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Home , Apollinaris of Ravenna, Charismatic movement, Council of Chalcedon, Council of Rome, Eutychianism, Hippolytus of Rome

Summary of subtle, but important distinctions in the theories about

Arianism – the Son of was a subordinate entity to , the First of the Creatures. Condemned by the Council of Nicaea in 325. – Christ is strictly divine, and only the appearance as human, without any true reality. Condemned by the Council of Nicaea in 325. – Christ was a man “adopted” by God at his in the Jordan, or his resurrection, or his ascension. Condemned by the Council of Nicaea in 325. – Christ is two persons, divine and human, living in the same body. The "School of " emphasized Christ’s humanity (including the limited knowledge and "growth in wisdom" of the Christ of the ). Condemned at the Councils of in 431, in 451. – Christ is one person and one hypostasis in one nature – divine – after the union of the divine and the human in the historical . This theory was born in the theological "School of " which emphasized divinity (including the fact that the divine nature was itself "impassible" or immune to suffering). Condemned by the in 451. – Christ's divinity consumed his humanity as the ocean consumes a drop of vinegar. Condemned by the Council of Chalcedon in 451. – Christ is one person with divinity and humanity united in one (mia) nature (), without separation, confusion, and alteration. [The distinction is that the incarnate Christ has one nature, but that single nature is still of both a divine character and a human character, and retains all the characteristics of both.] Condemned by the Council of II in 553. – Christ has two natures but only one . This theory formally emerged in Armenia and in 629 after Constantinople II; condemned by the Council of Constantinople III in 681. Dyophysitism – clearly distinguishes between person and nature, stating that Christ is one person in two natures, which are "without confusion, without change, without division, without separation." This is the official Orthodox and doctrine, established at the Council of Chalcedon in 451, and reaffirmed thereafter. Much has been said about the difficulties in understanding the Greek technical terms used in these controversies. The main words are (οὐσία, 'substance'), physis (φύσις, 'nature'), hypostasis (ὑπόστασις) and (πρόσωπον, 'person'). Even in Greek, their meanings can overlap somewhat. These difficulties became even more exaggerated when these technical terms were translated into other languages. In Syriac, physis was translated as kyānâ (ܐܢܝܟ) and hypostasis was qnômâ (ܐܡܘܢܩ). However, in the Persian , or the East Syriac tradition, qnoma was taken to mean nature, thereby confounding the issue further. The shades of meaning are even more blurred between these words, and they could not be used in such a philosophical way as their Greek counterparts. Just as the Second Council of Constantinople (known as the "Fifth ") condemned a certain understanding of the Dyophysite formula introduced at the Council of Chalcedon, it likewise condemned a certain understanding of the Miaphysite terminology of introduced at the , thus leaving room for other orthodox understandings for both Dyophysitism and Miaphysitism. A certain understanding of Miaphysitism thus was affirmed as acceptable doctrine among the Chalcedonians. In the light of modern historical research and ecumenical discussions, the miaphysite and Chalcedonian positions appear to differ mainly in their usage of the key term "nature" (Greek: φύσις, phýsis, as used in the original texts of the relevant Ecumenical Councils) rather than in the underlying , but other smaller differences of interpretation or emphasis may also exist. Intercommunion between the Oriental Orthodox and various Chalcedonian churches has not yet been reestablished; however the agreement of 1994 between the and the Assyrian is a step in this direction.

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II. Western Fathers: The Search for the Faithful in the Church of Carthage 160 – 225 Tertullian, living in Carthage, became a Christian after a sudden and decisive conversion, transforming his own personality; he describes it as " are made, not born." He was a prolific author, the first to produce an extensive corpus of Latin : "the founder of Western ." He is the oldest extant Latin writer to use the term and his is the oldest formal exposition of a Trinitarian theology, using terms such as "three Persons, one Substance." Like , he was never canonized by the Catholic Church due to some questionable theories. Two books addressed to his wife confirm that he was married to a Christian wife. In middle life (about 207), he was attracted to the "New Prophecy" of Montanus, a movement that called for a reliance on the spontaneity of the and a more conservative personal ethic, similar to modern or the . They spoke in ecstatic visions and urged their followers to fast and pray, so that they might share these revelations. A council of elders tested all prophecy to determine genuine revelation. was particularly influenced by Johannine literature, especially the of John and the of John (also known as the ). In John's Gospel, promised to send the Paraclete or Holy Spirit, from which Montanists believed their prophets derived inspiration. Tertullian was the best-known defender of the New Prophecy. He admired the movement's discipline and ascetic standards. Some Monanist communities seem to have split from the mainstream church, but it was never condemned as a . As a Monatanist, Tertullian continued to write against heresy, especially . Thus, by the doctrinal works he published, Tertullian became the teacher of of Carthage and the predecessor of Augustine, who, in turn, became the chief founder of Latin theology. Hippolytus of 170–235 Hippolytus was the most important 3rd-century theologian in Rome. A under Zephyrinus (199–217), he was distinguished for his learning and eloquence. It was at this time that Origen of Alexandria, then a young man, heard him preach. He came into conflict with the of his time and seems to have headed a schismatic group as a rival of Rome, and is considered the first . He accused of Modalism (i.e., the names Father and Son are simply different modes of the same divine subject). Hippolytus championed the doctrine of Greek apologists, notably , which distinguished the Father from the Logos ("Word"). An ethical conservative, he was scandalized when Pope Callistus I (217–222) extended to Christians who had committed grave sins, such as adultery. At this time, he got himself elected as a rival Bishop of Rome, and after Callistus died, he continued to attack (222–230) and (230–235). Under persecution, Hippolytus and Pontian were exiled together in 235 to . It is quite probable that he was reconciled before his death; under (236–250), his body and that of Pontian were brought to Rome. Hippolytus is considered a martyr and is canonized (along with Callistus). Hippolytus is similar to Origen in his voluminous writings in , , and , chronography, and church law. He recorded the first liturgical reference to the Mary, as part of the rite of a bishop. Hippolytus explained 's prophecies by relating them to the empires of the Babylonians, Medo-Persians, , and Romans. He believed that Rome would be partitioned into the predicted ten kingdoms, followed by . All this would be ended by Christ's . Of the dogmatic works, On Christ and the Antichrist survives in a complete state. Among other things it includes a vivid account of the events preceding the end of the world, and it was probably written at the time of the persecution under , about 202. His chronicle of the world, embracing the whole period from the creation of the world up to the year 234, formed a basis for many chronographical works both in the East and West. Hippolytus was apparently the first to set a specific date for the Second Coming through calculation – A.D. 500 – which would be 260 years after his time. He assumed, like his teacher, that inasmuch as God made all things in six days, and these days symbolize a thousand years each, the end will come in six thousand years from the creation (based on the Septuagint which had the world beginning about 5500 B.C.). 2

Pope Callistus I also called Callixtus I (b? - 223) Callistus was a slave in the imperial Roman household, in charge of the bank. He lost the money, fled and was caught. After serving time for a while, he was released to recover the money. After being arrested for brawling (trying to collect a loan), he was condemned to the mines of Sardinia. After winning his freedom, Callistus was made superintendent of the public Christian burial ground in Rome (still called the cemetery of St. Callistus). The pope ordained him a and made him his friend and adviser. He was elected pope by a majority vote of the and of Rome, and thereafter was bitterly attacked by the losing candidate, St. Hippolytus, who let himself be set up as the first antipope in the history of the Church. He attacked Callistus on two fronts – doctrine and discipline. Hippolytus found Modalism everywhere. He also accused Callistus of leniency: 1) Callistus admitted to Holy Communion those who had already done public for murder, adultery, fornication; 2) he held marriages between free women and slaves to be valid – contrary to Roman law; 3) he authorized the ordination of men who had been married two or three times; 4) he held that was not a sufficient reason to depose a bishop; 5) he held to a policy of leniency toward those who had temporarily denied their during persecution. Callistus was martyred during a local disturbance in Trastevere, Rome. The Western Church was concerned about true doctrine, for example, rejecting and Modalism; but there is an even stronger emphasis on discipline. There is a continual tendency toward rigorism, which can overshadow the mercy of Christ. Every pope – indeed every Christian – must walk the difficult path between "reasonable" and "reasonable" discipline. (300 – 368) Pope Fabian (200 –250) had sent seven to Gaul to preach ; one went to Bordeaux, a port city on the southwest coast. The Church of Portiers was erected soon after, a suffragan of Bordeaux. The Christians of Poitiers so respected Hilary that about 350, they unanimously elected him their bishop. Among his earliest writings is the first Latin commentary on Matthew – an allegorical exegesis of the first Gospel. It has survived in its entirety. He was strongly influenced by Tertullian and Cyprian, and made use of classical writers, including Cicero and the Roman historians. Arianism was threatening to overrun both the Eastern and the Western Church; Hilary undertook to repel it. He was sometimes referred to as the "Hammer of the Arians" and the "Athanasius of the West." His efforts did not succeed at first. He was exiled, allegedly for refusing to subscribe to the condemnation of Athanasius and the Nicene faith. Hilary spent nearly four years in exile at Phrygia. While in Phrygia, he continued governing his diocese, as well as writing two of the most important of his contributions to dogmatic theology. The De Synodis, an epistle addressed in 358 to the Semi-Arian bishops in Gaul, and Britain, analyzed the views of the Eastern bishops on the Nicene controversy. He discovered that sometimes the difference between beliefs and orthodox doctrine was rather in the words than in the ideas, which led to his counseling the bishops of the West to be more reserved in their condemnation. The 12-volume De Trinitate, composed in 359 and 360, was the first successful expression in Latin of Nicaea's theological subtleties originally elaborated in Greek. Some members of Hilary's own party thought he had shown too great a forbearance towards the Arians, so he replied to their criticisms in the Apologetica. He was a firm guardian of the Trinity. Hilary attended several during his exile, including those which promoted the homoiousion party, forbidding of all discussion of the divine substance. Hilary's urgent and repeated requests for public debates with his opponents proved so inconvenient that he was sent back to his diocese in 361. He spent the next two or three years trying to persuade the local clergy that the homoiousion confession was merely a cover for traditional Arian . In 364, Hilary once more extended his efforts beyond Gaul. He impeached Auxentius, the Arian bishop of , a man high in the imperial favor. The Emperor summoned Hilary to Milan, but the supposed heretic gave satisfactory answers to all the questions. Hilary denounced Auxentius as a hypocrite. According to , Hilary died in Poitiers in 367. While Hilary closely followed the two great Alexandrians, Origen and Athanasius, in exegesis and Christology respectively, his work shows many traces of vigorous independent thought. Hilary was the first Latin Christian hymn writer; Jerome cites his Book of Hymns. 3

Ambrose of Milan 338 - 397 was educated in Rome; in 372 he became Governor of Milan, the second capital beside Rome. In 374 the Arian bishop Auxentius died, and the Arians challenged the succession. Ambrose went to the church for the election to prevent an uproar, which was probable in this crisis. His speech to the people was interrupted by a call "Ambrose, bishop!" which was taken up by the whole assembly. Ambrose was known to be Catholic in (he was still a catechumen), but he was also acceptable to Arians due to the charity shown in theological matters. At first he energetically refused the office, for which he was in no way prepared: Ambrose was neither baptized nor formally trained in theology. He fled to a colleague's home seeking to hide, but Ambrose's host gave him up. Within a week, he was baptized, and duly consecrated bishop of Milan. As bishop, he immediately adopted an ascetic lifestyle, apportioned his money and land to the poor. This raised his popularity even further. He studied theology, and using his excellent knowledge of Greek (rare in the West) to his advantage, he studied the and Greek authors like Philo, Origen, Athanasius, and , with whom he was also exchanging letters. He applied this knowledge as preacher, concentrating especially on exegesis of the Old Testament, and his rhetorical abilities impressed , who until then had thought poorly of Christian preachers. There were many adherents of Arianism throughout the empire, especially among the clergy. Two Arian bishops convinced Emperor Gratian to call a general council. Ambrose feared the consequences and prevailed upon the emperor to have the matter determined by a local council of the Western bishops in the year 381. Ambrose was elected president and a vote was then taken, deposing the two Arian bishops. The strong Arian faction demanded a church of their own in Milan. Ambrose refused: “If you demand my person, I am ready to submit: carry me to prison or to death, I will not resist; but I will never betray the church of Christ. I will not call upon the people to succor me; I will die at the foot of the altar rather than desert it. The tumult of the people I will not encourage: but God alone can appease it.” Ambrose ranks with Augustine, Jerome, and Gregory the Great. Despite his juridical training and his late handling of Biblical and doctrinal subjects, theologians compare him with Hilary. His spiritual successor, Augustine claimed that he owes more to Ambrose than to any writer except Paul. Ambrose took his priestly episcopal ministry very seriously, and continuing the Stoic Ciceronian training of his youth, he promoted a lofty standard of . But he also displayed liturgical flexibility, keeping in mind that liturgy is a tool to serve people, and ought not to become a rigid entity invariable from place to place. His advice to Augustine: "When I am at Rome, I fast on a Saturday; when I am at Milan, I do not. Follow the custom of the church where you are." His advice has remained as the saying, "When in Rome, do as the Romans do." Up to the present day, church law is territorial. Ambrose's theology was significantly influenced by that of Origen and Didymus the Blind, two Christian universalists. He developed a distinction between the at a person’s death, and a general judgment at the end of time. The virginity of Mary and her role as Mother of God is central. The virgin birth is worthy of God. Christ is not divided. If we adore him as the Son of God, we do not deny his birth from the virgin. But nobody shall extend this to Mary; Mary was the temple of God but not God in the temple. Only the one who was in the temple can be worshipped. No wonder that , wishing to rescue the world, began his work with Mary. Thus Mary would be the first to receive the promised fruit of , and through her salvation was being prepared for all people. Ambrose viewed virginity as to marriage and saw Mary as the model of virginity. He founded an institution for virgins in Rome, and he himself never married. In matters of exegesis he is, like Hilary, an Alexandrian. In dogma he follows Basil of Caesarea and other Greek authors, but gives a distinctly Western cast to his speculations. This is manifest in the weightier emphasis which he lays upon human sin and , and in the place which he assigns to faith in the individual Christian life. Ambrose promoted "antiphonal chant", in which one side of the choir responds alternately to the other. He composed several original hymns which served as a fruitful model for later times. The is still sung in the Church of Milan. 4

Jerome 347 – 420 Jerome was born in present-day Croatia, and as a youth went to Rome with his friend Bonosus where he learned Latin and Greek. As a student, he indulged casually in the superficial escapades and wanton behavior of students there; but he suffered terrible bouts of repentance afterwards. Jerome initially used classical authors to describe Christian concepts, such as hell, that indicated both his classical education and his deep shame of the worldly practices, such as pederasty, which was found in Rome. Although initially skeptical of Christianity, he was baptized as a young man. After several years in Rome, he travelled with Bonosus to Gaul where he copied Hilary of Poitiers' commentary on the Psalms and the De synodis. He set out on on a journey through northern Syria, where he became seriously ill, and had a vision that led him to lay aside his secular studies and devote himself to God. He abstained from the study of the classics and plunged deeply into the . Seized with a desire for ascetic penance, he went to the desert southwest of Antioch, known for the number of living there. He learned Hebrew under the guidance of a converted Jew; and he was in correspondence with Jewish Christians in Antioch, who provided him with the so-called Gospel of the Hebrews, considered the original Gospel of Matthew. He was ordained a presbyter In Antioch, and went to Constantinople to study Scripture under Gregory Nazianzen. He then returned to Rome, becoming secretary to Pope Damasus. He distinguished himself to the pope, and took a prominent place. Fluent in Greek, he corrected the existing Latin version of the , based on the Greek manuscripts. He was surrounded by a circle of well-born and well- educated women. He encouraged them to abandon the Roman hedonism, and seek a monastic lifestyle. He was unsparing in his criticism of the clergy of Rome, which brought a growing hostility against him among the clergy and their supporters. At the death of his patron Damasus in 384, Jerome was forced to leave his position at Rome after an inquiry into allegations that he had an improper relationship with the widow Paula. Additionally, he challenged the self-indulgent lifestyle a young woman Blaesilla. Her subsequent ascetic practices seemed to affect her health, and she died after four months. Her many friends were outraged at Jerome for causing the premature death of such a lively young woman. In 385, he left Rome and returned to Antioch, followed a little later by the wealthy Roman aristocrats Paula and Eustochium, who had resolved to spend the rest of their lives in the Holy Land. Jerome acted as their spiritual adviser. They visited Jerusalem, Bethlehem, and the holy places of Galilee, and then went to , the home of the great heroes of the ascetic life such as Mary of Egypt. At the Catechetical School of Alexandria, Jerome listened to the catechist Didymus the Blind. In 388 he moved to Jerusalem to strengthen his grip on Jewish scripture commentary, and spent the remaining 32 years of his life in a 's cell near Bethlehem, surrounded by a few friends (including Paula and Eustochium). Amply provided by Paula, during this climax of his career, he produced the best of his scriptural commentaries, his translations, and his catalogue of Christian authors. By 390 he turned to translating the Bible from the original Hebrew into Latin (which would become universally accepted as the Latin Standard Bible, the ). to this, all translations of the Bible were based on the Septuagint. (Jerome's decision to use a Hebrew text instead of the Greek Septuagint went against the advice of most other Christians, including Augustine, who thought the Septuagint inspired.) Modern scholarship suggests that Origen’s Greek Hexapla was the main source for Jerome's work. Jerome died near Bethlehem in 420. Practically all of Jerome's writings on dogma have a more or less vehemently polemical character, especially against the Arians, but also against some of Origen’s ideas. He wrote a treatise against those who rejected baptism performed by heretics. He defended the ordinary Catholic practices of piety, his own ascetic ethics, the of and relics, the vow of poverty, and clerical celibacy. The last of his polemical works (in 415) is the Dialogue against the Pelagians (the belief that did not taint human nature, and that human will is still capable of choosing good or evil without special Divine aid). The next year a group of incensed Pelagians broke into his , set it on fire, attacked the inmates and killed a deacon, forcing Jerome to seek safety in a neighboring fortress. Jerome is the second most prolific writer (after Augustine) in ancient Latin Christianity. He retains a rank among the western Fathers, if for nothing else, on account of the great influence that his Latin version of the Bible exercised upon subsequent ecclesiastical and theological development.

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Augustine of Hippo 354 –430 Augustine was born in Roman , in present-day Algeria. He went to Carthage for his education in rhetoric. As a youth Augustine lived a hedonistic lifestyle, associating with young men who boasted of their sexual exploits with women and men. It was then that he uttered his famous , "Grant me chastity, but not yet." At about the age of 19, Augustine began an affair with a young woman in Carthage. The woman remained his lover for over thirteen years and gave birth to his son Adeodatus. Augustine went to Rome to teach rhetoric. There he had a moral conversion and began to follow Gnostic Manichaeans. taught a dualistic cosmology describing the struggle between a good, spiritual world of light, and an evil, material world of darkness. Light gradually moves from the world of matter and returns to the world of light. is the process of enlightenment in which people can participate in this escape from matter. was widespread throughout the Aramaic-Syriac speaking regions. At the age of thirty, Augustine was appointed to the prestigious academic position of professor of rhetoric for the imperial court at Milan. He turned away from Manichaeanism, and became a skeptic. At Milan, Augustine encountered the bishop Ambrose. Ambrose was also a master of rhetoric, but older and more experienced. In 386, Augustine heard a childlike voice calling "take up and read;" he opened a Bible and read the first thing he saw – Romans 13, 13-14 – “Not in rioting and drunkenness, not in strife and envy, but put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh to fulfill the lusts thereof.” Ambrose baptized Augustine in 387. A year later, preparing to embark for Africa, his mother Monica died at Ostia, . Augustine and Adeodatus went on Africa, but soon after, Adeodatus also died. Augustine sold his patrimony and gave the money to the poor. He kept only the family house, which he converted into a monastic foundation for himself and a group of friends. In 391 he was ordained a presbyter. He became a famous preacher, and in 395 he became Bishop of Hippo. He lived a monastic life in the episcopal residence. He wrote a rule (regula) for his priests (regular clergy) who lived in community with him. The , an Arian Germanic tribe, besieged Hippo in the spring of 430, as Augustine lay dying. Augustine was one of the first ancient Latin authors with a very clear vision of anthropology. He saw the human being as a perfect unity of two substances: and body, which are categorically different yet one soul-body union. The soul is superior to the body, because all of reality is hierarchical: some things merely exist, others exist and live, and others (humans and angels) exist, live, and have intelligence. In The Literal Interpretation of Genesis, Augustine suggested that everything in the universe was created by God simultaneously, not in seven calendar days. The six-day structure in Genesis represents a logical framework, rather than the passage of time. He cites Sirach 18:1, “He created all things at once.” Augustine developed his doctrine of the Church in response to the Donatist . During Diocletian’s persecution, Christians could save their lives by simply handing over their Scriptures as a token of rejection. When the persecution ended, zealous faithful branded these traitors traditores, "those who handed over." Bishop Caecilian of Carthage was not a traditor, but he had been consecrated by a traditor. Donatus, a rigorist, held that the church must be a church of , not sinners. administered by traditores were invalid. His followers elected Donatus bishop of Carthage in opposition to Caecilian. The in 313 acquitted Caecilian and condemned Donatus as a schismatic. Donatus appealed to Constantine to call another council to repeal the decision. In 314 the Council of excommunicated Donatus and passed twenty-two disciplinary canons: Clergymen who were traditores should be deposed, but their official acts were to be held valid. Heretics should not be rebaptized. The assistance of at least three bishops was required at a bishop’s ordination. should be held on the same day throughout the world. The clergy should reside in their district of ministry. Christians should not participate in races and gladiatorial fights. These canons followed the more reasonable example set by popes like Callistus, rejecting the rigorist approach to morality and church order. The Donatists continued viewing themselves as the "true Church," the only one with "valid sacraments." Augustine fashioned his notions of the Church and the sacraments on the principles set at the Council of Arles. There is one Church, but within this Church there are two realities: the visible aspect established by Christ on earth which proclaims salvation (the hierarchy, sacraments, and daily lives of the people), and the invisible Communion of Saints made up of genuine believers from all ages and places, known only to

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God. The visible Church has wheat and tares (Matt. 13:30) until the end of time. It is not right to claim that only those in a state of grace make up the true church on earth. Augustine followed Cyprian of Carthage in teaching that the bishops and priests of the Church are the successors of the Apostles, and that their authority in the Church is God-given; but you cannot hold that sacraments performed by a minister in a state of sin are invalid. Sacraments performed by schismatics are irregular, but valid. Only in the heavenly City of God, ruled by love, will the Church ultimately be cleansed of all self-indulgence and pride. Augustine insisted that the consequences of the original sin made living a virtuous life impossible without God’s redeeming grace. He elaborated this teaching as a reaction to Pelagius, who held that human nature never lost its God-given moral capacity. Immorality is simply a matter of will, i.e. deciding to do a wrong thing. Augustine, speaking from his own experience, and that of all the people he had ever met, pointed out that there is an obvious disorder in all of us, a “disobedience of the flesh to the spirit,” that overwhelms our common sense and desire to do what is right. He explained this disorder as the result of “original sin,” inherited from and Eve. Augustine agreed with Pelagius that God created humans and angels as rational beings, possessing free will. Free will was not intended for sin, but a creature’s will that has been damaged by sin is not as free as it once was, because it is bound by material things, resulting in unhappiness. Original Sin makes humanity much enfeebled, though it does not destroy the freedom of the will. Sin impairs free will, but it is restored by grace. Using Cicero’s Stoic concept of the passions, he interpreted Paul's doctrine of universal sin and by the cross of Christ. Even though Augustine came to live as a sexual celibate, he pointed to the of Matrimony to illustrate how grace transforms human concupiscence by the virtue of continence. For Augustine, the evil of sexual immorality is not in the sexual act itself, but rather in the emotions that typically accompany it. love exercises a denial of selfish pleasure and the subjugation of corporeal desire to God. Redemptive healing is realized in conjugal love, and the redemption of human sexuality will be fully accomplished only in the resurrection of the body. Despite his insight about the redeeming effects of the sacrament, his view of sexual feelings as sinful affected his view of women. He considered a man’s erection to be sinful, though involuntary, because it did not take place under his conscious control. His solution was to place controls on women to limit their ability to influence men. Although Augustine usually takes a more reasonable position between rigorism and permissiveness, his personal experience, and the hedonist practices of Roman culture, seems to have nudged him into a fairly rigorist attitude about sex. Against many Christian attitudes, Augustine held that God had chosen the Jews as a special people, and the scattering of Jewish people by the was a fulfillment of prophecy. He rejected homicidal attitudes towards the Jews, quoting: "Slay them not, lest they should at last forget Thy law" (Psalm 59:11). Augustine believed Jews should be permitted to dwell peacefully in Christian lands, and that they would be converted to Christianity at the end of time. The sentiment sometimes attributed to Augustine that Christians should let the Jews "survive but not thrive" is apocryphal and is not found in any of his writings. Augustine was one of the most prolific Latin authors; more than a hundred separate titles survive. They include apologetic works against the of the Arians, Donatists, Manichaeans and Pelagians; texts on Christian doctrine, such as On Free Choice Of The Will; exegetical works on much of the Bible, such as Genesis, Psalms and Romans; many and letters; and Retractationes, a review of his earlier works near the end of his life. Augustine is best known for his Confessions, a personal account of his earlier life; and The City of God, written to restore confidence of Christians shaken by the in 410, but applicable throughout history – not only in times of war or political upheaval – City of God closely identified with the Church that adhered to the concept of the Trinity as defined by the Councils of Nicaea and Constantinople. His On the Trinity, in which he developed the “psychological analogy'” of the Trinity, is among his masterpieces, arguably one of the greatest theological works of all time. Everyone generally subscribes to Augustine's belief that God exists outside of time in the "eternal present." Time only exists within the created universe because it is only in created space that time is discernible through motion and change. Some of Augustine’s teachings are not accepted in the East, most importantly his support of the (the of the Holy Spirit from the Father and the son). Other doctrines they question are his view of original sin, the doctrine of grace, and (the doctrine that all events have been willed by God, which engages the "paradox of free will," whereby God's omniscience seems incompatible with human free will. 7

Peter Chrysologus 380 - 450 Peter was born in Northeastern Italy near present-day San Marino. Bishop Cornelius of baptized him, educated him, ordained him a deacon, and then appointed him . On one occasion, Pope Sixtus was receiving a delegation from Ravenna. He had had a dream of Peter the Apostle and Saint Apollinaris of Ravenna, who introduced to Sixtus a young man, “the Bishop of Ravenna.” When the group from Ravenna arrived, including Cornelius and his archdeacon Peter, Sixtus recognized Peter as the young man in his dream; so after the death of Cornelius in 433, Sixtus consecrated Peter as bishop, apparently rejecting the candidate whom the people of the city of Ravenna had elected. After hearing the oratory of his first homily as bishop, the Roman Empress gave him the surname Chrysologus, meaning "golden-worded." People knew him for his short but inspired talks. He explained Biblical texts briefly and concisely. He also condemned Arianism and Monophysitism as heresies (Ravenna has always had an Eastern influence; there are more Orthodox there than Latin Catholics.) He explained the Apostles' , the mystery of the Incarnation, and other topics in simple and clear language. He dedicated a series of homilies to Saint and the Blessed Virgin Mary. Peter advocated daily reception of . He urged his listeners to confide in the offered through Christ. He shared the confidence of Saint Pope the Great (see below). When was condemned for Monophysitism, he appealed to Peter but failed in his effort to win Peter’s support. The Acts of the Council of Chalcedon (451) preserves the text of the letter Peter wrote in response to Eutyches; he admonishes Eutyches to accept the ruling of the and to give obedience to the Bishop of Rome as the successor of . A contemporary portrait of , in the mosaics of the Church of San Giovanni Evangelista in Ravenna, depicts him among the members of the eastern and western communities, implying his ecumenical east-west influence. Leo the Great 400-461 Leo I was bishop of Rome from 440 to 461. He was not a profound thinker, but clear-minded and decisive, and he is remembered theologically for writing the Tome of Leo, which he sent in 451 to the Ecumenical Council of Chalcedon. The assembled bishops accepted his position as foundational for their definition of the of two natures in Christ – divine and human – united in one person, "with neither confusion nor division." He is best known for meeting the Hun in 452 and persuading him to turn back from his invasion of Rome. (This, however, was a small and temporary victory.) In church politics, Leo exercised considerable influence with the other bishops in the whole western part of the decaying Empire, both in clarifying doctrine and consolidating church discipline. Gregory the Great 540 – 604 Gregory was born into a politically connected family but at a time of upheaval. The Plague of Justinian in 542 caused famine, panic, and rioting. In parts of the country, over 1/3 of the population was wiped out. Politically, the was vanishing, replaced by Gothic warlords. After 554 there was relative peace, and the city of Rome was gradually repopulated; but the central government now resided in Constantinople. Despite the civil unrest, Gregory was able to be educated, excelling in rhetoric, the sciences, literature, and fluency with imperial law. He became a government official, advancing quickly like his father, and became Prefect of Rome when only thirty-three years old. Although unable to read or write Greek, he was sent as a delegate from Rome to the Imperial court at Constantinople. At some point he experienced an interior conversion and decided to leave public life. He returned to Rome and entered a monastery, on an “ardent quest for the vision of our Creator.” In his life of contemplation, Gregory concluded that “in that silence of the heart, while we keep watch within through contemplation, we are as if asleep to all things that are without." When Pope Pelagius II died in 590, Gregory was unwillingly forced back into public life by public acclamation to be bishop of Rome. He was the first pope to come from a monastic background. Among his first acts as pope was a series of letters disavowing any ambition to the throne of Peter and praising the contemplative life of the . In these letters, Gregory bemoaned the burden of his office and mourned the loss of the undisturbed life of prayer he had enjoyed as a .

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Gregory became pope in 590 in a ruined state of civil collapse. The Lombards, camped at the gates of Rome, had brought the to a standstill. The city was packed with refugees, who lived in the streets without the necessities of life. The government in Constantinople was unable to undertake any relief. Gregory organized the resources of the church into an administration for general relief. He had an intuitive understanding of the principles of accounting. He instructed local to record assets, revenue and operating expenses systematically in journals (the English word clergy comes from the work clerk). To match income to expenses, he liquidated property and paid expenses according to a recorded budget. Clergy were paid four times a year (and personally given a golden coin as a bonus). Gregory aggressively required his churchmen to seek out and relieve needy persons and reprimanded them if they did not: "I asked you most of all to take care of the poor. And if you knew of people in poverty, you should have pointed them out. I desire that you give the woman, Pateria, forty solidi for her children's shoes and forty bushels of grain." He replaced managers who would not cooperate. The most urgent need in a city on the brink of famine was for food. The Roman church at that time is estimated to have owned about 1,500 square miles of revenue-generating farmland. It produced goods of all kinds, which were sold in a market system, but Gregory instructed that some of the goods be shipped to Rome for distribution in the diaconia. He set quotas to step up production, and put an administrative structure in place to carry it out. The rusticus produced the goods as tenant farmers. Part of each peasant’s produce was turned over to the , who saw to its delivery to the city. Grain, wine, cheese, meat, fish and oil began to arrive at Rome in large quantities, where it was given away for nothing as alms. (This is the origin of the Vatican’s office of the Almoner, as well as the so-called Vatican Bank.) Distributions to qualified persons were monthly. However, a certain proportion of the population lived in the streets or were too ill or lame to pick up their monthly food supply. Every morning Gregory sent prepared food to them via a small army of charitable persons, mainly monks. It is said that he would not dine until the indigent were fed. When he did dine he shared his large table, which he had saved from the family palace (and which still exists), with 12 indigent guests. Hearing of the death of an indigent person in a back room he was depressed for days, blaming himself for not paying closer attention. In his official documents, Gregory was the first to make extensive use of the term "Servant of the Servants of God" as a title for the Bishop of Rome, initiating a practice that has been followed by most subsequent popes. The good deeds and charitable frame of mind won the hearts and minds of the Roman people. They now looked to the papacy for government, ignoring the disinterested state at Constantinople – which had only disrespect for Gregory, calling him a fool for his pacifist dealings with the Lombards. The office Prefect of Rome (which young Gregory had held) went vacant with no candidates. From Gregory the Great to the rise of Italian nationalism, the papacy was the most influential social and political force in Italy. Pope Gregory had strong convictions for the broader work of the Church. Three hundred years earlier, Pope Fabian had sent to Gaul, and more than a hundred years earlier Patrick was sent to Ireland. Gregory is credited with re-energizing the Church's missionary work among the non- Christian peoples of northern . He is most famous for the “Gregorian Mission” under to evangelize the pagan Anglo-Saxons of England. The mission was successful, and it was from England that missionaries (such as Boniface) later set out for Germany and the Netherlands. The preaching of the Catholic faith was a key element in Gregory's worldview. Gregory is well known for his writings, which were more prolific than those of any of his predecessors. He is the only Pope between the fifth and the eleventh centuries whose correspondence and writings have survived enough to form a comprehensive corpus. Among his extant writings are hundreds of letters, the four-volume Dialogues, the Book of Pastoral Rule, and dozens of sermons. Gregory is commonly credited with founding the medieval papacy; many commentators also attribute the beginning of medieval to him. Throughout the he was known as “the Father of Christian ” because of his revision of the Roman liturgy. The mainstream form of Western plainchant was attributed to him, now called . Immediately after his death, Gregory was canonized by popular acclaim. He is the of musicians, singers, students, and teachers – and one would think, of priests and !

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