An Expanded Outline of the

History of the Christian Church

Dr. Stanford E. Murrell

Part 1

The Early Beginnings

The Power of Pentecost Acts 1-2

Persecution and Persistent Growth

 Temple priests Acts 4
 According to Christ John 15:18-19

From Saul to Paul Acts 9

 On to Damascus
 Fled to Jerusalem
 Fled to Tarsus
 Preaching in Syria Acts 9:20-21; Gal. 1:16-21

The Gospel Comes to Cornelius Acts 10

The Gospel Expands to Antioch, Syria Acts 11:26

The Ministry of Missions

 Paul persuaded by Barnabas to ministry in Syrian metropolis
 Holy Spirit calls Paul and Barnabas to foreign work
 They travel to Cyprus and Asia Minor (modern Turkey)
 Return to Antioch a question arises of Jew and Gentile to the law
 Acts 15 council held in Jerusalem c. AD 40 / 50 Acts 15:28 For it seemed
good to the Holy Ghost, and to us, to lay upon you no greater burden than
these necessary things; 29 That ye abstain from meats offered to idols, and
from blood, and from things strangled, and from fornication: from which if
ye keep yourselves, ye shall do well. Fare ye well.
Paul’s Second Missionary Journey: The Evangelization of Europe
 Accompanied by Silas
 Churches visited in Asia Minor
 Receives the Macedonian call Acts 16:9
 Cross over into Greece
 Delivers sermon on Mar’s Hill in Athens Acts 17

Paul’s Third Missionary Journey: Central Asia Minor

 Three years at Ephesus Acts 20:31
 Victory over idol worship of Diana
 Revisits churches in Greece
 Returns to Jerusalem where he is arrested by Jews and imprisoned
 Appeals to Caesar
 Taken to Rome for trial
 Imprisoned in Rome for two years under house arrest Acts 28:30
 Released from this first Roman imprisonment

Fourth Missionary Journey Philippians 1:25 and Philemon 1:22

 Hoped to go to Spain Romans 15:24, 28
 Traveled to Crete where he established Titus in a leadership position
 Visited other churches already founded

Missions of Other Apostles According to Tradition

 Bartholomew preached in Armenia
 Andrew in southern steppes of Russia and the Ukraine
 Thomas in Persia and India
 Matthew in Ethiopia
 James the Younger in Egypt
 Jude in Assyria and Persia
 Mark (not an apostle) in Alexandria
 Peter on the Euphrates (1 Peter 5:13) in Babylon and then in Rome where he
was martyred. He also preached in the provinces of Asia Minor (1 Peter 1:1)
The Gospel Goes in all the World
 Col 1:5-6 For the hope which is laid up for you in heaven, whereof ye
heard before in the word of the truth of the gospel; 6 Which is come unto
you, as it is in all the world; and bringeth forth fruit, as it doth also in
you, since the day ye heard of it, and knew the grace of God in truth:

 By the end of the first century the gospel had penetrated the most
important areas of Europe, Asia and Africa.

 Justin Martyr c. 150 AD wrote, “There is no people, Greek or barbarian,

or of any other race, by whatever appellation or manners they be
distinguished, however ignorant of arts or agriculture, whether they
dwell in tents or wander about in covered wagons, among whom prayers
and thanksgivings are not offered in the name of the crucified Jesus to
the Father and Creator of all things.”

 Acts 1:8 was realized “But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy
Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in
Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost
part of the earth.”
 The Early Years

Part 2

The Apostolic Fathers (Fathers in God)

 Title widely used by AD 95

 Four groups

 Apostolic or Post Apostolic Fathers c. 95-100

 Apologists c. 140-200
 Polemicists c. 180-225
 Scientific Theologians c. 225-460

 Another classification

 Apostolic Fathers Second century

 Ante-Nicene Fathers
 Nicene Fathers
 Post Nicene Fathers
Second and third centuries
Fourth century
Fifth century or sometimes to Gregory
the Great in the West (590) or John of
Damascus in the East (c. 675)

 Characteristics

 Apostolic Fathers Edification for spiritual strength

 Apologists Defending the faith from outside
attacks
 Polemicists Defending the fait from heresy within
the church
 Scientific Theologians An effort to study theology in or order
to apply to theological investigation current
modes of philosophical thought
Clement
 Leading elder or bishop at Rome
 Answered an appeal from the church of Corinth on how to have harmony
 He sent a letter c. 95 / 96 (1 Clement) urging a demonstration of Christian
grace in daily relationship and obedience to the elders and deacons
 His work is the earliest extra biblical Christian writing

The Shepherd of Hermas

 A Roman credited with writing the Shepherd of Hermas thought it may have
been a composite work written in stages between 90 and 150
 Hermas was a slave (a Jew perhaps) freed by his mistress Rhoda in Rome
 He married and became wealthy
 During persecution he lost his property
 His own children denounced him

 Purporting to be revelations the book itself is divided into

 Visions (5)
 Mandates (12)
 Similitudes (10)

 The Revelator

 Was a woman in Visions (1-4) representing the church

 In Vision 5 through Similitude 10 the Revelator was The Angel of
Repentance in the guise of a shepherd, hence the name

 The Mandates and Similitude provide teaching on Christian behavior and

principles
 The book served as a text for catechetical instruction in 2- 3 centuries
 The central theme concerns a second repentance for sins following baptism
 The rudimentary penitential system with the dogma of penance is already
operative in the church

Special Note. The book of Second Clement was probably written about the same
time as the Shepherd of Hermas and therefore not the work of Clement of Rome. It
is a sermon, the oldest complete one known. The message is to live virtuously,
show mercy to others, repent and wage a good warfare for the Christian life.
Ignatius
 Bishop of Antioch, Syria
 Most famous of the Apostolic Fathers
 c. 110 arrested and sent to Rome
 Along the way wrote letters to the churches
 Encouraged the rooting out of those who denies the deity of Christ
 Encourage submission to elders
 First to speak of a “catholic” or universal church
 The church could not baptize, celebrate communion or perform a marriage
without a bishop
Polycarp
 Ministered in Asia Minor (Modern Turkey)
 A disciple of the apostle John
 Only his letter to the Philippians remains
 Quoted from 13 NT books
 Martyred for his faith in Smyrna c. 155/56
 The Martyrdom of Polycarp written within a year after his death is the first
Christian account of martyrdom

Papias
 Bishop of Hierapolis in Phrygia, c. 125
 Wrote Interpretations of the Sayings of the Lord, much of which is lost
 The attempt was to preserve the teachings of Christ by those who knew Him
 Stated that Mark received his material from Peter
 He too was a “hearer of John”
 Argued for a literal material millennium reign of Christ on earth

Barnabas
 Believed to have lived in North Africa c. AD 70 – 130
 The Epistle of Barnabas ascribed to him is allegorical in nature with much
typology and numerology
 The work contends with keeping the Law arguing the work of Christ was
sufficient
 Almost too anti Judaic denying a historical connection between Judaism and
Christianity
Didache
 The Didache or Teachings of the Twelve is believed to have originated in
Alexandria (or Syria?) during the first decades of the second century
 Divided into four parts

 Christian ethics (chapter 1-6)

 Liturgical issues such as baptism, fasting and communion (chapters 7-
10), the ministry of the church and government (chapters 11-15) and the
second coming and end of the world (chapter 16).
 Baptism was to be performed by immersion of possible and a threefold
effusion
 Believers are to live a life of preparedness for the return of Christ

Evaluation of the Apostolic Father

 Some critics believe they neglected critical doctrines
 Some critics believe they emphasized baptism too much as a medium of
forgiveness of sins
 Martyrdom and celibacy were exalted and believed to have sin atoning
power
 To their credit the Apostolic Fathers had a missionary zeal as they moved to
organize the church in a hierarchal organization for the purpose of strength,
obedience and accountability
 The voice of the laity is pretty much silenced during this period
 Care must be taken to distinguish between the individual opinions of the
Fathers and when they kept close to the Scriptures in mattes of faith and
practice
 A Defense of the Faith

Part 3

The Apologists

The Aim of the Apologists

 To win legal recognition for Christianity
 To show the superiority of the Hebrew-Christian tradition over paganism

 Temporally and chronological superiority was shown by Justin Martyr

who claimed Moses wrote the Pentateuch long before the Trojan War (c.
1250 BC). Also much prophecy had been fulfilled.
 Spiritually. Christians claimed noble pagans had obtained their high
ideals from God or Moses

 To defend it against various charges leveled by the pagan population

 Atheism
 Cannibalism
 Immorality
 Anti-social action

A Philosophical Approach
 The Apologist were trying to reason with men who were themselves
interested in philosophy such as Marcus Aurelius a Stoic philosopher
 The Apologist have been accused of surrendering their world view to
heathenism
 Some of their teachings about Jesus Christ appear in the form of the Logos
doctrine
 To the philosophers the Logos was an impersonal controlling and
developing principle of the Universe
 To John in chapter one the Logos was the eternal God Himself incarnate
 For the most part the Apologist did uphold the Christian doctrine of Christ
though Justin Martyr sometimes ascribed Christ as being of inferior rank to
the Father
Justin Martyr
 Best known of the Apologists
 A great literary defender
 Born a Gentile c. AD 100 in small town of Samaria
 Became acquainted with the philosophical systems of his time
 Was converted to Christ c. AD 132
 Wrote apologies to the emperor Antoninus Pius and his adopted son Marcus
Aurelius
 Wrote a dialogue with Trypho the Jews trying to show Christ was the
Messiah
 Sought to defend Christianity against charges of atheism, immorality and
disloyalty to the state
 Argued that the kingdom of Christ was not of this world therefore no
emperor should fear
 Put to death c. AD 163 by Marcus Aurelius perhaps upon suggestion by
pagan philosophers close to the emperor
 He focused on Christ and the Scripture being the final authority
 He was not afraid to sit in judgment on philosophy

Tatian
 A convert of Justin in Rome
 Tatian was a native of Assyria
 Wrote an Address to the Greeks in which he ridiculed every pagan practice
 Argued for the superiority of Christianity and thus it should be tolerated
 After Justin’s death Tatian went to Syria
 Found the Encratites – known for their ascetic practices
 Wrote the Diastessaron, the earliest known harmony of the gospels, c. AD
150-60
Tertullian
 Born in Carthage, North Africa, c. AD 160
 A lawyer
 Converted to Christ late in the century
 Wrote many apologetic and theological works in Latin and Greek
 In c. AD 197 he addressed the Roman governor of Carthage in his
Apologeticus defending Christians and show that persecution was pointless
for they increased anyway
 In c. AD 200 Tertullian became involved in the error of Montanism
 The Polemicists

Attacks Against Error

Part 4

The Work of the Polemicists

 To oppose heresy
 To maintain an orthodox church

The Main Polemicists

Irenaeus * Hippolytus * Tertullian * Cyrpian

Irenaeus
 Earliest of the Polemicists the he wrote Against Heresies c. 185 at Lyons,
France where he was a bishop
 His work was designed to challenge the rise of Gnosticism
 Book I traces the history of Gnostics with a statement of Christian faith
 Book II is a philosophical critique of Gnosticism
 Book III responds to Gnosticism from the Scriptures
 Book IV responds to Gnosticism from the words of Christ
 Book V is a vindication of the resurrection against the Gnostic’s
arguments
 In his answers Irenaeus emphasized the episcopate, theological tradition and
the canon of Scripture
 He is sometimes called the Father of Church Dogmatics due to his work
Proof of the Apostolic Preaching

Hippolytus
 He was the most important of the 3rd century theologians
 Also challenged Gnosticism in his Refutation of All Heresies, c. AD 200
 His work Apostolic Tradition provided a picture of Roman church order
and discipline
 His work covers baptism, the Lord’s Supper, ordination and other church
practices
 He also wrote a commentary on Daniel which is the oldest commentary on a
biblical book to survive
  Part of his commentary on the Song of Solomon remains
 He opposed forgiving those guilty of serious sins after receiving baptism

Tertullian
 Lived in Carthage
 Wrote his Apologeticus and so may be classified with the Apologists but
also wrote his De Anima, concerning the origin of the soul and so may be
classified with the Scientific theologians
 He is considered to be the founder of Latin or Roman Catholic theology
 Opposed to paganism, Judaism, Unitarianism and Gnosticism
 He believed the church would keep a pure message through episcopal and
apostolic succession
 Wrote Against Praxeas, c. 210 as an early statement of Trinitarian doctrine
 He did lapse into the Montanist error

Cyrpian
 Martyred c. AD 258
 Opposed Novatianism
 Novatus (Novatian) taught those who lapsed during persecution could not be
pronounced forgiven by the church and restored to fellowship
 Forgiveness must be left to God
 He was excommunicated not because he was severe in his discipline but
because he insisted the church did not have the right or power to grant
absolution
 By this time anyone who did not submit to the divinely appointed bishops
were regarded as heretics
 Cyprian felt duty bound to condemn Novatus
 Early Development of Theology

The Scientific Theologians

Part 5

The Alexandrian Theologians

Classifications of the Scientific Theologians

 Those living in Alexandria
 Pantaenus
 Clement
 Origen
 Athanasius
 Cyril

 Those living in the West

 Jerome
 Ambrose
 Augustine

 Those living in the East

 Theodore
 John Chrystom

Clement
 An Athenian who headed a school in Alexandria c. 190 – 202
 Forced by persecution to leave the city
 His writings included
 Address to the Greeks – designed to win converts from heathenism
 The Tutor -- designed to instruct new converts
 The Miscellanies -- designed to exalt Christianity over paganism
 Outlines of Scripture Interpretation
-- designed to provide commentary

 In his writings Greek philosophy is prominent in order to achieve a

synthesis
 He is the first to present Christianity in the form of secular literature for the
Christian community
  His writings contributed to the development of purgatory and Christian
mysticism
 He was not a Gnostic but came close by believing that when human
contemplated the Logos they received from Christ the true gnosis or divine
knowledge which leads to freedom from sin and to righteousness

Origen
 Led the school of Alexandrian writers from c. 202-232
 Moved to Caesarea in Palestine for 20 more years
 Suffered under the Decian persecution
 Brought to scientific formulation of Scripture the allegorical understanding
Whereby Scripture conceals a deeper meaning to keep the pearls of God’s
Word from swine
 Philo of Alexandria advanced this new method while trying to reconcile
Greek philosophy with Jewish thought
 A prolific writer Origen’s works include the Hexapla of several Hebrew and
Greek versions arranged in parallel columns while the Tetrapla contains four
Greek versions of the Hexapla
 His On First Principles is the first systematic theology to be preserved
 The teachings of Origen could be controversial
 Souls of humans existed as fallen spirits prior to birth
 Christ paid a ransom to Satan to free all who were enslaved
 The love of God would bring a universal salvation
 On a more positive note he sought to make Scripture apply to life
 He was loyal to Christ during persecution in AD 250

Athanasius
 c. 293-373
 Leader in Alexandria
 Triumphed the orthodox view of Christ over Arianism at Council of Nicea in
AD 325
 Wrote Contra Gentiles and On the Incarnation
 328 became bishop of Alexandria
Cyril
 c. 376 – 444
 Patriarch of Alexandria in 412
 Devoted himself to the defense of the orthodox position of Christ
 Advanced veneration of Mary that she was the Theotokos or the bearer of
God
 His systematic works defend the doctrines of the Trinity and the person of
Christ

The Western Theologians

Jerome

 c. 345-420
 Born in NE Italy
 Studied languages and philosophy
 Baptized at age 19
 Became a convert of monasticism
 Settled in Bethlehem after extensive travel
 Promoted asceticism, celibacy and monasticism
 He was not original but defended orthodoxy
 Wrote commentaries on almost all the books of the Bible
 Given to allegorism
 Careful with his sources of information
 Best known for the Vulgate
 Tried to update Eusebius’s Ecclesiastical History by recording events for
the years AD 325-378
 Translated and revised Eusebius’s Onomasticon, a gazetteer of biblical
places
Ambrose
 Bishop of Milan, AD 374-397
 His writings have been appealed to by popes, councils and theologians
 Given to the allegorico-mystical method
 Contributed to church music
 Championed congregational singing and not just liturgical choirs
 Called the Father of Latin Hymnody
 He encouraged monasticism
 One of the earliest supporters of devotion to Mary
 Promoted the cult of martyrs during his bishopric
 His most illustrious student was Augustine

Augustine
 c. 354-430
 Came from a respectable but not rich family
 Wrote his Confessions of his journey in spiritual grace

 Bishop of Hippo in North Africa

 Emphasized the church, creed, sacraments
 Promoted amillennialism believing the church would conquer the world
between the first and second coming of Christ
 Taught that man is in all parts depraved and perverted by sin
 Molded the theology of the Middle Ages down to the 13 th century
 The Reformers appealed to his writings
 Martin Luther quoted him over 100 in his commentary on Romans
 Augustine’s most important theological works are Concerning the Trinity;
Concerning Christian Doctrine and his City of God
 Theologians of Asia Minor and Syria

Three Great Cappadocians

Basil the Great of Caesarea

 c. 330-397
 Known for his opposition to heresy especially Arianism
 Organized Eastern monasticism
 His brother, Gregory, bishop of Nyssa (332-398), was a champion of
orthodoxy at the Council of Constantinople in 381
 Gregory is one of the founders of the Eastern Church

Gregory of Nazianzus
 Bishop of Nyssa (332-398)
 Became bishop of Constantinople in 381
 Preached in defense of the Nicene faith against Arianism
 Highly educated in Cappadocia, Palestine, Egypt and Athens
 1,200 – 1,500 of his manuscripts survive

Theodore
 c. 350 – 428
 Bishop of Mopsuestia in Cilicia (Asia Minor) for 36 years
 A brilliant exegete
 Wrote commentaries on most books of the Bible
 Embraced the ordinary grammatical meaning and historical background
 Attacked the allegorical method
 This in turn led the Origenists of Alexandria to encourage his condemnation
by the church
 A strong supporter of the Nicene Creed and the orthodoxy of the Council of
Constantinople
 He was the first to try to place the Psalms in their historical context
John Chrysostom
 c. 347-407
 Born in Antioch and for many years a preacher in the cathedral there
 Prominent leader of the Greek Church
 Embraced the ordinary grammatical meaning and historical background of
interpreting Scripture
 Helped to reform Eastern theology
 Ignored confession to a priest
 Held to the real presence in the Eucharist
 Believed in only one church and upheld tradition as valid and a basis of
authority
 Became Patriarch of Constantinople near the end of his life, 398
 His criticism of opulence of the court life, his lack of social tact, his
asceticism and his open attack of the Patriarch Alexandria forced him from
office
 He is best known for his preaching for Chrysostom means “Golden Mouth”
 650 of his sermons exist
 They hold to the ideas of Athanasius while portraying compassion for the
poor and the need for social justice

Evaluation of the Church Fathers

 They were for the most part men of honor

On the Negative Side

 But in germ form they provided the seed for later doctrinal concerns
 Purgatory
 Transubstantiation
 Priestly mediation
 Baptismal regeneration
 The whole sacramental system
 They defined the allegorical, mystical and literal interpretation of
Scripture
On the Positive Side
 Through them came the development of the Canon
 The formulation of the great Creeds
 The importance of the church as the sphere of salvation
 They upheld the deity of Christ
 Defended the Trinity
 Defined the person of Christ and the work of the Holy Spirit
 They answered the attacks on the Christian faith
 They attacked heresy from without
 They attacked heresy from within
 They endured persecution
 Attacks from Without

Part 6

The Persecutions

Words of Warning
 Jesus. John 15:20 20 Remember the word that I said unto you, The servant
is not greater than his lord. If they have persecuted me, they will also
persecute you; if they have kept my saying, they will keep yours also.
 Paul. Acts 14:22 Confirming the souls of the disciples, and exhorting them
to continue in the faith, and that we must through much tribulation enter into
the kingdom of God.

Reasons for the Persecution

 Jewish Fears
 Converts to Christianity would decimate their own numbers
 Believed that Christianity was a perversion of Judaism
 Loss of privileged position in the empire if a rival kingdom was establish
 Some like the Zealots believed Christians were unpatriotic since they
would not fight for national independence

 Roman Political Suspicions

 Wanted no rival kings or kingdoms
 Many enjoyed a world of opulence and materialism
 Viewed Christians as disloyal and treasonous since they would not honor
the emperor as divine
  Social Factors
 Christians were treated badly because initially they were associated with
the lower classes of society
 Christians could not participate in many public ceremonies because of the
worship of the emperor as divine
 Christians could not attend many public events such as the Olympic
Games held in honor of Zeus and the Isthmian Games at Corinth held in
honor of Poseidon (1 Cor. 9:24-27)
 Christians condemned the gladiatorial games
 Christians proclaimed the equality of all God’s people and so opposed
slavery

 Economic Factors
 Idol makers would lose money if the Christians were correct (Acts 19)
 It was feared by many the priestly sacrifices would cease and the income
from them
 Christians were blamed for great calamities such as famine, earthquakes
and pestilence not to mention the great fire that burned Rome

 Religious Reasons
 Christians were not tolerate of other faiths in the empire
 Christian declared there was only one way of salvation
 Their love for one another was declared to licentious
 Their communion was referred to as cannibalism

Roman Imperial Persecution

 The first official persecution began on 19 July 64 when fire broke out in
Rome
 Nine days Rome burned and gutted out the city
 Nero diverted attention from himself to the Christians
 Christians made into human torches to light Nero’s gardens
 Paul suffered martyrdom under Nero as did Peter
 The Neronian persecutions established a precedent

 The second official persecution began in AD 95 during the reign of

Domitian
 Directed first against the Jews for refusing to pay a tax to fund a new temple
to Jupiter on the Capitoline Hill in Rome
 Christians caught up and accused of treason
  John was exiled to Patmos
 Many believers died or were banished

Imperial Policy: AD 111-161

 A Roman lawyer, Pliny the Younger, governor of the provinces Bithynia and
Pontus in Asia Minor (111-113)
 Witness the growth of the church and sought counsel from emperor Trajan
 Asked Christians three times to renounce their faith before executing them
 Trajan replied Christians were not to be sought out but if discovered and
convicted they were to be punished apart from repentance and acceptance of
the gods
 Anonymous information was not to be received against them
 Ignatius, bishop of Antioch was martyred under this policy c. 115 AD

 Trajan’s successor was Hadrian (117-138)

 Christians were persecuted in moderation
 Stop mobs from killing Christians at heathen festival
 Accusations were to be made in court

 Antoninus Pius (139-161) favored Christians but upheld Roman law

 Polycarp, bishop of Smyrna suffered martyrdom

A New Approach
 Marcus Aurelius, emperor (161-180)
 He was an intolerant Stoic
 Dismissed the idea of immortality
 Disgusted with the cult of Christian martyrs
 Introduced a spy system
 Put no checks on rioters against the Christians
 Blamed natural disasters on the church
 Thousands were beheaded or put in jail

 Septimius Severus (193-211) persecuted the church

 His attacks were primarily n Egypt and North Africa
 Wanted to stop proselytizing

 Maximinus (235-238) persecuted the church

 Sough to kill church leaders in certain areas
Persecution Across the Empire: 249-305
 Emperor Decius (249-251) was convinced Rome needed a state religion
 All inhabitants of Rome must come before a special officer to declare
allegiance to the gods – once a year
 Christians refused this state cult
 The clergy were seized first
 Many suffered
 In July, 251 the emperor died battle and his edicts no longer had force

 His successor Valerian (253-260) turned against the Church

 From 260 to 303 there was freedom from persecution. Then came Diocletian

 In 303 all places of Christian worship were to be destroyed, sacred books

burned and the clergy imprisoned.

 In the east under Galerius persecution was most severe

 The persecution ended c. 305 when Diocletian abdicated the throne and
retired to private life

Liberation under Constantine, c. 313

 Constantine rose to emperor in the west as joint ruler with Licinius (in the
east)
 Constantine issued an edict giving full toleration to Christians
 In 324 he became sole ruler of the Roman world
 He restored property and rebuilt many churches under the influence of his
mother Queen Helena such as the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem and
the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem
 He gave exceptions from military duty and did not tax the church property
 Near the end of the 4th century Theodosius made Christianity the official
religion of the Empire and now the tables turned as persecution of paganism
began
Effects of the Persecution
 Positive Effects.
 Tertullian said, “The blood of the martyrs is the seed of the church.”
 The church was more pure
 The gospel was spread in new areas
 Certain questions were resolved including which books were canonical
 A defense of the gospel was articulated by the Apologists

 Negative Effects
 Little time to leave a literary legacy
 New problem arose about those who were not faithful during times of
persecution
 Death by martyrdom came to have a sin atoning merit
 Attacks from With

Part 7

Early Heresies

Early Heresies: Second Century

Ebionism
 The name Ebionite first occurs in Irenaeus (c. 180-190) but may be fictitious
 System of belief came from Palestine
 Was an amplification of Judaistic opposition to Paul
 Promoted a system of good works for salvation including circumcision and
sabbath keeping
 Some denied the deity of Christ, His virgin birth and the efficacy of his
sufferings
 Rejected Paul’s writings and exalted Peter
 Disappeared by the 5 th century

Gnosticism
 Gnostics taught that matter was evil and spirit was good
 By a system of emanation from the Divine, demi-urges appeared one of
which was named Jehovah who created the world
 Jesus came to dispel man’s spiritual darkness
 The body of Christ was only an appearance and His death was not necessary
 The system was extremely aristocratic and emphasized knowledge
 Some gave themselves to asceticism while others to licentiousness since the
body did not matter
 At death the soul was released to the Pleroma, a world soul
 The legacy of Gnosticism is asceticism, division (clergy and laity) but it did
help the church to define orthodoxy and the canon
Montanism
 Montanus came from Phrygia (central Asia Minor)
 Revolted against formalism and worldliness
 Took a charismatic approach
 Strict asceticism involving fasting, celibacy and moral discipline
 Preached the imminent coming of the New Jerusalem or the Millennium
 Proclaimed a new era of revelation direct from God
 Called himself the Paraclete
 In reaction the church declared spiritual gifts and revelation to have ended
 Tertullian of Carthage was the most famous convert to Montanism

Early Heresies: Third Century

Novatianism
 Novatian was a presbyter of Rome and a defender of the Trinity against the
Monarchians
 Later he became a bishop
 He denied the right of the church to restore the lapsed and advocated a purist
concept of church membership
 He views influenced the Donatists of North Africa

Monarchianism
 Meaning, “Rule of One”
 Sought to maintain the unity of God at the expense of the Son and Holy
Spirit
 Only the Father possessed true personality, the Son and Spirit were merely
forces of the personality
 The power of God came upon men and in time the humanity of Jesus was
deified
 Jesus was not God in the truest sense of the word
 Some Monarchians embraced the modal theory of God and came to be
known as Sabellianism and Noetianism after two of the leading teachers
 Their legacy are the present day Unitarians
Manicheism
 A system developed by Mani in southern Babylon c. 240
 Spread through Persia, India, China, Egypt, North Africa and Italy
 St. Augustine embraced it at one time
 Manicheism was a dualistic system
 The kingdom of darkness and the kingdom of light
 Came to help the good kingdom win
 In Manicheism there were two classes: the elect and the auditors
 Auditors could be baptized and take communion
 Auditors participated in the holiness of the elect and supplied their material
needs
 Asceticism was encouraged
 Division was made between the clergy and the laity
 Promoted the belief that priests became intermediaries between God and
humanity and they alone have extra ordinary power with God

Evaluation
 These early concern introduced error into the church and false practices but
they also forced the church to define doctrine
 Their position is retold for the most part by their enemies and so caution
must be taken
 A Bible for Believers

Part 8

A Canon of Scripture for Christendom

Causes for Concern and the Need for a Canon

 Contemporary witnesses were dying
 Scriptures were read in an act of worship
 Heretics were promoting their own views as Marcion, c. 140
 Montanist was claiming additional revelation
 Apocryphal works began to appear
 Persecution demanded a need to know what to suffer for as Diocletian (303)
called for the burning of the sacred books

The Word Canon

 The word kanon means rule or standard
 Was first used of laws that governed society as per Gal. 6:16
 By middle of the second century terms like “canon of truth” or “canon of
faith” were applied to the creed of the church
 In fourth century Athanasius used the term in association with the books of
the NT
 In his Festal Epistle of 367 he spoke of Scripture as “canonized” in contrast
to the apocrypha.
 The books which are canonical meet the tests of inspiration and become a
standard for the behavior of the church
 Development of the Canon

Three Tests of Canonicity

 Those books were canonical which were inspired
 A book was considered inspired if it was written by an apostle
 A book was considered inspired if it was written by an associate of an
apostle as Luke was related to Paul or Mark to Peter
 All books were written by end of the first century and perhaps even prior to
AD 70

The Early Lists of the Canon

 Irenaeus (c. 175) responded to Gnosticism and gave us a list much like the
one today
 Clement of Alexandria (c. 200) recognized all the NT books
 Origen (c. 25) divided the books into those accepted and disputed

 The accepted books were: the gospels, Paul’s epistles, 1 Peter, 1 John,
Acts and Revelation

 The disputed books were: Hebrews, 2 Peter, 2 and 3 John, James, Jude
and four works not now part of the NT

 Eusebius in the 4th century recognized all the books now included and put
them in the 50 copies of the NT Constantine ordered him to produce
 Later in the century Jerome also accepted the present 27 books and included
them in his Vulgate
 The Muratori list (1740) is named after the Italian scholar who published his
list of books dating to second century

The Final and Official List

 Council in 393 at Hippo where St. Augustine was bishop
 Decision repeated at Third Council of Carthage, c. 397
 The Sixth Council of Carthage 419 reaffirmed the earlier decision
 Since the 5th century no serious controversy over NT
 Controversy continued around the OT apocrypha
 Theological Debates

Part 9

The Early Creeds

Controversies Concerning the Nature of Christ

The Apostle’s Creed

 A creed is simply a statement of faith
 This Creed is called the Apostles’ Creed, not because it is a production of
the apostles themselves, but because it contains a brief summary of their
teachings.
 It sets forth their doctrine, as has been well said, “in sublime simplicity, in
unsurpassable brevity, in beautiful order, and with liturgical solemnity.”
 In its present form it is of no later date than the fourth century.
 More than any other creed of Christendom, it may justly be called an
ecumenical symbol of faith.

I believe in God the Father, Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth.

And in Jesus Christ, His only begotten Son, our Lord;

Who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the virgin Mary;
Suffered under Pontius Pilate; was crucified, dead, and buried;
He descended into hell;
The third day He rose again from the dead;

He ascended into heaven, and sitteth at the right hand of God the Father
Almighty
From thence He shall come to judge the living and the dead
I believe in the Holy Spirit.

I believe a holy catholic [universal] Church, the communion of saints;

The forgiveness of sins;
The resurrection of the body;
And the life everlasting. Amen
The Arian Controversy over the Deity of Christ: Nicea
 Somewhere around 318, Arius, an elder of Alexandria questioned the
concept of the trinity
 He began to teach Jesus was different in essence than the Father
 Athanasius, archdeacon of Alexandria arose to assert the Son and Father
were the same in essence and the Son was eternal
 A synod in Alexandria deposed Arius in 321
 Church leaders in the East embraced the teachings of Arius
 Trying to restore order in his kingdom Constantine called for an ecumenical
council to be held at Nicea in NW Asia Minor
 Over 300 bishops and other church officials attended
 The Athanasian creed prevailed

Introduction
 This Creed is named after Athanasius (293-373 A.D.), the champion of
orthodoxy over against Arian attacks upon the doctrine of the Trinity.

 Although Athanasius did not write this Creed and it is improperly named
after him, the name persists because until the seventeenth century it was
commonly ascribed to him.

 Its author is unknown, but in its present form it probably does not date back
farther than the sixth century.

 It is not from Greek Eastern, but from Latin Western origin, and is not
recognized by the Greek Church today.

 Apart from the opening and closing sentences, this symbol consists of two
parts, the first setting forth the orthodox doctrine of the Trinity (3-28), and
the second dealing chiefly with the incarnation and the two natures doctrine
(29-43).

 This Creed, though more explicit and advanced theologically than the
Apostles’ and the Nicene Creeds, cannot be said to possess the simplicity,
spontaneity, and majesty of these.

 For centuries it has been the custom of the Roman and Anglican Churches to
chant this Creed in public worship on certain solemn occasions.
The Creed
(1) Whosoever will be saved, before all things it is necessary that he hold the
catholic faith;

(2) Which faith except every one do keep whole and undefiled, without
doubt he shall perish everlastingly.

(3) And the catholic faith is this: That we worship one God in Trinity, and
Trinity in Unity;

(4) Neither confounding the persons, nor dividing the substance.

(5) For there is one person of the Father, another of the Son, and another of
the Holy Spirit.

(6) But the Godhead of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit is all
one, the glory equal, the majesty co-eternal.

(7) Such as the Father is, such is the Son, and such is the Holy Spirit.

(8) The Father uncreated, the Son uncreated, and the Holy Spirit uncreated.

(9) The Father incomprehensible, the Son incomprehensible, the Holy Spirit
incomprehensible.

(10) The Father eternal, the Son eternal, and the Holy Spirit eternal.

(11) And yet they are not three eternals, but one uncreated and one
incomprehensible.

(12) So likewise the Father is almighty, the Son almighty, and the Holy Spirit
almighty;

(13) And yet they are not three almighties, but one almighty.

(14) So the Father is God, the Son is God, and the Holy Spirit is God;

(15) And yet they are not three Gods, but one God.
(16) So likewise the Father is Lord, the Son Lord, and the Holy Spirit Lord;

(17) So are we forbidden by the catholic religion to say: There are three Gods
or three Lords.

(18) The Father is made of none, neither created nor begotten.

(19) The Holy Spirit is of the Father and of the Son; neither made, nor
created, nor begotten, but proceeding. (24) So there is one Father, not
three Fathers; one Son, not three Sons; one Holy Spirit, not three Holy
Spirits.

(20) And in this Trinity none is afore, or after another; none is greater, or less
than another.

(21) But the whole three persons are co-eternal, and co-equal.

(22) So that in all things, as aforesaid, the Unity in Trinity and the Trinity in
Unity is to be worshipped.

(23) He therefore that will be saved must thus think of the Trinity.

(24) Furthermore is it necessary to everlasting salvation than he also believe

rightly the incarnation of our Lord Jesus Christ.

(25) For the right faith is that we believe and confess that our Lord Jesus
Christ, the Son of God, is God and man.

(26) God of the substance of the Father, begotten before the worlds; and man
of the substance of His mother, born in the world.

(27) Perfect God and perfect man, of a reasonable soul and human flesh
subsisting.

(28) Equal to the Father as touching His Godhead, and inferior to the Father
as touching His manhood.
(29) Who, although He is God and man, yet He is not two, but one Christ.
 (30) One, not by conversion of the Godhead into flesh, but by taking of the
manhood into God.

(31) One altogether, not by confusion of substance, but by unity of person.

(32) For as the reasonable soul and flesh is one man, so God and man is one
Christ;

(33) Who suffered for our salvation, descended into hell, rose again the third
day from the dead;

(34) He ascended into heaven, He sitteth on the right hand of the Father, God
Almighty;

(35) From thence He shall come to judge the living and the dead.

(36) At whose coming all men shall rise again with their bodies;

(37) And shall give account of their own works.

(38) And they that have done good shall go into life everlasting, and they that
have done evil into everlasting fire.

(39) This is the catholic faith, which except a man believe faithfully, he
cannot be saved.

Controversy Concerning the Humanity of Christ: Constantinople I

 It began to be taught that a complete humanity could not be free of sin
 In 381 the ecumenical council of Constantinople affirmed the true and full
humanity of Christ

Introduction
 The Nicene Creed, also called the Nicaeno-Constantinopolitan Creed, is a
statement of the orthodox faith of the early Christian Church, in opposition
to certain heresies, especially Arianism.

 These heresies disturbed the Church during the fourth century, and
concerned the doctrine of the Trinity and of the person of Christ.
  Both the Greek, or Eastern, and the Latin, or Western, Church held this
Creed in honor, though with one important difference.

 The Western Church insisted on the inclusion of the phrase and the Son
(known as the Filioque) in the article on the procession of the Holy Spirit,
which phrase to this day is repudiated by the Eastern Church.

 Though in its present form this Creed does not go back to the Council of
Nicea (325 A.D.), nor to the Council of Constantinople (381 A.D.), as was
erroneously held until recent times, it is in substance an accurate and
majestic formulation of the Nicene faith.

The Creed
I believe in one God, the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth, and
of all things visible and invisible.

And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only-begotten Son of God, begotten of the
Father before all worlds; God of God, Light of Light, very God of very God;
begotten, not made, being of one substance with the Father, by whom all
things were made.
Who, for us men and for our salvation, came down from heaven, and was
incarnate by the Holy Spirit of the virgin Mary, and was made man; and was
crucified also for us under Pontius Pilate; He suffered and was buried; and
the third day He rose again, according to the Scriptures;

And ascended into heaven, and sitteth on the right hand of the Father;

And He shall come again, with glory, to judge the living and the dead, whose
kingdom shall have no end.

And I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord and Giver of life; who proceedeth
from the Father and the Son; who with the Father and the Son together is
worshipped and glorified; who spake by the prophets.

And I believe one holy catholic and apostolic Church. I acknowledge one
baptism for the remission of sins;
 And I look for the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come.
Amen.

The Nestorian Controversy: Ephesus

 How were the two natures of Christ related?
 Nestorius, bishop of Constantinople was the two natures in loose mechanical
conjunction
 Neither shared in the properties of the other which would mean that a mere
man died for other men
 A third church council was called at Ephesus in 431
 The teachings of Nestorius were condemned before the part arrived
 A rival council was set up
 The emperor finally decided against Nestorius
 Matters were made worse when Eutyches, abbot of a monastery near
Constantinople contended that after the incarnation the two natures were
fused as one so that ALL distinctions between the two natures were erased
 But this could not be for Jesus “grew in wisdom and stature and favor with
God and men” while omniscience belongs to God.

Chalcedon and Constantinople

 A fourth general council was called at Chalcedon AD 451
 Declared Christ was both truly God and truly man, and that the two natures
were united in one Person without confusion, change, division, or separation
 A fifth general council was called for at Constantinople in 553 (this was the
second council held in the city)
 The Chalcedonian creed was adopted
 After the Chalcedonian conference met a new question arose whether Christ
had only one will
 The argument was made that if Christ had two will he would have sinned
because the human will would have succumbed to temptation
 A third council of Constantinople met in 681 to settle the issue of th
impeccability of Christ by reaffirming the Chalcedon creed and adding that
Christ had two wills, the human and divine, the human will being subject to
the divine

Summary of the Work of the Councils

 The true and full deity of Christ were affirmed, His true and full humanity,
and the true union of the two natures in one person, without fusion or
confusion.

Controversies Concerning the Holy Spirit

 Even after the Nicene Council (325) attacks continued on the Holy Spirit
led by Macedonius
 The First Council of Constantinople in 381 was called which formulated
a creed asserting the Holy Spirit was to be worshipped and glorified as
was the Father for the Spirit proceeded from the Father and was
responsible for revelation.
 In 451 the Council of Chalcedon made the declaration of the First
Council of Constantinople more explicit

Controversy Concerning the Nature of Humanity

 Pelagianism. From Carthage in N Africa Pelagius denounced original sin
and argued for the ability of individuals to do what was right because they
could. A Carthaginian synod in 412 condemned Pelagius and in 416 so did
Pope Innocent I as did a general council of African churches in 418 and
finally an ecumenical council at Ephesus in 431.

 Augustinianis. Augustine contended that in Adam all sinned so that faith

was a gift from God in order to achieve salvation apart from good works.
Augustine also taught predestination and the perseverance in faith. He saw
sanctification as part of the process of being justified. Augustine was out of
step with the church too for

 Augustine denied the Eucharist had sin atoning power

 Augustine denied any life transforming power of asceticism though he

promoted the concept

 Augustine placed too much emphasis on baptism and united justification

and sanctification so that in the end a semi-Pelagianism emerged
 Early Developments in the Middle Ages

Part 10

Ignatius
  With Ignatius (c. 110) arose an emphasis on obedience to the bishop (or
pastor)
 Obedience was desired to help prevent churches from being torn apart
doctrinally

Irenaeus (end of second century)

 Asserted the unity of the church spiritually
 His teachings were transferred to the church organically by arguing for a
succession of elders and bishops
 Taught church of Rome had been established by Peter and Paul and they had
appointed successors (Against Heresies, III. 1)
 A distinction between presbyters and bishops was made
 Tertullian argued for doctrine its being handed down from the apostles to
successors (On the Prescription Against Heretics XX, XXI)

Cyprian (middle third century)

 Bishop of Carthage
 Taught there was no salvation outside of universal church
 Bishops were the successors of the apostles
 Asserted the priestly function of the clergy in his work On the Unity of the
Catholic Church

The Rise of Rome

 At the Council of Nicea (325) the bishops of Alexandria, Antioch and Rome
were given authority over the divisions of the empire in which they were
located
 Constantinople was to be dedicated as the new capital of the Roman Empire
on May 11, 330
 To honor Constantinople the First Council of Constantinople in 381
declared in Canon 3: “The Bishop of Constantinople shall have the primacy
of honor after the Bishop of Rome, because Constantinople is new Rome.”

 When the Fourth Ecumenical Council met at Chalcedon (451) the position
of Constantinople was sought to be elevated in Canon 28 that New Rome
was to have “equal privileges” with “the elder royal Rome”.

 On May 22, 452, Pope Leo I of Rome vetoed that concept declaring the
decrees of the Council of Nicea should take precedent
  So the primacy of Rome was turned into supremacy

 Claim to supremacy could be made on

 the basis of the Petrine foundation

 the apostolic succession
 the superiority of the bishop in the west (in the East the bishops of
Constantinople, Antioch and Alexandria jockeyed for position)
 the decline of political power in the west and the next for a strong
spiritual power (the Roman Empire continued in the east till 1453)
 the lack of doctrinal controversies that plagued the East

 When Antioch and Alexandria fell to the Muslims in the 7th century only
Constantinople could compete with Rome

Advancing the Power of the Papacy

Bishop Leo I, 440-461

 Taking advantage of disorder of the Vandal’s conquest he enhanced the
power of the papacy

 Saved Rome from being sacked by Attila the Hun in 452

 Saved Rome from mass murder at the hands of Genseric the Vandal in 455

 Convinced Emperor Valentinian III the bishops of Gaul and other western
provinces were to be subservient to Rome

 Enforced uniformity in church government and doctrine

 A vigorous opponent of heresy

 The Tome of Leo was a statement of orthodoxy to the bishop of
Constantinople (449) which influenced the phraseology of the Council of
Chalcedon in 451

Bishop Gelasius
 Bishop of Rome (492-496) claimed moral superintendence over political
rulers on the part of the pope
  Claimed the church must give account to God for the deeds of the kings and
thus the king must submit to the church in spiritual matters

 First bishop to receive the title “Vicar of Christ granted at the Roman synod
of 495

 The word “vicar” means “a substitute”, from vicarious, in place of

Conversion of Clovis, 496

 A Frankish chieftain

 Soon after his conversion in 496, about 3,000 of his subjects were baptized
into the Roman church

 A good political move it won for Clovis the support of the Roman Catholics
in the west

 A good political move since all other princes were Arians he now had a
good reason to attach

 Able to conquer over half of modern France

 Out of this beginning of an empire Charlemagne later enlarged

 A good spiritual move because it meant Christian orthodoxy would win out
in the west

 Frankish kings would protect the pope for centuries to come

 A good cultural move for the church would emerge to direct the culture

 The services of the church were conducted in Latin

 In Spain, the Visigothic king, Recared, also converted to the Roman

Catholic church in 586

 Now Rome could organize Western Europe into dioceses and parishes ruled
over by the pope and the princes of the church
  New lands conquered – by France or Spain – meant new converts for the
Roman Catholic church, Latin America, the Philippines and parts of Africa
became Roman Catholic

Gregory the Great and His Successors

The Church in the Seventh and Eight Century

Part 11

Gregory the Great

 Lived from 540-604
 Born into a noble, wealth and devout family
 Prefect of Rome, the highest civil administrator of the city
 Turned to a monastic life
 Spent his inherited fortune to establish seven monasteries
 Represented the Roman bishop at Constantinople, 579-586
 Elected bishop of Rome, 590
 Raised an army to fight the Lombards in Italy
 Arranged a peace with the Lombards, 592-92
 His accomplishment as pope are legendary
 He transformed the bishopric of Rome into a papal system that endured
through the Middle Ages
 Introduced changes into the liturgy and made it standard
 His thinking influenced church councils and others church Fathers
 He established schools to train singers
 He put tradition on an equal basis with Scripture
 He believed that through baptism sin was forgiven and faith implanted
 He believed in acts of penance following baptism
 He expanded the concept of purgatory
 He converted the Eucharist from a sacrament into a sacrifice for
redemption having value for the living and the dead
 He approved the invocation of saints and martyrs
 He approved the use of relics and amulets to reduce temporal
punishments
 His writings on Job and The Moralia provided a pattern for allegorical
interpretation of Scripture
  His Dialogues honors the miracles of pious Fathers in Italy
 His Pastoral Rule instructed bishops how to take care of the flock
 He promoted asceticism being the first monk to become a pope
 He possessed great missionary zeal sending 40 monks to England by 596
under the leadership of Augustine who died in 430

The Successors of a Papal Sovereign

 The next five succors of Gregory were unequal to the task
 The total reign of all five was only 21 years
 Rome suffered famine, plague and natural disasters during their reigns
 Popes fought with Emperors over control and administration
 Pope Martin I (649-53) was arrested by the emperor and sent out of the
country to endure hardships
 His condemnation to death was commuted and he died in the Crimea
 Honorius I was anathematized by the Third Council of Constantinople in
681 for heresy
 British monks in England contended with the Irish monks for supremacy

Saint Patrick of Ireland

