Early Church to the Reformation

Early Church to the Reformation

BI 3321

Original Sources:1. Pliny's Letter to the Emperor Trajan2. Persecution after the Fire of Rome3. Acts of the Scillitan Martyrs4. False Reports and Accusations5. Scapegoats for Every Misfortune6. The Diocletian Persecution7. Libelli - Certificates of Paganism

http://www.bible-researcher.com/persecution

Texts on the Persecution of the Early Christians

. Compiled by Michael Marlowe

Detail from The Christian Martyrs’ Last Prayer by Jean-Leon Gerome (1883)

“Christianus Sum”

A. Persecuted ServantsThe blood of the martyrs is the seed of the church.Tertullian—“We multiply whenever we are mown down by you; the blood of Christians is seed.”Jerome–“The church of Christ has been founded by shedding its own blood, not that of others; by enduring outrage, not by inflicting it. Persecutions have made it grow; martyrdoms have crowned it.”

A. Persecuted Servants1. Causes For PersecutionRome generally tolerated foreign religions

that were no danger to morality and discipline.

Xtianity at first received shelter under Jewish privileges.

But after the fall of Jerusalem in AD 70, it became clear that Xtianity was a distinct religion from Judaism and was judged by Rome on its own merits or demerits.

A. Persecuted Servants1. Causes For Persecutiona. Christians refused emperor worship.b. Renounced and opposed all heathen

worship.c. They were atheists (they had no images

& did not believe in the Roman gods).d. They preached foolish and

unreasonable doctrines (incarnation, resurrection, worship of a crucified Jew).

e. They injured trades that depended on idolatry.

A. Persecuted Servants1. Causes For Persecution f. They earned dislike & mistrust by their

aloofness from society.g. They were accused of promiscuous

immorality (a non-Xtian misunderstanding about “Agape”)

h. They were accused of cannibalism (from a similar misunderstanding about the Lord’s Supper).

A. Persecuted Servants1. Causes For Persecution i. They were often blamed for natural

disasters—earthquakes, floods, famines, and pestilence.

j. They were criticized for professing to know more of life & reality than the learned philosophers.

k. The Christian claim of uniqueness was a grave problem.

A. Persecuted Servants1. Causes For Persecution l. Xtianity was never licensed, causing

suspicion and mistrust (every new religion was required to be licensed).

m. Xtianity frequently caused unrest and uproars as it grew.

n. Xtianity held secret meetings thought to be politically dangerous.

o. Most Xtians avoided civil and military service.

A. Persecuted Servants1. Causes For Persecution Added to all of this must have been the

inescapable animosity and antipathy of sinful hearts to a cleansing gospel.

Non-Xtian society expressed its opposition through— a. social ostracism b. oral discussions c. injury to position and business d. literary attacks e. personal persecutions

A. Persecuted Servants1. Causes For PersecutionThe persecutions involved—a. confiscation of propertyb. banishmentc. imprisonmentd. labor in the minese. torture f. execution by fire and wild beastsg. Roman citizens were executed by the

sword.

A. Persecuted Servants1. Causes For Persecution

Christian reactions—a. Those who suffered death were called

martyrs.b. Those who survived great punishments

and remained true to the faith were called confessors.

c. Those who renounced Christ (permanently or temporarily) to escape torture, were called the lapsed.


Christian reactions—d. Those who bribed officers or purchased

certificates that they had sacrificed to the gods were called libellatici.

e. Those who delivered up copies of Scriptures were called traditores.

Libelli

The libelli were documents notarized by Roman authorities to certify that someone had offered sacrifice to their idols. In times of persecution these documents were accepted as proof that someone was not a Christian. Many of these libelli have been discovered in excavations in Egypt.

A Libellus of the Decian Persecution (A. D. 250)

To those in charge of the sacrifices of the village Theadelphia, from Aurelia Bellias, daughter of Peteres, and her daughter, Kapinis. We have always been constant in sacrificing to the gods, and now too, in your presence, in accordance with the regulations, I have poured libations and sacrificed and tasted the offerings, and I ask you to certify this for us below. May you continue to prosper.

(2nd hand) We, Aurelius Serenus and Aurelius Hermas, saw you sacrificing.

(3rd hand) I, Hermas, certify.

(1st hand) The 1st year of the Emperor Caesar Gaius Messius Qunitus Traianus Decius Pius Felix Augustus, Pauni 27.

To the Commissioners of Sacrifice of the Village of Alexander’s Island:

From Aurelius Diogenes, the son of Satabus, of the Village of Alexander’s Island, aged 72 years: ---scar on his right

eyebrow. I have always sacrificed regularly to the gods, and now, in your presence, in accordance with the edict, I have done sacrifice, and poured the drink offering, and tasted of the sacrifices, and I request you to certify the same. Farewell.

-----Handed in by me, Aurelius Diogenes.

-----I certify that I saw him sacrificing [signature obliterated].

Done in the first year of the Emperor, Caesar Gaius Messius Quintus Trajanus Decius Pius Felix Augustus, second of the

month Epith. [June 26, 250 A.D.]


Persecutions began almost accidentally, at least spontaneously, but soon became a planned and legal policy of the state.

From local situations, the persecutions spread out to include the vast territory of the empire, affecting Xtians wherever they were found.

A. Persecuted Servants2. Periods of PersecutionOrosius (5th c. ch. hist.) listed 10 periods of

persecution; this was too many for the general persecutions and too few for the provincial and local.

Some persecuting emperors (e.g., Nero, Domitian, Galerius) were monstrous tyrants.

Others (e.g., Trajan, Marcus Aurelius, Decius, Diocletian) were motivated not by hatred but by a determination to maintain law and the power of the government.

A. Persecuted Servants2. Periods of PersecutionSome were relatively favorable to Xtians.One thing that all the emperors had in

common was a basic ignorance of the true nature and character of the new religion.

The 10 traditional periods of persecution are the following:

A. Persecuted Servants2. Periods of Persecutiona. Nero54-58; began a reign of great prosperity &

enterprise; became decadent and ruthless.Unchecked extravagances brought grave

financial difficulties to the empire.Executed nobles who opposed him;

suspected of causing the fire which destroyed a large part of Rome in 64.

Sought to blame the Xtians at Rome for the fire.

Nero

A. Persecuted Servants2. Periods of Persecutiona. NeroSeverely punished them for the fire & for

their “hatred of the human race.”The Caesar to whom Paul appealed (Acts

25:10)—unknown whether he took part in Paul’s trial.

Tradition says both Peter and Paul were martyred at Rome during his reign.

A. Persecuted Servants2. Periods of Persecutiona. Nero Increasing unpopularity, revolts throughout

the empire and desertion by the Praetorians caused N. to commit suicide in June 68.

After his death was a widespread belief that the tyrant would return (“Nero redivivus”); this myth sometimes considered the basis for the “Beast” of Rev. 13:11-18.

A. Persecuted Servants2. Periods of Persecutiona. Nero “Number of the beast,” 666, corresponds to

“Neron Caesar” in Gk notation.Nero’s persecution set a precedent for

treating them as criminals and condemning them “for the Name” (of Christ) by summary magisterial jurisdiction.

A. Persecuted Servants2. Periods of Persecutionb. Domitian81-96; gradually assumed despotic powers

and demanded that public worship be given to him as Dominus et Deus.

Toward end of his reign, he declared a widespread persecution of Christians and Jews.

Executed Flavius Clemens & Glabrio and banished Domitilla for Atheism—all personally related to him but suspected of being Xtians.

Domitian

A. Persecuted Servants2. Periods of Persecutionb. DomitianTradition holds it was during the Domitian

persecutions that the apostle John was banished to Patmos, where he received the revelations recorded in the Apocalypse (the NT book of Revelation).

A. Persecuted Servants2. Periods of Persecutionc. Trajan98-177; one of the best emperors.But when he revived the rigid laws against

secret societies, his provincial officers applied them to Xtians because of their frequent meetings for worship.

In 112 issued regulations which made Xtianity formally an illegal religion, and which formed the basis of all subsequent state persecutions.

Trajan

A. Persecuted Servants2. Periods of Persecutionc. TrajanRegulations:1) Xtians as such were not to be sought

out by officials.2) But when accused and convicted, they

were to be executed.3) Those who denied being Xtians and

those who renounced Xtianity were to be freed.

A. Persecuted Servants2. Periods of Persecutionc. Trajan4) anonymous accusations against Xtians

were not to be considered.Overall, Trajan left the matter of carrying

out these regulations in the hands of provincial governors, resulting in a wide variety of intensity in persecutions.

Following Trajan, emperor Hadrian tended toward toleration rather than repression.

A. Persecuted Servants2. Periods of Persecutionc. TrajanChurches were allowed to hold property,

but by grace, not by law.He is said to have decreed that Xtians

should be executed only if they had committed specific crimes.

Was during Hadrian’s reign that the Apologists did most of their writing, several directing their pleas directly to the emperor, perhaps influenced by his leniency.

A. Persecuted Servants2. Periods of Persecutiond. Marcus Aurelius161-180; deeply concerned for the moral

strength & material prosperity of the empireFelt that the Xtians were in conflict with his

avowed purposes because their ethic was irreconcilable with his extreme Stoicism.

They also resisted the official state religion and recognized Romans and barbarians as equals since neither were Xtians.

Marcus Aurelius

A. Persecuted Servants2. Periods of Persecutiond. Marcus AureliusHe sanctioned severe persecutions at

Lyons.The leading apologist, Justin Martyr, was

beheaded at Rome during these widespread persecutions.

A. Persecuted Servants2. Periods of Persecutione. Septimius SeverusNot an active persecutor, but was

responsible for some notable martyrdoms.202, he forbade conversion to Xtianity &

Perpetua was imprisoned & condemned to execution in the arena at Carthage.

Tertullian (who recorded Perpetua’s martyrdom) made a strong appeal to Severus for toleration.

Septimius Severus

A. Persecuted Servants2. Periods of Persecutione. Septimius SeverusT. seems to have had some effect on the

emperor.Following S’s death in 211, a long period of

peace ensued under his successor Alexander Severus, who appeared well disposed toward the Xtians.

A. Persecuted Servants2. Periods of Persecution f. Maximus Thrax235-238; resorted again to persecution,

some think out of mere opposition to his predecessor.

He gave free course to the popular fury against Xtians, called the “enemies of the gods,” & accused them of causing a devastating earthquake.

Is credited with especially ordering bishops to be executed.

Maximus Thrax

A. Persecuted Servants2. Periods of Persecution f. Maximus ThraxSome records indicate his order included

the entire clergy.Legend in 10th c. accused him of the

martyrdom of Ursula, a British princess, & her company of 11,000 virgins (probably highly exaggerated).

But facts of history fix him as a rude barbarian who slaughtered Xtians and plundered heathen temples.

A. Persecuted Servants2. Periods of Persecutiong. Decius249-251; short, but lasting, effect upon the

status, & even the theology, of Xtianity.First systematic persecution of Xtians, beg.

with the execution of Fabian, Bishop of Rome, in Jan. 250.

Decreed that all citizens were required to furnish proof of having offered sacrifice to the emperor and state gods under pain of death.

Decius

A. Persecuted Servants2. Periods of Persecutiong. DeciusThe obvious move against Xtianity reveals

how seriously the new religion was considered a threat to the state.

Many were put to death, but many other denied the faith (the “lapsed”) or escaped through bribery (the “libellatici”), which led to controversy over penance, rebaptism and reconciliation.

A. Persecuted Servants2. Periods of Persecutiong. DeciusThe conflict & resulting theological disputes

between Cyprian, Novatian, and Cornelius set precedents for the developing episcopate.

The persecutions by Decius were ended when he was killed in battle with the Goths in 253.

A. Persecuted Servants2. Periods of Persecutionh. Valerian253-260; at first mild toward Xtianity, but

changed in 257, making an effort to stop the progress of Xtianity without bloodshed.

Banished ministers and prominent laymen, confiscated their property, & prohibited religious assembly.

When these measures failed, he brought the death penalty back.

Valerian

A. Persecuted Servants2. Periods of Persecutionh. ValerianOrdered the execution of all clergy &

laymen of high rank who would not recant.Most distinguished martyrs of this

persecution were the bishops Sixtus II of Rome and Cyprian of Carthage.

A. Persecuted Servants2. Periods of Persecution i. Aurelian270-275; is listed by Orosius as one of the

persecutors, but in fact he did not seriously trouble the church.

His predecessor, Gallienus (260-268) had given peace to the church, even recognizing Xtianity as a legitimate religion.

Aurelian, warlike & energetic, sought to overthrow Gallienus’ policies & issued an edict of persecution.

A. Persecuted Servants2. Periods of Persecution i. AurelianThe edict was made void by his

assassination.6 emperors who followed rapidly from 275

to 284 did not bother the Xtians.So, for some 40 yrs Xtianity enjoyed a calm

and a great period of growth and prosperity.

Large & splendid houses of worship were built in the chief cities.

A. Persecuted Servants2. Periods of Persecution i. AurelianChurches amassed wealth, collections of

sacred books, & vessels of silver & gold for administering the sacraments.

Period was also filled with quarrels, intrigues, factions & worldliness in the ch.

While they had grown spiritually during persecutions, Xtians now appeared to grow physically & diminish spiritually during prosperity.

A. Persecuted Servants2. Periods of PersecutionGreatest & last persecution loomed on the

horizon. j. Diocletian284-305; made his main purpose to

stabilize & reform the empire.Created an absolute monarchy, centering

all power in himself as the semidivine ruler & making his palace the “domus divina” and his own person sacred.

Diocletian

A. Persecuted Servants2. Periods of Persecution j. DiocletianDivided the empire into East & West for

administration, strengthening power of Rome in areas where had been weak.

At first, Xtians continued in the policy of toleration & the atmosphere of calm.

But in 303 the Great Persecution broke out when D. issued an edict ordering the demolition of all Xtian churches & the burning of Xtian books.

A. Persecuted Servants2. Periods of Persecution j. Diocletian Incidents which followed (fires & unrest)

led to further edicts, solely against the clergy, inflicting imprisonment, torture, & death for the crime of resistance.

A 4th edict in 304 extended these penalties to the laity also.

The persecution resulted in a number of martyrdoms, & continued for several years even after Diocletian abdicated.

A. Persecuted Servants2. Periods of Persecution j. DiocletianHis nephew, Maximin Daza, who had been

given supreme command of Egypt and Syria, issued a fifth edict in 308.

He commanded all Xtians to sacrifice & eat the accursed offerings, ordering that all food in the markets be sprinkled with sacrificial wine.

Xtians were left with no alternative but apostasy or starvation.

A. Persecuted Servants2. Periods of Persecution j. DiocletianDuring the 10 yrs of D’s persecutions,

Xtians throughout the empire were barbarously mutilated, condemned to lingering deaths in prisons & mines, & slaughtered by beasts in the arenas.

Eusebius lived during this period, witnessed the persecutions in Caesarea, Tyre and Egypt and was himself imprisoned but released.

A. Persecuted Servants2. Periods of Persecution j. DiocletianHe vividly describes the atrocities and the

heroics of the persecuted.At last, he said, bloody swords became full

and shattered, the executioners became weary, but the Xtians sang hymns of praise & thanksgiving in honor to their God, even to their last breath.

B. Persevering BelieversThe Xtian faith did not survive accidentally or easily.

Strong hearts & strident voices appeared when needed the most, & their perseverance more than matched their foes’ persecution.

By the end of the 1st c. thriving Xtian communities could be found throughout the eastern, southern & western parts of the empire.

B. Persevering BelieversXtianity had begun its worldwide conquest, but its expansion had been dependent upon the vision and leadership of the apostles, who were now all gone.New leaders & thinkers were needed for the new kind of encounters the church faced.Persecutions had already begun, heresies were springing up & intellectual challenges were arising.

B. Persevering BelieversMost of the available information on the post apostolic era comes from the Ecclesiastical History of Eusebius, written sometime before 325 AD.

Eusebius=bishop of Caesarea, personal friend of the emperor Constantine & leader of the Council of Nicaea.

He had access to the Xtian libraries of Caesarea and Jerusalem.

B. Persevering BelieversHis work is our principal source for Xtian history of the period and has earned E. the title of “Father of Church History.”

Other valuable writings of the period were produced by the leaders & thinkers who were combating the adversaries of the church, and were the actors as well as the preservers of church history.

B. Persevering Believers1. The Apostolic FathersSince late 17th c. the title “Apostolic

Fathers” has been given to a group of church fathers who immediately succeeded the NT period.

Writings were so named because it was long believed they were personal disciples of the apostles; this erroneous idea has died but the title did not.

Are 8 or 9 works of these writers, some of which hovered for a time on the edge of being included in the NT canon.

B. Persevering Believers1. The Apostolic Fathersa. Clement of Rome (fl. c. 96)Earliest of A.F.; possibly the 3rd bishop of

Rome & possibly the Clement in Phil. 4:3.The epistle (commonly called I Clement)

was written from Rome to Corinth to deal with the division in the Corinthian ch. over certain presbyters who had been deposed.

Clement provides information on the state of the ministry of the time, on the history of the Roman church, and the martyrdoms of Peter and Paul.

Clement of Rome

B. Persevering Believers1. The Apostolic Fathersa. Clement of Rome (fl. c. 96) II Clement is a homily (sermon), the

earliest surviving Xtian sermon, setting out in general terms the character of the Xtian life and the duty of repentance.

Because of the different style, it is generally considered to be by a separate author.

B. Persevering Believers1. The Apostolic Fathersa. Clement of Rome (fl. c. 96) II Clement is a homily (sermon), the

earliest surviving Xtian sermon, setting out in general terms the character of the Xtian life and the duty of repentance.

Because of the different style, it is generally considered to be by a separate author.

B. Persevering Believers1. The Apostolic Fathersb. Ignatius of Antioch (c. 35-107)Early in 2nd c., I., bishop of Antioch, was

seized in a persecution and taken to Rome to be thrown to wild beasts in the arena.

On the way to martyrdom he wrote at least 7 epistles.

From Smyrna he wrote to chs. in Ephesus, Magnesia, Tralles, and Rome; from Troas he wrote to Smyrna & Philadelphia & to Polycarp, the bishop of Smyrna.

Ignatius of Antioch

B. Persevering Believers1. The Apostolic Fathersb. Ignatius of Antioch (c. 35-107)These epistles are the most imp.

documents of the period; reveal that the writer was passionately devoted to X & had a consuming desire for martyrdom.

With unusual insight into controversies yet to come in the ch, he insisted on the reality of both the divinity and humanity of X, & upheld the office of bishop as the best hope for unity in Xtianity.

B. Persevering Believers1. The Apostolic Fathersb. Ignatius of Antioch (c. 35-107)He may have been the first to use the 3-

fold order of bishop, elder, and deacon.

Ignatius

In like manner let all men respect the deacons as Jesus Christ, and the presbyters as the council of God; and as the college of Apostles.Apart from these there is not even the name of a church. To the Trallians, 3Let no man do aught of things pertaining to the Church apart from the bishop. Let that be held a valid eucharist which is under the bishop or one to whom he shall have committed it. Wheresoeverthe bishop shall appear, there lit the people be; even as where Jesusmay be, there is the universal Church. It is not lawful apart from thebishop either to baptize or to hold a love-feast; but whatsoever he shall approve, this is well-pleasing also to God; that everything which ye do may be sure and valid. To the Smyrneans, 8

IgnatiusI write to all the churches, and I bid all men know, that of my ownfree will I die for God, unless ye should hinder me. I exhort you,be not an unseasonable kindness to me. Let me be given to the wild beasts, for through them I can attain unto God. I am God’swheat, and I am ground by the teeth of wild beast that I may befound pure bread [of Christ]. Rather entice the wild beasts, thatthey may become my sepulchre and may leave no part of my bodybehind, so that I may not, when I am fallen asleep, be burdensometo any one. Then shall I be truly a disciple of Jesus Christ, whenthe world shall not so much as see my body. Supplicate the Lordfor me, that through these instruments I may be found a sacrificeto God. To the Romans, 4

B. Persevering Believers1. The Apostolic Fathersc. Polycarp of Smyrna (c. 69-155)Bishop of Smyrna; leading Xtian figure in

province of Asia in middle of 2nd c.His long life was an important link between

the apostolic age and the prominent Xtian writers at the end of the 2nd c., one of whom (Irenaeus) said that Polycarp had talked with John & the rest of those who had seen the Lord.

Polycarp of Smyrna(unknown artist)

B. Persevering Believers1. The Apostolic Fathersc. Polycarp of Smyrna (c. 69-155)P. was a staunch defender of orthodoxy,

combating such heretics as the Marcionites and Valentinians.

A letter addressed to him by Ignatius survives, as does his own Epistle to the Philippians.

He was arrested during a pagan festival in Smyrna & ordered to renounce Christ.

B. Persevering Believers1. The Apostolic Fathersc. Polycarp of Smyrna (c. 69-155)Proclaiming that he had served X for 86

yrs., he refused to recant his faith and was burned to death.

B. Persevering Believers1. The Apostolic Fathersd. Hermas of Rome (c. 100-140) Initially a Xtian slave, Hermas was sold to a

woman called Rhoda, who set him free.He married & became a wealthy merchant. In persecution, he lost all his property, was

denounced by his own children & went through a period of penance.

His book, The Shepherd, upholds the necessity of penance, and suggested

B. Persevering Believers1. The Apostolic Fathersd. Hermas of Rome (c. 100-140)The possibility of the forgiveness of sins at

least once after baptism (a doctrine which causes Tertullian to call it the “Shepherd of the Adulterers”).

It was, however, greatly esteemed for its teachings on Xtian behavior & virtues and served as an early textbook for catechumens.

B. Persevering Believers1. The Apostolic Fatherse. Papias (c. 60-130)This little-known bishop of Hierapolis in

Asia Minor is said by Irenaeus to have been a disciple of John and a companion of Polycarp.

His work in five books survives only in quotations in Irenaeus & Eusebius.

It contained many oral traditions, legendary accounts, and gospel material.

B. Persevering Believers1. The Apostolic Fatherse. Papias (c. 60-130)He did leave some valuable and original

insights into the origin of the gospels of Matthew and Mark.

He states on the authority of the Elder (John?), that Mark, having become the interpreter of Peter, set down accurately, though not in order, everything that he remembered of the words and actions of Jesus.

B. Persevering Believers1. The Apostolic Fatherse. Papias (c. 60-130)He said that Matthew composed his work

in Hebrew and everyone translated it as best he could.

He was one of the first Millenarians, believing that there would be a period of a 1000 yrs after the general resurrection during which the kingdom of X would be set up on earth in a material form.

B. Persevering Believers1. The Apostolic Fathers f. The Epistle of BarnabasAn epistle of early Xtian times ascribed by

Clement of Alexandria to the Barnabas who accompanied Paul.

This is very unlikely; the author was probably a Xtian of Alexandria who wrote between AD 70 & 100.

The work contains a strong attack against Judaism.

B. Persevering Believers1. The Apostolic Fathers f. The Epistle of BarnabasThe epistle explains animal sacrifices and

the temple as mistakes due to Jewish blindness which were never God’s will.

It also interprets the OT in a “typical” (allegorical) sense in order to build the case for Christianity against Judaism.

BarnabasAnd Moses understood, and threw the two tables from

his hands; and their covenant was broken in pieces, that the covenant of the beloved Jesus might be sealed unto our hearts in the hope which springeth from faith in Him. Barnabas, 4

BarnabasFor the scripture saith; And Abraham circumcised of his householdeighteen males and three hundred. What then was the knowledgegiven unto him? Understand ye that He saith the eighteen first, andthen after an interval three hundred. In the eighteen Ι stands for ten, H for eight. Here thou hast Jesus (ΙΗΣΟΥΣ). And because thecross in the Τ was to have grace, He saith also three hundred. SoHe revealeth Jesus in the two letters, and in the remaining one thecross. He who placed within us the innate gift of His covenantknoweth; no man hath ever learnt from me a more genuine word;but I know that ye are worthy. Barnabas, 9

BarnabasBut forasmuch as Moses said; Ye shall not eat swine . . . So then it is not a commandment of God that they should not bite with their teeth, but Moses spake it in spirit. Accordingly he mentioned theswine with this intent. Thou shalt not cleave, saith he, to such menwho are like unto swine; that is, when they are in luxury they forget the Lord…Ye shall eat everything that divideth the hoof and cheweththe cud. What meaneth he? Cleave unto those that fear the Lord,With those who meditate in their heart on the distinction of the word which they have received, with those who tell of the ordinances ofthe Lord and keep them, with those who know that meditation is awork of gladness and who chew the cud of the word of the Lord.

Barnabas, 10

BarnabasMoreover concerning the sabbath likewise it is written in the TenWords…Of the sabbath he speaketh in the beginning of the creation;And God made the works of His hands in six days, and He ended onthe seventh day, and rested on it, and He hallowed it. Give heed,children, what this meaneth; He ended in six days. He meaneththis, that in six thousand years the Lord shall bring all things to an end; for the day with Him signifieth a thousand years; …Therefore,children, in six days, that is in six thousand years, everything shall come to an end.

Barnabas, 15

B. Persevering Believers1. The Apostolic Fathersg. The Epistle to DiognetusA letter written by an unknown Xtian to an

unknown inquirer.The author explains why paganism and

Judaism cannot be tolerated, describes Xtians as the soul of the world, and insists that Xtianity is the unique revelation of God, whose love works man’s salvation.

B. Persevering Believers1. The Apostolic Fathersh. The Didache (Teaching of the Twelve

Apostles)A short early Xtian manual on morals and

church practice.First section describes the “Two Ways” of

life and death.The second section contains instructions

on baptism, fasting, prayer, the Eucharist, and how to treat prophets, bishops, and deacons.


Apostles)The third section contains prophecies of

the Anti-christ and the second advent of X.The book is of special interest to the

student of early Xtian worship.The author, date and place of origin are

unknown.Was long thought to have been written

during reign of emperor Trajan (d. 117).

Concerning baptism, baptize in this way. After you have spokenall these things, “baptize in the name of the Father, and of the Son,and of the Holy Spirit,” in running water. If you do not haverunning water, baptize in other water. If you are not able in cold,then in warm. If you do not have either, pour out water three timeson the head “in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of theHoly Spirit.” Before the baptism the one baptizing and the onebeing baptized are to fast, and any others who are able. Commandthe one being baptized to fast beforehand a day or two.

Didache, 7

Concerning the eucharist, give thanks in this way: First concerningthe cup, “We give thanks to you, Our Father, for the holy vine ofDavid, your Servant, which you made known to us through Jesusyour Servant. To you be the glory forever.” Concerning the brokenbread, “We give thanks to you, Our Father, for the life and knowledge which you made known to us through Jesus your Servant. To you be the glory forever. As this broken bread wasscattered upon the mountains and being Gathered together becameone loaf, so may your church be gathered together from the ends of the Earth into your kingdom. Because the glory and the power are yours through Jesus Christ forever.” No one is to eat or drink of youreucharist except those who have been baptized in the name of the Lord.For also concerning this the Lord has said, “Do not give that which isholy to the dogs.”

Didache, 9

Having earlier confessed your sins so that your sacrificeMay be pure, come together each Lord’s day of the Lord,break bread, and give thanks. No one who has a quarrelwith his fellow is to meet with you until they are reconciled, in order that your sacrifice may not be defiled. For this is what was spoken by the Lord, “In every place and time offerto me a pure sacrifice, because I am a great king, says theLord, and my name is marvelous among the nations.”

Didache, 14


Apostles)Recent scholarship has put it later. Its significance lies in the fact that it is the

earliest of “church orders” and formed the basis of the Seventh Book of the Apostolical Constitutions.

B. Persevering Believers1. The Apostolic FathersThe writing of Xtian literature continued,

furnishing the ch with instruction and inspiration.

This literature, however, tended to be moralistic and considerably below the spiritual level of the NT.

The vast world of non-Xtians did not understand this literature or the message of the church.

B. Persevering Believers2. The ApologistsTo address the questions & opposition of

unbelievers, another important group of Xtian thinkers developed.

Those Xtian writers who first gave themselves (c. 120-220) to task of making a reasoned defense & recommendation of their faith to outsiders.

They met pagan philosophy and Jewish objections head on.

B. Persevering Believers2. The ApologistsApplied OT prophecy to Xtianity &

defended divinity of X in relation to monotheism.

Were not primarily theologians.Were devoted thinkers who desired to

present Xtianity to emperors and to the public as politically harmless.

Also defended Xtian morality which was under attack.

B. Persevering Believers2. The Apologistsa. AristidesPhilosopher of Athens who sought to

defend the existence and eternity of God.Endeavored to show that Xtians had a

fuller understandings of God than either the barbarians, the Greeks, or the Jews.

Emphasized the nature of Xtian love as evidence of the Xtians’ superiority.

B. Persevering Believers2. The Apologistsa. AristidesAccording to Eusebius, A. delivered his

Apology to the emperor Hadrian in 124, but later arguments insist that it was addressed to Antoninus Pius (d. 161) early in his reign.

B. Persevering Believers2. The Apologistsb. Justin Martyr (c. 100-165)After a long search for truth in pagan

philosophy, J. embraced Xtianity c. 130.For a time he taught at Ephesus where he

engaged in the famous disputation with Trypho the Jew (c. 135).

Later he moved to Rome & opened a Xtian school, where he wrote his “First Apology” (c. 155) addressed to Emperor Antonius Pius.

B. Persevering Believers2. The Apologistsb. Justin Martyr (c. 100-165)Soon afterward he issued his “Dialogue

with Trypho.”His “Second Apology,” addressed to the

Roman senate, was written shortly after the accession of Marcus Aurelius (161).

Justin and some of his disciples were denounced as Xtians, & on refusing to sacrifice they were scourged & beheaded.

B. Persevering Believers2. The Apologistsb. Justin Martyr (c. 100-165)J. was the most outstanding of the

Apologists, being the 1st Xtian thinker to seek to reconcile the claims of faith and reason.

He held that though traces of truth could be found in pagan thinkers, Xtianity alone was the truly rational creed.

B. Persevering Believers2. The Apologistsb. Justin Martyr (c. 100-165) In his “First Apology” he stressed the

transcendence of God, the incarnation of the Word, and millennialism.

In his “Second Apology” he rebutted certain specific charges against Xtians.

In “Dialogue with Trypho” he developed the ideas of the transitoriness of the Old Covenant, the identity of the Logos with the God of the OT, and

B. Persevering Believers2. The Apologistsb. Justin Martyr (c. 100-165)And the vocation of the Gentiles to take the

place of Israel.

B. Persevering Believers2. The Apologistsc. Tatian (c. 160)A native of Assyria, educated in Gk rhetoric

and philosophy.Became a Xtian in Rome bet. 150 & 165 &

was a pupil of Justin Martyr.He soon showed leanings toward heresy, &

in 172 he founded the Gnostic sect of Encratites.

Is author of an apology called “Oratio ad Graecos.”

B. Persevering Believers2. The Apologistsc. Tatian (c. 160) “Oratio…”—a passionate defense of the

venerable age & divine purity of Xtianity combined with a violent attack on Greek civilization.

His chief claim to fame is the Diatessaron, a history of the life of X compiled from the 4 gospels.

His literary opponents included Irenaeus, Tertullian, Clement of Alexandria, Hippolytus, and Origen.

B. Persevering Believers2. The Apologistsd. Athenagoras “The Christian Philosopher of Athens”Delivered his “Apology” or “Supplication” to

Marcus Aurelius in 177, seeking to rebut current charges against the Xtians, such as atheism because they refused to participate in pagan ceremonies, & immorality because both sexes met together at night.

B. Persevering Believers2. The Apologistsd. AthenagorasLater he wrote “on the Resurrection of the

Dead” to refute erroneous objections and defend the Xtian belief in the resurrection.

A. was one of the ablest & most gifted of the Apologists, and was the first to give a philosophical defense of the Xtian doctrine of God as “three in one.”

B. Persevering Believers2. The Apologistse. TheophilusBishop of Antioch; wrote his “Apology” to

Autolycus for the purpose of setting before the pagan world the Christian idea of God and the superiority of the doctrine of creation over the immoral myths of the Olympian religion.

He developed the doctrine of the Logos further than any of his predecessors, being the 1st to use word “Triad” of the Godhead.

B. Persevering Believers2. The Apologists f. Minucius FelixAn African; wrote in Latin an elegant

defense of Xtianity in the form of a conversation between Octavius, a Xtian, and Caecilius, a pagan, who was converted by the argument.

The book, named Octavius, refutes the current charges against Xtians, argues for monotheism and providence, and attacks mythology.

B. Persevering Believers2. The Apologists f. Minucius Felix It is not clear whether the work was before

or after Tertullian’s day, but it definitely reflects the latter’s interests.

B. Persevering Believers3. Heresies and SchismsAll the literary work during the 2nd & 3rd c.

was not constructive in the progress of the church.

All the doctrine was not orthodox; already the ch was experiencing extreme tensions from heretical teachings which reflected perversions of Xtianity, leading to schisms within the faith.

Heresy was a problem even during the NT period.

B. Persevering Believers3. Heresies and Schisms I John, 2 Peter, Jude and the pastoral

epistles denounce teachings which were obviously related to later Gnosticism.

But the earliest heretic appeared in the book of Acts; Simon Magus, “the patriarch of heretics,” was a sorcerer who professed Xtianity, but attempted to obtain spiritual powers from the apostles for money (Ax 8:9-24).

B. Persevering Believers3. Heresies and SchismsCenturies later, the term “Simony” was

applied to the purchase or sale of spiritual offices.

A Gnostic sect in the 2nd & 3rd c. traced its origins to this Simon, who was said to have come from Gitta in Samaria to Rome in the time of emperor Claudius (41-54).

This sect held to Phoenician mythology & oriental syncretism & exhibited the earliest signs of speculation clearly defined in later Gnosticism.

B. Persevering Believers3. Heresies and SchismsWhile it is generally doubted that Simon of

Gitta & Simon Magus were the same person, it is certain that the latter was the first to attempt to pervert the gospel and selfishly control the HS.

The heresies and schisms in the early ancient ch can generally be divided into 5 classifications.

B. Persevering Believers3. Heresies and Schisms1) Judaizing Christianity2) Gnosticism3) Marcionism4) Montanism5) Monarchianism

B. Persevering Believers3. Heresies and Schismsa. Judaistic HeresiesThe earliest confrontation with the

Judaizers resulted in the Jerusalem Conference (Ax 15) and the ch’s stand against those who stubbornly insisted upon adherence to Mosaic law, even for Gentile converts.

This mind-set continued to be a thorn in the side of the early ch, producing some rather influential sects.

B. Persevering Believers3. Heresies and Schismsa. Judaistic Heresies

1) The Ebionites. A sect flourishing east of the Jordan who called themselves Ebionites (“poor men”) adopted a severe ascetic mode of life.

They continued to emphasize the binding character of the Mosaic law and said that Jesus was the human son of Mary & Joseph.

They used only the Gos. of Matthew, rejecting the Pauline epistles.

To them, Paul was an apostate & enemy of the Mosaic law.


2) Cerinthus.Taught the the world was not created by God,

but by an angelic being (demiurge), and that Jesus was a mere man.

He had connections with both the Ebionites and Alexandrine Gnosticism.

Irenaeus says that John wrote his Gospel to refute Cerinthus.


3) The Elchasaites. This strange group traced their origins to one named Elchasai (“sacred power”) who lived east of the Jordan during the reign of Trajan (AD 98-117).

They observed the Mosaic law (circumcision, Sabbath, the ceremonies), but without the blood sacrifices.

They believed in baptism for the remission of sins, in Chaldean astrology & magic, abstaining from meat and wine, & ritualistic ablutions.


3) The Elchasaites. They preached that the Redeemer X was the

first ambassador of the most high God, & that he was a spirit of fantastic proportions who appeared in various forms, but first of all in Adam.


4) The Pseudoclementines. The works from this group include 20 books called the “Preaching of the Apostle Peter” and probably originated around 220-230 in Syria.

They taught that Xtianity is nothing more than Judaism purged of all ambiguity and error.

Jesus was a prophet greater than Moses, but not the Redeemer, and neither true God nor true man.


4) The Pseudoclementines. They also taught that believers should abstain

from meat, marry early, and practice poverty.Thus, Jewish Xtianity in various forms

continued as a disturbing factor until almost the 5th century.

B. Persevering Believers3. Heresies and Schismsb. GnosticismOne of the most insidious dangers to early

Xtianity was the movement known as Gnosticism.

Strictly speaking, Gnosticism was not a Xtian heresy but a religion in its own right.

The main tenets of Gnosticism came from the syncretism of oriental religion and Hellenic mysticism, and were already well established before the Xtian era.

B. Persevering Believers3. Heresies and Schismsb. GnosticismTerm (Gnosticism) derived from the Gk

word gnosis (knowledge), and claimed a superior revealed knowledge of God & of the origin and destiny of mankind.

Upon confronting Xtianity, Gnostic teachings attempted to satisfy the longing of the pagan world for salvation by reconciling the religion of X with the culture & philosophy of Babylonia, Syria, Asia Minor, Persia, India, and the Judaism of Philo.

B. Persevering Believers3. Heresies and Schismsb. GnosticismBecause they believed, as did Xtians, in

salvation, a supreme deity, & heavenly beings, the Gnostics often became associated with the Xtian chs.

But, while maintaining the centrality of X in human history & a divine plan of salvation, the Gnostics claimed higher kinowledge than was offered in the simple truths of the Gospels.

B. Persevering Believers3. Heresies and Schismsb. GnosticismThe source of this special gnosis was held

to be that of the apostles themselves (handed down by the secret tradition) or a direct revelation given to the founder of a particular sect.

Although embracing a great variety of forms & philosophies, basic Gnosticism supported the following tenets:

B. Persevering Believers3. Heresies and Schismsb. Gnosticism

(1) DualismWith the background of Persian dualism, which

viewed light & darkness as two antagonistic principles, G. developed a metaphysical dualism of spirit & matter.

World of matter is under the governance of the evil principle, & is from all eternity in violent opposition to the world of spirit, which is ruled by the good god.


(1) Dualism In this eternal conflict, some of the spiritual

elements became imprisoned in the world of matter, producing the world, man, sin, and misery.

The ethical problem which dualism presented was twofold.

If the physical body is of the principle of evil, then it must be subjugated, denied, disciplined, and punished.


(1) DualismOn the other hand, if the body was entirely

separated from the spirit world, then what the body did would not affect the status of the soul.

The second point led to all sorts of promiscuous moral anarchy.


(2) EmanationThis theory served to explain how the world &

man came into existence.From the hidden God there emanated (over

flowed) a long series of divine essences (aeons) whose inherent power diminished as the distance form the original source increased.

The process continued until the spiritual element came into contact with matter & was imprisoned in a material body.


(2) EmanationThus man & the world were created by the

demiurge (“the middle god”), and angelic being who was inferior to & ignorant of the good god, and had unwittingly brought the world & man into existence.


(3) DocetismCentral doctrine of Xtianity the incarnation,

which G. rejected, declaring that X could not possibly have a real human body.

This docetic view was based on the ideas that the absolute cannot enter into a real union with the finite, & that matter is evil and the spiritual world is ever in conflict with it.

Word docetism comes from a Gk verb meaning “to seem.”


(3) DocetismGnostics taught that X was not really a man,

but only “seemed” to live & suffer from mankind’s sins, simply joining himself for a brief time with the body of a good man called Jesus.

This union was accomplished either at the birth or baptism of Jesus, & was dissolved shortly before the crucifixion so that X was not really crucified.


(3) DocetismAlthough G. clearly derived its Christology from

pagan philosophy, the issue of docetism was to have profound effect on the Christological councils in years to come.


These basic tenets of G. were articulated most clearly in the works of Valentinus, founder of the G. sect of the Valentinians.

He was a native of Egypt, but lived at Rome from c. 136-165, where he seceded from the church.

His system was founded on the platonic conception of a parallelism between the world of ideas & the world of phenomena.


Valentinus taught that the demiurge who created the world was the God of the OT, & that redemption was accomplished by the aeon Christ who united himself to the man Jesus at his baptism to bring men the Gnosis.

Another, although somewhat less influential, G. leader was Basilides, who taught at Alexandria in the 2nd quarter of the 2nd c.

He claimed to have a secret tradition transmitted from Peter.


This tradition spoke of a supreme God separated from the world by many heavens & grades of spiritual beings.

The God of the Jews was the creator God of the lowest rank who tried to subject men to himself.

In order to free man, the supreme God sent his nous (mind) into the world to dwell in the man Jesus (who suffered in appearance only).

In order to gain freedom & rise to the supreme God, man must follow the nous as revealed in Jesus.


Because G. posed a serious threat to Xtian orthodoxy & unity, much of the development of early Xtian doctrine was to a large extent a reaction against G.

To counteract docetism, which negated the humanity of X & denied the reality and necessity of atonement, the Fathers of the ch, especially Irenaeus, underscored the reality of the incarnation & stressed the importance of the work of X.


When the G. rejected the OT & denied the reality of creation as the arena for God’s activity, the Fathers developed a theology of history, strongly identifying God as both Creator and Savior.

When G. denied the unity of human beings & divided them into spiritual, psychic, & material categories, the Fathers developed the doctrine of free will & emphasized the personal responsibility of each individual.


One reason that G. appealed to so many Xtians was its central concern for answering the problem of evil.

Serious Xtians wanted to know the nature of evil & how man can be redeemed from it.

G. held that men are essentially spiritual & that redemption is the freeing of the pure human spirit from the impure, evil, physical world.

Through special revelation man becomes conscious of his origin, essence, & transcendent destiny.


This revelation, however, is not on the same plane as Xtian revelation, which is rooted in history & transmitted by Scripture.

Neither is it to be equated with philosophical enlightenment, for it cannot be acquired by the forces of reason.

G. revelation was the intuition of the mystery of the self.


Throughout the centuries, those who have claimed special knowledge beyond the revelations of history, Scripture, & reason have reflected G. tendencies & concepts.

B. Persevering Believers3. Heresies and Schismsc. MarcionismAlthough Marcion stood in the tradition of

current Gnosticism, his influence was so great that his teachings & followers were the chief danger to orthodox Xtianity in the latter half of the 2nd c.

Thus his heresiarchy is usually listed separately.

Marcion was a native of Sinope in Pontus & a wealthy shipowner.

B. Persevering Believers3. Heresies and Schismsc. Marcionism In 144 was formally excommunicated from

the orthodox ch by his own father, a bishop, on grounds of immorality.

He organized a systematic philosophy of Xtianity which he propagated in established compact communities throughout a large part of the empire.

B. Persevering Believers3. Heresies and Schismsc. MarcionismHe was widely opposed by some of the

great minds of early Xtian theology, including Dionysius of Corinth, Irenaeus of Lyons, Theophilus of Antioch, Tertullian of Carthage, Hippolytus & Rhodo at Rome, & Bardesanes at Edessa.

This imposing list of enemies attests to Marcion’s success & danger to the ch.

B. Persevering Believers3. Heresies and Schismsc. MarcionismM’s central thesis was that the Xtian gospel

was wholly a gospel of love to the absolute exclusion of law.

Thus he rejected completely the OT; he said that the creator God, or demiurge, revealed in the OT, had nothing in common with the God of Jesus Christ.

The OT God was fickle, capricious, ignorant, despotic & cruel.

B. Persevering Believers3. Heresies and Schismsc. MarcionismThe supreme God of love whom J. came to

reveal was entirely different, & it was his purpose to overthrow the demiurge.

M. believed that only Paul understood the contrast of law & spirit, & that the apostles and Gospel writers were blinded by the remnants of Jewish influence.

Hence, for M. the only acceptable Scriptures were ten of the epistles of P.

B. Persevering Believers3. Heresies and Schismsc. MarcionismM. rejected the pastoral epistles, but

accepted an edited version of the Gospel of Luke.

His rejection of the other 3 gospels influenced the ch to differentiate between true and spurious works & to begin serious construction of the canon.

B. Persevering Believers3. Heresies and Schismsc. Marcionism In the main line of Gnosticism, M’s

Christology was docetic, making the passion & death of Christ the work of the old creator God, not the supreme God of love.

M. imposed a severe morality upon his followers, many of whom suffered in the persecutions.

B. Persevering Believers3. Heresies and Schismsc. MarcionismBy the end of the 3rd c., most of the

Marcionite communities had been absorbed into Manichaeism, a highly ascetic philosophy developed by Manichaeus (Mani), in the capital city of the Persian Empire. Mani (c. 215-275) based his eclectic teachings on the supposed primeval conflict between light and darkness.

B. Persevering Believers3. Heresies and Schismsc. MarcionismHe taught that Satan had stolen particles of

light from the world of light and imprisoned them in man’s brain, & that Jesus, Buddha, the prophets, & Mani had been sent to help release these particles of light.

Although the phil. of M. was never a threat to orthodox Xtianity, its ascetic standard of austere morality is believed to have influenced several branches of Xtian thought.

B. Persevering Believers3. Heresies and Schismsd. MontanismCa. 156 (says Epiphanius) or 172 (says

Eusebius), Montanus, a recently converted pagan priest, appeared on the scene to mark the transition from the extra-Xtian heresies to the reactionary & reformatory movements within Xtianity.

Montanism has often been called the 1st movement of any distinction that was called forth by the problem of the ch’s worldliness.

B. Persevering Believers3. Heresies and Schismsd. MontanismM. protested against the secularization of

the ch & sought to restore it to its original status.

M. was an attempt to preserve the eschatological mood of early Xtianity which was disappearing at the end of the 2nd c., but a brief look at its main tenets will reveal the sad story of a good idea gone bad.

B. Persevering Believers3. Heresies and Schismsd. MontanismM. claimed to possess the spirit of

prophecy, &, in fact, he declared himself to be the manifestation of the Paraclete promised in John 14.

The period of revelation was closing, & with its conclusion would come the end.

“After me there will be no further prophecy; then shall the end be.”

B. Persevering Believers3. Heresies and Schismsd. MontanismM. recognized the stages of revelation in

the OT & NT, but the new revelation was to be in the area of ethics & ecclesiology, with the sternest discipline being emphasized.

It prohibited 2nd marriages, condemned the existing regulations on fasting as being too lax, forbade flight in persecution, & condemned the penitential discipline in Rome as being too lenient.

B. Persevering Believers3. Heresies and Schismsd. MontanismOnly those Xtians who met the stringent

demands of the Paraclete were the true Xtians, the communion of saints.

M. proclaimed that the heavenly Jerusalem would soon descend near Pepuza in Phrygia, & his goal was to prepare a called out people to be ready for that eschatological event.

B. Persevering Believers3. Heresies and Schismsd. Montanismca. 207 Tertullian became the most famous

follower of Montanism.Was particularly attracted by the

disciplined life-style & the idea that only the pure ch of the true saints, not the externally organized ch, possessed the power of absolution.

B. Persevering Believers3. Heresies and Schismsd. Montanism “Therefore the Church will indeed forgive

sins; but only the Church of the Spirit can do this through Spirit-filled people, and not the Church which consists of a number of bishops.”

Thus, Montanism was one of the first manifestations of an ecclesiastical reaction as well as a reform movement.

B. Persevering Believers3. Heresies and Schismse. MonarchianismThis theological movement of the 2nd & 3rd

c. attempted to safeguard monotheism & the unity (hence “monarchy”) of the Godhead.

However, in failing to do justice to the independent subsistence of the Son, the movement became heretical.

B. Persevering Believers3. Heresies and Schismse. MonarchianismWere two distinct groups of Monarchian

theologians—(1) the Adoptionist or Dynamic Monarchians; and (2) the Modalists or Sabellians.

Adoptionists maintained that Jesus was God only in the sense that a power or influence from the Father rested upon his human person.

B. Persevering Believers3. Heresies and Schismse. MonarchianismLeading proponent of Adoptionism was

Paul of Samosata, bishop of Antioch, who was condemned for his heretical teachings and deposed in 268.

His controversial Christology taught that X differed only in degree from the prophets, & his adoptionist views laid the foundation for Nestorianism and the basic issue of the later Christological councils.

B. Persevering Believers3. Heresies and Schismse. MonarchianismOther leading adoptionist Monarchians

were Theodotus & Artemon.The modalist Monarchians held that in the

Godhed the only differentiation was a mere succession of modes or operations.

They were also called “Patripassians,” indicating that the Father suffered as the Son.

B. Persevering Believers3. Heresies and Schismse. MonarchianismAn alternative title for the Modalist form of

Monarchianism is Sabellianism, named for Sabellius, an early 3rd c. theologian of Roman origin.

Other notable Modalists were Noetus and Praxeaus.

Thus the Trinitarian controversy stirred by the Monarchians presented a double-edged heresy.

B. Persevering Believers3. Heresies and Schismse. MonarchianismAdoptionists overemphasized the unity of

God, denying the divinity of persons.Modalists contended that the Father

merely appeared in different modes or ways, thus denying the distinction of persons.

In order to challenge & correct these heresies, unprecedented attention was given to developing orthodox theology in this critical period.

B. Persevering Believers4. Early Catholic Theologians “Catholic” is derived from a GK word

meaning general or universal.One of its earliest appearances is in the

writings of Ignatius of Antioch (c. 115).To combat the growing heresies of the 2nd

& 3rd c., the term became widely used in making the distinction between orthodoxy and heterodoxy.

Doctrine which agreed with Scriptures & the faith of the ch was received as catholic, or universal.

B. Persevering Believers4. Early Catholic TheologiansEvery departure from the general

sentiment of the ch was considered heresy.

The concern of the ch to preserve apostolic tradition & teaching resulted in the emergence of some great scholars & theologians.

B. Persevering Believers4. Early Catholic Theologiansa. Irenaeus (c. 130-c. 200)1st great catholic theologian is generally

conceded to be Irenaeus, bishop of Lyons, who opposed Gnosticism by emphasizing the traditional elements of the ch, esp. the episcopate & the canon of Scripture.

In his most famous work Against Heresies, he refuted the teachings of Valentinus & other Gnostics, contending that God is the creator of both matter & its form & that all creation is dependent on God.

B. Persevering Believers4. Early Catholic Theologiansa. Irenaeus (c. 130-c. 200)He does not reject the world as evil, but

sees God involved in his world. In fact, in the incarnation of Jesus X, God

took on full human nature & exhibited what perfect man was intended to be at every level of life.

I. developed a doctrine of “recapitulation,” or summary, of human development in the humanity of the incarnate X.

B. Persevering Believers4. Early Catholic Theologiansa. Irenaeus (c. 130-c. 200)He laid great stress on the coordinated

authority of the 4 gospels, strengthened the unity of the teachings of the ch, & substantiated the written records of the ch.

As the 1st great Latin theologian, he furnished much of the theological thought of the great western theologian, Quintus Septimus Florens Tertullian.

B. Persevering Believers4. Early Catholic Theologiansb. Tertullian (c. 160-220)This African ch father, ranks beside

Augustine as one of the greatest western theologians of the patristic period.

A native of Carthage, he received a pagan education, became a lawyer, & moved to Rome where he became a Xtian in 195-6.

He returned to Carthage & became a priest.

B. Persevering Believers4. Early Catholic Theologiansb. Tertullian (c. 160-220)He joined the apocalyptic movement of

Montanism, especially because of its ascetic traits & rigorous discipline.

He soon, however, broke away & formed his own party, the Tertullians, who survived until the 4th c.

T. was the author of many apologetic, theological, controversial, & ascetic works in Latin, & some in GK.

B. Persevering Believers4. Early Catholic Theologiansb. Tertullian (c. 160-220)His renowned defense of Xtianity, the

Apologeticum (c. 197) deals with the absurdity of the assusations brought against the Xtians; it maintains that Xtians are good citizens who refuse to give divine honors to the emperor because of their monotheistic religion.

B. Persevering Believers4. Early Catholic Theologiansb. Tertullian (c. 160-220)He gives a vivid description of life in Xtian

communities & warns that persecution only multiplies Xtianity.

He wrote definitive works against heresies within the ch, such as Against Marcion & Against Praxeaus.

In his attack against Patripassianism, he elaborated the orthodox doctrine of the Trinity.

B. Persevering Believers4. Early Catholic Theologiansb. Tertullian (c. 160-220) In fact, this is the 1st time that the term

“Trinity” is applied in Xtianity to the 3 divine persons.

His De Anima was probably the 1st Xtian writing on psychology.

In it he stresses the unity of the soul & body.

More than anything else, T. created the language of western theology.

B. Persevering Believers4. Early Catholic Theologiansc. Clement of Alexandria (c. 150-215)An Athenian by birth, Clement studie

Xtianity & philosophy in several cities, became a pupil of Pantaenus, & succeeded him in 190 as head of the catechetical school at Alexandria.

He was succeeded in turn by his pupil Origen.

C. fled in 202 to escape the persecution of Severus & possibly suffered a martyr’s death in 215.

B. Persevering Believers4. Early Catholic Theologiansc. Clement of Alexandria (c. 150-215)C. agreed with the Gnostics in holding that

gnosis, religious knowledge or illumination is the chief element in Xtianity.

But for him the only true gnosis was that which presupposed the faith of the ch.

He saw ignorance & error as more fundamental evils than sin, & he had an optimistic view of the ultimate destiny of even the most erring.

B. Persevering Believers4. Early Catholic Theologiansc. Clement of Alexandria (c. 150-215)By making Xtianity philosophical, C. made

it acceptable to Alexandria’s cultured society, but unfortunately he left the impression that Xtianity should cater to the intellectual superior.

B. Persevering Believers4. Early Catholic Theologiansd. Origen (c. 184-254)The brilliant young pupil of Clement

succeeded him & became one of the most controversial figures in church history.

O. was a biblical critic, exegete, theologian, & spiritual writer.

His principal work, De Principiis, is a systematic explanation of Xtian thought about God, man, the world & Scripture.

B. Persevering Believers4. Early Catholic Theologiansd. Origen (c. 184-254)His Exhortation to Martyrdom was written

during the persecutions of Maximinus in 235 & presents O’s ascetic austerity.

On Prayer, a treatise on the communion of the soul with God, was widely read.

O. saw a triple sense in Scripture: the literal, the moral, & the allegorical--& he preferred the last.

B. Persevering Believers4. Early Catholic Theologiansd. Origen (c. 184-254)He believed that God was perfect Being,

expressing himself eternally in 3 hypostases (substances, essences) as Father, Son, & Holy Spirit.

Although he attempted to keep the Father & Son coequal, O. ended with the Son being subordinate because he cannot precede the Father.

B. Persevering Believers4. Early Catholic Theologiansd. Origen (c. 184-254) In prayer, petitions are to be addressed to

God and presented by Christ.The HS is definitely subordinate, brought

into being through the Son.To the Father, O. ascribed existence, to

the Son rationality, & to the HS sanctity.His teachings on souls created perhaps the

greatest controversy.

B. Persevering Believers4. Early Catholic Theologiansd. Origen (c. 184-254)He taught that all spirits were created

equal, but that they developed in hierarchical order (thru their own free will), & some fell into sin & became demons or souls imprisoned in bodies.

Death does not finally decide the fate of the soul; it may turn into a demon or an angel.

B. Persevering Believers4. Early Catholic Theologiansd. Origen (c. 184-254)This process of ascent & descent goes on

until the final “Apokatastasis” when all creatures, even the devil, will be saved.

O’s mystical theology—that one advances from purgation to illumination to union—is the foundation of all later mysticism in the church.

300 yrs after his work, O. was condemned at the 1st Council of Constantinople in 543.

B. Persevering Believers4. Early Catholic Theologiansd. Origen (c. 184-254)He was condemned again at the 2nd

Council of Constantinople in 553.

B. Persevering Believers4. Early Catholic TheologiansThe period from Apostolic Fathers through

the early Catholic theologians was one of doctrinal development & systematic defense of the faith.

Intellectual activity, however, was not the only pursuit of the ch during this period.

Political machinations were at work, & the structure of church government was taking shape.

B. Persevering Believers5. The Monarchical EpiscopateThe notion of one bishop at the head of the

ch has a hazy & spotted beginning, but accelerates into a well-documented movement relatively early in church history.

a. Bishops and Mother Churches. Ignatius of Antioch (d. 115) was the 1st to

employ the term “catholic.”He was also the 1st to speak of one bishop

at the head of the presbyters & deacons in each congregation.

B. Persevering Believers5. The Monarchical Episcopatea. Bishops and Mother Churches. (Bishop in this context is somewhat

analogous to the modern term pastor).He insisted upon the monarchical

episcopate as a necessity for the ch.Yet he was speaking of local

congregations only, with no thought of one bishop for all of Christendom.

The idea for the episcopate was traced back to Acts 15 where James presided over the council of Jerusalem.

B. Persevering Believers5. The Monarchical Episcopatea. Bishops and Mother Churches.Eusebius says that James was succeeded

by Simeon, also a relative of Jesus.So, a kind of episcopacy was seen as a

tradition in Jerusalem & then carried to Antioch.

The bishops of individual chs cooperated in keeping the churches in the unity of the faith during the assaults of persecutions & heresies.

B. Persevering Believers5. The Monarchical Episcopatea. Bishops and Mother Churches.This solidarity was accomplished by

appealing to the authority of the “mother churches” where the apostles themselves had labored, such as Smyrna, Ephesus, Jerusalem, Corinth, Philippi, Thessalonica, and especially Rome.

B. Persevering Believers5. The Monarchical Episcopateb. Callistus and Rome.Among the mother chs, Rome was

regarded as preeminent.Tradition held that the apostles Peter &

Paul had both taught & died there.Also, the Roman ch was in possession of a

confession of faith, the Roman symbol, which was accepted by other chs in the West.

B. Persevering Believers5. The Monarchical Episcopateb. Callistus and Rome.Heretics were kept out of the Roman ch

with better success than in Alexandria & Constantinople, & Rome soon came to be looked upon as guardian of the unity of Xtianity.

Rome was also the political center of the empire.

Callistus was bishop of Rome 217-222.

B. Persevering Believers5. The Monarchical Episcopateb. Callistus and Rome. In his short rule he established a precedent

for the idea of the superiority of Roman bishops.

He claimed such titles for himself as Pontifex Maximus (“highest pontiff”) & Episcopus episcoporum (“bishop of bishops”).

Tertullian furiously resisted such claims & insisted upon the equality of the various churches.

B. Persevering Believers5. The Monarchical Episcopateb. Callistus and Rome.C. took the position that the ch is subject to

the control of the bishop who pardons or retains sin by divine authority, & that the bishop is, therefore, lord over the faith & life of the people by virtue of divinely bestowed supremacy.

He further argued that the regulation of repentance belonged to the council of bishops.

B. Persevering Believers5. The Monarchical Episcopateb. Callistus and Rome.The power of the keys had been given to

Peter as representative of the bishops, & that since P. was generally conceded to be the first bishop of Rome, the obvious conclusion was the monarchical episcopate with its ultimate authority in the Roman See.

B. Persevering Believers5. The Monarchical Episcopatec. Cyprian and Novatian.Cyprian, the Bishop of Carthage (248-258),

laid the foundation of the development of the ch into the Roman hierarchy.

He believed that Rome represented the unity of the ch universal as Peter represented that unity among the apostles.

His most important work, On the Unity of the Church, was occasioned by the conflict over the regulation of repentance.

B. Persevering Believers5. The Monarchical Episcopatec. Cyprian and Novatian.During the Decian persecution (250), large

numbers of Xtians had lapsed from their faith.

The confessors, those who had stood firm, were reconciling the lapsed on easy terms by virtue of the merits of the martyrs.

C. strongly opposed this practice & led councils to decide that the lapsed should be reconciled only after suitable penance & delay.

B. Persevering Believers5. The Monarchical Episcopatec. Cyprian and Novatian.Meanwhile, Novatian, a roman presbyter,

opposed Cornelius, the Bishop of Rome, for the latter’s lenient policy toward the lapsed.

N. insisted on a pure congregation, requiring excommunication for such sins as homicide, idolatry, fraud, blasphemy, adultery, fornication, & the denial of the faith in times of persecution.

B. Persevering Believers5. The Monarchical Episcopatec. Cyprian and Novatian.Novatian organized a rigorist party & was

consecrated rival Bishop of Rome.He insisted upon the rebaptism of all who

joined him, & called for the appointment of likeminded bishops in other places.

Cyprian sided with Cornelius against Novatian, especially in the matters of rebaptism & the appointment of new bishops.

B. Persevering Believers5. The Monarchical Episcopatec. Cyprian and Novatian.While Cyprian opposed leniency toward

the lapsed, he felt even stronger about presbyters judging bishops.

He said that the ch was established upon bishops, that they could be judged by no one except God, & that to criticize a bishop was rebellion.

He further supported the college of bishops (the episcopate) as the authority of the ch.

B. Persevering Believers5. The Monarchical Episcopatec. Cyprian and Novatian. Indicating that the Bishop of Rome was the

“first among equals,” he openly recognized the preeminence of Rome, especially when Rome agreed with him.

Although C. did not suggest or favor the papal system, his leadership & attitude laid the foundation for establishing the Bishop of Rome as the head of the Catholic Church.

B. Persevering Believers5. The Monarchical EpiscopateWhen Diocletian launched his great

persecution in the early part of the 4th c., he collided with a force which had grown stronger instead of weaker during the long siege of persecutions.

That strength had accrued from the Xtians’ capable & articulate defense of their faith, the movement of their chs toward ecclesiastical unity, & the increasing influence of their testimony among their non-Xtian neighbors.

B. Persevering Believers5. The Monarchical EpiscopateDiocletian not only miscalculated the

strength of the Xtians; he also misread the attitude of the citizenry.

Xtianity had not only become an established force within the Roman Empire; it was about to take over the empire itself.

THE OVERCOMERS:AN IMPERIAL CHURCH

(313-590)

A. Victims Become Victors

“There is no greater drama in human record than the sight of a few Christians, scorned or oppressed by a succession of emperors, bearing all trails with a fierce tenacity, multiplying quietly, building order while their enemies generated chaos, fighting the sword with the Word, brutality with hope, and at last defeating the strongest state that history has known. Caesar and Christ had met in the Arena, and Christ had won!”

Will Durant, The Story of Civilization


The incredible irony of the Diocletian persecution, which was intended to stamp out Xtianity once & for all, became instead the catalyst for the Xtian takeover of the Roman Empire.

Heroic martyrs strengthened the faith of the wavering & won new converts.

As the brutalities of the persecution increased, the citizens of the empire were themselves repulsed.


They became openly critical of their government for the unjustified oppression.

Many of them risked death to hide & protect Xtians.

Throughout the empire the cry went up for the persecutions to cease.

The wife of Emperor Galerius begged him to make peace with the undefeated God of the Xtians.


In 311 Galerius issued an edict of toleration, recognizing Xtianity as a lawful religion.


1. The First Christian Emperor

Standing in the wings, ready to assume his spectacular role on the state of human history, was brave & energetic young soldier-politician, Flavius Valerius Constantinus, who would become known as Constantine the Great.


1. The First Christian Emperora. The Rise of ConstantineBorn 272 or 274, C. was the illegitimate

son of Constantius by his legal concubine, Helena.

When Constantius became a “Caesar,” he was required by Diocletian to put away Helena & to take Maximian’s stepdaughter Theodora as his wife.


1. The First Christian Emperora. The Rise of ConstantineHis son, Constantine, however, remained

deeply devoted to his natural mother, Helena, who figured largely in his accomplishments as a Xtian emperor.

C. became emperor through a long chain of complicated & controversial events.

Diocletian had retired as emperor in 305 & had set up an intricate organizational scheme in an effort to avoid civil war.


1. The First Christian Emperora. The Rise of ConstantineHe decentralized the government by

dividing the empire into two great districts, East and West.

Each was to be administered by an official called an Augustus, assisted by a subordinate called a Caesar.

The Augusti were to retire at a specified time, to be succeeded by their Caesars.


1. The First Christian Emperora. The Rise of ConstantineDiocletian was the first Augustus in the

East & Maximian was the first Augustus in the West.

The Augusti were not exactly equal, since Diocletian retained supreme control.

When he & Maximian retired as planned, their Caesars succeeded them, Galerius in the East & Constantius Chlorus (father of Constantine) in the West.


1. The First Christian Emperora. The Rise of ConstantineNew Caesars were appointed to replace

them, Severus in the West & Maximines Daza in the East.

D’s scheme seemed to be working as planned until the death of Constantius.

His troops had been deeply loyal to him & now acclaimed his son Constantine not merely as “Caesar” but as Augustus, emperor.


1. The First Christian Emperora. The Rise of ConstantineGalerius, too distant to intervene,

reluctantly consented to recognize him as a Caesar.

Since C. had successfully succeeded this father without the due process of appointment, Maxentius, the son of Maximian, undertook to succceed his retired father.


1. The First Christian Emperora. The Rise of ConstantineHe killed Severus, entrenched himself in

Rome & demanded recognition.Galerius refused & instead appointed

Licinius to succeed the slain Severus. These events brought Maximian out of

retirement to reclaim the title of Augustus.Now there were 6 men claiming to be the

ruler of the empire.


1. The First Christian Emperora. The Rise of ConstantineCivil war, the very disaster that Diocletian

had sought to avert, was upon the empire.b. The Conversion of Constantine In the struggle for supremacy in the West,

Constantine had to defeat Maxentius, still entrenched in Rome.

C. invaded Italy from Gaul (France) & descended upon Rome.


1. The First Christian Emperorb. The Conversion of ConstantineUntil now he had been an adherent of the

religion of Helios, the sun god, & had replaced the image of the sun upon his coins.

Just before his encounter with Maxentius he made the astonishing announcement of his conversion to Xtianity.


1. The First Christian Emperorb. The Conversion of ConstantineEusebius (the “Father of Church History”,

c. 260-c. 340) says that on the afternoon before the battle with Maxentius, C. saw a flaming cross in the sky, with the words, “in this sign conquer.”

To confirm the vision, Eusebius says that early the next morning C. dreamed that a voice commanded him to have his soldiers mark their shields with the letter X.


1. The First Christian Emperorb. The Conversion of ConstantineThe X had a line drawn through it & curled

around the top, the symbol of Christ.That morning C. marched to the forefront of

the battle behind a standard (called the labarum) carrying the initials of Christ interwoven with a cross.

Maxentius left the protection of the walls of Rome & clashed with C. while crossing the Tiber River over the Mulvian Bridge.


1. The First Christian Emperorb. The Conversion of ConstantineM. & thousands of his troops were

defeated & drowned in the Tiber.His father, Maximian, who had conspired

against C., was captured & granted the courtesy of suicide.

Thus, in 312, C. entered Rome the undisputed master of the West.


1. The First Christian Emperorb. The Conversion of ConstantineEarly in 313 C. met with Licinius, whom

Galerius had appointed to succeed the slain Severus.

They both desire to coordinate their rule & to consolidate Xtian support throughout the empire.

Meeting at Milan, they issued the famous “Edict of Milan,” which confirmed the religious toleration proclaimed by Galerius.


1. The First Christian Emperorb. The Conversion of Constantine In addition the edict extended freedom to

all religions & ordered restoration of Xtian properties seized during the recent persecutions.

Historians & theologians continue to debate to this day the sincerity & motive of C’s conversion.

Undoubtedly many influences converged that day at the Mulvian Bridge.


1. The First Christian Emperorb. The Conversion of ConstantineHis mother, Helena, had converted to

Xtianity when divorced & surely acquainted her son with the positive aspects of Xtian teaching.

C. had observed the failure of 3 persecutions during his lifetime, & had noted that Xtianity had grown in spite of them.


1. The First Christian Emperorb. The Conversion of ConstantineHe had been impressed with the order &

morality of Xtian conduct. In spite of the bitter persecutions, the

Xtians had rarely revolted against the state & even taught submission to civil powers.

C. doubtless speculated as to how these attitudes & doctrines couild be used effectively to purify roman morals & solidify the empire.


1. The First Christian Emperorb. The Conversion of ConstantineSubsequent decisions & actions would

cause many to question the validity of his conversion; but, for the time, the Xtian world rejoiced over the unbelievable news that the Roman Empire had a Xtian upon the throne.

C. declined, however, to be baptized until he was almost dead, at age 64.

He wanted to be sure that baptism would come late enough to cleanse away all the sins of his crowded life.


1. The First Christian Emperorc. The Tenacity of PaganismAlthough C. had openly embraced Xtianity,

he found it difficult to completely extricate pagan religion & culture.

His world was still predominately pagan & being a man-of-the-world politician, C. used a gradual plan of supplanting paganism.

He restored pagan temples, used pagan magic formulas to protect crops & heal diseases.


1. The First Christian Emperorc. The Tenacity of PaganismHe used pagan as well as Xtian rites in

dedicating Constantinople. It was not till 317 that his coins dropped the

use of pagan images.As a former worshiper of the Unconquered

Sun, C. obviously continued to identify the sun with Xtian God in some way.


1. The First Christian Emperorc. The Tenacity of Paganism In 321 he made the 1st day of the week a

holiday & called it “the venerable day of the Sun” (Sunday).

The celebration of X’s birth on the 25th of Dec. appears to be related to the annual sun festival.

The Philocalian calendar, representing Roman practices in 336, is the earliest mention of the observance on Dec. 25.


1. The First Christian Emperorc. The Tenacity of PaganismSome historians contend that the date was

chosen to oppose, others that it was chosen to coordinate, the feast of the Natalis Solis Invicti (the birth of the Unconquered Sun).

Regardless of the original intention, the date was definitely influenced by the sun festival, & Xtian records of the time repeatedly refer to X as the “Sun of Righteousness.”


1. The First Christian Emperorc. The Tenacity of PaganismAs C’s reign grew more secure, he favored

Xtianity more openly.Although he never made Xtianity the

official religion of the empire, he encouraged all his subjects to become Xtians.

He gave Xtian bishops the authority of judges in their dioceses & exempted ch realty from taxation.


1. The First Christian Emperorc. The Tenacity of PaganismHe gave money to needy congregations,

built several chs in Constantinople & throughout the empire & forbade the worship of images in the new captial.

In the Edict of Milan he had proclaimed toleration & freedom for all religions.

He now revoked that freedom as it applied to heretical sects & ordered destruction of their meeting places.


1. The First Christian Emperorc. The Tenacity of PaganismHe gave his sons a Xtian education &

financed his mother’s many Xtian philanthropies.

He ordered a ch. of the Holy Sepulcher to be built over the alleged tomb of X in Jerusalem, & Helena built a chapel over the traditional site of Jesus’ birth at Bethlehem (both edifices remain today).


1. The First Christian Emperorc. The Tenacity of PaganismWhen Eusebius wrote his Life of

Constantine he used eight chapters to extol the virtues of the emperor’s piety and good works, telling how he “governed his empire in a godly manner for more than thirty years.”

He neglected to tell that C. executed his son, nephew and second wife.


1. The First Christian Emperorc. The Tenacity of PaganismThe reasons have never been clear, but

the fact of the executions indicates that the first Christian emperor had a difficult time being thoroughly Christian.


1. The First Christian Emperord. The Threat of Controversy.3 dark clouds darkened the bright new day

of the Xtian world, all of them theological & terribly frustrating to C.

He was a man of politics and war, not religion.

Yet he had become the champion of Xtianity & therefore also its defender.


1. The First Christian Emperord. The Threat of Controversy.Xtianity was a means, not an end, for C.He was a statesman, not a theologian.Agitated by the theological issues that

threatened his empire’s peace, he summoned the bishops to be his political aides, presided over their councils, and enforced their decisions.


1. The First Christian Emperord. The Threat of Controversy.

1) Monasticism.A secluded life-style which has continued as

one minor expression of Xtianity began as early as the late 3rd & early 4th c.

Monastic asceticism was a reaction against the growing worldliness of the church.

Even before C. united the ch. & empire, the general toleration of Xtianity had brought in many new members to the chs, & a corresponding lowering of standards.



1) Monasticism.Between Decian & Diocletian persecutions, the

ch. had become the richest religious organization in the empire.

Xtians were obsessed with gaining wealth; bishops held lucrative offices of state, made fortunes, & lent money at usurious interest.

A devout minority feared for the direction Xtianity was going & sought to return to absorption in spiritual matters.



1) Monasticism.They believed that the only hope was to

renounce all possessions & retreat to the desert.

Thus hermits & monks became a permanent expression of piety.

Hermit—from GK word meaning “desert.”Monk—from GK word meaning “alone.”



1) Monasticism.Anthony, a Coptic peasant from Egypt, the 1st

famous hermit.Ca. 275, he began 25 yrs of isolated existence

& is said to have battled demons in the desert.His reputation for sanctity spread widely &

peopled the desert with disciples who tried to emulate him.

Ca. 305 A. came out of solitude to organize his followers.



1) Monasticism.He retired again to solitude in 310, but

remained influential in support of the Nicene party in the Arian controversy.

After the conversion of C., the ch received another invasion of worldliness; while Xtianity converted the world, the world also converted Xtianity.

The natural impulses of pagan humanity were openly displayed among professing Xtians.



1) Monasticism.Likely of tens of 1000s had followed their

emperor into the ch without ever experiencing a new birth.

What had at first appeared to be the gift of an entire empire to the ch became an albatross around the necks of spiritual Xtians.

Monks retreating to desert solitude again became a familiar sight.



1) Monasticism. In 325, a converted soldier named Pachomius

accepted the principle of monasticism but rejected extremism.

Believing that absolute solitude was selfish, he established the first monastic community where spiritual brothers could retreat together to renounce the world & devote their time to Scripture and meditation.



1) Monasticism.This is the 1st e.g. of monasticism known as

cenobitic, so called from the GK words, koinos bios, meaning “the life in common.”

Martyrdom had died out, & whereas martyrs had once been the spiritual elite of the faith, that position now went to the monks.

Yet these spiritual recluses began to exhibit some of the very traits of humanity they had sought to flee.



1) Monasticism.While they were critical of the worldly

competition of the marketplace, they became competitive in their religious devotions.

They competed to see who could stand longest on one leg without food or sleep, or who could remain the longest time on the highest pillar.

Those who had sought to call the ch back to the fundamentals of the faith often became engrossed with trivia themselves.



1) Monasticism.C. did not understand the emphasis of the

ascetics, & their retreat from society reflected negatively against the culture he was attempting to build.

He turned to the ch fathers for answers & assistance, & at 1st many bishops opposed the monastic movement.



1) Monasticism.However, they gradually began to accept it as a

necessary balance to the church’s increasing involvement with commerce & government, & because the sincerity of the monks’ piety could not be ignored.

Basil the Great (330-79) contributed the most to a harmonious relationship between orthodox Xtianity & monastic asceticism.



1) Monasticism.Highly educated at Constantinople & Athens, &

made a bishop of Caesarea in Cappadocia, he nonetheless believed that monasticism was a valid expression of normative Xtianity.

He integrated the monastic ocmmunities more closely with the ch & insisted that the bishop should have ultimate authority over a monastery.



1) Monasticism.He began the first outward-looking concerns of

monasticism, providing education and medical treatment for the poor.

B’s imp. theological works, his stand against the Arian party in the Christological controversies, his extensive organization of benevolent work, & his sincere personal holiness have ranked him in Xtian history as one of the 3 great Cappadocian Fathers.



1) Monasticism.Other two—Gregory, Bishop of Nazianzus, &

Gregory, Bishop of Nyssa.These 3, all Cappadocians by birth, were the

chief influence which led to the final defeat of Arianism at the Council of Constantinople in 381.

Rather than splitting the ch & damaging the empire, monasticism was allowed to express itself somewhat like “the loyal opposition.”



1) Monasticism.The monks were opposed to the worldliness of

the ch, but still recognized it as the legitimate Body of Christ on earth.



2) Donatism.Another cloud which threatened C’s clear sky

was the Donatist schism which traced its grievances back to the severe Diocletian persecutions.

One edict of the persecution was that all copies of Scripture be handed over to the state upon threat of death for the entire congregation.

Many bishops had complied in order not to imperil the lives of their flock.



2) Donatism.Rigorists who had refused called these

traditores (“handers over”) of Scripture, obviously carrying the sense also of traitor), & insisted that they should not be restored to communion, let alone to the ecclesiastical office.

A large contingency of rigorists in North Africa refused to accept Caecilian as Bishop of Carthage because his consecrator, Felix of Aptunga, had allegedly been a traditore.



2) Donatism.The African bishops consecrated Majorinus as

a rival to Caecilian, & he was soon afterward succeeded by Donatus, from whom the schism was named.

D. insisted that clergy who had surrendered the Scriptures to the pagan police during the persecution had forfeited their office & powers.

He held that baptisms or ordinations performed by such clergy were null and void.



2) Donatism.This led naturally to the position that the validity

of sacraments depends in large part upon the spiritual state of the administrator.

“Donatism” remains the designation for such a position.

The ch refused to approve this stringent creed, & the Donatists set up rival bishops wherever existing ones did not meet their tests.



2) Donatism.Constantine had thought that Xtianity would be

the one great unifying force that the empire needed, & now it threatened that empire with divisiveness & chaos.

The emperor became personally involved when the issue evolved into legal claims over property.

In Edict of Milan he had decreed the restitution of ch bldgs. confiscated in the persecution.



2) Donatism.But, in the light of the Donatist schism, which

party had the rightful claim to these buildings?C. referred the matter to the bishop of Rome,

who decided against the Donatists, a decision confirmed by the Council of Arles in 314.

The rigorists still refused to submit, violence erupted, the Donatists appealed directly to the emperor, & C. grudgingly gave them a semblance of toleration.



2) Donatism.A century later the Donatists outnumbered the

orthodox in North Africa, where they received their greatest theological blow from Augustine.

They continued, however, to exist & oppose the orthodox until both were overthrown by the Saracens (Moslems) in the 7th & 8th centuries.



3) Arianism. If C. had been out of his element in trying to

understand the holiness of ascetics & in trying to unravel the ecclesiastical disputes of rival bishops, he was completely at sea when the peace of his empire was threatened by theological debate about the person & nature of Jesus Christ.

This Christological controversy was to embroil all of Christendom until 451.



3) Arianism. It was ignited by a priest in Alexandria named

Arius.Because his teachings were branded as

heresy, Arius went down in history as one of Xtianity’s 1st & most famous heresiarchs.

A. denied the true divinity of Jesus Christ.He maintained that the Son of God was not

eternal but created by the Father, that he was therefore not God by nature, but a changeable creature.



3) Arianism.His dignity as the Son of God was bestowed

upon Jesus by the Father because of his righteous life.

X was not “consubstantial” with the Father, & the HS was begotten by the Logos (Christ), which makes him still less of God than the Logos.

The philosophical ideas from Plato thru the Stoics, Philo, Plotinus, & Origen to Arius were obviously at work.



3) Arianism.Platonism, which had so deeply influenced

Xtian theology, was now fomenting conflict in the ch.

Arius’ bishop, Alexander, condemned the heretical teachings & called a council which removed Arius & his followers.

Many priests sympathized with Arius; & throughout the empire, clergy as well as laity were divided on the issue.



3) Arianism.Eusebius said there was such “tumult and

disorder that the Xtian religion afforded a subject of profane merriment to the pagans even in their theaters.”

It was 318 & C. was still trying to stabilize the empire, having just returned from overthrowing Licinius.

He was extremely agitated with both Arius & Alexander & wrote a scathing letter to them.



3) Arianism.He stated that he was about the business of

leading the people back to a single idea of the Deity, & they were causing dissension & strife among believers.

To both, C. said, “There was no need to make these questions public . . . Since they are problems that idleness alone raises, and whose only use is to sharpen men’s wits . . . These are silly actions worthy of inexperienced children, and not of priests or reasonable men.”



3) Arianism.The letter reflected the political purpose of C’s

religious policy & his vast lack of knowledge of theology & its importance.

To the ch, the question was vital both theologically & politically.

If X was not God, the whole structure of Xtian doctrine was in question.



3) Arianism.Further, if division were permitted on this issue,

confusion of belief might destroy the unity & authority of the ch, & therefore its usefulness to the state.

When C. began to see the serious implications, he called the 1st ecumenical (universal) council of the ch.

Meeting at Nicaea in 325 (May 20-July 25), the summoned bishops debated the nature of the person of Jesus Christ.



3) Arianism.Arius reaffirmed his view that X was a creature,

not equal to the Father, but “divine only by participation.”

He was opposed by the eloquent archdeacon Athanasius from Alexandria.

Ath won the first great Xtological debate, & the council issued the famous creed of Nicaea which firmly presents X as “being one essence [homo-ousios] with the Father.”



3) Arianism.Arius & other heretical bishops were banished,

but the empire had not seen the last of them, nor of the issue of Arianism.

Constantine was at 1st an ardent promoter of the Nicene faith, but he soon began to waver, probably due to the influences of his sister, Constantia, who favored Arianism.

In 328 several of the banished priests were allowed to return & they immediately began intrigue against the Nicene party.



3) Arianism.They were so successful in gaining support that

in 335 Athanasius, who had been made bishop of Alexandria in 328, had to go into exile.

Arius gained recognition as being orthodox & was scheduled for reinstatement in the ch when he died suddenly in 336.

But the controversy did not die, and subsequent councils & creeds would testify to the poor judgment of C when he tried to dismiss the issue as trivial squabbling.



3) Arianism.Aside from the theological issues involved, the

council at Nicaea must have had a profound impact upon the participants.

The gathering of the leaders of lthe church was impressive in itself, but the unbelievable fact was that the council had been summoned & presided over by none other than the Roman emperor.



3) Arianism.Every bishop present was old enough to

remember the persecutions, & now they were all discussing with the emperor, a fellow Xtian, the nature of X & the doctrine of the Trinity.

Even the most optimistic could not have hoped for this phenomenal turn of events.

The victims had become victors.


2. The Byzantine EmpireReligion was not the sole concern of the

emperor; after all, he had an empire to run & a civilization to maintain.

Even if C had not turned the course of world history because of his Xtian conversion, he would have been renowned for his impact on culture & civilization.

His legacy in this area was the magnificent Byzantine Empire.


2. The Byzantine Empirea. Constantinople, The New Rome. In 330 C moved the capital of the empire

from Rome to a new city he called Nova Roma (New Rome), which had been built upon the ruins of the ancient fortress town of Byzantium, form which the term “Byzantine” is derived.


2. The Byzantine Empirea. Constantinople, The New Rome.Strategically located on the Bosphorus, the

gateway between the Mediterranean & the Black Sea, the new capital was a bulwark to withstand enemies from the East & positioned the government close to the main focus of the empire’s trade.

New Rome soon became known as Con, the city of Constantine.

The modern city, Istanbul, Turkey, sits on the site.


2. The Byzantine Empirea. Constantinople, The New Rome.Con was the center of Byzantine

civilization & seat of economic & political power.

It remained the capital of the Eastern Empire for more than a 1000 yrs, becoming the Turkish capital in 1453.

Here C surrounded himself with the pomp & pageantry of an oriental court.


2. The Byzantine Empirea. Constantinople, The New Rome.He improved the army, gave support to the

arts, strengthened the schools at Athens & founded a new university at Con.

He improved the status of physicians & teachers, & decreed that artists were exempt from civic obligations in order to pursue & teach their art.

From across the empire, great art treasures were brought to Con to make it an elegant capital.


2. The Byzantine Empirea. Constantinople, The New Rome.While the move from Rome to Con was not

intended to affect the ch directly, it had far reaching implications & influences.

The bishop of Rome became for all practical purposes the heir to the authority of the Caesars in the West.

As a counterbalance, C elevated the bishop of Con to a position equal to that of the b. of Rome.

The result was a divided empire & church.


2. The Byzantine Empireb. Division, Defection, & Renewal In 337, at age 64, C finally received

baptism, & died.At his death C’s empire was divided among

his 3 sons, Constantine II, Contantius, & Constans.

Constantine II took over the West.Constantius the East.Constans the middle, Africa, Greece & Italy

(including Rome).


2. The Byzantine Empireb. Division, Defection, & RenewalEach ruler supported the religious view that

prevailed in his respective territory.The East was predominately Arian, so

Constantius backed the reaction against Nicaea.

Constantine II and Constans were both pro-Nicene, but a rivalry between flamed into a war in which Constantine II was killed in 340.


2. The Byzantine Empireb. Division, Defection, & RenewalConstans unified the Nicene areas &

thereby reversed the predominance against the Arians.

10 yrs later, however, Constans was assassinated by a usurper, Magnentius, who in turn was defeated by Constantius two yrs later.


2. The Byzantine Empireb. Division, Defection, & RenewalNow, Constantius ruled the whole empire,

& since he was increasingly inclined toward Arianism, Jerome later observed, “The whole world groaned and was amazed to find itself Arian.”

From 354 to 360, Constantius held a series of councils in various parts of the empire in an attempt to solidify the position of Arianism.


2. The Byzantine Empireb. Division, Defection, & RenewalHe succeeded in forcing an anti-Nicene

creed on reluctant bishops & in securing the condemnation of Athanasius, leader to the Nicene party.

In 358, Athanasius issued his famous statement which was the first open break of the ch with the state since the beginning of the Constantine era.


2. The Byzantine Empireb. Division, Defection, & RenewalAthanasius asked, “When did a judgment

of the church receive its validity from the emperor?”

Hosius of Cardova, who had helped shape C’s policy toward the ch, now reversed & even quoted Jesus against the emperor.

He said, “Do not intrude yourself into church matters, nor give commands to us concerning them. . . .


2. The Byzantine Empireb. Division, Defection, & Renewal…God has put into your hands the

kingdom; to us he has entrusted the affairs of his church. . . . It is written, ‘Render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar’s and unto God the things that are God’s.’”

For their opposing efforts, Constantius banished Athanasius & Hosius along with Liberius, the bishop of Rome.


2. The Byzantine Empireb. Division, Defection, & RenewalAt the death of Constantius in 361, his

cousin Julian (nephew of Constantine) became emperor, his infamous reign lasting for only two years.

Yet in this brief time he so thoroughly shattered the empire with his return to paganism that he went down in history as Julian the Apostate.


2. The Byzantine Empireb. Division, Defection, & RenewalA Platonist in philosophy, J. attempted to

lead the empire into a new religion he called Hellenism.

He restored pagan worship & revoked the special privileges of Xtian clergy.

Yet there was no open persecution of Xtians, &, in fact, toleration was decreed for all religions.


2. The Byzantine Empireb. Division, Defection, & RenewalHe even allowed the banished bishops to

return.He thus became the unwitting instrument of

securing the Nicene position, since the orthodox resumed their offices.

Even though J. thought that C. had made a great mistake in adopting Xtianity, he exhorted his pagan priests to imitate the sobriety, hospitality, & philanthropy of the Xtians.


2. The Byzantine Empireb. Division, Defection, & RenewalJ. died in 363, & with him the zeal of

paganism.Athanasius had rightly predicted, “Be of

good courage; it is but a cloud which will quickly pass away.”

All succeeding emperors placed themselves on the side of Xtianity.

Jovian followed J. in 363 & proclaimed universal religious toleration.


2. The Byzantine Empireb. Division, Defection, & RenewalHe was soon succeeded by Valentinian I

(364-375) who extended the toleration include Arians although he was personally of the Nicene faith.

Valentinian appointed the younger brother Valens to rule the East (364-78), & he vigorously opposed the Nicene party.

Attempting to withstand the invading Germanic tribe of Visigoths, Valens was killed in the battle of Adrianople in 378.


2. The Byzantine Empireb. Division, Defection, & RenewalAll subsequent emperors, in East as well

as West, were orthodox (Nicene).When Valentinian died, his son Gratian

became ruler of the East also.He soon realized, however, that he could

not govern the whole empire alone, & he appointed Theodosius, an experienced Spanish soldier, to rule the East (379-95).


2. The Byzantine Empireb. Division, Defection, & RenewalGratian was killed in a rebellion by another

Spanish officer, Magnus Maximus, in 383.This usurper became the 1st Xtian emperor

to inflict the death penalty upon a heretic, Pricillian of Spain.

Meanwhile, in the East, Theodosius I was striking a mortal blow against paganism, prohibiting all sacrifices & closing pagan temples.


2. The Byzantine Empireb. Division, Defection, & RenewalHeretics were forbidden to worship, their

chs were confiscated, & they lost their right to inherit property.

In Xtian history, Theodosius I is perhaps best known for convening the Second Ecumenical Council at Constantinople in 381.

This was a concerted effort to unite the eastern ch at the end of the long Arian controversy on the basis of Nicene faith.


2. The Byzantine Empireb. Division, Defection, & RenewalThe Council of Nicaea was reaffirmed with

slight modifications.While Theodosius was seeing the

actualization of a full Xtian state, he was also realizing the dramatic increase in the power of the ch.

When people of Thessalonica murdered the military commander of the city….


2. The Byzantine Empireb. Division, Defection, & RenewalT. avenged his death by the massacre of

7,000 citizens, both guilty & innocent.Ambrose, Bishop of Milan (where T. held

court), excommunicated the emperor until he did penance, publicly asking forgiveness in the ch.

To the popular question of the day, “What has the emperor to do with the church?”


2. The Byzantine Empireb. Division, Defection, & RenewalAmbrose had given a ringing answer: the

emperor was within the church, not above it.


2. The Byzantine Empirec. The Fall of Rome.After the death of Theodosius (395), the

empire was ruled by his two sons, Arcadius in the East, Honorius in the West.

Tension between them developed into hostility, & Alaric, the new king of the Visigoths, too advantage of the breach.

Night of Aug. 24, 410, A. stormed the walls of Rome in a surprise attack.


2. The Byzantine Empirec. The Fall of Rome.For the 1st time in 800 yrs Rome was taken

by a foreign enemy.Jerome, from his monastery in faroff

Bethlehem, lamented: “The city which has taken the whole world is itself taken.”

Augustine of Hippo wrote a monumental defense of the Xtian’s position in the fall of Rome, titled The City of God.


2. The Byzantine Empirec. The Fall of Rome.The sack of Rome did more psychological

than actual damage.Honorius had already moved his court to

the coastal city of Ravenna & after Alaric’s sudden death, the Visigoths returned to Gaul.

In 452 Attila the Hun invaded Italy & purposed to destroy Rome, but was persuaded to withdraw (according to tradition) by Pope Leo I.


2. The Byzantine Empirec. The Fall of Rome. In 455, another Germanic tribe, the

Vandals, led by Gaiseric, attacked Rome. It was reported that Leo again saved the

city by his personal pleading.The next two decades witnessed against

the Vandals and complicated intrigues, in which puppet emperors were set up & deposed by barbarian generals.


2. The Byzantine Empirec. The Fall of Rome. In 476 Odoacer deposed the last Roman

emperor in the West.Odoacer was overthrown by Theodoric in

526, the eastern emperor Justinian temporarily reconquered Italy, but the imperial army was unable to hold Italy after Justinian’s death.

Italy was once more dominated by barbarians, & Rome itself was governed by her bishop.


2. The Byzantine Empired. Justinian the Great.The decline & fall of Rome served to

emphasize the strength & dominance of Constantinople, which was soaring toward the zenith of the Byzantine era.

Theodosius II (408-450), summoned the Council of Ephesus in 431, & enacted the highly influential Theodosian Code.


2. The Byzantine Empired. Justinian the Great. Issued in 438, the Theodosian Code

inflicted the death penalty on those who denied the Trinity (the Arians) & on those who repeated baptism (the Donatists).

It also banned paganism, regulated the position of the clergy, & determined the relation between church & state.


2. The Byzantine Empired. Justinian the Great.When Theodosius II was killed in a fall from

his horse in 450, his brother-in-law Marcian became emperor (450-457), & stabilized his reign with financial reforms.

His theological contribution was the successful repression of Monophysitism at the Council of Chalcedon in 451.


2. The Byzantine Empired. Justinian the Great.Over the next 70 yrs the eastern empire

was threatened politically by the invading Germans & theologically by the Monophysite controversy.

“Monosphysite” comes from Gk word meaning “one nature.”

The controversy centered around the doctrine that in the person of the incarnate X there was but a single nature, & it was divine.


2. The Byzantine Empired. Justinian the Great. In 527 Justinian became emperor.J. inherited an unwieldy accumulation of

legal codes, & determined to produce one great code of law.

The result was the Codex Justinianus, the Code of Justinian, which survived for centuries as the Roman law in East and West alike.


2. The Byzantine Empired. Justinian the Great.Like the Theodosian Code a century

earlier, the Justinian Code enacted Xtianity into law.

It began with a strong section favoring the Trinity, & condemning a long list of heresies, some to be punishable by death.

It gave qualifications for bishops & ecclesiastical officers, & proclaimed the authority of the Roman ch over all Xtians.


2. The Byzantine Empired. Justinian the Great.At the same time, it clearly stipulated that

all ch matters were subject to the state.The emperor had dominion over the ch, &

all ecclesiastical law had to come from the throne.

Pagan sacrifice was declared a capital offense, as was the lapsing of any Xtian into paganism.


2. The Byzantine Empired. Justinian the Great.Jews were forbidden to convert Xtians or to

hold Xtian slaves.Detailed laws dealing with such matters as

property, courts of law, military service, & the status of women presented some innovative & far-reaching judicial precedents.


2. The Byzantine Empired. Justinian the Great. In effect, the characteristic element of this

Byzantine church-state pattern was harmony, symphonia, in which the spiritual & civil authorities supported each other.

Some have called this Caesaropapism.Other historians resent this term, pointing

out that the emperor was not a priest & that he himself could be excommunicated.


2. The Byzantine Empired. Justinian the Great.However, the emperor did control the

election of the patriarch, and not even the decision of a church council was valid without his consent.

Overall, Justinian’s greatest contribution was that he gave a definitive form to Byzantine culture.

It was a mixture of Roman law, Xtian faith, & Hellenistic philosophy.


2. The Byzantine Empired. Justinian the Great.He was a great conqueror, a great

lawgiver, a great diplomat, and a great builder (e.g., Hagia Sophia).

But at the last he became a heretic & announced that the body of X was incorruptible & never knew the indignities of mortal flesh.

In 565 he died at 83 after reigning for 38 years.

Early Church to the Reformation

Documents

persecuted servants1

persecuted servantsthe

blood of christians

christian martyrs

emperor worship

early church

early christians

nonxtian misunderstanding