CHAPTER 8
Notes 235. Tertullian had said that the Holy Spirit would prevent the true Church from going astray (see Tertullian, The Prescription
Against the Heretics 28). In a sense, the Holy Spirit guarantees apostolic authority. This may be the earliest hint of what would become the doctrine of papal infallibility, since the infallibility of the bishop of Rome is essentially the infallibility of the Church, based on Matthew 16:18, "the gates of Hades will not prevail against it."
236. Cyprian of Carthage, Epistle 51.21, 53.2, 54.5. Both baptism and Eucharist are considered sacraments of unity, and the Eucharist especially is described by Cyprian as the safeguard of unity. This is partly because the presider stands in the place of Christ himself. Thus the unity of the Church is connected to the unity of the eucharistic table, which in turn is connected to the unity (and authority) of the episcopacy.
237. Cyprian of Carthage, Epistle 9.1, 3-4, 10.2, 11.2, 26.1, On the Unity of the Catholic Church 5, 7. See also Tertullian, The Prescription Against the Heretics 20.
238. Cyprian of Carthage, Epistle 40.2, On the Unity of the Catholic Church 5. See also Eusebius of Caesarea, Ecclesiastical
History 6.43. Cornelius, speaking sarcastically about Novatian, wrote, "[I]his vindicator, then, of the gospel did not know that there should be one bishop in a Catholic church."
CHAPTER 8
1. Eusebius of Caesarea, Ecclesiastical History 10.1, 5.
2. Eusebius of Caesarea, Ecclesiastical History 8.1. The Didascalia describes the arrangement of worshipers within a basilica church (in this case the cathedral). The bishop's throne was at the eastern end, with the priests around the bishop. The laymen were situated closest to the priests, with the laywomen in the back.
The deacons functioned as ushers or "doorkeepers," and visitors were questioned before being allowed to join the assembly
(Didascalia Apostolorum 12). For more detail on the early basilica churches, see Ramsay MacMullen, The Second Church: Popular
Christianity AD 200-400 (Atlanta: Society of Biblical Literature, 2009). a9
Reading the Early Church Fathers 3. This may be the case with the churches of San Clemente and Santa Cecilia in Rome. Beneath the present church of Santa
Cecilia are the remains of a Roman house that date from the third century. According to tradition, the house was owned by the family of the martyr Cecilia, and after her death the land was dedicated for perpetual use by the Church. See James L. Papandrea, Romesick:
Making Your Pilgrimage to the Eternal City a Spiritual Homecoming (Eugene, OR: Wipf & Stock/Cascade Books, 2012).
4. Eusebius of Caesarea, Ecclesiastical History 7.23.
5. Eusebius of Caesarea, Ecclesiastical History 8.4.
6. Eusebius of Caesarea, Ecclesiastical History 8.2.
7. Eusebius of Caesarea, Ecclesiastical History 8.13. The reader should keep in mind Eusebius's agenda of supporting the dynasty of Constantine, so favorable assessments of Constantine's family must be taken with a grain of salt.
8. Eusebius of Caesarea, Ecclesiastical History 8.6. In the Roman world, prison was not meant to be a long-term sentence, but rather a holding place where one awaited either release or execution or some other sentence such as condemnation to the mines.
Therefore, the prisons were not large and did not hold a lot of people.
9. Eusebius of Caesarea, Ecclesiastical History 8.12.
10. Eusebius of Caesarea, Ecclesiastical History 8.7.
11. Eusebius of Caesarea, Ecclesiastical History 8.11.
12. Eusebius of Caesarea, Ecclesiastical History 9.5.
13. Eusebius of Caesarea, Ecclesiastical History 8.1, 10.4.
14. See James L. Papandrea, The Wedding of the Lamb: A Aistorical Approach to the Book of Revelation (Eugene, OR: Wipf &
Stock/Pickwick Publications, 2011).
15. Eusebius of Caesarea, Ecclesiastical History 8.16-17, 9.1-3.
16. Eusebius of Caesarea, Ecclesiastical History 9.7.
17. Eusebius of Caesarea, Ecclesiastical History 8.13.
18. Since the cross was still being used as a method of execution (it would be Constantine himself who would end this practice), the Church was not yet using the cross as a symbol; therefore it is unlikely that the original version of the story would include a cross. 'The earliest extant image of the cross is a carving on the
Notes wooden doors of the Church of Santa Sabina in Rome. The doors date back to the fifth century. On the other hand, Tertullian does mention the cross as an object of adoration in his Apology 16. This was written in response to a pagan mockery of the crucifixion of Christ, which entailed a donkey on a cross as an object of worship by Christians.
19. Eusebius of Caesarea, Ecclesiastical History 9.8-9.
20. It is probable that Constantine himself composed the inscription.
21. Eusebius of Caesarea, Ecclesiastical History 9.9, 10.5.
22. Eusebius of Caesarea, Ecclesiastical History 10.4.
Constantine built several basilica-style churches in and around Rome, some on the sites of earliest Christian worship there (see
Ramsay MacMullen, The Second Church: Popular Christianity AD 200-400).
23. On Sunday as a day of rest, see the Apostolic Constitutions Sit (8233), 24. It is not clear how much an emperor would be personally involved in the design and minting of coins. Many of the city mints had stopped making their own coins since the recession of the third century. This may have consolidated more influence in the emperor, although the continuance of pagan imagery on coins minted during Constantine's reign does not necessarily tell us anything about his personal beliefs.
25. Constantine did not persecute the Novatianists.
Although they also practiced rebaptism, at least at first, they were apparently not considered heretics by the official councils (see J.
Stevenson, A New Eusebius: Documents Illustrating the History of the Church to AD 337 [London: SPCK, 1957, revised edition 1987],
320).
26. There is a statue of Constantine's mother, St. Helen, in St. Peter's Basilica in Rome. Most scholars believe that the statue was once a statue of a pagan goddess, but that it was altered and a cross was added to honor St. Helen and the tradition that she found the true cross of Jesus.
27. Thus it was Theodosius, not Constantine, who tried to create a true Christian empire in which citizenship was equivalent to Church membership.
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Reading the Early Church Fathers 28. Constantine knew what Diocletian had known, that the empire was too big for one man to rule; however, he must have hoped that he could do it with the help of the bishops.
29. Aloys Grillmeier, Christ in Christian Tradition, Volume 1:
From the Apostolic Age to Chalcedon (451) (New York: Oxford University Press, 2004), 110. Another possible way to look at this is that Arius had combined elements of angel Christology inherited from Lucian of Antioch with elements of the spirit
Christology of Paul of Samosata to create the fourth-century evolution of adoptionism. Apparently, Arius was heavily influenced by the Antiochenes—Theophilus, Lucian, and Paul—and perhaps also Origen as well.
30. In large part I am indebted to my former professor, Dennis Groh, and his groundbreaking book. See Robert C. Gregg and Dennis E. Groh, Early Arianism: A View of Salvation
(Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1981). For a detailed treatment of the Arian controversy, see Lewis Ayres, Nicaea and Its Legacy: An Approach to Fourth-Century Trinitarian Theology (Oxford: Oxford
University Press, 2004).
31. In the year 260 CE, Dionysius of Rome held a synod that condemned the idea that the Son and Spirit were created (see
Grillmeier, Christ in Christian Tradition, 156).
32. See James L. Papandrea, Novatian of Rome and the Culmination of Pre-Nicene Orthodoxy (Eugene, OR: Wipf &
Stock/Pickwick Publications, 2011). Novatian is the first theologian to articulate the doctrine of eternal generation (though he does not call it by that name). Eternal generation was understood to mean that the Son's existence was caused by the Father (and so is contingent and dependent) but the Son is not created (so there is no beginning to his existence). This teaching probably made its way east through Dionysius of Rome and Dionysius of Alexandria.
33. This part of Arius's teaching may be based on certain elements in Origen. The reader should note that most of what we think we know about what Arius taught comes to us as reported by his opponents, so there is some uncertainty as to the accuracy of the report. There is precious little that survives from Arius's own pen.
34. The possibility of degrees of divinity had already been rejected by the mainstream Church, when it was encountered in
Notes gnosticism. Cf. the gnostic (Valentinian) Letter to Flora of Ptolemy.
This contains the concept of a "lesser" divinity begotten as a different essence from the unbegotten highest God. On the other hand, the precedent for the concept of degrees of divinity may also be found in Philo's Jogos, which could be interpreted as half divine and half created, thus a mediator in between Creator and creation.
After the Council of Nicaea, the leader of the so-called Heterousian (or Anomoian) party, Eunomius, taught that there were degrees of createdness, such that the Son of God is created in relation to the Father, but Creator in relation to the rest of creation. The Eunomians were considered more Arian than Arius and argued that the Son was "unlike" the Father, thus nudging those still on the fence to join the pro-Nicene party. For an excellent overview of the history of the Council of Nicaea and its aftermath, see Ayres, Nicaea and Its Legacy. Although Ayres does not give
Novatian enough credit for his role as a pioneer in orthodox theology, there is no better book for understanding the fourth-century
Arian controversy.
35. Note again the influence of the Roman practice of adopting an heir in order to secure the succession of power.
36. The difference in capitalization of the word son/Son is for clarity only. It is not meant to imply that Arius would have made this distinction. Such capitalization is a modern convention and was not part of ancient writing.
37. Imagine a dispute between Canada and Mexico. If someone were to be chosen as a mediator, one might seek a mediator who is from the United States, between Canada and Mexico; or one might seek a mediator who has dual citizenship of Canada and Mexico. The former mediator is between Canada and Mexico, but neither Canadian nor Mexican. The latter mediator is both
Canadian and Mexican. In the same way, the Arian Jesus is elevated to a state between God and humanity, but is neither God nor (arguably) human, since he has been elevated above humanity. The Nicene Christ is both divine and human.
38. Clement of Alexandria had implied that before creation God was not a Creator, which may have provided Arius with a precedent for saying (or at least being comfortable implying) that
Reading the Early Church Fathers there was a time before God was a Father (see Clement of Alexandria, The Instructor 1.9).
39. Novatian, On the Trinity 31.3.
40. The assumption on both sides would be that whatever is mutable must be created, and whatever is uncreated (that is, divine) must be immutable. Augustine would later write that whatever is eternal must be immutable (Augustine of Hippo, On the Trinity
2):
41. For the Catholics, generation begets the same substance.
But for Arius and his followers, the ungenerated (the Father) and the generated (the Son) could not be the same substance. For him, unbegotten and begotten were parallel to uncreated and created. For the Nicene bishops, both unbegotten and begotten are uncreated.
42. Ayres, Nicaea and Its Legacy, 53.
43. The Nicene Creed is still the standard of orthodoxy for worldwide Christianity, except that the Western churches have an added phrase. Where the Eastern churches affirm that the Holy
Spirit proceeds from the Father, the Western churches add the phrase "and the Son" (in Latin, fi/ioque), affirming that the Holy
Spirit proceeds from the Father and the Son equally. This was added as an attempt to emphasize the equality of the Father and the Son against Arianism.
44. On eternal generation, see Athanasius of Alexandria, Defense of the Nicene Definition (De Decretis) 10, 28-32, Letter to the Clergy of Alexandria 52. See also Ayres, Nicaea and Its Legacy,
143-44. On the other hand, Athanasius's emphasis on the unity of will between Father and Son (by which he means a unity of activity, or inseparable operation) will leave the door open for both
Apollinarius and Nestorius. Apollinarius would say that there is only one will between the Father and Son (that the human nature of Christ has no human will, so there is only one will in the person of Christ), and Nestorius would say that while there are two wills, the union between Father and Son is only a cooperation of wills
(see Athanasius of Alexandria, Discourse Against the Arians 3.25.10, 3.27-28, 3.30.59-67).
45. Some have argued that there is so little that we can be certain is from Arius himself that the very concept of "Arianism" is better understood as a creation of Athanasius. While there is some
Notes merit to this point of view, in the absence of a better way of talking about the controversy, we continue to use the term Arianism to describe the teachings of Arius and others who advocated this fourth-century version of adoptionism.
46. According to tradition, Augustine's mother, Monica, remarked to Ambrose of Milan that the eucharistic liturgy was different in Carthage, Rome, and Milan. Ambrose's reply was, "When in Rome, do as the Romans do." It is also the case that after the legalization of the Church, catechesis would shift in emphasis from morality to theology.
47. A good overview of the problem is in J. A. Cerrato, "The Association of the Name Hippolytus with a Church Order Now
Known as The Apostolic Tradition," St. Vladimir's Theological Quarterly 48, no. 2 (2004): 179-94.
48. Apostolic Tradition 41.5-17, 41.13, 42.1. The signing of oneself with the cross probably meant tracing a cross on one's forehead with the thumb of the right hand.
49. Apostolic Tradition 17, 20.3.
50. Apostolic Tradition 19.1. It would be assumed that even in the case of lay teachers, the bishops held the final authority over the content of the teaching.
51. Apostolic Tradition 15, 20.
52. Apostolic Tradition 21.
53. Apostolic Tradition 20.8. See also Cyprian of Carthage, On the Unity of the Catholic Church 18.
54. Apostolic Tradition 21.4.
55. Apostolic Tradition 19.2. See also On Rebaptism 11.
56. Cyprian of Carthage, Epistle 72.22.
57. Apostolic Tradition 21.27.
58. Apostolic Tradition 4 (Eucharistic Prayer), 9.4—5.
59. Apostolic Tradition 36.
60. Apostolic Tradition 18.
61. Apostolic Tradition 37-38.
62. Apostolic Tradition 9. As we have seen, this is based on the assumed charismatic authority granted by the presence of the Holy
Spirit in the confessor (Matt 10:19-20).
63. Apostolic Tradition 8.2-3. See Cyprian of Carthage, On the Lapsed 25.
5195)
Reading the Early Church Fathers 64. Apostolic Tradition 11-14.
65. Apostolic Tradition 2.
66. See Cyprian of Carthage, Epistle 40.2, 51.8, 54.5-6.
67. Didascalia Apostolorum 10, 24.
68. Didascalia Apostolorum 10, 24.
69. Didascalia Apostolorum 25. In reality, as we have seen, the "heretics" also claimed to be faithful to scripture. This was especially true at the Council of Nicaea, when the Arians complained about the addition of the word homoousios (which is not found in scripture) to the creed. Thus the Didascalia is presenting the perception that orthodoxy is biblical and heresy is not, though it is not really that simple.
70. Didascalia Apostolorum 23, 26.
71. Didascalia Apostolorum 6-7.
72. Didascalia Apostolorum 6. See also Against Novatian 1, and Cyprian of Carthage, Epistle 51.19.
73. See Against Novatian 15, and Cyprian of Carthage, Epistle 51.15.
74. Didascalia Apostolorum 5, 11.
75. Didascalia Apostolorum 11. See also On Rebaptism 13.
76. Didascalia Apostolorum 10.
77. Didascalia Apostolorum 25.
78. Didascalia Apostolorum 23.
79. Didascalia Apostolorum 15.
80. Didascalia Apostolorum 10.
81. Didascalia Apostolorum 24, 26.
82. Didascalia Apostolorum 6.
83. Didascalia Apostolorum 19.
84. Didascalia Apostolorum 7, 10.
85. Didascalia Apostolorum 5.
86. Didascalia Apostolorum 20. See also Cyprian of Carthage, Epistle 48.4, 54.13, 75.15, and On the Unity of the Catholic Church
20-21. Cf. On Rebaptism 12. There may be a pre-Augustinian doctrine of election/perseverance in Cyprian. He quotes Matthew
15:13, saying that if those in the (invisible) Church are planted, they could not be rooted up.
87. Didascalia Apostolorum 16.
88. Didascalia Apostolorum 20.
Notes 89. Didascalia Apostolorum 15.
90. Didascalia Apostolorum 16. See also Cyprian of Carthage, Epistle 72.9, and the Apostolic Constitutions 1.2 (1.16, 1.20).
91. Didascalia Apostolorum 13.
92. Didascalia Apostolorum 12.
93. Didascalia Apostolorum 9, 11. See also Cyprian of Carthage, Epistle 62.9.
94. Didascalia Apostolorum 26.
95. Apostolic Constitutions 6.6 (6.30).
96. Didascalia Apostolorum 12.
97. Didascalia Apostolorum 16, 18-19.
98. Didascalia Apostolorum 18-19.
99, Didascalia Apostolorum 9, 11, 16.
100. Didascalia Apostolorum 16.
101. Didascalia Apostolorum 4.
102. Didascalia Apostolorum 4.
103. Didascalia Apostolorum 8-9. It may be that priests were paid as well.
104. Didascalia Apostolorum 9.
105. See the Apostolic Church Order 22.
106. Didascalia Apostolorum 9.
107. Didascaha Apostolorum 6.
108. Here I am indebted to the research of my colleague Stephanie Perdew VanSlyke. I am grateful for her willingness to share some of her research leading to her PhD dissertation.
109. Apostolic Church Order 19.
110. Apostolic Church Order 20.
111. Apostolic Church Order 18.
112. Apostolic Church Order 16.
113. Apostolic Church Order 12, 16.
114. Apostolic Constitutions 2.1 (2.1-2).
115. Apostolic Constitutions 2.2 (2.5).
116. Apostolic Constitutions 2.3 (2.11).
117. Apostolic Constitutions 2.4 (2.26-27).
118. Apostolic Constitutions 6.3 (6.17).
119. Apostolic Constitutions 2.4 (2.26-27).
120. Apostolic Constitutions 6.3 (6.17).
121. Apostolic Constitutions 2.4 (2.28). a2F