THE CHURCH FATHERS AND HERESIES Chapter4 INTRODUCTION The persecutions of Christians in the fourth and fifth centuries were followed by a series of heresies. • Heresy- is the refusal to accept one or more truths of Faith which are required for Catholic belief.It is a post-baptismal disbelief in one or more articles of the Faith. • EARLY HERESIES St Thomas Aquinas defines heresy - “a species of unbelief belonging to those who profess the Christian faith, but corrupt its dogmas.” • • • • • Material heresy - ignorance of the truth, misunderstanding, noncomprehension, or erroneous judgement. Formal heresy - to freely choose, with full understanding of the teachings of the Church, doctrines that are clearly contradictory to those of the Church and those that have been condemned by the Church as false The first heresies denied Christ's divinity while other denied Christ's humanity. Adding to the problem of heresy was analysis of Scripture through a Greek perspective. Why did the Greeks tend to look down on the material world? • Platonic philosophers viewed the material world as inferior to the world of ideas. Material entities were thought to be images of the world of ideas, with matter as an obstacle to contemplation and personal perfection. Thus, it would not make sense in their minds for God, the perfect idea, to take on imperfect matter (a body). How might this have made it hard for them to accept the Incarnation? • Because of its concept of the logos as a lesser emanation of • the Supreme Being and its understanding of the material world as an inferior version of the spiritual world, Greek philosophers had a hard time accepting that God the Son could be equal in nature to God the Father or how God could have entered the inferior material world. Jesus did not have a human nature, being materially bound, is naturally evil. Jesus was a representative or a spirit so the divine being. • Causes of the heresies - inaccurate interpretations of the Gospels along with imprecise philosophical explanations GNOSTICISM • Derived from the Greek word gnosis - • Salvation is attained through knowledge. • Secret knowledge • People were divided into two classes: Spiritual - Material - • What were the guiding premises of Gnosticism? The secret knowledge had been given to a select few who possessed a divine spark. The redeemer was sent to release these divine sparks from those bodies in which they were trapped. If the individual understood the secret knowledge and practiced the rituals, then the sparks would be freed from the inferior material world and return to the spiritual realm. • (Finding the light within oneself through pagan ceremony is the essence of the New Age movement in contemporary times) CLASSIFYING HERESIES • • • Dogma - revealed truths approved by the church Christology - theology relating to the person, nature, and role of Christ. Hypostatic Union - the union of Christ's human nature with his divine nature through the Incarnation Jesus is related to God as brightness is to light the two realities cannot be separated.” -St. Athanasius CHRISTOLOGICAL HERESIES ARIANISM • • Arius was a priest who erroneously interpreted passages to mean that Jesus was a creation of God and not equal to God - he was better than human but less than God Arianism rejects Christ's full divinity and equality to God. It is a threat to Christianity because it denies the central tenets of the Church such as the doctrines of the Trinity, Redemption, and the divine nature of Jesus Christ. "The whole world has gone Arian, then it's Athanasius against the world." -St. Athanasius NESTORIANISM • • • • Nestorius was the Patriarch of Constantinople who maintained that Christ was the result of the union of two separate persons, one man and one God. Theotokos Nestorius rejected the title Theotokos and professed that Mary was the mother of Christ but not the mother of God Title defended at the Council of Ephesus in 431 “God became man, so man can learn from a man, how man can become God.” -St. Athanasius DOGMATIC AND SACRAMENTAL HERESIES DONATISM • • • The Donatist insisted that a priest or bishop who had betrayed the faith or sinned in any other capacity was incapable of validly administering any sacrament Result of a bishop who was ordained after being an apostate during the Roman persecutions. St. Augustine: Christ was the administer of every Sacrament. He separated the worthiness on the part of the priests from the validity and efficacy of the Sacrament PELAGIANISM • • • Pelagius, a monk, falsely taught that people could earn their way into heaven by their own efforts and merits apart from the grace of God Denied the existence of original sin Since grace is not necessary for salvation, the Sacraments would be unnecessary Creeds and Councils THE ECUMENICAL COUNCILS • Council of Nicea 325AD • The word ecumenical means- “the whole inhabited world.” • • Brings bishops under the leadership of the pope together from all over the world to discuss central issues of the Church. Who has the power to start, change, and end an ecumenical council? Other types of councils: • • • • • Diocesan- synod – bishop, clergy, religious, lay people meet for matters of diocesan Church discipline and procedure Provincial - assembly of an archbishop with suffragan bishops Plenary- summons all bishops of a nation Ecumenical- of the highest authority - summons all bishops of the world and the tenets of faith are held to be infallible. the doctrine that in specified circumstances the Pope is incapable of error in pronouncing dogma. Infallibility- Vatican I - defined infallibility to apply when the Pope (1) intends to teach (2) by virtue of his supreme authority (3) on a matter of faith and morals (4) to the whole Church, he is preserved by the Holy Spirit from error. • • • A creed is an official statement of belief. An aspect of the creed that sets it apart from the others is the anathema at the beginning and end of the creed Anathema - a ban solemnly pronounced by ecclesiastical authority and accompanied by excommunicated; a formal curse by a pope or a council of the Church, excommunicating a person or denouncing a doctrine. • What two points of belief does the Athanasian Creed emphasize? The Trinity and the Incarnation ATHANASIAN CREED • Profession of faith • Nicene and Apostles Creed • Purpose • Attributed to St. Athanasius of Alexandria Apostle’s Creed Apostle’s Creed- A statement of belief of the Apostles based upon the New Testament. It is derived from a baptismal creed used especially in Rome known as the Old Roman, and it is therefore associated particularly with the Church of Rome. THE COUNCIL OF NICEA • • • Pope Sylvester I convened the council. Two key figures at the council were St. Athanasius and Emperor Constantine. Almost the entire Eastern Church had fallen to the Arians. Arianism was splitting the Empire in two Constantine wanted to promote unity through a general adherence to Christianity. The result was a declaration known as the Nicene Creed - Nicene Creed Nicene Creed -orthodox statement of belief that clarified Catholic doctrine. See pg.154 The Apostles' Creed has been in use during Baptism while the Nicene Creed is mostly associated with the death of Jesus Christ. Filioque- Latin word meaning “and the Son.” It is used to express the double procession of the Holy Spirit from the Father and the Son. CHURCH FATHERS THE CHURCH FATHERS • • • Church father is not an official title but rather a traditionally held title in the church. Some Church Fathers have also been named Doctors of the Church - Doctor Ecclesiae Who is a Church Father and what are the five characteristics? - see Voc. list Five characteristics - orthodoxy in doctrine, holiness, approval by the Church, notoriety, and antiquity. ST. AMBROSE • Background • A renowned preacher • Fought for the Church's independence from the State • Council and condemn decision of emperors • Opponent of Arianism ST. JEROME • Background • Translation of the Bible • Vulgate • Douay-Rheims • New American “For if, as Paul says, Christ is the power of God and the wisdom of God, and if the man does not know the power of God, then ignorance of Scripture is ignorance of Christ.” -St. Jerome ST. JOHN CHRYSOSTOM • • • Outstanding preacher and commentator on the Bible Sermons were known to capture the deep spiritual meanings of the Scripture Chrysostom - golden-mouthed CHURCH FATHERS • St. Hilary of Poitiers - defended orthodox teaching against the Arians in the West. He tried to reeducate the Arians to the true nature of Jesus. The Three Cappadocians - defeated Arianism in the East. • St. Basil the Great - promoted monasticism under St. Basil's Rule, trained priests and met needs of laity, authored the Divine Liturgy of St. Basil • St. Gregory of Nazianzus - focused his theological writings on the Holy Spirit as the third person of the Trinity - important role at the Council of Constantinople • St. Gregory of Nyssa - defended the title of Mary as Theotokos POPE ST. LEO THE GREAT • • • • • Consolidated papal power based on Jesus's endorsement of the papacy transmitted through the New Testament. Secured papal jurisdiction in the West through the emperor. Known to have negotiated peace with Barbarian leaders Fathers of the Council of Chalcedon said in response to the Papal definition of the two natures of Christ, "Peter has spoken through Leo" and accepted it unhesitatingly. He spoke with the same teaching authority as Peter confirming the papacy is divinely guided. Church Father, Doctor of the Church ST. AUGUSTINE OF HIPPO • • • Before coming to the faith, Augustine lived a dissolute life including the belief in heresy and sins of lust. "Tolle et lege" - take and read Augustine heard a young boy singing these words and opened the Bible. "Let us conduct ourselves becomingly...." Romans 13:13 From that moment he resolved to convert and lead a holy life. What topics did St. Augustine address in his two best known works? Confessions-autobiography; outline his sinful youth and conversion to Christianity City of God- discusses two cities: earthly and heavenly. Although made up of fallen and sinful members, represents the forgiveness and hope of the Kingdom of Heaven “Our heart is restless until it rests in thee, O Lord” -St. Augustine CHRISTIANITY: THE OFFICIAL RELIGION OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE • A state rules more effectively when it's people are united and uniform. Christianity was a means to uniformity. When and by whom was Christianity declared the official religion of the Empire? In 391 Theodosius I The Great declared Christianity the official religion of Roman Empire CONCLUSION • • In response to the heresies of this time, the teachings of the Church regarding the Trinity and the nature of Jesus were greatly solidified. Inaugurated a new era in Christianity - filled with the promise of evangelization as well as the dangers of temporal meddling in the affairs of the Church.
