Hermas and St. Justin
Martyr
It is stated in the anonymous Muratorian Fragment (C. 155-200 AD) that
Hermas was the author of The Shepherd and the brother of Pope St. Pius I
who sat on the See of Peter from C. 140-155 AD: “And very recently in our
own times, in the city of Rome, Hermas wrote the Pastor, when his brother
Pius, the bishop, sat upon the chair of the city of Rome.” According to his
autobiography, Hermas claimed to be a contemporary of St. Clement of
Rome, though the veracity of this reference is questionable.
Hermas was originally a Greek slave who later became a freedman after
being sold to a Christian lady named Rhode. He then applied himself to
business, amassing great wealth from his farm that lay between Rome and
Cumae. Consequently, he neglected his spiritual life and, more particularly,
failed to morally guide his wife and children. When persecution came,
however, he and his wife confessed the faith only to be betrayed by their
apostate children. Hermas’ betrayal resulted in the loss of his fortune but
led to his conversion to fervor. It was while endeavoring to do penance for
the past that he composed The Shepherd.
The Shepherd was most probably written in Rome during the reign of St.
Pius I. Its purpose was to call clergy and laity responsible for grave
disorders in the Roman Church to penance. The necessity of penance, its
efficacy and its conditions form the groundwork of the work. Hermas
presents his ideas as a seer passing on visions and revelations that have
been given to him by “the Matron.” This was done so that his readers
would more readily accept his ideas. There are two distinct personages who
appear to Hermas. The first is the Church in the form of an aged woman
(“the Matron”) who grows younger and more graceful with each vision; the
second is the Angel of Penance to whose care Hermas has been entrusted.
The Shepherd is divided into three parts, namely, five Visions,
twelve
Commandments, and ten Parables. Together, they insist upon virtues and
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