Early Disputes of Christian Doctrine

2 Great points of Christian dispute: Filioque & Papal Supremacy

Nicene Creed

-the most widely used Christian liturgy (Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, Angelican, major Protestant Churches)

First Council of Nicaea /FILIOQUE

-325, modern day Turkey

-established the first uniform Christian doctrine

-the first ecumenical council, about 300 bishops in attendance

-called by Constantine (the emperor who tolerated and later converted to Christianity) who wanted a unified church; an important instance of the church being given authority by the state

-the controversy of Filioque: is the Son of the Father divine?

-Arius and his follower (Arians) claimed that the Son was created by the Father, and therefore not equal in nature

-the consensus of the council was that the Trinity is united: the Father and Son are of the same substance & co-eternal

-Arius exiled

-the council was far from definitive however, as Arius’s views were not suppressed (the two emperors who followed Constantine were Arians)

-around 360 issues arose when people realized that the nature of the Holy Spirit was still a mystery

Theodosius/ First Council of Constantinople (381)

-last emperor to rule both the eastern and western empires (Byzantine & Roman empires), died 395

-named Catholicism the state religion

-called the Council to repair the schism between the East and West

-Differences between East and West : linguistic and cultural (Latin in West, Greek in east=translation nightmares)

-the East by now had gained greater influence, 3 presiding bishops were Eastern; the bishop of Constantinople was second only to the bishop of Rome

-Con. was firmly Arian; men had to decide the nature of the Holy Spirit; the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are equal, though the HS ‘proceeded’ from the Father, while the Son was ‘begotten’ of him

-there were a number of ‘heretical’ sects of Christianity, though most of them were relatively insignificant and died off due to lack of followers or oppression

Papal Supremacy

-what does it mean to be the Bishop of Rome? Is he the ultimate authority or merely the ‘first among equals’?

-the West naturally wanted to give greater authority to Rome than the East, this became a major source of conflict

-eventually the West demanded to be recognized as supreme, the East refused, and the Great Schism followed

The Great Schism

-differences of Doctrine, Theology, Geography, Politics, Language, Culture

-the other language is outlawed

-in 1054 both Bishops try to excommunicate each other, the Church split

-early 16^th century Luther and the 95 Thesis mark the beginning of Western Protestantism