Important Writings of the Early Christian Period

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Important Writings of the Early Christian
Period

• Theology II 1321.
• Christianity History and Doctrines.
• Fr. Leo Almazán, O. P.

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Apostolic Fathers

• Term applied to certain disciples and successors
  of the 12 apostles.
• In a more restricted sense, the term is applied
  to a group of Greek-language writers who were
  among the martyrs and major figures of the 1st
  and 2nd centuries in the Christian church.

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Apostolic Fathers

• Although not considered worthy of inclusion in
  the Bible, their writings may be ranked as a
  continuation of the writings of the apostles
  themselves and are considered a valuable source
  of early church history.

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Apostolic Fathers

• Generally accepted as Apostolic Fathers are
• Clement I of Rome.
• St. Ignatius of Antioch.
• St. Polycarp.

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Apologist Fathers

• Early Church Fathers who wrote to defend
  Christianity vs. Judaism, Gnostic Heresies, and
  various pagan religions throughout the Roman
  Empire
• Some of them were
• St. Justin Martyr.
• St. Hippolytus.
• Athenagoras.
• Tertullian.

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The Didache

• Among the writings also associated with the
  Apostolic Fathers is the Teaching of the Twelve
  Apostles, or Didache opinion also differs on the
  authorship of this work.
• Didache (Greek, teaching) is an ancient
  Christian manual of instruction.
• It was probably written in Syria during the 1st.
  century.

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The Didache

• The Didache is a compendium of moral precepts, of
  instructions on the organization of Christian
  communities and of regulations pertaining to
  liturgical worship.
• Revered by many early Christians as equal in
  importance to the books of the New Testament, the
  Didache was used to instruct converts.

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Justin Martyr

• Justin Martyr was one of the most important of
  the Greek philosopher-Apologists in the early
  church, whose writings represent the first
  positive encounter of Christian revelation with
  Greek philosophy and laid the basis for a
  theology of history.

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Justin Martyr

• A pagan reared in a Jewish environment, Justin
  studied philosophy at Ephesus, near modern
  Turkey.
• He converted to Christianity about 130 and short
  time later became a Christian teacher where he
  engaged in a disputation with Trypho, a Jew (
  135).

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Justin Martyr

• After a few years he moved to Rome, where he
  founded a Christian school. Here he met vehement
  opposition in the philosopher Crescens whose
  antagonism made Justin determined to compose an
  'Apology' or reasoned defense of the Christian
  faith.
• This was issued 150 in the form of a petition
  addressed to the Emperor Antoninus Pius. Sometime
  afterward he published his Dialogue with Trypho
  the Jew.

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Justin Martyr

• A shorter, Second Apology was addressed to the
  Senate, apparently after the accession of Marcus
  Aurelius (161 CE).
• A few years later, Justin was denounced to the
  Roman prefect as subversive and condemned to
  death.

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Athenagoras

• We know very little about Athenagoras. He was an
  Athenian philosopher, though perhaps not born in
  Athens. According to the Christian History of
  Philip of Side, who wrote c. 430, Athenagoras was
  at first a pagan who became a Christian by
  reading the Scriptures. Perhaps he lived for a
  time in Alexandria.

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Athenagoras

• He was a philosopher whose primary object was to
  instruct and to demonstrate.
• In all his writings we meet with forcible
  reasoning and a powerful style, so concise that
  it borders at times on dryness, truly the style
  of a philosopher.

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Athenagoras

• Athenagoras wrote a Plea for Christians on
  December A. D. 176, and the first months of 178.
  The work was undoubtedly written at Athens.
• The arrangement of ideas is most lucid. After
  soliciting the attention of the Emperors,
  Athenagoras enumerates the three chief
  accusations current against the Christians
  atheism, immorality and anthropophagi (1-3). He
  refutes these three calumnies successively.

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St. Hippolytus

• It is thought that he was born towards 170-175.
• Little is known about his life, other than he
  appears c. 212 as a presbyter of the Roman Church
  and a recognized scholar.
• In 217, Hippolytus opened a schism and set up a
  rival church, of which he became the bishop. This
  situation lasted for eighteen years, until 235

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St. Hippolytus

• He was deported to deported to the unhealthful
  island of Sardinia where he was forced to work
  the mines and soon died. Before his departure,
  Hippolytus had confessed his fault, reentered
  Christianity, and recommended his followers to
  seek reconciliation. Hence, there was nothing to
  prevent his recognition as a true martyr, and as
  such the Church honors him.

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St. Hippolytus

• Sadly most of Hippolytus' works are lost to us.
• The Apostolic Tradition was composed in
  approximately 215 in Rome. It apparently
  preserved older second century practices which
  were in danger of falling to disuse or
  innovation.

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Analysis of text

• Subject
• Occasion
• Audience
• Purpose
• Perspective
• Speaker
• Plus
• Tone
• Main Thesis

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Analysis of text

• Instructions
• Step 1
• Read the assigned text
• Fill SOAPPS with complete sentences
• Some of you will be asked to present your results
  to the class. Others will critique it.

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Analysis of text

• Instructions
• Step 2
• Get together with the people who had the same
  text as you.
• Create a single SOAPPS to submit at the end of
  class with the all the peoples names on it.

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Homework

• Vocabulary
• Catechumens.
• Eucharist.
• ICHTHYS.
• Monotheism.
• Presbyter.
• Synod (p. 90)
• Study for vocabulary test NEXT CLASS