1. Early Christian Church
Was the organization…
• EPISCOPALIAN (ruled by bishops)?
• PRESBYTERIAN (ruled by elders)?
• CONGREGATIONAL (ruled by the
members of the Church)?
• A SPONTANEOUS GATHERING OF THE
FAITHFUL (no government)?
 Various patterns of Church organization
(There were elements of all of the above)

2. The need for organization- Why?
Two very broad generalizations:
• Excited and excitable members had to be
tamed, disciplined, even rejected if any
kind of mundane order was to be
maintained in the Church.
• In all the primitive churches there
gradually grew a distinction between LAY
and CLERICAL members.

3. PROBLEMS
Disciplinarians/organizers faced the
problem of having to organize a
worldly church of an ―other-worldly‖
faith in the middle of a great
bureaucratic empire that was in
principle committed to the
SUPPRESSION of Christianity.

4. ORGANIZERS
Church organization:
+ Already taking shape by the 2nd century
+ In little groups, organized by
• First visionaries, variously called
‗prophets‘, ‗teachers‘, and the like (perhaps
mystical believers rather than worldly
organizers).
• ‗Elders‘, ‗overseers‘, ‗presidents‘- names which
suggest what we call ‗government‘ (Church, not
political, government, but essentially a source of
LAW and AUTHORITY.
(See HIERARCHY)

5. THE HIERARCHY
• The government of the Catholic Church
developed from these ―governing
officials‖, who often merged their
administrative abilities with more spiritual
gifts and functions.
• This hierarchical organization is headed by
the POPE: Bishop of Rome, having
Authority over all other Bishops

6. AUTHORITY: East and West
 IN THE EAST
The Pope‘s claim to such authority over all other
bishops was contested by bishops in EASTERN
CHRISTIANITY
(Antioch, Alexandria, Constantinople) and it
never quite established in the East
 IN THE WEST
The Pope‘s authority was very firmly established
by the time of the break-up of the Roman Empire
and the Germanic invasions- it was to be a
major factor in the growth of Western Civilization

7. The importance of BISHOPS
The word bishop derives from the Greek
episcopos, ―overseer‖ – adj. episcopal
Each bishop was the head of a large
administrative area called the SEE
They gained prestige and authority
through the doctrine of APOSTOLIC
SUCCESSION, which asserted that each
espiscopal church had been formed
directly by one of the Apostles, or by the
AGENT or SPIRITUAL HEIR of an Apostle

8. THE CHRISTIAN CANON
• It was established slowly under the
governance of bishops
• It is the 27 Books of the New Testament
considered of divine inspiration, written in
KOINE, the current Greek of the time
• The Christian Canon of the Old testament
was also drawn from an earlier Greek
translation from the Hebrew known as the
SEPTUAGINT (Lat. ―Seventy‖, the number
of translators who worked on it)

9. • The Greek version is the one still used in
the Greek Orthodox church
• In the Roman Church, an earlier Latin
translation of both Testaments was
revised and retranslated under the
direction of St. Jerome in the 4th century.
This is the VULGATE, The Bible in Latin
• Books rejected from the Canon are
generally called APOCRYPHA and
PSEUDIPIGRAPHA

10. CHURCH ADMINISTRATION
• A number of BISHOPRICS were gathered into a
larger area called the METROPOLITAN, which
was headed by an ARCHBISHOP.
• Within a bishopric, each church was headed by
a PRIEST (Greek presbyteros, ―elder‖) who had
had FORMAL TRAINING and had been
ORDAINED into the priesthood.
• Each church and its priest came to serve the
local area known as the PARISH.
• By the 4th century, the older office of DEACON
(‗servant‘ or ‗minister‘, prominent in the primitive
church) had become the preliminary step to full
priesthood.

11. Election of authorities
In some early churches,
• officers were elected by the congregation
• The actual government was conducted by
boards or committees of elders
(―presbyteries‖)
BUT in the developed western ecclesiastical
system,
• Clerical positions were determined by
‗appointment‘ from above, i.e. superiors or
elders already in office.

12. CLEAR DISTINCTION…
… between the CLERGY, who are trained
for their task and are ordained when fully
prepared
and the LAITY, the Christian faithful who
worship in the churches guided by the
clergy
Reformers have sought a purer
Christianity in which all men are priests.

13. THE SUPREMACY OF ROME
• The City of cities
• A Court of Appeal
• Outstanding leaders, e.g. Leo the Great
(440-461), who allegedly persuaded Attila
to turn back from his invasion of Western
Europe; and Gregory the Great, a monk*
with whom the Papacy was firmly
established.

14. Another distinction…
• Monks, like Gregory the Great*, belonged
to the REGULAR CLERGY (men and
women who follow the rule).
• They were different from the SECULAR
CLERGY (those who serve the laity of this
world).
• The term MONASTICISM applies to the
development of monastic orders, those
formed by monks who abode by specific
rules.

15. Origins of Monasticism
• In the EAST, especially in EGYPT, by
individuals disgusted by this wicked
world, seeking salvation outside it.
• By the 3rd century, hermits were
competing for ‗records‘ of holiness and
denial of the flesh– asceticism.
• Conservative church leaders viewed these
practices as un-Christian rivalry and
sought to bring hermits together under a
common discipline.

16. MONASTERIES
• Around many hermits gathered little
groups of followers.
• From these origins there grew
communities of monks living under
formally organized rules:
- Devoted to celibacy and poverty
- Religious rituals
- Working enough to make their
communities self-supporting

17. Spread of Monasticism
• From Egypt, it spread to Europe.
• In the EAST, it remained more secluded
• In the WEST, there was more missionary
work. Some monks not only worshipped
but ate and lived together. Some did works
of charity, setting up orphanages and
hospitals near monastery grounds.

18. Monastic Orders
• In the West, ST. BENEDICT (480-547)
was one of the greatest Christian
organizers (Abbey in Mt.
Cassino, Southern Italy- c.520)
• The Benedictine Order was at the front of
the civilizing forces in the West for the next
500 years.
• Guardians of the western intellectual
heritage from the Greco-Roman world.

19. Monastic life
• Monastic life satisfied a strong need for
security, community, renunciation and
spiritual orderliness
• The first emphasis was on renunciation
(control/discipline) of all pleasures of the
flesh
• Organization PROBLEMS: ―emulation‖ led
to tension and rivalry.

20. PROBLEMS
• THE SECULAR CLERGY viewed
themselves as the true soldiers of the Lord
in this harsh world- for them, the regular
clergy dodged their responsibilities.
• THE REGULAR CLERGY viewed
themselves as leading purer, more ascetic
lives, nearer what Jesus had preached.
• BOTH were gradually recognized as parts
of a great whole.

21. • Gradually ABBOTS were integrated into
the general government of the
Church, taking part in synods and
councils, sometimes rising to papal office
as Gregory the Great (540-604, Pope 590-
604)
• Monasteries
Became CENTRES OF LEARNING
Built the structure of true theology and the
Church, as the Canon Law.

22. HIERARCHY with a principle of
MUTUAL CONSULTATION
• Councils, assemblies, etc, made critical
decisions.
BUT
When the papacy was firmly
established, some Popes claimed superior
authority even to a general council, i.e. not
bound by its decisions.

23. Important terms explained
• ORTHODOXY: accepted doctrine or
interpretation; adherence to the accepted
or traditional and established
faith, especially in religion. The word
‗orthodox‘ comes from the Greek
orthodoxos, ―having the right opinion‖.
• Orthodoxy is opposed to heterodoxy
("other teaching"), heresy and schism.

24. • People who deviate from orthodoxy by
professing a doctrine considered to be
false are most often called heretics or
radicals, while those who deviate from
orthodoxy by removing themselves from
the perceived body of believers are called
schismatics or schematics.
• If one is addressing corporate unity, the
emphasis may be on schism; if one is
addressing doctrinal coherence, the
emphasis may be on heresy.

25. Summing up…
• ORTHODOXY: Accepted doctrine or
interpretation
• HERESY: Challenging interpretation
• SCHISM: Separation

26. GNOSTICISM
• ―Knowledge‖ (of magic)
• Physical world: evil, non-existent illusion to
be overcome
• Accepted Jesus the miracle-worker, the
God
• Rejected his human nature
• THEOSOPHY

27. ARIANISM and the TRINITY
• ARIUS, priest of Alexandria d. 336
• His doctrine: Christ is of a distinct
substance from the Father
• Doctrine of TRINITY: God as three
persons- God the father, God the Son, and
God the Holy Spirit. Three co-equal in
eternity; three and at the same time one.
• Bishop Athanasius of Alexandria argued
against Arius in the Council of Nicea (AD
325)

28. UNITARIANISM
• Unitarianism is a Non-trinitarian Christian
theology which teaches belief in the single
personality of God, in contrast to the
doctrine of the Trinity. According to its
proponents, Unitarianism reflects the
original God-concept of Christianity.

29. TRI-THEISM
• ―Three Gods‖: three distinct, powerful
gods, who form a triad. Generally three
gods are envisaged as having separate
powers and separate supreme beings or
spheres of influence but working together.
• An alternate or distorted view of the
Christian doctrine of Trinity.

30. FATHER AND SON
• Discussion of the Christian understanding
of God as Trinity.
• HOMOOUSIOS: same substance
• HOMOIOUSIOS: similar substance
• In the Nicene Creed, The Council of Nicea
(AD 325) describes Jesus as being
homooúsios with God the Father — that
is, they are of the "same substance" and
are equally God.

31. NATURE OF CHRIST
• God? Man? Both?
• NESTORIANISM: Nestorius (Bishop of
Constantinople in early 5th century) stated
that the two natures existed in perfect
harmony but were somehow distinct- it
was a MORAL, rather than a
physical, union.
• THEN, Virgin: NOT the Mother of God

32. • MONOPHYSITES: Only one nature
because God and Man are inextricably
mingled.
• THEN, Virgin was Mother of God.

33. OTHER CONTROVERSIES
• DONATISM (Donatus:4th century bishop
of Carthage):
• The validity of the Sacraments depends on
the PURITY OF THE PRIESTS.
• PELAGIANISM (Pelagius: 5th century
British monk):
• Men are in control of their fate, not tainted
by the original sin. THEN, complete
freedom of will*

34. *Remember the Enlightenment?
• The concept of the complete freedom of
will influenced the Enlightenment (and
Renaissance men before?):
• Hopeful, optimistic view of human pride
and independence

35. Another controversial view
• MANICHEISM (Mani: 3rd century AD
Mesopotamian prophet)
• Appeal to DUALISM:
• Universe NOT in the power of a single
God but between a GOD OF LIGHT and a
DEVIL OF DARKNESS