Lesson 3

Question 1

When was Nero’s Persecution

Answer 1

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Question 2

When was Destruction of Jerusalem

Answer 2

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Question 3

When was St. John’s Death

Answer 3

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Question 4

When was Martyrdom of Polycarp

Answer 4

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Question 5

When was Diocletian Persecution

Answer 5

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Question 6

Who is Ignatius of Antioch and what major contribution did he make to the church?

Answer 6

1. Bishop of Antioch
2. Apostolic Father
3. Martyred in Rome
4. wrote 7 different epistle letters
5. warned about gnostic and heretical writings.
6. distinguished between bishops and elders

Question 7

Who is Perpetua and what major contribution did they make to the church?

Answer 7

1. 3rd-cent. martyrs in Carthage, North Africa (d. 203)
2. Noblewoman Perpetua and her slave Felicitas, both young mothers, imprisoned after their baptisms and executed in arena with companions
3. influential passion narrative; first women to be widely venerated by church

Question 8

Who is Cyprian and what major contribution did he make to the church?

Answer 8

1. Latin North African bishop, theologian,
2. martyr 3rd century
3. Pastor during mid-century persecution (Decius/Valerian)
   4, Responded to schism; wrote on Church and sacraments
4. “He can no longer have God for his Father, who has not the Church for his mother.” And, extra Ecclesiam nulla salus, or, “outside the Church there is no salvation.”

Question 9

Who is Justin Martyr and what major contribution did he make to the church?

Answer 9

1. Early Christian apologist
2. 2nd century
3. Described his path from various philosophies to Christianity as the “true philosophy”
4. Presided over Christian philosophical school in Rome
5. Provides an early account of Christian worship

Question 10

Who is Irenaeus and what major contribution did he make to the church?

Answer 10

1. Bishop of Lyons in Gaul (France), “first catholic theologian”
2. 2nd century
3. opposed Gnosticism in Against Heresies
4. Appealed to Scripture and tradition
5. Christ was the new Adam who in his incarnation restored (“recapitulated”) humanity

Question 11

Who was Tertullian of Carthage and what major contribution did he make to the church?

Answer 11

1. North African Latin Apologist
2. 2nd and 3rd centuries
3. Wrote against Arianisn and develops early Trinitarian language
4. Affirmed natural law but rejected Greek philosophy (“What has Athens to do with Jerusalem?”)
5. Later attracted to the charismatic, rigorist “new prophecy” movement called Montanism

Question 12

What were the pagan criticisms of Christianity and how did the apologists answer them?

Answer 12

They were atheists, cannibals, bad citizens, absurd in their beliefs - the apologists pointed out how good of citizens they were, that they worship one true God, that Christianity was not a novelty, they denied criminal behavior

Question 13

Describe how the Roman persecutions shaped the church of the first three centuries.

Answer 13

The Roman persecutions shaped the church by causing it to grow and spread rapidly, as Christians were forced to flee or were persecuted in such a way that their captors turned to the same faith. These persecutions also led to the first schism in the church over how to treat those who lapsed during the persecutions and whether they were allowed to return to fellowship with congregations or not.