BI 3325

SURVEY OF CHURCH HISTORY

 Fathers in God
• Apostolic Fathers (2nd century)
• Ante-Nicene Fathers (2nd & 3rd
centuries)
• Nicene Fathers (4th century)
• Post-Nicene Fathers (5th century)
 Fathers
• Apostolic or Post-Apostolic Fathers
(c. 95-150)
• Apologists (c. 140-200)
• Polemicists (c. 180-225
• Scientific Theologians (c. 225-460)
 Fathers
• Apostolic Fathers—sought to build up or
strengthen believers in the faith
• Apologists—defended against attacks on
Christianity
• Polemicists—attacked heresy within the
church
• Scientific Theologians—scientific study of
theology, applying philosophical modes
of thought to theology
 The Apostolic Fathers
Purpose: to exhort and edify the church

• Writers or Writings

• Clement Papias
• Shepherd of Hermas Barnabas
• Ignatius Didache
• Polycarp
 Clement
• At time the apostle John was writing
Revelation on Isle of Patmos, Clement
was a leader in the church at Rome.
• Assumed responsibility for answering an
appeal from church at Corinth for advice
on how to restore harmony.
• Sent a letter (c. 95-96) urging
demonstrating the Christian graces and
obedience to the elders and deacons
(some were rebelling).
 Clement
• Made frequent reference to both OT and
NT Scripture, esp. to Paul’s epistles.
• Because this is the earliest extrabiblical
Christian writing, it has attained a place of
prominence among the writings of the
Apostolic Fathers.
• Toward the end of the 2nd c. it attainted
almost canonical status in some churches.
 Second Clement
• This work probably written ca. the same
time as the Shepherd of Hermas (i.e., not
likely written by Clement of Rome).
• Not an epistle but a homily (sermon),
probably given in Corinth or Rome—the
oldest complete Christian sermon known.
• Emphasizes virtuous living, mercy to
others, need for repentance, and the
Christian life as warfare.
 The Shepherd of Hermas
• Ca. 50 years later another Roman,
Hermas, wrote a work known as the
Shepherd of Hermas.
• The work appears to be a composite work
written in stages between c. 90 & 150.
• Hermas a slave (possibly Jewish) freed by
his mistress Rhoda in Rome.
• Later he married and became wealthy.
 The Shepherd of Hermas
• During a persecution he lost his property
and was denounced by his own children.
• Later he & his family did penance.
• The work consists of 5 Visions, 12
Mandates, and 10 Similitudes, all of which
purport to be revelations.
• Revelator in Visions 1-4 was a woman
representing the church, & in Vision 5 thru
Similitude 10 was the angel of repentance
in the guise of a shepherd (hence the
name).
 The Shepherd of Hermas
• The Visions focus especially on the last
days and refer to the imminence of the
great tribulation several times.
• The Mandates and Similitudes provide
teaching on Christian behavior and
principles respectively and served as a
textbook for catechetical instruction in the
2nd & 3rd centuries.
• It made a claim to inspiration.
 The Shepherd of Hermas
• Central theme concerns the possibility of a
second repentance for sins.
• Repentance and forgiveness of sins
associated with baptism.
• Apparently some at this time were
postponing baptism in order to take care of
as many sins as possible; what was to be
done with postbaptismal sin (in their view)
was problematic.
 The Shepherd of Hermas
• SofH presents the possibility of a second
repentance & forgiveness of sins
committed after baptism.
• The writing presents an early form of a
dogma of penance and a penitential
system.
 Ignatius
• Bishop of Antioch of Syria; the most
famous of the Apostolic Fathers.
• C. 110 was arrested by Roman authorities
for his Christian profession and sent to
Rome for judgment and expected
martyrdom in the arena.
• Along the way he wrote letters to various
churches; the letters were designed to
promote unity in the churches addressed.
 Ignatius
• Unity was to be accomplished by:
– Rooting out heresies that denied the full
divine-human personality of Christ.
– By subjection to a local bishop.
• Thus Ignatius gave impetus to the power
of bishops, but only over local
congregations.
• Also he did not elevate the position of the
bishop of Rome over that of other bishops.
 Ignatius
• Does seem to be the first to speak of a
Catholic (universal) church.
• Is no evidence that his view on the ruling
bishop was a commonly held view in the
church at this time.
• He held that the church could not baptize,
celebrate the Eucharist (Lord’s Supper), or
perform a marriage without the bishop.
• Actually, there was no church without the
bishop, according to him.
 Polycarp
• In Asia Minor (modern Turkey) two
Apostolic Fathers were active: Polycarp
and Papias.
• Polycarp, bishop of Smyrna (modern
Izmir), is interesting to moderns because
he was believed to be a disciple of the
apostle John.
• Of several of his writings, only his letter to
the Philippians remains.
 Polycarp
• He emphasized in the letter faith in Christ
and the necessary outworking of that faith
in daily life.
• Unlike Ignatius, he does not write about
church organization and discipline.
• In the letter he quoted from 13 NT books
and knew of a collection of Paul’s letters.
• Was martyred in Smyrna (c. 155-156).
• He claimed to have served Christ 86
years.
 Polycarp
• A staunch defender of orthodoxy, he
devoted much of his energy to combating
heretics.
• The Martyrdom of Polycarp, written by his
church within a year after his death, is the
first Christian account of martyrdom.
 Papias
• Bishop of Hierapolis in Phrygia, wrote c.
125.
• His Interpretations of the Saying (Oracles)
of the Lord has been lost, but parts survive
in the writings of Irenaeus & Eusebius.
• The fragments deal with the life and
teachings of Christ & attempt to preserve
information obtained from those who had
known Christ.
 Papias
• Bishop of Hierapolis in Phrygia, wrote c.
125.
• His Interpretations of the Saying (Oracles)
of the Lord has been lost, but parts survive
in the writings of Irenaeus & Eusebius.
• The fragments deal with the life and
teachings of Christ & attempt to preserve
information obtained from those who had
known Christ.
 Papias
• These are especially interesting for their
historical reference, such as the statement
that Mark got the information for his gospel
from Peter.
• His comments on the apostolic age cannot
be quickly dismissed because he too was
a “hearer of John” the apostle.
• He wrote one of the earliest statements on
a literal material millennium when the
earth will be miraculously fruitful.
 Barnabas
• Works assigned to the period of the
Apostolic Fathers also originated in North
Africa.
• Barnabas is generally considered to have
been written in Alexandria—probably by
130.
• Like much of the other literature of
Alexandria, this epistle is quite allegorical
in nature, engaging in gross typology and
numerology.
 Barnabas
• The basic problem of the epistle concerns
the necessity of a Christian’s keeping the
law of Moses.
• It holds that such was not necessary—the
work of Christ was sufficient.
• It becomes so anti-Jewish as almost to
deny a historical connection between
Judaism and Christianity.
 Didache
• The Didache, or Teachings of the Twelve
(Apostles), is also believed to have originated in
Alexandria (though some think it came from
Syria), probably during the 1st half of the 2nd
century.
• A church manual, divided into 4 parts, it treats
Christian ethics (chaps. 1-6), liturgical matters
(baptism, fasting, the Eucharist, chaps. 7-10),
the ministry and church government (chaps. 11-
15), and the Second Coming and end of the
world (chap. 16).
 Didache
• Baptism is to be performed by immersion if
possible, otherwise by threefold affusion.
• Believers should live a life of
preparedness in view of the return of
Christ.
 The Apologists

Purpose: to defend the faith

Leaders:

Justin Martyr
Tatian
Tertullian
 The Apologists
• The purpose of the Apologists was entirely
different from that of the Apostolic Fathers.
• Apologists sought to win legal recognition
for Christianity and to defend it against
various charges leveled by the pagan
populace.
• In constructing this defense, they wrote in
a more philosophical vein than the
Apostolic Fathers.
 The Apologists
• A generation of Christians from a higher
social class and with more extensive
education had arisen.
• As they wrote their defenses they had at
hand two literary forms already in use in
the Roman world: the legal speech
(apologia) delivered before judicial
authorities and later published, and the
literary dialogue.
 The Apologists
• In seeking to win a favorable position for
Christianity, the Apologists tried on the
one hand to demonstrate the superiority of
the Hebrew-Christian tradition over
paganism, and on the other to defend
Christianity against a variety of charges.
• They viewed this superiority as both
temporal and spiritual.
 The Apologists
• To support a temporal or chronological
superiority, Justin Martyr claimed that
Moses wrote the Pentateuch long before
the Trojan War (c. 1250 B.C.), thus
antedating Greek history, to say nothing of
Roman history.
• He and other Apologists made much of
fulfillment of prophecy in an attempt to
show that Christianity was not something
new, but merely a continuation or
culmination of the ancient Hebrew faith.
 The Apologists
• As to the spiritual superiority of Christianity
over paganism, the Apologists claimed that
noble pagans had obtained their high
ideals from God or Moses.
• Among the charges against which
Apologists defended Christianity were
atheism, cannibalism, immorality, and
antisocial action.
• The first charge (atheism) arose because
Christians refused to worship the emperor
or the Greco-Roman gods.
 The Apologists
• The charge of cannibalism arose from a
misunderstanding of the Lord’s Supper.
• The charge of immorality was a result of
assemblies conducted in secret or after
dark and because Christians displayed
great love for each other.
• The antisocial charge related to Christians
finding it necessary to retire from much of
public life because most aspects of public
life were in some way connected with
worship of the gods.
 The Apologists
• E.g., one who held public office had to
participate in and even lead the populace
in sacrifices to the ruler or the goddess
Roma, the personification of the state.
• Normally those who attended an athletic
festival or a drama found themselves
acquiescing in a sacrifice to a god before
the event began.
 The Apologists
• In an effort to win recognition for their faith,
the Apologists generally took a
philosophical approach.
• Was natural they should do so, because
on the one hand they were trying to
reason out the case for Christianity with
their opponents, and because on the other
hand they often wrote to men who were
themselves greatly interested in
philosophy, e.g., Marcus Aurelius a Stoic
philosopher.
 The Apologists
• Because of the philosophical orientation,
the Apologists have been accused of
undue surrender to the world view of
heathenism.
• For e.g., their teachings about Jesus
Christ appear in the form of the Logos
doctrine.
• To philosophers the Logos was an
impersonal controlling and developing
principle of the universe.
 The Apologists
• But John used Logos to describe Christ,
without any sacrifice of His deity or the
value of His atoning work.
• On most points the Apologists seem to
have upheld the NT concept of Jesus
Christ, though Justin Martyr, for instance,
sometimes described Christ as being of
inferior rank to the Father.
 The Apologists
• The fact that the Apologists placed such
great stress on the Logos demonstrates
that their theology was Christ-centered.
• Though their practice may involve
dangers, it is not innately wrong to make
one’s message intelligible to one’s time.
 Apologists—Justin Martyr
• Probably the most dramatic and best
known.
• Born c. 100 A.D. in a small town in
Samaria (though apparently a Gentile), J.
early became well acquainted with the
various philosophical systems.
• But his knowledge of the systems also led
to a realization of their inadequacies.
• C. 132, at point of disillusionment and
searching, an old Christian showed him
the way of faith in Christ.
 Apologists—Justin Martyr
• J. became a Christian philosopher,
presenting the Christian message in
philosophical terms.
• J. wrote apologies to the emperor
Antoninus Pius and his adopted son,
Marcus Aurelius, and a dialogue with
Trypho the Jew.
• He sought to defend C. against the
charges of atheism and immorality, and to
demonstrate that Christians were loyal
citizens.
 Apologists—Justin Martyr
• Christ’s kingdom was not of this world so
Rome had no reason to fear insurrection.
• He also sought to prove that the truth was
taught by Christianity alone.
• In the dialogue with Trypho, J. tried to
show that Jesus was the Messiah.
• During his second stay in Rome, he
engaged in a public debate with Crescens
the philosopher.
 Apologists—Justin Martyr
• Shortly after (c. 163), he was martyred by
Marcus Aurelius, perhaps at the instigation
of several philosophers close to the
emperor.
• The later chapters of his first apology are
interesting because of comments on belief
and practice regarding the Lord’s Supper
and baptism.
• He was one of the foremost interpreters of
Christianity between the late 1st & early 3rd
centuries.
 Apologists—Justin Martyr
• Though he is commonly presented as a
Christian philosopher, his focus was Christ
and his final authority the Scripture, the
Word of God.
• He was not afraid to sit in judgment on
philosophy.
 Apologists—Tatian
• Was one of Justin Martyr’s converts in
Rome.
• A native of Assyria, T. was a writer skilled
in argumentation.
• His Address to the Greeks ridiculed almost
every pagan practice.
• In last part of the work he argued that
since Christianity was superior to Greek
religion and thought, it deserved to be
tolerated.
 Apologists—Tatian
• After Justin Martyr’s martyrdom, T. went to
Syria where he founded a group later
called the Encratites—known for their
extreme ascetic practices.
• T. is probably best known for his
Diatessaron (“through the four”), the
earliest harmony of the gospels,
composed about 150-160 A.D.
 Apologists—Tertullian
• A polemicist, T. was sometimes classified
among the Apologists.
• Born in Carthage, North Africa, c. 160, he
seems to have been a lawyer and was
won to Christianity late in the century.
• He wrote a long list of apologetic and
theological works in Latin and Greek.
• His Apologeticus (c. 197), addressed to
the Roman governor of Carthage, refuted
the common charges leveled against
Christians.
 Apologists—Tertullian
• The Apologeticus also demonstrated the
loyalty of Christians to the empire, and
showed that persecution of Christians was
foolish anyway, because they multiplied
whenever persecuted.
• C. 200, T. was caught up in Montanism.
• Justin, Tatian and Tertuallian were
significant among the Apologists, but
fragmentary or fairly complete writings of
at least a half dozen others do exist.
 The Polemicists
Purpose: to attack error (heresy)

Leaders

Irenaeus
Hippolytus
Tertullian
Cyprian
 The Polemicists
• As Christianity grew older, errors arose
within its ranks—errors that called forth
defenders of the faith and that by reaction
led to the development of Christian
doctrine and the formulation of a NT
canon.
• Is significant that in refuting error the
Polemicists appealed extensively to NT
books as the source of true doctrine.
• Thus they gave impetus to the later official
pronouncements on the contents of the NT
canon.
 The Polemicists
• Their work also gave rise to the concept of
an orthodox catholic church opposed to
heresy.
• We note the major errors later, we focus
first on the significant defenders or
attackers of orthodoxy.
 The Polemicists--Irenaeus
• While most of the Apologists lived in the
East, most of the Polemicists lived in the
West.
• The earliest of the group was Irenaeus,
who wrote Against Heresies c. 185, at
Lyons, France, where he was bishop.
• Against Heresies was primarily aimed at
the philosophical error of Gnosticism.
 The Polemicists--Irenaeus
• Book I—a historical sketch of Gnostic
sects presented in conjunction with a
statement of Christian faith
• Book II—a philosophical critique of
Gnosticism
• Book III—a scriptural critique of
Gnosticism
• Book IV—answers to Gnosticism from the
words of Christ
• Book V—a vindication of the resurrection
against Gnostic arguments
 The Polemicists--Irenaeus
• In answering heresy I. stressed the
episcopate, theological tradition, and the
canon of Scripture of the true orthodox
church.
• Thus he contributed to the authority of the
monarchal bishop, to reverence for the
traditional teaching of the church, and to
the rise of an official canon of the NT.
• So he did more than attack the heresies of
his day.
 The Polemicists--Irenaeus
• He was also a constructive theologian.
• He has been called the “Father of Church
Dogmatics” because he tried to formulate
the principles of Christian theology and to
provide an exposition of the church’s
beliefs.
• In that connection, his Proof of the
Apostolic Preaching is helpful.
 The Polemicists--Hippolytus
• Covering much the same ground as
Irenaeus, Hippolytus also attacked
Gnosticism, as well as other heresies, in
his Refutation of All Heresies (c. 200).
• While he may have borrowed from I., he
significantly supplemented his work.
• H. came into conflict with the dominant
party in Rome because he criticized them
for disciplinary laxity and doctrinal
unsoundness.
 The Polemicists--Hippolytus
• He linked Callixtus with Noetianism and
Sabellianism—errors of Trinitarian
teaching.
• H. was the most important 3rd c.
theologian.
• In addition to his apologetic work, he is
especially known for his Apostolic
Tradition, which provides a picture of
Roman church order and worship about
200 A.D.
 The Polemicists--Hippolytus
• Apostolic Tradition deals with baptism, the
Eucharist (the Lord’s Supper), ordination,
and other church practices.
• He also wrote a commentary on Daniel,
the oldest commentary on a biblical book
to survive intact.
• Part of his commentary on the Song of
Songs (Song of Solomon) also remains.
• H. wanted a church of the pure and
opposed forgiving those guilty of serious
sins after receiving baptism.
 The Polemicists--Tertullian
• From Carthage.
• T. may be classified with the Apologists if one
emphasizes his Apologeticus or as a Scientific
Theologian if one focuses on his De Anima
(concerning the origin of the soul).
• He is commonly called the founder of Latin
theology.
• He is classed with the Polemicists because of
his opposition to paganism, Judaism, early forms
of Unitarianism and Gnosticism.
 The Polemicists--Tertullian
• Has been said that he did more than
anyone else to overthrow Gnosticism.
• Like Irenaeus, he held that the true
church, through episcopal and apostolic
succession, possessed the message of
Christ and the correct interpretation of
Scripture.
• One of his most important theological
works was Against Praxeas (c. 210),
which was an early statement of Trinitarian
doctrine.
 The Polemicists--Tertullian
• Although he later went into Montanism, he
enjoyed considerable popularity in the
ancient, medieval, and Renaissance
church.
• He carried on his work during the first
decades of the 3rd century.
 The Polemicists--Cyprian
• Cyprian, also from Carthage, was
martyred in 258.
• In his polemic activity he is known for his
opposition to Novatianism.
• Novatian (from Rome) held that those who
lapsed during persecution could not be
pronounced forgiven by the church and
restored to fellowship; forgiveness must be
left to God alone.
 The Polemicists--Cyprian
• It was not Novatian’s severity of discipline
but his denial that the church had the right
to grant absolution that caused his
excommunication.
• The church was conscious of catholicity
and unity by this time and those who did
not submit to divinely appointed bishops
were regarded as heretics.
• Cyprian, bishop of Carthage, felt duty
bound to condemn Novatian.
 The Scientific Theologians
Purpose: to develop scientific methods
of biblical interpretation
Alexandrian Western
Theologians Theologians
Pantaenus Jerome
Clement Ambrose
Origen Augustine
Athanasius Eastern Theologians
Cyril Theodore
John Chrysostom
 The Scientific Theologians
• These men sought to apply current
modes of thought to theological
investigation.
• They also tried to develop scientific
methods of biblical interpretation and
textual criticism.
• The classification of these writers falls
roughly into 3 groups:
1. Those from Alexandria
2. Those from the West
3. Those from Asia Minor and Syria
 The Scientific Theologians
• Alexandria:
– Pantaenus
– Clement
– Origen
– Athanasius
– Cyril
– Others
– Were the most speculative in approach and
usually followed an allegorical interpretation
of Scripture.
 The Scientific Theologians
• West
– Jerome
– Ambrose
– Augustine

– Tended to emphasize the authority of the

church and its tradition.
 The Scientific Theologians
• Asia Minor and Syria
– Theodore of Mopsuestia
– John Chrysostom
– Others

– Took a generally literal approach to biblical

study.
 Alexandria--Clement
• Earliest leader, Pantaenus; since his
writings no longer exist, is necessary to
move to his more famous successors.
• Associated with Pantaenus from c. 180,
C. ( probably from Athens) headed the
school from 190-202, when persecution
forced him to leave.
• His writings include Address to the
Greeks, The Tutor, The Miscellanies,
and Outlines of Scripture Interpretation.
 Alexandria--Clement
• Address to the Greeks—designed to win
converts from heathenism
• The Tutor—designed to provide new
converts with simple instruction for living
the Christian life
• The Miscellanies—to show the
superiority of Christianity to pagan
philosophy
• Outlines—to provide commentaries on
various scripture passages partly in
response to heretical interpretations.
 Alexandria--Clement
• Influence of Greek philosophy prominent
in his writings, especially Plato, but the
Bible also has a place of importance.
• He sought to synthesize Christianity and
Greek philosophy is distinguished as the
first to present Christianity in the forms of
secular literature for the Christian
community.
 Alexandria--Clement
• C. contributed to the development of
purgatory and Christian mysticism.
• He has been called an “inventor” of
purgatory with its primary goal of
eventual purification of the soul.
• While he did not hold to universal
restorationism (i.e., that all would
ultimately attain salvation), he had an
optimistic view of the ultimate destiny of
most human beings.
 Alexandria--Clement
• Though he cannot be classified as a
Gnostic, his views approached those of
the Gnostics at times.
• He held that in contemplation of the
Logos, human beings receive from Christ
the true gnosis (divine knowledge or
illumination), which leads to freedom
from sin and righteousness.
• In this Christian mysticism Christ’s
sufferings and death had little
significance.
 Alexandria--Origen
• Origen, the most famous of the
Alexandrian writers, led the school from
202-232.
• Afterward he moved to Caesarea in
Palestine and continued his career for
another 20 years until the Decian
persecution.
• O. is often called the first great
theologian; he brought to full
development the allegorical interpretation
of Scripture.
 Alexandria--Origen
• The seeds of such an approach can be
seen in Philo of Alexandria, who sought
to find a reconciliation between Greek
philosophy and Jewish thought by
searching for hidden meanings in the OT
• Christian writers after Philo employed the
allegorical method, but Origen receives
credit for the full development.
 Alexandria--Origen
• The allegorical proceeds on the
conviction that the literal meaning of
Scripture conceals a deeper meaning,
available only to the mature believer.
• The hidden meaning that he found
sometimes bore little or no relationship to
the literal.
• This concealing of truth by God under
the guise of commonly understood words
was designed to prevent pearls from
being cast before swine.
 Alexandria--Origen
• O’s works number in the thousands
including letters and articles as well as
critical, apologetic, dogmatic and
practical treatises.
• His commentaries deal with almost the
whole Bible.
• Although sometimes helpful, their value
is restricted by the allegorisms.
• Significant are his textual studies: the
Hexapla and Tetrapla.
 Alexandria--Origen
• Hexapla has several Hebrew & Greek
versions arranged in parallel columns.
• Tetrapla contains the four Greek
versions of the Hexapla; only fragments
of these works remain.
• O’s On First Principles is the earliest
systematic theology that has come down
to us.
 Alexandria--Origen
• While O. made positive contributions to
the theology of the church, he is more
commonly known for views that did not
receive general acceptance.
• E.g., he taught that the souls of human
beings existed as fallen spirits before
their birth, which accounted for man’s
sinful nature.
• E.g., he hald that in His atonement Christ
paid a ransom to Satan, by whom all
were enslaved in the bondage of sin.
 Alexandria--Origen
• E.g., he speculated that the love of God
would through a purifying fire ultimately
accomplish universal salvation.
• Sometimes his overenthusiastic followers
turned his speculations or suppositions
or suggestions into dogmas and made
him confidently teach something about
which he may only have been wondering
out loud.
 Alexandria--Origen
• It is not always possible to disentangle
the real Origen from the Origen of
theological history.
• His devout life could not be separated
from his philosophical bent and the
intellectual atmosphere in which he
moved.
• In the persecution of Decius (250) he
remained faithful throughout
imprisonment and prolonged torture.
 Athanasius
• Much later Athanasius (c. 293-373) came
to leadership in Alexandria.
• To him goes the credit for the triumph of
the orthodox view of Christ over Arianism
(the belief that Christ was the first created
being) at the Council of Nicea in 325.
• Even before the outbreak of the Arian
controversy he was known for his writings,
Contra Gentiles and On the Incarnation.
 Athanasius
• In 328 he became bishop of Alexandria
and thereafter steadfastly defended the
Nicene position on the full deity of Christ,
even though his opposition succeeded in
getting him exiled periodically.
 Cyril
• A later figure of significance in Alexandria
was Cyril (376-444).
• Becoming patriarch of Alexandria in 412,
he devoted himself to the defense of the
orthodox doctrine of the person of Christ,
but sometimes did so in a highhanded and
pompous manner.
• He advanced the veneration of Mary with
his effective promulgation in the church
that she was Theotokos (the “God
bearer”).
 Cyril
• An outstanding theologian, he put in
systematic form the classical statement of
the doctrines of the Trinity and the person
of Christ.
 Jerome
• One of the greatest of the western
leaders was Jerome (c. 345-420).
• Born in northeastern Italy, he spent
several years in Rome studying
languages and philosophy and was
baptized at age 19.
• Over the next 20 years he moved around
a great deal—Gaul, the East, Italy—
perfecting his knowledge of Greek &
Hebrew and becoming a convert of
monasticism.
 Jerome
• Settling in Bethlehem in 386, he began
his influential writing ministry.
• By extensive correspondence and
dramatic accounts of the early ascetics,
he did much to promote asceticism,
celibacy and monasticism.
• Writing against heresies he was primarily
the interpreter of accepted church
dogma; he was not original.
 Jerome
• He wrote commentaries on almost all
books of the bible.
• He utilized allegory, by his admission,
when he was unable to discover the
literal meaning.
• He ranks first among the early exegetes
and his knowledge of languages was
unsurpassed in the early church.
• He knew and used extensively early
versions and manuscripts of the Bible no
longer extant.
 Jerome
• Operating on the principle that only the
original text of Scripture is free from
error, he engaged in considerable
manuscript study in order to determine
what, among variant readings, should be
considered the original and true text.
• Out of these efforts the work for which he
is best known—the Vulgate, a translation
of the Bible into Latin.
 Jerome
• He also tried to bring Eusebius’
Ecclesiastical History up to date by
recording events for the years 325-378.
• He also translated and revised Eusebius’
Onomasticon, a gazetteer of biblical
places.
 Ambrose
• Bishop of Milan (374-397); was another
illustrious leaders of the Western church.
• His writings have been appealed to by popes,
councils, and theologians.
• Commentaries make up more than half his
writings; in these he employed the allegorical-
mystical method of interpretation.
• He admitted a literal sense, but sought
everywhere a deeper mystical meaning that he
converted into practical instruction for Christian
life.
 Ambrose
• A. is also known for his contributions in
the field of music; he championed
congregational singing.
• He introduced into the Western church
the Eastern custom of singing psalms
and hymns by the people.
• Usually this took the form of antiphonal
chant between the choir or a leader and
the congregation.
 Ambrose
• A. himself composed a number of
hymns, most of which followed a precise
metrical pattern, each stanza consisting
of four lines of eight syllables each.
• Some Benedictine writers credit A. with
12 hymns, other sources with 6 or 7.
• Augustine mentioned 4 specifically,
though he was indicating total output.
 Ambrose
• Augustine tells of being overcome
emotionally with the singing of hymns in
A’s church.
• For his efforts, Ambrose is commonly
called the “Father of Latin Hymnody.”
• A. also encouraged monasticism, was
one of the earliest supporters of devotion
to Mary in the Western church, and
promoted the cult of martyrs during his
bishopric.
 Ambrose
• In his work of teaching the faith and
refuting heresy, Ambrose influenced
many, including Augustine, his most
illustrious convert.
 Augustine
• Augustine, bishop of Hippo in North
Africa, stands among the most influential
theologians of all time.
• His emphasis on the personal
experience of the grace of God as
necessary to salvation caused
Protestants to see him as a forerunner of
the Reformation.
• His emphasis on the church, its creed
and sacraments has appealed to Roman
Catholics.
 Augustine
• His teaching that the millennium is the
period between Christ’s 1st & 2nd comings
has contributed much to amillennial and
postmillennial theologies.
• His teaching that man is perverted by sin
in all his parts strongly influenced
Calvinist theology.
• A. molded the theology of the Middle
Ages in Europe down to the 13th c., when
a reaction occurred in the Aristotelian
emphasis of Thomas Aquinas.
 Augustine
• On the other hand, Reformers appealed
to some aspects of his teaching in their
attack on Scholastic theology.
• Martin Luther quoted A. more than 100
times in his commentary on Romans
alone.
 Augustine’s Writings
• A. (354-430) came from a respectable
but not rich family.
• His life, a journey through periods of
immorality, entanglement in appealing
philosophies and heresies of the day,
and spiritual crisis to the achievement of
moral and spiritual victory, is one of the
best-known biographies of all time.
• The Confessions is A’s moral
autobiography.
 Augustine’s Writings
• His intellectual autobiography, which
describes the changes in his thought
through his life, is Revisions.
• Concerning Christian Doctrine and
Concerning the Trinity are important
theological works.
• His philosophy of history, the first to be
developed, is found in his City of God.
 Augustine’s Writings
• In the CofG he traces the development of
the city of earth and the city of God
through biblical and secular history and
show the destiny of the two cities: the
former to eternal punishment and the
latter to eternal bliss.
• He portrays the sovereignty of God in
human affairs and the ultimate triumph of
good over evil, though currently the
reverse if often true.
 Augustine’s Writings
• His literary production was massive.
• When the barbarians invaded his
hometown of Hippo a year after A’s
death (430) and the city was burned, his
library was rescued.
 The Three Cappadocians
• Three of the most important leaders of
the church in Asia Minor and Syria were
the Three Great Cappadocians of central
Asia Minor.
• They are known for their contribution to
the development of the doctrine of the
Trinity and the defense of the orthodox
theological position of the church.
• Basil the Great (330-397) of caesarea in
Cappadocia is known for his opposition to
heresies, especially Arianism, and for the
organization of Eastern monasticism.
 The Three Cappadocians
• His brother, Gregory, bishop of Nyssa
(332-398), was a champion of orthodoxy
at the Council of Constantiniple in 381
and is respected as one of the founders
of the Eastern Church.
• Gregory of Nazianzus (329-390) became
bishop of Constantinople in 381 and
preached effectively in defense of the
Nicene faith against Arianism there.
 Theodore
• Two other important Scientific
Theologians in the Eastern church were
John Chrysostom and theodore.
• Theodore (350-428) was bishop of
Mopsuestia in Cilicia (Asia Minor) for 36
years.
• He wrote commentaries on most books
of the bible, generally following
grammatical-historical and realistic
explanation of the text.
 Theodore
• This method of interpreting the words of
Scripture according to their ordinary
grammatical meaning and in the light of
their historical background was the
prevailing mode of interpretation in the
Antiochene school of thought.
• For T’s attacks on allegorical
interpretation, the Origenists of
Alexandria promoted his condemnation
by the church.
 Theodore
• Theodore was reputedly was the first to
place the Psalms in their historical
context.
• Only fragments of his works remain.
 John Chrysostom
• Chrysostom (347-407), the most
prominent leader of the Greek church,
also was important as a representative of
the grammatical-historical interpretation
of Scripture in opposition to the
allegorical and mystical interpretations of
Alexandria.
• C. did not exclude all allegorical and
mystical elements, but he confined them
to cases where he felt the author
suggested such a meaning.
 John Chrysostom
• At the Reformation there were
discussions whether C. was Protestant
or Catholic.
• He ignored confession to a priest, but
held to the “real presence” in the
Eucharist, to the one church, and to
tradition as a valid basis of authority.
• Born in Antioch and for many years
preacher there, C. became patriarch of
Constantinople near the end of his life
(398).
 John Chrysostom
• Unfortunately, his criticism of the opulent
life of the court, his tactlessness,
asceticism, and opposition of the
Patriarch of Alexandria brought him
considerable trouble and finally removal
from office.
• He died in exile as a result of a forced
march in winter.
• The name Chrysostom (golden mouth)
was given him for his eloquent
preaching.
 John Chrysostom
• Copies of some 650 of his sermons still
exist.
• Theologically, they expressed the ideas
of Athanasius and the Great
Cappadocians.
• Practically, they portrayed a deep
compassion for the poor and a zeal for
social righteousness.
 Summary
• A study of the Fathers is very valuable
for understanding the development of
church doctrine and organization.
• In germ form appear the teachings of
purgatory, transubstantiation, priestly
mediation, baptismal regeneration, and
the whole sacramental system.
• In them we find a formulation of the
hierarchal system.
 Reasons for Persecution
• Jewish fears:
• That Christianity was a perversion of true
Judaism; to attack it was to honor God.
• Some may have feared they would lose
their favored position if Christians spoke
of another kingdom ruled by a king other
than Caesar.
• Zealots may have opposed it because C.
refused to join Jewish nationalistic
moves for independence.
 Reasons for Persecution
• Roman Political Suspicions:
• Christians were politically suspect when
they spoke of a kingdom with Christ as
their ruler.
• Some took statements concerning a
kingdom literally to imply a plan for
overthrow of the empire.
• Was a union of religion and state; refusal
to worship Roma or the divine emperor
constituted treason.
 Reasons for Persecution
• Social reasons:
• Esp. in early days, Christians suffered
social ostracism came from the lower
classes and because they could not
participate in much of the public life of
their time.
• Civil servants might be required to join in
ceremonies in honor the divine Caesar.
• Sacrifice to a pagan deity normally
occurred before a drama or athletic
event.
 Reasons for Persecution
• Social reasons:
• Olympic Games honored Zeus; Isthmian
Games at Corinth honored Poseidon.
• Cs also condemned public games in
which gladiators fought in mortal combat
to entertain and prisoners were thrown to
wild beasts.
• Cs proclaimed the equality of all people
before God; this was in direct opposition
to the generally accepted institution of
slavery.
 Reasons for Persecution
• Economic reasons:
• Priests, idol makers, and other vested
religious interests could hardly stand idly
by while their incomes dwindled and their
livelihoods stood in jeopardy.
• Leaders of the old religions held
important positions in society; could
easily stir up mob opposition to
Christianity (Demetrius, Acts 19).
 Reasons for Persecution
• Economic reasons:
• Christians were also made scapegoats
for great calamities such as famine,
earthquakes and pestilence—which were
sometimes interpreted as divine
punishment meted out because people
had forsaken the Greco-Roman gods.
 Reasons for Persecution
• Religious reasons:
• C. was exclusivist, not tolerant like other
religions, and declared only one way of
salvation.
• Because Christians had to hold meetings
in secret, it was easy for all sorts of
rumors to circulate about them.
• Some saw licentiousness in their love for
one another and cannibalism in their
statements regarding Communion.
 Earliest Official Persecutions
64-100
• The event that sparked official
persecutions was the fire of Rome,
beginning on July 19 of A.D. 64.
• The fire lasted 9 days and gutted 10 of
the 14 districts of the city and brought
suffering to a million people.
• Enemies circulated a report Nero had
started the fire.
• Nero diverted attention by making
scapegoats of the Christians of Rome.
 Earliest Official Persecutions
64-100
• Many were burned at the stake at night
to light the gardens near Nero’s circus in
the Vaticanus section.
• Some were crucified and others thrown
to wild beasts or mad dogs.
• Paul was martyred; Peter is said to have
suffered the same fate.
• Nero’s persecution was important
because it established the precedent and
manner for persecuting Christians.
 Earliest Official Persecutions
64-100
• Here, Cs were punished for arson rather than
for holding any particular beliefs or being an
adherent of any religion.
• Apparently it did not lead to any persecution
outside Rome.
• The 2nd broke out in A.D. 95, in the reign of
Domitian.
• It was originally directed against Jews who
refused to pay a tax designed to help fund
construction of the magnificent temple to
Jupiter on Capitoline Hill in Rome.
 Earliest Official Persecutions
64-100
• Still being associated with Judaism,
Christians also suffered.
• Moreover, Domitian enforced emperor
worship; upon refusal to participate, they
were charged with treason.
• Some were martyred, some
dispossessed of property and others
banished.
 Earliest Official Persecutions
64-100
• At this time John was exiled to the isle of
Patmos where he received the vision of
Revelation.
• Is not clear that his exile was instigated
by the emperor; perhaps it was due to
local opposition in the province of Asia
that was responsible.
 Imperial Policy: 111-161
• Specific imperial policy concerning
persecution was not developed until early
in the 2nd century.
• Pliny the Younger, a Roman lawyer,
served as governor of the provinces of
Bithynia & Pontus in Asia Minor, 111-113.
• While there, P. faced a great defection
from paganism and a corresponding
growth of Christianity.
 Imperial Policy: 111-161
• He felt responsibility to deal with the
situation and decided that those brought
before him for trial should be asked three
times if they were Christians, each time
the question being accompanied by
threats.
• If they persisted in their faith after the 3rd
repetition, they were led away and
executed.
 Imperial Policy: 111-161
• Uncertain as to his procedure, P. wrote to
the emperor Trajan for advice.
• T. replied that Christians were not to be
sought out; but if reported and convicted
they were to be punished, unless they
repented and worshiped the gods.
• Anonymous information was not to be
received against them.
• Thus an official policy was established;
soon governors throughout the empire
were following Trajan’s principles.
 Imperial Policy: 111-161
• Many were martyred, including Ignatius,
who apparently was thrown to wild beasts
in the arena in Rome c. 115.
• Trajan’s successor, Hadrian (117-138),
followed the general policy of Trajan;
Christians were persecuted in moderation.
• When it common for mobs at heathen
festivals to demand the blood of
Christians, Hadrian published an edict
against such riots.
 Imperial Policy: 111-161
• Accusations against Christians were to be
made in court.
• Christianity made marked progress in
numbers, wealth, learning, and social
influence during his reign.
• Antoninus Pius (139-161) seems to have
favored Christians, but felt he had to
uphold the established imperial policy
concerning them.
• So there were many martyrs, including
Polycarp.
 Imperial Policy: 111-161
• It should be noted that frequently in his
reign, and particularly in Polycarp’s case,
local mobs were responsible for much of
the persecution.
• Persecutions were of limited extent and
their ferocity was dependent on local
conditions and the attitude of provincial
governors.
 Marcus Aurelius: 161-180
• Marcus Aurelius (161-180), developed a
new approach.
• An intolerant Stoic, he had no sympathy
with the concept of immortality.
• He attributed the exultation of Christian
martyrs to their desire for theatrical
display.
• Rather than waiting for an accusation, MA
introduced a spy system to accumulate
evidence against them.
 Marcus Aurelius: 161-180
• He put no check on riots instituted against
Christians.
• During his reign the practice of blaming
the occurrence of earthquakes, famines,
floods and pestilences on Christians
began.
• Supposedly these calamities befell the
populace because the old gods had been
forsaken.
• Persecution under MA was cruel and
barbarous.
 Marcus Aurelius: 161-180
• Thousands were beheaded or thrown to
wild beasts, including Justin Martyr.
• But his persecution was not an organized,
empire-wide persecution.
• Neither could the efforts of Septimius
Severus (193-211) and Maximinus (235-
238) be considered an all-out war on
Christianity.
 Marcus Aurelius: 161-180
• Septimius Severus directed his attack
primarily against Egypt and North Africa,
and even there he was largely interested
in putting a stop to proselytizing.
• Maximinus sought to wipe out Christian
leaders only in certain areas.
Persecution Empire Wide:249-305
• The situation changed in the middle of the
3rd c.; Rome celebrated the 1000 year
anniversary of her founding and looked
back to the days of prosperity, stability and
unquestioned authority.
• Now the foundation of the economic,
political and social structure were
crumbling.
• Public calamities such as earthquakes and
pestilences abounded.
Persecution Empire Wide:249-305
• Barbarians hovered on the frontiers.
• A superstitious populace was easily
persuaded that the gods were angry
because so many Christians had left the
old faiths.
• Decius (249-251) was convinced that the
maintenance of a state religion was
necessary for political stability and the
return of prosperity.
Persecution Empire Wide:249-305
• So, in the 1st year of his reign he gave
orders that all inhabitants of the empire
should come before special officers and
declare their allegiance to the gods,
proving it with an act of sacrifice.
• They were judged to be enemies of the
emperor, the state, and the public good
and were subjected to severe persecution.
• Evidence shows that the design was not to
destroy Christians but to reconvert them to
the state cult.
Persecution Empire Wide:249-305
• First to be seized were the higher clergy,
in order to render the church leaderless
and reduce its effectiveness.
• Multitudes recanted, because a
conventional Christianity had already
come into existence and the church was
filled with individuals possessing only a
superficial belief; but hosts of others
suffered martyrdom.
• After about a year it was evident that the
Decian persecution would not succeed.
Persecution Empire Wide:249-305
• It was over by April 1, 251; in July Decius
died in battle and his edicts no longer had
any force.
• His successor, Valerian (253-260), was at
first friendly to Christianity, but after a
number of public calamities, he resorted to
severe punishment to stop the trouble.
• Many significant leaders lost their lives.
Persecution Empire Wide:249-305
• From 260-303 Christianity enjoyed respite
from persecution; then all fury broke loose.
• Diocletian, persuaded by Galerius, his
colleague in the East, issued a series of
edicts in 303 that commanded destruction
of places of worship and sacred books and
imprisonment of the clergy.
• During the following year Christians were
offered the alternative of renouncing their
faith and offering pagan sacrifices or
suffering martyrdom.
Persecution Empire Wide:249-305
• In the eastern empire persecution was
especially brutal.
• Diocletian’s co-ruler in the West,
Maximian, carried out the edicts with full
force in Italy and Africa.
• But Maximian’s subordinate, Constantius,
who ruled Gaul, Britain, and Spain,
refused to execute anyone for his religion.
• The persecution ended for the most part in
305, when Diocletian abdicated the throne
and returned to private life.
 Toleration Under Constantine: 161-180

• During the confusion that followed, Constantius’s

son, Constantine, rose to leadership in the
western part of the empire.
• In 313 he and Licinius, as joint rulers of the
empire, issued an edict giving full toleration to
the Christians.
• Though Licinius subsequently reneged on his
commitment and stired up persecution in the
East, full toleration of Christianity came to the
whole empire when Constantine became sole
ruler in 324.
 Toleration Under Constantine: 161-180

• C. made Christianity a legal religion and

favored its development in many ways.
• He restored property confiscated during
the Diocletian persecution and rebuilt
many churches destroyed then.
• He also supported his mother in building
such famous churches as the Church of
the Nativity in Bethlehem and the Church
of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem.
 Toleration Under Constantine: 161-180

• He granted numerous favors to the clergy,

including excuse from military duty, and
exempted church property from taxation.
• Near the end of the 4th c. Theodosius
made Christianity the official religion of the
empire and persecution of paganism
began.
• In 392 he forbade heathen worship under
severe penalties.
 Toleration Under Constantine: 161-180

• An accommodation occurred between

Christianity and paganism during the latter
part of the 4th c.
• Though Christianity was winning a victory
of sorts over paganism, paganism scored
a victory of sorts by infiltrating the church
in numerous subtle ways.
• As opposition to paganism increased,
many took their place in the church without
experiencing conversion.
 Toleration Under Constantine: 161-180

• Large segments of church membership

consisted merely of baptized pagans.
• The distinction between Christianity and
paganism became increasingly blurred as
the state church was established under
the ultimate authority of the emperor.
• It is unwise to speak of the church’s
conquering the Roman Empire; one could
as easily argue that the empire had
conquered the church.
 Effects of Persecution
• Many were won to Christ through the manner of
death of the martyrs; Tertullian is often quoted:
“The blood of the martyrs is the seed of the
Church.”
• Is also often noted that the church was more
likely to be pure if believers were in danger of
their lives for naming the name of Jesus; they
would not lightly join for social or economic
reasons.
• Also, persecutions often forced Christians to flee
to areas where they would not normally have
gone; thus the gospel was spread more widely.
 Effects of Persecution
• P. also helped to settle the question of
what belonged in the NT canon.
• Obviously, believers would not give their
lives for something that was not Scripture;
and under persecution conditions, they
were less likely to take the trouble to copy
or preserve works of insignificant value.
• Also, under such duress apologists
produced reasoned defenses of
Christianity that generations since have
used in defending their own faith.
 Effects of Persecution
• Ps had their ill effects too.
• Christians were too busy protecting
themselves that there was little opportunity
to leave a literary legacy.
• And a great problem arose over the
question of the lapsed.
• Some buckled under persecution and then
later reaffirmed their faith and wished to be
reinstated to the fellowship of believers.
 Effects of Persecution
• Some favored their restoration and some
did not; many churches split over the
question.
• Also, the very experience of martyrdom
became warped as to its purpose or
benefits.
• Many came to believe that dying for the
faith had some sin-atoning merit.
 Early Heresies: 2nd Century
• Ebionism
• Appearing fully developed in the 2nd c., it
was in reality only a continuation and
amplification of the Judaistic opposition to
the apostle Paul.
• E. grew up in Palestine and assumed
various forms.
• Most appear to have denied the deity of
Christ, His virgin birth (teaching that J. was
the human son of Joseph and Mary), and
the efficacy of His sufferings.
 Early Heresies: 2nd Century
• Ebionism
• Their concern was to retain a true
monotheism.
• Christ, to them, was unusual in His strict
law observance and He was rewarded
with messiahship for His legal piety.
• They generally reject Paul’s apostleship
and writings and tended to venerate Peter
as the apostle to the circumcision.
 Early Heresies: 2nd Century
• Ebionism
• They put much stress on the Law in
general and on circumcision and Sabbath
keeping in particular.
• One branch taught a kind of Jewish-
Christian Gnosticism.
• E. practically disappeared by the 5th c. and
had little if any lasting effect on the church.
 Early Heresies: 2nd Century
• Gnosticism
• G. seems to have existed in germ form in
the days of Paul and John; Col. 2:8, 18-19
and much of I John may well have been
aimed that this error.
• It borrowed elements from Judaism,
Christianity, Greek philosophy and
Oriental mysticism and constructed a
system of thought that attempted to
combine revelation with wisdom from the
world.
 Early Heresies: 2nd Century
• Gnosticism
• Spawned primarily in Egypt and Syria, it
spread to Rome, Asia Minor, Mesopotamia
and Persia.
• G. taught that matter was evil and spirit
was good; thus were faced with the
problem of how a good God could create
an evil world.
• A system of emanations was their answer;
there emanated from God an infinite chain
of beings that became increasingly evil.
 Early Heresies: 2nd Century
• Gnosticism
• Finally, at the end of the line came the
Demiurge, the somewhat evil god, who
was identified with the Jehovah of the OT
and who was thought to be the creator of
the world and man.
• The good God took pity on man in his
plight and sent the highest emanation,
Christ, to minister to man’s need of
salvation.
 Early Heresies: 2nd Century
• Gnosticism
• Christ came as an emissary of light to
dispel man’s spiritual darkness.
• Atonement through death was not
considered necessary.
• Because matter was evil, the Messiah’s
body was thought by some to be only an
appearance and by others to be merely a
human body that the Messiah used from
his baptism until his death on the cross.
 Early Heresies: 2nd Century
• Gnosticism
• Gnosticism derived its name from a Greek
word for knowledge (gnosis), and
emphasis in the system was put on
attaining knowledge of the good God,
which would insure salvation.
• True Gnostics, of whom there were few,
were born with a high degree of intuitive
knowledge of God.
 Early Heresies: 2nd Century
• Gnosticism
• Christ’s teachings would help them to
overcome the material world and enable
them to establish communication with God
and gain entrance into the kingdom of
light.
• Ordinary Christians could attain salvation
by faith and good works.
• But the mass of humanity did not have a
chance to be saved.
 Early Heresies: 2nd Century
• Gnosticism
• Of great value to the true Gnostic and average
church member in attaining an experience of
God was initiation into the mysteries of marriage
to Christ, baptism, and other mystical rites of the
church.
• The path of redemption also involved a low
estimate of the flesh.
• Some punished the body by extreme asceticism;
others gave full rein to the carnal desire of the
flesh, for they felt that in such a manner the flesh
could best be destroyed.
 Early Heresies: 2nd Century
• Gnosticism
• At death the soul would be released from
its prison of matter and would return to the
Pleroma—a sort of world soul.
• G. as a system was fairly short-lived,
partly because of its inherent weaknesses
and partly because the Polemicists (esp.
Irenaeus, Tertullian, and Hippolytus) were
effective in dealing with it.
 Early Heresies: 2nd Century
• Gnosticism
• It left lasting effects on the church: 1)
negatively in asceticism and division into
higher and lower orders (clergy and laity)
and, 2) positively in forcing the church to
come to a clearer definition of her doctrine
and the limits of her canon.
• G. also helped to advance the
institutionalism of the church in a least 3
ways:
 Early Heresies: 2nd Century
• Gnosticism
• 1) Its claim to be the universal church led
the orthodox church to assert her claim to
be the catholic church.
• 2) Its doctrinal inroads led to the rise of
bishops as defenders of the faith.
• 3) Its emphasis on asceticism helped to
foster the growth of monasticism.
• Some of its teachings survived in
Manicheism and a similar sect, the
Mandaeans, still exists south of Bagdad.
 Early Heresies: 2nd Century
• Gnosticism
• The 3 great Polemicists or Anti-Gnostic
Fathers based their answer to Gnosticism
on the Scripture as interpreted by the
church and as handed down from the
apostles.
• They argued that the Creator and the
Supreme God were one and the same,
and they vociferously defended the reality
of the physical life of Jesus on earth and
his death and resurrection for salvation.
 Early Heresies: 2nd Century
• Gnosticism
• In all these ways they contributed to the
rise of an official church with an official
doctrine and an orthodox creed.
• Until 1945 students of Gnosticism were
dependent on the opponents of G.
• In 1945, as a camel driver was doing
some digging at Nag Hammadi in Upper
Egypt, he found a jar containing the
remains of 13 codices from the 4th c. A.D.
 Early Heresies: 2nd Century
• Gnosticism
• These contained Coptic versions of some
50 writings, most of which were Gnostic
texts.
• These are now housed at the Coptic
Museum in Cairo.
• Among the most famous in the collection
are the Gospel of Thomas, Wisdom of
Jesus Christ, Apocryphon of John,
Apocalypse of Adam, and the Gospel of
the Egyptians.
 Early Heresies: 2nd Century
• Montanism
• At the middle of the 2nd c. in Phrygia
[central Asia Minor (Turkey)] the Montanist
error arose, so named for its leader,
Montanus.
• M. reacted against institutionalism or
formalism and worldliness in the church
and sought to revert to the church’s
supposed early fervor and emphasis on
the Spirit.
 Early Heresies: 2nd Century
• Montanism
• Response to deadness or formalism might
take a charismatic approach, and
response to worldliness could be legalism
or the ascetic way; Ms took both
approaches.
• Groups in North Africa especially tended
to require a strict asceticism (involving
fasting, celibacy, rigorous moral discipline,
etc.), while those of Asia Minor were more
charismatic.
 Early Heresies: 2nd Century
• Montanism
• Montanus himself preached the imminent
coming of the New Jerusalem or the
Millennium, the preparation for which was
a new outpouring of the Holy Spirit.
• He wanted his followers to be an elite of
spiritual Christians and to prepare for the
coming age of the Holy Spirit by
withdrawal from the world.
 Early Heresies: 2nd Century
• Montanism
• As part of the emphasis on the Holy Spirit,
Montanists proclaimed a new era of
prophecy and the continuation of
revelation, including direct ecstatic
revelations from God.
• They encouraged martyrdom and
assigned to it a sin-atoning power.
• Montanus claimed to be promised
Paraclete.
 Early Heresies: 2nd Century
• Montanism
• M’s emphasis on such spiritual gifts as
continuance of prophetic revelation and its
requirement of ascetic practices as if they were
truths of revelation caused it to be condemned
by a series of church synods in Asia Minor and
by the bishop of Rome.
• The church declared that biblical revelation had
come to an end and that special spiritual gifts
were no longer operative.
• Tertullian of Carthage was Montanism’s most
famous convert.
 Early Heresies: 3rd Century
• Novatianism
• Novatian was a presbyter of Rome and an
able defender of the doctrine of the Trinity
against the Monarchians but fell out with
the hierarchy over the treatment of those
who had renounced their faith in the face
of Decius’s persecution (A.D. 249-250)
and later sought to renew their fellowship
with the church.
 Early Heresies: 3rd Century
• Novatianism
• He denied the right of the church to
restore the lapsed and advocated a purist
concept of church membership that
smacked of Montanistic legalism.
• The dissenting party chose him as bishop,
and the result was a schism that spread
over most of the empire and lasted until
the 6th c.
 Early Heresies: 3rd Century
• Novatianism
• In the 4th c., after the Diocletian
persecution, the question of restoring the
lapsed rose again and a faction opposing
restoration, known as the Donatists,
emerged in North Africa.
• N. had expected to be elected bishop of
Rome in 251; when the lenient Cornelius
as elected instead he allowed himself to
be consecrated as rival bishop and head
of the purist party.
 Early Heresies: 3rd Century
• Monarchianism
• M. (meaning “rule of one” and probably
originating in Asia Minor) was more strictly a
doctrinal error.
• The Ms were concerned to maintain the unity of
Godhead in the face of Trinitarianism; their
solution was less than orthodox.
• Some of them, like the later Socinians and
Unitarians, taught that the Father alone
possessed true personality; the Son & Holy
Spirit were merely impersonal attributes ofl the
Godhead.
 Early Heresies: 3rd Century
• Monarchianism
• So the power of God came upon the man
Jesus and gradually penetrated and
deified his humanity; but Jesus was not to
be considered God in the truest sense of
the word.
• Other Ms viewed the three persons of the
Godhead as mere modes of expression or
activity or ways of describing God; they
were not distinct, divine persons.
 Early Heresies: 3rd Century
• Monarchianism
• This modalistic type of Monarchianism
also came to be known as Sabellianism
and Noetianism, after two of its leading
exponents.
• The Ms called forth extensive and effective
definition of the Trinitarian position.
• Although the Polemicists dealt fatal blows
to Monarchianism, groups holding the
Unitarian position have arisen repeatedly
in the history of Christianity.
 Early Heresies: 3rd Century
• Manicheism
• M. has been described as Gnosticism with
its Christian elements reduced to a
minimum and Oriental elements raised to
a maximum.
• The system was developed by Mani in
southern Babylonia c. 240 and spread
rapidly through Persia, India, China,
Egypt, North Africa and Italy.
• Its appeal was great; Augustine was an
adherent for a time.
 Early Heresies: 3rd Century
• Manicheism
• After a somewhat meteoric initial success,
M. rapidly lost ground and died out.
• Like Gnosticism, M. was a dualistic
system; the kingdom of darkness at one
time attacked the kingdom of light, and the
result was a mixed creation of light and
darkness (good & evil) in which the
kingdom of light was engaged in a
program of gradual purification.
 Early Heresies: 3rd Century
• Manicheism
• Christ came into the world to aid the good
principle in human beings to overcome the
thrusts of the kingdom of darkness.
• In M. there were two classes: elect and
auditors; only the former were admitted to
the secret rites of baptism and
communion, which were celebrated with
great pomp.
• The elect were very ascetic and occupied
themselves with religious exercises.
 Early Heresies: 3rd Century
• Manicheism
• The auditors participated in the holiness of
the elect in return for supplying the elect
with the necessities of life.
• M. helped to foster the ascetic spirit
responsible for the division of church
members into clergy and laity.
• It also promoted the growth of the priestly
function, or the belief that ministers are
intermediaries between God and humanity
and have extraordinary power with God.