But there are some who are disturbing you
and wish to pervert the Gospel of Christ.
But even if we or an angel from heaven
should preach to you a gospel
other than the one that we preached to you,
let that one be accursed!
(Gal 1:7-8)
Who were these “disturbers” who were preaching a different gospel to the Galatians? Apparently, they were spies sent by James and the Jerusalem community to disrupt the work of Paul among the gentiles. Unfortunately, Paul’s somewhat harsh phrase, “let that one be accursed!” (literally, “let them be damned!”) slips into church-speak as “anathema sit.” “Anathema sit” was a common feature of almost every council of the church in its history. The truly remarkable thing is that the Second Vatican Council (1962-1965) published all of its documents, and there was not one “anathema sit.”
The picture today is of the bishops of the Second Vatican Council gathered in the Basilica of Saint Peter.
