Lesson 5 Flashcards
LESSON FIVE - SERVANT-LEADERS OR LEADERS OF SERVANTS (date)
(circa A.D. 376 – A.D. 664)
> Empires East and West
• The Roman Empire was organized into two parts:
*1. Constantinople, also known as Byzantium, was the capital of the eastern.
2. Rome was the capital of the Western Roman Empire.
• Emperor Theodosius ruled the Roman Empire from AD 379 until 395.
• Theodosius was the last emperor to rule both halves of the Roman Empire, Eastern & Western.
• Theodosius declared Christianity the official faith of the Roman Empire.
> Empires East and West
• During the reign of Theodosius, Apollinarius—a
teacher in the eastern Roman Empire—claimed that
Jesus had no human mind.
• According to Apollinarius, Jesus’ body was human but
his mind was divine.
• The Great Cappadocians replied, “If deity took the
place of a human mind, how does that help? Deity
joined to flesh alone is not truly human!”
Human Body, Mind Divine? (Monophysitism)
• To maintain peace, Theodosius convened
a church council in the city of Constantinople in AD 381
Emperor Theodosius with Ambrose, Bishop of Milan
• In Constantinople, more than 150 bishops reaffirmed
the Creed of Nicaea while carefully clarifying the
relationship between Christ’s divine and human
natures
• The statement of faith formulated at the First Council
of Constantinople became known as the Nicene Creed.
• Even while the Nicene Creed was drawing Christians
together, the Roman Empire was falling apart.
• The “eternal city” of Rome had not fallen to foreign
invaders for more than 800 years.
First Council of Constantinople
• The city of Rome symbolized the strength of the
Roman Empire.
• Germanic tribes—known as “barbarians”—had been
migrating south for decades, seeking farmland in the
Empire.
• In AD 410, the unthinkable occurred: The city of
Rome fell to the barbarian Goths.
> The Fall of Rome
• Augustine wrote “The City of God to help people to
deal with the fall of Rome.
• Augustine had trusted Jesus years earlier, after
reading Romans 13:14.
• According to Augustine, two realms seem to mingle
on earth: the City of God and the City of Mankind.
• God’s reign cannot ultimately be identified with any
human regime; the City of Mankind will fall but only
God’s reign in his people’s hearts will remain.
• Augustine also faced a crisis in his churches when a
monk named Pelagius taught that human nature is
not sinful.
• Augustine contended that the sin of Adam so
completely corrupted all of humanity that no one
naturally desires to do what is right.
• Augustine argued that sexual relations transmit the s
in nature.
• Infant baptism, Augustine claimed, purges the primal
sin.
> Augustine, Bishop of Hippo, (circa AD 354–430)
• While the west struggled against barbarians, Bishop
John struggled to purify churches in Constantinople.
• His preaching was so eloquent he became known as
“Golden Mouth” or “Chrysostom.”
• Some priests were living with “spiritual sisters” who
were somehow becoming “spiritual mothers.” John
put an end to these arrangements.
• John consistently led his church to discipline errant
church members, even wealthy and powerful members.
John Chrysostom, AD 344–407
> The Church Councils
• During this era of tumult, three more church councils
clarified what Christians understood Scripture to teach
about Jesus.
- The Council of Ephesus (431)
- The Council of Chalcedon (451)
- The Second Council of Constantinople (553)
> Mary as “Theotokos,” “God-Bearer”
• Why? Nestorius was accused of saying that Jesus was
two separate persons, one human and one divine.
• What happened? Nestorius was exiled.
Council of Ephesus (431)
• Why? Monophysites claimed that Jesus’ divine nature
swallowed up his human nature.
• What happened? Bishops affirmed that Jesus was one
person with two natures: “Christ [is] … recognized in
two natures, without confusion, division, or separation
… but not as if Christ were parted into two persons.”
> Council of Chalcedon (451)
• Bishop Leo of Rome sent a “Tome” to Chalcedon that
influenced the decisions there.
• In 452, Leo also convinced Attila the Hun not to
destroy Rome.
Attila the Hun Meeting Leo, BISHOP of Rome
• Why? Monophysite theology became popular again.
• What happened? The council denounced both
Nestorians and Monophysites.
> Council of Constantinople II (553)
• Gregory was a powerful politician who gave
everything away to become a monk.
• After serving the people of Rome during a plague, he
was hailed as their new bishop.
• Gregory was the first bishop of Rome to gain the
status that would later be linked to the title “pope.”
> Gregory the Great (540–604)
“We believe in one God the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth, of all that is seen and unseen. We believe in one Lord Jesus Christ, God’s
only Son, eternally begotten of the Father, God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God, begotten, not made, of the same essence as the Father.
Through him all things were made. For us and for our salvation he came from heaven:
*The Nicene Creed:
“Put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires.”
Romans 13:14
