THEOLOGIANS AND EMPERORS The Christian faith is the

THEOLOGIANS AND EMPERORS

“The Christian faith is the most exciting drama that ever staggered the imagination of man—and the dogma is the drama. That drama is summarized quite clearly in the creeds of the church, and if we think it dull it is because we either have never really read those amazing documents or have recited them so often and so mechanically as to have lost all sense of their meaning. ” - Dorothy Sayers

CONSTANTINE The Empire after Constantine II Constantius II Constans

THE GREAT CAPPADOCIANS 1. Basil the Great Wrote the rule for monasteries that is still the standard rule for monasteries in the Orthodox world today

THE GREAT CAPPADOCIANS 2. Gregory of Nyssa An early Church Father, who created a rich legacy of theology, liturgy, and spiritual literature.

THE GREAT CAPPADOCIANS 3. Gregory of Nazianzus 4 th-century Church Father whose defense of the doctrine of the Trinity made him one of the greatest champions of orthodoxy against Arianism.

THE GREAT CAPPADOCIANS 4. Macrina the Younger The unsung “Cappadocian” who was a significant influence in the lives of Basil and Gregory, her brothers.

THE GREAT CAPPADOCIANS 1. 2. 3. 4. Basil the Great Gregory of Nyssa Gregory of Naziansius Macrina the Younger

One of the important themes that comes through when reading the Cappadocians is the mystery of the Godhead. They insisted that those words of the Nicene Creed does not empty the Godhead of its mystery.

“God’s being is infinite, and so the more that the finite mind knows of him, the more it becomes aware of its ignorance”; “In speaking of God, when there is a question of His essence, then is the time to keep silence. When, however, it is a question of His operation…that is the time to speak. ” Gregory of Nyssa.

“The begetting of God must be honored by silence. It is a great thing for you to learn that he was begotten. But the manner of his generation we will not admit that even angels can conceive, much less you. ” Gregory of Nazianzus

1 Timothy 3: 16 NASB By common confession, great is the mystery of godliness: He who was revealed in the flesh, Was vindicated in the Spirit, Seen by angels, Proclaimed among the nations, Believed on in the world, Taken up in glory.

CONTRIBUTIONS OF THE CAPPADOCIANS 1. The deity of the Holy Spirit 2. The humanity of Jesus Christ 3. Care for the poor

On the Deity of the Holy Spirit The Council of Nicea did not say much about the Holy Spirit. It just said, “We believe in the Holy Spirit. ” The focus was on the “homoousios” of the Son and the Father. The Holy Spirit was simply affirmed as an object of faith, but not explored more fully.

The Nicene Creed “We believe in one God, Father Almighty, maker of all things visible and invisible; and in one Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, begotten of His Father, only begotten, that is of the ousia of the Father, God of God, Light of Light, true God of true God; begotten not made, of one substance with the Father (homoousios), by whom all things were made, . . And we believed in the Holy Spirit. ”

The writings of the Cappadocians help to prepare for the decision of the second ecumenical council in Constantinople in 381 that the Holy Spirit is of the same substance as the Father and the Son.

On the person of Christ Another important contribution of the Cappadocians was to help the church begin to think about the person of Christ. After the doctrine of the Trinity, it was the doctrine of Christ that agitated the church. Various heresies developed and finally a consensus was reached at the Council of Chalcedon in 451.

“That which He has not assumed, He has not healed. But that which is united to His Godhead is also saved. ” Gregory of Nazianzus

In terms of Soteriology… Athanasius said: “If Christ is not God, we are not saved. ” Gregory of Nazianzus said: “If Christ is not man, we are not saved. ”

On the care for the needy One other aspect of the lives of the Cappadocians is their care for the needy. Basil was called “the Great” not by the great and mighty but by the poor and needy. He was called Basil the Great by the people who lived in Caesarea because he was so concerned about them.

“Let us put into practice the supreme and primary law of God. He sends down rain on just and sinful alike and to earth’s creatures he has given the broad earth, the springs, the rivers, and the forests…He has given abundantly to all the basic needs of life, not as a private possession, not restricted by law, not divided by boundaries, but as common to all, amply and in rich measure. ” Gregory of Nazianzus

“When the Cappadocians spoke of giving to the poor, they did not mean setting aside a small portion of one’s wealth for that purpose. They spoke of ridding oneself of all that was not strictly necessary. ” Justo Gonzalez

Emperors and the Church

Julian the apostate § Became emperor when Constantius died at 361 AD. A close relative of the family of Constantine

Julian the apostate § Raised as a Christian but renounced Christianity at the age of 20. Why?

Julian the apostate § He wanted to reestablish the old syncretism that had ruled before the Christians In order to destroy Christianity indirectly but found it difficult to do.

Julian said, “They not only take care of their poor; they take care of our poor as well. ” He saw that they not only provided love and food and care for Christians, but they also took care of those who were not Christians.

Julian the apostate § “Thou hast conquered, O Galilean!” Died in battle in 363, fighting the Persians.

Theodosius He became emperor in 379. With Theodosius we have another important change. Constantine had simply legalized Christianity. Theodosius made Christianity as the only official religion of the Roman Empire.

Theodosius and Christianity § Made Christianity as the only official religion of the empire. By this declaration, he outlawed all other religions.

Theodosius and paganism § He destroyed pagan temples and persecuted the pagans. The tables has now turned. The persecuted now becomes the persecutor.

Theodosius and heresies § He passed laws against heresies. It was not only necessary to be a Christian, but also to be an orthodox Christian.

Theodosius and heresies § With Theodosius we move into a period that we can call “Christendom, ” In which state and religion are very closely allied.

The Council of Constantinople The First Council of Constantinople was called by Byzantine Emperor Theodosius I in 381 to confirm the Nicene Creed of 325 and deal with other matters of the Arian controversy. Specifically, this council expanded the 3 rd article of the creed dealing with the Holy Spirit to say that he is "the Lord, the Giver of Life, Who proceeds from the Father, With the Father and the Son he is worshipped and glorified".

“…Holy Spirit, the Lord…” That statement was intended to say, and it does say, although people continued to add to it in various ways, that the church applies the concept of “homoousios” now to the Spirit as it had already applied that concept to the Son.

“…proceeds from the Father…” This statement describe the relationship between the Holy Spirit and the Father. If the word “begotten” was used to distinguished the Son from the Father, the word “proceeds” made the distinction for the Holy Spirit.