1B - Defining the Church

Question 1

How was Jesus resurrection perceived by his followers?

Answer 1

Jesus’ resurrection was understood by his followers as validating the authority of his message

Question 2

Who betrayed Jesus? how? What did this make possible?

Answer 2

Judas Iscariot, who had betrayed Jesus by identifying him to the soldiers that had come to arrest him with a kiss, had died shortly after.

• His death made it possible to consider Apostolic successionor the replacement of an apostle by the others to continue the leadership defined by Jesus

Question 3

Apostolic Succession

Answer 3

the replacement of an apostle by the others to continue the leadership defined by Jesus

Question 4

who was chosen to succeed Judas? How was he consecrated

Answer 4

Mathias, consecrated him to this role through prayer and the laying on of hands

Question 5

Sacrament of holy orders

Answer 5

The apostles chose Matthias to succeed Judas and consecrated him to this role through prayer and the laying on of hands (Acts 1.23-6). Today this process is known as the sacrament of Holy Orders and, in imitation of Jesus’ consecration of the original 12 apostles, bishops are still

-consecrated through the laying on of hands and through prayerfrom another bishop

Question 6

In the Catholic tradition, the roles of priests and bishops are reserved to men only. Why?

Answer 6

because, through the example of Jesus being male and by virtue of only men that Jesus originally consecrated to this role

Question 7

What happened following the resurrection of Christ

Answer 7

According to the New Testament, Jesus ascended into Heaven after instructing his apostles that they would receive the power of the Holy Spirit, and that they should spread his message to the ends of the earth (Acts 1:8-9).This group was gathered together with Mary, Jesus’ mother, and other disciples in Jerusalem to celebrate Pentecostwhen the Holy Spirit visited them

Question 8

What does Pentecost commemorate

Answer 8

commemorates God’s gift of the Torah to the people of Israel.

Question 9

How many days after Jesus’ resurrection is Pentecost?

Answer 9

It had also been 10 days since these disciples had witnessed Jesus ascend to heaven or 50 days (Pentecost in Greek) since the resurrection itself

Question 10

What happened at the first Pentecost celebration

Answer 10

• The Holy Spirit is described as a strong wind coming through the house, people speaking in tongues

– It grew so loud that it attracted a crowd of people who were likewise celebrating the festival.

• Peter preached to them that the prophecies had come true; that Jesus was both Lord and Christ and that he had given the Holy Spirit to them to give to others through baptism.
• Thousands were baptized after the sermon, though the confidence that the Holy Spirit instilled in them led the apostles to evangelize even more

Question 11

As more people converted what happened to the jewish community

Answer 11

the community deviated more and more from its Jewish roots.

• • followers of Christ more regularly began to hold separate worship.
• Didache* describes the early liturgical services of these congregations establishing their similarity to the practices that are still followed

Question 12

where were early services often held?

Answer 12

Services were often held in the homes of a community leader, as they had been held in the house of Peter and his wife prior to Jesus’ death

Question 13

Sometimes the size led a congregation to do what?

Answer 13

to purchase a house that would be registered to the episcopus or custodian of the congregation

note: This is the same Latin term used for bishops today. Many would sell their property, distribute their wealth to the poor and live together in a communal setting, following a lifestyle that involved doing good works, prayer and worship. In fact, many orders of men and women who have taken Holy Orders still abide by these practices

Question 14

who disliked practices diverging from Jewish observances and felt that all converts should follow Mosaic Law

Answer 14

Judaizers

-

Question 15

Since nearly all of those who followed Jesus during his lifetime were Jewish, Judaizers believed that someone interested in joining the “way of Jesus” should do what?

Answer 15

first follow the traditional Jewish rituals. This would mean that new followers who were not originally Jewish would have to learn Hebrew, follow Jewish dietary laws, and even (for males) be circumcised according to Law of Moses.

Question 16

Other followers of the way of Jesus such as ________ disagreed with these requirements (Judaizers ) and so dissension and controversy arose between the two camps

Answer 16

Paul and Barnabas

Question 17

One of the most unlikely and yet famous conversions was that of____, formerly ____… Why?

Answer 17

Paul,

Saul of Tarsus

• Paul was a Greek-educated Jew who had been involved in Christian persecutions, including that of the first martyr for the faith
• (a deacon named Stephen who was stoned to death by a Jewish mob)

Question 18

Why did Paul convert?

Answer 18

As he travelled to Damascus for just this reason, Paulreceived a vision from God and was struck blind. A Christian priest then received a vision of Jesus with the instruction to visit Paul and restore his sight after which Paul waswelcomed into the community of believers.

Question 19

Paul went on to preach under Peter’s tutelage (Acts 7.58, 9.1-29) and Paul’s interpretation of Jesus’ message that _____?

Answer 19

it was less important to follow Mozaic law than to believe in Jesus as the Christ has had a prominent influence ever since

Question 20

In 50 CE, a Council was called at ______ to resolve the debate surrounding what?

Answer 20

Jerusalem,

–the question as to whether followers had to become Jewish in order to follow Christ.

Question 21

By this time, disciples had spread belief in Jesus to several other parts of the Roman Empire and had attracted many new converts. At the Council, Peter shared that he had preached to gentiles (non-Jews), including a Roman official, and that since he had seen the Holy Spirit enter them, they should be welcome. Both he and Paul began eating meals with gentiles which led to the decision at the Council that_________

Answer 21

hough new converts did not have to be circumcised, they should not eat meat that had been sacrificed to idols, eat the blood or meat of strangled animals, or enter into unlawful marriage

Question 22

The outcome of this early Church Council was extremely important to the development of Christianity, why?

Answer 22

it made it more inclusive of believers of different cultural backgrounds.
-the manner of resolving the debate over whether followers had to become Jewish in order to follow Christ would provide a model of dispute resolution for future Church Councils
– for the next two-thousand years, the Church would call councils to discuss, form, and adapt doctrines, rules, as well as condemn false ideas or theologies which threatened Christianity

Question 23

Within twenty years of this 1st Church Council, Jerusalem was a different city. In Judea, Jewishuprisings beginning in 67 CE…. what was the result/how was the city different

Answer 23

In Judea, Jewishuprisings beginning in 67 CE were brutally suppressed by the Roman Empire a few years later.
-The Temple, which had been central to Jewish culture and worship, had been looted and destroyed,

-The Roman authorities decreed that a majority of the Jewish population had to leave Judea, displacing many

Question 24

The destruction of the Jewish Temple results

Answer 24

Thedestruction of the Jewish Temple heralded the end of the Judaizers who soon perished as a group. By the year 70 CE, in the city of Antioch (the third largest city in the Roman Empire after Rome and Alexandria)the followers of Jesus were first labeled as Christians

Question 25

Because followers of Christ had centered their worship on Jesus, and not upon observances at the Temple ______________

Answer 25

v they were able to leave Jerusalemand their movement continued to grow. This displacement was helpful in spreading the gospel to other parts of the world. Moreover, it became unnecessary for Jewish followers of Jesus to remain in Jerusalem; those who believed Jesus was the Messiah were being asked to leaveJewish community, to stop attendingthe synagogue,and were widely condemned by the Jewish Rabbis at Yavneh in 90 CEas followers of a new faith.

Question 26

he rapid spread of Christianity in the first century was made possible by _____

Answer 26

the structure and organization of the Roman Empire
– Followers could travel to new cities and preach, knowing that their use of Greek terminology and texts would be understood

Question 27

Followers could travel to new cities and preach. This occurred during what time period?

Answer 27

These events occur during the Pax Romana, the “Peace of Rome”, (27 BCE–180 CE) and the focus of Christianity soon shifted from Jerusalem to the Greco-Roman world

Question 28

.The New Testament had always been written in Greek but followers of Jesusalso brought with them the Old Testament, which had ____

Answer 28

been translated into Greek before Jesus’ birth in Alexandria

Question 29

what was One of the biggest challenges to the early Christian community

Answer 29

the vast distances between believers and so the apostles relied upon letters to ensure the continuity of practices taught in disparate communities. Most of these letters have not survived but some that did were included in the New Testament under the names to whom they were addressed

Question 30

letters were used due to the vast distances created between christian communities. some of these were included in the New Testament. what was the general message of these letters?

Answer 30

what sins to avoid

• prayer/good work
• unity with other communities
• service on Sunday/eucharist

–The lettersare valuable because they have preservedsome of the traditions that were first practiced by Jesus and his apostles before the deaths of the early followers

Question 31

Despite the exemplary conditions for the spread of Christianity, early followers of Christ were being persecuted for refusing to adhere to Roman traditions and for assembling followers.The Roman emperors were extremely suspicious of this newly formed religion as________

Answer 31

• followers of Jesus refused to pay homage to the many Roman gods and goddesses,

– refused to participate in traditional military service and celebrations, or to worship the emperors themselves.

All of the apostles, with the exception of John, are believed to have suffered martyr’s deaths