College Notes
Church History
Lecture 7
Polycrates/Justin Martyr/Iranaeus/Clemet of Rome
Ch.
Hist.
Tertullian/Origen at glance
BISHOPS AT ROME, CATHOLIC CHURCH FATHERS
Simon (Magus) | 40's |
Linus | 79 |
Cletus | 91 |
Clemet | 100 |
Anicetus | 168 |
Victor | 202 |
Silvester I | 335 |
Sixtus III | 440 |
Leo I | |
Simplicius | |
Gregory I | 604 |
Ignatius | 110 |
Papius | 115 |
Justin Martyr | 167 |
Irenaeus | 200 |
Tertulian | 220 |
Origen | 254 |
Eusebius | 340 |
John Chrysostom | 407 |
Jerome | 430 |
Augustine | 430 |
TRUE CHRISTIANS
Paul | 68 |
Peter | 68 |
James | 62 |
Polycarp | 156 |
Polycrates | 210 |
I. BACKGROUND
INFORMATION:
A. Bishops in the East:
1. May
have been in the true church.
2. Considered
Catholic-by-Catholic church.
3. Possibly all
students of John.
4. Resisted what was happening at
Rome.
B. Apostolic fathers.
1. Probably not in
the church.
2. Had contact with bishops in the
East.
C. Sunday worship and Easter creeps in about the time of Justin
Martyr.
II. IMPORTANT RULERS AND HISTORIANS:
A. Simeon
-???-107 A.D.
1. Brother of Christ who succeeded
James in Jerusalem as the Bishop.
2. Prominent in
the church with Jude.
3. Persecuted and finally
killed by Trajan in 107 A.D.
From The History of the Church we
read:
"...There is a firm
tradition that persecution broke out against us sporadically in one city
at a time as a result of popular risings. In the course of it Symeon, son
of Clopas, the second to be appointed Bishop of Jerusalem, as already
stated, is known to have ended his life by martyrdom... Some of these
[heretics] charged Simon son of Clopas with being a descendant of David
and a Christian; as a result he suffered martyrdom at the age of 120, when
Trajan was emperor and Atticus consular governor... And it would be
reasonable to suggest that Symeon was an eyewitness and ear witness of the
Lord, having regard to the length of his life and the reference in the
gospel narrative to Mary, wife of the Clopas whose son he was, as
explained in an earlier section. The same historian tells us that other
descendants of one of the 'brothers' of the Saviour named Jude lived on
into the same reign, after bravely declaring their faith in Christ, as
already recorded, before Domitian himself. He writes: Consequently they
came and presided over every church, as being martyrs and members of the
Lord's uncle, the aforesaid Simon son of Clopas, was similarly informed
against by the heretical sects and brought up on the same charge before
Atticus, the provincial governor. Tortured for days on end, he bore a
martyr's witness, so that all, including the governor, were astounded that
at the age of 120 he could endure it; and he was ordered to be
crucified."
B. Polycrates - 29O - 31O
1.
General:
a. May have known
John as bishop of Ephesus
b.
Lived about 100 years through about 200 A.D.
2. Late
in 2nd century went to Rome with Ignatius and had confrontation w/ Bishop
of Rome (Victor I).
3. Led Bishops of
Asia.
4. He was 8th in the line of 7
bishops
5. Possibly in true church.
John
Ignatius Dollinger, in The First Age of Christianity and the Church,
says:
"Polycrates was
thirty-eight years old when Polycarp died, about 167 A.D."
Henry
Melvill Gwatkin, in Early Church History to A.D. 313, says:
"Polycrates
was likely to have been a man of some rank in the world because seven of
his relatives had been bishops."
From The History of the Church we
read:
"... All the Asian diocese
thought that in accordance with ancient tradition they ought to observe
the fourteenth day of the lunar month as the beginning of the Paschal
festival -- the day on which the Jews had been commanded to sacrifice the
lamb: on that day, no matter which day of the week it might be, they must
without fail bring the fast to an end. But nowhere else in the world was
it customary to arrange their celebrations in that way:
In accordance
with apostolic tradition, they preserved the view, which till prevails,
that it was improper to end the fast on any day other than that of our
Saviour's resurrection. "The Asian bishops who insisted that they must
observe the custom transmitted to them long ago were headed by Polycrates,
who in the letter which he wrote to Victor and the Roman church sets out
in the following terms the tradition that he had received:
We for our
part keep the day scrupulously, without addition or subtraction. For in
Asia great luminaries sleep who shall rise again on the day of the Lord's
advent, when He is coming with glory from heaven and shall search out all
His saints -- such as Philip, one of the twelve apostles, who sleeps in
Hierapolis with two of his daughters, who remained unmarried to the end of
their days, while his other daughter lived in the Holy Spirit and rests in
Ephesus. Again there is John, who leant back on the Lord's breast, and who
became a sacrificing priest wearing the mitre, a martyr, and a teacher; he
too sleeps in Ephesus. Then in Smyrna there is Polycarp, bishop and
martyr; and Thraseas, the bishop and martyr from Eumenia, who also sleeps
in Smyrna. Need I mention Sagaris, bishop and martyr, who sleeps in
Laodicea, or blessed Papirius, or the eunuch, who lived entirely in the
Holy Spirit, and who lies in Sardis waiting for the visitation from heaven
when he shall rise from the dead? All of these kept the fourteenth day of
the month as the beginning of the Paschal festival, in accordance with the
Gospel, not deviating in the least but following the rule of the Faith.
Last of all I too, Polycrates, the least of you all, act according to the
tradition of my family, some members of which I have actually followed;
for seven of them were bishops and I am the eighth, and my family have
always kept the day when the people put away the leaven. So I, my friends,
after spending sixty-five years in the Lord's service and conversing with
Christians from all parts of the world, and going carefully through all
Holy Scripture, am not scared of threats. Better people than I have said:
'We must obey God rather than men.'" p. 232
C.
Papius
1. He had contact with
Polycarp
2. He was bishop in western Asia
Minor
3. He suffered martyrdom
The
Encyclopedia Britannica, 11th edition, says:
"PAPIAS, of Hierapolis in
Phrygia, one of the 'Apostolic Fathers'. His EXPOSITION OF THE LORD'S
ORACLES, the prime early authority as to the Gospels of Matthew and Mark,
is known only through fragments in later writers, chiefly Eusebius of
Caesarea. The latter had a bias against Papias on account of the
influence, which his work had in perpetuating, through Iranaeus and
others, belief in a millennial reign of Christ upon earth. He calls him a
man of small mental capacity, who took the figurative language of
apostolic traditions for literal fact.... we have the witness of Iranaeus
that he was 'a companion of Polycarp,' who was born not later than A.D.
69.... the fact that Irenaeus thought of him as Polycarp's contemporary
and 'a man of the old time', together with the affinity between the
religious tendencies described in Papias's Preface...all point to his
having flourished in the first quarter of the 2nd century."
D.
Hadrian - 117-138 A.D.
1. Persecuted Christians, but
in moderation. The 11th edition of the Encyclopedia Britannica
says:
"HADRIAN, Roman emperor
A.D. 117-138 was born on the 24th of January A.D. 76, at Italica in
Hispania Baetica (according to others, at Rome).... On his father's death
in 85 or 86 he was placed under the guardianship of two
fellow-countrymen.... About 95 he was military tribune in lower Moesia. In
97 he was sent to upper Germany to convey the congratulations of the army
to Trajan on his adoption by Nerva; and, in January of the following year,
he hastened to announce the death of Nerva to Trajan at Cologne. Trajan,
who had been set against Hadrian by reports of his extravagance, soon took
him into favour again, chiefly owing to the goodwill of the empress
Plotina, who brought about the marriage of Hadrian with (Vibia) Sabina,
Trajan's great-niece.... When Trajan, owing to a severe illness, decided
to return home from the East, he left Hadrian in command of the army and
governor of Syria. On the 9th of August 117, Hadrian, at Antioch, was
informed of his adoption by Trajan, and, on the 11th, of the death of the
latter at Selinius in Cilicia. According to Dio Cassius the adoption was
entirely fictitious, the work of Plotina and Attianus, by whom Trajan's
death was concealed for a few days in order to facilitate the elevation of
Hadrian. Whichever may have been the truth; the army and the senate
confirmed his succession.... He was without doubt one of the most capable
emperors who ever occupied the throne, and devoted his great and varied
talents to the interests of the state."
E. Clemet of Rome - 91-100
A.D.
1. Late part of first
century.
2. Bishop of Rome - now on Cath. Pope's
list.
The Encyclopedia Britannica, 11th edition,
says:
"Clement I, generally known as Clement of Rome, or CLEMENS
ROMANUS, was one of the 'Apostolic Fathers,' and in the lists of bishops
of Rome is given the third or fourth place--Peter, Linus, (Anencletus),
Clement. There is no ground for identifying him with the Clement of Phil.
IV. 3. He may have been a freedman of T. Flavius Clemens, who was consul
with his cousin, the Emperor Domitian, in A.D. 95. A 9th-century
traditions says he was martyred in the Crimea in 102...Whilst being on our
guard against reading later ideas into the title 'bishop' as applied to
Clement, there is no reason to doubt that he was one of the chief
personalities in the Christian community at Rome, where since the time of
Paul the separate house congregations had been united into one church
officered by presbyters and deacons."
3. Wrote a
letter to the Corinthian church in the name of the Catholic Church. In
Eusebius' History of the Church, we read:
" Clement has left us one
recognized epistle, long an wonderful, which he composed in the name of
the church at Rome and sent to the church at Coring, where dissension had
recently occurred. I have evidence that in many churches this epistle was
read aloud to the assembled worshippers in early days, as it is in our
own. That it was in Clements's time that the dissension at Corinth broke
out is plain from the testimony of Hegesippus." p.
124-125
4. At
death...
a. Made a
saint
b. Strange story -
tossed in sea with anchor around his neck - walls of the sea rolled back
and the people saw a shrine in the sea made for his body
F. Pliny
-???-??? A.D.
1. Wrote a letter to Trajan
(quoted).
a. Saw
Christianity in 2nd century growing and having an impact on the Empire The
Britannica, 11th edition, says:
"PLINY, THE YOUNGER. Latin
author of the LETTERS and the PANEGYRIC ON TRAJAN, was the second son of
Lucius Caecillius Cilo, by Plinia, the sister of the Elder Pliny... It was
probably in 104, and again in 106, that he was retained for the defense of
a governor of Bithynia, thus becoming familiar with the affairs of a
province, which needed a thorough reorganization. Accordingly, about 111,
he was selected by Trajan as governor of Bithynia, under the special title
of 'legate proprietor with consular power....' In his LETTERS Pliny
presents us with a picture of the varied interests of a cultivated Roman
gentleman. The etiquette of the imperial circle, scenes from the
law-courts and the recitation-room, the reunions of dilettanti and
philosophers, the busy life of the capital or of the municipal town, the
recreations of the seaside and of the country--all these he brings vividly
before our eyes...Pliny's CORRESPONDENCE WITH TRAJAN supplies us with many
interesting details as to the government of Bithynia, and as to the
relations between the governor and the central authority. It reflects the
greatest credit on the strict and almost punctilious conscientiousness of
the governor, and on the assiduity and the high principle which animated
the emperor."
G. Justin Martyr - 100-167
A.D.
1. Born about the time John
dies.
a. Not of Christian
birth
2. Educated in the Platonic
philosophies.
From Vol.VI of The Fathers of the Church, by Thomas B. Falls, we read:
"Justin Martyr's conversion
took place around 130 A.D. apparently in the city of Ephesus. He was a
Samaritan by birth and categorized himself with the Gentiles to whom the
Gospel was revealed when the House of Israel rejected it. Prior to his
conversion he had gained quite an extensive education in Greek philosophy
of the day. He studied in schools of the Stoics, the Perepatetics, the
Pythagoreans and finally the Platonists where he remained, finding
temporary peace until his conversion."P.350.
Justin
continued
3. Began to pick up writings of true
church.
5. Converted to Christianity (Catholicism)
at age 30.
6. Taught school of Christianity and
philosophy.
From L. W. Barnard's Justin Martyr--His Life and Thought, we read:
"...He retained his philosopher's cloak, the distinctive badge of the wandering professional teacher of philosophy, and went about from place to place discussing the truths of Christianity in hope of bringing educated pagans, as he himself had been brought, through philosophy to Christ."p. 21-22.
7. Known
for his writings - Three Major
Works:
a. First
Apology - refutes heresy
b.
Second Apology - refutes
heresy
c. Dialogue with
Trypho - condemns Judaism
From L. W. Barnard's Justin Martyr--His
Life and Thought, we read:
"There is proof that he wrote three books and very likely that he wrote more. The FIRST APOLOGY and SECOND APOLOGY deal defending Christians from accusations made by Romans. The DIALOGUE WITH TRYPHO is basically a conversation Justin had with a Jew concerning different aspects of Christianity. "The FIRST APOLOGY was addressed to Emperor Antonius Pius around 10 A.D. This work of seventy-one chapters, Justin justifies Christians against three accusations: atheism, immorality, and disloyalty. The SECOND APOLOGY seems to be a continuation of the first. This piece deals with two objectives to Christians. They are: Why don't the kill themselves if they are so willing to accept martyrdom? And why doesn't God protect them? Justin answers the first by saying that God's creation is good and to kill themselves would prevent the gospel from be preached. The reply to the second question is those who have followed have always been persecuted. Christians use this as proof of their right religion. The DIALOGUE WITH TRYPHO talks of moral decency, Old Testament prophecies of Christ and conversion of Gentiles."pp. 12-21.
d. Believed in the
resurrection and millennial
reign.
e. Also showed that
they knew Christ the word of the Old Testament. From A.W.F.
Blunt's The Apologies of Justin Martyr, we read:
"The Logos proceeded from
the Father and His mission images had been to interpret the Father to man.
Thus, the Testament manifest at were given by the Logos." p.
xxi
Justin Martyr continued
8. Condemned
Simon Magus and Gnosticism.
9. Gives his view of
human nature and angelic beings.
10. Believed
doctrine of eternal punishment in hell-fire.
11.
Christianity in 150's:
a. Sunday worship entering
b. Heavy influence of Catholic
thought
c. Mass taken in
church services
d. Tithing
no longer taken; donations
accepted
e. Evidence
of Greek philosophy
12. Died a martyr's death at
Rome.
H. Iranaeus - 130-200
A.D.
1. May have been a student of Polycarp
and Papius.
2. Had contact with Bishops at
Rome.
3. Did not continue in the teachings of the
East
4. Known chiefly for writings against
Gnosticism and Simon.
5. Not part of true church
though had contact with members.
6.
Pro-Easter.
The Encyclopedia Britannica, 11th edition, says:
"Very little is known of
his early history. His childhood was spent in Asia Minor, probably at or
near Layma; for he himself tells us (Adv. haer. iii. 3, 4, and Euseb. ill
Eccl. v. 20) that as a child he heard the preaching of Polycarp, the aged
bishop of Smyrna (d. Feb. 22, 156). But we do not know when this was. He
can hardly have been born very long after 130, for later on he frequently
mentions having met certain Christian presbyters who had actually seen
John, disciple of our Lord. "He was the cause of the wide spread of
Christianity in Lyons and its neighborhood. He devoted particular
attention to trying to reconcile the numerous sects, which menaced the
existence of the church. In the dispute of the question of Easter, which
for a long time disturbed the Christian church in both the East and West,
he endeavored by means of any letters to effect a compromise, and in
particular to exercise a moderation influence on Victor, the bishop of
Rome, and his unyielding attitude towards the dissentient churches of
Africa, us justifying his name of 'peacemaker' (Eirenaios). The date of
his death is unknown. His martyrdom under Septimius Severus is related by
Gregory of Tours but by no earlier writer. "He himself was especially
influenced by John and Paul. Before him the Fourth Gospel did not seem to
exist for the Church; Irenaeus made it a living force."
Irenaeus
continued
7. Famous work - Against
Heresies.
8. Beginnings of "Mary"
worship.
9. Against the development of heresy,
Gnosticism, and Simon Magus.
10. Beginning of
Trinity Concept
The encyclopedia article continues:
"Only toward the end of the
second century was greater clarity introduced into the doctrine of God. Of
importance here was, first of all, Irenaeus, Bishop of Lyons. In his
doctrine of God two basic features are evident. First, he spoke of God's
inner being, and, second, of his progressive self-disclosure in the
history of salvation. Sometimes Irenaeus emphasizes the unity of God so
strongly that he does not shrink from using expressions, which showed
modalistic, as is Son and Spirit were only appearances of the one God. In
his PROOF OF THE APOSTOLIC PREACHING he says, 'Thus God is shown to be one
according to the essence of His being and power' even though 'as the
administrator of the economy of our redemption, He is both Father and
Son....' In this way Irenaeus hoped to avoid every pluralistic expression
with reference to God. He knew, of course, how to differentiate between
God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit... [But] In this way Irenaeus
developed the basic features of a doctrine of the Trinity. It is, in fact,
the most fully developed doctrine of the Trinity during the first and
second centuries. Its characteristic feature is that it does not begin
with three co-eternal persons, as does the orthodox doctrine of the
Trinity in the fourth century, but with the person of the Father who has
with and beside himself his Word and his Wisdom...."
I. Tertullian
- 160-220 A.D.
1. From Carthage (N.
Africa).
2. Called "Father of Latin
Christianity".
3. Roman
lawyer.
4. Came into the church, but seems to have
later blended back into
Gnosticism.
a. Had problems
with Catholic authority
b.
Heavily influenced by Catholic thought and Stoic philosophy - later
blended back into Montaism (off-shoot of Simon Magus), thus breaking from
true church
c. Influenced by
Plato
d. Development of
asceticism, monastic orders
and
e. He is noted for
solidifying the trinity doctrine and fixing it in the
church
5. A number of his writings
available.
Tertullian
The Encyclopedia Britannica, 11th edition,
says:
TERTULLIAN (c. 155-c. 222),
whose full name was QUINTUS SEPTIMIUS FLORENS TERTULLIANUS, is the
earliest and after Augustine the greatest of the ancient church writers of
the West... Tertullian in fact created Christian Latin literature; one
might almost say that that literature sprang from him full-grown, alike in
form and substance, as Athena from the head of Zeus...His writings in tone
and character are always alike 'rich in thought and destitute of form,
passionate and hair-splitting, eloquent and pithy in expression, energetic
and condensed to the point of obscurity...What he was he was with his
whole being. Once a Christian, he was determined to be so with all his
soul, and to shake himself free of all half measures and compromises with
the world... he struggled for years to reconcile things that were in
themselves irreconcilable... It is easy to convict him of having failed to
control the glowing passion that was in him... Not only was he master of
the contents of the Bible: he also read carefully the works of Hermas,
Justin, Tatian, Miliades, Melito, Irenaeus, Proculus, Clement, as well as
many Gnostic treatises, the writings of Marcion in particular... His
special gift lay in the power to make what had been traditionally received
impressive, to give to it its proper form, and to gain for it new
currency... It was his desire to unite the enthusiasm of primitive
Christianity with intelligent thought, the original demands of the Gospel
with every letter of the Scriptures and with the practice of the Roman
church, the sayings of the Paraclete with the authority of the bishops,
the law of the churches with the freedom of the inspired...After having
done battle with heathens, Jews, Marcionites, Gnostics, Monarchians, and
the Catholics, he died an old man, carrying with him to the grave the last
remains of primitive Christianity in the West, but at the same time in
conflict with himself. His activity as a Christian fall between 190 and
220, a period of very great moment in the history of the Catholic church;
for within it the struggle with Gnosticism was brought to a victorious
close, the New Testament established a firm footing within the churches,
the 'apostolic' rules which thenceforward regulated all the affairs of the
church were called into existence, and the ecclesiastical priesthood came
to be developed." pp. 661-663
Tertullian continued
From The
Importance of Tertullian in the Development of Christian Dogma, by James
Morgan, we read:
'It is the right of every
individual,' says Tertullian, 'to choose his own religion. It is not a
religious act to force men into religion.'
Morgan, quoting
Tertullian, says:
"God is great when little."
"Lie to be
true."
"And the Son of God died; it is by all means to be believed,
because it is absurd."
"He was buried, and rose again; the fact is
certain, because it is impossible."
J. Origen - 185-254
A.D.
1. Catholic writer and scholar.
From Euripus' History of the Church, we read:
"When the flames of
persecution were fanned to great blaze and untold numbers were being
wreathed with martyrs' crowns, such a longing for martyrdom possessed the
soul of Origen, boy as he was, that his one ambition was to come to grips
with danger and charge headlong into the conflict...when the news that his
father had been arrested and imprisoned filled his whole being with a
craving for martyrdom...(but when his mother saw that he was more)
determined than ever, she hid all his clothing and compelled him to stay
at home...This may serve as the first evidence of Origen's boyish sagacity
and the perfect sincerity of his devotion to God. For already he had laid
firm foundations for the understanding of the Faith, trained, as he was
from early childhood in the divine Scriptures. He had toiled at these
assiduously, his father insisting that in addition to the normal
curriculum he should pursue the study of Holy Writ with equal vigor. He
constantly urged him not to give any time to secular subjects till he had
steeped himself in religious studies, and every day required him to learn
passages by heart and repeat them aloud. This was not at all distasteful
to the boy: indeed, he gave himself up too completely to these tasks and,
not content to read the sacred words in their simple and natural sense,
looked for something more, and young as he was devoted himself to
profounder investigation; so that he worried his father with questions as
to the meaning and intention that underlay the inspired Scripture." pp.
240 241
Origen continued
2. Known as the
"Founder of Biblical Criticism".
3. Many works
(6,000 attributed to him) - most learned of church
fathers.
a. We learn history
of Catholic Church from him
b. Embraced trinity, Easter, Sunday, and Mary
worship
c. Blended Christian
thought with thoughts of
Plato
d. Ascetic
nature
Eusebius' Church History says:
"For very many years he
persisted in this philosophic way of life, putting away from him all
inducements to youthful lusts, and at all times of the day disciplining
himself by performing strenuous tasks, while he devoted most of the night
to the study of Holy Scripture. He went to the limit in practicing a life
given up to philosophy; sometimes he trained himself by periods of
fasting, sometimes by restricting the hours of sleep, which he insisted on
taking never in bed, always on the floor. Above all, he felt that he must
keep the gospel sayings of the Saviour urging us not to carry two coats or
wear shoes and never to be worried by anxiety about the future. He
displayed an enthusiasm beyond his years, and patiently enduring cold and
nakedness went to the furthest limit of poverty, to the utter amazement of
his pupils and the distress of the countless friends, who begged him to
share their possessions in recognition of the labors that they saw him
bestow on his religious teaching. Not once did his determination weaken;
it is said that for several years he went about on foot without any shoes
at all, and for a much longer period abstained from wine and all else
beyond the minimum of food, so that he ran the risk of upsetting and even
ruining his construction." p. 244
4. From
Alexandria, Egypt.
5. Tortured to death
From
Eusebius' Church History, we read:
"About the same time, while
responsible for the instruction at Alexandria, Origen did a thing that
provided the fullest proof of a mind youthful and immature, but at the
same time of faith and self-mastery. The saying 'there are eunuchs who
made themselves eunuchs for the kingdom of heaven's sake' he took in an
absurdly literal sense, and he was eager both to fulfill the Saviour's
words and at the same time to rule out any suspicion of vile imputations
on the part of unbelievers. For in spite of his youth he discussed
religious problems before a mixed audience. So he lost no time in carrying
out the Saviour's word, endeavoring to do it unnoticed by the bulk of his
pupils." p. 247
K. Sylvester I 335
1. He was
the first real Pope
2. Constine became converted in
his time
3. Persecutions end in his time -
313
4. Roman empire divided in
395
a. Eastern capital
is Constantinople
b. Western
capital is Rome
L. Sixtus III
1. He was
concurrent with Augustine
2. The doctrine of the
"Universal Church Empire" Conceived.
3. The word
Catholic was truly catholic
M. Leo I
1.
Concept of the Bishop at Rome preeminent starts
N.
Simplicius
1. Bishop of Rome during its
fall