Our Catholic Faith

A Short History of the Catholic Church

 
History of the Church

Class Lecture Audio:

You can download the audio file:

A Short History of The Catholic Church Lecture Audio FileDownload

You can download the class notes file:

A Short History of the Catholic Church Class NotesDownload


Understanding Church History as Human History

History is not random. It is the story of God working in our world through his Church and his people. History has a beginning (Creation) and an end (the 2nd coming), but the one central event in all of history is the Incarnation. Suffering and evil have been part of human history since the fall of Adam and Eve. The only solution to this misery was to reconcile mankind with God so that “man might become god” and share in the eternal bliss of His presence as He planned from the beginning of creation.

The Church as a Mystery and the Body of Christ

As a result of God taking on flesh and becoming one of us, we have been invited to participate in the life of the Blessed Trinity.

CCC 460 The Word became flesh to make us “partakers of the divine nature”:78 “For this is why the Word became man, and the Son of God became the Son of man: so that man, by entering into communion with the Word and thus receiving divine sonship, might become a son of God.”79 “For the Son of God became man so that we might become God.”80 “The only-begotten Son of God, wanting to make us sharers in his divinity, assumed our nature, so that he, made man, might make men gods.”81 (1265, 1391; 1988)

Eph 3:4-10 you can understand my insight into the mystery of Christ, which was not made known to the sons of men in other generations as it has now been revealed to his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit, that the Gentiles are coheirs, members of the same body, and partakers in the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel . . . the plan of the mystery hidden from ages past in God who created all things, so that the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known through the church to the principalities and authorities in the heavens.

1Cor. 12:12-13 As a body is one though it has many parts, and all the parts of the body, though many, are one body, so also Christ. For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, slaves or free persons, and we were all given to drink of one Spirit.

The Purpose of the Church

Christ founded the Church for one purpose and that is to continue his saving work. The Church shows us how to worship and preserves the “deposit of faith” delivered by Jesus and the Apostles. Evangelization and catechesis (teaching) are the primary actions of the Church.

Church History

  • • 33 A.D. – Christ establishes his church
    • Founded on Peter, “the Rock” (Mt 16:16) (also see Appendix A)
      • Peter and Paul martyred in Rome under Emperor Nero around 64 A.D.

78 2 Pet 1:4.
79 St. Irenaeus, Adv. haeres. 3, 19, 1: PG 7/1, 939.
80 St. Athanasius, De inc., 54, 3: PG 25, 192B.
81 St. Thomas Aquinas, Opusc. 57: 1–4.
Catholic Church, Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2nd Ed. (Vatican City: Libreria Editrice Vaticana, 1997), 116.

    • Empowered by the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:1ff)
  • 50 A.D. – First New Testament document written (1 Thessalonians)
  • 70 A.D. – The Temple in Jerusalem is destroyed by the Romans under Emperor Vespasian
  • No more sacrifices could be offered by the Jewish priests and according to Jewish law.
  • 64 A.D. to 311 A.D. – The Church is persecuted by Roman Emperors Nero, Decius, Valerian, Diocletian, Galerius.
    • The first 28 popes (successors of Peter, the Bishop of Rome) were all martyred.
  • Circa 95 A.D. – Last books of the NT written.
  • 107 A.D. – First recording of the Church being called “Catholic” – Ignatius of Antioch (Letter to the Smyrnaeans, Ch. 8) (See Appendix B)
  • C. 200 A.D. – Priest Sabellius (heresy of Sabellianism) teaches that the Father, Son & Holy Spirit are just different “modes” of the same person, not individual persons. Also called Modalism.
  • 292 A.D. – Emperor Diocletian divides the Roman Empire into East and West.
  • 303 A.D. – The great persecution under Diocletian begins. Lasts until 306 A.D. in the West and 313 A.D. in the East.
  • 313 A.D. – Christianity become legal – end of persecutions by Emperor Constantine with the Edict of Milan.
  • 325 A.D – First Church council – Council of Nicaea
    • Gathering of Catholic Bishops from around the world, about 318 in all, to deal with the Arian heresy. Arius, a priest, claimed Jesus was not of the same substance as the Father, that he was created. It also established the Nicene Creed.
  • 381 A.D. – First Ecumenical Council of Constantinople
    • Condemns Apollinaris. Apollinarianism teaches that Christ had a human body and a divine mind, but not a human mind or spirit. It also expands the 3rd stanza of the creed defining the divinity of the Holy Spirit and thus completes what we call the Nicene Creed.
  • 382 A.D. – Synod of Rome confirmed the NT Canon as 27 books and OT 46 books.
  • 383 A.D. – Pope St. Damasus I commissions St. Jerome to take original manuscripts in Hebrew (OT) and Greek (NT) and translate them into Latin.
    • This translation is called the Latin Vulgate and it becomes the official translation of the Catholic Church.
  • 387 A.D. – Baptism of Augustine by Ambrose, the Bishop of Milan.
  • 393 A.D. and 397 A.D. (respectively) – Synod of Hippo and Carthage re-affirm the 27 books of the NT and 46 of the OT.
  • 405 A.D. – Pope Innocent I ratifies the canonical list of the NT and OT. He is credited with closing the canon of the Bible when he sent a list of sacred books to the bishop of Toulouse.
  • 431 A.D. – Ecumenical Council of Ephesus, led by St. Cyril of Alexandria.
    • Confirmed the Nicene Creed, defined Christ as the incarnate Word of God and proclaims Mary as “Theotokos” or “God-bearer.” It condemned Nestorius (Nestorianism) that taught that Mary was the “Christotokos” or “Christ-bearer.” The council met at the Church of Mary in Ephesus.
  • 451 A.D. – Ecumenical Council of Chalcedon called by Emperor Marcian.
    • Set aside the 449 A.D. 2nd council of Ephesus, called the “Robber Council,” where Eutyches proclaimed the doctrine of the one nature of Jesus. It condemned Eutyches and the Monophysites. Monophysitism taught that Jesus had only one nature, a divine one and denied the human nature of Jesus.
  • 476 A.D. – The Roman Empire splits up between East and West. Last Western Roman Emperor deposed and the Middle Ages begins in the West; The Eastern Roman Empire (Byzantine) lasts until A.D. 1453.

  • 400’s A.D. – Christianization of the barbaric tribes of Europe.
    • Conversion of Ireland through St. Patrick. Goths, Vandals, Lombards and Burgundians converted chiefly by Theophilus, bishop of Crimea.
    • The barbaric leaders were not intimidated by these Christian men, because these men had renounced wealth, power and sex, so they weren’t there to take the barbarian’s land, power or women.
  • 529 A.D. – 2nd Council of Orange
    • Condemns Pelagius as a heretic. Pelagianism stated that man’s faith was an act of free will unassisted by previous internal grace. The Council defined that faith, though a free act, resulted even in its beginnings from the grace of God, enlightening the human mind and enabling belief. It also explicitly denied double predestination, stating, “We do not believe that any are foreordained to evil by the power of God, but even state with utter abhorrence that if there are those who want to believe so evil a thing, they are anathema.”
  • 589 A.D. – The “filioque” begins to be inserted into the Nicene Creed throughout Spain following the 1st local Council of Toledo. It was not used by Rome until the early 11th century.
  • 622 A.D. – The start of the Islamic religion.
    • Mohammed claimed the Archangel Gabriel called him to be a prophet of God
    • Conquers by “the sword” – convert to Islam or die.
  • 680 A.D. – 3rd Ecumenical Council of Constantinople
    • Condemned the Monothelitism. The Monothelites believed that Jesus had two natures (human and divine), but only a divine will. It affirms Jesus had a human will as well as divine will.
  • 726 A.D. – Byzantine Emperor, Leo III, launches Iconoclasm that began a 120 year controversy. Iconoclasts believe that there should be no veneration of “graven images” as the OT condemned.
  • 756 A.D. – Central Italy given to Pope Stephen II by Pepin the Short, king of the Franks. It is commonly called “the Donation of Pepin.” This led to the formation of the Papal States.
  • 787 A.D. – 2nd Ecumenical Council of Nicaea
    • Vindicates the veneration of images.
  • 867 A.D. – Photius, patriarch of Constantinople (East), denounces the Latin addition of the filioque to the creed, thus the beginning Photian Schism.
  • 1054 A.D. – Mutual excommunication between the Patriarch of Constantinople, Michael I, and Pope Leo IX, leads to the Great Schism between the Catholic (West) and Orthodox (East). Subsequent “ecumenical” councils have no Eastern Orthodox participants.
    • Birth of the “Orthodox” Churches – Russian, Greek, Constantinople, Alexandria, etc. (about 14 in all)
    • The two Churches had been estranged since the split between the East and West Roman empire in 476 A.D. This and many other factors contributed to the split between the Eastern (Orthodox) and Western (Roman) Church.
    • The Orthodox Churches have valid ordinations (Holy Orders) and sacraments.

The Crusades

  • 1095 to 1270 A.D. – The Crusades, 8 in all – from 1095 to 1270 A.D.
    • Initial reason was to protect pilgrims on trips to the Holy Land from Islamic attacks.
    • Then they were launched to retake Christian lands conquered by Islamic armies.
    • The crusades prevented Europe from becoming an Islamic nation.
  • 1455 A.D. – The Printing Press was invented by Gutenberg (a Catholic).
    • The first book printed was the Catholic Bible (Latin Vulgate)
  • The Protestant Revolution – 1517 A.D.
    • Begun by Martin Luther, a Catholic monk. He was rightfully disgusted with the corruption in the Church at the time (e.g. selling of indulgences). Broke away from the Church instead of reforming it from within.
    • John Calvin starts his own “religion” or theology called Calvinism – 1534 A.D.
    • Many more protestant denominations followed . . .
  • Council of Trent – 1545 to 1563 A.D.
    • Addressed the protestant doctrines of salvation, the sacraments . . . and the canon (list of books) of the Bible.

 
APPENDIX A

Peter (Primacy, Authority and The Rock upon which the Church is Built)

Hippolytus of Rome (AD 210-230)

First of all Peter, the rock of the faith, whom Christ our God called blessed, the teacher of the Church, the first disciple, he who has the keys of the kingdom

Cyprian of Carthage (AD 258)

Cornelius was made bishop by the judgment of God and of His Christ, by the testimony of almost all the clergy, by the suffrage of the people who were then present, and by the assembly of ancient priests and good men, when no one had been made so before him, when the place of Fabian [Pope], that is, when the place of Peter3 and the degree of the sacerdotal throne was vacant; which being occupied by the will of God, and established by the consent of all of us, whosoever now wishes to become a bishop, must needs be made from without; and he cannot have the ordination of the Church who does not hold the unity of the Church
Nor ought it, my dearest brother, to disturb anyone who is faithful and mindful of the Gospel, and retains the commands of the apostle who forewarns us; if in the last days certain persons, proud, contumacious, and enemies of God’s priests, either depart from the Church or act against the Church, since both the Lord and His apostles have previously foretold that there should be such. . . Nevertheless, Peter, upon whom by the same Lord the Church had been built, speaking one for all, and answering with the voice of the Church, says, “Lord, to whom shall we go?

 

Pseudo-Hippolytus of Rome, “A Discourse by the Most Blessed Hippolytus, Bishop and Martyr, on the End of the World, and on Antichrist, and on the Second Coming of Our Lord Jesus Christ,” in Fathers of the Third Century: Hippolytus, Cyprian, Novatian, Appendix, ed. Alexander Roberts, James Donaldson, and A. Cleveland Coxe, trans. S. D. F. Salmond, vol. 5, The Ante-Nicene Fathers (Buffalo, NY: Christian Literature Company, 1886), 244.
3 [On the death of Fabian, see Ep. iii. p. 281; sufferings of Cornelius (inference), p. 303; Decius, p. 299.]
Cyprian of Carthage, “The Epistles of Cyprian,” in Fathers of the Third Century: Hippolytus, Cyprian, Novatian, Appendix, ed. Alexander Roberts, James Donaldson, and A. Cleveland Coxe, trans. Robert Ernest Wallis, vol. 5, The Ante-Nicene Fathers (Buffalo, NY: Christian Literature Company, 1886), 329.
Cyprian of Carthage, “The Epistles of Cyprian,” in Fathers of the Third Century: Hippolytus, Cyprian, Novatian, Appendix, ed. Alexander Roberts, James Donaldson, and A. Cleveland Coxe, trans. Robert Ernest Wallis, vol. 5, The Ante-Nicene Fathers (Buffalo, NY: Christian Literature Company, 1886), 341.


APPENDIX B

Ignatius to the Smyrnaeans 8 (AD 107)

Wherever the bishop shall appear, there let the multitude [of the people] also be; even as, wherever Jesus Christ is, there is the Catholic Church.

The Martyrdom of Polycarp (AD 155)

THE Church of God which sojourns at Smyrna, to the Church of God sojourning in Philomelium,1 and to all the congregations2 of the Holy and Catholic Church in every place: Mercy, peace, and love from God the Father, and our Lord Jesus Christ, be multiplied.

The Martyrdom of Polycarp 8 (AD 155)

Now, as soon as he had ceased praying, having made mention of all that had at any time come in contact with him, both small and great, illustrious and obscure, as well as the whole Catholic Church throughout the world, the time of his departure having arrived, they set him upon an ass, and conducted him into the city, the day being that of the great Sabbath.

The Martyrdom of Polycarp 16 (AD 155)

And on his doing this, there came forth a dove,9 and a great quantity of blood, so that the fire was extinguished; and all the people wondered that there should be such a difference between the unbelievers and the elect, of whom this most admirable Polycarp was one, having in our own times been an apostolic and prophetic teacher, and bishop of the Catholic Church which is in Smyrna.

The Martyrdom of Polycarp 19 (AD 155)

For, having through patience overcome the unjust governor, and thus acquired the crown of immortality, he now, with the apostles and all the righteous [in heaven], rejoicingly glorifies God, even the Father, and blesses our Lord Jesus Christ, the Saviour of our souls, the Governor of our bodies, and the Shepherd of the Catholic Church throughout the world.9,

Ignatius of Antioch, “The Epistle of Ignatius to the Smyrnæans,” in The Apostolic Fathers with Justin Martyr and Irenaeus, ed. Alexander Roberts, James Donaldson, and A. Cleveland Coxe, vol. 1, The Ante-Nicene Fathers (Buffalo, NY: Christian Literature Company, 1885), 90–212.
1 Some read, “Philadelphia,” but on inferior authority. Philomelium was a city of Phrygia.
2 The word in the original is ποροικίαις, from which the English “parishes” is derived.
Alexander Roberts, James Donaldson, and A. Cleveland Coxe, eds., “The Encyclical Epistle of the Church at Smyrna,” in The Apostolic Fathers with Justin Martyr and Irenaeus, vol. 1, The Ante-Nicene Fathers (Buffalo, NY: Christian Literature Company, 1885), 39.
Alexander Roberts, James Donaldson, and A. Cleveland Coxe, eds., “The Encyclical Epistle of the Church at Smyrna,” in The Apostolic Fathers with Justin Martyr and Irenaeus, vol. 1, The Ante-Nicene Fathers (Buffalo, NY: Christian Literature Company, 1885), 40–42.
9 Eusebius omits all mention of the dove, and many have thought the text to be here corrupt. It has been proposed to read ὲπʼ ἀριστερᾶ, “on the left hand side,” instead of περιστερά, “a dove.”
Alexander Roberts, James Donaldson, and A. Cleveland Coxe, eds., “The Encyclical Epistle of the Church at Smyrna,” in The Apostolic Fathers with Justin Martyr and Irenaeus, vol. 1, The Ante-Nicene Fathers (Buffalo, NY: Christian Literature Company, 1885), 42–43.
9 Several additions are here made. One MS. has, “and the all-holy and life-giving Spirit:” while the old Latin version reads, “and the Holy Spirit, by whom we know all things.”
Alexander Roberts, James Donaldson, and A. Cleveland Coxe, eds., “The Encyclical Epistle of the Church at Smyrna,” in The Apostolic Fathers with Justin Martyr and Irenaeus, vol. 1, The Ante-Nicene Fathers (Buffalo, NY: Christian Literature Company, 1885), 43.

Irenaeus, Against Heresies 1.10.3 (AD 180)

But [the superior skill spoken of] is not found in this, that any one should, beyond the Creator and Framer [of the world], conceive of the Enthymesis of an erring Æon, . . . a Pleroma at one time supposed to contain thirty, and at another time an innumerable tribe of Æons, as these teachers who are destitute of truly divine wisdom maintain; while the Catholic Church possesses one and the same faith throughout the whole world, as we have already said. (Note: These are the teachings of the Gnostics that Irenaeus condemns)

Cyprian of Carthage (AD 258)

And yet on this account there is no departure at all from the peace and unity of the Catholic Church, such as Stephen [Pope] has now dared to make;5 breaking the peace against you, which his predecessors have always kept with you in mutual love and honour, even herein defaming Peter and Paul the blessed apostles,6 as if the very men delivered this who in their epistles execrated heretics, and warned us to avoid them. Whence it appears that this tradition is of men which maintains heretics, and asserts that they have baptism, which belongs to the Church alone.

Irenaeus of Lyons, “Irenæus against Heresies,” in The Apostolic Fathers with Justin Martyr and Irenaeus, ed. Alexander Roberts, James Donaldson, and A. Cleveland Coxe, vol. 1, The Ante-Nicene Fathers (Buffalo, NY: Christian Literature Company, 1885), 331–332.
5 [Peter and Paul could not be quoted, then, as speaking by the mouth of any one bishop; certainly not by any prerogative of his See. See Guettée, The Papacy, p. 119. New York, 1866.]
6 [Peter and Paul could not be quoted, then, as speaking by the mouth of any one bishop; certainly not by any prerogative of his See. See Guettée, The Papacy, p. 119. New York, 1866.]
Cyprian of Carthage, “The Epistles of Cyprian,” in Fathers of the Third Century: Hippolytus, Cyprian, Novatian, Appendix, ed. Alexander Roberts, James Donaldson, and A. Cleveland Coxe, trans. Robert Ernest Wallis, vol. 5, The Ante-Nicene Fathers (Buffalo, NY: Christian Literature Company, 1886), 391.

 

Our Catholic Faith