Lesson 4: Creeds and Councils: A.D. 313-410

By the end of this lesson, the student should:

(1) Understand both the benefits and dangers of the official recognition of Christianity by the Roman Empire.

(2) Recognize the contribution of the church councils to Christian doctrine.

(3) Value the practical importance of the doctrine of Christ developed in the councils.

(4) Appreciate the contribution of great Christians such as Ambrose, Athanasius, Jerome, and the Cappadocians.

In Lesson 3, we studied the church’s response to heresy. Through the establishment of the canon, authority of church officers and confirmation of the creeds, the church defined orthodoxy in light of biblical teaching. In Lessons 4 and 5 we will study the continuing development of the creeds through a series of councils that addressed new questions that arose. Most of these questions related to the nature of Jesus Christ. Christians asked questions such as:

• “What is the relationship between the Father and the Son?”
• “Did Jesus have two wills - a divine will and a human will?”
• “Was Jesus fully human?”

While these questions might seem to be mere theory, they spoke to the heart of the gospel. As we will see later, who Jesus was related directly to what Jesus did. His atoning work was based on his identity as fully God and fully man. These issues were settled in creeds written by a series of ecumenical church councils.

During the second century, the Roman Empire appeared to be crumbling. Thirty emperors rose and fell during the third century. The emperors and their families were often killed by rivals to the throne.

In 284, Diocletian came to power and brought new stability to the Empire. He ruled for twenty years and restored the power of Rome. However, in the last years of his reign, Diocletian instituted a vicious persecution of the Christians. No one is sure of the cause of his change of heart, although some historians believe that he was jealous because Christians were more loyal to Christ than to Caesar. He was particularly afraid of Christian soldiers who pledged their ultimate allegiance to Jesus.

Diocletian and one of his generals, Galerius, killed thousands of Christians for their faith. They removed Christians from the Roman army. They destroyed church buildings and burned copies of the Scriptures.

Galerius followed Diocletian as emperor and continued the persecution throughout his reign. However, on his deathbed, Galerius recognized that his persecution had failed; the majority of Christians were faithful in the face of persecution. One of Galerius’ last decrees permitted Christians to worship freely.

After the death of Galerius, two generals, Constantine and Maxentius, fought for control of the Empire. In 312, Constantine’s army confronted Maxentius at Rome. On the day before the battle, Constantine saw a vision of a cross and, according to a legend, heard the words, “By this sign, you will win.” The next day, Constantine’s army defeated Maxentius and entered Rome beneath the symbol of the cross.[2]

[4]

A year later, Constantine’s Edict of Milan allowed, “Christians and all others to worship as they desire, so that whatever Divinity lives in the heavens will be kind to us.” Constantine’s conversion and his Edict of Milan in 313 are important turning points in church history.

The author of the first recorded history of the church was Eusebius. He was the bishop of Caesarea and is often called the “Father of Church History.” Eusebius lived during Constantine’s reign and believed that God was using Constantine to bring a “new age of salvation” to the world. He wrote of the joy of Christians on hearing of Constantine’s Edict; “The whole human race was freed from the oppression of the tyrants. We especially, who had fixed our hopes upon the Christ of God, had gladness unspeakable.”

In 325, Constantine gathered 300 bishops at Nicaea to discuss orthodox Christian doctrine. Imagine the change – some of the bishops who met in this meeting organized by the emperor had been persecuted by the previous emperor only fifteen years earlier. One of the bishops had been blinded in one eye during torture. Another had lost the use of his hands. Now these bishops were in a position of power.

Shortly before his death in 337, Constantine was baptized. After his baptism, he refused to wear his purple imperial robe and wore his white baptismal robe until his death.

Constantine gave church leaders special favors and became an authority in church disputes. “Christianity became both a way to God and a way to unite the empire.”[1] For the next 1200 years, the church and state would be intimately connected.

Constantine’s actions brought both opportunity and danger. On one hand, the Edict of Milan ended persecution. The church could now expand without opposition. Government officials professed Christianity. The “Christianization of Rome” was complete.

However, there is another side to this coin. Even before Constantine’s edict, two-thirds of the citizens of Rome were Christians. Even under persecution, the church grew as Christians testified to their neighbors. After Constantine’s conversion, a passion for evangelism was often replaced with the pursuit of position and authority.

The bishop of Rome (soon called the “pope”) gained increasing power. The structure of the church soon looked like the bureaucracy of Rome. In the words of Peter Heather, “The Romanization of Christianity” had begun.[3]

In some parts of the world, the association between Christianity and the Roman Empire made evangelism more difficult. In Persia, for example, Christianity became known as the religion of their political enemies. Then as now, a close relationship between Christianity and political power was dangerous.

Between A.D. 300 and 400, churches grew rapidly and Christians gained social status and wealth. Grand buildings (called “basicalas”) replaced the intimate fellowship of the house churches. Instead of the informal worship of the early church, formal liturgies imitated the grandeur of the Roman court.

Unfortunately, social and economic prosperity is not always evidence of spiritual prosperity. After the emperor showed his support for Christianity, some people joined the church to improve their chances for political success. Others joined for social status. By 380, Emperor Theodosius required Roman citizens to profess Christianity. A Christian testimony became a political statement.

The years following the Edict of Milan brought many challenges for Christians. In the early days of the church, martyrdom had been the great test for Christians. In the fourth century, the two great dangers for Christians became false teaching and “social Christianity” that had no true depth of conviction.

…From Then to Now…

When church and state are closely intertwined, Christians find both opportunities and dangers. Christians gain opportunities to influence society for the cause of Christ, but, they face the temptation to compromise the church’s message in order to maintain the approval of people in positions of power.

► Imagine that house church leaders in China who were in prison in 1995 were invited in 2030 to advise the President of China. What opportunities and dangers would the church face? How can Christians remain faithful in times of popularity just as they are in times of persecution?

► Discuss the relationship between Christianity and your nation’s government. Do you have opportunities to influence your nation for Christ? What dangers do you face in the relationship between church and state?

[1] Mark Noll, Turning Points, (MI: Baker Books, 2012), 43

[2]Picture of Constantine's banner: The "Chr-Rho," using the first two letters of “Christ” in Greek

[3]In the 4th century, “Christianity moved from the catacombs to the palaces. It started the 4th century as a persecuted minority; it ended the century as the established religion of the empire.”
- Bruce L. Shelley

[4]Image: "Simple Labarum" by Арман Балуни, retrieved from https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Simple_Labarum.png, public domain.

In the early centuries of the church, Christians struggled to define the nature of Christ. The incarnation is difficult to explain; how can Jesus be both fully divine and fully human?

Some people emphasized the unity of the Godhead. This led to the heresy called Modalism. According to modalists, God is one person who appeared in three different modes throughout history. Another error of the modalists was to deny Jesus’ humanity, although they believed in his deity.

Other people emphasized the distinction between the Father and the Son. The greatest church struggle of the fourth century was started by Arius, an elder from Alexandria, Egypt. Like many of his Egyptian contemporaries, Arius tried to combine Greek philosophical ideas with Christian theology. Like the Greeks, he believed that God does not experience emotion. Arius said that if Jesus was fully divine, it means that God felt pain and sorrow in the person of Jesus Christ. Since Arius insisted that God does not experience emotion, he had to separate the suffering of Jesus from God. Arius’ solution was to teach that Jesus was not eternal God. Instead, Arius taught that Jesus was the first of God’s created beings.

Arius said, “The Son has a beginning, but … God is without beginning.”[1] In this view, Jesus was more than human, but less than fully God. Arius summed up his doctrine in a song:

        The uncreated God has made the son
        A beginning of things created…
        The Son is not equal to the Father,
        Nor does he share the same substance.

Arius created great confusion in the church. In response, Emperor Constantine called 300 bishops together at Nicaea (a village in modern day Turkey) to debate Arius’ doctrine. At Nicaea, the bishops determined that Arianism is false. The bishops agreed that:

• Jesus is true God of true God
• Jesus is of one substance with the Father[2]
• Jesus is “begotten, not made”[3]
• Jesus became human for us and for our salvation[5]

Many lay people did not understand the formal debates at Nicaea. However, a talented musician and faithful bishop, Ambrose of Milan, summarized the orthodox doctrine of Christ’s deity in hymns that lay Christians sang and understood. A hymn that is still sung in the weeks before Christmas teaches Christ’s deity.

O come, Redeemer of the earth,
and manifest thy virgin-birth.
Let every age in wonder fall:
such birth befits the God of all.

Begotten of no human will
but of the Spirit, Thou art still
the Word of God in flesh arrayed,
the promised fruit to man displayed.

…From Then to Now…

The heresy of Arius is taught today by Mormons and Jehovah’s Witnesses. They use Colossians 1:15 and Hebrews 1:5-6 to try to prove that God created Jesus. If God created Jesus, then Jesus is not truly God. However, Scripture clearly shows that Jesus is divine.

Colossians and Hebrews use a Jewish term to show Jesus existed before man was created. The verses do not imply that Jesus is a created being; they testify to His pre-existence. Jesus is truly “God of very God.”[4]

[1] Quoted in Bruce L. Shelley, Church History in Plain Language, 3rd ed. (USA: Thomas Nelson, 2008), 100.

[2] The phrase “one substance” was important. In Greek, the word was homoousios (the same substance). Some Arians proposed the word homoiousios (similar or like substance). This suggested that Christ was like the Father, but not the same substance as the Father. It denied the full deity of Jesus. Because of this, the word homoiousios was rejected at Nicaea.

[3] This means that Jesus was not created, but he was the Son of God from eternity. He is not part of creation; he is eternal.

C.S. Lewis explained the difference between “begotten” and “made.”:

To beget is to be the father of: to create is to make. The difference is this. When you beget, you beget something of the same kind as yourself. A human begets human babies, a beaver begets little beavers and a bird begets eggs which turn into little birds.

When you make, you make something of a different kind from yourself. A bird makes a nest, a beaver builds a dam, a man makes a statue. If he is talented enough, he may make a statue which is like a man. But, it is not a real man; it only looks like one. It is not alive.  (Adapted from Mere Christianity).

What God begets is God; just as what man begets is man. What God creates is not God, just as what man creates is not man.

[4] For more information on this topic, see the lessons on Mormons and Jehovah’s Witness in the Shepherds Global Classroom course World Religions and Cults.

[5]“Gloria Patri” is a hymn responding to the Arian heresy.
It is still sung in churches today.
“Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son,
and to the Holy Ghost;
As it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end.”
- “Gloria Patri”

Ambrose was raised in a Christian family, but never intended to be a pastor. He became a governor of one of Italy’s provinces until he was chosen as bishop when the bishop of Milan died suddenly. Ambrose did not want to become bishop, but he served faithfully for more then twenty years.

[1]

Ambrose defended orthodox teaching in opposition to the Arian heresy. He also reintroduced congregational singing in the church. It is due to Ambrose’s influence that hymn-singing is an important part of worship today.

Another area in which Ambrose defended the church was in the relationship between the church and state. After Constantine’s Edict of Milan, Roman emperors tried to make the church serve the purposes of the Empire.  Ambrose refused to allow the state to gain power over the church.

When the Christian Emperor Theodosius massacred 7000 people in the city of Thessalonica in revenge for a riot, Ambrose wrote a letter banning the Emperor from worship until he had repented publicly for his actions. Ambrose refused to compromise God’s truth for the sake of political popularity.

[1]Image: "S. Ambrosii Episcopi Effigies Ex Antiquis", retrieved from https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:S._Ambrosii_Episcopi_Effigies_Ex_Antiquis.jpg, public domain.

One of the people at the Council of Nicaea was Athanasius, an assistant to the bishop of Alexandria.[1] He spent the rest of his life defending the teaching established at Nicaea.

After the Council of Nicaea made its declaration, Arius and two of his bishops refused to sign the affirmation of Jesus’ eternal deity. In response, the Council excluded these three men from church membership.

Within two years, Constantine decided to restore Arius to full church membership, even though Arius still taught his heresy. Constantine was more concerned for political unity than for doctrinal integrity. Athanasius was now the bishop of Alexandria and refused to restore Arius to membership. As a result, Constantine exiled Athanasius. The heretic was restored to position and the defender of truth was exiled. This event illustrated the problems that resulted from the entanglement between church and state.

In 337, Constantine died. Following Constantine’s death, Athanasius returned to Alexandria to lead the church. However, by this time followers of Arius had gained power in the church. Church leaders who had accepted Arianism again banished Athanasius. For the rest of Athanasius’ life, he defended the true Christian faith against attacks by both political and religious leaders.

In 360, Julian “the Apostate” became emperor, following the reigns of Constantine’s son and grandson. Julian rejected Christianity and revoked the privileges that Constantine had given the church. Athanasius represented the church against Julian’s power, so Julian again forced Athanasius into exile.

Athanasius was exiled five times by four different Roman Emperors. His enemies tried to kill him at least six times. His life was described by the phrase, Athanasius contra mundum, “Athanasius against the world.”[2] Athanasius spent a total of seventeen years in exile because of his commitment to orthodoxy and his conviction that the Christian church must never become the tool of a political empire.

[1]“Athanasius wrote a famous treatise On the Incarnation in which he explained why the full deity and the full humanity of Jesus was so important to the Christian faith. Only one who is fully human could atone for human sin; only one who is fully divine has the power to save us. Because of this, Athanasius showed that to deny the full deity of Christ was to deny the reality of the atonement. The battle at Nicaea was not just theory; it was a battle for the heart of the Christian faith.”
- Adapted from Mark Galli and Ted Olsen, 131 Christians Everyone Should Know

[2]In addition to his defense of orthodoxy, Athanasius made another great contribution to the church. Each year, Athanasius wrote an Easter letter to the churches in his diocese. These letters addressed important issues for the churches. In 367, Athanasius’s letter listed the books that should be considered the “New Testament.” This list of twenty-seven books was eventually adopted by the entire Christian church, forming our New Testament canon. This was important because it confirmed the books that are authoritative for Christian life and doctrine.

With Constantine’s recognition of Christianity, many people were drawn to the church. However, some of these showed little evidence of true conversion. Political and social motives inspired them to claim Christianity as their religion.

Many believers saw the dangers of the relationship between church and empire. They fled to remote desert areas and lived solitary lives, rejecting physical comfort in their pursuit of spiritual goals. Several factors motivated the desert monks:

• Some monks hid in the desert in order to fight temptation. They believed that they could be more spiritual if they avoided the temptations of society.
• Others sought to express the faith of the martyrs. When martyrdom was no longer likely, they renounced the comforts of life to express their devotion.
• Other monks were called to a life of prayer; they withdrew into the desert to devote themselves to intercession for the church and society.

The desert monks had a great influence on Bishop Athanasius. After Athanasius wrote a biography of Anthony, many Christians joined this movement. While some monks continued to seek isolation, others joined together in communities called monasteries. (Female monks, called “nuns,” formed convents, from a Latin word for “gathering-place.”)

Like Constantine’s promotion of Christianity, the growth of the monastic movement had both positive and negative effects. Positively, the monks promoted revival in the church. During the time of Athanasius, the desert monks kept the church true to orthodoxy against the pressures of the emperor. Later, during the Middle Ages, monks preserved Scripture and literacy.

Jerome, born in Italy about 345, was a monk who had a great impact on church history. Jerome settled in Bethlehem in 387 and devoted his life to translating the Bible from Hebrew and Greek into Latin, the common language of his day. His translation was called the “Vulgate” (Latin for “common”). This became the standard translation of Scripture for hundreds of years.

Unfortunately, the monasteries also reflected problems in the church. Just as the Old Testament sacrifices became empty rituals, the rules of monasticism grew to replace the reality of heart religion. In the Middle Ages, monastic practices such as extreme fasts, abusing the body to purge sexual desire, enforced celibacy, and other practices harmed the church. Jerome taught that Jesus’ mother remained a virgin throughout her life. This became the official doctrine of the Roman Catholic Church and led to unbiblical teachings about sex, as well as a policy forbidding clergy to marry, a policy never found in Scripture.

Contrary to popular mythology, the “Irish Catholic Saint Patrick” was not Roman Catholic; he was not Irish; and he was never canonized as a saint.

Around A.D. 390, Patrick was born into a Christian family in the Roman province of Britain. As a teenager, he was captured and taken as a slave to Ireland. He later wrote that while living in Ireland, “the Lord opened the understanding of my unbelief… that I might turn to the Lord my God with all my heart.” From that time forward Patrick gave much time to earnest prayer and seeking God’s direction for his life. In his autobiographical Confessions, he wrote that “Tending flocks was my daily work, and I would pray constantly…. The love of God and the fear of Him surrounded me more and more.”

After six years, Patrick escaped and returned to Britain. There, in a story similar to Paul’s Macedonian call, Patrick heard the voice of a man in Ireland calling, “Come and walk among us again.” He became a minister and, around 432, returned as a missionary to the area where he had been enslaved. Patrick’s passion for evangelism brought the gospel to Ireland and beyond.

At that time, Ireland was considered the “end of the earth.” It lay beyond the borders of the Roman Empire. The vast majority of people were pagans, practicing witchcraft, magic, and human sacrifice. Under Patrick’s preaching, some of the leading druids (pagan priests) were converted. The king’s brother became a Christian, and a church was established in his home area. By 447, fifteen years after Patrick arrived, most of Ireland had heard the gospel.

Patrick preached for thirty years. By the time of his death, Patrick had planted approximately 200 churches and baptized 100,000 converts. Patrick promoted true discipleship, refusing to baptize new converts until they showed steadfastness in the faith. He developed a group of pastors to serve the churches he planted.

Perhaps most importantly for the spread of the gospel, Patrick established an indigenous Celtic church, not an extension of the Church of Rome. Following Patrick’s death, missionaries from Ireland took the gospel through central Europe, as far north as Iceland and back to Britain, the land from which their first missionary had come. In the years after Patrick’s death, Christianity’s greatest evangelistic efforts were led by Irish missionaries, the fruit of Patrick’s ministry.

After the death of Athanasius, three leaders from Cappadocia (in modern Turkey) became the leading supporters of the Nicene Creed. In the late fourth century, Basil (bishop of Caesarea), his brother Gregory (bishop of Nyssa), and a friend, Gregory (bishop of Nazianzus) wrote works promoting orthodox theology. The “Great Cappadocians” were the leading theologians of the Eastern Church.

Basil (ca. 330-379) and his sister Macrina founded convents and monasteries. Unlike some of the desert monks, they banned extreme fasts and self-punishment. Instead of withdrawing to desert areas, they built monasteries in cities. Basil believed that community life rather than solitary life was the model for believers. He believed that many of Jesus’ commands can be fulfilled only within a community. He was the first to organize a monastery around seven periods of prayer each day. This schedule encouraged monks to pray together and inspire mutual spiritual growth.

Perhaps most importantly, Basil emphasized that monks and nuns were to love their neighbor through service. Basil built hospitals, homes for lepers, schools, and homes for traveling strangers on monastery grounds. Nuns and monks grew food and manufactured products. These items were sold and the profits were given to the poor. Basil believed that we serve Christ when we serve others.

The Cappadocians opposed Arianism. In 370, Basil came into conflict with the Emperor Valens, who was committed to Arianism. The emperor sent the imperial guard to threaten Basil. Basil replied that death was no threat; he was eager to die for Christ. Further, he had no possessions, so banishment or imprisonment would mean little. Basil shared Paul’s testimony, “For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.”[1]

Early Christians faced two heresies concerning the nature of Christ. Arianism denied Jesus’ deity; Apollinarianism denied his full humanity. Apollinarius the bishop of Laodicea, taught that Jesus had a human body, but no human soul. According to Apollinarius, Jesus’ divine nature “consumed his humanity.” The Cappadocians responded, “Deity joined to flesh alone is not truly human!”[2] If Jesus’ victory over temptation was truly a model for us, Jesus must be fully human.

In response to Apollinarius, Theodosius, the emperor of the Eastern Empire, called a church council in A.D. 381. Approximately 150 bishops met in Constantinople and affirmed the Council of Nicaea. They clarified the relationship between Jesus’ divine and human natures.

The Council of Constantinople approved an expanded version of the statement of faith approved at Nicaea. This became known as the Nicene Creed. This creed is still recited in many churches today. The section related to the deity of Christ states:

"We believe in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only-begotten Son of God, begotten of the Father before all worlds; God of God, Light of Light, very God of very God; begotten, not made, being of one substance with the Father, by whom all things were made. Who for us and for our salvation came down from heaven, and was incarnate by the Holy Ghost of the Virgin Mary, and was made man…"

In addition to teaching about the nature of Jesus, the Cappadocians wrote about the Holy Spirit and His ministry. The Council of Constantinople added to the Nicene Creed a statement that the Holy Spirit is a divine person, just as Jesus is divine.

By the fourth century, many Christians rejected the idea that we could ever fulfill Jesus’ command to “Be perfect as your heavenly father is perfect.”[3] One of the Cappadocians, Gregory of Nyssa, insisted that if Jesus commanded this, it was available to those who believe. He recognized that to “be perfect” does not mean to have no further growth. Instead, he said, perfection is “constant growth in the good.”[4] Paul rejoiced that we “are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another.”[5]

Gregory used this language to show that to “be perfect” is to grow daily in the image of Jesus Christ. Through his writings on the Holy Spirit and the pursuit of a holy life, he influenced John Wesley’s view of holiness.[7] Gregory’s writings helped Wesley to see God’s goal for His people.[6]

► Discuss Gregory of Nyssa’s definition of perfection. Is it possible to have a perfect heart that is continuing to grow in the image of Jesus Christ? Do you preach this to the people to whom you minister? Do your members have a hunger for this perfection?

[1] Philippians 1:21

[2] Quoted in Timothy Paul Jones, Christian History Made Easy (CA: Rose Publishing, 2009), 50.

[3] Matthew 5:48

[4] Quoted in Paul M. Bassett and William M. Greathouse, Exploring Christian Holiness, Volume 2 (MO: Beacon Hill Press, 1985), 81

[5] 2 Corinthians 3:18

[6] To study the doctrine of holiness, please see the Shepherds Global Classroom course, Doctrine and Practice of the Holy Life.

[7]On an undivided heart:
“Peace is defined as harmony among those who are divided. When we end the civil war within our nature, we are at peace.”
- Gregory of Nyssa

“John of Antioch” served as a pastor in Antioch, Syria and later as bishop of Constantinople. Because of his skills as a public speaker, he became known as John “Chrysostom – the Golden Tongue.”  Chrysostom is important to us not because he was a great speaker but because of the content of his message.

[1]

First, Chrysostom focused on the original intent of the Bible text. He preached in a time when many preachers followed the method of Origen, interpreting the Bible allegorically to find hidden meanings in Scripture. However, John Chrysostom looked for the “plain sense” of the text. He insisted that God who inspired the Bible made its message clear to ordinary readers. He often preached series of sermons straight through books of the Bible. This allowed him to focus on the large themes of Scripture.

Second, Chrysostom preached the importance of holy lives. In a time when many unmarried priests lived with “spiritual sisters,” Chrysostom demanded that they leave their sinful relationships. He confronted political leaders. When the empress gave an expensive gift to the church to bribe Chrysostom to quit preaching against her sinful lifestyle, John refused to change his message.

Chrysostom required this same level of holy living from ordinary church members. In a sermon preached before serving communion, Chrysostom warned that anyone who disobeyed Matthew 5:23-24 should refrain from taking communion.  “For as it is not to be imagined that the fornicator and the blasphemer can partake of the sacred Table, so it is impossible that he who hath an enemy, and bears malice, can enjoy the holy Communion… Let no one who has an enemy receive the Lord's Body! Be reconciled, and then draw near!... With a fellow believer, there must be no anger in your heart.” Chrysostom preached that we must be holy in our outward actions and in our inward attitudes.

► How does the preaching and ministry of Chrysostom provide a model for ministry today?

[1]Image: "St. John Chrysostom" by P.S. Duval lith., retrieved from the Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/pga.13841, "No known restrictions on publication."

The list of names studied in this lesson is like a “Hall of Fame” for church history. To read of heroes such as Ambrose and Athanasius who stood for truth in the face of political pressure, of missionaries such as Patrick who took the gospel to new worlds, and of godly men such as Basil of Caesarea and Gregory of Nyssa who pursued a godly life is to read of some of the greatest names in the church.

However, understand that apart from God’s calling in their life and their obedience to God, these were ordinary men who would have lived and died in obscurity. God is not looking for extraordinary people; He is looking for ordinary people who are completely devoted to Him.

As you read Scripture, you find that God uses fishermen like Peter, doubters like Thomas, shepherds like David, and tax collectors like Matthew to accomplish His purposes. As you read church history, you find that God uses ordinary people to display His glory. I finish this lesson by reminding you that God is still looking for ordinary people who are devoted fully to Him. God is still using ordinary people to accomplish His extraordinary plan.

Ambrose (ca. 339-397). Bishop of Milan. His preaching was instrumental in the conversion of Augustine of Hippo.

Athanasius (ca. 296-373). Bishop of Alexandria who defended orthodoxy against Arianism. His “Easter Letter” was the first complete list of Old and New Testament canonical books.

Augustine (354-430). Bishop of Hippo. One of the most important theologians of the Christian church. He emphasized the doctrines of original sin, predestination, and salvation by grace through faith.

John Chrysostom (ca. 347-407): Bishop of Constantinople famous for his eloquent preaching. He was called the “Golden-tongued.” Chrysostom is the most respected theologian of the Eastern Orthodox Church.

Constantine the Great (died 337). Emperor who issued the Edict of Milan.

Eusebius (ca. 260 - ca. 340). Bishop of Caesarea. Called the “Father of Church History.”

Gregory Nazianzus (329-389). One of the “Great Cappadocians” who opposed Arianism.

Jerome (ca. 345-420). One of the greatest biblical scholars of the Western Church. He translated the Bible into Latin (called the “Vulgate”).

Patrick (5th century). British missionary to Ireland, called the “Apostle to the Irish.”

(1) Take a test on this lesson. The test will include dates from the “Key Events in Church History” timeline (313-410).

(2) Prepare a biographical summary of one of the following Christian leaders: Athanasius, Eusebius, Jerome, or Ambrose. Your summary should include four parts:

• Biography: When did he live? Where did he live? When and where did he die?
• Events: What are the most important events in his life?
• Influence: What was his lasting influence on the Christian church?
• Application: What is one lesson for today’s church from this leader?

You have two options for presenting this summary:

• Submit a 2 page written paper to your class leader.
• Give a 3-5 minute oral presentation to your class.

(1) In 313, Constantine issued the _____________________________________ legalizing Christianity in the Roman Empire.     

(2) The “Father of Church History” is ______________________, bishop of Caesarea in the 4th century.         

(3) According to _____________ (who), Jesus was the first of God’s creation, not eternally divine.   

(4) The Council of ______________________ in ______ (date) condemned Arianism.

(5) Jerome’s translation of the Bible into Latin is called the _______________.                 

(6) The earliest known missionary to Ireland was __________________.

(7) Gregory of Nazianzus, Gregory of Nyssa, and Basil of Caesarea are called the ___________________ ________________ because of their writings in defense of orthodox theology.       (8) The city of Rome first fell to the Visigoths in A.D. _________.