Throughout the years of the early Church, councils were created where Christians gathered and discussed issues about our faith. Most councils were created in order to refute heresies, which were detrimental to our faith and confused Christians. Others, such as the Council of Jerusalem, was solely created for deciding what it meant to be a Christian and dealt with Gentile concerns. Altogether, these early Church councils have shaped our faith and are used as references when settling matters. The Council of Jerusalem was around 48 A.D. and many say it is a key part of Christian ethics and had set many standards for future ecumenical councils. It decided whether a Gentile had to become a Jew before turning into a Christian and whether Gentiles …show more content…
in order to stop the Arian Heresy. The Arian Heresy stated that Jesus was not both human and divine. For this council, every Catholic bishop in the world was invited. Thus, this meeting can be refferred to as an ecumencial council. The importance of the Nicea Council was that it settled the question of whether Jesus was both God and man for the whole Church. The Nicene Creed clearly expresses that Jesus is true God and true man. Therefore, according to the Council of Nicea, Jesus is not a creature made by God, but rather he is God’s own son and is God just as much as his father is God. On the other hand, the Council of Constantinople was created in 381 A.D. and expanded the creed that was begun at Nicea. It was second of the first seven ecumenical councils which defined the divine nature of the Holy Spirit, whose mission is like Jesus’ mission. Atlast, the Council of Ephesus was created in 431 A.D. and stated that Mary was the Mother of God, who is God himself. This council was created in order to refute the Nestorius Heresy, which taught that Jesus was two persons and Mary was not the Mother of God. Altogether, these three councils are three of the most imporant ecumencial councils and truly still affect our Church
The Oka Crisis was a land dispute in Canada between the town of Oka, Quebec and the Mohawk community of Kanesatake. In 1989, the mayor of Oka, Jean Ouellette, had announced that the remainder of pine trees near Kanesatake would be removed to add an additional nine holes onto a private, members-only golf course club and the development of sixty condominiums. Three years earlier, the Mohawk people filed a land claim for that area, but had been rejected because it failed to meet key criteria. The development plan was the start of the crisis because that land is a sacred grove and burial ground to the Mohawk people. This resulted in a protest by the Mohawks against the court decision to allow the start of the golf course construction.
More particularly, it recognizes the authority of the ecumenical councils at which East and West were represented together. These were the councils of Nicaea I (325), Constantinople (381), Ephesus(431), Chalcedon(451), Constantinople II (553), Constantinople III (680), and Nicaea II (787) (Encarta 1996). The power of teaching and guiding the community is bestowed on certain ministries, particularly that of the bishop of each diocese or is directed through certain institutions, such as councils...
Catholics believe that Jesus founded the Catholic Church in 33 AD. Since then there have been many different forms of interpretation of the message. Although there were many forms of Christianity it was eventually standardized and given validity in 380 AD, by the Roman Emperor Constantine. At this this time in history, Roman Catholicism became the official religion of the Roman Empire.
The Roman Empire began polytheistic like many earlier civilizations. The practice of monotheism was not legalized until 313 C.E. when Emperor Constantine ended the persecution of Christians. As with many religions, there were various groups of Christians with different views as to what defined Christianity. In 325 C.E. the Council of Nicaea, brought together by Constantine to resolve this issue, established The Nicene Creed. According to this doctrine Roman Christians believe “in one God, the Father Almighty, Maker of all things visible and invisible; and in Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the only-begotten of his Father...And [we believe] in the Holy Ghost” (p 142-143). Though Christians believed in three divine beings they only worshipped one God. Even then polytheism was still dominant among the Romans.
When I found out I qualified to be a candidate for the NJHS, I knew I had to take this chance. This group is made up of people who depict leadership, character, citizenship, academic success, and service and I would love to join. These characteristics wouldn't just be valuable for a candidate to have, but for everyone to have to exceed in life. If I were to be in the National Junior Honor Society, it would give me an opportunity to ameliorate my future and motivate me to do better.
For Christianity, the 12th century represented a century of both internal and external changes. While the crusades sought to impose a “universalized Christian faith” on those outside of the religion, the internal mechanisms of the Church began to promote reformations that encouraged a unification of the “doctrine, liturgy, piety and politics within Western Christendom”. During this century, Christians began to experience a cohesive and sacred community. Anselm of Canterbury and Peter Abelard made theological advancements that allowed for the unification of the Church – and for a drastic change in Jewish-Christian relations. Their theories of atonement began to shape the way in which Christian’s approached Jews in the questions of God. While Anselm’s satisfaction theory of atonement began to promote an appeal to reason among Christians towards Jews, Abelard’s moral influence theory of atonement had the potential on encouraging religious tolerance. Due to the political climate of this time, Anselm’s theory took hold and became the prominent theological arguments against Jews.
...the political issues may have forced the convening of the council in 664, none the less the question of how to calculate Easter required resolution, before it escalated into civil unrest and possibly revolution.
The Edict of Milan, issued in 313 AD, opened the way for people in the Roman Empire to practice the Christian religion. With this edict of religious toleration came the right for Christians to worship openly. They also regained possession of their places of worship and all of the contents associated with these religious buildings. Not only did this allow freedom for Christians to worship openly, but they were also given the opportunity to have influence in the government and private sector of the Roman Empire. The far reaching effects of Christian influence around the world are still seen today.
In conclusion, Christianity spread throughout the Roman Empire despite the barriers of Judaism, the Empire itself, and problems within the church. Ironically, the Jews rejection of Jesus as Messiah was the catalyst for the leaders of the church to take the message to the Gentiles. This growing movement threatened the foundation of the Roman Empire. Although controversial, the Bible is used as a primary source document to understand the beliefs and customs of Judaism and Christianity. For the majority of Christians, the Bible is seen as historically accurate and is fundamental to their faith. The difficulties that the early church faced such as racism, tradition, and immorality are the same struggles we face today. For many throughout the world, the Bible is used as a “how to guide” for human behavior, has stood the test of time, and continues to be relevant.
First, the rise of Christianity was a major event that affected many cultures, customs, and especially politics. In the
One of the earliest trends in Christianity was the need for Councils to settle disagreements on the religion. There have been many times where Christians had disagreements on what to consider as the base concepts of Christianity. Some
Constantine the Great, first Christian Emperor, originator of Constantinople, creator of the Byzantine Empire, military conqueror, and honored saint, has been labeled by many the most instrumental emperor of the Roman Empire. Constantine played a crucial role in the development of Europe during the Middle Ages, and founded Christianity as the formal religion of the Roman Empire. His dynamic yet effective predominance laid the infrastructure of European development. From his humble beginnings, to his command of the Roman Empire, to his final days, Constantine’s impact on world history and Christianity has left behind an unforgettable legacy. He was described by Eusebius as “such an emperor as all history records not.” Ware compared him to, “a watershed in the history of the Church.” Additionally, Meyendorff states, “No single human being in history has contributed to the conversion of so many to the Christian faith.” Norwich declared that “No ruler in all of history has ever more fully merited his title of ‘the Great’…Constantine has serious claim to be considered the most influential man in all of history.” Some of Constantine’s notable acts in the history of Christianity was his calling of the first Ecumenical Council at Nicaea, his institution of freedom for Christianity with the Edict of Milan, and the relocation of the capital of empire from Rome to Constantinople.
People separate and then reunited; people quarrel and then reconciled. Similarly, Christianity also has separation reunion, argument and reconciliation. Christianity was started as one body, and then multiple factors gradually contributed to the split of the Eastern Orthodox Church and the Roman Catholic Church. Some of these factors are such as the different understanding of Christianity, the different point of views toward the authority of the Pope and the different ideas of governing the Church. All the different thoughts created the disagreement between the two branches of Church. In other words, the conflict came up, and eventually led to the Great Schism. The differences between these two branches of church were significant because they are the result of this Great Schism.
The Church had not been blind in its need for reform. Many of the leaders had encouraged Pope Julius II to call a council. In 1512, he called the Fifth Lateran Council. The popes had become skittish about calling ecumenical councils because of the heresy of Conciliarism. The weakness that the Avignon Papacy and the Western Schism caused the Papacy led to Conciliarism. Conciliarism held the idea that a general council was greater and than that of the Pope. In fact, a council had no authority in Church matters unless called and approved by the residing Pope. Hence, by the time the Fifth Lateran Council closed in 1517, it had failed to reform the abuses that were going on in the Church. The climate was right for the message of the Reformers.
The Creeds of the church were key parts of the origins of the church. They lay the foundation for the first years of the church in order to accomplish the mission given to the Apostles by Jesus. Two of these creeds were the Apostles Creed and the Nicene Creed. Culture during that time period was key to the layout of these creeds and the messages they set. A creed was an early statement of Christian beliefs, and a symbol for others to follow by. There were numerous cultures and needs that led to the ultimate development and writing of the creeds, which are still used for their original purpose today. One of these needs was for the church to have a basic statement of beliefs, which was accomplished by the Apostles creed. Early Christians knew that people needed to have an understanding of what they believed in that wasn’t requiring a lot of research. Cultures of the people and the time period also had a great influence on the creation of these creeds. They needed a way to spread the word of Christ to all people, in a time period where we didn’t have the technology and communication options that we have today. A combination of the churches basic needs for success and the fact that the word needed to be spread were two of the leading causes in the creations of these creeds.