THE BRIEF HISTORY OF THE

CHURCH
I. THE EARLY YEARS OF THE CHURCH

II. THE CHURCH IN THE MIDDLE AGES

( DARK AGES )

III. THE CHURCH BETWEEN THE PERIOD

OF REFORMATION AND THE
TWEENTIETH CENTURY
 Christ and the
Apostles lived as a
community

THE EARLY YEARS OF THE CHURCH

 After Christ’s death…
……. the apostles feared for
their lives
……. Their hopes crumpled all
around them

However, Christ’s resurrection…

……. the apostles found new hope

The Resurrection of Christ is the

starting point of Christian Faith

THE EARLY YEARS OF THE CHURCH

 Before he ascended into heaven,
Jesus commanded his disciples
to make more disciples, baptize
them, and instruct them in the
faith.

He also promised that he will be

with us until the end of time,
and that he will be back.

THE EARLY YEARS OF THE CHURCH

 As promised by Christ, the
Holy Spirit descended on his
Apostles after his ascension
into heaven.

The Holy Spirit builds, animates, and sanctifies

Christ’s mystical body, the Church. As the Spirit
descended on the Apostles, they went out from
hiding and began to undertake the evangelizing
mission Christ left them with – so was the
Church birthed on Pentecost Sunday.
THE EARLY YEARS OF THE CHURCH
 At the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, the
Apostles were transformed from being fearful
disciples into courageous preachers of the good
news.
The Holy Spirit empowered the Apostles to carry
out their mission of ….

Evangelization – the initial

proclamation of the Gospel
to non-believers for the
purpose of converting them
to faith in the Lord Jesus

THE EARLY YEARS OF THE CHURCH

 Baptism – the ritual by which a convert is
integrated into the community of
believers

Catechesis
– the instruction given to
the baptized so that they
may grow in their
understanding of faith
which they embraced

THE EARLY YEARS OF THE CHURCH

 The day when the new
People of God was born –
the CHURCH
Reversal of Babel
Sin divides….
The Spirit of God unites….
The post-ministry of the
apostles finds its origin

THE EARLY YEARS OF THE CHURCH

 Five Elements that characterized the early
Christian Communities :

Kerygma – the public proclamation of the Gospel intended

particularly, though not exclusively, for a non-
Christian audience
Purpose : convert the audience to faith in the Lord
Jesus and thus be saved
Content : key events in the saving mission of Jesus

Didache– the teaching of the Apostles intended for those

who have already converted to Christianity
Purpose : deepen their faith

THE EARLY YEARS OF THE CHURCH

 Leitourgia – pertains to prayer and worship
Eucharist – the breaking of the bread – central to the life
of the first Christians
2 parts: Preaching of the Word – Liturgy of the Word
Breaking of the Bread – Liturgy of the Eucharist

Koinonia – means “fellowship” – Acts 2 – Community in

Jerusalem
- Sharing of life and self
Leitourgia of the Lord’s Supper is the most
excellent manifestation of Koinonia
Diakonia – refers to “service”- the central theme in the teachings
of Christ and of the Apostles
Love – defining characteristic of a follower of Christ

THE EARLY YEARS OF THE CHURCH

First crisis of the early Church :
Should the Gentiles be accepted into the Church?
Must they also become Jewish and follow the law of Moses?

Council of Jerusalem ( Acts 15)- set the stage for opening

Christianity’s doors to those of any
nationality or culture
Made the Church a “CATHOLIC” (universal) Church

AUTHORITY IN THE EARLY CHURCH

Christian Authority ≠ Authority that the world
generally understands

Mk 10: 42-44 Christian Authority = SERVICE

THE EARLY YEARS OF THE CHURCH

AUTHORITY IN THE EARLY CHURCH
Apostles lead the early Christian Communities
Mt. 16:18 – Peter was a given a unique authority as the
“head” of the Apostles
In the Holy Roman Catholic Church –
the authority of the Pope as the head of the Church

In the later part of the first century – 3 new types of leaders

were developed
1. Episkopos -Lead certain community
-Preside the Eucharistic celebrations
2. Presbyters -Guard the Church against “false teachers”
-“helpers” or servants within the community
3. Deacons -their ministries often had to do with the care for
the poor and the needy

THE EARLY YEARS OF THE CHURCH

 PERSECUTION OF THE EARLY CHURCH
Stephen – a deacon, man filled with grace and power, who
was working great wonders and signs among the
people ( Acts 6: 8)
- Became the first martyr of Christianity
- His death was the signal for increased
persecution against the Church at Jerusalem

James – the first apostle to be martyred

- he was put to death in Jerusalem by the sword at
the command of Herod between year 42 - 44

* sporadic persecutions were experienced by

the early Christians

THE EARLY YEARS OF THE CHURCH

 Their doctrines based on Christ’s teachings were
designed to conquer the minds and hearts of
humanity and this became a threat to the might and
power of the Roman Empire

The beliefs and practices of the Christians were in

conflict with the worldview of the pagan Rome:

a. They worship only one God and do not

recognize the Roman gods and goddesses.
They also refuse to worship the emperor.

THE EARLY YEARS OF THE CHURCH

 b. Christians are believed to be engaged in some
form of cannibalism in their Eucharistic Rite
which is celebrated in secret.
c. Public spectacles of bloody games, like
gladiatorial contests, were condemned by the
Christians as inhuman.

d. Christians refused to serve in the army and

protested against wars.
e. Christians showed disloyalty to the state by not
paying the imposed temple tax.

THE EARLY YEARS OF THE CHURCH

 Year 64 – under the reign of
Emperor Nero –
- general persecution of
the early Church started
– great fire in Rome

Result : a great number of Christians were arrested and

many were put to death after being subjected to
the cruelest of tortures

THE EARLY YEARS OF THE CHURCH

  He turned the Christians into living torches in the
garden of Nero.
 Others were thrown to the lions in the arena or fed
to the dogs.
 Among his victims were St. Peter, who was crucified
upside- down, and St. Paul, who was beheaded.
Year 67 – Rome – Sts. Peter and Paul
were persecuted
Rome would always occupy a
central place in Catholic
Faith as seat of St. Peter.
His successors, the bishops of
Rome, would be given a
place of special leadership
and authority in the
Church.

THE EARLY YEARS OF THE CHURCH

 ATTITUDE OF THE EARLY CHRISTIANS
TOWARDS PERSECUTION

( Tertullian, 197)
“ Crucify us; torture us; send us
to death; wipe us out? Your
injustice is the proof of our
innocence!”

The cruel inventions of your fury serve as

recommendations for the Church. Our numbers go on
increasing while you make blood harvests of our
ranks.”
“The Blood of Christ is a seed”

THE EARLY YEARS OF THE CHURCH

 The final general persecution of the church was under the
reign of Emperor Diocletian in the year 303 and lasted for 10
years
It is the worst persecution – extremely violent and added
many to the list of martyrs in the Church

THE END OF PERSECUTION

Emperor Diocletian
divided the
Roman Empire
into East and
West in the year
292

THE EARLY YEARS OF THE CHURCH

 WESTERN EASTERN
EMPIRE EMPIRE

Emperor Diocletian established his residence in Asia Minor and ruled

the Eastern Empire
Maximian – Diocletian’s close friend ruled the Western Empire from
Milan in Italy

THE EARLY YEARS OF THE CHURCH

 Constantine succeeded Diocletian
312 – an armed conflict broke out
between Constantine and
Maxentius

Constantine beheld a vision

of a cross in the sky,
over which were
emblazoned the Latin
words “In hoc signo
vinces”
“In this sign you shall
conquer”
THE EARLY YEARS OF THE CHURCH
 313 – Constantine, with his co-emperor Licinus, issued
the Edict of Milan
Edict of Milan – freedom of Religion to Christians and
even to all human beings
ended the persecution of the Christians
With Constantine’s victory, the Eastern and the Western
realms were unified
Constantine is the sole Emperor
was converted to Christianity in the year 313
baptized in 337, the year of his death

THE EARLY YEARS OF THE CHURCH

 Roman Emperors – take an active part in religious
matters
Constantine urged convocation of the Council of
Nicaea in the year 325 in order to help the Church
overcome the Arian heresy and gave rise to the
Nicene Creed
He transferred the capital of the empire from
Rome to Byzantium which he renamed
Constantinople, Rome was left free to become the
center of the Catholic world

THE EARLY YEARS OF THE CHURCH

 Constantine transferred the
capital of the empire from
Rome to Byzantium which he
renamed Constantinople

THE EARLY YEARS OF THE CHURCH

Two Factors that prevented Constantine’s dream of Christianizing
the whole empire becoming a reality :

1) As the head of the Roman Empire, the emperor was the official
high priest of pagan worship. As such, although he had the
power to issue decrees suppressing pagan practices, he could
not reasonably insist on their implementation.

2) Even though emperors became Christians, they did not easily

accept the subordination of their authority to that of the Pope,
and the hierarchy of the Church.

• In the process of defending the faith – more often they would

tend to dictate to the hierarchy in matters of faith and to treat the
Catholic Church as subservient to the state

• Result : Paganism continued to be a major force until Gratian

became Emperor

THE EARLY YEARS OF THE CHURCH

Gratian – became Emperor in the year 375
- renounced his pagan office of high priest, thus removing the
major obstacles to the Christianization of the state
- abolished the privileges enjoyed by pagan priests and
confiscated the property of the temples.

Theodosius – Emperor Gratian’s successor

- ruled during the years 382 – 395
- confirmed and strengthened the anti-legislation of
Gratian and in anything dealing with religion
- subjected himself completely to the Pope
- guaranteed the freedom of the Church at the First Council
of Constantinople in the year 381
- with the Council of Constantinople, he ruled that heresy
was a crime punishable by law
- decreed in the year 391 that Christianity was the official
religion of the State
THE EARLY YEARS OF THE CHURCH
 MONASTICISM
Exist to preserve both the spirit of Christianity and the
ancient wisdom of civilization
Life of prayer and community
It is founded by St. Anthony of Egypt in the year 285
St. Benedict - most important figure in monasticism.
He built a monastery of Monte Cassino. His rule
became the standards for monastic life for centuries
9th Century – monasticism became the centers of learning
and their abbots were powerful men.

THE EARLY YEARS OF THE CHURCH

The Benedictine Monastic Movement
* They perform the OPUS Dei or Divine Office of prayers and
psalms.
They held all things in common.

THREE VOWS:
1. STABILITY- the monk is forever bound to his monastery
2. OBEDIENCE – to his abbot as his spiritual father
3. CONVERSION OF LIFE- the cultivation of monastic life to his
own life as a monk

MOTTO: ORA et LABORA- Pray and Work

 Rome and Constantinople
– 2 great centers of
Christianity
- they became more
and more separated by
theology and politics.

Eastern Empire – often

resented the
Romans’ claim to
primacy

After the fall of the Roman Empire, there was only one emperor
(in the east). His failure to protect the west from invading
peoples led the Pope to crown Charlemagne as Holy Roman
Emperor in the year 800.

THE EARLY YEARS OF THE CHURCH