The History of the Early Church

In this episode, we cover the events following the Decian Persecution in the eastern Churches.Music “Sons of Constantinople” by Tyler Cunningham, licensed under Pond5.HistoryoftheEarlyChurch.wordpress.comHistoryoftheEarlyChurch@gmail.comFacebook.com/EarlyChurchPodcast

An interview from Stephen Guerra's History of the Papacy Podcast where we discuss Christian history and related topics-atozhistorypage.com-steve@atozhistorypage.com-facebook.com/HistoryOfThePapacyPodcastMusic “Sons of Constantinople” by Tyler Cunningham, licensed under Pond5.HistoryoftheEarlyChurch.wordpress.comHistoryoftheEarlyChurch@gmail.comFacebook.com/EarlyChurchPodcast

In the aftermath of the Decian Persecution, two factions emerge over the issue of the lapsed. The laxists favor leniency and reconciliation, while the rigorists consider apostasy the unforgivable sin. The result of this divide are schisms which threaten the unity of Christian Church...Music “Sons of Constantinople” by Tyler Cunningham, licensed under Pond5.HistoryoftheEarlyChurch.wordpress.comHistoryoftheEarlyChurch@gmail.comFacebook.com/EarlyChurchPodcast

In 250 A.D., the Roman Emperor Decius unleashed the first empire wide persecution of ChristianityMusic “Sons of Constantinople” by Tyler Cunningham, licensed under Pond5.HistoryoftheEarlyChurch.wordpress.comHistoryoftheEarlyChurch@gmail.comFacebook.com/EarlyChurchPodcast

We introduce the two principal Christian leaders during the mid-third century, Dionysius of Alexandria and Cyprian of Carthage...Music “Sons of Constantinople” by Tyler Cunningham, licensed under Pond5.HistoryoftheEarlyChurch.wordpress.comHistoryoftheEarlyChurch@gmail.comFacebook.com/EarlyChurchPodcast

We conclude our discussion of Origen of Alexandria by first looking at his refutation of the pagan critic Celsus, followed by a discussion of Origen's highly influential and controversial legacy within Christianity...Music “Sons of Constantinople” by Tyler Cunningham, licensed under Pond5.HistoryoftheEarlyChurch.wordpress.comHistoryoftheEarlyChurch@gmail.comFacebook.com/EarlyChurchPodcast

In the later years of his life, Origen would continue in his role as presbyter and professor at Caesarea, while also combating heretics in Arabia, intervening in Church councils, writing to the Roman emperor and empress, and authoring one of the most important apologetic works in the early church.Music “Sons of Constantinople” by Tyler Cunningham, licensed under Pond5.HistoryoftheEarlyChurch.wordpress.comHistoryoftheEarlyChurch@gmail.comFacebook.com/EarlyChurchPodcast

We continue the story of Origen by looking at his life in his new home of Caesarea Palestine as a both a presbyter and a teacher of a Christian academy. Among his students were famous men such as Firmilian of Cappadocia and Gregory the Wonder Worker...

In the early third century, the Church of Rome was engulfed in factional debates over Christology, which even led to schism. Along the way, important theological questions would be raised, and even more important answers would developed. In particular, the theology put forward by Hippolytus, the first "antipope" of the Roman Church, and the last Greek Church Father of the West...Music “Sons of Constantinople” by Tyler Cunningham, licensed under Pond5.HistoryoftheEarlyChurch.wordpress.comHistoryoftheEarlyChurch@gmail.comFacebook.com/EarlyChurchPodcast

From Alexander Severus to Alexander of Jerusalem, the time of Origen was a lively one for Christian intellectuals living both within and outside the Roman Empire...Music “Sons of Constantinople” by Tyler Cunningham, licensed under Pond5.HistoryoftheEarlyChurch.wordpress.comHistoryoftheEarlyChurch@gmail.comFacebook.com/EarlyChurchPodcast

The son of a martyr, Origen of Alexandria would in time become possibly the most influential Christian thinker and greatest biblical scholar of antiquity...Music “Sons of Constantinople” by Tyler Cunningham, licensed under Pond5.HistoryoftheEarlyChurch.wordpress.comHistoryoftheEarlyChurch@gmail.comFacebook.com/EarlyChurchPodcast

We begins our look at the Church of Alexandria, one of the most important centers of early Christianity.Music “Sons of Constantinople” by Tyler Cunningham, licensed under Pond5.HistoryoftheEarlyChurch.wordpress.comHistoryoftheEarlyChurch@gmail.comFacebook.com/EarlyChurchPodcast

On March 7, 203 A.D., five young catechumens were martyred in the amphitheater of Carthage. The most prominent of whom was a noblewoman named Vibia Perpetua, who left an intimate account of the days leading up to her martyrdom...Music “Sons of Constantinople” by Tyler Cunningham, licensed under Pond5.HistoryoftheEarlyChurch.wordpress.comHistoryoftheEarlyChurch@gmail.comFacebook.com/EarlyChurchPodcast

Tertullian of Carthage lived and wrote in Roman Africa during the reigns of the emperor Septimius Severus (193-211) and his son Caracalla (211-217). He was the first major Christian author to write in Latin and hence is remembered as the father of Latin Christianity. His views and theology would shape the Western Church for centuries to come...Music “Sons of Constantinople” by Tyler Cunningham, licensed under Pond5.HistoryoftheEarlyChurch.wordpress.comHistoryoftheEarlyChurch@gmail.comFacebook.com/EarlyChurchPodcast

Why were certain books accepted and others rejected? How soon were the gospels and epistles regarded as scripture? This episode, we take a break from the narrative to look at the development of the Christian New Testament up to c. 195 A.D.Music “Sons of Constantinople” by Tyler Cunningham, licensed under Pond5.HistoryoftheEarlyChurch.wordpress.comHistoryoftheEarlyChurch@gmail.comFacebook.com/EarlyChurchPodcast

Irenaeus of Lyons was the greatest Christian thinker and writer of the second century. He was a peacemaker, wrote against the Gnostics, shepherded the Gallic Churches, but most of all, he bequeathed the diverse Great Church with a common basis for unity.Music “Sons of Constantinople” by Tyler Cunningham, licensed under Pond5.HistoryoftheEarlyChurch.wordpress.comHistoryoftheEarlyChurch@gmail.comFacebook.com/EarlyChurchPodcast

On top of persecution, the Church now begins to face the first well informed pagan critics of Christianity, Galen and Celsus.Music “Sons of Constantinople” by Tyler Cunningham, licensed under Pond5.HistoryoftheEarlyChurch.wordpress.comHistoryoftheEarlyChurch@gmail.comFacebook.com/EarlyChurchPodcast

In the summer of 177 A.D., a horrific and gruesome anti-Christian pogrom broke out in Gaul. By August, forty-eight Christians were brutally martyred with the approval of the emperor Marcus Aurelius himself.Music “Sons of Constantinople” by Tyler Cunningham, licensed under Pond5.HistoryoftheEarlyChurch.wordpress.comHistoryoftheEarlyChurch@gmail.comFacebook.com/EarlyChurchPodcast

The Golden Age of Antonine Rome came to an end with wars and plague and more (surprise) pagan persecution of Christians. As a result, the sectarian and apocalyptic fervor of earlier decades reappeared in the Church, and it reappeared with a vengeance in the heresy of Montanism.Music “Sons of Constantinople” by Tyler Cunningham, licensed under Pond5.HistoryoftheEarlyChurch.wordpress.comHistoryoftheEarlyChurch@gmail.comFacebook.com/EarlyChurchPodcast

Justin Martyr (ca. 100-165 A.D.) was the greatest of the second century Greek-speaking Christian apologists. He defended orthodox Christianity against heretics, Jews, and pagans. A native of Samaria, Justin argued Jesus Christ was the completion of the truth all religions and philosophies were earnestly searching for...Music “Sons of Constantinople” by Tyler Cunningham, licensed under Pond5.HistoryoftheEarlyChurch.wordpress.comHistoryoftheEarlyChurch@gmail.comFacebook.com/EarlyChurchPodcast

Polycarp of Smyrna made peace with the Church of Rome over the dating of Easter, only to return home to die a martyr...Music “Sons of Constantinople” by Tyler Cunningham, licensed under Pond5.HistoryoftheEarlyChurch.wordpress.comHistoryoftheEarlyChurch@gmail.comFacebook.com/EarlyChurchPodcast

In July of 144 A.D., the Church of Rome excommunicated a heretic named Marcion of Sinope. This man would try to sever the Church completely from its Jewish roots and was also the first Christian to create a list of canonical books which constituted a "New Testament."Music “Sons of Constantinople” by Tyler Cunningham, licensed under Pond5.HistoryoftheEarlyChurch.wordpress.comHistoryoftheEarlyChurch@gmail.comFacebook.com/EarlyChurchPodcast

This episode, we take a short break from the narrative to explore a group of sects that will vex the Church more than any other previous heresy, Gnosticism!Music “Sons of Constantinople” by Tyler Cunningham, licensed under Pond5.HistoryoftheEarlyChurch.wordpress.comHistoryoftheEarlyChurch@gmail.comFacebook.com/EarlyChurchPodcast

Back in Judaea, the Jerusalem Church is beset by internal schism, persecution from both Romans and Rabbis, and finally a false Messiah intent on war with Rome. The end result will be catastrophic for Jewish believers.Music “Sons of Constantinople” by Tyler Cunningham, licensed under Pond5.HistoryoftheEarlyChurch.wordpress.comHistoryoftheEarlyChurch@gmail.comFacebook.com/EarlyChurchPodcast

The disciples of the Apostles continue to lead the Church while struggling against heresy and persecution. The Church is also brought to the direct attention of the Roman Emperors Trajan and Hadrian by provincial governors in Asia Minor. Finally, Christian apologists have begun writing in defense of their faith. Music “Sons of Constantinople” by Tyler Cunningham, licensed under Pond5.HistoryoftheEarlyChurch.wordpress.comHistoryoftheEarlyChurch@gmail.comFacebook.com/EarlyChurchPodcast

We finally wind down the first century with the last days of the Apostle John. The next generation of Christians must take up the challenge of confronting heresy, schism, and persecution after the Apostles are all gone. Music “Sons of Constantinople” by Tyler Cunningham, licensed under Pond5.HistoryoftheEarlyChurch.wordpress.comHistoryoftheEarlyChurch@gmail.comFacebook.com/EarlyChurchPodcast

After Rome is devastated by a great fire, Emperor Nero decides to use the Church as a scapegoat. Meanwhile, the Judeans finally revolt against their imperial masters. Both the persecution and the Jewish war will have a profound impact on the Church and her future.Music “Sons of Constantinople” by Tyler Cunningham, licensed under Pond5.HistoryoftheEarlyChurch.wordpress.comHistoryoftheEarlyChurch@gmail.comFacebook.com/EarlyChurchPodcast

We know about Paul, but what about the other Apostles? Peter's in Rome, James is in Jerusalem, Thomas and Thaddaeus are off to the east, and Andrew is... where exactly?Music “Sons of Constantinople” by Tyler Cunningham, licensed under Pond5.HistoryoftheEarlyChurch.wordpress.comHistoryoftheEarlyChurch@gmail.comFacebook.com/EarlyChurchPodcast

Paul was off again on his third missionary journey. After he returned to Jerusalem, events would be set in motion that would eventually culminate in him coming to Rome itself.Music “Sons of Constantinople” by Tyler Cunningham, licensed under Pond5.HistoryoftheEarlyChurch.wordpress.comHistoryoftheEarlyChurch@gmail.comFacebook.com/EarlyChurchPodcast

Paul is off on his first missionary journey, only to return and find false brethren preaching a different Gospel... Music “Sons of Constantinople” by Tyler Cunningham, licensed under Pond5.HistoryoftheEarlyChurch.wordpress.comHistoryoftheEarlyChurch@gmail.comFacebook.com/EarlyChurchPodcast

The newly converted Apostle Paul is received by Peter and James in Jerusalem. Meanwhile, the Church is spreading all over the Levant to Jews and even Gentiles...Music “Sons of Constantinople” by Tyler Cunningham, licensed under Pond5.HistoryoftheEarlyChurch.wordpress.comHistoryoftheEarlyChurch@gmail.comFacebook.com/EarlyChurchPodcast

The Church is born and begins evangelizing the people of Israel despite persecution. In the midst of the this the Church gains an Apostle in the most unlikely of persons... Music “Sons of Constantinople” by Tyler Cunningham, licensed under Pond5.HistoryoftheEarlyChurch.wordpress.comHistoryoftheEarlyChurch@gmail.comFacebook.com/EarlyChurchPodcast

Overview of the scope and content of the podcastMusic “Sons of Constantinople” by Tyler Cunningham, licensed under Pond5.HistoryoftheEarlyChurch.wordpress.comHistoryoftheEarlyChurch@gmail.comFacebook.com/EarlyChurchPodcast