CHURCH IN ROMAN EMPIRE

F    15/3/2011

F    Introduction

In the history of the Church, we have both primary and secondary sources for our information of what happened at the beginning of the Church. The most important among these sources remains the primary source because it gives us a first-hand information or exact account of the life of the church. Secondary sources may be true or false because they are like photocopies of the primary sources. In this course, our primary source is the Acts of the Apostles.

F    Relevant disciplines that assist Church history.

1.                  Archaeology – archaeology helps to provide information about the Church history.

2.                  Oral source – oral sources are also important to some degree especially for us in Africa. The Gospel as it were was preached orally by the Apostles before it was written down.

3.                  Hagiography – hagiographical data are also important source of the history of the Church.

4.                  Church Documents - these includes Papal bulls encyclicals and other Church documents.

5.                  Geography – geography gives us information as regards the place where the Church was first located, which was in Palestinian.

F    The Church as a divine institution

It is the will of Christ that there should be a new set of people different from the old set of people. As such, the Church is a divine institution and its nature is missionary. It is therefore the duty of members of the Church to pass-on the message of Christ from one generation to another. The Pentecost experience was the public manifestation of the existence of the Church, the new people of God.

F    The Church as hierarchical

In Matthew chapter 16:18, Christ chose Peter as the head and leader of the Church thereby confirming the hierarchical nature of the Church. The hierarchical nature of the Church is therefore from Christ Himself.

Church

F    The Sacraments

Members of the Church, the new people of God are meant to be sanctified through certain means – the sacraments instituted by Christ, which by it s very nature is immutable, most especially the Eucharist. The sacraments confer inward grace to our souls.

F    Eschatology

For Jesus, the Church is meant to be eschatological in nature. The essentials of the Church of Jesus are therefore its eschatological nature. The Church looks forward to heaven and the final day when she will unite with her Lord.

F    Definition of the Church

We define the Church as Jesus Christ who continues to work in the world. The Church is the place where Jesus continues to operate in the world. The Church is the body of Christ guided by the Holy Spirit and whose history is the work of God and the work of man.

F    Life of the Church (30 – 312 AD)

Between 30 and 70 AD, the Church was constituted mainly by Jewish converts. The life of the Church with the activities of the apostles was all centered in Jerusalem which was then the centre of the Church.  Before his ascension, Christ commanded the apostles not to leave Jerusalem until they had received power from above. The Pentecost took place in Jerusalem likewise other significant events in the life of the Church at this time such as the death of Christ, his resurrection, the Pentecost, the development of the Church, and the martyrdom of some of the apostles.

The Jewish Christians were the ones who continued to visit the temple after the ascension of Christ. At this time, the Church was a thing of the Jews; hence they would demand circumcision from non-Jewish believers. Paul however, talks of baptism and not circumcision as the gateway to heaven. We see the confirmation of this from the Upper-Room experience and Peter’s speech when 3000 people were converted and baptised in a single. Consequently, baptism is a necessary requirement for becoming a member of the Church and God’s child.

It is will of Christ that the apostles should be 12 in number. In obedience to the Master therefore the Apostles elected Matthias to replace Judas. At this time, Peter assumed the role of leadership in obedience to the Lord’s command of “Feed my lamb”, “Feed my sheep”. He was accompanied by James and his brother John in their first miracle performed at the beautiful gate of the temple.  

Within this period, the church was guided by the Holy Spirit; even the daily activities of the believers – praying together, listening to the apostles (Magisterium), breaking of bread and visiting the temple.  It was at this time however, that the troubles sharing food which led to the election of deacons started. Seven deacons were chosen to handles this matter and the apostles laid hand on them – the birth of the rite of ordination and the laying on of hands in the Church.

F    Early Persecution (Acts 8:12)

From Jerusalem, the Church expanded to other places and will continue to expand until the end of time. The persecution of the Christian in Jerusalem necessitated the movement of the Church outside the confines of Jerusalem. In this case, the missionary aspect of the life of the Church was to be realized just as Christ had commanded the apostles – “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit” – Matthew 28: 16 – 20.

F    Missionary Journeys of Paul

·                     First Missionary Journey – 43 – 48 AD (Acts 13 – 14)

Paul was converted in 36AD. In his missionary activities, he founded many Christian communities and in every community, he appointed elders – Episcopoi, Diaconoi and Presbyteroi.

In the year 50 AD, (Acts 15) the council of Jerusalem was held. This first council was as a result of the teachings of some persons who had come from Judea to Antioch and maintained that unless the converts are circumcised according to the Law of Moses, they cannot be saved. After Paul and Barnabas has had a long argument with these men, it was decided that delegates be sent to Jerusalem to discuss the matter with the apostles. At that time, James was the Bishop of Jerusalem. The discussion at Jerusalem centered on circumcision and dietary laws.

·                     Second Missionary Journey – 50 – 52 AD (Acts 16-18)

Paul’s second missionary journey took him to Macedonia and Greek cities and communities were founded – Philippi, Thessalonica, Corinth.

·                     Third Missionary Journey – 53-58 AD (Acts 19 – 20)

At this time there were no churches built as yet. The believers therefore meet in their homes for the celebration of the Eucharist, for prayer and listening to the apostles. The importance of Sunday was emphasized as believers meet on the first day of the week as against the Sabbath day. We also notice the use of lamps on the altar instead of candles.

·                     Fourth Missionary Journey – 59- 63 AD (Acts 27- 28)

Paul’s fourth missionary journey took him to Rome where he was martyred.

·                     In the year 62 AD, James was martyred.  

·                     In the year 66 AD, the Jews revolted against the Roman

·                     In the year 70 AD, Jerusalem was destroyed because of the Jewish Revolution against the Romans. At this time, the Christian community left Jerusalem and moved to the Trans-Jordania though some remained in Jerusalem. Those that remained in Jerusalem after the persecution started preaching false Christian doctrine – Gnosticism[1].

F    21/3/2011

F    Organization of the early Church – Act 4: 25

The early Christians were seen as a sect of the Nazarene by their Jewish contemporaries. The church was hierarchically organized as tasks were shared among different peoples at different times. Peter assumed the first position, and there were deacons as well.

To the apostles fell the duty of teaching and leading the community in prayer. It was them that laid hands on the deacons after their election. They equally exercised ecclesiastical authority though not as Lords but as servants of Christ. Peter disciplined Ananias and Sarphira for their dishonesty.

In Mark 16, we see Peter’s position as leader of the group. He was looked up to as the vicar of God on earth. He was the spokesman after the Pentecost.

Acts 11: 30; 15: 2 – elders in Pauline communities. Prophets and teachers.

F    Peter’s main teaching after the Pentecost experience was that Jesus is the Messiah; Jesus was the servant of God and savior of the world.

The Holy Spirit was closely associated with the works of the apostles – Acts 2: 42; 20:7, I Corinthians….

Ø     Sundays and Fridays were very special to the early Christians. This was to differentiate them from the Jewish community. The sacrament of the sick was equally important to them. They shared their goods together.

F    St. Paul

St. Paul was a Jew, born in Tarsus. His father was Greek. Paul loved his religion – Judaism, and in his zeal for his religion, he persecuted the Church – Acts 8: 3; 9: 1; Gal 1: 13 – 24; I Corinthians 15: 9 - 11.

F    Paul’s Conversion

Paul had a direct apparition from Christ on his way to Damascus; that is why he could boast that he too is an apostle. Just as Peter had seen Christ, so also had Paul seen Christ. Paul accepted his mission to preach that Jesus was the Messiah after his conversion. From his letters and missionary activities it was evident that the Christian communities founded by Paul were well organized. Paul occupied a unique position in these communities and was the sole judge and master of his worshipping congregations.

In 1 Corinthians 14: 23, Paul appointed elders to oversee the affairs of the Christian community. We this example again in Titus 1: 5-9. Pauline communities were charismatically gifted – 1 Corinthians 12: 1- 31; 13: 1- 13; 14: 1- 40. Paul had a great bond with his communities – one faith, one baptism and his communities had communion with the Church at Jerusalem – Act 15. Paul always refers to the Jerusalem church for the resolution of difficult matters.

F    Peter’s Sojourn in Rome

There is no specific account or interpretation regarding when and how Peter arrived in Rome. There are only some allusions to it (Acts 15: 7). Peter must have gone to Antioch as the first bishop – Gal. 2: 11-14.

Roman tradition gives us the evidence that Peter must have been in Rome before Paul. Clement of Rome was said to have been ordained by Peter. The letter of Clement and Paul are closely related. Ignatius of Antioch’s letter to the Romans talks of Peter and Paul passing through Antioch.  Peter must have stayed longer in Antioch and Ignatius met him.

Ascencio: A document dated about 100 AD prophesied that one of the 12 will be delivered to Belial.

John 21: 18 – 19 speaks of Peter’s crucifixion and 1 Peter refers to Rome as Babylon.

v    The Counsel of Jerusalem – Acts 15

After the counsel at Jerusalem, Peter left for Antioch – Galatians 2: 11- 14.

The letter of Clement is another source of information regarding Peter’s sojourn in Rome and we learnt the Clement was ordained by Peter. Another source is the letter of St. Ignatius of Antioch.

v    19/4/2011

F    Roman Emperors and their Romances with the Church.

From the life of Paul and Peter, we understood that there was a Christina community in Rome even though the Christian religion had not yet been accepted officially. Tacitus, a pagan writer recoded that there were multitude of Christians in Rome. Rome was pagan, governed by the emperor and the senate and it had many provinces. Religiously, Rome was pagan. Sacrifices were being offered in different temples to Zeus and priests were attached to these temples. The Romans had the belief that the Emperors were like gods therefore they were considered to be sacred. This explains why the statues of the emperors were erected there like that of Trojan and Nero. The emperors were worshipped and sacrifices were offered to them.

This was the environment into which Christians found themselves. Naturally it wouldn’t be easy for them because their Christian faith forbad them from worshipping other gods and human being and sacrificing to them. This was therefore the era of martyrs in the church.  The Christian religion was seen as strange and they were accused of disobeying the emperor by not offering sacrifices to the gods and to the emperor. Because of all these, there were pagan sentiments against the Christians.

·                     Nero (54 – 68 AD)

Nero had no intention of welcoming the new religion as the Christian faith was then known. He went out against the Christians everywhere. Peter and Paul were martyred by him. Christians were killed for refusing to worship the emperor and sacrificing to the gods.

In 62 AD, Nero advanced further by appointing prefects in the effort to terminate the Christians out of jealousy because Christianity was described as new superstitious religion and dangerous and as such must be wiped out. Nero instituted a tribunal where Christians would be tried “Institutio Neronianum”. The tribunal considers it illicit for someone to be a Christian and those that professes the Christian faith should die by the sword. This injunction led to the arrest and martyrdom of many Christians. Some were burnt alive, others crucified, some were beheaded or eaten by animals while still others performed as gladiators in the arena. Thus in 67 AD, Peter and Paul were martyred by Nero.

·                     Emperor Domitian (81 – 96 AD)

The policy of hatred and killing of Christians which could be traced to his predecessor Nero continued under Domitian. He knew that the Christian would not conform to the worship of the gods so he began to watch the Christians with suspicion. He made it compulsory that everybody must worship the emperor and this served as an occasion for him to persecute the Christians and accuse them of atheism. He saw the Christians as enemies of the state. His persecution of Christians spread to Corinth.

·                     Marcus Aurelius (161 – 180 AD)

Marcus Aurelius ruthlessly persecuted the Christians, believing them a threat to the imperial system. He literally looked for Christians house to house. He was not waiting for false accusations to be brought against Christians but he looked out for them. This was a new attitude towards Christianity which has never happened before. He arrested all Christians all over the empire such as Asia, France, and Lyons. They were accused of sacrilege and human sacrifice. To worsen the situation Montanism crept into the church. The emperor was therefore confused because he couldn’t distinguish who were the real Christians.  This was the period the apologists defended Christianity against montanism and against pagan philosophy.  Apologists like Justin Martyr defended Christian philosophy.

·                     Septimius Severus (146 – 211 AD)

Dynast of Septimius Severus offered in a way a period of peace because at that period religious syncretism was tolerated because of the many wives he had married. His wives from Syria were allowed to bring their gods along with them to Rome. The Christian religious practices were then seen as one of the forms of worship to one of the gods. This enabled the Christians to enjoy relative peace and to expand further, to evangelise and to spread through their aristocratic family.

This relative peace consolidated the church’s organization. The hierarchical structure of Bishops, Priests and Deacons were able to function and there was mass conversion among the social class. The Bishops of Rome began to take precedence because of the relative peace. Things did not go well with other places like Egypt, Carthage and the other parts of the empire.

·                     Caracalla (211 – 217 AD)

Caracalla was the son of Severus. He succeeded his father and was the one who invited Origen to come to teach him the Christian faith. So he was of a positive mind towards Christianity. Tertullian claimed that he was open to the Christian faith, Christians were tolerated and the catechetical school of Alexandria was opened in Rome due to his openness to the Christian faith.

The tide changed again after his dynasty between 235 and 284 AD when Christians faced yet another persecution because of the military anarchy and all the emperors that came afterwards and also because Christianity have been embraced by many soldiers.

·                     Emperor Decius (249 – 251 AD)

Decius was gripped by the fear of the Christians. He noted that the status quo had gone down the rein, he therefore ushered yet another period of persecution of the Christians. His hostile attitude towards the Christians earned him the nickname ‘tyrannium animalium’ – aggressive, dangerous and hostile animal. He restored the worship of the emperor and imposed it as an obligation for all. Persecution and death was meted out for refusal to comply with this edict. Many Christians lapsed because of the severity of the torture. Some paid to purchase the certificate “Libellius” showing that they had complied with the edict. Many however died as martyrs.

v    10/5/2011

F    Constantine 312 AD – (Encarta Material)

Constantine the Great (about ad 274-337), was a Roman emperor from 306-337. He was the first Roman ruler to be converted to Christianity. He founded Constantinople (present-day Istanbul) as a capital of the Roman Empire in 330, and it remained the seat of the Byzantine (Eastern Roman) Empire until 1453.

Constantine the Great was born Flavius Valerius Constantinus at Niš, in what is now Serbia and Montenegro, son of the commander Constantius Chlorus (later Constantius I) and Helena (later Saint Helena), a camp follower. Constantius became co-emperor in 305. Constantine, who had shown military talent in the East, joined his father in an invasion of the British Isles in 306. He was popular with the troops, who proclaimed him emperor when Constantius died later the same year. Over the next two decades, however, Constantine had to fight his rivals for the throne, and he did not finally establish himself as sole ruler until 324.

Following the example of his father and earlier 3rd-century emperors, Constantine in his early life was a solar henotheist, believing that the Roman sun god, Sol, was the visible manifestation of an invisible “Highest God” (summus deus), who was the principle behind the universe. This god was thought to be the companion of the Roman emperor. Constantine’s adherence to this faith is evident from his claim of having had a vision of the sun god in 310 while in a grove of Apollo in Gaul. In 312, on the eve of a battle against Maxentius, his rival in Italy, Constantine is reported to have dreamed that Christ appeared to him and told him to inscribe the holy sign ΧΡ, the first two letters of the Greek word ΧΡΙSΤΟS (Christos), on the shields of his troops.

The next day he is said to have seen a cross superimposed on the sun and the words “in this sign you will be the victor” (usually given in Latin, in hoc signo vinces). Constantine then defeated Maxentius at the Battle of the Milvian Bridge, near Rome. The Senate hailed the victor as savior of the Roman people. Thus, Constantine, who had been a pagan solar worshiper, now looked upon the Christian deity as a bringer of victory. Persecution of the Christians was ended, and Constantine’s co-emperor, Licinius, joined him in issuing the Edict of Milan (313), which mandated toleration of Christians in the Roman Empire. As guardian of Constantine’s favored religion, the church was then given legal rights and large financial donations.

A struggle for power soon began between Licinius and Constantine, from which Constantine emerged in 324 as a victorious Christian champion. Now emperor of both East and West, he began to implement important administrative reforms. The army was reorganized, and the separation of civil and military authority, begun by his father’s predecessor, Diocletian, was completed. The central government was run by Constantine and his council, known as the sacrum consistorium. The Senate was given back the powers that it had lost in the 3rd century, and new gold coins (solidi) were issued, which remained the standard of exchange until the end of the Byzantine Empire.

Constantine intervened in ecclesiastical affairs to achieve unity; he presided over the first ecumenical council of the church at Nicaea in 325 (see Councils of Nicaea). In 326 he began the building of a new capital, later named Constantinople (“city of Constantine”), on the site of ancient Greek Byzantium. Completed in 330 (later expanded), the new capital was given Roman institutions and beautified by ancient Greek works of art. In addition, Constantine built churches in the Holy Land, where his mother (also a Christian) supposedly found the True Cross on which Jesus was crucified. The emperor fell ill in April 337 and died on May 22. He was baptized shortly before his death by the Arian bishop Eusebius of Nicomedia (now İzmit, Turkey).

Constantine the Great unified a tottering empire, reorganized the Roman state, and set the stage for the final victory of Christianity at the end of the 4th century. Many modern scholars accept the sincerity of his religious conviction. His conversion was a gradual process; at first he probably associated Christ with the victorious sun god. By the time of the council at Nicaea in 325 he was completely Christian, but he still tolerated paganism among his subjects. Although criticized by his enemies as a proponent of a crude and false religion, Constantine the Great strengthened the Roman Empire and ensured its survival in the East. As the first emperor to rule in the name of Christ, he was a major figure in the foundation of medieval Christian Europe.

 

F    Class

The history of the church cannot be complete without Constantine. He set the church free. His father was called Constantius Chlorus while his mother was called Helen from Bithynia. At age 6, Constantine was appointed as co-emperor with his father. Constantine was well educated and was a child of privilege. As a result, he was part of the empire and knew what was going on in the empire. Meanwhile his father decided to share the empire with one Maximian whose daughter he had married.

Constantius (Constantine’s father) was a general and administrator under Emperor Maximian, who adopted him and gave him the government of Gaul (France) and the rank of Caesar in 293. When his co-emperors, Maximian and Diocletian, abdicated in 305, Constantius became emperor in the West and prepared to conquer the Picts of Scotland. He died at Eboracum (modern York, England) during the campaign, after proclaiming his son Constantine the Great his successor as emperor.

Under Constantius in the West we have Maximian and Maxentius. Meanwhile, Galerius reigned in the East and with him; we have Maximinus Daia and Licinius. Constantius Chlorus died and Constantine was proclaimed as emperor by the soldiers. Galerius had always thought of killing Chlorus so as to become sole emperor but Chlorus was aware of this. The battle now is how will rule in the West between Constantine and his in-laws. Constantine conquered Maximian and imprisoned him and also Maxentius at the Milvian Bridge.  A night before the battle between Constantine and Maxentus in 312 AD, Constantine saw in a vision the words: In hoc sign Vinces (by this sign, you shall win). Constantine defeated Maxentius and became the sole emperor in the west.

·                     East

In the East, Maximinus and Licinius fought but Maximinus was defeated. In 313 AD, Constantine and Licinius met in Milan and both agreed to tolerate Christians in their different empires, this was the famous edict of Milan. Licinius after sometimes however, began to persecute the Christians again. This led to a war between him and Constantine in 324 AD, at which Licinius was defeated and Constantine now became the sole emperor in the whole empire. Constantine then moved his capital from the Western to the Eastern part of the empire whose capital was Byzantium and changed it to Constantinople.

Constantine favoured the church as the sole emperor and under him the church now became the only and privileged church. Under Constantine, the church opened and expanded, penetrating every aspect of the life of the empire. Constantine contributed to the spiritual and moral life of the Church. He granted physical privileges to the church and he helped the church to gain ground in the empire. Constantine built St. John Lateran Basilica and St. Paul’s Basilica.

The emperor at Constantinople held a special place in the life of the church. It was he, for example, who convoked and presided over the general councils of the church, which were the supreme organ of ecclesiastical legislation in both faith and morals. This special relation between church and state frequently fostered a Christian culture in which the noblest achievements of the entire society blended the elements of Christianity and of classical antiquity in a new synthesis.

Knowing that the church would not run down the empire, Constantine allowed the church to prosper. Under him, Sundays were consecrated as holy day of obligation. Christians have been observing this but under Constantine; it was made as a law.  Confiscated churches and church properties were restored and it was Constantine who stopped the gladiator’s spectacle. He elevated Christian spirituality above pagan worship. He instituted Episcopal audience. The church and state relationship began with Constantine. Donatism and Arianism that afflicted the church were finally dealt with. Constantine was baptized by Eusebius of Nicomedia in 337 at his death bed.

v    24/5/2011

F    What makes a person member of the church?

1.                  Sacrament of initiation (Baptism)

Baptism is that sacrament which cleanses from original sin, makes us followers of Christ, children of God and members of the church.

2.                  Respect for the church authority

3.                  There was need for the sense of the church because people were converted to Christianity.

F    Ignatius of Antioch

Where the bishop is, there is the church; emphasizing that everybody should listen to the bishops as the early Christians listened to the Apostles

---

[1] A pre-Christian and early Christian religious movement teaching that salvation comes be learning esoteric spiritual truths that free humanity from the material world, believed in this movement to be evil.