Theology 10 - Part 3: Diversity in the Church

Ecumenism

Efforts by christians to restore unity among all christians.

Interreligious Dialogue

• Dialogue with non christian religions to promote unity.

Creed

• A formal statement of faith or belief, often used in Christian worship to summarize core theological principles.

• Origin from Latin word “credo” - meaning “i believe”

Deposit of Faith

The body revealed thrush in the scriptures and sacred traditions proposed by the roman catholic church for the belief of the faithful.

• Three components: 

  • One - sacred scripture 

  • Two - apostolic traditions 

  • Three - the magisterium 

Liturgy

• Public worship - the work of Christ and that of the church

  • The “body of christ”

Orthodoxy

• Greek origin “orthodxa” - meaning “right words”, the appearance of the truth of the doctrines defined by various creeds and ecumenical councils in antiquity

• Using the right words to state the faith of the church helps our understanding of the faith and our living faith.

Heresy

• A religious teaching that denies/contradictions the truths of God

  • (heretic) 

Apsotasy

• Total repudiation (rejection) of the christian faith

  • (apostate)

Schism

• Division of the church or refusal to submit the pope's authority as head of the church

  • division 

Gnosticism

• Believed bodies and the physical world were corrupt/bad.

• Said Jesus wasn’t really human and only looked human.

• Thought people are saved by secret knowledge from Jesus.

• Believed only a small chosen group could be saved.

Marcionism

• Rejected the Old Testament.

• Said Jesus was not the Son of the God worshipped by the Jews in the Old Testament.

• Believed there were two gods:

  • one angry creator god who punished people harshly

  • one loving and kind god who sent Jesus to save the world from the angry god.

Manichaeism

• Believed there are two forces in the world:

• good = God

• evil = Satan

• Said the human spirit comes from God, but the body comes from evil, so they are always fighting each other.

• Denied free will and human responsibility for actions.

Arianism

• Taught that Jesus was not truly God.

• Said Jesus was created by God and was lower than God the Father.

• Believed Jesus was similar to God, but not fully equal to Him.

Apollinarianism

• Taught that Jesus was not fully human.

• Said Jesus had a human body, but His mind was divine instead of human.

• Believed Jesus didn’t have a normal human rational mind.

• Argued this so Jesus could be seen as sinless, since a full human nature was thought to be prone to sin.

Donatism

• Taught that sacraments (like baptism) only work if the priest/minister is morally good.

• Said that if the minister is sinful, the sacrament is invalid.

• Put too much focus on the person doing the sacrament instead of God’s grace.

Nestorianism

• Started in the 5th century by Bishop of Constantinople.

• Taught that Jesus was split into two separate persons: one human and one divine.

• Said the human Jesus and the Son of God were joined together but not truly one unified person.

• This idea was rejected and led to the Church clarifying that Jesus is one person with both divine and human natures (the hypostatic union).

Monophysitism

• Said Jesus had only one nature—purely divine.

• Taught that His human nature was absorbed or “dissolved” into His divine nature.

• Compared it to sugar dissolving in water, where the human part disappears into the divine.

Pelagianism

• Said Adam and Eve’s sin did not affect the rest of humanity.

• Believed people are born innocent, without original sin.

• Claimed humans can choose good or evil on their own without needing God’s grace.

• Rejected ideas like original sin and the necessity of baptism for salvation.

St. Augustine’s Refutal of Pelagianism

• Argued that original sin affects all humanity, not just Adam and Eve.

• Emphasized the necessity of God's grace for salvation, rejecting the notion that humans can achieve salvation through their own efforts alone.

• Stressed that divine grace is essential for overcoming sin and achieving communion with God.

** Without God’s grace, we would not be able to overcome sin or achieve communion with God.

Doctrine on Sin and Grace

• Addresses the concepts of original sin and the necessity of God's grace for salvation.

• Establishes that humanity inherits a sinful nature due to the fall of Adam and Eve.

• Emphasizes that without divine grace, individuals cannot achieve salvation or a relationship with God.

• Highlights the importance of God's grace in overcoming sin and striving for communion with Him.

Apostolic Age

• The period in Christian history following the resurrection of Jesus and the establishment of the Church.

• Characterized by the leadership of the apostles and the spread of Christian teachings.

• Essential time for the formation of early Church practices and beliefs.

• Significant events include Pentecost and the missionary journeys of apostles like Paul.

Spread of Christianity to Non-Jews

• Refers to the expansion of the Christian faith beyond Jewish communities.

• Led by apostles and early missionaries, notably Paul, who emphasized the inclusion of Gentiles in the Church.

Patristic Period

• “Patristic” comes from the Greek word pater meaning “father.”

• Time of the Church Fathers.

• Since Jesus had not returned yet, the Church needed stronger organization and unity.

Church Hierarchy

• Bishops = overseers/leaders

• Presbyters = elders/priests

• Deacons = servants/helpers

• Bishops and presbyters performed baptisms and Eucharist.

Development of the Bible

• The Church needed official writings for teaching (catechesis).

• New Testament books were written between 50–120 AD.

• First known list of Bible books = Muratorian Canon (~170 AD).

Canon of Scripture

• Canon = official collection of inspired Bible books.

• From Greek word kanon.

Catholic Bible

• 73 books total

  • 46 Old Testament

  • 27 New Testament

Deuterocanonical Books

Books in the Catholic Bible but not most Protestant Bibles:

• Tobit

• Judith

• Wisdom

• Sirach

• Baruch

• 1 Maccabees and 2 Maccabees

Creeds

• Creeds summarized and protected Christian beliefs against heresies.

• Focused on belief in the Trinity.

• Still used at baptisms today.

Important Creeds/Councils

• Apostles’ Creed (~341 AD)

• Nicene Creed

• Council of Nicaea

• First Council of Constantinople

Roman Persecution of Christians

• Christians were persecuted because they refused to worship Roman gods or the emperor.

• Romans thought Christians were rebellious and dangerous.

Christians were accused of:

• Being atheists

• Cannibalism (misunderstanding the Eucharist)

• Causing disasters because they rejected Roman gods

Nero (64 AD)

• Fire destroyed much of Rome.

• Nero blamed Christians.

• Saint Paul was beheaded.

• Saint Peter was crucified upside down.

• Christians worshipped secretly in house churches.

Diocletian (284–305 AD)

• Started the Great Persecution.

• Banned Christianity.

• Destroyed churches and Christian writings.

• Took away rights of assembly.

Martyrs

Martyr = person killed for their faith.

3 Conditions for Catholic Martyrdom

1. Death

2. Killed because of the faith

3. Accepts death faithfully

Women Martyrs

• Saint Agnes of Rome

• Saint Cecilia

• Saint Lucy

• Saint Perpetua and Saint Felicity

Christianity Becomes Legal

Constantine the Great

• Issued the Edict of Milan.

• Legalized Christianity and ended persecution.

Theodosius I

• Issued the Edict of Thessalonica.

• Made Christianity the official religion of the empire.

Growth of the Church

• House churches became too small as Christianity spread.

• The Church became more organized and institutionalized.

Five Patriarchates

1. Rome – Peter

2. Constantinople – Andrew

3. Alexandria – Mark

4. Antioch – Peter and Paul

5. Jerusalem – James

Constantinople & Fall of Rome

• Constantine the Great moved the capital to Constantinople (formerly Byzantium).

• Constantinople became powerful and important to the Church.

Fall of Rome Causes

• Invasions

• Military instability

• Economic problems

• Political corruption

• Cultural decline

• Loss of traditional Roman values

• Power shifted to Constantinople.

Justinian I

• Strengthened Constantinople.

• Built the Hagia Sophia.

• Organized Roman law.

• Worked closely with the Church.

Church After Rome Fell

• The fall of Rome left a power vacuum in the West.

• The Church stepped in to provide leadership, order, and continuity.