The fourth century
began with the greatest persecution ever waged against the early Church,
that of the emperor Diocletian.
The longest list of early martyrs comes from
this period. After Diocletian's abdication, a power struggle developed among
the imperial leaders. In 312, Constantine engaged in battle with his main
contender for the western throne, Maxentius.
Before the battle of the Milvian bridge near Rome,
Constantine had a vision,
perhaps in a dream. He saw the Cross or Labarum (Chi Rho: XP) of Christ with
the words,
"In this sign, conquer."
He placed the Christian symbol on his troop's tunics
and weapons, and they won the battle. Constantine quickly moved to grant
freedom to Christians to practice their faith in the empire, and also showed
his own preference for Christianity by giving a number of privileges and
advantages to the Church.
Before Constantine died he built a city in the ancient site of Byzantium for
his new imperial capital - a city named Constantinople, in his honor.
Constantine himself was baptized only on his deathbed in 337. Together with
his mother, Helen, who recovered the True Cross of Christ in Jerusalem,
Constantine is recognized a saint of the Church. Christianity became the
official religion of the empire in 380 by decree of the emperor Theodosius.
Inner Struggles
During Constantine's time, the Church recovered its property and was free
from external persecution. Inner troubles immediately arose, however, to
disturb the peace. First, there was the Donatist Schism in North Africa. The
schism is so-called for Donatus, the principal theologian of a group that
rejected the regularly elected bishop of Carthage on the grounds that one of
the bishops who participated in his consecration had shown weakness in the
time of persecution. Instead of forcing the Church to solve its own
problems, Constantine intervened in the controversy. First, he sided with
the Donatists, then he sided with their opposers, using imperial power to
enforce his decisions. The schism resulted in the ultimate destruction of
the once glorious Church in North Africa, and established the precedent of
imperial intervention in Church affairs.
The
Arian controversy then arose. Arius, an Alexandrian priest, taught that the
Divine Logos, the Word of God Who became man - Jesus Christ - is not the
divine Son of God. He was merely a creature like everything else created out
of nothing by God. According to Arius, God is not the uncreated Holy
Trinity. God is the Father, the Creator, alone. God the Father created His
Logos or Word or Son as the first and greatest of His creatures. This Logos,
Who may be called divine only in a manner of speaking, is God's instrument
for the salvation of the world, being born as the man Jesus. Thus Jesus
Christ is not the uncreated, divine Son of God having exactly the same
uncreated divinity as God the Father. He is a creature, as is the Holy
Spirit. God is not the Holy Trinity.
The First Ecumenical Council
The
controversy raised by the teaching of the Arians was brought to the decision
of the whole Church at the Council which Constantine called in Nicaea in 325.
This council, known as the
First Ecumenical Council,
decreed that the Logos, Word and Son of God is uncreated and divine. He is
begotten - that is, born or generated - from the Father, and not made or
created by Him. He is of one essence with the Father (homoousios). He is
True God of True God, the Word of God by Whom all things were made. It is
this uncreated, only-begotten divine Son of God Who became man from the
Virgin Mary as Jesus Christ the Messiah of Israel and the Savior of the
world.
The Second Ecumenical Council
The
decision of the Nicene Council was not universally accepted in the Church
for a long time. The controversy raged for many decades. Numerous councils
were held in different places which formulated various statements of faith.
The Arian party gained imperial support and the defenders of the Nicene
faith were greatly persecuted. The troubles persisted until 381 when, at a
council in Constantinople, known now as the Second Ecumenical Council, the
original decision of Nicea was reaffirmed and the divinity of the Holy
Spirit was proclaimed. The combined statement of these two councils
comprises the Symbol of Faith, the Creed of the Orthodox Church.
The Fathers of the Church
The great defenders of
Nicene Orthodoxy were
These
fathers of the Church taught and explained the true Christian faith,
suffering greatly for their defense of the central doctrine of Orthodox
Christianity, that God is the Most Holy Trinity: three uncreated and divine
persons of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, in one and the same
uncreated, divine nature.
The Councils of the Church
The
Council of Nicea also made a number of canons concerning the order and
discipline of the Church. These canons confirmed the primacy of the Church
of Rome in the West, Alexandria in Africa, and Antioch in the East (Canon
6), and the recognition of the dignity of the Church in Jerusalem (Canon 7).
The council prohibited the practice of penitential kneeling at the Church's
Sunday liturgy (Canon 20). The Council of Constantinople also produced
canons, one of which stated that "the bishop of Constantinople shall have
the prerogative of honor after the bishop of Rome because Constantinople is
the New Rome." (Canon 3)
Liturgical Development
The
fourth century witnessed a number of liturgical developments. During this
time, the Eucharistic prayers of the divine liturgies, named after Saint
Basil the Great and
Saint John Chrysostom
(d. 407) were substantially formulated. The catechetical sermons of
Saint John Chrysostom
together with those of Saint Cyril of Jerusalem (d. 386) show that the
sacraments of Baptism and Chrismation were being celebrated in the fourth
century almost exactly as they are done in the Orthodox Church today. By
this time, the 40 Day Lent and the Easter Feast were well established. The
Nativity of Christ was separated from the feast of Epiphany or Theophany,
thus becoming a separate feast of the church to offset the pagan festival of
the Sun which was celebrated on the twenty-fifth of December.
Monastic Life
The fourth century also saw the
flourishing of monastic life in Egypt - led by
Saint Anthony the Great
(d. 356) - in Syria,
and in the West. Among the monastic saints of this period were Paul of
Thebes, Pachomius, Hilarion, Sabbas, Macarius of Egypt, Epiphanius of
Cyprus, and Ephraim of Syria. Among the monastic saints in the West were
Jerome, John Cassian, and Martin of Tours. The famous bishop saints of the
fourth century were Saint Nicholas of Myra in Lycia, Saint Spyridon
Trimunthys, and Saint Ambrose of Milan.
From: Bible and Church History by
Fr. Thomas Hopko,
Dept. of Religious
Education - Orthodox Church in America, Crestwood, New York
