The Early Church Fathers. Introduction

Transcription

1 The Early Church Fathers Introduction The Early church fathers are also referred to as church fathers or fathers of the church. They were influential and early theologians, great bishops and eminent Christian teachers. Their works have been used for a long time throughout the history of Christianity. Early church fathers describe the teachers and writers of the church and do not necessarily refer to saints. The early church fathers can be classified into three main categories, namely; the apostolic fathers, the Ante-Nicene, and the post-nicene church fathers. The example of the apostolic church fathers are Clement of Rome who were colleagues of the apostles and most likely taught by them, the apostolic fathers carried on the teachings and traditions of the apostles. For instance in 2 Timothy, mentions Linus, who was made the bishop of Rome following killing of Peter, and subsequently Clement succeeded Linus. Both Clement of Rome and Linus are considered to be apostolic fathers. Nevertheless, there are no writings in existence by Linus but a lot of literature by Clement of Rome has survived. By the start of the second century the apostolic fathers could have been forgotten however there still remained fathers like Polycarp who was a disciple of John. The ante-nicene fathers came after the era of the apostolic fathers but before the council of Nicea around 325 AD. Examples of the ante-nicene fathers include; Justin Martyr, Iraenus and Ignatius. The Post-Nicene fathers refer to the church fathers that came immediately after the Council of Nicea around 325 AD. They are eminent persons like bishop of Hippo (the father of the Roman Catholic) he is credited for his great works that mainly focused on church doctrine, Augustine, Eusebius, who is credited for his writings on the history of Christianity and the church mainly concentrating from Christ s birth, and Chrysostom (the golden mouthed), he is credited for his oratorical skills that were excellent. Other Post-Nicene fathers include Jerome, who is credited for his translation of the New Testament from Greek to the Latin Vulgate; the other father was Ambrose who mainly focused on the conversion of Emperor Constantine to Christianity. 1 / 13

2 The early church fathers mainly concentrated on the proclamation of the gospel in the same way that it was proclaimed by the apostles themselves. Most of them did not wish to establish new theological doctrines because the teachings they had acquired from the apostles themselves was quite enough for themselves. The apostolic fathers were as determined as the real apostles in exposing and rooting out any untrue doctrines that might have been propagated by the early church. The accepted belief of the message was maintained by the desire by the apostolic to adhere to the gospel that was taught by the apostles. (Ehrman, 2006) Apostolic fathers The apostolic fathers were early Christian authors who wrote and lived between 1 st century s second half and 2 nd century s first half. These fathers are recognized as the early church s leaders even though their literary works were not integrated into the New Testament, the fathers include Ignatius of Antioch, Clement of Rome and Polycarp of Smyrna. The apostolic fathers have used this name ever since the 17 th C to demonstrate that they were viewed as the generation which had close contact with the 12 apostles of Christ. Therefore the apostolic fathers provide the connection between the apostles who worked with Jesus Christ of Nazareth and the following generation of church fathers who were defenders of orthodoxy, developers of doctrine and Christian apologists. Clementine of Rome. Clementine was a bishop of Rome and is considered to be the church s first Apostolic Father. It is said that Saint Peter was the one who consecrated Clement according to the Tertullian and he is famous for his role in leading the church in the second part of the 1 st century in Rome. According to the early church he was considered to be the 2 nd 2 / 13

3 or 3 rd bishop after Saint Peter in Rome. Peter is considered the first then Linus, however the liber pointoficalis points out that Peter had ordained Cletus and Linus as responsible for the community s priestly service and to concentrate mainly on preaching and prayer. It also says that Clement was assigned by peter to mange the church as a whole and from this view Clement can be considered as the second bishop. The only Genuine extant writing by Clement is considered to be 1 Clement which was a letter to the Corinthians, this was a response to the conflict present in the church of Corinth where by some presbyters had been toppled. Clement proposed that the mandate of the elders was to rule the church on the basis that the apostles them selves had themselves appointed presbyters. The Clement was read in church together with other epistles some of which later became the Christian canon. The Christian canon is among the oldest documents about Christianity that is still in existence today outside the New Testament. It is considered as significant as it was the pioneer in affirming the clergy s apostolic authority. (Cross, 2005) 2 Clement was the second epistle, was associated with Clementine even though recent studies argue that 2 Clement was a homily that was written by another author. In the famous Clementine literature, Clement is viewed as the link through whom the church was able to learn from the apostles, according to the tradition of years before the 4 th century; Emperor Trajan imprisoned Clement who led a ministry while imprisoned among the prisoners. Clement was martyred by being tied to an anchor and then thrown into the Black sea. The Importance and theological contribution by Clementine in the early church. The importance and contributions by Clementine on theological issues and theological developments can be analyzed by looking at the literature by Clementine. Such writings include; 3 / 13

4 First Epistle: 1 Clementine This was a letter to the Corinthians, this was a response to the conflict present in the church of Corinth where by some presbyters had been toppled. As none of the Presbyters was accused or charged with any moral offence, Clement argued that their removal was unjustifiable and high-handed. This letter includes some references of the Old Testament is exceptionally long and is considered to be two times as long as compared to the Hebrew epistles. In this letter Clement demonstrated his knowledge of the Old Testament that indicates the likelihood of Clementine being a long standing Christian as opposed to a new convert. (Cross, 2005) On many occasions Clementine referred to the Old Testament and especially on Paul s letters to the Corinthians. He also refers to the letters of Paul to the Philippians, Galatians, Ephesians and the Romans. The epistles were read in public at Corinth from time to time and the usage had spread to other churches by 4 th century. The main aim of the Clement was to call for the Christians of Corinth to uphold order and harmony. Second Epistle: 2 Clementine Clement of Rome is believed to have written for the Christians of Corinth in the 1 st century. However there have been doubts as to whether this epistle belonged to Clementine, many modern scholars are of the view that the 2 nd Clementine was a sermon that was written between 140 AD and 160 AD by an unknown author, who is considered to be neither Clementine of Rome nor the author of 1 Clement. 2 Clement is considered to be a transcript of a sermon or homily that was delivered at a worship service to Christians. As opposed to trying to convert other people to Christianity, this epistle is seen as directed to Christian audiences that had converted from paganism. It sought to address issues of idolatry it says that the individuals were limited in their understanding and that they were worshiping pieces of stone, wood, copper, silver and gold, all of which were 4 / 13

5 made by man. (Cross, 2005) Clementine literature Clementine literature refers to the Christian novel or romance that Clementine made of the conversations involving apostle peter, and also the account of the conditions under which Clement became the traveling companion of peter and the history of Clement s family. The works of Clement in addition to confirming the importance of the clergy laid the basis for theology this is because it ended the Church s problem of being led not by a person but by the set rules which increases accountability because the elders who lead the church use their insights and wisdom to guide the church in a better way. This concept has been applied up to date and especially in the accountability and hierarchy in the church. Ignatius of Antioch He is also known as Theophorus; he is one of the apostolic fathers and is considered the patriarch and third bishop of Antioch. Ignatius was a student of John the apostle and on his way to martyrdom in Rome, he wrote a number of letters which have been conserved as some of the early theology for Christians. The significant topics which Ignatius has addressed in the letters include; the role of bishops, ecclesiology and the sacraments. Ignatius was made the third Bishop of Antioch after St. Evodius and St. Peter, it is said that Peter himself had appointed Ignatius to head Antioch and is viewed as the immediate successor of Evodius. According to tradition it is said that Ignatius was one of the children that Jesus held and blessed and that he may have been John s apostle, his authority was based on his position as a bishop of the church and he lived his life in Christ s imitation. (Allen, 2007) 5 / 13

6 According to the epistles, Ignatius was arrested by authorities on his way to Rome and he wrote 6 letters to the churches and another to a fellow bishop in the region. He was letter sentences to be eaten by the lions in the Colosseum in Rome. Importance of Ignatius work and the theological issues addressed in the early church. The importance and contributions of Ignatius work can be derived from the seven letters that he wrote, he wrote the letters to the Ephesians, the Magnesians, the Philadelphians, the Romans, the Smyrnaeans, the Trallians and to the Bishop of Smyrna, Polycarp. By 5 th century, the genuine collection of letters had been enlarged by false letters, and a number of the authentic letters had been altered with interpolations. The interpolations were created after the death of Ignatius with the aim of enlisting Ignatius as an unsuspecting witness of the theological disputes that existed at that time. The letters by Ignatius have demonstrated their significance in the development of the theology of Catholics because the number of present writings in the era of Ignatius with regards to the history of the church is quite small. Most of the available letters were written in a hurry and with no proper plan; such errors involve the unsystematic arrangement of thought and run on sentences. (Allen, 2007) Ignatius is among the earliest catholic writers known to stress on the importance of loyalty to one bishop in every diocese or city, these bishops according to him should be assisted by both presbyters such as deacons or elders. The earlier writings refer to either presbyters or bishops and bring out the notion that there was only a single bishop in each congregation. For example, although the offices of deacon, bishop and presbyter are seen as apostolic in their nature, the titles of presbyter and bishop could be referred to interchangeably. In a letter to Magnesians he asks the Christians to take good care of all things that are in harmony with the creator and the 6 / 13

7 bishop should be seen as presiding in God s place. He also told the Christians to respect the presbyters who act in place of the apostles council and also the deacons who entrusted with Jesus Christ s business. Ignatius also saw Christ as the father and who manifested himself at last. (Allen, 2007) The other important contribution that Ignatius made is on his teachings on the deity of Christ to the Ephesians. He wrote to the Ephesians telling that the there is only one true God, the unapproachable and unbegotten who is the lord of all, the begetter and the father of the only begotten son. The other teaching to the Christians by Ignatius is on the importance of Eucharist which he called the medicine of immorality. In a letter to the Smyrnaeans, he tells them to observe the people who have divergent views about the grace of Christ that he has given upon to them and realize how different their views are to God s mind. The do not pray or take Eucharist as they do not acknowledge that Eucharist is the body of Jesus Christ which suffered due to our sins and which was raised by the Father. He tells them that those people who refute God s gift are perishing in their arguments. In the Soteriology theology illustrate that salvation according to Ignatius is ability to face martyrdom bravely and being free from any kind of powerful fear. In his writings Ignatius graphically portrays his strong longing for a bloody martyrdom in the Colosseum. (Allen, 2007) T he other significant contribution to theology was his argument in favor of the replacement by Christianity of Sabbath with the day of the lord. He expresses this in his letter to the Magnesians, he advised the Magnesians not to be tempted by antiquated fables or strange doctrines that do not have any benefit because even if the Christians lived in the ways of Judaism, they would not receive any grace. He goes further and says that it is monstrous to practice Judaism and to talk ill of Jesus Christ, because Christianity does not believe in Judaism but Judaism believes in Christianity. Ignatius contribution is also evident as the first user of katholikos which is a Greek word 7 / 13

8 meaning whole, complete and universal in his description of the church. In his letter to the Smyrnaeans he tells them that wherever a bishop is present, the people should also be present because wherever Jesus Christ is present the Catholic Church is there. He argues that it is not illegal to give communion or baptize in the absence of a bishop, however whatever the bishop approves pleases God. Therefore whatever is done by the bishop is valid and safe. The word catholic comes from the Greek word katholikos; Ignatius used this word to depict the church. With regards to ecclesiology, Ignatius facilitated the understanding of the early church s role in salvation, where it originated from, the connection with the historical Christ and the leadership and discipline issues. Nevertheless, the study of ecclesiology has led to very diverse churches and institutions such the Lutherans, Anglicans or Catholics. For instance the ecclesiology of the Roman Catholic proposes that only the Catholic Church is the one, true, apostolic and holy church and is the only church with apostolic and divine origin. In this regard therefore the Catholic Church made up of all professing and baptized Catholics including the laity and clergy is the visible and unified community which was founded by Jesus Christ and the spiritual authority gives the hierarchy of the church through the succession of bishops and popes who has a common successor from peter. Peter is regarded to have been given the keys to heave s kingdom and therefore the pope has the responsibility over the church as a whole. Moreover the Catholic Church is viewed as the mystical body of Christ and the sacrament of salvation in that it is only Christ who can enable any person to get sanctifying grace. (Allen, 2007) Early church fathers A church father can be described as any individual who possessed holiness of life, had a certain antiquity, and taught orthodox learning and doctrine. Athanasius of Alexandria. He was the bishop of Alexandria, a Christian theologian and an Egyptian leader who is credited for his efforts in the conflict with Arianism and Arius. During the first Nicaean council, he 8 / 13

9 opposed Arius and his idea that Jesus is of a different substance and is different from God the father. Importance of Athanasius work and the theological issues addressed in the early church. The main works by Athanasius before the Arian controversy can be categorized into two part; Against the heathen that mainly attacked a number of pagan beliefs and practice and the incarnation of the word of God this part mainly concentrate on teachings on redemption. In the two books Athanasius emphasized that the Son of God, Jesus, came into this world in the human form in an attempt to guide all men back to God. The works of Athanasius deliberately attacked the principles of Arianism that proposed that the son was less significant than the father and they contributed to the development of orthodox theology. The other important works includes his letters to the Serapion that dealt with the Holy Spirit s divinity, and the life of St. Anthony that was later translated into a number of languages and was significant in the spread of ascetic views in western and eastern Christianity. The works on ascetism includes the discourse on virginity, love and self control and a treatise called on sickness and health. (Barnes, 1993) The other letters by Athanasius includes the Epictetus of Corinth, in this letter he predicts the future controversies that were bound to arise in defense of Christ s humanity. The other letter was addressed to Dracontius whose purpose was to urge him to abandon the desert and to 9 / 13

10 come back to work as a bishop. Athanasius cannot be looked at as a speculative theologian this is evident in his letters to Serapion he adhered to faith, teachings and traditions that the apostles proclaimed and was guided by the fathers. In some of his arguments from this view led to the presumption that faith should take precedence over reason. He was of the view that the son of god was in addition to being consubstantial but was indeed the Holy Spirit. This idea is very important because it later laid the foundation and influenced the principles regarding the holy trinity. (Barnes, 1993) Importance of the Arian controversy In around 319, Athanasius was the deacon; Arius who was a presbyter differed with Alexander of Alexandria. This disagreement emerged as a result of the view by Arius that Alexander was misguided and was also against the heretical teachings that Alexander taught. The theological views that Arius had appear to have been founded in the Alexandrian Christianity and his Christological concepts were not at all radical. Arius held a Christology that was subordinationist meaning that he thought that God didn t have a beginning. This view had been influenced heavily by thinkers like Origen from Alexandria and it was a common idea at the time. Powerful bishops like Eusebius of Nicomedia and Eusebius of Caesarea supported the views of Arius and this demonstrates further how much the subordinationist Christology was shared by many other Christians. Alexander then excommunicated Arius and thereafter, Arius began to draw support from other bishops who were of the same views. During the council of 326, Athanasius was chosen to succeed Alexander, and a number of schisms and heresies were denounced. Later in 340, approximately a hundred bishops held a meeting at Alexandria, and supported Athanasius. They strongly opposed the Criticisms of the Eusebian group at Tyre. In a council of 362 that was presided by Eusebius of Vercelli and Athanasius was one of the most important councils. This council was directed against the people who were against the Holy Spirit s divinity, God s divinity, and the human soul of God. Less severe measures were agreed for the apostate bishops who agreed to repent but for the chief leaders of the main heresies were subjected to severe penance. The most important and widely read work is the biography of Anthony the great; in this 10 / 13

11 biography he portrays Anthony as a holy and illiterate man who from his existence in an ancient landscape has a link with the divine truth which is similar to that of Athanasius. In later years this work became the inspiration of many Christian monastic in the West and East. John Chrysostom John was a significant early church father who was the Archbishop of Constantinople. He is famous for his eloquence in public speaking and preaching, his ascetic sensibilities and he vigorously opposed the abuse of authority by political and ecclesiastical leaders. Chrysostom was widely known by Christians as s liturgists, preacher and a theologian and specifically in the Eastern Orthodox Church. He is known outside the Christianity for his sermons which played an important role in the Christian anti-semitism history which was misused extensively by Nazis against Jews in their ideological campaigns. (Allen, 2003) Importance of Chrysostom s work and the theological issues addressed in the early church. The Sermons by John are one of his best legacies, and he is recognized by the early church as the greatest preacher. John s extant homilies are very many and include his sermons on the Old Testament especially on Genesis and New Testament especially on Saint Paul. The audience was the one which wrote the sermons and thereafter circulated them and close scrutiny reveal that the style used greatly and directly personal. Generally the homilectical theology portrays a lot of features of the Antiochian school but in addition he also uses the allegorical interpretations that were more connected with Alexandrian school. (Hartney, 2004) During the time of john the religious and social world involved the pervasive and continuing presence of paganism in the city s life. He mainly focused on culture of paganism in Constantinople and many of the sermons he was opposed to the amusements that were pagan in nature such as the revelry that surrounded holidays, horse racing and the theatre. He was greatly opposed to Christians involving in such activities in one of his sermons he said, that if 11 / 13

12 one was to ask Christians who Obadiah or Amos is or how prophets or apostles were there, they would most probably stand mute. But if you were to ask them about drivers or horses, they would answer more solemnly than rhetors or sophists. (Hartney, 2004) The most recurrent characteristic of the sermons by John is his stress on the duty of taking care of the needy. This is in line with the Gospel of Matthew; John asks the rich to stop their materialism and try to use their wealth to help the poor, occasionally using rhetorical skills in his attempt to encourage the rich to leave their conspicuous consumption. During the time of John the clergy came under constant criticism for the kind of lifestyle they lived. He was determined to transform the clergy in Constantinople. However his effort met limited success and a lot of resistance. He was an eloquent preacher and the writings and sermons of John are still in use today. Being a theologian, he is very important in Eastern Christianity and is viewed as the most famous doctor of the church or Greece but in the western Christianity he is less important. The works of Chrysostom still survive up to today as compared to the rest of the writings by Greek fathers. Reference Allen, B. (2007): Ignatius of Antioch; a martyr bishop and the origin of episcopacy. T&T Clark, New York. Allen, P. & Mayer, W. (2000): John Chrysostom. Routledge, London. Barnes, T. D. (1993): Athanasius and Constantius; Theology and Politics in the Constantinian Empire. Pg.37. HarvardUniversity Press, Cambridge. 12 / 13

13 Cross, F. L. (2005): Clement of Rome, St in The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church. OxfordUniversity Press, New York. Ehrman, B. (2006): The Followers of Jesus in History and Legend. OxfordUniversityPress, USA. Hartney, A. (2004): John Chrysostom and the Transformation of the City. Duckworth, London. 13 / 13