People

Question 1

Emperor Nero (1st Century)

Answer 1

Ordered the first known persecution in 64 AD - blamed the cities christians for a city fire
Ancient tradition suggests both paul and peter died in this round of persecution

Question 2

Irenaeus (c. 140-200)

Answer 2

Key to establishing christian orthodoxy and stamping out heresy (false belief).
Fought against Gnosticism - affirmed jesus flesh and god as creator.
Bishop of Church at Lyons
Most influential in the consolidation of what became Catholic christianity
e.g. ‘canon of scripture’ and apostolic sucession

Question 3

Ignatius

Answer 3

(107-115 CE)
Bishop of Antioch (modern Syria)
High view of the church hierarchy, especially the bishop - central to Eucharist and able to approve as a divine proxy what is acceptable to God.

Question 4

Clement of Alexandria (150-216 CE)

Answer 4

3rd century

Lead the christian school in Alexandria which existed outside usual Church structures and its teachers.

Goal to help those on a quest for truth
Belief that philosophy was an indispensable aid given by God.
“Philosophy was preparation”

Made a stand against Gnostics
- Objecting to their view on materiality of Christ - affirming fully incarnate christ.

In his openness he sometimes fell into some gnostic ideas e.g. his theology on impassibility.

He creates the climate for the emergence of “Speculative Theology”/ Systematic theology”

More influenced by the dualism of spiritual and physical worlds both Clement and Origen emphasised that the bread and wine conveyed an unseen reality - but not literally the blood and body.

Question 5

Origen (3rd Century)

Answer 5

Given responsibility in the Church young by Demetrius.
Continued the work of Clement as a teacher of Christian Philosophy - relating christian faith to platonism.
Wrote commentaries, systematic theology and an apology.

Think early affirmation later exploration e.g. universalist

Question 6

Tertullian (ca. 155-230)

Answer 6

In West Africa - Carthage.
Colorful rebel like character - born debater, eloquent language and intense feelings.
Strongly anti-philosophy; champion of orthodoxy.
However, I am not anti-intellectual.
Advocated austere and disciplined christianity
Most (arguably) important and original christian author in Latin
Coined termed “religious freedom” and “trinity”, substance and person
Responsible for the cultured Latinization of chrisitan discourse.

Question 7

Cyprian (born AD200)

Answer 7

Taught Rhetoric in Carthage
Became bishop of Carthage 258 and led through a time of Church turmoil.
Zealous christian, devoted to celibacy and poverty.

Question 8

Diocletian (late 3rd- early 4th Century)

Answer 8

Reigned (303-311CE)
Divided the empire in two, each half (West and East) had two leaders - Augustus and the junior emperor Caesar.
Inaugurated ‘The Great Persecution’
- Aimed to wipe out christianity by burning churches and scripture, removing them from places of power and ending the practice of buying the freedom of christian slaves.
- His Ceaser took it to the next level with ordering execution at refusal to worship their Gods.

Question 9

Constantine (4th Century)

Answer 9

Conversion at the battle to take back his rightful position as the next Augustus (312 CE).
- Has a vision in which he sees the words “Conquer by This” and the Chi-Rho symbol. Later in a dream he is met by the Christ of faith who appears with the same sign.
- 313 AD issued that all persecution of christians would stop and
- brought favour to christians for the first time in the political, legal and social spheres.
Becomes a patron of the church - involved in church affairs e.g. present at the council of Nicaea 325.
- Worked hard to keep the unity of the church and thus blessing/favor on the empire.
His legacy is a question of whether the church betrayed itself in this act of state alliance - jesus himself was killed by state imperial force (charles freeman)

Question 10

Bishop Alexander

Answer 10

Over Arius

Present at the Council of Nicaea 325

Question 11

Arius (4th century)

Answer 11

A good Greek - influenced by dualistic philosophy.
Father of Arianism that came out of the conflict with his bishop Alexander in Alexandria.
Downplayed the divinity of christ.
“The father is foreign in essence from the Son”
“The Son had an origin of creation”
Could be said to be divine, but not God in the same way God the Father is God - he holds the derivative position.
- Not coeternal with God.

At Constantines request to settle the controversy the council of Nicaea was called in 325 - the bishops gathered and ruled against Arius.
It was a crucial debate because of its consequences to salvation.

Question 12

Athanasius (d. 373)

Answer 12

Deacon to Bishop Alexander then later taking his place as…
Bishop of Alexandria
Advocate of the Nicaean settlement
He was also banished by Constantine.
Responsible for the NT Canon that is representative of what we have now.

Question 13

Ambrose (c. 340-397)

Answer 13

Bishop of Milan
Fought against emperor’s interference by threatening excommunication from the church = prevented from partaking in the sacraments which signaled salvation. This was over a command to rebuild a synagogue> the emperor backed down in the end.

Question 14

Anthony of Egypt (251-356)

Answer 14

Moved to the dessert
Life of reflection and spiritual warfare
Growing sense of fleeing for salvation.
Post-constantine there was a sense that the church had gone astray.
Form of ascetics
Grew in popularity despite original intention.
Movement ‘desert fathers’

Question 15

Basil of Cesearea

Answer 15

Founded monasteries in towns, huge shift from being isolated.
That monks and nuns should live in communities - not in isolation.
Should serve others.
Connected to the institutional church
Fought against Arianism
Became bishop of Ceasearea.

Question 16

Augustine of Hippo (AD 354 -430)

Answer 16

Intelligent and adequate speaker and thinker (teacher of rhetoric)
In hippo he became a presbyter and then later bishop - this is where his theology journey began.
Western theology has been described as footnotes of augustines
Popular in the protestant reformation.
Pagan beginnings - Leads a hedonistic lifestyle
Conversion 386CE
Baptized
Becomes involved in the key controversies of the day; donatism and pelagianism.
Wrote = confessions - vulnerable. On the Trinity - speaks of the love of the threeness of the trinity.
Spirit proceeding from father and son (filioque).
Speaks against Donatists and Pelagians.
E.g. Doing good is a gift from God in and of itself. Salvation fully from God. Belief in predestination.

Question 17

Nestorius of Constantinople (5th Century)

Answer 17

Bishop of Constantinople
Used terms ‘man-bearer’ and ‘christ-bearer’ to describe Mary over ‘mother of Jesus’ - some mistook this to mean he emphasized the humanity of Jesus.
Belief in two people but unity by one will - like two seats in a car - suggests a subordinate. Human person supplementary to the divine.
Ironically he was condemned at the council of Chalcedon even though they landed on a two-nature conclusion.

Question 18

Gregory the Great (c. 540-604)

Answer 18

During a very dark period in European history we get Gregory - to him it seemed to be the end of the world.
A reluctant pope at first - a monk at heart.
Most of Europe is taken over by barbarians - only a small portion of the roman empire remains. Rome itself was in a dark place - population over the previous two centuries had been reduced from 800,000 to 30,000 by AD546.
At this time the Papacy was in dire state.
Marked by his heart for christian mission - sent monks to britain to convert the pagan anglo-saxon people.

Question 19

Charlemagne (742-814)

Answer 19

Next Frankish King
Reformed the western church - order, boundaries and hierarchy.
Even for laity - parish membership was made compulsory.
Being born in Europe now meant you were legally christian by birth.
He was crowned by Pope Leo III ‘Holy Roman Emperor’

Question 20

Pope Urban II

Answer 20

Preached the first crusade in 1095 in response to the Seljuk Turks taking the holy land and threatening to take the Byzantine Empire.
These first crusades were successful in achieving their goal in recapture Jerusalem in 1099.
This had a negative effect on the asian christians who experienced worse persecution and by the 13th century were struggling for survival.