Introduction to Select Lectures in Church History

1. Introduction to Select Lectures in Church History 21 February 2007 Ann T. Orlando

2. Introduction to Class • Introductory remarks • Importance of Church History for me • Review Syllabus • Requirements • Structure of course • Course Web Site • Primary sources • Where are they? • How to read them • Periods of Church History • Background to Ignatius of Antioch

3. Importance of Church History(or why I love Church History) • Gives me the context for the theological answers that have been developed and taught by the Church • Often, can’t appreciate the answer without knowing the question • Example: Jesus Christ whom we confess as one person with two natures • Gives me an appreciation for importance of Catholic Church in Western civilization • Gives the examples of holy men and women for me to follow

4. Requirements • Class attendance and active participation. • Each class will consist of two parts; • Reading of one page papers and discussion by class • Lecture • The 1 page paper every week; should focus on the primary source readings. • The paper should start with a one sentence thesis statement, followed by supporting arguments that answers the paper topic question.

5. Structure for Each Class Period • One page paper will be read by class-member; followed by class discussion of readings • Break • I will lecture on what the readings cover for the coming week • I will review readings for coming week • Primary Sources and CCC NEXT week • See syllabus for example

6. Texts for Class • Augustine, Confessions, trans. Chadwick • Handouts or web accessible readings • Ignatius of Antioch • Benedict of Nursia • Thomas Aquinas • Martin Luther and Ignatius Loyola • CCC

7. Primary Sources • Different, multiple sources each week; should be focus of papers • Reference ancient works using Book/Chapter/Paragraph numbering (e.g., Luke 1:1-4) • Read everything critically • What issues is author addressing; how important is the historical circumstance to those issues • Who is the audience • What is genre of the work (homily, thesis, poem, letter, Biblical commentary) • Caution using Web Resources • Anybody can put anything on the web and claim that it is ‘authoritative’ • Many ancient works, especially early Church Fathers, are available, but in older translations • Maintenance of a web resource is still on an individual basis; no guarantee that information will be well maintained

8. What this class is NOT • This is not a class in Church History • Not a systematic study of the major strands in Church History • Not an analysis of historical developments; each lecture self-contained.

9. So, What is it? • Reading a few important, classic works in Church History • Historical background of the reading will be discussed • Historical and theological significance of the reading will be emphasized • Importance of reading will be emphasized through use of the CCC

10. Terminology: Periods of Church History • Patristic: 100 ~ 700 • Rise and Fall (in West) of Roman Empire • Ignatius of Antioch, Augustine • Early Medieval: 400 ~ 1000 • Rise of Islam, Rise of Europe • Augustine, Benedict of Nursia • High Middle Ages: 1000 ~ 1300 • Crusades, Popes and Kings, Rise of Universities • Thomas Aquinas • Late Middle Ages and Reformation: 1300 ~ 1600 • Fracturing of Christendom in West; Fall of Roman Empire in East • Martin Luther and Ignatius Loyola • Beginning of Modernity and the Enlightenment: 1600 ~ ?? • Separation of Church and State • Rise of science, decline of faith

11. Background to Ignatius of Antioch • Height of Roman Empire • Early developments in Christianity • Martyrs • Early heresies

12. Rome • Traditional founding date of 753 BC • Started as a Republic ruled by Senate • Punic Wars, conquers and destroys Carthage 202 BC • Maccabees ask Rome for help against Seleucids 160 BC • Julius Caesar conquers Gaul 80 BC • Augustus defeats Anthony and Cleopatra (last Ptolemy ruler of Egypt) at Actium in 31 BC; Roman Empire established • Roman Empire existed in some form between 31 BC and 1453 AD

13. Second CenturyRoman Emperors • The Five ‘Good’ Emperors: The Antonines (98-180) • Nerva, Trajan, Hadrian, Antoninus Pius, Marcus Aurelius • Good because the Empire prospered with excellent government • Until Marcus Aurelius, each Emperor adopted a suitable successor rather than relying on a son • But not so good for Christians; continued practice of sporadic persecution • Also not so good for Judaism; Trajan and Hadrian both pursued wars against Jews

14. Map of Roman Empirefsmitha.com/h1/map18rm.htm

15. Roman Society • Roman religion was a public, civic obligation; • NOT a way to have a personal relationship with Divine • ‘mystery religions’ became very popular in 1st through 3rd Century Roman Society (Cults of Mithra; Isis and Osiris; Dionysius) • Anyone who did not offer sacrifice for the good of the state was considered an atheist • Roman Emperor increasingly was a general who was ‘adopted’ by current Emperor (Augustus). • Cult of Roman Emperor as god in his lifetime was started by Nero • Roman household was composed of patron (father) and clients (wife, children, slaves, business associates dependent upon him) • Father had complete control of clients • Adoption was very common • Owning property was far more prestigious than commerce • Excellent road and mail system throughout the Empire • Note that the most Latin (least Greek) part of the Empire was North Africa

16. Development of Rabbinic Judaism • During the First War with Rome 66-73 AD, the Sadducees, Essenes and Zealots were destroyed • Destruction of Temple in 70 • In 117 AD the Emperor Trajan destroyed the Hellenistic Jewish community in Alexandria; after this the Greek (or Hellenistic) Jews seemingly either converted to Christianity or rabbinic Judaism • Second Palestinian War, Bar Kochba rebellion, 132-135; after this war, Romans did not allow Jews into Jerusalem • The Pharisees were the group out of which rabbinic Judaism grew in the 2cd and 3rd C CE. They reestablished contact with the Mesopotamian Jews and their theology; rejected use of Greek philosophy and parts of the OT written in Greek, not Hebrew • Hellenistic (Greek) Jewish theology was taken over, preserved and used by early Christian theologians, especially in Alexandria

17. ChristianityEnd of First Century • Christianity spread through missionary activities to urban centers, especially with large Diaspora Jewish populations • Remember, when Paul writes Romans, he is writing to a predominantly Jewish Christian community that he did not found; he writes to introduce himself and his theology to Christians already in Roman • Christianity appeared to most outsiders (and some who considered themselves Christian) like another form of Judaism • Nero used Christians as scapegoats for fire in 64 AD • Jewish Christian community was small • Execution of Peter and Paul probably took place during this time • Rome quickly became the ‘capital’ city of Christianity • Place where Peter and Paul died • Capital of Empire • “No one” left in Jerusalem

18. ChristianitySecond Century • Further distancing from Judaism • Example: when to celebrate Easter: on Sunday or Passover? • Converts increasingly have no previous contact with Judaism • Important centers of large Christian communities and learning: Rome, Alexandria, Antioch • Christianity offers itself to everyone, including women and slaves • Notable for care of poor, widows, sick (ministry of deacons) • Notable because Christians are unconcerned with conventional societal patterns (Church more important than family) • Notable for willingness to die rather than sacrifice • But there is not one type of Christianity • One of earliest ‘heresies’ is docetism; Jesus only appeared to be human • Another contested issues is that God the Father of Jesus is not the Creator of OT • What literature written in 1st and 2cd C about Jesus is canonical • Who has authority to teach

19. Most Profound Experience of Church in Second and Third Centuries: Persecution • Why did Romans persecute Christians? • Because Christians would not honor Roman gods • Civic duty to worship gods • Could also participate in other religions, but had to worship gods • Christianity appeared ‘new’ • In antiquity, what was old was honored (Judaism) • Christians seemed to be threat to social order • ‘Impiety’ not only not worshiping gods, but Church more important than family or Empire • Most persecutions were local, sporadic • Persecution of Decius c. 250 and Diocletian ealry 300s were Empire wide

20. Christian Responses to Persecution • 1. Intellectual: Apologies written to justify Christianity to Roman authorities • 2. Facing torture and death without apostasy; often even looking forward to martyrdom eagerly as a proof of solidarity with Jesus • 3. But, if you believed that Jesus only appeared to be human (docetists), then there seemed little reason to be a martyr yourself • 4. Some did not have the courage when accused, and so apostatized and/or paid others for their libelli

21. 1. Response to Persecution:Apologies • Type of literature that often had the form of a legal defense • It was intended for a highly educated pagan (i.e., philosophical) audience; often drew heavily on philosophical concepts to explain Christianity • Tried to establish antiquity and respectability of Christianity • It tried to show that Christianity was not to be feared, but encouraged good citizenship • St. Justin Martyr wrote two Apologies; Tertullian wrote an Apology

22. 2. Response to Persecution:Martyrdom and Christianity • Martyr comes from Greek word for witness • Did not actually have to die to be a martyr, but to suffer for faith (slavery, prison, mines) • Note: Romans tried to avoid creating Christian martyrs; accused were given several opportunities to offer sacrifice

23. Martyrs • Real desire to prove the totality of Christian faith (e.g., Origen On Martyrdom) • Those who died were (still are) considered heroes of the faith • Pilgrimage to place of burial • Remembering their sacrifice in “Acts”; Peter (Quo vadis); Perpetua and Felicity; Justin Martyr • Those who suffered but did not die (also known as confessors) were popularly considered able to forgive sin of apostasy • Problem for 3rd C bishops

24. 3. Response to Persecution:Docetists (Gnostics) • Heavily influenced by Platonism • Believed that Jesus was God, and therefore could not suffer • Physical was not important; one should try to rise above the physical to the spiritual • Martyrdom had little value • Knowledge (gnosis) of faith was a secret revealed by God to individual, not taught and open to all • Docetists were bitterly fought by ‘orthodox’ Christians, especially bishops

25. 4. Christian Response to Persecution:Apostates (or Lapsed) • Very often, after persecution subsided, apostate wanted to return to Church • Some sought forgiveness from martyrs • Some Churches refused to allow them to return; Church only for pure: Donatists • Some wanted them to be rebaptized • Church needed a uniform policy

26. Ignatius of Antioch, d. 112 • Seven letters to churches in Asia Minor and Rome; among most important early Christian writings • Note importance of suffering (opposed to docetists) • Note importance of Bishop • Eucharistic references • Remember when he talks about being eaten by beasts, this is not metaphorical, but factual

27. Church Organization • Bishops, presbyters (elders, priests), deacons • Based on Biblical divisions • Bishop as leader very early on (Ignatius) • Bishops selected by presbyters and people; confirmed and ordained by local bishops in area • Presbyters primary mission was to help bishop teach, assist at liturgy • Deacons run the ‘business’ of Church; feed poor, manage Church property and cemeteries; assist Bishop at Easter vigil baptisms

28. Assignment • Ignatius Letter to Romans • CCC: 2473-2474 • Write 1 page paper suggestions: role of bishop; importance of martyrs