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Bible and Early Church History  /  The Truth About the Catacombs  /  Discussion Questions
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Question 5
Aristides describes Christians pooling resources so “each one…carefully sees to [a poor believer’s] burial,” and Lactantius calls burying strangers and the poor “the last and greatest office of piety”; if your church treated burial for the poor as a core ministry rather than a private family matter, what would have to change in priorities, budgets, and members’ assumptions about “real ministry”?
Another way to ask: Some early Christians made sure poor believers got a proper burial, and even called it a top act of faithfulness. If your church treated burial for the poor as a main ministry, what would need to change in your budget, priorities, and what people think counts as “real ministry”?

Direct Answer The transcript suggests the early church treated burial for the poor (and even strangers) as a shared act of mercy and “piety,” so a modern church would need to view this as real discipleship work, not just a family responsibility. That would require intentional planning, shared giving, and a mindset that caring for bodies after death is part of Christian love.

Support from Transcript:

  • Aristides (c. 125): “Whenever one of the poor among them passes… each one… carefully sees to his burial.”
  • Aristides also describes a hopeful attitude: they “escort his body as if he were setting out… to another nearby,” tying burial to resurrection-minded faith.
  • Bercot states this explicitly as ministry: “one of the ministries of the early Christians was to make certain that a proper burial was provided.”
  • Lactantius calls it “the last and greatest office of piety,” refusing to let God’s “image and workmanship… lie exposed as prey to beasts and birds.”
  • The church extended this beyond members: Bercot says they did the same for “strangers and other non-Christians.”
Discussion Follow-ups What practical structures would support this (a benevolence fund, trained volunteers, partnerships)? Would members see it as “less spiritual” than preaching or missions—and why?

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