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The Councils and Constantine: Historical Friday

Two weeks ago we covered the Early Church Period in our broad overview of the history of Christianity. We now move onto the next period; the time of Constantine and the ecumenical councils. This time period ranges from about AD 310 to AD 450. There were more councils after this period, but these are some of the most influential.

Brief History

In 311 the Edict of Toleration was passed in the Roman Empire. This gave Christianity legal status; meaning that the government was not allowed to formally persecute Christians. This was brought about by Constantine, a major proponent of the conversion of the Roman Empire to Christianity. 

This newfound freedom also brought about newfound heresies. A man named Arius began teaching that the Son (Jesus) was not fully God like the Father is. This teaching spread rapidly because it made it much easier to defend Christian monotheism. Soon this division was affecting the whole church, and something had to be done.

The answer was to call an ecumenical council. Church leaders from all over the world would come together an discuss what to do with this dangerous teaching. Interestingly Constantine himself called the council and even hosted it at his summer palace in Nicea. The council firmly handled the Arian controversy and produced a simple creed that helpfully summed up Christian belief.

Well more heresies arose and different arguments ensued until another council was needed. This one met in the city of Constantinople, the new capital of the Roman Empire. Here the church leaders formulated a more detailed creed, based on the earlier one, that is still used in many churches today.

In the east more and more controversy arose time and again. It was a time of theological and philosophical upheaval. In the west the city of Rome, the bastion of western Christianity, fell. The civil authorities, unable to do anything against the Germanic invasion, fell under the only authority figure left in the west; the Pope of Rome. 

Important Events

Edict of Toleration (311) - This legalized Christianity. 

Edict of Milan (313) - Gave Christianity favorable status in the empire.

Donatist Controversy (311-400) - A dispute amongst Christians in North Africa. This controversy revolved around who can baptize people and what baptisms are valid.

Council of Nicea (325) - Affirmed the full divinity of Christ in the face of heresy.

Council of Constantinople (381) - Affirmed the full divinity of the Holy Spirit and produced the primary creed for many churches.

Sacking of Rome (410) - This event saw civil power being taken up by the Pope in Rome. He did so out of necessity and saved the lives of thousands who would have otherwise been killed.

Council of Ephesus (431) - Sowed the seeds of controversy that led to the next important council.

Council of Chalcedon (451) - Affirmed the full humanity and divinity of Christ in the face of heresy.

Important People

Constantine - Legalized Christianity and is considered the first Christian emperor of Rome.

Arius - Started the Arian heresy that taught that Jesus wasn't truly divine.

Donatus - Ignited the Donatist controversy that split the church in North Africa and inadvertently gave more authority to Rome.

Basil of Caeserea - Argued against those who claimed the Holy Spirit was not truly God.

Pope Leo 1 - Convinced Attila the Hun to turn away from his invasion of Italy. He gave us the phrase "all God, all human, all the time" to describe Jesus.

Augustine - He is getting his own blog next week. That's how important he is.

Conclusion

This is one of the most formative periods in the history of the church. In one short blog I can't do it justice. Rest assured we will revisit this time period in more detail later. For now this is the time period that saw Christianity become legal and much of the language we use to describe God, Jesus, and the Spirit come into use.


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