The Arian Controversy

Transcription

1 1 Sunday, December 26, 2010 Grace Life Schl f Thelgy Church Histry: A Tale f Tw Churches Lessn 15 The Age f Christian Empire: The First Cuncil f Nicea (325) The Arian Cntrversy Very sn after the utward peace f the church had been secured by the Edict f Milan, was it was distracted by internal divisins. (Miller, 233) Heresies similar in nature t that f Arius, had appeared in the church befre her cnnectin with the State, but their influence seldm extended beynd the regin and perid f their birth. After sme nisy debates and angry wrds were discharged, the heresy fell int dishnr, and was sn almst frgtten. (Miller, 234) This all changed after the Edict f Milan. Cnstantine sat upn the thrne f the knwn wrld and assumed t be the head f the Church. As such He impsed rder, and sught t define the precise tenants f the religin he had legalized. (Miller, 234) Cnsequently, when the Arian cntrversy emerged it did nt just affect Nrth Africa but Christians acrss the entire empire. Aryanism fund its rigins in Alexandra, Egypt which we have already seen was a htbed f metaphysical questining and philsphical speculatin. After freely asserting the dctrine f the trinity, Alexander, the bishp f Alexandria was questined by Arius ne f his presbyters n the grunds that it cntained errrs that had already been cndemned by the church. (Miller, 235) Prpelled by the emerging cntrversy, Arius stated his wn views n the Trinity; which were substantially the denial f the Savir s Gdhead. Arius maintained that Christ was nly the first and nblest f thse created beings whm Gd the father frmed ut f nthing, that thugh immeasurably superir in pwer and in glry t the highest created beings, He is inferir in bth t the father. In additin, Arius believed that Christ was the image f the Father, and the vice-regent f the divine pwer by whm He made the wrlds. (Miller, 235) In defending his psitin t anther bishps Arius wrte, The Sn has a beginning, but,... Gd is withut beginning. (Shelley, 100) Arius s views were all the mre ppular because he cmbined an elquent preaching style with a flair fr public relatins. In the pening stages f the cnflict, he put ideas int jingles, which set t simple tunes acted like a radi cmmercial... (Shelley, 101) Over time the dissentin became s sharp that an appeal was made t the emperr. Cnstantine s initial reactin was t cnsider this dispute as utterly trifling and unimprtant (He prbably did nt care whether r nt Jesus was Gd). Cnstantine set a letter encuraging the men nt t engage in idle disputes but t seek peace with each ther. Hsius, bishp f Crdva, is believed t have drafted the letter and delivered it t Alexander and Arius as the fficial representative f the emperr. Hsius fund that the dispute had becme s severe that bth parties refused t listen t the bishp despite bearing imperial authrity. (Miller, ) Arund 320, Alexander excmmunicated Arius frm the church in Alexandria. Arius in turn lked t Eusebius, Bishp f Nicmedia fr supprt and wn his backing. As a Pastr Bryan Rss

2 2 result, this thelgical quibble tested the strength f the tw mst pwerful churches in the Eastern Empire: Nicmdia the plitical center, and Alexandria the intellectual center. Cnstantine wuld be frced t act decisively t quench the grwing cntrversy that was threatening t tear the Eastern prtin f his empire apart. (Shelley, 101) Jnathan Hill, authr f Zndervan Handbk t the Histry f Christianity, represents the typical view f church histrians when we writes that the reasn fr all the dctrinal cnfusin was that,... n mechanism fr making dctrines fficial had yet develped. (Hill, 80) The Cuncil Meets The idea fr the cuncil did nt cme frm the bishps. Rather, they had been summned by the great Rman emperr Cnstantine. After such a summns and after dealing with such an issue, the church wuld never be the same. (Nll, 48) Parallel develpments led t the cuncil f Nicea. On the ne side was the church s nging effrt t define the nature f Christ and the character f this wrk (the Arian Cntrversy). On the ther was the rise t pwer f an emperr friendly t the church. (Nll, 48) Cnstantine inserted himself int the dctrinal debate fr tw reasns which he explains in a letter utlining why he called the fr a cuncil t meet at Nicea: My design then was, first, the bring the diverse judgments fund by all natins respecting the Deity t a cnditin, as it were, f settle unifrmity (that is, t clarify dctrine fr the sake f the church); and secnd, t restre a healthy tne t the system f the wrld, then suffering under the pwer f grievus disease (that is, t end religius strife fr the sake f the empire). (Nll, 51) The majrity f the bishps present at the cuncil were frm the Eastern prtin f the Empire. On July 4, 325 AD, three hundred bishps arrived in Nicea with tw thusand elders and deacns. (Jnes, 39) Sme f the mre the prminent nes included: Athanasius the assistant t Bishp Alexander f Alexandria, wh devted his life t defending the dctrines determined by the cuncil. Tw presbyters dispatched frm Sylvester, bishp f Rme Bishp f Carthage (Nrth Africa) A bishp frm Gaul Fur bishps with Jewish names frm Perisa. (Nll, 51) Cnstantine having declared himself a bishp and an apstle called the meeting t rder. (Jnes, 39) Presiding ver the early sessins, he appeared as a glittering figure in his imperial rbes, which were n lnger the austere purple garment wrn by the emperr in Rme but were the jewel-encrusted, multiclred vestments. (Shelley, 101) Addressing the churchmen, Cnstantine tld them that divisin in the church was wrse then war (Shelley, 101) and exhrted them f the imprtance f peace and unin. (Miller, 240) Present fr the majrity f the meetings ver a tw mnth perid, the emperr listened t the debate and cnversed freely with the varius bishps. (Miller, 240) Pastr Bryan Rss

3 3 Early n the churchmen were split int three factins: ne supprted Arius, a secnd renunced his teachings, the third grup did nt even understand his psitins but desired peace. Once it was made knwn that Arius believed that Christ had been created instead f having existed eternally the firewrks began. (Jnes, 39) Nearly everyne agreed that they shuld cndemn Arius. (Jnes, 39) The cuncil s key assertins were as fllws: Christ was very Gd f very Gd: Jesus himself was Gd in the same sense in which the Father was Gd. Differentiatin between Father and Sn may refer t the respective tasks each tk n r t the relatinship in which each stand t the ther. But the key matter is that the Father, Sn, and Hly Spirit are all truly Gd. Christ was f ne substance with the Father: Jhn 10:30 Christ was begtten, nt made: That is Jesus was never frmed as all ther things and persns had been created but was frm eternity the Sn f Gd. Christ became human fr us and fr ur salvatin: Christ culd nt have brught salvatin t his peple if Christ were nly a creature. Humanity culd nt pull itself up t Gd. Salvatin was f Gd. (Nll, 58) In additin, the cuncil mved t summarize their rulings in a binding creedal statement that eventually became knwn as the Nicene Creed. Arius lgic cntinued t hld sway ver sme, resulting in refusal t adpt the Creed. Finally, the First Cuncil f Cnstantinple in 381, called by Emperr Tehedsius, reaffirmed the decisin f 325 alng with minr revisins and additins. (Nll, 58) First Cuncil f Nicea (325) First Cuncil f Cnstantinple (381) We believe in ne Gd, the Father We believe in ne Gd, the Father Almighty, Maker f all things visible and Almighty, Maker f heaven and earth, and invisible. f all things visible and invisible. And in ne Lrd Jesus Christ, the Sn f Gd, begtten f the Father [the nlybegtten; that is, f the essence f the Father, Gd f Gd], Light f Light, very Gd f very Gd, begtten, nt made, being f ne substance with the Father; By whm all things were made [bth in heaven and n earth]; Wh fr us men, and fr ur salvatin, came dwn and was incarnate and was made man; He suffered, and the third day he rse again, ascended int heaven; And in ne Lrd Jesus Christ, the nlybegtten Sn f Gd, begtten f the Father befre all wrlds (æns), Light f Light, very Gd f very Gd, begtten, nt made, being f ne substance with the Father; by whm all things were made; wh fr us men, and fr ur salvatin, came dwn frm heaven, and was incarnate by the Hly Ghst f the Virgin Mary, and was made man; he was crucified fr us under Pntius Pilate, and suffered, and was buried, and the third day he rse again, accrding t Pastr Bryan Rss

4 4 Frm thence he shall cme t judge the quick and the dead. And in the Hly Ghst. [But thse wh say: 'There was a time when he was nt;' and 'He was nt befre he was made;' and 'He was made ut f nthing,' r 'He is f anther substance' r 'essence,' r 'The Sn f Gd is created,' r 'changeable,' r 'alterable' they are cndemned by the hly cathlic and apstlic Church.] the Scriptures, and ascended int heaven, and sitteth n the right hand f the Father; frm thence he shall cme again, with glry, t judge the quick and the dead; whse kingdm shall have n end. And in the Hly Ghst, the Lrd and Giver f life, wh prceedeth frm the Father, wh with the Father and the Sn tgether is wrshiped and glrified, wh spake by the prphets. In ne hly cathlic and apstlic Church; we acknwledge ne baptism fr the remissin f sins; we lk fr the resurrectin f the dead, and the life f the wrld t cme. Amen. Of the 300 bishps present, nly tw in additin t Arius refused t sign the creed thereby resulting in their banishment frm the church as well as imperial exile. Tw years later, in 327 favring peace ver truth, Cnstantine tried t reinstate Arius. He was ppsed by then Bishp Athanasius f Alexandria n the grunds that Arius still did nt believe in the deity f Christ. (Jnes, 40) Althugh the decisin reached was right, the way f reaching it by the cmbined effrts f the Emperr and the bishps and enfrcing it by the pwer f the State, shwed the departure f the Cathlic Church frm Scripture. (Bradbent, 44) Impact f the First Cuncil f Nicea upn the Church In a sense Cnstantine was a genius. He established cmpeting authrities (Arius and Athanasius) amng the bishps t keep cntrl ver them. What Cnstantine needed was an fficial religius bdy f authrities under him wh wanted t enfrce their belief; then, if he sided with their religius beliefs, he culd enfrce his plitical beliefs. The main issue never was truth but pwer and authrity. The Cuncil f Nicea set Bible believers up t butchered by erecting a final authrity fr the Christian apart frm Gd s wrd. Cnsequently, 325 marks the end f New Testament Biblical Christianity as fund in the New Testament. Frm here n any assembly taking Biblical paths wuld have t withstand an Imperial Church State in rder t maintain the purity and integrity f its cngregatin. Pastr Bryan Rss

5 5 While these bickering thelgians (representing less than ne sixth f the preaching and teaching bishps) were establishing rthdxy, their lcal churches were accepting and practicing in candle lighting, prayers fr the dead, kissing pieces f wd and clthing, sprinkling hly water, and pretending t drink literal bld. Every ne f these pagan superstitins came frm rejecting the authrity f the bible and replacing it with sme ther authrity. The three cmpeting authrities fr the wrd f Gd which prduced this mess are identified in the wrd f Gd: Science I Timthy 6:20 Traditin Clssians 2:8 Philsphy Clssians 2:8 After Nicea final authrity is vested in the cuncils and s its is t this day, the Rman Cathlic Church places the creeds f these cuncils n an equal fting with inspired Scripture. The Cathlic Church was nw psitined t be the final authrity fr the next 1,000 years. The General Cuncils f the Church and the Develpment f Cathlicism Like Nicea, many f these cuncils were nt reprehensive f the entire bdy f Christ. Smetimes majr prtins f the church were nly sparely represented. The first eight cuncils were cnvened by emperrs and that last thirteen by ppes. (Geisler, 704) Christendm is divided ver the number and nature f the ecumenical church cuncils. Rman Cathlics accept twenty-ne ecumenical cuncils; the Eastern Orthdx accept the authrity f the first seven; Prtestant reject the authrity f all but the first fur; and many Free Churches d nt accept any church cuncil as authritative, thugh they cncur generally with Prtestants n the majr dctrines stated in the first fur cuncils. (Geisler, 705) A ttal f five cuncils (cunting Nicea) cnvened during The Age f Christian Empire. Please cnsider the fllwing summary f these meetings: The First Cuncil f Nicea (325) in additin t discussing the Arian Cntrversy the cuncil als adpted the fllwing Cann laws. Bishps culd nly be appinted by ther bishps (Can. 4) Excmmunicatin is t be dne by a bishp (Can. 5) Bishps have jurisdictin ver their wn gegraphical areas (Can. 6) The First Cuncil f Cnstantinple (381) cnvened by Emperr Thedsius I t unite the church. It reaffirmed the Nicene Creed, prclaimed the deity f the Hly Spirit, and united the Eastern Church (which had been divided ver the Arian Cntrversy). The Cuncil f Ephesus (431) cndemned Nestrianism (which affirmed tw natures and tw persns in Chirst). Since Christ is ne persn with tw natures, the cuncil cncluded that Mary was truly the mther f Gd, i.e., the Gdbearer, the ne wh gave birth t the persn (Jesus) wh is Gd and man. Pastr Bryan Rss

6 6 The Cuncil f Chalcedn (454) called by Emperr Marcian t deal with the Mnsphysite heresy that merged the tw nature f Christ, making a lgically incherent cmbinatin f an infinite/finite nature. The presence f Archbishp (bishp ver bishps) Le I represented a new state in the develpment f the Rman Episcpal hierarchy that wuld eventually culminate in the infallibility f the Vatican. The Secnd Cuncil f Cnstantinple (553) rganized by Emperr Justinian I this cuncil issued 14 anathemas, the 11 th f which included Origen. The cuncil cndemned the fllwing heresies: Ariniams, Nestrinains, eutychianism, mmnphysitims, and adptinism. Mrever, the perpetual virginity f Mary was affirmed being called the ever-virgin Mary, the Mther f Gd. (Geisler, ) Many churches in Christendm deny the authrity f any cuncil, thugh they agree with individual statements by them, particularly in the early nes. These churches insist strngly that nly the Bible has binding authrity, that all creeds and cnfessins are manmade, and, thus, that n authrity is attached t any church cuncil, whether lcal r s-called universal... all thrdx Christians, Cathlic and nn-cathlic, agree with the basic dctrines affirmed in the earlier s-called ecumenical cuncils, such as the Trinity, the Virgin Birth, Christ s deity, and Christ s hypstatic unin (tw natures in ne persn). The main pint f the free-church view is simply that, whatever in them may be true, there is n authrity, either divine r ecclesiastical, t the creedal and cnciliar prnuncements. (Geisler, 716) Wrks Cited Bradbent, E.H. The Pilgrim Church. Grand Rapids, MI: Gspel Fli Press, Geisler, Nrman. Systematic Thelgy: Vlume Fur. Minneaplis, MN: Bethany Huse Publishers, Hill, Jhnathan. Handbk t the Histry f Christianity. Grand Rapids, MI: Zndervan, Jnes, Timthy Paul. Christian Histry Made Easy. Trrance, CA: Rse Publishing, Miller, Andrew. Miller s Church Histry. Adisn, IL: Bible Truth Publicatins, Nll, Mark A. Turning Pints: Decisive Mments in the Histry f Christianity. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Bks, Shelly, Bruce. Church Histry in Plan Language. Dallas, TX: Wrd Publishing, Pastr Bryan Rss