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• Pentecost - descent of the Holy Spirit and the birthday of the Church

• After Christ's death the apostles feared for their lives. Their hopes crumpled all around them
• Through Christ's resurrection the apostles found new hope
• The resurrection of Christ is the starting point of Christian faith
• The reports of Jesus' resurrection, or rising from the dead, led to the spread of a new religion called Christianity
• The Ascension of Jesus refers to the time when Jesus stopped appearing to the disciples in visible, human form
• Pentecost is the 50th day after another important religious event
• In Judaism, Pentecost is also called (Hag) Shavuot, and was the 50th day after the Passover offering of a sheaf of wheat
• Pentecost was originally a harvest festival that came to be associated with Moses' law-giving at Mt. Sinai
• The first Pentecost

  1. Peter told those who asked that they had to repent and be baptized in the name of Jesus for the forgiveness of sins; then they would receive the Holy Spirit

  2. The apostles and the disciples began the mission/process of evangelization/conversion with the slogan or battle cry -accept Jesus

  3. They were able to win converts by proclaiming the Resurrection of Jesus- the Risen and the Glorified Jesus and be baptized
• The Apostles


  • Provided the first interpretation of Christ's message, along with his life, death and Resurrection
  • They celebrated the first liturgies
  • They made the first disciplinary and doctrinal decisions
  • Their initial interpretive acts are the beginnings of Christian tradition
• Persecution of Christians under the Roman empire

  1st century until 313
• Fate of the Apostles

  • Simon Peter: crucified up-side down
  • Andrew: crucified—St. Andrew's Cross
  • James the Greater: beheaded
  • John: boiled in oil then imprisoned in the island of Patmos
  • Phillip: crucified
  • Bartholomew/Nathanael: beaten and crucified
  • Matthew/Levi: mortally wounded with a sword
  • Thomas: stabbed with a spear
  • James the Lesser: thrown from the Temple pinnacle then beaten with a fuller's club
  • Simon the Zealot: crucified
  • Jude/Judas/Thaddeus: crucified
  • Judas Iscariot: suicide by hanging
  • Matthias (replaced Judas Iscariot): stoned then beheaded
• Hostile Roman Emperors towards the early Christians

  • Nero, Decius, Diocletian, Trajan, Marcus Aurelius, Domitian, and others
• These emperors had shown brutality and harsh oppressions against the early Christians. But the more they were persecuted- the more the early Christians grew in numbers
• Nero


  First emperor to persecute Christians
• Decius


  Empire-wide persecution, Required libelli (certificates)
• Confessors


  Christians who confessed their faith
• Diocletian


  Destroy Churches & Scriptures, Imprison clergy, Demand clergy to sacrifice to gods, Demand all to sacrifice to gods
• Tertullian: 'The blood of martyrs is the seed of Christianity'
• Apologetics


  The study of the defense of faith by the used of reason
• Apologist


  A person who is an expert in defending the faith by using reason
• The Edict of Milan by Emperor Constantine and Emperor Licinius gave Christianity legal status and a reprieve from persecution but did not make it the state church of the Roman Empire
• The Edict of Thessalonica, (380 AD), by Emperor Theodosius made Christianity, specifically Nicene Christianity, the official religion of the Roman Empire
• Four Early Church Councils

  • Nicaea (325)- formulation of the Nicene creed (against Arianism)
  • Constantinople (381) dogmatically define the Divinity of God the Holy Spirit (against Apollinarianism)
  • Ephesus (431)- Mary as Mother of God (against Nestorianism)
  • Chalcedon (451)- Christ had two natures, divine and human. Human except sin and true God
• Arianism


  Arius (256-336) a presbyter (pastor) at Alexandria, Arians: Opposed by Council of Nicaea in 325, The Son is a creature but not one of the creatures. It denied that the Son was of one essence with the Father
• Apollinarianism


  Christ has a human body but not a human soul (no human mind or human will)
• Nestorianism


  Jesus is two persons, Condemned by Council of Ephesus, 431. Mary shouldn't be called "Mother of God," since she's mother only of the human side of Jesus
• Monothelism


  Opposed the idea of two wills in Christ, as well as two natures. They taught that Christ only had one will
• The Middle Ages between 5th and 15th centuries, starting at the collapse of the Roman Empire, with three main sections: The Early Middle Ages, High Middle Ages, and Late Middle Ages
• The Early Middle Ages were characterized by social and political changes due to the Roman Empire's collapse
• During the High Middle Ages, there was a lot of population growth in Europe, as well as technological advances. The Crusades took place during this time as feudalism became popular
• The Late Middle Ages were a more depressing time; the Black Death occurred, killing millions of people. There was also controversy concerning heresy within the church
• Theocracy


  A form of government in which God or a deity is recognized as the supreme civil ruler, the God's or deity's laws being interpreted by the ecclesiastical authorities
• Feudalism


  A social system in which people worked and fought for nobles who gave them protection and the use of land in return
• Medieval Church Hierarchy

  • Pope – the head of the Church
  • Cardinals – advisors to the Pope; administrators of the Church
  • Bishops/Archbishops – ecclesiastical superiors over a cathedral or region
  • Priests – ecclesiastical authorities over a parish, village, or town church
  • Monastic Orders – religious adherents in monasteries supervised by an abbot/abbess
• Notable Contributions of the Church during the Middle Ages

  • Education
  • Medicine
• Martin Luther and companions introduced new doctrines contrary to the official teachings of the church, like for instance- Bible alone and faith alone as the only means for salvation
• King Henry VIII (Church of England or Anglican) turned political issues into religious issues
• The Council of Trent was not actually a form of direct counter attack against Protestantism but more on the personal /internal conversion of the church