Christian library

Christian Theological libraries have their origins in the Jewish religion whose practice and transmission depended on the keeping and duplication of sacred texts. Like Judaism, Christianity depends fundamentally on the preservation and study of a sacred text. From this it follows that the texts and the secondary literature will be collected for the use of the literate members of the religious communities and passed on to succeeding generations.

The integral relationship between Christianity and its texts has always ensured a central place for books, for learning, and for libraries among Christians. The passing of two millennia has witnessed changes in the manner and intensity of Christian scholarship, yet it has always been the case that theological learning is inconceivable without libraries and librarians doing the work both of collecting the theological insights of the past and anticipating future theological and religious trends.

The establishment of the Christian canon has classically been a subject of central interest to the Christian religion (though in more recent years it has become a special study for theologians and textual critics). It also has a direct bearing on the origins of Christian libraries. As preliminary consensus in the formation of a canon was arrived at, early Christian communities would typically entrust to a member of the community the task of providing care and security for those documents that authentically represented the identity and cohesion of each community in this upstart (and frequently embattled) religion.

The impulse to keep valued texts and documents safe but accessible shaped the patterns of early collections, and the first recorded mention of early Christian library activity comes down to us from a context of hostility. Under the Emperor Diocletian (3rd-century), a series of edicts against the Christians included orders that Christian books be seized and destroyed. From this it can reasonably be inferred that it was typical for a local Christian assembly to possess a collection of texts of one kind or another, and that the authorities considered the destruction of such materials to be an essential part of suppressing the Christian faith.

Bishop Alexander of Jerusalem established a library during his tenure (first half of the 3rd century): this is known from the records of an actual “reader”, Eusebius of Caesarea, who mentions some of the works he found there. Possibly Alexander’s library had as its model the notable Classical collection of Alexandria: it may be that while still in the Egyptian city, Origen encouraged his student Alexander to initiate a center for study in Jerusalem.

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