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Constantine the Great and the Early Church Developments

Explore the reign of Emperor Constantine and the significant developments within the early Christian Church, including the Council of Nicea and the emergence of heresies. Learn about the influential figures of Saint Athanasios and Saint Antony the Great.

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Constantine the Great and the Early Church Developments

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  1. X X X X Defeats Licinius in 324 Constantine Consolidates the Roman Empire Western Empire Eastern Empire Maximian (286-305) Diocletian (286-305) Constantius I (305-306) Galerius (305-310) X Constantine (306-313) Licinius (308-313) X X Maxentius (306-312) Maximinus (310-313)

  2. Emperor Constantine (307-337)

  3. Emperor Constantine (307-337) 1. Built ‘New Rome’ in 6 years, dedicating it on May 11, 330. 2. Never placed himself under Christian teachers or bishops, considering himself the bishop of bishops. 3. Sought the good will of the Christian God while maintaining good relations with observers of ancient religions. 4. Baptized on his deathbed in 337.

  4. Developments within the Church: ~320 AD 1. Many churches being built throughout the Empire, using the basilica format. 2. Incense in routine use and clerical garments standardized. 3. Processionals and choirs introduced. 4. Relics of saints routinely venerated. 5. Helena travels to Jerusalem, finds cross, and distributes pieces throughout the Empire.

  5. Arius at the Council of Nicea (325): “The uncreated God has made the Son. A beginning of things created, and by adoption has God made the Son into an advancement of Himself. Yet the Son’s substance is removed from the Father, and the Son is the teacher of all His mysteries. The members of the Holy Trinity share unequal glories.” Arius the Arrogant

  6. Conclusions of the Council of Nicea: 1. Christ is Very God of Very God. 2. Christ is of one substance with the Father. 3. Christ was begotten, not made. 4. Christ became human for man’s salvation. A. passed the first canons, defining Church structure. B. called for regular provincial councils of bishops. C. recognized Alexandria, Rome and Antioch as jurisdictions (i.e. patriarchates).

  7. 325: The heresy of Eusebianism 1. Semi-Arianism or ‘binitarianism’ started by Eusebius of Nicomedia, in response to the Council of Nicea. 2. Supported by Basil of Ancyra and Gregory of Laodicea, close associates of Basil the Great until this. 3. Christ is similar in essence to the Father, but subordinate. 4. The Son was always with the Father. 5. The Holy Spirit is not a godhead. - Condemned by a council in Constantinople in 360. - Constantine made Eusebius bishop of Constantinople (328), precipitating Athanasios’s first exile, to Trier in Germany.

  8. 330: The heresy of Encratitism, ‘abstainers’: - appeared especially among monastic communities 1. No meat or wine. 2. No marriage. 3. Paul’s epistles are not acknowledged. 4. Woman is the work of Satan. 5. Natural secretions of the body are sinful. - Edict of Theodosius (382) pronounced a death sentence upon them.

  9. Saint Antony the Great (251-356) Saint Athanasios the Great (295-373) -Council of Nicea as deacon -Bishop of Alexandria in 328, exiled by Arians to Germany -exiled 5 times during life! -’black dwarf’, ‘Defender of the Faith’, ‘Father of Orthodoxy’, Athanasios contra atundum’ -separation of Church and state -strong proponent of monasticism -biography of Antony, On the Incarnation, etc -New Testament canon (Paschal letter of 367) -father of heremetic monasticism -associated with Athanasios - 7 letters to monastic communities - prototype of a spiritual guide (geron, starets, abba)

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