Church History
Before Jesus' death and resurrection, Peter denied Jesus three times, while the other disciples abandoned him. All this changed on the day of Pentecost, when Peter and 119 other disciples were filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to testify boldly of Jesus Christ, baptizing those that believed on His name.
The first love of the Church was Jesus Christ, whom Peter and the other disciples did not fully know until they were filled with the Holy Spirit. Pentecost was not the only time that the Holy Spirit fell on the believers, and this phenomenon continued throughout the New Testament and beyond. The early Church did everything in the Name of the Lord Jesus - teaching, praying, baptizing, believing - and the Lord confirmed his followers with supernatural signs - raising the dead, healing the sick, prophecy, and righteous living.
- Preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ throughout the Mediterranean coasts, Africa, and Asia;
- Supernatural signs and wonders;
- The authorship and compilation of the Christian New Testament,
- Love under persecution, and grace in the face of death
Starting with Sixtus, a Bishop of Rome in 117 AD, the date and order of the passover/Eucharist became the first significant division within the Christian churches.
These early Christians were rich in their knowledge of the teachings of Jesus Christ, having many witnesses of Jesus’ ministry among them, including the twelve apostles and Mary, Jesus’ mother. By writing these memories down, the disciples started writing the New Testament. These stories were soon complimented by the doctrinal teachings of the Apostle Paul, as he received revelation and understanding of Jesus Christ. These writings established the whole essence of Christianity and its doctrines:
- Salvation by grace through faith in Jesus Christ, the Son of God;
- Baptism in the Name of Jesus Christ;
- The Custom of the Passover/Eucharist;
Polycarp
The first internal evidence of a Bishop exerting influence over another Bishop is Sixtus I of Rome who, in 117 AD, declared that any Bishop visiting Rome should not be accepted back without a letter of recommendation. This doctrine was not accepted by the other churches at that time.
Sixtus' influence is in contrast to the deeds of the early Bishops of Rome, including Linus (who according to Irenaeus was mentioned by Paul in the epistle to Timothy) and Clement, the latter of which wrote to the Corinthians when they had some trouble, and said:
- submit yourselves to the presbyters, and receive correction so as to repent...For it is better for you that ye should occupy a humble but honourable place in the flock of Christ, than that, being highly exalted, ye should be cast out from the hope of His people. (The Epistle of Clement to the Corinthians, CHAP. LVII)
Of note is the gap of two years between Alexander and Sixtus where there was no Bishop in Rome due to severe persecution. The Church under Sixtus was probably a decimated and persecuted Church, and may have been an entirely different Church than the church under Alexander (a martyr) due to dispersion and death of the inhabitants of the earlier church, and reintegration of backslidden Christians (probable, but speculation only).
The Bishops in Rome continued with this feeling of supremacy until Polycarp, frusterated by their attempts to influence the other churches over trivial matters, traveled to Rome personally and laid to rest the issue of the date of the Passover/Eucharist. Anicetus (the then Bishop of Rome) submitted to Polycarp's rebuke, and agreed that each church should have the right to determine the date of the Passover/Eucharist independantly.
Polycarp also influenced Anicetus to condemn certain heresies with more vigor.
The Christian churches in the second century were persecuted, but vibrant:
- Various Churches had been established with a succession of Bishops tracing back to the Apostles,
- Mighty men continued in the missionary tradition of the Apostles,
- Supernatural signs continued to follow the Christian believers
- The complete New Testament had been written and compiled.
- Christian doctrine had been fully established.
- The churches continued to fight against heresies, and experienced persecutions.
Irenaeus provides evidence of this wealth in his writings:
- He quotes from all of the New Testament books except Philemon, 3 John and Jude,
- He testifies of healings and miracles in his own ministry (while noting that these signs are absent from the heretic's ministries),
- He became a missionary (and then Bishop) in the French city of Lyons, having been raised in Smyrna in Polycarp's Church.
- He wrote in length against heresies, and on the correct doctrine of the nature of Christ.
- All the other expressions, likewise, bring out the title of one, and the same being, the Lord of Power, the Lord, the Father of All, God Almighty, Most High, Creator, Maker and such like, these are not the names and the titles of a succession of different beings, but of one and the same. (Irenaeus, Volume 1, page 412 of the Ante Nicene Fathers, )
- He confirms that a number of churches continued to exist that were established by the Apostles (including, but not limited to the Church at Rome).
Christians were severely persecuted by Pagan Rome between 170 AD and 312 AD. Marcus Aurelis executed a number of Christians in Lyon, France, in 177 AD. Septimus Severus (193 - 211 AD) upheld the already-established laws against Christianity, allowing logal governers to persecute them (especially strong in Africa) while sheltering the Christians in Rome itself. Alexander Severus (222-235 AD) wanted to build a temple to the founder of Christianity, but was dissuaded by pagan priests. Maximinus Thrax (235-238 AD) persecuted Christians relentlessly, as did Decius (249-251 AD) and Valerian (253-260 AD).
The Roman Emperor Diocletian was figure of contrasts. Born to a poor family, he rose in stature in the Roman army and cavalry, until claiming the Empire for himself in 284. Taking the title "Jovius" and "Dominus et deus" (Lord and God), he reinstituted the Roman form of Emperor worship, forcing all who came to see him to prostrate themselves before his throne, and forbidding visitors to look at him. At the same time, Diocletian gave half of the empire to his friend Maximian (who took the title "Herculius"), and together they unified the power of the Roman Empire. His military and economic reforms formed the basis of the Byzantine Empire (which was to last another thousand years), and enabled the western Roman empire to continue another hundred years. In 305, after becoming sick, Diocletian became one of the few Roman Emperors to retire, and he took up the hobby of cabbage farming at his palace in Dalmatia.
In 303 the Roman Emperor Diocletian published an "Edict against the Christians" [1] ordering the destruction of Christian scriptures and places of worship across the Empire, while prohibiting Christians from assembling for worship. Fires in Diocletian's palace in Nicomedia caused him to increase this persecution. In 304, Diocletian ordered everyone in the empire to sacrifice [2] , which was a sign of apostacy to Christians, with persecution, imprisonment, or execution for those refusing to participate.
The Emperor Galerius continued Diocletian's ruthless persecution of Christianity until 311 when he wrote an edict of tolerance on his death bed. The persecutions still continued, primarily in the eastern provinces, until the year 312 when Constantine I issued the Edict of Milan, formalized religious tolerance in the Empire.
Origin of Doctrines:
- The doctrine of One God in Three Persons (the Trinity) was formulated by Tertullian, a priest in Carthage (Tunisia). The Church of Rome did not initially agree with Tertullian, but this doctrine slowly gained status in the Church at Rome until Bishop Felix began advertising this doctrine to the Church at Alexandria.
- The Bishops in the churches that had Apostolic succsession began to exert influnece over other churches, excommunicating those who did not listen (sending them outside the camp), while fighting among themselves.
- Traditions were implemented (like pennance) that were not Biblical.
- Hippolytus' writings accuse Bishop Callixtus of allowing abortions,
- Bishop Marcellinus recanted Christianity and sacrificed to idols to escape persecution (although it is said he later recanted).
What is visible from this list of Roman Bishops is the rise of the doctrine of the Trinity, the Church of Rome's growing influence over other Churches in the Roman Empire, and the direct interference of Roman Emperors with the Church with Emperor Maxentius deposing consecutive Bishops until a more 'suitable' Bishop could be found.
Martin of Tours (d. 397) became a missionary in Gaul. While little is recorded of his teachings, his piety was not disputed, and supernatural signs and wonders followed his ministry. Martin's nephew, Patrick (d. 493), also became a missionary, preaching in Ireland. Near the end of the 6th century, Columba (d. 597) became a missionary to Scotland, and was known as a prophet for the mighty works that followed his ministry. Each of these men developed their ministries independent of the Church in Rome, and independent of political support. It is known that both Martin and Columba did everything in the Name of Jesus Christ.
In response to Martin, Patrick, and Columba's influence in Northern Europe, the Catholic Church started missionary activities in these areas, and began arranging the marriages of various English and French kings to Catholic women in order to curb the expansion of Irish Christianity, which was seen as a threat to Rome.
The persecution of the Persian church from the rule of Shapur II (340 AD) to Hormizd III (c. 458 AD) as a result of the Roman Empire's favour for Christianity.
The Bishop of Rome finally agreed that each church had the authority to rule themselves only after both Polycarp and Irenaeus traveled to Rome (at different times) and rebuked the bishop. In 325, at the Council of Nicea, a canon (unchanging law of discipline) was issued giving the patriarchs of Alexandria and Rome exceptional authority over other churches in their regions. It was also decided at this council that the Christian Passover must not be celebrated with the Jewish Passover, which was the custom of the disciples.
The date of the passover marked the first victory of the Church of Rome over all the other churches. The Roman Emperor Constantine enforced this doctrine (Life of Constantine Vol. III Ch. XVIII by Eusebius) by the physical suppression of forms of worship he considered unorthodox.
In 325 the Council of Nicea produced the Nicean Creed, which formalized the doctrine of the Trinity - another victory for the Church of Rome.
Of the 250-318 Bishops that attended the Council of Nicea (along with 1,200 deacons and accompanying laity - per Athanasius and Eusebius of Caesarea), only two Arians refused to agree with the Nicene creed. This either indicates that they all were in unity, that the creed was sufficently vague to support each of their doctrines, or that the voting was rigged. Considering that 22 Arian supporters attended, the latter two are the most likely. The fact that further councils were called to refine this doctrine, each of which have significant dissidents leads to the conclusion that the creed was at least extremely vague.
| In 451 AD, 630 Bishops declared at the council of Chalcedon that "What Leo believes we all believe, anathema to him who believes anything else. Peter has spoken through the mouth of Leo." |
Christians Persecuting Christians
Athanasius (d.373) and Augustine (d. 430) both supported violence against heresies. In another example of early propoganda, the Arian enemies that Athanasius taught against were not a cohesive group as he put forth, but were actually small groups of supporters that held vastly different theological views. The "Arian party" identified by Athanasius may simply be a fabrication - one which resulted in much persecution.
Regardless, Constantine's physical enforcement of orthodoxy, along with Rome, Alexandria, and other sects physically persecuting each other marked the start of a downward slide for the Christian Church.
Ecumenical Councils
- First Council of Nicaea (325): repudiated Arianism and Quartodecimanism (Easter on the 14th of Nissan), adopted the Nicene Creed (in support of the Trinity), exceptional authority acknowledged for the patriarchs of Alexandria and Rome, for their respective regions;
- First Council of Constantinople (381): revised the Nicene Creed into present form, and prohibited any further alteration of the Creed without the assent of an Ecumenical Council.
- Council of Ephesus (431): repudiated Nestorianism, proclaimed the Virgin Mary as the Theotokos (Greek Η Θεοτόκος, "God-bearer" or more commonly "Mother of God").
- Council of Chalcedon (451): repudiated the monophysite doctrine, established that Christ had two natures, human and divine; adopted the Chalcedonian Creed.
- Second Council of Constantinople (553): reaffirmed doctrines explicated by previous Councils, condemned new Arian, Nestorian, and Monophysite writings.
According to the New Catholic Encyclopedia (1908), a half-pagan and half-Christian ceremony was performed at the dedication of Constantinople in 330 AD when, in the market place, the Cross of Christ was placed over the head of the Sun-God's chariot, accompanied with hymns. It is about this time that the first celebration of Christmas is recorded.
Constantine donated great amounts of money to the Church at Rome, and build the old St. Peter's Bascilica. Bishops taxes were reduced, and many pagan temples were converted into Christian Churches. While this sounds like a revival, Constantine did not care about salvation and was baptized only on his deathbed. Instead, Constantine thought to win the loyalty of his subjects by subtle manipulation: flattery, and religion.
By 400, Anastasius became the first Bishop of Rome to use the title Pope. The doctrine of post-milleniumism began at this time, which resulted in a period of Dark Ages with Catholic Church at the head of Christendom.
- Haas, Christopher, “The Arians of Alexandria”, Vigiliae Christianae Vol. 47, no. 3 (1993), 239
- Chadwick, Henry, “Faith and Order at the Council of Nicaea”, Harvard Theological Review LIII (Cambridge Mass: 1960),173
Abbot Segene of Iona sent Aedan as a missionary to evangelize Northumbria (England), and disputed with Pope Severinus in 638 over the date of Easter. Aedan converted the English simply by walking from village to village, politely conversing, and slowly winning their hearts to Christ, and established a Monastary at Lindisfarne. Aedan was succeded by Finan and then Colman. Colman was eventually evicted by the Christian Northumbrians after they accepted the Roman date of Easter (which the Ionian monks strongly protested), and he returned to Iona and later established a monastary on the island of Inishbofin off the west coast of Ireland, which remained until the 10th Century.
Adomnan continued in Columba's footsteps, and at one point convinced 51 kings to sign the "Cain Adomnan", protecting children, women, the clergy, students, and peasants during times of war. After Adomnan, Conomail of Iona became very involved with the Easter controversy, and was finally replaced under questionable circumstances by Dunchad. Dunchad quickly adopted the Roman date of Easter, and established ties with Rome. At the same time, King Nechtan IV of the Picts expelled all of the Ionian monks as he wished to remain free from both Rome and Northumbrian influence.
The politics of the Roman Church brought about the fall of Iona, which was readily apparent to the Pictish kings. Lindisfarne was sacked by the Vikings in 793, and Iona in 795.
Columba's method of spreading the Gospel was to send twelve men into an area where they would build up a Christian town. These men would be carpenters, teachers, preachers, etc., and all would be very well versed in the Word of God and Holy living. This small town would soon be surrounded by students and their families in their own homes, learning the Word and preparing to go out and serve the Lord as missionaries, leaaders, and preachers. Though the men were free to marry, many did not, in order to serve God better. They remainted free from state help, stayed free of politics, and were completely independant of Rome and the Catholic Church.
Paulicianism (650-872) Prevalent in Anatolia and Armenia. They called themselves Christians (called Paulicians by others), accepted both the old and new testaments, denied the Trinity, and baptised in the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ. The empress Theodora killed, drowned or hanged no fewer than 100,000 Paulicians in Grecian Armenia. This sect was founded by Constantine-Silvanus, who was stoned to death by order of the emperor. Simeon-Titus, originally plain Simeon, the court official who executed the order, was himself converted, and, adopting the name Titus, became Constantine's successor, but was burned to death in 690. In 970 the emperor John Tzimisces, himself of Armenian origin, transplanted no less than 200,000 Armenian Paulicians to Europe and settled them in the neighbourhood of Philippopolis in Thrace. In 1650, the Roman Catholic Church gathered them into its fold.
More on Paulicianism.
Bogomilism: Bogomilism arose in the first quarter of the 10th century in the area of today’s Plovdiv (Philippopolis). Each community had its own twelve "apostles," and women could be raised to the rank of "elect." The Bogomils wore garments like mendicant friars and were known as keen missionaries, travelling far and wide to propagate their doctrines. Healing the sick and exorcising the evil spirit, they traversed different countries and spread their apocryphal literature along with some of the books of the Old Testament, deeply influencing the religious spirit of the nations, and preparing them for the Reformation. They accepted the four Gospels, fourteen Epistles of Paul, the three Epistles of John, James, Jude, and an Epistle to the Laodiceans, which they professed to have. They rejected the authority of the Catholic church.
The name of the movement was bulgarus in Latin (meaning "Bulgarian") became boulgre, later bougre in Old French meaning "heretic, traitor". It entered German as Buger meaning "peasant, blockhead" (and went on to English as bugger) and the French term also entered old Italian as buggero and Spanish as bujarrón, both in the meaning of "sodomite", since it was supposed that heretics would make sex (just like everything else) in an "inverse" way.
Bosnian Church: Adherents of the church called themselves simply Krstjani ("Christians"). Both the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches persecuted the Bosnian Church, which they considered heretical, and the Bosnian Church disappeared before the Turkish conquest in 1463. The Bosnian church denied the Trinity and the veneration of crosses. The Church was mainly composed of monks in scattered monastic houses. It had no territorial organization and it did not deal with any secular matters other than attending people's burials. It did not involve itself in state issues very much.
Cathars: (1012-1321) Much of our existing knowledge of the Cathars is derived from their opponents, the writings of the Cathars having been destroyed because of the doctrinal threat they posed to Christian theology. raised a continued protest against the claimed moral, spiritual and political corruption of the Catholic Church. They claimed an Apostolic Connection to the early founders of Christianity and saw Rome as having betrayed and corrupted the original purity of the message. The persecution of the Cathars began in earnest when the crusader army, under the command of the papal legate Arnaud-Amaury, Abbot of Cîteaux attacked the town of Béziers on 22 July 1209. When the Crusaders asked Arnaud, how to tell Cathar from Roman Catholic., his famous reply, recalled by a fellow Cistercian, was "Caedite eos. Novit enim Dominus qui sunt eius." — “Kill them all, the Lord will recognise His own”. Prisoners were blinded, dragged behind horses, and used for target practice. What remained of the city was razed by fire. Arnaud, the abbot-commander, wrote to Pope Innocent III: "Today your Holiness, twenty thousand heretics were put to the sword, regardless of rank, age, or sex".[3] The last known Cathar perfect in the Languedoc, Guillaume Bélibaste, was executed in 1321. After the suppression of Catharism, the descendants of Cathars were, in some southern French towns, required to live apart from the main town and its defenses. They thus retained a certain Cathar identity, although they became Catholic in religion.
Waldensians: (began around 1173 as the Poor Men of Lyons). the Waldenses proclaimed the Bible as the sole rule of life and faith. They rejected the papacy, purgatory, indulgences, and the mass, and laid great stress on gospel simplicity. Worship services consisted of readings from the Bible, the Lord's Prayer, and sermons, which they believed could be preached by all Christians as depositaries of the Holy Spirit. Their distinctive pre-Reformation doctrines are set forth in the Waldensian Catechism (c.1489). The doctrine included absolute poverty and non-violence.
Vaudois: Similar in some respects to the Cathars or to 16th-century Calvinism, may have numbered 20,000 members. They sent forth pairs of missionaires to many lands, and were persecuted savagely in France, Italy and especially Spain. They refused the sacraments and the efficacy of the cult of Saints, and they established their own clergy. The Vaudois were excommunicated by the Catholic Church in 1184.
John Wycliffe: (d. 31 December 1384) He is credited as the first person to give a complete translation of the Bible into English (called Wyclif's Bible), and founder of the Lollard movement. Wycliffe taught justification by faith, the absolute authority of the Bible, and that the papacy was the antichrist.
Lollards: the Lollards had no central belief system and no official doctrine. Likewise, being a decentralized movement, Lollardy neither had nor proposed any singular authority. Believing the Roman Catholic Church to be perverted in many ways, the Lollards looked to Scripture as the basis for their religious ideas. Believing that more attention should be given to the message in the scriptures rather than to ceremony and worship, the Lollards denounced the ritualistic aspects of the Church such as transubstantiation, exorcism, pilgrimages, and blessings. The Conclusions also rejected pilgrimages, ornamentation of churches, and religious images because these took away from the true nature of worship: focus on God. Also denounced by the Lollards were war, violence, and even abortion. Some criticized the Church for not focusing enough on Revelation.
Thomas Arundel, Archbishop of Canterbury. King Henry IV passed the De heretico comburendo in 1401, not specifically against the Lollards, but prohibiting the translating or owning of the Bible and authorising the burning of heretics at the stake. Lollards were effectively absorbed into Protestantism during the English Reformation,
Moravians: Jan Hus was excommunicated in 1411, condemned by the Council of Constance, and burned at the stake. In 1999, Pope John Paul II expressed "deep regret for the cruel death inflicted"; he then went on to suggest an inquiry as to whether Hus might be cleared of heresy. Hus was considered a prophet by his followers, and his last words are allegedly that, "in 100 years, God will raise up a man whose calls for reform cannot be suppressed." Just over one hundred years later, Martin Luther nailed his 95 Theses of Contention to a church door in Wittenburg. Huss taught that the Church is not that hierarchy which is generally designated as Church; the Church is the entire body of those who from eternity have been predestined for salvation. Christ, not the pope, is its head.
Byzantine Empresses
Saint Theodora ( Greek Θεοδώρα) (c. 500–June 28, 548) was empress of the Byzantine Empire and the wife of Emperor Justinian I. While her advancement in Byzantine society was up and down, she made use of every opportunity. She had admirers by the score. Procopius writes that she was a courtesan (and, according to other sources, firstly a prostitute). Some scholars believe that Theodora was Byzantium's first noted proponent—and, according to Procopius, practitioner—of abortion; she convinced Justinian to change the law that forbade noblemen to marry lower class women (like herself). Theodora also advocated the rights of married women to commit adultery, and the rights of women to be socially serviced, helping to advance protections and delights for them; and was also something of a voice for prostitutes and the downtrodden. She also helped to mitigate the breach in Christian sects that loomed large over her time; she probably had a large part in Justinian's efforts to reconcile the Non-Chalcedonians to the Chalcedonian party.
Saint Irene (Greek: Ειρήνη, Eirēnē) (c. 752 – August 9, 803) was Byzantine empress from 797 to 802. Her most notable act was the restoration of the orthodox veneration of icons or images, she summoned two church councils. The first of these, held in 786 at Constantinople, was frustrated by the opposition of the soldiers. The second, convened at Nicaea in 787, formally revived the adoration of images and reunited the Eastern church with that of Rome. She had her son’s eyes plucked out after he tried to win the throne from her, and it is said that he died of the wounds.
Saint Theodora (Greek Θεοδώρα) was the wife of the Byzantine emperor Theophilus (813 – 842). Following the death of her husband, she overrode his ecclesiastical policy and summoned a council under the patriarch Methodius, in which the veneration (not worship) of icons (images of Christ and the saints) was finally restored and the iconoclastic clergy dispossessed. However, it was during her regency that a vigorous persecution of the Paulician 'heresy' commenced.
Footnotes