Presented by the New Antioch Church of Christ; Hillsboro, Alabama
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Table of Contents
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Church history, like secular history, can be
divided into distinct periods. Too, church history is inextricably linked to
secular history. We already have called attention to the Divine Pattern
for the church as detailed in the New Testament [see
1st Century Church]. The Church was just as God wanted it to be.
It was characterized by:
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Unity of doctrine
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Organization Worship
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Work of its adherents
The New Testament sounded a note of warning that a great apostasy (falling away from the original pattern) would take place. Paul, for instance, in Acts 20 said that “Men would depart from the faith” and that “they would speak perverse things”.
We need now to turn to secular history to trace the development of various circumstances and ideas at the close of the New Testament Period, (which was approximately the close of the first century).
DEFINED: The Ante-Nicene (or Pre-Nicene) period is the name given to the time between the 1st century, when the Church was established and the inspired writers penned the New Testament, and the meeting of the Council of Nice (325 AD.) at which The Nicene Creed was adopted. (More about the Nicene Creed later)
The Roman world was ruled by men placed at its head by the army.
1. Roman population consisted of three classes.
a. Wealthy
b.Slaves
c.Middle/poor class of free citizens
2. Wealthy lived in luxury being served by slaves
3. Poor classes lived only for bread and circuses.
4. From the government standpoint:
a. The state always came first in thought and
allegiance.
b. Home had little place in the pagan religion.
c. Women were little more than chattel property.
d. Little children were cruelly mistreated and if born deformed or
unwanted could be exposed
to die (infanticide).
Most of the emperors were cruel, wicked and extravagant. Homer Hailey writing in the "Abilene Christian Lectures Book" said:
" It was into such a morally degenerate, sensual and cruel world that Christianity was thrust to conquer and raise to a fit place in which to live."
Persecutions against the Church
1. From Nero (65-68 AD.) to Diocletian (303 AD.) persecutions raged.
a. Followers of Christ were persecuted by
emperor after emperor through these years.
b. Only one period of peace. During the reign of Gallenius (260
AD.) for about 40 years the
church was free of persecution.
(1) Large, expensive church buildings were
erected
(2) The church became wealthy
(3) Members became worldly and contentious
c. Diocletian waged the most formidable and systematic of all the persecutions.
Fisher in his "History of the Christian Church" said:
"He [Diocletian] determined to exterminate Christianity and to reinstate the ancient system of worship [paganism] ."
Diocletian issued a series of edicts by which:
. Every
copy
of the Bible was ordered to be burned.
. Every church building that had arisen in the empire during the
half-century of comparative
rest would be torn down.
. All who would not renounce the Christian religion should lose their
citizenship and be outside
the protection of Roman law.
. "In some places where Christians were assembled in their church
buildings, the
building was set on fife and burned with all the
worshipers inside." (lL. Hulburt, The History
of the Christian Church", Philadelphia, 1933, pg.
57)
The followers of Christ, on first thought, might be regarded as so harmless that such persecutions can not be understood. But a reflection upon certain facts and circumstances will help the student of Church History understand.
1. Heathenism welcomed many gods-Christianity opposed all worship except to one God.
2. Idol worship was interwoven in all the fabric of life in the Roman citizen. Christianity refused to offer sacrifices to these false gods.
3. Emperor worship was required of all. Christians
refused to "bow down" before the
emperor's image. They failed to pass the chief test of loyalty to the State.
4. After Jerusalem was destroyed in 70 AD.
Christianity was regarded as the offspring of
Jewish fanaticism.
5. Christians met in secret meetings to worship.
These meetings in caves, catacombs for
worship aroused suspicion. Wild rumors spread abroad to
the real purpose of these
meeting.
6. Christianity looked upon all as equal. They
made no distinction between master and slave.
This was contrary to the spirit of the Roman world.
7. Business interests often caused Christianity to
be persecuted. When people who made and
sold images saw their business hindered because multitudes
were turning from idol gods to
serve the living God, they sought to suppress Christianity.
8. Another cause of persecution against believers
was superstition. They were charged with
causing famines, pestilences and plagues.
9. The influence of pagan philosophies, which were
propagated by the Stoics and Epicureans,
caused men to look down on Christianity because it was
accepted by the common and
unlettered class. The Gospel also taught a system of faith
and did not prove anything on
philosophical grounds.
Behavior of Christians Under Persecutions
1. Many lacked courage to endure and renounced
their faith in Christ to save their
physical lives.
2. Thousands, however, held their faith as more dear than their lives and all earthly things.
3. These suffered untold agony and many died
rather than deny Christ. The meekness and
undaunted faith and courage of these Christians became more than a match for
all the
armed power of Rome.
 Emperor Constantine who by the Edict of Milan in 313 AD made Christianity legal in the Roman Empire. |
Rest came to the church from the imperial persecutions in 313 AD. Emperor Constantine issued his Edict of Milan, also called the Edict of Toleration.
Hulburt said: "By this law Christianity was sanctioned, its worship was made lawful and all persecutions ceased, not to be renewed while the Roman Empire endured" (The Story of the Christian Church, pg. 57)
Among the good for Christians:
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Imperial persecutions ceased
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Church buildings were rebuilt and reopened
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Heathenism was discouraged
Among the good for the Roman state:
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Crucifixion was abolished as a form of execution for criminals
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Infanticide was repressed
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Slavery was modified to allow better treatment and certain legal rights
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The contests of the gladiators were repressed
This fact that persecutions ceased was good but incredible as it seems there were problems that developed.
According to Hulburt in 'The Story of the Christian Church", 79 the ceasing of persecution was a blessing but the establishment of Christianity as the State Religion became a curse. He said: "Everybody sought membership in the church, and nearly everybody was received. Both good and bad, sincere seekers after God and hypocritical seekers after gain, rushed into the communion. Ambitions, worldly, unscrupulous men sought office in the church for social and political influence"
Some of the evils for the church:
Many passed from heathenism to Christianity by no other conversion than a mere change of name.
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Pagan forms and ceremonies gradually crept into the worship.
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Images of saints and martyrs began to appear in the churches-first installed as memorials, later came to be worshiped.
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Meaning of the Lord's supper was changed in the minds of the worshipers: It became a sacrifice rather than a memorial.
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It came to be considered as a means of protection and salvation from all dangers and evils and as of great benefit for the souls of the departed.
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"The adoration of the Virgin Mary was substituted for the worship of Venus and Diana.
Hulburt said:
"As the result of the church sitting in power, we do not see Christianity transforming the world to its own ideal, but the world dominating the church".
This was the result of the use of the wrong means in an effort to influence the world. God never intended for the church to be a political machine, but rather a teaching institution. The power of the church to influence both the individual and the government of the world lies not in political maneuvers, but in the great work of imparting the principles of Christianity by teaching the Word of God to all nations.
The Lord's Church has always flourished during times of adversity. The church continued to grow and prosper despite all of the best efforts that the Roman world used to try to eradicate it. After the Edict of Milan, however, the Church began to get complacent. Evangelism did not have such a priority. Church leaders began to allow themselves to be used by government officials and many began to see Christianity as the "state religion" of the Roman Empire. This allowed a major error to creep into Church teachings-an error that was to become so big that it corrupted the Church completely. The error was over church leadership.
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By
the 5th and 6th centuries, one man began to declare himself to be head of
all the Bishops. The title became "Pope". John II was declared
to be the 1st Pope in 533 AD by the Emperor Justinian. The Church had
fallen away from what God had intended. The Apostle Paul gave us an insight into what would become the onset of the apostasy, or falling away, of the 1st century church. Paul told the elders of Ephesus "For I know this, that after my departing shall grievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock" [Acts 20:29 ]. Notice that Paul told this to the elders of the church at Ephesus. Paul foretold that trouble would arise in the leadership of the church and this is exactly what happened. The New Testament always mentions a plurality of elders (or bishops) as the leaders of a local congregation. Nowhere in the scriptures do we find Christ's desire that a local congregation be led by one man; yet this is what began to happen. We find that from among the leadership of local congregations, certain individuals began to assume more and more power and authority. These men became "chief elders" and even began to assume the title "the bishop" of a congregation. The next step was natural: these "chief elders" began to assemble together in councils and elect a council head. The chart to the left shows what took place.
Various Church questions would arise and it was though necessary for the Elders (i.e. Bishops or Presbyters) to meet and discuss them. This gave rise to the practice of calling occasional conventions. The idea grew until these conventions took on the nature of permanent institutions and were know as Synods (Greek) or Councils (Latin). The Synods and Councils began to be presided over by the Bishops from chief cities. This naturally augmented the power of these men. The position of President of a council soon began to be regarded as an office itself. This called for a new name to distinguish this office form the others. The name Metropolitans was used and later became Archbishop. Emperor Constantine began to take a hand in the councils and synods.
George A. Klingman in his Church History for Busy People wrote:
"Up to the 4th century these Councils and Synods were held in various provinces over which the Metropolitans ruled and each Metropolitan was independent of all the other Metropolitans in the government of his province. In 325 AD the Emperor Constantine called the 1st General Ecumenical Council. This council was composed of Commissioners from all the churches in the Christian world and represented the Universal Church"
The ecclesiastical rulers who were placed over large districts were called Patriarchs, which means "chief father". At first there were only 3 patriarchs; in Rome, Alexandria (Egypt), and Antioch. Later the bishops of Jerusalem and Constantinople were made Patriarchs making 5 altogether.
The widely studied church historian Mosheim wrote:
"Hence, it came to pass that, at the conclusion of this century (4th), there remained no more than a mere shadow of the ancient government of the church. Many of the privileges which had formerly belonged to the presbyters (elders) and people were usurped by the bishops, and many of the rights, which had been formerly vested in the universal church, were transferred to the emperors, and to subordinate officers and magistrates."
Anytime that man begins to deviate from God's
divine plan, there are serious consequences. The bishops began to think of
themselves as "special" and even began to claim authority to speak in place of
Christ. They began to make rules and enforce regulations, upon local
congregations, that are not found in the scriptures. The bishops became
power-hungry and jealous of each other. Within a short
period of time, the leadership of the church ceased to resemble that which was
laid down by Christ and His Apostles.
Many of the Christians in the local congregations were opposed to the changes
that they saw. The church leaders began to silence all in opposition by
intimidation or even death. In time, the leaders were able to hold power
by keeping
their subjects ignorant of the scriptures. When this began to occur, the
religious institution that developed was as far from what Christ intended as
possible. By 606 AD, Boniface III was declared to be the "universal head
of the church" and whatever he spoke was to be equated with the word of God.
The Apostle Paul wrote, by inspiration, "But though we, or
an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have
preached unto you, let him be accursed" [Galatians 1:8] yet by 606 AD the
leadership had strayed so far as to presume to not only teach a different
doctrine but to equate themselves with divinity.
Distinction between
clergy & Laity
Another departure from the New Testament pattern
which gradually took place with these changes in church organization was the
distinction between the preachers or evangelists and other members of the church
a. By the end of the 2nd century the idea began to take shape that
the ministry possessed the
attributes of the priesthood. This idea
borrowed support from Judaism.
b. The effect was that the "clergy" came to be exalted higher in
the popular
opinion as a higher order and was separate
from the "laity" or other members of the church.
c. Through the years this has given sway to the use of "father" and
"reverend" in the pulpits of
various religious groups.
Remember that in 313 AD. Constantine issued the Edict of Toleration.
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Imperial persecution of Christianity ended.
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Christianity had won a victory over heathenism.
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Christianity became in essence the "state religion"
With t With these so-called "victories", other
problems surfaced almost immediately. A series of 3 controversies within
the church over doctrine
(1) Araian Controversy - Had to do with the doctrine of the
Trinity, specifically the relation of
the Father and the Son.
(2) Appolinarian Controversy - Had reference to the nature of
Christ.
(3) Pelagian Controversy - relating to sin and salvation.
As has been pointed out, the method of setting such controversies in the church was to call the church together in a council. At these council meeting, votes were cast by the bishops. Their decisions were bound upon the lower clergy and laity.
In an effort to calm the trouble which had resulted from the Arian Controversy, Constantine himself called a council of the Bishops which met in Nicea in Bithynia, in 325 AD.
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Attended by 318 bishops. Constantine presided over the council meeting.
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Creeds were introduced as a basis of compromise.
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The final result was the adoption of a formal statement of faith known as "The Nicene Creed".
The Council defined the Son as consubstantial (i.e. having the nature of God). They fixed the celebration of Easter on the Sunday after the Jewish Passover. They also granted Papal authority in the East to the Bishop of Alexandria. The compromises themselves were not very important but the creed of creeds had been born.
3. "Christianity had become a state religion and civil and ecclesiastical governments were joining hands", said Homer Hailey, Abilene Christian College Lectures, 30,