RELIGIOUS EDUCATION 3_CHURCH: HISTORY, DOCTRINE AND STRUCTURE

Module 20: The Church in the Christian Empire, the

Ecumenical Councils and the Church Fathers
Introduction
The persecution in the Church ended in 313 A.D. with the Edict of Milan
promulgated by Emperor Constantine. This marked the new beginning and a new kind of
relationship between Church and society: the church was integrated into a state which
considered itself Christian. The state intervened in the life of the Church and expected
ideological support from it. At the same time, the Church obtained certain financial,
material and legal advantages.
Learning Outcomes
At the end of the module, the students are expected to:
1. Know the significant persons and their contribution in the early Church History
2. Understand the development of the Church’s life
3. Follow the examples of the early saints in the Church
Learning Content
Lesson 1_ Emperor Constantine
From 306 A.D., Diocletian’s political system began to break down. Instead of four,
there were many as seven emperors, all waging war on one another. Constantine, the son
of Constantius Chlorus and Helena, a Christian, eliminated his
rivals in the West one by one. Lastly, Constantine defeated
Maxentius at the Milvian Bridge which ended the civil war.
According to Christian writers, the victory of Constantine was
due to a miraculous intervention. Constantine had seen a
glowing cross in the sky bearing the words, “In Hoc Signo
Vinces” (In this sign you will conquer). He ordered his men
to go into battle with the cross painted on their shields, and
they quickly defeated their enemies at the Milvian Bridge
outside Rome. Ascribing his victory to the intervention of
Christ, Constantine, together with Licinius, the new emperor
in the East, promulgated the Edict of Milan (313 A.D.) that
ended three centuries of persecution and granted permanent
freedom of Church. This letter recognized complete freedom
of worship for all the citizens of the empire, of whatever
religion. The buildings confiscated from the Christians had to be returned to them. He
promoted the material and the spiritual welfare of the church. He restored rights and
properties to the Christians, fought against heresies and schisms, built new churches like
the St. Peter, St. Paul, and St. John basilicas in Rome.
Emperor Licinius of the East and Emperor Constantine of the West had a clashed.
Constantine defeated Licinius and in 324 A.D., Constantine became the sole emperor of
the Roman Empire. (Eastern world is comprised of nations in Asia including the Middle
East whereas Western world refers to North and South America, Europe, Australia and
New Zealand. East and West may have myriad differences based on culture and
education).
In 330 A.D., Constantine transferred the capital of the empire to Constantinople,
which was named after him. He was baptized only at his death bed, and was later buried
in the Church of Apostles at Constantinople with imperial honors.
Lesson 2_ Slow Elimination of the paganism and Emperor Theodosius
The word pagan comes from is derived from the Late Latin paganus, which was
used at the end of the Roman Empire to name those who practiced a religion other than

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Christianity, Judaism, or Islam. Early Christians often used the term to refer to non-
Christians who worshiped multiple deities.
During the fourth century, the emperors gradually forbade the pagan cults.
Constantine prohibited certain practices: magic and divination (consulting the entrails of
the animals). Then the prohibitions increased and became
more and more severe. Constantine forbade sacrifices, closed
the temples and decreed the death sentenced of those who
disobeyed (356 A.D.). But the law was not applied rigorously
and there was resistance to it.
Paganism enjoyed a revival under Emperor Julian (361-
363 A.D.) whom Christians surnamed “Apostate.” Emperor
Julian did his best to revive traditional religion and denounce Christianity. But when
Emperor Julian died, his successors increased their measures against paganism and against
Christian heretics. In 380 A.D., Christianity was proclaimed as the state religion by
Emperor Theodosius. Heretics and pagans were to be persecuted and every pagan custom
was prohibited in 392 A.D. Pagan festivals were no longer celebrated and the temples
were demolished. The situation changed, the persecutors before (the pagans) had now
become the persecuted, and vice versa.
Lesson 3_ The beginnings of Monasticism
From the beginning, in the Church, there were widows and virgins who dedicated
themselves for the sake of the Kingdom by living in virginity and chastity after the
example and teachings of Jesus. They were the first evidences of the dedicated life.
Throughout the second and third centuries there were more and more examples of men and
women who chose the way of asceticism and chastity.
With the peace of the Church, the likelihood of martyrdom vanished. Becoming a
Christian involved no risk, and many experienced a certain slackening off. Some who
wanted to live a more intense Christian life, less preoccupied with the affairs of the world,
went off into the desert. This was the beginning of monasticism.
Eventually, monasticism came to denote
the state of life of all those who had left the world
to devote themselves fully to God. At that time
monasticism took two main forms: solitary life
(anchoritism or eremetism) and common life
(cenobitism).
First Eastern Monks
Saint Anthony, the Abbot (251-356
A.D.), was the father of the hermits and
anchorites of the Egyptian deserts. He was the founder of the monks in the desert in
Egypt, he spent his time making baskets and meditating. His solitude was occasionally
interrupted by fellow Christians seeking moral strength. A man of continuous prayer,
fasting, and penance, he always succeeded against the temptations of the Devil, who
appeared to him in the form of wild beasts, lions, snakes, and lustful women.
Saint Pachomius (286-346A.D.) founded a communal monastic life for men
(cenobitic) while his sister Mary set up the first community for women.
Saint Basil, bishop of Caesarea (330-379). wrote a rule for monks. In his rule, he
required the monks to live in communities; he encouraged them in intellectual work and in
care for the poor.
Monastic Life in the West
Travelers coming from the East, Athanasius and Jerome, for example, spread
propaganda for the monastic life in the East.
Saint Jerome (347-419 A.D.) was born in Dalmatia in 342 A.D., where he studied
grammar and theology. He translated the bible into Latin which was called “Vulgate.” He
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lived for two years as a hermit in Syrian desert and after two years, he was called to Rome
as secretary of the Pope. In 377 A.D., he retired in Bethlehem and began his great work.
Saint Jerome, who had been a monk in the East spoke up for the monastic life
among the women of the Roman aristocracy. Gravely and passionately, he defended the
superiority of the virgin state over marriage against those who
opposed him. When he returned to Palestine with his friend Paula,
he founded communities of women in Bethlehem, arranged
according to their social status, and he founded also a community
of men amongst whom he lived. What monasticism owes to Saint
Jerome is a taste for the culture of the Bible. The monk made an
intellectual effort to understand the scriptures, which then became
his spiritual food.
Saint Augustine (354-430 A.D.) after his conversion, lived
as a monk, wanted his clergy to adopt the hallmarks of the
monastic life.
Saint John Cassian (360-435 A.D.) came from Romania,
and after visiting monasteries in the East, he founded two monasteries in Marseilles.
Saints Patrick, Columba and Columbanus founded monasteries in Ireland and
other parts of Europe.
Saint Benedict of Nursia (480 – 574 A.D.) was father of
western monasticism and is famous for his Benedictine Rule and his
motto “ora et labora.” The Benedictine monks led a life dedicated to
poverty, but its austerities were tempered when it came to sleep,
clothing, food and prayer. The day was divided between the opus
Dei, work of God (prayer and worship), reading and meditating the
scriptures, and manual work and rest. The beam of light shed by the
Benedictine Rule penetrated a long way, because it provided a
definite enough basis for monastic life, while remaining flexible.
The Benedictine monasteries contributed to the birth of Europe, after
the empire faded away in the west.
Lesson 4_ The Ecumenical Councils
The ecumenical councils are great assemblies of Bishops representing the whole
Church. They are gathered to discuss an important problem or to condemn a heresy (false
teaching). All the Bishops are entitled to defend their opinion, but the final decision is
made by the Pope.
The Council of Nicaea I (325 A.D.) proclaimed the divine nature of Christ against
Arianism. Arian heresy was initiated by the priest Arius, who professed that Jesus was not
God but only a man.
The Council of Constantinople I (381 A.D.) defined the divine nature of the Holy
Spirit. It was convoked against Macedonianism (a heresy which denied the divinity of the
Holy Spirit).
The Council of Ephesus (431 A.D.) declared that the Virgin Mary was the Mother
of God (Theotokos). The council condemned the heresy Nestorianism. This heresy was
promulgated by the bishop Nestorius who taught that Christ consisted of two distinct
persons rather than a unified person and he argued that Mary could not be called Mother of
God.
The Council of Chalcedon (451 A.D.) defined Jesus Christ as one divine person
with two natures, divine and human. It was declared against Monophysitism (a heresy
which states that Jesus has only one divine nature).
The Council of Constantinople II (553 A.D.) rejected Nestorianism by insisting
yet further upon the unity of the person of Christ in his two natures, divine and human.

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The Council of Constantinople III (680 A.D.) condemned Monothelism (who

proposed that Christ had one will) and the council defined the doctrine of the two wills
(human and divine wills) and two operations in the person of Christ.
The Council of Nicaea II (787 A.D.) professed the legitimacy of the veneration of
images against the iconoclasts (images-destroyers) who wanted to abolish all the icons and
statues of saints. The council specified that adoration was due to God alone, while
veneration (respect) was for the saints.
Lesson 4_ The Church Fathers
The Church Fathers or Fathers of the Church are Christian Writers of the First
Centuries. They are privileged witnesses of how the gospel was lived out in the early
centuries. A Church Father is someone who lived his life according to the teaching he was
giving. The list includes such notables as: Clement of Rome (d. A.D. 97), Ignatius (d.
110), Polycarp (d. 155), Justin Martyr (the Church’s first major lay apologist; d. 165),
Irenaeus (d. 202), Cyprian (d. 258), Athanasius (d. 373), Basil (d. 379), Cyril of Jerusalem
(d. 386), Ambrose (d. 397), John Chrysostom (d. 407), Jerome (d. 420), Augustine (d.
430), Cyril of Alexandria (d. 444), Pope Leo the Great (d. 461), and Pope Gregory the
Great (d. 604).
The Church demands four major characteristics to be exhibited in the life and
works of an early Church leader if he is to be considered a Father of the Church. These are
antiquity, meaning that he lived before the eighth century (the death of St. John
Damascene [cir. A.D. 750] is generally regarded as the close of the age of the Fathers);
doctrinal orthodoxy; personal sanctity; and approval by the Church.
Eastern Church Fathers: Main Greek Writers
Saint Athanasius (+ 373), bishop of Alexandria was the main champion of the
Nicene profession of faith. He devoted his life to the defense of orthodoxy
against Arianism.
Saint Basil of Caesarea (330-379) and his brother Saint Gregory of Nyssa (335-
394) and their friend Saint Gregory of Nazianzus (+ 389/390) are the Great Cappadocian
Fathers. Saint Basil was outstanding not for his writings alone but also as an administrator
and as an organizer of monastic life in the East.
Saint Gregory of Nazianzus, the
'Christian Demosthenes', is famous for five
theological discourses in defense of the
divinity of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
Gregory of Nyssa, the most profound
theologian of the three, was one of the fathers
of Christian mysticism.
Saint John Chrysostom was born and
was trained in Antioch, St. John
Chrysostom (344-407) is regarded by the
Greek Church as its outstanding preacher and as an eminent exegete who produced
commentaries on many books of the Bible. He became bishop of Constantinople for six
years, his homilies earned him the enmity of Empress Eudoxia and he was deposed and
died in exile.
Saint Cyril of Alexandria (412-44) is the most famous Egyptian Father of the fifth
century. He became bishop of Alexandria. He upheld orthodox teaching
against Nestorius and, for his defense of Mary's title of Mother of God, he must be
regarded as the main mariologist among the Fathers of the Church.
Saint Cyril of Jerusalem’s life began a few years before Arianism and he lived to
see its suppression and condemnation at the end of his life. In between he was the victim
of many of the power struggles that took place.

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Western Church Fathers: The Main Latin Writers

Saint Ambrose (c. 339-97) produced much
interesting biblical exegesis and was famous for his
preaching, but he was also a man at the center of public
affairs during a time of political upheaval. St Ambrose had
the exceptional honor of conferring baptism on one who
would become the most outstanding of the Latin Fathers, St
Augustine. It was also his fortune to be friend and adviser
to three emperors and to excommunicate one of
them, Theodosius the Great, for his massacre at
Thessalonica.
Saint Jerome (342-420) is a Dalmatian. He was a
researcher and scholar. He was also a passionate polemicist
and, through spiritual direction, energetically promoted asceticism among the women of
the Roman aristocracy. He is famous as a historian and exegete, but his greatest legacy
was the translation of many books of the bible direct from Hebrew or Aramaic into Latin.
This version is known as “the Vulgate.”
St. Augustine was born in Thagaste in Numidia, Africa, and his mother was the
pious Saint Monica. Augustine was first a student and then a professor in Carthage, before
going on to Rome and Milan. For a long time, he searched for truth in various
philosophies and in Manichaeism. He had relationship with a woman, who bore him a
child. He found the light of truth under the influence of Saint
Ambrose, by whom he was baptized in 387 A.D. Augustine
decided upon a monastic life when the Christians of Hippo chose
him as their priest and then as their bishop (395 A.D.). His
spiritual journey was recorded in his autobiography, The
Confession. Augustine wrote The City of God in which he
expressed that the fall of Rome was not the fault of Christians, but
a punishment of God for her vices and sins.
Saint Leo the Great played an important part in the
formulation of Christological dogma. To him also is attributed
much of the theology of the Roman primacy and its scriptural basis
in the primacy conferred by Christ on Peter. Saint Gregory the
Great (540-604), was elected Pope against his will, he proved
himself a brilliant and loving shepherd. During the Lombard invasion, he organized
charitable relief and military resistance. Among his great successes are the conversion of
the Barbarians and the reformation of the Church’s liturgy and music with his divine
Gregorian Chant.
Vincent of Lérins initially served as a soldier but gave it up to become a monk on
the island of Lerins off the southern French coast near Cannes. He was ordained there and
in about 434 authored his famous work the “Commonitorium.” In this work, Vincent tries
to provide a valid criterion for orthodoxy and, in doing so, enunciates the classic formula
for traditional doctrine: “What is believed everywhere, at all times, and by all.”

Learning Resources

Comby, Jean. How to Read Church History, volume 1(From the beginnings to the fifteenth
century). Tottenham Road, London: SCM Press Ltd, 1985.

https://www.britannica.com/

https://www.globalfromasia.com/east-west-differences/

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https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/paganism

McBride, Alfred. The Story of the Church, peak moments from Pentecost to the Year 2000.
USA: Alfred McBride, 1983.

My First History of the Church. Parañaque, Metro Manila: Sons of Holy Mary Immaculate
Quality Catholic Publications, 1997.

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