A Source Book for Ancient Church History - Mirrors

180 A Source Book for Ancient Church History[161]ideas was built up, from which subsequent ages drew for thedefence of the traditional faith, but some of which served asthe basis of new and startling heresies. Corresponding to theintellectual development within the Church was the last phaseof Hellenic philosophy, known as Neo-Platonism (§ 44), whichsubsequently came into bitter conflict with the Church.§ 38. The Easter Controversy and the Separation of theChurches of Asia Minor from the Western ChurchesThe Church grew up with only a loose form of organization.Each local congregation was for a while autonomous, and it wasthe local constitution that first took a definite and fixed form. Inthe first centuries local customs naturally varied, and conflictswere sure to arise when various hitherto isolated churches cameinto closer contact and the sense of solidarity deepened. The firstclash of opposing customs occurred over the date of Easter, as towhich marked differences existed between the churches of AsiaMinor, at that time the most flourishing part of the Church, andthe churches of the West, especially with the church of Rome,the strongest local church of all. The course of the controversyis sufficiently stated in the following selection from Eusebius.The outcome was the practical isolation of the churches of AsiaMinor for many years. The controversy was not settled, andthe churches of Asia Minor did not again play a prominent partin the Church until the time of Constantine and the Council ofNicæa, 325 (see § 62, b), although a provisional adjustment of thedifficulty, so far as the West was concerned, took place shortlybefore, at the Council of Arles (see § 62, a, 2).Eusebius, Hist. Ec., V, 23, 24. (MSG, 20:489.) Mirbt, n. 22, andin Kirch, n. 78 ff.