2. Persecution 250-313
Decius demanded every citizen to make
a yearly sacrifice to the genius of the
emperor, and received a certificate.
Origen was tortured – later died
Diocletian, a powerful military ruler, no
longer shared power with the senate,
and tolerated no other religion. Severe
persecution broke out 303-305
3. Rome persecuted the believers
While Christianity was viewed as a
Jewish sect, there was not a great
amount of persecution, as Judaism was
tolerated. But when the church spread,
and was rejected by the Jews,
persecution began as the population of
Christians rose to 5-15% of the
population, and held themselves apart
4. Persecution – Diocletian
Churches were burned, leaders captured and
killed if they refused to make a sacrifice. Jails
were too full to have regular criminals in
them
311 – Galerius – edict of toleration
313 – Constantine – freedom of all religions
Showed importance of separation of church
and state
5. Results of persecution
Christianity was first strong in the east
2e – reached the Greek-speaking masses –
esp. Alexandria
3e – moved into Latin areas, with Carthage as
a strong church
There was the problem of what to do with
Christians who denied the faith or gave over
scriptures, and came back when the
persecution was over
6. Perpetua
Her father, a nobleman, pled with her to
recant; she refused.
He took a beating to try to get her free
She had a new-born, and also her slave girl
had just delivered
She at last pushed the family away
Perpetua gored by a bull, then
beheaded
7. Polycarp was known and
hated by unbelievers
He glorified Jesus Christ
He spoke against idolatry
He was effective not only in Smyrna,
but also traveled to Rome
He was powerful in prayer
His strong testimony led to his being
burned to death A. D. 156
9. A second problem – false
beliefs
Most believers were:
Jews who brought the legalistic methods of
the Old Testament with them
Greeks who brought their philosophy with
them
10. Legalistic – Ebionites
Believed that both Jews and Greeks
should hold the OT laws, which were
the highest expression of God’s will
They believed that Jesus, son of
Joseph, attained some level of deity
when the Holy Spirit came upon Him
11. Philosophic heresies
Gnosticism believed in dualism, with
clear separation of matter, which is evil
and not created by God, and Spirit,
which is good
Jehovah, a demiurge, was a mixture of
spirit and matter and created this evil
world
12. Gnosticism
The Christ is spiritual. Either the man
Jesus was a phantom, or the Christ
came on Him at baptism and left Him
on the cross
Salvation comes to those spiritual
people who have this special knowledge
or those having faith without the special
knowledge. No physical resurrection
13. Gnosticism
You could be an ascetic or libertine – the body
is irrelevant
There was a tendency of elitism and
antisemitism against the Jew and Jehovah
Refuted by men such as Tertullian, Iraeneus &
Hippolytus
Many different sects – Marcion most popular
14. Manicheanism
Dualism devised by Mani – like
Zoroastrianism
Man was an emanation from a person
who was an emanation from the king of
light. But primitive man tricked by the
ruler of darkness, and man became a
mixture of the two
You release the light through asceticism
15. Manicheanism
They believed sex was evil, and favored
a priestly class
Augustine was in the belief 12 years
before accepting Christ – then refuted it
16. Neoplatonism
Absolute Being had emanations or
overflow by which humans were
created
Through mystic intuition you are
absorbed into the one and have ecstacy
(It seems like pure monism of Hinduism
to me)
Emperor Julian tried to make it the
religion of the empire 361-363
17. Theological errors
Montanism – inspiration was
instantaneous and immediate and he
himself was the Holy Spirit
God was going to set up his kingdom in
Phrygia, and he would have an
important part
18. Montanism
Tertullian was in the system
We must rely on the Holy Spirit, and
not ignore man’s spiritual nature
19. Monarchianism
This was overemphasis on the unity of
God resulting in Unitarianism, and
denying the deity of Christ
Paul of Samosata – Jesus was a good
man. The Logos came on Him at
baptism and He became divine
Adoptionist monarchianism
20. Monarchianism
Sabellius – in attempting to avoid three
gods, he used modalism – that God
appeared in three forms – as the Father
in the O.T. as creator, as the Son in the
N.T. as redeemer, and as the Holy Spirit
after the resurrection. Not 3 persons,
but 3 manifestations. This is like Jesus
Only Pentecostalism
21. Donatism
Arose concerning the validity of
ordination through the hands of a
traitor who denied Christ
The church decided that the validity of
a sacrament was not dependent on the
character of the one administering it
22. Attempts to answer a hostile
Roman empire – apologists
Justyn Martyr – defended against
atheism, idolatry, cannibalism, incest,
immorality
Dialog with Trypho – tried to convince
the Jews that Jesus is the messiah
Tatian also wrote to the Greeks
Athenagoras also wrote, as well as
Theophilus
25. Internal threat of false religion
Polemicists
Used the New Testament extensively
Iranaeus – missionary bishop to Gaul.
Wrote against gnosticism; supported
apostolic succession
Alexandrian school – Pantanaeus,
Clement, Origin used allegorical method
of interpretation in place of
grammatico-historic methods
26. Alexandrian school
Clement of Alexandria ended up with
syncretic mix of bible and Greek
philosophy
Origen – extremely capable. Took over
family of six after his father Leonides
was martyred. Age 18 took over the
school from Clement; wrote extensively
6000 scrolls, but lived simply
28. Origen’s false beliefs
Christ eternally generated from the
Father and subordinate to Him
Pre-existence of the soul
The ransom theory of Christ’s death
No physical resurrection
Universalism – the final restoration of
all souls
30. Carthaginian school
Tertullian – apologist, also advocated simple
lifestyle & no immorality
First to state the trinity, the traducian doctrine
of the soul; heavy emphasis on baptism with
sins later mortal sins
Cyprian – bishop of Carthage 9 years till his
death as a martyr. Opposed Stephen’s claim
of priority of bishop of Rome
31. Cyprian
Two ideas later developed – apostolic
succession as protection of heresy from
Peter on.
Priests sacrificing the body of Christ
33. The church’s defense against
heresy & persecution
The position of the bishop was exalted
above that of the normal church leaders
The Roman bishop was considered in
apostolic succession from Peter, despite
the fact that Jesus probably referred to
his confession, Peter denied the Lord,
and Paul once rebuked Peter publically
34. Development of creeds &
canon
A convenient short summary of faith
and practice – apostle’s creed of
baptism, etc. – approx. 340 A.D.
N.T. canon- mostly done by 175 AD
Written by apostle or close associate of an
apostle
Edification
Consistency with faith of creeds, etc
35. Canon of the church
180 – list was 22 books – some
questioned James, 2 Peter, 2 & 3 John,
Jude, Hebrews & Revelation
Athanasius – 367 – same 27 books as
today. Carthage – 397 – same books
36. Liturgy – baptism &
communion
Felt could only be administered by
authorized individuals - priests
Baptism – initially via belief; then by
catechism; usually Easter or Pentecost
Usually by immersion; a few advocated
infant baptism
Church started feasts such as
Christmas, Lent, etc
37. Constantine takes over
313 – persecution ends. Then lands given
back, state supports clergy, clergy exempt
from public service
Founded Constantinople, center of power for
the east
Constantine’s sons continued to favor the
church
Julian the apostate helped paganism briefly
39. Christianity = state religion
Theodosius I – made it so 380
Pagan worship punished 392
Athens philosophic school closed 529
Many advantages in outreach, but now
the state involved in the church
42. Barbarians invade from the
east
There were waves of Goths, Visigoths,
Anglo-Saxons, Ostrogoths, and Vandals
invading, followed by Mongol Huns
Rome sacked 410
43. Gregory Thaumaturgus
Bishop in the area of Pontus, who saw a
sort of people movement. It was
claimed that only 17 Christians were
there when he arrived, and only 17
non-Christians when he died
Various miracles were attributed to him
Catholics made him a “patron saint” of
lost causes
45. Gregory the Illuminator
Armenian fled, trained as Christian
Returned when Armenia freed, and
jailed when he refused to put garland
on a heathen altar
Later the king Tiridates was baptized
and destroyed the heathen temple
46. Gregory “the illuminator”
Armenia became a Christian nation after
the king converted
The New Testament was translated into
Armenian
Estimated 2,500,000 Armenians became
Christians
51. Rome evangelized Italy
The Italia translation was made very
early, possibly 150 A.D.
Church spread to France though not
with great results – Irenaeus was
bishop of Lyon (France) 175-200 A.D.
Church in England by the 2nd century
though not known by whom
53. Tigris-Euphrates valley
Early spread to Arbela (north of Tigris)
by end of 1st century
Tradition – Thomas all the way to India
Edessa in upper Euphrates was a major
center, and the king converted by 200
A.D. But was soon overthrown by
Romans
Syriac Bible translated by 150 A.D.
54. Thomas - India
May have been jailed by King
Gundaphorus
Tradition states that he was speared to
death in India having started churches
there
56. Christianity spread also
Arabia by third century
Strong church in Alexandria
Carthage also had Christians – either
from Rome (was a Roman colony) or
from nearby
Tertullian, Cyprian and Augustine were
all from North Africa
57. Summary of the church before
the council of Nicea 325 AD
There was no evidence of priority of the
bishop of Rome during this time (no
pope)
There were no icons, prayers to Mary or
prayers to the saints during this time
58. Summary of the church before
the council of Nicea 325 AD
The church was spread widely with
much persecution
Some fled and became hermits,
especially in Egypt (Antony 270 A.D.)
Some chose to be ascetics and come
away from the world
There were many martyrs, as noted
above
59. Summary of the church before
the council of Nicea 325 AD
There were false teachings during that
time, and false teachers
Apologetics were present
60. Summary of situation with the
“conversion” of Constantine
Estimated 10-15% of the Roman
empire were Christian
With Christianity becoming tolerated
and then popular, it became
contaminated by many Roman heathen
customs
Martyrdom was in the past
The church became related to the state
61. Summary after Constantine
Edict of Toleration A.D. 313
Christianity the official religion of the
Roman Empire A.D. 375
Now expedient to become Christian,
and masses of individuals baptized
Council of Nicea to establish the deity of
Christ
62. Effects of Constantine
Church growth was probably hindered
by ulterior motives of many ‘converts”
Those who rejected false beliefs
retreated into asceticism & monasticism
Evangelization became less outside the
Roman Empire
63. Summary of the situation in
early centuries
Church spread through Mesopotamia
Armenia - by the 4th century
Strong churches in North Africa early
Turkey, etc - Polycarp gave strong
witness
64. There were churches with
strong missions emphasis
Antioch – the strongest
Ephesus – especially through Asia
Egypt – Alexandria – Pantaenus, etc.
Carthage – Tertullian
Some of these churches had some teachings
which were influenced by gnosticism or
Arianism, especially in Alexandria
65. Summary of Council of Nicea
Established that Arianism is heresy –
denying the deity of Christ
Settling the inspired books of the Bible,
the canon
66. Monastacism begins
Athanasius writes the life of Antony. He is
the bishop of Alexandria
Monasteries begin, especially with Basil the
great, who was also a friend of Gregory
and also a brother of another Gregory who
was another bishop
John Chyrsostom was a godly eloquent
archbishop of Constantinople – the
orthodox church is beginning at this time
70. Ulfinas - missionary to the Goths
(311) (Area of Romania)
Raised with the Goths – mother Gothic, father a
Christian captured by the Goths
Sent to Constantinople as a diplomat, converted,
learned Greek under Eusebius, an Arian or
Semi-Arian
Age 30 made bishop of the Goths, went north of
the Danube, out of Roman territory
Strong opposition by a chieftain who felt Ulfinas
wanted to put the Goths under Rome in 348 AD
71. Ulfinas - missionary to the Goths
(311) (Area of Romania)
Ulfinas actually moved the location of his
church to the other side of the Danube after
many deaths.
Ulfinas translated the entire Bible with the
exception of 1 & 2 Samuel and 1 & 2 Kings
because of the military exploits there.
Very accurate translation after reducing
Gothic tongue to a written language
72. Ulfinas – remarkable leader
Taught a mild form of Arianism which
persisted with the Visigoths in Spain
much later as well as Lollards
The followers of Ulfinas after his death
at age 70 were still effective though the
Visigoths attacked Rome in 410 AD
73. Martin of Tours (316-396)
Missionary to France – organized soldier
bands. Humble, wise, would not leave
his cell to be made bishop
Broke down idols proclaiming
Christianity
Still considered the patron saint of
France
74. Martin of Tours – patron saint
of soldiers by Catholic church
75. Patrick - Celtic church(Ireland)
Born in Britain around 389. His father was a
deacon, his grandfather a priest in the Celtic
church.
He was captured and a slave in Ireland
tending swine.
He was converted, and escaped and went to
a monastery where he trained as a priest
77. Patrick - Celtic church(Ireland)
After training as a deacon, he felt called to
Ireland. Initially, another was sent as better
prepared, but died, and Patrick arrived back
at over 40 years of age in 432.
He clashed with the druids, who were
involved in witchcraft & human sacrifices.
He tried to win a power encounter showing
himself stronger than them…
78. Patrick - Celtic church(Ireland)
He worked through the political powers,
but emphasized spiritual growth- 200
churches & 100,000 baptized converts
Monasteries he helped establish had a
lot of influence later
He remained a humble man
79. Britain
By the time of Constantine, there were
churches there, but later destroyed by
Anglo-Saxons, and were re-evangelized
in the 5th century.
Most effective was Columba & 12
workers from Ireland to Scotland and
the monastery at Iona.
In the 7th century, Aldan went there
80. Celtic missionaries
A group of 12 under an abbot would
begin a village with a church,
surrounded by huts for monks and
school rooms
They would begin a church, teach,
translate scriptures into the native
language, and handicrafts
Monks could marry or remain single
81. Columba
Born in 521 and raised a Christian
Initially Celtic church starting an abbot-
center in Ireland,
Left for Britain after involvement in a
war with many dead which started,
unbelievably, over a copy of a psalter
which he had made leading to a war.
83. Columba
In 563, he went to Scotland and
evangelized that entire area.
He founded a school for missions and a
monastery on Iona, formerly the center
of druid worship.
They trained evangelist missionaries.
They had a major impact on Britain &
Scotland and a worldwide ministry
85. Aiden followed Columba
King Oswald apparently converted
around 634 after success in battle. He
asked Iona for teachers – Aiden came
Oswald died in 642 but his brother
followed as a Christian
Aiden was followed by Cuthbert
86. The church councils between
313 - 451
The church now wants uniform creeds to
solidify her teaching and avoid heresy
Council of Nicea 325 – called by
Constantine, paid for by the state – with
200 bishops, mostly from the east
Question – is Jesus of the same essence as
the Father. Arius said no, he was a
different essence and created by the Father
87. Arianism
Jesus created, attained divinity but not
deity equal with the Father
Athanasius – same essence but
different personality; necessary for
salvation = coequal, cosubstantial,
coeternal
Eusebius of Caesarea tried to
compromise
88. Contention from 325-381
Arianism condemned first, then won
Eventually the orthodox view prevailed
Cost – imperial domination. Eventually
the west was free, but never the east
89. Relation of the Father and the
Holy Spirit
Macedonius taught that the Holy Spirit
was a creature, and not deity – but a
servant of the Father on the level of the
angels. This view was condemned
90. The nature of Christ
Apolarius taught that Christ had a
normal body and soul, but the logos
came on Him – this was condemned
Nestorius, to avoid Mary being the
mother of God, stated that she was
only the mother of the human side of
Jesus = so He would be the God-bearer
rather than the God-man. This was
condemned, but Nestorians went east
91. The nature of Christ
Eutyches claimed that the two natures
of Christ were fused into one divine
nature. The council of Chalcedon
stated that Christ had two separate
natures, not confused, but in one
person. This has been the orthodox
stand since. Revived in the
Monophysite controversy
92. The will of Christ
Two wills – the divine is dominant and
the human submits
93. Teachings concerning the
nature of man
Pelagius – each man’s soul individually created
by God and uncontaminated by the sin of
Adam. Each man could choose good or evil.
No original sin. No need for infant baptism
Augustine – the entire race fell with Adam,
and man cannot exert his own free will to
choose salvation. Salvation only through
grace to those elected for salvation
94. Teaching on salvation of man
Pelagius views condemned
Cassian – tried compromise – semi-
Pelagianism…
Problem in that often the life of the
believer did not correspond to his
creed.
95. The Post-Nicean fathers
Crystostom (347-407) Well trained
classically, lawyer, then monk, and then
became an ascetic. He was eventually
made Bishop of Constantinople. Ethics
and the cross go together
Theodore (350-428) Great exegite and
opponent of allegorical interpretation.
96. The Post-Nicean fathers
Crystostom (347-407) Well trained
classically, lawyer, then monk, and then
became an ascetic. He was eventually
made Bishop of Constantinople. Ethics
and the cross go together
Theodore (350-428) Great exegite and
opponent of allegorical interpretation.