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The Age of Councils
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Preface: During the Anti-Nicene Era (about 170 to 325 AD)
many religious movements were active in the Roman Empire:
Christianity, Greek Pagan religion, Judaism, Mithraism,
Roman Pagan religion, various secret mystery religions,
etc. Religious tolerance was widespread throughout the
empire, but it was only enjoyed by those adults who had
fulfilled their civic duties. Many points of conflict
developed between the Roman authorities and the growing
Christian movement, including:
As part of one's civic duty, each adult was expected to
sponsor a sacrifice in the Roman temple once per year.
Many Christians refused to do this because it would force
them to acknowledge the legitimacy of Pagan Gods.
Adults were expected to acknowledge Caesar as the Son of
God and Savior. Many Christians would not submit to this
either.
Christians ignored some Roman laws. For example, the state
refused to recognize marriages between a free person and a
slave; Christians allowed such marriages.
A small minority of Christians were so keen on hastening
the end of the world and the arrival of the Kingdom of God
that they set fires to encourage the second coming of
Jesus. Some Roman authorities labeled the entire Christian
movement as a bunch of arsonists.
Incorrect rumors spread that Christians engaged in orgies
during their communal means and made human sacrifices of
infants.
As a result of these conflicts, Christians were
intermittently persecuted in various parts of the Empire.
The fourth century
AD:
313 AD: The years of Christian persecution came to an end.
Emperor Constantine (289-337 AD) issued the Edict of Milan
which formally established freedom and toleration for all
religions, including Christianity. Contrary to many
people's beliefs, Christianity was not made the official
religion of the Roman Empire until late in that century.
325 AD: The period of time from 325 to about 590 AD is
often referred to as the "post-Nicene" era. This interval
takes its name from the church Council of Nicea which was
held in 325 AD.
There was no single individual who spoke for the entire
church; no one person had the authority to decide matters
of belief and practice. Such matters could only be
determined by councils at which all available bishops
would debate and attempt to resolve their differences. The
first such meeting was the Council of Nicea in Asia Minor
(now Turkey). 318 bishops out of the approximately 1,800
Christian bishops then in existence attended. Most came
from the eastern half of the Empire. 5 Bishops attempted
to resolve a major uncertainty facing the early church:
the relationship between Jesus and God. The church
recognized the Hebrew Scriptures (Old Testament) which
described God in strictly monotheistic terms. But there
were references in the Gospels (particularly John) which
stated that Jesus is Lord. Two conflicting theories about
the deity of Jesus were argued at the time:
Arius (250 - 336 AD) proposed that Jesus and God were very
separate and different entities: Jesus was closer to God
than any other human being, but he was born a man, had no
prior existence, and was not a god. On the other hand, God
has been in existence forever. Arius felt that any attempt
to recognize the deity of Christ would blur the lines
between Christianity and the Pagan religions. If
Christianity recognized two separate gods, the Father and
Jesus, it would become a polytheistic religion.
Athanasius (296 - 373 AD) argued that Jesus must be
divine, because otherwise, he could not be the Savior.
Both Arius and Athanasius had large, evenly matched
followings among the bishops. Emotions ran high. The
council, under intense pressure from Emperor Constantine,
resolved its deadlock by a close vote in favor of
Athanasius. The dissenting bishops were offered two
options: to sign the settlement at Nicea or be exiled. The
bishops produced the Nicene Creed, which declared that
Jesus Christ was "of one substance with the Father." This
did not immediately settle the question of the divinity of
Christ; many bishops and churches refused to believe in
the council's decision for decades.
"The bishops granted to the bishop of Alexandria [in
Egypt] papal authority over the eastern half of the
empire, and to the bishop of Rome they granted papal
authority over the western portion of the empire."
330 AD: Emperor Constantine decided to build a "New Rome"
on the site of the Greek city of Byzantium (now at
Istanbul, Turkey). It was called Constantinople. It became
the center of the largely Christian empire. 5 By this
time, the church had evolved from a small, scattering of
congregations to a geographically widespread church under
the authority of many bishops.
341 AD: Many now believe that Christianity became the
dominant religion of the Empire through the evangelical
efforts of the early church during the fourth century AD.
* === The period of relative religious tolerance in the
Roman Empire ended as Pagan temples were seized and
converted to Christian use or destroyed. Priests and
Priestesses were exiled or killed. Christianity and
Judaism became the only permitted religions. In Spain,
bishop Priscillian, who taught some Gnostic beliefs became
the first heretic executed by his fellow Christians for
religious reasons. The church used the power of the state
to begin programs to oppress, exile or exterminate both
Pagans and Gnostic Christians. By the end of the century,
Pagan temples had been either destroyed or recycled for
Christian use. Pagan worship became punishable by death.
But government toleration was not without its cost. The
Emperor Constantine and later political rulers demanded a
major say in the running of the church and in decisions on
its beliefs. === *
Church authority had became concentrated in the five
bishops or patriarchs located in Alexandria, Antioch,
Constantinople, Jerusalem and Rome. Although they were
officially given equal status, the Bishop of Rome was
considered by many to be the first among equals.(primus
inter parees)
381 AD: At the Council of Constantinople, the earlier
council's decision on the deity of Jesus was confirmed and
Arianism was formally declared a heresy. They also voted
that Holy Spirit was the third Person of the Trinity.
Almost all of the churches abandoned Arianism after this
council.
Near the end of the century, the Roman Emperor "Theodosius
decreed that the doctrine of the Trinity was to be the
official state religion and that all his subjects should
adhere to it." 5
Siricius, who reigned from 384 to 399 AD, became the first
bishop of Rome to be called Pope (father).
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