The Rise of Imperial Christianity - PowerPoint Presentation

Slide1

The Rise of Imperial Christianity

Constantine and BeyondSlide2

Decius

249 A.D. came into power.

Christian historians paint him as cruel. History shows him to be a Roman of old style, who wanted to return Rome to her former glory.

Decius saw that the people abandoned their gods and that was why there was unrest.

Decius purpose was not to create martyrs but apostates or those who reject Christ and pledge loyalty to the gods.

In the edict that Decius issued, now lost, he ordered that Christians ought not be persecuted, but rather the worship of the gods be now mandatory throughout the Empire.

The amount of Christians who actually died as martyrs was relatively small since his goal was not to kill Christians, but restore Rome to former glory. Slide3

Valerian

The Emperor Valerian in 257 issued edicts that were specifically aimed at the church and its leaders

In 258, Valerian would call for the arrest and punishment of bishops, presbyters (elders), and deacons;

Laypeople had their property confiscated and lose their status

Aristocratic women were to be exiled

Civil servants who professed Christianity were reduced to slavery.

Valerian was motivated for political and fiscal realities.

Valerian would fall prisoner to the Persians and Christians would experience several years of peace Slide4

Disorganization of the church

Within a few years after, questions began to arise as to what to do with those who had lapsed or those who denied Christ in face of persecution

There was a discussion between Cyprian and

Novatian

. Cyprian felt he needed to flee in order to secure a place for other leaders of the Church.

Novatian

did not.

He (Cyprian) believed the unity of the church was important

Novatian

believed these lapsed Christians had it easy for re-entry into the church.

The West and East began disputes over theological matters.

It was out these episodes that the penitential system developed which the Reformation would protest against. Slide5

Diocletian and the Great Persecution

The church enjoyed a relatively long period of peace.

In the 4

th

century however, the last and worse persecution broke out.

Galerius a ruler under Diocletian saw the attitude of Christians towards military service as troubling. Slide6

Diocletian and the Great Persecution

Galerius convinced Diocletian to expel all Christians from the legions. In some areas, they tried to make some Christians deny their faith.

The oracle of Apollo at Miletus told the Emperor that Christians were to blame for false prophecies.

In 303, he again convinced Diocletian to issue an edict not to persecute Christians but to remove them from positions of responsibility in the Empire.

The edict also ordered all Christians building and books be destroyed.

Christians refused to do this and they were tortured and condemned to death. Slide7

Diocletian and the Great Persecution

Fire broke out in Rome, Galerius accused the Christians of it, said they were seeking revenge for the destruction of the churches and the burning of their books.

Some Christian writers suggest that Galerius set the fires in order to blame the Christians (ultimately, we will never know)

Regardless of who started the fire, Diocletian’s wrath could not be stopped.

In response to this, he ordered all Christians must offer sacrifice before the gods.

Several Christians faced martyrdom during this time.

This seems to be the example seen all over the EmpireSlide8

Diocletian and the Great Persecution

Except in one place: the territory ruled by

Constantius

Chlorus

Persecution was limited to only tearing down of church buildings.

Things were not like this elsewhere.

Diocletian thought Christians were conspiring against him. So he said all leaders of the church are to be arrested and then all Christians must sacrifice to the gods.

This was a test of a true Christians faith, some fell away, the rest died for the faith.

In 304 – 305 A.D., Diocletian got sick and abdicated to Galerius and

Constantius

. Slide9

Persecution under Galerius

Sons of

Constantius

and

Maximian

, Constantine and

Maxentius

, were very popular but did not like what Galerius was doing.

The Troops refused to give loyalty to Galerius, so they proclaimed Constantine as their

augustus

.

Galerius was losing support. Asked Diocletian to come out of retirement and restore order, Diocletian said no.

Even during this time, persecution continued, but under Constantine and

Maxentius

controlled areas it did not happen.

Under the rule of Galerius, the list of martyrs grew and grew and there seemed to be no end in sight Slide10

Persecution under Galerius

Galerius contracted a painful disease and was convinced by Christians that this was punishment from God.

In 311 A.D., he issued an edict that allowed Christians to worship and pray to God without fear of persecution.

Galerius would die 5 years later, and the worse persecutions that Christians have faced ended.

During this time, a young man, whom we’ve met earlier was starting his rise to powerSlide11

Constantine

Son of

Constantius

.

In 306 A.D., he declared Constantine to be the new Augustus of the West.

After many maneuvers, Constantine in 310 A.D. was acknowledge as the undisputed leader of the Gallic provinces and Spain.

After Galerius death,

Maximian

gained control and continued the persecution of Christians.

Maxentius

and Constantine were on a course to meet. Slide12

The Battle of the Milvian

Bridge

October 28, 312 A.D.

Maxentius

and Constantine met at the

Milvian

Bridge, five miles north of Rome near the Tiber River.

One Christian Historian said that

Maxentius

could have stayed at Rome and been safe, but foolishly chose to march out to meet Constantine.

Constantine should have lost, he had few numbers in his army. But he defeated

Maxentius

.

Maxentius

fled into the river where he would drown.

Lactantius

, a Christian historian, says that it was a dream that Constantine received the command to place a Christian symbol on the shields of his soldiers

Eusebius, another Christian historian, says the vision appeared in the sky with these words, “in this you shall conquer.” Slide13

The Battle of the Milvian

BridgeSlide14

The Battle of the Milvian

BridgeSlide15

Was Constantine a Christian?

The question that is raised when it comes to Constantine is: Was Constantine a Christian after this vision?

Some historians say its tough to call, because he continued worshiping the Unconquered Sun.

Christian Historian Justo Gonzalez believes that he did become a Christian but his process of conversion was a long one.

Whether he became a Christian immediately or later, he’s important for Christianity because it was under his rule that Christianity saw it’s greatest spread and growthSlide16

The Edict of Milan

Constantine and

Licinius

(he was also a emperor during the instability of the Roman Empire) They struck up an alliance.

In this alliance, they both agreed that the Empire-wide persecution would end.

This agreement would become known as the “Edict of Milan” in 313 A.D., although no official document would be given.

This edict would return to a toleration to Christianity. Slide17

Constantine’s Rule

After Constantine’s defeat of

Maxentius

, he now controlled the western half of the world.

He worked with

Licinius

to consolidate his power.

Maximinus

would not go as easily and began to start a war with

Licinius

and Constantine in Byzantium.

Licinius

defeated him and

Maximinus

fled and then would die shortly after.

The Empire was divided between

Licinius

and Constantine

Licinius

ruled east area of Italy

Constantine ruled over western Europe and North Africa Slide18

Constantine’s Rule

Both

Licinius

and Constantine sought to rule the entire Empire.

Eventually hostilities would break out between each other.

There was a conspiracy to murder Constantine and an investigation implicated a relative

Licinius

The relative had fled and

Licinius

refused to turn him over to be executed, so he declared war on Constantine.

Justo Gonzalez writes that “Although Christian historians have usually laid all the blame for this conflict on

Licinius

, the truth is that Constantine wished to go to war with his brother-in-law, but was able to make his rival appear as the aggressor.”Slide19

Constantine’s Rule

Constantine would defeat

Licinius

by taking Byzantium from him. He took most of

Licinius

European territories.

There was a truce between them that lasted until 322, then more encounters happened between the both of them.

Constantine invaded the territories of

Licinius

, using the pretext that he was pursuing a band of barbarians.

Licinius

saw this an intentional attack and gathered troops to face Constantine.

Licinius

told his troops not to look at the labarum, which was the image from Constantine’s vision. But it demoralized the troops and Constantine won. Slide20

Constantine’s Rule

Licinius

would flee to Byzantium where he thought he would be safe.

Unfortunately, through a series of unfortunate events (ships crashing) he felt he might be cut off and Constantine took advantage of this opportunity.

Licinius

was finally defeated

Constantine’s wife, Constance, along with bishop Eusebius, went to spare her brother’s life if he abdicated the throne.

Licinius

was murdered shortly thereafter. Some say he was conspiring against Constantine; others say Constantine approved of his death or ordered it.

Regardless, Constantine ruled the whole Roman Empire. Slide21

Constantine’s Rule

He would rule for the next 13 years until 337.

He built a “New Rome” called Constantinople (city of Constantine)

Constantine would give privileges to those who came to live in Constantinople, such as free supplies and exemption from taxes and military service.

The result was that the city grew.

Under Theodosius II new walls would have to be built because of it’s growth.

This had a huge impact in moving the Capitol, because soon Rome would be overrun by barbarians.Slide22

The Impact of Constantine

What was Constantine’s impact on Christianity?

Cessation of persecution

Great Intellectual activity.

Christian worship began to be influenced by imperial protocol. Incense began being used. Processionals were introduced, Choirs were developed. Congregation had a less active role.

Martyr’s were celebrated, Relics of saints and of NT Times were said to have miraculous. Queen Helena, Constantine’s mother really supported this.

“Official Theology” – Christians sought to show that Constantine was chosen by God to bring the history of both church and Empire to its end.

Some reacted to this to show that this was a great apostasy. Some didn’t want to break with church, so they fled to the desert where they lived a life of meditation and asceticism

Others felt it was best to just break from church. Slide23

Eusebius of Caesarea

Most learned Christian of his time.

Ardent supporter of Constantine.

Born around 260 in Palestine

Very little is known about his parents and background.

Learned under

Pamphilus

Both Eusebius and

Pamphilus

would write joint works, 5 in all. Eusebius would add a sixth later called the

Defense of Origen.

However, during the Great Persecution

Pamphilus

would be arrested, remained in prison for two years before being condemned to death

Eusebius was not arrested. Slide24

Eusebius of Caesarea

He would continue working on what would become his most famous work

Church History.

This work accounts for a lot of Christian History, much of what we’ve learned here is from this work.

He would be bishop at Caesarea when a bitter theological debate would happen that would threatened to destroy the church: the Arian Controversy, but a little bit later we’ll discuss this.

In much of Eusebius work, he would paint Constantine as the hero of Christian history.

However, he would abandoned some of traditional themes of the church. Slide25

Monasticism

These Christians would flee from society and live a life of asceticism and solitude in the desert.

Development of Monasticism: Asceticism – punish the body in order to purify the soul

Many Christians fled to the desert.

Monk means “solitary”

They saw, society with its noise and many activities as a temptation or a distraction to the Monastic goal.

Two are given the title of first Monk of the desert, Paul and Anthony Slide26

Pachomius

As people began to go out to the desert to follow this simple lifestyle, there came a time when monasticism came to its final form: communal

Pachomius

is often the organizer of this final form.

Born in 286 A.D. in a small village in Egypt.

Parents were pagans and knew very little about Christianity, before he was forced to join the army.

He became encouraged by Christians after feeling sad for the lot he was put in, in the army.

After his service in the army, he retreated to the desert where he would take up the monastic lifestyle. Slide27

Pachomius

He had a vision where God told him a way for better service. He rejected the vision on the sole reason as to he wanted to serve God not man.

The vision kept coming to him, he listened and built a large enclosure where monks could live.

His first attempt was a failure

His second attempt was a success.

This became known as communal monasticism. Slide28

Spread of Monasticism

One of the most popular monastic ideals came from St. Martin of Tours.

Martin born in 335 A.D. to a pagan soldier.

Became a Christian at a very young age. This was against his parents will and has his name in a list of

catacumens

, or theology classes.

His father did not like this at all and enrolled him in the army, during the time of Julian the Apostate.

In one event where Martin cut his cape in two to cloth a beggar. This is where the word and origin of the Chapel and chaplain came from.

He would eventually become bishop of Tours. Slide29

Donatism.

Schism that happened between Cyprian and

Novatian

over what to do with the lapsed of the church.

The Schism had to do with the issue of what was to be done with those who yielded during time

of persecution. Slide30

The Arian Controversy: Beginnings

The church faced it’s first major controversy in the 4

th

century that would almost destroy the church.

It was an unfortunate outcome of Constantine’s rule.

Christians were beginning to think about the nature of God. Some started to appeal to those who were wise and taught in the church.

However, Christians started to appeal to these authorities and would argue that they believed in the supreme being of the philosophers was what they meant when they said God.

This seemed to be very accepting among Christian intellectualism. Slide31

The Arian Controversy: Beginnings.

Christians would begin to merge a lot of Greek philosophy into their concept of God.

Example: The Greeks saw perfection as immutable, impassible and fixed. Christians came to the conclusion that this was the God of Scripture.

So how did Christians reconcile what the Bible says about God and classical notion of the supreme being as impassible and fixed

Allegorical Interpretation of the Scriptures

Doctrine of the Logos. Slide32

The Arian Controversy: Beginnings

The Doctrine of the Logos.

Developed by Justin, Clement and Origen.

This doctrine stated that the supreme being – the “Father” – is immutable, impassible and so on.

The Logos, Word or Reason of God is personal capable of direct relations with the world and with humans.

Widely accepted in the Eastern Church. Slide33

The Arian Controversy: Breakout

Main dispute: Was the Son of God co-eternal with God? Or was he created?

Arius argued that no the Son of God was not co-eternal, but was created and the first of all creation.

He agreed that God was eternal in the beginning and before anything was made, The Word or Son of God was created before anything else.

THIS IS HUGE!

If Jesus Christ is not God, then he can in no way make atonement for our sins and we are still in our sins.

Arius would say that the Word is created, Arius’ mentor, Alexander would say the opposite, that the Word was co-eternal with God. Slide34

The Arian Controversy: Breakout

Both Arius and Alexander would have their own set of proof-texts that would show their opponents position to be untenable or can’t be held to.

Arius would say that Alexander would deny Christian Monotheism. How? Two divine beings, two gods

Alexander said that Arius denied the divinity of Jesus.

This was initially a private debate, but it became a public debate when Alexander would use his authority and responsibility as bishop to condemn Arius’ teachings and remove him from all posts in the church in Alexandria.

Arius did not accept this punishment, instead he appealed to the people. Slide35

The Council of Nicea

325 A.D. the first ecumenical or universal council happened.

It was a gathering of 300 bishops from the mainly the East and some from the West.

They discussed many topics, but the main one was the Arian Controversy. What were they going to do with it?

There was small batch of Arians led by Eusebius of Nicomedia, not the Eusebius we met earlier.

This small group was convinced that Arius was correct.

There was another small group that opposed them and said that this controversy threatened the very core of the Christian faith. Slide36

The Council of Nicea

Athanasius, a young deacon in the group who opposed Arianism would face Arianism and write against it.

The controversy was over an iota in the Greek language:

Ojmoiousia

–

of like substance

Ojmoousia

of same substanceSlide37

The Nicene Creed

This creed summarized the belief of the church and rejected Arianism

I believe in one God, the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth, and of all things visible and invisible.

And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only-begotten Son of God, begotten of the Father before all worlds; God of God, Light of Light, very God of very God; begotten, not made, being of one substance with the Father, by whom all things were made

.

Who, for us men for our salvation, came down from heaven, and was incarnate by the Holy Spirit of the virgin Mary, and was made man; and was crucified also for us under Pontius Pilate; He suffered and was buried; and the third day He rose again, according to the Scriptures; and ascended into heaven, and sits on the right hand of the Father; and He shall come again, with glory, to judge the quick and the dead; whose kingdom shall have no end.

And I believe in the Holy Ghost, the Lord and Giver of Life; who proceeds from the Father [and the Son]; who with the Father and the Son together is worshipped and glorified; who spoke by the prophets.

And I believe one holy catholic and apostolic Church. I acknowledge one baptism for the remission of sins; and I look for the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come. Amen.Slide38

The Nicene Creed

The most universally accepted

Christian creed.