What is the patristic period. Introduction to Historical Theology 2022-10-27
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The patristic period refers to the early Christian era, spanning from the 1st to the 8th centuries CE. It is named after the patristic fathers, who were the earliest Christian theologians and writers who sought to understand and interpret the teachings of Jesus and the apostles in the context of the burgeoning Christian church.
During this time, Christianity spread rapidly throughout the Roman Empire and beyond, and the patristic fathers played a crucial role in shaping the development of Christian theology and practice. They wrote extensively on a wide range of topics, including Christology, soteriology, and ecclesiology, and their works continue to be influential to this day.
One of the most well-known patristic fathers is Augustine of Hippo, who is considered one of the greatest Christian theologians of all time. Augustine's writings on the nature of God, original sin, and the role of grace in salvation have had a profound impact on the development of Western Christianity. Other notable patristic figures include Justin Martyr, Origen, and Clement of Alexandria.
The patristic period was also marked by the rise of various Christian sects and controversies over the nature of Christ and the proper interpretation of the Bible. These debates often led to heated discussions and even schisms within the Christian community, and many of the patristic fathers were involved in these controversies.
Despite these disagreements, the patristic period was a time of great growth and flourishing for the Christian church. The writings of the patristic fathers helped to shape Christian theology and practice for centuries to come, and their influence can still be seen in the teachings and beliefs of many Christian denominations today. So, the patristic period was a very important time in the history of Christianity, and the contributions of the patristic fathers continue to be studied and revered to this day.
patristic literature
In the early fourth century, a presbyter from Egypt named Arius began teaching that Jesus was not the eternal son of God but was rather a created being. Because God is good only, everything He made was good, even matter, and in this the Plotinian doctrine was modified. From a literary point of view, Jerome's correspondence is the most perfect of his writings. The act of thinking about the faith was informed by the liturgy of the faith. God issued a mandate for all believers share the gospel of Jesus Christ.
Only one who lives and walks in the Spirit can understand the deep truths that the Spirit has implanted within Scripture. The theory of an eternal world was constantly rejected as contrary not only to revelation but also to Plato. But his place in history ranks among the giants of Catholic literature. But they are sober reminders to us that we should be more wary of errors in faith and more zealous in defending revealed truth in our day. The Eastern Cappadocian fathers Gregory Nazianzen, Basel and Gregory of Nyssa also wrote in defending this doctrine. Whilst proportional attention is given to the emergence of the Great Church within the Roman Empire, other topics are treated as well - such as the development of Christian communities outside the empire. The question that Boethius bequeathed to the Isagoge was not merely a speculative question that intrigued the scholastics; it was very closely bound up with the doctrines of the Trinity and the Incarnation.
This, in fact, is part of her universality, that she includes sinners who, in God's Providence, are to be converted before they die and, in the process, help to sanctify the good. Short Study: Faith and Philosophy One of the most important questions that the early church worked through was the relationship of Christianity to philosophy. General Synthesis Of Patristic Philosophy A catalogue of the philosophical opinions of the individual patristic writers taken chronologically can be found in the Catholic histories of Christian or medieval philosophy Gilson, Copleston. Archived from English translations of patristic texts and high-resolution scans. In telling the story of the Bride of Christ, the best place to start is the beginning. In essence, he was attempting to protect the concept of the humanity of Christ. Perfect understanding was not required to be saved, but one must recognize that for salvation to be effective, Jesus Christ must be fully human and fully divine.
The Patristic Period — Center for Action and Contemplation
In a context where cultic groups were distorting the truth, and appeal to tradition became important. Otherwise one partakes of schism. These doctrines are agreed upon by all Christian denominations, and are used to determine whether or not a church is a cult. Thus, in 335 he was present at the "brigandage of Tyre," which condemned Athanasius. It gives an overall view of the reception, transmission, and interpretation of the Bible in the life and thought of the Church during the first five centuries of Christianity, the so-called patristic era. The reason for this designation is that the early Christian writers are usually referred to as the Church Fathers.
Once we get into the New Testament the Holy Spirit is with us wherever we go, which means we do not need a temple to go into every time we want to get closer with God. Two early viewpoints of a Christological heresy was Ebonitism which regarded Jesus as an ordinary human being, and Doceticism coming from the Greek work dokeo which means to seem or think teaching that Jesus only seemed human but was not. At first glance, Athanasius' writings may seem to be too polemical, as in his two main works, the Discourse Against the Greeks and the Discourse Against the Arians. It was heightened and at its worse with Diocletian 303 A. His Christological heresy was an overreaction to Arianism that melded the nature of the Logos as the soul of the person of Christ. As a result, the Donatists thought that the entire system of the Church had become corrupted because the church was allowing schismatics back into the church after they had apostatized.
The Patristic Era of Church History (33 to 590 AD)
It is generally held that the last of the Western Fathers Latin was St. But for now, it is sufficient to know that it was during this time that the term "Scripture" began to officially apply to the books of the New Testament that we have today. Some of his poems continue the liturgical tradition of St. From its earliest times Christianity was spread through the oral transmission of teaching. There are other figures of philosophical importance —such as nemesius of emesa c.
In this area the positive help of Aristotle was finally apparent. There is then a dualism of spirits in history, but it is the result of the freedom of creatures and not of two absolute and independent sources. Faith is necessary from beginning to end. But perhaps the greatest impulse toward the recognition of the goodness of matter came from the doctrine of the Incarnation; for it was early established against docetism that matter was assumed also by the Son. It is also one of the chief monuments of the coming together of ancient Greek culture and the new faith of the expanding Christian society. He was also the author both of numerous commentaries on scripture and probably of the Commentary on Daniel c.
In essence, at the beginning of this period, the Church was mainly engaged in what we call apologetics. Arius had strong beliefs that Christ was not equal to God but the council of Nicea developed the idea of him being the same substance and this idea worked for many. As a result, Jerome spent most of the rest of his life — thirty-five years in Palestine, working tirelessly on the work given him by the Pope. These distinctions are not much observed, nor do they seem very necessary; they are nothing else than aspects of patristic study as it forms part of fundamental theology, of positive theology, and of literary history. In the same way, pieces of classical literature were liberated in order to serve a higher purpose. A clear illustration of this is provided by the practice of substituting chain commentaries composed of Yet the picture was not altogether dim.
This time period established the basic beliefs of …show more content… Church tradition consisted of handing down Scripture and practices of faith, so that over multiple generations, Christians would still be practicing and believing the same ideas. The divine nature assumed the human yet mixed with it. It is thematically arranged to encompass history, literature, thought, practices, and material culture. Philosophy was needed to meet the challenge of the pagans e. It can safely be said that no other biblical commentator in history has ever brought together so much sound Catholic thought so calmly and sensibly, with such spiritual depth, and with such ease and skill as St.
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