Lecture 7

The Diversity in Early Christianity and Later Heresies
Week 7
Overview
Week 1: Introduction
Week 2: The Ebionites
Week 3: The Marcionites
Week 4: The Gnostics
Week 5: Early Creeds & The Council of Nicaea
Week 6: Manichaeism, Nestorianism & Catharism
Tracing Diversity in Christianity

Diversity can be seen, very easily, in modern
Christianity
Despite their diversity, the vast majority of these
denominations accept the Apostles Creed, the Nicene Creed
and the same Bible
This diversity has been present for all of Christianitys

history
And this diversity was far greater before any creeds were
made and even before the New Testament existed
Early Christians were interpreting the Gospel, based on the
books available
Debates about every facet of Christian belief raged
What is the Nature of the Divine

Realm?
The one true God, as
described in the Old
Testament
A fair but wrathful God of
the Old Testament and a
loving, merciful God of the
New Testament
A plurality of gods, each an
aspect of an Unknowable
God
Dualistic realm, an eternal
battle raging between Good
and Evil
What was the Nature of Jesus?

The most righteous man who
ever lived, the Jewish
Messiah, adopted by God
A divine spirit that only
appeared as human
A divine spirit, that had
always existed, which
entered the body of Jesus
The Son of God, born of a
virgin, part of the Holy Trinity
Subordinate to God the
Father
How are we saved?

By believing in Christs
death and resurrection
By following the Torah, as
interpreted by Jesus
By acquiring and
understanding the
teachings of Jesus, both
Gospel and secret
By living a pure, monastic
life
Despite all these differences, everyone calling

themselves Christians believed:
Jesus was sent by God for the salvation of

mankind
The Rise of The Church (How We Got From

There to Here)
Because of Roman Imperial support, an orthodox faith

was recognized
Constantine called the Council of Nicea
This marks the end, for all practical purposes, of the early heresies
As the Roman Empire fell, the Pope gained more power

But not as much as youd think
The church begins to gain economic and political power

By 1066, Monasteries owned a sixth of Englands land
This power leads to corruption

Bishops paid tribute to the Pope
Church offices for sale
Clash of Church and State

The Pope had the power of excommunication and Interdiction
Excommunication: prohibited from receiving sacraments and gives other Kings
justification for a land grab
Interdiction: All subjects of the King are prohibited from receiving sacraments, all
masses were invalidated and subjects were absolved from obedience from their King
The entire country is damned to hell until the Sovereign relents
Investiture Controversy, 11th-12th century

Customary for Kings to appoint Bishops and Abbots
Kings would often appoint relatives as clergymen, higher clergy would consecrate them
Bishops would swear fealty to their liege upon investiture
Pope wanted sole authority to appoint the clergy

Bishops loyal to Pope would pay tithes to the Papacy, not their secular ruler
In 1122, Pope Calixtus II had sole authority over appointing bishops
Unam Sanctum (Holy Unity), 14th century

Again claims Kings secular power is secondary to the Popes spiritual power
In the 14 century, the Papacy moved to Avignon, under the thumb of the
French Crown
A New Age of Heresy

With the power of the church dominating the scene,
heresies formed in response to its wealth and corruption
Many heresies followed strict voluntary poverty
Cathars
Fraticelli
Lollards
Waldensians
Most of these groups railed against the clergy having

political power
Matters of the state conflict with matters of the spirit
Other heresies found acceptance within the Enemies of

Rome
The Church Strikes Back

Cathars
After failed attempts to convert the heretics,
the Albigensian crusade begins
Kill them all. God will know his own. Amaud
Amaury, Cistercian Abbot
A group of heresy hunters formed to root out

the remaining Cathar heretics
Fraticelli
Persecuted and burned heretics at the stake
Lollard
Banned translations the Bible
Blamed Lollards for Peasant revolts
Burned Lollards at the stake
Waldensians
Persecuted Waldensians for centuries
Pope Innocent VIII issued a bull for their
extermination
Early Christian Reformers

Jan Hus, 1369-1415
Czech Catholic Priest

Spoke out against Indulgences
Asserted no Pope or Bishop should take up the sword
Followers defeated 5 consecutive crusades
Burned at the stake for heresy
Erasmus, 1466-1536
Dutch Catholic Priest

Concerned with the wellbeing of the poor
Critical of abuses within Catholicism
Remained a Catholic all his life
Zwigli, 1484-1531
Swiss Reformer
Iconoclast
Former Catholic Priest
Replaced Mass with communion liturgy
Denied both transubstantiation and consubstantiation (no Real Presence)
Killed in a Swiss civil war
Erasmus and Zwigli were contemporaries of someone we all know

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The Diversity in Early Christianity and Later Heresies

Tracing Diversity in Christianity

This diversity has been present for all of Christianitys

What is the Nature of the Divine

What was the Nature of Jesus?

How are we saved?

Despite all these differences, everyone calling

Jesus was sent by God for the salvation of

The Rise of The Church (How We Got From

Because of Roman Imperial support, an orthodox faith

As the Roman Empire fell, the Pope gained more power

The church begins to gain economic and political power

This power leads to corruption

Clash of Church and State

Investiture Controversy, 11th-12th century

Pope wanted sole authority to appoint the clergy

In 1122, Pope Calixtus II had sole authority over appointing bishops

Unam Sanctum (Holy Unity), 14th century

A New Age of Heresy

Most of these groups railed against the clergy having

Other heresies found acceptance within the Enemies of

The Church Strikes Back

A group of heresy hunters formed to root out

Early Christian Reformers

Czech Catholic Priest

Dutch Catholic Priest

Erasmus and Zwigli were contemporaries of someone we all know

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