CHURCH HISTORY: FIRST COUNCIL OF CONSTANTINOPLE 381

This will be a brief overview of the First Ecumenical Council of Constantinople. There is much information on this, but I will keep this brief.

The council approved the current form of the Nicene Creed as used in the Eastern Orthodox Church and Oriental Orthodox churches, but, except when Greek is used, with two additional Latin phrases ("Deum de Deo" and "Filioque") in the West. The form used by the Armenian Apostolic Church, which is part of Oriental Orthodoxy, has many more additions. This fuller creed may have existed before the Council and probably originated from the baptismal creed of Constantinople.
The council also condemned Apollinarism, the teaching that there was no human mind or soul in Christ. It also granted Constantinople honorary precedence over all churches save Rome.
The council did not include Western bishops or Roman legates, but it was accepted as ecumenical in the West
The First Council of Constantinople is recognized as the Second Ecumenical Council by the Assyrian Church of the East, the Oriental Orthodox, the Eastern Orthodox, the Roman Catholics, the Old Catholics, and a number of other Western Christian groups. This being the first Ecumenical Council held in Constantinople, it was called by Theodosius I in 381 which confirmed the Nicene Creed and dealt with other matters such as Arian Controversy. The council tk place in the church of Hagia Irene from May to July 381.

The council affirmed the original Nicene creed of faith as true and an accurate explanation of Scripture. This council also developed a statement of faith which included the language of Nicaea, but expanded the discussion on the Holy Spirit to combat the heresy of the Pneumatomachi. It is called the Nicene Creed of 381 and was a commentary on the original Nicene formula. It expanded the third article of the creed dealing with the Holy Spirit, as well as some other changes. About the Holy Spirit the article of faith said he is "the Lord, the Giver of Life, Who proceeds from the Father, With the Father and the Son he is worshipped and glorified". The statement of proceeding from the Father is seen as significant because it established that the Holy Spirit must be of the same being (ousia) as God the Father.

This Council's decision regarding the Holy Spirit also gave official endorsement to the concept of the Trinity. By the end of the 4th century, the Byzantine Emperor Theodosius "issued a decree that the doctrine of the Trinity was to be the official state religion and that all subjects shall adhere to it"

This council condemned Arianism which began to die out with more condemnations at a council of Aquileia by Ambrose of Milan in 381. With the discussion of Trinitarian doctrine now developed and well under agreement to orthodox and biblical understanding, it led to Christology, which would be the topic of the Council of Ephesus of 431 and the Council of Chalcedon of 451.

CHURCH HISTORY: COUNCIL OF NICAEA:

When Scripture and tradition afforded no incontestable solution to the issue that arose between Arius and Athanasius concerning the nature of Christ, recourse was possible only to the consenss of the Church. Constantine therefore summoned a council, which met at Nicaea, in Asia Minor in 324 CE. It is called the First Ecumenical (or universal) Council because it included bishops from the East and from the West. To celbrate the twentieth anniversary of his reign, Constatnine invited the assembled bishop to dine with him. When those who had survived the great persecution filed between ranks of Roman soldiers to sit down with the emperor, on of their number wondered whether the kingdom of God had come or whether he dreamed. Here was another of those historical moments great with hope. The council did not resolve Constantine's problems with the church or the Church's own inner disputes. It rejected any subordination of the Son to the Father. The Greek work used to express their full equality was homoousios, meaning "of the same substance or being.: The English equivalent (derived from the Latin) is " Constubstantial." The Fahter and the Son were described as two persons sharing in one being or substance. With the Holy Spirit they constiture the Trinity.




The doctrine of the Trinity, as it was developed, is a formula that embraces a concept of great richness. It ascribes to God both unity and plurality: He is on and three. It ascrives to Him both being and becoming; as the ultimate ground of being, He is static and changless; yet ther in in Him an eternal, timeless process of generation, for the Son is begotten by the Fahter, and the Spirit proceeds from the Father alone (according to the Orthodox Church) or from the Fahter and the Son (according to the Roman Church). God is above time and within time; in the incarnation and throughout the whole history of Israel and of the Christian Church, eternity impinges upon time. God is ultimate being, indescribable save by negatives, yet He has the personal characteristics of the God of Moses, the God who speaks. Christ is the very godhead become flesh, suffering and dying for the redemption of mankind. The doctine of the Trinity was unifying, as indeed all Orthodox Christian thought was unifying. The heretics were commonly dualists. In the second century the Gnostics had separated body and spirit. Now the Arians separated the creature from the creator. Later, as we shall see the Nestorians tended to split the divine and the human natures of Christ.



But, although the Athanasians were able to unite God, as it were, they could not unite the Church. The Council of Nicaea pronounced in their favor. Constantine banished five dissidents, including Arius, and threatened with death anyone who did not deliver up his books to be burned. But, after the coundil had disbanded, Constantine discovered that the buld of the popultasion in the heavily Christianized area of Asia Minor had Arian leanings. Ten years later, in 335 CE, a synot met at Tyre, and this time the Arians won; Arius was restored and Athanasius was exiled. But the struggle was far from over.



Source: Christendom Vol 1: Roland H Bainton: A short history of Christianity and its impact on the Western Civilization.

Ancestral Sin

In the Old Testament account of creation, God created mankind and established a place for him called Paradise. He also gave him a commandment regarding the tree of the knowledge of good and evil: "And the Lord God commanded Adam, saying, "You may eat food from every tree in the garden; but from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you may not eat; for in whatever day you eat from it, you shall die by death" Gn 2:16, 17 In that Adam and Eve did not physically die the day they ate from the tree, the words "you shall die" indicate a spiritual death throught separation from God.

WHAT ARE THE CONSEQUENCES OF THE FALL?

1. This fall of Adam caused mankind to become subject to mortality. While this is often seen mainly as a punishment, or penalty, the emphasis concerning Gods judgments on Adam and Eve at the fall is best understood in terms of His mercy. So, for example, concerning mans mortality (Gn 3:19), St Gregory the Theologian states, "Yet here too He provides a benefit - namely death, which cuts off sin, so that evil may not be everlasting. Thus His punishment is changed to mercy."
2. We who are of Adams's race are not guilty because of Adams sin, but because of our own sin. However, because all of mankind fell away from the grace of God through Adams disobedience, man now has a propensity, a disposition, an inclination towards sin, because just as death entered the world through sin, now sin enters through fear of death.
3. Mankinds strong propensity to commit sin reveals that in the Fall, the image of God in man (Gn 1:26,27) is also fallen, However, the ancient Fathers emphasize that the divine image in man has not been totally corrupted or obliterated. Human nature remains inherently good after the Fall; mankind is not totally depraved. People are still capable of doing good., although bondage to death and the influences of the devil can dull their perception of what is good and lead them into all kinds of evil.
4. Adam's Fall not only brought mortality and sin into the world, but also sweat, toil, hunger, thirst, weariness, sorrow, pain, suffering, sickness, tribulations, tragedy and tears.
5. Even after the Fall, the intellectual, desiring and incensive (forceful or driving) aspects of the soul are natural and therefore neutral. They can be used in a good way, or in a bad, harmful way. For instance, desire is very good when one directs it towards God. But when desire is out of control, one may use it in very inapporpriate ways, such as becoming gluttonous or desiring another person's spouse. The classic analogy is that these powers of the soul are like iron, which can be made into a plow to help grow food, or into a sword to be used to kill someone.
6. Christ, by His Death and Resurrection , conquered the devil and death, freeing mankind fromt eh fear death (Heb 2:14-15) and making possible a more complete communion between God and man than was ever possible before. This communion allows people to become "partakers of the divine nature" (2Pt 1:4), to transcend death and, ultimately, all the consequesnces of the Fall.

Source: The Orthodox Study Bible: Ancestral Sin

THE CHURCH

One of the tragic aberrations of so called modern religion is "Churchless Christianity."
The assertion is that it is Christ who saves, not the Church, so "all you need is Jesus".
Few who claim to be Christians would argue against the statement that it is Christ who saves. For He is the eternal Son of God who has assumed human flesh, and has done so "for us and for our salvation" (Niceene Creed). Thus Paul writes, "For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus" 1Ti 2:5.
But because this Mediator established the Church which is His body, we who are joined to Him are joined to His church as well. To say we love Christ, who is Head of the Church and at the same time reject His body is to deny New Testament teaching.
The Gospel and Acts. The first use of the word "church' (Gr. ecclesia) in the New Testament comes in the Gospel of Matthew, when our Lord gives His approval of Peters confession of faith and promises, "I will build my church" (Matt 16:18). Jesus Christ builds, and we cooperate with Him.
The Book of Acts amplifies what Jesus meant in Matthew 16. When Peters sermon on the Day of Pentecost concludes, those present ask for guidance toward salvation: "What shalll we do?" (Acts 2:37). Following Peters word, they are baptized and join with the other believers, three thousand of them (Acts 2:38, 41)
Having been joined to Christ and His Church, these baptized believers begin living as the body of Christ. We find them looking after each other, using their personal resources for one another;s care, continuing togeher in prayer and in the Eucharist (Acts 2:42-47). From this point on "the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved" (Acts 2:47), and throughout Acts, we see the Church being built as the Gospel of Christ spreads.
The Epistles. Pauls instructions in his letters to the churches throughout the eastern Mediterranean clearly show what it means to be members of Christ; to be the Church and to be in the Church. Nowhere in the New Testament is Pauls teaching on the Church more fully disclosed than in Ephesians 4. He instructs us that:
1. The Church is one, "endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace" (4:3). There is one Church, one God, one doctrine, one baptism.
2. The Church is people, men and women who are energized by the Holy Spirit. For "to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of Christ's gift" (4:7). We are not all given the same gifts, but together we are equipped to do Gods will.
3. The Head of the Church is Christ, "from whom the whole body is joined and knit together" (4:16)
4. The Church, then, is that place established by Christ where we each may become what we are created to be, maturing and being perfected, while the Church receives what it needs from each of us, so that it too is being perfected. The church as the body of Christ carries us beyond our petty and worldly concerns, stretching our vision to the eternal and the heavenly as we ascend together to worship the Father , the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

* ORTHODOX STUDY BIBLE:

The Second coming of Christ

The Orthodox understainding of the second coming of /Christ is clear: The Lord Jesus Christ truly will return. His second advent is not a myth nor an empty promise, nor is it a metaphor. In fact, eacth time the Divine Liturgy is celebrated, the priest makes a proclamation to the Father that reveals how the Church responds not only to the second comming of Christ, but to all of His work.

Remembering this saving commandment (Jesus' command to eat His flesh and drink His blood) and all that has been done for us the Cross, the Tomb, the Resurrection on the third day, the Ascension into heaven, the sitting at the right hand, and the second and glorious coming - we offer You Your own, from what is Your own, on behalf of all and for all.

Orthodox Christians also believe the New Testament revelation of the second coming of Christ is meant to stimulate our preparation for it, not our speculation about it. This explains the relative simplicity with which the Nicene Creed, the most universal confession of faith in all of Christendom, addresses Christ's return: "He....will come again, with glory, to judge the lving and the dead, whose Kingdom shall have no end." the emphasis of historic Orthodoxy is that Jesus will come again, not when He will come again.

Thus, St. Paul writes, "denying ungodliness and worldy lust, we should live soberly, righteousely, and godly in the present age, looking for the blessed hope and gloriouse appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for Himself His own speacial people, zelous for good works: Tts 2:12-14

There are signs of Christ's coming, to be sure. Jesus phophesied many events that would take place in the world prior to His return (Mt 24; Lk 21:7-36). But even these Gospel passages close with Jesus' exhortation to virtue, righteousness, and preparation for the Judgment. Christ and His apostles issue severe warning, implicit and explicit, against second guessing the time of His coming (Mt24:3-8, 36, 43, 44, 50; Lk 21:7-9, 34 Acts 1:7; 1 Th 5:1-3: 2 Pt 3:8-10)

Much of medern Christendom has succumbed to divisive speculation regarding Christ's return. We are dividied into premillennial, postmillennial, and amillennial camps. Breaking it down even further, there are pre-tribulation, and post-tribulation adherents. Christians part ways and new denominations spring up around interpretations of events that have not yet even come to pass!

Thro0ught history the Orthodox Church has steadfastly insisted on the reality of the second coming of Christ as a settled belief, but has always granted liberty on the question of when it will occur. In the last chapter of Revelation, Jesus speaks the words, ":I am coming quickly.: Three differnt times (22:7, 12, 20). His comming will occur on a day and at an hour when it is not expected. The apostle John, the author of Revelation, concludes his book with a warning:

   For I testify to everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book; If anyone adds to these things, God will add to him the plagues that are written in the book; and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy God shall take away his part form the Book of Life, from the holy city, and from  the things which are written in thei book (Rev 22:18, 19)

To confess the return of Christ is to stand squarely within the apostolic tradition. To add "when" to the promis of His coming is warned against in the Scriptures. As members of the Bride of Christ, let us attend instead to being ready.

Scriptures says to watch and pray.....

The Transmission of the Bible to English

The Transmission of the Bible to English

1. 500 BCE: Completion of All Original Hebrew Manuscripts which make up the 39 Books of the OT

2. 200 BCE: Completion of the Septuagint Greek Manuscripts which contain the 39 OT Books and 14 Apocrypha Books.

3. 1 CE: Completion of all original Greek Manuscripts which make up the 27 Books of the NT.

4. 390 CE: Jerome’s Latin Vulgate Manuscripts produced which contain all 80 books (39 OT + 14 Apocrypha + 27 NT).

5. 500 CE: Scriptures have been translated into over 500 languages.

6. 600 CE: Latin was the only language allowed for Scripture.

7. 995 CE: Anglo-Saxon (Early Roots of English language) translations of the NT produced.

8. 1384 CE: Wycliffe is the first person to produce a (Hand written) manuscript copy of the complete bible. All 80 books.

9. 1455 CE: Gutenberg invents the printing press; Books may now be mass produced instead of individually hand written. The first book ever printed is Gutenbergs Bible.

10. 1516 CE: Erasmus produces a Greek/Latin Parallel NT.

11. 1522CE: Martin Luthers German NT.

12. 1525 CE: William Tyndales NT; The first NT to be printed in the English language.

13. 1535 CE: Myles Coverdales Bible; The first complete Bible to be printed in English. (80 books: OT +NT+Apocypha)

14. 1537 CE: Mathews Bible; The second complete Bible to be printed in English. Done by John “Thomas Matthew” Rogers (80 books)

15. 1539 CE: The “Great Bible” printed; The first English language bible to add Numbered Verses to each chapter (80 books total).

16. 1568 CE: The Bishops Bible printed; The bible of which the KJV was a revision (80 books).

17. 1609 CE: The Douay OT is added to the Rheimes NT (of 1582) making the first complete English Catholic bible. Translated from the Latin Vulgate (80 books).

18. 1611 CE: The KJV bible printed; Originally with all 80 books. The Apocrypha was officially removed in 1885, leaving only 66 books.

19. 1782 CE: Robert Aitkens bible; The first English language bible ( a KJV without the Apocrypha) to be printed in America.

20. 1791 CE: Isaac Collins and Isaiah Thomas respectively produce the first family bible and first illustrated bible printed in America. Both were KJV with all (80 books).

21. 1808 CE: Jane Aitkens bible (Daughter of Robert Aitken); The first bible to be printed by a woman.

22. 1833 CE: Noah Websters bible; After producing his famous dictionary, Webster printed his own revision of the KJV.

23. 1841 CE: English Hexapla NT; and early textual comparison showing the Greek and 6 famous English translations in parallel columns.

24. 1846 CE: The illuminated bible; The most lavishly illustrated bible printed in America. A KJV with all (80 books).

25. 1885 CE: The Revised Version bible; The first major English revision of the KJB.

26. 1901 CE: The American Standard Version; The second major American revision of the KJV.

27. 1971 CE: The New American Standard Bible (NASB) is published as a modern and “accurate” word for word English translation of the bible.

28. 1973 CE: The New International Version (NIV) is published as a modern and “accurate” phrase for phrase English Translation of the bible.

29. 1983 CE: The New King James Version (NKJV) is published as a modern English version maintaining the original style of the KJV.

30. 1993-2002 CE: The Message: The Bible in Contemporary Language was created by Eugene H. Peterson. It is a paraphrase of the original languages of the Bible.