Early Christian History Quiz

Key People and Events

• In 380, Emperor Theodosius I issued the Edict of Thessalonica
• The Edict of Thessalonica made Nicene Christianity the official religion of the Roman Empire
• In 381, Theodosius called the First Council of Constantinople, which was the second Ecumenical Council
• The First Council of Constantinople issued the Niceno-Constantinopolitan Creed
• The Niceno-Constantinopolitan Creed further clarified the father-son relationship and addressed the issue of the Holy Spirit

Theology

• The central claim concerning the Trinity that emerged from the Councils of Nicaea and Constantinople defines God as one divine substance (ousia), existing as 3 persons (hypostases) of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit
• Homoousios means "of the same substance"
• Debate continued after the council because of the ambiguity of the Greek terms ousia and hypostasis, which had a wide range of meanings, including "substance," "essence," "existence," and "being"
• A solution to this terminology confusion was proposed by the 3 bishops from Asia Minor, known as The Cappadocian Fathers
• The Cappadocian Fathers argued that God is one substance (ousia) existing as 3 distinct persons (hypostasis)

The Councils

• Christians held the councils of the bishops in the 300s to 400s to clarify teaching concerning the relationship between God the Father and Christ the Son (and the Holy Spirit), and the relationship between divinity and humanity in the person of Jesus
• The First Council of Nicaea occurred in 325, when Constantine summoned the bishops to Nicaea in Asia Minor to discuss the issue
• The First Council of Nicaea was the first Ecumenical Council of Christianity
• The council issued the Creed of Nicaea, a statement of the Church's belief that contradicted Arianism
• Arius and others who refused to affirm this Creed were excommunicated
• The Creed's key claim is that Father and Son are homoousios

Key Figures in Theology

• Tertullian was an apologist from Carthage in North Africa
• Tertullian was the 1st major Christian thinker to write in Latin rather than Greek
• Tertullian rejected the blending of Greek philosophy with Christianity, arguing that such blending led to Gnosticism and Marcionism
• Origen was the most influential early writer on the Trinity in the Greek-speaking East
• Arius was a presbyter from Alexandria, who taught that Christ was not co-eternal with the Father and had not always existed, but had been created by the father
• Athanasius emerged as the leading opponent of Arianism
• Athanasius argued that if Christ were not co-eternal with the Father, he could not be fully God, and therefore could not have fully reconciled humanity to God

Key terms

• Modalism is a belief that there is only one God/divine being, and that "Father," "Son," and "Spirit" are simply 3 modes in which the one God operates, or 3 personas that God adopts at various times
• Modalists see Jesus as the physical manifestation of YHWH on earth
• Supersessionism is the belief that Christians have fully replaced Jews as God's chosen people, and that the new covenant defined by faith in Christ has nullified God's covenant with the Jews

Dialogue and Writings

• Dialogue with Trypho was written by Justin Martyr
• Dialogue with Trypho is an early example of a Christian apology aimed at Jews
• Dialogue with Trypho expresses Jewish confusion about how Christians can view themselves as the people of God

Persecution and Division

• In 303, Diocletian launched the most intensive, widespread persecution of Christians in Roman history
• "The lapsed" were Christians that offered sacrifices to escape death, and others bribed officials to get a certificate
• The bishop of Rome was martyred, and the church became divided over the question of how to deal with "the lapsed," leading to the Novatianist Controversy
• A man named Novatian led a group that insisted that "the lapsed" should not be allowed to return to the church
• When a new bishop of Rome was elected, he supported allowing any of "the lapsed" who repented to return to the church
• Novatian's supporters responded by recognizing Novatian as bishop, creating a split in the church at Rome
• Cyprian, Bishop of Carthage, responded to the controversy over "the lapsed" by writing On the Unity of the Church, in which he condemned those who challenged the authority of their bishops
• The earliest martyrdom narrative (150s-160s) describes the death of Polycarp, Bishop of Smyrna, which includes accounts of miracles
• Martyrdom of Perpetua and Felicitas describes persecution of Christians at Carthage in 203
• It focuses on the deaths of a young noblewoman, Perpetua, and her female slave, Felicitas
• It is the earliest known writing by a Christian woman, and highlights the unique challenges faced by female martyrs

Empire, Toleration, and the Church

• In order to improve the administration of the Empire, Diocletian divided it into 4 regions, overseen by 2 senior emperors and 2 junior emperors, forming the Roman Tetrarchy
• Civil war soon broke out among the tetrarchs
• In 312, Constantine, the junior emperor of Britain and Gaul, was fighting to gain control of the entire western half of the Empire
• Constantine issued the Edict of Milan in 313 CE
• Edict of Milan established religious toleration in the Roman Empire
• Constantine and other Christian emperors funded the construction of basilicas, which were large church buildings named from the Greek word for "kingly"
• A cathedral was the church in each city that held the throne of the bishop, and was known as the cathedra from the Greek word for "chair"