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1
THE HISTORY OF THE DEVELOPMENT OF CHURCH DOGMA IN THE EARLY
YEARS
100-476 C.E.
By Stephen B. Plaster, Ph.D.
2
INTRODUCTION
The development of Christian church dogma in the early years was a slow but
continuous process following the passing from the scene of the apostles. The church was
to undergo two unique periods in history. The first period was from 100-313 C.E. in
which the church had to survive despite persecution of Christians. The second period
was from 313-476 C.E. whereby the Christian religion was made legal under the
authority of the Roman government.
CHURCH PERSECUTION
During the years from 100-313 C.E., the church underwent persecution which
martyred many Christians. Second, the loss of the apostles left the church with no men of
their status and authority to lead the church. Third, doctrinal divisions arose due to the
rise of both heretics and heretical sects which required the development of an orthodox
set of standards of belief. Fourth, since Christian faith was based on personal submission
to Christ, the test of faith soon became determination of the correct intellectual belief
rather than personal spiritual belief. This encouraged the development of schools of
theological learning which were established in Alexandria, Egypt, Asia Minor, and
Carthage, North Africa. Fifth, the church began to address the concerns of authority and
succession. The primary model for organization was the secular Roman government
where provincial governors appointed by the supreme leader, the emperor of Rome,
governed as well as providing a method of succession to office. The church followed this
practice by identifying bishops in the larger urban areas who were autonomous until the
bishop of Rome eventually superseded the other bishops.
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IMPERIAL CHURCH
The years between 313-476 C.E. were filled with societal change which affected
the development of the church. First, the emperor Constantine through an edict changed
the legal status of the Christian church so that it became a legal religion. This ended the
persecution, allowed church building growth, and opened up privilege for the clergy.
Second, the practice of idol sacrifice, emperor worship, and the operation of pagan
temples began to erode and eventually die out. Third, several secular practices were
removed or eventually suppressed. For example, crucifixion was abolished while
infanticide, slavery, and gladiatorial games were suppressed.
The church began to be molded in the imperial image of Rome with some positive
and some negative consequences. Controversies were to arise in the church over
doctrines. These controversies surfaced during this period and were known as: (1) the
Arian controversy, (2) the Apollinarian controversy, and (3) the Pelagian controversy.
Each threatened the survival of Christianity. The Arian controversy involved the status
of the persons of the Trinity. Arius viewed Christ as inferior to the Father. The
Apollinarian controversy involved the nature of Christ. Apollinaris asserted that the
incarnate Christ was God but in human form. The Pelagian controversy involved the
concept of original sin. Pelagius taught that humans are guilty of actual sins but not of
Adam’s original sin by inheritance. These three controversies were resolved at three
different councils where these doctrinal beliefs were rejected in favor of views which
became orthodox for the church.
The power of the church began to grow by asserting authority of the Roman
bishop, by organizing similar to the structure of the Roman government, and by
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developing strong and capable religious leaders. The authority of the bishop in Rome
was enhanced because of the importance of political Rome as the seat of government, the
assertion of apostolic succession from the apostle Peter, and the high quality of these
bishops. The bishop served as the spiritual equivalent to the political emperor as supreme
leader. The bishops in Rome were learned, capable, and powerful leaders compared to
many other bishops. Finally, the early church would grow and develop church dogma
based upon writings of the church fathers, by leaders who were capable apologists for
orthodox beliefs, by the emergence of a creed, and by decisions made from councils
consisting of representative leaders of the universal church.
WRITINGS OF DEFENSE
The early writings of the church fathers were written as a defense against
paganism and Judaism. Some writings denounced the pagan practices associated with
imperial cult worship. Christians were also pummeled by pagan accusations that
Christians were guilty of civil disobedience and immorality. These claims were based on
refusing to sacrifice at the temples and the spurious claim that the communion practices
involved the drinking of the blood of infants. Christians were also verbally attacked
based upon the divergence of a worldview in contradiction to that of the Greek
philosophers. Various points of difference were the cycle of human history as linear with
a purpose versus cyclical with repeating eras, creation out of nothing versus the
immortality of the soul, and the belief in the divine logos as an immaterial mind force
versus the person of Jesus Christ. For example, Origen taught the immortality of the soul
based upon a Greek philosophical understanding. He was eventually declared a heretic.
Tatian, on the other hand, taught the mortality of the soul which became the orthodox
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position. Jaroslav Pelikan comments on this issue as follows, “The idea of the immortal
and rational soul is part of the Greek inheritance in Christian doctrine…” and “Tatian’s
statement that in ‘itself the soul is not immortal, but mortal…’”1
Other writings were in defense of Jewish heresies. The Ebionites evolved out of
the Essene sect and propagated the idea that Jesus was born naturally rather than virgin
born. The Pharisees had taught the importance of living according to the law and the
prophets in one’s earthly life. A similar focus on attaining righteousness in this life was
taught by Pelagius but later denounced as unorthodox. Jews such as Simon of Samaria
sought to buy the power of the Holy Spirit as a means to offer salvation to others (Acts
8:9-25). Although this is not a direct cause of this practice in the ensuing years of the
church, the church did institute the practice of the sale of indulgences. The early writings
of the church fathers spoke out against the heretical teachings of the existing traditional
groups who were either pagans or Jews. These writing resisted the threat of syncretizing
then current beliefs with the newly revealed religion of Christianity.
APOLOGISTS AND HERESIES
During the early years, three heresies were being taught which represented a
threat to Christianity. These three were Marcionism, Gnosticism, and Montanism. The
first two offered a false view of God as two separate entities, and the third
overemphasized visions, prophecies, and end time scenarios.
Marcionism offered an explanation of God as two separate entities. One God was
the creator described in the Old Testament, and the second was the judge also described
1 Jaroslav Pelikan, The Christian Tradition: A History of the Development of Doctrine (Chicago, IL: The
University of Chicago Press, 1971), 51.
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in the Old Testament. By separating the divine into two entities, the unity of God is lost,
the law and the gospel are separated, and the continuity of divine revelation between the
Old and New Testaments is broken. Marcion’s rejection of the law in the Old Testament
caused him to formulate New Testament canon based only upon Luke and Paul’s church
epistles. This became known as the Muratorian Canon.2
Gnosticism was a heretical system of belief in the superiority of knowledge.
Jewish Gnosticism also taught the existence of two Gods. There is a supreme God and a
creator God. There were other forms of Gnosticism prevalent at the time. Christian
Gnosticism denied the reality of Jesus’ human body and that His Body was not physically
resurrected. These denials went to the heart of orthodox belief and if successful would
have denied the redemption message of the gospel. The Gnostics interpreted Scripture in
an allegorical manner which supported the idea that only a select few possessed the
gnosis of true knowledge. Both Origen and Clement of Alexander were influenced by
Gnostic beliefs. J.L. Hurlbut states, “…they interpreted the Scriptures in an allegorical
manner, making every statement mean whatever the interpreter saw fit.”3
Montanism taught both moral reform and the importance of prophesying to exhort
the church toward moral purity. Montanists were on a continual quest for visions,
prophecies, and revelations constantly adding to the message that judgment was coming
for those who did not repent. When the orthodox view began to reveal that prophecies
had ceased and the end times were in the distant future, Montanism dwindled as a
movement. Tertullian was an apologist for Montanism. J.N.D. Kelly observes, “The
2 Henry Bettenson and Chris Maunder, ed., Documents of the Christian Church (Oxford: Oxford University
Press, 1999), 31. 3 Jesses Lyman Hurlbut, The Story of the Christian Church (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1970), 52.
7
Book (Adversus Praxeam) was a product of Tertullian’s Montanist period, and it is to this
fact that we doubtless owe the special emphasis on the Spirit in the closing section.”4
Both Marcionism and Montanism died out in the fifth century C.E. Gnosticism
dissolved into history by the fourth century C.E. sporadically because it was syncretistic
and denounced as heretical. Because of these heretical threats to the church, orthodox
apologists defended the Christian faith by clarifying beliefs which would then become
orthodox dogma. K.S. Latourette summarizes this as, “The popularity of Gnosticism, the
teaching of Marcion, and the Montanist movement forced others who regarded
themselves as Christians to develop a tighter organization and to give added attention to
the clarification and formulation of their beliefs.”5
THE APOSTLE’S CREED DEFENSE
The Apostle’s Creed was another means of defense against heresy and in support
of the orthodox faith. The other three means were by finalization of the New Testament
canon, writings of the church fathers, and the organization of the bishopric office during
these early years. The Apostle’s Creed did not come on the scene at one single point in
time, but rather evolved over the early years. The creed developed from the practice of
confessing a baseline statement of gospel belief during the ceremony of baptism. As
Kelly remarks, “Some impression of how all this actually worked out can be gained from
the picture of baptism as practiced in Jerusalem in the middle of the fourth century which
has survived in St. Cyril’s Catechetical Lectures.”6 Several early church fathers began to
4 J.N.D. Kelly, Early Christian Creeds (New York: Longman, 1972), 87.
5 Kenneth Scott Latourette, A History of Christianity: Beginnings to 1500 (Peabody, MA: Prince Press,
2000), 129. 6 Kelly, 33.
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address the issues of the day which were reflected in their writings. These issues began
to take shape as early church dogma expressed by Origen, Irenaeus, and Tertullian.
Origen began to write about truths derived from the philosophy of Plato. Writing
somewhat as a historian, he recognized the two spheres of creation represented by both
the spiritual and the physical. He taught that Christ died in order to defeat Satan. He
then linked the meaning of salvation to a person becoming a new divine creation. He
also taught that the Eucharist as a sacrifice confers immortality on the communicant. He
is probably best known as one who used allegory to explain the Old Testament. These
infuriated Gnostic heretics. Bruce L. Shelley remarks, “What would have happened to
Christianity without a rationally interpreted Bible to feed the mind and control the
development of Christian thought? Origen saved the Scriptures for the church and thus
protected the historical foundation of the Christian faith.”7
A second church father of the early church was Irenaeus. Irenaeus taught the
importance of the priesthood by linking it with the Levitical priesthood of the Old
Testament. He taught the continuity of thought between the Old and New Testaments
due to the succession from apostles to the church fathers. He upheld the New Testament
canon as having apostolic and therefore divine authority. He sought primarily to connect
humankind with God in a unity that reflects the shepherd role of God and the obedient
role of the sheep. Communion with the divine reflects the eternal purposes of God. Justo
L. Gonzalez summarizes, “Others, such as Irenaeus, had held the entirety of human
history from the time of Adam and Eve had been a vast process by which God had been
7 Bruce L. Shelley, Church History in Plain Language (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 1995). 85.
9
training humankind for communion with the divine.”8 This chronological linear view of
history contrasted with the cyclical, repeatable view of history by the Greek philosophers.
A third church father of the early church era was Tertullian. He was the person
who proposed the orthodox view of the Trinity. His view was that the Trinity is one
substance and three persons. Further, he stated that Jesus Christ is one person with two
substances (natures), one which is divine and one which is human. Shelley comments,
“He attacked the heretics, explained the Lord’s Prayer and the meaning of baptism, and
helped develop the orthodox understanding of the Trinity. He was the first person to use
the Latin word trinitas (trinity)…”9 Tertullian also sponsored the claim that apostolic
authority was carried forward through the succession of bishops. By this unbroken
succession of bishops, the orthodox doctrine was preserved against the threats from
various heretics.
The early church had to deal with heresies by examining the meaning of Scripture
and confronting the false interpretations presented by those holding heretical views. The
development of the Apostle’s Creed and the writings of early church fathers were central
to this debate. However, one more means arose to confront heresy and to formalize
church dogma.
CHURCH COUNCIL RESOLUTIONS
During this early church era, there were attempts to denounce heresies and to
formalize orthodox church dogma. This occurred in four councils at Nicea,
Constantinople, Ephesus, and Chalcedon. All four were held in Asia Minor rather than in
8 Justo L. Gonzalez, The Story of Christianity (Peabody, MA: Prince Press, 2006). 133.
9 Shelley, 34.
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Western Europe, which reflects the importance of the move of the Roman Empire’s
capital to Constantinople in 313 C.E., the geographical center of the universal church
which facilitated travel by the bishops, and the preponderance of learned bishops in Asia
Minor and North Africa compared to Western Europe (Rome, Milan, and Lyons).
The first council was called in Nicea. The dispute originated in 318 C.E. from the
teachings of Arius. The heretical teaching of Arius was that Jesus was created by the
Father and thus not equal to God. The council was called in 325 C.E. by the emperor
Constantine to resolve the dispute with approximately 300 bishops attending. The result
was the adoption of the Nicene Creed declaring the orthodox doctrine of the Trinity and
the deity of Jesus Christ. As a further result, Arius was excommunicated by the council
from the church.
The second council was held in Constantinople in 381 C.E. The purpose of the
council was to confront the teachings of Apollinaris. He taught that Jesus’ body was
human but His soul became divine. He believed that Jesus, as the eternal Word of God
(Logos), had a divine mind rather than a human mind. If this was accepted by the
council, then Jesus would be half human and half divine. The council rejected this view
settling upon the total unity of Jesus as fully divine and fully human.
The third council took place in Ephesus in 431 C.E. The issue under debate
concerned the natures of Christ. The heresy being taught by Nestorius declared that in
Jesus were two persons and two natures. The human nature and person were of Mary and
not divine. This view in effect divided Christ into two separate persons thereby
destroying the unity of Christ. The difference reflects the Alexandrian school’s view of
the hypostatic union based upon John 1:14 and the Antiochene school’s view of the
11
indwelling logos based upon John 2:19. The council affirmed the unity of Christ in one
person in 433 C.E. and against Nestorius who was exiled.
The fourth council met in Chalcedon in 451 C.E. where the formalization of an
orthodox church dogma was the goal. The council resolved that Christ has two natures
which are in union and is preserved as inseparable and distinct. In other words, Christ is
wholly God and wholly man existing in perfect union and in one person. With the
completion of this council, the writings of Tertullian and the actions of the three former
councils were reaffirmed producing a definition of the faith which became the foundation
of early orthodox church dogma. It is interesting to reflect upon the present day view of
the Roman Catholic church in regard to the history and importance of these and other
church councils. James Cardinal Gibbons states, “Up to the present time, nineteen
ecumenical councils have been convened, including the Council of the Vatican.”10
CONCLUSION
Church dogma continued to be debated and developed after 476 C.E. and even
evolves in the present day. However, during the early church age 100-476 C.E. one can
see the first resolutions which begin to form church dogma. The dogma discussed above
has been rigorously defended by church leaders of the era while debated and resisted by
others who sought a different meaning. During this early church era, four specific
advances were made. First, a defense was generated for each heresy that was proposed.
Second, in defending against heresies, the views generally accepted by the bishops
became settled, orthodox, dogma of the mainstream universal church. Third, creeds were
developed (Apostles and Nicene) which were used to: (1) state in summary form the
10
James Cardinal Gibbons, The Faith of our Fathers (Rockford, IL: Tan Books, 1980), 93.
12
orthodox beliefs, (2) teach the laity, (3) preserve the church’s teachings, (4) serve as a
centerpiece for worship in the church, and (5) allow successive issues which would arise
to build upon the settled foundation without re-examining the traditional beliefs. Fourth,
the use of councils provided a venue and organizational means to come together, debate
church issues, and resolve most issues in an orderly, formal manner which would be
acceptable to the majority of clergy and laity. This practice would continue until the
abuses and differences caused a schism between East and West in 1054 C.E and between
Protestant and Catholic in 1517 C.E. Yet Eusebius told us long ago, “In the same order
and the same succession the authentic tradition received from the apostles and passed
down by the church, and the preaching of the truth, have been handed on to us.”11
Finally, Paul Misner sums up the role of church dogma regarding it’s permanence as
follows, “Therefore it is intelligible how a dogma’s meaning is permanent. In the first
place, it is permanent because if the same question is again posed in the same structuring
in which Church authority faced it, the answer would always remain the same. Secondly,
when one must rescind from or alter the original terms because the system of references
is no long identical, one can still say that the structured element remains true…”12
11
Eusebius, The History of the Church (New York: Penguin Putnam, 1989), 152-153. 12
Paul Misner, “Note on the Critique of Dogmas,” Theological Studies 34 No. 4 (December, 1973): 695.
13
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Bettenson, Henry and Chris Maunder, ed. Documents of the Christian Church. Oxford:
Oxford University Press, 1971.
Eusebius. The History of the Church. New York: Penguin Putnam, 1989.
Gibbons, James Cardinal. The Faith of our Fathers. Rockford, IL: Tan Books, 1980.
Gonzalez, Justo L. The Story of Christianity, Peabody, MA: Prince Press, 2006.
Hurlbut, Jesse Lyman. The Story of Christianity. Peabody, MA: Prince Press, 2006.
Kelly, J.N.D. Early Christian Creeds. New York: Longman, 1972.
Latourette, Kenneth Scott. A History of Christianity: Beginnings to 1500. Peabody, MA:
Prince Press, 2000.
Misner, Paul. “Note on the Critique of Dogmas.” Theological Studies 34 No. 4 (1973).
http://newfirstsearach.org/WebZ/ImageFT?cmd-print&sessionid-f...
Pelikan, Jaroslav. The Christian Tradition: A History of the Development of Doctrine.
Chicago, IL: The University of Chicago Press, 1971.
Shelley, Bruce L. Church History in Plain Language. Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson,
1995.