Unit I: Church Beginnings

1. Unit I: Church Beginnings Jesus of Nazareth Apostles & Missionaries Church Growth & Persecution The Gospels Belief

2. Unit 1: Church Beginnings • Jesus of Nazareth, Founder • The first Christian communities wished to carry on Jesus’ ministry of healing the sick, feeding the hungry,and preaching about the Kingdom of God. • They announced his resurrection from the dead as displayed through the power of God. • Discussion point: Did the Christian movement begin quietly or with a “bang”?

3. Life and Teaching of Jesus (a)Biographical data: • Jesus was born into a common Jewish family. • Occupation: Carpenter • He was circumcised; he was taught in the law and tradition of the synagogue. • Learned in Hebrew and Greek; spoke Aramaic. • He started his preaching ministry at the age of 30. • With his ministry he got into trouble with the temple and leadership, and subsequently with the Roman authorities.

5. He was charged with inciting political turmoil and executed as a common criminal since he was not a Roman citizen. • Pilate, the Roman governor, gave the orders for his execution. Pilate was the fifth Roman governor sent by Rome to rule the province of Judaea. • Resurrected three days later, appearing to a number of individuals. • “Ascended into heaven” (went from the physical to the spiritual realm) in front of several witnesses a few weeks later.

6. (b) Kingdom of God • Followers taught the “Good News”: A spiritual message specifically designed for the poor and oppressed society dominated by religious and political authorities. • Their message was supported by messianic prophecies from the Jewish sacred writings. • This new religion emphasized the purity of the heart, not outward religious acts. • They stressed a difference between the Law and the holiness beyond the law. • Central creed: Love your neighbour as yourself.

7. Death and Resurrection • Jesus was raised from the dead, as the Jewish scriptures foretold, thus fulfilling God’s plan for salvation of the human race. • Because of Jesus’ demonstration of his power over death, life took on new meaning; that is, life here on earth was considered transient. • Our new home was now with God in heaven. Expressed by the maxim: Do not lay up treasures for yourself on this earth.

8. B. Apostles & Missionaries • The Gospel was designed for all people, not only for the Jews. • Jesus sent the Holy Spirit (another manifestation of God as Jesus was) on his followers and annointed them with many languages for this purpose at the Pentecost event. • The Pentecost inspired the church to flourish throughout the known world.

9. Peter, Stephen, and Philip • Some of the most renowned apostles who carried the message of Christ, especially to the Jews. • They performed miracles, bringing thousands of people into a community of sharing and cooperation (Acts 2:42-47). • Keeping the poor in mind was a top priority.

10. Apostle Paul • Other than Christ, the most important historical figure in early Christianity. • Initially, was a foremost persecutor of the Christian sect; he viewed Christianity as a heresy to Jewish faith and tradition. • Had a “conversion” experience where he became a Christian. • Paul became the Apostle to the Gentiles (non-Jews). • He became the dominant writer of the New Testament. • Through his missionary zeal, the church spread rapidly through a peaceful Roman Empire, especially after Jerusalem was eradicated.

11. C. Church Growth and Persecution(33 – 70 A.D.) • Jerusalem Church • Center and beginning of the church. • Decisions about the focus and content of the church’s message took place here; controversies were evident. (Gal. 2:8-10)

12. Gentile Churches Established • Antioch was the first place where this radical Jewish sect became known as Christians. • Alexandria, Rome, Ephesus, and Corinth became centres of Christianity. • Paul’s journeys with other apostles raised concerns from the Jerusalem church, as he was teaching gentiles not to follow Jewish law.

13. Persecution Under Emperor Nero (64 A.D.) • Violent attacks by the authorities and citizenry began against Christians, especially in Rome. • Why? • Christians refused to offer sacrifices or respect Roman gods. • Refused to worship the Roman emperor. • Refused to serve in the Roman military. • Turmoil and corruption under Nero foreshadows the beginning of the end of the Roman Empire.

15. Jerusalem Sacked (70 A.D.) • Jewish uprising against Rome ends in total destruction of the state of Israel and its capital. • Jewish Christians in Jerusalem flee the conflict. • As a result, Jews become disaffected with Christians. This, in part, becomes the catalyst for Christianity to transform itself from a Jewish sect to an established religion.

17. D. The Gospels • The Gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke were written between 70 and 100 A.D. (Matt. probably prior to the sacking of Jerusalem.) The Gospel of John was written near the turn of the century; the Book of Revelation was written sometime prior to the Gospel. The Book of Acts was written immediately following the Gospel of Luke. • The New Testament was written in the vernacular Greek, an Alexandrian dialect, called koine. • This language was spoken, or at least understood, by all the educated inhabitants of the Eastern and Western parts of the Roman Empire. • It was the language of all the cultured people of that time. • The Evangelists wrote in Greek rather than in Hebrew, in which the books of the Old Testament were written, in order to make the New Testament books accessible to a maximum number of people. Information obtained from Missionary Leaflet 27E by Bishop Alexander

18. 1. The Gospels Continued... • The present separations of chapters was introduced by Cardinal Hugo in the 13th century (1200’s), and the separation into verse was done by the Parisian typographer Robert Stephen in the 16th century (1500’s). • Besides the four Gospels, there were up to 50 other similar writings during the first centuries which referred to themselves also as “gospels” and claimed to be of Apostolic origin. • The Church designated these as apocryphal — that is, non-credible, repudiated books. These books contain distorted and dubious narratives. • Such apocryphal gospels include: “the first gospel of Jacob,” “the story of Joseph the carpenter,” “the gospel of Thomas,” “the gospel of Nicodemus,” and others. • In these “gospels” one finds most of the oldest legends relating the childhood and youth of Jesus Christ.

19. E. Belief 1. Apostolic Fathers (100 – 150) • St. Clement of Rome, St. Ignatius of Antioch, and St. Polycarp of Smyrna, are considered among the most important, as they had personal relationships with some of the Apostles.

20. Clement, Bishop of Rome and third successor of St. Peter in the Papacy, "had seen the blessed Apostles [Peter and Paul] and had been conversant with them" (Irenaeus, Adv. Haer., III, iii, 3). • Ignatius was the second successor of St. Peter in the See of Antioch (papal throne) (Eusebius, Hist. Eccl., III, 36) and during his life, in that centre of Christianactivity, may have met with others of the Apostolic band.

21. Polycarp was "instructed by Apostles" (Irenaeus, op. cit., III, iii, 4) and had been a disciple of St. John (Eusebius, op. cit., III, 36; V, 20) whose contemporary he was for nearly twenty years. • The writings of the Apostolic Fathers were written, for the greater part, not for the purpose of instructing Christiansat large, but for the guidance of individuals or local churches in some passing need, similar to the letters of St. Paul in the New Testament. Mr. Peters (c) 2001 Revised 2008

22. Though the New Testament canon was not yetdefinitively fixed, it is significant that with the exception of the Third Epistle of St. John and possibly that of St. Paul to Philemon, every book of the New Testament is quoted or alluded to more or less clearly by one or another of the Apostolic Fathers, while the citations from the "apocrypha" are extremely rare. • The Canon itself (the Bible) was not fixed until the 4th Century. • The primary heresy the Church Fathers had to combat was the teaching of the Docetists, which claimed that Jesus was not human, but rather fully God. Mr. Peters (c) 2001 Revised 2008

23. The Church Fathers began to articulate such beliefs as Baptism, the Eucharist (Communion), and Penance, as necessities of the Christian life.

24. Belief Continued … 2. Church Fathers (150 – 250) a. Iranaeus, Tertullian, Origen, and Clement foremost. • Defended the Church against heresies. • Influenced by Greek thought and philosophy. b. Defended and defined true doctrine – “belief.” c. Marcion: The first great heretic; often disputed with Irenaeus. He was a popular bishop who said that Jesus was not truly human. d. Development of the Canon • Writings that were believed to be written by the Apostles were given more authority. • Established by general consensus among Christian believers.

26. Belief Continued … e. Development of the Creeds • Established by councils and Bishops. • The purpose of the Creeds were to stamp out heresies. • Nicene Creed 325 A.D. • St. Augustine’s writings 354 – 430 A.D. • Athanasian Creed (Approx. early 5th C.) • Apostles’ Creed c. 500 A.D.