RELG 330 - History of Christianity
Course Notes
Chapter 3
Page 32 - Gnosticism - see pages 57-59. The Gnostics stressed esoteric knowledge (gnosis), for which one generally had to pay a teacher. They tended to think of the physical world as evil.
Page 33 - Montanus and the Montanists - see pages 62-63. We do not know exactly when Montanus was born, but he came into prominence around AD 156 when he started preaching and "prophesying" in the Phrygian region of what is now Turkey. He claimed to be the incarnation of the Holy Spirit, and sometimes spoke as "The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit". He did not acknowledge clergy such as bishops and priests, but appointed two women as prophetesses. It is reported that the women had left their husbands to follow Montanus, and that they used eye-make-up, dyed their hair, and played dice (these may be false reports by adversaries). The three of them spearheaded what was known as "The New Prophecy". Their prophetic utterances were described as being frenzied, or trance-like, or incoherent babbles.
They claimed to supersede the apostles and the teachings of Jesus and Paul in the New Testament.
They claimed that the "New Jerusalem", as seen in the Book of Revelation, was going to descend to a mountain near the town of Pepuza in Phrygia.
Montanus taught a very strict code of behavior, with fasting and prayer in order to achieve ecstatic visions.
At first, the Church leaders were undecided as to whether or not Montanus and his followers were genuine. Montanism spread throughout the Empire - reaching as far as Western Europe, where it was condemned as heresy by one of the popes - probably Pope Eleutherus (174-189). It spread to North Africa, where Tertullian was caught up for a while in the sect and started to preach that Christ was about to return, and even stricter life-styles were enforced.
The "New Jerusalem" did not descend as Montanus had prophesied.
We do not know exactly when Montanus and Prisca (one of the two prophetesses) died, although we do know that they died before Maximilla (the remaining prophetess). There is a tradition that Montanus hanged himself.
After the deaths of Montanus and Prisca, Maximilla prophesied that there was going to be a time of wars and troubles. She died in AD 179, and the Roman Empire was at peace for at least thirteen years after that, so the Montanist prophecies were discredited and the movement started to decline.
The sect had died out by about the sixth century.
Page 33 - Justin Martyr - see page 66. Justin Martyr (ca.AD 100-ca.165) was an early "apologist" It does not mean he went around apologizing for being a Christian - originally it meant someone who could present a reasonable case for something - in this case, Christianity.
He took the Greek concept of "Logos" (which is used also in John's Gospel) and applied it to Christ before He was born as Jesus on earth.
Justin Martyr grew up in a pagan family, and by his account he studied under several philosophers of various types - the Stoic could teach him nothing about God, the Peripatetic asked for money (thus demonstrating that he was not a true philosopher), the Pythagorean told him to learn music, astronomy, and geometry first, the Platonist influenced him, until he met an old man and had a long discussion. The old man told him that human knowledge alone could not bring anyone to the knowledge of God - one must be instructed by the Prophets who had been inspired by the Holy Spirit to make God known.
He was also impressed by persecuted Christians facing death for their faith, and he himself became a Christian some time around AD 130. He traveled to Ephesus, and eventually to Rome, where he taught in a school. In 165 Justin and six of his students were ordered to make a sacrifice to the Roman gods. They refused, and were tortured and beheaded.
Page 33 - Irenaeus of Lyons - see page 70. Irenaeus of Lyons was probably born in Asia (what is now Turkey), though his date of birth is not known - some sources say between AD 115 and 125, others say between 130 and 142. As a young man he heard Bishop Polycarp (d. 155) preach in Smyrna. He moved to Gaul, and became a priest of the Church in Lyons (in what is now France). He survived the persecution under Marcus Aurelius (ruled 161-180) and became Bishop of Lyons when his predecessor was martyred in 177. Gnosticism was spreading into Gaul, and Irenaeus was active in writing to combat it. He died sometime around the end of the second century AD.
Page 33 - Tertullian (ca. AD 160-ca. 240) was born into a pagan family, and did not become a Christian until ca. 197. He was ordained as a priest in Carthage, but ca. AD 207 he became a Montanist, and later left the Montanists to lead a group of his own. He was an apologist who challenged non-Christians to examine the lives and teachings of Christians rather than just condemn them. His surviving writings are in Latin rather than Greek, and give a picture of the early Church and the requirements for baptism etc. He was one of the first writers to use the term "Trinity".
Page 36 - Clement of Alexandria (ca. AD 150-215) was a theologian, and head of the catechetical school at Alexandria (Egypt). He wrote treatises to show how Christianity was superior to the pagan religions. He showed that faith is related to knowledge, and taught that God's truth is found in revelation and also in philosophy (at that time equivalent to science).
When writing commentaries on the Books of the Old Testament he favored an allegorical interpretation. He believed that several years' training were required before a catechumen was baptized as a Christian. He was an influence on the young Origen.
Pages 36-37 - Origen (ca. 185-254) was a Greek-speaking Egyptian philosopher, bible scholar, and theologian. He was brought up in a Christian family; his father was killed in the Severan persecution in 202. His ideas about philosophy and Christianity brought him into conflict with his bishop, and he left Alexandria and was befriended by the bishops of Jerusalem and Caesarea, where he set up a school and wrote commentaries on scripture. The bishop of Caesarea ordained him as a priest, which caused his final split with the bishop of Alexandria ca. 231.
During the Decian persecution of 249 he was tortured but would not deny his faith. He died in 253 as a consequence of the torture, but he was never canonized as a saint because he taught some heretical ideas such as the pre-existence of souls, the subordination of the Son to the Father, and some form of Universalism (that everyone, possibly even the devil, will finally be "saved").
One of his most important works is the Hexapla - a set of six parallel translations of the biblical text. He also compiled the Tetrapla - a comparison of four translations of the Bible.
Pages 36-38 - The Decian and Diocletian Persecutions. The Emperor Decius (ruled 249-251) thought that an outbreak of plague was caused by the Christians, and by their refusal to worship the Emperor as divine. So he started a massive persecution in 250 - all Christian priests and bishops were to be killed, and everyone in the Empire had to sacrifice to the Roman gods and obtain a certificate stating that they had done so. Jews were specifically exempted from the order, but Christians were not. Many Christians refused, and were put to death; others obtained false certificates, and some went through with the sacrifice - they presented a problem to the church, as some leaders did not want to re-admit them to the community. Origen was one of the victims of the Roman policy of torture which was stopped short of death so that the victims would not be regarded as martyrs, but would die later as a consequence of their injuries. Even when the Emperor Decius was killed in battle and the Emperor Valerian came into power, the persecution of Christians still continued. In 258 Cyprian, the Bishop of Carthage, was martyred.
It was not until 260, when Valerian's son Gallienus became Emperor, that the persecution was halted, and the Church had relative peace for the next 40 years.
In 303 the Emperor Diocletian (245-313, ruled 284-305) started an effort to wipe out Christianity and Christians in the Empire. He banned the Christian scriptures, and tried to force bishops and priests to sacrifice to the Roman gods. Christians were given the choice of burning incense to the Roman gods or being killed.
Diocletian abdicated in AD 305, and his successor, the Emperor Galerius, continued the persecution until AD 311 - when he was on his death-bed. Then Galerius decided that he would try prayer, and asked the Christians to pray for him. He died soon after.
Page 39 - Novatian - In AD 251 a pope was elected whom Novatian (ca.200-258) thought was too lax, so he challenged the election, and had himself appointed as (anti-)pope. He was disturbed about what he judged to be lax discipline, particularly by allowing lapsed Christians (those who had denied Christianity when they were persecuted or tortured) to be restored to communion in the church. Novatian ruled that anyone who committed a grievous sin such as adultery or idolatry should be excommunicated from the church. Novatian himself probably died as a martyr during the Valerian persecution of 258. The Novatianist church survived for 500 years, with rival popes and bishops.
Pages 39-40 - The Donatists (see also pages 101-102 and pages 151-153) - The Donatist Schism originated in North Africa, where Donatus (ca.?-ca.355) held ideas similar to those of Novatian - Christians who denied their faith under torture or persecution were to be excommunicated and could never be forgiven by the church. The Donatists wanted to be martyrs. They objected to the election and consecration of a bishop whom they thought wasn't "pure" enough, and thought that the sacraments were invalid if the priest performing them was not "pure" enough. They made Christians who had been baptized by other priests get "re-baptized" by Donatist priests (actually, one can only be baptized once). They were condemned by the Synod of Arles (AD 314) and by the Roman Emperor Constantine 1, so they seceded and set up their own church. Augustine opposed their teaching, and in AD 411 the Council at Carthage condemned them. After the Muslims invaded Africa in AD 639 the Christians were marginalized and the Donatist church died out.
Copyright © 2005 Shirley J. Rollinson, all Rights Reserved
