Intro to the History of Christianity Primary Sources

Gospel of Matthew

Author: anonymous; tradition says Matthew (first attested by Irenaeus ca. 180). Period: ca. 80. Context: Jewish-Christian community (likely Syria/Antioch) in tension with post-70 Pharisaic Judaism; uses Mark and a sayings source; Jesus as fulfillment of prophecy and new Moses (Sermon on the Mount); includes Peter's primacy (16:18). Compare: Gospel of Thomas (sayings only) or Mark/Luke.

Gospel of Thomas

Author: "Didymos Judas Thomas" (pseudonymous). Period: ca. 100s. Context: 114 sayings of Jesus with no passion or resurrection narrative; salvation through secret knowledge; found at Nag Hammadi (Coptic) with earlier Greek fragments; Gnostic-leaning and excluded from the canon. Compare: Matthew (public ministry and fulfillment vs. hidden wisdom).

Infancy Gospel of Thomas

Author: pseudonymous ("Thomas the Israelite"), a different text from the Gospel of Thomas. Period: ca. 125. Context: stories of the boy Jesus (ages 5-12) who works miracles and sometimes acts vengefully; fills the gap in the canonical gospels; very popular. Compare: Luke 2:41-52 (the only canonical childhood story) and the Gospel of Thomas.

First Apology

Author: Justin Martyr. Period: ca. 155. Context: written in Rome to Emperor Antoninus Pius defending Christians against charges of atheism and immorality; argues they should not be punished merely for the name; explains Christianity via Logos and prophecy; describes baptism, Sunday worship and Eucharist (chs. 61-67). Compare: Marcion (opposed by Justin), Tertullian's Apology, Origen (Logos theology).

On First Principles

Author: Origen of Alexandria. Period: ca. 212. Context: first systematic Christian theology covering God, Logos, souls, free will and Scripture's multiple senses (literal, moral, spiritual); parts (preexistent souls, universal restoration) later condemned. Compare: Irenaeus (rule of faith), Athanasius (subordinationism vs. homoousios), Gnostic determinism (Origen stresses free will).

The Origin of Constantine

Author: anonymous Latin author (Anonymus Valesianus). Period: ca. 337. Context: short unadorned account of Constantine's rise (campaigns, wars, politics) that says little about religion. Compare: Eusebius's Life of Constantine (political-military portrait vs. pious providential one).

Life of Constantine

Author: Eusebius of Caesarea. Period: 337. Context: panegyric/hagiography written after the emperor's death; Constantine as God's chosen ruler and new Moses; vision of the cross before Milvian Bridge; role at Nicaea; idealized and biased; model of the Christian emperor. Compare: Origin of Constantine (secular), Lactantius, and Athanasius's Life of Anthony (emperor vs. holy man).

On the Incarnation of the Word

Author: Athanasius of Alexandria. Period: ca. 328. Context: argues humanity fell into corruption and only the divine Logos could restore it by becoming human ("He became man that we might become god"); foundation for his anti-Arian polemic. Compare: Arius's letter (created Son vs. fully divine Son) and Origen (subordination).

Letter to Alexander of Alexandria

Author: Arius. Period: ca. 330s per the course guide (many scholars say ca. 320). Context: statement of faith to his bishop defending that the Son was begotten before time but is not co-eternal with the Father; best surviving evidence of Arius's own theology. Compare: Athanasius and the Nicene Creed.

Canons of Hippolytus

Author: attributed to Hippolytus (probably Egyptian church order). Period: ca. 300. Context: church-order text related to the Apostolic Tradition; regulates clergy, catechumens, baptism, fasting and widows; shows the church becoming more organized and hierarchical. Compare: Didache (earlier, simpler church order) or Matthew 18 (discipline).

Nicene Creed

Author: Council of Nicaea (ca. 300 bishops) convened by Constantine. Period: 325. Context: product of the first ecumenical council; condemned Arius, introduced homoousios and appended anathemas; revised in 381. Compare: Arius's letter and Eusebius of Caesarea's proposed creed.

On Himself and Bishops

Author: Gregory of Nazianzus (Cappadocian Father). Period: ca. 380. Context: autobiographical poem written after leaving the see of Constantinople (381) in disgust at clerical rivalry; criticizes bishops' ambition and council politics; shows his paideia-trained literary style. Compare: Athanasius (doctrinal battles) and Eusebius (more positive view of the imperial church).

Life of St. Anthony

Author: Athanasius of Alexandria. Period: ca. 356. Context: hagiography presenting Anthony as the ideal monk battling demons in the desert as successor to the martyrs; Athanasius also uses Anthony as an ally against Arianism; spread monasticism to the Latin West. Compare: Eusebius's Life of Constantine (holy man vs. emperor).

The Seven Ecumenical Councils

Author: church councils convened by emperors. Period: 325-787. Context: 1) Nicaea I 325 condemned Arius and set homoousios; 2) Constantinople I 381 completed Trinitarian doctrine (Holy Spirit); 3) Ephesus 431 condemned Nestorius and affirmed Theotokos; 4) Chalcedon 451 two natures in one person and split from Miaphysites; 5) Constantinople II 553 reaffirmed Chalcedon and condemned Origen and the Three Chapters; 6) Constantinople III 680-81 condemned Monothelitism; 7) Nicaea II 787 restored icons. Compare: Hieria (754) as the iconoclast counter-council.