Don Bosco Utume

Salesian
Theological
College

CH 139 - PATROLOGY
Lecturer: Fr. Joseph Mwaniki, imc
E-mail: frmwaniki@tangaza.ac.ke
Class 1, 2nd Semester, 2021
 Course Outline for Patrology
1)Introduction to Patrology
2)Apostolic Fathers
3)The Apologists
4)Irenaeus of Lyon
5)Tertullian and Cyprian
6)Origen and the School of Alexandria
7)Arius, Athanasius and the Council of Nicaea
8)The Cappadocian Fathers
9)Ambrose of Milan
10)Augustine of Hippo
11)Eusebius of Caesarea, Cyril of Alexandria, Cyril of Jerusalem
12)The Western Fathers in the IV and V centuries
Lesson 4
The
Apologists
From Apostolic Fathers to the Apologists
• Whereas the works of the Apostolic Fathers and of
early Christianity were directed to the guidance
and edification of the faithful, with the Greek
Apologists, the literature of the Church addresses
itself for the first time to the outside world and
enters the domain of culture and science.
• In the face of the aggressive attitude of paganism,
the missionary type of sermon, which was only
occasionally apologetic, was displaced in favour of
that pre-dominantly apologetic exposition which
gives to the writing of the second century its
distinctive character.
 Opposition against Christianity
• Not only did the State regard the profession of
Christianity as a capital crime against the official cult
and the majesty of the emperor, but even the
enlightened judgment of scholars and the weight of
opinion among the more cultivated classes of society
condemned the new religion as an ever increasing
threat to Rome's world-wide dominion.
• Among the prominent opponents of Christianity in
the second century may be mentioned the satirist
Lucian of Samosata, whose De morte Peregrini of 170
A.D. derided the faithful for their brotherly love and
contempt of death and the Platonist Celsus, who
issued his attack, The True Discourse, in 178 A.D. For
Celsus, Christianity was but a hodgepodge of
superstition and fanaticism.
Roman Emperors who persecuted the Christians
• Nero, (54-68)- martyrdoms of Peter and Paul.
• Domitian, (81-96)
• Trajan (98-117) - Christianity is outlawed but Christians
are not sought out.
• Hadrian (117-138)
• Antoninus Pius (138-161)
• Marcus Aurelius, (161-180) - Martyrdom of Polycarp.
• Septimius Severus, (193-211) Perpetua and Felicity
• Decius, (249-251)- Christians are actively sought out by
requiring public sacrifice. Buying of certificates (libelli)
instead of sacrificing
• Valerian, (253-260) - Cyprian of Carthage and Pope
Sixtus II
• Diocletian (284-305) – severe persecution
• Galerius (305-311) – severe persecution
The Reaction of the Christians
• The Apologists set before three objectives
• 1) They challenged the widely current calumnies
and were at particular pains to answer the charge
that the Church was a peril to the State. They
insisted that the faith was dominant force for the
maintenance and welfare of the world, not only
Emperor and State, but civilization itself.
• 2) They exposed the absurdities and immoralities of
paganism and the myths of its divinities, at the
same time demonstrating that the Christian alone
has a correct understanding of God and the
universe. Hence, they defended the dogmas
concerned with the unity of God, monotheism, the
divinity of Christ and the resurrection of the body.
 The Reaction of the Christians
• 3) Not content with merely rebutting the arguments
of the philosophers, they went on to show that this
very philosophy, because it had only human reason
to reply upon, had either never attained truth, or
that the truth it had attained was but fragmentary
and mingled with numerous errors, the 'spawn of
the demons'. Christianity, they asserted on the
other hand, was the absolute truth, since the Logos,
Divine Reason itself, comes down through Christ
upon earth. It must thence follow that Christianity
is immeasurably above Greek philosophy — is, in
fact, divine philosophy.
• In making this demonstration of the faith, the
Apologists laid the foundation of the science of
God. They are therefore the Church's first
theologians.
The Apologists
1. Quadratus
2. Aristides of Athens
3. Aristo of Pella
4. Miltiades
5. Apollinaris of Hierapolis
6. Melito of Sardis
7. Athenagoras of Athens
8. St Theophilus of Antioch
9. Hermias the Philosopher
10. Minucius Felix
11. The Letter to Diognetus: an apology for
Christianity composed in the form of letter
addressed to a high-ranking pagan, Diognetus.
12. Justin the Martyr
 Justin the Martyr
• Born in Flavia Neapolis, formerly Sichem in
Palestine. His parents were pagan.
• His long journey towards conversion: He tells us
(Dialog. 2—8) that he tried first the school of a Stoic,
then that of Peripatetic and finally that of a
Pythagorean. None of these philosophers convinced
or satisfied him.
• The Stoic failed because he gave him no explanation
concerning God's being. The Peripatetic insisted
most importunely that Justin pay him the tuition
immediately, which Justin answered by avoiding his
lectures. The Pythagorean demanded of him that he
must first study music, astronomy and geometry.
Justin had no inclination to do so.
 Justin the Martyr
• Platonism, on the other hand, appealed to him for a
time, until as he walked along the sea-shore an old man
convinced him that the Platonic philosophy could not
satisfy the heart of man and called his attention to the
'prophets who alone announced the truth'.
• 'When he had spoken', relates Justin, 'these and many
other things, which there is no time for mentioning at
present, he went away, bidding me attend to them; and
Ι have not seen him since. But straightway a flame was
kindled in my soul; and a love of the prophets, and of
those men who are friends of Christ, possessed me. And
whilst revolving his words in my mind, I found this
philosophy alone to be safe and profitable. Thus, and
for this reason, Ι became a philosopher, and Ι could
wish that all men were of the same mind as myself, not
to turn from the doctrines of the Saviour' (Dial. 8).
 Justin the Martyr
• The quest for truth lead him to Christianity.
• We also learn from him that the heroic contempt which
Christians entertained for death played no small role in his
conversion:
• Ί myself used to rejoice in the teaching of Plato and to hear evil
spoken of Christians. But, as Ι saw that they showed no fear in
face of death and of all other things which inspire horror, I
reflected that they could not be vicious and pleasure-loving'
(Αpol. 2,12).
• Honest searching after truth and humble prayer brought
him finally to accept the faith of Christ:
• 'When Ι discovered the wicked disguise which the evil spirits
had thrown around the divine doctrines of the Christians to
deter others from joining them, Ι laughed both at the authors
of these falsehoods and their disguise and at the popular
opinion. And I confess that Ι both prayed and strove with all
my might to be found a Christian' (Αpοl. 2,13).
The works of Justin the Martyr
• We have, indeed, two Apologies of St. Justine. In the
manuscript, the longer, of sixty-eight chapters, is
addressed to Antoninus Pius; the shorter, of fifteen
chapters, to the Roman Senate.
• Also his Dialogue with Trypho.
• His genuinely theological works On the sovereignty
of God, On the soul, On the Resurrection,
Confutation of all Heresies and Against Marcion
have been lost.
The First Apology
• Justin, in the name of the Christians, requests the
emperor to take up their case personally, and to
form his own judgment without being misled by
bias or the hatred of the mob.
… the first apology of Justin …

• The author criticizes the judicial procedure

regularly followed by the government against his
coreligionists and the false accusation made
against them. He protests against the senseless
action of the authorities in punishing the mere
acknowledgment of Christianity; the name
‘Christian’, like the name ‘philosopher’, does not
prove the guilt of innocence of a man. Punishment
can be imposed only for crimes of which the
defendant has been convicted, but the crimes of
which the Christians have been accused of mere
calumnies. They are not atheists. If they refuse to
worship the gods, they do so because the
veneration of such divinities is silly.
 … the first apology of Justin …

• At the end of the first apology is added the rescript

which the Emperor Hadrian about the year 125, sent
to Minucius Fundanus, the proconsul of Asia. This
document issues four regulations for a more just and
correct court procedure in the trials against the
Christians:
• Christians should be sentenced through a regular
procedure before criminal court;
• A condemnation can take place only if there is
proof that the defendant committed an offence
against the Roman laws;
• The punishment must be proportionate to the
nature and the degree of their crimes;
• Every false accusation must be punished severely.
 The second Apology of Justin
• This writing begins with a recent incident. The
prefect of Rome, Urbicus, had three Christians
beheaded only because they confessed to be
Christians. Justin appeals directly to Roman public
opinion protesting anew against unjustifiable
severities and replying to various criticisms.
• He answers, for instance, the sarcastic question of the
heathens why the Christians do not permit suicide in
order to reach God as fast as possible. Justin replies:
• ‘we shall if we so act by ourselves acting in
opposition to the will of God. But when we are
examined, we make no denial, because we are not
conscious of any evil, but count it impious not to
speak the truth in all things’ (Apol.2,4).
…The second Apology of Justin…
• The persecutions of the Christians are instigated
by the hatred of the demons against truth and
virtue. The same agencies had hurried the just of
Old Testament and of the pagan world, but they
would have no power over Christians if God did
not intend to lead his followers through trials and
troubles to virtue and reward, through death and
destruction to eternal life and happiness. At the
same time, the persecutions give the Christians
opportunity to demonstrate an impassive way the
superiority of their religion over paganism. At the
end, he also asks the Emperor, in judging the
Christians, to be led only by justice, piety, and
love of truth.
 The Dialogue with Trypho
• The Dialogue with Trypho is the oldest Christian
apology against the Jews which is extant. This
dialogue must have been composed after the
Apologies, because there is a reference to the first
Apology in chapter 120.
• It contains a two day discussion with a learned Jew,
most likely the very Rabbi Tarphon that is
mentioned in the Mishna. Eusebius (Hist. Eccles. 4,
18, 6) held Ephesus as the place where this
conversation was held. St. Justin dedicated his work
to a certain Marcus Pompeius. Of considerable
length, it runs to one hundred and forty two
chapters.
 …The Dialogue with Trypho…
• The introduction (Chapters 2-8) contains a detailed
narrative by Justin of his intellectual development
and his conversion. The first part of the main section
(Chapters 9-47) explains the Christian viewpoint
regarding the Old Testament. The Mosaic law had
only temporary jurisdiction. Christianity is the new
and eternal law for all mankind.
• The second part (Chapters 48 – 108) justifies the
adoration of Christ as God. The third part (Chapters
109 – 142) proves that the nations who believe in
Christ and follow His law represent the new Israel,
and the true chosen people of God.
 …The Dialogue with Trypho…
• In his dialogue with the Jew Trypho, St. Justin
stresses the Old Testament and quotes the prophets
as proof that Christian truth existed even before
Christ. Examining carefully his quotations from the
Old Testament, one finds that Justin gives
preference to passages which speak of the rejection
of Israel and the election of the heathens. It is
evident that the dialogue is by no means an exact
reproduction of a stenographic report of a real
disputation. It is possible that this exchange took
place in Ephesus at the time of the war of Bar
Kochba, mentioned in Chapters 1 and 9.
 The theology of Justine

• 1. The concept of God: In Justin’s concept of God,

there is already evident a learning to platonic
philosophy. God is without origin. The best name
for him is father, because, being the creator, he is
really the father of all. But since God is transcendent
and beyond all human beings, it is necessary to
bridge the abyss which opens up between God and
man. This is done by Logos. He is the mediator
between God and father and the world. God
communicates with the world only through the
Logos. And He reveals himself exclusively through
the Logos.
The theology of Justine
• 2. Mary and Eve: Justin is the first Christian author
who adds a counterpart to the Pauline parallel,
Christ-Adam, by contrasting Mary with Eve.

• 3. Angels and Demons: Justin is one of the first

authors who testifies to the cult of the angels who
follow and are made like him and the prophetic
spirit we worship and adore’ (Apol. 1,6). From
heaven they take care of all human beings: ‘He
committed the care of man and all things under
heaven to angels whom he appointed over them’
(Apol. 2,5)
The theology of Justine
• 4. Original Sin and Deification
• Justin is convinced that every human being is capable of
deification. At least, this was the case at the beginning
of creation. But the first parents sinned and brought
death upon themselves. But now, every man has
regained the power of becoming God: They were made
like God, free from suffering and death, provided that
they kept his commandments and were deemed
deserving of the name of his sons, and yet they,
becoming like Adam and Eve, work out death for
themselves: let the interpretation of the psalm (81) be
held just as you wish, yet thereby it is demonstrated that
all men are deemed worthy of becoming gods and
having power to become sons of the Highest and shall
be each by himself judged and condemned like Adam
and Eve (Dial. 124).
 The theology of Justine
• 5. Baptism and Eucharist
• Of exceptional value is the description of the liturgy of
baptism and the Eucharist, which Justin gives at the end of
his first Apology.
• There are two descriptions of the Eucharistic service in
Justin's Apology. In the first (Ch. 65) he pictures the
Eucharistic liturgy of the newly baptized. In the second (Ch.
67) he gives the details of the regular Sunday service.
On Sundays, the Liturgy began with a reading taken from the
canonical gospels, which here are called explicitly 'Memoirs of the
Apostles', or from the books the prophets. There followed a sermon
with a moral application of the readings. After this, the community
prayed for the Christians and for all men in the whole world. At the
conclusion of the prayers all members of the community exchanged
the kiss of peace. Thereupon, bread, wine, and water were brought to
the president. He recited a prayer of consecration over them. The
consecrated gifts were distributed by the deacons to those present
and were brought by them to those absent. Justin explicitly adds,
however, that this is no common bread and no common drink but the
flesh and blood of the incarnate Jesus.