Steve Weidenkopf The Ancient Church The Catholic Church In the First Millennium

Learn Church History!!

The Calvin Method John Calvin (1509 – 1564) Calvin & Hobbes

The Calvin Method

Hilaire Belloc (1870 – 1953) The Catholic Conscience of History “…an intimate knowledge through identity.” Church History

 History is Linear!  St. Augustine (354 – 430)  The City of God (412 – 426)  Faith = key to the world’s history!  Salvation History  History has beginning & end  Creation – ex nihilo  Consummation – Rev. 21:1  Incarnation  Central event in human history  All history radiates from this point Catholic Understanding of History

 Lumen Gentium 8  “Christ the one Mediator, established & continually sustains here on earth His holy Church, the community of faith, hope & charity, as an entity w/ visible delineation through which He communicates truth & grace to all.”  “Salvific Mission”  Mystery of the Church – Visible & Invisible  Church is Holy, yet contains sinners Catholic Understanding of the Church

Time Periods 1.Mustard Seed (33 – 99) 2.Persecution (100 – 312) 3.Conversion & Councils (313 – 499) 4.Missionaries & the Emperor (500 – 999) 5.Crusaders & Scholars (1000 – 1299) 6.Weak Leaders & Schism (1300 – 1499) 7.Protestors & Defenders (1500 – 1544) 8.The Catholic Reformation (1545 – 1699) 9.Revolutions & Modernism (1700 – 1913) 10. A World at War (1914 – 1957) 11.The New Springtime (1958 – 1977) 12.The Threshold of Hope (1978 – present)

33 Mustard Seed 1. Pentecost (33) 2. St. Paul’s Missionary Journeys (45–58) 3. Council of Jerusalem (49) 4. What was the Roman Empire? 5. The Burning of Rome & Nero’s Persecution (64) 6. Martyrdom of St. Peter (67) 7.The Spread of the Fatih 8.The Didache–Teachings of the 12 Apostles (80) 9.Early Persecution–Domitian (95) 10.Pope St. Clement’s Letter (96) 33–99 Mustard Seed

33 Mustard Seed 33–99 Mustard Seed Pentecost

33 Mustard Seed 33–99 Mustard Seed St. Paul’s Journeys

33 Mustard Seed 33–99 Mustard Seed What to do with the Gentiles? Council of Jerusalem (49)

33 Mustard Seed 33–99 Mustard Seed What was the Roman Empire? “A united civilization, the prime characteristic of which was the acceptance, absolute and unconditional, of one common mode of life by those who dwelt within its boundaries”

33 Mustard Seed 33–99 Mustard Seed Nero (54 – 68)

33 Mustard Seed 33–99 Mustard Seed Martyrdom of St. Peter (67)

33 Mustard Seed 33–99 Mustard Seed Quo Vadis by Henryk Sienkiewicz

33 Mustard Seed 33–99 Mustard Seed The Spread of the Faith 1. Pax Romana 2. Cultural Unity 3. Religion

33 Mustard Seed 33–99 Mustard Seed The Didache “There are two ways, one of life and one of death: and great is the difference between the two ways.”

33 Mustard Seed 33–99 Mustard Seed Domitian (81 – 96)

33 Mustard Seed 33–99 Mustard Seed Pope St. Clement I (88 – 97)

100 Persecution 1.What was the Church in the Roman Empire? 2.Pagan Myths – Attacks on Christians 3.Why the Persecutions? 4.Major Persecutions 5.Trajan’s Persecution (98 – 117) 6.Martyrdom of St. Ignatius of Antioch (115) 7.Early Heresies & Schisms 8.St. Irenaeus’ (d. 202) 9.Apologists 10.Decius’ Persecution (249–251) 11.Valerian’s Persecution (257–259) 12.Diocletian’s Persecution (303–305) 100–312 Persecution

100 Persecution 100–312 Persecution What was the Church in the Roman Empire? The Church = “…proposed statement instead of hypothesis, affirmed concrete historical facts instead of suggesting myths, and treated its ritual of ‘mysteries’ as realities instead of symbols.” Roman society = “believed man to be sufficient to himself and all belief to be mere opinions.”

100 Persecution 100–312 Persecution Attacks on Christians 1. Atheists 2. Ignorant & Poor 3. Bad Citizens 4. Unreasonable Doctrine 5. Cannibals

100 Persecution 100–312 Persecution Why the Persecutions? Identifiable minority “Anti-social” Refused to worship gods/emperor Politics