element of spiritual life.[9]
TheReformation saw a multi-directional shift in focus on the concept of imitation. In the 16th century,Martin Luther initially made the connection between baptism and imitation even stronger.[3][4] 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".[3][4] HoweverJohn Calvin 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.[4]
But the 16th century also witnessed a continuing interest in the imitation of Christ. SaintIgnatius of Loyola continued to advocate the path towards imitation and encouraged a sense of "being with Christ" and experiencing his humanity, e.g. in hisSpiritual Exercises he asks the participant to imagine being inCalvary at the foot of the Cross, communing with Jesus on the Cross.[3][18]
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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 thePerson of Christ, the belief inMonophysitism, which asserted only one divine nature for Christ with no human nature ran against the ideal that humans could imitate him.[19] Those issues were mostly resolved, however, as Monophysitism was declaredheretical by theWestern Church and much of theEastern Church.[19]
The acceptance of a human (as well as a divine)nature for Christ 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.[20][21]
While Western Christology of the "imitation of Christ" has had a focus on the sacrifice atCalvary, that has not been the main theme in theEastern Church where the term "life in Christ" has been used and the key focus has been theTransfiguration of Jesus.[22] No saints in the Eastern Church have reported signs ofstigmata, but saints in the Eastern Church have frequently reported being transformed by the "inward light" of uncreated grace.[22]
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.[22] 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.[22]
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