The Apostolic Church
The Book of Acts is a continuation of Luke and discusses the spread of early Christianity immediately after Jesus' death. Much of Acts chronicles the conversion and missionary journeys of Paul. Peter's missionary work among the Gentiles, and the other apostles' work among the Samaritans, figure prominently in Acts.
These events are preceded by the story Pentecost, an event that galvanized the early Christians into action. At a gathering of disciples fifty days later (7 x 7 weeks plus one; originally the Jewish holiday Shavuot) something that sounded like a great wind from above, and what looked like tongues of fire began to swirl around the heads of the disciples who began to speak in "tongues," languages they did not know. Peter declared that they had been filled with the Holy Spirit, that the resurrected Jesus had been called up to heaven as both Lord and Christ, and God had sent the world the Holy Spirit to dwell within Christians forever.
In addition to Acts is the apocalyptic Book of Revelation, the last book accepted into the Christian canon (although Revelation was initially rejected as authoritative at Nicea).
As the Pauline letters and the introduction to Luke suggest, there were numerous Christian writings in circulation during the early period of the church. Many are sectarian in nature; others are mystical. Their evidence demonstrates that Orthodox Christianity was but one of a number of early forms of Christianity and that the emergence and dominance of the Orthodox sect is more the result of historical and social factors than the survival of the "Truth."
Apostolic Fathers: 14 texts attributed to followers of the original apostles. One such text, the Didache ("Teaching of the Twelve") gives instructions on baptism, fasting, prayer, and the Eucharist.
New Testament Apocrypha: early Christian texts of the second century CE that attempt to fill the gaps in the stories of Jesus' life and the early church. Although non-canonical, they are nevertheless the source of several Christian beliefs, such as the assumption of Mary.
Nag Hammadi Library of Gnostic writings: 45 texts that teach salvation was gained through special knowledge (gnosis; gnwsiV ) revealed through a spiritual savior (Jesus) who exists not outside the world but within each person. The Gospel of St. Thomas is a collection of approximately 114 sayings of Jesus that just as well could have been uttered by the Buddha.
Mystical Theology: four essays by Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite that maintain the highest knowledge of God comes from the negation of all physical and mental attributes of God (cf. Zen doctrine of "emptiness" or Taoist non-theism)
Philokalia: 30 mystical texts written by ascetic monks as guidebooks for the ascetic and contemplative life.
The last two works had tremendous impact in shaping the ideas of western and eastern forms of mysticism and the monastic ideal, respectively.
Orthodox Christianity: Constantine and the Church Fathers
During the 3rd century CE Christianity came under numerous attacks, especially the great persecutions of the emperors Diocletian and Galerius. The subsequent emperor, Constantine (later called "The Great"), before his march on Rome, had a vision that he interpreted came from the Christian God. Victorious in battle, and now the emperor of Rome, Constantine issued the "Edict of Toleration" in 313 CE, allowing Christianity to practice openly and legally.
After several decades of persecution, the Christian flock was factious and in disarray. Constantine saw himself as God's regent on earth and the head of the Church. He called the first ecumenical council at Nicea in 325 CE that articulated the Nicene Creed, which established the belief in:
Holy Trinity (Tertullian's three "persons" [personae] united in the "ruling" [economia] of God).
Virgin Birth
Crucifixion and Resurrection
Parousia ("Second Coming") and Final Judgment
The Catholic (i.e. "unified") Church
Baptism for the remission of sins
The 3rd through 5th centuries saw the development of the Church as an institution, and the creation of its liturgy and its theology by the Church "Fathers" St. Ambrose, St. Jerome, and most importantly, St. Augustine.
Sacred Practices
The Church developed seven sacraments, sacred rites thought capable of transmitting the mystery of Christ to worshipers:
baptism
confirmation (catechism and first communion)
communion (eucharist)
penance (confession)
marriage
holy orders (priestly ordination)
final unction (last rites)
The ritual of public worship, liturgy, usually follows a set pattern that includes the singing of hymns, an address by the priest (homily), and the communion service (mass) that culminates in Holy Communion (Eucharist) of bread and wine. In Catholic and Orthodox belief, by means of the officiating priest the Holy Spirit transubstantiates the bread and wine into the body and blood of Christ.
Other Catholic practices include the veneration of saints and angels, especially through relics or icons, and devotional practices to the Virgin Mary.
The Liturgical Year
Just as Christians enact their union with Christ through the sacraments, so too does the Church celebrate the cycle of celebrations that lead worshipers through the life of Jesus and the gift of the Spirit through the calendar year.
There are three major events in the church calendar, each associated with a series of preparatory celebrations.
Easter and its preparatory celebration of Lent 40 days earlier. Lent begins with Ash Wednesday, the day after Mardi Gras ("Fat Tuesday"). Easter is calculated (for the Western churches) as the first Sunday after the first full-moon after the spring equinox.
Pentecost occurs 50 days after Easter and celebrates the ascension of Jesus and the reception of the Holy Spirit (as described in Acts 2:1-41). In this episode, the followers of Jesus began speaking in tongues. From it comes the kerygma, the proclamation, of Jesus as the Christ (Acts 2:36). For Christians, the kerygma is the parallel to the Jewish shema--a proclamation of the basic tenet of the religion.
Christmas and its preparatory celebration of Advent. Christmas is celebrated on December 25 (the winter solstice of the Julian calendar). 12 days following Christmas is the Epiphany, the day that the Christ child was revealed to humanity. Greek Orthodox Christians celebrate this as Christmas day.
The Great Schism: Roman Catholic and Greek Orthodox
Over time differences in theology and liturgy developed between the Latin speaking Western Church and Greek speaking Eastern Church. The Latin/Roman Church focused on legal and administrative matters, the Greek/Orthodox Church focused on theological and mystical/spiritual matter. For the most part these two traditions complemented each other. However, a few issues divided them:
Trinitarian Relationships.
One of the most contentious issues of all Christianity--both then and still now--is what is the nature of Jesus: Man or God? and what is his relationship with God and the Holy Spirit. Arius of Alexandria believed Jesus to be to highest creature made by God. The Council of Nicea, however, established the belief of homoousios, that the Father and the Son are of the same nature, that Jesus is begotten not made. The Arians appealed, but were later excommunicated in 381 at the second council of Nicea.
The Adoptionists claimed Jesus to have been adopted by God after his baptism, using Mark as evidence; the Monophysites claimed that Jesus was divine, using John as evidence. These heresies were decided at the Council of Chalcedon in 451. Debate then ensued over the nature of the Holy Spirit, whether it issued from the Father, or from the Father and Son. The Council of Toledo in 589 CE decided on the latter, inserting the filioque clause to the Nicene Creed, establishing the belief in homoiousios (from which we get the phrase "it matters not one iota"--the Greek letter "i").
Papal authority. The Greek Orthodox Church is governed by four Patriarchs (the Bishops of Constantinople, Jerusalem, Antioch, and Alexandria) who are equal--although the Bishop of Constantinople is considered "first among equals." Matters of church belief are settled by calling a synod, a meeting of all bishops to discuss theological matters and rule by consensus.
The Roman Catholic Church is governed by the Pope who heads the Curia, the council of cardinals. The Pope is also the Bishop of Rome (whose "home church" is St. John Lateran, and NOT St. Peter's Cathedral). Originally the Roman church was governed the same as the Greek church. But with the collapse of the Roman Empire, the Bishop of Rome began to take on civil as well as religious responsibilities, to the point that the Pope actually governed as sovereign ruler much of Italy. Over time the Pope became "first without equals."
In 1054 CE Pope Leo IX of Rome and Patriarch Michael Cerularius of Constantinople mutually excommunicated each other, thereby establishing two branches of Christianity: Catholic ("unified") and Orthodox ("correct dogma").
Although we tend to focus on these two main forms, there are other forms of Christianity that have survived from this early period: the Coptic Church in Egypt, the Armenian Church, the Nestorian and Ethiopian Church, as well as Arab Christians in Palestine and other Middle Eastern countries. Russia converted to the Greek rite, and although the Patriarch of Moscow is considered one of the six Patriarchates, language and history has made the Russian Orthodox Church a unique form of Christianity.
