Ch 3: The Development of Doctrine and the Decline of the Empire Flashcards
The first ecumenical council; a meeting of three hundred bishops that took place in 325, most importantly to provide a response to the Arian heresy and a common profession of faith.
First Council of Nicaea
A heresy of the fourth century that took its name from Arius, a priest from Alexandria. The heresy denied the divinity of Jesus, claiming that he was like the Father except that he was created by the Father.
Arianism
From a Greek term (hypostasis) employed to describe the union of the human and divine natures of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, in one Divine Person. The First Council of Ephesus used this term and affirmed this teaching.
Hypostatic Union
Religious life in which men or women leave the world and enter a monastery or convent while devoting themselves to prayer, contemplation, and self-denial in solitude
Monasticism
A joint declaration by the Roman emperor Constantine and Licinius in the East in 313 that legalized the practice of Christianity and other religions throughout the Roman Empire.
Edict of Milan
Christians of about the fourth century who withdrew into the desert to live an ascetic life of prayer, fasting, and abstinence. Their teachings had a profound impact on the theology and spirituality of the Church and the development of monasticism.
Desert Fathers
the political theory often practiced when Christianity was legalized that held that a secular ruler could also have authority over the Church, including in matters of doctrine
Caesaropapism
Meetings of Catholic bishops from around the world, typically convened in order to discuss and resolve pressing theological topics.
ecumenical councils
Bishops of one of the five episcopal sees, the name for the places of residence of bishops: the Eastern patriarchates of Jerusalem, Antioch, Constantinople, and Alexandria; and the Latin patriarchate of Rome. In the early Church, the bishop of Rome (the pope) was acknowledged the principal patriarch.
Patriarchs
A collection of laws written in Latin that were instituted by the Byzantine emperor Justinian (527-565) and became the basis of European law. Its Christian orientation gave women and children more protection than earlier law, but it still reflected the customs of its times, like bodily mutilation for some crimes and repressive measures against non-Christians, including Jews.
Justinian Code of Law
a break in Christian unity that takes place when a group of Christians separates itself from the Church. This happens historically when the group breaks union with the pope.
schism
The official list of inspired books in the Bible. Catholics list forty-six Old Testament books and twenty-seven New Testament books in their canon.
canon
From the early fourth century, the oldest complete copy of the Bible in existence; it features the forty-six books of the Old Testament and the twenty-seven books of the New Testament.
Codex Vaticanus
The part of the Mass that includes the “writings of the prophets” (the Old Testament reading and psalm) and the “memoirs of the Apostles” (the New Testament Epistles and the Gospel), the homily, the profession of faith, and the intercessions for the world.
Liturgy of the Word
The foundational statement of Christian belief that was produced by the Church leaders gathered at the First Council of Nicaea in 325
Nicene Creed
The systematic contemplation within the Church on the Divine Person and work of Jesus Christ. In short: Who is Jesus? What salvific work did he do and why does this matter?
Christology
