Augustine of Hippo:

Theologian at the Fall of Rome

Lesson 4 16 October 2011

The Nicene Creed

We believe in one God, the Father Almighty, the maker of heaven and earth, of things visible and invisible. And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the begotten of God the Father, the Only-begotten, that is of the essence of the Father. God of God, Light of Light, true God of true God, begotten and not made; of the very same nature of the Father, by Whom all things came into being, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible. Who for us humanity and for our salvation came down from heaven, was incarnate, was made human, was born perfectly of the holy virgin Mary by the Holy Spirit. By whom He took body, soul, and mind, and everything that is in man, truly and not in semblance. He suffered, was crucified, was buried, rose again on the third day, ascended into heaven with the same body, [and] sat at the right hand of the Father. He is to come with the same body and with the glory of the Father, to judge the living and the dead; of His kingdom there is no end. We believe in the Holy Spirit, in the uncreated and the perfect; Who spoke through the Law, prophets, and Gospels; Who came down upon the Jordan, preached through the apostles, and lived in the saints. We believe also in only One, Universal, Apostolic, and [Holy] Church; in one baptism in repentance, for the remission, and forgiveness of sins; and in the resurrection of the dead, in the everlasting judgment of souls and bodies, and the Kingdom of Heaven and in the everlasting life.

The Council of Constantinople

381 AD
The Dispute: Who was the Holy Spirit? Macedonius Bishop of Constantinople
Taught: the Holy Spirit was a minister and servant placing the Spirit on the same level as the angels The discussion on the Trinitarian formula of having the same essence \ Reinforced the decision of the Council of Nicea and reinforce the Creed as the statement of orthodoxy

The Solution
The Holy Spirit is co-equal, co-eternal and co-substantial with the Father and the Son The Council of Toledo would add that the Spirit proceeds from the Father and the Son in 589 AD (the Filioque clause)

The Great Theologians

Eastern Church Theologians
John Chrysostom (347- 407 AD): Patriarch of Constantinople
Emphasized a pure and simple life (ascetic) Emphasized the literal meaning of the Scriptures in context and the use of practical application

Theodore of Mopsuetia (350-428 AD)

Opposed the allegorical method of interpretation of Scripture

Eusebius of Caesarea (260 340 AD)

The First Church Historian Ecclesiastical History and The Chronicles

Western Church Theologians

Jerome (331 420 AD)
Translates the Bible into Latin The Vulgate

Ambrose (339-397 AD)

Lawyer; originally the Governor of the City of Milan; becomes Bishop in 347 Introduces the use of hymns and antiphonal psalmody Bars the Emperor Theodosius from receiving the Lords Supper until he repented of his ordering the massacre of Thessalonica

Augustine of Hippo
354-430 AD
The Greatest of Early Church Fathers Born to a Roman Official in North Africa
Mother (Monica) a Christian who prays for his conversion Lives a riotous life in Rome Has a son Adeodatus by a concubine in 372 AD

Trained in Rhetoric for a career as a Lawyer and Official Follows Manichean and then Neo-platonic teachings Moves to Milan in 384 AD and comes under the teachings of Ambrose 386 AD: Converted to Christianity when he hears a voice that says Take up and Read Romans 13: 13-14 is what he turns to and then becomes a Christian and becomes the Bishop of Hippo in 396 AD

Augustine of Hippo
Confessions
Thou madest us for thyself, and our heart is restless, until it repose in thee
John Cassin Man sinful because of the Fall Will is weakened, but not totally depraved Mans will operates in cooperation with Gods will for salvation Mans will must remain in cooperation with Gods will Pelagius Man created free The power to choose good or evil Sin is the result of human weakness Man has the ability to live an obedient life Christ atonement needed for most, but not required

Augustine Man originally free, but corrupted by the Fall Sin binds man to choose evil (original sin) Will is totally depraved Grace is necessary and irresistible Christ atonement necessary for all

Pelagius teachings condemned at the Council of Ephesus in 431 AD Cassins teachings condemned at the Synod of Orange in 529 AD

Augustine of Hippo
The City of God
410 AD: Alaric Sacks Rome 476 AD: Rome Falls to Odoacer

Writes in response to charge that Rome fell because of the abandonment of the Roman gods for Christianity Argues that Rome had many catastrophes prior to the sack by Alaric when under the pagan gods Establishes a dichotomy between the City of God (people united in the love of God) and the City of Man (those interested only in self) This dichotomy is temporal and universal (not tied to the empire) The march of history is linear and the City of God established in His timing This Church Age is the millennium (amillennial in nature)

Augustine of Hippo
Impacts
His emphasis on the Church will be the focus of the medieval church and is the Father of Roman Catholicism
Infant Baptism in response to original sin Baptismal regeneration and sacramental grace Emphasis on the true ministry of the Church officials separate from the laity Purgatory

Protestantism a rediscovery of Augustinian doctrine

Emphasis on the total depravity of man Emphasis on the need for grace in salvation Emphasis on the Scriptures

Establishes a Christian philosophy of history The basis for separation of ministry into secular and sacred

The Council of Chalcedon

451 AD
The Dispute: What is the true nature of the relationship between Jesus the man and Christ the Lord? Apollinarius (310-390 AD) The Bishop of Laodicea
Jesus: Body and soul of a human that is overcome by the spirit of deity (emphasized Christs deity over humanity) condemned at Council of Constantinople

Nestorius (381-452 AD) The Patriarch of Constantinople

Dislikes the term Theotokos (God-bearer) for Mary; argues for Christotokos (Christ-bearer) Mary mother of human side only The divine and human natures of Christ exist side by side; thus Christ is the God-bearer

Eutyches (378-454 AD) Leader of a monastery in Constantinople

Monophysites: Teaches Christs human and divine natures are fused into one divine nature (teaching still exists in the Coptic Church)

Solution: Christ was complete in Godhood and in manhood (Theosanthropos) fully God and fully man: without mixture, without change, without division and without separation

References
Augustine. Confessions Augustine. The City of God Brown, Colin. Christianity and Western Thought vol. 1 Brown, Harold. Heresies: Heresy and Orthodoxy in the History of the Church Cairns, Earle E. Christianity Through the Centuries McGrath, Alister E. Historical Theology: An Introduction to the History of Christian Thought