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A Christian view of humanity's condition emerged in reaction to the strong polytheistic emphasis on fatalism and determinism. For example, the popular Stoic philosophy taught that man was ultimately not responsible for any happening that occurred. (Click Here for a thumbnail sketch of Stoic ethics.) Justin Martyr taught that men were created with the capability to distinguish good from evil and with the responsibility to choose and pursue good. However, Satan has kept man ignorant of his potential and that ignorance has perverted the will. Baptism cleanses the human will and enables it to function as it was intended. Man will be rewarded for freely chosen actions.
Theophilus of Antioch taught that Adam was intended to participate in his own development by choosing to obey, an act of free choice that would have earned man immortality. However, the free choice of disobedience--which was suggested by Satan--resulted in man earning death for himself and his descendants. All Adam's descendants thus by nature inherit a flawed free will and are subject to death. Yet, they are accountable for their actions. Baptism is the remedy for the flaw.
Irenaeus rejected the gnostic notion that there were two types of men. (Spiritual men created by the supreme God who always do good because they are by nature good. Material men who were creatures of a semi-divine demonic being sometimes equated with the God of the Old Testament, always do evil because they are by nature evil.) Irenaeus taught that all men by nature have free will and will be rewarded or punished on the basis of their voluntary choices.
Origen elaborated on the universal Christian doctrines of free will and human accountability. Where the scriptures seem to report God's determining human actions and behavior, he believed that God merely acted to confirm conditions freely willed by the individuals involved.
In the late fourth and early fifth centuries this question became the focus of a quarrel between Augustine of Hippo and Pelagius. Pelagius was champion free will and human accountability while Augustine would champion the prevailing sovereignty of God. See the Anthropological Controversy.
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The Greek word martyr is a noun meaning "the evidence". The verbal form means "give evidence" or "testify as a witness" pertaining to some issue. Hence the term martyrdom is used of those Christians who give evidence as a witness for Christianity. We need to remember that such Christian martyrdom only gradually came to be universally associated with death during the earliest part of the period we are now studying. So already by the second century the Christian community was offering its highest praise and adulation, if not outright worship, to the martyrs whose lives were terminated. On the other hand even the martyrs who survived having been in jeopardy for their lives, that is, those who suffered imprisonment, torture, exile, or other aggression at the hand of the polytheists were honored as Confessors (homologétés). Many suspect this tendency to elevate martyrs was perhaps a carry over from the widespread polytheistic practice of hero worship.
There were those who felt so strongly about dying in the struggle against the forces of evil that they, perhaps unconsciously, went out of their way to provoke authorities that might be able to assist them. Such a spirit is already evident in the aggressive determination of Ignatius of Antioch (c. 108 AD) to prevent well-meaning intervention by the Christians in Rome lest as a result he be deprived of the terminal martyrdom he so longed to experience. Terminal martyrdom could be supported with the same arguments that supported radical asceticism. Moreover, Jesus' martyrdom was the supreme example. Finally and persuasively, terminal martyrdom was widely believed to be the only action that could, without question, guarantee salvation to the person who had sinned after baptism. Martyrdom became even more frequent after 200 than it had been in the second century.
Certainly from the beginning of the second century martyrdom tended to take the precedence of honor over extremes of asceticism. Martyrs whose lives had been in jeopardy for the Faith and yet survived as "confessors" (homologétés) sometimes claimed the power to "bind and loose", i.e. to forgive, those who had lapsed under intolerable pressure. The so-called "certificate of peace" (libellus pacis) issued by a confessor or martyr was sometimes understood to make further penance unnecessary. The clergy argued that no layman who was a martyr or confessor had this power. Indeed, the clergy struggled to maintain control over penance, but the libellus pacis was sometimes taken into consideration even if a layman had issued it.
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The ascetic tendency that a mature Christian must not be concerned with personal property was clearly supported by word and deed in the early Christian community as well as by several arguments from Judaism as well as from current polytheism and philosophy. Cynic philosophy, for example, taught that earthly possessions were an impediment to personal freedom. They happily despised such things for the sake of their personal virtue. The Jews practiced alms giving as a desirable behavior. Some Essene groups likewise emphasized communal ownership. The early church practiced sharing of possessions in various degrees. The Epistle of Barnabas, 19.8, admonished believers to "Let your neighbor share in all that you possess and refuse to call anything your own."
The belief that while marriage is "good" the mature Christian may practice continence and refrain from marriage as a "better" way was likewise supported by various pagan, Jewish and early Christian practices. Even pagan religion could offer examples of the Vestal Virgins, etc. Cynic philosophers taught that marriage was an impediment to personal freedom; the Christians understood it was an impediment to service of God. Judaism taught that sexual activity left one ritually unclean and unacceptable to God in worship. Priests and worshipers alike must practice continence in order to approach God in worship. Some groups of Essenes rigorously enforced this teaching by keeping themselves isolated from women. Jesus never married. Paul never married. During the second century AD the Montanists, whom we will meet again below, stressed the virtue of virginity and widowhood; they taught that the remarriage of widows was a mortal sin. Marcion and most Gnostics taught that the world was evil. They condemned procreation as a weakness of the flesh that delayed Christ's return. Again, the Epistle of Barnabas, 19.8, admonishes believers thus: "As far as you can you must live in continence for the sake of your soul." And the Didaché, 6:2, chimed in: "If you are able to carry the entire yoke of the Lord you will attain perfection, but if you are unable, then do as much as you can." Even a few congregations of Christians in Syria and Mesopotamia required all the baptized to be continent. This resulted in so-called "spiritual marriages" where all sexual contact was eliminated.
Another popular idea was that the life of the soul is improved by denying bodily needs. In addition to the arguments of the previous paragraph the Neo-Pythagorean philosophers had long taught that certain foods were detrimental to the soul. The Jews taught fasting twice a week as a means of spiritual improvement. Moreover, Jewish dietary regulations suggested that food might be an impediment to proper worship. Also, the gnostic notions of the essential evilness of matter as compared to the good of the soul and spiritual things played a roll here.
The most radical ascetic practices, sometimes producing hermit-like seclusion in anticipation of later monasticism, developed in Syria and regions further East. The churches generally rejected the most radical ascetic practices, especially when those practicing them seemed guilty of dualism, the hallmark of gnosticism. Yet they approved moderate and consistent asceticism as a valid testimony to the fact that the believer had broken with the world. Those who attained and practiced asceticism were held in high esteem, yet needed to be warned about spiritual pride. There were those unfortunate cases, however, where ascetics claimed special superior spiritual status for themselves in conflict with more "worldly" churchmen.
Clement of Alexandria had considered the ascetic the spiritual equivalent of the martyr. Origen taught that asceticism was the final stage in the perfection of the Christian's soul in its ascent to comprehend the logos. Christian ascetics are the true philosophers of Christianity -- truly, they are "lovers of divine wisdom".
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By the beginning of the fourth century the early stages of Christian Monasticism begin to appear. Ascetics associated with Christianity had been around in the backside of Syria at least since the late second century. Many of those had drifted into Gnosticism and were condemned by the Orthodox Christians. A few Christian ascetics continued to withdraw not only from secular society but also from Christian fellowship as well during the last quarter of the third century. As long as those withdrawing were not teaching some brand of Gnosticism, their behavior was tolerated.
Reasons for the emergence of monasticism are debated. Some scholars suggest that the church was becoming too worldly as it prospered after the Decian and Valerian persecutions. Others suggest that it was because of the teachings of sacerdotalism and sacramentalism that made salvation depend on superficial rituals. Some have pointed to the various pagan ascetics that were also to be seen in this period as having some influence on the appearance of Christian monasticism. In any case the Christian ascetics seem to have voted by their behavior that they believed salvation involved more than rituals. To enter the Kingdom of God do not the bonds of this world have to be broken? Cf. Luke 14:26. During the period between 200 and 363, monasticism was found increasingly in Egypt where the climate was mild. By the middle of the fourth century monastic activity was increasing in other eastern Mediterranean areas as well as in the West.
Some individuals adopted the lifestyle of a hermit (Greek, anachôrétés = "anchorite", "recluse"; monochos = "solitary", "individual"). To love God perfectly you cannot love yourself (asceticism), nor the world (withdrawal from society) nor anybody in the world (withdrawal from Christian fellowship as well).
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Anthony was later looked upon as the pioneer in Christian anchorite monasticism in Egypt. Anthony grew up in Egypt in the last half of the third century. He greatly admired the Christian ascetics. He imitated them but went to greater lengths. He shut himself in a tomb where, according to his later testimony, demons attacked him. When he was 45 he took up residence in an abandoned fort and stayed out of sight for 10 years. Meanwhile his behavior attracted considerable local attention. Several individuals sought his guidance in adopting the ascetic hermit lifestyle, but he would not communicate with them. At age 55, during the midst of the great persecution of Diocletian, he suddenly came forth and began to teach the ways of asceticism to those who came to him. He and his disciples were arrested and brought to Alexandria briefly in 311 when Maximin Daia was attempting to extend the persecution in the East. Released, Anthony went further south and secluded himself alone in an oasis where he lived another 45 years! His reputation and his following grew without his assistance.
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Pachomius was another Egyptian pagan who was caught in the political circumstance of changing emperors and thrown in jail at Luxor. There he met Christians and was converted. He is remembered as the pioneer organizer of cenobitic monasticism. Pachomias associated himself with a Christian ascetic named Palamon who wove sackcloth for a living. When Palamon died, Pachomius and his brother John went up the Nile to Tabennisi and gathered other ascetics around them in a community, c. 320. This ascetic community was not the first occasion of ascetics living in a community, but it was the first to have common rules of order, fellowship and ascetic discipline, and the first to be organized so that each contributed to the welfare of the whole community.
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The monastic institution founded by Pachomius is typically labeled with the term "cenobitic". The Latinized term cenobitic is based on the Greek term koinobion which literally indicates "life in community," "community life," or "common life." Notice that the root word koinon for community or corporate body is closely related to koinonia, the New Testament word frequently translated "fellowship".
The walled community was divided into tribes each made up of three or four houses. Each house had a ruler. All the members of the house had the same work assignment. Work assignments were for 3 weeks. One house did the cooking; another cared for the sick; another was designated to entertain guests from the outside, etc. Each house had worship before dawn and after sunset every day. The whole community gathered for worship on Saturday evening, Sunday morning and evening.
A novice must learn how to read and write if he hadn't already; he must memorize the Lord's Prayer, a number of Psalms (eventually 20), and two New Testament epistles before they would teach him the rules of the monastery and allow him to join them.
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In northern Egypt, between 60 and 70 miles northwest of modern Cairo in the Natron valley, three monastic village communities somewhat more elaborate than Pachomius' appeared by c. 330. Important leaders of these communities were Makarius of Alexandria who founded Scetis, and Amoun who was the leader at Nitria. Cellia was the other village and it may have been the oldest. Each monk lived alone in his own hut widely separated from the rest. On Saturday and Sunday they met together for worship. There was a governing council made up of monks that ruled the community. This style of semi-cenobitic monastic community became popular in Palestine, Syria and points East where such a monastic community was called a laura.
The story of the continuing development of monasticism is continued below.
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The Church of the East had enjoyed relative peace in Persia as long as the Roman Emperor was a pagan, but the early fourth century Conversion of Constantine and his claim to represent the Christians in Persia had extremely serious results for Christians in Persia. The moves against the Sassanid frontier by Emperor Constantius in 337, led to a war which lasted until 350. The Sassanid king Shapur II (309-379) counter-attacked in 339 and the persecution of the Christians was launched simultaneously! To begin with Christians were to pay a double tax through Metropolitan Bishop Simon of Seleucia-Ctesiphon. When Simon refused to collect the tax the Sassanids eventually arrested him and attempted to persuade him to worship the sun with bribes and threats. Finally, probably in 344, they executed him as a 'grand finale' after he witnessed the beheading of five other bishops and 100 priests. Government decrees called for the destruction of church buildings. The private properties of one-time Zoroastrians who had converted to Christianity were identified and confiscated. Clergy were hunted down and executed for hesitating to worship the sun in the prescribed Zoroastrian manner. The grass roots leaders of the persecution were the zealous Zoroastrian magi (mobeds) in all the local villages. There may have been periods of relative relief, but they are hard to document.
In the renewed war with Rome (359-61) Shapur II regained five northern provinces from Rome including the fortified city of Nisibis. Thousands of Christians from these conquered Roman provinces were forced to migrate to the regions surrounding Susa and eastward around Isfahan. The persecution once again was intense, and it did not lessen much when the war with Rome was won. The account of the Church of the East is continued below.
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Missions had continued to penetrate Arabia with its backward and illiterate population since the second century. Most of the evidence of this expansion consists of references by Syrian and Palestinian authors of the many Arabian Christians who come over to visit shrines and monasteries in the Roman realm. The first known bishop to the Arabian nomads was Pamphilos Bishop of the Tannaye whose signature stands among his fellow bishops who signed the Nicene Creed in 325. The Tannaye were likely a tribe or clan related to the western Tanukhs living in the Syrian desert somewhere between Damascus and the Euphrates. The Tanukhs had migrated from Yemen and had a treaty with the Roman Emperor.
One of the first references in the records of the church that gives indication that there were believers among the barbarians is the reference to a Bishop from "Gothia" in attendance at the Council of Nicaea in 325 AD. There is oft repeated the notion that "Gothia" should be understood as a reference to the northern coast of the Black Sea, perhaps the Crimean Peninsula. Bishop Theophilus evidently represented an established church in that area. We have not a clue whether his flock was a mixture of Barbarian and Roman, but that is likely given the ethnic composition of that area. Barbarians from that region had active contact with Roman traders from the southern coasts both before and after the third century crisis when the Barbarians had launched raiding parties that penetrated deep into Roman territory. For example, in 263 the Gothic raiders reached Ephesus. We know from other testimony that Christian captives from Cappadocia (perhaps about 257) were taken back by the Goths to live somewhere north of the Black Sea.
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Ulfilas was a descendant through his mother of those Cappadocian captives, but his father's lineage was probably Gothic and evidently of high standing. Born about 311 AD he may have been in some way associated with the ministry of Bishop Theophilus; but if not, he may not have been converted until for some reason he ended up in Constantinople. In either case Ulfilas got a good education in Greek and Latin and began serving as lector when he was in his twenties. He was ordained at age 30, in 341, as bishop of the Christians in the Gothic lands, by Eusebius of Nicomedia, Bishop of Constantinople. The actual ordination may have taken place in Antioch (Syria) where churchmen from all over the east gathered for the dedication of Emperor Constantine II's new Basilica. It seems likely to me that he had already begun while he was lector experimenting with Gothic translations of liturgical passages of scripture using an invented alphabet of Greek and Latin letters.
As bishop of the Goths he went immediately to his people. His work in the Barbarian area apparently flourished for a few years until a power struggle between rival Gothic rulers resulted in a persecution of all Christians in that area in 347-348. Ulfilas and a considerable flock escaped beyond the Danube and were given permission to settle near Nicopolis in the Roman province of Lower Moesia (northern Thrace). Here he settled down to translate all the scriptures into the prevailing barbarian dialect spoken by the Goths and other barbarians, the main reason why the effects of his missionary work continued long after his death and spread across southern Europe. The continuing discussion of Christian work among the barbarians is below.
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Most recently edited 17 August 2002