The Shepherd of Hermas is a somewhat enigmatic early Christian document. It was written by a freed slave named Hermas, who may have been an influential figure within the Church, or related to one. It’s a collection of visions, commandments, and parables (often called “similitudes”). Its contents cover a number of genres of Christian literature, including some apocalyptic and metaphorical content.
It was originally written in κοινη (koinē, or “common”) Greek, in or near Rome, sometime between 90 and 150 CE. (A date from the middle of the 1st century was also classically suggested, but is considered unlikely.)
As noted, Hermas was a freed slave who, apparently later in life, had a series of visions, then was visited by an angelic being. That angelic being was “dressed like a shepherd” and, as Hermas relates, instructed him to write most of the remainder of the book.
Hermas’s identity is otherwise hard to pin down. The Muratorian canon identifies him as a brother of Pope Pius I who was Bishop of Rome from about 140 CE to 154 CE. There was a Hermas spoken of in Paul’s epistle to the Romans, but it’s all but certain anyone Paul associated with couldn’t have written this book. (It’s a reference to this Hermas which has been used to support a mid-1st century date of authorship.) Modern scholars view it as much more likely a 2nd century document.
This book is less concerned with doctrine or theology than it is with morals and commandments to Christians and the Church’s leaders. Its apocalyptic and metaphorical content also reflects its moral lessons rather than actually making predictions about the future. Its emphasis on morals and instruction is evident from its opening: A vision Hermas has of his former owner, a woman named Rhoda, and the manner in which he’d lusted after her.
The majority of this book, as mentioned already, concerns morals and behavior. Even the visions and apocalyptic content speak to this. In its Ninth Similitude, for example, its initial vision includes twelve mountains. Later in the similitude, the Shepherd lays out the symbolism of each mountain, and the moral lesson that follows from each.
The Shepherd offers what might seem to modern eyes a very strange take on the nature of forgiveness. Hermas’s second vision is of an old woman with a book who wants Hermas to convey its contents to “the elect of God.” He transcribed the contents of the book but couldn’t make sense of what he’d written until 12 days later. At that point, he noticed among the book’s text this curious information:
For the Lord has sworn by His glory, in regard to His elect, that if any one of them sin after a certain day which has been fixed, he shall not be saved. For the repentance of the righteous has limits. Filled up are the days of repentance to all the saints; but to the heathen, repentance will be possible even to the last day. You will tell, therefore, those who preside over the Church, to direct their ways in righteousness, that they may receive in full the promises with great glory. Stand stedfast [sic], therefore, ye who work righteous, ness, and doubt not, that your passage may be with the holy angels. (From 2nd Vision ch. 2)
This has been taken as a belief that, after a Christian is initiated into the faith by baptism (thus becoming one of “God’s elect”), subsequent forgiveness is limited. “After a certain day which has been fixed,” forgiveness can’t be obtained. The solution was for people to delay baptism as long as possible, because sins committed afterward might not be forgiven.
As noted, in the 2nd and even 3rd centuries, this book was widely viewed as sacred scripture, and either treated as canon or close to it. It was translated into Latin almost immediately after it was written and began to be distributed. It’s also known to have been translated into Coptic, Ethiopian, Persian, and Georgian languages.
Its greatest influence was within the central Roman Empire and it appears to have been trafficked more often in Latin than any of the other languages. It’s perhaps for this reason that the only complete, extant example of this book is of that initial Latin translation.
Several Church Fathers considered Shepherd of Hermas authoritative. Among them were Irenaeus of Lyons, Clement of Alexandria, and Origen also of Alexandria. Eusebius of Caesarea stated it was widely read and accepted but also called it a “disputed” work. (One might say he wasn’t a fan.) Athanasius listed it as a respected work, but not a canonical one.
St Jerome did not consider it canonical and never made any attempt (that we know of) to translate it into Latin. (In his time it’s possible there was no longer any complete Greek original for him to work from.) Tertullian’s position is a bit ambiguous; he expressed some respect for it, but also believed it contained errors. So while he may have had an affinity for it, it’s not safe to say he considered it authoritative.
Shepherd of Hermas was also included within the Codex Sinaiticus, a 4th century Bible which also included the Epistle of Barnabas.
Despite this book’s wide acclaim within the first few centuries after it was written, as well as more than a few references to it as authoritative, and Church Fathers such as Origen having quoted it, it appears Shepherd’s status had declined by at least the late 4th century (and possibly prior to that, given that Eusebius classified it as “disputed” within his own time). Ultimately, it ended up having little effect on Christianity as a whole.
Part of that has to do with its nature: It was primarily a moral tale, and the morals it conveyed were already fully within the wheelhouse of Christendom even by the time it had been written. For example, it propounded the need for chastity, which was already a strong theme within the Church. Where it offered any theological insights, a few of these turned out to be troubling, such as the idea that, after baptism, Christians have only just so long to request forgiveness for any sins, and won’t be given any, after some unstated point.
Lastly, add to all of this the fact that it’s a very, very long book, and one can see why Christians eventually reached a point where they were simply uninterested in preserving it. Other texts were more worthy of their time and effort, and took less effort and resources to copy … so those are the ones they held onto.
You can read this book in several places on the Internet:
Quotation from Shepherd of Hermas is from the Roberts-Donaldson translation, courtesy of Early Christian Writings
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