Early Christian ChurchWas the organization…

• EPISCOPALIAN (ruled by bishops)?• PRESBYTERIAN (ruled by elders)?• CONGREGATIONAL (ruled by the members of the Church)?• A SPONTANEOUS GATHERING OF THE FAITHFUL (no government)? Various patterns of Church organization (There were elements of all of the above)

The need for organization- Why?

Two very broad generalizations:

• Excited and excitable members had to be tamed, disciplined, even rejected if any kind of mundane order was to be maintained in the Church.

• In all the primitive churches there gradually grew a distinction between LAY and CLERICAL members.

PROBLEMS

Disciplinarians/organizers faced the problem of having to organize a worldly church of an “other-worldly” faith in the middle of a great bureaucratic empire that was in principle committed to the SUPPRESSION of Christianity.

ORGANIZERS Church organization:

+ Already taking shape by the 2nd century

+ In little groups, organized by• First visionaries, variously called ‘prophets’,

‘teachers’, and the like (perhaps mystical believers rather than worldly organizers).

• ‘Elders’, ‘overseers’, ‘presidents’- names which suggest what we call ‘government’ (Church, not political, government, but essentially a source of LAW and AUTHORITY.

(See HIERARCHY)

THE HIERARCHY• The government of the Catholic Church

developed from these “governing officials”, who often merged their administrative abilities with more spiritual gifts and functions.

• This hierarchical organization is headed by the POPE: Bishop of Rome, having

Authority over all other Bishops

AUTHORITY: East and West IN THE EAST

The Pope’s claim to such authority over all other bishops was contested by bishops in EASTERN CHRISTIANITY (Antioch, Alexandria, Constantinople) and it never quite established in the East

IN THE WEST

The Pope’s authority was very firmly established by the time of the break-up of the Roman Empire and the Germanic invasions- it was to be a major factor in the growth of Western Civilization

The importance of BISHOPSThe word bishop derives from the Greek

episcopos, “overseer” – adj. episcopalEach bishop was the head of a large

administrative area called the SEEThey gained prestige and authority

through the doctrine of APOSTOLIC SUCCESSION, which asserted that each espiscopal church had been formed directly by one of the Apostles, or by the AGENT or SPIRITUAL HEIR of an Apostle

THE CHRISTIAN CANON• It was established slowly under the

governance of bishops• It is the 27 Books of the New Testament

considered of divine inspiration, written in KOINE, the current Greek of the time

• The Christian Canon of the Old testament was also drawn from an earlier Greek translation from the Hebrew known as the SEPTUAGINT (Lat. “Seventy”, the number of translators who worked on it)

• The Greek version is the one still used in the Greek Orthodox church

• In the Roman Church, an earlier Latin translation of both Testaments was revised and retranslated under the direction of St. Jerome in the 4th century. This is the VULGATE, The Bible in Latin

• Books rejected from the Canon are generally called APOCRYPHA and PSEUDIPIGRAPHA

CHURCH ADMINISTRATION• A number of BISHOPRICS were gathered into a

larger area called the METROPOLITAN, which was headed by an ARCHBISHOP.

• Within a bishopric, each church was headed by a PRIEST (Greek presbyteros, “elder”) who had had FORMAL TRAINING and had been ORDAINED into the priesthood.

• Each church and its priest came to serve the local area known as the PARISH.

• By the 4th century, the older office of DEACON (‘servant’ or ‘minister’, prominent in the primitive church) had become the preliminary step to full priesthood.

Election of authoritiesIn some early churches, • officers were elected by the congregation• The actual government was conducted by

boards or committees of elders (“presbyteries”)

BUT in the developed western ecclesiastical system,

• Clerical positions were determined by ‘appointment’ from above, i.e. superiors or elders already in office.

CLEAR DISTINCTION…

… between the CLERGY, who are trained for their task and are ordained when fully prepared

and the LAITY, the Christian faithful who worship in the churches guided by the clergy

Reformers have sought a purer Christianity in which all men are priests.

THE SUPREMACY OF ROME

• The City of cities• A Court of Appeal• Outstanding leaders, e.g. Leo the Great

(440-461), who allegedly persuaded Attila to turn back from his invasion of Western Europe; and Gregory the Great, a monk* with whom the Papacy was firmly established.

Another distinction…

• Monks, like Gregory the Great*, belonged to the REGULAR CLERGY (men and women who follow the rule).

• They were different from the SECULAR CLERGY (those who serve the laity of this world).

• The term MONASTICISM applies to the development of monastic orders, those formed by monks who abode by specific rules.

Origins of Monasticism

• In the EAST, especially in EGYPT, by individuals disgusted by this wicked world, seeking salvation outside it.

• By the 3rd century, hermits were competing for ‘records’ of holiness and denial of the flesh– asceticism.

• Conservative church leaders viewed these practices as un-Christian rivalry and sought to bring hermits together under a common discipline.

MONASTERIES

• Around many hermits gathered little groups of followers.

• From these origins there grew communities of monks living under formally organized rules:

- Devoted to celibacy and poverty- Religious rituals- Working enough to make their

communities self-supporting

Spread of Monasticism

• From Egypt, it spread to Europe.• In the EAST, it remained more secluded• In the WEST, there was more missionary

work. Some monks not only worshipped but ate and lived together. Some did works of charity, setting up orphanages and hospitals near monastery grounds.

Monastic Orders• In the West, ST. BENEDICT (480-547)

was one of the greatest Christian organizers (Abbey in Mt. Cassino, Southern Italy- c.520)

• The Benedictine Order was at the front of the civilizing forces in the West for the next 500 years.

• Guardians of the western intellectual heritage from the Greco-Roman world.

Monastic life

• Monastic life satisfied a strong need for security, community, renunciation and spiritual orderliness

• The first emphasis was on renunciation (control/discipline) of all pleasures of the flesh

• Organization PROBLEMS: “emulation” led to tension and rivalry.

PROBLEMS• THE SECULAR CLERGY viewed

themselves as the true soldiers of the Lord in this harsh world- for them, the regular clergy dodged their responsibilities.

• THE REGULAR CLERGY viewed themselves as leading purer, more ascetic lives, nearer what Jesus had preached.

• BOTH were gradually recognized as parts of a great whole.

• Gradually ABBOTS were integrated into the general government of the Church, taking part in synods and councils, sometimes rising to papal office as Gregory the Great (540-604, Pope 590-604)

• Monasteries Became CENTRES OF LEARNINGBuilt the structure of true theology and the

Church, as the Canon Law.

HIERARCHY with a principle of MUTUAL CONSULTATION

• Councils, assemblies, etc, made critical decisions.

BUT

When the papacy was firmly established, some Popes claimed superior authority even to a general council, i.e. not bound by its decisions.

Important terms explained• ORTHODOXY: accepted doctrine or

interpretation; adherence to the accepted or traditional and established faith, especially in religion. The word ‘orthodox’ comes from the Greek orthodoxos, “having the right opinion”.

• Orthodoxy is opposed to heterodoxy ("other teaching"), heresy and schism.

• People who deviate from orthodoxy by professing a doctrine considered to be false are most often called heretics or radicals, while those who deviate from orthodoxy by removing themselves from the perceived body of believers are called schismatics or schematics.

• If one is addressing corporate unity, the emphasis may be on schism; if one is addressing doctrinal coherence, the emphasis may be on heresy.

Summing up…

• ORTHODOXY: Accepted doctrine or interpretation

• HERESY: Challenging interpretation

• SCHISM: Separation

GNOSTICISM

• “Knowledge” (of magic)• Physical world: evil, non-existent illusion to

be overcome• Accepted Jesus the miracle-worker, the

God• Rejected his human nature• THEOSOPHY

ARIANISM and the TRINITY• ARIUS, priest of Alexandria d. 336• His doctrine: Christ is of a distinct

substance from the Father• Doctrine of TRINITY: God as three

persons- God the father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. Three co-equal in eternity; three and at the same time one.

• Bishop Athanasius of Alexandria argued against Arius in the Council of Nicea (AD 325)

UNITARIANISM

• Unitarianism is a Non-trinitarian Christian theology which teaches belief in the single personality of God, in contrast to the doctrine of the Trinity. According to its proponents, Unitarianism reflects the original God-concept of Christianity.

TRI-THEISM

• “Three Gods”: three distinct, powerful gods, who form a triad. Generally three gods are envisaged as having separate powers and separate supreme beings or spheres of influence but working together.

• An alternate or distorted view of the Christian doctrine of Trinity.

FATHER AND SON

• Discussion of the Christian understanding of God as Trinity.

• HOMOOUSIOS: same substance• HOMOIOUSIOS: similar substance• In the Nicene Creed, The Council of Nicea

(AD 325) describes Jesus as being homooúsios with God the Father — that is, they are of the "same substance" and are equally God.

NATURE OF CHRIST

• God? Man? Both?• NESTORIANISM: Nestorius (Bishop of

Constantinople in early 5th century) stated that the two natures existed in perfect harmony but were somehow distinct- it was a MORAL, rather than a physical, union.

• THEN, Virgin: NOT the Mother of God

• MONOPHYSITES: Only one nature because God and Man are inextricably mingled.

• THEN, Virgin was Mother of God.

OTHER CONTROVERSIES

• DONATISM (Donatus:4th century bishop of Carthage):

• The validity of the Sacraments depends on the PURITY OF THE PRIESTS.

• PELAGIANISM (Pelagius: 5th century British monk):

• Men are in control of their fate, not tainted by the original sin. THEN, complete freedom of will*

*Remember the Enlightenment?

• The concept of the complete freedom of will influenced the Enlightenment (and Renaissance men before?):

• Hopeful, optimistic view of human pride and independence

Another controversial view

• MANICHEISM (Mani: 3rd century AD Mesopotamian prophet)

• Appeal to DUALISM: • Universe NOT in the power of a single

God but between a GOD OF LIGHT and a DEVIL OF DARKNESS