Student Handout pp. 1-16 [PDF] - Grace Church of Mentor

A Biblical View of Church History
The Doctrine of Remembering (Rev. 2:1-7; Rom. 15:4; 1 Cor. 10:1-13)
I. Individual Thoughts about History.
A. Secular History.
• “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it” – George Santayana
• “History is the essence of innumerable biographies.” – Thomas Carlyle
• “A page of history is worth a volume of logic.” – Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr.
• “It is history that teaches us to ______.” – Robert E. Lee
B. Sacred History.
• “Secular history, far from controlling sacred history, is controlled by it, must directly or
indirectly _____________ its ends, and can only be fully ________________ in the central
light of Christian truth and the plan of salvation.” – Philip Schaff
• “History is the _______________ between faith and non-faith.” – Augustine
• “History should live by that life which belongs to it, and that life is God. In history, God
should be acknowledged and proclaimed. The history of the world should be set forth as the
annals of the ______________ of the Sovereign King.” – Merle D’Aubigne
II. Definitions of Church History.
A. Classic definitions by church historians (most are non-dispensational).
1. “Church History is the history of God’s ___________ on earth.” – Lars Qualben
(Lutheran).
2. “The history of the church is the rise and progress of the kingdom of heaven upon
earth, for the glory of God and the salvation of the world.” – Philip Schaff (German
Reformed).
3. “History is the ________________ of the redemptive plan of God. Romans 8:30 is
applicable to all ages, from the fall to the end of the world.” – Jonathan Edwards
(Congregational).
4. “Sacred history is the setting forth of the known facts of man’s development as it has
been affected by the providential, inspiring, and self-revealing presence of God….
Church history is the narration of all that is known of the founding and development of
the kingdom of Christ on earth.” – A.H. Newman (Baptist).
5. “Church history ought to provide a standard of comparison, it ought to _______ our
vision of God, and it ought to show us, by countless examples, what _____________ to
Christ and His Word truly means.” – Iain Murray (Banner of Truth).
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6. “History is a memorial of the mercies of God, so that posterity ______ them,
_______________ them, and ______ His praises.” – Perry Miller and Thomas Johnson
(expressing the Puritan view).
B. Scientific (precise, technical) definitions of Church History.
1. “Church history is the interpreted record of the origin, progress, and impact of
Christianity on human society, based on ___________ _____ _________ by scientific
method from archaeological, documentary, or living sources. It is the interpreted,
organized story of the redemption of man and the earth.” – Earl Cairns (Presbyterian).
2. Our class definition: Church history is the study of the documents and oral
materials bearing upon __________ and an ____________ of those materials based
on the authoritative revelation of God’s Word within a dispensational framework.
III. Considerations of a Church Historian.
A. He must define the ___________.
1. The ekklesia. This is the called-out assembly of Spirit-baptized, redeemed believers
in Christ; This is the true body of Christ; it has always been visible, yet sometimes
barely visible, in the course of history; still, Christ has promised to continue to build it
in the midst of all human and satanic opposition (Matt 16:18).
2. Christendom. This is not the same as biblical Christianity. This is only the sum total
of all the institutions, organizations, and individuals professing Christianity.
3. The true church has always been in conflict with the world. When the church has
sought to _____ or ______ with the world, it has become worldly and its doctrine has
been weakened.
B. He must understand the person of Jesus Christ.
1. He is gracious ________________ of the church. “Its (church history’s) proper
starting-point is the Incarnation of the Eternal Word” (Schaff, I, 4).
2. He is sovereign ______.
a. He is not only Lord of the church, He is Lord over all. “When you see this
orb set under the cross, remember that the whole world is subject to the power
and empire of Christ, our Redeemer” (British coronation service).
b. His is the focus and pivotal point of all ________. “Christ is not merely the
center of all history, He is the very keystone to the universe” (Qualben).
Consider Colossians 1:16-18 – “For by Him all things were created, both in the
heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or
rulers or authorities—all things have been created through Him and for Him.
He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together. He is also head of
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the body, the church; and He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so
that He Himself will come to have first place in everything.”
c. He is supreme ___________. Consider Daniel 4:17 – “This sentence is by
the decree of the angelic watchers and the decision is a command of the holy
ones, in order that the living may know that the Most High is ruler over the
realm of mankind, and bestows it on whom He wishes and sets over it the
lowliest of men.” Church History, thus, strives to record the providence 1 of
God in the formation and _________________ of His body.
d. He will be the object of worship. One day every knee shall bow and every
tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord (Philippians 2:9-11). The complete,
out-in-the-open ________ of Christ is the end of all history.
C. He must consider the spirit of ______________ (counterfeit Christianity, with its goal
to thwart genuine Christianity) and the absolute necessity of Biblical ________________
from false teachers, apostates, and all individuals, churches, denomination or other
religious organizations which preach “another Gospel.”
Consider 1 John 2:18 – “Children, it is the last hour; and just as you heard that antichrist is coming,
even now many antichrists have appeared; from this we know that it is the last hour.”
1 John 4:1-3 – “Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from
God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. 2 By this you know the Spirit of God:
every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God; 3 and every spirit that
does not confess Jesus is not from God; this is the spirit of the antichrist, of which you have heard that
it is coming, and now it is already in the world.”
Galatians 1:8-10 – “But even if we, or an angel from heaven, should preach to you a gospel contrary
to what we have preached to you, he is to be accursed! 9 As we have said before, so I say again now, if
any man is preaching to you a gospel contrary to what you received, he is to be accursed! 10 For am I
now seeking the favor of men, or of God? Or am I striving to please men? If I were still trying to
please men, I would not be a bond-servant of Christ.”
2 Corinthians 6:14-18 – “Do not be bound together with unbelievers; for what partnership have
righteousness and lawlessness, or what fellowship has light with darkness? 15 Or what harmony has
Christ with Belial, or what has a believer in common with an unbeliever? 16 Or what agreement has
the temple of God with idols? For we are the temple of the living God; just as God said, “I WILL
DWELL IN THEM AND WALK AMONG THEM; AND I WILL BE THEIR GOD, AND THEY SHALL BE MY PEOPLE. 17
“Therefore, COME OUT FROM THEIR MIDST AND BE SEPARATE,” says the Lord. “AND DO NOT TOUCH WHAT
IS UNCLEAN; And I will welcome you. 18 “And I will be a father to you, And you shall be sons and
daughters to Me,” Says the Lord Almighty.”
1 God’s providence is the accomplishment of His sovereign (complete) will behind-the-scenes, quietly working
out all of the world’s events to His intended end. Providence is the hand of God in the glove of circumstances (Esther vs.
Daniel). I recommend for on the topic of God’s Providence Not By Chance: Learning to Trust a Sovereign God by Layton
Talbert (BJU Press) and Trusting God: Even When Life Hurts by Jerry Bridges (NavPress). A proper understanding of
church history will be something that builds the faith of God’s people, encourages pastors, and help each believer in time
of trials with the historical reminder that God is in control and rule supreme over all things – good or evil.
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Ephesians 5:11-12 – “Do not participate in the unfruitful deeds of darkness, but instead even expose
them; 12 for it is disgraceful even to speak of the things which are done by them in secret.
1. Satan appears as the antagonist of God, endeavoring to ____________ the plan of
redemption and the progress of Christ’s church.
Consider 1 Peter 5:8 – “Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around
like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.”
2. “As Christ, in the days of his flesh, was hated, mocked, and crucified. His church
likewise is assailed and persecuted by the powers of darkness…The church militant
must, from its very nature, be at perpetual warfare with the world, the flesh and the
devil, both without and within….Then will history itself, in its present form, as a
struggling and changeful development, give place to perfection, and the stream of time
come to rest in the ocean of eternity, but this rest will be the highest form of life and
activity in God and for God” (Schaff, I:5-6).
D. He must avoid some dangers in the interpretation of church history.
1. The danger of ___________________ church history.
a. There is a desire among liberals to accept today’s currently dominant
interpretation of religious history as true. Yet, history has often been re-written
from the politically-correct, ecumenical perspective.
b. Instead, we must allow church history’s facts to be fixed in time,
understanding that God’s goal has always been to build His church in both
Christian doctrine and practice, while warning His people of certain
compromises and departures from the true faith in His Word.
Example: Note the words of Dr. Kirsopp Lake, the noted Modernist professor of Harvard
University and an honest liberal – “It is a mistake often made by educated persons who happen to
have but little knowledge of historical theology to suppose that fundamentalism is a new and strange
norm of thought. It is nothing of the kind; it is the partial and uneducated survival of a theology which
was once universally held by all Christians. How many were there, for instance, in Christian churches
in the 18 th century who doubted the infallible inspiration of Scripture? A few, perhaps, but very few.
No, the fundamentalist may be wrong; I think he is. But it is we who have departed from the tradition,
not he, and I am sorry for the fate of anyone who tries to argue with a fundamentalist on the basis of
authority. The Bible and the corpus theologium of the Church is on the fundamentalist side.”
• Yet today, separatist fundamentalism is thought by most as some new thing. I have been told
by some that fundamentalism has never held to separation from disobedient brethren.
2. The danger of studying church history merely as just one more __________
movement in the midst of various political and societal movements of the day. This is
what we call an anthropocentric view (man-centered) of church history.
a. The problem with this man-centered view of church history is that its _____
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and ___ is distorted, since it does not begin and end with God’s glory in Christ.
• “The basic reason why we who are Christians should teach and learn history is so that we may
better understand ourselves and our fellow men in relation to our own culture and to the world
(George Marsden in A Christian View of History, p. 31). WRONG!
• “But why should we remember what men have done? Because, I suppose, we are men and
because we are shaped by what our ancestors have done, and thus to know what they have
done is an essential part of self-knowledge (Edwin J. Van Kley in A Christian View of History,
p. 90). WRONG!
• Should the aim or goal of history be to better understand ourselves or should it be to better
understand and better glorify Him as God? 2 Marsden is guilty, along with many other modern
historians, of making church history only a social science, instead of a part of theological
studies.
b. The most basic problem with a man-centered view of church history is that it
perceives that man himself _____________ history.
c. There is a sense, of course, in which this is true, in the practical realm. But this
perception inevitably ignores God’s providence and tends to make man the focus of
history—the shaper of his own destiny. As Proverbs 16:1 says, “The plans of the heart
belong to man, but the answer of the tongue is from the LORD.”
But ultimately God is the determiner of history. Thus to
understand rightly the significance of history, one must know
God through His Son, Jesus Christ.
• Consider Colossians 2:2-3, 8 – “That their hearts may be encouraged, having been knit together
in love, and attaining to all the wealth that comes from the full assurance of understanding,
resulting in a true knowledge of God’s mystery, that is, Christ Himself, 3 in whom are hidden
all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge….See to it that no one takes you captive through
philosophy and empty deception, according to the tradition of men, according to the
elementary principles of the world, rather than according to Christ.
IV. Developing a Biblical View of Church History.
A. Realize that a Person’s Worldview 3 determines his historical __________________.
1. In studying history, one will inevitably bring with him a predisposition, a set of
interpretive values. Likewise, “to write a value-free account of the past is beyond the
historian’s power” (David Bebbington, Patterns in History: A Christian Perspective on
2 I love the subtitle to S.M. Houghton’s Sketches From Church History (Banner of Truth Trust): An Illustrated
Account of 20 Centuries of Christ’s Power.
3 A person’s worldview is their personal starting point for how they see all things; it is their personal authority; it
is one’s comprehensive and personal conception or view of mankind, the world, or life; it is what colors or distorts
everything that one sees.
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Historical Thought, p. 12). “Philosophies of history can drastically affect, for good or
ill, the self-understanding of individuals, nations and civilizations (ibid., p. 17).
For example: 1 Corinthians 1:18 – “For the word of the cross is foolishness to those who are
perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.”
• Thus, someone who views the new birth, the cross and the church as religious “crutches” and
merely as opium to control the masses, will not arrive at the same conclusions as some who
accepts Jesus his Lord and His Word as absolute truth.
• One’s starting point as a historian greatly affects his interpretation of events. No one is neutral
when it comes to interpreting history; this is particularly true in the area of religious history.
2. A proper worldview is tremendously important, since it is the framework of ideals
that enable us to organize our beliefs and to make sense of the world and our place in
it. Every secular interpretation of history is shaped by a worldview, which is woefully
inadequate because of its humanistic starting point. A proper interpretation of secular
or sacred history requires a Biblical/Christian worldview.
B. The Elements of a Proper, Christian Worldview.
1. There is one personal, yet transcendent God, existing eternally in three equal,
uncreated Persons, who is the Creator of the universe ex nihilo. 4 This personal
transcendent God continually controls and sustains the universe by His power. God is
real (not man’s illusion), perfect in wisdom, eternal, and good (He is not apathetically
removed from mankind as the deist would teach).
2. Man is created in the image of God, possessing abilities to think and reason, and
who is morally accountable to God and His laws.
3. God has revealed to man knowledge of Himself and His activities in the pages of an
inspired, infallible revelation, the Bible.
4. Sin caused the fall of man, which has distorted God’s image in man and rendered
man morally depraved and spiritually destitute.
5. God has entered human history in the person of Christ, who provides the only means
of redemption for man.
6. Christ is not only the Lord of all, but the focal point of history. His revelation and
redemption give continuity and significance to history. The cliché then is right –
“History is really only the study of His-story.”
C. The principal enemy to a Christian worldview and biblical philosophy of church
history: __________________ (or its partner ___________________).
1. Naturalism is just a fancy name for unbelief in God and His infallible Word. It
claims that nothing exists outside the material, mechanical, or natural order.
4 Latin for “out of nothing.”
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a. Naturalism is the idea that reality falls within the boundaries of space, mass
and time, and that’s all there is. The supernatural doesn’t exist, or at least does
not exist as absolute, historical truth. So, the possibility of the resurrection of
Jesus Christ is unthinkable; and the power of God working in a person’s life in
the new birth or God’s divine creation/protection of the church by the Holy
Spirit is absurd.
b. According to William Halverson, “Theism says, ‘In the beginning, God’;
naturalism says, ‘In the beginning, matter.’” Anything outside the realm of the
natural doesn’t exist except in the imaginations of the human mind. Naturalism
is a closed system. Nature [man] itself, therefore, is the naturalist’s “god.” In
the naturalist’s system then, God is unable to break in and divinely alter the
course of the world (Like, for instance, 2 Peter 3 talks about).
c. In recent years, there has been a new magnium opus of the presentation of a
naturalistic view of church history: Dan Brown’s The Da Vinci Code. This
popular presentation of a naturalistic view of church history should be more
than enough reason to encourage and motivate God’s people to learn both a
biblical view and factual basis for church history.
2. Of course, the naturalist historian will assert that he ____ is objective, unbiased, and
educated. Yet the naturalist and the theist can both be scientific in their approaches, but
they have vastly different views as to the origin and control of the world.
Christian theism recognizes the same cause-and-effect order within the natural order as does the
naturalist. The Christian believes, however, that the natural order depends on God both for its existence
and its order. When Christians assert that God is capable of acting causally within the natural order,
they do not mean necessarily that such divine action results in a suspension or violation of the natural
order. But whether or not miracles are exceptions to the laws of nature, the world is not closed to God’s
causal activity (Ronald Nash, Meaning of History, p. 21).
3. Indeed, God is the Orderer and Disposer of all causes which accomplish His
____________ ends. A contingent universe demands a cause outside itself. All events,
therefore, within this universe are due to the causation of God.
a. History then, is a __________________ of divinely intended activities
involving divinely created beings.
b. Make no doubt about it – both the naturalist and the theist are determinists.
For the one, nature and man determine everything; for the pure theist, God
does.
c. Therefore, failure to understand the complete control and directing power of
God is failure to understand who God is, thus making a proper understanding of
church history impossible.
D. Thus, our Biblical View of History will be termed The God-centered View
of History.
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1. God _______ the history of man, _______ it continually along a predetermined
course, _________ works in history, and will bring history to a _______________.
a. For example, Joseph and his brothers: “God sent me before you to preserve
for you a remnant in the earth, and to keep you alive by a great deliverance.
Now, therefore, it was not you who sent me here, but God” (Genesis 45:7-8).
b. Augustine in the City of God taught that “everything in nature and history,
including the sack of Rome, falls within the plan of divine providence and
under divine governance; nothing escapes divine foreknowledge or the divine
will. Providence is a divine art which orders everything in an all-embracing
harmony, from inorganic matter through living things to the events of human
history” (John Edward Sullivan, cited in Nash, p. 52).
c. This is also the Puritan’s view of history: “History is primarily the ____ of
God in the ___ of men.” This reflects simply what we are taught in Ephesians
1:11 – “In Him also we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined
according to His purpose who works all things after the counsel of His will.”
2. The Implications of a God-centered Providential view of History.
a. The duty of man is to _______ that history for the spiritual sake of posterity.
b. History’s real value lies in its ____________ quality – it tells us about God’s
activity in time and space.
c. History is not only for teaching us by example, but it is theology _________.
d. For the Puritan historian, there is always a two-fold consideration
determining his attitude toward his material:
e. Examples.
1) Everything that has happened has been under divine control; and
2) God regulates the universe for a purpose: “History should be seen as
a long revelation of divine intentions” (Miller and Johnson, eds., The
Puritans: A Sourcebook of Their Writings, I:81-84).
1) Urian Oakes—in New England Pleaded With (1673):
And it were very well if there were a memorial of these things faithfully drawn up and
transmitted to Posterity….It is our great duty to be the Lord’s Remembrancers or
Recorders…that the mercies of the Lord… may be faithfully registered in our hearts, and
remembered by us… that the memory of them may not die and be extinct, with the present
generation (cited in The Puritans: A Sourcebook of Their Writings, p. 81).
2) Jonathan Edwards. Central to Edward’s concept of history is
redemption, particularly God’s redemption of the elect. In his
unfinished History of the Work of Redemption (1739-58), he wrote,
“The work of redemption is the greatest of all God’s works…, and it is
the end of all His other works.”
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3) The providential view of history helps us to understand the true
______________ of events in our world.
Providence…is just history, as God has ordained it and watches over it…. It is important to remember
that a man cannot really understand history, if he has not true concept of God’s providence. It is true
that he may be an expert in some details and therefore may be worthy of great respect for his
erudition. 5 But to be an authority in the details is not the same as to be competent to understand the
overall significance of a period of history (Maurice Roberts, “The Interpretation of Providence in
History,” The Banner of Truth, Issue 311-312 [August-September 1989], 54).
V. Concerns of the Church Historian.
A. Duties.
B. Goals.
1. Honesty as the highest aim: to tell the ________.
2. _______________: One may not be able to live the past, but he is capable of
understanding it, because human nature is the same. Do not be ready to cut the legs out
from under a father, for you may find that you are standing on his shoulders.
3. ____________: The practice of dependence and deference. “The first lesson that the
Christian historian must learn is humility” (Bebbington, Patterns in History, p. 183).
1. Interpret history in light and defense of God’s Word.
2. Look for God in history and take note of evidences of special workings of His
providence in order to exalt Him and offer hope to the believer.
3. Teach the reflections of God’s character in the events and lives of history in order
that His characters be emulated (The Christian Teaching of History, Bob Jones
University History faculty).
C. Warnings.
1. Be careful of having an overly-narrow view or a too-limited outlook of history.
“History study combats the twin errors (1) that the present is so different from the past it owns
nothing to the past and can learn nothing from it and (2) that the past was just the same as the
present and that to learn of other nations or times we need study only our own” (ibid.).
2. Be careful of personal biases or prejudices in study of history.
a. Don’t exaggerate the wealth, power, glory, or other qualities of the period of
church history being studied. This is the “good ole days” view. They had
problems too – be realistic about human conditions. For example, not every
Confederate General was a pious, God-fearing man.
b. Describing the history of one’s own nation, religious group, denomination, or
organization as favorably as possible. That is the failure to be objective and
learn from mistakes.
5 Extensive knowledge acquired chiefly from books.
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VI. Sources of Church History.
c. Assuming that just because two nations, religious groups or even individuals
shared a similar idea, they must have borrowed it from the other. This is a
failure to recognize that coincidence does not mean conformity.
d. Thinking that people in the past knew more about their own time and culture
than we can know today about them. We have a much broader perspective and
a greater amount of material than they had.
A. The New Testament—the inerrant, authoritative record.
B. Minutes and acts of church councils.
C. Creeds, confessions, and canons (ecclesiastical laws).
D. Personal correspondence.
E. Records of historians.
F. Inscriptions.
G. Liturgies.
H. Symbolism of church buildings, architecture, art.
I. Early writings: treatises, sermons, judicial records, ect.
J. Oral communication. Modern technology allows us to see and hear people and events
of our recent past.
VII. Values of Church History.
A. It ________ us about how Satan works to destroy the pure church.
B. Its lessons properly applied will help guide us in making the right decisions.
C. It should enable us to better understand the current state of Christianity.
D. It should encourage and inspire us to do better.
E. It should give us great ________ as we notice God’s divine work in human affairs.
F. It provides evidence for the truth and final triumph of Christianity.
G. It will help us to understand how our doctrinal statements have formed the way they have.
H. It should _______ us through vivid illustrations why we must earnestly content for the faith
and separate from those who deviate from God’s truth.
VIII. Periods of Church History.
A. Ancient Period. A.D. 30-590 (Pentecost to Gregory I).
1. 30-100 Apostolic Age (from Pentecost to death of the Apostle John): the early
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church in the New Testament.
2. 100-313 Age of Martyrs (from death of John to Edict of Milan). [100-325 Ante-
Nicene Period].
3. 313-590 Age of Christian Emperors and Patriarchs (from Edict of Milan to
Gregory I). [325-451 Post-Nicene or Conciliar Era (Nicea to Chalcedon)].
B. Medieval Period. A.D. 590-1517 (Gregory I to Luther).
1. 590-800 Emergence of Latin-Teutonic Christendom (from Gregory the Great to the
crowning of Charlemagne).
2. 800-1049 (1054) Tensions between Churches and Church and State (from
Carolingian renaissance to Leo IX and Great Schism).
3. 1049 (1054)-1294 Supremacy of the Papacy (from Leo IX and Great Schism to
Boniface XIII).
4. 1294-1517 Decline of Papacy and Opposing Forces (from Boniface VIII to Ninety-
Five Theses).
C. Reformation and Modern Period. A.D. 1517 to present.
1. 1517-1648 Reformation and Counter-Reformation (from Ninety-Five Theses to
Treaty of Westphalia).
2. 1648-1750 Protestant Rationalism, Pietism, and Expansion (from Treaty of
Westphalia to beginning of civil revolution).
3. 1750-1815 Christianity in the Revolutionary Age (from beginning of civil revolution
to end of Napoleonic era).
4. 1815-1914 The Great Century: World-wide Christian Expansion (from Congress of
Vienna to World War I).
5. 1914 to present The Church in Conflict with Modernism and Ecumenical Union
(from World War I to current Ecumenical Movement).
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THE FULLNESS OF TIME
1. Introduction. See Galatians 4:4,5; Luke 2:1; and John 19:19-20.
A. Negative aspects of the Time.
1. Heathenism: ________________ religion.
Commentary found in Romans one. Immoral element in gods and goddesses; continually involved in
scandals. A groping, however, after the unknown god, which was a commentary on their entire view
of the divine (Acts 17:22 ff.) Yet, it has at bottom, the feeling of dependence on higher powers and a
superstitious fear of divine things; a sense of conscience and of guilt (Roman 2:14-15). This helps
explain why the heathen embraced the gospel more readily than the ______. See Matt. 8:10; 15:28.
“Politically and religiously the world was ready for the gospel at that time as it had not been before.
The greater part of the civilized [Mediterranean] world was politically united, but the old classical
religions were bankrupt” (F. F. Bruce, The Spreading Flame, p. 24).
“In heathenism, man is prepared for true religion; in Judaism, the true religion is prepared for man.
Heathenism is the starry night, full of darkness and fear, anxiously waiting the light of day” (Schaff,
I:58).
2. Judaism: _______________ Religion (see below).
B. Positive aspects of the Time.
1. Providential Preparation.
While like today, there were many negative contributions against the spread of Christianity, there
were many positive aspects as well. Everett F. Harrison writes,
“Yet the success of Christianity owed much to the providential preparation found in Jewish teaching
and hopes, in Greek language and culture, and in Roman peace, justice, administration, and
communication” (The Apostolic Church, p. 9).
2. Scriptural indication.
a. The Gospels themselves reflect this three-fold division of the ancient world.
• Mark— Christ the Servant (ROME). Mark 10:45
• Luke— Christ the Man (GREECE). Luke 19:10
• Matthew— Christ the King (ISRAEL). Matt. 2:2
. b. The Book of Acts is partially a commentary on the interaction of these three
worlds and their reaction to the gospel.
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II. The Three Worlds into Which Christianity Came.
A. ROME — Political setting. Rome, the city of power.
1. Universal empire - about 100 million (perhaps one third of the human race). The pax
romana. Roman citizenship.
2. Universal law. Gave a sense of unity and solidarity to the human race.
3. The sea lanes had been cleared by Pompey and Julius Caesar, making movement in
the Mediterranean relatively easy.
4. The ______ system facilitated travel between major cities in the empire (Note Paul’s
travels in Acts 16-18 on the Via Egnatia).
5. The Roman army not only kept the peace, but soldiers who accepted the Prince
of Peace spread the gospel (See Phil. 1:12-14).
6. Yet morally and spiritually bankrupt and thoroughly pagan.
a. Romans were “the insatiable robbers of the world” (Tacitus).
b. Unbelief and superstition went hand in hand. “The world is full of crimes
and vices. More are committed than can be cured by force. There is an
immense struggle for iniquity. Crimes are no longer hidden, but open before the
eyes. Innocence is not only rare, but nowhere” (Seneca).
c. Pantheon of gods and goddesses wicked and immoral. The most popular of
the gods were related to alcohol (Bacchus) and immorality (Aphrodite). Those
dissatisfied with the capricious Roman gods, sought satisfaction in the various
mystery cults: Cybele (Phrygia), Isis (Egypt), Mithraism (Persia). In quoting R.
Wilson, Peake’s Commentary on the Bible, p. 712b, Harrison writes,
The worship of the Olympians ‘could offer no real explanation of the mystery of life, no sense of
purpose in human existence, no real comfort in adversity, nor did it provide an incentive for conduct,
nor an assurance of immortality’ (p. 10).
d. There were actually 3 stages of Roman idolatry: (1) ____________ deities,
(2) ______________ of other religions, and (3) ______________ worship.
• Romans chapter one is a commentary on the religion of the Roman world. Philosophy had
caused the people to deny the gods, yet many still worshiped at their shrines (cf. Schaff I:82).
• Give handout on “Church History Fact Sheet: Rome.
B. ___________— Cultural setting. Athens, the city of philosophy.
1. Universal language a vehicle of the gospel. Koine Greek the language of the NT.
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2. Human philosophy had reached its zenith with the Greek philosophers Socrates,
Plato, and Aristotle, but had degenerated under Zeno and Epicurus. But, an inability of
human reason to reach God. Thus, a groping after the “unknown or unknowable god.”
“Heathenism is religion in its wild ______ on the soil of fallen human nature” (Schaff).
3. Examples of the Greek philosophy. The following two were the most popular at the
time of Paul’s visit to Athens (See Acts 17:18ff.).
a. Epicureanism. Founder: Epicurus (342-270 B.C.)
The school of Epicurus taught that pleasure—in the negative sense of absence of mental
disturbance was the highest good. The good life is the life which maximizes pleasure by
minimizing the pain attendant upon unnecessary desire and anxiety. Thus, paradoxically, the
greatest pleasure is attained by a life of quiet, retirement, and restraint: a life characterized
essentially by self-control. Epicurus and his followers regarded religion—fear of the gods and
anxiety about an afterlife—as one of the principal sources of disturbance and pain (Walker
with Norris, Lotz, and Handy in A History of the Christian Church, 4th ed., p. 10).
Note: Another branch of Epicureanism was Hedonism, a desire for sensual pleasure for its own sake.
b. Stoicism. Founder: _______ (335-263 B.C.)
Stoicism taught “that the sole human good is virtue or ‘the life according to nature’.... Like the
Epicureans, the Stoics were materialists.” “The human soul, itself rational, is a spark or portion of the
divine Reason” (ibid.). A mystical, pantheistic philosophy teaching that God is totally immanent in
the world. Man becomes virtuous through knowledge, which enables him to line in harmony with
nature. Nineteenth century American Transcendentalism (Emerson, Thoreau) is very similar.
C. ____________— Religious setting. Jerusalem, the city of God.
1. Monotheism - in marked contrast to the polytheism of non-Jewish religions.
2. Messianic Hope – expectancy even among Gentiles—cf. the magi from the East
(See Matt. 2).
3. Synagogue. Arising during the Babylonian Captivity in absence of temple worship to
preserve the Law, this Jewish ________ center became the early forum for the Gospel.
Church polity apparently derived much from the structure of the Jewish synagogue.
4. Old Testament, especially law and prophecy,
a. Law of Moses kept God before the people.
The law of Moses was the clearest expression of the holy will of God before the advent of Christ. The
Decalogue is a marvel of ancient legislation, and in its two tables enjoins the sum and substance of all
true piety and morality — supreme love to God, and love to our neighbor. It set forth the ideal of
righteousness, and was thus fitted most effectually to awaken the sense of man's great departure from
it, the knowledge of sin and guilt. It acted as a schoolmaster to bring men to Christ, that they might be
justified by faith (Schaff, I:67).
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. The prophecies of the Old Testament kept the Messianic ________ alive.
No prophetic voice during the 400 inter-testamental “silent” years produced a longing for an
authoritative voice from God, and helps explain the dramatic impact on the people of that
prophetic voice when it was heard in the persons of John the Baptist and Christ.
5. Religious groups which kept these Messianic beliefs alive.
Three principal groups steeped in religion and representing the three aspects of religion:
• Pharisees – ______________.
• Sadducees – _______________.
• Essenes – _______________ .
a. Pharisees - coming from a word (Heb. Parush) which means separate.
(1) Originated in the Maccabean Period as a reaction against the hellenizing spirit which
appeared among the Jews. The twin pillars of the Pharisaic system were “Torah and
__________” (Everett Ferguson, Backgrounds of Early Christianity, 2 nd ed., p. 482). Oral law
was as important to them as written law. Oral law = “traditions of the elders” (Mark 7:3, 5).
Jesus rejected the Pharisaic basis of authority (the oral law). The oral law had actually
_________ the written law in some cases. Example: picking grain and healing on the Sabbath
(Mark 2:23-3:6). Jesus and Disciples' actions on Sabbath can be defended on 3 points: OT
allowed exceptions in case of need, human values take precedence over ritual requirements,
and Messianic authority determined application of Law.
(2) In the beginning, they were extreme nationalists but they developed into mere externalists,
making religion consist of conformity to the Law and the promises of God's grace to the doers
of the Law. Virtue was measured by ______________ appearance. They believed in the
immortality of the soul, the resurrection of the body, and the existence of spirits; that men are
rewarded and punished in the future life according as they have lived virtuously or viciously in
this life. They kept the Messianic hope alive, but they elevated almsgiving into an equivalent
of righteousness and emphasized Levitical purity. While they were orthodox in their view of
the OT, they overloaded the Scriptures with traditions, and thus made them of none effect.
They analyzed the Mosaic law to death, and _______________ a labyrinth of pointless
regulations for a living relationship. They bear the reproach of hypocrisy. See Matt. 23:23 ff.
b. Sadducees - uncertain derivation of name; some suggest from Greek syndikoi, meaning “fiscal
officials;” others say that their name is from the Piel adjective sadduq, meaning “just.”
(1) Appear to have originated during or shortly after the Maccabean revolt (167-160 B.C.) as
a reaction against the law-centered Pharisees. Some have suggested they were descendants of
the high priest Zadok. Usually connected with the priesthood and temple-centered in their
religion. Most were wealthy and open to Hellenism. After 70 A.D., they go into oblivion
while the Pharisees continued to represent Judaism.
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(2) They ______________ the resurrection and future retribution, asserting that the soul dies
with the body. They evidently denied the existence of angels and spirits. Their basic canon
was the Mosaic law; the written Torah was authoritative. They emphasized free will. The
Sadducees attempted to embarrass Jesus by putting to Him an ensnaring question regarding
the resurrection, but He refuted their arguments and reduced them to silence. See Matt. 22:23-
33 (citing the Pentateuch—Exodus 3:6).
c. Essenes - transliteration of the Greek essenoi, the etymological meaning of which is uncertain.
Philo speculated that it derives from hosios, meaning holy. One etymology suggests an Aramaic
source which would identify them with the Hasidim (Hebrew: “pious ones”), severely orthodox Jews
who arose during the Maccabean revolt.
(1) Difficult to know exactly when they originated. The Essenes are frequently identified
with the writers of the Dead Sea Scrolls. There is no NT reference to them. Although Frend
endeavors to link them with early Christianity (Rise of Christianity, pp. 27-29).
(2) They practiced asceticism, celibacy, and rigorous work habits which included the study
and copy of the Scriptures. They were communal monastics, and therefore did not publicly
worship at the temple. Philo claims that they abstained from animal sacrifices altogether. They
believed themselves to be the true remnant of Israel living in the last days. These “_________”
practiced ritual cleansing, repeated dippings in mikwaoth (mikweh, sing) – immersion pools of
water. They also looked for two Messiahs, a priestly one from Levi and a kingly one from
Judah. One may observe a dualistic cosmology between the “sons of darkness” and the “sons
of light.”
(3) After the destruction of Qumran in 68 A.D. by the Romans, the Essenes are extinct.
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APOSTOLIC AGE (A.D. 30-100):
THE EARLY CHURCH IN THE NEW TESTAMENT
ACTS: IMPORTANT OBSERVATIONS FROM THE ONLY INSPIRED CHURCH
HISTORY TEXT BOOK
I. The first Church History: Various Views of its primary message and emphasis.
1. Work of Christ through the Holy Spirit. Luke's conception of the apostolic history is
that it is the work of Jesus still carried on by the Holy Spirit (1:1f). Christ chose the
apostles, commanded them to wait for power from on high, filled them with the Holy
Spirit and then sent them on the mission of world conquest. In the Acts, Luke records
the waiting, the coming of the Holy Spirit, the planting of a powerful church in
Jerusalem and the expansion of the gospel to Samaria and all over the Roman Empire.
2. Historic origins of Christianity. He addresses the book to Theophilus as his patron, a
Gentile Christian plainly, as he had done with his Gospel of Luke. The book is
designed for the enlightenment of Christians generally concerning the historic origins
of Christianity. It is in truth the first church history. It is in reality the Acts of the Holy
Spirit as wrought through these men. It is an inspiring narration. Luke had no doubt
whatever of the future of a gospel with such a history and with such heroes of faith as
Peter and Paul (A. T. Robertson, "Acts," ISBE, 1:46).
B. E. F. Harrison's view: Emphasis is on Gentile Christianity.
1. A reliable history. Luke a reliable historian because…
a. Of his reliance on eye-witness testimony.
b. Of his concern to tell the truth objectively (The Apostolic Church, pp. 34-
35).
2. An important purpose.
a. A certainty of knowledge about the early church.
b. An understanding of the importance of Gentile Christianity. One purpose for
the writing of Acts was to indicate "how the earliest Church was led to a
recognition of the developing Gentile Christianity" (ibid., pp. 34, 58).
C. F. F. Bruce's view: Acts as Apologetical Literature.
1. Luke is, in fact, one of the first Christian apologists (Defenders of the Christian
Faith). In that particular type of apologetic which is addressed to the secular authorities
to establish the law-abiding character of Christianity, he is absolutely the pioneer.
2. But other forms of apologetic appear in the course of his work, especially in some of
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the speeches of Acts.
a. Thus, Stephen's speech in chapter 7 is the prototype of Christian apologetic
against the Jews, designed to demonstrate that Christianity and not Judaism is
the true fulfillment of the revelation given through Moses and the prophets.
b. Similarly, Paul's speech at Athens in chapter 17 is one of the earliest
examples of Christian apologetic against the pagans, designed to show that the
true knowledge of God is given in the gospel and not in the idolatrous vanities
of paganism.
c. And Paul's speech before Agrippa in chapter 26 is the crowning apologia for
his own missionary career (F. F. Bruce, Acts, p. 24).
D. Richard N. Longenecker's view: The Emphasis is on Kerygma or Christian message.
1. There were probably four purposes for the writing of Acts.
a. Kerygmatic: A Presentation of the Christian Message.
b. Apologetic. The Roman charge that Christianity was religio illicita was
unjust.
“Its author seeks to demonstrate that Christianity is not a political threat to the empire, as its Jewish
opponents asserted, but rather that it is the culmination of Israel's hope and the true daughter of Jewish
religion—and, therefore, should be treated by Roman authorities as a religio licita along with Judaism”
("The Acts of the Apostles" in The Expositor's Bible Commentary, IX:217-221).
c. Conciliatory—overstated by the Tubingen form critics. A presentation of the
parallel ministries of Peter and Paul to allow for primacy in their respective
fields, but not supremacy over the entire church.
“Acts presents the careers of Peter (chs. 1-12) and Paul (chs. 13-28) in strikingly parallel fashion. (For
a detailed presentation of this, see the introduction to Acts 2:42-12:24.) Likewise, Acts presents Paul as
conceding primacy in the church to Peter and apostleship to the Twelve based on their earthly
companionship with Jesus; whereas Peter and the Jerusalem apostles, in turn, concede to Paul another
mode of apostolic authority as well as Peter's initiative in the law—free outreach to Gentiles” (ibid.).
d. Catechetical. Use by various churches for instructional purposes.
2. The primary purpose was kerygmatic. Acts is proclamatory. It shows…
a. How the gospel is related to the course of redemptive history.
b. Its relationship with secular history.
c. Its universal character.
d. How it has been freed from Jewish law.
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e. How that behind the proclamation of the Word of God stands the power and activity
of the Holy Spirit (ibid.).
II. Luke's Theological Concerns.
Was Luke a theologian? YES! "Luke grounds the acts of God in history not because he is merely a
historian but in order to show that God is sovereign over history" (Michael Bauman and Martin I.
Klauber, Historians of the Christian Tradition [Nashville: Broadman and Holman], p. 50). "Luke is a
master theologian" (J. C. Beker, Paul the Apostle [Philadelphia: Fortress, 1980], p. 162). "Luke does
not profess to write a work of theology, but what he writes is theologically informed and significantly
contributes to our overall understanding of NT theology" (David S. Dockery, "The Theology of
Acts," Criswell Theological Review 5 [Fall 1990]: 45).
A. He shows the Providential activity of God in Acts.
1. Luke uses dei, "it is necessary," 18 times in his gospel and 22 times in Acts to show
the divine necessity of providential activity in fulfilling God's plan for the advance of
the gospel (See Acts 17:26, 31).
2. The death and resurrection of Jesus were the fulfillment of divine purpose (See Acts
2:23).
B. He teaches us about the doctrines of salvation and Christ.
1. Luke advances an “exclusivity of the Gospel” View. Only in Christ can one receive
salvation (Acts 4:12). This salvation is also extended to the Gentiles (Acts 1:8; 13:47).
2. Luke corrects misconceptions about the gospel: Christianity is not merely a Jewish
sect (See Acts 10, 15, 17), nor a mystery cult (See Acts 8, 14).
3. Luke builds on the centrality of Christ's resurrection: sermons and speeches bare
this out (cf. Acts 2:22-24, 36; 3:14-15; 5:30-31; 10:39-42), and Jesus' resurrection is
the basis for believers' hope of a resurrection (cf. Acts 4:2; 13:32-33; 17:18, 29-32;
23:6; 24:21; 26:23).
"Their [the disciples] fearlessness in proclaiming the gospel demands an adequate explanation and no
approach to the resurrection is tenable which does not account for this transformation [i.e., conversion]"
(Guthrie, New Testament Theology, p. 377).
4. Luke presents Jesus not only as Savior (Acts 2:38; 3:19; 5:31; 10:43; 13:23, 38) but
as Lord (Acts 10:36; 26:15), and as Servant (Acts 3:13, 26; 4:27, 30).
5. Luke stresses the need for faith and repentance as the means of forgiveness
(Acts 2:37; 3:19, 26; 5:31). Paul connects the two together with forgiveness in his
defense before Agrippa (Acts26:18, 20).
C. Luke certainly teaches us much about the doctrine of the Holy Spirit.
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Luke describes the Holy Spirit as the essential instrument of salvation. In fact, the activity of the
Spirit in Acts universalized the mission of Jesus to the whole world (see Dockery, p. 45).
1. Emphasis throughout on the Holy Spirit. What happened at Pentecost was the
creation of the Holy Spirit and the product of that experience (the Church) is
maintained by the Spirit.
2. Holy Spirit is mentioned 42 times in Acts; more than any other NT book.
3. His work is extensive. The Holy Spirit gives commands; empowers to witness;
Scripture inspired by the Holy Spirit; causes Apostles to speak in tongues; Holy Spirit
promised and given to believers; fills for service; lied to; being filled with the Holy
Spirit is a qualification for deacons; Sanhedrin resists the Holy Spirit; Holy Spirit given
through the laying of hands; He comforts, separates, and calls men into full time
Christian service; gives freedom from ceremonial law at Jerusalem Council; gives
specific direction where not to go (16:1); Holy Spirit given at time of belief in Christ
(19:2, 6); enables prophesying.
4. "The Spirit was given in order to create in individuals and in the church a quality of
life that would otherwise be beyond their ability. Also the Spirit was given to unite
believers into a fellowship that not could be paralleled in any other group. The Spirit's
coming was not so much to allow men and women to be comfortable, even though the
Spirit is the Comforter (John 16:13), but to make them missionaries and proclaimers of
the good news (Acts 1:8)" (Dockery, p. 47).
D. Luke teaches us of the necessity of Prayer.
1. Wilhelm Ott in his important work on the significance of prayer in Lukan theology,
called Luke “the evangelist of prayer.” According to Ott, Luke's emphasis on prayer is
summed up in Luke 18:1 — men "ought always to pray and not to lose heart" (Gebut
undHeil: Die Bedeutung der Gebetsparanese in der lukanische Theologie [Miinchen:
Kosel Verlag, 1965]).
2. Prayer, especially petitionary prayer, was of great interest to Luke in both his
Gospel and the Acts. The verb proseuchomai ("to offer petition") is used 35 of
the 86 occurrences in the NT (19 in Luke and 16 in Acts); including the cognates, 57
times.
3. Where in Luke's gospel we find the emphasis on Jesus praying, in Acts the emphasis
is on His followers praying.
"The last verses of the Gospel had centered in a climax of prayer and praise (24:52, 53). In the opening
verses of Acts the center is still prayer. Only now it is inauguration, not climax. And it is Jesus' people
at prayer, not Jesus" (Harvie M. Conn, "Luke's Theology of Prayer," Christianity Today 17 [December
22, 1972]: 8).
4. Luke includes prayer at critical moments in his history of the church; this reveals that
he and the early church considered prayer to have been an important means by which
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God sovereignly guided His people in the church's expansion. The course of the church
is shaped by God through prayer. We find at the beginning of Acts the people of God
continuing "with one accord in prayer and supplication" (1:14). In fact, Luke wants us
to see that prayer is the means of fulfilling Acts 1:8—"but you will receive power when
the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem,
and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth." The
theological implication is that by prayer God guides the period of the church's early
expansion in Acts at strategic points, such as the inauguration of the church and the
choice of an apostolic replacement (Acts 1), the Jerusalem church's response to
persecution (Acts 4), the choice of deacons (Acts 6), the open door to Gentile
evangelism (Acts 10) with the prayer of Cornelius, and the appointment of the first
missionaries (Acts 13).
Everett F. Harrison writes that "every fresh advance of the church brought a summons to engage in
intercessory prayer for divine guidance. Christians learned quickly that without divine aid they were
helpless" (Interpreting Acts: The Expanding Church [Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1986], p. 456).
Throughout the book of Acts we find a unified people of God devoted to prayer.
E. A Dispensational approach to Acts.
1. There are parallels between Jesus' ministry and the ministry of His disciples. There
is the demand for discipleship, the performance of miracles, and the demand to accept
the one true God (Acts 2:43).
2. But there are significant differences as well. The Disciples of Jesus now become His
Apostles, sent out with a NEW mission: The building of a church in a new economy or
dispensation of God’s dealings with mankind.
“One does not find the institutional church in the life of Jesus. There are no Christian elders or deacons
in the Gospels. The free association of Jews and gentiles, part being circumcised and part not, has no
explanation in the career of Jesus. The wholesale proclamation of the gospel to gentiles is not to be
traced to the earthly example of Jesus, except by anticipation in the final commission given by him to
his disciples. How does it happen that Christianity as seen by men like Theophilus took the form which
it did, quite different in some respects from its Gospel origins?” (Kent, Jerusalem to Rome: Studies in
Acts, p. 13).
3. These differences are explained by the fact that new dispensation has been
inaugurated with the founding of the Church. For more on these doctrines and
especially the treatment of the ecclesiology and eschatology in Acts, see Dockery, pp.
52-55.
III. Acts geographically shows the Movement of the Gospel Westward from Jerusalem.
• Luke wrote Acts to show the progress of the gospel.
A. This is reflected in Paul's strategy.
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1. How does a Christian faith which arose in Asia/Middle East come to be
associated with European rather than Asian/Middle Eastern civilization?
“The answer surely is that, in the providence of God, its leading herald and missionary in the three
decades following its inception was a Roman citizen, who saw how the strategic centres and
communications of the Roman Empire could be turned to the service of Christ's kingdom, and planted
the Christian faith in those centres and along those lines of communication” (Bruce, p. 26).
2. Paul’s strategy: Always looking westward to unreached peoples; remaining only
long enough to ground in the Faith; see a church established which is autonomous,
self-supporting, self-proprogating, reproducing; going where the people are in the
metropolitan centers — first to the synagogue for a hearing; when rejected, to the
Gentiles.
B. Early prayers reflecting the spread of the Gospel (See Acts 4:31-33; 6:6-7; 12:5, 12, 24).
“O God, who, through the preaching of the blessed apostle Saint Paul, hast caused the light of the
Gospel to shine throughout the world; grant, we beseech thee, that we, having his wonderful
conversion in remembrance, may shew forth our thankfulness unto thee for the same, by following
the holy doctrine which he taught; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen” (cited in ibid., p. 27).
“Almighty God, who calledst Luke the Physician, whose praise is in the Gospel, to be an Evangelist
and Physician of the soul; May it please thee, that, by the wholesome medicines of the doctrines
delivered by him, all the diseases of our souls may be healed; through the merits of thy Son Jesus
Christ our Lord. Amen” (ibid.).
IV. Major Themes.
A. Expanding Witness for Christ.
CENTER CHIEF
MINISTER
Acts 1-12 Jerusalem Peter Judea and
Samaria
Acts 13-28 Antioch Paul the ends of the
earth
B. Unity of God’s People for Service.
— of mind, 2:46
— of purpose, 4:32
— of message, (resurrection), 4:33
— of love, 4:34-35
— in spite of persecution, chs. 4, 5
— in organization, 6:5
— in mission (ch. 18 stresses missionary effort)
GOSPEL TO: EVANGELISM
Jewish
Gentile
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C. The Christian Message (kerygma). The Resurrected Christ. Terms "resurrection," "raised"
used 28 times, more than any other NT book.
D. Persecution of the Church (mainly by false religion). Five in all.
1. Ch. 4 — Peter and John taken before Sanhedrin.
2. Ch. 5 — Apostles imprisoned but miraculously freed; recaptured, beaten and let go.
3. Chs. 6-7 — Stoning of Stephen, the first martyr.
4. Ch. 8 — Saul takes lead in persecution of Jerusalem Christians, causing them to be
scattered abroad preaching the word (v. 4).
5. Ch. 12 — Peter arrested and miraculously released. “Bars do not a prison make.”
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I. Qualifications for Apostleship (Acts 1:21-24).
APOSTLES: IMPORTANT OBSERVATIONS
A. Must have seen or been with Christ.
B. Must have been a witness of the resurrection of Christ.
C. Must have been chosen by Christ.
II. Representative Apostles.
A. PETER - the Gospel of hope (died c. A.D. 67 in Rome).
1. Peter was the main pillar of primitive church, the "Rock-apostle."
a. Matthew 16:18. "You are Peter." "Peter" is petros (masculine); the
underlying Aramaic word is Cephas (kepa r ), which means massive rock. "And
on this rock." "Rock" is now petra (feminine).
b. Is the rock on which the church is built to be Peter, Christ, or Peter’s
confession of Christ? Certainly good men differ, but consider the immediate
context and compare with other Scriptures. Consider the words of an Anglican
contemporary of Spurgeon in England, John Charles Ryle:
There are words in this passage which have led to painful differences and divisions among Christians.
Men have striven and contended about their meaning, until they have lost sight of all charity, and yet
failed to carry conviction to one another's minds…. What, then are we to understand, when we read
that remarkable saying of our Lord's, "You are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church?" Does it
mean that the apostle Peter himself was to be the foundation on which Christ's Church was to be built?
Such an interpretation, to say the least, appears exceedingly improbable….
To speak of an erring, fallible child of Adam as the foundation of the spiritual temple, is very unlike
the ordinary language of Scripture. Above all, no reason can be given why our Lord should not have
said, "I will build my church upon you,"—if such had been His meaning, instead of saying, "On this
rock I will build my church…."
The true meaning of "the rock" in this passage appears to be the truth of our Lord's Messiahship and
divinity, which Peter had just confessed. It is as though our Lord had said, "You are rightly called by
the name Peter, or stone, for you have confessed that mighty truth, on which, as on a rock, I will build
my church" (J.C. Ryle, Expository Thoughts on the Gospels, Reprint, Baker Books: Grand Rapids,
2007).
c. Regardless of one’s understanding of Matthew 16:18, Peter is primus inter
pares (first among equals) among the disciples throughout the Gospels; he is
prominent in the first chapters of Acts as the preacher at Pentecost and the one
who opens the door of the gospel to Cornelius, the first Gentile convert, among
other important events. His preaching, then, was in this sense the "keys to the
kingdom."
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d. No doubt Jesus could also mean here that the apostles are a foundation on
which he will build his church, and Peter is mentioned in particular because of
his significant name, appropriate character, spokesmanship on this occasion,
and recognized leadership in general (John Broadus, Matthew, p. 358). See also
Ephesians 2:20.
e. No factors for one moment admits of an apostolic succession of authority
which the Roman Catholic papacy claims. There is absolutely no evidence in
the NT that Peter, nor Christ through Peter, meant to pass on Petrine apostolic
authority to successors. The only successionism taught in the NT is that of
apostolic doctrine in 1 Timothy 2:2.
2. Peter was a man of action — first to confess Christ; first to preach Christ; and first to
deny Christ.
3. Peter was unlearned and practical, type-A personality, ardent, impulsive, hopeful,
"consistently inconsistent." The weakest and strongest of the Apostles.
4. Peter’s writings are full of various impulses: sweet comfort and grace (1 Peter) to
severe judgment and pronouncement of doom (2 Peter).
5. Peter represents the first stage of Apostolic Christianity: Apostle to the Jews.
6. Peter’s theme: The grace and glory of Christ.
7. Peter’s task: Inaugurate the church. His teaching (confession) is the Rock upon
which the Church is built. See Acts 2:38-42, 10:34-38; Eph. 2:20; Schaff 1:262.
B. PAUL - the Gospel of faith (died in A.D. 67 or 68 in Rome).
1. Champion of Christian freedom and progress.
2. Greatest of all missionaries; greatest expounder of the Christian theology.
3. The scholar, thinker, and worker; energetic, bold, noble, pioneering,
independent, uncompromising.
4. His writings abound in detailed thought, logical arguments, and heavenly eloquence.
5. Represents the second stage of Apostolic Christianity: Apostle to the Gentiles.
6. Problems with which he had to deal.
a. Moral: fornication (1 Cor. 6:18) and idolatry (1 Cor. 10:14).
b. Intellectual: philosophy (Colossians) and legalism (Galatians).
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7. With exception of Augustine, Pauline theology generally neglected in Western
Church until time of Reformation.
"As the gospel of Christ was cast out from Jerusalem to bless the Gentiles, so Paul's Epistle to the
Romans was expelled from Rome to enlighten and to emancipate Protestant nations in the distant North
and Far West" (Schaff, 1:204).
8. Key Pauline Themes: Justification and Reconciliation.
9. Paul’s Task: to propagate the Gospel to Gentile world and to provide a
biblical theology for the church. See Acts 26: 13-23.
C. JOHN - the Gospel of love. (died c. A.D. 100 at Patmos).
1. Bosom-friend of the Savior, son of thunder, soaring eagle, apostle of love.
2. Characterized as a man of mystic contemplation, melancholic, introverted, reserved,
burning within of love for Christ and hatred of Antichrist.
3. His writings are simple, serene, profound, intuitive, sublime, inexhaustible.
4. Consolidated Jewish and Gentile Christianity; the mystic prophet of the Church
Triumphant while Paul is the heroic captain of the Church Militant.
5. Represents the third stage of Christianity: the gospel unto the whole world.
6. John’s Themes: Life, love and truth.
7. John’s Task: to consolidate Jewish and Gentile Christianity and to give the world a
picture of the divine Christ as the object of personal belief, (cf. John 20:31; 1 John
5:13).
Apostolic Christianity "holds up the highest standard of doctrine and discipline; it is the inspiring
genius of all true progress; it suggests to every age its peculiar problem with the power to solve it"
(Schaff, 1:199).
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THE JERUSALEM COUNCIL - Acts 15 (A.D.50)
I. Background and Problems of the Jerusalem Council.
A. Differences among Christian converts. All the converts of the first generation were either
Jewish or Heathen. When they were converted, they still had a remnant of their own particular
religious background. Hence, a different outlook on the church and salvation…
Jewish Gentile
particularism universalism
authority freedom
law latitude
conservative progressive
objective subjective
B. Clarification of issues.
1. Because of the progress of Paul's missionary campaign and the conversion of many
gentiles, the Christian Jews felt it necessary that clarification was needed as to what
Judaistic laws should be observed by these Gentile converts. They thought Judaism
was the necessary introduction to Christianity, along with circumcision and the
observance of the whole Mosaic Law the sole condition of an interest in the Messianic
salvation.
2. Some Jewish Christians, formerly Pharisees (Acts 15:1,5), came from Judea to
Syrian Antioch (the HQ of Gentile Christianity) and taught the converts of Paul and
Barnabas, "Unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot
be saved" (Acts 15:1).
3. The reasoning: Influx of Gentile Christians would weaken moral standards of
Christianity according to Jewish converts, (F. F. Bruce, Acts commentary, ch. 15).
4. Churches of Antioch and Jerusalem agreed to hold a council at Jerusalem. The true
first ecumenical council of the church.
II. Representatives of the Jerusalem Council.
A. The Gentile side: Paul and Barnabas.
1. Prior to this council, Paul wrote Galatians. Paul's reference in Galatians ch. 2 of his
visit to Jerusalem to confront the Jewish believers and Peter is that of his second visit
(first visit: Acts 9:26 ff; second visit: Acts 11:30; 12:25; third visit: Acts 15 and the
Council). Proof is that Paul makes no mention in Galatians of the apostolic letter of the
Council. The Galatian problem of legalism simply underscores and contributes to the
overall problem which existed by the time of the Jerusalem Council. Also, additional
problem in Gal 2: the division of field of labor among Apostles (2:9-10).
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2. On the second visit to Jerusalem, Paul and Barnabas took with them Titus, a native
Greek as a living specimen of what the Spirit of God could accomplish without
circumcision. Paul was inflexible in resisting the demands of false brethren, but always
willing to accommodate himself to weak brethren, and to become as a Jew to the Jews
and as a Gentile to the Gentiles in order to save them both.
a. Titus (Gal 2:3-5) – No circumcision, when principle at stake.
b. Timothy (Acts 16:3) – Circumcision, when no principle at stake.
c. Paul's view of circumcision: 1 Cor. 7:19; Gal 5:6, 6:15.
d. Paul's view of Christian liberty: a three-fold test of
i. Expediency (1 Cor 6:12a and 10:23a).
ii. Enslavement (1 Cor 6:12b).
iii. Edication (1 Cor. 10:23b).
B. The Jewish side: Sect of believing Pharisees (v. 5).
C. Speakers in favor of legitimacy of Gentile converts: Peter, Paul and Barnabas,
and James in that order.
III. Solutions and Outcome of Jerusalem Council.
A. Freeing Gentile converts from keeping the OT ceremonial law; in particular,
circumcision as a prerequisite to salvation.
B. Compromise to conciliate the (weaker) Jewish brethren (by James agreed upon by
churches).
1. Abstention from eating meats offered to idols (re: Corinthian church).
2. From eating blood.
3. From things strangled.
4. From fornication (lax heathen conscience; cf. 1 Cor. 6).
C. Judas and Silas of Jerusalem church accompany Paul and Barnabas to Antioch
church with letter of decision.
D. Jewish Christians left free to observe the Law.
V. Significance of the Jerusalem Council.
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A. Decision made democratically: vv. 22, 30 — "The decision was made by the church and
its leaders under the guidance of the Holy Spirit" (Cairns). "There is no thought here of a
central or metropolitan authority to which the various churches must bow" (Bruce).
B. Set forth the absolutely essential principle of salvation by grace alone apart from the
law.
C. Marked the spiritual separation from Judaism. The destruction of Jerusalem in A.D. 70
marked the physical separation from Judaism.
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I. Introduction.
AGE OF MARTYRS (A.D. 100-313 [325 6 ])
EARLY POST-APOSTOLIC LITERATURE (Patristics)
A. Definition. Patrology is the study of the Church Fathers, particularly their writings (cf.
Quasten, Patrology, 1:1). The term patrology as the title of a book was first used by Lutheran
theologian Johann Gerhard in 1653.
B. Reference. Eusebius (4th cent.), called the father of church history, was the first to write
extensively about the fathers to his day. The first to compose a history of their theological
literature was Jerome in his De viris illustribus (392). Several writers after Jerome continued
his history.
C. Value. The teachings of the fathers are valued according to the ancient Vincention
formula: "We should hold that faith which has been believed everywhere [ecumenicity],
always [antiquity], and by all [universality]" (Vincent of Lerins, Commonitorium, (c. 434), 2d
ser., XI: 132). Whatever the fathers held with one mind and one consent, this must be the truth,
and thus we should also believe it—however, this proves to be a faulty assumption about the
fathers and a faulty basis of belief.
II. Fathers of the Church
A. Four qualifications according to New Roman Catholic Encyclopedia, (V: 853-54). These
qualifications are generally acknowledge by Protestants and Catholics.
1. Antiquity. As a literary period, opens with Clement's First Epistle (c. A.D.
96). Difficult to determine close of age. Catholics have generally regarded John of
Damascus (d. c. 750) as the last of the Eastern fathers, and Isidore of Seville (d. c. 636)
as the last of the Western fathers. Most Protestant historians have tended to close the
period with Gregory I (604), the first medieval pope.
2. Orthodoxy. Excellence of biblical orthodox doctrine. What the writer taught has a
sense of universality and timelessness to it. "The excellence desirable is an elusive
quality: it may be originality or profundity or fullness, vigor or clarity or brilliance. It
does not necessarily stand comparison with a later age; it does suppose a title to deathlessness
on the strength of theauthor's relative place within the theology of his time."
3. Holiness. "The minimum requisite is ordinary Christian virtue, consistent union
with God, revealed concretely in harmony between doctrine and life, between faith and
morals."
4. Ecclesiastically Approved. "The Church's approbation may be formal, as when a
council or pope or even the martyrology declares an early writer's doctrinal and
6 Council of Nicea.
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moral merits; or implicitly, as when a council or pope or even the liturgy quotes or
cites him approvingly; or virtual, in the presence of a general Christian consensus."
B. The Roman Catholic Church differentiates between the doctors and the other
fathers of the church. Protestant historians don’t normally have a problem with this
distinction either.
1. Schaff lists the marks of the Doctor Ecclesiae as
a. Eminens eruditio = Eminent Scholarship.
b. Doctrina orthodoxa = Doctrinal Orthodoxy.
c. Sanctitas vitae = Holy Life.
d. Expressa ecclesiae declaratio = The distinct approval of the church.
2. The fathers of the church are many; the doctors among them are:
a. Greek: Athanasius, Basil the Great, Gregory of Nazianzus, Chrysostom,
Cyril of Alexandria, and John of Damascus.
b. Latin: Ambrose, Jerome, Augustine, Hilary of Poitiers, Leo I, and Gregory I;
along with the Medieval scholastics Anselm, Thomas Aquinas, Bonaventura,
and Bernard of Clairvaux.
3. The distinction between fathers and doctors was first made by Pope Boniface VIII in
1298. In his decree, he designated the following four fathers as magni doctores
ecclesiae: Ambrose, Augustine, Jerome, and Gregory I [the Great). These "deserve" a
higher form of veneration. Others added were: Thomas Aquinas, Bonaventura, Bernard
of Clairvaux (1830), Hilary of Poitiers (1852), and Alfonse Maria da Liguori (1871).
4. The Council of Trent 7 (1545-1563) equated the uanimus consensus patrum
(unanimous agreement of the fathers) with doctrina ecclesiae (church doctrine). This is
an allusion and a falsehood. The fathers both disagreed among themselves and taught
doctrine which refutes current Catholic dogma.
C. Value in studying the Fathers.
1. Early writings are full of Scriptural misapplication and misinterpretation — allegory,
credulity, ambiguity, obscurity, yet still immensely better teaching than the finest
works of pagan antiquity.
7 The Council of Trent was the official Roman Catholic Church response to the Protestant Reformation.
Unfortunately, in reacting to the Reformation, it actually officially dogmatized false doctrines, which previously were only
informally believed in the church.
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2. Qualities they may teach. See Schaff, II:629.
3. Primary significance: "The primary significance of the Apostolic Fathers lies in their
witness to the Christian Faith, not in their own personality or literary skill, important as
such matters may be" (Grant, Apostolic Fathers, 1:13).
D. Problems and cautions of interpretation.
1. Writings should be placed in historical context. The Roman Catholic Church
came after the Fathers. Catholics falsely assume that their church was the church
of the fathers.
2. Beware of “reading into” works, ideas that do not belong. For instance, when
Ignatius speaks of the Catholic (universal and orthodox) church, he does not have in
mind the later Roman Catholic institution.
3. These writings are important because they contain "the earliest reflections of
Christian life outside the New Testament" (Grant, I:12), but they are not infallible.
4. Not all the works are of equal value; intrinsic and historical worth must be
considered.
III. Groupings of the Church Fathers (chronologically and geographically) in the
Ancient Period of Church History.
A. The Ante-Nicene Fathers (A.D. 100-325).
1. The Post-Apostolic Fathers (A.D. c. 100-150).
2. The Greek Apologists (A.D. c. 130-180).
3. The Asia Minor School (2nd and beginning of 3rd centuries).
4. The Alexandrian School (2nd and 3rd centuries).
5. North African School (3rd century).
B. The Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers (A.D. 325-451)
1. Greek Fathers.
2. Latin Fathers.
IV. The Post-Apostolic Fathers (A.D. c. 100-150).
A. Importance of literature.
1. Only source of information as to the process by which apostolic Christianity was
transformed in doctrine, polity, life, worship, and institutions into a more formal and
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complex system.
2. Reveals how Scriptures were used in early churches. Use of New Testament for
substance of doctrine, but of Old Testament for proof. "The necessity that they felt of
finding the whole of Christianity in the Old Testament led them to apply the allegorical
method of interpretation" (A. H. Newman, Manual of Church History, 1:214).
3. Major source of eternal evidence for the authority of Scripture.
4. By contrast, they show the surpassing superiority of the NT books.
5. Great diversity of types and content.
6. Simple piety (informal, sincere); edification of the church was their
great objective.
B. Types of literature.
1. EPISTOLARY LITERATURE.
a. First Epistle of Clement of Rome (c. 96)
Authorship: Clement, according to the best sources, was the third bishop of Rome. One tradition was
that he was the Clement of Philippians 4:3, but doubtful. No conclusive proof that Clement himself
individually wrote letter, since it is sent from the collective church at Rome.
Occasion: A faction of the Corinthian church had deposed certain elders because of a factious spirit
and jealousy. Corinthians are exhorted to humility and to restore and respect presbyters, whose
authority should be obeyed (the guarantee of unity). 65 chapters.
Significance: The example of Church Membership. Elders were democratically elected (cf.
Lightfoot, Apostolic Fathers, p. 32). Taught justification by faith alone (ibid., p. 26). Only two
classes of officers recognized: presbyters (bishops) and deacons (ibid., pp. 31-32). "Obedience to the
bishop is to be the practical guarantee of Christian unity" (Cairns, p. 73). Schaff calls this "the oldest
and best among the sub-apostolic writings in form and contents" (11:642).
b. Epistles Of Ignatius (c. 107): To the Ephesians, Magnesians, Trallians,
Romans, Philadelphians, Smyrneans, Polycarp.
Authorship: Ignatius, bishop of Antioch, the center of Gentile Christianity. Legend: child whom
Christ took up in his arms and blessed in Matthew 18:2. Later story: Ignatius, the first patron of sacred
music and introduced the antiphony to Antioch. Some say that he was ordained by Paul; others, that
he was the successor to Peter as bishop of Antioch. Brought before governor of Syria and condemned
to death during the reign of Trajan. "He is [as revealed in his letters] the incarnation... of the three
closely connected ideas: the glory of martyrdom, the omnipotence of episcopacy, and the hatred of
heresy and schism" (Schaff, 11:657). Also very critical of Docetic Gnosticism.
Occasion: Writes to encourage churches, oppose heresy, stress obedience to the bishop as means of
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preserving unity against heresy. Themes stressed: unity, love, obedience, repentance.
Significance:
(1) Obsession with Marrtydom: he writes to the Romans, "Leave me to the beasts, that I may by them
be made partaker of God. I am a grain of the wheat of God, and I would be ground by teeth of wild
beasts, that I may be found pure bread of God" (cf. Lightfoot, p. 77; Bettenson, pp. 45-50). His death
wish degenerates into morbid fanaticism. Lurid torch rather than calm light. Obsession rather than
resignation; a tone of spiritual pride.
(2) Elevation of Bishop (cf. Lightfoot, pp. 64, 70, 73, 84). "He was the first to place the office of the
bishop in contrast with the... presbyter and to subordinate the presbyters. ..to the monarchical bishop
and the members of the church to both" (Cairns, p. 74; cf. Bettenson, pp. 44, 49). According to J. B.
Lightfoot, "We find that to this father the chief value of episcopacy lies in the fact that it constitutes a
visible centre of unity in the congregation." Yet ironically, in Ignatius' epistle to the Romans there is
no mention of submission to the bishop (Saint Paul 's Epistle to the Philippians, pp. 234, 218). And
he presents no idea of episcopacy based on apostolic succession (cf. "Ignatius of Antioch" in Great
Leaders of the Christian Church, ed. J. Woodbridge, p. 38).
“Here lies the chief importance of these epistles; and the cause of their high repute with catholics and
prelatists.... Episcopalians admire him for his advocacy of episcopacy; but he proves too little and too
much for them; too little because Ignatius knows nothing of a diocesan, but only a congregational
episcopacy; too much because he requires absolute obedience to the bishop as the representative of
Christ himself, while the Presbyters represent the Apostles” (Schaff, 11:659-60 n).
(3) Other "firsts" and significant contributions. First to use the term "catholic" of the church (Smyr.
8:2). First to maintain bishop or his representative be present at Eucharist for it to be valid (Smyr.
8:1). Also, suggests the concept of associating the Supper with the sacrificial altar, thusiasterion
(Magn. 7:2, Phil. 4:1).
c. Polycarp's Epistle to the Philippians (c. 110).
Authorship: Polycarp, disciple of Apostle John; friend of Ignatius; teacher of Irenaeus (130-140).
Presbyter-bishop over church at Smyrna in Asia Minor. Made journey to Rome over Easter dispute in
154. Died at stake in 155 under reign of Antoninus Pius at 86 years of age.
Occasion: Fourteen short chapters. Exhortation to faithfulness, patience, prayer. Sixty NT quotations;
most conformable to Scripture of the post-apostolic writings; quotes 34 times from Paul's epistles.
Significance: Least original in his thought (which is a good thing), but nearest the tone of the Pastoral
Epistles of Paul. Sin of avarice (greed) denounced frequently in letter (cf. Lightfoot, pp. 92, 98). Only
two offices in church: presbyter and deacon (ibid., p. 97).
Cf. Martyrdom of St. Polycarp, a circular letter recounting his martyrdom, written by a disciple.
Equates martyrdom with salvation (ibid., pp. 109-110).
d. Epistle of Barnabas or Pseudo-Barnabas (c. 130). Lightfoot says A.D. 70-79
but admits that portions agree with Didache and so allows for a later date.
Modern scholarship suggests A.D. 96-100.
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Authorship: Ascribed to Barnabas, fellow-laborer of Paul, so says Origin, Clement of Alexandria,
Eusebius, and Jerome. Found in the Codex Sinaiticus, discovered by Constantine von Tischendorf in
1844 at St. Catherine's Monastery on Mt. Sinai. The author errs, however, with regard to ceremonial
law—especially allegorical interpretations. Internal evidence against such authorship. While Paul
condemns the works salvation of Jewish ceremonialism (Galatians), he nevertheless sees Judaism as
preparatory for Christianity. Barnabas ignores this. Probably written from Alexandria, a school which
favored allegory. Author is somewhat anti-Semitic.
Occasion: 21 chapters. Chiefly doctrinal in chs. 1-17, and exhorts believers to avoid the way of
darkness and walk in the way of light. Chs. 18-21 correspond to the "two ways" in Didache. The OT
is a veiled Christianity, hence the mystical allusions and allegorization applied to church (ibid., pp.
145-46, 151-52). Jews have traditionally misapplied OT ceremonial laws. "The Christians, and not
the Jews, are the true Israel of God and the righteous owners of the OT Scriptures" (Schaff, 11:673).
The author of Barnabas, therefore, sought to show that Christianity alone was able to perceive the true
knowledge (gnosis) of God's promises within the Hebrew Scriptures, while Judaism had failed in its
task. Gnosis was, of course, the key to understanding spiritual truth, and the literary vehicle for gnosis
was allegory. Was Barnabas, therefore influenced by Gnosticism? Possibly, but not a gnostic himself
since knowledge is not limited to an elite group of persons (cf. Clayton N. Jefford, Reading the
Apostolic Fathers [Peabody, MA: Hendrickson], p. 23).
Significance: Valuable as an Apolegetic Document. Quotes extensively from both OT and NT. Allsufficiency
of Christianity as opposed to Judaism. Author exhorts knowledge of three concepts: hope
of life, righteousness, and the witness of that righteousness in the love of joy and happiness. The
author also intends to show how the entirety of the OT refers to Christ
e. Epistle to Diognetus (c. 140).
Authorship: Unknown. Diognetus possibly the Stoic philosopher who instructed the emperor Marcus
Aurelius in his youth (c. 133), who desired more knowledge about the Christian religion vs. Greek
gods and superstitions. Some ascribe to Justin Martyr (Tillemont) and Pantaenus of Alexandria
(Lightfoot).
Occasion: An apology or defense of Christianity. Shows folly of idolatry (chs. 1-2); inadequacy of
Judaism (3-4); and the superiority of Christianity to both (5-12). Pagan idolatry and Jewish
sacrificial system are condemned. Makes interesting analogies in chs. 5 and 6 (cf. Lightfoot, pp.
253-55).
Significance: Shows the reasonableness of Christianity and its appeal as a way of life. "It
excels in fresh enthusiasm of faith, richness of thought, and elegance of style, and is altogether
one of the most beautiful memorials of Christian antiquity, unsurpassed...by any...of the
Apostolic Fathers" (Schaff, 1:701). "Indisputably, after Scripture, the finest monument of sound
Christian feeling, noble courage, and manly eloquence" (Bensen). "It is one of the noblest and most
impressive of early Christian apologies in style and treatment" (Lightfoot).
2. APOCALYPTIC LITERATURE.
The Shepherd Of Hermas (c. 150). According to Newman (Baptist Historian), it is analogous in the
early church to Pilgrim's Progress of modern times. Alexandrian Fathers regarded it as second in
35

importance to the canonical Scriptures. Origen, in fact, places it in the canon. Yet, in reality, it is the
least valuable work of early patristics. Schaff calls it "a system of Christian morality in allegorical
dress" (11:680).
Authorship: Hermas, brother of Pius, a pastor of the Roman church (c. 139-40). Clement and
Origen of Alexandria considered it inspired and the latter believed the author to be Hermas of
Romans 16:14. Represents himself as a slave of Rhoda, a Christian who freed him.
Overview: Consists of 3 parts: 5 visions; 12 moral mandates or commands, and 10 similitudes or
parables. Themes: repentance and holy living. Note themes of Twelve Mandates:
1. Believe in God.
2. Be pure and simple (speak evil of no one).
3. Love truth (refrain from lies).
4. Have pure thoughts (do not be defiled by adultery).
5. Be long-suffering.
6. Be righteous.
7. Fear the Lord and keep His commandments.
8. Be temperate.
9. Remove double mindedness from yourself.
10. Put away grief of the Holy Spirit and be joyful.
11. Beware false prophets. "Test the man who has the Divine Spirit by his life."
12. Put away evil desires (luxuries, lusts, etc.).
Significance: Baptismal Regeneration Strongly Suggested. “We went down into the water and
received remission from our sins" (4:3). Question of post-baptismal sins taken up. Hermas takes
mediating position: after baptism person can sin but allowed to repent once (Mandate 4:3, p. 185).
Purgatory implied in vision 3:7 (p. 175). No distinction between presbyters and bishops. Church is
presided over by elders. Unity of Church emphasized continually: illustration of tower with many
stones fitted in. All classes of evil-doers are rebuked (cf. Newman, 1:229). Note difference between
this Shepherd and NT: works to be done for righteousness sake vs. the enabling grace of God to
perform good works. For example, compare the following quote with Philippians 4:13.
I said to him, "Sir, these commandments are great and beautiful and glorious, and 'able to make glad
the heart of man' if he be able to keep them. But I do not know if these commandments can be kept by
man, because they are very hard." He answered and said to me, "If you set it before yourself that they
can be kept you will easily keep them, and they will not be difficult; but if it already comes into your
heart that they cannot be kept by man, you will not keep them. But now I say to you, if you do not
keep them, but neglect them, you shall not have salvation, nor your children, nor your house, because
you have already judged for yourself that these commandments cannot be kept by man" (Shepherd,
Mandate XII:3:4-6, cited in Kirsopp Lake, trans., Apostolic Fathers, II:131) .
NOTE: Great concentration on morality rather than theology. For example, there is no clear
presentation of the essentials of the gospel. Lars Hartman, in his discussion of baptism in the
Shepherd, raises the question of how people are saved in this work. We are to "know the name of the
Son." But what does this mean? There is no mention by Hermas of a resurrected Son of God, "nor are
there any hints that the forgiveness of sins depended on a once-for-all sacrifice of Christ" such as we
find in Romans or Hebrews. There is simply no vicarious atonement in the Shepherd. Reference is
continually made to ethics or the law as a kind of moral salvation ( 'Into the Name of the Lord Jesus ':
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Baptism in the Early Church [Edinburgh: T. & T. Clark], pp. 182-83).
3. CATECHETICAL LITERATURE.
Didache (Teaching of the Twelve [Apostles]), c. 140. More recent scholarship suggests 80-120, but
no later than 150.
Mentioned by Eusebius and Athanasius and cited as "scripture" by Clement of Alexandria. Basis of
the 7th book of the Apostolical Constitutions — collection in 8 books of exhortations, church laws,
and liturgical forms. From Syria in later 200s (cf. Schaff, 11:185-86).
Authorship: Unknown for certain. Possibly prepared by a Jewish Christian in a Jewish Christian
community. Discovered in 1873 by Metropolitan of Nicomedia, Philotheos Bryennios, in the
Jerusalem Monastery of Constantinople; edited in 1883 (cf. Lightfoot, p. 122).
Overview: A church manuel of primitive Christianity, consisting of 16 chapters, divided into two
parts: (1) a moral treatise called "The Two Ways" (similar to Barnabas Epistle) — way of life and
death, of righteousness and unrighteousness (chs. 1-6); (2) directions concerning church rites and
regulations (chs. 7-16). Several parallels with Matthew — 31 references. "It treats of baptism, prayer,
and fasting, the eucharist and the agape, the treatment of apostles and prophets, of bishops and
deacons, the whole closing with a solemn warning to watchfulness in view of the second coming of
Christ" (Lightfoot, Apostolic Fathers, p. 121).
Significance: Bishop and Presbyter used synomously, attesting to early date of composition.
Mentioned by Eusebius and quoted by Clement of Alexandria. For significance of baptism in early
church as referenced in Didache, see ISBE, "Baptism," and "Baptism in the Early Church" by
George E. Rice, Bible and Spade (Summer-Autumn 1981, pp. 121-28). Didache also allows for
affusion in the absence of running water; otherwise, immersion is the standard practice.
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CHRISTIAN PRAXIS (PRACTICES) IN THE EARLY CHURCH (A.D. 30-200)
I. Church Government.
A. The early church was patterned somewhat after the Jewish Synagogue.
1. The building was a plain rectangular hall. Simple decor; no elaborate ornamentation.
2. Every synagogue had elders and a presybter or chief elder, and the equivalent of
deacons for the collection of alms.
3. Worship was simple, long, and embraced the devotional, didactic, and ritualistic
elements.
4. Each synagogue formed an independent republic but kept up communication
with other synagogues.
Jewish elements remained in Jewish Christian churches. Gentile Christians much more independent of
Old Testament influence. "Apostolic churches were independent, yet interdependent" (Albert H.
Newman, A Manual of Church History, 1:130).
B. The early church had charismatic ("gifted gifts") offices (See Eph 4:11-12).
1. Apostles - "He gave some as apostles" = the church as a whole received apostles as a
gift from Christ. "These men should probably be understood in the restricted sense as
the Twelve plus Paul" (Home Kent, Jr. Ephesians: The Glory of the Church, p. 71).
2. Prophets - persons who received direct revelation from God in the early days of the
Church (e.g., Agabus, Acts 11:27-28; 21:10-11; five men in Acts 13:1; the four
daughters of Philip, Acts 21:9). The prophets and the gift of apostle would have ceased
with the completion of the canon and the full revelation of God in NT Scripture (Kent,
p. 71).
3. Evangelists - itinerant preachers without a permanent pastorate; church planters or
missionaries.
4. Pastor-Teacher - grammatically tied together by the use of just one article in the
Greek text. The equivalent of the elder who functions as both a shepherd (1 Peter 5:1-
2) and a teacher (1 Tim 3:2). Wallace says that pastors are part of a larger group of
teachers.
C. The early church possessed administrative officials. The NT recognizes only
two administrative officials. There is no episcopacy in the NT, and certainly no apostolic
succession.
1. Elder - dignity of person (Jewish). There seems to be no question about the plurality
of elders in the New Testament (cf. Act 20:17 ff.). Likewise, the NT and very early
church history indicate a singular presiding elder (James at Jerusalem and the reference
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to the "president" by Justin Martyr in his First Apology). See Bettenson, p. 62.
2. Bishop - office of overseer (Greek). Elder and bishop used interchangeably in Titus
1:5, 7. Cf. Acts 20: 17, 28 and 1 Peter 5:1-5.
3. Deacons - Acts 6. Possibility of deaconesses. Cf. Romans 16:1 where Phoebe is
called a diakonon. See also, Homer Kent's excellent discussion in The Pastoral
Epistles, pp. 140-41.
Kent, in referring to 1 Timothty 3:8-13, states that the grammatical shifts (hosautos [likewise or
similarly], vv. 8, 11) in the passage indicate three classes of officers under consideration, i.e., bishops,
deacons, and deaconesses. Also, "wives" (v. 11) could be translated "women." Thirdly, there is no
pronoun with gunaikas to relate them to deacons (as wives). "Thus, there is no grammatical
connection between the women of verse 11 and the deacons of verses 8-10." Fourthly, it seems
strange that wives of deacons would be included when wives of bishops were not. Finally, the
obvious parallelism between v. 8 and v. 11 would indicate a separate grouping. There is also evidence
in the early church of deaconesses (cf. Pliny's epistle to Trajan, c. A.D. 112). However, even if there
was an office of deaconess, they would clearly be under the deacons.
NOTE: Prior to A.D. 150, nearly all patristic literature recognizes only two offices (cf. Clement's
First Corinthians and Didache). The notable exception is Ignatius, who wrote his seven epistles in
A.D. 107. According to Lightfoot, writing in his commentary on Philippians, "Ignatius is commonly
recognized as the staunchest advocate of episcopacy in the early ages.... to this father the chief value
of episcopacy lies in the fact that it constitutes a visible center of unity in the congregation" (pp. 234-
35). Lightfoot accounts for this expedient of elevated leadership in the removal of the original means
of unity — the Apostles, and the destruction of Jerusalem. "Thus deprived at once of the personal and
the local ties which had hitherto bound individual to individual and church to church, the Christian
brotherhood was threatened with schism, disunion, and dissolution" (ibid., p. 235). Other causes for
the expedient were the inroads of heresy, and the "distracting effects of persecution," which
threatened the unity of the church. The bishop provided a means of assuring unity.
Lightfoot (an Anglican) comments that it was necessary to appoint special officers in the church, "but
the sacerdotal title is never once conferred upon them. The only priests under the Gospel, designated
as such in the New Testament, are the saints, the members of the Christian brotherhood" (ibid., pp.
184-85). Even Ignatius, who extols the position of the bishop to a high degree, never once ascribes to
it a sacerdotal function (see ibid., p. 251).
Lightfoot, while recognizing the expedient creation of the "third" office of bishop by 150, also
discounts the notion of apostolic succession. "The Episcopate was formed not out of the apostolic
order by localization but out of the presbyteral by elevation" (ibid., p. 190), i.e., a higher grade of
presbyter.
II. Worship. Parts of the Christian liturgy. Conducted on Sunday in commemoration of
resurrection (cf. Acts 20:7; 1 Cor. 16:2).
A. Preaching of Gospel.
B. Reading of Scripture.
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C. Prayer – spontaneous, free. No trace of a uniform and exclusive liturgy until the Apostolic
Tradition of Hippolytus around A.D. 200. For example see Henry Chadwick, The Early
Church, pp. 263-64.
D. Singing – usually Psalms of OT. Then NT passages: "Gloria" (Luke 2:14); "Nunc
dimittis" of Simeon (Luke 2:29); the "Magnificat" of Mary (Luke 1:46 ff); the "Benedictus"
of Zacharias (Luke 1:68 ff).
E. Confession of Faith – Based on such passages as Romans 10:9 and 1 Timothy 3:16. Later,
the Apostle’s Creed (c. A.D. 150), a trinitarian formula, became standard. See below for more
information
F. Ordinances – sacred rites, visible symbols or signs.
1. Baptism – prerequisite to Eucharist in Didache. Idea of baptismal regeneration crept
in early (cf. Bruce, The Spreading Flame, p. 195).
a. Usual mode was immersion.
The record left by these various witnesses [ruins of early Christian structures] overwhelmingly testifies
to immersion as the normal mode of baptism in the Christian church during the first ten to fourteen
centuries. This is in addition to the evidence found throughout the writings of the church fathers that
immersion was the early church's common mode of baptism (George E. Rice, "Baptism in the Early
Church," Bible and Spade [Summer-Autumn, 1981], p. 121).
Unquestionably, immersion expresses the idea of baptism, as a purification and renovation of the
whole man, more completely than pouring or sprinkling; but it is not in keeping with the genius of the
gospel to limit the operation of the Holy Spirit by the quantity or the quality of the water or the mode
of its application (Schaff, 1:469).
Yet notice A. T. Robertson's statement in ISBE, 1:388.
“The form itself is necessary to the significance of the rite.... The point of a symbol is the form in
which it is cast. To change the form radically is to destroy the symbolism.”
b. There is absolutely no scriptural evidence for infant baptism in the NT.
Schaff, a paedo-baptist, really stretches when he writes, "But still less does the New Testament
forbid infant baptism" (1:470). Note A. H. Newman's statement:
There is no sufficient reason for believing that the patriarchal idea, in accordance with which the
whole family, including infants, became, as a matter of course, participants in all the religious
privileges of the paternal head, found place in primitive Christianity. There is no intimation in the
New Testament that baptism was intended to take the place of circumcision and thus to be applicable
to infants. The religion of the N.T. is individualistic and personal in the fullest sense of the terms
(1:129).
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III. Life.
2. Communion – a eucharist (from eucharisteo, to give thanks, Matt. 26:27).
See description by Justin in Bruce, The Spreading Flame, p. 196.
3. Love Feast – (agape) celebrated — Tertullian in his Apology (3rd century) describes
it as a common meal which appears to be separate from the Eucharist. See Bruce, The
Spreading Flame, pp. 197-98. Note Jude 12 as a scriptural basis for the love feast,
which is probably a reference to the Eucharist.
A. Freewill Collections, offerings (I Cor. 16:1-2). The Didache instructs Christians
in almsgiving.
Give to everyone that asks thee, and do not refuse, for the Father's will is that we give to all from the
gifts we have received.... But concerning this it was also said, "Let thine alms sweat into thine hands
until thou knowest to whom thou art giving."
B. Care of families, orphans, widows, sick (1 Tim. 5 and James 1:27). Hermas sums up
several duties.
To minister to widows, to look after orphans and the destitute, to redeem from distress the servants of
God, to be hospitable, for in hospitality may be found the practice of good, to resist none, to be gentle,
to be poorer than all men, to reverence the aged, to practice justice, to preserve the brotherhood.
C. Slavery – accepted in society but gradually Christianity profoundly influenced a
modification: there is neither bond nor free in Christ. The basis of Paul's appeal to Philemon
was the fact he and the slave Onesimus were brothers in Christ (cf. v. 16). Marriages between
slaves not regarded as legal under Roman law but certainly binding by Christians. Ignatius
urged Polycarp "not to be haughty to slaves," and that they were to "endure slavery to the
glory of God." The Didache admonishes that the slave was to "serve his master in reverence
and fear."
D. Godliness.
1. Separation from the world. The Apostle Paul urged…
complete separation from any practice that might be related to idolatry or pagan immorality. The
Christian should follow the principles of doing nothing that would harm the body that Christ owned (1
Cor. 6:12), of doing nothing that would keep people from coming to Christ or lead other weak
Christians astray (1 Cor. 8:13; 10:24), and of avoiding all that would not bring glory to God (1 Cor.
6:20; 10:31). These principles precluded attendance at the pagan theaters, stadiums, games, or temples
(Cairns, p. 84).
• Tertullian especially decried any involvement by Christians in pagan or worldly
activities.
• Unity of faith and purity of doctrine were two paramount concerns of the early church.
2. Unity of believers.
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a. Viewed negatively: thrust together because of persecution.
b. Viewed positively: joined together because of mutual love.
3. Purity of doctrine — theology — in opposition to heresy in the midst of persecution,
leading to further organization of polity and liturgy. Ignatius and Polycarp saw a firm
connection between orthodox Christian belief and orthodox Christian organization,
liturgy, and conduct. However, gradually ecclesiastical unity began to supersede purity
of doctrine, so that after the 4 th century, unity was actually considered a doctrine to be
observed at all costs. Often that cost was at the expense of biblical doctrine.
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EARLY PERSECUTIONS
These suffering virtues are among the sweetest and noblest fruits of the Christian religion. It is not so
much the amount of suffering which challenges our admiration, although it was terrible enough, as the
spirit with which the early Christians bore it. Men and women of all classes, noble senators, and
learned bishops, illiterate artisans and poor slaves, loving mothers and delicate virgins, hoary[gray]headed
pastors and innocent children approached their tortures in no temper of unfeeling indifference
and obstinate defiance, but, like their divine Master, with calm self-possession, humble resignation,
gentle meekness, cheerful faith, triumphant hope, and forgiving charity. Such spectacles must have
often overcome even the inhuman murderer. "Go on," says Tertullian tauntingly to the heathen
governors, "rack, torture, grind us to powder; our numbers increase in proportion as ye mow us down.
The blood of Christians is their harvest seed. Your very obstinacy is a teacher. For who is not incited
by the contemplation of it to inquire what there is in the core of the matter? And who, after having
joined us, does not long to suffer?" (Schaff).
I do not think that pleasure is a sin; but though pleasure is not a sin, yet surely the contemplation of
suffering for Christ's sake is a thing most needful for us in our days, from whom in our daily life
suffering seems so far removed. And as God's grace enabled rich and delicate persons, women and
even children, to endure all extremities of pain and reproach, in times past; so there is the same grace
no less mighty now; and if we do not close ourselves against it, it might be in us no less glorious in a
time of trial (Thomas Arnold).
The most horrible recorded instances of torture were usually inflicted, either by the populace, or in
their presence, in the arena. We read of Christians bound in chains of red-hot iron, while the stench of
their half-consumed flesh rose in a suffocating cloud to heaven; of others who were torn to the very
bone by shells, or hooks of iron; of holy virgins given over to the lust of the gladiator or to the mercies
of the pander; of two hundred and twenty-seven converts sent on one occasion to the mines, each with
the sinews of one leg severed by a red-hot iron, and with an eye scooped from its socket; of fires so
slow that the victims writhed for hours in their agonies; of bodies torn limb from limb, or sprinkled
with burning lead; of mingled salt and vinegar poured over the flesh that was bleeding from the rack;
of tortures prolonged and varied through entire days. For the love of their Divine Master, for the cause
they believed to be true, men, and even weak girls, endured these things without flinching, when one
word would have freed them from their sufferings. (William H.Lecky).
The above comments are from Schaff, II: 75-76, 81-82. It is difficult to determine which is more
hideous or more barbaric in actual practice: the public spectacle of torn bodies sacrificed to the
pleasure of crowds in the name of entertainment or the torture and murder of innocents by a religious
inquisition, in the name of Christ and Holy Mother Church!
Blessed are you when men cast insults at you, and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against
you falsely, on account of Me. Rejoice, and be glad; for your reward in heaven is great; for so
they persecuted the prophets who were before you (Matt. 5:11-12).
Remember the word that I said unto you, the slave is not greater than his master. If they
persecuted Me, they will also persecute you; if they kept My word, they will keep yours also
(John 15:20).
And indeed, all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted (2 Tim. 3:12).
Transition: from the spread of Christianity in the empire and A.D. 100 to the struggle of the ancient
church for survival during terrible waves of persecution, A.D. 100-313.
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I. Introduction: Persecutions of the Early Church.
A. What were the actions and reactions of the early church during persecutions?
1. Christianity originally produces declarers of truth – charismatic and administrative
leaders.
2. Anti-christianity produces infamous offenders – external persecutors and internal
heretics were produced.
3. Thus, Christianity produces defenders: apologists (defenders of doctrine against
Christian persecutors) and polemicists (attackers of heretics’ false doctrines) by their
words; martyrs by their lives.
B. Reasons for persecutions of Christians.
1. Christianity exclusive – refusal to pay divine honors to the emperor or to take part in
heathen idolatrous ceremonies; seen as a form of atheism (no temples; no images).
2. Christianity unpatriotic – first allegiance is Christ, not Caesar; persecuted as
traitors.
3. Christianity disloyal – aversion to military service.
4. Christianity immoral – cannibalism, incest, orgies.
"Three things are alleged against us: atheism, Thyestean feasts, Oedipodean intercourse" (Amenagoras,
Legatiopro Christianis, III:12)
5. Christianity counter-productive – interfering with the profits of the pagan priests
(Cf. Acts 16:19; 19:19, 24-29)
6. Christianity mysterious – natural catastrophes and political decadence of the empire
blamed on this new cult (cf. Acts 18:13).
They think the Christians the cause of every public disaster, of every affliction with which the
people are visited. If the Tiber rises as high as the city walls, if the Nile does not send its waters
up over the fields, if the heavens give no rain, if there is an earthquake, if there is a famine or
pestilence, straightway the cry is, “Away with the Christians to the lion” (Tertullian, Apologeticus,
xl).
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7. Christianity anti-social. Tacitus calls it a "foreign superstition." Charged it with odium
Associated with these men of holy life [Paul and Peter] is a great multitude of the elect, who because of
jealousy have suffered many indignities and tortures and have set a very noble example in our midst.
Because of jealousy women were persecuted, who as Danaids and Dircae suffered terrible and impious
indignities and thereby safely completed the race of faith and, though weak in body, receive a noble
reward of honor.
8. Christianity a novelty – object of a sadistic frenzy to put to death what cannot be
understood and reveals human corruption.
C. And the growing sentiment of Roman Emperors to the Christians?
Maecenas counseled Augustus: "Honor the gods according to the custom of our ancestors, and compel
others to worship them. Hate and punish those who bring in strange gods."
D. The church fathers, such as Justin Martyr and Tertullian, provided theological reasons
for persecution.
1. Satan and Demons.
2. Punishment for Past Sins.
3. School of Christian Virtues.
E. Persecution provided the ultimate test of a Christian’s genuine conviction.
When Christians stood before tribunals, they were to confess Kurios Christos. We find the Christ is Lord
confessions in Rom. 10:9 and 1 Cor. 12:3. This was blasphemy to the Romans for they would have them
confess Kurios Kaisar and recant loyalty to Christ by saying anathema Christos.
F. Periods of persecution.
1. A.D. 50-250 – Persecution was mainly local, sporadic.
2. A.D. 250-313 – Persecution became the formal imperial policy with brief periods of
respite. Christianity considered a religio illicita.
II. PERSECUTIONS under Roman Emperors.
From A.D. 30 to A.D. 311, a period in which fifty-four emperors ruled the Empire, only about a dozen
took the trouble to harass Christians. Furthermore, not until Decius (249-251), did any deliberately
attempt an Empire-wide persecution. Until then, persecution came mainly at the instigation of local
rulers, albeit with Rome's approval. Nonetheless, a few emperors did have direct and, for Christians,
unpleasant dealings with this faith. Here are the most significant of those rulers (Mark Galli, "The
Persecuting Emperors" in Christian History 9 [Issue 27, 1990].
A. Claudius (41-54). First to persecute Christians inadvertently.
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Generally reclusive and tolerant, he nevertheless acted against the Jews in Rome and had them expelled,
since they "were continually making disturbances at the instigations of Chrestus [Christ?]." So writes
the Roman historian Suetonius (c. 69-121) in his Lives of the Caesars (120). The inference is probably
to the strife between Jews and Christians. By expelling the Jews, undoubtedly Christians were involved,
since they were still considered a Jewish sect.
B. Nero (54-68). The great “anti-Christ” of his day.
"Nero was the first who assailed, with imperial sword, the Christian sect" (Tertullian). Hedonistic, cruel
madman. Adopted son of Claudius; came to the throne at age 17. Any potential threat to his autocracy
he eliminated. Tried to assassinate his Mother five times and finally had her stabbed to death for treason
and had his wife beheaded for adultery. Later kicked to death his pregnant mistress Poppaea. Probably
instigated the fire which burned much of Rome in 64. Used the occasion to accuse Christians of the
deed. Had many of them burned alive. Tacitus, in his Annales (XV:44), writes,
But all the endeavors of men, all the emperor's largesse and the propitiations of the gods, did not suffice
to allay the scandal or banish the belief that the fire had been ordered. And so, to get rid of this rumor,
Nero set up as the culprits and punished with the utmost refinement of cruelty a class hated for their
abominations, who are commonly called Christians. Christus, from whom their name is derived, was
executed at the hands of the procurator Pontius Pilate in the reign of Tiberius. Checked for the moment,
this pernicious superstition again broke out, not only in Judea, the source of the evil, but even in Rome,
that receptacle for everything that is sordid and degrading from every quarter of the globe, which there
finds a following. Accordingly, arrest was first made of those who confessed [to being Christians]; then,
on their evidence, an immense multitude was convicted, not so much on the charge of arson as because of
hatred of the human race.
Tacitus then goes on to relate how Christians became "objects of amusement" by being torn to death by
dogs, crucified, and set on fire to light the night sky:
All this gave rise to a feeling of pity, even towards men whose guilt merited the most exemplary
punishment; for it was felt that they were being destroyed not for the public good but to gratify the
cruelty of an individual (ibid.).
Suetonius writes that, during Nero's reign, “punishment was inflicted on the Christians, a set of men
adhering to a novel and mischievous superstition” (Vita Neronis in his Lives of the Caesars, XVI).
Eusebius, in his Ecclesiastical History, states that Nero was the "first to be heralded as above all an
antagonist of God and stirred up to murder the apostles."
Martyrs: Paul (beheading) and probably Peter (cf. Eusebius, 11:25.5-8). Legend has it that Peter was
crucified, at his request, upside down.
C. Domitian (81-96). The imperial “god.”
Required worship of himself. Titus and his father Vespasian were deified after their death,
a posthumous honor which had been accorded to Julius Caesar, Augustus, and Claudius. Domitian,
however, did not wait until after death to assume divine honors; he...liked to be styled dominus et dens
noster [our Lord and our God] (Bruce, p. 162).
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The imperial Cult was a bond of political union, and Christianity considered a threat to that union.
Martyrs: In c.95 the Apostle John exiled to the Isle of Patmos. Flavius Clemens (Domitian's cousin and
consul) and wife, Flavia Domitilla (his niece) put on trial for “atheism into Jewish ways.” Clemens put
to death; Domitilla banished. Their two sons had been appointed Domitian's heirs to throne (Bruce, p.
164). Others: Timothy, bishop of Ephesus, martyred there by pagans in 97 (Foxe's Book of Martyrs).
Also, Andrew, Mark, Onesimus, and Dionysius of Acts 17:34 (Schaff).
D. Trajan (98-117). Expansionist emperor.
One of the five so-called "good" emperors (the others: Nerva, Hadrian, Antoninus Pius, Marcus
Aurelius) during whose reign Rome prospered. Yet Trajan continued the bloody circus for 123 straight
days: 5,000 persons and 1 1,000 animals were slaughtered. About A.D. 108, he began policy of imperial
expansion. He divided empire into more manageable provinces and districts. Regional governors
decided what to do with Christians. In 112 Pliny the Younger, governor of Bithynia (northwest Asia
Minor), wrote to Trajan to ask advice concerning the treatment of Christians. This correspondence
provides some of the best secular information on (1) imperial treatment of Christians and (2) Christians'
commitment to their faith (cf. Bettenson, pp. 3-4).
Martyrs: Symeon, bishop of Jerusalem, and Ignatius, bishop of Antioch. On Dec. 20, 107 Ignatius was
thrown into the amphitheater at Rome; "immediately the wild beasts fell upon him and soon naught
remained of his body but a few bones which were carefully conveyed to Antioch as an inestimable
treasure" (Schaff, 11:48).
Polycarp was martyred during the reign of Antoninus Pius (137- 61), who generally protected
Christianity from public opposition; but this persecution was prompted by local opposition.
Then the executioner thrust his sword into the body, and the stream of blood at once extinguished the
flame. The corpse was burned after the Roman custom, but the bones were preserved by the church, and
held more precious than gold and diamonds (Schaff, II:52).
E. Marcus Aurelius (161-180). The Stoic Philosopher King.
His Stoicism led him to write Meditations, in which he extols the austere life of long-suffering and the
transitoriness of earthly existence. He is quite pantheistic. Regrettably, Marcus allowed testimony of
anti-Christian informants, resulting in severe persecution in southern France (177). His magnanimity
did not extend to his Christian subjects. As Schaffusentions, "He was flooded with apologies of Melito,
Miltiades, and Athenagoras in behalf of the persecuted Christians, but turned a deaf ear to them" (II:53).
Calamities of pestilence, floods, famine, and invasions blamed on Christians. Marcus Aurelius'
persecution differed from Trajan's in two ways: (1) Christians were sought out; (2) application of
torture to produce recantation.
NOTE: See Foxe, pp. 11-12 for an interesting description of the catacombs.
Martyrs: The most famous of the apologists, Justin Martyr, put to death in 165. He had written: "No
right-thinking person turns away from true belief to false." His response to the Roman prefect Rusticus'
question of belief is instructive.
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That which we religiously profess concerning the God of the Christians, in whom we believe, one God,
existing from the beginning, Maker and Artificer of the whole creation, seen and unseen; and concerning
our Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who has also been proclaimed aforetime by the prophets as about
to come to the race of men for herald of salvation and for master of true disciples (Acta Sancti Justini et
sociorum [The Acts of St. Justin and friends] cited in A New Eusebius, p. 32).
"Do what you will," said Justin's companions to the prefect, "for we are Christians, and do not sacrifice
to idols." Later, in 177, several Christians from Lyon and Vienne endured persecution (cf. Schaff,
11:55-56).
F. Septimus Severus (193-211). Consummate soldier.
On his deathbed, Severus revealed to his sons the secret of a successful empire: “Enrich the army and
despise the rest.” During first part of reign he was tolerant of Christianity. Members of his household
were Christians, including the nurse who provided for his young son Caracalla.
However, his mood changed to one of animosity. He was the first emperor, by official edict in 202, to
forbid conversion to Christianity. Severe persecution in Egypt and Carthage took place. Tertullian
wrote his Apologeticus at this time, in which he wrote,
We are but of yesterday and yet we have filled all the places that belong to you—cities, islands, forts,
towns, exchanges; the military camps themselves; tribes, town councils, the palace, the senate, the
market place; we have left nothing to you but your temples (37:4f).
Martyrs: Origen's father Leonides was beheaded in Alexandria, and Clement was driven from the
city. The noble Perpetua and her servant Felicitas were cast to wild beasts in Carthage.
G. Decius (249-251). Official Exterminator.
Policy of one empire, one religion. Wanted return of polytheism and emperor worship. These goals, he
believed, necessitated the extermination of Christians. The result was his infamous Edict of 250. With
this edict, Decius became the first emperor to make persecution of Christians a fixed policy of the
Empire. “This was the signal for a persecution which, in extent, consistency, and cruelty, exceeded all
before it” (Schaff, II: 60). Anyone under suspicion of being a Christian was required to offer sacrifice to
the Roman gods and, by doing so, receive certificates or libelli. Authorities were especially severe with
officers of the churches. Those who recanted were called the lapsi.
Martyrs: Fabian, bishop of Rome. After executing him, Decius remarked, “I would far rather receive
news of a rival to the throne than of another bishop of Rome.” Also, Origen was so severely tortured
during this persecution that he died within a short time after.
H. Valerian (253-260). The Woeful emperor.
Empire plagued by civil strife and Germanic invasions. Again, troubles blamed on Christians. Valerian
singled out bishops for persecution. Either they were banished or forced to offer sacrifice to the gods on
pain of death. “In addition, the property of Christian laity, especially that of senators and equites (a class
immediately below senators) was confiscated, and Christian tenants of imperial estates were condemned
to the mines” (Galli, p. 22). Valerian also had Christian places of worship and cemeteries closed. In
May of 260, Valerian was taken prisoner by the Persians. In an attempt to win the favor of eastern
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Christians against the Persians, the Empire repealed the edicts against them.
Martyrs: Sixtus II, bishop of Rome, along with seven of his deacons, were worshiping in the catacombs,
where Roman soldiers discovered and slew them. Laurence, another deacon of Rome, was supposedly
roasted on a gridiron. But this is unlikely. Yet the tradition has persisted and five ancient basilicas in
Rome alone are dedicated to him. Indeed a cult grew up around Laurence in which many Catholics pray
to him (cf. David Hugh Farmer, The Oxford Dictionary of Saints, 2nd ed., pp. 256-57). The most
famous martyr of the period was Cyprian of Carthage, beheaded Sept. 14, 258. When he received the
death sentence, he replied, "Deo gratias!" (Thanks be to God).
Then, attended by a vast multitude to the scaffold, he prayed once more, undressed himself, covered his
eyes, requested a presbyter to bind his hands, and to pay the executioner, who tremblingly drew the
sword, 25 pieces of gold, and won the incorruptible crown. His faithful friends caught the blood in
handkerchiefs, and buried the body of their sainted pastor with great solemnity (Schaff, 11:62).
Possibly, the Roman deacon Novatian was also martyred at this time.
I. Diocletian (284-305). The Organizer turned Persecutor. See Leo Donald Davis, The First
Seven Ecumenical Councils (325-787): Their History and Theology, pp. 14-15.
Reorganized the Empire into a tetrarchy: four men — two Augusti (one East and one West) with
a Caesar under each. Yet such a division only caused more strife (as the Carolingian Empire was
to experience more than 500 years later). Diocletian regarded himself as a god. Allowed no one to
approach him except on bent knee and forehead touching the ground, while he was seated on the
throne in rich vestments from the Far East.
Diocletian, like Decius before him, he believed that the Empire needed restoration of the old state
religion in order to survive. The chief instigator of persecution, however, was his son-in-law and
Caesar, Galerius. Lactantius called him a "wild beast." Galerius urged Diocletian to implement the
most fierce persecution thus far, even though Diocletian's own wife Prisca was a Christian. A series of
persecutions directed against particular groups or practices culminated in the infamous Edict of 303,
which began the “Great Persecution.”
With this imperial edict, supported a year later by the edict of western Augustus Maximian, Church
buildings were ordered to be destroyed and bishops and presbyters imprisoned. Christians were
deprived of all civil rights and, under Galerius, beginning in 304, forced to sacrifice or die. One new
aspect to persecution was the order to confiscate and burn the Christians’ literature. Those who handed
over copies of Scripture were referred to as traditores by other Christians. After a serious illness,
Diocletian abdicated the throne on May 1, 305, leaving Galerius sole imperial ruler in the East.
Martyrs: 6,660 soldiers of the Theban legion martyred. In Phrygia, an entire community was wiped out.
Thousands of Christians were slain. See Schaff, 11:68 for Eusebius' eye-witness account.
III. Edicts of Imperial Conciliation with Christians.
A. The Edict of Toleration, 311.
Galerius conceded failure in exterminating Christians by issuing his Edict of Toleration in 311. This
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document granted freedom to worship and permission to restore places of worship; amazingly, it also
requested that Christians pray for the welfare of the emperor! However, Galerius died six days later.
B. The Edict of Milan, 313.
Constantine, son of western Augustus, Constantius, and successor to his father's throne, conquered his
rival, Maxentius, at the famous Battle of Milvian Bridge October 17, 312. Because of this victory and
the "cross vision" connected with it, Constantine supposedly became a Christian. Along with Licinius,
his co-regent and brother-in-law, he issued the Edict of Milan. It ordered the full restoration of all
confiscated property at imperial expense. Christianity for the first time became officially, of its own
accord, a religio licita.
C. Significance: first edict indicated hostile neutrality; second edict indicated friendly and
protective neutrality and paved the way for Christianity to become the state religion.
IV. The Results and Aftermath of Christian Persecution.
A. Negative results: Rise of Martyr and Relic Worship.
1. Reverence became veneration and veneration degenerated into worship. Heathen heroworship
was “baptized” with Christian names. “The day of the death of a martyr was called
his heavenly birthday, and was celebrated annually at his grave (mostly in a cave or catacomb),
by prayer, reading of a history of his suffering and victory, oblations, and celebration of the holy
supper” (Schaff, 11:83).
2. Origen even ascribed to the sufferings of the martyrs a vicarious atoning virtue
for others on the basis of such passages as 2 Cor. 12:15, Col. 1:24, and 2 Tim. 4:6.
3. Veneration paid to martyrs themselves was transferred to their remains—relics. Great
significance was attached to pilgrimages, to the sites of their martyrdoms, or repositories
of their relics. Later, the belief that these martyrs could intercede on behalf of the living
became popular—hence, prayers to the saints.
4. Controversies over those who had recanted during times of persecution.
a. Novatians. Following the Decian persecution in Rome, Novatian, a Roman
presbyter, led “puritan” party against bishop Cornelius by opposing admittance
into the church of those who had recanted the faith until they were rebaptized.
The first “anabaptists.” Novatian evidently was the subject of clinic baptism.
Novatian wrote a strong defense of trinitarian doctrine. His group was not
criticized for its doctrine, which was orthodox, but for its schismatic stance.
b. Donatists. This schismatic group arose over the consecration of Caecillian as
bishop of Carthage in Northern Africa. He had been consecrated by a traditore of
the Diocletian persecution. The opposition party, who considered Caecillian's
ordination invalid, elected Majorinus as bishop. Donatus succeeded him in 313.
The controversy continued and the
Donatists made the mistake of appealing to Constantine to settle the dispute.
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B. Positive results.
Constantine ruled in favor of the Caecillian party. The Donatists, nevertheless
continued as a separate and distinct group until the seventh century, when the
Muslims overran North Africa. Augustine adamantly
opposed their "divisiveness" in early part of the fifth century.
1. Religious freedom.
Lactantius (c. 240-320), contemporary of Diocletian persecution, Christian apologist and historian,
called the "Christian Cicero." Wrote the Death of the Persecutors. He stated,
Religion cannot be imposed by force; the matter must be carried on by words rather than by blows, that
the will may be affected. Torture and piety are widely different; nor is it possible for truth to be united
with violence, or justice with cruelly. Nothing is so much a matter of free will as religion.
2. Rapid spread of Christianity.
3. Model for Christian behavior toward the state in times of persecution.
4. Necessity of formulating a canon of Scripture.
5. Persecution demonstrated that Christianity is unconquerable.
"Martyrdom is not in your power, but in the condescension of God" (Cyprian).
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I. Definitions.
A. General.
B. Biblical.
EARLY HERESIES AND GNOSTICISM
1. Heresy is an opinion or doctrine at variance with orthodox accepted doctrine.
2. An heretic is one who deliberately denies revealed truth in favor of doctrinal
error.
1. Literally, hairesis means a "choice." See Lev 22:18, 21 (LXX). Etymologically it has
no moral connotation.
2. A "sect" or group which holds peculiar beliefs as in Acts 5:17 (Sadducees); 26:5
(Pharisees); 24:14, 28:22 (Christians). Can also mean factious or divisive groups,
individuals, or opinions (1 Cor. 11:19; Gal. 5:20; Titus 3:10).
3. Having to do with destructive doctrinal teachings (2 Peter 2:1). This last
meaning became normative in describing a teaching or teacher at variance with
Scripture.
a. Beware the individual who attempts to make what he teaches more true than
the truth (Irenaeus, Against Heresies, 1:2).
b. Heresies are essentially counterfeits of truth.
4. We should not identify all who may hold doctrinal error as heretics. An individual
may be generally orthodox but hold to some heretical opinion, such as Martin Luther
(con-substantiation), or Menno Simons (divine incarnate body for Christ). We would not
call these men heretics even though they held to heretical opinions. We should attribute
this to ignorance.
5. Apostasy, on the other hand, is a more severe form of heresy. An apostate is one who
once professed the faith but has deliberately rejected it, especially those doctrines of
Christ's deity and atonement (cf. 2 Peter 2:1-19).
C. Ecclesiastical.
1. The Roman Catholic Church identifies two types of heresy.
a. Formal - false doctrine by a baptized Catholic.
b. Material - false doctrine held in ignorance by a non-Catholic.
2. Of course, an ecclesiastical heretic may or may not be a biblical heretic. Indeed, many
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who were pronounced heretic by the R.C. Church were biblically orthodox.
II. Gnosticism: The Mother of Heresies.
A. Introduction.
1. Definition.
a. Gnosticism — "a religious movement that proclaimed a mystical esoterisism?
for the elect based on illumination and the acquisition of a higher knowledge of
things heavenly and divine" (Gershom Scholem as quoted by F. F. Bruce in The
Epistles to the Colossians, to Philemon, and to the Ephesians. The New
International Commentary on the New Testament, p. 21). Thus, knowledge is
available to only a small, elite group.
b. Bruce believes that the "Colossian heresy" is not Gnosticism, not even
incipient Gnosticism, but possibly a form of Jewish mysticism, known as
merkabah mysticism (see ibid., p. 23 ff.). He is influenced by the Qumran
discoveries regarding the Essenes.
c. Lightfoot, writing of course before Qumran but influenced by the Essene
contribution, is inclined to interpret the Colossian heresy as a type of "Judaic
Gnosticism." See J.B. Lightfoot, Saint Paul's Epistles to the Colossians and to
Philemon, p. 74f, 349ff.
d. The safest approach is to identify the Colossian heresy as some form of syncretistic movement
of Jewish ceremonialism and incipient pagan Gnosticism,
combined with a perverted Christianity, but not full-blown Gnosticism (cf. Curtis Vaughan,
"Colossians," Expositor's Bible Commentary, 11:166-68).
2. Three major problems that Gnosticism addresses.
3. An early warning against Gnosticism.
Like dazzling lights the churches were now shining all over
the world, and to the limits of the human race faith in our
a. How to explain creatio
Savior and Lord Jesus Christ was at its peak, when the demon
who hates the good, sworn enemy of truth and inveterate foe
b. How to explain the exi
of man's salvation, turned all his weapons against the Church.
In earlier days he had attacked her with persecutions from
c. How to gain release fro
without; but now that he was debarred from this, he resorted to
unscrupulous impostors as instruments of spiritual corruption and ministers of destruction, and employed
new tactics, contriving by every possible means that impostors and cheats, by cloaking themselves with
the same name as our religion, should at one and the same time bring to the abyss of destruction every
believer they could entrap, and by their own actions and endeavors turn those ignorant of the Faith away
from the path that leads to the message of salvation (Eusebius, The History of the Church, p. 158).
NOTE: Modern historians fail to see that what is happening is a struggle behind the scene between
spiritual forces in high places.
B. Description of Gnosticism. (Drawn mainly from Joseph B. Tyson, A Study of Early
53

Christianity, pp. 318-19)
1. Metaphysical Dualism.
Fundamental to almost all Gnostic religion is a metaphysical dualism, which may be expressed in a
contrast between light and darkness, truth and falsehood, good and evil, or spirit and matter.
It means that there is something that is of God, the divine, and something that is not, the demonic. The
demonic is hostile to God and to all who belong to him. God is absolutely transcendent to the world and
unknowable through nature. There is no trace of him in the world, for he is not the creator. The world is
the sphere of the demonic, and God is alien to it.
2. Activity of the Demiurge.
The universe is the creation of the demonic being, usually called the Demiurge, and he rules over it. The
universe is structured in such a way that man is imprisoned within it. The earth is surrounded by seven
planetary spheres and one made up of the fixed stars. The Demiurge has placed rulers (called archons)
over each of the spheres, and they serve to separate the universe and men from God. The rule of the
Demiurge and the archons is called Fate, a force that alienates man from a freedom which is rightly his.
Hans Jonas describes the Gnostic universe as "a vast prison whose innermost dungeon is the earth, the
scene of man's life."
3. Man, dual being.
Man finds himself a resident in this world and subject to Fate, but he is really a stranger to it. Strictly
speaking, man is composed of three parts: body, soul, and spirit. Spirit is a portion of the divine that fell
from the upper world. In order to imprison it, the archons created bodies and souls and made them
subject to the rule of Fate. The usual state of the imprisoned spirit is sleep, but it may be awakened
through Gnosis and apprised of its condition. Man, thus, is a mixture of the divine and the demonic.
When the awakened spirit discovers that it does not belong here, it causes in man a deep dissatisfaction.
He is lonely and alienated and frustrated in his imprisonment.
4. Salvation – Gnosis.
Salvation comes by way of a messenger from the divine region, who breaks through the stellar and
planetary spheres to bring Gnosis to man. After death, the Gnostic, having received Gnosis and now
being free of his body, begins his trek through the spheres. He is still a spirit surrounded by a soul. The
soul is understood to be a seven-layered covering around the spirit, and at each sphere one layer is
removed. At the end, the spirit is free and finally reunited with the divine substance. Salvation has a twofold
significance for the Gnostic. It is release from demonic bondage and absorption into divinity.
5. Salvation Messenger.
Most Gnostic systems consider the "salvation messenger" one of a series of emanations from God, called
aeons. The real purpose of this messenger was not to provide a vicarious atonement but to release trapped
souls from material bondage through knowledge. He was, therefore, a revealer, not a redeemer.
6. Goal of the Gnostic. Hans Jonas writes,
The goal of gnostic striving is the release of the "inner man" from the bonds of the world and his return to
his native realm of light. The necessary condition for this is that he know about the transmundane God
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and about himself, that is, about his divine origin as well as his present situation, and accordingly also
about the nature of the world which determines this situation (The Gnostic Religion, 2d ed., p. 44). – a
type of auto-soterism or self salvation.
C. Bultmannian view – Neo-Orthodoxy as rehashed Gnostic heresies.
Note: Essentially Adolf von Harnack's view: Christian metaphysics in early Christianity the intrusion of
Hellenistic thought. Didache and Barnabas Epistle's "two ways" evidence of this Gnostic dualism.
1. Gnostic myth of the NT.
Rudolph Bultmann attempted to "demythologize" the New Testament, claiming that several passages
were based upon or borrowed from Gnostic mythology. Indeed, Bultmann took the Comparative
Religions School approach and viewed the New Testament as one stage in the development of
Gnosticism! (Ronald H. Nash, Christianity and the Hellenistic World, p. 207). If we take Bultmann's
neo-orthodox view, Christianity would be only another form of Gnosticism.
2. Value in Gnostic myth.
We need only recall the prologue to the Gospel of John, which tells of the preincarnate Logos, and the
hymn in Philippians, which has the Christ empty himself of divinity. The Gnostic myths differ from the
other Christian myths only in their complexity. They consist of innumerable characters and a seemingly
endless succession of events. In order to give just due to Gnostic Christianity, we must attempt to see
beyond the myths to the human importance of their message (Tyson, p. 320).
"Even the canon of the New Testament includes gnostic material. Gnostic themes pervade the Gospel of
John, the prologue of which is almost a gnostic hymn" (Thomas W. Africa, Ancient World, p. 460,
quoted in Nash, p. 204).
Note: COINCIDENCE DOES NOT NECESSITATE CONSEQUENCE NOR COMPLIANCE.
D. Sources and characteristics of Gnostic literature.
1. Gnosticism is highly syncretistic and eclectic, borrowing from Zoroastrianism,
astrology, Greek mythology and philosophy (Platonic dualism), mystery religions,
Judaism, and elements of Christianity. Yet it is fundamentally un-Christian.
2. The consensus among most conservative scholars is that there is insufficient evidence
to prove that Gnosticism as an organized system of doctrine predated Christianity.
3. Until the twentieth century all we knew of Gnosticism came from its opponents – the
polemicists: mainly Irenaeus, Hippolytus, Origen, and Tertullian. The fathers described
Gnosticism as a Christian heresy originating with Simon Magus in Acts 8. Now we have
examples of Gnostic literature from the Hermetic writings of Egypt, dating from between
A.D. 100 and 200. The god Hermes (Egyptian god Thoth)…
communicates secret knowledge (gnosis) about God, about creation, or about salvation, to a disciple,...
The revelation is generally given in the form of a dialogue in which the disciple's share is limited to
asking questions and expressing admiration.... In order to understand the Hermetica, it is above all
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necessary to grasp that their authors were men who believed that there had been revealed to them a
Gospel which it was their mission to preach to mankind (C. K. Barrett, The New Testament Background:
Selected Documents , pp. 80—81).
4. The discovery of the Nag Hammadi codices in Egypt in 1945 and the Iranian
Mandaeanistic literature provide several examples of Gnosticism. These texts prove the
reliability of patristic evaluation of Gnosticism (see Nash, p. 205). For a description of
these texts and their value, see Walter Elwell, ed. Evangelical Dictionary of Theology,
pp. 445, 682.
5. Gnosticism is built on a form of spiritual prided. Those that have attained the higher
knowledge of God are called pneumatikoi. Those who can be saved but will never attain
the higher knowledge are psychikoi. Those who cannot be saved and are destined to
oblivion are the sarkikoi.
6. Two types of practicing Gnostics emerged: the ascetics and the libertines. Both
despised the flesh — one by emaciating it, the other by fulfilling its lusts.
E. Various types of Gnosticism.
1. Syrian — the attempt to interpret Christ in terms of heathen philosophy, or
"theosophy." Influenced by Zoroastrianism. Sharp distinction between two gods — one
of light, the other of darkness.
2. Egyptian — the more popular form advocated by Basilides and Valentinus; dualism of
spirit and matter quite prevalent.
3. Judaizing — Cerinthus and Ebionites. Logos descended upon Jesus at baptism.
4. Pontic — Marcion. Most developed school. Anti-semitic. Identified the OT God as the
Demiurge.
F. Most Famous representative of Gnosticism.
Valentinus (second century). We know about this Gnostic leader mainly from the writings of Irenaeus,
Hippolytus, Epiphanius, and Clement of Alexandria. He was the most prominent leader of a group of
2 ND century Gnostics from Egypt. He was born in Egypt and visited Rome sometime between A.D. 138-
142, where he taught in the church. He was finally excommunicated for teaching heresy and moved to
Cyprus where he continued to teach. Seemed to be greatly influenced by oriental mysticism and
Platonic ideas of dualism. Possibly wrote the Nag Hammadi treatise, Gospel of Truth. In it, the writer
declares that "special knowledge" of God is revealed through His name, "possession of which enables
the knower to penetrate that ignorance which has separated him and all creation from the Father" (Clyde
Curry Smith in The New International Dictionary of the Christian Church, ed. J. D. Douglas, p. 1008).
Special gnosis will allow the elect one to eventually be reabsorbed into the divine Pleroma. Valentinus'
form of Gnosticism was the most popular and wide-spread.
G. "Modern Descendants" of Gnosticism.
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1. Unitarianism – denial of the essential deity of Christ and the Holy Spirit.
2. Mormonism – a "select" esoteric group who will become as gods. A variety of
spheres or levels of heaven.
3. Jehovah's Witnesses — an elect 144,000 who are chosen to receive the special
knowledge of the truth of Jehovah. An elaborate system of angelology. Christ, the
highest of the angelic beings. Asceticism and dualism.
4. Roman Catholic and Eastern Monasticism. Celibacy and extreme asceticism (dualism).
5. Christian Science. The "unreality" of matter and the power of the mind to determine
reality.
IV. Gnostic Christian-Related Heresies.
There were three strains of religious life among the early Christians that proved receptive to Gnosticism:
asceticism, charismatic tendencies, and a speculative, philosophical mood (Harold O. J. Brown, Heresies,
p. 55).
The success of Christ had tempted Simon [Magus] to try to compete with him. This became less and less
possible as time went on. It was impossible to impede the victorious advance of Christ, but if it was not
possible against him, they could try it with him. Christ was irresistible in both West and East, but faith in
the ancient wisdom of the East was also strong, together with the drive to solve all the puzzles of
existence with sacred revelation. So this old Oriental syncretism placed itself in the "service" of Christ
(Reinhold Seeberg as quoted in ibid., p. 56).
A. Docetism (from dokein = to seem).
1. First form of Gnosticism which endeavored to integrate duelism into Christianity.
2. If Christ is pure spiritual being it is impossible to think of Him as being a man or
suffering as a man; therefore, he must be a man in appearance only. Hence, Christ was
only a phantom as to his humanity.
3. Refuted in John's Gospel and First Epistle (John 1:1, 1:14, 1:34; 1 John 4:3), and in the
Epistles of Ignatius.
B. Marcionism.
1. Marcion (mid-2nd century) came from Pontus to Rome (c. 140), and because of his
teachings, was excommunicated by the church there in 144.
2. God of the OT—Demiurge; God of the NT—one whom Jesus revealed as Father-
Redeemer.
3. Jesus came to liberate men from the bondage of the OT God by revealing the mercies
of the NT God.
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4. He was anti-semitic and overly-reacted against OT law. The conflict between faith and
law dominated his thinking.
5. Imposing his dualistic anti-Judaistic presuppositions on Scripture, Marcion formed a
"purified" canon. Gospel of Luke and the first ten epistles of Paul (omitting the
pastorals). He taught asceticism and celibacy.
6. Marcion denied the incarnation, the human suffering, and the bodily resurrection and
return of Christ.
V. Other Early "Christian" Heresies.
A. Ebionism.
1. From Hebrew word ebion ("poor," "humble"). Note the poor ones of Matthew 5:3.
Deut. 18:15 was central to their theology. Arose after destruction of Jerusalem in 70.
Possibly a continuation of the Judaizers.
2. The Law of Moses had universal and perpetual validity and was binding on all
Christians. Observance of ceremonial law necessary for salvation.
3. Some denied the supernatural birth of Christ and believed that He was a man upon
whom the Holy Spirit came at birth. Christ "became" divine by virtue of keeping law.
4. They accepted James and Hebrews but rejected Pauline soteriology.
5. Looked forward to the return of Christ and the millennium.
B. Manichaeism (Manicheanism).
1. Founder — Mani (216-276), from a wealthy Parthian family of southern Babylonia;
his brother was a Gnostic. Experienced visions as a youth and "discovered" the truth.
2. More of a philosophy than a faith: a combination of Persian Zoroastrianism,
Gnosticism, and Christianity
3. Taught that man was a creation of pure light, but creation of body brought him into
bondage to the kingdom of darkness. "Salvation was a matter of liberating the light in his
soul from its thralldom to the matter of its body. This liberation could be accomplished
by exposure to the Light, Christ" (Cairns, p. 100).
4. Practiced extreme asceticism.
5. Augustine a member before his conversion. Later wrote extensively against this
heresy.
C. Neoplatonism.
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1. Teaches monism (the universe a unity) rather than dualism—very close to pantheism.
Monism = God is the world; Pantheism = God is intrinsically a part of the world.
2. Posits an ontological mysticism. Contemplates the being of God, the Power of the
universe; and metaphysical mysticism: a reabsorption into the divine essence.
3. Ammonius Saccas (the founder), Plotinus (the leader), and Porphyry (the compiler) all
taught that man, through spiritual illumination and intuition, can achieve reabsorption
into the divine essence from which he came.
4. Emperor Julian the "Apostate" in the fourth century promoted this heresy. Augustine
experimented with it before his conversion in 386.
D. Montanism.
1. Founded by Montanus of Phrygia in the mid-second century.
2. Reaction against the formalism and worldliness in the church.
3. Emphasis on the Holy Spirit as Paraclete and himself as the Paraclete's spokesman;
hence, a belief in extra-biblical, progressive, and immediate revelation.
4. Revelations through prophecy. Prophetesses Prisca and Maximilla drew quite a
following, especially when they began predicting the return of Christ and the setting up
of New Jerusalem.
5. Practice of strict asceticism.
6. Tertullian a member in third century and founder of branch known as “Tertullianists,”
a disciplined and much more sensible group.
E. Monarchianism.
1. Emphasis on unity of God as opposed to Gnostic duality of gods.
2. Forerunner of later Socinianism (16th cent.) and Unitarianism (18th century).
3. Two branches.
a. Dynamic Monarchianism or Adoptionism.
(1) Founder — Paul of Samasota (260-272), bishop of Antioch.
(2) Christ not divine; divine power simply worked on Him.
(3) Christ the adopted son of God; "called" to be the son of God at
baptism. These were alogi, i.e. denied the Johannine doctrine of Logos.
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. Modal Monarchianism or Sabellianism.
VI. Characteristics and Results of These Heresies.
A. Characteristics.
(1) Founder — Sabellius (early 3rd cent.), who, with Praxeas, taught in
Rome.
(2) Advocated a chronological Trinity: God has appeared in three
different modes at three times — Father, Son, Holy Spirit — but all the
same person.
(3) Tertullian accused Praxeas of Patripassionism — the crucifixion of the
Father (cf. Bettenson, p. 38).
1. Most presuppose a dualistic universe.
2. Most advocate asceticism as the means of soul salvation.
3. All are syncretistic, combining philosophy or elements of pagan religion with
Christianity.
4. All pervert the doctrines of the person and atonement of Christ. The Logos is a
divine "emanation" of deity, but not truly God in the flesh. The Christ "achieved"
divinity or "became" divine by virtue of Logos coming upon Him. And because of
dualism, denial of the true humanity of Christ.
5. Esotericism - body of truth for a special elite group.
B. Beneficial results (by reacting against the various heresies).
1. Formation of Rule of Faith—great creeds of Church.
2. Formal recognition of NT canon of Scripture.
3. Strengthening of the Church organization.
4. Development of a stated Christian apologetical theology.
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THE ANTE-NICENE FATHERS: GREEK APOLOGISTS, POLEMISTS,
ALEXANDRIAN SCHOOL & NORTH AFRICAN SCHOOL (AD 130-325)
I. Introduction.
A. Continuation of patristics.
1. This topic is a continuation of our study in patristics. We have already noted under the
topic of Ante-Nicene Fathers (A.D. 100-325) the Post-Apostolic Fathers (A.D. c. 100-
150).
2. Now in the context of the Age of Martyrs and Early Heretics, we will deal with
representative Apologists and Polemists in the Eastern (Greek) and the Western (Latin)
Church.
3. Apologists are defenders of doctrine against Christian persecutors, while polemicists
are attackers the false doctrine of heretics.
B. Historical context.
C. Definitions.
1. Roman persecution and pagan philosophy coupled with heresy.
2. “The Apologists do not inveigh against them [the Caesars]; they only entreat them to
enquire personally into the manner in which the Christians were treated, and to throw
over them the shield of common justice” (Frederic Farrar, Lives of the Fathers, 1:124).
3. “Pliny held that absurd view which prevailed for centuries later, even in
Christian countries, that the rack was the best method for discovering truth” (ibid.).
1. Apologist comes from apologia, lit. "a collection from." The verbal form= "to
collect from sources in proof of," hence one who gives a dissertation or speech in defense
of. Cf. Acts 25:16; Phil 1:7,16; 1 Cor 9:3; 1 Peter 3:15.
2. Polemist or Polemicist comes from polemeo, lit. "to make war." A polemic is a
controversial argument, an attack with words. A polemist is one who fights a battle with
words, a disputant. Cf. James 4:2; Rev 19:11.
D. Differences.
1. God raised up the Apostles and Apostolic Fathers as declarers of Doctrine.
2. God raised up the Apologists and Polemists as defenders of Doctrine.
3. Differences between Apologists and Polemists.
APOLOGISTS POLEMICISTS
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Defend the Faith Attack
Against Roman Officials Against the Heresy/Heretic
Refute False Charges Condemn False Teaching
Draw from the OT Draw from the NT
Justify Christianity Argumentation to prove Christian Doctrine.
E. Task of the Apologists and Polemists.
1. To prove that Christianity was the highest and surest philosophy.
2. To not only defend Christianity and to assault anti-Christianity, but to construct a
rationale for Christianity as a positive life-changing revelation from the one true God.
Because of this emphasis on rationality, Apologists reveal certain weaknesses.
F. Arguments employed by the Apologists.
1. Purity and superiority of Christian.
2. Purity and power of changed lives.
3. Belief, a prerequisite to right living.
4. Fulfilled prophecy, a strong argument.
1. Because of their treatment of Christianity as a philosophy, they often
5. Christianity, the highest and best philosophy.
G. Weaknesses of the Apologists and Polemists.
fail to distinguish between general and special revelation. Cf. Schaff, 11:723.
2. They often place too much emphasis on man's free will in salvation.
3. They fail to clearly explain the absolute necessity in the atonement.
4. Baptism becomes to them something of an inauguration of the new life. How it
actually helps effect salvation is unclear.
5. Allegorization of Scripture. With the Ante-Nicene Fathers, especially the
Alexandrians, we may see the beginnings of evidentialist apologetical epistemology.
Often, the first principles were borrowed from Plato.
II. Greek Apologists (A.D. 130-180).
A. Listing of the Greek Apologists. (Individual dates in parentheses indicate the
approximate time each man did his most important work.)
1. Quadratus of Athens (126).
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2. Aristides of Athens (135).
3. Aristo of Pello (140).
4. Justin Martyr (150).
5. Hegesippus (170).
6. Melito of Sardis (170).
7. Claudius Apollinaris of Hierapolis (170).
8. Tatian of Assyria (172) - Diatessaron, earliest harmony of the Gospels.
9. Athenagorus of Athens (175).
10. Theophilus of Antioch (180).
B. Justin Martyr (c. 100-165).
1. His life.
As to the depth and originality of his work, Justin Martyr ranks as the most important of all the early
Greek apologists (cf. Justo Gonzalez, History of Christian Thought, 1:102). According to Schaff,
Flavius Justinus is the most eminent of the Greek Apologists and the first Christian philosopher or
philosophic theologian (II: 712). He was a native of the Roman colony of Flavia Neapolis (so-named
for emperor Flavius Vespasian), at ancient Shechem (Nablus) in Samaria. His education was
Hellenic. He seems to have come from a well-to-do family and well-educated, but ignorant of the
Scriptures and Christianity. He studied for a while with a Stoic, hoping to find rest for a troubled
soul. Dissatisfied, he went to a Peripatetic who would instruct him for a price. In disgust, he came to
a Platonist who taught him "simple ideas" of philosophy and encouraged him that he would "soon
arrive at the knowledge of God. For this is the end and design of Plato's philosophy" (Dialogue with
Trypho, II). He relates that, while walking along the seashore, he met an aged Christian man who
convinced him of the merits of Christianity. Following is the account of his conversion to the true
philosophy.
When he had said these and a great many more things ... a fire was immediately kindled in my soul,
and I was violently inflamed with the love of the prophets, and of those men which are dear to Christ.
And when I reflected on this discourse...! found this to be the only sure, safe, and valuable
philosophy. Thus by this means I became a philosopher [i.e., coming to the sure knowledge of God]
(Dialogue with Trypho, VIII).
He retained the philosopher's cloak after his conversion, and traveled about defending and teaching
the truths of Christianity in opposition to pagan superstition and Judaism. After opening a school in
Rome, the Cynic philosopher Crescens opposed him (the occasion for Justin's Second Apology). It
was probably Crescens' animosity which brought the apologist into disfavor with the government
and led to his martyrdom around A.D. 165. Justin, the "Christian Platonist," forms the transition
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from the Apostolic Fathers to the Church Fathers (cf. Schaff II: 710-26).
2. His works. The most important are: the First Apology, the Second Apology,
and Dialogue with Trypho, all written probably between A.D. 147 and 161.
a. First Apology (68 chapters). Justin refutes attacks upon Christians for
holding an "unlawful" religion, and asserts that Christianity is the true
philosophy. He argues that…
(1) Persecution of Christians is due to demon influence. It is both
unjust and demonical to condemn Christians unheard.
(2) Christians are no atheists; they worship God the Father, the Son,
and the Holy Spirit.
(3) Christians are not to be blamed for refusing to worship false
images—an absurd worship.
(4) The Empire has no better subjects than the Christians.
(5) Christianity alone teaches the truth.
(6) The Son of God (the Logos) was truly incarnate.
(7) Pagan teachings were invented by demons to discredit Christ
and His first advent.
(8) Christian worship is proper; Justin explains the ordinances and
customs of the church, including baptism and the Eucharist.
b. Second Apology (15 chapters). This work is possibly an appendix to the
First Apology and deals largely with the sufferings of Christians. Justin cites
instances of cruelty and injustices to them, their steadfastness and innocence,
and reasons why God permitted them to suffer.
c. Dialogue with Trypho (142 chapters). This large work is a vindication of
Christianity from Moses and the prophets against the objections of the Jews.
In it, Justin speaks as a believer in the OT with a Jewish philosopher, Trypho.
The disputation lasted two days in the gymnasium, and turns upon two
questions: (1) how the Christians could profess to serve God, and yet break
His (OT) laws; and (2) how they could believe in a human Savior who
suffered and died. Justin seeks to prove that Jesus is the Christ and that
Christians are the true people of God. The book is a storehouse of early
interpretation of the prophetic Scriptures (cf. Schaff, II:717-18).
3. His theology.
a. Scriptures.
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Justin quotes often the OT prophets (LXX), the "Memoirs of Christ" (gospels), and the "Memoirs of
the Apostles" (epistles). He says they were publicly read in the churches along with the OT. The
Prophets are inspired by the Logos, but he forces OT passages into prophecies of Christ: as "Jacob
served Laban for speckled and many-spotted sheep," so "Christ served, even to the slavery of the
cross, for the various and many formed races of mankind." Also, he makes Rachel the church, Israel
is Christ, and the cross is seen in every stick of wood. Many critics see the influence of Philo in
Justin's allegorical methods. He mentions only one NT book by name—the Apocalypse, but is
familiar with Matthew and Luke. Farrar states, "He seems to consider that every doctrine and fact of
Christianity was implicitly contained in the OT, and only required the interpretation of 'knowledge'
to bring it forth" (Lives of the Fathers, I:155).
b. Trinity.
All three are distinct persons to Justin; the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are divine. God is unity
and absolutely transcendent and becomes immanent through the Logos, the incarnate manifestation
of God.
c. Christ.
Justin spends several chapters in the Dialogue to prove that Christ indeed is the Son of God.
Elsewhere, He is First-begotten of God, our Master, Power of God, and especially Logos. Anything
good found in man is due to the Logos. All truth and virtue emanates from the Logos, which leads
Justin to ascribe Christianity to ethical philosophers Socrates and Heraclitus, for example. Such
teaching indicates a strong ethical strain in his theology. Such knowledge of God comes from the
"seeds" of the Logos. At Christ's incarnation, we have the "seminal" Logos (logos spermatikos).
d. Faith.
Faith does not justify but is a preliminary to justification, which is accomplished by repentance,
change of heart, and a sinless life according to God's commandments (Schaff-Herzog, VI:284).
e. Demons.
The devil is identified with the serpent. The gods of the heathen are demons and are the authors of
heresy, war, murder, uncleanness, magic, and all wickedness. They are constant antagonists against
God and Christ. They inspire the persecutions against the saints.
f. Church.
All the members are priests. The only officers are deacons and presidents (elders). Baptism is
administered only to believers after fasting and prayer. Early worship service described in First
Apology, 1:65-66 (see F. F. Bruce, Spreading Flame, pp. 195-98 (II:55-59); H. Bettenson, Early
Christian Fathers, pp. 62-63).
g. Sacraments.
(1) Baptism. He appears to teach baptismal regeneration, but he
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could mean illumination (see Bruce, p. 195 [II:55-56]). Regardless,
baptism for him and most other church fathers was necessary for
salvation.
All who are convinced and believe that what we teach and proclaim is true, and undertake to live in
accordance with it, are instructed to pray and to entreat God, with fasting, for the remission of past
sins; . . . Then we bring them to a place where there is water, and they are regenerated in the same
way in which we ourselves were regenerated. For they then receive the washing of water in the name
of God, the Father and Lord of the universe, and of our Savior Jesus Christ, and of the Holy Spirit
(First Apology, I:61).
(2) Eucharist. Apparently practiced every Sunday and was truly a
Eucharist. He appears to teach transubstantiation, but the language
may be figurative. Here, he is difficult to interpret.
For not as common bread and common drink do we receive these; but in like manner as Jesus Christ
our Savior, having been made flesh by the Word of God, had both flesh and blood for our salvation,
so likewise have we been taught that the food which is blessed by the prayer of His word, and from
which our blood and flesh by transmutation are nourished, is the flesh and blood of that Jesus who
was made flesh (ibid., I:66).
h. Eschatology (Hand out “A Brief History of Early Premillennialism” by
Thomas Ice. Midnight Call, March 2008, pp. 20-23).
Justin, like many early Christians, was a chiliastist. (cf. Papias, Irenaeus, Tertullian, Nepos,
Apollinaris, Victorinus, Lactantius, Severus Gallus, and others). Justin writes,
John... hath foretold that those that believe in our Christ should live a thousand years in Jerusalem;
and that afterwards there would be a general, and in one word an universal resurrection of every
individual person, when all should arise together to an everlasting state and a future judgment
(Dialogue with Trypho, 81).
III. Polemists (170-325).
A. Characteristics.
1. Argued against heresy, especially Gnosticism.
2. Balance of biblicism, reason, and tradition in refutation.
B. Listing of Polemists.
1. Dionysius of Corinth (170).
2. Rhodon(l80).
3. Theophilus of Caesarea (180).
4. Irenaeus of Lyons (185).
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5. Maximus of Jerusalem (185).
6. Polycrates of Ephesus (195).
7. Serapion of Antioch (200).
8. Apollonius of Rome (211).
9. Caius of Rome (215).
10. Asterius Urbanus (230).
11. Hippolytus of Rome (230).
12. Novatian of Rome (250).
13. Dionysius of Rome (260).
14. Malchion of Antioch (270).
15. Archelaus of Mesopotamia (277).
16. Alexander of Lycopolis (300).
17. Victorinus of Pettau (in Austria, 300).
18. Methodius of Olympus and Patara (province of Lycia, Asia Minor, 300).
C. Irenaeus of Lyons (c. 130-200).
1. His life.
Foremost polemicist and Father of orthodox theology. Irenaeus is little known except through his
writings. He was probably a native of Smyrna (modern Ismir) where, as a boy, he listened to
Polycarp.
Whatsoever things he had heard from them [John and others who knew Christ] respecting the Lord,
both with regard to His miracle and His teaching, Polycarp having thus received information from the
eye-witnesses of the Word of life, would recount them all in harmony with the Scripture, These
things, through God's mercy which was upon me, I then listened to attentively, and treasured them up
not on paper, but in my heart; and I am continually, by God's grace, revolving these things accurately
in my mind (quoted from Fragments of the lost writings of Irenaeus in the Ante-Nicene Fathers,
I:568).
Around A.D. 170, he went to Gaul (France) as a missionary, settling in Lyon, where there was a
Christian community who had immigrated from Asia Minor. As presbyter he mediated on the
church's behalf with bishop Eleutherus of Rome over the heresy of Montanism. In 177, when
Pothinus was martyred, Irenaeus bravely succeeded him as bishop of Lyon. As bishop, Irenaeus had
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a three-fold ministry: (1) to evangelize the natives of Gaul and Vienne (in a language he, at first, did
not understand!); (2) to seek unity and peace for the church and (3) to defend the doctrines of
Scripture against heresy.
In the first instance, if we are to trust the record of Gregory of Tours, 8 early missionary to the
Franks, Irenaeus converted nearly all the population of Lyon and sent out missionaries (Schaff
II:749). He lived up to his name by entreating Victor, bishop of Rome, not to impose his view of the
Easter date on other churches. The Eastern church were quartodecimans (wishing to celebrate Easter
at the time of Passover—the 14th of Nisan). The Western practice was to observe the holiday on a
Sunday. Earlier, Polycarp traveled to Rome to debate with Anicetus over the matter and, while
neither changed their minds, they parted friends. Eusebius writes,
And this same Irenaeus, as one whose character answered well to his name, being in this way a
peacemaker, exhorted and negotiated such matters as these for the peace of the churches. And not
only to Victor, but likewise to the most of the other rulers of the churches, he sent letters of
exhortation on the agitated question (Ecclesiastical History, V:24).
In the context of the Easter controversy, Schaff writes of Irenaeus, "We may almost call him a
forerunner of Gallicanism 9 in its protest against ultramontane despotism" (II:752).
The third struggle was the most notable because of the polemical literature he left and its impact on
historical doctrine. We are not sure of the career and death of Irenaeus after 190. One tradition
makes him a martyr under Septimus Severus in 202. Interestingly, his city becomes the center of the
Waldensian Movement in the 12th century.
2. His works.
a. Most notable is Adversus Haereses (Against Heresies); also, several
fragments attributed, to him can be found in Roberts and Donaldson, The
Ante-Nicene Fathers, Vol. I. One additional work Gonzalez mentions is
Epideixis or Demonstration of Apostolic Preaching (100 chapters) Its purpose
is to strengthen the faith of believers and enable them to defend correct
doctrine against heresy.
b. Adversus Haereses (5 books). Irenaeus exposes and rebuffs the arguments
of Gnosticism, especially the Valentinians by contrasting their teachings with
the true catholic [orthodox] church. His arguments are designed to…
(1) Prove the unity of God from both the OT and NT, and the
absurdity of the Gnostic distinctions between God and the Demiurge.
(2) Overthrow the Platonic hypothesis of a correspondence between
the world of ideas and the visible world, upon which the Valentinian
system rested.
8 Lived c. 538-594 and wrote 10 volume History of the Franks.
9 French nationalism regarding the church.
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3. His theology.
(3) Show the continuity between the OT and the NT in the relation of
Abraham's faith to our own.
(4) Vindicate the bodily resurrection of Christ and believers.
Irenaeus is probably the most Scriptural of all the early church father. Gonzalez writes, "His
theology, grounded in the Bible and the doctrine of the church rather than on his personal opinion,
has repeatedly been a source of theological renewal" (I:173).
a. The Scriptures.
His use of the NT presupposes a canon in use for some time and on the same level of authority as the
OT. Irenaeus is the first church father to employ the triad use of Scripture, reason, and tradition in
the refutation of heresy. All the church father employed these three. He quotes profusely from both
Old and New Testaments as the Word of God. His final authority is the Scripture (Advers. III:12, 9),
inspired of God (ibid., IV:32, 1). In refutation of Marcion, there are four Gospel accounts (ibid., III:
11,8). In opposition to the Gnostics, who claimed apostolic authority for their doctrine, Irenaeus
argued the accuracy of his doctrine on the basis of continuity and unity via apostolic succession, i.e.,
those appointed successors of the Apostles continued their teachings. This became another reason for
the development of hierarchialism in church.
b. Christ.
(1) Logos doctrine. Christ is the Son of God and Logos, but Irenaeus'
conception rises above both Justin and Tertullian. Logos is not Reason
but the Johannine living Word of God, pre-existent and incarnate. No
doctrine of generation is discussed, yet, as God, Christ is eternal (ibid.,
IV:20, 3). The pre-existent Logos became the Christ, not the Son. He
was the Son from eternity.
(2) His Unique Recapitulation doctrine. Irenaeus maintains the true
humanity and true deity of Christ; both are necessary for the
redemption of mankind. The truth of redemption through the incarnate
Christ, is central to Irenaeus' system, which he calls recapitulation.
What was lost through Adam's disobedience is recovered through
Christ's obedience. As the first Adam brought ruin upon the human
race, so the second Adam renews the race and, in doing so, reverses
the order of Adam's experience: Adam, by sinning brought death;
Christ, by being obedient, brings life. Adam was formed from the
virgin soil, and Christ came to the world through Mary, the virgin; the
Fall of man took place through the disobedience of a woman, and the
obedience of another woman was the occasion for his restoration;
through a tree did death enter into the world, and through the tree of
the cross has life been given unto us (cf. Gonzalez, I:170; Advers.
III:18, 7).
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c. Man.
Irenaeus argues against the Gnostic dualistic concept that man's flesh is separated from his soul
and inherently evil. Irenaeus believed that man is a composite of body and soul. Both body and
soul are affected by sin and in need of redemption. Irenaeus makes man clearly accountable for
his own choices. Man has a free will and is never coerced unto righteousness by God (cf. Advers. IV:
37-39). All the church fathers stressed man’s free will; they were reacting against Gnosticism, which
believed in fatalism.
NOTE: One may note also Irenaeus' emphasis on Truth (pp. 439-40); and teaching on the deity of
Christ (p. 431); primacy of Roman church (pp. 415, 461); and fallen angels as "sons of God" (p.
516) in Roberts and Donaldson, Ante-Nicene Fathers, Vol. I). See also Bettenson, Early Christian
Fathers, pp. 65-102 for selections from his writings on particular doctrines.
d. Salvation.
Of all the anti-Gnostic Fathers, Irenaeus gives the fullest description of the redemption, but it is not
always consistent.
(1) Moralistic strain. Man is able to voluntarily choose the good which
he is able to do. The significance of the atonement lies in the fact that
it is an enablement to know God and accept Him as Savior. It appears
then that redemption is a co-working of man and God.
(2) Mystical strain. The Logos, as the second Adam, identifies Himself
with the human race in His sufferings and death, and "becomes
instrumental in raising it to a higher level by sanctifying and
immortalizing it" — a kind of "deification" of man (Louis Berkhof,
History of Christian Doctrines, pp. 66-67).
While such teachings leave us wondering, we can be sure that Irenaeus associates salvation with
Christ's propitiation, penal substitution, and redemption from the power of Satan — all clearly
scriptural doctrines. However, like many of the fathers, he opens the door to later problems.
IV. Alexandrian School (180-325).
A. Characteristics.
1. Attempt to reconcile Greek philosophy with Christianity: “Christianity is the
highest Gnosticism.” Very contradictory.
2. Allegorical interpretation of Scripture. This is isogesis at its worst.
Allegory is the seeking of a symbolic, hidden meaning by reading into the literal meaning of the
Scripture meanings in accord with moral or philosophical preconceptions. It distorts the meaning
intended by the writer for the people to whom he was writing into what the interpreter wants to find in
the Scripture (Cairns, p. 536, ch. 5, n. 3).
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3. Speculative, mystical, theoretical, bearing the marks of Neo-Platonic
philosophy, an ontological or intellectual mysticism.
B. Listing of the Alexandrian Fathers.
1. Pantaenus of Alexandria (180).
2. Clement of Alexandria (200).
3. Origen of Alexandria (225).
4. Julius Africanus of Palestine (235).
5. Alexander of Cappadocia (250).
6. Dionysius of Alexandria (260).
7. Theognostus of Alexandria (260).
8. Gregory Thaumaturgus of Neo-Caesarea (in Pontus, 270).
9. Anatolius of Alexandria (270).
10. Pierius of Alexandria (275).
11. Theonas of Alexandria (300).
12. Phileas of Thumis (Tmai, in lower Egypt, 300).
13. Peter of Alexandria (300).
14. Alexander of Alexandria (313).
C. Clement of Alexandria (c. 150-220). The heretic wrote against other heretics.
1. His life.
Farrar calls Alexandria of Egypt "the cradle of Christian theology." It may be better to call it the
spawning ground for syncretistic Christian philosophy. It was here that Clement (with Pantaenus
before him and Origen after him) developed his "Christian Gnosticism" as he directed the
Alexandrian school.
He was possibly born in Athens to pagan parents. He was immersed in Hellenic literature and all the
existing forms of philosophy. Eusebius states that he was well suited to expose the baseness of
paganism, because he had passed through it, and escaped its contagion (cited in Farrar, I:358). Yet
he unfortunately did not escape its influence and his writings are permeated with Gnostic influence.
Farrar writes that “Pantaenus had left on the mind of Clement a deep impress of Stoic morality,
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eclectic philosophy, and allegoric interpretation” (I:360). He became presbyter in the church at
Alexandria and succeeded Pantaenus as president of the catechetical school around A.D. 189.
Persecution during the reign of Severus forced his flight about 202. He associated with a former
pupil, Alexander, bishop of Jerusalem. Whether he returned to Alexandria is unknown. Schaff gives
an informative sketch of his character and contributions in II:783.
Farrar states that two great principles were fundamental with him: (1) the creation, education, and
redemption of the human race by the divine Logos; and (2) the thought of perfection in the true
Gnostic (I:388).
Newman makes the following observation. "Clement went to an extreme in his humanitarianism,
and was the forerunner of Pelagianism" (I:280). Pelagianism would completely deny total
depravity, saying that man came into the world morally neutral and able to seek God on himself.
Gonzalez observes a contrast between Justin and Clement. Justin…
had granted a certain degree of truth to pagan philosophy; he had tried to show that the higher
doctrines of the philosophers agreed with the Scriptures; and he had even affirmed the divine origin
of that truth which the philosophers had. But Clement claims that philosophy was given to the
Greeks with the same purpose with which the Law was given to the Jews; to serve as a handmaiden
to lead them to Christ (I:198). YIKES!
2. His works.
His most significant works are: Protrepticus (Exhortation to the Heathen, 12 chs); Paidagogos (The
Instructor or Tutor, 3 bks); and Stromata (Miscellanies, 7 bks); also, Who Is the Rich Man That
Shall Be Saved? and fragments. Note Farrar's comparison of his three main works (I:364-65);
eloquent quotes from Who Is the Rich Man That Shall Be Saved?, pp. 592, 595; and, for the story of
the Apostle John's reclamation of the wayward youth, see p. 603 ff. See also Clement's prayer and
hymns on pp. 295-96—all in Roberts and Donaldson, Vol. II.
3. His theology.
a. Scripture.
Clement has a high regard for the Word of God but frequently quotes Ecclesiasticus as Scripture.
Beyond the literal interpretation, he states that Scripture is to be apprehended by us in three ways;
(1) as displaying types or (2) establishing a command for the moral or (3) giving prophecy. The
"Gnostic tradition" of interpreting God's inspired Word is the allegorical method, which he uses
extensively. Some examples follow.
(1) The three days of Abraham's journey typify sight, desire, and
discernment.
(2) The wine in Genesis 49:11 is a reference to the blood of Christ.
(3) Joseph's coat of many colors means his varied knowledge.
(4) The two tables of the Law signify heaven and earth.
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. God.
(5) The sun, moon, stars, clouds, light and wind, water, air, darkness,
and fire are the heavenly decalogue.
(6) In the verse "an omer is the tenth part of three measures" the
measures mean sensation, speech, and mind.
(7) Moses slew the Egyptian with a word.
(8) The rule about unclean meats was meant to teach frugality.
(9) The clean animals which divide the hoof and chew the cud signify
the orthodox who steadfastly meditate on the Law of God.
(10) Job's coming "naked from his mother's womb" meant his freedom
from vice.
(11) The barley loaves of the feeding of the 5,000 miracle signify the
Jew and the Gentile; the fishes, Greek philosophy.
God is One, Mind, Existence, Father, Creator, Lord. Frequently the Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit
are mentioned together in the same passage. They are one. All fathers believe in the trinity and
inspiration of Bible.
c. Christ.
He is the Searcher of hearts, and our Instructor, along with the Holy Spirit. There is no question that
Clement regards Him as God. Christ is the cosmic Logos. Clement stresses the personal subsistence
of the Logos, His oneness with the Father, and His eternal generation; but also represents Him as the
divine reason, and as subordinate in essence to the Father, calling Him Theos Deuteros (Berkhof, p.
72).
d. Man.
Man has free will to choose or reject God. The Fall did not make him totally depraved, but only
subject to sin and death. David's statement about him being conceived in sin and shapen in iniquity
is an allusion to Eve and is not a reference to original sin. “And if he was conceived in sin in this
sense still he is not himself in sin nor is he himself sin.” Sin is in the action, and is due to ignorance.
Those who lived good or righteous lives before the Law, though having not the Law, will be saved.
e. Church.
It is the universal body of Christ, but also a local assembly we as Christians are expected to attend.
Christ's body and blood are spiritual nourishment in the Eucharist (transubstantiation) and baptism
is a spiritual enlightenment and a washing away of sins (baptismal regeneration).
.
f. Eschatology.
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“According to Alexandrian theology, the souls of men gradually rise, by degrees, from the depths
of Hades to the blessedness of Heaven, where the Church of God's true philosophers abides”
(Beale, Ph.D. dissertation). He believed that destruction of Jerusalem in A.D. 70 was fulfillment of
Daniel's 70th week. He believed in the imminent return of Christ to judge the wicked and reward
the righteous. With Origen, he held to the apokatastasis or restoration of all things. He holds to a
universalist position. Doubts earthly millennial reign of Christ.
D. Origen of Alexandria (185-254). Another heretic who wrote against other heretics.
1. His life.
Nearly all the historians quote Eusebius, the primary source of information about Origen. Surnamed
Adamantius, because of his resolute life of piety, he was born to Christian parents at Alexandria.
Under the direction of his learned father, Leonides, and the famous Clement of the Alexandrian
catechetical school (tended to be speculative), he received a thorough education. He memorized
whole portions of Scripture. Eusebius states that…
it was not sufficient for him merely to read what was simple and obvious in the sacred books, but he
sought also what was beyond this, into the deeper senses of the text, and was busily employed in
such speculations even at that age; so that he gave his father trouble, by his questions what forsooth
the passage of the inspired Scriptures should mean. He, indeed, to appearance, rebuked him
to his face, telling him not to inquire into things beyond his age, not to search beyond the
obvious meaning of Scriptures. But he...gave most hearty thanks to Almighty God...that he
honored him to be the father of such a child (History, VI:2).
And he would kiss his breast as a temple of the Holy Spirit. One need not look far to find a source of
Origen’s mystical bent. During the persecution under Septimus Severus in 202, Leonides died a
martyr. Origen was saved from the same end by his mother, who hid his clothes.
In the year 203, though only 18 years of age, he was nominated by the bishop Demetrius to be
president of the catechetical school left vacant by the flight of Clement. There, he not only mastered
Scripture but the leading philosophical and heretical systems of the day. The Neoplatonic
philosophy was just coming into prominence under the leadership of Ammonius Saccas. He also
learned the Hebrew language and traveled to Rome (where he probably befriended Hippolytus),
Arabia, Palestine, and Greece. Back in Alexandria he was successful in drawing several students to
his school, including prominent heathen whom he won to Christ. Among these was Ambrosius, a
wealthy Gnostic, who, after conversion, became a patron of Origen and supplied a costly library for
the school. Julia Mammaea, mother of the Emperor Alexander Severus, brought him to Antioch in
218 to learn the doctrines of Christianity from him.
Origen lived a strictly ascetic life. He refused the gifts of his pupils; had but one coat; walked
barefoot; rarely ate flesh; and never drank wine. He devoted the better part of the night to prayer and
study and slept on the bare floor. In zeal for holiness and to secure himself against all temptation
toward women, he emasculated himself, an act he apparently regretted later.
While in Palestine in 228, he was ordained a presbyter by Alexander of Jerusalem and
Theoctistus of Caesarea. A jealous Demetrius convened two councils (231 and 232) and had Origen
condemned and deposed from church office. He stayed in Caesarea opened a new theological school
there. The persecution under Maximinus in 235 drove him to Cappadocia, then to Greece and back
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to Palestine. In his travels he convinced many of faith in Christ. Under the Decian persecution, he
was cast into prison, cruelly tortured, and condemned to the stake. The death of the emperor saved
him but he died shortly after at the age of 69 in the year 254.
History has both esteemed him highly and criticized him severely. Albert H. Newman wrote,
He was the most learned man and one of the profoundest thinkers in the ancient church and probably
exerted more influence on the doctrinal development of the church than any other man (I:281).
Jerome said of him,
Origen...whom all but the ignorant acknowledge as the greatest teacher of the churches next to the
Apostles. I have praised the commentator but not the theologian, the man of intellect but not the
believer, the philosopher, but not the apostle.... I have always opposed his doctrines.
A church council at Constantinople in 543 pronounced him heretic. The reformers, such as
Luther, have very little good to say about him because of his heretical and speculative statements.
In a fifteenth century Greek manuscript in the Vatican library there is a marginal note written by
George Scholarius, the Byzantine philosopher and theologian who, under the name of Gennadius II,
became the first patriarch of Constantinople (1453-58) under the Turks:
The Western writers say, "Where Origen was good, no one is better, where he was bad, no one is
worse." Our Asian divines say on the one hand that "Origen is the whetstone of us all," but on the
other hand, that "he is the founder of foul doctrines." Both are right: he splendidly defended
Christianity, wonderfully expounded Scripture, and wrote a noble exhortation to martyrdom. But he
was also the father of Arianism, and worst of all, said that hellfire would not last forever (Quoted in
Henry Chadwick, Early Christian Thought and the Classical Tradition: Studies in Justin, Clement,
and Origen, p. 94).
Origen is an example of one whose excessive pietism is not always a guarantee of orthodoxy. For
further insight, see Schaff, II:790-91.
2. His works.
a. Origen was a prolific writer. Epiphanius and Rufinus estimate that he wrote
more that 6,000 different works. Hugh T. Kerr writes,
Much of his literary work was in the form of homilies, commentaries, and other scriptural
interpretation, the most important of which were the Hexapla and the Commentaries on Matthew and
John. Of his essays, treatises, and books, the ones on Resurrection, Prayer, and Martyrdom, along
with his classic apologetic work, Against Celsus, and his systematic theology, First Principles, are
most noteworthy. Unfortunately, only a fraction of Origen's writings has come down to us, and while
the First Principles is a basic source for discussing Origen as theologian, even here we are almost
completely restricted to an inferior and much mutilated Latin translation (The First Systematic
Theologian: Origen of Alexandria. Princeton Pamphlet no. 11. Princeton, N.J.: Princeton Theological
Seminary, 1958).
Kerr fully examines First Principles and does an excellent job. He shows how Origen was
greatly influenced by Greek Philosophy.
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Schaff divides Origen's works into five categories: biblical, apologetical, dogmatic, practical, and
letters. Farrar adds the sixth category of critical.
b. De Principiis [Lat.] (or Peri Archon [Gk.], On First Principles).
This work survives in a Latin translation by Rufinus and approaches a systematization of the basic
doctrines of the Christian faith. In evaluating this work, Kerr states that Origen is not carefully
systematic; system is subordinate to themes (ibid., p. 35). Kerr also reveals a very telling flaw in the
work—it is hopelessly deficient in the area of soteriology.
Origen has many suggestive things to say about God, the Trinity, Creation, man, the world, freedom,
and ultimate restoration. But on the way of salvation, particularly the Biblical conceptions of sin,
grace, and reconciliation, he is painfully disappointing (p. 42).
3. His theology.
Much of Origen's theology is controversial, even heretical, yet he did provide many theological
terms for the Trinitarian Christological Controversies of the ecumenical councils during, the fourth
and fifth centuries. Schaff calls him the “father of the critical investigation of Scripture,” mainly
because of his important witness of the Ante-Nicene text of the Greek NT.
On the positive side, Origen held to the verbal plenary inspiration of Scripture, and the orthodox
position on the Trinity, the deity of Christ and His full humanity, and the sinfulness of man, in
opposition to Marcionism, Modalism, Adoptionism, and Docetism. Since he is best known for his
controversial views, I will list only the more significant of these.
a. An essential Subordination in the Trinity. Christ is of the same essence as
the Father but is subordinated to Him and eternally generated from Him in the
sense of being dependent on the Father for His existence as the "second God."
The Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father through the Son. There is an
implication that the Spirit had a beginning: "All things having come into
existence through the Son, the Holy Spirit is more honorable than all, and in
the [front] rank of all those things created by the Father through the Son"
(cited in Seeberg, I: 150)
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c. Belief in the pre-existence of souls and another world (cf.
Gonzalez, I:227). The soul of Christ was also pre-existent, united
with the Logos. At the incarnation the Logos/soul only assumed a
body, and even the body was "divinized" by the Logos. "There
was such a mingling of the divine and the human in Christ that by
his glorification He became virtually ubiquitous. Origen hardly
succeeded in maintaining the integrity of the two natures in
Christ" (Berkhof, p. 73)—an extreme communicatio idiomatum,
or communication of properties of one nature to the other. 10 Ever
after Origen it was typical of the Alexandrian School to
emphasize the unity of Christ's person.
d. Denial of a material resurrection. Because of his emphasis on the
assimilation of the material into the spiritual part of Christ, Origen
spiritualized the resurrection. He regarded the incorporeal as the ideal state
(platonic dualism; later neo-orthodoxy). In His glorified state, Christ was
only incidentally corporeal—the physical being assimilated into the
spiritual. This would also be true of believers in their glorified state.
e. Universal restoration or apokatastasis—a restitution of all things.
Redemption would be extended to the inhabitants of the stars and to all
rational creatures, and the fallen angels, even the Devil, and all men
would be restored, not perpetually damned. Hell is only a temporary
purging of "diseased" souls (basis of purgatory).
NOTE: Contrary to G. P. Fisher's estimate, Origen is not a biblical but a philosophic
theologian (cf. Fisher, History of Christian Doctrine, p. 105). Much of his theology is
10 Calvin's explanation of the communicatio idiomatum of Christ.
Attributes of deity are clearly applied to his person in John 13:58—"Before Abraham was I am."
Christ is speaking as the God-Man—a person, but he is asserting an existence he had before the
Incarnation. In this statement, Christ, as a person, claims for himself the peculiar attributes of deity
(Calvin, Institutes, II:14:2). Note also Col. 1:15, 17—the preexistence of Christ can only be applied
absolutely to his deity, but yet it is predicated to his person. Paul says that God purchased the church
"with his own blood" (Acts 20:28). God has no blood; he is spirit. There must therefore be a
communication of the attribute of humanity (corporeality) to the person of Christ. See also, 1 Cor.
2:8, where the Jews crucified "the Lord of glory."
Since that Christ, who was true man, shed his blood on the cross for us, the acts which were performed
in his human nature are transferred improperly, but not causelessly, to his divinity. We have a similar
example in the passage where John says that God laid down his life for us (1 John 3:16). Here a
property of his humanity is communicated with his other nature. On the other hand, when Christ, still
living on the earth, said, "No man hath ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven,
even the Son of man, which is in heaven' (John 3:13), certainly regarded as man in the flesh which he
had put on, he was not then in heaven, but inasmuch as he was both God and man, he on account of the
union of a twofold nature, attributed to the one what properly belonged to the other" (Institutes, II:
14:2).
See also Gonzales, History of Christian Thought, I:376.
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speculative. Origen's “gravest errors,” says Westcott, "are attempts to solve that which is
insoluble" (quoted in Schaff, II:790, n. 1)
V. North African School – Carthage (180-325).
A. Charateristics this Latin school of apologetics and polemics.
1. More practical than theological. Note contrast between Greek and Latin
apologists from Farrar (I:237). Both rebuke the pagan attacks against Christians;
emphasize the dignity and relative innocence of Christian character; dwell on the
absurdities and infamies of paganism. But the Greek apologists are more
philosophical and abstract in defending Christianity than the Latin apologists, who
dwell on legal considerations, e.g., the injustice of persecution. The Latin
apologists generally refuse to see any merit in pagan philosophy, unlike the
Greeks. "Their [the Latins'] tone is more contemptuous, their warfare more
internecine. They are more eloquent and more aggressive, but less profound."
2. Dogmatic rather than speculative.
3. Concerned with ecclesiology, the externals of Christianity.
B. Listing of North African Fathers.
1. Tertullian of Carthage (200).
2. Minicius Felix of Cirta (210).
3. Commodianus of Carthage (240).
4. Cyprian of Carthage (246).
5. Arnobius of Sicca (300).
6. Lactantius of Nicomedia (300).
C. Tertullian (c. 150-220).
1. His life.
Foremost Latin apologist and the Father of Latin Theology. Quintus Septimus Florens
Tertullianus was born in Carthage, North Africa, into the home of a Roman proconsular
centurion. He received training in rhetoric, Greek, and probably law. Eusebius refers to him as “a
man accurately acquainted with the Roman laws.” Newman is certain that he was deeply
influenced by Stoic philosophy. He was not converted from paganism until about 40 years of age,
and soon after was appointed presbyter in the Carthaginian church.
He was married, but, because of his later devotion to asceticism, ranked celibacy higher and
advised his wife not to remarry after his death. He even placed remarriage on the level of
adultery.
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In reaction to the laxity of discipline in the Roman church, in morals and theology (especially in
the patripassianism of Zephyrinus and Callistus), he was carried away by the rigor and enthusiasm
of the Montanists around 202. Augustine mentions that he was the founder of the North African
branch of the Montanists, know as “Tertullianists.”
Tertullian vehemently opposed pagan philosophical heresies and devoted himself to their
repudiation. He most resembles Luther in his fiery wit and polemical zeal. Where Luther calls
faith “a reckless” casting of self on God, Tertullian speaks of the "divine foolishness" of the
gospel in refuting Gnosticism. He calls Grecian philosophers the patriarchs of all heresies and
scornfully asks: “What has the academy to do with the church? What has Christ to do with
Plato—Jerusalem with Athens?” His mind is immensely practical, legal, puritan. Schaff states that
“his polemics everywhere leave marks of blood” (II:824). See Schaff (II:824-25) on Tertullian's
style. According to Farrar, Tertullian “never did anything by halves.” This author also criticizes
Montanism as liable to a degeneracy into (1) superstition, (2) tyrannous rigorism, and (3) spiritual
pride (I:187-192); but he goes too far in applying these traits to Tertullian.
Newman lists four groupings of enemies which received polemical treatment by Tertullian: (1)
Monarchians, (2) paganism, (3) various Gnostic systems, and (4) the Jews (I:258-59).
2. His works.
Tertullian is known almost exclusively through his writings. He wrote in Greek but mostly in
Latin. Only 31 of his many Latin works remain; none in Greek. Schaff divides them into 3
classes: Apologetic, Polemic, and Practical or Ascetic. Using Schaff’s classifications, we will
note only the outstanding representative works.
a. APOLOGETICAL works: Apologeticus (c. 197), written during the reign
of Septimus Severus and addressed to the Roman governor. In it, Tertullian
demands equal rights for Christians and repels the attacks of the heathen on
this new religion. It is the first plea for religious freedom as an
inalienable right. Schaff writes, “The cause of truth and justice never
found a more eloquent and fearless defender in the very face of despotic
power and the blazing fires of persecution than the author of this book”
(II:829). Note the following examples of his reasoning in this apology:
(1) Ethical Arguments (standards—right vs. wrong).
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(a) Those who persecute us are ignorant of what and who we
really are.
(b) Christians are treated unjustly and are not accorded
fair treatment under law. They are not permitted to
defend themselves as other criminals.
(c) It is unjust to compel free men to offer sacrifice against
their will.

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(d) Christians actually honor Roman law by leading virtuous
and peaceable lives. Christians pray for Caesar and for peace
in the Empire.
(e) Christians are blamed for calamities but what of those
before the existence of Christianity?
(f) So-called philosophers who speak evil against
government receive better treatment than we who are loyal
to it. Philosophers have actually plagiarized from OT the
truths they teach.
(g) Far from persecution, Christians are owed the
protection of the State.
(h) Rather than a liability, we are an asset to the
Empire.
(2) Moral Arguments (behavior — pure vs. impure).
(a) False accusations of immorality are brought against
us: cannibalism, lasciviousness, incest, etc.
(b) Brotherly love expressed among us you mistake for
immoralities.
(c) The very things of which you accuse us prevail
among you: abortion, exposure of children, divorce,
incest, eating blood, adultery, etc.
(3) Religious Arguments.
(a) We do not worship your gods because they are not the
proper objects of worship. If they really exist let them
condemn us.
(b) Your gods are really demons.
(c) Persecution is due to demon influence.
(d) We worship the only true God.
(e) God has revealed Himself in His written word, a work of
high antiquity, and divine inspiration as indicated by
fulfilled prophecy.
(f) God has also revealed Himself through His Son, who is
uniquely different from Roman gods, and is the Founder of

Christianity.
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b. POLEMICAL works: On the Prescription of Heretics (c. 203)
presents a legal polemic against heretics. A praescriptio is a point of
order against the plaintiff; it insists that he should not be heard because
he has no ground on which to argue. Heretics have no legal right to argue
from the Scripture because it belongs only to the Church, the legitimate
heir and guardian of Christianity, and which only can interpret Scripture.
Another important work, Against Praxeas (c. 210), reveals Tertullian's
trinitarian doctrine (see below). An example of his contempt for heresy
is found in the first line of an extensive work entitled Against Marcion
(208): “Nothing in Pontus is so barbarous and sad as the fact that
Marcion was born there.... Marcion is more savage than even the beasts
of the barbarous region.” According to Newman, Tertullian probably did
more to overthrow Gnosticism than any other man (I:259).
c. PRACTICAL works: Numerous works were written on various
practical subjects from the puritan Montanist viewpoint. Several of his
views have been criticized but they are generally much more sensible
than Clement of Alexandria on the same subjects. Tertullian wrote
against Idolatry, praised a Christian soldier for refusing to wear a pagan
wreath in The Soldier's Garland, and advocated strict modesty in
Women's Dress. He reluctantly condones remarriage in To His Wife and
condemns it outright in Monogamy. He is a firm believer in baptismal
regeneration in the treatise on Baptism. A Christian should have no part
in worldly amusements in The Spectacles.
In the New International Dictionary of the Christian Church (rev. ed.), D. F. Wright relates the
importance of Tertullian's works.
He influenced magisterially the ethos of the African Church and subsequent theology...in the West
by providing terminology for classical trinitarian and christological formulations and by advancing
dogmatic development (p. 961).
3. His theology.
a. Scripture.
The Bible is God's inspired written revelation. Tertullian uniformly insists on only one rule of
faith—the Scriptures. Bishop John Kaye writes, “So great indeed is the weight which he is on
some occasions disposed to ascribe to the authority of Scripture, that he goes the length of
denying the lawfulness of any act which is not permitted therein” (The Ecclesiastical History of
the Second and Third Centuries, p. 143).
b. Trinity.
Tertullian's clearest statement on the Trinity is found in Against Praxeas. He is the first to use the
term to describe this doctrine. The Father, Son, and Holy Ghost are one substance but three

persons. The three persons are equal in status, but differ in gradus (rank). He explains that this
divine “economy” as he calls it, is preserved “by continuous and connected steps.” The Son is
projected by the Father (not emanated) as the root of the tree, and the fountain the river, and the
sun the ray. The Holy Spirit proceeds from both Father and Son. The Paraclete is never identified
with Montanus. His teaching on the Trinity helped decide the Western Church on orthodox
doctrine.
c. Christ.
Tertullian's Christology is anti-Docetic and anti-Modalist. He affirms the absolute humanity of
Christ as well as His deity. In Christ there are two substances—deity and humanity—both
belonging to a single person without confusion. As Fisher describes it, “there is no confusion, but
a conjunction of the human and the divine” (History of Christian Doctrine, p. 92). Christ holds a
subordinate position to the Father “in manner of existence...not in nature” (Apologeticus, 21).
Tertullian, and other polemists, emphasized the incarnation of Christ and a bodily resurrection in
opposition to Platonic and Gnostic dualism. Christ's incarnation proves that the flesh is not
inherently evil. “His work is of lasting significance in connection with the introduction of the
conceptions of substance and person into theology, ideas that were utilized in the construction of
the Nicene Creed” (Berkhof, p. 65).
d. Man.
Tertullian viewed the soul as somehow corporal. Even as the body is transmitted by the
bodies of parents so is the soul transmitted by their souls—this is traducianism. Original sin is
also an inheritance from the parents, but it does not result in total depravity. Man is corrupt but
“there inheres also that principal, that divine and true germanum, and properly natural, good of
the soul. For what is from God is not so much extinguished, because from God” (De Anima, 46).
Man possesses free will to choose obedience or defiance; God's laws assume man has this ability.
Yet man cannot by his own efforts restore himself to the favor of God.
NOTE: It was the tendency of most of the church fathers before Augustine to teach the semi-
Pelagian view of free will and original sin.
e. Atonement.
The death of Christ is the very foundation of man's salvation. The blood of Christ not only saves
but sanctifies the believer. There is, however, nothing said "of a satisfaction rendered by Christ to
divine justice.... the 'satisfaction' of which Tertullian speaks is that which is required of the
penitent Christian" (Fisher, p. 92). Certain post-baptismal sins can never be forgiven, such as
adultery or fornication. Not all men will be saved; eternal punishment awaits the wicked.
f. Sacraments.
No church father is more committed to the efficacy of water baptism for salvation. He opens
his De Baptismate with, “Blessed is our sacrament of water, in that, by washing away the sins of
our early blindness, we are liberated into eternal life.” Yet strangely, he advises against infant
baptism. He believed that a candidate must understand the importance of the sacrament and the
obligation it entails, especially regarding the unpardonableness of some post-baptismal sins.
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Generally, minor post-baptismal sins require satisfaction or penance. On the matter of the
Eucharist, we are not certain whether he attached symbolic or realistic meaning to it.
g. Eschatology.
Tertullian holds to a premillennial return of Christ. The end of the Roman government signals
the beginning of Antichrist's reign. Martyrs ascend immediately into Heaven but others must wait
in Hades until the resurrection. As with other Ant-Nicene fathers, Tertullian believes in a posttribulational
rapture of the church; the tribulation was identified with the Roman persecutions.
There are two bodily resurrections—the just and the unjust. After Christ's bodily return to earth,
He will set up a millennial kingdom.
D. Cyprian (c. 200-258).
1. His life.
Cyprian is known as the Father of Catholic Ecclesiology. Son of wealthy and cultured pagan
parents, Thascius Caecilius Cyprianus was a prominent Carthaginian master of rhetoric before his
conversion to Christianity around 246. See Schaff, II:844 for account. His dedication and natural
ability led quickly to the presbyterate and then the episcopate (c. 248), to the displeasure of some
jealous senior presbyters.
During the Decian persecution (250-51), he went into hiding, a move that incurred suspicion in
Rome and criticism in Carthage. In his absence, some presbyters and confessors assumed the
initiative in reconciling those who had lapsed in the persecution. Cyprian opposed this usurpation
and reserved the issue for an episcopal synod. On his return he delivered a sermon, “The Lapsed,”
and presided over a council which stipulated that the gravity of the lapse should determine the
severity of penance (251). Those who had actually sacrificed to false gods were readmitted only
after a lengthy penance. The “liberal” party, led by deacon Felicissimus and presbyter Novatus,
opposed Cyprian. While Cyprian and the Carthaginian bishop Cornelius took a moderate view
regarding the lapsi, the Roman presbyter, Novatian, believed they should not be readmitted unless
rebaptized.
Another dispute involved the bishop of Rome, Stephen, over schismatic baptism. Cyprian's
view was that the church should not recognize a baptism performed by schismatics or
heretics. Stephen, however, held that the efficacy of the baptism does not depend on the
condition of the baptizer. The latter view prevailed and was accepted by the Roman Catholic
Church (Bruce, Spreading Flame, p. 212; II:78).
In all disputes, Cyprian took the position that outside the visible church there is no salvation.
Unity, rather, than purity of doctrine, was his emphasis. Cyprian was not the theologian as “his
master” Tertullian, but more the pastor and administrator. It is evident from his writings that he
borrowed heavily from the latter father. Cyprian was martyred September 14, 258.
2. His works.
Cyprian's works can be classified into three classifications: ecclesiological, moral, and
apologetical. By far, his most important work belongs in the first category – De Unitate Ecclesiae
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(On the Unity of the Church, 251). Schaff calls this the “Magna Carta” of the old catholic high
church spirit.
3. His theology.
Cyprian agrees essentially with Tertullian in the basic points of theology, with some notable
Exceptions (going way beyond Tertullian’s doctrine of the church). For example, while holding to
Tertullian's view of transmitted guilt from parents, he advocated infant baptism. He was perhaps
the first writer in the Western Church to do so. (cf. Michael Smith, "Cyprian" in Great Leaders of
the Christian Church, p. 62). The following points will deal with this father's major contribution
to the church in the field of ecclesiology. He expresses his exalted view of the church in such
phrases as “he cannot have God for his father who has not the Church for his mother;” “nor is
there any other home to believers but the one Church.” In Cyrian, we can clearly see the
evolutionary development of an ecclesiastical hierarchy.
a. Episcopate = Heart of church. The unity of the church is in its
episcopate, of which all bishops share as a common property. This unity is
not an adjunct to the truth, but an essential part of the truth, so that where
there is no unity there is no truth. And so, apart from this unity, there is no
salvation, no baptism, no Eucharist, no true martyrdom. Yet there is no idea
of this unity centering in one exalted bishop, a “bishop of bishops”
(Gonzalez, I:252). Cyrian practically equated a schismatic with a heretic.
Neither could be saved outside the orthodox church.
b. Episcopate = Authority of church. With Cyprian, the bishop is the
absolute vice-regent of Christ. Lightfoot writes that this supremacy…
had remained hitherto a lofty title or at least a vague ill-defined assumption; it became through
his exertions, a substantial and patent and world-wide fact.... episcopal order was now put
forward as the absolute indefeasible representative of the universal Church.... The bishop is the
indispensable channel of divine grace, the indispensable bond of Christian brotherhood. The
episcopate is not so much the roof as the foundation-stone of the ecclesiastical edifice; not so
much the legitimate development as the primary condition of a church. The bishop is appointed
directly by God, is responsible directly to God, is inspired directly from God (“The Christian
Ministry” in Saint Paul's Epistle to the Philippians, pp. 240-43).
c. Episcopate = Priests of church. Regarding sacerdotalism, Cyprian treats
all the passages in the OT which refer to the activities of the Aaronic
priesthood and applies them to the officers of the church. He is the
champion of undisguised sacerdotalism (cf. Lightfoot, pp. 244 ff).
.
d. Episcopate = a distortion of church. Schaff refutes Cyprian's key
principle: the outward unity of the church.
(1) He blindly identified the spiritual unity of believers with the
unity of an organization.
(2) He insisted on outward conformity at the expense of free
development.
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(3) He confused the imperfect visible church with the ideal and
eternal Body of Christ.
(4) He had a misplaced focus.
"Out of Christ there is no salvation" was contracted and restricted to the Cyprianic principle: "Out
of the (visible) church there is no salvation;" and from this there was only one step to the
fundamental error of Romanism: "Out of the Roman Church there is no salvation" (II:174-75).
e. Episcopate summary. Putting these ideas together, we see that Cyprian
believed that the church is equated with a visible institution; its external
unity is indispensable to its existence; and, apart from it, there is no
salvation. The principal visible expression of this unity is the bishop, an
hierarch who, as OT priest, sacrifices and atones for sins. By the Medieval
period, a central bishop became the center of this visible unity and
salvation. The equation works thus:
Without the church = no salvation
Without the priest = no salvation
Without the pope = no salvation
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During the period A.D. 30 to A.D. 590, one may note the development of church organization
from a simple apostolic assembly of congregation and leaders (presbyters [bishops, pastors] and
deacons), chosen from among the congregation, to a highly structured hierarchy of bishops. The
church changed in its complexion from equality of ministers to a monarchical
episcopate. There was an increasing tendency to make and widen the gap between
clergy and laity, and make of the clergy a sacerdotal priesthood, dispensing grace
through sacraments instead of communicating the Word as God's simple, gracious means of
salvation.
A.D. 100-313 marks a significant period in this development, indicated by three phases: (1)
consolidation of the early church by a centralization of authority in authority of bishops. (2)
Development of a rule of faith, a test of orthodoxy; and (3) recognition of a canon of Scripture
leading to formal conciliar pronouncements. Cairns summarizes these as bond, belief, and book
(p. 115).
I. Development of the Episcopate: the BOND.
A. Important changes from the simple apostolic pattern.
1. Episcopal hierarchy gradually developed.
a. It was expedient.
(1) It was thought to serve as a precaution against schism.
It will nevertheless appear that the pressing needs of the Church were mainly instrumental in
bringing about the result, and that this development of the episcopal office was a providential
safeguard amid the confusion of speculative opinion [including heresy], the distracting effects of
persecution, and the growing anarchy of social life, which threatened not only the extension but the
very existence of the Church of Christ (Lightfoot, Saint Paul's Epistle to the Philippians, 234).
Jerome observed,
before factions were introduced into religion by the prompting of the devil, the churches were
governed by a council of elders, but as soon as each man began to consider those whom he had
baptized to belong to himself and not to Christ, it was decided throughout the world that one
elected from among the elders should be placed over the rest, so that the care of the church should
devolve on him, and the seeds of schism be removed.... When afterwards one presbyter was elected
that he might be placed over the rest, this was done as a remedy against schism (ibid., p. 206).
(2) It was thought to preserve apostolic teaching.
With the destruction of the center of Judaic religion and the birthplace of Christianity —
Jerusalem in A.D. 70, there was a need for strong Christian leadership [centralized] to preserve
and advance Christian doctrine.
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ORGANIZATION O

. It was also dangerous.
The convenience of a high ecclesiastical power, as a safeguard against the forces of disorder and
anarchy, began so to engross the vision of many Christians, that they gave no proper attention to
the dangers to personal freedom which such a power, unchecked, would be sure to involve (H. C.
Sheldon, History of the Christian Church, I:242).
2. The advanced development of episcopacy.
a. Ignatius - bishop, visible center of unity (Lightfoot, p. 234 ff, p. 250)
b. Irenaeus - bishop, depository of apostolic tradition (ibid., pp. 228, 239,
252).
c. Cyprian – bishop, absolute vice-regent of Christ (ibid., pp. 240 ff and p.
258 ff).
[Cyprian] regards the bishop as exclusively the representative of God to the congregation and
hardly, if at all, as the representative of the congregation before God (Lightfoot, p. 243).
3. The unbiblical separation of clergy and laity and sacerdotalism.
a. More or less a universal priesthood of believers taught until Cyprian.
b. Tertullian - first to expressly assert priestly claims on behalf of the
Christian ministry, calling it sacerdotium (Schaff, II:126), yet he
nevertheless teaches the universal priesthood of the believer: “Are not even
we laics [sic] priests?... Where three are, a church is, albeit they be laics.
For each individual lives by his own faith, nor is there exception of persons
with God” (De Exhortatione Castitatis, vii quoted in Sheldon, I:240).
c. Cyprian - applies the functions of the Aaronic priesthood to the ministers
of the church, calling them sacerdotes (priests) and sacerdotium
(priesthood). “He may be called the proper father of the sacerdotal
conception of the Christian ministry as a mediating agency between God
and the people” (Schaff, II:126).
As Cyprian crowned the edifice of episcopal power, so also was he the first to put forward without
relief or disguise these sacerdotal assumptions; and so uncompromising was the tone in which he
asserted them, that nothing was left to his successors but to enforce his principles and reiterate his
language (Lightfoot, p. 259).
d. During the fourth century, the terms “priests” and “clergy” 11 were
applied directly to Christian ministers.
Thus the term "clergy," which first signified the lot by which office was assigned (Acts 1:17,
11 From the Greek word Klaros. See Acts 26:18 and Col. 1:12 where “inheritance” = clergy. See also 1 Peter
5:3 where lit. “exercising lordship over the lots.”
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26), then the office itself, then the persons holding that office, was transferred from the
Christians generally to the ministers exclusively (Schaff, II:127).
e. Sacerdotalism influenced after the death of the Apostles by what
Schaff calls certain reminisces which began to reassert themselves,
sacer = sacred; dotal from do = to do, to make = "to make sacred."
Sacerdos = priest, one who makes sacred.
Jewish Greek
Church offices analogous to Levitical priesthood: Influence of Greek/Roman religion on
Christianity:
High Priest — bishop Priesthood
Priest — presbyter (priest) Altar
Levite — deacon Sacrifice
4. The establishment of ecclesiastical orders.
a. Ordination (consecration by laying on of hands) the form of
admission into the priesthood—ordo ecclesiasticus.
b. Major orders of divine institution: the diaconate, presbyterate,
episcopate.
c. Minor orders – a liaison between clergy proper and people:
multiplied from sub-deacon to ostiary.
d. Two classes of laymen: baptized communicants and catechumens
(under instruction not yet baptized).
5. For a Refutation of the separation of clergy and laity and sacerdotalism -
see Schaff II: 124, 125, 129.
6. Sacramentalism - Elevation of the ordinances to means of saving grace;
communion viewed increasingly, not only as a memorial, but as a sacrifice
(cf. Rom. 12:1; Phil. 2:17; 1 Pet. 2:5; Heb. 13:16).
From the time of Cyprian onwards the sacerdotal character of the Church's ministry is taken for
granted. The acceptation on all sides of the sacrificial character of the Eucharist necessarily
implied the sacerdotal character of the priest (Hastings, Encyclopedia of Religion and Ethics
X:895).
B. Disturbing results of these changes.
1. The doctrine of apostolic succession. In Rome – Petrine succession.
a. A counter-claim to the Gnostic assertion of a secret tradition.
Bishops claim succession from Apostles to strengthen their position as
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heirs of the truth = the apostolic tradition.
b. Came about in the third century. Before then, bishops an elevation
of presbyterate, rather than succession of apostolate (Lightfoot, p.
196).
c. The Anglo-Catholic view of succession differs from the Roman Catholic;
the former is strictly episcopal; the latter is apostolic.
d. Petrine succession – based upon the theory of apostolic succession, this
succession presupposes primus inter pares of the Roman bishops, since
Peter was the "first" among the Apostles. See Schaff, I:256-263 for
refutation.
2. The preeminence of the Roman See or Diocese (Roman District).
a. Gained prestige as a center of persecution.
b. Peter and Paul martyred there. Irenaeus wrote, “The very great very
ancient and universally known church, founded and organized at Rome by
the two most glorious apostles, Peter and Paul.”
c. Paul’s letter to Rome.
d. Reputation for orthodoxy. The East was much more speculative, being
influenced by Hellenistic Philosophy.
e. Bishop’s position grew in importance from one of equality to first
among equals (4 th century), to preeminence (5 th century), to papal
supremacy (6 th century).
II. Development of Rule of Faith: the BELIEF (Creeds and Confessions).
A. Definition = A statement of faith for public use.
B. Types of Confessions.
1. Denominational – arose during the Reformation period as a witness to Protestant
doctrine and a test of biblical orthodoxy.
2. Conciliar or ecumenical – universal creeds which arose during theological
controversies of the 4 th and 5 th centuries.
3. Baptismal – earliest type; adherence determines admittance to rite of baptism.
Apostles’ Creed (c. 150) the oldest, set the pattern for others; begins with
Trinitarian formula.
THE APOSTLES’ CREED
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This is the oldest extra-biblical creed of Christendom and first of the great ecumenical creeds. It is
recited in the Roman Catholic, Lutheran, and Anglican churches, and is either mentioned with
approval or its doctrines are purposely adopted in most of the Reformational creeds. Schaff calls it
the “creed of creeds.” It is the mother of all Christian creeds, and is the grand model for most of
them. It contains all the fundamental doctrines necessary for salvation. Schaff states that
It is by far the best possible summary of the Christian faith even made within so brief a space. It
still surpasses all later symbols for catechetical and liturgical purposes, especially as a profession of
candidates for baptism and church membership…. It has the fragrance of antiquity and the
inestimable weight of universal consent (Creeds of Christendom, I:15).
It is the product of the Western church, written (although not in its final form) about A.D.
150, and was probably drawn from Peter’s confession in Matthew 16:16, and the Trinitarian
baptismal formula found in Matthew 28:19. On legend, quite popular until the mid-1600s,
states that the Apostles themselves wrote the Creed at Pentecost, each one contributing a
separate article – hence 12 articles. For a refutation of this far-fetched view, see Schaff,
Creeds, I:23. It is called Apostles’ Creed only because it embodies apostolic doctrine. The
Creed was issued in different forms and languages – Latin and Greek. The received form of
late 7 th century and the only one popularity used today is what follows.
1. I believe in God the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth.
2. And in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord;
3. Who was conceived by the Holy Ghost, born of the Virgin Mary;
4. Suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, dead, and buried, He descended into
Hell;
5. The third day He rose from the dead;
6. He ascended into heaven; and sitteth on the right hand of God the Father Almighty;
7. From thence He shall come to judge the quick and the dead.
8. I believe in the Holy Spirit;
9. The Holy Catholic [orthodox and universal] Church, the communion of saints;
10. The forgiveness of sins;
11. The resurrection of the body;
12. And the life everlasting.
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III. Recognition [not formation] of the Canon: the BOOK.
A. Definition. “That which measures;” a measuring rod, a standard, measured by the
acid test of divine inspiration.
1. External canonicity – Scripture as the rule by which other works are
measured.
2. Internal canonicity – Witness of Scripture to its own authority.
B. Books of the Bible recognized as authoritative soon after written, but those being
persecuted for having NT books wanted to be sure they were worth dying for.
C. Events making formal recognition necessary. The Edict of 303 under Diocletian,
ordering all sacred books to be burned, and Marcion’s heretical Canon of Scripture, 12
necessitated careful defining of Canon.
D. Criteria of recognition. These are ascertained from minutes of meeting.
1. Authorship. Apostle or close affiliate of an Apostle – marks of Apostolicity.
2. Literary Quality. Content of High Caliber; edifies; possesses analogy of
Scripture.
3. Universality. Did Church as a whole receive it?
4. Divine Inspiration. Evidence of being God breathed? Self-Authenicating?
5. Illumination. Internal witness of the Holy Spirit (1 Cor. 2:14). This point is
closely related to the universality point.
6. Providential Preservation.
E. Recognized books called homologumena. These were confessed or acknowledged
books as opposed to antilegomena or the rejected books (terms used by both
Eusebius and Origen).
F. External evidence. Nearly all the Church Fathers quote from the 27 books of the NT
at one time or another. As bishop of Alexandria, Athanasius addressed an Easter
letter to his constituents in A.D. 367 in which he listed all 27 as canonical. Later, the
12 He included only Luke and the first ten epistles of Paul (excluding the Pastoral Epistles).
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Summary:
synods of Hippo (393) and Carthage (397) officially recognize canonicity.
Irenaeus calls the Gospel a pillar and ground of truth. Tertullian demands scripture proof for
every doctrine, and declares that heretics cannot stand on pure scriptural ground. In Origen's
view nothing deserves credit which cannot be confirmed by the testimony of scripture
(Schaff, II:520). *Give handout on the early church recognizes NT.
The BOND (episcopate) — human leadership in form of writings of the fathers,
conciliar decisions, and episcopal (eventually papal) pronouncements +
The BELIEF — Apostles' Creed +
The BOOK — Bible = all combined to give a pluralistic (rather than singular) authority to
the church. These collective "authorities" combined to take an eminent place in the church.
During the time of the Medieval Period in the West, the pope assumed a prerogative of
preeminent place as the final interpreter of all other authorities = papal absolutism.
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AGE OF CHRISTIAN EMPERORS AND PATRIARCHS
(A.D. 313 13 - 590 14 [325 15 - 451 16 ])
THE SUPREMACY OF THE OLD CATHOLIC IMPERIAL CHURCH 17
We have studied the spread of Christianity in the Roman Empire during the Apostolic Age from
A.D. 30 to 100, and the struggle of the Old Catholic Church for survival during the periods of
persecution and the threat of heresy, during the Age of Martyrs, from A.D. 100 to 313. Now,
with toleration officially granted to Christians and the old heresies sufficiently refuted, the church
faces new problems:
1. Preservation of the biblical manuscripts – the tasks of the monastics (monks).
2. Propagation of the biblical message (the Gospel) – the task of missionaries. Note: most of
the early missionaries of the early church were monks.
4. Propensity for materialistic liturgy – heightened by the
secularization of the church through its union with the state.
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3. Proliferation of new major doctrinal her
fathers in councils.
5. Primacy of the monarchical Roman bishop – founded upon the theory of petrine apostolic
succession.
Note: Perhaps the greatest of all problems was the failure to fully recognize and adequately deal
with the internal dangers that numbers 4 and 5 posed to the church.
13 Edict of Milan.
14 Gregory I, first Medieval Pope.
15 Council of Nicea.
16 Council of Chalcedon.
17 This is not yet the Roman Catholic Church as we know it.

CHURCH AND STATE: AN UNEASY RELATIONSHIP (A.D. 313-590)
For the first time in its history, the church was at peace with the government through
Constantine’s Edict of Milan (313). But “Christianity’s” toleration and eventual recognition as the
official state religion cost the church its true freedom, which is an inheritance from its eternal
Lord, not some temporal lord. Be grateful but also beware of the government that befriends or
finances the church. In return for protection there is usually a price to pay: interference and
control by the state.
I. The Fate of the earlier Roman Persecutors of the Church (see Schaff, III:11, n. 1).
A. Galerius died of a terrible disease.
B. Diocletian committed suicide.
C. Maximin, eastern emperor, died by poison.
II. The Church Under Constantine – Constantine the Great (306-337).
A. First “Christian” emperor of Rome.
1. Devout mother. Son of western emperor Constantius Chlorus. Mother was
Helena (c. 248-327), a devout Christian who was responsible for the erection of
churches on cites connected with Christ's ministry in the Holy Land. Supposedly,
she discovered the cross and parts of it came into the possession of the church as
relics. She is venerated as a saint by both the Western and Eastern churches.
2. Debatable conversion. Proclaimed western augustus at his father's death in 306.
From the contest for supremacy in the West, he defeated his rival Maxentius at the
Milvian Bridge at the Tiber River near Rome. According to Lactantius and
Eusebius he saw a vision of an emblazoned cross in the sky and the words "By this
conquer." As a result, he prepared a standard or labarum of the cross with the X and
P, the first two Greek letters of the name of Christ; this emblem placed on the
shields of his soldiers. He was victorious in battle and shortly thereafter issued,
along with his co-emperor Licinius, the Edict of Milan (313). See Petry, p. 57. The
Edict of Milan officially tolerated Christianity, but it did not yet make Christianity
the official state religion.
3. Dedicated lay-churchman. He presided at the Council of Arles (314) against
the Donatists and the Council of Nicea (325) against the Arians, and because of
his “defense of the faith,” was canonized by the Eastern church.
4. Delayed baptism. He favored Christianity but did not receive baptism until
his deathbed in 337.
B. His greatness.
His greatness…is to be measured more by what he did than by what he was.... Constantine, the
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first Christian Caesar, the founder of Constantinople and the Byzantine empire, and one of the
most gifted, energetic, and successful of the Roman emperors, was the first representative of the
imposing idea of a Christian theocracy, or of that system of policy which assumes all subjects to
be Christians, connects civil and religious rights, and regards church and state as the two arms of
one and the same divine government on earth (Schaff, III:12).
C. His Vices.
1. Paganism. He retained the title Pontifex Maximus, high priest of the pagan state
religion, yet applied to himself “bishop of the bishops,” speaking of his oversight of
the Christian hierarchy. He referred to himself as the bishop of those without and
the proper bishops as the overseers of those within the church.
2. Cruelty. He put to death Licinius (his brother-in-law), a nephew, and his eldest
son Crispus on suspicion of political conspiracy, but when about to receive
baptism, remarked, “Now let us put away all duplicity.”
D. His Virtues (or contributions to the church).
1. Immunities and privileges accorded the church under Constantine.
18 Freeing of slaves.
a. Exemption of the clergy from most public burdens: tax exemption and
freedom from military duty.
b. Enrichment and endowment of the church: restoration of buildings
and estates confiscated during the Diocletian persecution, right of the
church to receive legacies, erection of churches, and donations of funds for
expenses. The older Saint Peter's Basilica in Rome and the Church of the
Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem are two outstanding examples.
c. Fixed income for the clergy. This, however, contributed to indulgence
and spiritual laxness among the bishops.
d. Episcopal decisions had the force of law. “The judgment of the priests
must be regarded as the judgment of Christ Himself,” according to
Constantine. Excommunication, manumission 18 considered binding.
e. Right of Episcopal Intercession. Priests could intercede on behalf of
a criminal.
f. Right of asylum in the church “sanctuary.” The privilege of sanctuary or
refuge in the Christian church gave the priests immense power.
g. The sanction of Sunday and festival observances of the church. No
military activities were permitted and only limited amusements were
allowed on Sundays.
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h. The copying of Scripture encouraged and financed.
2. Humanitarian benefits under Constantine.
a. Restriction of branding slaves on their on face.
b. Recognition of marriages of slaves performed in church.
c. Better treatment of women and children.
d. Discouragement of exposing unwanted children.
e. Laws passed to safeguard the sanctity of marriage.
f. Gladiatorial shows eliminated.
E. Negative results of the "betrothal" of church to state under Constantine.
1. Centralization of authority, rather than independent, autonomous
congregations. Church became even more hierarchical. The beginning of
archbishops and archdeacons.
2. Formalization of Worship. Liturgy became more material and sacramental.
3. Secularization of Church.
a. Imperial patronage was the cause of an unfortunate precedent.
The Christian leaders were so grateful to Constantine for his favour that they allowed him to have
more say in internal church affairs than was his due. By this course they unwittingly but effectively
mortgaged the future of Christian liberty (F. F. Bruce, The Spreading Flame, p. 296; III:13-14).
It was a fatal mistake, and the two powers were destined to suffer long from its unfortunate
consequences. Thus the Church was scarcely freed from the oppression of its persecutors when it
had to encounter a trial more terrible perhaps than that of hostility: the embarrassing and onerous
protection of the State (French R.C. historian, J. R. Palanque, The Church in the Christian Roman
Empire, p. 69).
b. Christianity became Fashionable, Acceptable, and Popular….
which was not really a good thing. It meant a considerable ingress of Christianized pagans into the
church—pagans who had learned the rudiments of Christian doctrine and had been baptized, but
who remained largely pagan in their thoughts and ways. The mob in such great cities as Rome and
Antioch and Alexandria became Christian in name, but in fact it remained the unruly mob (Bruce,
p. 295; III:13).
We destroyed in our prosperity the reputation and power which we acquired in persecutions and
afflictions (Gregory of Nazianzus, c. 380).
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Note Schaff III:93-94. No wonder the puritan Donatists of the fourth century would say in their
defense of spiritual liberty: Quid imperatori cum ecclesia—“What has the emperor to do with the
church?”
F. The Legend of the Donation of Constantine. Until proven spurious by Lorenzo Valla
in the 15th century, it was used to buttress the claims of temporal superiority by Roman
Catholic popes. While the Western church did not canonize Constantine, it venerated his
memory as the founder of the temporal power of the papacy.
III. The Church Under Constantine's Successors.
A. Immediate successors.
With the death of Constantine in 337, the empire was divided among his three sons: Constantine
II, Constans, and Constantius. They were despots who rejected the Christian education
provided for them by their father. Constantine II was slain by his brother Constans (340), who
was murdered by a rival, a field officer by the name of Magnentius (350), leaving Constantius the
sole emperor. Since he prohibited many of the old pagan practices under penalty of death, many
came over to Christianity but without any heart change. It was Constantius who interfered with
the Nicene decision in favor of orthodoxy by championing Arianism and forcing the orthodox
bishop of Cordova, Hosius, to subscribe to the "Blasphemy of Sirmium" in 357, which
anathematized the Athanasian party (see Bettenson, p. 19).
B. Julian the Apostate (361-363).
1. Background. A nephew of Constantine I, born in 331. Most of his family
murdered following the death of his uncle to assure the succession of his three sons
(above). As a youth, educated in Christianity but rejected these teachings in favor
of classical paganism under the tutelage of Libanius the philosopher.
2. Despised Christianity.
a. He did not actually and openly persecute Christians but, instead,
ridiculed them.
He affected compassion for the ‘poor, blind, deluded Galileans, who forsook the most glorious
privilege of man, the worship of the immortal gods, and instead of them worshipped dead men and
dead men's bones’ (Schaff, III:51).
b. He banished the good bishop Athanasius from Alexandria and reviled
him with vulgar language.
c. He placed all education under heathen instructors.
3. Last imperial apostate. After Julian, the succession of “Christian” emperors
continued unbroken until the fall of Constantinople in 1453.
C. Theodosius the Great (379-395).
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1. Reigned as co-emperor in the East from 379 to 392 and was head of the
empire from 392 until his death.
2. He was baptized in 380, gave up the title Pontifex Maximus, and made it
illegal to depart from the orthodox faith of Nicea.
3. In 381, he made Christianity the official religion of the State and
called the Council of Constantinople, which dealt with the humanity of
Christ and ruled against Apollinarianism.
4. When he ordered the massacre of 7,000 Thessalonians because of a riot,
Ambrose, bishop of Milan, forced him to publicly repent. He said, “I know no
bishop but Ambrose.”
Note: With Constantine's move of the capitol to Constantinople in the East (330), he and his
successors assumed the role of caesaro-papist and set the precedent for an eastern state-controlled
church. By this move the question was raised and ever after debated as to the jurisdiction within a
“Christian state” of the imperial and the sacerdotal episcopacy. In other words, who is the rightful
overseer of Christians in a given nation — the temporal overseer or the ecclesiastical overseer?
D. Justinian (527-565).
1. Militarily, he defeated the Vandals in North Africa and drove the Goths
from Italy.
2. His contributions to Christianity.
a. 529 - closing of the School at Athens and the introduction of the
Justinian Code, a combination of Roman laws and Christian ideals: the
foundation of Christian jurisprudence for the Middle Ages.
So the ‘Common Law,’ descending from the Anglo-Saxon times, therefore from heathen
Germandom, has ripened under the influence of Christianity and the church, and betrays this
influence even far more plainly than the Roman code, especially in all that regards the
individual and personal rights and liberties of man (Schaff, III: 111).
b. Built Hagia Sophia (church of Holy Wisdom) in Constantinople, a
masterpiece of workmanship and parent of Byzantine architecture. Some of
the pillars of the Temple of Diana in Ephesus were used in its construction.
Also built monastery of Saint Catherine on Mount Sinai.
c. Condemnation of the three chapters: the writings of bishops Theodore
of Mopsuestia, Theodoret Cyrrhus, and Ibas of Edessa, friends of Nestorius,
yet considered orthodox. The Fifth Ecumenical Council (Constantinople,
553) condemned writings of these men (Nestorianism) and the heresy of
monophysitism (the belief in the fusing of the two natures of Christ into
one).
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Note Schaff’s summary comment, III:135. This ends the material on Exam 1.
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THE TRINITARIAN CHRISTOLOGICAL CONTROVERSIES
(Four Ecumenical Councils)
Note: Give Handout on the 21 “Ecumenical” Councils.
CHRISTOLOGY – PERSPECTIVES ON THE LOGOS: WHO IS HE?
ALEXANDRIA ANTIOCH
Unity of the person of Christ Duality of the natures of Christ
A word-flesh Christology (corporealness) A word-man Christology (personality)
I. Council of Nicea, A.D. 325.
A. Background.
1. Arius, presbyter of Alexandria, criticized bishop Alexander (d. 328) for his
emphasis on the unity of essence of the Godhead and not making a distinction in
the persons.
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2. Alexander convoked a synod (321) which deposed Arius for the heresy of
denying the full deity of Christ. To Arius, the Son was the logos who was divine
but created. He therefore taught a form of ontological subordinationism. Arius said
that there was a time when the Son was not. Arius took refuge with supporter
Eusebius of Nicomedia.
3. Constantine, who had convened the Council of Arles in 314 to deal with the
Donatist Schism, calls for an ecumenical council (world-wide) in order to deal with
the problems of the time for celebrating Easter, the Arian dispute, and lesser
problems. 318 bishops (only one from the West – Hosius) began to assemble on
May 20 and Constantine formally opened the Council on June 19.
B. Major issue at stake: What is Christ’s relationship to the Godhead?
C. Parties and their positions.
1. Constantine. No theologian; wanted only resolution of differences for sake of
unity.
2. Arius (c. 250-336). Christ is heteros or a different substance from the
Father. He is not of the same essence as the Father (substance equal's essence for
purposes of discussion). Also the position of Eusebius of Nicomedia and others.
3. Eusebius of Caesarea (c. 263-339). Father of church history. His Life of
Constantine, Chronicles, Martyrs of Palestine, and especially his Ecclesiastical
History are invaluable, and in some cases the only, source of information on early
church history. Eusebius of Caesarea took a mediating position. Christ is

homoiousios or of a similar substance as the Father. Eusebius submitted his creed
to compromise the differences of the two parties.
4. Athanasius (c. 296-373). See below for life and theology. Christ is homoousios
or the same substance as the Father. Christ is begotten not made and there was
never a time when He was not (implying eternal generation of the Logos from the
Father).
D. Results of the Council.
1. Arianism was condemned and the position of Athanasius was accepted as
orthodox (the view which had already been accepted in the West as dogma since
the time of Tertullian).
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2. The Nicene Formula was approved which was later amended at the Council of
Constantinople in 381 and was finally approved as the Nicene Creed at the Council
of Chalcedon in 451. The Western Church added the filioque (“and the Son")
clause at the Council of Toledo, 589. This became a factor in the split of the church
in 1054. Controversy over interpretation of John 14:26 and 15:26.
Such was the origin of "the holy symbol, declared at Nice (A.D. 325), established at Constantinople
(A.D. 381), strengthened at Ephesus (A.D. 431), sealed at Chalcedon (A.D. 451)," and
which received its last touch in the unauthorized addition of the word Filioque at the Provincial
Council of Toledo (A.D. 589) (Farrar, Lives of the Fathers, p. 490).
3. Other decisions. Equality of metropolitans and patriarchal jurisdiction; Easter
date established according to Western view (nearest Sunday to exact date); validity
of heretical baptism confirmed; Meletian Schism healed. (Meletius, bishop of
Lycopolis, arrogated to himself the position of primate of Egypt over Peter of
Alexandria. Peter deposed him in 306, but issue still undecided. Not to be confused
with Meletian Schism at Antioch in the 360’s.)
Note: Beginning with Constantinople, questions centered on the relationship of the person and
the natures of Christ.
II. Council of Constantinople, A.D. 381.
A. Background.
1. A gathering of only 150 bishops. Not really universal because no Western or
Roman bishop or representative there.
2. Only adherents of the Nicene Formula attended.
3. Theodosius I called the Council, but did not attend.
4. Occasion for the calling of the Council — persistence of Arianism and the
teaching of Apollinaris of Laodicea.

B. Major issues at stake: Is Christ fully human and is the Holy Spirit fully divine?
C. The parties and their positions.
1. Apollinaris - a friend of Athanasius, but overreacted to Arianism in defending
the full deity of Christ by denying His full humanity. Taught that the spirit of
Christ's humanity was replaced by the Logos (that Christ's soul was really the
Logos). The only thing really human about Christ was his body. If this were the
case, how is it that the Logos would be subject to weakness and ignorance?
2. The Cappadocian bishops clearly defined the theological distinctions
regarding the person and natures of Christ (We will look at sketches of their
lives and teachings in a later lecture).
D. Results of the Council.
1. Arianism was once again condemned.
2. Apollinarianism was condemned.
3. The view of Macedonius, bishop of Constantinople (341-360), was
condemned: pneumatomachianism (enemy of the Spirit).
4. The full humanity of Christ and the deity of the Holy Spirit were upheld.
III. Council of Ephesus, A. D. 431.
A. Background.
1. The Council was summoned by Theodosius II and presided over by the
conniving Cyril of Alexandria. Delegates eventually totaled 198, including
papal representatives.
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2. Nestorius, formerly monk and presbyter in Antioch and later patriarch of
Constantinople, objected to the term Theotokos (God-bearer) as applied to Mary and
preferred the term Christotokos (Christ-bearer). Cyril and Nestorius hurled
anathemas at each other. Cyril presided over Council to depose Nestorius.
3. The Council refused to wait on John of Antioch (friend of Nestorius) who arrived
five days after the Council began, called his own council and condemned Cyril.
B. Major issue at stake: Does Christ have one or two natures?
C. Parties and their positions.
1. Cyril of Alexandria unduly exalted Mary by, in effect, making her the “Mother
of God.” Great stress on the divine personality of Christ. “In him we have a striking
proof that the value of a doctrine cannot always be judged by the personal worth of

its representatives” (Schaff, III:721).
2. Nestorius denied the unity of the person of Christ; placed such stress on the
distinctions of natures that he made of Christ a "double-person" or two persons.
Only a moral or sympathetic union existed between the two natures.
3. Orthodox position: a union, but not a fusion or confusion. Do not divide the
natures nor confound the person.
D. Results of the Council.
1. Nestorianism was condemned but found asylum in Persia and spread as far as
India and China. Mohammed received his knowledge of Christianity from a
Nestorian monk named Sergius.
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2. Pelagianism was again condemned. Pope agreed to side with Cyril in exchange
for latter's agreement to anathematize Pelagianism, a major doctrinal threat in West.
IV. Council of Chalcedon, A.D. 451.
A. Background.
1. Called by Emperor Marcion and attended by well over 500 bishops.
2. Eutyches, a monk of Constantinople, taught a type of monophysitism — the
blending of the two natures of Christ into one nature, the divine. This view was
condemned by Leo I's famous Tome (c. 450) and by Flavian, patriarch of
Constantinople.
3. Dioscorus, successor to Cyril as bishop of Alexandria, opposed Eutyches but
feigned support of him at the "Robber Synod" of 449 (see Douglas, New
International Dictionary of the Christian Church, p. 344). Theodosius II convened
this synod presided over by Dioscorus; Eutyches was exonerated. At urging of
pope the Chalcedon Council was convened in 451 by emperor Marcion.
B. Major Issue at stake: What is the relationship between the two natures of Christ?
C. Parties and their positions.
1. Leo I (440-461) the Great – the representative of orthodoxy; his Tome becomes
the standard of orthodoxy (cf. Bettenson. p. 49).
2. Eutyches – blending of natures into one or confounding the two natures; body
of Christ not actually human.
D. Results of the Council.
1. Upheld all the preceding doctrinal formulae of Nicea, Constantinople, and
the two natures of Christ.

2. The duality of natures and the unity of the person of Christ are affirmed.
3. Monophysitism or Eutychianism is condemned.
4. Pope Leo I confirmed the doctrines and canons of the Council except for canon
28, which made the Patriarch of Constantinople equal to him.
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Four principal heresies there are which have...withstood the truth: Arians, by bending themselves
against the Deity of Christ; Apollinarians, by maiming and misrepresenting that which belongs to
His human nature; Nestorians, by rending Christ asunder and dividing Him into two persons; the
followers of Eutyches, by confounding in His person those natures which they should distinguish.
Against these there have been four most famous ancient general councils.,.. In four words, alethos,
teleos, adiairetos, asugchutos, truly, perfectly, indivisibly, distinctly, the first applied to His being
God, and the second to His being man, the third to His being of both One, and the fourth to His still
continuing in that one Both: we may fully, by way of abridgment, comprise whatsoever antiquity
hath at large handled either in declaration of Christian belief or in refutation of the foresaid
heresies (Richard Hooker Laws of Ecclesiastical Polity, V:54, 10).
* Note: Give handout on Summary Chart of the TCC.

NICENE FORMULA (Nicea, A.D. 325)
We believe in one God, the Father Almighty, Maker of all things visible and invisible.
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And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, begotten of the Father (the only-begotten;
that is, of the essence of the Father, God of God), Light of Light, very God of very God, begotten,
not made, being of one substance (homoousion) with the Father; by whom all things were made
(both in heaven and on earth); who for us men, and for our salvation, came down and was
incarnate and was made man, he suffered, and the third day he rose again, ascended into heaven;
from thence he shall come to judge the quick and the dead.
And in the Holy Ghost.
(But those who say: "There was a time when he was not;" and "He was not before he was
made;" and "He was made out of nothing," or "He is of another substance" or "essence," or "The
Son of God is created," or "changeable," or "alterable"—they are condemned by the holy catholic
and apostolic Church.)
NICENE CREED (Constantinopolitan, A.D. 381)
We believe in one God, the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth, and of all things
visible and invisible.
And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only-begotten of the Father before all worlds (aeons),
Light of Light, very God of very God, begotten not made, being of one substance with the Father;
by whom all things were made; who for us men, and for our salvation, came down from heaven,
and was incarnate by the Holy Ghost of the Virgin Mary, and was made man; he was crucified for
us under Pontius Pilate, and suffered, and was buried, and the third day he rose again, according
to the Scriptures, and ascended into heaven, and sitteth on the right hand of the Father; from
thence he shall come again, with glory, to judge the quick and the dead; whose kingdom shall
have no end.
And in the Holy Ghost, the Lord and Giver of life, who proceedeth from the Father
[filioque = and the Son], who with the Father and the Son together is worshiped and glorified,
who spake by the prophets. In one holy catholic and apostolic Church; we acknowledge one
baptism for the remission of sins; we look for the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the
world to come. Amen.

THEOLOGICAL TERMS OF THE TCC
1. Christotokos - Christ-bearer, that is, literally "one who brings forth or gives birth to Christ."
Applied to the Virgin Mary by Nestorius.
2. Consubstantial - Latin term meaning "same substance," synonymous with homoousios,
employed by Athanasius.
3. Ecumenical - from the Greek noun oikoumene, meaning "inhabited earth." The adjective
would refer to "world-wide." Relating to a synod the decrees of which have been accepted by
universal Christendom.
4. Eternal generation - Christ has always been generated or begotten of the Father. There was
not a time when He was not. Cf. John 1:18; I John 4:9; John 5:26.
5. Heteros - meaning "other" or "different." The term used by Arius in referring to the essence or
substance of Jesus. He taught that the Logos was created. There was a time when He was not.
6. Homoiousios - meaning similar substance or property. The term of compromise employed by
Eusebius of Caesarea. He taught that Christ was not created but begotten in time.
7. Homoousios - meaning identical substance or property. The term used by Alexander and
Athanasius of Alexandria in defending the absolute deity of Christ. They taught that He was of
exact substance or essence as the Father. Cf. John 10:30.
8. Hypostasis - a support, base, or foundation (NT); from hyphistasthai, "a standing under."
Theological meaning: "substance" or "essence," denoting a real personal subsistence or person.
The "hypostatical union" refers to sameness of essence of Father and Son with a distinction in
persons (three subsistences in the one undivided essence). Athanasius would say Christ is
consubstantial with (the same essence as) the Father to protect Christ's deity, but hypostatical
with (a distinct person from) the Father to protect the trinity = three persons; same essence.
9. Monophysitism - the belief that the two natures of Christ are fused into one. This was
Eutyches' position at the Council of Chalcedon (451).
10. Monothelism or Monothelitism - the belief which usually follows monophysitism: if Christ
had only one nature, then He must have had only one will.
11. Procession - referring to the Holy Spirit proceeding from the Father and the Son (filioque).
Based on John 15:26. Cf. Rom. 8:9 and Gal. 4:6.
12. Theotokos - God-bearer, that is, literally "one who brings forth or gives birth to God."
Applied to the Virgin Mary by Cyril of Alexandria.
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I. The Greek Fathers.
THE NICENE AND POST-NICENE FATHERS
("Golden Age" of Patristics), A.D. 325-451
A. Introduction.
1. These theologians of distinction hammered out the fine points of doctrine
in the Trinitarian Christological Controversies.
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2. Theological controversies resulted in councils attempting to resolve the issues by
formulating creeds (cf. Cairns, p. 131).
3. The doctrines at stake: the deity of Christ, the humanity of Christ, the person of
Christ, the natures of Christ, and the person of the Holy Spirit.
B. Athanasius (c. 296-373).
1. His life.
Athanasius the Great, the Father of orthodoxy against the “madness” of Arianism, was born to
Christian parents in north Egypt, and received an excellent training in the catechetical school of
Alexandria. He was deeply moved, as a youth, by the martyrdoms of brave Christians and the
influence of Alexander, bishop of Alexandria. Rufinus tells the story that Alexander noticed from
his window some boys playing by the sea. They “consecrated” Athanasius bishop and he actually
baptized some of them with all the proper forms. Alexander recognized their baptism as valid, as
the story goes, and advised that they should train for the ministry. He invited Athanasius to his
home as a “young Samuel.” Later, Alexander ordained Athanasius deacon.
Of small stature and keen mind, Athanasius served Alexander and the church well. When the
Arian controversy arose and bishops were summoned to Nicea by the emperor Constantine in
A.D. 325 to settle the matter, Athanasius was active in defending what became the orthodox
position on the deity of Christ. Mikolaski writes that he became “a clear-minded and skilled
theologian, a prolific writer with a journalist's instinct for the power of the pen, and a devout
Christian – which endeared him to the large Christian public of Alexandria and the vast majority
of the clergy and monks of Egypt” (International Dictionary of the Christian Church, p. 81).
“Athanasius stood for principle at any price; Constantine for concord at any price” (Bruce,
Spreading Flame, p. 309).
Because of his consistent and courageous stand on biblical doctrine, Athanasius was exiled five
different times under four different emperors. One of these, Julian the Apostate, contemptuously
called the godly churchman “the black dwarf” because of his small stature and set convictions.
When Alexander lay on his deathbed, he expressed the people's wish that Athanasius succeed him
as bishop. Not wishing the position, the modest young man hid in the desert. He was later found
and consecrated to the position where he served forty-five honorable but tumultuous years. He
became the focal point of Arian attack, especially from the Arian bishop of Nicomedia, Eusebius.
During one of his forced exiles, he fled to Rome where he apparently introduced monasticism

(which earned him the title “Father of Western Monasticism” by the R.C. Church). His “levitical
letter” to Bishops Throughout the World (339) is both an expose of the invasion of the Arian
pseudo-bishop Gregory into his see amidst terrible violence and an appeal to the bishops to
avenge this intrusion into the ministry of Christ.
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An emaciated, white-haired old man, he finally died in peace in his beloved Alexandria, still
fighting Arianism. Perhaps no better tribute could be given than that of F. Loofs in Schaff-Herzog.
Through evil report and good report, through the many changes of a long and eventful career, he
maintained indisputably his title to the respect which we give to love of truth and honesty of mind
(I:346).
2. His works.
Mostly letters, sermons, and fragments on selected topics, especially Arianism. Important
treatises are his Life of Antony, a biography of the Father of Monasticism; and the Four Discourses
Against the Arians, the polemical masterpiece of Athanasius. Also, other important
theological works are Contra Gentes (Against the Heathen) and De Incarnatione (On the
Incarnation).
3. His theology.
Nicene orthodoxy is nearly synonymous with the name Athanasius. All that the Nicene Creed
stated, he had already asserted in his writings and would continue to defend until his death. He
took the orthodox, biblical position on all major doctrines. One peculiarity was his belief that the
Holy Spirit descended upon the host at the words of blessing by the priest.
a. Scripture.
In his famous Easter letter of 367, Athanasius lists all the books of the NT which were recognized
as canonical. He calls these books “the fountains of salvation.” In them alone “is proclaimed the
doctrine of godliness.”
b. Trinity.
Athanasius held to a strict monotheism. Nature and conscience attest to the fact of one God.
Christ is the living Logos, by Whom the universe was created and is sustained. Christ is God,
eternally-generated from the Father. He deals very little with the Holy Spirit but does state that He
is of the same substance as the Father in his Four Letters to Serapion. The Trinity is
consubstantial and indivisible as to essence, possessing a hypostatical union.
c. Christ and Salvation.
Athanasius is known for his defense of two doctrines which are really inseparable: Christology
and Soteriology — the salvation of man by a fully divine Christ in opposition to Arianism.
Athanasius’ doctrine of Christ was virtually settled even before the Arian controversy but was
clearly delineated during it. Christ is the eternally-generated Son of God, being a separate person,
yet having identical (homoousios) essence with the Father. He is pre-existent: there never was a

time when he was not. He is not “deified” but possesses essential deity from all eternity.
Athanasius does believe in the communicatio idiomatum with the divine nature dominant. Christ
is the very image of God, revealing God to man, becoming man in the flesh, dying, and rising
again in order to redeem sinful man. Salvation is tied to Athanasius’ doctrine of Christ. Since
only God can save mankind, Christ, who is God, became man to redeem man. Some of his
arguments follow (cf. Gonzalez, I:305-06).
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(1) The Arian doctrine, which makes Christ of a different (heteros)
substance from the Father, actually teaches a form of polytheism,
since we are told to worship God and Christ.
(2) Besides, the doctrine that sees the Word as an intermediate
being between the world and the wholly transcendent God,
does not solve the problem posed, for it would then be
necessary to place other intermediate beings between God and
the Word and between the Word and creation, so that the
difficulties would only be multiplied unto infinity. In other
words, how can Christ be the bridge to God unless He is both
immanent and transcendent, two attributes which only God
possesses.
d. Refutation of Arianism. Some selective textual interpretations of
Scriptural texts used by Arians to refute the orthodox doctrine of
Christ's deity, found in Four Discourses Against the Arians by
Athanasius.
(1) Phil. 2:9-10. “If Jesus becomes Son when He is first called
Son at His incarnation, what was He before the incarnation? If
He is not Son eternally then John 17:5 makes no sense. He is
not offspring of the Father of reward but of essence.”
(2) Heb. 1:4. “Being made” should be interpreted in the same
sense as “the word made flesh.” It refers to His flesh not His
divine nature. Also, the ministry of the Incarnate Son exceeds
that of the best servants — the angels. “The word ‘better’ is not
used to compare but to contrast, because of the difference of
His nature from them.” The Son, therefore, sits at God's right
hand; the angels are sent to minister.
(3) Prov. 8:22. A verse which appears to favor the Arian view
of a created Christ, but proves instead, within the context of the
passage, that certain terms of origination refer only to the
human nature or ministry of Christ, not His eternal essence as
God.
C. The Three Cappadocians (Turkey): Basil (the Great) of Caesarea (c. 329-379),
Gregory of Nyssa (c. 330-c. 394), and Gregory of Nazianzus (c. 330-c. 390). First two
are brothers.

1. Overview of contributions.
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In the days of the Cappadocian fathers, the region did not have a very good reputation. Farrar
states that “in the Greek anthology there is an epigram which says that ‘a viper bit a Cappadocian,
and the viper died’” (I:660). He also quotes fifth century writer Isidore of Pelusium as saying the
Cappadocians are “deceptive, and wicked, not delighting in peace, but nurtured in discord” (ibid.).
The Cappadocian fathers were notable exceptions to this “rule” of behavior. Gonzalez provides
the best introduction to these men and their contributions to Church history.
Apart from their great achievements in other fields of ecclesiastical life—liturgy and
administration in the case of Basil, rhetoric and poetry in Gregory of Nazianzus, and mysticism in
Gregory of Nyssa [Basil's brother]—the work of the three great Cappadocians consisted in
clarifying, defining, and defending Trinitarian doctrine. They were instrumental in the defeat of
Arianism as well as the Pneumatomachians. 19 Basil set the foundation for the work of the other
two, and he also divulged trinitarian doctrine through his liturgical innovations. Gregory of
Nazianzus placed the best resources of language at the service of the Nicene faith, and composed
hymns that contributed to the popularizing of that doctrine, as had been done earlier by the Arians.
Gregory of Nyssa, building upon the foundations of Basil and Gregory of Nazianzus, gave greater
precision and logical coherence to their doctrine (Gonzales, I:330).
2. Their theology.
Gregory of Nazianzus, Basil of Caesarea, and Gregory of Nyssa agreed on most points of
theology, and so their views will be taken together; major differences will be noted separately.
a. Trinity.
The major contribution of the Cappadocians to theology was in their development of the doctrine
of the trinity. For the first time a clear distinction was made between the ousia (essence) and the
three hypostases (persons) of the Godhead. The best illustration of this is the formula, “I believe
in God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.” Godhead is common to all three, but
each is a distinct person. Basil writes,
He who has a conception of the Father conceives Him as He is in Himself, and at the same time
includes the Son in his mental picture; and when he thus apprehends the Son, he does not separate
the Spirit from the Son.
They deny any subordination of the three Persons with each other yet affirm that the Son
generates from the Father and the Holy Spirit spirates from Him. Gregory of Nyssa comes quite
close to teaching the filioque doctrine of the West when he states, “We acknowledge the Holy
Spirit to be indeed from God, and of Christ, according to the Scriptures” (cf. John 14:26, 15:26).
b. Holy Spirit.
19 Literally, “fighters against the Spirit.” Fourth-century group who denied the deity of the Holy Spirit.
Attacked by the Cappadocians, they and their teachings were anathematized at the Council of Constantinople in
381.

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Against the pneumatomachians (enemies of the Spirit), the Cappadocians taught the
consubstantially of the Holy Spirit with the Father and the Son. All of the divine attributes which
can be applied to Them, can be applied to Him.
c. Christ.
Against the Arians, Christ is truly God. Against the Apollinarians, He possesses, with the
incarnation, two distinct natures, human and divine. However, they do teach a communicatio
idiomatum (communication of attributes). Gregory of Nyssa writes, “The divine nature was
implanted in both body and soul in corresponding measure and became united to both.” The
Lord's rational soul provides a meeting place for the divine and human natures (J. N. D. Kelly,
Early Christian Doctrines, p. 298). In this context, Mary is the Mother of God, yet Christ did not
pass through the Virgin “as through a channel.”
d. Redemption.
The ransom of Christ for our salvation was not paid to Satan but to God the Father, “not
because He demanded nor needed it, but because this was a part of the divine plan”
(Greg. of Nazianzus). Basil vacillated between ransom being paid to Satan or to God.
Greg. of Nyssa—ransom paid to Satan.
e. Man.
Man is a fallen sinner because of his own free will. The worst sin is to deny Christ. All
three appear to rule out original sin. While two of the Cappadocians believe in the
eternal damnation of unbelievers in hell, Nyssa holds that God would not create
anything that He would finally destroy. Hell, then, is a place of purging for sinners that
they might be finally restored.
f. Sacraments.
All three make much of baptism as the means of salvation. Heretical baptism is not invalid;
in fact, anyone can do it. Likewise, the Eucharist. Baptism is by immersion, three times,
corresponding to the three persons of the Trinity and the three days and nights Christ was in
the tomb. Infant baptism is permitted on the basis of OT circumcision as a figure and the
spiritual safety of the child. Gregory of Nyssa anticipates the dogma of transubstantiation
with his teaching on the Eucharist. “The bread is, to begin with, common bread, but when the
sacramental act has consecrated it, it is called, and becomes, the body of Christ. So with the
sacramental oil and the wine.” And again,
It is for this purpose that by the divine plan of His grace He plants Himself in the believers by
means of that flesh, composed of bread and wine, blending Himself with the bodies of believers,
so that man also may share in immortality by union with the immortal.
II. The Antiochean School.
A. Introduction.

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1. The founders of the Antiochean school of interpretation are Diodorus of Tarsus
(c. 379-394) and Theodore of Mopsuestia (393-428). The latter is called the
“prince of ancient exegetes.” This school was not a formal institution like the
Alexandrian catechetical school but was a system of interpretation which was
resident in Antioch of Syria. The Antiocheans, such as Theodore and his friend
John of Antioch (Chrysostom), rejected the allegorical approach to hermeneutics
in favor of the grammatical, historical approach to exegesis. Because of this, the
homilies and commentaries of these men are of great and lasting value to the
church.
2. Because of his association with Nestorius, Theodore was condemned by
Emperor Justinian in the Three Chapters (543-44). For more political than
theological reasons, the fifth ecumenical council, that of Chalcedon (553), upheld
the condemnation. The western bishop of Rome, Vigilius, vacillated on the issue
but finally acquiesced to the council’s decision, yet many western churchmen
rejected it. Scholars have generally vindicated Theodore as being truly orthodox,
yet erring in his over-emphasis on the separateness of the human and the divine
natures in Christ.
3. The Antiochean School – especially Theodore of Mopsuestia and Nestorius –
tended to emphasize the humanity of Christ to the point to point of making Him
two persons and thus damaging the doctrine of the unity person. They viewed Him
not as the God-Man, but as a man indwelt by God. The tendency bordered on
Adoptionism. Paul of Samasota (Dynamic Monarchianism) occupied the episcopal
chair at Antioch from A.D. 260 to 269. His heresy may have had some impact on
Antiochean theology.
B. John Chrysostom (347-407).
1. His life.
Because of his reputation as a great expository preacher in the Greek church, John of Antioch was
given the name Chrysostomus or “golden-mouthed.” Schaff states that “no one of the Oriental
fathers has left a more spotless reputation; no one is so much read and so often quoted by modern
commentators” (III:934). Next to Augustine, he is the favorite church father of the Reformers.
Born in Antioch to a Roman officer and Christian mother, Anthusa, he received an education in
rhetoric and philosophy from the celebrated pagan teacher Libanius. Shortly after his conversion
(c. 370), he inclined toward monasticism, but his widowed mother persuaded him to remain at
home. The bishop of Antioch, Meletius, made him a reader in the church and instructed him
spiritually. When Meletius went into exile, Chrysostom avoided election to the bishopric by
duping his friend into receiving the office. After his mother's death, he lived six years as a
monastic in the nearby mountains in the company of his friend Theodore of Mopsuestia. In 380,
he returned to Antioch because of ill-health; shortly after he was made deacon by Meletius. Five
years later he was ordained priest.
During his seventeen-year ministry at Antioch, John's reputation as Chrysostom was established.

Most of his homilies and commentaries are attributed to this period. After the death of Nectarius,
patriarch of Constantinople (398), Chrysostom was virtually kidnapped from Antioch and
installed as his successor. Here, in the imperial city of luxury and corruption, Chrysostom made
several enemies among the clergy and royalty because of his forceful preaching against sin.
Schaff tells us that his pointed sermons aroused the wrath of the empress Eudoxia and his fame
provoked jealousy in Theophilus, patriarch of Alexandria. Reportedly, Chrysostom declared,
“Again, Herodias rages; again she is confounded; again she dances; again she demands the head
of John on a charger.” It was Theophilus who convened an illegal meeting of disgruntled bishops
– the Synod of Oak (403) – and contrived 29 charges against Chrysostom. D. F. Wright
comments,
Deposed and exiled but rapidly recalled, he again infuriated Eudoxia, and after disobeying an
imperial fiat to relinquish episcopal duties, which led to bloodshed at the Easter baptisms, he was
again exiled (404) to Cucusus in Armenia Secunda; there he proved so accessible and influential
that he was ordered to migrate to Pityus on the E. Black Sea. He died on the rigors of this forced
journey at Comana in Pontus (407). Pope Innocent I broke communion with Constantinople,
Alexandria and Antioch over John's deposition and resumed it only after his posthumous
vindication. John's remains were honorably interred in Constantinople in 438 (International
Dictionary of the Christian Church, p. 226).
See also, Schaff, III: 938 for a tribute.
2. His works.
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Chrysostom’s biographer, Palladius, divides his works into three categories: sermons, treatises,
and letters (242 in number). Known as the Catalogus Augustanus, his collected works number 102
titles. In addition, his 600 plus sermons cover Genesis and Psalms and nearly the entire NT. Most
of his treatises cover areas of practical and moral living. Some examples follow as cited in M. L.
W. Laistner, Christianity and Pagan Culture in the Later Roman Empire Together with an
English Translation of John Chrysostom's Address on Vainglory and the Right Way for Parents to
Bring Up Their Children.
On boy's long hair:
And thou lettest his hair hang down behind, thereby at once making him look effeminate and like a
girl and softening the ruggedness of his sex.... “If a man have long hair,” Paul says (1 Cor 11:14),
“it is a shame unto him.” Nature disallows it, God has not sanctioned it, the thing is forbidden. It is
an act of pagan superstition (p. 94).
On female ornaments:
The girl who has been reared in her mother’s quarters to be excited by female ornaments, when
she leaves her father's house will be a sore vexation to her bridegroom and a greater burden to him
than the tax collectors (ibid.).
On rearing sons:
And even if thou art conscious of a myriad vices within thyself, nevertheless devise some
compensation for thy vices.... Raise up an athlete for Christ! and teach him though he is living in
the world to be reverent from his earliest youth (p. 95).

3. His theology.
a. Scripture.
With others of the Antiochean School (Diodorus of Tarsus, Theodore of Mopsuestia [Prince of
Ancient Exegetes], and Theodoret, Chrysostom adhered to the grammatical-historical interpretation
of Scripture. He agreed with the Alexandrian School on divine inspiration and authority of
Scripture but disagreed with its allegorical method of interpretation. As to the text of the Greek
NT, Schaff states that he is the “chief witness of the Syro-Constantinopolitan recension [collection
of NT writings in Byzantine MS], which was followed by the later Greek Fathers.” See also,
F. F. Bruce, The Books and the Parchments, pp. 186-87. Of all his homilies, the Corinthian and
Matthew works are probably the most valuable. Of the latter Thomas Aquinas declared he would
rather possess them than be the master of all Paris (Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, First Series,
IX:18-19).
b. Christ.
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Chrysostom holds to the Nicene view of the Trinity and Christ. He uses the typical Eastern
analogy of the sun and its rays to describe the deity of Christ. He denies monophysitism when he
says, “One nature is not transformed into the other but is united with it,” a union but no confusion.
c. Salvation.
Chrysostom believes in an unlimited atonement. He is semi-Pelagian or synergistic in his view of
salvation. God's grace is given to help man to respond to God's offer.
d. Man.
Chrysostom stresses free will. While man’s will is damaged by the Fall, he still has the power to
accept or reject salvation. Man becomes a sinner “on his own responsibility.”
e. Sacraments.
Regarding the Eucharist, he speaks of the divine presence in the “sacrifice” but does not clearly
define the teaching. In one place the sacrament is a memorial; in another, the actual body and
blood of Christ. He strongly believes in baptismal regeneration.
f. Church.
Chrysostom furnished no support for Mariolatry; he does not use the term theotokos. He concedes
to the pope a primacy of honor, as successor to Peter, but not in supremacy of jurisdiction
(Schaff).
III. Latin Fathers.
Note: Schaff s interesting anecdote about clapping in note #3, III:938.

A. Introduction.
1. The great Augustinian-Pelagian Controversies; focus of doctrine: soteriology
and anthropology, specifically the doctrine of original sin.
2. The Donatist Controversy involving unity (disunity) of church.
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3. Production of the greatest literature of Patristic Age: Vulgate and Augustianian
literature, which had lasting impact on both Roman Catholicism and Protestantism.
B. Ambrose (c. 340-397).
1. His life.
One of the four great Latin Doctors of the Western Church, Ambrose was born in Treves, Gaul,
where his father Aurelius Ambrosius was governor. His Christian parents encouraged him to train
in legal studies at Rome. In 370, he was appointed governor of Aemilia-Liguria in upper Italy, its
principal city being Milan. Upon his appointment, the prefect Probus gave him the surprising advice:
“Go and act, not as a judge, but as a bishop.” At this time Ambrose had not even been baptized!
When Auxentius, bishop of Milan, died in 374, a controversy arose among the people as to the
successor. In the midst of agitation a child cried, “Let Ambrose be bishop!” It was considered a
divine approval, and the reluctant Ambrose was quickly baptized and eight days later consecrated
bishop. He took his new role seriously by giving his wealth to the poor and studying the Scriptures
and ecclesiastical writers, especially Basil of Caesarea and Didymus of Alexandria. He
preached regularly and labored in the instruction of catechumens, of whom Augustine was the
most famous.
His life was full of conflicts in the defense of orthodoxy against Arianism and with western
monarchs whose behavior he chastened. When the Arian empress demanded a basilica for
worship of her sect in Milan, Ambrose refused both she and her son Valentinian II, saying, “The
Emperor has his palaces, let him leave the churches to the bishop.” His maxim was the emperor is
in the church, but not over the church, and therefore has no right to church buildings. Ambrose
also opposed the attempt to reintroduce pagan worship in Rome when the Altar of Victory was
replaced in the senate there. Earlier, when Valentinian I proved guilty of severity and abuse in his
rule, Ambrose rebuked him. In 390, when Theodosius I retaliated against the city of Thessalonica
for the murder of its governor by slaying 7,000 inhabitants, Ambrose refused him the Lord’s Supper.
How wilt thou lift up in prayer the hands still dripping with the blood of the murdered? How wilt
thou receive with such hands the most holy body of the Lord? How wilt thou bring to thy mouth
his precious blood? Get thee away, and dare not to heap crime upon crime.
Theodosius repented, received absolution, and was readmitted to the church. He once said, “I
know no bishop but Ambrose.” This emperor died in the arms of his bishop, who had been the
first man, he said, to tell him the truth. Two years later Ambrose himself lay ill. When concerned
parishioners urged him to pray for longer life, he replied, “I have so lived among you that I
cannot be ashamed to live longer; but neither do I fear to die; for we have a good Lord.”

2. His works.
a. A complete outline of Ambrose's works may be found in the
Prolegomena to St. Ambrose in Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Second
Series, X:xvii-xxii. They are divided under six heads: dogmatic, exegetic,
moral, sermons, letters, and hymns. He tends to be allegorical.
b. The most important of these are the dogmatic or apologetical works
wherein he defends orthodoxy against antichristian heresies.
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c. One of the most significant contributions of Ambrose is in the field of
hymnody. Indeed, he is called the Father of hymnody on account of the
number and quality of his hymns. It is difficult to determine just how many
he did write. There are from 30 to 100 so-called Ambrosian hymns, but
some of these are imitations. His best hymns are Veni, Redemptor
gentium, the doxology Te Deum laudamus, and Gloria in excelsis. He is
noted for several chants, some of which are still sung in the R.C. Church.
Ambrose is responsible for introducing congregational singing and
antiphonal choirs into western Christendom.
3. His theology.
a. An administrator. Ambrose was more of a church administrator and
preacher than a theologian. His theology is more a reduplication of others,
especially Basil of Caesarea.
b. Roman Catholic in theology. He is typically Roman Catholic in his
views of liturgy and sacraments. He interprets Scripture allegorically,
confuses justification with sanctification, holds to baptismal regeneration,
the “transfiguration” of elements in the Eucharist, the power of priests to
forgive sins, and the intercession of the saints. It is easy to see why the
Roman Catholic Church venerates him so highly. See Bettenson, The Later
Christian Fathers, pp. 177- 86, for statements by Ambrose on these and
other various doctrines.
C. Jerome (c. 342-420). He is the greatest scholar of the four doctors of the church.
1. His life.
Biblical scholar and translator, Sophronius Eusebius Hieronymus [Jerome] was born to wealthy
Christian parents in Stridon on the borders of Dalmatia (NE Italy). Around the age of 12, he went
to Rome and received instruction from the pagan grammarian Donatus and the rhetorician
Victorinus. He read the classics and acquired a considerable library. The temptations of the great
city overcame him and he lost his virtue. He was converted and baptized around the age of
nineteen and decided on a life of asceticism. He journeyed to Gaul, became acquainted with
monasticism at Treves, and on his return joined a small group of ascetics. About 373, he left the
group and went to the East where he spent some time in Antioch and the dreary desert of Chalcis.

Here he starved and deprived his body but still had a battle with sensuous thought (cf. Farrar,
II:220 ff). He cast himself on the mercy of Christ, fasted, and read Hebrew grammar until he
found peace (cf. Schaff, III:208). At this time, he experienced a dream in which he was
summoned before the judgment seat of Christ and accused of being a Ciceronian. He was
supposedly scourged to the point that, when he awoke, he actually felt the stripes. After this
experience, he deprecated classical learning (although made use of it later) and praised the
monastic life.
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He was ordained as a presbyter (c. 380), but without a congregation, he traveled to Constantinople
where he heard the anti-Arian sermons of Gregory of Nazianzus and translated works by Origen
and Eusebius. In 382, he journeyed to Rome with bishop Paulinus and there became secretary to
bishop Damasus (pope 366-384), who commissioned him to undertake a new translation of the
Scripture which eventually became known as the Vulgate (meaning common or general).
While in Rome, he promoted the monastic life and succeeded in inducing several patrician
families to take up asceticism. Most of his converts were women who admired him for his great
learning and holiness. Because of accusations of impropriety and after the death of Damasus, he
left Rome for another pilgrimage in 386. He settled in Bethlehem where he established a monastery
and convent and prosecuted his studies with diligence. He wrote his several commentaries,
translated the Scriptures, and engaged in theological controversy with such scholars as
Vigilantius, Pelagius, Rufinus, and even Augustine (see Schaff, III:213, n. 1). In his voluminous
correspondence, he used invective, sarcasm, and irony against his opponents. Schaff relates that
he was given to inconsistencies and violent passions and outbursts of temper but was a zealous
scholar. His scholarship and grasp of languages was unsurpassed in the early church. His principle
in studying was “to read the ancients, to test everything, to hold fast the good, and never to depart
from the catholic faith.” He knew well Latin, Greek, and Hebrew and was well-read in both the
heathen classics and Christian literature. His writings are imbued with Bible knowledge and
quotations. Farrar says of him that
the great hermit of Bethlehem had less genius than Augustine, less purity and loftiness of
character than Ambrose, less sovereign good sense and steadfastness than Chrysostom, less
keenness of insight and consistency of courage than Theodore of Mopsuestia; but in learning and
versatile talent he was superior to them all (II:392 ff).
Schaff and Wace quote the Dictionary of Christian Biography in referring to the character and
influence of Jerome.
He was vain and unable to bear rivals, extremely sensitive as to the estimation in which he was
held by his contemporaries, and especially by the bishops; passionate and resentful, but at times
becoming suddenly placable; scornful and violent in controversy;... extraordinarily diligent in
work.... His influence grew through his life and increased after death.... His writings contain the
whole spirit of the Church of the Middle Ages, its monasticism, its contrast of sacred things with
profane, its credulity and superstition, its value for relics, its subjection to hierarchical authority,
its dread of heresy, its passion for pilgrimages. To the society which was thus in a great measure
formed by him, his Bible was the greatest boon which could have been given (Nicene and Post
Nicene Fathers, Second Series, VI:xxxiii).
2. His works. Schaff divides his works into four categories: exegetical,
historical, polemical/ethical, and epistolary.

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a. Exegetical.
(1) Commentaries. Genesis, the Major and Minor Prophets,
Ecclesiastes, Job, some of the Psalms, the Gospel of Matthew, and
the Epistles to the Galatians, Ephesians, Titus, and Philemon.
Besides these, he translated the homilies of Origen on Jeremiah and
Ezekiel, on the Gospel of Luke, and on the Song of Solomon.
(2) VULGATE. By far his finest and most enduring work.
(a) Reasons for a new translation: corruption and confusion
of old versions; confusion of text abetted heresy — absence
of a uniform text made heresy difficult to refute; the Jews,
with an authoritative text, derided the Christians who did not
have one.
(b) History of the new translation: at the request of
Damascus, Jerome began the work while in residence in
Rome (c. 382-385) and completed the NT (c. 391) and the
OT (c. 405) in Bethlehem.
(c) Historical importance of the new translation: first in
rank among Bible versions of ancient church (Schaff,
III:975); See also, ISBE, V:3059.
(d) Jerome’s principles of translation.
i. Never swerve needlessly from the original.
ii. Avoid solecisms (ungrammatical combination of
words in a sentence). Sought to translate with flow.
iii. Give the true sense. Sense for sense, not
necessarily word for word.
(e) The use and value of the translation.
In the OT, the Vulgate is not of much importance for the criticism of the Hebrew text, because of
the freedom which Jerome permitted himself in translation, and because our present Massoretic
Hebrew text had by that time taken on its present form. But on the LXX it often throws a very
useful light. In the NT, Jerome's version ranks practically in importance with our oldest and best
Greek MSS in establishing (in conjunction with the Old Latin versions) of supplementing and
correcting our Greek authorities. It is in the Gospels that Jerome's work is most thorough and
useful. His version also supplies many a hint for the interpretation of our Greek text (ISBE,
V:3062).
The Vulgate was the Bible of the Middle Ages and was pronounced by the Council of Trent, in
1546, as the only true version. See Central Baptist Theological Seminary’s Only One Bible for an
interesting historical comparison between Vulgate-onlyism and modern KJV onlyism.

. Historical.
(1) Continuation of the Greek Chronicle of Eusebius.
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(2) De Viris Illustribus (c. 393). This Catalogue of Illustrious Lives
is the pioneer work in the history of theological literature, dealing,
not only with biography, but with bibliography – from the Apostles
to Jerome himself.
c. Polemical. He wrote works against Arianism, Origenism, and
Pelagianism.
d. Epistolary. In all, he wrote about 150 letters. They treat of almost all
questions of philosophy and practical religion which were currently being
debated (Schaff, III:987).
3. His theology. Jerome was not noted for his original thought. He was not a
systematic or didactic theologian. Yet note Schaff’s comments in III:987.
a. Scripture.
He generally holds to the literal interpretation of Scripture, but does admit of a hidden or secret
meaning behind the words – a double sense of Scripture: the literal and the spiritual, or the
historical and the allegorical (cf. ibid., 979). He does not accept the canonicity of the Apocrypha.
He writes, “So let the Church read these...volumes for the edification of the people, but not to
support the authority of ecclesiastical doctrines.”
b. Man and Sin.
He is convinced of the universality of sin but adopted the semi-Pelagian or synergistic view of
freedom of the will and salvation.
c. Church.
He maintains the essential identity of bishops and presbyters, and that the former developed out
of the latter office. He does, however, hold to the primacy of the Roman see as derived from
Peter.
d. Eschatology.
He is anti-chiliastic, even to the point of interpreting Matthew 24 and 2 Thess 2 as references to
the destruction of Jerusalem. He believes in a literal hell as a place of torment for the wicked.
D. Augustine (354-430).
1. His life.

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Known as “the Church Father,” Aurelius Augustinus was born November 13, 354, in Tagaste in
modern Algeria, Northern Africa to middle-class parents Patricus and the godly Monica (Monnica).
She was a noble woman of piety who prayed earnestly for her son’s conversion. His mother
presented Augustine to the church as a child but he did not become a Christian until later in life.
He was schooled in rhetoric and philosophy in Madaura and Carthage but indulged in carnal
pleasures. An illegitimate union produced a son, Adeodatus (d. c. 390). Cicero's Hortensius
stirred him to pursue wisdom and he became involved in Manichaeism (373-383), being
challenged by its moral austerity and dualistic view of nature. At Tagaste, then Carthage, he
taught rhetoric and, beginning in 384, accepted a position as teacher in Milan. Here he became
enamored with metaphysical Neoplatonism after becoming disillusioned with the Manichaeans.
In September 386, after much anguish of soul, he was converted. Being brought under conviction
by the influence of Ambrose’s sermons, he sought God. While in a garden, he heard the voice of a
child: “Take, read!” and he turned to Romans 13:13-14 and read (cf. Confessions, VIII:8,19;
11,25; 12,28-30).
For Thou didst convert me to Thyself in such a manner that I sought neither a wife nor any hope of
this world—taking my stand on the Rule of Faith on which Thou didst reveal me to my mother so
many years before.
Ambrose baptized Augustine in Milan on Easter Sunday, 387. He broke radically with the world.
He abandoned his teaching position, sold all his goods and gave to the poor, and began writing
against heresy in Rome. He returned to Tagaste and was made presbyter against his will in 391 at
Hippo. He founded a monastery there which became the nucleus of the Augustinian Order and
nursery of future African bishops. Augustine once said that he found no better and no worse in
monasteries. He was consecrated bishop in 395 and succeeded Valerius the next year. He lived an
ascetic life, preached often, and was devoted to the poor. On one occasion he caused the church
vessels to be melted down to redeem some prisoners. He refused legacies which might bring
injustice or hardship to natural heirs. He wrote extensively and traveled often but never again left
Africa. The last 10 days of his life, he spent in close retirement, in prayers and tears and repeated
reading of the penitential Psalms. He died August 28, 430.
His three great literary battles were (1) against the Manicheans in defense of the goodness of God
and His creation; (2) against the Donatists in defense of the unity of the catholic Church; and (3)
against the Pelaginists in defense of original sin and sovereign divine grace and human inability.
See Schaff s comments in III:997-98.
The spiritual and intellectual stature of Augustine may be gauged from the fact that all the
main streams of western Christianity draw upon him – Roman, Lutheran, Genevan, and
Anglican. There is a frequently repeated epigram to the effect that the Reformation of the
16th century, on its theological side, represented the revolt of Augustine's doctrine of grace
against Augustine's doctrine of the church.
Warfield makes the bold statement that “in point of fact, the whole development of Western
life, in all its phases, was powerfully affected by his teaching” (Calvin and Augustine, p. 310).
2. His works.

a. The works of Augustine are legion in number — probably over a
thousand, if letters and sermons are included. Farrar has an excellent
listing. His first Christian writings (after conversion) were a series of
theosophical treatises that reveal his early Christian philosophy. He
then wrote a number of controversial works against heretics and
schismatics: Manichaeans, Donatists, and Pelagians.
b. His most popular and theologically significant works are the following.
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Biblical exegesis.
(1) Confessiones (397-4
autobiography and the
(2) De Doctrina Christiana (397-426), a treatise for on edification. his principles of
(3) Enchiridion [manual]
adLaurentium on Faith, Hope, and Charity (421), a
systemization of his thought.
(4) De Trinitate (395-420), a formulation of the doctrine of the
trinity.
(5) De Civitate Dei (The City of God, 413-426), a philosophy of
history latent with covenant theology with the unifying theme being
man’s redemption. This work, in 22 books or chapters established
Augustine as a philosophical or theological historian. His motive for
writing was in answer to those who claimed that the calamities of
Rome, especially the sacking of the “eternal city” by Alaric in 410,
were due to a disregard of the gods of Rome and an acceptance of
Christianity as the “state” religion. 20 The method of his writing is
apologetical and based on a priori arguments (reasoning from selfevident
propositions, accepted by faith). Therefore, his chief source
for history and the development of the City of the Earth vs. the City
of God was the inspired, infallible Scriptures. His study is not to
discover by investigation or inquiry but to demonstrate God’s love
and purposes in the affairs of men, His creatures.
c. Augustine seeks the glory of God in the historic process. This process is
a…
(1) Conflict between good and evil, God and the devil. Man is
helpless apart from the grace of God.
(2) Creation is due to the sovereign God.
(3) The compass or scope of Augustine's view is the whole
human race, divided into two classes by sin — the City of God
20 The Ostrogoth Odoacer desposed the last Roman emperor, Romulus Augustulus in 476.

3. His theology.
and the City of the Earth; one eternal, the other temporal.
(4) The course of human history proceeds to and from the…
(5) Cross. The grace flowing from it, is operative in the
Church, the invisible body of Christ. Conflict reaches…
(6) Consummation at the return of Christ (Cairns, pp. 20, 141-42).
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Augustine's greatest contributions to historical theology grew mainly out of his conflicts with the
Donatists and with Pelagius. On the one hand his controversy with the Donatists produced his
views concerning the relationship of the church and state, the validity of the sacraments, and the
so-called invisible church, which ideas became a major contribution to the later Roman Catholic
Church. In the other controversy with Pelagius, his teaching regarding original sin, the nature of
man, and God’s sovereign grace emerged and provided the theological backdrop for the
Protestant Reformation.
a. Knowledge.
(1) Knowledge in relation to God. One may see the influence of
Platonism on Augustine's thinking here: the phenomenal world can
be known by the senses; only the noumenal world can be known by
the mind. But the human mind receives knowledge of eternal forms
by illumination from God. “God the Word places in the human
mind the knowledge of ideas that exist eternally in God Himself”
(Gonzalez, II:35; cf. Warfield, pp. 395 ff). God, therefore, not the
mind, is the ultimate source of knowledge. And, counter to Plato,
both worlds are quite real; and, counter to the Manichaeans, the one
true God is the creator of both.
(2) Knowledge in relation to faith. There are two classes of
knowledge: sensual perception and faith. With respect to what we
perceive, we are our own witnesses. With respect to faith, we are
moved to believe by other witnesses. “Faith is distinctively that
conviction of truth which is founded on testimony as over against
that conviction which is founded on sight” (cited in Warfield, p.
424). Christian faith is based on the testimony of God Himself. True
faith and reason do not conflict, but faith is the beginning of
knowledge: Credo ut intelligam (“I believe in order that I may
know”).
Note: See Warfield, p. 477, for good summary of Augustine's doctrine of knowledge and
authority.
b. Scripture.

c. Trinity.
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(1) Absolute Authority. The Holy Scriptures are “established upon
the supreme and heavenly pinnacle of authority.” All statements of
Scripture are absolutely trustworthy. The writers of Scripture did
not err in anything. “It is to the canonical Scriptures alone that he
owes unhesitating assent.” He argued with Jerome against
spiritualizing Scripture: such subjectivism “makes every man's mind
the judge of what in each Scripture he is to approve or disapprove.”
Yet Augustine did allegorize on occasion. He also believed the
Apocrypha was part of the Bible.
(2) Apostolicity. The authority for Scripture rests, not only on the
fact of its divine revelatory quality, but on its apostolicity (universal
acceptance by the church). Apostolicity, for Augustine is the only
conscious proof of canonicity. Apostolicity, then, is the ground of
authority. What is not found written in Scripture but believed by the
universal church as apostolic should be accepted, e.g., the validity
of heretical baptism. And so Augustine has a dual authority —
Scripture and apostolic tradition, but there is no question that the
final authority for him is the former (Warfield, pp. 430-35).
(3) Analogy of Scripture. Augustine influenced Protestant
hermeneutics in this view. He taught that every passage of
Scripture should be interpreted in the light of all Scripture (unity
of truth).
All three persons of the Trinity are absolutely divine. Augustine, however, gives greater emphasis
to the unity of the Godhead than the diversity of persons (as the Cappadocians). To him, Father,
Son, and Holy Spirit are inseparable even in Their work. It is impossible to speak of one person of
the Trinity without relating to the other two persons. This leads Augustine to teach the procession
of the Holy Spirit from both the Father and the Son. An amazing proof of the Trinity can be seen
in creation, principally in man who is a tripartite being. His favorite example is the trilogy of
memory, understanding, and will.
And as, when I name my memory, and intellect, and will, each name refers to each severally, but
yet is uttered by all three; for there is no one of these three names that is not uttered by both my
memory and my intellect and my will together; so the Trinity together wrought both the voice of
the Father, and the flesh of the Son, and the dove of the Holy Spirit, while each of these things is
referred severally to each person (Augustine, On the Trinity, IV:21, 30).
d. Free will.
God created man as a rational being with a free will and the ability to make wrong choices and
sin; otherwise, God would be the author of sin. Free will in itself is a good gift from God. Man,
therefore, before the Fall, was relatively perfect, in a state of innocence, but possessing the
freedom of voluntary action and the responsibility for the consequences of his decisions.

e. Original Sin and Natural Man.
Augustine was the first theologian of note since the Apostle Paul to properly understand
original sin. Augustine explains that sin is not a “something” that was created but a negation –
“Evil is not a nature, but is rather the corruption of nature” (Gonzalez, II:40). Before the Fall,
Adam had the power not to sin – posse non peccare, but not the ability that only the Second
Adam (Christ) possessed – the incapability of sinning – non posse peccare. Adam could not
originate holiness but he could preserve and perpetuate it; he chose not to do so. The Fall
produced a tremendous change in man. Man then became free – only to sin – non posse non
peccare. The consequences were comprehensive and terrible:
(1) Loss of the freedom not to sin; bondage to evil.
(2) Obstruction of knowledge.
(3) Loss of the grace of God.
(4) Loss of Paradise.
(5) Concupiscence (the "flesh").
(6) Physical death.
(7) Original sin and hereditary guilt.
The root of all sin is pride which leads to disobedience and lust. Fallen man is totally depraved,
sinful, possesses a free will conditioned by his nature, i.e., the option not to sin does not exist for
“whatsoever is not of faith is sin.” “All pagan virtues are but splendid vices.”
f. Grace and Predestination.
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Grace is the unmerited favor of God in salvation and is indispensable, prevenient, indefectible,
and irresistible in its effect. Man can do no good without God's grace. Knowledge of sin and
longing for redemption comes from God's prevenient grace. After the sinner is saved by His
grace, he can cooperate with God in doing good works. God does not coerce the will of man unto
salvation but woos and wins it. God’s grace also enables the Christian to persevere in faith.
Augustine believed that God determined after the Fall who would be saved (infralapsarian
position). God does not predestine men to sin or damnation. “The elect are pulled out of this
‘mass of damnation’” (Gonzalez, II:46). Unconditional election is not the starting point of his
theology, but the logical deduction of his views of sin and grace (Schaff, III:852-53).
g. Justification by faith.
Augustine taught that justification is the process whereby the sinner is made righteous. He did
not teach forensic justification. Perhaps one reason for this is his understanding of justificare
(Lat.) = to make righteous, his interpretation of 2 Cor. 5:21. Righteousness, then, is not imputed,
but infused and inherent.

h. Church.
i. Sacraments.
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(1) The nature of the church. Augustine's view of the visible
institution of the church is inclusive of both sheep and goats, good
fish and bad. There is a failure on Augustine's part to always
recognize a difference between the body of Christ and the visible
institution of Catholicism. “Thus the hierarchically organized
Church tends ever with him to take the place of the congregatio
sanctorum” (Warfield, p. 314).
(2) Channel of grace through sacraments. While he emphasizes
divine grace, he nevertheless teaches that the visible Church is the
channel of that grace.
(3) Ecclesiological concepts. He is also responsible for supplying
conceptions for the R.C. Church which, for it, later became dogma.
Some of these are: meritorious works, mortal and venial sins,
sacramental system with the notion of ex opere operate (cf.
Warfield, p. 315).
(4) Ecclesiological authority. The visible church is not for
Augustine, an absolute authority, but an authority in terms of valid
testimony. As Warfield argues, “Nothing can be clearer... that the
point of Augustine's argument turns on the validity of the testimony
of the Church, not on the dogmatic authority of the Church” (p.
448).
Augustine considered several rites as sacramental (suggests seven), but principally baptism and
the Eucharist. He believed, in opposition to the Donatists, that the validity of the sacrament does
not depend on the moral worth, but on the ordination of the one administering it. There is
ambiguity in Augustine's teaching on the presence of Christ in the elements of the Supper. He
does believe that sanctifying grace is conveyed in the partaking of both elements. Augustine also
taught the necessity of baptism to cleanse from original sin and hence the need for infant
baptism.

THE AUGUSTINIAN - PELAGIAN CONTROVERSY (APC)
I. The APC as Compared to the TCC.
A. Geographical. The APC took place mainly in the West; the TCC in the East.
B. Theological.
II. Contrasting Views.
1. The APC was an anthropological controversy; the TCC, a christological
controversy; yet soteriology was at the heart of both.
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2. In the TCC Christ must be wholly God and wholly man in order to redeem man,
and He must be holy God and holy man to redeem man.
3. The outcome of the APC was that man is naturally sinful and unable to redeem
himself because of original sin and total depravity.
AUGUSTINIANISM PELAGIANISM SEMI-PELAGIANISM
View of Augustine View of Pelagius
And Coelestius
Divine monergism: the
sovereign God alone saves.
Emphasis on divine initiative.
Original sin from Adam
contaminates the whole race
of man.
Human monergism: man initiates
his own salvation. Emphasis on
human responsibility.
ibili
Denial of original sin. Adam's sin an
isolated act which brings no
hereditary guilt. Adam only a bad
example
View of Cassianus
Synergism: God and man
cooperate in salvation.
Sin the result of biological
inheritance — highly elastic
doctrine.
Initial total depravity. Initial innocency. Initial partial depravity.
Human will is bound to
choose evil.
Universal inclination toward
evil. Human inability.
Evil in the world because of
man’s depravity.
Saving grace bestowed
according to divine grace
and election.
Semi-Augustinianism:
absence of absolute predestination
and irresistible grace. Accepted at
Synod of Orange, 529. Made
popular by Gregory the Great.
Human will in uninhibited as
to good and evil.
Human will is limited by evil.
Human ability. Limited human ability.
Evil in world because of
man’s weakness.
Saving grace bestowed upon
those who merit grace.
Condemned at Council of
Ephesus, 431.
Evil in the world because of
certain men’s evil desires.
Saving grace bestowed on
those who cooperate with
God.
Condemned at Synod
of Orange, 529.

I. Causes of Monasticism.
EARLY MONASTICISM
A. Pietistic reaction against worldly church.
1. Legalizing of Christianity and resultant worldliness in the church. “The desert
fathers indeed fled not so much from the world as from the world in the Church”
(J. G. Davies, The Early Church, p. 185).
2. Motivation towards holiness. External deeds or denials—proofs of holiness.
3. Desire for personal salvation through contemplation on divine and depravation
of life’s “pleasures” (asceticism).
4. Desire on part of sensitive souls to pursue artistic and scholastic labors.
5. Scriptural examples: Elijah; John the Baptist; statements of Christ about
humility.
B. Humanistic desire for selfish ends.
1. Escape. Desire to escape from the world. One reason: increasing burden of
taxation. Another: escape from family responsibilities and pressures.
2. Pride. “I am above this world.” Reality says, “I am in this world.” Carnality
says, “I am of this world.” Spiritual pride says, “I am above this world.”
3. Fear. Unsettled nature of society: barbarian invasions; dissolution of Roman
Empire and eventual destruction of Rome in A.D. 476.
Discussion: How is monasticism contrary to biblical love?
II. Types of Monasticism. These also represent stages in monastic development.
A. The true monastic (from Gk. monachos = single). Practices eremitic or hermitic
(solitary) monasticism. He would often be an anchorite (from Gk. anachorein = taking to
the bush).
B. Laura (or lavra from Gk. laura = street or alley). A grouping or colony of hermits.
Oldest lauras founded in 4th century in Palestine. Today term applied to some Eastern
monasteries.
C. Cenobitic (from Gk. koinos = common, and bios = life). An organized community of
monks under a common rule, in a cloistered environment or monastery.
D. Mendicant (from Lat. mendicare = to beg). Itinerant monasticism; monks traveling
about living by alms.
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III. Characteristics and Features of Monasticism.
A. Dualism resulting in extreme asceticism. Anything physical must be less spiritual.
B. Departure or flight from the real world. “It places the great problem of Christianity
not in the transformation, but in the abandonment, of the world” (Schaff, III:159).
C. Renunciation, not only of sin, but of normal social and family ties.
D. Absolute obedience. Supposedly, poverty, celibacy, and obedience constitute a higher
virtue and secure a greater reward in heaven.
IV. Early Monastics.
A. Eastern.
1. Antony (c. 250-356).
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Known as the founder of monasticism, a pioneer in anchoritic monasticism. He was born in
Coma, central Egypt. At age 20, he renounced his wealth after reading Matt. 6:34; 19:21. Lived
for a while in a tomb, then an abandoned fort at Pispir, and finally his “Inner Mountain” retreat
at Mt. Colzim near the Red Sea. Many followed him and built cells near his and sought his
spiritual guidance. “Antony is depicted as the pattern of anchoritic life, one of severe austerity,
incessant prayer, supernatural healings and perceptions, and above all perpetual warfare with the
demons peopling the deserts” (D. F. Wright in International Dictionary of the Christian Church,
p. 51). In 338, he visited Alexandria and disavowed Arianism. We know about him mainly from
the biography by Athanasius.
2. Pachomius (c. 292-346).
Pioneer in cenobitic monasticism. Born in Upper Thebaid, Egypt, he was converted at an early
age. Davies writes,
In 323, Pachomius settled at Tabennesis and within a short time had around him some hundred or
so followers whom he organized into a community with a common rule of life. This rule was a
moderate one, encouraging work, allowing degrees of abstinence and demanding no vows. The
Pachomian system spread with such rapidity that by the time of his death in 346, he had under his
control nine monasteries for men and two for women (p. 186).
3. Basil of Caesarea (c. 329-379).
We have already met this Cappadocian father, the defender of Nicene Christianity against
Arianism. In 357, Basil went on a tour through Syria and Egypt to familiarize himself with
monasticism. Upon his return, he organized a monastic community at Pontus. His type of
monasticism was quite practical: work, pray, read the Bible, do good deeds. He emphasized
medical care, relief for poor, and community education. He discouraged extreme asceticism. He
established 7 set periods of daily prayer. His rule and order became the norm in Eastern Orthodox

Church.
4. Extreme ascetics.
Saint Symeon Stylites (386-460). An anchoritic monk. For 36 years, he lived in great austerity on
a platform on top of a 60 foot pillar near Antioch. Amoun (d. c. 348) never undressed or bathed.
The Bosci (Boskoi) lived in caves or fields (see Schaff, III:191-95; 199-200). Wow, they sound
so spiritual.
B. Western.
1. Athanasius (c. 296-373).
The Father of Orthodoxy who defended the doctrine of Christ’s full deity against the heterodox
Arians. During his second exile, he introduced monasticism to Italy. He is sometimes designated
the Father of Western Monasticism and wrote a Life of St. Antony.
2. Martin of Tours (c. 335-400).
Before becoming bishop of Tours and missionary to Gaul (modern France), he established a
monastery at the village of Liguge and was a “soldier monk.” We will deal with him later when
discussing Medieval Church History.
3. John Cassianus (c. 360-c. 435).
Father of the Semi-Pelagian school and monk. After traveling among monks in Egypt and the
Middle East, he founded the monastery of St. Victor near Marseilles, France. He diligently
promoted monasticism in the Europe and wrote two books on the subject.
4. Benedict of Nursia (c. 480-542).
The real founder of Western Monasticism. While studying in Rome, he became shocked at the
vice and corruption there and retreated to a cave at Subiaco, east of Rome. After setting up a
monastery there, he moved to Monte San Germano (halfway between Rome and Naples) to
establish his monastery Monte Cassino and established his famous Rule. Qualben writes,
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The Rule of St. Benedict of Nursia was so successful at the monastery of Monte Cassino (founded
in 529) that it became the pattern for practically all the monasteries of the Western Church. In a
series of 73 rules covering all phases of monastic life, the forty-eighth prescribed at least seven
hours of daily labor and two hours of reading ‘for all able to bear the load.’ Benedictine monks
became the most expert farmers and craftsmen of the Middle Ages. The requirement of daily
reading formed the beginning of the monastic school, which preserved learning in the West during
the long intellectual night of the medieval period (p. 135).
5. Cassiodorus (490-583).
Formerly a courtier to Theodoric the Great, he founded two monasteries. He made his monastery
at Vivarium (Italy) a type of academy where he introduced the study of ancient writings and the
copy of manuscripts. He, himself, wrote several theological works. His most important

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contribution was Histora Ecclesiastica Triparita, a church history which was the principal manual
on the subject during the Middle Ages.
V. Contributions of Monasticism.
A. Agriculture—better methods.
B. Scholarship—kept alive by monks during Dark Ages.
C. Education—monastery schools.
D. Manuscripts—copied and preserved.
E. History—historical records kept.
F. Missions—missionary activity performed by monks.
G. Health care—hospitals and places of refuge for poor, sick, infirm.

INTRODUCTION TO MEDIEVAL CHURCH HISTORY
I. Dispensational Perspective.
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Archbishop Trench mistakenly refers to church history as the “history of the mustard seed,” and
therefore makes the church equal with God’s kingdom on earth. Augustine was one of the first
theologians to do this in his City of God. But the church is not co-equal with the kingdom. The
kingdom is unique; the church is unique. One day the church will be included in Christ's kingdom,
but it now exists as a separate entity.
A. The Church is of course part of the Lord’s universal kingdom.
Of course, the church in this age is part of God’s universal kingdom or sovereign rule over all
things. Ryrie writes,
This [kingdom] existed before the promises of any other distinct form of a kingdom were ever
given to David. God's sovereignty over the entire creation is recognized in many Old Testament
passages (Ps. 10:16; 103:19; 59:13; Dan. 4:34-35). Even though there has been a great deal of
rebellion in the earth, God still rules His universe (Dispensationalism Today, p. 172).
His rule in history must also be considered in the context of the “Times of the Gentiles” – of
earthly kingdoms over which quite often the most vile of men rule (Daniel 4:17).
B. Those in the Church are described as being part of a spiritual kingdom.
There is certainly also a spiritual aspect to this kingdom which is not separate from God's
universal kingdom, but simply a part of it (Colossians 1:13).
C. But the Church is not the same as the earthly millennial kingdom.
But the kingdom Christ offered the Jews was not this kingdom, but the Davidic kingdom which
they rejected and which will one day be realized in the millennium. As Ryrie correctly observes,
The kingdom the Lord preached was something different from either the general rule of God in His
overall sovereignty or the rule of God in the individual heart. Therefore, when a dispensationalist
says that the kingdom is postponed, he is speaking of the Davidic kingdom, but he also affirms the
continuing presence of the universal kingdom and the spiritual rule of God in individual hearts
today (ibid., p. 173).
The kingdom, therefore, should not be identified as the church. The kingdom is future. The
church is now, that is, from A.D. 30 to the present. God's kingdom purposes and His church
purposes are distinct. We are not in the Davidic kingdom, but a spiritual kingdom.
D. The false kingdom of the papacy does not equal the kingdom of God.
One of the greatest travesties in the history of Christianity is the Roman Catholic Church's attempt
to establish a monarchical kingdom, inclusive of both civil and religious realms, over which the
pope reigns as sovereign. It is in actually a satanic kingdom energized by the prince of darkness.
It is this false system, organized during the Medieval Period, that made necessary the Protestant

Reformation.
II. Various Periods of Medieval Church History. Dark Ages ended in 1450 with the moveable
type printing press.
A.D. 590-800 Emergence of Latin-Teutonic Christendom. From Gregory the Great to the
crowning of Charlemagne.
A.D. 800-1049 (1054) Tensions between Churches and Church and State. From Carolingian
renaissance to Leo IX and Great Schism.
A.D. 1049 (1054)-1294 Supremacy of the Papacy. From Leo IX and Great Schism to
Boniface VIII. This was the lowest point of papal power.
A.D. 1294-1517 Decline of the Papacy and Opposing Forces. From Boniface VIII to the Ninetyfive
Theses. The two most powerful popes were Gregory VII and Leo IX.
III. Geographic Focus of Attention.
A. The theater of Christianity is shifting westward to Europe. What caused this?
1. The vast and relentless movement of militant barbaric tribes and their
subsequent “Christianization” by missionaries.
2. The supplanting of Christian lands with the Arabic crescent.
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During the early Medieval Period, Goths, Vandals, Burgundians, and Franks dominated western
Europe; Arabs controlled the Mediterranean and virtually isolated Europeans from cultural interaction
with the East.
Ancient Church History: Middle East to Graeco-Roman territories. Christianity co-extensive with
the Roman empire.
Medieval: From Graeco-Roman to Latin-Germanic (Teutonic). Shift from Greece and
Northern Africa to Latin and Northern Europe and the British Isles.
Modem: From Europe to Americas and islands of the Pacific to the Orient and throughout the world.
B. Fragmentation of the old Order.
We will notice that during the Medieval Period a fragmentation of the old order – the Roman
empire – into…
1. The Byzantine empire of the East.
2. A Muslim domination of the Middle East and North Africa; Asia Minor, including
Constantinople; and even parts of southern Europe: the Balkans and the Iberian
Peninsula (see Charles Anderson, Augsburg Historical Atlas, p. 15).

3. The acquired Papal properties throughout Europe, particularly in Italy with the
papal states.
4. Teutonic and Slavic tribal groupings creating chaotic conditions in Europe.
C. The importance of Topography or lay of the land (Anderson, pp. 8-9).
Note especially how the Alps provide a natural barrier between Italy and the rest of Europe and
produce a frequently used term in Church History: Ultramontanism. This literally is “beyond the
mountains” and had reference to appealing to the Pope who actually lived beyond the mountains.
Also, the Alps provide a natural haven for “heretical” groups – a protection from the pernicious
and persistent tentacles of the Inquisition.
IV. The Ethnic Peoples of the Medieval Period. We may group the peoples into six general
categories:
A. Latin.
Southern European peoples, including the Italians, Spaniards, and southern French. The cradle of
ancient Roman Christendom. The nucleus from which Roman Catholic Christianity extended
throughout Northern and Western Europe. This area remained devoted to the papacy throughout
Medieval church history and the Reformation and still remains predominantly Roman Catholic.
B. Celtic.
Western European peoples, although scattered throughout Europe, including the Britons, Picts,
and Scots. Celtic Christianity in Great Britain preceded Roman Catholicism, but in several ways
was different from Roman Catholic Christianity. One of its earliest and most famous representatives
was Patrick of Ireland, who was not necessarily a Roman Catholic.
C. Teutonic.
Northern European peoples, also spreading throughout Europe, including all of the prominent
barbarian (not Greek speaking) groups: the Norsemen, Lombards, Burgundians, Angles, Saxons,
the various Gothic tribes, and the Franks. With the conversion of the Prankish king, Clovis, in
A.D. 496, the fortunes of Christendom in Europe centered in northern Europe in what is now
known as France and Germany. The acceptance of Christianity by Clovis and his people
anticipated the later Carolingian renaissance and the beginning of the Holy Roman Empire (ninth
century).
D. Slavic.
Eastern European peoples, including the Bohemian, Bulgarian, Moravian, Slovic, and Russian
groups. After the acceptance of Eastern Orthodoxy in A.D. 988, Russia became the predominate
representative of that tradition. Many Slavic churches are traditionally Eastern Orthodox and
autocephalous (self-headed).
E. Greek.
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Represented by the Byzantine Empire and the Eastern Orthodox Church after A.D. 1054 and until
A.D. 1453. Eastern Orthodoxy is today the principal religion of the Greek nation. Its once
glorious sanctuary, Hagia Sophia, completed under Justinian (A.D. 527-565) in A.D. 537, is now
an Islamic mosque in Istanbul (a corruption of Constantinople).
F. Coptic.
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This group represents a revolt from the Eastern Orthodox Church by its acceptance of monophysitism
21 (after the Council of Chalcedon, A.D. 451). The group originated in Egypt and, although
decimated by the Muslims, has nevertheless maintained its identity, mainly in Egypt and Ethiopia.
V. Interpretations of the Medieval Period of Church History.
A. The Roman Catholic View.
Traditional Roman Catholics consider this period the “Golden Age” of the church (especially the
11 th century); the papacy was at the height of its glory with spiritual and temporal power. There
really was not a single facet of medieval life that the church did not influence. Its pervasive
influence was felt everywhere and in every stage of life from the cradle to the grave. The
arbitrary papal use of excommunication kept both princes and peasants “in check.” To early
Roman Catholic historians, this period marked the transition from the pagan philosophy of the
past and to the “flowering” of sacramental theology. What followed was the “destructive”
influence of the Protestant Reformation. However, revisionist (post-Vatican II) historians are
more critical of the period and recognize negative influences on church history.
B. The Protestant View.
Traditional conservative historians see this period as one of the most devastating and corrupting
periods of church history. More recent revisionist (or ecumenical) historians, including
conservative ones (e.g. Cairns, p. 166), note some redeeming qualities, such as the preservation of
learning and Scripture by the monastics and their schools and the Roman Church’s provision of
structure and stability in a barbarous age. While the Church was indeed corrupt in many ways, it
nevertheless pointed men toward God and provided a synthesis of classical learning with life. In
the modern twentieth century, this synthesis has been largely destroyed through the influence of
evolution and humanism on man’s thought.
A more realistic interpretation of the Medieval Period is that, in the midst of appalling ignorance
and superstition, sacramentalism, and sacerdotal hierarchialism, the light of God’s Revelation
persisted, often with groups in opposition to the institutional Church. Only the power of the
Gospel of the living Christ could transform a ruthless rabble into a Christian civilization that
produced a Carolingian renaissance, laws of chivalry, and reverence for objects sacred. Yet the
Romanticized view of this period as expressed by Schaff (IV:5-7) must be tempered by
the more realistic picture depicted, for example, in Gregory of Tours’ History of the Franks. After
reading this contemporary account of an age characterized by violence, gullibility and
21 One person, thus one nature.

superstition, F. F. Bruce’s comment, although his reference to an earlier era, takes on more
significance: “the pagan mob, though baptized, largely remained the unruly mob, pagan in their
thoughts and ways” (The Spreading Flame, p. 295).
C. Further Observations.
1. This period is also called the Middle Ages. It forms the transition from Graeco-
Roman civilization to the Roman-Germanic civilization destined to control the
future of the western world (Qualben, p. 137).
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2. It should be noted that, while Rome conquered Greece and began a new
civilization under the caesars, so Greek culture subdued Rome through perpetuating
its classical art forms and philosophy. Likewise, when the barbarians conquered
Rome, they themselves were conquered by the powerful force of Chrisitianity.
3. Schaff states,
Medieval Christianity is, on the one hand, a legitimate continuation and further development of
ancient Catholicism; on the other hand, a preparation for Protestantism. Its leading forces are the
papacy, monasticism, and scholasticism, which were developed to their height, and then assailed
by growing opposition from within (IV: 11).
Christianity’s extension was by means of missionaries (positively) and crusades (negatively).
4. Negatively, this period included the Dark Ages and feudalism wherein the light
of classical learning and scriptural truth was overshadowed often by superstition
and intellectual sterility. A fixed class structure prevented upward mobility and
ignorance perpetuated itself.
5. The Roman Catholic Church becomes the dominant institution of the civilized
world. The huge cathedral, the sky scrapers of their day, is an example of this.
a. Its legalism stifled and bound and quenched the spirit of man. Schaff
writes that…
she monopolized all the learning and made sciences and arts tributary to her. She took the lead in
every progressive movement. She founded universities, built lofty cathedrals, stirred up the
crusades, made and unmade kings, dispensed blessings and curses to whole nations. The medieval
hierarchy centering in Rome re-enacted the Jewish theocracy on a more comprehensive scale. It
was a carnal anticipation of the millennial reign of Christ (III:13).
b. As we studied earlier in our class, the unfortunate legacy of the Ancient
church which contributed to an apostate Medieval church were varied:
(1) One aspect was the wedding of the church state under
Constantine. The State made the church a privileged institution and
secularized it.

(2) The concept formulated by Cyprian that salvation rest in the
adherence to tradition and obedience to the bishops – this led to
hierarchical church government and sacerdotalism.
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(3) Augustine’s contribution was a sacramental church – he
believed in salvation by grace, but grace came by the sacraments.
(4) Gregory I’s popularization of the allegorical method of Bible
interpretation led to the truth being concealed.
6. Positively, light shines in the reform movements within the church: monastics
preserving and propagating the Scriptures, pietistic mystics condemning
worldliness, and especially the especially the Waldenses, Lollards, and Hussites
respectively calling for doctrinal reform. The latter groups especially paving the
way for the momentous Reformation of the sixteenth century.
7. There is a real sense, too, in which the history of the Medieval Period is the
history of the development of the papacy from a primus inter pares (first among
equals) to a supreme pontifical absolutism. Bainton writes, “The pope, then, fed
the people, the pope redeemed the captives, the pope had dealings with barbarian
Lombards, the pope made treaties…. The situation marks really the beginning of
the temporal power of the papacy" (The Medieval Church, p. 14).

HIERARCHICAL AND LITURGICAL DEVELOPMENTS:
BACKGROUND TO MEDIEVAL PERIOD
I. The Hierarchy of the Church - A.D. 313-590.
A. Education.
B. Celibacy.
1. Few seminaries.
a. Catechetical school of Alexandria – died by end of 4th century.
b. Institution of Caesarea – founded by Origen. Beginning of the 4th
century. Pamphilus its head; collected great theological library which
Eusebius used.
c. School of Antioch founded hi A.D. 290. Employed grammaticohistorical
exegesis in opposition to the allegorical interpretation of the
Alexandrians.
d. It seems apparent that local churches themselves were not reproducing
trained workers and leaders for ministry.
2. Clerical monasteries.
3. Bishops trained their own clergy in episcopal seminaries.
4. Heathen schools. Greek and Roman classical education. In A.D. 529, Justinian
closed down the academy at Athens. It had been in operation since the days of
Plato.
1. Influenced by monasticism – clergy must compete with monks in sexual purity.
2. Influence increased distinction between clergy and laity.
3. During this period in the East only concubinage and keeping of unrelated
females forbidden for clergy.
4. In the West, however, several church councils prohibited the three orders of
clergy (bishops, presbyters, and deacons) from marrying: Carthage (401);
Orange (441); and Tours (461).
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All this may be taken as evidence that clerical celibacy became well established in this period in
the theory of the Latin Church…. In synod after synod it was ordained that no women, other than
near relatives, even for the performance of necessary service, should be found in the houses of the
clergy (Sheldon, History of the Christian Church, I:445).

C. Distinction between episcopate (hierarchy) and presbyterate (pastors).
In many places, however, clergy still elected by popular vote, although usually with final
approval of ruling bishop (archbishop or metropolitan).
D. Deaconesses functioned in East and West.
1. In West, however, they were generally forbidden ordination after 441 and the
Synod of Orange.
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2. In the East, they held high rank; office not abolished until 12th century. Greatest
in East—Olympias, a friend of Chrysostom.
E. Minor church offices (added to those of the ante-Nicene period).
1. Stewards — administrators (sometimes lawyers) of church property.
2. Secretaries — usually clergymen who drew up ecclesiastical transactions.
3. Nurses — only in Eastern church.
4. Buriers for the dead – latter part of 4th century; 1000 of them in Constantinople.
F. Bishops (episcopacy).
1. Supervision of church estates.
2. Enjoyed protection of the state.
3. Growth in power and prestige as evidenced by episcopal insignia.
a. Ring – symbol of marriage to the church.
b. Crosier – shepherd's staff.
c. Pallium – seamless white cloth or shawl symbolizing carrying the
“reclaimed” sheep on the shoulder.
4. Diocese – Roman political region; term adopted by church to designate an
Episcopal geographical district. Constantine had divided the empire into 13
political dioceses.
5. Grades of bishops.
a. Chorepiscopus or country bishop (lowest ranking).
b. City bishop.

c. Metropolitan or archbishop.
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d. Patriarch over a larger area. There were originally five patriarchates:
Jerusalem, Antioch, Alexandria, Constantinople, and Rome. After 590, the
only significant ones were the last two.
G. Prominence of Rome. Papal control of church.
1. Orthodox, doctrinal stability.
2. Removal of seat of empire from Rome to Constantinople (A.D. 330) 1eft Roman
bishop as the most important figure in West. Became an increasingly powerful
position politically as well as religiously. When there was no longer an emperor in
Rome to serve as the focus of imperial loyalty, there was always a bishop at Rome.
3. Not only patriarchs, denoting primacy, but popes, denoting supremacy.
a. Only Latin patriarch.
b. Stood politically alone, since Rome was the only great metropolis of
West. “Hence Augustine, writing from the religious point of view, once
calls Pope Innocent I the ruler of the Western Church” (Schaff).
c. Issued decretal letters at first in paternal tones, then in apostolic
demands.
d. Pope (papa) — the father of the visible church.
e. Council of Constantinople (381) recognized primacy of Roman see.
4. Greatest Roman bishop of period – Leo I, the Great (A.D. 440-461).
a. Really the first Roman bishop to assume the title Pope. Leo is a
milestone in the transition (bridge-builder) from primus inter pares to
supreme pontiff.
b. Western emperor Valentinian III, in a rescript 22 of 445, recognized Leo's
spiritual supremacy in the West.
c. Defender of faith. His Tome articulated the orthodox position regarding
the Trinity and deity of Christ; refuted Eutychianism and asserted two
natures, one person of Christ.
22 A formal response from a high official.
d. Banished Manicheans and Pelagians from the city.

e. Twice rescued the city from destruction by the Attila and the Huns
in 452 and Gaiseric and the Vandals in 455.
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f. “He was animated with the unwavering conviction that the Lord Himself
had committed to him, as the successor of Peter, the care of the whole
church” (Schaff). According to Leo, the primacy of Peter is like the faith of
Peter – it perpetuates itself (apostolic succession).
H. Prominence of Constantinople. Imperial control of church.
1. All the Roman emperors after Constantine were Christians by formal profession
with the exception of Julian the Apostate (332-363).
2. With Constantine’s move of the imperial capital to Constantinople in 330 and
the fall of the western Roman empire in 476, the popes assumed more temporal
power in the West and the emperors assumed more spiritual power in the East =
caesaro-papism, until 1453, when Constantinople was sacked by the Muslims.
II. The Liturgy of the Church - A.D. 325-590.
The practical union of church and state under Constantine led to the secularization of the church
and the consequent materialization of its liturgy. Note: The sin of liberals is subtraction from
God’s Word; the sin of the Roman Catholics is additions to Scripture.
A. The church year.
1. Christmas cycle.
a. Advent – four weeks (including four Sundays) preceding Christmas, a
preparation for Christ's coming.
b. Christmas – December 25. While there is evidence that Christians
honored the nativity (usually on January 6), they celebrated it as a festival
holiday first at Rome in A.D. 336. The Eastern church adopted the practice
from the West about A.D. 380. The institution of the holiday is not derived
from heathen ceremony, but several heathen practices were introduced into
the celebration, such as burning candles and giving presents, practices in
and of themselves quite harmless.
c. Memorial days of martyrs.
(1) St. Stephen – first Christian martyr, Dec. 26.
(2) St. John – Dec. 27.
(3) Massacre of Innocents of Bethlehem – Dec. 28.
d. Epiphany – commemorating the manifestation of Christ to the

Gentiles in the
persons of the Magi; also, baptism of Christ, Jan. 6.
2. Easter cycle.
a. Oldest festival of the church.
b. Lent – forty days of fasting and repentance preceding Easter.
c. Ash Wednesday – Wednesday of the sixth week before Easter; dust
and ashes, tokens of repentance.
d. Last week of Lent – Great or Silent or Holy Week.
3. Pentecost Cycle.
(1) Palm Sunday – first Sunday, triumphal entry.
(2) Maundy Thursday – maunds or baskets in which king of
England distributed alms, commemoration of Holy Supper.
Derivation of name from Latin (mandatum), from the command
Christ gave His disciples at the Last Supper to love one another
(John 13:34). Another possibility is a derivation from the Latin
mundo, “to wash,” and refers to Christ's washing the feet of the
apostles.
(3) Good Friday – Friday before Easter, Savior’s crucifixion.
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(4) Great Sabbath – Saturday, Lord’s repose and descent into Hades.
(5) Easter Sunday – grandest, most joyful feast; a time reserved for
baptisms.
(6) White Sunday — following Sunday, the baptized appeared in
white robes and were inducted into the church membership;
confirmation.
a. Fifty festival days from Easter to Pentecost.
b. 40 th day – a Thursday, Ascension Day.
c. Pentecost – feast of the Holy Ghost prized for baptisms and ordinations.
In early church, last great festival of the year.
d. Whitsunday – 7th Sunday after Easter; same as Pentecost.
Commemorated Holy Spirit’s descent.
B. Veneration of Mary – Mariolatry.

1. Mary came to be considered the Queen of the army of saints.
2. Religious thoughts of Mary moved from reverence to veneration.
a. Dulia – respect, reverence for the saints.
b. Hyper-dulia – veneration for Mary.
c. Latria – worship for God.
d. They thus began praying to all three of these.
3. Mary was considered the mother of God.
4. Mary was considered the queen of heaven.
5. Mary’s virginity was enhanced. The teaching of her abstinence, celibacy and
asceticism.
6. Mary always remained a virgin.
7. Mary possessed no original sin – the immaculate conception of Mary. This
made her mother Anne, sinless also.
8. Avae Maria – Prayers to Mary, which could not be denied by her Son.
9. Festivals of Mary.
a. The Annunciation (March 25) – nine months before Christmas. Mary
conceived the Logos through the ear by the word of the angel (A.D. 430).
b. Candlemas (Purification of Mary, Feb. 2) – ceremonial purification of
Mary in temple; Gelasius (A.D. 494).
c. Ascension or Assumption of Mary (August 15); Gelasius (A.D. 496);
dogma in 1950.
C. Devotion to saints and martyrs.
Legends and festivals of saints multiplied. First saints were martyrs. Efficacy of their intercession
because of their privileged position in Heaven. First important compiler of martyrologies
was French hagiographer Usuard (d. c. 875); his work became basis of the present Roman
Martyrology. With Innocent III (1199-1216), canonization reserved to Holy See. In 1969, with
revision of Roman calendar, number of saints’ days revised.
D. Veneration of relics and icons; miracles; visions.
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Relics of saints a source of healing and protection to church which housed them. With conversion
of barbarians to Christianity, an enormous increase in popularity and number of relics.
When Luther taught at Wittenberg, there were 5,005 relics in the chapel of Frederick the Wise.
E. Pilgrimages and processions.
Gratification of curiosity; extreme unnatural devotion; pomp and circumstance.
F. Sacraments – efficacious for salvation. Note: Intrinsic value in a material thing. It
isn't that God made a ceremony of an object sacred by setting it apart, He infused it with
power. The object becomes one with the power. Transcendence is obliterated. Sacerdotal
is to “make sacred.”
1. Baptism – infant on basis of original sin; immersion the normal mode.
2. Eucharist – increasing sacrificial nature; increasing belief in transubstantiation.
3. Marriage – sacred union, raising up children for Mother Church.
4. Ordination – system of priesthood.
5. Confirmation – membership into church after catechetical instruction.
6. Penance – confession to priest and some type of self-atonement.
7. Extreme Unction – last rites; final confession of sin.
G. Church buildings - basilicas; later, cathedrals; antiphonal choirs after Ambrose.
Discussion: Puritan regulative principle versus Catholic and Lutheran normative principle.
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GREGORY I (THE GREAT) (A.D. 590-604)
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Gregory’s pontificate marks the transition from the Ancient to the Medieval period of the church.
He was the last of the church fathers and the first medieval theologian. He is also the first
medieval pope. His popularity with the church is evidenced by the fact that fifteen subsequent
popes chose the name Gregory. He is one of the four great doctors of the ancient church.
Boniface VIII declared him such in 1298. Ambrose, Jerome, and Augustine are the other three.
During his pontificate, Italy was part of the Byzantine empire, but had been overrun by savage
Lombards. Europe was in such chaos that many serious persons, including Gregory, believed that
the world was at an end.
I. His Life Prior to Pontificate.
He was born in A.D. 540, in Rome. His father was a wealthy patrician and senator. His Christian
mother Sylvia and two aunts influenced him toward a holy life. Gregory of Tours stated that he
was dedicated to God from his youth. In 573, Gregory himself was made prefect of Rome. As
such, he presided over the Roman Senate, provided for the city’s defense, food supplies, and
finances (New Catholic Encyclopedia, VI:766). Sometime prior to 578, he became a monk and
used his father’s inheritance to build seven monasteries. The family home was itself converted
into St. Andrew’s monastery. He was appointed minister (apocrisiarius) to the imperial court in
Constantinople and served from 579 to 585 but never bothered to learn Greek. Back in Rome (c.
586) he became abbot of St. Andrew’s monastery and secretary to the Roman bishop Pelagius
until 590 when he was elected forcibly by the people to take his place. Many people, including
Pelagius, had died of the plague. Gregory organized a 3-day penitential procession of clergy and
laity. He considered the plague a providential means of turning the people to God.
II. His Pontificate.
A. He began the idea of the pope as a temporal, secular leader.
1. Loraine Boettner writes in his book Roman Catholicism (p. 127):
His [Gregory’s] brilliant rule set a standard for those who came after him and he is really the first
‘pope’ who can, with perfect accuracy, be given the title. Along with Leo I (440-461), Gregory VII
(1073- 1085) and Innocent III (1198-1216), he stands out as one of the chief architects of the papal
system (The Story of the Church, p. 64). And the Roman Catholic, Philip Hughes, says that
Gregory I, ‘is generally regarded as the greatest of all his line. ... It was to him that Rome turned at
every crisis where the Lombards [the invaders from the north] were concerned. He begged his
people off and he bought them off. He ransomed the captives and organized the great relief
services for widows and orphans. Finally, in 598, he secured a thirty years’ truce. It was St.
Gregory who, in these years, was the real ruler of Rome and in a very real sense, he is the founder
of the papal monarchy’ (A Popular History of the Catholic Church, p. 75).
2. Gregory became a virtual “Protector” of Rome after failing to arouse the
emperor's exarch (royal representative) at Ravenna to defend the people against the
cruel Lombards. When the Lombard Ariulf of Spoleto threatened to invade the city
of Rome, Gregory saved the city by paying a huge ransom and agreeing to a yearly
tribute. This act is extremely significant for the history of the papacy. As the New

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Catholic Encyclopedia states, it “made him a de facto, but not dejure, civil ruler
and constituted one of the steps leading to the creation of the Papal States when the
Pope became a dejure temporal ruler” (VI:767).
3. Gregory ironically called himself the “Paymaster of the Lombards.” The money
he used to pay tribute, ransom captives, and aid the poor came from the papal
patrimonies (lands owned by the Roman see) in Italy, Sicily, Corsica, Sardinia,
Gaul, Africa, and Illyricum. As landlord of these properties, Gregory appointed
rectors to oversee them and care for the needy. In his letters we find him
constantly combating avarice (greed) among the priests who were overtaxing the
people.
4. He set the precedent for the later inquisition by severely punishing the
Manicheans. He believed “that the torture of the body should serve at least the
good health of the soul.”
B. He was a sacerdotal leader.
1. He arranged the liturgy which became the groundwork of the Roman mass of
today. Among his several innovations was the reciting of the Lord’s Prayer over
the Eucharist. He is traditionally given credit for the Gregorian chants.
2. Theologically, he popularized Augustine’s ecclesiology and advanced it sacramentally.
He established the four-fold penance system: contrition, confession,
penance (satisfaction) and absolution.
3. He believed in transubstantiation and the celebration of the eucharist as
beneficial even for the souls of the departed dead. He taught the doctrine of
purgatory based on Matthew 12:32.
4. He condemned unbaptized infants and therefore taught baptismal regeneration.
Firmness of love and obedience were signs of election. Self-inflicted punishments
allow escapes from eternal punishment.
5. His doctrine of the inclusive church was Augustinian: the present church is the
Kingdom of God and likened to Noah’s ark, having clean and unclean animals. “It
may safely be said that medieval theology bore the stamp of Gregory’s thought”
(Cairns, p. 169).
6. He believed in the inspiration of Scripture but used allegorical interpretation
excessively, and placed church tradition on a plain of equality with scriptural
authority.
7. He adhered to a semi-Augustinian view of man: man was a sinner by birth and
choice but man does not inherit Adam’s guilt. Man’s will is free, he believed.
8. Cairns writes, “Later successors built on the foundation that he had laid as they
created the sacramental hierarchical system of the institutionalized church of the

Middle Ages” (p. 169).
9. Credulity and superstition abound in Gregory.
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a. He sent the Eastern empress a little filing dust from the alleged chains of
the apostle Paul.
b. He related that two women who in life had been excommunicated from
the church for scandal and yet who in death had been buried within its walls
were observed to flee from their graves every time holy mass was
celebrated.
c. After a fellow monk had confessed on his death bed to theft, Gregory
refused to allow any fellow monk to approach him. The dead monk's body
was left on a dunghill with the three pieces of gold he had stolen until
Gregory relented and said mass for the wretched soul. Gregory relates that,
after thirty days of mass, the spirit of the man appeared to him to tell of his
release from purgatory.
d. When Gregory learned of the attempt to make him pope, he persuaded
friends to transport him in disguise to the forest, but a halo about his head
betrayed his identity.
e. To this day, Gregory is represented in art with a dove hovering over his
head. His archdeacon Peter told the people, when they were about to
destroy Gregory’s library, that he had seen this dove appear when the
pontiff was writing his great books and it would therefore be sacrilege to
destroy them. Henry Hart Milman correctly observes that monasticism
ascended the papal throne in the person of Gregory. “In austerity, in
devotion, in imaginative superstition, Gregory was a monk to the end of his
days” (Latin Christianity, 11:54). Cannon states that
Gregory’s religion rested on the motives of fear and hope rather than the Pauline motives of faith
and love, and God’s free grace in Christ was exchanged for a mechanical system of merits issuing
finally in rewards and punishments. Hence, he magnified the mass as the sacrifice of Christ
repeated for men, its appeasing wafer shortening the time in purgatory. Augustine may have been
Gregory’s theological master, but the Augustinianism which Gregory bequeathed to the Middle
Ages was debased to such a degree that it is hardly recognizable (History of Christianity in the
Middle Ages, pp. 52-53).
10. To Gregory, Christianity is more mystical, moral, and ascetical, rather than
theological. He deprecated the destruction of pagan temples. Only idols were to be
destroyed that interfered with Catholic worship. Yet he tolerated pagan animal
sacrifice as long as it was performed on a saint’s day, “in order gently to transfer
the adoration of the people from their old to their new objects of worship”
(Milman, II:67). The problem is that the old superstitions were retained in the new
religion and corrupted it.
C. He was Missionary leader.

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1. While observing Angles being sold as slaves in Rome, he remarked that they
looked more like angels and took pity on them. Upon being told they were from the
province of Deira, he responded that they must be rescued from de ira (the wrath
of God). This compassion led later to his commissioning a monk from St.
Andrew’s monastery to evangelize these people in England.
2. Gregory sent Augustine and 40 other monks in 597 to England, where they met
king Ethelbert of Kent, on the isle of Thanet. Through the influence of his Gallic
wife Bertha, a descendant of Clovis I and a Christian, and through the preaching of
Augustine, Ethelbert and his people accepted Roman Catholic Christianity. We
will note more of this story under the evangelization of Britain later.
3. One notable event of Gregory's pontificate was the conversion of Gothic Spain
from Arianism to Roman Catholicism. King Leovigild (c. 568-86) was an Arian.
When his son Hermenegild attempted a revolt in favor of Catholicism, he had him
imprisoned and murdered. When Leovigild died, another son, Recared I (586-601)
denounced Arianism in favor of Catholicism at the Third Council of Toledo (May,
589). Cannon remarks that…
Recared I had the distinction of being the first king to adapt the anointing ceremony of the Old
Testament to Christian usage, having had the sacred oil poured on his head by a bishop,
symbolizing thereby for himself and for his medieval successors in all lands their divine right to
rule (p. 17).
D. He was a hierarchical leader.
1. Gregory’s favorite title for himself was “Servant of the Servants of God.” He
opposed Eastern Patriarch John IV the Faster’s claim to be the Ecumenical
Patriarch. Gregory said, “I know not what bishop is not subject to the Apostolic
[Roman] See.” He wrote the emperor Maurice that whoever calls himself universal
bishop is forerunner of the Antichrist. Let the vast succession of “universal
bishops” since Gregory heed these words! Gregory despised Maurice for refusing
to correct the eastern patriarch. When the cruel upstart Phocas brutally murdered
Maurice and his family and ascended the throne, Gregory sent congratulations to
the villain and his wicked wife. This truly is a blemish on Gregory’s papacy.
2. Leo had claimed the title of pope but was not universally recognized as such;
Gregory disclaimed the title but “exercised all the power and prerogatives of the
later popes. This he did to assert the spiritual supremacy of the bishop of Rome”
(Cairns, p. 167).
3. Gregory’s patriarchate included the Western church, embracing the three
prefects of Italy (including Sicily), Gaul (including Spain and England), and part of
Illyricum and part of north Africa. The principal sees of Italy over which
metropolitans governed the church were Sicily, Ravenna, Milan, and Aquileia.
Gregory’s policy was usually to allow prelates (high-ranking church officials)
elected without papal interference. He intervened only if and when the ecclesiastic

III. His Works.
proved himself
unworthy.
A. Importance.
1. Robert G. Clouse writes in the New International Dictionary of the Christian
Church,
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Gregory’s importance is that of a transmitter of the wisdom of the ancient world to the medieval
world. He is considered one of the four great doctors of the Roman Catholic Church in moral
theology, not so much for the originality of his thought as for his didactic method. His works
include forty Homilies on the Gospel (590-91), aimed at preparing his subjects for the Judgment;
twenty-two Homilies on Ezekiel (593), profound and masterful pieces on many aspects of
Christian life, including historically important account of Italy and the Lombards; the Book of
Morals [or Moralia], a commentary on the Book of Job, his longest work and highly valued in
the study of ethics during the Middle Ages; Pastoral Care, an exposition on the duties and
qualities of the bishops of the church; fourteen books of Letters, which contain valuable
information on his pontificate; and The Four Books of Dialogues on the Life and Miracles of the
Italian Fathers and on the Immortality of Souls (593-94). The Dialogues are especially
significant in that they simplified the doctrines expressed in Augustine’s The City of God, and
were thus very influential during the Middle Ages. Gregory was also active in the reform of the
liturgy of the Roman Rite (p. 432).
2. The fourth book of his Dialogues treats the topic of purgatory.
The concept of purgatory rests on the false belief that a further purging of sin is necessary –
both penal and purifying – for those baptized into the church, in order to enjoy eternal bliss.
The basis for the doctrine is found in the Apocryphal book, II Maccabees 12:39-45.
B. Bible Interpretation Method (Hermeneutic).
Gregory's works are marred by excessive allegorization. This is especially true of his Book of
Morals and his Homilies. The reason for this may be found in his belief that the Holy Spirit
supernaturally revealed certain truths to him, often while he was preaching or writing. While
Gregory excels as an ethical moralist, he is deficient as an expositor. Gregory sees some hidden
mystery in every word, name, or number or combination of numbers. For example, in his
commentary on Job, he interprets the seven sons of Job as the twelve apostles and therefore the
clergy in general, “because seven is the perfect number, and multiplied within itself, four by three
or three by four, produces twelve. The three daughters mean the faithful laity, because they are to
worship the Trinity.” The meaning of Job’s friends Gregory identifies with heresy (cited in
Milman, II: 50, note 2).
IV. Summary of Gregory as Pope.
A. Providential pontificate.
All in all, Gregory’s pontificate was providential for the church. With the invasion of Lombards,

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sieges, wars, recapture of Rome by the Goths and then the Greeks; pestilence; famine; the
prevalent heresy of Arianism, the West needed able leadership. This it found in Gregory the
Great. Although one must be cautious in accepting fully Schaff’s exalted praise of this man, one
may also recognize in Gregory a providential tool of God in helping to preserve western Christendom
from its almost certain destruction by barbarism.
B. Universal pontificate.
Regarding the matter of papal authority, “he [Gregory] combined a triple dignity, episcopal,
metropolitan, and patriarchal” (Schaff, IV:218). On every occasion he denounced the title
“universal bishop” for himself or anyone else. But “it cannot be denied that Gregory, while he
protested” the assumption of the title, nevertheless “claimed and exercised, as far as he had the
opportunity and power, the authority and oversight over the whole church of Christ, even in the
East” (ibid., p. 224). Schaff adds, surely with later papal arrogant claims in mind, that “it is a very
remarkable fact, that at the beginning of the unfolding of the greatest power of the papacy, one of
the best of popes should have protested against the antichristian pride and usurpation of the
system” (ibid., p. 225).
C. Detrimental pontificate.
More than anyone before him, Gregory influenced the direction and thinking of medieval
Christianity. Through his encouragement of monasticism, sacerdotalism (especially the four-fold
penance system), and sacramentalism (especially the mass); with his use of the allegorical system
of scriptural interpretation; and by his paternal sanctification of relics and prayers to saints,
dogmatizing of purgatory, and assertion of the efficacy of human merit, he wrecked the church
and sent it crippled in the wrong direction away from apostolic doctrine. Instead of returning the
church to the doctrines of Paul, Peter, and John, he maimed it and provided the means by which
his pontifical successors could completely ruin it.

SACRAMENTALISM AND RITUALISM: AN ESSAY ON THEOLOGICAL ERRORS
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After Gregory the Great, the church became much more sacramental in character and practice. In
other words, the church defined its practice in terms of ritual and sacrifice – terms and practices
the pagans knew and adapted to Christianity. There was, after Gregory I, the almost universal
view that the eucharist was a reenacted sacrifice and that the priest was a mediator of this
sacrifice to man. The magical view of the efficacy of baptism persisted as well. And all these rites
were steeped in mystery.
Mystery to the medieval mind was not the biblical concept of a truth previously unknown but now
revealed to God’s people through His Word. It was something other-worldly, mystical, and darkly
obscure. Filling the term were past legends, superstitions, and magic that the “Christianized” yet
pagan mind conjured. One of the immense failures of the church leaders of early medieval history
was allowing the ingression of pagan ideas into the church. But how may one check an idea?
There is no absolute safeguard. But the failure lay in their theology. They had forfeited the
theological means of preventing paganism’s intrusion.
By 590, the great ecumenical councils had declared in favor of scriptural orthodoxy regarding the
Trinity and the person and natures of Christ, the deity of the Holy Spirit, and the nature of man.
However, the Western church took satisfaction in the fact it had already adopted the orthodox
position on these points.
1) What had not been corrected was the almost universally faulty view of soteriology,
namely, that baptism saves. All of the important church fathers taught baptismal
regeneration and no one of any reputation corrected this scriptural error. Ironically, then,
what was accepted as ecclesiologically orthodox was scripturally heretical.
2) Another theological failure which partially contributed to the view of baptism was the
persistent use of allegory in hermeneutics. This idea that there is some hidden mysterious
truth back of the literal, revealed supernaturally, even by divine inspiration, governed the
way theologians interpreted the Bible. Really, the word “governed” is inappropriate, for
this was just the problem: there were no hermeneutical guidelines, no theological
framework, other than the interpreter's own fancy.
3) A third theological failure concerns the view of the church itself. Between Augustine
(354-430) and Anselm (1033-1109) and the scholastic age there were no great theological
minds. In fact, not until the Reformation were there any truly biblical theologians. This is
not to say there were no biblical thinkers. Wycliffe and Huss will attest to this, and to a
lesser degree, Peter Waldo. But they did not systematically work out a biblical theology;
they focused on what was unbiblical in the Roman Catholic Church. Gregory was certainly
no original thinker. Most of what he taught he borrowed from Augustine and he perverted
that. Gregory popularized Augustine and everyone else followed suit. And it was
Augustine’s view of the visible church that took precedence. The church was equated
with Gods kingdom on earth. It was an inclusive institution, possessing intrinsic
holiness, and made up of wheat and chaff, sheep and goats, to be separated at the Great
Judgment when Christ returns. Adherence to the earlier patristic premillennial
dispensational view of the church vanished.

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4) Coupled with this view of the church as the kingdom was the question of authority.
The practical authority for the church member was a visible being who represents the
invisible Christ – the bishop. Cyprian’s equation of bishop with church spelled the
subservience of Scripture to human authority, namely, patristic tradition and episcopal (or
papal) decree.
5) The eucharist had also been changed into a sacrifice, a re-enactment of the death of
Christ on the cross via the propitiatory act of eat and drinking the elements. The pastor
thereby takes on the role of a mediating priest who offers the sacrifice. Note the devolution:
ordinance became sacrament and sacrament became sacrifice and sacrifice is
sacrilegious. The church had become by Gregory I sacramental and sacerdotal, centering
on the mass and the one who officiated it – the priest.
6) Most people were illiterate. They would not have been able to read the Bible if they had
one. To many the Bible was a closed book until it was translated into the vernacular and
people were taught to read it. The substitute for this was the visible institution – the
Church and its sacraments. And the means of salvation were totally dependent upon
what they could know empirically through the only visible means of “revelation” they
had – the rites and ceremonies.
7) One final failure must be mentioned. It was only natural in the ancient church to revere
the memory of Christian martyrs, especially those of rank. The failure of ecclesiastics to
discourage such veneration only served to accentuate it. Veneration of the memory of
the martyrs was transferred to their actual relics. A basilica or chapel was sanctified
by the presence of one or more relics of famous saints. Pilgrimages to sites where the more
important relics were housed or where “miracles” took place became a means of
sanctification and affected one’s salvation with the correlation of merit with grace. Mary,
of course, received the greatest veneration. In due time, her reverence degenerated into
worship.

EARLY MEDIEVAL CLERICALISM AND MONASTICISM
By the 12th century, it was common to designate clergy as either secular (living in the world) or
regular (living according to a rule). The first type of clergy would be ordained into the
priesthood; the second type would not necessarily be ordained but follow a monastic order.
Within the R.C. Church there was also lesser offices, which tended to multiply as the R.C.
Church became more institutionalized and hierarchical.
I. Clericalism (or professionalism).
By the time of Gregory the Great, there were seven successive orders of secular clerics (leading
to holy orders and the priesthood), known early on as the “celestial militia.” They were:
A. The Minor Orders (not to be confused with minor orders of monasticism).
1. Ostiarius. A doorkeeper; the lowest of the minor orders of the western church.
He was responsible for excluding unauthorized persons from attending the
eucharist. First mentioned in a letter of Roman bishop Cornelius in 251. Office
abolished in the R.C. Church in 1972.
2. Exorcist. One appointed to cast out demons, usually through the imposition of
hands and usually upon catechumens. It is now the function of the priest.
3. Lector. A reader of Scripture, particularly OT prophecies, the Epistle, and the
Gospel. A liturgical reader first mentioned by Justin Martyr in his First Apology.
4. Acolyte. An assistant to the priest and especially dedicated to the service of the
altar during mass.
5. Subdeacon. From the time of Innocent III in 1207, reckoned a major order.
Suppressed in 1972.
B. The Major Orders.
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1. Deacon. Before Gregory I, the deacons read or chanted the epistle (one of two
passages of Scripture sung at the Eucharist) and the Gospel (a section of the
Gospels proper to each mass). With Gregory, this function was transferred to the
lector or cantor. The deacon also received offerings, assisted the priest in the
distribution of communion, directed the prayers of the laity during the service, and
gave the signal for catechumens (those under instruction) to leave the church
before the beginning of the Canon (prayer of consecration at mass). The
archdeacon was a chief deacon who directly assisted the bishop in his
ministration.
2. Priest (sacerdos – one who makes something holy). The English term priest is
derived the Greek presbyter. The Latin equivalent is sacerdos. It is almost
universally connected with the idea of sacrifice. Cyprian was the first to apply the
term sacerdos to the ministry. At first, only bishops could consecrate the eucharist,

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but as parishes grew, priests were allowed to do so. During the Medieval Period,
when the priest assumed the independent practice of administering the eucharist
and the other sacraments, and absolving the penitent, he acquired great power as a
representative of God before the people. The validity of priestly function
depended on Episcopal ordination (Holy Orders).
3. Bishop. The term itself is an Anglo-Saxon corruption of the Greek term
episcopus. Bishops were distinguished from priests primarily in their authority to
confer Holy Orders and Confirmation. They must receive consecration at the
hands of another bishop who, in turn, must trace his succession to the original
Apostles. The bishop was the overseer of a diocese, a relatively large ecclesiastical
jurisdiction. An archbishop presided over a large ecclesiastical province. The
metropolitan was the highest rank of archbishop sometimes called a patriarch, and
ruled over a large province, which initially conformed to the Roman provincial
districts.
C. Other terms to note.
1. Clerk or cleric. A clergyman, often a layman assisting in the ministry of the
church, and possessing some education for the purpose of keeping records.
Whether a member of the secular clergy or regular clergy, he was identified as such
by the tonsure (early symbol of adoption in the Roman household).
2. Tonsure. A cutting of the hair to distinguish the cleric from the Minor Orders.
3. Parochia. From the Greek word paroikia and means parish. It is an ecclesiastical
subdivision of a diocese.
4. Diocese. The word originally had to do with larger administrative units of the
Roman empire and came to be applied as a large area administratively ruled by a
bishop.
5. See. From the Latin sedes, meaning “seat.” It is usually considered the place
where a cathedral (seat of bishop) is located.
6. Familia. The bishop's household.
7. Ordinand. One who has taken orders or been ordained into the ministry.
8. Sacerdotium. The priestly office.
9. Coloni. A feudalistic community.
10. Computus. A chronological computation for reckoning the date of Easter.
11. Scholasticus, capischola, magister scholarum, chancellor. The chief
representative of the bishop in the administration of the temporal affairs of his
diocese. He was responsible for the preservation of the diocesan archives and acted

as secretary to the bishop and an educator of lectors.
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12. Basilica. An early type of building used for Christian worship patterned after
the
Roman building by the same name. The building had an atrium or outer courtyard.
The building itself consisted of a narthex or porch leading into the hall or nave
divided by aisles. At the opposite end was the semicircular apse. Here was an altar
and the bishop's seat.
13. Cathedral. Seat of the bishop, and the oldest of the episcopal insignia.
14. Xenodochium. Something of a hospice for indigents.
15. Stipend. Wages.
16. Canonical hour. A time of daily prayer laid down in the breviary (a liturgical
book containing prayers, hymns, psalms, etc.). The traditional seven canonical
hours are mattins and lauds (evening and morning prayers); prime (singing of
hymns and recitation of prayers beginning at 6 a.m.); terce, sext, none (prayers and
hymns to be recited at the third, sixth, and ninth hours respectively); vespers
(prayers and hymns recited in the afternoon or early evening), and compline (the
last of the hours, said before retirement).
17. Unction. The process of anointing the sick with oil. It was during the Medieval
period that the rite became connected with penitence and was therefore withheld
until imminent death.
18. Chrism. A mixture of olive oil and balsam used in the ritual of unction and
other sacraments and ceremonies which convey a special blessing.
19. Catechism. Instruction given to the catechumen or initiate preparing for
baptism.
20. Scriptorium. A copying room in a medieval monastery set apart for the scribes
of important documents.
21. Reliquary. A vessel or container for housing a relic.
For other terms see The New Catholic Encylopedia; McClintock and Strong; Schaff-Herzog; or
The New Westminister Dictionary of Liturgy and Worship (ed. I G. Davies, Westminster Press,
1986).
II. Monasticism.
Monasticism flourished during the Medievel period of church history. Monasteries had a life of
their won, but made a tremendous impact on ecclesiastical and social life throughout Europe and
the world.

A. Causes of monasticism.
1. Escape from worldliness…in the church when Christianity was secularized by
Constantine in the 4 th century.
2. An affinity for deeper devotion (a deeper life). They used asceticism and
deprivation of moral desires to gain this deeper life.
3. Spiritual pride.
4. Security of the community.
5. A desire to secure personal salvation by contemplation on the divine.
Note: Hierarchy of monasticism is pope – abbot – prior – monk.
B. Characteristics of monasticism and monasteries.
1. Renunciation. “Monastic life functioned as a counterculture” (Adrian H.
Bredero, Christendom and Christianity in the Middle Ages, p. 13). A
distinctive religious culture with strict procedures and fixed liturgies, and
maintaining its own language – Latin.
2. Asceticism. Self-depravation, voluntary incarceration, contemplation.
3. Sacral separation. Monasteries were cultic centers where the threatened could
find refuge or sanctuary; the conscript could find military exemption, and the
oblate (person dedicated to God) could fulfill his/her vows of devotion.
4. Submission. Three-fold rule of poverty, chastity, and obedience.
C. Types of monastics.
1. Hermitic (eremitic). The true monastic (Gk. monachos = single). Syn. =
anchoritic (Gk. anachorein — taking to the bush).
2. Laura. A grouping of hermits.
3. Cenobitic (Gk. koinos + bios = common life). An organized community of
monks living under a common rule, in a cloistered environment or monastery.
4. Mendicant (Lat. mendicare = to beg). Itinerant monasticism. Instituted
during Medieval period.
D. Early monastics.
1. Antony (c. 250-356). Father of early monasticism. Pioneer in anchoritic
monasticism in and near Egypt.
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2. Pachomius (c. 292-346). Pioneer in cenobitic monasticism. Egyptian.
Had monasteries for both men and women.
3. Basil of Caesarea (c. 329-379). Cappadocian Father. Organized monastic
community at Pontus in Asia Minor. His practical rule and order became norm in
Eastern Orthodox Church.
4. Athanasius (c. 296-373). Originated western monasticism in Italy during
one of his exiles.
5. Martin of Tours (c. 335-400). “Soldier monk” and missionary to Gaul who
established a monastery at the village of Liguge.
6. Benedict of Nursia (c. 480-542). The real Patriarch of Western Monasticism.
The most important early monastic because of his Benedictine Rule originating at
Monte Cassino (529). Lars Qualben writes,
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The Rule of St. Benedict of Nursia was so successful at the monastery of Monte Cassino… that it
became the pattern for practically all the monasteries of the Western Church. In a series of 73 rules
covering all phases of monastic life, the forty-eighth prescribed at least seven hours of daily labor
and two hours of reading ‘for all able to bear the load.’ Benedictine monks became the most expert
farmers and craftsmen of the Middle Ages. The requirement of daily reading formed the beginning
of the monastic schools, which preserved learning in the West during the long intellectual night of
the medieval period (History of the Christian Church, p. 135).
E. Celtic monasticism.
1. Before 600, the dominant type of monasticism in Britain was the Celtic which
borrowed its practices largely from Egyptian and Basilican (eastern or Greek)
monasticism. This type was…
a. Reclusive and severely austere in practice.
b. Emphasized scholarship and learning and produced outstanding
monastic scholars.
c. From Celtic monastic centers went forth several missionaries to
evangelize what is now Scotland and Wales, and on the continent, such
areas as northern Gaul, and parts of northern Italy.
d. The discipline of the Celtic monastics under one leading representative,
Columbanus, is described by Margaret Deanesly (A History of the Medieval
Church 590-1500, p. 37). She writes that their rule required fasting,
praying, working, and reading every day. The rule stated,
A monk must live under the rule of one father, and in the society of many brethren, that he may
learn humility from one, patience from another, silence from a third, gentleness from a fourth. He
is not to do what he likes. He is to eat what he is told to eat, he is to have only what is given to

157
him, he must do the work which is set him, he must be subject to those whom he dislikes. He must
go to bed so tired that he will fall asleep on the way, and he must rise before he has had as much
sleep as he wants. When he is ill-treated, he must be silent. He must fear the prior of his monastery
as a master, and yet love him as a father: he must believe that whatever orders he gives are good.
“Yet,” Deanesly continues, “crowds of postulants [petitioners, probationers] joined the
monasteries, not only from the laboring class, but from the Frankish and Burgundian nobles.”
2. Between 600 and 700 Celtic monasticism vied with the Benedictine type
throughout continental Europe.
3. After 700, even most of the Celtic monasteries accepted the Benedictine
rule. The reason for this can be largely attributed to the more practical and
humane form of monastic observance.
F. Cluniac Monasticism.
1. A reform movement.
By the tenth century, the monasteries had become wealthy and corrupt and were badly in need of
reform. The earlier ideal of service had been replaced by the ideal of individual salvation coupled
with any easy life in a wealthy monastery. The papacy itself experienced a period of serious
decline between Nicholas I and Leo IX [867-1049]. The reform movement originating at Cluny
was the first of several successive reform movements in Roman monasticism. It had far-reaching
effects (Cairns, pp. 200-201).
2. An influential movement.
The monastery of Cluny in eastern France was formed in 909 through the patronage of William
the Pious, Duke of Aquitaine. He delegated the task of establishing a new monastery to Abbot
Berno of Beaume. The monastery’s charter provided for an organization independent from all
secular control, but under the protection of the pope. Early abbots, such as Odo (abbot from 927
to 942), were so influential that several monasteries of France and Italy were reorganized after the
Cluny reforms. The Cluny type of monasticism made monasteries subject to one abbot, thereby
creating a centralized system. “By the twelfth century, over eleven hundred monasteries were
under the leadership of the abbot of Cluny” (ibid., p. 201). Cluniac monasteries enjoyed many
papal and political privileges (cf. Uta-Renate Blumenthal, The Investiture Controversy: Church
and Monarchy from the Ninth to the Twelfth Century, p. 11ff). The Cluniacs promoted moral as
well as ecclesiastical reforms, such as condemnation of clerical marriage, nepotism (favoring
relatives for church office), and simony (buying and selling of church offices). They also insisted
on freedom from any secular control and renewed the stress on the ascetic life. Cluniacs were
instrumental in creating monastic schools, launching the Crusades, and expanding the influence of
the church through missions. The order came to an end in 1790.

EARLY MEDIEVAL MISSIONS
I. Introduction. See quote in Spreading Flame, pp. 316-17.
A. Means of expansion.
Two principal means for the expansion of Christianity in western Europe during the early
Medieval period:
1. Persuasion by papal, episcopal, or monastic missionary appointees.
2. Coercion by barbarian chieftains who were themselves converted or convinced
into accepting Christianity.
B. Challenges to the Roman Catholic Church / Overcome by certain means.
CHALLENGE SOLUTION
Barbarian invasions Tribute and treaty (bribery and coexistence)
Pagan practices Allowance and accommodation
Celtic Christianity Diplomacy and doctrine
Arian heresy (“Jesus wasn’t God”) Diplomacy and doctrine
II. Significant Missionary Activity Prior to Gregory the Great.
A. Gregory the Illuminator (c. 240-332), Apostle of Armenia.
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Grew up in Cappadocia where he became a Christian. Went to Armenia and led King Tiridates
III to Christianity. He was consecrated bishop of the Armenians by the metropolitan of Caesarea.
Several of his successors were of his family. His son and immediate successor, Aristakes,
attended the Nicene Council (325). Armenia is the first state (according to Cairns) to officially
become Christian.
B. Frumentius (c. 300-380), first bishop of Axumis (Ethiopia).
Accompanied his brother Aedesius and mentor Meropus to Ethiopia. Meropus was killed and the
two brothers taken captive, but eventually promoted by the king to trusted positions at court.
After the death of the king, they tutored the prince and led him to accept Christianity. Later,
Frumentius was consecrated bishop by Athanasius.
C. Ulfilas (c. 310-380).
Arian missionary to the Goths. He was consecrated a bishop by an Arian and worked diligently in
winning the barbarians to Christianity – although the Arian form. His great achievement was
translating the Bible into Gothic – all except the books of Samuel and Kings. Contemporary
church historian Philostorgius (c. 368-430) wrote,
Ulfilas took very great care of the Goths in many ways. For instance, he reduced then-language to
writing and translated all the books of the Bible into their everyday speech, except for the books of

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Kings. He left them out because they are merely an account of military exploits, and the Gothic
tribes were particularly devoted to war. They were in more need of checks on their warlike natures
than of spurs to urge them on to acts of war (quoted in Eerdman's Handbook to the History of
Christianity, p. 180).
D. Martin of Tours (c. 316-397).
Pioneer missionary to the Gauls. Son of a soldier and himself a cavalry officer, he was converted
and chose the life of a monastic. His biographer was the hagiographer Sulpicius Severus. The
story is told of Martin cutting his officer’s cloak in two and giving half to a beggar in Amiens.
That night Martin had a vision of Christ wearing the garment and saying to the angels, “Martin,
though as yet he is only a catechumen, has clothed me with this garment.” He submitted to the
teaching of the famous church father Hilary of Poitiers and later led his mother to Christ. He
founded a monastery at Liguge in 360. His fame spread as an exorcist and miracle worker. He
believed as did Origen that Satan himself could be saved if he repented. He was chosen bishop of
Tours in 371 and established a monastery there called the “Greater Monastery.” He denounced the
emperor Maximus for murdering his predecessor and for executing the martyr Priscillian. His
feast, celebrated November 11 is known as Martinmas. Notice the argument over his remains in
History of the Franks, pp. 29-30.
E. Conversion of Clovis I (481-511), king of the Franks.
At the insistence of his Burgundian wife Clotilda and his fulfillment of a vow he made at the
defeat of the Alemanni, he was baptized with three thousand of his soldiers by the archbishop of
Rheims on Christmas day, 496. He assumed responsibility for protecting the R.C. Church. This
was a turning point for Christianity in France and all of Europe.
In the barbarian states, a man was unpatriotic if he did not embrace the religion of his chief. In the
empire of Justinian, one might risk the penalties of theft, extortion, gambling, cruelty, adultery,
sodomy, castration, even murder itself; he dared not run the risk of failing to call himself a
Christian (Cannon, History of Christianity in the Middle Ages, p. 36).
Virtually the same could be said of the rule of Clovis and his Frankish successors. Clovis I was a
ruthless, bloody man. Note the account of Clovis's conversion in History of the Franks by
Gregory of Tours, in Bainton, The Medieval Church, pp. 99-100.
III. Early Celtic Christian Activity in Britain.
A. Introduction of Christianity.
1. It is impossible to determine exactly when Christianity was first introduced
to Britain. There is a mysterious quote from Tertullian (c. 150-220) that
supposes the existence of Christians at least by the second century: “parts of
Britain inaccessible to the Romans were indeed conquered by Christ” (from
Against the Jews). We do know that it was the Celtic type, however. The Celtic
church struggled for existence against the pagan Angles and Saxons beginning
around 550.
2. The earliest recorded event of Christian history in Britain is the Council of
Aries in 314. This synod was summoned by Constantine to consider the claims of

Donatism. Three of the bishops (York, London, Lincoln) in attendance were from
Britain.
3. Celtic monks spread early British Christianity.
a. They went out from strict monasteries to found churches (from the
Celtic word ciric = the holy burial ground in a monastery).
b. The monks ministered to tribal groups.
c. Their two great passions: (1) Learning to be found in Christian books,
and (2) Pilgrimage for the Gospel.
B. Celtic missionaries in Ireland and Northern Britain.
1. Patrick (c. 389-461), patron saint of Ireland.
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A native of Britain, kidnapped by Irish Celtic raiders when he was 16. He was taken to County
Antrim and served as a swineherd. After six years, he escaped and returned to Britain, where he
was made a deacon and then presbyter. He felt compelled to return to Ireland to win his former
captors to Christ, and was consecrated bishop (c. 415), not on the Continent, but in Britain (cf.
R.P.C. Hanson, The Life and Writings of the Historical Saint Patrick (p. 30 ff.). Read about the
occasion for his return in his own words from The Call of St. Patrick in Bainton, The Medieval
Church, pp. 97-98. He returned to Ireland 20 years after his escape, traveling throughout Ireland
as possibly a “familial” monk (Hanson, p. 50), and establishing a church at Ulster in Armagh.
Here, he formed his diocese. He broke the power of heathenism in Ireland. He was credulous but
seemed to be evangelical; no basis to call him Roman Catholic. He was a British Christian (cf.
Hanson, pp. 27-31). He acknowledged no allegiance to a Roman bishop (pope) as some have
suggested (cf. Eleanor S. Duckett, Monasticism: The Gateway to the Middle Ages, pp. 65, 66, 69),
nor did he have any knowledge of Jerome’s Latin Vulgate. There is no attempt by Patrick to
allegorize Scripture, but to teach truth honestly and plainly. However, he is given to visions and
dreams. Patrick’s strategy was to try to win the tribal chieftain to Christianity. However, when he
attempted to visit his former master Miliucc at Ulster, the pagan, fearful of Patrick’s magic and
possible retribution, gathered his possessions and himself into his house and set fire to it. He
perished in the flames. The missionary’s death on March 17 marks St. Patrick's Day.
2. Columba (521-597), Apostle to Scotland.
Born in Ireland, Columba came from royal parentage. He studied in monastic schools in Ireland
and was ordained a presbyter. He took up residence at his famous retreat at lona in 563, founded a
monastery there from which he and others ministered to the Picts of Scotland. Never more than a
presbyter, he played a much greater role in the church than bishops of his era. After receiving a
vision to anoint a new king of Dahiada (in Scotland), Columba proceeded to consecrate Aidan
(different from missionary) in Iona. Bruce tells us that Aidan was “probably the first king in the
British Isles ever to be consecrated as a Christian ruler. Tradition alleges that at his consecration,
he was enthroned upon the Stone of Destiny” (ibid., pp. 390-91). Columba evangelized among the
Picts and made several visits to Inverness where, according to his biographer, he had a “run-in”

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with the Loch Ness Monster. Reportedly, “this aquatic creature, by reason of its mortal bite, was a
menace to swimmers in the river Ness, but at Columba's command, issued to it in the name of the
Lord, it went into reverse ‘as though drawn by ropes’” (ibid., p. 392). When Columba visited
King Brude, “and the court-druids raised a clamor to prevent him and his companions from being
heard, he began to sing the forty-fifth Psalm (‘My heart is indicating a good matter . . .’) in such
tones that the thunder of his voice struck terrified silence into the king and his people” (ibid., pp.
393-94). Finally, Columba supposedly would not allow cows on lona because, he said, “Where
there are cows, there will be women, and where there are women there will be trouble of another
kind.”
3. Aidan (d. 651), first bishop of Celtic Christianity in Northumbria at Lindisfarne.
Came from lona at the request of king Oswald (c. 605-642) to evangelize his people. Such
was his success that J. B. Lightfoot remarked, “Not Augustine, but Aidan, is the true apostle
of England.” Aidan established a monastery at Lindisfarne in 635. Deanesly writes,
The monastery at Lindisfarne, a group of huts of rough stone or wood, surrounded by a
rampart, became the centre of Celtic Christianity in the north; Irish customs were followed,
manuscripts were copied in the beautiful Irish handwriting and wonderfully illuminated, and
a separate type of Northumbrian art arose (p. 46).
“For all the attractiveness of the Lindisfarne tradition [however], the prestige of Rome
proved unanswerable” (Edwards, p. 57).
IV. The Conversion of England to Roman Catholicism.
A. Beginnings.
1. The first instance of Roman missions.
The deacon Palladius persuaded Pope Celestine to send Germanus, bishop of Auxerre to the
British to counter Pelagianism. He himself went in 431 to the Scots. This is the first recorded
instance of missionary activity in Britain by the RCC; however, nothing is known of its success.
B. Personnel.
2. Two great detriments to Christianity in Britain: the brutalizing of it by the
Anglo-Saxons, beginning c. 550; and the romanticizing of it by papal
missionaries, beginning in 597.
1. Augustine (d. 604), first archbishop of Canterbury.
He was sent from St. Andrew’s Monastery in Rome by Gregory I in 597 to convert the English to
Roman Catholicism. He landed at the island of Thanet where Ethelbert was king of Kent. His
wife Bertha was already a Christian. Ethelbert would only meet outside for fear of Augustine's
“magic.” He and ten thousand of his subjects were baptized on Christmas day 597 (cf. David
Edwards, Christian England, I:47-48).

2. Wilfrid (634-710), bishop of York.
He had been educated in the monastery at Lindisfarne but later accepted the Roman Catholic
brand of Christianity and persuaded King Oswy of Northumbria to accept Roman Catholicism at
the famous Synod of Whitby (664). Oswy favored a religion that claimed to have the keys to the
kingdom of heaven.
3. Theodore of Tarsus (c. 602-690), archbishop of Canterbury from 669.
A Greek scholar and active organizer of the Roman Catholic Church in England. He convoked
the first council of the entire English Church at Hertford in 672.
C. Differences between Celtic and Roman Catholic Christianity.
1. Celtic Christianity was developed independently of Rome.
2. They differed on the date of Easter.
3. The tonsure (the way you shaved your head) was different. The RC’s shaved
their head on the top; the Celtics shaved on the front.
4. Celts named the churches for people still alive. Relics weren’t that important.
5. Celts immersed only once, while Catholics three time.
6. Rite of consecration (ordination) didn’t require three bishops, like the RCC.
Celts required only one.
7. Celtic Christianity was more Presbyterian (in monasteries) than Episcopal
(diocese).
8. Celtic monks were not required to be celibate.
9. Overall, Celtic Christianity was purer than RCC.
V. Personnel involved in the Expansion of Christianity to the European Continent.
A. Willibrord (658-739), Anglo-Saxon missionary and apostle to the Frisians (Holland).
A monk from Ripon. In 690, he and eleven other missionaries from England landed at the
lowlands of Frisia (Netherlands). Was made archbishop of Utrecht in 695, and changed his name
to Clemens. Most of the area was Christianized by the time of his death.
B. Winfrid (680-754), Apostle to the Germans.
Known as Boniface (“doer of good”), he was the great missionary to the Germans and valiant
martyr. Winfrid came from Wessex, England, and was trained in the monastic school at Exeter
and later made abbot of Nursling. From there, he went as a missionary to the Frisians. Disillu-
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sioned with the crass unbelief of the pagans there, he returned and later made a trip to Rome. At
Rome, Pope Gregory II appointed him a missionary at large to the Germans and made him
missionary bishop in 722; archbishop in 732; and papal legate in 739. He organized the churches
of Germany into a system subservient to Rome. One of his most famous feats was the destruction
of the Oak of Thor at Geismar which the Hessians worshiped. Of the abbeys and monasteries
which he constructed, the most famous was Fulda, which followed the Benedictine order. In two
years, he established eight German dioceses and a synod. In an effort to help unite the Franks
under Christianity, he crowned Pepin the Short king of the Franks in 751.
Still burdened for the Frisians, he returned to the Netherlands in 754. He and a group of converts
whom he was baptizing were slaughtered by thieves. His body was laid to rest in Fulda. He
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was the chief figure in the evangelization of Germany, the artificer of institutional Christianity
among the German people, their first archbishop, and, judged by the extent and significance of his
work, perhaps the greatest missionary since the Apostle Paul (Cannon, p. 45).
Because of the weakened condition of the church in Spain, an expansion of another kind took
place – more ominous and threatening to destroy Christianity in Europe – ISLAM.

THE GROWING THREAT OF ISLAM
Three great challenges, all quite different in nature, confronted the church during the period of
Latin-Teutonic Christianity between 500 and 800: (1) the heresy of Arianism; (2) the
evangelization of the Barbarian tribes in Europe; and (3) the threat Islam.
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After the Monophysite and Monothehte controversies were settled at Constantinople in 553 and
680 respectively, a new threat arose that would eventually conquer and envelope most of the old
Roman Empire including the Middle East, northern Africa, Asia Minor, and Spain by 750.
I. Mohammed (c. 570-632), the founder of Islam (submission), a fanatical, monotheistic, militant
religion. Of the six great prophets of Islam – Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, Jesus, and
Mohammed – the latter is the greatest.
A. Mohammed was an orphan who, at 25, married Khadija (40). Their only surviving child
was Fatima.
B. Mohammed’s visions are comprised in the holy book of Islam, the Koran, comprised
of 114 Suras (chapters). Certain Suras do not agree with OT records of same incidents.
C. Mohammed alleged that Jews had corrupted the Scriptures. Tradition: Christ foretold
the coming of the Paraclete, Mohammed. Yet Mohammed was anything but a
“comforter;” often cruel, vindictive, sensual
II. The Five Pillars of Islam. These are listed in order of importance.
A. The Creed (shahadah) – “There is no god but Allah and Mohammed is his prophet.” In
actuality, muslims venerate Mohammed himself as a divine messiah. Muslims deny the
Trinity. Tawhid = theology (belief). Shari’a = law (behavior)
B. Prayer – 5 times a day toward Mecca.
C. Ramadan – the month of fasting. Ninth month of lunar calendar; shorter than solar
calendar; 10 days earlier each year. Abstinence observed from sunrise to sunset during
period.
D. Almsgiving. 2.5% Annually.
E. Pilgrimage to Mecca (Hajj).
III. The Spread of Islam.
A. 622 – the Hegira or flight of Mohammed from Mecca to Medina; this inaugurated the
Mohammedan era. Jews of Medina rejected Mohammed’s claim to be a prophet. He turned
on them, and turned toward Mecca, rather than Jerusalem.
B. 635 – Damascus fell.

C. 637 – Jerusalem taken.
D. 638 – Antioch, Tripoli, Caesarea, and other cities taken along the Mediterranean coast.
E. 639 – All of Syria had been taken.
F. 651 – All Southern Asia under Arab control.
G. 652-654 – Armenia taken.
H. 679 – Temporary peace between the Eastern Empire and the Arabs.
I. 695-717 – Cilicia, Galatia, and much of the territory of the seven churches was in their
hands.
J. Expansion halted by Emperor Leo III (the Isaurian) in 717-718 and by Charles Martel
(the Hammer) in the famous battle of Tours in 732.
IV. The Jihad (Holy War).
A. He who is summoned to war against the infidels and dies in a Jihad is assured of
paradise.
B. The Koran commands: “Kill those who join other gods with God wherever ye shall find
them, but if they shall convert, let them go their way.”
V. Sects of Islam. There are several different groups or schools among the Muslims, but only two
main sects.
A. Sunnites (or Sunnis).
1. In the majority, they claim to follow the Sunna or Tradition.
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2. Recognize the Caliphs (political and religious rulers)as the rightful successors of
Mohammed.
B. Shi’ites (so-called “fundamentalists”).
1. In the minority, they belong to the Sect (Shi’a). This is the official religion of
Iran.
2. Recognize Ali, the son-in-law of Mohammed, and his descendants as the true
successors of the prophet.
VI. Characteristics: fatalism, meritorious salvation, bitter hatred of Christianity; heaven a place
of sensuous delight; mysticism; women inferior (practice of polygamy—up to 4 wives).
For further study, see Edward M. Panosian’s Islam and the Bible: Considering Islam Biblically or

Patrick Sookhdeo’s A Christian’s Pocket Guide to Islam.
166

THE CAROLINGIAN EMPIRE
in The Context of The Revival of Western Imperialism by the Teutons (590-1054)
167
During the fourth century, the Roman Empire recognized and indeed “married” the church in
order to further its power and unify it internally. It needed solidarity and the church supplied it by
adoption of Christianity as the state religion. Now, (7 th century) the church, rising to religious
and political ascendancy in the West, needed the state as an ally to support her claims to spiritual
power and temporal possession, claims which were being threatened by Arian Lombards and the
Eastern Church centered in Constantinople. There is a renewal of the “marriage vows” – this time
by the church to the state, i.e., the papacy of Rome to the Frankish rulers.
With collapse of the Roman Empire in A.D. 476 and the triumph of the barbarians, unity and
stability gave way to fragmentation and disorder. European civilization was characterized by
confusion and conflict. Barbarian civil strife, Islamic gains, Arianism vs. Roman Catholicism, the
beginning rift between the Eastern and Western churches, papal claims – all contributed to this
unrest. The only hope for the survival of western civilization lay with the rapidly growing
Christian Church (missionary activity) which, by providing a spiritual authority to which a
diversity of peoples could give loyalty and obedience, assumed something of the unifying role
once performed by the Roman Caesars. The unifying role was furthered by the Frankish union
with the church.
I. Frankish Merovingian Dynasty.
A. Clovis I ruled from 481 to 511.
1. Through conquest, he laid claim to Gaul (France). See comments by Gregory of
Tours in History of the Franks (cf. Bainton, p. 99 ff).
2. Gave stability to the region by unifying all Frankish tribes.
3. A.D. 496 – significant date in history. Clovis accepted Christianity and his
people were baptized.
4. Clovis became the first orthodox Christian ruler in the West (others followed
soon after). This “conversion” eventually led to an alliance of the Franks and the
papacy.
B. Decline of the Merovingians.
1. Clovis and his sons, immediately after 511, extended the Frankish rule to include
all of modern France, Belgium, and much of Germany.
2. Glory was short-lived. Division, civil strife, weak Merovingian rulers, palace a
brothel. “Drunkenness seems to have been the usual condition of all. Women got
their lovers to murder their husbands. Everybody could be purchased for gold.”
3. The head official in the royal household became the chief ruler – Mayor of

the Palace – and supplanted the authority of the “do-nothing” puppet kings.
II. Frankish Carolingian Dynasty.
Note: This dynasty gave a theology of violence: “might makes right.” Whoever is victorious in
battle is the one who God blesses. This would culminate in the Crusades.
A. Pepin Heristal dispossessed the Merovingian dynasty and made the Mayor of the
Palace an hereditary position, He ruled from 687 to 714.
B. Charles Martel [“Hammer”] (714-741) was the illegitimate son of Pepin. He
unified Franks. Defeated Moorish Muslims at Tours in A.D. 732.
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C. Pepin the Short (741-768) was the son of Charles. Gained more power. Finally, he
received a papal ruling that allowed him to be crowned king by Boniface. The Lombards
threatened the pope in central Italy. Pact made with Pepin: in exchange for coronation
Pepin would defeat the Arian Lombards. He did and gave territory of Ravenna to pope
(known later as papal states). This famous Donation of Pepin (754) which Pope Stephen
II received officially in 756. This was very significant as it was used to strengthen claim of
temporal and spiritual power of pope. Stephen crowned Pepin once again in 754 as the
“King of the Franks and Patrician of the Romans.” The pope endeavored to strengthen his
temporal claims by the Donation of Constantine, later proved a forgery by Lorenzo Valla
in the 15th century.
D. Charlemagne (742-814) ruled from 768.
1. Charlemagne regarded his campaigns not merely as wars but as crusades. It
was Charlemagne who practically established the European precedent of the
divine right of kings.
2. Aided Pope Adrian (772-795) against Lombard king Desiderius, who threatened
the papal states. Pope threatened Desiderius with anathema – the first use of this
spiritual penalty by a pope against a secular ruler. Charlemagne invaded Italy and
defeated Desiderius in 774, going afterwards to Rome to ratify the Donation of
Pepin, extend the papal states, and promise perpetual protection to the church.
Cannon writes,
He did not claim for himself any right whatever in papal elections. However, he did insist that
he must hold the privilege of receiving from any official or any Roman nobleman an appeal,
even though that appeal might be against the pope himself (p. 80).
3. On Christmas Day, A.D. 800, Charlemagne was crowned Imperator
Romanorum (Emperor of the Romans) by Pope Leo III. This was apparently a
surprise to Charlemagne As he was worshiping, the crowd, being prompted, cried,
“To Charles Augustus, crowned by God, great and peaceful emperor of the
Romans, long life and victory.” His crowning justified what he had already done,
it laid the foundation for the Holy Roman Empire, and gave him justification for
reclaiming all the lands of the old Roman Empires. This further divided the East

from the West. Cairns writes,
Because the pope had crowned Charlemagne, his position was enhanced as one to whom rulers
owed their crowns, and the emperor was bound to aid him when he was in difficulty.
Charlemagne’s coronation marked the peak of Frankish power [known as the Carolingian
Renaissance] which began with Clovis’ decision to become a Christian (p. 188).
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By conferring on the Frankish king the title of Emperor, the pope helped to elevate an aggregation
of tribes into the dignity of an empire. . . . That coronation inaugurated the Holy Roman Empire. It
signalized that Charlemagne was more than a Frankish prince, the ally and protector of the states
of the church, which his father before him had been. He was the supreme ruler of the Western
world. At the same time it announced his dependence for this right upon the pope who had
voluntarily conferred it upon him (Cannon, pp. 78, 81).
4. The big question of supremacy of authority arose from this accession to power
by Charlemagne – Did Charlemagne owe his authority to the church since the pope
crowned him OR did the pope owe his authority to Charlemagne, since he became
the Protectorate of the pope?
It was this question that provided the backdrop to the investiture conflict and the entire issue of
the church/state power struggle of the Middle Ages.
5. Charlemagne's contributions.
a. Administration of the church: management and discipline through
capitularies (imperial regulations) and missi dominici (royal
commissioners), who applied these laws to the church and the people.
Many laws enacted to curb avarice of prelates (cf. Cannon, p. 83). Made
Sunday a “day of rest.”
b. Reformation of Monasticism. Many monasteries had become dens of
misfits. Enforced 34 chapters of the Rule of Chrodegang (minister of state
under Charles Martel). Cf. Cannon, p. 84.
c. Embellishment of liturgy and architecture. Ecclesiastical buildings and
customs, the conduct of worship altered. Romanesque rectangular churches
began replacing the old polygonal basilicas. Dress of clergy consisted of the
cassock (long black garment); alb (white linen vestment worn over the
cassock at Mass); chasuble (outer ornate vestment); and the camail (a neck
guard and cowl) – pieces of clothing like that of the old Roman patricians
and designed to separate clergy from laity. Baptism by affusion began
replacing immersion. Baptistry gave way to the font to accommodate
infants. Use of unleavened bread.
d. Attention to Christian Doctrine. Ancient heresies of Modal and Dynamic
Monarchianism condemned. See also, Theologians of the Carolingian
Renaissance below.
e. Promotion of education. Every parish had to have a school, administered

through monastery and cathedral. He brought in Alcuin for education. In
789, Charlemagne decreed,
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And let schools be established in which boys may learn to read. Correct carefully the Psalms, the
signs in writing, the songs, the calendar, the grammar, in each monastery or bishopric, and the
Catholic books; because often men desire to pray to God properly, but they pray badly because of
incorrect books. And do not permit mere boys to corrupt them in reading or writing. If the Gospel,
Psalter, and Missal have to be copied let men of mature age do the copying, with the greatest care
(from Admonitio generalis, cap. 72, trans, in Bettenson, Documents, pp. 97-98). This was used to
preserve Bibles.
f. Transformation of society. – beginnings of feudalism: service (vassalage)
in exchange for protection).
E. Successors to Charlemagne.
1. Louis I (the Pious, 814-840). Was greatly interested in missions and helped in
the sending of Ansgar (801-865) to Scandinavia as “Apostle of the North.” Ansgar
became archbishop of Hamburg in 831. Louis followed the Teutonic principle of
inheritance by dividing the Carolingian empire among his sons.
2. Louis the German, Charles the Bald, and Lothair I warred (jealousy) over their
possessions until the Treaty of Verdun in 843. To Charles, went the area of
France and to Louis that of Germany, with Lothair receiving a narrow strip
between the two kingdoms (Alsace-Lorraine). This was the beginnings of
Germany and France.
3. The division of the Carolingian empire facilitated the feudalistic system and
tended to secularize the church over such issues as the investiture controversy (cf.
Cairns, p. 194). Lay investiture exploded into a major issue in the 11 th century
between Pope Gregory VII and Holy Roman Emperor Henry IV. The evils of feudal
warfare mitigated by the church in the Peace of God and the Truce of God.
F. Importance of the Carolingian empire.
1. Set stage for the Holy Roman empire of the 10 th century.
2. A boast given to culture (part in education and part in the church).
III. The Ottonian Empire (cf. Friedrich Heer, The Holy Roman Empire, pp. 22-50).
A. Henry I (the Fowler, 919-936).
Saxon ruler, elected by German tribal dukes as their king. German nationalism comes into its
own. He drives back the Vikings and the Magyars. Henry acquires the holy lance from Rudolf of
Burgundy – proof of claim to Italy and the imperial office. Sacral kingship proven on field of
battle. Violence, militancy, warfare based on OT. Vestments worn by Henry and his son Otto
revived symbolism of the Jewish high priest’s garments. Representatives of Christ, the Priest-

King. Christ is pictured with the imperial crown on the cross.
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B. Otto I (the Great, 936-967). In 936, Otto, son of Henry, was chosen king by Franks and
Saxons. At ceremony the people shouted sieg und heil (victory and salvation).
1. German faith in his divine power developed at the Battle of Lech, 955. The
king-elect proves himself on the field of battle against the Magyars (Hungarians)
near Augsburg. His “sacral power” is vindicated after an appeal to the saints. The
1,000 th anniversary was celebrated in Germany in 1955. “At that time [Conrad]
Adenauer was pressing at Bonn and in Rome the claims of the Federal German
Republic to be regarded once more as the shield and protector of the Christian
West against the antichristian East”– even as Otto I sought to do with the Magyars.
2. With Otto came the German imperial church as a political order.
3. Barbaric practices continued, however; an age of violence: persecution,
plundering, papal corruption and degeneracy. Conversion of Slavs by the sword.
4. After 955, German cathedrals started to take shape. Their two poles, the
eastwork and the westwork, declared that there was a partnership on earth and
heaven between imperial bishop and king-emperor.
5. Nepotism and simony prominent. Ottomans placed their popes in power.
6. Coronation of Otto as emperor by Pope John XII in 962, the date officially
inaugurating the Germanic Holy Roman Empire. This coronation constituted the
Privilegium Ottonis – a significant obligation to defend the Roman Catholic
Church, including the protection of the pope and the papal states. It was the kind of
protection the popes of the 19 th and early 20 th centuries had in mind when they
looked to the emperor in Vienna or to other protectors (Bismarck, Napoleon III,
even the Tsar) for defense of the Papal State.
7. Clash over imperial claims with Byzantium (the Eastern Empire).
C. Those who followed; Otto II (967-983); Otto III (983-1014) and his pope, Sylvester II,
sought to introduce a Roman classical renaissance; Henry II (1014-1024) with his wife,
Queen Cunigundis, resolved to abstain from conjugal relations and both were sainted. In
1024, a new line of kings – the Salian House.

THEOLOGIANS OF THE CAROLINGIAN RENAISSANCE (Ninth Century)
The Carolingian Renaissance did not produce the great thinkers and writers of the golden
patristical age of Ancient Church History but there are a few men who merit attention.
I. Thinkers of the Late Ancient Period Who Contributed to Medieval Theology (in addition
to the church fathers).
A. Boethius (c. 480-524).
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Classicist philosopher and theologian, canonized by the Roman Catholic Church. Called the “last
of the Romans” on the basis of his Consolations of Philosophy. Died while the prisoner of the
Ostrogoth Theodoric I. His addition of the quadrivium (arithmetic, music, geometry, and
astronomy) to the older trivium (grammar, rhetoric, logic) became the basis of western liberal arts
education. His speculative and theological treatises affirm the orthodox position, especially on the
Trinity, and anticipated the later scholastic debate over universals. His contributions include the
classical definitions of “eternity” (the perfect possession all at once of endless life) and “person”
(the individual subsistence of a rational nature).
B. Cassiodorus (c. 478-573).
Roman scholar, monk, and statesman. At his monastery in Calabria, Italy he established the work
of copying manuscripts and helped preserve classical and theological learning during the Dark
Ages. His Institutions of Divine and Secular Letters (550-60) combined secular and sacred
learning in education and “was the model on which medieval education was based, and it was also
one of the main channels through which the Middle Ages was able to receive the inheritance of
antiquity” (Gonzalez, History of Christian Thought, II:69). His Church History in Three Parts
was the principal church history handbook of the Medieval period.
C. Venerable Bede (c. 673-735).
Scholarly monk of Yarrow. Known as the “Father of English History” by virtue of his wellresearched
Historia Ecclesiastica Gentis Anglorum (Church History of the English People).
Made of Yarrow a beacon of Christian learning. He was familiar with the church fathers and
knew Latin and Greek well. His last writing was a translation of John’s Gospel.
II. Theologians/Philosophers of the Carolingian Period.
A. Alcuin of York (c. 735-804).
Church/Bible Scholar. Established educational system under Charlemagne through the church.
Great Christian scholar. He was educated at the cathedral school of York by bishops Egbert and
Ethelbert (Albert), former students of the Venerable Bede. He established the educational system
of the kingdom from Charlemagne’s palace school at Aachen in Gaul. He wrote several religious
treatises; helped in the revision of the Vulgate; developed the handwriting called Caroline
miniscule (using small and capital letters); and opposed the “adoptionism” of Felix of Urgel and
Elipandus of Toledo. Cannon writes,

Alcuin, like Charlemagne, sincerely believed that the school is but the vestibule of the
church, the learning of man preliminary to the revelation of God in Jesus Christ (p. 88). (See
also his opposition to Charlemagne in Bainton, p. 104)
B. Gottschalk (c. 805-869).
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Theologian and monk who was devoted to Augustinian theology, particularly the latter’s doctrine
of predestination. But he goes beyond Augustine in teaching double-predestination. He was
opposed by Rabanus of Maurus and the archbishop of Rheims, Hincmar (c. 806-882) and was
condemned at the synods of Quierzy (849) and Valence (855). “This was the only thing that could
be done if the sacramental system was to be maintained and good works were to have real value in
the minds of the people” (Cannon, p. 99). He along with Ratramnus actually take a number of
Reformed positions.
C. Ratramnus of Corbie (d. c. 868).
Medieval theologian involved in a number of theological disputes. He defended the virgin
birth of Christ, held to the filioque doctrine, supported Gottschalk’s view of predestination,
and taught the spiritual presence of Christ in the Eucharist in opposition to his former
teacher Radbertus.
D. Faschasius Radbertus (c. 785-860).
Abbot of the Corbie monastery. He opposed Ratramnus by asserting that Christ was born of the
Virgin Mary miraculously, not naturally. More importantly, he taught that Mary herself had been
spared the curse of original sin in parturition (giving birth), anticipating the later dogma of
immaculate conception. He also advocated the real presence of Christ’s body and blood in the
Eucharist in his On the Body and Blood of the Lord (831). Without using the term, he taught
transubstantiation. Unfortunately, it was his views which were taken by the church.
E. John Scotus Erigena [born in Ireland] (c. 810-877).
Irish scholar and Neo-Platonist who resided at the court of Charles the Bold. More of a
philosopher than a theologian, he taught views similar to those of Origen. His view of God
and nature is monistic: God is the only true reality. He also taught the doctrine of
apoktastasis, the final restoration of all creation. His thought is highly speculative. His
writings influenced later scholastics and mystics.

BYZANTIUM AND EASTERN ORTHODOXY DURING THE MEDIEVAL PERIOD
I. Introduction: Interesting Facts about Byzantium (from “Byzantine Empire” and
“Mount Athos,” National Geographic, 164 (December 1983), pp. 709-67).
A. Byzantine world view.
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Such was the Byzantine world view: a God-centered realm, universal and eternal, with the
emperor as God’s vice-regent surrounded by an imperial entourage that reflected the heavenly
hierarchy of angels, prophets, and apostles. One God, one world, one emperor. Outside this cosmos
was only ignorance and war, a fury of barbarians. The emperor had a divine mandate to propagate
the true faith and bring them under his dominion (p. 727).
B. A Violent Age.
Of the 88 emperors from Constantine I to XI, 13 took to a monastery. Thirty others died violently –
starved, poisoned, blinded, bludgeoned, strangled, stabbed, dismembered, or decapitated. The skull
of Nicephorus I ended up as a silver-lined goblet from which Khan Krum of the Bulgars toasted
his boyars [aristocratic order] (p. 732).
C. Veneration of Relics.
Constantinople, the “city guarded by God,” was “protected” from an attack by the Rus in the ninth
century by parading the Virgin’s robe around the walls. “The Emperor Haraclius’s ultimate
triumph was not in crushing the millennial enemy, Persia, near Ninevah. Rather it was in recovering
the True Cross looted by the Persians and returning it in person to Jerusalem in 630” (p. 733).
D. The “Glory” of Eastern Orthodoxy.
On the acceptance of Eastern Orthodoxy by Vladimir in 988:
So he sent emissaries to Constantinople. Inspired by the resplendent liturgy in Hagia Sophia, they
“knew not whether we were in heaven or on earth. For on earth there is no such splendor…. We
only know that God dwells there among men….” Whereupon Vladimir had his people, on pain of
the sword, baptized in the Dnieper (p. 736).
E. Resistance to change— why?
The West transformed itself through the Renaissance, Reformation, Enlightenment, and the rise
of science into a dynamic society enshrining the individual and progress through free inquiry
and experiment. The East, until the 18 th century [and Peter the Great], remained essentially
static. Byzantine thought sees its world not in process; it has arrived, its eternal order Godordained
(p. 736).
F. Importance of monasticism.
“For as Orthodoxy was central to Byzantium, monasticism, ever the conserver of
traditions, is the living heart of Orthodoxy” (p. 746).
G. Istanbul (eis tenpolin – “to the city”).

Seat of the patriarch of the Eastern Orthodox Church, His All Holiness, Bartholomeos
(Dimitrios I d. Oct. 2, 1991) “by the Grace of God, Archbishop of Constantinople,
New Rome, and Ecumenical Patriarch.”
More than 70 percent of Orthodox Christians dwell in former Communist countries.
The national churches of Serbia, Bulgaria, Romania, and Russia are autocephalous
(self-headed), with their own patriarchs. The Ecumenical Patriarch is primus inter
pares [first among equals] (p. 761).
II. Conversion of The Slavs and Russians to Eastern Christianity (9th and 10th centuries).
A. The work of Cyril and Methodius among the Slavic peoples (Hungary, Bulgaria,
Moravia, and Czechoslovakia).
1. Cyril (826-869) and Methodius (c. 815-885) – Apostles to the Slavs.
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a. These Greek brothers were from Thessalonica. Cyril’s name was
originally Constantine. Both men were the pupils of Patriarch Photius of the
Eastern Church. In Constantinople, Cyril was librarian of the famous
church St. Sophia. Because these brothers were monks and knew the Slavic
language well, Photius charged them with evangelizing these people of the
North. Their first missionary journey was to the Khazars, north of Caucasus
region, but the mission left no permanent results. Three years later, they
established a work in Moravia. They invented a Slavic alphabet and formed
a Slavic liturgy. After encountering opposition from R.C. German
missionaries, they obtained Pope Hadrian II’s approval for their work (cf.
Bainton, The Medieval Church, p. 105). Peter Toon writes in The New
International Dictionary of the Christian Church,
Cyril entered a monastery in Rome in 868, but soon died and was buried in the church of San
Clemente. Methodius was consecrated bishop by Adrian II on order to return to the Slavs…. He
died probably at Velehrad in modern Czechoslovakia; his followers took refuge in Bulgaria. The
memory of Cyril and Methodius is still treasured by Czechs, Croats, Serbs, and Bulgars (p. 278).
b. Because of German opposition, the Orthodox mission did not endure in
Note: Croats are catholic, Serbs are eastern orthodox and Bosnians are muslim.
Moravia. However, Timothy Ware states that because of the translation
work of Cyril and Methodius, other countries benefited: Bulgaria, Serbia,
and Russia. Disciples of the two brothers established a mission among the
Bulgars which has endured. Bulgaria was the first national Church of the
Slavs (927). Serbian church in 1346. Ware states,
Byzantium conferred two gifts upon the Slavs: a fully articulated system of Christian doctrine and
a fully developed Christian civilization…. The Slavs were Christianized and civilized at the same

time (The Orthodox Church, pp. 85-86). His statement is too idealistic.
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2. Example of the autocephalous principle. The ministry of these two brothers is an
example of what came to be the policy of the Eastern Church,
namely, to organize on racial and national lines leading in the end to a federation of autonomous
churches with different usages but one doctrine and spirit. The Roman practice by contrast was to
insist on the same liturgical language and customs (p. 118).
B. The Conversion of Russia. (See Christian History Magazine, Vol. VII, No. 2, Issue 18,
1988).
“The supreme accomplishment of Greek Christianity during this period of its greatest might [tenth
century] was the conversion of Russia” (Cannon, p. 149).
1. Tradition: the Apostle Andrew planted Christianity on Russian soil between
A.D. 50-60, but not a vital force.
2. The beginnings of Christianity under Olga (945-962), the dowager queen of
Kiev.
a. The negligible Christian community in Rus and her visit to
Constantinople influenced Olga to accept Eastern Orthodoxy in 954 (cf.
Christian History, pp. 7-8).
b. She then requested Holy Roman Emperor Otto I to send missionaries to
Kiev.
3. Christianity under Vladimir (956-1015), the grandson of Olga.
a. Vladimir is the real founder of official Christian church in Russia. He
was baptized in c. 988 (cf. ibid., pp. 9-11; Schaff IV: 140-41).
b. He observed and considered the religions of Islam, Roman Catholicism,
Judaism, and Greek Orthodoxy and decided on the latter because of its
elaborate ceremony and splendid music. His acceptance of Christianity
meant the wholesale acceptance by his people in 988, when such a throng
were assembled for baptism that there were not enough priests to perform
the rite; they therefore baptized themselves in the river Dnieper.
c. Vladimir's son Yaroslav (1019-1054) had the Bible translated
into Slavic. At this time, this was a big difference between the
Orthodox and the RCC – the Orthodox church allowed people to
read the Bible in our own tongues.
III. The Great Schism and the Beginning of the Eastern Orthodox Church.
A. Stages leading to the separation of the Catholic Church.

1. Imperial proximity.
Movement by Constantine of Roman capital to East in 330, allowed relative freedom of
Western church from temporal control. Eastern church subservient to imperial power.
2. Easter Controversy.
Continuation of problem from second century. Eastern branch were largely
quartodecimans (14th day of Nisan or Passover). Western church in favor of Sunday
closest to Passover.
3. Doctrinal Diversity.
Continuation of Sixth Ecumenical Council (680) to Constantinople (692). In opposition to
Rome, it permitted:
a. Marriage of deacons and presbyters.
b. Forbade the Roman custom of fasting on Saturdays during Lent (old
Eng. Lencten and Ger. Lenz = Spring; Lat. Quadragesimal - forty days).
c. Prohibited Christ to be represented as a lamb.
d. Christ must be depicted in human form.
4. Iconoclastic controversy.
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a. In 726, Eastern emperor Leo III (717-741) issued an edict against use of
icons.
b. Germanus, patriarch of Constantinople, immediately opposed him. Leo
replaced Germanus with the iconoclast Anastasius (730-754).
c. Eastern theologian, John of Damascus (c. 675-749), author of Fount of
Wisdom, the enduring theological textbook of the Eastern Orthodox
Church, wrote his First Oration in Defense of the Images (727) followed by
the Second two years later.
(1) Stated that the second commandment was abrogated by the
incarnation.
(2) The veneration we pay to images is not to them but to the
objects they represent.
(3) Wrote that the use of images “is a question for synods and not
for emperors. It is not the right of emperors to legislate for the
Church" (cf. I:27; II:12).

d. Pope Gregory II (731-741), last bishop of Rome to have his election
confirmed by a Byzantine emperor, excommunicated iconoclasts in 731.
The emperor retaliated by transferring the Greek bishoprics in Italy and
Sicily to the supervision of the Patriarch of Constantinople.
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e. Under the regency of the vicious iconodule (one who honors icons),
Empress Irene (d. 803), the Second Council of Nicea (seventh Ecumenical
Council, 787) was convened. It condemned iconoclasts and decreed images
worthy of veneration (dulia) but not worship (latria).
f. Imperial successors again outlawed images until 843, when Empress
Theodora restored the use of icons or pictures, but no sculpted images
could be used in places of worship. The first Sunday of Lent (843) was
celebrated as the “Feast of Orthodoxy.” This event marks the end of
imperial support for iconoclasm.
5. Interference of Pope Nicholas I (858-867) in “restoring” Ignatius as patriarch of
Constantinople against Photius, who was the choice of the emperor.
a. Emperor Michael III (842-867) warned Nicholas not to meddle. The
pope’s reply: popes had power “over all the earth, that is, over the entire
Church,” and that no church council could be called without the pope’s
consent.
b. In 867, Photius charged Nicolas with heresy because of his approval of
the filioque clause in the Nicene Creed. Photius was recognized as the
legitimate patriarch by a later pope but the damage had been done.
• Nicholas excommunicated Photius in 863.
• Nicholas anathematized Photius in 867.
• Then Photius excommunicated Nicholas in 867 (See Cannon, p. 126ff).
6. The Eighth Ecumenical Council (Constantinople, 869-70) affirmed the Photius
over the see of Constantinople “and had raised its patriarch to an equality with the
pope of Rome” (Cannon, p. 128).
7. Other causes of split.
a. Popes had ceased in 781 to date their documents according to the regnal
year of the Eastern emperor.
b. Crowning of Charlemagne in 800 as “Emperor of the Romans” was an
affront to the Eastern empire.
c. Use of beards, unleavened bread, rebaptizing of Latins contributed to
schism.

B. The actual separation came in 1054 (cf. Cannon, pp. 153-55).
1. Protagonists of the schism; both strong-willed leaders.
a. Pope Leo IX (1049-1054).
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Former chaplain to Holy Roman Emperor Conrad II; bishop of Toul in Alsace; and ecclesiastical
reformer against simony and incompetence. His moral campaign continued during his pontificate;
he used monks as his “army” of reform. He performed the function of arbiter in helping avert a
war between Hungary and Germany. In Rome, he received King Macbeth of Scotland as a
penitent for his crimes and forgave him. He released King Edward the Confessor of England of a
vow to make a pilgrimage to Rome in exchange for building Westminster Abbey. Leo formed an
army which battled the Normans in southern Italy.
b. Michael Cerularius (1043-1058).
Patriarch of Constantinople. Former professor and government official in Constantinople. Exiled
(1040) and recalled (1042), Cerularius was appointed patriarch by Constantine X in 1043.
Cerularius’ two concerns: (a) place patriarchate on par with papacy and; (b) free church from
imperial dominance. “The initiative in effecting the schism came from the Eastern patriarch.” In
an open letter to Western ecclesiastics, he imputed errors to the Latins: (a) the use of unleavened
bread in the Eucharist; (b) the habit of fasting on Saturdays; (c) use of meat of strangled animals;
(d) forbidding singing of Alleluia during Lent. Clearly, he was trying to “pick a fight.” Monk of
Studium, Nicetas Stethatos, added two more “errors:” (e) addition of the filioque clause to the
Nicene Creed; and (f) celibacy of Latin priests.
2. The break.
a. Cerularius closed the Latin churches in Constantinople, ordered the Latin
monasteries in his domain to adopt the Greek rites on pain of anathema,
and permitted the host of the R.C. church to be desecrated.
b. Leo, in exalted tones, contended that the Roman church was the only
church entitled to the respect of all Christendom.
c. Interruption: war with Normans in southern Italy which required
conciliation of pope and emperor. But battle lost.
d. Pope sent three legates to Constantinople to settle differences. Received
with insolence by Greeks. Cerularius renewed former accusations, and
ordered the patriarch of Alexandria to remove pope’s name from the
diptychs (church registers used in liturgies).
e. In retaliation on July 16, 1054, the papal legates formally laid on the
altar of Saint Sophia a sentence of anathema against Michael Cerularius
and all those who followed him.
f. Four days later on July 20, 1054, at the same place Michael Cerularius

esponded with a sentence of excommunication against the pope and all
who followed him. Thus, the Schism which is still in effect to this day.
C. Features of the Byzantine or Eastern Orthodox Church.
1. Caesaropapism – monarchs generally ruled the church and appointed the
patriarchs of Constantinople.
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2. Sterility of Theological thought; only exception was John of Damascus (c. 675-
749), the greatest theologian of Eastern Church, the “Thomas Aquinas” of the East.
Wrote Fount of Wisdom (or Sources of Knowledge). His Exposition of the Catholic
Faith, translated into Latin as De Fide Orthodoxa in the 12th century, was
important in the development of Western medieval theology. In 1890, Pope Leo
XIII declared John a “doctor of the church.”
3. Ornate ritual, elaborate Eucharist. Wished to create an “other-worldly”
heavenly atmosphere in sanctuary.
4. Given to the mystical, contemplative, the mysterious. Example: the mystery of
communion hidden from communicants by a screen called an iconostatis.
D. Differences between the Eastern and Western Churches.
1. Summation of differences in belief and practice: filioque clause; unleavened
bread; celibacy; papal infallibility; trine immersion; rejection of organs; no carved
images. Some differences resolved since Vatican II: communion in both kinds;
liturgy in the vernacular.
2. Differences in liturgy.
a. Owing mainly to the difference in language, although Eastern liturgy is
still highly ritualistic, mystical, complicated, gorgeous in display.
b. The Greeks adjusted their liturgy to the particular customs and language
of the people; Latins did not until Vatican II in the twentieth century.
3. Differences in polity.
a. Oligarchical (orthodox) vs. autocratical (catholic).
b. Caesaro-papal (orthodox) vs. papal (catholic, which separated from state
and sometimes disagreed with government).
4. Differences in doctrine.
a. Doctrine for the Eastern Orthodox centers in the traditional ecumenical
creeds, especially the Nicene (omitting filioque), and hence, emphasis on
God and Christ.

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b. The church adheres to the teachings of the Greek fathers to John of
Damascus and virtually nearly everything else since then, e.g. Augustinian
distinctions, scholastic theology, Reformation theology.
c. Doctrine inseparably connected to worship. “Doctrine cannot be understood
unless it is prayed” (Timothy Ware, The Orthodox Church, p. 215).
d. Tend to believe in the apokatostosis, or final restoration of all things.
Hell not so much a place as a state of rejection of Christ.

THE “PORNOCRACY”: INFAMOUS POPES OF THE ERA 800-1054
“The papacy was little more than the plaything of the ruthless nobility who controlled it”
(Cannon, p. 131).
1. Nicholas I (858-867). Held that the church was co-extensive with the earth and that his office
made him the rightful judge of terrestrial emperors and kings (Cf. Cairns, 202-02).
2. John VIII (872-882). Poisoned in 882, starting a chain reaction of violence and degeneracy in
the papacy.
3. Stephen VI (896-897). Had the corpse of his predecessor, Formosus, disinterred, robed in
the papal vestments and placed on the throne to be judged. He ordered the blessing fingers to be
hacked from the dead pope's right hand and the corpse thrown into the river. A few months later
Stephen himself was strangled. Rome became a den of assassins. Between 896-904 there were
10 popes; one ruled for only 4 months; another for 1 month; another for 20 days!
4. John XII (955-964). Chose his name at accession; has remained custom ever since. Crowned
Otto 1 emperor in 962. He was an illiterate tyrant who had turned the Lateran into a brothel; was
deposed by a synod, reinstated himself, and took revenge on his enemies. He was caught in the
act of adultery by an enraged husband and beaten to death.
5. John XIII (965-972). Crowned Otto II emperor on Christmas day, 967. Kept his place only
because of the emperor’s backing.
6. Benedict VI (973-974). Strangled by adherents of the anti-papal party.
7. John XIV (983-984). Fell into the hands of an exiled anti-pope (Boniface) who threw him
into prison and starved him to death. A year later this anti-pope was himself murdered and
dragged through the streets.
8. John XV (985-996). Detested for his avarice and nepotism.
9. Benedict IX (1032-1045). Was a boy of 12 when he became pope. He fought battles to
protect his position and indulged in all sorts of vice until, unable to keep up the pretense of a
spiritual leader, sold his tiara to the highest bidder – Gregory VI (1045-1046).
In two short years, five popes, counting the anti-pope Sylvester III (1044-1045), occupied the
papal throne. The Synod of Sutri (1046) marks the nadir of papal ineptness (Cf. Cairns, p. 202).
Three men all claimed papacy: Silvester III, Gregory VI, and Benedict IX. Holy Roman Emperor
Henry III called the synod and it chose a new pope, Clement II (1046- 1047), the first of four
German popes Henry imposed.
“The prophets prophesy falsely, and the priests bear rule by their means, and my people love to
have it so; and what will ye do in the end of it all?” (Jer. 5:31). See Mal. 2:7-9; Matt. 23:24-28;
Isa. 5:20-24.
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TERMS OF CHURCH/STATE CONFLICTS DURING THE MEDIEVAL PERIOD
1. Caesaropapism - domination of the church by the emperor; applied to Eastern emperors
who controlled the state church.
2. Feudalism - system of social and political organization based upon possession of land and
maintained by vassalage; typical of all western Europe from the dissolution Charlemagne’s
empire to the emergence of the mercantile system and middle classes of the 14 th and 15 th
centuries.
3. Gallicanism - a religious opinion peculiar to France which opposes papal absolutism in
ecclesiastical affairs in favor of national or conciliar authority.
4. Iconoclastic controversy - disagreement between the Eastern and Western churches over
the use of icons (images, small statues) in worship.
5. Interdict - an extreme form of censure leveled against an entire group, usually a nation, by the
pope, resulting in the suspension of the administration of most sacraments and ceremonies.
6. Investiture controversy - the dispute as to whether the temporal lord or the ecclesiastical
authority should grant a feudal vassal the symbols of his authority.
7. Nepotism - favoring relatives with high positions.
8. Simony - buying and selling of church offices (derived from the name of Simon the sorcerer
who, in Acts 8, wanted to buy gifts of the Holy Spirit).
9. Ultramontanism - (lit. "beyond the mountains"); the practice of appealing to papal authority
south of the Alps. Applied also to Holy Roman emperors who involved themselves in papal
affairs.
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SUPREMACY OF THE MEDIEVAL PAPACY (1049-1305)
In this period, the Church and the papacy ascend from the lowest state of weakness and
corruption to the highest power and influence over the nations of Europe. It is the classical
age of Latin Christianity: the age of the papal theocracy, aiming to control the German
Empire and the kingdoms of France, Spain, and England. It witnessed the rise of the great
Mendicant orders and the religious revival which followed. It beheld the full flower of
chivalry and the progress of the crusades, with the heroic conquest and loss of the Holy
Land. It saw the foundations laid of the great universities of Bologna, Paris, Oxford. It was
the age of scholastic philosophy and theology, and their gigantic efforts to solve all
conceivable problems and by dialectical skill to prove every article of faith. During its
progress Norman and Gothic architecture began to rear the cathedrals. All the arts were made
handmaids of religion; and legendary poetry and romance flourished. Then the Inquisition
was established, involving the theory of the persecution of Jews and heretics as a divine
right, and carrying it into execution in awful scenes of torture and blood (Schaff V:3-4).
I. Papal Aims.
A. Reform the church.
B. Shield the church from temporal or civil domination.
C. Convert the church into an organization submissive to the absolute authority of the
papacy.
D. Establishment of authority of Rome over all other churches.
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E. Establish the temporal domain of Peter by placing all crowns under the authority of
pope.
F. Maintain orthodoxy against muslims, unbelievers and heretics.
Note: Schaff, V:3-5, 31.
II. Documents used to support supremacy of Rome and achieve its aims of total control.
A. Donation of Constantine - supposedly a document from Constantine to Pope Sylvester
I (314-345), actually dating from about the late eighth century. Claim: out of gratitude for
recovery from leprosy, Constantine donated rule of the West to the Roman bishop.
Probably real purpose of forger was to emancipate popes from subservience to Eastern
emperors. See below under Pseudo-Isidorian Decretals.
B. Dictatus Papae - credited to Gregory VII but probably written by Cardinal Deusdedit.
Claims of papal supremacy.
C. Concordat of Worms (1122) - known also as the Calixtine Concordat, between Pope
Calixtus II and Holy Roman Emperor Henry V, comprising differences over investiture
controversy. Note Cairns, pp. 213-14 for significance.

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D. Decretum Gratiani (c. 1139) - known also as Concordantia Discordantium Canonum
and Decreta by the monk Gratian. Collection of nearly 4,000 patristic texts, conciliar
decrees, and papal pronouncements dealing with all facets of Church doctrine. Became,
by ecclesiastical consensus, the basis of canon law (ecclesiastical law) in the R.C.C. and
used as the “club of authority” by the papacy.
E. Clericis Laicos (Feb. 25, 1296) - bull from Boniface VIII (1294-1303) designed to
protect the clergy of England and France against the secular powers. Forbade cleric to
pay ecclesiastical revenues to laymen without the express approval of pope.
F. Unam Sanctam (Nov. 18, 1302) - bull from Boniface VIII advocating papal
supremacy. Pope claimed temporal as well as spiritual authority.
G. Pseudo-Isidorian Decretals.
1. Origin.
2. Purpose.
a. A decretal in the canonical sense is an authoritative reply of a pope to
some question.
b. A collection of ecclesiastical laws under the false name of the bishop of
Seville, Isidor (d. 636).
c. The first pope to actually make substantive use of the Decretals was
Nicolas I (858-867) in 865.
3. Description.
a. Unify church around pope in Rome.
b. Free bishops from the tyranny of metropolitans.
c. Remove ecclesiastical cases from secular courts.
d. Insure the independence of bishops from temporal rulers.
a. The Decretals are in three parts. First part: canons from the collection of
Dionysius and sixty spurious decretals of Roman bishops. Second part:
forged Donation of Constantine, and various tracts and canons. Third part:
decretals of popes from Sylvester I to Gregory II, many of which are
forgeries.
b. Their tone is priestly and dogmatic. They carry the weight of pontifical
authority. The chair of Peter is the source of all power. “Without the
consent of the pope no bishop can be deposed, no council be convened. He

is the ultimate umpire of all controversy, and from him there is no appeal
He is often called episcopus universalis” (ibid., p. 269).
4. Colossal Forgery.
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a. Lorenzo Valla (1405-1457), Italian humanist, critic, and clerk to King
Alfonso V of Aragon. While under his patronage, Valla composed the
celebrated Declamatio (c. 1440), in which he proved the Donation of
Constantine a forgery (“the like of whom neither Italy nor the whole
Church produced in many centuries” [Luther]). Popes used the Decretals
throughout the Medieval period to support their claims to supremacy. The
latter were not proven forgeries conclusively until the Reformation with the
Magdeburg Centuries.
b. It is full of anachronisms: use of ninth century Prankish Latin;
quotations from the Vulgate as amended under Charlemagne; quotations
from a Paris Council of 829; and others.
c. “The Pseudo-Isidorian collection is the most colossal and effective fraud
known in the history of ecclesiastical literature” (Schaff, IV:268). In other
words, many of the claims of papal absolutism rest on lies.
d. “In this collection, the entire hierarchical and sacerdotal system, which
was the growth of several centuries, appears as something complete and
unchangeable from the very beginning… It belongs to the satanic element
in the history of the Christian hierarchy” (ibid., p. 273).
III. Popes Who Achieved Aims of Total Control and Power.
Two popes stand out as the two most powerful representatives of the papal monarchy –
Hildebrand (Gregory VII) and Innocent III. These popes mark another epic in the evolution of
ecclesiastical hierarchy in the Catholic church:
• Parity (Apostles/first century), simple and democratic government –
• Local episcopacy (Ignatius/second century), they would elect a leader as spokesman –
• Monarchical episcopacy, Roman bishop = primer inter pares (Cyprian/third century) –
• Primacy (Gregory I/seventh century), Roman Bishop is first –
• Supremacy, pontifex maximus (eleventh century/Gregory VII) –
• Infallibility (nineteenth century/Pius IX).
A. Gregory VII (Hildebrand) (1073-1085)

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1. Monastic Reformer. Hildebrand was born near the village of Soana in Tuscany
of humble origins. As a youth he entered, the Benedictine order in the convent of
St. Mary in Rome and was there influenced by the Cluniac reform, which he
promoted all his life (see earlier notes). The Cluny monasteries, begun in the early
10 th century, sought moral and clerical reform. The following points are drawn
from Uta-Renate Blumenthal, The Investiture Controversy.
a. The purpose of Cluniac monasticism was the strict observation of the
Benedictine Rule and the revival of ancient monastic customs (p. 11).
b. During the abbacy of Abbot Hugh (1049-1090), an estimated 2,000
monasteries were legally dependent on Cluny (p. 14).
c. Cluny enjoyed excellent relationships with the nobility, the class of
origin for most of the monks at Cluny. Episcopal support contributed
substantially to the growth of the movement – yet independent from any
Episcopal control (pp. 16-17).
d. Cluny undergirded Papal reform (p. 22).
e. Cluniac monks renowned for their asceticism and sanctity and were
esteemed
advisors of kings, bishops, and nobles.
f. Possessed missionary zeal but never engaged in warefare (p. 67ff).
2. Ecclesiastical Advisor and reformer.
He became the advisor and was the virtual power behind the throne of five popes (from 1049
to 1073) before becoming pope himself in 1073. At the Synod of Sutri in 1046, Hildebrand
followed the self-exiled pope Gregory VI into Germany.
a. Under Leo IX (1049-1054), Hildebrand was appointed cardinalsubdeacon,
treasurer of the Roman Church, and abbot of St. Paul’s in
Rome. With the support of Leo, he set out to abolish from the church what
he considered its two greatest evils: simony (Acts 8: 18), the buying and
selling of church offices, and Nicolaitism (Rev. 2:6, 15), the keeping of
concubines by clerics. The means: synodical legislation – He would gather
council of prelates together to make canon law.
b. Under Victor II (1055-1058), the last of the German popes, Hildebrand
continued his reforms. At his death, the German court, endeavoring to
control the papacy once again, elected Benedict X. But with the help of
Duke Godfrey, Hildebrand had expelled and influenced the election
instead of Nicholas II.
c. Under Nicholas II (1059-1061), Hildebrand was made archdeacon and
chancellor of the Roman Church in the fall of 1059 and that year helped

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institute the college of cardinals, which took the appointment of the pope
out of the hands of the emperor and placed it into the hands of the cardinal
bishops. Since Henry IV was still in his minority, the move by the Roman
clergy to place the election of the pope into their hands was shrewd. During
the reign of Nicholas, the Normans gained a foothold in Sicily and southern
Italy. They became an ally of the church in the sense that they repelled the
invasion of the Saracens.
d. Under Alexander II (1061-1073), Henry IV appointed as anti-pope
Honorius II (1061-1071). Papal legate and powerful prophet of papal
authority and asceticism, Damiani, denounced this anti-pope. Damiani and
Hildebrand waged war against clerical or sacerdotal marriage, which the
priests of Milan defended. Because of the Norman protection of Rome from
the Muslims, the pope felt an obligation to recognize the claim of William,
Duke of Normandy, to the crown of England (1066). In fact, at the Battle of
Hastings, William fought under banner blessed by the pope. The actual
coronation took place with three papal legates at Westminster Abbey on
Easter 1070.
3. Papal Administrator.
a. At the funeral of Pope Alexander II (April 21, 1073), Hildebrand was
proclaimed pope by the populace, confirmed by the college of cardinals, and
from then until his death continued his endeavors to reform the church. It is
noteworthy that he did not ask permission of the Holy Roman Emperor for
confirmation; he informed of the election. However, Henry IV, upon
becoming emperor officially, did consent to the consecration. Schaff states
that this was the last case of an imperial confirmation of a papal election
(ibid., p. 26).
b. “The two features which distinguished Gregory’s administration were the
advocacy of papal absolutism and the promotion of moral reforms” (ibid.,
p. 27). He instituted reforms of clerical celibacy and elimination of simony.
(1) In the synod of March 1074, Gregory decreed that…
(a) a cleric guilty of simony is by that very fact unsuited to
perform any sacred office;
(b) a clergyman who pays money for a parish by that
unworthy act loses his parish; no man can be permitted
either to buy or sell an ecclesiastical position;
(c) a priest guilty of fornication must relinquish
immediately the sacerdotal functions;
(d) the people shall themselves disavow the services of
clergymen who refuse to obey the papal decrees against

simony and incontinence. (Cannon, 161-62).
(2) At the Roman Synod of February 24-28, 1075, Gregory
declared…
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The cleric who in the future receives from a layman a bishopric or an abbey will not be looked
upon as a bishop or abbot by the church. We forbid him communion with Blessed Peter. The same
prohibition applies to the lower clerical offices. If an emperor, duke, marquis, or count, or any
other lay person invests a person with an ecclesiastical office, he shall be subject to the same
condemnation as the cleric who accepts it (ibid., p. 163).
(3) Note his claims to papal absolutism in the Dictatus Papae, and
in the investiture controversy with Henry IV of the Holy Roman
Empire. Gregory’s favorite verses of Scripture were Matt. 16:18,
19; I Sam. 15:23; and Jer. 48:10. See Schaff; pp. 32-34 for
examples.
THE INVESTITURE CONTROVERSY AND CANOSSA
The Investiture Controversy was between the church and the states, particularly the papacy and
the Holy Roman Empire as to who should bestow the symbols of office to dignitaries within a
fiefdom. The symbols of the crosier (staff = symbol of spiritual rule of the bishop) and the ring
(symbol of mystical union with the church) should only be given through the auspices of the papal
see according to Gregory. This conflicted with the feudalistic system of land tenure and the
mutual obligation of the vassal to his lord (allegiance) and lord to vassal (protection). The secular
noble believed that he, as patron of the church, had the right of investiture of any churchman on
his estate. Often, he chose the cleric for political or pecuniary reasons. And often this meant the
office could be bought by the highest bidder (simony).
The conflict came to a head with the contest between Gregory VII and Henry IV. For practicing
simony, Henry was threatened with excommunication by Gregory. Henry retaliated with a
council at Worms (January 1076) during which he had Gregory “deposed.” In a letter, he called
Gregory a false monk and himself the Lord’s anointed. Gregory in turn, excommunicated Henry
and all those who had a part in deposing him. Schaff writes,
This was a most critical moment, and the signal for a deadly struggle between the two greatest
potentates in Christendom. Never before had such a tremendous sentence been pronounced upon a
crowned head (ibid., p. 51).
Henry called for another council at Worms in May but it was a failure. Henry had lost the support
of his subjects and found it expedient to negotiate if he would keep his crown on his head and
perhaps even his head on his body. A diet at Mainz in 1076 insisted that he submit to the pope. He
was to appear before another diet at Augsburg in February 1077 to announce his submission and
absolution or lose his crown.
A few days before Christmas in 1076, Henry IV made his way from Speier across the Alps to
Canossa, Italy to seek absolution as a penitent. Accompanying him were his wife, infant son, and
a servant. After remaining outside the castle in the cold for 3 days (Jan. 25-28, 1077), Henry

finally gained entrance and was absolved by Gregory on the condition that the king not assume
royal prerogatives until after the Augsburg diet. Schaff writes,
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Henry gained his object, but at the sacrifice of his royal dignity. He confessed by his act of
humiliation that the pope had a right to depose a king and heir of the imperial crown, and to
absolve subjects from the oath of allegiance. The head of the State acknowledged the temporal
supremacy of the Church. Canossa marks the deepest humiliation of the State and the highest
exaltation of the Church – we mean the political papal Church of Rome, not the spiritual Church of
Christ, who wore a crown of thorns in this world and who prayed on the cross for his murderers
(ibid., p. 57).
Later, Henry opposed Gregory and the pope again excommunicated him and crowned another
man king. Henry, in retaliation, elected an anti-pope. Here we have the sordid spectacle of a
double war between two popes and two kings. Gregory made an alliance with the Normans who
in turn double-crossed him by sacking the city of Rome. Gregory himself died in humiliation, an
exile in Salerno, where he died May 25, 1085. His last words were, “I have loved righteousness
and hated iniquity; therefore I die in exile.”
B. Interim; Popes Between GREGORY VII and INNOCENT III – 1085-1198.
This period of nearly one hundred years was characterized by a continuation of the Investiture
controversy, although a compromise was reached in the Concordat of Worms in 1122. Holy
Roman emperors continued to place their anti-popes upon the papal throne.
1. Victor III (1086-1087). Uneventful.
2. Urban II (1 088-1 099). Urban forced King Philip I of France to dismiss his
mistress Bertrada and return to his legitimate wife Bertha in 1095. He encouraged
rebellion against Henry IV and, with the help of the Normans, wrested Rome from
the anti-pope Wibert. He presided at the famous Synod of Clermont in 1095, which
called the first crusade into being.
3. Pascal II (1099-1118). A Cluniac monk and a disciple of Hildebrand, Pascal
supported the rebellion of Henry V (1104- 1125) against his father Henry the IV.
The latter’s remains are interred within the famous cathedral of Speier in Germany,
the church which he had built. Henry V forced Pascal to concede to him the right
of investiture in a pact (1111) which Pascal later rejected. Henry defied the pope
and church councils, invaded Rome, and celebrated Easter (1117) with great pomp
and ceremony. Pascal was very unpopular with the church hierarchy because of his
official support of lay investiture.
4. Gelasius II (1118-1119). Reigned a little over a year in a series of misfortunes
with the anti-pope.
5. Calixtus II (1119-1 124). He began his reign by renewing the sentence of
excommunication against Henry V and ratifying the prohibition against lay
investiture. Because of the long war over this cause, the German Diet of Wurzburg
called for peace in 1122. Calixtus reluctantly convoked a general council of
bishops of France and Germany at Mainz which later met at Worms (1122). The

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imperial and papal parties signed the famous Concordat of Worms on September
23. This was the first of many such concordats which a pope has had to sign with
European rulers in order to retain a measure of power and prestige. With this
concordat, the pope was allowed to grant the symbols of office to clerics within all
the churches of the empire. Papal properties lost through warfare also returned, In
return, the pope granted the right of the emperor to approve of all elections to
bishoprics and abbeys in his domains, and to grant to those elected the temporal
symbols of office – the rod and scepter. This concordat was a temporary expedient
which left several loopholes (see Schaff, V:79). The Ninth Ecumenical Council,
held at the Lateran in 1123, confirmed the concordat. It is also called the First
Lateran Council.
6. Honorius II (1124-1130). Uneventful.
7. Innocent II (1130-1 143). The anti-pope, Anacletus II (1130-1138), a converted
Jew, took Rome with the help of the Normans and caused Innocent to flee to
France and the support of Peter of Cluny and Bernard of Clairvaux, who used his
influence to place Innocent on the papal throne. During his pontificate the first of
the Hohenstaufen kings ascended the throne of the Holy Roman Empire – Conrad
III (1138-1152).
8. Celestine II (1143-1144). Uneventful.
9. Lucius II (1144-1145). Uneventful.
10. Eugene III (1145-1153). His contemporaries were the famous mystic Bernard
of Clairvaux and the revolutionary political and ecclesiastical reformer Arnold of
Brescia. During his pontificate, the second crusade was undertaken.
11. Anastasius IV (1153-1154). Uneventful.
12. Adrian IV (1154-1159). The only Englishman to occupy the papal chair.
During his pontificate, he opposed the Arnoldists in their attempt at reform. For the
first time in history a pope laid an interdict against the city of Rome. In 1154,
Frederick I Barbarossa made a trip to Italy to “receive the iron crown of royalty
from the Lombards and the golden crown of empire from the pope.” Adrian and
Barbarossa clashed over temporal authority. The pope angered the king when he
called the latter’s empire a papal benefice. It was Adrian who “granted” to Henry
II,
king of England, the land of Ireland “on the ground that all the islands of the
Christian world belong to the pope by virtue of Constantine’s donation…. The
loyal sons of Ireland will hardly want to have a second trial of an English pope”
(Schaff, V: 109).
13. Alexander III (1159-1181). Conflict between sacerdotalism and caesarism
continued with Alexander and Barbarossa. Note Schaff’s perceptive description.
It was the old contention between Church and State under a new phase. Caesar and pope were

alike Catholic Christians as far as they had any religion at all. They were indispensable to each
other. The emperor or king needed a pope, as a kind of chief chaplain and father confessor for the
control of the consciences of his subjects; the pope needed the secular arm of an emperor for the
protection of the property and rights of the Church and the prosecution of heretics. The emperors
elected anti-popes, and the popes supported rival emperors. It was the ambition of the
Hohenstaufens to keep Germany and Italy united; it was the interest of the popes to keep them
separated, and to foment division in Germany and in Italy, according to the maxim, ‘Divide et
impera’ [divide and conquer] (V: 110-111).
Two rival popes once again divided Europe. After being defeated by the Lombards in 1174,
Barbarossa sued for peace with Alexander. Negotiations resulted in the Peace of Venice (1177).
Alexander was acknowledged as pope. The Roman Catholic Church has depicted this event as a
second Canossa. He convened the Eleventh Ecumenical Council (the Third Lateran) at Rome in
1179. This council dealt with reforms in the Church and confirmed the Peace of Venice. It placed
the election of popes exclusively in the hands of the cardinals. This council also decided the
crusade against heretical Albigenses in southern France. During Alexander’s pontificate occurred
the martyrdom of Thomas Becket (1118-1170) by knights of Henry II in England.
14. Lucius III (1181-1185). Romans treated him with terrible cruelty because they
no longer had a part in the papal election.
15. Urban III (1185-1187). Uneventful.
16. Gregory VIII (1187). Uneventful.
17. Clement III (1187-1191). Uneventful.
18. Celestine III (1191-1198). Uneventful.
C. Innocent III (1198-1216).
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The brilliant pontificate of Innocent III.... marks the golden age of the medieval papacy and one of
the most important eras in the history of the Catholic Church. No other mortal has before or since
wielded such extensive power. As the spiritual sovereign of Latin Christendom, he had no rival. At
the same time he was the acknowledged arbiter of the political destinies of Europe from
Constantinople to Scotland. He successfully carried into execution the highest theory of the papal
theocracy and anticipated the Vatican dogmas of papal absolutism and infallibility. To the papal
title ‘Vicar of Christ,’ Innocent added for the first time the title ‘Vicar of God.’ He set aside
decisions of bishops and provincial councils, and lifted up and cast down kings. He summoned and
guided one of the most important of the councils of the Western Church, the Fourth Lateran, 1215,
whose acts established the Inquisition and fixed transubstantiation as a dogma. He set on foot the
Fourth Crusade, and died making preparation for another. On the other hand, he set Christian
against Christian, and by undertaking to extirpate religious dissent by force drenched parts of
Europe in Christian blood (Schaff, V: 152).
The pontificate of Innocent III... may be taken as the most splendid period in the history of
the medieval papacy (Deanesly, p. 140).
1. Background.

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a. Lothario Conti was bom in Anagni, Italy in 1160. He was the son of a
noble family, and studied theology and law at Paris and Bologna. In 1190,
his uncle Pope Clement III appointed him cardinal deacon.
b. On February 21, 1198, he was ordained priest, and on February 22,
consecrated bishop and pope with great pomp and ceremony.
2. Pontifical ruler.
a. The papal theocracy was Innocent’s obsession. He arrogated to himself
the claim of ruler of the whole world as the vicar of God. He was
Melchizedek, a king and priest at once. He stated that kings and priests
therefore owed their authority to him, and he could depose, excommunicate
them, or even impose an interdict against their nations. The state, he said,
was related to the church as the moon to the sun. As the moon receives its
glory from the reflected light of the sun, so the state receives its glory from
the church and is therefore subservient to it. See Schaff, V:158 for details.
b. His use of allegorical interpretation to enforce his prodigious claims
abounded. E.g. as Peter went to Jesus on the water and the rest of the
disciples remained in the boat, so Peter symbolizes his privilege to govern
the whole world, while to the others was given only the rule of single
provinces. Long before Vatican I, Innocent taught papal infallibility.
c. What is so amazing is that monarchs not only listened to these arrogant
claims but they obeyed them.
d. What is so tragic is that, in order to accomplish his ends, Innocent shed
more blood through crusades and inquisition than in any other age of the
R.C. Church with the exception of the Counter-Reformation of the 16th
century.
3. Temporal ruler.
a. Innocent took advantage of the situation in Germany when Henry VI
died leaving a small child as heir to the throne. Innocent saw this as an
opportunity to separate Italy from the empire and make it subservient to
him. Innocent was made guardian of Frederick, the emperor’s only son.
b. Two parties each had their aspirants to the imperial throne. Innocent
became the umpire to choose which one. Innocent decided in favor of Otto
IV. In return Otto promised to obey the pope and renounce claim to Naples
and Sicily. After Otto was crowned king, he forgot his promises and
marched on Italy. Innocent excommunicated him and German nobility
deposed him in favor of Frederick, who was crowned in 1212. Philip
Augustus of France defeated Otto in battle in 1214.
c. When Philip Augustus of France put away his Danish wife Ingeborg in

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favor Agnes of Meran and had the French bishops annul the marriage,
Innocent heard the appeals of Ingeborg. He placed the nation under
interdict to force Philip to take back Ingeborg. No pope before had used the
inderdict so effectively as Innocent. The interdict virtually closed the
churches and suspended all rites and sacraments except for infant baptism
and extreme unction.
d. The king of Leon in Spain submitted to the pope in dismissing his wife
who was of his own blood after an interdict which lasted 5 years. And
kingdoms of Aragon and Portugal submitted as fiefs to the papacy. Sweden
accepted Innocent’s choice of a king under threat of interdict. The king of
Bulgaria received his crown from Innocent, as well as the king of Bohemia.
e. When John of England refused to accept Innocent’s appointment to the
archbishopric of Canterbury, Stephen Langton, Innocent excommunicated
John and placed England under the interdict. When John continued to
resist, Innocent proclaimed him deposed. Under pressure from his nobility
and impending invasion from France, John relented and in 1212
acknowledged that his kingdom was a fief of the papacy and that he was a
vassal to the pope. John also agreed to England paying annually a thousand
marks to the papal see. This was the beginning of a deep rift between
England and the papacy. After John signed the famous Magna Carta (June
15, 1215), he renounced his oath and the pope made the mistake of
supporting him against the nobility and popular opinion. Indeed, Innocent
pronounced the document null and void. In this case Langton, disobeyed
his pope in favor of his country. He was in turn deposed and not allowed to
return to his see until after Innocent’s death.
f. Thus, Innocent dictated the political succession in Europe.
4. Conciliar Absolutist.
a. At the Fourth Lateran Council (the Twelfth Ecumenical Council) of
1215, Innocent crowned his papal absolutism with far-reaching
pronouncements.
b. The council’s two most notable acts were the establishment of the
Inquisition and the dogmatizing of the doctrine of Transubstantiation.
c. Several moral reforms were directed against the priesthood.
d. The council also fixed the date of another crusade against the Muslims in
the Holy Land.
5. Crusader. Innocent instigated the Fourth Crusade, largely made up of
Frenchmen. Forgetting their ultimate objective, the crusaders sacked the city Zara
and captured Constantinople and made of it a Latin kingdom which lasted until
1261. With this move even the eastern church was brought under temporary

although limited control of the papacy.
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THE CRUSADES
The promotion of a theology of violence. Most Medieval Christians considered crusades as holy
wars, authorized by God Himself through His spokesman, the pope. “Being Christ’s own
enterprise it was regarded as positively holy. Being proclaimed by the pope assured a measure of
control by the Church” (Jonathan Riley-Smith, The Crusades, p. xxix).
I. The Reconquista in Spain.
A. Unification of Spain. Between 900 and 1492 the unification of Spain took place with
the ouster of the Moors and the retaking of land held by them.
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B. Collapse of the Caliphate. The Caliphate of Cordova collapsed in 1031, followed by
the fall of Toledo fifty years later. The eleventh century Spanish soldier of fortune, El Cid,
became a national folk hero after helping rid the country of the Moors.
C. Last of the Muslims defeated in 1492. After having captured the last Moorish
stronghold of Granada and expelling Muslims and Jews from Spain in 1492, Ferdinand
and Isabella sent Columbus on his famous voyage.
D. The Moriscos. Moriscos was the name given to nominally Christianized Moors of
Spain, beginning c. 1502. Many Spaniards distrusted the Moriscos. Philip II persecuted
them under the Inquisition. Spanish hatred culminated in the expulsion of over one
hundred thousand of them in 1609.
Transition: Many Spanish Christians believed that the best way to free and protect the Holy Land
was to extend the Reconquista to North Africa.
II. The Crusades to the Holy Land.
A. Purposes.
1. To assist Byzantium against the Muslims.
2. To conquer the Holy Lands and defeat the infidel Turks. Crusades were armed
pilgrimages.
3. To reduce the European internal rivalries within the nobility.
B. Immediate causes.
C. Motives.
1. Ill treatment of Christians in the Holy Land by the Seljuk Turks who had
conquered the area in 1076 from the Arabs.
2. The appeal of Eastern emperor Alexius Comnenus to help halt the western
advance of Islam.

1. Religious considerations:
a. The papacy hoped the religious enthusiasm would strengthen its own
claims to universal dominion.
b. The pope saw in the crusades a way to promote the Peace of God and
channel feudalistic tensions.
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c. The Christian crusader believed that if he took the cross and fulfilled his
vow to help rescue the Holy Land from the infidel he would enjoy
indulgence from purgatory for past sins.
d. The journey to Jerusalem would be counted as a substitute for penance;
death in battle would assure martyrdom and the reward of eternal life.
Crusaders were willing to sacrifice, wealth, health, even life, for the cause.
2. Worldly considerations.
a. The crusader, with a red cross on his tunic, was a privileged person. He
was exempt from taxes, and his debts were temporarily cancelled. The
church assumed the responsibility for his property and dependents.
b. Nobles saw a way of seizing valuable land. Yet no crusaders returned
home rich.
c. Italians saw a way to make a profit by selling the crusaders ships and
supplies.
d. Military adventure prompted many to go.
e. Escape from domestic conflict was another incentive.
D. The most important of the crusades.
1. FIRST CRUSADE (1095-1099). This was the largest and most successful.
a. The foreign policy of the papacy. The call under Pope Urban II
(1088-1099) at Council of Clermont in 1095.
From the confines of Jerusalem and from the city of Constantinople a horrible tale has gone forth
... an accursed race, a “race” utterly alienated from God 23 … has invaded the lands of those
Christians and depopulated them “by the sword, plundering and fire [Urban then lists Turkish
atrocities, including desecration of churches, rape, torture, and murder; he then appealed to French
honor]. Recall the greatness of Charlemagne. O most valiant soldiers, descendants of invincible
23 The idea that it was impossible for these to be saved – this thinking completely stopped the progress of the
Gospel. It is still wrong thinking that we can struggle with today.

ancestors, be not degenerate. Let all hatred between you depart, all quarrels end, all wars cease.
Start upon the road to the Holy Sepulchre, to tear that land from the wicked race, and subject it to
yourselves (cited in Eerdman’s Handbook to The History of Christianity, p. 271).
When the pope concluded his speech, the people cried out spontaneously, “Deus vult! Deus vult!”
(God wills it.) This became the battle cry of the crusades.
“Gregorovius ... is right when he says, ‘The importance of Urban’s speech in universal
history outweighs the orations of Demosthenes and Cicero’” (Schaff, V:227).
b. Departure.
The Feast of the Assumption (August 15, 1096) was set as the date of departure and
Constantinople designated as the meeting place of the armies…. Pardons, indulgences, promises
of relief from sin and guarantee of paradise were given in abundance, so that most people felt
they had little to lose and much to gain by accepting the challenge (Cannon, p. 169).
c. Peter the Hermit (c. 1050-1115), popular preacher. In 1096, he led an
army of some 20,000 for the Holy Land but most of his followers were
massacred at Civitot by the Turks. Cannon writes,
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Peter had been a pilgrim to the Holy Land; he therefore knew from experience conditions that
prevailed there; and he had the remarkable gift of making others see what he saw and of feeling
what he felt; He was a typical ascetic, abstaining from bread and meat as well as wine. He rode a
little donkey; and his long, lean face made him look very much like the beast, which people came
to revere almost as much as its master. He was short and swarthy, sweated profusely, never bathed
or changed his clothes, and consequently had an odor as strong and impressive as his personality
and his message (p. 169).
d. Largest and most successful of crusades.
About forty-three thousand crusaders. Most were foot soldiers; only 10% were knights. The
crusaders captured Nicea from the Turks in 1097, Antioch in 1098, and Jerusalem in 1099, but at
heavy cost: loss of 30,000 crusaders alone. “The hardships of the way were terrible, almost
beyond description. The crusaders were forced to eat horse flesh, camels, dogs, and mice, even
worse” (Schaff, V:236). Friday, the day of the crucifixion, was chosen for the final assault of
Jerusalem’s walls. Raymond of Agiles, an eyewitness, writes,
But now that our men had possession of the walls and towers, wonderful sights were to be seen.
Some of our men ... cut off the heads of their enemies; others shot them with arrows, so that they
fell from the towers; others tortured them longer by casting them into the flames. Piles of heads,
hands, and feet were to be seen in the streets of the city. It was necessary to pick one’s way over
the bodies of men and horses. But these were small matters compared to what happened at the
Temple of Solomon [where]. . . men rode in blood up to their knees and bridle reins. Indeed it was
a just and splendid judgment of God that this place should be filled with the blood of the
unbelievers, since it had suffered so long from their blasphemies (quoted in A.C. Krey, The First
Crusade, p. 261).
e. Latin kingdom of Jerusalem set up under Godfrey of Bouillon. A
maternal descendent of Charlemagne, he was elected king. He adopted the

title, “Defender of the Holy Sepulchre.” This feudalistic kingdom lasted
from 1099 to 1187. When Godfrey died in 1100, his brother Baldwin of
Edessa became king and ruled until 1118. Schaff relates the following
about the treacherous behavior of Baldwin (See V:249).
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f. Saladin (1137-1193) retook the city in 1187. Saladin was sultan of Egypt
and Syria and ruled most of Mesopotamia. Known for his generosity and
kind treatment of enemies.
2. SECOND CRUSADE (1145-1148).
a. Bernard of Clairvaux (1090-1153) preached. With the fall of Edessa to
the Muslims in 1144, Bernard of Clairvaux, mystic and theologian,
preached the urgency of a second crusade. Jerusalem was in danger of a
Muslim invasion under Zangi. Crusade organized under the leadership of
monarchs Conrad III of the Holy Roman Empire and Louis VII of France.
b. A failure. Crusaders suffered a major defeat at Dorylaeum in 1147.
Edessa remained lost and Damascus was never captured by the crusaders.
3. THIRD CRUSADE (1187-1191).
a. Prompted by fall of Jerusalem to Saladin in October, 1187.
b. Led by monarchs Frederick Barbarossa (1152-1190) of the Holy Roman
Empire, Richard I the Lion-Hearted (1189-1199) of England, and Philip
Augustus (1180-1223) of France. The elderly Frederick drowned near
Tarsus on the way to the Holy Land (1189). His son Philip of Swabia was
unsuccessful in continuing the expedition. Philip II and Richard took Acre
in 1190. Phillip, having become ill, departed from Acre in 1191 and this left
Richard to battle the Muslims and take Jaffa. NOTE: Schaff V:262-63.
c. Unable to retake Jerusalem, Richard negotiated a truce with Saladin,
which allowed Christian pilgrims safe passage to Jerusalem for three years.
4. FOURTH CRUSADE (1198-1204).
a. Called by Innocent III (1198-1216) to defeat Egypt, the center of Muslim
power.
b. Latin kingdom of Constantinople. Venice agreed to provision the
crusaders in return for 85,000 marks. The latter could pay only 50,000 and
therefore agreed to take Zara, the Capital of Dalmatia, for Venice in lieu of
the remainder. After the city was taken, the crusaders marched on
Constantinople and defeated its inhabitants in 1204, setting up a Latin
kingdom which lasted until 1261. Baldwin of Flanders was the first king.
c. Complete loss of religious ideal. The sacking of Constantinople was

E. Other crusades.
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characterized by rioting and unbridled lust (See Schaff V:274). Priceless art
treasures and relics were destroyed (See V:275-76).
1. Children’s Crusade (1212).
a. Involved some 30,000 boys and girls, many less than twelve years of age,
under the leadership of Stephen (12), a shepherd boy and preacher. Set out
from France in June.
b. This crusade ended in disaster. Seven ships carried the children from
Marseilles, but none reached the Holy Land. Many of the children were
sold into slavery in Egypt.
2. Further disappointments.
The Fifth (1217-1221), called by Pope Honorious III; the Sixth (1228-1229), led by Holy Roman
Emperor Frederick II; and the Seventh (1248-1250) and Eighth (1267-1272), under Louis IX, all
ended in failure as well. The Christians’ last stronghold in Palestine, Acre, was taken by the
Muslims in 1291.
F. Effects of the crusades.
1. Failed in three respects (See Schaff, V:290).
a. Holy Land not permanently won.
b. Advance of Islam not permanently checked.
c. Schism between East and West not healed.
2. Prestige of Papacy. The crusades gave occasion for the rapid development of the
system of papal indulgences and tended to strengthen papal power.
3. Rise of Nationalism. Contributed to the rise of nationalism in Europe and
simultaneously weakened feudalism because of the emergence of a new class – the
commercial middle class.
4. Impetus to commerce. Entrepreneurs took advantage of the new trade opened up
with the Near East. The crusades also introduced the income tax.
5. Improvements in warefare: improved weapons, siege craft.
6. Interest in travel and exploration stimulated.
7. Transfer of eastern classical literature.

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8. Advance in the field of nursing. The Salerno school of medicine, adopted by the
Hospitallers of St. John, advocated keeping patients warm, clean, and quiet.
9. Increase in number of European churches. Most churches you see in Europe
today are built on eleventh and twelfth century foundations.
10. Heightened Antagonism: embittered relations between Christians and
Muslims, and Jews suspicious and fearful of Christians.
11. Providential: although the crusades were a failure in achieving their ultimate
objective, God used them, nevertheless, to halt the spread of Islam throughout
Christian Europe.
What would have happened in Spain, the Balkans, and in northern Europe without the various
crusades against Muslims? The Muslims would have advanced, and the history of Europe and of
Christianity would have been entirely different (Jonathan Riley-Smith, “Holy Violence Then and
Now,” Christian History Magazine, Issue 40, Vol. 12, p. 42).