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PASTORAL PSYCHOLOGY
charge. As times have changed, the emphasis has varied
between essential and non-essential aspects of the task.
Primitive Christianity
The thought of early Christianity about this responsibility
has a very special characteristic. The basis of its care of souls
was its conviction of the incomparable worth of the individual.
The risk of losing one’s soul was felt to be a real and grave one for
every human being. The necessity for watching over it and caring
for it was therefore considered very important. The care of souls
was a common care, equally shared by all the brethren in faith.
The existence of the Christian community was continually
threatened by external dangers. The boundary between the
Church and the pagan society surrounding it was very clearly
defined. Within the Church the members cared deeply for one
another and watched over one another with vigilant concern.
Paul writes in Galations vi. 1, 2: ‘Brethren, if a man be,
overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual restore such an one in
the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also be
tempted. Bear ye one another’s burdens, and so fulfil the law of
Christ.” Those words give a clear picture of the early Christian
idea of what the care of souls implied.
During this period the chief responsibility for the care of souls
no doubt fell upon the Apostles. It was the central task and
theme of their mission; but they were not expected to fulfil
it alone. When the office of Elder was instituted the brethren
who held it took up the burden of the care of souls and of the
Church. In Hebrews xiii. 17 we find it written: ‘Obey them that
have the rule over you, and submit yourselves: for they watch
for your souls, as they that must give account, that they may do
it with joy and not with grief: for that is unprofitable for you.’
As this passage suggests, the care of souls began to be an
official responsibility very early. As the Church grew, and its
organisation developed, relations between the members
changed. The corporate body became more and more the
central object of concern. Emphasis shifted from mutual
obligation and fraternal care, which gradually disappeared, in
favour of a new attitude wherein the obligation of the
individual to the Church was made of primary importance.
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