Church History AD 313-600

Anchoritic Monasticism

Solitary life; may live in wilderness; not completely alone, but primarily solitary

Apollinarianism

committed to defending the full divinity of Christ against arianism; diminished humanity of Christ; “in the incarnation the LOGOS replaced Jesus” human mind/soul: the divine nature overpowered the human nature; condemned at the Council of Constantinople in 381

Arianism

belief pushed by Arius that the Son was created by the Father; He is the only perfect creature, but still a creature; disputed by Athanasius; if Christ was a creature, He does not have the power to save us; condemned at the council of Nicea

Asceticism

the act of giving up something good for the sake of better things (growing closer to God). Monasticism had a tendency towards this.

basilica

started by Constantine; radical change from domestic gatherings to large public buildings; eventually became the norm

Cenobitic Monasticism

communal life; common or shared. group of women or men would withdraw and live a radical life of community with each other. governed by guidelines that guided their life together. Overseen by abbots; emphasis on manual labor

Chalcedonian

creedal statement brought out of the council of Chalcedon; emphasized unity of deity and humanity in Christ

Council of Nicea

first ecumenical council in church history; called by Constantine to handle Arian controversy; brought together about 220 church leaders, mostly from the east; Arian was condemned and the Nicene Creed was established

Deification

the act or process of exalting a human being, living thing, or abstract idea to the status or level of a God

Donatism

refused to let clergy men who were traditores be accepted; ancient cancel culture.

ecumenical council

meeting with all Church leaders; greek oikos meaning household

homoousios

Greek word with four possible translations: of the same (1) substance, (2) essence, (3) nature, (4) being; opposite is heteroousious (different substance); marked the first time that a major doctrinal statement had been creedally expressed in anything other than biblical phrases; word was not specifically found in the Bible, but essence was

Iconoclasm

destruction or hostility to icons; Leo III ordered destruction of icons in 726; John of Damascus defended icons; veneration vs worship; Iconoclasm condemned at Nicaea in 787

Hypostatic union

doctrine that Jesus Christ is one single person who possesses two distinct natures: fully divine and fully human

Monothelitism

the controversy over if Christ has one will; extension of debates over person of Christ

Nestorianism

Nestorius, Bishop of Constantinople; did not like Mary being called theotokos (Mother of God), preferred mother of human being or mother of Christ; divided the divine nature and human nature of Christ; God could not need, tire, thirst, die “I divide the natures but unite the worship” rejected at Council of Ephesus (431)

Pelagianism

5th century theological controversy named after Pelagius; no orginal sin, fought against infant baptism, absolute free will

Primacy

status or authority of a specific bishop, most notably the Bishop of Rome, as being “first” in rank, honor, or jurisdiction, among Christian leaders

theotokos

means mother of God; starting point for Nestorianism

traditores

those who handed over books of scripture to roman authorities to be burned during the great persecution