chp 8 religion study guide

Emperor Constantine

Constantine ruled the Roman Empire from 312 to 337. He became emperor after winning a great battle, the battle of the Milvian Bridge. Fortunately for Christians, Constantine attributed this victory to his soldier's display of the cross on their shields and banners. Thus, though he did not officially become a Christian until the end of his life, the Emperor Constantine favored Christianity from early in his reign. In 313 he issued the Edict of Milan, granting religious tolerance throughout the Roman Empire and giving Christians the freedom to worship openly. He also returned much of the Church property that had been seized during the Great Persecution.

Battle of the Milvian Bridge

Constantine was a pagan monotheist, a devotee of the sun god Sol Invictus, the unconquered sun. However before the Milvian Bridge battle he and his army saw a cross of light in the sky above the sun with words in Greek that are generally translated into Latin as In hoc signo vinces ('In this sign conquer'). That night Constantine had a dream in which Christ told him he should use the sign of the cross against his enemies. He was so impressed that he had the Christian symbol marked on his soldiers' shields and when the Milvian Bridge battle gave him an overwhelming victory he attributed it to the god of the Christians.

Emperor Diocletian

Diocletian ruled the Roman Empire from 284 to 305. During his reign the second of the two worst persecutions occurred. Diocletian also wanted to be worshiped as a god. In the year 303 he issued edicts that led to what we now call the "Great Persecution".

Edict of Milan 313 AD

Edict of Milan, a proclamation that permanently established religious toleration for Christianity within the Roman Empire. It was the outcome of a political agreement concluded in Milan between the Roman emperors Constantine I and Licinius in February 313. The proclamation, made for the East by Licinius in June 313, granted all persons freedom to worship whatever deity they pleased, assured Christians of legal rights (including the right to organize churches), and directed the prompt return to Christians of confiscated property. Previous edicts of toleration had been as short-lived as the regimes that sanctioned them, but this time the edict effectively established religious toleration.

The Great Persecution

Emperor Diocletian issued edicts in the year 303 which led to the Great Persecution. This continued until 311 under Diocletian's successor Galerius. During this persecution thousands of Christians were martyred for their faith. Church property was confiscated, and Christian books were burned. Yet, in spite of the persecutions the Christian faith continued to spread to every corner of the empire of the empire and beyond.

Council of Constantinople

Emperor Theodosius I called a council at Constantinople over the continuing controversy of the Nicaea creed. There the bishops repeated the teaching of Nicaea and reiterated the truth that the Holy Spirit, like Jesus, is also fully divine. Our salvation is the work of one God, but that God exists in three divine Persons- the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. This truth of the Blessed Trinity is "the central mystery of Christian faith and life"

How did Constantine make Rome a Christian City?

Encouraged by his Christian mother, Helena, Constantine made Rome a Christian city. He built a great basilica over the tomb of Saint Peter and gave many government buildings to the Christians to be used as places of worship. He declared every Sunday a government holiday and made official holidays of both Easter and Christmas. He also worked to restore the holy places in Jerusalem and banned many forms of pagan worship.

# Books in the New Testament

27

# Books in the Old Testament

46

Council of Nicaea

Arian Hersey claimed that Jesus was little more than human but not fully divine. Arius's teachings soon became popular and his followers became known as Arians. The argument of Jesus' divinity and humanity became so intense that it began to threaten the peace of the empire. In 325, Constantine summoned all the bishops of the Church a council in Nicaea (modern day Turkey). More than two hundred bishops were present and this was the first ecumenical council. Emperor Constantine called the council The creed was that Jesus had to be fully human to represent humanity before God and also had to be fully God to have the power to save us (young deacon--Athanasius). Creed to express clearly the full divinity and full humanity of Jesus.

Emperor Decius

Decius ruled the Roman Empire from 249 to 251. During his reign of power, the one of the two worst persecutions of Christians occurred. Decius tried to consolidate his power by having the people worship him as a god, but the Christians of the empire refused and their persecution soon followed.

Marcionites

They were the followers of Marcion, who rejected the Old Testament

Heresy

a false belief in the Christian faith

Old Covenant

an agreement that God made with the people of Israel, written in Hebrew and Greek

Origen

father of the church (about 185-254) studied and explained scripture

New Covenant

the fulfillment of the old covenant through Jesus

Gnosticism

they claimed that God's real revelation was available only as a secret knowledge to a select few.

total books in the bible

72

St. Athanasius

Bishop of Alexandria in 367, a letter written by him defined what appears to be the first official list of the testament books

Helena

Born in Bithynia, Asia Minor (present-day Turkey), circa 248, St. Helena was married to Roman Emperor Constantius and had a son who would become Constantine I, also known as Constantine the Great, the first Roman emperor to become a Christian. St. Helena, who converted as well, oversaw the construction of churches on Holy Land sites. She would later be credited with discovering the cross upon which Jesus Christ is believed to have been crucified. St. Helena died circa 328 in Nicomedia (present-day Turkey).

Council of Ephesus

Nestorius, a bishop of Constantinople, claimed that Jesus was really two different persons, one human and one divine, and that people should not speak of Mary as the Mother of God, but only as the mother of the human Jesus. The Council at Ephesus, in modern day Turkey, was called in 431 to deal with this heresy. The council condemned Nestorius, affirmed that Mary gave birth to Jesus Christ, the Son of God, and declared that Mary truly can be called "Mother of God."

St. Augustine

Saint Augustine was among the great teachers of the early Church whom we now honor with the title "Church Fathers". Born in A.D. 354, he was a skilled writer and preacher who went on to become the bishop of Hippo, a city in North Africa. His father was a pagan, yet his mother, celebrated today as Saint Monica, was a devout Christian who never stopped praying for Augustine's conversion to Christianity. And her prayers were answered; Augustine became a faithful Christian. But not only that, he became a great Christian scholar, a theologian. In his spiritual autobiography, The Confessions, he gives us the account of his own conversion, or turning to Jesus Christ with all his heart, mind, soul, and body. Augustine's writings express a deep faith and love of Jesus Christ combined with a talent for logical thinking. Exploring the mystery of God, he wrote, "If you understood him, it would not be God"- and many other powerful words that continue to build up the faith of the Church today.

The Council of Chalcedon

The council at Chalcedon in 451 is considered the greatest of the first four ecumenical councils. There the bishops affirmed the teaching of Pope Leo the Great that Jesus was one person with two natures- divine and human- and that the two natures did not interfere with or compromise each other.

Emperor Theodocius I

Theodocius I was the Emperor of the Roman Empire from 379 to 395. He made Christianity of the official religion of the Roman Empire. Amazingly, Christianity was no longer a suspect and persecuted faith. And the early Christians experienced again that the Holy Spirit is at work in the world.

Arianism

They claimed that Jesus was less than divine

Testament

another word for "covenant" which means promise

Tertullian

father of the church (about 155-222) who developed a vocabulary of terms with which to describe the faith

St. John Chrysostom

father of the church (about 347-407) a great preacher whose name, Chrysostom, means "golden-mouthed"

St. Jerome

father of the church (about 347-420) who translated the Bible into Latin from Hebrew and Greek

Ecumenical means

of Greek origin and means "of the whole world". An ecumenical council bring together the bishops of the whole world with the bishop of Rome, the pope-- the successor of Peter—to guide the Church in matters of faith and life in Jesus Christ. Thus, ecumenical councils are examples of the teaching power that the Apostles possessed and passed on to their successors throughout the ages. Because of this, the teachings of these councils are reliable guides to the authentic Catholic faith.

Canon

the official list of Sacred Scripture