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887 Disciple, Discipleship

Disciple, Discipleship

I. Hebrew Bible/Old TestamentII. New TestamentIII. JudaismIV. ChristianityV. IslamVI. Other ReligionsVII. LiteratureVIII. MusicIX. Film

I. Hebrew Bible/Old Testament

In the HB/OT, the language of disciple/discipleshipis derived from the root l-m-d, meaning to learn/teach. A disciple (limmd) is one who is taught(akin to Greek , from to learn).

The word occurs several times in the HB/OT, indi-cating not a formal masterpupil relationship, buta close association. In Isa 8 : 16, it refers to the pro-phets circle of supporters who are to preserve theprophets unpopular message (see also the referen-ces to bn hannbm the prophetic guild, 1 Kgs20: 35; 2Kgs 2: 3, 5, 7, 15; 4: 1, 38; 5: 22; 6: 1; 9 : 1;Amos 7:14). The term occurs twice in Isa 50:4 todescribe a servant figure who is constantly in-structed by God and is therefore qualified to in-struct others. Later in Deutero-Isaiah, the term isextended to all the inhabitants of a restored Jerusa-lem who are taught by YHWH that is, YHWHsdisciples (Isa 54: 13; cf. 30: 2021; Jer 31: 34). Thesame word is used in Jer 13 : 23 with respect to in-corrigible people who are practiced in doing evil,

suggesting that formal teaching/learning is not inview, but familiarity with and experience in a cer-tain mode of life (cf. Jer 2: 24).

In some contexts, the root l-m-d implies inten-tional training in a particular skill. The Pual partici-ple is used of temple musicians who are trainedto sing for YHWH (1 Chr 25: 7); the single occur-rence of the noun talmd apprentice (in a merismwith mbn master) is found in this context (1 Chr25 : 8). Elsewhere, the participle refers to warriorsskilled in battle (Song 3 : 8), a human command-ment learned by rote (Isa 29 : 13), and a domesti-cated heifer (Hos 10 : 11; cf. Jer 31: 18). The relatednoun malmd oxgoad suggests that prodding andencouragement may be involved in learning.

Eunny Lee

II. New Testament

1. Introduction. The term (disciple) oc-curs 261 times in the NT, always in the Gospels andActs, mostly referring to Jesus disciples. In the NTand its (infrequent) use in contemporaneous litera-ture (e.g., Philo), the term denotes the general senseof someone who follows a teacher (similarly talmdh;Wilkins: 221). In the Gospels, can refer tothe Twelve or a wider group. Beyond use of

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, the Gospels portray a wider circle of dis-cipleship (Dunn: 540) that includes women (Luke8 : 13) and those committed to Jesus teachingswho did not join his itinerant band (cf. Dunn andMeier for historical issues).

The evangelists views of discipleship are multi-faceted and expressed by the positive characteristicsof Jesus and other disciple-like characters,as well as Jesus own teaching and actions. Negativequalities of characters, including the disciples, actas a foil to ideal discipleship (Brown: 145).

2. Mark. In Mark, Jesus include theTwelve or a larger group of followers (2 : 15). Theyare characterized more negatively than in other gos-pels, providing a strikingly ambiguous portrait(Best). Although the disciples follow Jesus (1 : 16

20) and are called to mission (6 : 713; Henderson),they are characterized frequently as hardhearted(8 : 17) and lacking faith (4 : 40) and understanding(4: 13; 9 : 32; cf. Fischer: 201). Mark describeswomen who follow and serve () Jesus(15 : 4041). They stay with Jesus at his crucifixionand so provide a certain contrast to the Twelve whodesert Jesus at his arrest (14 : 50).

Markan discipleship is a journey of followingthe cruciform Jesus (Best: 247). The ideal discipletranscends the disciples opacity and understandswho Jesus is, trusting him in full allegiance (4 : 355 : 43). Marks open-ended conclusion encouragesthe reader to take on the role of faithful disciple byproclaiming Jesus resurrection and continuing hismission (16 : 8).

3. Matthew. In Matthew, the articular re-fers to the Twelve (10: 1; exception: 8 : 21). A corefeature of their portrayal is apprenticing with Jesusin his ministry to Israel (4 : 1822; 9 : 9), and Mat-thew accents their failure to do so as they desert

Jesus (26 : 56). Early Matthean redaction criticismstressed the disciples understanding (Barth), butrecent redaction and narrative work highlightstheir frequent misunderstanding of Jesus missionand of their role in it (Brown).

In Matthew, discipleship themes emergethrough the example of characters, including Jesushimself, and Jesus discipleship teachings (Brown:14950). Ideal disciples follow Jesus as Gods Mes-siah and kingdom inaugurator, live in communityby forgiving and serving one another (18: 135;20:28), and function as a community to do thewill of the Father, showing themselves to beGods children (5 : 4348; Pattarumadathil).

4. Luke-Acts. The in Luke most often com-prise a group larger than the Twelve (6 : 17). Jesussends out 70 (72) in mission (10:1). Numbers ofwomen follow and serve in Jesus itinerant ministry(8 : 13) and witness to his resurrection (24 : 810).The Twelve are portrayed quite positively (e.g.,omission of Mark 14 : 50) as the focal point of the

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Lukan theme of Israels restoration (Fuller: 240).Yet they misunderstand the necessity of the crossuntil after the resurrection (9:45; 24:4445). InActs, the Twelve are distinguished from other (6 : 2), with the latter denoting the believ-ing community.

Lukan discipleship centers on the messianiccommunity restored by God an inclusive commu-nity that welcomes the poor and marginalized(Luke 4:1621) and reaches even to the Gentiles(Acts). The ideal disciple of Luke-Acts, empoweredby prayer and the Holy Spirit, responds to Godsrestorative work and follows the self-giving patternof Jesus. Disciples are to commit to service and mis-sion over loyalty to possessions (Luke 14 : 2533).

5. John. In John, specifies the Twelve or a

broader group of Jesus followers (6 : 60). The disci-ples follow Jesus (1 : 37) and affirm his messianicidentity early in the Gospel (1 : 4049). Yet they alsomisunderstand Jesus symbolic teaching (11 : 1116). Some from the broader disciple-group even re-

ject his teachings (6 : 5260). Those who remainfaithful to Jesus (6 : 6769) are commissioned toministry (20: 1923).

Johannine discipleship centers on faith in Jesusas Messiah who gives new life (20: 3031). True dis-ciples abide in Jesus in covenant relationship (Chen-nattu), from which they bear fruit and love one an-other as Jesus commanded (15: 117). Thecommunity of disciples is exhorted to unity andlove for the sake of witness to the world (17 : 2023), empowered by the Spirit (20 : 22).

6. Other NT Literature. Discipleship in the rest ofthe NT focuses variably on imitation of Christ(1Cor 11: 1; 1Pet 2 : 21) and participation inChrist (Paul); warnings against wealth and an un-bridled tongue (Jas); readiness to suffer for Christ(Phil 1: 2730; 2 Tim 2: 3; 1 Pet 2: 1921; Rev2 : 1011); and love at the center of a Christian ethic(1Cor 13:113; Gal 5:1323; Heb 10:24; 1John).Embodying allegiance to Christ is a hallmark ofNT discipleship.

Bibliography: Best, E., Following Jesus (Sheffield 1981). Bornkamm, G. et al., berlieferung und Auslegung im Mat-thusevangelium (WMANT 1; Neukirchen 1960). Brown, J.K., Disciples in Narrative Perspective (Atlanta, Ga. 2002). Chennattu, R. M., Johannine Discipleship as a Covenant Rela-

tionship (Peabody, Mass. 2006).

Dunn, J.D. G., Jesus Re-membered (Grand Rapids, Mich. 2003). Fischer, C., Les dis-ciples dans Lvangile de Marc (Paris 2007). Fuller, M. E.,The Restoration of Israel (Berlin 2006). Henderson, S. W.,Christology and Discipleship in the Gospel of Mark (Cambridge2006). Longenecker, R. N., Patterns of Discipleship in theNew Testament (Grand Rapids, Mich. 1996). Meier, J. P.,A Marginal Jew: Companions and Competitors; vol. 3 (New York2001). Pattarumadathil, H., Your Father in Heaven (Rome2008). Wilkins, M. J., The Concept of Disciples in MatthewsGospel (Leiden 1988).

Jeannine K. Brown

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III. Judaism Second Temple and Hellenistic Judaism Rabbinic

Judaism Medieval Judaism Modern Judaism

A. Second Temple and Hellenistic Judaism

Jewish sources of the Second Temple period reflecta growing interest in and emphasis on scholasti-cism and, with that, a concern for the role and char-acteristics of the sage or teacher. The focus on learn-ing and wisdom in the biblical books of Ecclesiastesand Proverbs finds parallels in a breadth of litera-tures that depict schools of thought in which dis-tinctive bodies of learning or theological belief wereto be transmitted to future generations. Examplesof this are the practical actions of the biblical figureEzra, who, after leading the Israelite nation back tothe Land of Israel from the Babylonian exile, ap-pointed judges who needed somehow to learn thelaw and who dictated to the nation the entire To-rah, so that it would not be lost. In the second cen-tury BCE, Ben Sira focused on the value of wisdomand called on the uneducated to lodge in the houseof instruction where, by hearing Ben Siras instruc-tion, the learner would acquire silver and gold(see Sir 51 : 1830). The significance in this periodof individual teachers or masters is similarly wellillustrated by the Dead Sea community, with its fo-cus upon its Teacher of Righteousness, and by Johnthe Baptist and his followers, on the one hand, and

Jesus and his disciples, on the other.While political and religious developments in

the Second Temple period provide clear evidence

for the existence of what would have amounted tomaster-disciple relationships, the exact character ofthose relationships is unknown. In no case do theextant Second Temple sources specify the condi-tions or demands of the status of disciple or indi-cate the nature of the mutual commitment that ex-isted between master and student. A model for sucha relationship is detailed only beginning in the sec-ond century CE, in rabbinic literature. There scho-lasticism, the school, and the model of teacher anddisciple become dominant social institutions andare a focus of attention and concern. Since no earlierSecond Temple examples exist, this model is oftenused to describe and explain, for instance, the rela-tionship between Jesus and his disciples. But whilethe rabbinic model is the closest scholars can cometo Jesus time and place, the fact that the rabbinicmodel derives from a later period and an essentiallydifferent religious and social setting must be takeninto account. This means that we know less thanwe would like to know about discipleship in theSecond Temple period and earliest Christianity.

Bibliography: Nickelsburg, G., Jewish Literature between theBible and the Mishnah (Minneapolis, Minn. 22005). Ver-mes, G., The Complete Dead Sea Scrolls in English (London2004).



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B. Rabbinic Judaism

The Hebrew term for disciple is talmid akham/im;literally, student of (a) sage/s; a member of therabbinic class who engaged in Torah study as anacademic enterprise and adhered to the life style,system of pieties, special language, and distinctdress that set the rabbinic class apart from the restof society. Alongside knowledge of Scripture andrabbinic law, the disciple exemplified proper de-portment and piety, which were learned by study-ing with and serving under a particular rabbi. Theextent of the disciples commitment to Torah studyand his expected success at his learning are cap-tured by bShab 114a:

Who is a disciple of the sages? R. Johanan said: Onewho neglects his personal affairs for his study. He alsosaid: [A disciple of the sages is] one who, when ques-

tioned about any law from his repertory, is able to an-swer.

In talmudic culture, disciples, like the rabbis theyserved, were exempt from taxation. Held in highestrespect by the community, they received preferen-tial treatment in all aspects of communal support,including having priority in being ransomedshould they be taken captive.

As the English term disciple suggests, the tal-mid akhamim was attached to a particular rabbinicmaster, whose approach to the law and pious be-havior the student emulated. Discipleship requiredthat the student show his master a level of respectnot required towards anyone else. When in histeachers presence, for instance, the student was ex-pected never even to turn his face away. This means

that, when the disciple wished to depart, he wouldno more than turn his body and face to the side ormight even leave his masters presence by walkingbackwards. While the disciple normally would beprecluded from seeing his master in the bathhouse,he would, if needed, attend on him there, and evenin that setting would learn rules of proper deport-ment (bShab 40b; bPes 51a).

Alongside study of the law, discipleship thusmeant learning the behaviors that reflected goodcharacter. Indeed, a main requirement of disciple-ship was that the student be a person of genuinelygood moral fiber. The Talmud captures this idea inthe statement that one whose inside is not as hisoutside may not enter the house of study (bBer28a). Good character was understood to be a quality

that could not be simply imitated or fabricated; itneeded to be a true representation of the sort ofperson the disciple was. This good character, itbears noting, would be reflected in the disciplesrefusal to suspect his master of any impropriety,even in a situation in which outward appearanceswere suspicious (bShab 127b). And just as disciple-ship meant always giving ones master the benefitof the doubt, so ones status as a disciple of a sagemerited leniency in any case in which the disciplehimself committed a punishable sin (bEr 54a).

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As an advanced student, a disciple could renderlegal judgments and make his views known. At thesame time, since at least in relationship to his spe-cific master he was only a student, the disciple wasforbidden from rendering legal judgments in hismasters presence. Violation of this prohibition wasunderstood to lead to the disciples untimely death(see, e.g., bEr 63a, bSan 5b). At the same time, thegreatest honor a disciple could experience was histeachers affirmation of his judgment, understoodby the rabbis as a circumstance comparable to Godsheeding Moses request to pardon the people of Is-rael after the incident of the Golden Calf (Exod32:1113; bBer 32a).

While almost limitless, the disciples dedicationto his master was not an excuse for subverting thelaw. Rather, like all aspects of Jewish life, their rela-tionship was to model absolute adherence to the re-quirements of Torah. This meant that a disciplewho knew his master was erring in a legal judg-ment was required immediately to speak out (anaction that both assured an accurate judgment andrespected the master, in whose name the correct lawcould then be recorded). Similarly, even if he wasabsolutely confident that his master was in theright, a disciple was adjured not to allow himself tobe the second witness needed to prove the masterscase in a court of law, where two witnesses are re-quired. Masters and disciples accordingly modeledthe kind of behavior the rabbinic movement ex-pected to characterize all of Jewish society. The hall-marks of the the rabbi-disciple relationship wereabsolute respect for the law demonstrated by adher-ence to all of its details and the highest respect forthose who taught and lived the law.

Bibliography: Jaffee, M., The Oral-Cultural Context ofthe Talmud Yerushalmi: Greco-Roman Rhetorical Paideia,Discipleship, and the Concept of Oral Torah, in Transmit-ting Jewish Traditions: Orality, Textuality, and Cultural Diffusion(eds. Y. Elman/I. Gershoni; New Haven, Conn. 2000). Neusner, J., A History of the Jews in Babylonia , 5 vols. (At-lanta, Ga. 1999 [= Leiden 196570]). Neusner, J., The Pro-gram of the Fathers according to Rabbi Nathan A (Lanham, Md.2009).

Alan J. Avery-Peck

C. Medieval Judaism

Biblical verses and narratives are rarely cited in me-dieval Jewish sources in connection with disciple-

ship. Nonetheless it could be argued that two in-stantiations of discipleship in HB, those of Joshuaand Elisha, informed later master-disciple relation-ships in the medieval period. One or the other ofthese discipleship models include the following: ap-prenticeship through constant presence at the sideof the master; abandonment of hearth and home asa prerequisite for discipleship; and the transferralof the divinely granted pneuma from master to disci-ple. To a greater or lesser degree these can be foundin at least some of the master-disciple relationships



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in the medieval period, as the following will makeclear.

Numerous models for the master-disciple rela-tionship existed in the medieval period, varying ac-cording to time and place. In particular, this rela-tionship in Ashkenazic yeshivot, or academies, wasquite different from the model followed in the Bab-ylonian academies.

The relationship between student and teacherin the academies of Babylonia was formal and hier-archical; consequently the academy head (known inBabylonia as the Gaon) was a remote figure. In Bab-ylonia the seating arrangement of the students washighly stratified; disciples were seated in rows ac-cording to their abilities. Although the Gaon con-sulted with his disciples before issuing rulings,their role was purely advisory. This was manifest in

the language of the responsa issued by the acade-mies, in which only the Gaon was mentioned byname. Even the use of the plural in these responsaseems to have been no more than an instance ofpluralis majestatis. Furthermore, the Geonim oftensurrounded themselves with the trappings of roy-alty and were honored through elaborate ceremo-nies, thereby putting further distance betweenthemselves and their disciples.

The atmosphere in the academies of Ashkenaz(northern and central Europe) was altogether differ-ent. As a consequence of both ideology and circum-stance there were often strong and close bonds be-tween teacher and student.

As was true in many study circles and yeshivotofthe rabbinic period, students in Ashkenaz regarded

study with a master not solely as an intellectual ex-ercise but as a form of spiritual apprenticeship aswell. In addition to receiving tuition in understand-ing and interpreting rabbinic texts, students hadthe opportunity to observe their mentors conductwith the goal of shaping their own behavior accord-ingly. This intimate bond between student andteacher was often facilitated by the students livingarrangements, as many students were providedwith room and board in the home of their teacher.This was particularly true when the teacher was aman of means. At the same time it should be notedthat both the 12th- and 13th-century German Pie-tists (Judah b. Samuel, Sefer asidim [Book of thePious], ed. Wistinetzki-Freimann, section 800) andthe anonymous author ofuqqei ha-Torah [Book of

the Statutes of the Torah] (lines 10210 [Kanarfo-gel 1992: 11011]) caution against an academy headteaching in his own home lest he or his students bedistracted by the presence of female members of hisfamily. Both of these works also require that themaster devote himself totally to his students, nei-ther taking on additional employment nor engag-ing in idle conversation during periods of study andinstruction (Judah b. Samuel, Sefer asidim ed.Mar-galiot, sections 124, 1007; uqqei ha-Torah lines 8789 [Kanarfogel 1992: 110]).

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The close relationship between master and dis-ciple was also reflected in the significant role playedby disciples both in the theoretical analysis of rab-binic texts and in the rendering of halakhic deci-sions. This involvement was not only countenancedbut actively encouraged. This was due in part tothe dialectical nature of Talmud study in Ashkenaz,which reached its apogee with the advent of theTosafists in the 12th century. This approach framedstudy as a corporate enterprise. Even halakhic rul-ings were often recorded together with the support-ing arguments, objections and, at times, dissentingopinions of students. Respect for ones mentor didnot negate a students confidence in the value ofhis own viewpoint. Even when students used sharplanguage in taking issue with their teachers, theteachers response was generally mild. Conse-quently, the dynamic of Talmud study in Ashkenazwas relatively democratic, a quality not found in theBabylonian and Spanish yeshivot.

Even after a student had left the yeshiva andwas living elsewhere, it was common for him toturn to his teacher for guidance on difficult mattersof halakhah. Teachers often expected students tomaintain a relationship with them, at least bymeans of correspondence, and sometimes expresseddisappointment if this expectation was not met.

During this period there was also a relaxation ofthe talmudic prohibition against a disciple issuing aruling in the presence of his teacher (bSan 5b). Thiswas due in large part to the dissemination of writ-ten codes. It was argued by R. Meir of Rothenburg

(Germany; 12151293) and subsequent scholarsthat because these written works were repositoriesof the collective wisdom of past generations theirauthority superseded that of ones own teacher.Consequently, a student who based his ruling onone of these codes was viewed as relying on a sourceof authority that superseded the fealty owed histeacher, who like the student was subject to thecodes authority. This viewpoint led R. Jacob Rei-scher (16701733) to require that a halakhist con-sult the written codes before issuing even the mostobvious of rulings. Given the codes authoritativestatus, failure to do so was, in his view, effectivelyruling in the presence of ones teacher.

Beginning in the 12th century, it became com-mon practice for students to collect and publish rul-

ings and practices of their teachers. Students of Ra-shi (10401105) produced numerous compilationsof his rulings and practices. Later works include Se-fer Tashbets, compiled by R. Simeon b. Isaac, a disci-ple of R. Meir b. Baruch of Rothenburg (see above);Sefer Maharil, a record of the rulings and customsof Jacob Moellin (ca. 13601427) composed by hisdisciple Zalman of Sankt Goar (Sutigwerra); and Jo-seph b. Moses Leqet yosher, in which he documentedthe practices of his mentor, Israel ben Pethaiah Is-serlein (13901460).



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The most thoroughly documented master-disci-ple relationships are those of the 16th-century mys-tic R. Isaac Luria (Safed, 15341572), also knownas the Ari, with his disciples, and with his studentH ayyim Vital in particular. The written and oraltraditions from this circle portray this relationship,as well as those among the disciples themselves, asstormy and volatile. Vital claimed to be descendedfrom a spiritual lineage that was superior to thoseof his fellow disciples and was often at odds withthem. The Ari, on the other hand, periodically ex-pressed deep disappointment with all of his disci-ples, at one point threatening, according to one tra-dition, to dismiss them all. It is difficult to knowwhether personality clashes, the intensity of mysti-cal fellowship and the messianic expectations ac-companying it, or other factors were responsible forthe high level of tension among its members. How-ever, it is also possible and even likely that similartensions existed in other master-disciple relation-ships, but that student and teacher alike simply didnot engage in the same kind of highly personalself-disclosure.

The doctrine of metempsychosis, or transmigra-tion, played an important role in the relational dy-namics between Luria and his disciples, all of whomLuria believed to be incarnations of biblical figures.For example, the soul of Cain, which was endowedwith important spiritual gifts and was of a higherquality than that of Abel, underwent a long seriesof purifying transmigrations, ending with JosephKaro. H ayyim Vital himself, Lurias star disciple,was an incarnation of this family of souls. He wasalso associated with the soul of Moses, for Luriataught that all souls were included in that of Mo-ses, especially the souls of the righteous. Luria alsoassociated Vital with the soul of Hezekiah king of

Judah. Hezekiahs soul was derived from thehead of Cains soul and enabled the latter to be-gin the process of tiqqun (repair). Another impor-tant association for Lurias disciples was with thebiblical Joseph, who spilled his seed rather thansubmit to Potiphars wifes advances, which actionhad repercussions in the sefirotic realm, and wasparadigmatic with regard to the formation of cer-tain kinds of souls. A persons soul-ancestry couldaccount for aspects of his behavior, and the eleva-tion and perfection of their souls was one of the

disciples primary goals (Fine: 33341).Bibliography: Brody, R., The Geonim of Babylonia and theShaping of Medieval Jewish Culture (New Haven, Conn./London1998). [Esp. 4356] Fine, L., Physician of the Soul, Healer ofthe Cosmos: Isaac Luria and his Kabbalistic Fellowship (StanfordStudies in Jewish History and Culture; Stanford, Calif.2003). [Esp. 30050] Kanarfogel, E., Jewish Education andSociety in the High Middle Ages (Detroit, Mich. 1992). Kan-arfogel, E., A Monastic-like Setting for the Study of To-rah, in Judaism in Practice: From the Middle Ages through theEarly Modern Period (ed. L. Fine; Princeton, N.J. 2001) 191202. Judah b. Samuel, Sefer H asid im (ed. J. Wistinetzki;

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Berlin 21924). Judah b. Samuel, Sefer H asidim (ed. R. Mar-

galiot; Jerusalem 41970).Eliezer Diamond

D. Modern Judaism

During the early modern period, master-disciplemodels in Jewish life revolved around the townrabbi in the close-knit organized Jewish community(qahal) and the dean (rosh yeshivah) in the religiousseminary (yeshivah). Although the town rabbis fol-lowing began to endure a sustained loss of its youthin the 19th century, the rosh yeshivah rose to capturethe passionate imagination of religious young menwith an unapologetically elitist master-disciple rela-tionship, focused on the act of Torah study.

The pietistic movement of Hasidism challengedboth leadership structures, and replaced the town

rabbi and the rosh yeshivah with a new spiritual mas-ter, known as the tsaddiq or rebbe. For a brief periodin the late 18th century, the tsaddiq was typically acharismatic figure whose spiritual reputation,rather than his talmudic erudition, established hisauthority across communities. Hasidim regardedthe rebbe as an absolute monarch, referring to theirtsaddiq as a king and the building in which helived and worked a court. In keeping with theregal trappings of the rebbe, within two generationsof the development of Hasidism, dynastic succes-sion became the normative model for transferringthe rebbe post, although succession was often dis-puted, which lead to the splintering of Hasidic dy-nasties into multiple disciple communities.

The tsaddiqs authority derived from the belief

in his potential for spiritual elevation and his abil-ity to provide spiritual uplift to his earth-boundcommunity. In the first known printed Hasidictext, Toledot Yaaqov Yosef (Koretz 1780), Jacob Jo-seph of Polonnoye describes the figure of the tsaddiqas the soul of the Jewish nation, while the rest ofthe people are the body. Nearly all of the majorpersonalities of the HB, and particularly King Da-vid, were reread retrospectively as models of thetsaddiq.

While such doctrinal statements describe thespiritual functions of the tsaddiq in relationship tohis community, at least as important was the socialinstitution of the tsaddiq. In his classic work ofhomiletics, Noam Elimelekh (1788), the early leaderof Polish Hasidism Elimelekh of Lizhensk (i.e., Lez-

ajsk) develops the idea of the tsaddiq descending tocommunicate and connect with his working-classcommunity as they faced illness, financial hard-ships, and fertility challenges.

In order to gauge the external influence on themystical doctrine of tsaddiqism, early 20th-cen-tury historians such as Simon Dubnow, BenzionDinur, and Raphael Mahler elaborated the social,political, and economic contexts of Hasidism. Whilecustoms vary according to dynasty and even in suc-cessive generations within dynasties, the rebbe typi-



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cally interacted with his Hasidim through interper-sonal public appearances, such as the tish (publicmeal), shaleshudes (Yiddish for the third Sabbathmeal, lit. three meals; in Heb. seudah shelishit), andritualized reception lines, as well as the semi-pri-vate meeting known as yeidut. The rebbe and hissecretaries were typically responsible for collectingand dispensing charity for the needy, arranging em-ployment and suitable matches for children, con-tracting doctors, and generally tending to the prac-tical needs of the Hasidim.

While several exceptional women participatedas tsaddiqim/Hasidim in their own right, in the ordi-nary course, the rebbe and his Hasidim were men;women in the Hasidic world participated as moth-ers, daughters, wives, and sisters to the rebbe andthe Hasid. The journey to the rebbes court devel-oped as an exclusively male practice, while womentended to domestic duties, particularly during thefestival seasons. At announced times, visitors couldhave an appointment with the rebbe and presenthim a written petition (qvitl), asking for blessingand prayer on his behalf and donating monies (pid-yon, redemption) for the rebbes livelihood and hiscommunal work. Men typically communicated withthe rebbe on behalf of their female relatives, al-though many rebbes accepted written petitions fromwomen as well. A Hasid remained loyal to his rebbeeven after the rebbe or hasid may have moved to adistant location, and would often come to visit therebbe for one or more holidays during the year.These visits to a far-away court precluded the sort

of family celebrations associated with Jewish festi-vals today, necessarily redefining the family aroundthe primary relationship of the disciple to his rebbe.

The classic scholars of Hasidism (Simon Dub-now, Gershom Scholem) tended to study the mas-ter-disciple relationship through the lens of therebbes literary treatment of the subject. However,while Hasidic leaders produced an impressive bodyof literature, their followers spearheaded and sup-ported a far more popular material culture withwhich to connect to their leaders. Hasidim corre-sponded with their rebbes, and their letters and peti-tions make up a body of literature that demon-strates that Hasidim sought advice on all matters ofreligious and practical concern. In addition to thecontent of these correspondences, Hasidim treas-

ured the material expression of their relationshipwith the rebbe, collecting and cherishing portraitsand photographs of their rebbes, as well as objectsassociated with them, from coins imbued withblessing from contact with the rebbes hand to fooddistributed from his table. Autograph collectorAbraham Schwadron noted that collecting hand-writing samples from Hasidic masters proved par-ticularly difficult because Hasidim kept these ascharms or amulets. Once the Hasidic community es-tablished these objects as potentially valid conduits

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of blessing in their own right, individual disciples including women were able to disseminate amu-lets and even receive written petitions. These mate-rial expressions of the master-disciple relationshipspeak to the constitutive role of the disciple in de-fining the relationship and the role of the rebbe inHasidic life. Not only do these objects inform themaster-disciple relationship during the rebbes life,but also outlive the tsaddiqim that inspired them,leaving the legacy of the tsaddiqim in the hands oftheir followers who often reshaped the legacy oftheir masters in succeeding generations to addresscontemporary concerns. The collection of portraitsand other objects related to deceased rebbes, the revi-talization of Reb Naman of Breslavs gravesite inthe Ukrainian city of Uman as a Hasidic pilgrimagesite in the post-Soviet era, and Habads public mes-sianic campaigns that continued and expandedafter the death of their rebbe, speak to the ways thatHasidim define their relationship with leaders evenafter the leaders deaths.

Although many sorts of students and teachers,followers, and leaders in modern Judaism haveformed close and lifelong bonds of reverence andeven obedience, it is in the Hasidic movement thatthese relationships are most central.

Bibliography: Etkes, I., The Zaddik: The Interrelation-ship between Religious Doctrine and Social Organization,in Hasidism Reappraised (ed. A. Rapoport-Albert; London/Portland, Oreg. 1997). Lamm, N., The Religious Thoughtsof Hasidism (New York 1999). Scholem, G., Tsaddik: TheRighteous One, in On the Mystical Shape of the Godhead (NewYork 1991) 88139; trans. of id., Zaddik: Der Gerechte, in

Von der mystischen Gestalt der Gottheit(Zrich 1962) 83134.Maya Balakirsky Katz

IV. Christianity Greek and Latin Patristics, and Orthodox Churches Medieval Times and Reformation Era ModernEurope and America

A. Greek and Latin Patristics, and Orthodox

Churches

John Chrysostom described the role of a disciple:For this is a disciples part, not to be over curious aboutthe assertions of his teacher, but to hear and obey him,and to wait the proper time for the solution of any dif-ficulties (Hom. Jo. 46.2).

Or again,

The teachers part is to cast the seed, the disciples partis to do the things spoken (Hom. 2 Thess. 3.3).

The disciple imitated the teacher: The Son is thetrue vine (John 15 : 5) who has as branches the dis-ciples, his imitators, who themselves also bear thetruth as fruit (Origen, Comm. Jo. 1.33.206).

(disciple) and discipulus (Latin) couldbe used of non-Christians, heretics, followers of

John the Baptist, and of Christians (Irenaeus a disci-ple of Polycarp; Mart.Pol. 22:2). Most often theword refers to disciples of Jesus:



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Having become his disciples, let us learn to live accord-

ing to Christianity (Ignatius, Magn. 10:1).

Of those identified as disciples, the twelve apostlesare foremost, usually with reference to a text in theGospels, as Justin, Dial. 49.5 (Matt 17 : 1113); 51.2(Jesus ate and drank with disciples after the resur-rection); 105.5 (Matt 5:20) and Origen, Hom. Jer.17.4.4 (Luke 10: 20); one or more of them: Peter,

James, and John (Justin, Dial. 99.2); Peter (ibid.,100.4); the evangelist John (Origen, Comm. Jo. 2.34);also Paul (Origen, Cels. 1.13, 43; Tertullian, Carn.Chr. 22). Other followers of Jesus included in theterm disciples were distinguished from the Twelve(Chrysostom, Hom. Act. 21.1 and 3). Of these otherdisciples the 70/72 (Luke 10 : 1) are often men-tioned: James brother of our Lord and the other

seventy-two disciples (Apos. Con. 2.55.2; Gregory ofNyssa, De vita moysis2.134 reverses the usual termi-nology by referring to twelve disciples/apostles andseventy other apostles). Origen said that after hisresurrection the Lord appeared to the apostles andfive hundred disciples (1 Cor 15: 6); Fr. Luc. 85 (255)on Luke 24: 15; cf. Justin, 1 Apol. 67.7.

The prophets of the OT were by anticipationChrists disciples in the Spirit (Ign. Magn. 9:2).Those who followed the apostles were termed disci-ples: having been a disciple of apostles (Diogn.11: 1; also disciples of the truth and thingsopenly made known by the Word to disciples;11:2). Some of these disciples of the apostles arenamed: Polycarp according to Papias (Eusebius,Hist. eccl. 3.36.12), Papias himself (ibid. 3.394),

Mark a disciple of Peter (Irenaeus, Haer. 3.1.1).Disciple was also a term for all Christians. Aber-cius in his epitaph identified himself as a discipleof the holy Shepherd (line 3). Origen explainedthat the words of John 4 : 3536 were spoken by theLord to every saint and to the genuine disciple of

Jesus (Or. 13.5). All we of the faithful who aredisciples of Christ believe his promises (Apos. Con.5.7.24).

As these latter texts imply, disciple couldhave the connotation of advanced Christians. Ori-gen noted that Many of those who believed in himdid not abide in his word, nor did the many trulybecome his disciples (Comm. Jo. 19.11.66; cf.20.13.99 for those somewhat taught but not trulycalled disciples of Jesus). Comparing the church to

an army, Chrysostom named the ranks as those ofteacher, disciple, and private person (Hom. 1 Tim.5.1).

The most exemplary Christians were the mar-tyrs. Although Ignatius could use disciple to referto all Christians (If you love good disciples;Ign.Pol. 2:1), he followed Jesus words about thetrue disciple as one who gives up life for my sake(Matt 16:2425; Mark 8:3435; Luke 9:2324;

John 12 : 2426). Ignatius especially saw the martyras the true disciple. If we patiently endure, in or-

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der that we may be found to be disciples of JesusChrist our only teacher (Ign. Magn. 9 : 1). His beingtaken as a prisoner to Rome meant he was begin-ning to be a disciple (Ign. Eph. 3 : 1), and mistreat-ment by the soldiers made him more of a disciple(Ign. Rom. 5:1; cf. 5:3, now I am beginning tobe a disciple). Even though he was in chains andcomprehended heavenly things, he was not yet adisciple (Ign. Trall. 5 : 2). Through suffering I reachGod, so that I may be found a disciple by yourprayers (Ign. Pol. 7 : 1). He expected the consum-mation: when wild beasts become my tomb, thenI will truly be a disciple of Jesus Christ (Ign. Rom.4:2). The church at Smyrna wrote, We love themartyrs as disciples and imitators of the Lord(Mart. Pol. 17:3). Origen explained that many of

the genuine disciples of Christ were honored to bewitnesses [martyrs] of Christ (Comm. Jo. 2.34.207).When martyrdom was no longer an option, the

monks became the standards for exemplary disci-ples. The word disciple, however, occurs in the Say-ings of the Desert Fatherspredominantly for the disci-ples of the ascetic masters. Benedict likened themonastery to a school (Rule, prol.) and referred tothe monks as disciples of the abbot (Rule 2).

In keeping with Matt 28: 19, early Christianwriters used the idea of becoming a disciple in con-texts of evangelism and conversion. Origen com-mented that the disciples were sent out to makedisciples [teach] all nations (Comm. Jo. 10.7.42; cf.Mart. 48, We were made disciples of the gospel).Justin Martyr claimed that daily some are becom-

ing disciples in the name of Christ and quitting thepath of error (Dial. 39.2). Clement of Alexandria inexhorting pagans to follow Christ said, We whohave become disciples of God have received the onlytrue wisdom (Protr. 11). Ignatius expressed thewish for the church in Rome that those thingswhich you command in making disciples [or inteaching disciples] may be firm (Ign. Rom. 3:1).

The language of discipleship emphasizes theimportance in Christianity of teaching and learning(see Matt 13: 5152). Christians are those whohave been instructed [or been discipled] in the di-vine teachings (Justin Martyr, 2 Apol. 4.3; disci-ples of the true and pure doctrine of Jesus Christ,Dial. 35.2; or instructed in the whole truth, 39.5).Those who had been disciples became teachers:

The persons whom the Lord both chose for himself asdisciples, certainly to be instructed in all points, andappointed to us as teachers to instruct us in all points(Tertullian, Scorp. 12).

On their introduction into the school of Christ the Jewswere taught by the disciples glorious things about Jesus(Origen, Comm. Matt. 12.16).

The apostles appointed those who had learned first tobe teachers of others that were being made disciples [orwho were under instruction] (Chrysostom, Hom. Col.9.2).



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Accordingly, many educated Christians, both ortho-dox (Justin, Clement of Alexandria, Origen) andothers (Valentinus, Ptolemy), established privateschools; catechetical instruction was important inpreparing converts for baptism (Cyril of Jerusalem,

John Chrysostom, Augustine); and some monaster-ies later became centers of learning.

Bibliography: Frank, K. S., Nachfolge Jesu 2: Alte Kircheund Mittelalter, TRE 23 (Berlin/New York 1994) 68691. Kany, R., Jnger, RAC 19 (Stuttgart 2001) 30546. Lampe, G. W. H., A Patristic Greek Lexicon (Oxford 1964).[Esp. 820]

Everett Ferguson

B. Medieval Times and Reformation Era

1. Middle Ages. In the medieval Greek context, thetopic of discipleship appears in The Ladder of Di-

vine Ascent of John Climacus, who defines theChristian life as an imitation () of Christ,as far as possible, in both words and deeds (PG88 : 633B). Matthew 19 : 21 is quoted in the secondand the 27th of the 30 steps to heaven; in the lattercase, the separation from earthly goods and the ac-ceptance of the cross, interpreted as abandoningones own will, are elements of the spiritual still-ness () aspired to in the monastic life (PG88 : 1100D1101A). The dogmatic work An Exact Ex-position of the Orthodox Faith, written by John of Da-mascus, speaks about Christ resurrected as wayand model ( ), who leads his follow-ers to a divinization characterized by incorruptibil-ity and glory, whereby they achieve their creationaldestination as Gods image (4.13; PG 94 : 1137C).

A foretaste of the heavenly fulfilment of this takesplace in the Eucharistic mystery. Thus, in the Or-thodox context the topic of discipleship describesthe human divinization that is made possible by theSons incarnation, and which is celebrated in the lit-urgy.

In Latin medieval theology, the Rule of Benedictre-affirms the traditional vision of monastic life asmilitia Christi and defines the monastery as aschool of divine service, so that by never deviat-ing from his doctrine and persevering in the mon-astery in his teaching until death we shall partici-pate at the passions of Christ in patience, so thatwe shall deserve to be participants in His kingdom(Prologus; SC 181 : 42024). Imitation of Christs pas-sion is concretized in monastic perseverance. Ac-

cording to Gregory the Greats Dialogues, the Eucha-ristic sacrifice imitates Christs passion, fromwhich the author derives an admonition to penanceand distance to secular life, for as we are celebrat-ing the mysteries of our Lords passion we have toimitate what we do (4.6061; SC 265 : 202). Moreexplicitly than the Orthodox vision, this conceptionof imitation concentrates on Christs passion. As animitation of the Sons incarnation Gregory inter-pretes Paulinus of Nolas voluntary self-subjectionunder slavery for freeing others (3.1; SC 260 : 264).

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The subsequent early medieval hagiography de-scribes the virtues and miracles of the saints as actsthat imitate the incarnate Son of God, re-elaborat-ing by this the feature of the martyr as imitator ofChrist. Even the voluntary abandonment of oneshome country, practiced particularly by Irish andAnglo Saxon monks, is interpreted as a peregrinatiopropter Christum .

The occidental comprehension of discipleshiphas a turning point in the poverty movement of the11th13th centuries, a development that is a re-sponse to changes in economic conditions and men-tality that increased the possibility of personalwealth a condition which, from the perspective ofthe gospels, affects religious sensibilities. Poverty,conceived as an element of apostolic life, is a basicconcern of the monastic reform projects of this pe-riod (Vallombrosa, Premonstratensians, Cister-cians in the Exordium parvum the monks are de-fined as milites Christi cum paupere Christo pauperes:Bouton/van Damme: 77). Literal obedience to Matt19 : 21 is what motivated the merchant Waldes atLyon in the last third of the 12th century to giveall his property to the poor and to live in apostolicmendicancy (Patschovsky/Selge: 16, 19; see also Col-lectaneum Clarevallense 4.50; CChr.CM 208 : 364). Bythis renunciation Waldes gathered around himselfa group that called itself The Poor of Lyon. En-couraged initially, as it seems, by the ArchbishopGuichard, a Cistercian, the Waldensians were sooncondemned as heretics, but survived as a religiousunderground movement of itinerant preachers who

realized apostolic life in the terms of poverty, chas-tity and obedience of the younger to the elder.On a more theological level, Bernard of Clair-

vaux, another Cistercian, re-elaborated the tradi-tional pattern of divinization, declaring that the re-quired conformity between humankind and God ischaracterized not by glory of majesty, but bymodesty of will (voluntatis modestia), which is real-ized in the virtues of mercy, piety and gentleness(In Canticum Canticorum 62.5; SC 472: 27274). Re-ferring to Song 1 : 3, he interprets the brides desire(Trahe me post te) as a wish to follow the traces ofhis lifestyle in order to imitate his virtue (aemularivirtutem). According to Bernard, the human soul isdependent from a divine pulling to be able todeny herself, to take on herself his cross and to fol-

low Christ by this. Here, imitation means com-passion (compati) with Christ and is opposed to thedesire to enjoy his glory (In Canticum Canticorum21.23; SC 431 : 15052). In the same period thecrusades concretize the vision of monachism as amilitia Christi in the new-founded military ordersthat were personally supported by Bernard.

About one generation after Waldes, another de-scendant of a merchant family, Francis of Assisi, es-tablished a brotherhood in which the imitation ofChrist according to Matt 16 : 24; 19 : 21 and Luke



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14: 26, realized in obedience, chastity and totalpoverty, is of central significance. It is their aim tofollow the humbleness and poverty of our Lord Je-sus Christ, limiting the brotherhoods propertiesto food and clothing. Referring to 1 Pet 2 : 21, Fran-cis stresses loving ones enemy as way to follow inChrists footsteps (Regula non bullata 1, 9 and 22; SC285:12224, 140 and 162). In his Admonitions, hedevelops the pattern of discipleship in the terms ofa relationship between shepherd and flock: as theshepherd has saved his sheep by his passion, theyhave to follow him in affliction, persecution,shame, hunger, illness, temptation and all the otherthings, in order to be rewarded with eternal life (6;SC 285: 100). Later Franciscan hagiography stressesthis aspect of exterior assimilation to Christ, sym-bolized in the last period of his life by the stigmata.

The different ramifications of the Franciscanmovement, and other mendicant orders with them,accentuated the principle of apostolic poverty. Con-temporaneously, however, this category encouragedfurther criticism of the ecclesiastical establishmentthat escalated into the violent acts in the movementof the Apostolic Brethren lead by Fra Dolcino. Ac-cording to Marsilio of Padua, the example of Jesushas to be followed by practising humility and con-tempt of the world. Alluding to the pope, Marsiliosays that who desires to be the principal successorof the apostles has to live in absolute poverty (Defen-sor pacis 2.11; Scholz: 257). The thesis of the totalpoverty of Christ and the apostles, affirmed also bythe Fraticelli branch of the Franciscan Order, was

condemned by Pope John XXII in 1323 (DH 930).From the poverty debates onward, the relationshipbetween the seeking of sincere discipleship and theecclesiastical establishment is a problematic one.

The classical differentiation between the com-mandments that are valid for all and the evangelicalcounsels, which aim at a status of perfection andhave only to be observed by clerics and monks, wasre-defined by Thomas Aquinas, who consideredonly the first essential to perfection, whereas thesecond are instruments that serve to reach this aim.Interpreting Matt 19: 21, Thomas distinguishes be-tween the command to leave all possessions to thepoor (considered a counsel) and the subsequent in-vitation to follow Christ, judging it a command-ment. According to this interpretation, the main is-

sue of discipleship consists in love conceived as amental state, not as fulfilment of exterior exercises(Summa theologiae IIII, q. 185, a. 3). Thomas how-ever, still considered as basic for discipleship theinstruments of poverty, chastity and obedience (q.186, a. 3). Jean Gerson, on the contrary, who refersto Thomas, gives them a merely instrumentalfunction (Abramowski: 65). The focus of disciple-ship on love, prepared as it is by the Augustiniancomprehension of love as a totalizing phenomenonand foundation of any concrete imitation of Christ

904

(Sermo 34.4 and 304.2; PL 38: 21112 and 139596),now relativizes the traditional gradualism of Chris-tian ethics. This process has a visible result in thelate 15th century. Last Supper paintings that showamong the disciples of Christ the lay commissionersof the work, such as on Dirk Bouts Leuven trypticfrom 1464/67.

Likewise, a 15th-century Waldensian catechismidentifies love and discipleship and admonishes topenance declaring:

This is the way we must hold to if we want to love,that is, follow Christ: we must observe spiritual povertyin our hearts, love chastity and humbly serve God.Then we might follow the path of Jesus (Nobla Leion,vv. 44246; De Stefano/Papini: 96).

The Hussites not only concentrate discipleship, aselesewhere, on the spiritual virtues of faith, love

and hope, but also re-interpret the evangelicalcounsels in the terms of the Six Small Command-ments derived from the Sermon on the Mount,which are considered as obligatory as the Decalogueitself. Furthermore, Hussitism accentuated the im-plications of tribulation and suffering linked to dis-cipleship. A part of the Hussite Unity of the Breth-ren, called the Small Party, derived from this anegalitarian vision by affirming the validity of thesame principles for Christians of any social status(Peschke: 124).

The medieval mystics vision of discipleship issomewhat ambivalent. In her Mirror of the SimpleSouls, Marguerite Porete considers the observanceof Matt 19: 21 as perfection in virtues; subse-quently, however, she invites the reader to sur-

mount this state by giving licence to the virtues andliving by faith, not by works, in a state definedpeace of love in an annihilated life (35; CChr.CM69 : 1619). Similarly, Meister Eckhart, interpretingMatt 5 : 3, considers exterior poverty praiseworthy,as Christ himself in earthly life was poor. After that,however, he requires a spiritual poverty realized inthe abandonment of ones own will, ones concep-tion of God, and ones knowledge in order to re-trieve the eternal essence that is beyond what onehas temporally become (Sermon 52; Predigten2 : 478524). Even the exterior practice of virtuesobscures the interior image of God that the soul canfind in herself (Traktate: 113/14). Speaking explic-itly about nchvolgen, he declares that Christdid many works, inviting us to follow him spiritu-

ally, not corporally, imitating, for instance, hisfasting in a continuous attention on what one isattached to (Traktate: 253). Explaining Matt 16 : 24,Eckhart translates tollere by fheben, developingfrom there an interpretation according to whichone who really follows God leaves behind all sorrowand pain, acquiring divine imperturbability (Trak-tate: 45). By this, Eckharts vision of discipleship islinked to the scheme of divinization. The fulfilmentof discipleship is to find peace in oneself, detachingoneself from all images and thus becoming a son of



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God (Traktate: 11112). Henry Suso, on the otherhand, avoids such a gradualism and indicatesamong the exercises that lead to perfection both in-ternal tranquillity and exterior

imitation of the venerable image of our Lord JesusChrist in the highest perfection, as far as possible forhim to do, in humbleness, willful obedience and meekpoverty (Letter 23; Bihlmeyer: 475).

An important genre of late medieval spiritual litera-ture is the Life of Christ, inviting readers to anaffective identification with the Son of God, partic-ularly with his passion. The most successful amongthem is Ludolph of Saxonys work that is character-ized by the three steps of lectio, meditatio and oratio.Among the principal texts of 14th/15th-century De-votio moderna, the Imitation of Christ attributed toThomas of Kempen starts with a reference to John8 : 12 (Whoever follows me will never walk indarkness). This passage is interpreted as an admo-nition to imitate his life and conduct (mores),which justifies the conclusion that the faithfulsmain concern must be to meditate on the life ofChrist (1.1: Lupo: 3). Subsequently, this text givesan interiorizing version of Christian life as a searchfor God and for love of Christ inside ones own soul,conceived of as divinization. It contrasts the manywho love the heavenly reign and the joys that areannounced to them with the few bearers of hiscross who participate in Christs passion. These re-flections culminate in a chapter that invites thereader to conformity with Jesus crucified in earthlylife, as practiced in the humble acception of tribu-

lation without consolation (2.1112: Lupo: 11729). The 15th-century Theologia deutsch also invitesthe reader to live the life of Christ that has to berealized as a sort ofvia media between the libertinis-tic temptation to leave behind the commandmentsand the illusion of being able to gain salvation byworks. In this way, there is a perspective of divini-zation in humbleness and renouncement of the will(chs. 34, 3839: Der Franckforter 1982: 118 and12325).

Besides this, there is also a mariological concep-tion of discipleship that describes the Mother ofGod as the model of Christian existence as she wasshaping Christ inside herself (e.g., Guerric of Igny,Sermons II; SC 202: 570 and 583). Furthermore, itmust be mentioned that the late medieval patterns

of identification with the passion of Christ couldimply an anti-Jewish attitude.

2. Reformation Era. As a consequence of the cen-trality attributed to the divine Word, the seman-tic field of teaching and learning is important forall Reformation theology. Also in this epoch, how-ever, the topic of discipleship does not exclusivelywork with notions of learning, but is also articu-lated in other semantics, as those of lordship andservice, or shepherd and flock. It is mostly charac-terized by a concentration on virtues like humility,

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love and poverty, and by a quest for mystical unionwith God.

In the treatise On the Freedom of a Christian(1520), Martin Luther concentrates discipleship onthe dimension of faith, which he considers the ful-filment of all divine commandments. Faith is de-scribed as a state of unity of the human soul withthe divine Word and with Christ himself. This al-lows Luther to re-elaborate the mystical aspect ofimitatio and to give discipleship an essential charac-ter that goes beyond the notions of learning or obe-dience. As faith, according to Luthers treatise, hasto be exercised by love and self-renunciation in therelationship with others, the faithful becomes toothers a Christian, as Christ has become to me (WA7 : 35). Concluding this treatise, Luther identifiesfaith and love as the criteria of discipleship.

As an erroneous form of discipleship, Luther de-nounces a meditation practice that aims at purecompassion with Jesus Christs suffering (WA7 : 29). In his sermons he characterizes Nachfolgeas like-mindedness with Christ and willingness tofollow his example in suffering (WA 17/II:348), butalso emphasises the difference between Christscross and ours, which consists only in faith and love(WA 10/III:117). His reservations about a legalisticmisunderstanding of discipleship are articulated inthe warning not to imitate ingeniously the worksof the Fathers:

Anyone cannot but consider very religious the imita-tion of their works. No one, however, takes into ac-count that we should imitate not their works but theirfaith, which was the author of their works, even if it is

necessary to do completely different works (WA5:478).

Adequate discipleship is described not as reproduc-tion of an authorative model, but as existence infaith and love freed from legalistic preoccupationswith an ethical approach that is concentrated on theneeds of the neighbor. Luthers reservations aboutthe notions of teaching and learning used for de-scribing the relationship between God and human-kind are also pronounced in his lectures on the pro-phet Isaiah (1527/30), where he limits theirsignificance to the divine law:

If the Law has a strong effect, then it leads to the cogni-tion of sin. There is nothing but learning in it. This isthe school Christ will destroy. For the laws and monas-tic life produce nothing but disciples, and they remain

boys for a hundred years

In the realm of Christ, how-ever, there have to be, from the moment of baptism on,wisdom and righteousness. It does not appear like that,but we have it in the Word and in the faith. As Christis wisdom and salvation, thus I have it, too (WA 31/II:564).

In the theology of John Calvin the topic of imitatiois crucial for his ethics:

The end of regeneration is that the life of the faithfulmay exhibit a symmetry and agreement between therighteousness of God and their obedience; and that



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thus they may confirm the adoption by which they are

accepted as his children (Inst. 3.6.1).

The model to follow is Christ himself:

As God the Father has reconciled us to himself inChrist, so he has exhibited to us in him a pattern, towhich it is his will that we should be conformed.

In this sense, Calvin speaks explicitly about animitation of Christ characterized by self-renunci-ation and obedience to the divine law (Inst. 3.6.3and 3.7.1). All these ethical reflections, however, arebased on the premise of an unmerited relationshipexisting between God and the individual believer,and do not contrast for this reason with the doc-trine of salvation by faith. Union with God, how-ever, requires sanctification, not mysticism:

When we hear any mention of our union with God, we

should remember that holiness must be the bond of it;not that we attain communion with him by the meritof holiness , but because it is a peculiar property ofhis glory not to have any intercourse with iniquity anduncleanness (Inst. 3.6.2).

Orthodox Lutheran and Reformed theology gives amore structured configuration to the topic of disci-pleship by describing an Order of Salvation, pass-ing from vocation via conversion, justification, andsanctification to the aspired glorification and unionwith God.

In the Radical Reformation the notions of disci-pleship and imitatio stress the ethical requirementsof the divine law. Thomas Mntzer, inspired by hisself-understanding as apocalyptic prophet who hasto announce a bitter truth of penitence, inverts

the Reformation mainstream order of faith and eth-ics, referring to Matt 16:

There you will find that no one can believe in Christbefore having become similar to him (Mntzer: 300and 224).

Likewise, the Anabaptist Hans Denck binds theknowledge of Christ to the prerequisite of disciple-ship in practical life (das er im nachvolge mit demleben; Denck: 45). Both, however, describe thispreparation as motivated by the Holy Spirit, so thatthe material difference from mainstream soteriol-ogy does not consist in a meritorious notion of pen-itence, but in a divergent conception of the rela-tionship of faith and ethics. According to MennoSimons, who references Mark 1 : 15, discipleship ischaracterized by crucifying the flesh and human na-

ture and by rising with Christ to a righteous andpenitent life, a way disclosed by God in the time ofgrace (Fast: 16263). Concerning the spiritualisticbranch of Radical Reformation, Caspar vonSchwenckfeld defines a quiet conscience as a statusof spiritual union with God in which

a man sees in the light of faith, experiences from divinetruth, and comes to know and recognize out of theWord of Life (which is Christ) that all his doings andun-doings are righteous and considered propitiouslyand well before God (CSch 4 : 894).

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In a polemical treatise against the carnal view-points of the Wittenberg theology, Schwenckfelddeclares that true faith

is swaying above itself, turning towards God and HisSon Jesus Christ, whom it seizes and transfers to thebelieving heart (CSch 14 : 455).

Again, faith is described as a state of union withChrist himself. The Anti-Trinitarian Fausto Sozzi-ni, who affirms a universally valid invitation topenance represented by Christ, links salvation to ac-tive discipleship:

He [Christ] will continuously help and fortify in calami-ties and also in death those who have begun and con-tinued the way that was shown to them by His wordsand by His own example, and at the end He will grantthem eternal life (Sozzini 1.601).

Thus, the topic of imitation of Christ is central for

his spirituality (Sozzini 2.128).In Roman-Catholic Christianity of the Reforma-

tion epoch, Ignatius of Loyola and the Jesuits (Socie-tas Jesu) represent an efficacious re-definition of dis-cipleship in the terms of a clerical fraternity.Ignatius Spiritual Exercises use the Imitation ofChrist and Ludolfs Life of Christ in order tomake the life of Christ accessible to the retreatant.At the beginning of the second week, he is invitedto imagine a king declaring that whoever followshim will have to accept the kings own conditionsof life and tribulations in order to participate, after-wards, in his victory. This pattern is subsequentlytransferred to Christ and the retreatant is invited toa prayer in which he proclaims his self-oblation anddesire to imitate you by enduring all injustice, vi-tuperation, and poverty, both factual and spiri-tual. In his vision of discipleship Ignatius inte-grates a clear distinction between commandmentsand evangelical counsels: Jesus has given an exam-ple both of the observance of the law and of evan-gelical perfection by being first obedient to his par-ents and then dedicating himself, according to Luke2 : 4252, in the temple to the divine service (Eserci-cios espirituales98 and 13435). The idea of the con-formity of the believing soul with Christ also occursin the writings of the two Carmelite mystics Teresaof vila and John of the Cross. The topic of militiaChristiis emphasised by Robert Bellarmine, who de-scribes the Catholic church as a sort of army led byChrist as emperor, with the Pope as his representa-tive, the bishops as military tribunes, the priests ascenturions and the lay people as soldiers (De membrisecclesiae militantis, Praefatio; Bellarmino: 145).

Bibliography. Primary: Augustin, Sermones, PL 38(Paris 1845) 211483. Bellarmino, R., Disputationes RobertiBellarmini Politiani, Societatis Jesu, De Controversiis ChristianaeFidei, Adversus huius temporis Haereticos, 2 vols. (Naples 1837). Bouton, J./J. B. van Damme (eds.), Les plus anciens textes deCteaux (Achel 1974). Calvin, J., Institutes of the Chris-tian Religion 12 (trans. J. Allen; Philadelphia, Pa. 1936);trans. of id., Joannis Calvini Opera selecta 45 (Mnchen193136). Climacus, J., Scala Paradisi, PG 88 (Turnholt



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n.d.) 6311164. Collectaneum exemplorum et visionum Clare-

vallense (Corpus Christianorum Continuatio Mediaevalis208; Turnholt 2005). Denck, H., Schriften 2. Teil: ReligiseSchriften (QFRG 24/2; Gtersloh 1956). Denzinger, H./P.Hnermann (eds.), DH(Freiburg i.Br. et al. 402005). Fast,H. (ed.), Der linke Flgel der Reformation (Bremen 1962). von Hinten, W. (ed.), Der Franckforter (Theologia Deutsch)(Mnchener Texte zur deutschen Literatur des Mittelalters78; Mnchen/Zrich 1982). John of Damascus, De fideorthodoxa, PG 94 (Turnholt n.d.) 7811223. von Kem-pen, T., De imitatione Christi libri quatuor(ed. T. Lupo; Vatican1982). de Loyola, I., Ejercicios Espirituales: Autobiografa(Bilbao n.d.). Luther, M., D. Martin Luthers Werke: KritischeAusgabe, 120 vols. (WA; Weimar 18832009). Luther, M.,Von der Freiheit eines Christenmenschen, WA 7 (Weimar1897) 1238. Marsilius von Padua, Defensor Pacis (ed. R.Scholz; Fontes Iuris Germanici Antiqui; Hannover 1932). Mntzer, T., Schriften und Briefe (QFRG 33; Gtersloh1968). Papini, C., La nobile lezione: La Nobla Leion (ed. A.

de Stefano; Turin 2003).

Patschovsky, A./K.-V. Selge(eds.), Quellen zur Geschichte der Waldenser (TKTG 18; Gters-loh 1973). Porete, M., Speculum simplicium animarum (Cor-pus Christianorum Continuatio mediaevalis 69; Turnholt1986). Quint, J. (ed.), Meister Eckharts Traktate (Stuttgart1963). Quint, J. (ed.), Meister Eckharts Predigten, vol. 2(Stuttgart 1971). Schwenckfeld, C. von, CorpusSchwenckfeldianorum, 19 vols. (CSch; Leipzig/Pennsburg, Pa.190761). Sozzini, F., Opera omnia, 2 vols. (Irenopolis[Amsterdam] 1656). Suso, H., Deutsche Schriften (ed. K.Bihlmeyer; Stuttgart 1907). Thomas Aquinas, SummaTheologiae, vols. 2a/ae (ed. P. Caramello, Turin 1962).

Secondary: Abramowski, L., Johann Gerson: De con-siliis evangelicis et statu perfectionis, in Studien zur Ge-schichte und Theologie der Reformation, FS E. Bizer (eds. id./

J. F. G. Goeters; Neukirchen-Vluyn 1969) 6378. Frank,K. S., Nachfolge Jesu II: Alte Kirche und Mittelalter, TRE23 (Berlin/New York 1994) 68691. Gerwig, M., Imita-tio Christi, LMA 5 (Mnchen/Zrich 1991) 3867. Kirn,

H.-M., Contemptus mundi contemptus Judaei? Nachfol-geideale und Antijudaismus in der sptmittelalterlichenPredigtliteratur, in Sptmittelalterliche Frmmigkeit zwischenIdeal und Praxis (eds. B. Hamm/T. Lentes; Tbingen 2001)14780. Kpf, U., Nachfolge Christi II: Kirchenge-schichtlich, RGG4 6 (Tbingen 2003) 69. Leclercq, J.,Sequela Christi e imitazione IV: Il monachesimo medie-val, DIP 8 (Rome 1988) 130711. Matura, T., SequelaChristi e imitazione V: La s. negli scritti di s. Francesco,DIP 8 (Rome 1988) 131113. Milchner, H. J., NachfolgeJesu und Imitatio Christi (Religionspdagogische Kontexteund Konzepte 11; Berlin et al. 2004). Pelikan, J., Jesusthrough the Centuries: His Place in History of Culture (New Ha-ven, Conn. 1983). Penco, G., Limitazione di Cristonellagiografia monastica, CCist 28 (1966) 1734. Peschke, E., Kirche und Welt in der Theologie der BhmischenBrder (Berlin 1981). Riches, J. K., Nachfolge Jesu III:Von der Reformation bis zur Gegenwart, TRE 23 (Berlin/New York 1994) 691701. Ruppich, H., Vom spten Mittel-alter bis zum Barock, Erster Teil: Das ausgehende Mittelalter, Hu-manismus und Renaissance, 13701520 (Geschichte der deut-schen Literatur 4/1; Mnchen 21994). Steiger, J. A.,Ordo salutis, TRE 25 (Berlin/New York 1995) 37176. Thieme, K., Consilia evangelica, RE3 4 (Leipzig 1898)27478.

Lothar Vogel

C. Modern Europe and America

In the Catholic Reformation, new communities ofreligious women appeared, who were dedicated toactive ministry. The Ursulines, founded 1535 by

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Angela Merici, the Sisters of the Visitation founded1610 by Francis de Sales and Jane Frances de Chan-tal, and the Daughters of Charity founded by Vin-cent de Paul and Louise de Marillac (1643), livedsimple lives without enclosure, working with thepoor and the sick in their homes, but later wererequired to live a cloistered life with monastic prac-tices. In 19th-century France, more than 400 reli-gious congregations of apostolic women werefounded; they were devoted to education, care forthe sick, and other works of charity for the poorand disadvantaged.

The 20th century saw an explosion of new com-munities and movements seeking to live out a vi-sion of Christian discipleship that stressed contem-plation, simplicity of life, and solidarity with thepoor. Significant influences include the modern li-turgical movement, the trauma of World War II,and the charismatic renewal. Dietrich Bonhoeffersbook, The Cost of Discipleship (1937), provided a theo-logical foundation for a new understanding of dis-cipleship. A number of new contemplative commu-nities represented a rediscovery of the monasticcharism in Protestantism; Pomeyrol in France(1929), Iona off the coast of Scotland (1938), Grand-champ at Neuchtel (1940), and the Marien-schwestern (sisterhood of Mary) of Darmstadt(1947). Taiz, founded 1940 by Roger Schutz, origi-nally a Protestant community, is now ecumenical,with both Catholic and Protestant brothers.

Many new communities focused on solidaritywith the poor. Charles de Foucauld (18561916),

stressing the hidden life of Jesus at Nazareth, wasthe inspiration for the Little Sisters and LittleBrothers of Jesus. The Catholic Worker movement,founded by Dorothy Day and Peter Maurin (1933),ministers to the hungry and homeless in over 185communities today. Assistants in LArch commu-nities, a movement founded by Jean Vanier (1964)to live with those with mental and physical disabili-ties, practice a spirituality based on the beatitudes;they encounter Christ in human vulnerability.From the tragedy of World War II came the politicaltheology of Johan Baptist Metz, a precursor of liber-ation theology, as he sought to recover the messi-anic praxis of discipleship in place of what he sawas the bourgeois religion of his day; the FocolareMovement, founded by Chiara Lubich (1943), with

its spirituality of communion; and the Catholic In-tegrated Community (Integrierte Gemeinde), foundedin Munich (1968) to bring about a renewed under-standing of the People of God, particularly with itsroots in a living Judaism.

Discipleship always means a practical Christian-ity expressed in everyday life. It is exemplified in ahost of contemporary movements and communitiesin addition to those already mentioned, for exam-ple, Opus Dei (1928), Cursillo (1944), MadonnaHouse (1947), Communion and Liberation (1954),



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Marriage Encounter (1962), SantEgidio (1968), andthe Neocatechumenal Way (1964). The CatholicCharismatic Renewal (1967) has been enormouslyfruitful; it is now present in 238 countries and hastouched over 100 million Catholics. In France, anumber of communities tracing their roots to theRenewal are particularly committed to evangeliza-tion. Emmanuel (1972) and Chemin Neuf (1973) areurban communities now spread worldwide. TheCommunaut Beatitudes (1976) and Verbe de Vie(1976) are mixed communities of families, priests,seminarians, and others consecrated to chastity.Fondacio (1974) is involved in training lay leaders.

Christian discipleship has at times been moreidentified with the religious life according to theevangelical counsels of poverty, chastity, and obe-dience than with the following of Jesus of the gos-pels. But discipleship cannot be reduced to an oth-erworldly spirituality. The recovery of the historical

Jesus in modern Christology, and particularly a newemphasis on Jesus preaching and ministry in thework of scholars such as Jon Sobrino, Peter Phan,Elizabeth Johnson, and Terrence Tilley has led to arenewed understanding of discipleship as being atthe service of the kingdom of God. For Sobrino, itmeans bringing the good news of salvation to thecrucified peoples of the world. Tilley stresses wit-nessing to the reconciling practices of the Jesusmovement in new times and places. In the words ofBonhoeffer, A Christianity without discipleship isalways a Christianity without Jesus Christ. (59)

Bibliography: Bonhoeffer, D., Discipleship (Dietrich Bon-hoffer Works 4; Minneapolis, Minn. 2000); trans. of id.,Nachfolge (Munich 1937). Rausch, T. P., Radical ChristianCommunities (Collegeville, Minn. 1990). Sobrino, J., ThePrinciple of Mercy: Taking the Crucified People from the Cross(Maryknoll, N.Y./New York 1994); trans. of id., El Principio-Misericordia: Bajar de la cruz a los pueblos crucificados(Santander1992). Tilley, T. W., The Disciples Jesus: Christology as Recon-ciling Practice (Maryknoll, N.Y./New York 2008).

Thomas P. Rausch

V. Islam

The disciples of Jesus are mentioned in the Qur nin S61:14, where believers are encouraged to beGods helpers, anr, as Jesus disciples, al-awri-yn, were Gods helpers. Su ra 3 : 52 adds the profes-sion of the disciples to Jesus, We believe in Allahand testify that we are Muslims. Since S9:117

commends the anrin Medina who helped the mu-hjirn, the first Muslim immigrants from Mecca,some traditions from Muammad, H adth, take thedisciples of Jesus as a model for the believers inMedina who helped the Meccan believers to settlein their new home. Thus, Muammad namedtwelve Medinans as al-awriyn to be for the peo-ple of Medina what the twelve disciples were for

Jesus (Wensinck: 285). Other traditions from himconnect the name to awar, intense whiteness,and see the disciples as men who wore white gar-

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ments or had pure hearts, but the Ethiopic awry,messenger may be the origin of awr (Zah-niser: 123).

Muammad himself is not recorded as havingappointed a particular group of disciples, althoughsome of his companions clearly formed a close bodyof supporters around him. Ten of these, includingthe four men who became the first caliphs of theIslamic community after Muammads death, areknown as the Ten blessed Companions becausethey were promised entry into paradise. Even so,they are not regarded as forming a group that wasnecessarily distinctive from the other men andwomen who followed him.

Su ra 5 : 112 records Jesus disciples asking,

O Is, son of Mary, can your Lord send a table, mida,

down to us from heaven?Jesus agrees to their request by asking God for a ta-ble

to be a festival, (d) for us and a sign from you; togive us sustenance since you are the best Sustainer(5:114).

The word for table, mida, is usually understood toderive from mda, to feed, but it may reflect theEthiopic expression for a church altar on which theEucharistic elements are laid. This leads severalwestern scholars to believe that the Qurnic ac-count is a version of the Last Supper of Jesus withhis disciples, albeit without any reference to Jesusdeath (Robinson: 16).

A broader definition of disciples of Jesus is

found in S 57 : 27, where they are called those whofollowed him who demonstrated compassion andmercy. However, the followers are more closely de-fined as those who invented monasticism, whichwas not prescribed for them, with the result thatthey did not properly perform what pleases God.Subsequent interpretation has often distinguishedthe early disciples of Jesus as those who showedcompassion and mercy from later followers who de-viated from the pure message that Jesus brought.Since S 5 : 116 suggests that there were followers of

Jesus who worshipped him and his mother, whowould therefore come under the judgment of God,commentators have commonly regarded them asexamples of deviant discipleship. If the true disci-ples of Jesus were those who testified to him that

they were Muslims (S3:52), then it follows thatafter the advent of Muammad, no real follower of

Jesus would have refused to become a Muslim(McAuliffe: 28890).

Bibliography: McAuliffe, J. D., Qurnic Christians: AnAnalysis of Classical and Modern Exegesis (Cambridge 1991). Robinson, N., Jesus, Encyclopaedia of the Qurn 3 (Leiden2003) 721. Wensinck, A. J., H awr, Encyclopaedia ofIslam 3 (Leiden 1971) 285. Zahniser, A.H. M., Apostle,Encyclopaedia of the Qurn 1 (Leiden 2001) 123.

Mark Beaumont



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VI. Other Religions

As disciples, Jesus Twelve, the rabbinic talmideihakhamim (students of the sages), and Muammadscompanions (see Disciple, Discipleship II. NewTestament, III. Judaism, and V. Islam), are cer-tainly not unique to the three major monotheistictraditions derived from the Bible and from the bib-lically-related Qurn. Broadly construed by Martin

Jaffee (2360) as a particularly intense mentoringrelationship in which a body of knowledge deemedessential to the wise conduct of life is transmittedfrom the mentor (or master) to the protg (or disci-ple), religious discipleship is likewise found rootedin other major civilizations religious and philo-sophical systems that emerged from the middle ofthe first millennium BCE through the middle of the

first millennium CE in the Mediterranean world(viz. Greco-Roman philosophical tradition), Meso-potamia, and South and East Asia (viz. Zoroastrian-ism, Hinduism, Buddhism, Confucianism, Daoism).

However, Jaffees construal, in concentratingupon transmitted knowledge, should be quali-fied, given Joachim Wachs well-known differen-tiation between the inherently personal master-dis-ciple relationship and the teacher-studentrelationship, which is constituted through com-mon interest in the object of study; the student re-spects the teacher as the possessor and mediator ofcertain crafts, knowledge or skill. The disci-ple, in contrast, esteems the master not becausehe conveys something useful, something transfer-able from his possession to the disciple Rather,

the significance for the disciple rests in the masters[individual and irreplaceable] personality (Wach1988: 2). Making no reference to Wach, Lee Yearley(226) similarly distinguishes between the acciden-tal and contingent relation of the teacher to thestudent qua self-legislator, and the essential(and necessary) relation of the savior to the dis-ciple.

The bond between Jesus and his disciples hasbeen seen by some scholars to find counterparts notonly in Muammads life but also in the biogra-phies of other religious founders such as the Bud-dha, the Mahvra (Jainisms most recent Jina orconqueror), Zoroaster, Mani, Confucius (Kongzi),and Laozi. Each of these, like Jesus, attracted whatWach clearly recalling his own involvement in the

Kreis (circle) around the poet Stefan George (18681933) (see Ziolkowski: 347) characterized as a cir-cle of intimate fellowship, in which the disciplestransformed existence entails emulation of, identi-fication with, and dependence upon the master (cf.

Jaffee: 2360).The master may single out one particular disci-

ple as an intimate confidant. Thus Wach comparesthe beloved disciple of Johns Gospel with An-anda, Maidhyoimaonha, and Yen Hui in, respec-tively, the Buddhist, Zoroastrian, and Confucian

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groups. However, all of any masters disciples tendto assume the responsibility of spreading and real-izing the masters vision. Membership in the circlemay require a break, or pravrajy (Sanskrit for theBuddhist renunciates going out; Pali: pabbajja),from ordinary life and family. Thus Wach (1944:135) analogizes the claim by Jesus that those whodo Gods will are his true family, not his blood rela-tives, to the comment by Buddhaghosa (whomWach in this instance mistakes for the Buddha him-self): For some persons even father and mother areno hindrances (Visuddhimagga 3; trans. in Warren: 97, 434; cf. Mark 3 : 3135; Matt 21: 4750; Luke8 : 1921; 14 : 26). Notwithstanding distinguishabletypes of disciples: a type of Jesus-disciple, of Bud-dha-disciple, and a type of Hellenic, or Sufist,discipleship (Wach 1988: 21), the western tend-

ency has been to regard not only other western, butalso non-western and pre-Christian examples of dis-cipleship through a NT lens: e.g., Weber (224)spoke of Ananda as [the Buddhas] beloved disci-ple, hence, the John of primitive Buddhism;Wach referred to Maidhyoimaonha likewise as theZoroastrian John (Wach 1944: 135 n. 122) and toDevadatta, the accused schismatic, as BuddhismsJudas Iscariot (Wach 1988: 23; cf. Kersten: 98).

In the early 20th century, it was speculated that,like his temptation, miracles, and other aspects ofhis life, the disciples of Jesus and his dealings withthem derived directly from Buddhism (Hopkins:552). More recently, the multiple parallels between

Jesus and the Buddha in their relation to their disci-ples have likewise struck more than one scholar.

Aside from the similarities already noted, the Bud-dha and Jesus have been said to have used the samecommand in summoning their first disciples:Come, follow me! (Kersten: 96) even though theBuddhas invitation was Come and see (Pali: Ehipassiko), an expression similar but certainly notidentical with Jesus Come, follow me! (NIV: Matt4:19; 19:21; Mark 1:17; 10:21; Luke 18:22). Ineach case, the disciples instantaneously renouncedall and followed. Both masters required of them ahomeless, insecure lifestyle, devoted to healing thesick and other such selfless pursuits (e.g., compareMatt 25 : 40 and Mahvagga 8.26). And both encour-aged their disciples to become missionaries, whichled to the formation of the sangha and church(Amore: 39, 4246; Kersten: 9798).

It is beyond this articles scope to investigatehow much, if at all, the NTs representation of Jesusand his disciples may have been influenced by, ormay have influenced, the Buddhist pattern of disci-pleship, or any other comparable pattern in otherreligions. Yet it is noteworthy that such patterns arestill current. For example, in Buddhism (particu-larly Mahyna) and also Hinduism, the disciple/master or devotee/guru relationship remains cen-tral. In some Tibetan traditions, the guru is to beseen as a Buddha for the student.



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Outside the mainstream Christian traditionsin which notions of discipleship hark back to theparadigms of the NT and imitatio Christi (see Disci-ple, Discipleship IV. Christianity), those same par-adigms discernibly informed the gatherings of dis-ciples around certain charismatic literary artists:e.g., Walt Whitman, revered as a successor to Jesus,Kronos, Buddha, and every other religious figureof the past (Robertson: 11); and George, with hisaforementioned Kreis.

Bibliography: Amore, R. C., Two Masters, One Message(Nashville, Tenn. 1978). Hopkins, E. W., History of Reli-gions(New York 1918). Jaffee, M. S., Discipleship, Ency-clopedia of Religion, vol. 4 (Detroit, Mich. 22005) 2360364. Kersten, H., Jesus Lived in India: His Unknown Life Before andAfter the Crucifixion (Shaftesbury 1997). Robertson, M.,Worshipping Walt: The Whitman Disciples (Princeton, N.J.

2008). Wach, J., Sociology of Religion (Chicago, Ill. 1944). Wach, J., Master and Disciple: Two Religio-SociologicalStudies, in id., Essays in the History of Religions (eds. J. M.Kitagawa/G.D. Alles; New York 1988) 132; trans of id.,Meister und Jnger (Leipzig 1925). Warren, H. C., Buddhismin Translation (New York 1976 [.=11896]). Weber, M., TheReligion of India: the Sociology of Hinduism and Buddhism (eds.H. H. Gerth/D. Martindale; New Delhi 2007). Yearley, L.,Teachers and Saviors, Journal of Religion 65/2 (1985) 22543. Ziolkowski, E., Wach, Religion, and The Emancipa-tion of Art, Numen 46 (1999) 34569.

Eric Ziolkowski

VII. Literature

The figure of the disciple as a student or faithfulfollower, and the theme of discipleship as a devotedself-fashioning on the basis of an inspired model,

are of course to be found throughout literature. Theextent to which biblical disciples or discipleship isa source for later writers, however, will usually beimpossible to determine. The biblical source issometimes quite clear, though. This is certainly soin early Jewish and Christian depictions of disciple-ship. A story in the Babylonian Talmud about thegreed of Elishas servant Gehazi, and the rift itcauses between servant and master (see 2 Kgs 5), isretold as though Gehazi were one of Elishas disci-ples, who is punished for seeking to gain materiallyfrom the study of Torah (bSot47a; Rubenstein: 11649). Jesus, too, is understood to be an erring disci-ple in the same text. Stories about Mary Magdalenefrom the NT (e.g., John 20) lead to her reconceptu-alization in the Gospel of Mary as perhaps the most

important of Jesus disciples, although others inthat text, such as Peter, cannot entirely accept herauthority in this regard (see Schaberg: 16877). Me-dieval tradition frequently depicts Jesus other dis-ciples engaging in various post-biblical adventures(Thomas traveling to India, for instance). In the OldEnglish poem Dream of the Rood (6th or 7th cent.)the disciples become earls or thanes to Jesus, theirheroic liege, as is also the case in the Anglo-Saxonepic Heliand (9th cent.), which similarly under-stands the larger body of Jesus disciples as the

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warrior-companions of his retinue (Alexander: 88;Murphy: 10). Later English mystery plays couldself-reflexively bring the experience of discipleshipto their audiences as when at the end of the YorkEmmaus play (15th cent.) the disciples, here calledpilgrims, refer to the pressing need to move on be-cause their own play has ended, but more impor-tantly because they must preach the resurrection tothe disciples in Jerusalem, just as they have doneon the streets of York (Beadle: 365; see Fitzgerald:159). In Dantes Purgatorio (14th cent.), the poet,himself a disciple of sorts to Virgil and even Bea-trice, falls into and awakens from a mysteriousslumber that he compares to that of the disciplesPeter, John, and James at the transfiguration(32.7278 Alighieri: 301; cf. Luke 9 : 32). A long tra-dition of later gospel retellings obviously engages

the personalities and narratives of the disciples, too,culminating perhaps in such 20th-century works asKazantzakis Last Temptation of Christ (1951). In thatnovel, the tortured relationship between Jesus andhis most important disciple, Judas, is explored togreat existential and theological effect, for Christrequires Judas courage to complete his sacrifice.Perhaps Jorge Luis Borges, in his story Three Ver-sions of Judas (1944) goes further, though, imagin-ing that this disciple is none other than the Christhimself, who suffers absolute and desolating pun-ishment for the good of humanity.

Beyond those texts in which discipleship oper-ates in terms of direct biblical referents, there aremany more that treat the topic more obliquely. Twoexamples will suffice to indicate something of the

range of possibilities. Martin Bubers collected Talesof the Hasidim records various stories of disciples.Buber notes that a few in particular illustrate thesignificance of discipleship for the early Hasidiccommunity, including one in which the Baal ShemTov is frustrated by his inability to perform theblessing of the new moon because of a heavilycloudy sky. Meanwhile his disciples, simply danc-ing in joy (and without knowing of their mastersangst) cause the moon miraculously to shine forthin greater radiance than ever before (Buber: 54).A rather different example is to be found in GeorgeBernard Shaws play The Devils Disciple (first per-formed 1897), which features a Nietzschean protag-onist in Americas revolutionary period bent onbreaking pious proprieties wherever he sees them.

He calls out early in the play with provocative bra-vado, for instance, asking: Now then: how manyof you will stay with me; run up the American flagon the devils house; and make a fight for free-dom? (Shaw: 81). Eventually, however, this disc

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