Ante-Nicene Church History

   Clement, Bishop of Rome, is one of the earliest of the Church Fathers who writes his epistle to Corinth while the apostle John is still living at Ephesus, probably around A.D. 96,  shortly following the persecution of Domitian which begins around A.D. 81 and ends around A.D. 95-96.   That persecution launched by Domitian against the Christians was so severe that on one occasion he executed his own nephew, Flavius Clemens, for refusing to offer up sacrifice to his image.   

 As Trajan assumed the office of emperor, it appeared that the persecution against the Christians would lighten as he did not demand worship.  Trajan soon launched his great persecution against the Christians on behalf of the Roman gods and their refusal to honor them as gods.  

  According to Irenaeus, Clement (A.D. 92-101) was the fourth bishop of Rome who is preceded by Peter (one of the twelve apostles and first bishop of Rome), Linus (A.D. 68-80), and Anaccletus A.D. 92).   For some reason Clement saw the need to get involved in a dispute between the younger members and the presbyters of the Corinthian Church.  Whether he did so because of some assumed authority of the Church of Rome over all others, or merely because he was simply led to do so by the Holy Spirit is a much debated matter of controversy between the Protestant and the Catholic believers.   

 According to Tertullian, Clement was ordained by the apostle Peter himself.   According to Irenaeus, Clement was personally acquainted with both St. Peter and St. Paul.   The Epistle to the Corinthians is the only authenticate writing of Clement although others have also been attributed to him.  Although Clement does not sign his name to the epistle, Dionysius, the Bishop of Corinth (A.D. 170) affirms Clement's authorship as do also Hegesippus and Iraenaeus.    Clement's Epistle to the Corinthians was widely considered a canonical book of the Bible until sometime around the 4th century.   The epistle is considered by many to be one of the most important documents of apostolic times, as this letter is perhaps the earliest piece of Christian literature outside the New Testament for which the name, position, and date of the author are historically attested.    
 

 It is obvious that the Corinthian Church had sometime earlier requested that the Church of Rome become involved with the instigators of sedition who were causing problems among them.   Clement writes his epistle on behalf of the Church of Rome rather than as the Supreme Pontiff of the Christian Church.  This is a fact which must be admitted.  If the Roman Church did truly possess a greater God ordained authority in the early days of Christianity, the notion of Papal authority seems to have been far from the consciousness of Clement himself who in all humbleness does not even mention his own name.  If he is a rightful Pope, he most assuredly is unlike the Popes which are to follow.  He writes as a minister of the Roman Church in all submission and accountability to the other leadership within that church.     Clement indicates that although there may be several different congregations within and just outside the city limits, each Church undoubtedly having their own group of presbyters or elders to govern that local congregation, the city itself was thought to have but one church.  The many smaller congregations were apparently considered to be identified with the one Church called by the name of that city.  Early on we see that at least the more prominent elders and leaders in the Church considered themselves to be one body, being united in the singular cause of Christ.  Each of these  presbyters from the various local congregations were spoken of and considered to be equals.  There is no mention of any certain official person of authority, a main bishop if you will, who is recognized as being in authority over all of the others.   The question of apostolic succession does however have some validity according to Hegesippus who lives during the middle of the second century.  According to Lightfoot, Hegesippus alludes to at least a partial apostolic succession in his attempts at refuting the heresies of Basilides, Valentinus, and Marcion.  When Hegesippus was visiting Corinth, he points out that the we have a guarantee that the "orthodox" or "Original" doctrine had most certainly been transmitted down to us "unimpaired".  The Apostles Peter and Paul had founded the Roman Church and before their death had entrusted the episcopate to Linus who is also mentioned by Paul himself in his Epistles to Timothy.  Linus is then succeeded by Anencletus and afterwards Clement is appointed to the office of the Roman episcopate.  Clement is afterwards succeeded by Euarestus and him by Alexander.  Next follows Xystus, Telesphorus, Hyginus, Pius, Anicetus, Soter, and finally, Eleutherus.  

 The conflict which brings Clement into the picture has to do with a number of the younger members of the Church taking it upon themselves to dismiss the more experienced members from their position as presbyters or elders of the local church.  Some suggest that the epistle has a certain intrinsic value as it is the first of its kind suggesting that the Church of Rome had been awarded a peculiar position of authority over the churches in general.   There were many throughout the churches who held up this epistle to be almost, but not yet quite, as possessing an almost equal authority or inspiration to the writings of the apostles.  This is evidenced by the fact that this epistle in particular was read publicly throughout many of these churches, that is at least until the beginning of the fourth century.    There is no room for debating the fact that Clement does indeed write as one possessing great authority and as one who without question expects to be obeyed.   Although Clement undoubtedly demands and expects the members of the Corinthian Church to hear his words and obey them, he does not ever suggest that they are obligated to do so because he sits on the Holy Throne of St. Peter in Rome.  Instead, he stresses how that Christ has first called forth twelve apostles and how that others must later be appointed by these also to sit in leadership over the churches.  He likens the situation at Corinth to the contention and rivalry which had occurred during the days of Moses concerning the appointment of Aaron and his sons to the office of the highest priesthood.  "We are of opinion, therefore, that those appointed by them, or afterwards by other eminent men, with the consent of the whole Church, and who have served the flock of Christ in a humble, peaceable, blameless, yet disinterested spirit; having for a long time possessed the good opinion of all, cannot be justly dismissed from the ministry.  For our sin will not be small, if we eject from the episcopate those who have blamelessly and holily fulfilled its duties." (The First Epistle of Clement, chap. 44)   

 Clement's demands for obedience to his authority is primarily based upon his own sacred ordination which gives him the right to speak on God's behalf as he is moved by the Holy Spirit.  He is writing as one who properly succeeds the apostles in authority over God's church, while never claiming any such  superiority over other ministers who might be equally ordained to the offices which they hold.  Roman authority is never really an issue here.  The authority by which Clemens speaks is not that which has been appointed to him simply because he sits upon the seat of Peter or merely because he holds the office of the Bishop of Rome.  Rather, he speaks as one who knows his true authority given to him by the unction of the Holy Ghost.

  Lightfoot makes a good observations as concerns the Epistle of Clement and the Roman Empire.  It is the absence of criticism of the government which he notes is one of the utmost caution so as not to provoke any unnecessary or further persecution from the Roman government.  In his mentioning of the sudden and repeated calamities which had fallen upon the church, he nowhere attempts to further elaborate upon the nature of these calamities.  Also what is missing is any statement that such problems had ceased and all fears had been now relieved. 

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Ignatius of Antioch

    (A.D. 110 -116)

   Ignatius, the successor of Evodius, Bishop of Antioch,   referred to himself as Theophoros (Greek, "Godbearer"), and is believed to have been a disciple of the apostle John.   During the time of his Bishopry, Antioch was the largest city in Syria.  Ignatius himself, before his conversion to Christianity, was obviously a pagan who had been at one time strongly influenced by the  pagan philosophy of his day.  Ignatius was arrested around A.D. 110 and carried off by military escort to Rome.  At Rome he would be thrown to wild beasts for food.   Trajan was the Roman emperor at that time and it was not uncommon for Christians to be martyred for their failure to honor the pagan gods of Rome.  According to Lightfoot, Trajan is the first systematic persecutor of Christianity.  Whereas Nero and Domitian did undoubtedly assail certain individual Christians or groups of Christians, often during a brief state of passion, the first true imperial edict issued against Christianity in general is attributed to Trajan.  Prior to Trajan, the Christians were primarily regarded as a sect of Judaism.  The Jewish religion was pretty much recognized as a valid religion and therefore usually tolerated by Roman law.  Because of this, Christianity had been generally able to escape the outward persecution of the Roman government.  In Trajan's day, Christianity begins to be distinguished from Judaism.  As a result, Christianity naturally comes to be regarded as an illegal religion throughout the empire.  

  During his life he had written at least seven epistles to various churches of whom he had personally visited and became aquatinted with.    These seven churches are: Ephesus, Magnesia, Tralles, Rome, Philadelphia, Smyrna, and finally to Polycarp at the Church of Phillipi.   Polycarp was one of the apostolic fathers, being the bishop at Smyrna (now Izmir, Turkey) during the first half of the 2d century.  He received his visit and an epistle from Ignatius of Antioch, just prior to Ignatius' martyrdom (perhaps in 116).  Polycarp was himself martyred at Smyrna at the age of 86.    These letters of Ignatius are considered to be a very important source of information about the beliefs and organization of the early Christian church.  Ignatius was pressed to write them as warnings against the heretical doctrines which were being spread throughout his day, thus providing his readers with detailed summaries of Christian doctrine.  Within these writings of Ignatius we can begin to see what appears to be the beginning of or perhaps the further development of the ecclesiastical priestly order within the churches.  Such an ecclesiastical priestly order eventually finds its culmination in the bishop as being the recognized head over the presbytery (elders), which men would also begin to form as a type of senate to govern over the churches placed underneath their circle of influence.  

 What would eventually follow would be the exaltation of the office of the deacon which might be described as the ministers of Christ's social service to the world.  The elect order of the priesthood and organized clergy would evolve to a place in which they would eventually declare that the only Eucharist which was to be regarded as a valid representation of Christ and approved by Christ, is only that one which is recognized and celebrated by the bishop himself.  Finally, around A.D. 325 at the First Ecumenical Council, it was forever decided that all false practices of Eucharist offerings was to be considered prohibited by sacred canon law (Canon XVIII).  "Let all such practices be utterly done away, and let the deacons remain within their own bounds knowing that they are the ministers of the bishop and the inferiors of the presbyters.  Let them receive the Eucharist according to their order."   

 Already in the much earlier days of Ignatius we are shocked to discover that not even a person could be rightfully baptized without the bishop being present or providing his consent.  Even at the early part of the second century we are informed that all marriages must also receive the bishop's approval.  From all this we can readily see that there was a definite ecclesiastical hierarchy that demanded itself to be recognized and realized within the early church.  The declared order of authority was akin to the following.

 1.  Christ must be the recognized head over all the church.  

 2.   The Bishop's authority as next under Christ is such that nothing should be 
        done without first obtaining his approval.  

 3.   Inferior to the bishops were the ordinary priests.   These alone would
       possess the privilege to administer the sacraments.  

 4.    The deacons, always considered as being inferior to and subject to the priests.
 

 5.    All of the other members of the church were considered to be inferior to the
         priests.   

 Although the teachings of the Ignatius are filled with Episcopal philosophy, it is apparent that he encourages more of  a  congregational episcopacy rather than that of a Holy Roman order.  It is especially interesting that throughout his writings he completely leaves out any mention of a Roman primacy, even when writing an epistle to the church at Rome.  Although the Roman Church is highly recommended, there is no special mention of the  Bishop of Rome whatsoever.  We must conclude that although Ignatius would have the churches to submit in all things to their bishops as unto Christ, there is no hint or suggestion that the bishops of all churches are to be in submission to a Roman pontiff.   Ignatius was also the first Christian writer to stress the virgin birth and to use the term Catholic Church to mean the faithful collectively. 

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Irenaeus of Lyons

    (A.D. 177 - 200)

    In the first days of Irenaeus of Lyons, Marcus Aurelius was the Roman emperor.  Marcus Aurelius was famous for his sports arena in the which many Christians were executed as gladiators.  After Marcus Aurelius would follow the emperor Commodus who demanded to be worshipped and had many Christians beheaded as a result of their refusal to swear their loyalty to him.   As if these two children of the devil were not enough,  yet another child of hell would rise to take their place.  Septimus Severus became emperor of Rome around A.D. 193.   He not only accepted his proclaimed divinity as an indisputable fact, but also married the daughter of the Sun priest at Emesa that he might bring the empress into the imperial cult.  His was perhaps the greatest times of persecution for the Christians.  Their bodies were often burned or feed to wild beasts.  The persecution inspired by Septimus Severus included the slaughtering of many children.   Often, the Christian women were shamed.   
 

 As a child, Irenaeus of Lyons heard the preaching of Polycarp who according to Irenaeus was the disciple of  the apostle John.    Polycarp was probably also acquainted with the other disciples of Christ.   This same Irenaeus of Lyons, is best known for his principal work called Against All the Heresies.   In A.D. 177 Irenaeus was appointed bishop of Lyon, in which office he made many converts among the Gauls and was an active opponent of the heresy of Gnosticism.   Gnosticism had been flourishing from as early as A.D. 120 and by the middle of the second century there had been great numbers of this Gnostic literature spread throughout Rome, Carthage, Alexandria, and Lyons.  The Gnostics without a doubt had a deep hunger for religious knowledge and especially sought to uncover the deepest divine mysteries.   Although many of these Gnostics had claimed to be Christian, it appears that they merely sought to exploit Christianity as a platform to further their own twisted religious philosophies.  Irenaeus exhorted the Christians of his day to confine themselves to what had been written in the scriptures alone as these were the essential truths.  He continually stressed the unity of God in contrast to the apparent duality of gnosticism.

 The writings of Irenaeus give to us a certain insight into the teachings and beliefs of the Gnostics, especially the teaching of Basilides which was a particular branch of Alexandrian Gnosticism.   His writings were very metaphysical and far too intricate to become popular among the masses.  He proclaimed himself to be a direct disciple of the apostle Matthias and of the interpreter of St. Peter, a man by the name of Glaucias.  Basilides is known to have written at least twenty-four books or commentaries on the canonical Gospels.   

 These Gnostics do not deny that all things which exists must find their beginning with the Father.  Their concept of the Father is not the God of the Jews however, for he himself is merely one of Archons, a certain group of angels who in times past had created the earth, and afterwards, began to divide it into nations that they might all rule over the peoples of the nations.  The great Archon who is called the god of the Old Testament, known to the Jews by the name Yahweh, had attempted to subjugate all of the other Archons underneath him thereby attempting to cause himself to be proclaimed a god over them all. 

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Clement of Alexandria

    (A.D. 150 - 215)

    Clement of Alexandria, full name Titus Flavius Clemens,  was a contemporary with Irenaeus of Lyons.  During his earlier days,  Antonius Pius (A.D. 139-161) ruled as emperor of Rome.  Antonius Pius demanded that Christians offer up sacrifice to the emperor's statue.  Those who openly refused to offer up the said sacrifice would quickly be put to death.   His terrible reign was followed by the seemingly ever increasing persecutions of Marcus Aurelius (A.D. 161-180) and his arena of gladiators, followed by the awful beheading of the Christians by the terrible emperor Commodus (A.D. 180-192).  He, like his contemporary Irenaeus of Lyons also knew of the terrible slaughtering of children during the persecutions of Lucius Septimius Severus, emperor of Rome,  (A.D. 193-211).   During this persecution of the Christians,  Clement moved from Alexandria to Caesarea (Mazaca) in Cappadocia.    

  Clement of Alexandria had been much familiar with Greek philosophy and pagan origins.  Being a student of the prominent converted Sicilian philosopher Pantaenus, he was regarded as a man having a very solid education long before his conversion.  Clement would eventually succeed his master Pantaenus by becoming the head of the Christian Didaskalia.  Among his pupils was the famed Origen, who later achieved distinction as a writer, teacher, and theologian himself.   The Didaskalia is said to have been a prominent private Christian school.  The school especially welcomed and appealed to the more educated within the great city.  Clement was considered to be a layman rather than an ordained priest.  Using his knowledge of Greek paganism, he wrote his famed work entitled Protrepticon somewhat as an invitation to the heathen for all to come to hear of Christ who was the true Logos of God.  Clement knew paganism as an insider.  With great skill he was able to reveal and emphasize the absurdities and the impiety of the pagan myths associated with the ancient mystery religions.  His primary purpose in writing this work was to convince the pagans of the weakness of their pagan myths and the strong foundation upon which Christianity stands.   

  Many scholars believe that Clement was the founder of the Alexandrian school of theology.  According to Clement, God had a certain method by which he exhorted, educated, and perfected the true Christian. This process is described and developed in some of his major contributory writings such as: A Hortatory Address to the Greeks, The Tutor, and Miscellanies.   These writings describe the three different stages which God used to develop the Christian.  His first work was a defense of the Christian faith.  This is the first and foremost of the stages of Christian development.  Out of necessity, faith must precede the other three as man must first believe that God is.  The second stage would encompass the concepts of what rules and morality.  In other words, following a living faith in God, what should a Christian do and how should he act out his life in this world.  The final stage of Christianity third encompasses that which is meant to take a Christian beyond his current state to that of a mature man having a perfect knowledge of Christianity.  This is accomplished through the further examination of various points of doctrinal theology. 

 Besides these three main writings as mentioned above, Clement had also authored other treatises on such topics as:  Slander, Fasting, Patience, and Who Is the Rich Man That Is Saved?   

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Tertullian

    (A.D. 150 - 220)

     The African Quintus Septimius Florens Tertullianus was born sometime around A.D. 150 at Carthage,  making him contemporaries with Clement of Alexandria and Irenaeus of Lyons.  He was born the son of a Roman centurion. It is known that he initially studied for and embarked upon a law as a profession which he practiced in Rome at least until his conversion to the Christian faith, which transpired sometime between A.D. 190 and 195, while still he was still practicing in Rome.  In A.D. 197 he returned to Carthage, where he eventually married and shortly afterward was elected to the position of presbyter.  

He life spans many years of great Roman persecution against Christianity, to include: Antonius Pius (A.D. 139-161),   Marcus Aurelius (A.D. 161-180), Commodus (A.D. 180-192), and finally Septimus Severus (A.D. 193-211).   Tertullianus' father served as a Captain over a Roman legion under the consul of Africa.  He was blessed with a more than adequate education to prepare him to do what God had intended of his life.  His powerful writings are sometimes equated with the writings of Martin Luther and St. Paul the Apostle. 

  Tertullian writes more from a strictly legal perspective than that of a theological one.  This is not strange when one considers that he himself had focused his studies primarily upon law and rhetoric.  He is considered to be the father of theological Latin,  his writings revealing an absolutely  profound knowledge of Greek and Latin literature, to include both that of pagan and Christian origin.  All who study Tertullian learn to appreciate his originality in the formulation of his theological Christian concepts.  He is also credited with developing his own peculiar christianized form of latin terminology and vocabulary.   His own mind has given to the Western Christian church their own theological language of a peculiar legalistic character that even till our own day has never been erased.  This he was able to achieve by reaching deep into the treasures of  the vast reservoirs of his knowledge of legal writings of both Greek and Roman sources.  Such are the impacts and influence of this one man upon western Christianity.  When one studies Tertullian therefore, he is brought to the realization that at least some of his concepts are purely from out of his own mind as he has no other Christian writers to base these ideas upon.     One major contribution of the such is the concept of the Trinity.  Prior to Tertullian there is no such attempt made.  Today Tertullian must still be credited with being the one to firmly establish the Trinitarian concept.   Other of his writings which are especially treasured by Christian historians and considered to be of immense value is his writing on Baptism, De Baptismo, and Prayer,  De Oratione.  

 
 His works are often described as being primarily polemical, apologetic, and ascetical.  Some have described his writings to be filled with blunt sarcasm and epigrammatic phrasing,  His spirit is often that of an aggressive partisan, being almost remarkable for its vigor, yet unquestionably presented with great skillfulness.  None could disagree that Tertullian was a zealous champion of Christianity.  During his life he wrote many theological treatises.  Thirty-one of these works have survived down to our present day.   In each of these writings Tertullian  strives to defend Christianity.  His works could be summarized as those in which he strives to refute some known heresy, or that in which he seeks to argue in favor of a more stringent Christian moral behavior and encourage a harsher church discipline. In some of his writings he strongly disapproves of second marriages and exhorts his fellow Christians to abstain from attending the public shows.  These teachings echo the voices of even ministers of our own day who might be described as being of a more strict sect of Christianity.  Other areas Tertullian focused upon was that of Christian adornment favoring a simplicity of dress.  He called for the Christian church to separate themselves from the world and give themselves over to periods of strict prayer and fasting.  His words grow progressively more harsh as he grows older in the faith.  Because of his stand against immorality and  a call for strict discipline and enforcement of a more proper Christian behavior, he eventually is viewed as a severe critic of what might be referred to as the more orthodox Christianity.     

 Tertullian has also been described as a warrior of the faith who loves the fire of the battle.  His writings are pitted against the enemies of the truth.  He writes against the Jews, pagans, and heretics.  He wars against the Gnostics, Marcion, Hermogenes, and the Valentinians.  He labeled all heretics as "illegitimate innovators".  In one of his doctrinal treatises refuting heresy, De Praescriptione Hereticorum (On the Claims of Heretics),  he argues that the church alone has the authority to declare what is and is not orthodox Christianity. 
 

  Believing that the Christian community had become much too moderate, he found himself succumbing to the teachings of Montanus and his sect.  As the Christian Church of his day had been much accustomed to bear the weight of various persecutions it is not surprising to find Tertullian taking the stand that Christians should welcome such persecution, not even making an attempt to flee from it.   Had he not have emphatically embraced the Montanist heresy,  Tertullian would undoubtedly rank highly among the more greater Fathers of the Church.   Without question he profoundly influenced the writings of the later church fathers, especially that of Cyprian.  It must be admitted that in spite of his later day affiliation with the Montanist sect, he became a great inspiration to all of  the Christian theologians of the West.  Even to this day many of his works are still accepted as orthodox by the Roman Catholic church.  These writings are often included as that which represents the recognized body of patristic literature. 

 Eventually (A.D. 207) Tertullian would become the leader of the Montanists.  These Montanists were known for their strong encouragement of prophesying and their continual stressing and practicing of a very rigorous form of asceticism.   As one might suppose, this Montanist sect found themselves to be continually in conflict with other church authorities who opposed such teachings and refuted the practices of asceticism.  The sect was eventually labeled or declared to be heretical.  It is interesting that the one who once was thought to be the great warrior against heresy would himself be branded as such by the rest of the church in his latter days.  The most outstanding doctrinal error eventually embraced by Tertullian and his own disciples, who were eventually referred to as the Tertullianists, was the belief in the imminent incarnation of the Holy Spirit.   

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    Origen lives during the terrible reign of  the Roman Emperor Decius (A.D. 249-251) who caused everyone throughout the kingdom to obtain a certificate from their local commissioner which would acknowledge that each had at some time offered up sacred sacrifices to the Roman gods.   Origen, also known as Origenes, and surnamed Adamantius, was born in Alexandria, Egypt about 185 A.D.    He had the benefit of being born within a Christian family.  His father was the famed Leonidas who died the death of a Christian martyr.  His father's death left Origen the responsibility of providing for the rest of his family which included six other siblings.   His early home environment had obviously afforded to him a rich upbringing in both the religious and secular worlds, and further provided him with a strong education.   According to standard church histories, he was a student of Clement of Alexandria.   His education was such that he himself had become a teacher of grammar and literature.  Those who knew him had obviously held a deep respect for his teaching ability.  Bishop Demetrius recognized this capable teacher by entrusting the education of the catechumens to him.  Because of his great reputation as a scholarly and quite capable teacher, he continued to draw many pagans and Gnostics to his school.   Origen taught in the city for about 28 years, at which time he not only instructed both Christians and pagans, but also composed his major dogmatic treatises there including his many critical works.   Origen's teaching was not only biblical.  He was a prominent teacher of the classics of his time.  Because of his broadness of perspective, his teaching would eventually dove tail down to a systematic study of general theology and its relationship to the Bible teachings.  

 While he found himself busily teaching his theology at Caesarea in Palestine, Origen began to attract the wrath of the bishop.  This is most likely due to the fact that he had never been ordained a priest.  As a mere layman he was considered by the organized ecclesiastical priestly order within the churches, to be unqualified to teach theology and especially biblical theology to the members of the church.  Although the bishop could accuse Origen of wrong doing, no one could prevent him from teaching.  Daily striving within himself to somehow find a solution for this apparent dilemma, the Bishop of Caesarea had eventually decided that he must ordain Origen into the priesthood.  If Origen should be ordained a priest, the dilemma of a layman teaching such things could be eliminated.   This was done without consulting Origen's own bishop, Demetrius of Alexandria (189-231). 

 After his ordination into the priesthood, it seems for a small time that all was going well for Origen.  His return to Alexandria would be a new beginning of trouble for him.  Demetrius, for some unknown reason, perhaps out of pride because he had not been originally consulted by the bishop of Caesarea, objected to Origen's ordination.  As a results he arranged that two synods be held at Alexandria.  The first of these synods had officially forbidden Origen to teach at Alexandria.  The second synod had officially declared his ordination to be void thereby depriving him of his priesthood.    Demetrius than further banished him from the city.   Origen left Alexandria and moved back to Caesarea where he was able to found another school similar to the one he had been entrusted to in Alexandria. 

  During the time of the Decian persecution (A.D. 250) he was thrown in prison.  The rest of his life consisted of prison captivity, persecution, and torture for his faith and teachings concerning Christ.  He finally died at the age of 69 in the year A.D. 254.   

 
  Origen is unquestionably considered to be one of the most accomplished biblical scholars within the early Christian church.  His was a great student of the Old Testament and his biblical exegeses was considered to be outstanding. He is credited with writing volumes of great works including many letters, treatises in dogmatic and practical theology, apologetics, exegeses, and textual criticism. One of his greatest achievements is his apologetic work entitled Contra Celsum (Against Celsus) in the which he had refuted the many arguments which had been advanced by the well known critic against Christianity, Celsus, a Platonist philosopher of Alexandria.   

  Many of our day are accustomed to the allegorical method of scriptural interpretation.  Of this method, Origen is often regarded as the father.  It is Origen who taught that there was a principle of what he called the threefold sense of biblical interpretation.  These three senses had naturally corresponded to the threefold nature and division of man, which is to say, the body, spirit, and soul.  This threefold nature of man was already a very widely understood and accepted theological concept. 

 Some regard Origen as a Platonist who sought and endeavored to combine the richness and wisdom of Greek philosophy to that of  the Christian religion. In his writings he seeks to further develop the idea of Christ as the Logos, that is, the Incarnate Word, who is also said to be with the Father from eternity.  In his teaching, Origen had represented Christ as the divine Son who is also somehow subordinate to the Father in both power and dignity. This doctrine along with others, such as that of the preexistence of the soul, would be  severely criticized by many of his contemporaries and thereafter by subsequent Christian writers.   Many theories were later developed from Origen's original doctrines which would eventually become the subject of great considerable theological controversy during the Middle Ages.  

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    The celebrated orator Cyprian was raised in a pagan family and not converted to Christ until he reached the age of forty.   He is a contemporary with Origen and knows of the persecutions of Decius (A.D. 249-251) who causes all men to be given a certificate to prove their loyalty and devotion to the Roman gods.   In his day, Valerian (A.D. 253-260) revives the same persecution earlier instigated by Decius against the Christians.   

    Thascius Caecilius Cyprianus, better known simply as Cyprian the leader of the Christian church in Africa,  is known to have been a student of literature and rhetoric.  Following his conversion, he sought to be ordained into the priesthood.  Being himself of noble origin and considered to be fairly wealthy,  he choose to give away the greater portion of his wealth to the poor.  He rose up quickly among the ranks within the church becoming the Bishop of Carthage around A.D. 249.  He lived throughout the persecutions of both Decius and Valerian, and the great plague.   Many Christians had fled from Carthage at the time of the great persecution of Decius, including Cyprian himself.  Many of these Christians had also apostatized because of the great fear which had come upon them.   This great period of persecution of the Christian church had eventually come to and end during the reign of Emperor Gallus (A.D. 251).  At that time there were two primary issues of concern throughout the church.  What was to be the churches official stand against those who had betrayed or left the faith amidst the persecution, and what of those who had been baptized by known heretics of the day.  As for those who had apostatized, Cyprian declared that the church should forgive and demonstrate leniency.  

 Cyprian is known to have stood in sharp opposition to Pope Stephen I (reigned 254-57) of Rome by declaring the baptism of heretics to be invalid.   

  A new wave of persecution struck the church under the Roman emperor Valerian.  Cyprian was imprisoned in A.D. 257, and after being condemned to death, he was finally beheaded in A.D 258.  Although he valiantly withstood Rome as stated above, he is regarded as a champion of church unity.  It is Cyprian who coined the phrase, "No one can have God as Father who does not have the church as mother".   Especially because of the doctrine in his De Catholicae Ecclesiae Unitate (On the Unity of the Catholic Church), his exposition of the hierarchical organization of the church, Cyprian is usually regarded as one of the most authoritative of the early church fathers.  

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Constantine

    (A.D. 274 - 337)

Constantine's New Rome

   During the reign of the Roman Emperor Diocletian (A.D. 284-305), the imperial cult was once again revived.  All Christians refusing to sacrifice to the Roman gods were sentenced to death or hard labor in the mines.   This great persecution would finally end with the death of Diocletian.  With the arrival of the Emperor Constantine (A.D. 274), the Christian Church would begin to experience a new Roman world filled with almost unheard of liberties and secular benefits.   The great Roman imperial system of government, at one time being the great persecutor of the Christian Church,  would now begin to take on the form of a servant and protector of the Church, first throughout the empire, but eventually throughout the entire world. 

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   Constantine thought that he could rule the kingdom better by moving his throne from Rome to Constantinople.  This is no mere accident but was a direct fulfillment of biblical prophecy.  The Roman Empire became divided exactly as prophesied by the prophet Daniel in the vision of Nebuchaddnezzar's great image, the iron legs representing the divided Empire of Rome.  Although the empire falls apart, Roman government continues to rule by means of and through the Roman Catholic Church and the Papacy.  That Roman form of government now becomes the pattern for the organized world Church.  With the supposed conversion of Constantine, Rome itself has undergone a certain baptism which begins to cause a transformation in political Rome.   Transformation seems to be a far better word then conversion here, especially as we retain Daniel's prophecy in our minds, and watch for this strange government to materialize right before our own eyes.  While some might suggest that Christianity had conquered Rome by defeating the Roman gods and pagan worship throughout the Roman Empire, others might suggest that by swallowing the pagan rites, festivities, and polytheistic ceremonies of the old Roman religion, Christianity had been finally conquered by Rome.  To be sure, the Church still existed after following its marriage with Rome, yet none can doubt that Rome still existed.  The truth is that the two had now became one flesh, and that one new man was neither Rome nor the Christian Church, but a new creature which the world had never truly seen the likes before, being itself "diverse from all the others" (Dan. 7:19 KJV).  

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Rise of the Roman Church

   The idea and realization of a great universal theocratic kingdom, being  primarily derived from the misrepresentation of  Dan. 2:31-45, began with Constantine who had been the first Christian Emperor of Rome.  In his day, the Roman Emperor became both political sovereign of the world empire as well as the official spiritual head of the Christian Church.   The rise of the Papal Church is perhaps one of the greatest of all mysteries.  At the very infancy of the Christian Church, Rome had been the wealthiest city of all.  From the beginning, the Roman Church seemed to have had a predestined place to serve in God's over all plan.  The Roman doctrine of apostolic succession and Peter's primacy had been taught long before its marriage or espousal to political Rome.  The doctrine is at least as old as the second century, and although challenged here and there throughout the history of the Church by different ones, especially in the East, there is some evidence that the Petrine doctrine had been largely accepted throughout the churches by the third century, even before her marriage to Rome had been consummated.  It is this almost universal belief in the apostolic supremacy of the Roman Church that made possible the rise or realization of the Papal hierarchy.  The fact seems to have been established so early on throughout the early Church, that one becomes heavily taxed when even attempting to deny that there might at least be some biblical foundation for the doctrine.  One need only to read the early writings of Clement, Bishop of Rome (A.D. 95),  to feel what has been described as the anointing and authority of Peter, as if Peter's mantle had fallen upon Clement, much as Elijah's mantle had fallen upon Elisha, along with a double portion of his own spirit of divine power and authority.  There is no denying that the early Church had often sought the advice and council of the Bishop of Rome, especially when disputes had arisen over doctrinal error and heresy.  The early churches read Clement's own writings throughout the world as if they had come forth from the pen of the apostle Peter himself. 

 The image of a united Christian Church, having one voice and one purpose, seems to have been greatly desired by all throughout the Church, with the exception of course of those who had sought to build their own little heretical empires.  A united Church was viewed as a much more powerful Church, especially after Rome began to wield the might and power of the imperial sword of the emperor.  The notion of one body, one baptism, and one doctrine had been clearly taught by Paul.  How was this to be possible as long as the Church continued to divide herself over this or that doctrine?  Out of a dream to rid the Christian Church of the heresy of false teachers, the proposed solution seems to have been the establishment of a priesthood.  In a day before the institution of the Christian College and certification through the achievement of a Biblical Degree, such a priesthood would merely become a means by which the pureness of sound doctrine might be preserved and pastors might be certified for the work which God had called them to.  Such a system had been proposed and found acceptable to the masses of Christianity.  After all, who was better to certify such men as priests then the already recognized Bishop of Rome? 

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Constantine's Vision 

 In his historical writing, "The Life of Constantine", Eusebius gives his historical account of the famous vision which the emperor saw which was destined to change the history of the church forever.  This vision is followed up a visitation of Christ himself and a vivid description of the sacred Labarum or standard of Constantine.
 

  "Accordingly he called on him with earnest prayer and supplications that he would reveal to him who he was, and stretch forth his right hand to help him in his present difficulties. And while he was thus praying with fervent entreaty, a most marvelous sign appeared to him from heaven, the account of which it might have been hard to believe had it been related by any other person. But since the victorious emperor himself long afterwards declared it to the writer of this history, when he was honored with his acquaintance and society, and confirmed his statement by an oath, who could hesitate to accredit the relation, especially since the testimony of after-time has established its truth? He said that about noon, when the day was already beginning to decline, he saw with his own eyes the trophy of a cross of light in the heavens, above the sun, and bearing the inscription, CONQUER BY THIS.  At this sight he himself was struck with amazement, and his whole army also, which followed him on this expedition, and witnessed the miracle." 
 

  "He said, moreover, that he doubted within himself what the import of this apparition could be. And while he continued to ponder and reason on its meaning, night suddenly came on; then in his sleep the Christ of God appeared to him with the same sign which he had seen in the heavens, and commanded him to make a likeness of that sign which he had seen in the heavens, and to use it as a safeguard in all engagements with his enemies." 

  "At dawn of day he arose, and communicated the marvel to his friends: and then, calling together the workers in gold and precious stones, he sat in the midst of them, and described to them the figure of the sign he had seen, bidding them represent it in gold and precious stones. And this representation I myself have had an opportunity of seeing." 

  "Now it was made in the following manner. A long spear, overlaid with gold, formed the figure of the cross by means of a transverse bar laid over it. On the top of the whole was fixed a wreath of gold and precious stones; and within this, the symbol of the Savior's name, two letters indicating the name of Christ by means of its initial characters, the letter P being intersected by X in its center: and these letters the emperor was in the habit of wearing on his helmet at a later period. From the cross-bar of the spear was suspended a cloth, a royal piece, covered with a profuse embroidery of most brilliant precious stones; and which, being also richly interlaced with gold, presented an indescribable degree of beauty to the beholder. This banner was of a square form, and the upright staff, whose lower section was of great length, bore a golden half-length portrait of the pious emperor and his children on its upper part, beneath the trophy of the cross, and immediately above the embroidered banner.  The emperor constantly made use of this sign of salvation as a safeguard against every adverse and hostile power, and commanded that others similar to it should be carried at the head of all his armies." 

 While some teach that Constantine had actually become a Christian as a result of a vision that he had seen, the facts seem to suggest that an authentic conversion to Christ never took place.  As Emperor of Rome, he continued to honor the Unconquered Sun god as well as the other pagan deities of Rome.  Constantine never established Christianity as the State religion, although it would appear that he obviously favored the religion, but this is probably purely for  political reasons alone.  There had been a belief among many, after the time of Constantine, that a preservation of the Roman Empire in at least some form would also help to preserve Christianity from the competing religions of the world.   Although it can be argued whether Constantine ever had been truly converted to Christianity himself, it cannot be denied that it was he who had handed the imperial scepter over to the Bishop of Rome, in hopes that in doing so, he might also assist him in ruling over the empire, giving him complete authority to handle any disputes throughout the Christian world during his reign.   Truly it might be said that  "he exerciseth all the power of the first beast before him, and causeth the earth and them which dwell therein to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed" (Rev. 13:12  KJV), that first beast being of course the Roman Empire.  

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Pontifex Maximus

(Origin of The Papacy)

    According to the Roman constitution, the emperor held the religious title Pontifex Maximus of religions.  This office declared him to be sovereign over all religions and demanded that all foreign religions must submit by conforming to the constitution or be banned as illegal.  When Constantine as emperor legalized Christianity he subjected it to the seat or authority of the State.  As Pontifex Maximus, Constantine maintained the right to regulate the Christian Church just as he would have regulated paganism.  It was now the emperor who would determine what rites would be performed, how the Church government would be organized and administered, how the doctrines of the faith would be defined, and what privileges and authority the Church officers would have within the Church and over the laity. 

 The rise of  the Roman papacy and recognition of the apostolic authority of the Bishop of Rome, did not imply that the government of the Christian Church had immediately been transformed from a more democratic form of government to a monarchy.   The process seems to have evolved rather slowly.   The government of the Church was an oligarchy.  The various bishops had originally enjoyed Episcopal equality and independence as allowed in Apostolic Canon 35 where it had been agreed that each province should determine which one of the churches in that province should hold jurisdiction over the rest.  The Imperial Emperor however had continually addressed the Bishop of Rome on all matters thereby raising his office above all others.   Indirectly then, the Bishop of Rome was always viewed as the head of the Church by the emperor.  From the perspective of the emperor, it seemed much easier to deal with one head when discussing anything having to do with the Church.  The emperor might then delegate the responsibility to the Bishop of Rome to see that all other Bishops had been made aware of the decisions made between the two.  It is certainly easy to understand why the emperor would desire to deal with the one whom he already recognized to be the true  monarch who reigned over the Church, whether the rest of the Church had agreed in his assumption of such authority or not.  It is therefore the emperor himself, more than the individual churches, who had awarded such political power to the Bishop of Rome over all of his peers.    

  The reign of Constantine resulted in a new Christianity.  As Constantine began to bestow special favors and privileges upon the church such as enjoying the special status of religious exemption from taxes, the church began to find herself bound in a new way.  It was unlike anything she had experienced before. Although the churches themselves enjoyed some relief from taxation the people themselves were taxed heavily.  The new marriage between the church and the government of Rome began to manifest some horrifying fruit.  The emperor now began to intervene in the affairs of the church as he believed it was his proper place and responsibility as this would now be the accepted religion of the empire.  It was Constantine himself who called together the first ecumenical council at Nicaea in the imperial palace.   

 Under Constantine, great power was bestowed upon the bishops of the major cities throughout the Roman empire.  Constantine himself was referred to as the Pontifus Maximus over the whole of the church.  This title awarded to him suggested the meaning and intention that the emperor was himself the greatest bishop, the Bishop of bishops and the head authority over the entire Christian church.  Constantine's church organization mandated the bishops as being in authority under himself.  Naturally the emperor would exert a certain amount of influence over those men which he had allowed to sit in the office of a bishop, to rule as it were, over the major cities and metropolises throughout the empire.  Bishops of such major cities and metropolises would include jurisdiction over all churches within their region of influence or diocese.  It would be foolish to suppose that the emperor would continue to allow such men in power who would not agree with his over all plan for the evolution of this new Romanized Christianity. 

 The church hierarchy as instituted by Constantine was initially set up with four major bishops.  We have already shown how that even much earlier than Constantine the beginnings of such a scenario might have existed, at least in its moset earliest stages, still the greatest difference was that now these bishops would be backed up by the secular arm of the emperor himself.   

 The first and foremost city was without question the city of Rome, and as a result, Constantine regarded the Bishop of Rome as having a greater authority than all others.  Perhaps the second most powerful bishop, by the authority of the emperor who awarded such authority, would be the Bishop of Alexandria.   The Bishop of Alexandria had control also over the churches throughout Egypt, Libya, and Pentapolis.  The Bishop of Antioch was probably the next powerful man in the church, and finally, the Bishop of Aelia (i.e., Jerusalem), who was said to reign over the Holy City of Jerusalem.  

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Dangers of Ecumenicism 

    Strategically having won over, almost seductively, these four generals or prominient figures within the church, Constantine now began the great ecumenical councils of the church, the first of which was held in A.D. 325.  At the head of the council sat the emperor Constantine himself with Pope Silvester at his right hand.   Decisions would now be made to affect the church forever.  No longer would there be an independent voice within the church.  Conformity would be accomplished through a forced ecumenicalism.  Churches must either agree with the decisions of the council, or seperate themselves from the rest of the church and go underground.   

  At the Council of Gangra presided over by the emperor Constantine, it now became a matter of canon law that if "anyone should hold private assemblies outside of the Church, and, despising the canons, shall presume to perform ecclesiastical acts, the presbyter with the consent of the bishop refusing his permission, let him be anathema."   No longer was the layman allowed to hold private assemblies or gatherings in his home.  Everything would come under the eye of scrutiny so that they might readilly detect any amount of unconformance.

 At the Synod of Antioch in Encaeniss (A.D. 341)  it is forever written in Canon I that "Whosoever  shall presume to set aside the decree of the holy and great Synod which was assembled at Nice in the presence of the pious Emperor Constantine, beloved of God, concerning the holy and salutary feast of Easter; if they shall obstinately persist in opposing what was then rightly ordained, let them be excommunicated and cast out of the Church; this is said concerning the laity." 

 In the time of Victor, Bishop of Rome, near the close of the second century, there arose a great conflict primarily between the west and east concerning the proper days to observe the Easter worship.  It is here that we see how Rome violently influenced the other churches to sway them over to accepting their own customs which were not biblically based, or in no way directly handed down from the apostles or even through the early traditions of the church worldwide.  Victor compelled all churches to conform with the custom of the Roman church with threatening of excommunication.  All who continued to refuse his mandates were obviously rebelling against the authority of the Roman church and were unquestionably out of the will of God.  What Victor was demanding the churches to do was to ignore the customs which were directly handed down by the apostles.  Rather than to continue in the faith as they had previously been taught by the apostles who went before them, the Roman Bishop demanded that all churches accept this new Roman teaching which had absolutely no apostolic origin.  

 It is interesting that the bishops of Asia absolutely refused to submit to these demands made by Victor.  They insisted that they honored the passover and ressurrection of Christ as they had been instructed to do so by the apostle John.  They maintained that they knew without question, and believed that they were absolutely certain of the way in which they had been instructed to observe the exact day as handed down to them, neither adding, nor taking away.  As witnesses to the accuracy of their customs they pointed to the apostle Philip who had been among them in Hierapolis along with the last of the apostles, John, who had been with them in Ephesus.  Polycrates, one of the bishops of Asia responded boldly declaring on behalf of the churches refusing to bow to Rome's demands, "I, therefore, brethren, who have lived sixty-five years in the Lord, and have met with the brethren throughout the world, and have gone through every Holy Scripture, am not affrighted by terrifying words.  For those greater than I have said "We ought to obey God rather than man".          
 

  Eusebius records that in the days immediately preceding the persecution of Diocletian the bishops became excessive in their love for political power.  They began to use their offices for personal gain generating much strife and discord throughout the whole of the church.  Obviously being full of pride as concerns their lofty positions, they used their offices as a means to oppress their subjects with their tyranny.  He indicates that because of a time of abundant freedom and relief, the bishops began to revile one another out of envy causing great dissension throughout the leadership.  He describes their behavior as "monstrous hypocrisy and dissimulation rising to the greatest height of wickedness".  To this kind of behavoir the Lord has responded prophetically when he says, "cast down the glory of Israel from heaven to earth" and had further "made void the covenant of his servant and profaned his sanctuary". 

 Although Constantine forbade idolatrous worship in the Christian church throughout the empire, he promoted the recognition of the commemorative days of the martyrs.  Constantine also passed a statute which demanded the observance of the "Lord's day" (Sunday) throughout the empire. 

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The Woman Rides The Beast

    It is Constantine who established the second Rome at Byzantium thinking to better shift the balance of wealth, power, and population to the eastern parts of the empire.  The new headquarters or capital of Rome was named Constantinople.    With the removal of the capital from Rome to Constantinople, the Roman Bishop would eventually become without question the most politically influential man in the western portion of the empire.   

 Because of the marriage of Rome to her new "Christian" religion,  the entire Western Church began to act as one unified organism, while the Eastern Church continued to resist the new primal Papal authority.  As a result, the Eastern Church continued to be plagued with various and strange off shoots of Christianity, being somewhat tossed to and fro by every sort of strange or new doctrine.  The establishment of the organized Western Church, having its sanction by the emperor himself, stood as a pillar of  Orthodox Christianity retaining a much more conservative Christianity.  In all appearances, the threat of heresy in the West had been removed with the appearance of political control.  Many churches in the East also looked to Rome as the guardian of that apostolic truth that had once been delivered to the Church. 

 Although handed the imperial scepter by Constantine, the Roman Pontiff had acquired his great power slowly as the rest of the Church found themselves willfully submitting to and acknowledging the Roman bishopry as being somehow supreme.  His power continuously grew over the years, with each year adding to the previous.  Whenever local Church descension or disputes had arisen, whether throughout the West or the East,  the Roman Bishop was called upon to settle such disputes.  In this way, the Bishop of Rome began to exercise certain powers originally exercised by the emperor alone.    

  Although the seat of the emperor had been removed from Rome to the East, the people throughout the western portion of the empire continued to look to Rome for leadership.  With the continual threat of attacks by barbarian forces, the Bishop of Rome began to assume command of the imperial militia throughout the Western world, always acting as the arm of  the emperor for the supposed good of the empire.  The various emperors continued to allow the Bishop of Rome to exercise a certain amount of authority in both civil and military situations, in exchange for his assistance in helping to support and to keep the empire intact.  The marriage between the Church and State had helped to allow both kingdoms, political and ecclesiastical, to enjoy the fruits of their combined rulership. 

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