CPPoole,Jr.,February 12, 2000, revised July 25, 2005
Outline
1.
Sources of Our Beliefs
2.
History of the Jewish People
From 1800 BC (Abraham) to 0 AD
3-5. Apostolic Church 32 - 150 AD
4-10. Early Centuries 150
- 600
10-14. Middle Ages 600 -
1300
15. Times of Trouble 1300 - 1600
16. Tridentine Period
1560-1890
17. Pre-Vatican II Period 1890-1960
18-19. Vatican II and after 1962 - Present
1.
Sources of Our Beliefs
Scripture
and Tradition are
the sources
for what we
believe
Scripture:
the Inspired Word of God
Old Testament and New Testament
Tradition:
consensus from Fathers of the Church
Proclamation
of council and de fide decree of pope
Private
revelation: Lourdes, Fatima, etc. not binding
2.
History of the Jewish People
Pentateuch, history to reaching promised land 1250 BC
Samuel 1&2, Kings 1&2 Judges, Saul, David, Solomon
built 1st temple, kingdoms of Israel
& Judah, into exile
Ezra recounts exile in Babylon and return 587-539 BC
Nehemiah return to Jerusalem, 2nd temple
built
Maccabees 1&2 revolt and Jewish state 175-135 BC
Chronicles 1&2 repeat much of this
history
Herod the Great built 3rd temple where
Jesus preached
State of Modern
Israel was established 1948
The Mosque
Dome of the Rock is now at temple site
3. History of the Apostolic Church
Acts of
Apostles recount spread of early Church
First
Christians were Jewish, then came Gentiles
St. Paul –
on three missionary journeys spread the
faith to the
main cities around the Mediterranean
Thomas - India, Mark - Alexandria, John - Ephesus
Andrew - Scythia,
Matthew - Ethiopia
3rd Temple
(and all Jerusalem) destroyed 70 AD
Paul
epistles written 50-60, Gospels 65-90 AD
1st Mark, then Matth/Luke,
finally John
4.
Fathers and Doctors of the Church
Letter of
4th Pope Clement to the Corinthians 96 AD
Teachings
of the Apostles (Didache) 90 AD
Ignatius of Antioch, died 110, Augustine died 430.
These fathers commented on the scriptures,
described worship (Mass), mentioned
what was believed
Doctors
of the Church
East: Augustine, Ambrose, Jerome, Gregory
Great
West:
John Chrysostom, Basil, Gregory, Athanasius
later: Anselm, Bonaventure, Robert Bellarmine,
Thomas Aquinas, Catherine, Teresa, ThérPse
5. Heretics and Schismatics
Heretics are Christians who deny beliefs
Schismatics are Christians who
separate
from union with Rome
1st century Judaizers
required obedience to Jewish Laws
1st/2nd Gnostics: secret wisdom,
Jesus not human
4th Arians - Jesus was a creature
inferior to God
5th Pelagians
- our own effort can save us
5th Nestorians - Mary is not the
Mother of God
5th Monophysites
- Jesus had only one nature
7/8th Iconoclasts - condemned
statues in church
11th Albigensians
- human body and marriage are evil
17th Jansenists
- Christ died only for the elect
20th Modernists - meaning of dogma
can change
6.
General or Ecumenical Councils
There have
been 21 councils, about one per century
Assembly of bishops of the
world in union with the pope
Decide
questions of orthodoxy (correct belief)
and questions of
orthopraxis (correct actions)
Promulgate creeds e.g.
Nicene-Constantinopolitan
Orthodox
churches accept seven general councils
Some
Protestant churches accept the first few
Synod or
local council sometimes held in a diocese
7. Most Important Ecumenical Councils
Jerusalem (Acts) Gentiles need not obey Mosaic Law,
circumcision not needed, no eating food of idols
Nicaea, 325, declared
Christ to be divine
Constantinople, 381, proclaimed
the Trinity
Ephesus, 431, Jesus human, Mary the mother of God
others: Chalcedon, 2nd to 4th Constantinople,
2nd Nicaea, 1st to 5th Lateran,
1st
& 2nd Lyons, Vienna
Trent 1545-63, clarified dogma, reformed
the Church
energized Counter Reformation, catechism issued
Vatican I, 1869-70, defined papal infallibility, was suspended
when Piedmontese
troops occupied Rome
8. Persecutions and Acceptance
Roman emperors persecuted the Church for
over
two centuries, there were many, many martyrs
Tertullian: "blood of
martyrs is seed of Christians"
Emperor Constantine attributed
great victory in 312 AD
to a vision and putting chi-rho (χ,
ρ) on his shields
Constantine converted, and his Edict of Milan in 313
proclaimed complete religious
tolerance
The emperor was very generous to the Church
Sunday became a day of rest, Roman law was
modified by adding
Christian values
The Pope was given the Lateran Palace
in Rome,
which remained the papal residence until 1308.
9.
Legacy of Constantine
Church
eventually became the religion of the Empire
Basic
features of the Church were set for 150 years
from
Constantine until pope Leo the Great (d 461)
The basic dogmata of Jesus, true God and true man,
and three
persons of the Trinity, were affirmed
The form of the chief act of worship, the Mass, was
standardized, everyone believed the Real
Presence
Oldest form
of the Mass, from Hyppolytus (died 236),
has a
Eucharistic Prayer as basis for all future ones
10.
Monasticism and Religious Orders
St. Anthony
(251-356) and many others lived
solitary lives
as hermits in the deserts of Egypt
St.
Benedict (480-550) founded various monasteries
his sister St. Scholastica founded convents
Carthusians (1084) and Cistercians (Trappists 1098)
lived
austere lives in remote monasteries
Franciscan (1210) and Dominican (1216) mendicant
(begging) friars
traveled to preach and teach
Jesuits
founded by Ignatius of Loyola in 1540 built
universities and helped stem tide of
Protestantism
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11. The Five
Patriarchates
Jerusalem, Antioch, Rome, Alexandria, Constantinople
each with their own languages and liturgies
Coptic in Alexandria, Byzantine
in Constantinople
After Mohammed died in 632 the Islamic empire spread
Took
over Jerusalem, Antioch and Alexandria, and in
1453 Byzantium (Constantinople) became Istanbul
Rome and Constantinople had been rivals politically and
religiously for many centuries
1st schism
under Patriarch Photius 898 was healed
Final schism under Patriarch Michael Cerularius 1054
was
permanent, the Orthodox still remain separated
The
Patriarch of Moscow claims to be Patriarch of the East
12.
Middle Ages
Alaric (a Visigoth) plundered Rome in 410
AD
Vandals, Attila the
Hun, Ostrogoths, etc.
invaders from
east were eventually converted
Charlemagne crowned emperor by Pope Leo III
Christmas day 800 AD,
Christendom persisted until 1300
Pope
Gregory VII (Hildebrand, 1073) - main influence
Universities and learning - Aristotle
dominant
Popes in Avignon, Western Schism, 1305-1378
Conciliarism - council is supreme, pope won battle
Then the
Protestant Reformation came
13. Crusades
First Crusade 1095, 5th and last Crusade 1221
Attempts by
European armies to recapture the Holy Land
They held cities like Jerusalem for many
decades
and many
pilgrims went to visit the Holy Places
Unfortunately
in 1204 the army of the 4th crusade
captured and
pillaged Constantinople
There was also a crusade (1208-1229) against the
Albigensian
heresy in southern France.
14. Learning:
Many
philosophers and theologians wrestled with
using pagan
learning to serve the Faith
Aristotle
came to the West via Arabic translations
Universities
founded: Paris <1200, Oxford 1200,
Cambridge 1209, Louvain
1425
Theology
and philosophy were important at the universities
There were
many Dominican and Franciscan scholars
Augustine
(died 430) wrote The City of God
Thomas
Aquinas (d. 1274) wrote the Summa Theologica
15.
Times of Trouble
Protestant
emphasis - scripture as the only source
salvation by
faith only, priesthood of believers
Luther posted his 95 theses on Indulgences
in 1517
Calvin wrote Institutes of the Christian Religion in 1536.
Henry VIII divorced
Catherine of Aragon in 1527
Wesley (died 1791) founded the Methodists
Baptists trace their origin to 1611 in
London.
Mormons
1830, Jehovah Witnesses 1872, Moonies
Council
of Trent
(1545-1563) brought about reform
of the Catholic
Church
16. Tridentine Period
The Church was in state of siege, 1560 to 1890,
surrounded by enemies
Jansenism,
Catholic Puritans, nuns at Fort Royal
Gallicanism
opposed papal authority, supported
local church
autonomy
French
Revolution 1789, was very anticlerical
Science:
Copernicus died 1543, Darwin died 1882
Biblical scholarship , higher criticism
Syllabus of
80 errors 1864 against liberals
Council
Vatican I in1870
proclaimed papal infallibility
17. Pre-Vatican II Period
Church
authority was strong,
Thomism was
dominant philosophy
Interest in
biblical critical studies was beginning
More
openness to science, e.g. theory of evolution
Strong
sense of sin and repentance
Religious
orders were much stronger
Many
vocations for priests and sisters
Congregation
followed priest with Missal at Mass
Parochial
schools were dominant
18. Second Vatican Council
The Council was in session 1962 to 1965
Return to
apostolic roots and updating (aggiornamento)
Stressed People of God, laity, ecumenism, liturgy, religious
freedom, roles of bishops and priests
Results:
made us more biblical, new liturgy in English
Implementation
via 5 main documents in 3 decades
Missal for Mass (Sacramentary/Lectionary) 1969
Liturgy of the Hours 1971
RCIA reconstituted1972, in USA 1986
Code of Canon Law 1983 (previous code 1917)
Catechism:
French 1992, English 1994; Latin 1997
19.
Present Day Influences
Extremes:
return to before and proceed far
beyond Vatican
II
Movements: Cursillo, Charismatic, Marriage Encounter
5 documents from Vatican II: Missal,
Liturgy of Hours,
RCIA, Code of Canon Law, Catechism
Influences: apparitions, Call to Action, EWTN, home schooling,
Latin Mass, Mother Teresa, National Catholic Reporter,
NCCB, North American Forum, Opus Dei, Pope John Paul II,
Pope Benedict XVI.
Future: I am, personally, very optimistic, long range
CPPoole,Jr., November 6, 1999, revised July 25, 2005.
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