BHIS 3040 Diles test 2

Who were the (old catholic) church Fathers of the 3rd century?

Irenaeus, Hippolytus, Novatian, Tertullian, Cyprian, Clement of Alexandria, Origen, and Gregory Thaumaturgus

Who was Tertullian?

- African church father at the beginning of the 3rd century, first major apologist to write in Latin

- most famous convert to Montanism (ca. 207 AD)

- sets the vocabulary for the Western church (trinity, sacraments, etc.)

- held a very negative view of philosophy b/c of its connections to paganism

- a lawyer by trade, he Christianizes Mosaic law but legalizes the Sermon on the Mount which leads to the idea of salvation through meritorious conduct

Who was Origen?

- one of the four most influential people in the history of the church (outside of the NT)

- a prolific writer with an impulsive personality (dude castrated himself)

- taken into custody during the persecution under Decius; survives but the tortures he receives lead to an early death

- created the church's first systematic theology (On First Principles)

- produced the 'Hexapla' (the Bible in six parallel columns, each of a different language)

- opens 2 philosophic schools which introduce people to the philosophy of Christianity

- his method of biblical interpretation became the standard for over 1000 years

- presented Christianity as a tradition of learning and scripture as living and more profound than it first appears

- condemned by the 2nd council of Constantinople 300 years after his death (553)

What were Origen's 3 senses of scripture?

1. bodily (literal/historical meaning)

2. psychic (moral lesson)

3. pneumatic (allegorical interpretation

What is the fourfold meaning of scripture?

1. historical (literal)

2. moral (tropological)

3. allegorical (doctrinal)

4. anagogical (eschatological)

During the reign of what 3rd century emperor was the first official UNIVERSAL persecution of Christians conducted? It was the first official attempt to completely abolish Christianity.

Decius (250-251)

Who was Cyprian?

- very important theologian who set the stage for Augustine

- became bishop of Carthage by popular demand

- fled during the persecution under Decius so he could continue to shepherd his flock by writing letters

- was martyred during a later persecution

What three approaches were advocated toward those who had lapsed in their faith during the persecution under Decius?

1. Rigorist: they must die as martyrs to be forgiven

- as Jesus said, "if you deny me before men, I will deny you before my Father"

- it was up to God to forgive them; not for the church to decide

2. Laxist: they need shepherding and it should be easy for them to return/immediate forgiveness would strengthen their faith

- position most often taken by the confessors (those who confessed their faith during persecution and survived)

3. middle position: they should undergo a period of probation

- this was the position that eventually won out

- probation was strict and could last for years

- this position built up the authority of the bishop

What was a libellus?

- an official Roman document certifying that the holder had sacrificed to the gods

- issued during the reign of Decius to aid in the eradication of Christianity; if someone could not produce a libellus on demand, they could be executed

Who was the "hard-line" "bishop" of Rome who led a 3rd century schism over the issue of the lapsed?

Novatian

Who were the confessors?

those who confessed their faith in Christ under persecution and survived (many were tortured and imprisoned)

Who first enunciated the principle "outside the church there is no salvation"?

Cyprian

What bishop of Carthage took a "middle" position regarding the lapsed?

Cyprian

Who makes the first mention of infant baptism and is he in favor of or opposed to the practice?

Tertullian; he was opposed to it because infants are innocent

In what 3rd century writer in particular do we begin to see increasing assimilation to culture in the terminology used?

Cyprian

Under what emperor does the "Great Persecution" break out?

Diocletian

In what century do we see bishops gaining control over areas outside their local churches?

3rd c.

What was a "metropolitan"?

the bishop in the capital of the political province (or in some cases, the bishop in the first church in the province)

What 4 edicts of persecution were issued in 303 and 304?

1. churches destroyed and sacred books confiscated (303, targeting clergy)

2. clergy imprisoned (303, targeting clergy)

3. captured clergy compelled to sacrifice on pain of death (303, targeting clergy)

4. all Christians must sacrifice (304)

Who issued the edict of toleration in 311 and why?

Galerius: falls painfully ill and, realizing he had failed to wipe out the Christians, pardoned them and asked them to pray for him (he still died)

Before what battle does Constantine see his vision?

Milvian (Mulvian) bridge

What edict is issued in 313 and what are its provisions?

- edict of Milan

- full freedom of religion and legal equality of Christianity with other religions

Where does Constantine re-locate his capital?

Byzantium, which he then renames Constantinople (330) - modern-day Istanbul

Who is the first documented emperor to be baptized?

Constantine

What were some of the consequences of Constantine's influence?

- end of persecution

- Christianity becomes official religion of the Roman Empire (Theodosius, 380)

- the church becomes more worldly (owning property and membership popular)

- church in the East under the emperor's influence, church in the West under the influence of the bishop of Rome

- pagan rituals and ceremonies begin to be introduced into Christian worship

- the church becomes a political organization

- emphasis on eschatology is lost in passing from persecution to privilege

Why did many people delay baptism until just before death?

comes from the belief that there is one repentance and that baptism only covers pre-baptismal sins, so people considered it safer to wait until you won't be able to sin much more to get baptized

What was the significance of Victor I in the development of the papacy?

first Roman bishop to try to regulate the practice of all the churches (189-99)

What was the significance of Damasus in the development of the papacy?

- began to assert his authority as the secular importance of Rome was declining

- speaks of the "apostolic see" and "primacy of the Roman see" on the basis of Matt. 16:18

- calls other bishops sons rather than brothers

What was the significance of Siricius (384-99) in the development of the papacy?

- first Roman bishop to begin issuing papal decrees for the whole church without a a council

- began to assert that the Roman church was the head of the body

What was the significance of Leo I (440-61) in the development of the papacy?

- received authority over the entire Western church from Emperor Valentinian III

- negotiates with Attila the Hun to save Rome from the barbarians

- used Roman law of inheritance to support assertion that the Pope inherits his authority from Peter

- takes title of "pontifex maximus"

- considered by some to be the first true Pope, later known as Leo the Great

Who were the 'lapsi'?

- those who had fallen away from the church in times of persecution

- during the persecution under Decius, even those who had bribed officials to receive a libellus were grouped in with those who actually sacrificed

What was the significance of Gregory the Great in the development of the papacy?

- established Papal civil administration

- took control of Roman civil defenses and negotiated with the Lombards without the Emperor's authorization

- considered by some to be the first medieval Pope, and was the first Bishop of Rome to display fully the power and authority connoted by the title

What 2nd century bishop of Rome excommunicated his eastern opponents over the dating of Easter?

Victor I

Why did Rome gain influence in the 2nd and 3rd centuries?

1. Peter and Paul martyred there (only church in West w/ apostolic contacts)

2. capital city

3. home to one of the largest churches

4. had capable and wise bishops

5. renowned for generosity

Know about the word "pope."

- first recorded use in reference to the bishop in Rome was in 303

- papas (pope) had already been the common term for bishops in the East

What were the 5 prominent churches in the Empire in the 4th and 5th centuries?

Alexandria, Antioch, Constantinople, Caesarea/Jerusalem, Rome

Why did Rome/the Pope gain influence in the 4th and 5th centuries?

1. authority of Peter and Paul

2. strong bishops

3. capital city was no longer Rome, and the Pope was the last representative of the old Roman Empire in the city of Rome itself

4. Roman bishop was the only Patriarch in the West

5. the Roman church /bishop gained the reputation for always being orthodox as the result of various controversies

Who was the great and influential emperor of the 6th century?

Justinian

What was Modalism?

- an emphasis on the oneness of God at the expense of real diversity

- God revealing himself as Father, Son, and HS successively in different modes rather than simultaneously

What was Monarchianism? (notes)

- "one rule"

- another word for monotheism

What have a number of scholars recognized about the role of conflict in the church?

- it comes from a passion for the Christian faith

- when people care, conflict will happen

- it demonstrates the vitality of the church

What was Patripassianism? (notes)

the connotation of Modalist Monarchianism that God the Father suffered on the cross

What was Dynamic Monarchianism and who was a representative of this idea?

- doctrine which developed into Adoptionism

- Paul of Samosata (3rd c.)

What was Adoptionism?

the idea that God adopted Jesus as his son and that the Power (dynamis) of God rested on Jesus

What was Modalist Monarchianism and who was a representative of this idea?

- Modalism/Patripassianism

- Sabellius (3rd c.) (Sabellianism)

What was the difference between the East and West in terms of their Trinitarian emphasis?

the West emphasized the oneness of God (Tertullian) and the East emphasized the threeness (Origen)

In what year did the Council of Nicaea meet, and what was the major issue?

325; the nature of Jesus's divinity

Who were the major opponents at Nicaea and what positions did they hold?

1. Arius, presbyter at Alexandria

- the Father and the Logos were of different 'ousia' (substance)

- the Son is a created being

- there was a time when the Son was not

- the Word simply takes the place of Jesus's reason, so Christ is neither fully divine nor fully human

2. Alexander, bishop of Alexandria

- the Father and Son are always

- begotten is not a chronological term

- the Father and Son are of the same 'ousia'

- Christ was both fully divine and fully human

3. Athanasius, succeeds Alexander as bishop

- supports Alexanders claims and becomes the great defender of the Nicene faith

- the Father and Son are 'homoousion' (same substance), God is one

What was affirmed at the first 4 ecumenical councils?

- Nicaea affirmed the oneness of God

- Constantinople affirmed the threeness of God

- Ephesus affirmed the oneness of Christ

- Chalcedon affirmed the twoness of Christ

What was the major issue and the significance of the Council of Constantinople?

- refuting the heresies which had blossomed since the council of Nicaea about the nature of God

- distinction is made between "hypostasis" and "ousia"

- Arians, Apollinarians, and Pneumatomachi condemned

- divinity of the Holy Spirit confirmed and doctrine of the Trinity affirmed

- existing Dioceses to be used for ecclesiastical purposes

- bishop of Constantinople has primacy of honor after bishop of Rome (not status, but of course the West takes it that way)

What was the major issue and the significance of the Council of Ephesus (431?

- affirms the unity of the divine and human natures of Jesus: "hypostatic union"

- "theotokos" affirmed as the proper term for Mary

- condemns Nestorius for teaching that the divine and human natures of Jesus were two persons (he claims he doesn't teach this)

- (the whole council was rigged; Nestorius boycotted it because Cyril was presiding and the issues were decided before Nestorius's supporters even got there)

- the followers of Nestorius end up splitting from the Catholic (orthodox) church along with the followers of Theodore of Mopsuestia to form the church of the East

What was the major issue and the significance of the Council of Chalcedon?

- refuted the heresy that Christ had only one nature (divine)

- after Leo sends his Tome, the bishops say that "Peter speaks through Leo," which later becomes important in Roman papal claims

- Monophysitism is declared a heresy

- the Chalcedonian Definition of Faith affirms the two natures in one person of Jesus Christ while preserving the mystery of how this is accomplished

- formally closes the Christological controversies in the West, though there are more to come in the East

- the Oriental Orthodox does not accept the Definition

- the other 3 councils are declared ecumenical, as is this one

- Jerusalem is added to the list of the five most important patriarchates (Rome, Constantinople, Jerusalem, Alexandria, Antioch)

What is the difference between creed and canon?

- Creed: matters of faith/doctrine (don't change)

- Canon: matters of church order and discipline (can change)

- "I believe" vs. "I decide"

What was the significance of Nicaea?

1. First Ecumenical Council

- became the way of dealing with doctrinal issues

- authority to make disciplinary decisions

2. Imperial involvement in Church affairs

3. A creed reinforced by anathemas (curses) has become a test of fellowship

Who becomes the great symbol or defender of Nicene faith?

Athanasius

Who said, "Christ was made man that we might be made gods?"

Athanasius

What did the following words signify: Homoousioss (Homoousians), Homoiousios (Homoiousians), Homeans, Anomoeans and which became the "orthodox" expression?

Homoousios - the Son is of the same substance with the Father

Homoiousios - the Son is of similar substance to the Father

Homoios - the Son is like the Father

Anoimos - the Son is unlike the Father

- Homoousios became orthodox

Which great Cappadocian worked on the doctrine of the Trinity, but never referred to the Spirit as God?

Basil the Great

Which great Cappadocian viewed the incarnation in a similar way as did Athanasius, believing that the Son became human that humans might become divine?

Gregory Nazianzus

Which great Cappadocian was known as "The Theologian"?

Gregory Nazianzus

Who was known as the "Father of Liturgical Hymnology"?

Ambrose

Which great Cappadocian viewed the vocation of man as "never ending growth in sharing God's life"?

Gregory of Nyssa

Who was the great "golden mouthed" preacher of the 4th century church?

John Chysostom

Who converted Augustine?

Ambrose

Who was responsible for the Vulgate?

Jerome

At what council is the universal creed of Christendom formulated, known as the Nicene Creed?

First council of Constantinople

Who were the Apollinarians?

denied the full humanity of Jesus by saying he didn't have a human soul, rather the Divine Spirit took its place

Who were the Pneumatomachi?

aka the Macedonians; considered the Holy Spirit to be the "chief of angels" but not God

What was the distinction between "hypostasis" and "ousia" according to the 1st Council of Constantinople?

hypostasis referred to the distinct persons of God and ousia referred to the one substance of God

What was the difference in interpretive approaches between Alexandria and Antioch?

Alexandria tended to be more allegorical in its interpretation and Antioch tended to be more literal

Who was Nestorius and what was he condemned for?

- bishop of Constantinople from Antioch

- took issue with the term "theotokos" (God-bearer) for Mary since he felt it gave her too high a status

- proposed the term "Chistotokos" (Christ-bearer) instead

- gets condemned for teaching that the divine Christ and human Jesus were different persons, though he claimed this was not his teaching at all (he does emphasize the difference but doesn't deny there is union)

What do the terms "Theotokos" and "Christotokos" mean and who supported them?

- "Theotokos" means God-bearer and "Christotokos" means Christ-bearer

- Cyril of Alexandria supported "Theotokos" and Nestorius supported "Christotokos"

Who was Cyril of Alexandria and what was his position?

- bishop of Alexandria

- believed that if you denied the term 'theotokos' for Mary, you were also denying the divinity of Jesus

What was Monophysitism?

- Henophysitism/Eutychianism

- the belief that there is only one nature in Christ (the Divine)

Which was the largest of the 7 ecumenical councils?

Chalcedon (451)

What was the position of Leo's Tome?

affirms that Jesus is 100% human and 100% God, and there are no conflicts between the two natures

What is the so-called "Chalcedonian definition of faith"?

creed adopted at the Council of Chalcedon which affirmed that though Jesus is one person, he has two distinct natures: divine and human

Who was Paul of Samosata?

- important Roman official who became bishop of Antioch (late 3rd c.) but faced criticism for some of his more self-exalting practices

- used 'Logos' as an impersonal equal to God's wisdom in OT and applied 'Son' to the human Jesus, and said that the Wisdom resided supremely in Jesus (Dynamic Monarchianist but not fully Adoptionist)

- condemned by Synods in Antioch (268), but maintained control of the church uilding until his opponents appealed to emperor Aurelian (the first recorded occasion of an appeal to civil authorities to decide a dispute between Christian factions over ownership of church property

Who made the statement, "the blood of Christians is seed"? ("The blood of martyrs is the seed of the church")

Tertullian

Who produced the 'Hexapla'?

Origen

With what early controversy was the term 'Quartodecimans' associated?

the Paschal controversy (had to do with celebrating the death and resurrection of Jesus on (Easter) Sunday vs. on Passover)

What is meant by the expression "the cult of the martyrs"?

practices of worship and veneration partially based on the supposed privileges of the martyred, though not in competition with Jesus

What opposing principles did Hippolytus and Callistus defend, respectively?

- certain sinners couldn't be reconciled to the church; only God could forgive

- all sinners could be readmitted to fellowship

According to Ferguson, about what year does the first identifiable Christian art appear?

200

In the third century what new religious movement was founded by the so-called "apostle of light" and what was this founder's name?

Manichaeism; Mani

According to Ferguson, what did the controversy between the two Dionysii illustrate about the differing theological emphases between east and west?

Western theology stressed God's oneness while Eastern emphasized God's threeness

According to Ferguson, on the political level the success of Christianity in the 4th century turned on the conversion of what man?

Constantine the Great

Under Constantine what characteristic form of Christian architecture made its appearance?

basilicas?

Who helped set the precedent of delaying baptism until shortly before death?

Constantine

What religious title did Constantine retain for himself?

'pontifex maximus' (high priest)/ bishop of those outside the church/ bishop of the external affairs of the church

Who was the great church historian at the time of Constantine?

Eusebius of Caesarea

What was a 'traditor'?

"one who handed over" the church's books

Who was the most important bishop of the 4th century for advancing papal claims?

Damasus (366-84)

What three popes have been given the designation "The Great"?

Leo I, Gregory I, and Nicholas

Who was Leo I?

- "the first pope"

- combined the themes of authority over councils, authority over emperors, and successor of Peter in constructing his theory of the papacy

- held that Jesus extended to all bishops their authority through Peter and his successors

- negotiated with the Huns to get them to turn back from Rome

- took the title of "pontifex maximus" and was the first bishop buried in St. Peter's

- the powers ad prerogatives of the future papacy are outlined in his methods, policy, and ideals

What was the controversy between Gregory I and John the Faster?

- John IV claimed the title of "ecumenical patriarch" as he was patriarch of Constantinople, which had the supreme position in the East, and the title expressed the power of the patriarch over his patriarchate

- Gregory saw the title as a matter of pride and thought it only meant "sole" patriarch, so he rejected it and tok the title "servant of the servants of God"

How did Gregory I deal with the Lombards?

he made peace with them

According to Gregory I's 'Pastoral Rule,' what is the key to unity in the church?

humility

What was Monarchianism? (Ferguson)

- "one rule"; a common word for monotheism

- two principal forms are Dynamic and Modalist

- the Dynamic form was a development of early Adoptionism (the theory that Jesus was so worthy God adopted him as a son and let God's power/dynamis rest on him)

Who was Donatus, who were the Donatists, and what did they believe?

- bishop of the rival church in Carthage (315-355) who succeeded Majorinus after he was appointed as the result of a schism, those in communion with him became known as Donatists

- the Donatists were missionary-minded and believed they were continuing the theological tradition of Tertullian and Cyprian and their view of the martyr church

- when Constantine made grants to the Christian clergy, the Donatists claimed the money, saying they were the true church in North Africa, but after a synod met and did not decide on their issue, Constantine decided in favor of their rivals

- the Donatists then rejected the alliance between the church with the government: "What has the emperor to do with the church?" - Donatus

- the Donatist church tried to keep itself holy in the midst of impure enemies and interpreted all Scripture as holy law