i. References to organization and doctrine of the Church. — {a) Organization. — In the first respect, the allusions are too slight to give more than a general picture. We read of the rulers [TrpoTjyov- jxivoi) of tiie Church, whom Hernias is directed to exhort {Vis. ii. 2) and even to rebuke for their divisions and their ignorance (iii. 9). There are apostles, bishops, teachers, and deacons (iii. 5), also prophets and ministers {oi.a.Kovoi ; Sim. ix. 15). There are deacons who plunder the livelihood of widows and orphans, and make gain from the per- formance of their office (ix. 26), and, on the other hand, bishops who exercise hospitality and are like trees sheltering sheep, receiving into their houses the servants of God at all times, and shelter- ing the needy and the widows in their visitation (ix. 27). Clement, whose duty is to communicate with foreign cities, may, as we have seen, have been the bishop of Rome, while Grapte, who in- structs the widows and the orphans, may have been a deaconess ( Vis. ii. 4). Hernias, who is told to read his book to the city along with the elders who preside over the Church {ixera. tQiv Trpfcr^vrepuv TU)v TrpoL<yraiJ.€vci}v ttjs eKK\riaia's), may well have been one of the order of prophets. Tlie office of a prophet is held in estimation bj' the Church. ' When then the man who hath the divine Spirit coraeth into an assembly (crvfaywyri) of righteous men, who have faith in a divine Spirit, and inter- cession is made to God by the gathering of those men, then the angel of the prophetic spirit who is attached to him, tilleth the man, and the man,
being filled with the Holy Spirit, speaketh to the multitude, according as the Lord willeth' {Mand. xi.). The false iirophet, on the contrary, is dumb in the Church assembly, and plies a wizard's trade in corners. In view of the Roman character of the Shepherd, it is interesting to note that the tower which represents the Church is represented as founded, not on Peter, but, in the third Vision, upon the waters of baptism, and, in the ninth Parable, upon the rock of the Son of God.
(6) Doctrine. — The doctrinal references reveal, at least in the case of Hernias, a creed which is simple and yet has its own peculiarities. Perhaps the most striking of the latter is the conception of the Son of God. In the Parable of the vineyard (the fifth) the Son of God is represented as a slave placed in charge, with a promise of freedom if he fulHls his allotted dutj'. He does so much more than is expected of him that the Divine master of the vineyard resolves that he shall be made joint- heir with His Son, who is represented as the Holy Spirit. ' The Holy Pre-existent Spirit, Avhich created the whole creation, God made to dwell in flesh that He desired. This flesh therefore, in which the Holy Spirit dwelt, was subject unto the Spirit. . . . When then it had lived honourably in chastity, and had laboured with the Spirit, and had co-operated with it in everything, behaving itself boldly and bravely, He chose it as a partner with the Holy Spirit ' [Sim. v. 6). This Adoptianist conception, which illustrates early Roman specu- lation on the Person of Ciirist, finds frequent expression in phrases identifying the Spirit with the Son of God, e.g. ' For that Spirit is the Son of God' (ix. 1). In this same hfth Parable we have an early trace of the doctrine of works of supererogation, which, in mediaeval times, was so prominent in the Church's system. ' If thou do any good thing outside the commandment of God, thou shalt win for thyself more exceeding glory, and shalt be more glorious in the sight of God than thou wouldest otherwise have been' (v. 3).
Hernias also teaches that the first apostles and teachers who had died, went like Christ, and preached unto the Spirits in prison (ix. 16). His eschatology is in one respect severe and narrow. Not only are unrepentant sinners to be burned, but also the Gentiles, because of their ignorance of God (iv. ). In the fifth Vision there is an apparent reference to the belief in guardian angels. When the Shepherd at first ajjpears, Hermas fails to recognize him, as apparently he should have done,* to be the being to whom he was ' delivered,' and only when the visitant changes his form does recognition come. It seems curious that while Baptism is plainly mentioned two or three times ( Vis. iii. 3, Mand. iv. 3, Sim. ix. 16) the Lord's Sujjper does not appear to be alluded to. Fasting is often mentioned, and once we find Hermas keeping a 'station,' as the early fast-days were called [Sim. v. 1). In this case he is commanded, not to abstain entirely from food, but to take bread and water.
While Hernias shows fewer traces of the influence of St. Paul than of that of St. James, with whose Epistle he shows great familiarity, he need not be definitely classed as a Judaizer. His office is that of a prophet, and his mission is to recall Christians from the danger of too intimate contact with jiagan social influence. He speaks of those ' who have never investigated concerning the truth, nor enquired concerning the deity, but have merely believed, and have been mixed u]) in business afl'airs and riches and heathen friendships, and many other afl'airs of this world' [Mand. x. 1), as specially without understanding and corrupt.