Heart and History of the Early Church Session 5: Teachers of the Early Church

Apostles’ Creed (150 A.D.) Then called the “Symbol of Faith” A doctrinal statement put together to recognize the true believers from those, like the Gnostics and Marcionites, who were heretics The creed first showed up in a question formula to be sited before baptism

Apostles’ Creed (150 A.D.) “I believe in God, the Father almighty, creator of heaven and earth. I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried; he descended to the dead. On the third day he rose again; he ascended into heaven, he is seated at the right hand of the Father, and he will come to judge the living and the dead. I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen.”

Final Observations about Heresy and Canon Marcion and Gnostics said that true knowledge was revealed to those who were going to be saved. Christians believed that true knowledge was already given them through the words and life of Jesus in the recognized Gospels. Unity of the orthodox church, “catholic” church means universal church. Apostolic succession meant a shared faith. Authority in the early church was based not on power but on the truth found in Jesus’ identity as the son of God. This truth has been passed on through the reliable witness of the writings recognized by the early church. They witnessed to truth of his life, death, and resurrection and the life that he calls us to lead

Early Christian Documents Early Christian writings did not attempt to delineate a comprehensive doctrine of Christian faith. They wrote dealing with specific issues going on in specific churches. This is true of the New Testament Epistles. No New Testament document is meant to be a systematic theology of Christian belief. The canon is our “standard” or “rule” of faith. The Christian teachers, whose documents have survived for us, who wrote directly after the NT period are known as the “Apostolic Fathers”

Apostolic Fathers Didache- early church teaching about church, leaders, baptism, prayer, Lord’s supper, and Christian morality. (late 1 st century) Clement of Rome “Epistle to the Corinthians” (ca. 97) – 2 Clement- addressed to Corinth using Clements name but not from him. It is the earliest Christian sermon we have. (early 2 nd cent) Ignatius – we have 7 of his letters (ca. 106) Papias- survives as quotes from Irenaeus (late 2 nd cent) and Eusebius (4 th cent) (ca. 120)

Apostolic Fathers Epistle of Barnabas (ca ) Attacks Judaism and heavy in OT prophesies Epistle to Diognetus (ca.130) Argues against paganism and Judaism The Shepherd of Hermas- covers need for penance and the possibility of forgiveness of sins after baptism (ca. 145) Polycarp of Smyrna “Epistle to the Philippians” (ca.150) – “Martyrdom of Polycarp”

A.M. “After Marcion” (ca. 150) Christians recognized the need to collect the recognized apostolic writings that would become the rule of faith for Christians, the “New Testament” Along with collecting the “New Testament”, many began to see the need for a comprehensive exposition of the faith This led to the extensive works of Irenaeus, Clement of Alexandria, Tertullian, and Origen

Irenaeus ( ) Grew up in Smyrna, Asia Minor Disciple of Polycarp (Bishop of Smyrna) who was a pupil of the Apostle John Became the bishop of Lyons in southern France Wrote 2 important works: – Demonstration of the Apostolic Faith – Against Heresies

Wrote primarily as a pastor, shepherding his flock, not as a scholar Wrote against Gnosticism – God is loving creator – Grand goal of God is the incarnation Topics are covered such as angels, the Devil, the Word, the Holy Spirit, Humanity, Incarnation, redemption, the church, and Spiritual growth. Irenaeus sees the grand vision of God working in history. This is seen the most in the incarnation. Irenaeus ( )

Clement of Alexandria ( ) Born in Athens, where philosophy was supreme In Alexandria, Egypt, he found his thirst for knowledge of the truth satisfied in Christianity Became a Christian Instructor in Alexandria, the intellectual center of the Roman world Was not a pastor but a thinker and scholar His main concern was to prove that Christianity was not an absurd superstition to pagan intellectuals

Clement of Alexandria ( ) Uses Greek philosophy to make his point that the true philosophy, or truth, is found in Christ He saw “allegorical” interpretations in Scripture, beyond the contextual or historical background His interpretation of Scripture has had a lot of criticism Clements's contribution was developing a stepping stone in theological reflection

Tertullian ( ) Quintus Septimius Florens (a.k.a Tertullian) was from Carthage, North Africa but converted in Rome when he was 40 years old Wrote in defense of Christianity in the rhetoric of a lawyer (he could have been one) Wrote a case against the heretics. He wants to take away their rights to use the Scriptures. The church is the only one that has the rights to interpret Scripture. (Argument used by Catholics against the Protestants in the 16 th cent)

Tertullian A Christian who is still searching for further truth lacks faith Speculation should not be done In 207, Tertullian became a Montanist Montanus, was a pagan priest who became a Christian in 155 A.D. – He began prophesying that a new age of the Holy Spirit had begun that involved a rigorous moral life – The church declared this heresy because they were claiming that the “last age of history” had dawned in them (not in Jesus and coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost)

Tertullian While a Montanist he gave the first understanding of what later became the orthodox formula for the Trinity— “One nature in three persons.” He later left Montanism and started his own little sect called the Tertullianists Summary: Attacked Heretics. Became one. Then wrote orthodox doctrine. First to write in Latin

Origen ( ) Disciple of Clement of Alexandria, North Africa Born of Christian parents, his father was killed during a period of persecution when a teenager. Origen wanted to offer himself as a martyr but his Mom stopped him. Trained catechumens (candidates for baptism) under the bishop of Alexandria. Started a school of Christian philosophy. Jealousy and conflict between he and the bishop, Demetrius, caused him to leave and settle in Caesarea where he wrote for twenty more years

Origen ( ) He died at the age of 70 due to injuries suffered from torture from persecution Wrote a large amount of literature including theological works, commentaries on most of the books of the Bible, and sermons His topics included most doctrines of the Bible, spirituality, and philosophical speculation

Heart and History of the Early Church Session 5: Teachers of the Early Church