Apostolic Church Fathers The Church from 100-300AD

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Apostolic Church FathersThe Church from 100-300AD

• Mike Buehrer
• Blacksburg Christian Fellowship
• Sept. 8, 2002

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Overview

• Christian History
• Overview of Period (100A.D. 300 A.D.)
• From Apostolic age to Constantine
• Age of the Martyrs
• Also called the Ante-Nicene period
• Apostolic Fathers
• Polycarp
• Ignatius
• Persecution of the Church
• The blood of the martyrs ? seed of the church
• Lessons for today

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Church History

• Christian faith is rooted in history
• Resurrection of Christ was preached as an
  historical event
• Story of Jesus, his disciples, the apostolic
  fathers, and the rest of the early church is
  recorded in many documents
• New Testament literature
• Literature of the apostolic fathers
• Writings of Roman historians
• Writings of Church fathers (after Constantine)
• History tells us how doctrine was formed, how
  heresies were combated, and demonstrates the
  incredible faith of the early church
• Nothing is new many things which we face have
  been faced before

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Timeline 100 300 A.D.
100 A.D.
200 A.D.
300 A.D.
150 A.D.
250 A.D.
Marcus Aurelius
Decius
Hadrian
Trajan
Gallus
Valerian
Polycarp
Diocletian
Origen
Tertullian
Cyprian
Ignatius
Justin
St. Anthony
Christian Persecution
Tolerance
Local Persecutions
Intense Persecution
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Spread of the Gospel
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Spread of the Gospel
Churches in 100 A.D.
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Spread of the Gospel
Churches in 200 A.D.
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Spread of the Gospel
Churches in 300 A.D.
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Early Church Leaders

• Ignatius (55 A.D. 115 A.D.) - Bishop of
  Antioch
• Possibly a disciple of one John
• Polycarp (70-156A.D.) - Bishop of Smyrna
• Disciple of John
• Justin Martyr (150 A.D.) Philosopher First
  of the apologists
• Wrote Apology to the Emperor Antonius Pius
• Irenaeus (177 A.D.) - Bishop of Lyons
• Disciple of Polycarp
• Wrote Against Heresies to combat Gnosticism
• Tertullian (196 A.D.) powerful thinker,
  philosopher in Carthage helped formalize the
  Trinity
• Origen (185A.D. 254 A.D.) - perhaps the
  greatest scholar of early church
• Cyprian (250A.D.) - wrote The Unity of the
  Church
• St. Anthony (270) started monastic living

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Early Church Leaders
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Ignatius

• Bishop of Antioch (Syria)
• Possibly was a disciple of John
• Martyred in Rome in 115A.D. under the Emperor
  Trajan
• Wrote 7 letters during his trip from Antioch to
  Rome to churches at Ephesus, Magnesia, Tralles,
  Rome, Philadelphia, and Smyrna and to Polycarp
• Strongly argued that each congregation needed a
  bishop to maintain correct doctrine and prevent
  splits
• Fought Docetism (The belief that Christ was a
  spirit being and only appeared to be a man.)
• Emphasized the Eucharist since it stressed the
  reality of Christs humanity
• Welcomed his sacrifice for Christ

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Ignatius

• Emperor Trajan visited Antioch in 115 A.D. and
  heard about the Christians there and their Bishop
  Ignatius.
• Trajan decided that he wanted to meet him.
• Trajan There you are, wicked devil, deceiver of
  men!
• Ignatius Not an evil spirit, but I have Jesus
  Christ in my heart.
• Trajan Jesus Christ within you? Do you mean
  him who was crucified by Pontius Pilate?
• Ignatius Yes, he was crucified for my sins
• The Emperor immediately sentenced him to be
  transferred to Rome and to be thrown to the wild
  beasts.

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Ignatius Trip to Rome
He was martyred in Rome
Ignatius was arrested in Antioch where he was
bishop
Known route Conjectured route
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Typical Leadership Structure Bishop Presbyter
Presbyter Deacons Deacons Deacons
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Polycarp

• 70A.D. - 156 A.D.
• Disciple of the Apostle John
• Bishop of Smyrna
• Martyred in Smyrna
• His letter to Philippians has been preserved
• Story of his martyrdom preserved in The
  Martyrdom of Polycarp written by Smyrnaean
  church
• Burned at the stake for refusing to worship
  Caesar and deny Christ

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Polycarp

• Letter to the Philippians
• Quoted freely from the gospels, Pauls epistles,
  and I Peter.
• While officially the New Testament was not
  canonized, certain writings were recognized as
  authentic and authoritative.
• Not particularly scholarly or original, but held
  fast to the teachings of the apostles.
• Also fought with Marcion over Docetism and
  Gnosticism.
• Contemporary and friend of Ignatius
• Visited with him on his trip to Rome for
  execution.

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Smyrna

• Church established in Smyrna from early time.
• Bishops succeeded Polycarp until 20th century.
  
• Maintained strong Christian presence despite
  Moslem invasions until 1922.
• Turks destroyed Christian quarter in 1922 and
  massacred all Christians. Last bishop crucified.
• Now part of Turkey

Ruins of Marketplace in Smyrna
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Persecution

• Romans were typically tolerant of foreign
  religions
• However, there was no right to religion
• Government reserved the right to persecute
  religious practice
• State religion was way of assuring allegiance to
  State
• Judaism was legal religion which provided some
  protection for Christians during early years
• Fall of Jerusalem put permanent rift between Jews
  and Christians
• Romans began to see Christian was its own
  religion
• For first 300 years Christians could be legally
  persecuted for their beliefs
• General, severe persecutions were sporadic but
  local persecution was common and always a
  possibility

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Reasons for Roman Persecution

• Popular opinion was against Christians
• Separated themselves from immorality and idolatry
• This particularly angered those who prospered
  from idolatry
• Refused to worship Roman Gods
• Had no idols or temples ? brought charge of
  atheism
• Claimed to have absolute religion in pluralistic
  society
• Somewhat secretive breeds suspicion
• Accused of many ludicrous fabrications
• Blamed for earthquakes, floods, etc.
• Tertullian We have a reputation for living
  aloof from crowds
• Government saw them as somewhat dangerous
• Refused to worship Caesar questionable loyalty
• Threat to state religion and thus unity of empire
• Unified group that proclaimed their own king
  (Christ)
• Proselytized

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Persecution

• Laws permitted persecution of Christians but
  didnt demand it.
• Christians werent sought, but could be
  charged.
• They would be released by simply denying Christ
  or sacrificing to the Emperor.
• Persecution was typically restricted to local
  inflammations.
• There were occasional intense outbreaks due to
  certain emperors.
• Nero being the first

• When put to death, Christians were often
  subjected to incredible cruelty including
• Thrown to lions
• Burned at stake
• Used as torches

• Beheaded
• Tortured
• Crucified

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Persecutions

• Nero (64 A.D.) blamed Christians for fire which
  destroyed large part of Rome. First severe
  persecution.
• Domitian (81-96) second emperor to intensify
  persecution.
• Trajan (99-117) intensified persecution in an
  attempt to stamp out secret associations.
• Hadrian (117 138) briefly intensified
  persecution of Christians when Jews revolted and
  were subsequently slaughtered
• Decius (249-251) made the thorough repression
  of Christianity a key part of his reign. Had
  Origen tortured and imprisoned leading to his
  death.
• Valerian (243-260) initially spared Christians
  but eventually led an attempt to execute or
  banish all bishops (incl Cyprian).
• Diocletian (303-311) resumed general persecution

Roman Coliseum
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Lessons for Today

• Early Christians could have avoided persecution
  by simply incorporating pagan worship (e.g.,
  worshiping Caesar) into Christian practice
• However, they didnt. Unlike the society around
  them, they believed in truth and were prepared to
  defend it with their lives.
• Greek philosophy had eroded confidence in Gods
  which led to religious pluralism.
• Today Christians are in an analogous situation
• We are pressured by society to accept religious
  pluralism
• We are seen as foolish and narrow-minded to think
  we have the truth
• Society has tacitly excepted religious pluralism
• We must be willing to stand up for truth in the
  face of more benign adversity.

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Lessons for Today

• While there were rumors that Christians did
  immoral things, educated people in the
  Ante-Nicean period understood that Christians
  stood out for their morality
• Pliny the Younger Chirstians bound themselves
  by a solemn oath not to commit any wicked deed,
  but to abstain from all fraud, theft and
  adultery, never to break their word, or deny a
  trust when called upon to honor it.
• Do we stand out in our society today ?

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References

• K.S. Latourette, A History of Christianity,
  Prince Press 1975
• B.L. Shelley, Church History in Plain Language,
  Nelson 1995.
• H.C. Sheldon, History of the Christian Church,
  Hendrickson Publishers 1994.
• C.P.S. Clarke, St. Ignatius and St. Polycarp,
  Church History Publishing 2001.
• H. Von Campenhausen, The Fathers of the Church,
  Hendrickson Publishers 1998.
• T. Dowley Ed., Erdmans Handbook to The History
  of Christianity, W.B. Erdmans Publishing Co.
  1977.
• E.E. Carirns, Christianity Through the Ages, 3rd
  Ed., Zondervan Publishing 1996.
• A.K. Curtis, J.S. Lang, and R. Peterson, The 100
  Most Important Events in Christian History,
  Fleming H. Revell 1991.
• S.M. Houghton, Sketches from Church History,
  Banner of Truth 1980.