The Persecutions
The second century saw the further
development of the Christian faith, and the greater
persecution
of the Church by the Roman imperial
authorities, for whom Christianity was an "illegal religion."
The Christians
were criminals in the eyes of the Romans, not only religiously, but
politically. They transgressed the laws of the state because they refused to
honor the earthly emperor as king, lord, and god. which was required of them
as members of imperial society. They prayed for the civil authorities and
gave "honor to whom honor is due" (Romans 13:1-7), but they refused to give
the earthly king the glory and worship which was due to God, and to His
Christ, alone. Thus the Roman law declared: It is not lawful to be a
Christian.
One of the first
witnesses to the Christians which we have in secular writing is found in the
second century correspondence between Pliny the Younger and the Emperor
Trajan, who ruled from 98-117. This correspondence reveals that Christianity
was indeed proscribed, and that though Christians should not be sought out
and were innocent of the gross charges against them, such as the sacrifice
of children and the eating of human flesh (a misunderstanding of the
Eucharist which was conducted in "secret meetings"), the Christians
nevertheless were to be executed if. when seized, they refused to give up
their faith.
The persecution of the
Christians in the second century was largely local, conducted according to
the zeal of the local imperial authorities. Nevertheless, the persecutions
were widespread and the Christians were generally hated even by the most
tolerant and open-minded of the Roman rulers. They were hated mostly for what
was considered their stubbornness and intolerance due to their exclusive
devotion to Christ as Lord. They were persecuted also for what was
considered to be the political danger which they wrought to the unity of law
and order in the imperial reign, particularly because of the increasing
number of persons who were joining the Church.
Among the most famous of
the Christian leaders and martyrs of the second century were the bishops
Ignatius of Antioch (d.c. 110) and
Polycarp of Smyrna d. 156), and the
philosopher Justin (d.c. 165). Each of these men who were killed for the
faith left writings which, together with the Didache, the Letter to
Diognetus, the letters of Clement of Rome, the Letter of Barnabas, the
Shepherd of Hernias and the apologetic writings of such men as Athenagoras
of Athens, Melito of Sardis, Theophilus of Antioch and the greatest of the
second century theologians, Irenaeus of Lyons, all give a very vivid picture
of the raith and life of the second century of the Church.
Defense of the Faith: Apologists
The most important
developments in the second century, in addition to the persecutions and the
growth of Church membership, were the defenses of the Christian faith
against the false teachings, the so-called apologies against the Christian
heresies as well as against Judaism and paganism. There was also the
development of Church doctrine and the beginnings of post-apostolic
theology; the establishment of the same basic church order in each local
community led by its bishop, presbyters and deacons; the first foundations
of the Christian liturgy and sacramental life completely separated from the
Jewish synagogue; and the beginnings of the establishment of the canon of
the holy scriptures of the New Testament Church.
At the end of the first
century and at the beginning of the second century, many false writings
about
Christ were
produced. These were the so-called apocryphal writings (not to be confused
with the Old Testament apocrypha), the so-called pseudoepigraphia. These
false writings carried the names of the apostles and introduced into
Christian circles many fanciful and legendary stories about the childhood of
Christ, the life of the Virgin Mary and the activities of the apostles.
Together with the
pseudoepigraphia, there also appeared the false teachings of gnosticism, the
Christian heresy which transformed Christianity into a kind of
spiritualistic, dualistic, intellectualistic philosophy. The genuine
Christians of the Orthodox faith had to contend with these false teachings.
The result of their struggle was the production of the theology of the
apologists, that is, those who defended the true faith and the original
gospel of Christ. The result also was the teaching of apostolic succession
in the Church, the doctrine that the genuine faith and life of Christianity
is passed over from church to church, from generation to generation and from
place to place, through the succession of the Holy Tradition of the Church
in the consecration of bishops, whose teachings and practice is identical to
each other and to that of the apostles of Jesus.
Another result was that
the Church began firmly to establish exactly which writings belong to the
holy scripture
of the Church and which do not, their decision being based on the genuine
apostolic testimony contained in the writings, and their use in the Church
at the liturgical gatherings.
Church Order and Liturgy
In the writings of the
second century apologists, martyrs, and
saints, it is
seen that each local Christian Church was headed by one bishop who presided
over the Church which was administered by the presbyters or elders, and
served by the deacons. Thus Saint Ignatius of Antioch writes in his letters:
"I exhort you to strive
to do all things in harmony with God: the bishop is to preside in the place
of God, while the presbyters are to function as the council of the apostles,
and the deacons, who are most dear to me, are entrusted with the ministry
(i.e., good works) of Jesus Christ." (Letter to Magnesians 6, 1)
"Take care, then, to
partake of one Eucharist; for one is the Flesh of our Lord Jesus Christ, and
one the cup to unite us with His Blood, and one altar, just as there is one
bishop assisted by the presbytery and the deacons, my fellow servants."
(Letter to Philadelphians 4)
"Where the bishop
appears, there let the people be, just as where Jesus Christ is, there is
the Catholic Church." (Letter to Smyrneans 8, 2)
Saint Ignatius was the
first to use the term catholic to describe the Church. It is an adjective of
quality that tells how the Church is, namely, full, perfect, complete,
whole, with nothing lacking in it of the fulness of the grace, truth and
holiness of God.
In the Didache and the
Apologies of Saint Justin and Saint Irenaeus, there are also descriptions of
the Christian sacraments:
"Baptize as follows:
after explaining all of these points, baptize in the name of the Father and
of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, in running water . . ." (Didache 7, 1)
"Let no one eat and drink
of your Eucharist but those who are baptized in the name of the Lord . . ."
(Didache 9)
"On the Lord's own Day,
assemble in common to break bread and give thanks (i.e., the eucha-rist,
which means thanksgiving); but first confess your sins so that your
sacrifice may be pure. However, no one quarelling with his brother may join
your assembly until they are reconciled; your sacrifice must not be
defiled." (Didache 14)
From: Bible and Church History by
Fr. Thomas Hopko,
Dept. of Religous Education - Orthodox Church in America, Crestwood, New
York
