Highlights of Church History: Week 5 February 18, 2018 Wellford Baptist Church

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1 Highlights of Church History: Week 5 February 18, 2018 Wellford Baptist Church Main sources for this class: Gonzalez, Justo L.. The Story of Christianity: Volume 1: The Early Church to the Dawn of the Reformation. HarperCollins. Kindle Ed, Dr. Michael Wren, Lecture Notes, Church History 1, Fall 2009, New Orleans Seminary Notes for this and other weeks available online at Last week Constantine Arianism/Athanasius/Council of Nicaea This week Two more church councils Leaders at the end of the Roman Era Review June of Constantine and Licinius issue the Edict of Milan o Ended persecution of Christians o Freedom of worship for all o Granted numerous legal advantages to Christianity 325 Council of Nicaea o Father and Son homousious (same substance) o Rejected the Arian position (Jesus was a created being) o Post-Nicaea Arianism became even more the norm in churches, Athanasius the (nearly) lone holdout for Nicene orthodoxy Council of Constantinople (381) Leading up to Constantinople Constantine built a new capital in the east Constantinople on the site of Byzantium (modern day Istanbul) In the years that followed Nicaea, Arianism remained very influential. For those who maintained the Nicene position (Jesus is divine), questions arose over how to understand the two natures of Jesus (human and divine) Also, questions arose concerning the Holy Spirit o Is the Spirit a distinct person from the Father and Son, or just the expression of one or the other? o Is the Spirit a created being or just as much God as the Father and the Son? Theodosius ( ), a pro-nicene emperor, passed a law outlawing various forms of Arianism He summoned a council to convene in Constantinople in attendees all from the East A new creed An expanded version of the Nicene Creed was produced: The Son is of the same substance as the Father The distinct personhood of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit was made clear The Spirit is said to be worshiped and glorified alongside the Father and the Son The issue of how to understand/explain the divine and human natures of Christ was not settled

2 The Council or Chalcedon (451) 4 main centers of Christian leadership at the time (Antioch, Alexandria, Jerusalem, Constantinople) Rivalry developed between Antioch and Alexandria o How to interpret scripture Literary-historical (Antioch) allegory (Alexandria) o Christology how to understand the two natures of Jesus Antioch stressed the distinction of the two natures of Christ Christ couldn t be born/die/suffer/grow in his divine nature Nestorius (Antiochene) became Bishop of Constantinople in 428 o Criticized priests in Constantinople who called Mary, mother of Jesus, Theotokos (God-bearer) o To do so, he thought, confused the distinction between the divine and human natures o His criticism made it sound like he refused to ascribe divinity to Jesus or that he saw the divine and human natures as entirely separate in Jesus Cyril - Bishop of Alexandria since 412 o Wrote letters to other leaders implying that Nestorius denied the divinity of Christ o To deny the term theotokos is to imply merely that the Word assumed the flesh partially or after birth o He was afraid Nestorius was separating the divine and human in Jesus to such an extent that he ended up with two sons After several failed attempts at a resolution Emperor Marcian convened a council at Chalcedon in 451 o Nestorius was denounced as a heretic o Cyril s teachings affirmed o The creeds of Nicaea and Constantinople were affirmed o A new statement was issued The two natures without confusion, change, separation, or division The properties of each nature are preserved in one person Use of the term theotokos (God-bearer) for Mary was affirmed Key figures at the end of an era John Chrystostom ( ) - The Golden Mouthed Orator Wanted to live a monastic life Bishop of Constantinople, ordained as bishop there at the request of the Emperor, not a good fit for the privileged population there Garnered large followings in Antioch and Constantinople among the common folk Strict and devoted ascetic Outspokenly critical of the excesses of the imperial court Banished in 404 despite public outcry this was the 2 nd attempt of the Emperor to banish him, lived in exile for several years and wrote letters, banished to a more remote place and died en route (in Georgia). His legacy has survived because of his great preaching no major theological works

3 Ambrose of Milan ( ) - The Pastor-Diplomat Contributed through preaching, writing, hymn composition, and diplomacy toward the erosion of Arianism in the West Served as governor of Aemilia Liguria, headquartered in Milan, until 373 Though only a catechumen, called upon by Christians in the city to replace deceased bishop, 373 Introduced the practice of congregational singing into the Latin church, already an important part of worship among the Greeks Wrote On Duties of the Clergy, advocating clerical celibacy, self-denial with regard to food, possessions Teaching on original sin was picked up later by Augustine Very influencial with several Emperors Jerome (Hieronymous, ) - Scholar and Ascetic From Northern Italy, he made his mark as a scholar and ascetic in Rome before moving to Bethlehem and founding a monastery Commissioned to produce an improved Latin translation of the Bible, the Vulgate Translated the Gospels and Psalms from Greek, and then translated the entire OT from Hebrew Finest Hebrew language scholar in the early church Strongly promoted celibacy and extolled the virtue of virginity o Promoted the view that Jesus brothers were those of Joseph from a previous marriage, thus lending credence to the perpetual virginity of Mary o Opposed the more moderate views of Augustine, who articulated an important place for marriage Augustine of Hippo ( ) Born in Thagaste, North Africa mother (Monica) was a strong Christian, father a pagan until late in life Educated in Carthage. Became a successful teacher of rhetoric, the art of composition and speaking Taught in Carthage, Rome, and Milan Took a concubine while in Carthage; lived with her 17 years; had a son Conversion Embraced Manicheism while in Carthage o Manicheism originated in Persia and had numerous similarities with Greek Gnosticism o Never became more than a hearer ; Manicheism s inconsistencies always troubled him While teaching in Milan, the capitol, Monica persuaded him to listen to the preaching of Ambrose Experienced a dramatic conversion in 386, followed by the conversion of his sons and several friends Resolved to return to Africa to establish a commune for Christian study; lost his mother before departing Settled at his family home, intending to live the life of a secluded Christian philosopher Forcefully ordained a priest while visiting a friend in Hippo in 391. Named Bishop in waiting in 396 Remained in Hippo until his death By his death, he would be known as the most prolific author of the early church

4 The Confessions Serves as an autobiography of Augustine from his early years through his conversion and into the first few years afterward Written as a prayer to God Contains searching psychological analysis, deep theological and spiritual reflection, and searching philosophical speculation First nine books explore Augustine s life; last four books speculate on time and eternity Other Important Writings On the Trinity o Finest work on the Trinity in the Latin church On Christian Teaching (De Doctrina Christiana) o Deals with rules of interpretation--dealing with literal and figurative language o Deals with rules for presentation A low style for bare instruction, a mixed style for mild exhortation, a high style for motivational speaking The City of God o Motivated by the Visigoth s (Germanic tribe) sack of Rome in 410 o Pagan leaders blamed Christianity for the decline and fall of Rome o Written between 413 and 426 Answers the arguments of pagan critics Reveals the weakness and emptiness of paganism Provides a sweeping analysis of Christianity s place in the world Lays out a theology of history, an explanation of how God is working in history to accomplish His purposes He does this by distinguishing two cities in world history--the City of God and the City of Man Pelagism Pelagius, influential in Rome from the 380s until his departure after Rome was sacked Pelagius was deeply concerned with the foundation of the moral life Celebrated for his Letter to Demetrias encouraging asceticism o Thought Augustine s statement in Book 10 of the Confessions troubling: Give what you command; command what you will (the virtuous things we do are God s work, not ours) o Convinced that sin and virtue must be the result of willed intention Taught that sin does not stem from any inherited trait, but is learned behavior denied original sin. o Adam was created mortal; Adam & Eve s sin affected only themselves not future generations o Law & gospel both provided examples to avoid sin Christ s death served as the supreme example He was merely a great moral teacher Augustine s Response to Pelagianism Augustine responded with a very different understanding of anthropology, the nature of man o Asserted that all are held guilty because of Adam s sin o Though humans are free, the only freedom remaining to them is freedom to sin Augustine also articulated a very different understanding of grace o Divine grace renews the sinner, not the sinner s own will and capacity o This comes at God s initiative, the result of God s own sovereign choice o The individual responds willingly to the grace of God which is displayed o Divine grace will enable the individual to persevere

5 Against Pelagius--A Summary In his theology of grace, Augustine articulated: o Original guilt o The bondage of the will to sin o A different understanding of human freedom o The primacy of grace in salvation o Unconditional election of some individuals to salvation o The perseverance of believers in grace by the power of God o Those who are not called are nonetheless without excuse A Resolution to His Views on Grace These debates were settled by the Second Council of Orange (529), presided over by Caesarius of Arles o The council upheld the Augustinian position on original sin o Upheld the primacy of grace in regenerating the will and leading individuals toward sanctification o Denied the semi-pelagian position (that though humans are fallen because of sin, the will is still able to lay hold of God) o Denied predestination to evil, or reprobation Important Moral Teachings and Spirituality Established a monastic community in Hippo o The medieval Augustinian order had its start here Articulated moderate views of marriage and sexuality o Humans lost control of sexuality in the Fall o Nevertheless sexuality was originally created good o Marriage had a legitimate place in the Christian life, though asceticism also had an important place o Procreation one of the primary purposes of marriage o Understood original sin to be passed to the next generation at conception Leo I (the Great, ) For Such a Time as This Leo emerged as an important and effective leader at a critical time o In the wake of the power vacuum in Italy, Leo became an important advocate for the city of Rome o He successfully persuaded Vandal forces to restrain themselves when pillaging Rome (455) o Thought to have played a role in persuading Attila the Hun to show leniency toward Rome o Played a major role in resolving the Christological controversy at Chalcedon His legacy as an important spiritual and political figure was built upon by some medieval popes

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