Christian Church History to 1500 AD

Century: 3rd

Event:
Tertullian was attracted to the Montanist heresy because of their rigorist ethic

Thought:
Tertullian of Carthage begins Latin theology with the economy of God, where he sees Jesus as "light from light and true God from true God."

Story:
Tertullian of Carthage is a Roman citizen with Patrician upbringing & education, as such he sees Christianity through conservative

Note:
Tertullian of Carthage statement:
"The blood of martyr is see"
"As if so many could feed to so few" - said in regard to the Christians being feed to the beast.

Century: 3rd

Event:
Wrote commentaries on every book of scripture

Thought:
He believed Jesus was God by participation, not by nature

Story:
When he as a teen, his father was martyred and he wanted to join him, but was stopped by his bishop & mother how hide his clothing. In order for Origen to gain self-control, it is possible that he castrated himself.

Note:
-Origen of Alexandria's library was kept in Caesarea by Eusebius of Caesarea
-He believed creation took place after the fall & creation is the school for the soul to achieve the divine realm

Century: 3rd

Event:
The persecution of Decius forced Christians to burn incense to the emperor which was later re-enforce by Emperor Valerius.

Thought:
Cyprian of Carthage believed the bishop is the church and only the bishop can forgive sins.

Story:
While Cyprian of Carthage became the Bishop of Carthage, Decius started persecuting the Christians for not burning incense to the emperor. Cyprian was told to flee by the governor and he hide at his sister farm. When emperor Valerius re-enforced the same decree, Cyprian of Carthage refuse to hide and gave himself to be martyred.

Notes:
Cyprian of Carthage made three important statements:

1. You can't have God as your Father unless
   the church is your mother.
2. The church is the bishop & the bishop is the church.
3. Only the bishop can forgive sin.

Century: Late 3rd

Event:
Anthony became the model anchorite & the 1st ascetic to leave the Nile valley for upper desert

Thought:
Anthony wanted to live out the injunctions of scripture rather than discuss them.

Story:
Anthony did battle with demons in spiritual warfare and defeated the devil by living like Christ.

Century: 4th

Event:
Emperor Diocletian begins the greatest persecution of 303 AD to 313 AD

Thought:
Diocletian wanted to bring the Roman Empire back to its former glory. He called for a return to traditional Roman religion and pushed to eradicate new religions such as Christianity and Manicheansim

Story:
Emperor Diocletian was forced to withdraw from active leadership by poor health in 304/305 AD. Due to that, every son, cousin or other claimant to the throne came forward to get a piece of the empire.

Note:
-Diocletian at first had Christian leaders handover all religious writings to be burned
-Because of Galerius hatred toward Christians, Diocletian was convince that Christians were against him acted cruelly toward Christians.

Century: 4th

Event:
Arius was condemned at the Council of Nicea in 325 AD

Thought:
Arius believe there was a time when Jesus was not, and Jesus is the 1st creature through whom all things are created.

Story:
Arius argued with his bishop Alexander of Alexandria over the divine nature of Christ

Note:
-Arius was an ascetic Christian Presbyter who became priest of Alexandria
-Eusebius of Nicomedia represented Arius at the Council of Nicea in 325 AD because Arius was not a bishop
-Eusebius was able to get an audience with Emperor Constantine and convince the emperor to have Arius returned from exile and restored to communion.

Century: 4th

Event:
Athanasius of Alexandria wrote "Life of Anthony"

Thought:
Jesus Christ, God the Son, has the same divine nature as God the Father.

Story:
Athanasius of Alexandria was banished 5 time for upholding the Nicean formula

Century: 4th

Event:
Ended the persecution begun by Diocletian

Thought:
Constantine followed & continued the practice of a Christian official and not receiving baptism until just before death so that forgiveness would cover all actions

Story:
Constantine chaired the council of Nicea in 325, then forced all to sign the Nicene Creed on pain of death, then when the bishops backed away from the creed, he forced all to repudiate it on pain of death.

Note:
-Constantine is the founder of Constantinople in 330 AD
-Constantine entered into an alliance with emperor Licinius at Milan and signed the "Edict of Milan" in 313 AD which stopped the persecution of Christian, release them from prison and restore their properties.

Century: 4th

Event:
The Donatist split from the Catholics over the election of the dubious Caeculius as bishop of Carthage

Thought:
We Donatist, the few, are the true people of God; the Catholics, the many, are the antichrist.

Story:
Donatus was the 2nd bishop elected by the rigorist group against Caeculius was bishop of Carthage.

Century: 4th

Event:
Gregory of Nazianzus was title the bishop of Constantinople and chaired the council of Constantinople in 381 AD.

Thought:
He wrote 5 sermons called "Theological Orations" where he details the trinity doctrine as accepted at the council of Constantinople.

Story:
Gregory of Nazianzus is the best friend of Basil of Caesarea & school mate. Gregory allowed Basil to make him bishop of Nazianzus in order to stop Emperor Valen's political attack, but Gregory was later disposed as the bishop of Constantinople because he was already bishop of Nazianzus. Gregory of Nazianzus never forgave Basil of Caesarea for that.

Note:
Gregory of Nazianzus is known as one of the Cappadocian Fathers

Century: 4th

Event:
Turned her family estate into a monastic experiment where she & her slaves lived as equals.

Thought:
Macrina thought the ascent of the soul to God in Christian terms

Story:
Macrina is the older sister of Basil of Caesarea and Gregory of Nyssa and she learned philosophy & religion from Basil & through reading.

Note:
She started the 1st community of woman living in mutual submission, dedicated to prayer & supporting themselves by the work of their hands.

Century: 4th

Event: Wrote "On The Holy Spirit"

Thought:
The Holy Spirit is God with the same divine nature as the Father & Son

Story:
Basil of Caesarea was educated in Athens in the school of philosophy & attempted an urban Christian ascetic movement.

Note:
-Basil of Caesarea is known as one of the Cappadocian Fathers
-Basil of Caesarea is the younger brother of Macrina of Caesarea and the brother of Gregory of Nyssa
-Basil of Caesarea founded the 1st "Basiliad" which is a self-contained village occupied by the poor & ill

Century: 4th

Event:
Gregory of Nyssa wrote "Life of Macrina" & "On The Making of Man"

Thought:
Gregory of Nyssa taught that Origen of Alexandria was right when he said "All would be saved, even the devil." (this is call 'Apokatastasis')

Story:
Gregory of Nyssa is the younger brother of Macrina and Basil of Caesarea.

Note:
Gregory of Nyssa is known as one of the Cappadocian Fathers

Century: 5th

Event:
At the Council of Chalcedon in 451 AD accepted Cyril's & Theodore of Mopsuestia's Christology but not that of Nestorius

Thought:
Cyril of Alexandria believe in a Hypostatic union - where Christ has 2 natures but they are joined in such a way as to be indistinguishable

Story:
Cyril of Alexandria fought long to get all Antiochene Christology banned, but in the end agreed to live & let live, except Nestorius.

Century: 5th

Event:
Translated the Bible into everyday Latin from the Hebrew & Greek. This Bible was called the "Vulgate", meaning common.

Thought:
Jerome taught the perpetual virginity of Mary & the moral superiority of celibacy to marriage.

Story:
During the Origen of Alexandria controversy, Jerome named Origen a heretic and publicly disavowed him while at the same time heavily using Origen's commentaries in his own commentaries.

Century: 5th

Event:
John Chrysostom's reforms against ostentation at Constantinople caused eastern emperor Arcadius & Emperess Eudoxia much trouble. John Chrysostom was eventually marched to death in the heat of summer, 407, around the black sea.

Thought:
Emphasized the change wrought by ordination in his book "On The Priesthood"

Story:
Chrysostom stand for "golden mouth" as John was the finest preacher in the world.

Century: 5th

Event:
Followed Jerome to Palestine, financing both his trip & both their monasteries near Bethlehem.

Thought:
Paula articulated along with Jerome, superiority of the celibacy ascetic life

Story:
Paula was a rich widow from the west who was attracted to the east by the asceticism

Century: 5th

Event:
In the writing of his Psalms commentaries, Theodore of Mopsuestia held only four Psalms to be Christological.

Thought:
Theodore of Mopsuestia stressed that Christ had 2 complete and distinct natures, and believe allegory was illegitimated in the interpretation of scripture.

Story:
Theodore of Mopsuestia was the student of Diodore of Tarsus along w/ John Chrysostom

Century: 5th

Event:
Alaric the Goth sack Rome in 410, Augustine wrote "City of God" in response.

Thought:
The church is protected, Satan is bound, so the church cannot err (cannot be deceived.

Story:
Augustine of Hippo was at long last converted through the prayers and influence of his mother, Monica, and the biblical interpretation of Ambrose of Milan.

Century: 5th

Event:
Nestorius was condemned at the Council of Ephesus in 431 AD

Thought:
Nestorius believe you can distinguish btw the divinity & humanity of Jesus so clearly that it is impossible to say Mary bore God or that God suffered.

Story:
Nestorius was brought to Constantinople by empress Eudoxia who arranged for him to be bishop, but it was Eudoxia who brought him down when he criticized her morals and changed her Christology.

Century: 5th

Event:
Pelagius comes to Rome and criticized the laxity of Christians there.

Thought:
Human freedom of the will is to innate that each person falls on account of his own sin, like Adam did.

Story:
Pelagius come to Rome from his native Britain and even after hi is virtually exiled from Rome and moves east, he is counted as orthodox both in Britain and by Greek fathers.

Century: 6th

Event:
Benedict of Nursia destroyed pagan shrines on his chosen retreat on Montecassino

Thought:
Obedience to God and abbot, and give up your own will to your spiritual leader.

Story:
in writing the "Rule", Benedict of Nursia drew from all the previous rules & formed a moderate consenus

Century: 6th

Event:
Gregory the Great defended Rome alone. He fought off the Ostrogoth from sacking Rome using church funds

Thought:
Gregory the Great encouraged relics, asceticism and missions

Story;
Gregory the Great was the son of a Roman senator & rose to practor at an early age. He was also the grandson of Pope Felix III. Gregory could have been a very successful stateman, but chose to be an ascetic & churchman.

Century: 9th

Event:
Pope Leo III crowns Charlemagne emperor of Rome on Christmas of 800 AD

Thought:
Revived the study of the canon law & scripture

Story:
Charlemagne, even though unlearned, over saw the Carolingian Renaissance & though crowned by a pope felt that bishops should be subject to their secular overloads.

Century: 11th

Event:
Wrote the "Proslogion" as a deductive argument from effect to cause for the existence of God (Ontological argument)

Thought:
Developed subsitutionary atonement in commercial terms of satisfaction: Christ paid the debt we could not pay

Story:
Anselm, being an Italian became Archbishop of Canterbury (England), but was best known for his theological reflection.

Century: 12th

Event:
Wrote the "Sentences" which became the norm for theological reflection

Thought: Emphasized 7 sacraments

Story:
Peter Lombard was a teacher at the University of Paris. He represent a new norm of theology being centered in the universities rather than in the bishop

Century: 13th

Event:
Founded Franciscan Order (so as Poor Clare & Tertiaries) as monastic reform

Thought:
Francis of Assisi urged poverty, Chastity & obedient service, as well as public preaching & missionary work

Story:
Francis of Assisi was the son of a wealthy merchant who turned from his wealth to serve the poor. He did not at first intend the order, it grew around him, then led it.

Century: 13th

Event:
Aristotle's writings are reintroduced in the west from Islam

Thought:
Thomas Aquinas believe through reason & observation one can build theology that parallels revealed theology

Story:
Thomas Aquinas was called the "dumb Ox" in school for his slowness of thought, but he came to known as the "angelic doctor" in later life for his meticulous reasoning.

Century: 13th

Event:
Wrote another commentary on the "Sentences"

Thought:
John Duns Scotus emphasized will over reason & ontology over analogy.

Story:
John Duns Scotus who was a scholastic Franciscan came to be known as the "subtle doctor" on account of theology distinctions where he pulled together the Neo-platonic Augustine & Aristotelian Thomas and everyone in btw. (His doctrine of being came to be known as scotism)

Century: 14th

Event:
While near death from sickness, Julian saw 16 visions which she recorded as "Revelations of love"

Thought:
Everything has being through the love of God

Story:
Julian of Norwich writings were largely ignored until the 19th century. Renewed interest in spirituality when they were discovered to be rich in the theology of God's personal love & atonement: All shall be well, All shall be well, And all manner of things shall be well.