Part 2 of 10 in the Church History Overview series

1. High-Level Time Line

    a. Apostolic Era (AD 30-100)

    b. Patristic Era (AD 100-451)

        1. Ante-Nicene Period (AD 100-325)

        2. Nicene Period (AD 325-451)

    c. Medieval Era (AD 451-1400s)

2. Preliminary Definitions

    a. “Catholic”: (NOT Roman Catholic); orthodox Trinitarianism + Incarnation

    b. “Bishop”: different meanings based on writer, time, and context:

        1. Synonym for “pastor”

        2. Most senior “pastor” of a local church

        3. Head of city-wide church/geographic area

        4. Successors of apostles

3. The Martyrdom of Polycarp & Christian Persecution

    a. Why Rome Persecuted Christians:

        1. Atheism (not believing Roman gods): (i) superstition (ii) treason

        2. Lord’s Supper misunderstandings: (i) cannibalism (ii) orgies

        3. Practical: (i) political scapegoats (ii) personal profit

        4. Christian Characteristics: (i) pacifism (ii) stubbornness (iii) insanity (iv) subversive

    b. How Rome Persecuted Christians:

        1. Initially (first 250 years) - localized & sporadic

        2. Later (250s onward) - Empire wide & organized, but still sporadic

        3. In all cases, brutally: martyrdoms, torture, torture of family members, confiscation of property, destruction of churches etc.

4. Ante-Nicene Fathers

    a. Apostolics Fathers

        1. Clement of Rome

        2. Ignatius of Antioch

        3. Polycarp of Smyrna

    b. Apologists

        1. Justin Martyr

    c. Ante-Nicene Fathers

        1. Irenaeus of Lyons

        2. Tertullian of Carthage

        3. Cyprian of Carthage

5. Ante-Nicene Period - Theology

    a. Heresies

        1. Gnosticism: secret knowledge; dualism with spirit good/matter evil; Jesus therefore not truly human (only appearing as such).

        2. Marcionism: rejected OT; God of the OT evil, God of NT good; Jesus not OT Messiah or a true man, but the saviour from OT          God.

    b. Church’s Response:

        1. Canon: the church stated which books are Scripture.

        2. Creeds: the church summarized the true “catholic” faith.

        3. Apostolic Succession: the church argued the true teaching was passed down from the apostles.