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Fathers of the Church, Part 2: the Latin (Or Western) Fathers
Fathers of the Church, Part 2: The Latin (or Western) Fathers A previous In Focus explored some of the great Fathers of the Eastern, or Greek, Church. This week the Latin (Western) Fathers are highlighted. While there is no official list of the Fathers, since the fifth century the criteria for selection has been that the individuals lived holy lives, were orthodox in their teachings and writings, lived during antiquity (the first through seventh centuries) and have been approved by the Church. According to some historians, there are more than 100 total Church Fathers (East and West); many of the same names are found on the different lists. The Fathers helped define, establish and promote the dogmas of the Catholic faith. They not only explained and advanced Christianity, but they stood against those who would defame, deny or exploit our Lord, Jesus Christ. This author is not able to adequately measure or describe the sanctity of these men, who were popes, bishops, theologians, apologists and writers. Some are saints, and all gave themselves in the service of the Lord. Here are a handful among the giants from the Western Church who have the title Church Father. They are categorized by those who lived just before the Council of Nicea, those in the era of Nicea and those after the council, up through the seventh century. Part one about the Greek (Eastern) Church Fathers was published Jan. 21 and can be found at: bit.ly/fatherspart1. Ante-Nicea Fathers Tertullian (c. 155-220) Tertullian Public domain The Fathers of the Western Church begin with Tertullian in the second century. -
Forerunners to the Reformation
{ Lecture 19 } FORERUNNERS TO THE REFORMATION * * * * * Long before Luther nailed his 95 Theses to the Wittenberg Door, there were those who recognized the corruption within the Roman Catholic Church and the need for major reform. Generally speaking, these men attempted to stay within the Catholic system rather than attempting to leave the church (as the Protestant Reformers later would do). The Waldensians (1184–1500s) • Waldo (or Peter Waldo) lived from around 1140 to 1218. He was a merchant from Lyon. But after being influenced by the story of the fourth-century Alexius (a Christian who sold all of his belongings in devotion to Christ), Waldo sold his belongings and began a life of radical service to Christ. • By 1170, Waldo had surrounded himself with a group of followers known as the Poor Men of Lyon, though they would later become known as Waldensians. • The movement was denied official sanction by the Roman Catholic Church (and condemned at the Third Lateran Council in 1179). Waldo was excommunicated by Pope Lucius III in 1184, and the movement was again condemned at the Fourth Lateran Council in 1215. • Waldensians were, therefore, persecuted by the Roman Catholics as heretics. However, the movement survived (even down to the present) though the Waldensians were often forced into hiding in the Alps. • The Waldensian movement was characterized by (1) voluntary poverty (though Waldo taught that salvation was not restricted to those who gave up their wealth), (2) lay preaching, and (2) the authority of the Bible (translated in the language of the people) over any other authority. -
ABSTRACT Savannah Dehart. BRACTEATES AS INDICATORS OF
ABSTRACT Savannah DeHart. BRACTEATES AS INDICATORS OF NORTHERN PAGAN RELIGIOSITY IN THE EARLY MIDDLE AGES. (Under the direction of Michael J. Enright) Department of History, May 2012. This thesis investigates the religiosity of some Germanic peoples of the Migration period (approximately AD 300-800) and seeks to overcome some difficulties in the related source material. The written sources which describe pagan elements of this period - such as Tacitus’ Germania, Bede’s Ecclesiastical History of the English People, and Paul the Deacon’s History of the Lombards - are problematic because they were composed by Roman or Christian authors whose primary goals were not to preserve the traditions of pagans. Literary sources of the High Middle Ages (approximately AD 1000-1400) - such as The Poetic Edda, Snorri Sturluson’s Prose Edda , and Icelandic Family Sagas - can only offer a clearer picture of Old Norse religiosity alone. The problem is that the beliefs described by these late sources cannot accurately reflect religious conditions of the Early Middle Ages. Too much time has elapsed and too many changes have occurred. If literary sources are unavailing, however, archaeology can offer a way out of the dilemma. Rightly interpreted, archaeological evidence can be used in conjunction with literary sources to demonstrate considerable continuity in precisely this area of religiosity. Some of the most relevant material objects (often overlooked by scholars) are bracteates. These coin-like amulets are stamped with designs that appear to reflect motifs from Old Norse myths, yet their find contexts, including the inhumation graves of women and hoards, demonstrate that they were used during the Migration period of half a millennium earlier. -
Events of the Reformation Part 1 – Church Becomes Powerful Institution
May 20, 2018 Events of the Reformation Protestants and Roman Catholics agree on first 5 centuries. What changed? Why did some in the Church want reform by the 16th century? Outline Why the Reformation? 1. Church becomes powerful institution. 2. Additional teaching and practices were added. 3. People begin questioning the Church. 4. Martin Luther’s protest. Part 1 – Church Becomes Powerful Institution Evidence of Rome’s power grab • In 2nd century we see bishops over regions; people looked to them for guidance. • Around 195AD there was dispute over which day to celebrate Passover (14th Nissan vs. Sunday) • Polycarp said 14th Nissan, but now Victor (Bishop of Rome) liked Sunday. • A council was convened to decide, and they decided on Sunday. • But bishops of Asia continued the Passover on 14th Nissan. • Eusebius wrote what happened next: “Thereupon Victor, who presided over the church at Rome, immediately attempted to cut off from the common unity the parishes of all Asia, with the churches that agreed with them, as heterodox [heretics]; and he wrote letters and declared all the brethren there wholly excommunicate.” (Eus., Hist. eccl. 5.24.9) Everyone started looking to Rome to settle disputes • Rome was always ending up on the winning side in their handling of controversial topics. 1 • So through a combination of the fact that Rome was the most important city in the ancient world and its bishop was always right doctrinally then everyone started looking to Rome. • So Rome took that power and developed it into the Roman Catholic Church by the 600s. Church granted power to rule • Constantine gave the pope power to rule over Italy, Jerusalem, Constantinople and Alexandria. -
The Person of Christ in the Seventh–Day Adventism: Doctrine–Building and E
Middlesex University Research Repository An open access repository of Middlesex University research http://eprints.mdx.ac.uk Butoiu, Nicolae (2018) The person of Christ in the Seventh–day Adventism: doctrine–building and E. J. Wagonner’s potential in developing christological dialogue with eastern Christianity. PhD thesis, Middlesex University / Oxford Centre for Mission Studies. [Thesis] Final accepted version (with author’s formatting) This version is available at: https://eprints.mdx.ac.uk/24350/ Copyright: Middlesex University Research Repository makes the University’s research available electronically. Copyright and moral rights to this work are retained by the author and/or other copyright owners unless otherwise stated. The work is supplied on the understanding that any use for commercial gain is strictly forbidden. A copy may be downloaded for personal, non-commercial, research or study without prior permission and without charge. Works, including theses and research projects, may not be reproduced in any format or medium, or extensive quotations taken from them, or their content changed in any way, without first obtaining permission in writing from the copyright holder(s). They may not be sold or exploited commercially in any format or medium without the prior written permission of the copyright holder(s). Full bibliographic details must be given when referring to, or quoting from full items including the author’s name, the title of the work, publication details where relevant (place, publisher, date), pag- ination, and for theses or dissertations the awarding institution, the degree type awarded, and the date of the award. If you believe that any material held in the repository infringes copyright law, please contact the Repository Team at Middlesex University via the following email address: [email protected] The item will be removed from the repository while any claim is being investigated. -
Politics and the Councils of the Fifteenth Century
CCHA Study Sessions, 36(1969), 41-55 Politics and the Councils of the Fifteenth Century by C. M. D. CROWDER Queen’s University Much, perhaps too much, of my theme will be illustrated from the Council of Constance. Of the six general councils of the Church in the first half of the fifteenth century, which are familiar to English-speaking historians as the conciliar movement, it is neither the first, the longest, nor the last; but it is the most significant.1 It is also the one known best to me. One of the most spirited contemporary accounts of this council was written by a citizen of Constance, Ulrich of Richenthal; and one of the most spirited illustrations of the manuscript of Ulrich’s chronicle which is still preserved in Constance shows Pope John XXIII being thrown from a cart (hardly to be dignified as a carriage) as he crossed the Alps from Italy.2 The illustrator knew what John XXIII only suspected: that the Pope was riding for a fall. The incident was no more than a traveller’s hazard, but it gains a symbolic value from the decision of Cardinal Roncalli nearly five hundred and fifty years later, when he in his turn was elected successor of St. Peter, 1 The Roman Catholic Church recognizes 21 oecumenical councils, New Catholic Encyclopaedia, V, New York, 1967, p. 376, H. Jedin, Ecumenical Councils of the Catholic Church, an Historical Outline, Edinburgh, London, 1960, p. 3 (The English translation by E. Graf of Kleine Konziliengeschichte, Freiburg, 1959). Two of these are among the councils of the first half of the fifteenth century: Constance, 1414-18 and Ferrara-Florence, 1438-c. -
Who Are Christians in the Middle East?
Who Are Christians in the Middle East? Seven Churches, each bearing a great and ancient history with Patriarch, who chose as his patriarchal seat the monastery at unique liturgical traditions and culture, comprise the Catho- Bzommar, Lebanon. After a brief relocation to Constantinople, lic Church in the Middle East. Each of these Churches is in the Patriarch of Cilicia of Armenian Catholics returned his seat full communion with Rome, but six with an Eastern tradition to Bzommar, with his residence and offices in Beirut, Lebanon. are sui iuris, or self-governing, and have their own Patriarchs. The Chaldean Catholic Church has almost 500,000 mem- All these Churches are Arabic-speaking and immersed in Ar- bers, with about 60 percent residing in the Middle East. The abic culture. Chaldeans are historically concentrated in Iraq as they came The Maronite Catholic Church is the largest of the East- from the Assyrian Church of the East. In 1552, a group of As- ern Catholic Churches in the Middle East at around 3 million syrian bishops decided to seek union with Rome. Although members. It has a strong presence in Lebanon, with smaller Pope Julius III proclaimed Patriarch Simon VIII Patriarch “of communities in Syria, Jordan, Cyprus, and the Holy Land. the Chaldeans,” pro- and anti-Catholic parties struggled with- However, slightly over half its members have emigrated from in the Assyrian Church of the East until 1830, when another the Middle East to countries such as Argentina, Brazil, Aus- Chaldean Patriarch was appointed. The Patriarch of Babylon of tralia, Mexico, Canada, and the United States. -
Exaltation of the Holy Cross If You Walk Into Any Catholic Church, You
Exaltation of the Holy Cross If you walk into any Catholic Church, you will immediately see the cross, the crucifix. Every Sunday we are led into the church by the cross. When we begin mass, we bless ourselves with the sign of the cross. And if you look above the altar, you will see the crucifix prominently displayed. The cross decorates our homes, and for many of us it has even become a lovely piece of jewelry, something we proudly display. But it wasn’t always this way. The cross was once a sign of horror and shame, something that instilled fear and loathing into every heart. Crucifixion was the punishment the Roman Empire reserved for slaves, violent criminals, and those who rebelled against the Roman state. In the Old Testament, the Book of Deuteronomy says, “Cursed by God is anyone who hangs on a tree.” So imagine how difficult it was for the first Christians to preach the gospel of the crucified Christ. Crucifixion was the punishment for slaves, violent criminals, and political rebels. Jesus was crucified. Therefore Jesus must have been … Anyone who hangs on a tree (is crucified) is under God’s curse. Jesus was crucified. Therefore, Jesus must have been under God’s curse. You see, what we take for granted today was a stumbling block in the ancient world, a scandal, a cause for shame. But today we celebrate a feast in honor of the cross; we reverence and proclaim the cross because this instrument of shame and torture has become the source of our salvation. -
Reformation Beginnings
UPON THIS ROCK A STUDY OF THE HISTORY OF CHRIST’S CHURCH UPON THIS ROCK A STUDY OF LESSON 6: THE HISTORY OF CHRIST’S REFORMATION CHURCH BEGINNINGS CAUTION: CHURCH HISTORY Robert Robinson (published 1792) “On the caution necessary to a reader of ecclesiastical history: It is an old observation, that of all history, ecclesiastical is the worst written. Such a history, beginning with Jesus, & proceeding through successive ages with His disciples, ought to exhibit bright example of virtue. It should show a succession of men contending (if contend they must) for something worth contending for. Instead of this, every century proceeds from worse to worse, each opening with deplorable scenes of all the ills that afflict society… CAUTION: CHURCH HISTORY Robert Robinson (published 1792) “Want of precision in ecclesiastical history is one chief cause of the gloom that involves the divine religion of Jesus, & while this confusion remains, a cheat is put on the reader, & a long time elapses ere he discovers that what had been given him for a history of good men, the very disciples of the Son of God, was a history of counterfeits, disciples of the world, & regulated only by the maxims of it. Ecclesiastical history may be so written as to serve the interests of parties while the disguise remains: But to serve the cause of truth & virtue at large the covering must be taken off, for either that or the cause must go to decay.” CAUTION: CHURCH HISTORY FW Mattox “From the beginning of the development of the Roman hierarchy there was opposition both to organization & to the changes which came about in doctrine. -
Concept of a Crusade Within Each Faith in an Attempt to Ascertain the Roots of the Actions of Christian and Muslim Crusades
InSight: RIVIER ACADEMIC JOURNAL, VOLUME 5, NUMBER 2, FALL 2009 CONCEPT OF A CRUSAID Thomas Jackson* Master of Arts in Teaching Social Studies Program, Rivier College Keywords: Crusades, Islam, Pope, Warfare, Christianity Abstract Mention the word Crusade and depending on who is listening, the word's meaning and cultural impact varies significantly. Specifically, the Medieval Crusades, often traditionally defined by historians as offensive military campaigns waged by Christians to recapture the Holy Land from Muslims are held out as an example of western exploitation of Islam. Much work by authors such as John M. Riddle and Jonathan Riley-Smith has highlighted the historical events but has not considered the possibility these Crusades were defensive actions to counter previous Islamic advances into Christian territories. This paper will first examine the origins of Christianity and Islam, their spread, and the general concept of a Crusade within each faith in an attempt to ascertain the roots of the actions of Christian and Muslim Crusades. There will be an examination of the early Islamic advances into the Christian Levant. The work will assess the 1094 call for help by Byzantine Emperor Alexius Comnenus I to thwart the Seljuk Muslim invaders. The paper will also examine the abhorrent Western European behavior during the Crusades. Finally, in a thoughtful postmortem analysis, the case will made that if the Crusades were not undertaken, Europe and its culture that we know today may not have existed. Introduction Mention the word Crusades and depending on who you converse with, the word's connotation and historical impact varies significantly with Christians and Muslims often holding diametrically opposing views. -
Early-Christianity-Timeline.Pdf
Pagan Empire Christian Empire 100 200 300 400 500 600 700 1 AD Second 'Bishop' of Rome. Pupil of Student of Polycarp. First system- Bishop of Nyssa, brother of Basil. Pope. The Last Father of the Peter. Author of a letter to Corinth, atic theologian, writing volumi- Bishop of Original and sophisticated theologi- model of St Gregory the Church. First of the St John of (1 Clement), the earliest Christian St Clement of Rome nously about the Gospels and the St Irenaeus St Cyprian Carthage. an, writing on Trinitarian doctrine Gregory of Nyssa an ideal Scholastics. Polymath, document outside the NT. church, and against heretics. and the Nicene creed. pastor. Great monk, and priest. Damascus Former disciple of John the Baptist. Prominent Prolific apologist and exegete, the Archbishop of Constantinople, St Leo the Pope. Able administrator in very Archbishop of Seville. Encyclopaedist disciple of Jesus, who became a leader of the most important thinker between Paul brother of Basil. Greatest rhetorical hard times, asserter of the prima- and last great scholar of the ancient St Peter Judean and later gentile Christians. Author of two St Justin Martyr and Origen, writing on every aspect stylist of the Fathers, noted for St Gregory Nazianzus cy of the see of Peter. Central to St Isidore world, a vital link between the learning epistles. Source (?) of the Gospel of Mark. of life, faith and worship. writing on the Holy Spirit. Great the Council of Chalcedon. of antiquity and the Middle Ages. Claimed a knowledge and vision of Jesus independent Pupil of Justin Martyr. Theologian. -
The Ecumenical Councils of the Catholic Church
The Ecumenical Councils of the Catholic Church The Ecumenical Councils of the Catholic Church A History Joseph F. Kelly A Michael Glazier Book LITURGICAL PRESS Collegeville, Minnesota www.litpress.org A Michael Glazier Book published by Liturgical Press Cover design by David Manahan, OSB. Painting in Kiev, Sofia. Photo by Sasha Martynchuk. © Sasha Martynchuk and iStockphoto. Scripture texts in this work are taken from the New American Bible with Revised New Testament and Revised Psalms © 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Washington, DC, and are used by permission of the copyright owner. All Rights Reserved. No part of the New American Bible may be reproduced in any form without permission in writing from the copyright owner. © 2009 by Order of Saint Benedict, Collegeville, Minnesota. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form, by print, microfilm, microfiche, mechanical recording, photocopying, translation, or by any other means, known or yet unknown, for any purpose except brief quotations in reviews, without the previ- ous written permission of Liturgical Press, Saint John’s Abbey, PO Box 7500, Col- legeville, Minnesota 56321-7500. Printed in the United States of America. 123456789 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Kelly, Joseph F. (Joseph Francis), 1945– The ecumenical councils of the Catholic Church : a history / Joseph F. Kelly. p. cm. “A Michael Glazier book”—T.p. verso. Includes bibliographical references (p. ) and index. ISBN 978-0-8146-5376-0 (pbk.) 1. Councils