The Celtic Church In The British
Christianity was probably planted in the British Isles during the second
century; as to its growth in the ante-Nicene period little is definitely
known. Representatives of the British Church were at Arles in 314. The
Church was in close connection with the Church on the Continent during the
fourth century and in the fifth during the Pelagian controversy. The
Christianity thus established was completely overthrown or driven into
Wales by the invasion of the pagan Angles, Jutes, and Saxons circa
449-500. (For the conversion of the newcomers, v. infra, § 100.) Early
in the fifth century the conversion of Ireland took place by missionaries
from Britain. In this conversion St. Patrick traditionally plays an
important part.
Additional source material: Bede, Hist. Ec., Eng. trans. by
Giles, London, 1894; by A. M. Sellar, London, 1907 (for Latin
text, v. infra, a); Adamnani, Vita S. Columbae, ed. J. T.
Fowler, 1894 (with valuable introduction and translation); St.
Patrick, Genuine Writings, ed. G. T. Stokes and C. H. H. Wright,
Dublin, 1887; J. D. Newport White, The Writings of St. Patrick,
1904. For bibliography of sources, see Gross, The Sources and
Literature of English History, 1900, pp. 221 f.
(a) Bede, Hist. Ec. Gentis Anglorum, I, 13. (MSL, 95:40.)
The Venerable Bede (672 or 673-735), monk at Jarrow, the most
learned theologian of the Anglo-Saxon Church, was also the first
historian of England. For the earliest period he used what written
sources were available. His work becomes of independent value with
the account of the coming of Augustine of Canterbury, 597 (I, 23).
The history extends to A. D. 731. The best critical edition is
that of C. Plummer, 1896, which has a valuable introduction,
copious historical and critical notes, and careful discrimination
of the sources. Wm. Bright's Chapters on Early English Church
History is an elaborate commentary on Bede's work as far as 709,
the death of Wilfrid. Translation of Bede's History by J. A.
Giles, may be found in Bohn's Antiquarian Library, and better by
A. M. Sellar, 1907.
In the following passage we have the only reference made by Bede
to the conversion of Ireland, and his failure to mention Patrick
has given rise to much controversy, see J. B. Bury, The Life of
St. Patrick and his Place in History, 1905. This passage,
referring to Palladius, is a quotation from the Chronica of
Prosper of Aquitaine (403-463) ann. 431 (MSL, 51, critical edition
in MGH, Auct. antiquiss, 9:1); from Gildas, De excidio
Britanniae liber querulus (MSL, 69:327, critical edition in MGH,
Auct. antiquiss, 13. A translation by J. A. Giles in Six Old
English Chronicles, in Bohn's Antiquarian Library), is the
reference to the letter written to the Romans; from the Chronica
of Marcellinus Comes (MSL, 51:913; critical edition in MGH, Auct.
antiquiss, 11) is the reference to Blaeda and Attila.
In the year of the Lord's incarnation, 423, Theodosius the younger
received the empire after Honorius and, being the forty-fifth from
Augustus, retained it twenty-six years. In the eighth year of his reign,
Palladius was sent by Celestinus, the pontiff of the Roman Church, to the
Scots(212) that believed in Christ to be their first bishop. In the
twenty-third year of his reign (446), Aetius, the illustrious, who was
also patrician, discharged his third consulate with Symmachus as his
colleague. To him the wretched remnants of the Britons sent a letter
beginning: "To Aetius, thrice consul, the groans of the Britons." And in
the course of the letter they thus express their calamities: "The
barbarians drive us to the sea; the sea drives us back to the barbarians;
between them there have arisen two sorts of death; we are either slain or
drowned." Yet neither could all this procure any assistance from him, as
he was then engaged in a most dangerous war with Blaeda and Attila, kings
of the Huns. And though the year next before this, Blaeda had been murdered
by the treachery of his brother Attila, yet Attila himself remained so
intolerable an enemy to the republic that he ravaged almost all Europe,
invading and destroying cities and castles.
(b) Patrick, Confessio, chs. 1, 10. (MSL, 53:801.)
The call of St. Patrick to be a missionary.
There is much dispute and uncertainty about the life and work of
St. Patrick. Of the works of Patrick, two appear to be genuine,
his Confessio and his Epistola ad Coroticum. The other works
attributed to him are very probably spurious. The genuine works
may be found in Haddan and Stubbs, Councils and Ecclesiastical
Documents relating to Great Britain and Ireland, vol. II, pt. ii,
296 ff.
I, Patrick, a sinner, the most ignorant and least of all the faithful, and
the most contemptible among many, had for my father Calpornius the deacon,
son of the presbyter Potitus, the son of Odissus, who was of the village
of Bannavis Tabernia; he had near by a little estate where I was taken
captive. I was then nearly sixteen years old. But I was ignorant of the
true God(213) and I was taken into captivity unto Ireland, with so many
thousand men, according to our deserts, because we had forsaken God and
not kept His commandments and had not been obedient to our priests who
warned us of our salvation. And the Lord brought upon us the fury of His
wrath and scattered us among many nations, even to the end of the earth,
where now my meanness appears to be among strangers. And there the Lord
opened the senses of my unbelief, that I might remember my sin, and that I
might be converted with my whole heart to my Lord God, who looked upon my
humbleness and had mercy upon my youth and ignorance, and guarded me
before I knew Him, and before I knew and distinguished between good and
evil, and protected me and comforted me as a father a son.
And again after a few years(214) I was with my relatives in Britain, who
received me as a son, and earnestly besought me that I should never leave
them after having endured so many great tribulations. And there I saw in a
vision by night a man coming to me as from Ireland, and his name was
Victorinus, and he had innumerable epistles; and he gave me one of them
and I read the beginning of the epistle as follows: "The voice of the
Irish." And while I was reading the epistle, I think that it was at the
very moment, I heard the voice of those who were near the wood of
Fochlad,(215) which is near the Western Sea. And thus they cried out with
one voice: We beseech thee, holy youth, to come here and dwell among us.
And I was greatly smitten in heart, and could read no further and so I
awoke. Thanks be to God, because after many years the Lord granted them
according to their cry.
(c) Bede, Hist. Ec., III, 4. (MSL, 95:121.)
St. Ninian and St. Columba in Scotland.
In the year of our Lord 565, when Justin the younger, the successor of
Justinian, took the government of the Roman Empire, there came into
Britain a priest and abbot, distinguished in habit and monastic life,
Columba by name, to preach the word of God to the provinces of the
northern Picts, that is, to those who are separated from the southern
parts by steep and rugged mountains. For the southern Picts, who had their
homes within those mountains, had long before, as is reported, forsaken
the error of idolatry, and embraced the true faith, by the preaching of
the word to them by Ninian,(216) a most reverend bishop and holy man of
the British nation, who had been regularly instructed at Rome in the faith
and mysteries of the truth, whose episcopal see was named after St.
Martin, the bishop, and was famous for its church, wherein he and many
other saints rest in the body, and which the English nation still
possesses. The place belongs to the province of Bernicia, and is commonly
called Candida Casa,(217) because he there built a church of stone, which
was not usual among the Britons.
Columba came to Britain in the ninth year of the reign of Bridius, the son
of Meilochon, the very powerful king of the Picts, and he converted by
work and example that nation to the faith of Christ; whereupon he also
received the aforesaid island [Iona] for a monastery. It is not large, but
contains about five families, according to English reckoning. His
successors hold it to this day, and there also he was buried, when he was
seventy-seven, about thirty-two years after he came into Britain to
preach. Before he came into Britain he had built a noble monastery in
Ireland, which from the great number of oaks is called in the Scottish
tongue(218) Dearmach, that is, the Field of Oaks. From both of these
monasteries many others had their origin through his disciples both in
Britain and Ireland; but the island monastery where his body lies holds
the rule.
That island always has for its ruler an abbot, who is a priest, to whose
direction all the province and even bishops themselves are subject by an
unusual form of organization, according to the example of their first
teacher, who was not a bishop, but a priest and monk; of whose life and
discourses some writings are said to have been preserved by his disciples.
But whatever he was himself, this we regard as certain concerning him,
that he left successors renowned for their great continency, their love of
God, and their monastic rules. However, they followed uncertain
cycles(219) in their observance of the great festival [Easter], for no one
brought them the synodal decrees for the observance of Easter, because
they were placed so far away from the rest of the world; they only
practised such works of piety and chastity as they could learn from the
prophetical, evangelical, and apostolical writings. This manner of keeping
Easter continued among them for a long time, that is, for the space of one
hundred and fifty years, or until the year of our Lord's incarnation 715.
More
-
Later Gnosticism
Though Gnosticism was expelled from the Church as it perfected its organization and institutions on the basis of the episcopate, the Canon of Scripture, and the creeds, outside the Catholic Church, or the Church as thus organized, Gnosticism exist... Later Montanism And The Conseque
In the West Montanism rapidly discarded the extravagant chiliasm of Montanus and his immediate followers; it laid nearly all the stress upon the continued work of the Holy Spirit in the Church and the need of a stricter moral discipline among Chri... Manichaeanism
The last great rival religion to Christianity was Manichaeanism, the last of the important syncretistic religions which drew from Persian and allied sources. Its connection with Christianity was at first slight and its affinities were with Eastern... Marcion
Recently Marcion has been commonly treated apart from the Gnostics on account of the large use he made of the Pauline writings. By some he has even been regarded as a champion of Pauline ideas which had failed to hold a place in Christian thought.... Martyrdom And The Desire For Mar
Ignatius of Antioch, Ep. ad Romanos, 4. Ignatius was bishop of Antioch in the opening years of the second century. According to tradition, he suffered martyrdom in Rome under Trajan, circa 117. Having been sent from Antioch to Rome... Montanism
Montanism was, in part at least, an attempt to revive the enthusiastic prophetic element in the early Christian life. In its first manifestations, in Asia Minor, Montanism was wild and fanatical. It soon spread to the West, and in doing so it beca... Moral Ideas In The Post-apostoli
Christians were convinced that their religion made the highest possible moral demands upon them. They were to live in the world, but remain uncontaminated by it (cf. supra, § 11). This belief even candid heathen were sometimes forced to admit (cf... Neo-platonism
The last phase of Hellenic philosophy was religious. It aimed to combine the principles of many schools of the earlier period and to present a metaphysical system that would at once give a theory of being and also furnish a philosophical basis for... Period I The Apostolic Age To C
The period in the Church before the clash with Gnosticism and the rise of an apologetic literature comprises the apostolic and the post-apostolic ages. These names have become traditional. The so-called apostolic age, or to circa 100, is that in w... Period I The Imperial State Chu
The history of the Church in the first period of the second division of the history of ancient Christianity has to deal primarily with three lines of development, viz.: first, the relation of the Church to the imperial authority and the religious ... Period Ii The Church From The Pe
In the second period of the history of the Church under the Christian Empire, the Church, although existing in two divisions of the Empire and experiencing very different political fortunes, may still be regarded as forming a whole. The theologica... Period Iii The Critical Period
The interval between the close of the post-apostolic age and the end of the second century, or from about 140 to 200, may be called the Critical Period of Ancient Christianity. In this period there grew up conceptions of Christianity which were fe... Period Iv The Age Of The Consoli
In the fourth period of the Church under the heathen Empire, or the period of the consolidation of the Church, the number of Christians increased so rapidly that the relation of the Roman State to the Church became a matter of the gravest importan... Relation Of The Roman State To C
The procedure of the Roman Government against the Christians first took a definite form with the rescript of Trajan addressed to Pliny circa A. D. 111-113, but there is no formal imperial edict extant before Decius on the question of the Christian... Religious Syncretism In The Thir
In the third century religious syncretism took two leading forms--the Mithraic worship, which spread rapidly throughout the Empire, and the fashionable interest in novel religions fostered by the imperial court. Mithraism was especially prevalent ... Results Of The Decision Of Chalc
The definition of the Council of Chalcedon, in spite of its condemnation of Nestorius and its approval of the letters of Cyril, was a triumph of the Antiochian school and a condemnation of Alexandrian theology. At Chalcedon no more than at Nicaea ... Rise Of Schisms In Consequence O
The Diocletian persecution and its various continuations, on account of the severity of the persecution and its great extent, seriously strained the organization of the Church for a time, and in at least three important Church centres gave rise to... Rome Constantinople And The Lomb
The Sixth General Council was the last great diplomatic triumph of Rome in the East in matters of faith, though two centuries after, in the matter of Photius, Rome played a brilliant part in the internal affairs of the Eastern Church. Immediately ... Rome Constantinople And The Lomb
By the eight century the veneration of pictures or icons had become wide-spread throughout the Eastern Church. Apart from their due place in the cultus, grave abuses and superstitions had arisen in many parts of the Church in connection with the i... Semi-pelagian Controversy
With the condemnation of Pelagianism the doctrine of Augustine in its logically worked out details was not necessarily approved. The necessity of baptism for the remission of sins in all cases was approved as well as the necessity of grace. The do... Social Significance Of The State
The Church at no time degenerated into a mere department of the State. In spite of the worldly passions that invaded it and the dissensions that distracted it, the Church remained mindful of its duty as not merely a guardian of the deposit of fait... Sole Authority Of The State Chur
When Theodosius had successfully forced upon the East the theology of Nicaea, his policy as to religious matters was manifest. No longer was heresy to be allowed. Laws were to control opinion in the same way that they did conduct. The old plea of ... State And Church Under Septimius
Although Christians were at first favored by Septimius Severus, they were still liable to the severe laws against secret societies, and the policy of Septimius was later to enforce these laws. The Christians tried to escape the penalties prescribe... The Age Of Justinian
Justinian I, the greatest of all the rulers of the Eastern Empire, succeeded his uncle Justin I (518-527); but he had, from the beginning of the latter's reign, exercised an ever-increasing influence over the imperial policy, and to him can be att... The Apologetic Conception Of Chr
Christianity was regarded as a revealed philosophy by the apologists. This they considered under three principal aspects: knowledge, or a revelation of the divine nature; a new law, or a code of morals given by Christ; and life, or future rewards ... The Apostles Creed
By the middle of the second century there were current in the Church brief confessions of faith which had already been in use from a time in the remoter past as summaries of the apostolic faith. They were naturally attributed to the Apostles thems... The Apostolic Tradition And The
The Gnostics claimed apostolic authority for their teaching and appealed to successions of teachers who had handed down their teachings. This procedure forced the Church to lay stress upon the obvious fact that its doctrine was derived from the Ap... The Asia Minor Conception Of Chr
The Asia Minor school regarded Christianity primarily as redemption, salvation, the imparting of new power, life, and incorruptibility by union with divinity in the Incarnation. Its leading representative was Irenaeus, a native of Asia Minor, but ... The Attitude Of The Roman Govern
No general persecution of the Christians was undertaken by the Roman Government during the second century, though Christians were not infrequently put to death under the existing laws. These laws, however, were by no means uniformly carried out. T... The Beginnings Of Catholic Theol
The theology of the Church, as distinguished from the current traditional theology, was the statement of the beliefs commonly held by Christians but expressed in the more precise and scientific language of current philosophy, the co-ordination of ... The Beginnings Of Councils As A
Ecclesiastical councils were the first defence against heresy. As the Church had not as yet attained its hierarchical constitution and the autonomy of the local church still persisted, these councils had little more than the combined authority of ... The Beginnings Of Monasticism
Asceticism in some form is common to almost all religions. It was practised extensively in early Christianity and ascetics of both sexes were numerous. This asceticism, in addition to a life largely devoted to prayer and fasting, was marked by ref... The Beginnings Of The Eusebian R
Shortly after the Council of Nicaea, Constantine seems to have become aware of the fact that the decision at that council was not acceptable in the East as a whole, representing, as it did, what was generally felt to be an extreme position. In com... The Byzantine State Church Under
According to Justinian's scheme of Church government, the Emperor was the head of the Church in the sense that he had the right and duty of regulating by his laws the minutest detail of worship and discipline, and also of dictating the theological... The Canon Or The Authoritative N
The Gnostics used in support of their doctrines writings which they attributed to the Apostles, thus having a direct apostolic witness to these doctrines. This they did in imitation of the Church's practice of using apostolic writings for edificat... The Catechetical School Of Alexa
Three types of theology developed in the ante-Nicene Church: the Asia Minor school, best represented by Irenaeus (v. § 33); the North African, represented by Tertullian and Cyprian (v. § 39); and the Alexandrian, in the Catechetical School of wh... The Celtic Church In The British
Christianity was probably planted in the British Isles during the second century; as to its growth in the ante-Nicene period little is definitely known. Representatives of the British Church were at Arles in 314. The Church was in close connection... The Chiliastic Controversy
During the third century the belief in chiliasm as a part of the Church's faith died out in nearly all parts of the Church. It did not seem called for by the condition of the Church, which was rapidly adjusting itself to the world in which it foun... The Christological Problem And T
The Arian controversy in bringing about the affirmation of the true deity of the Son, or Logos, left the Church with the problem of the unity of the divine and human natures in the personality of Jesus. It seemed to not a few that to combine perfe... The Church And The World
So long as chiliastic expectations were the basis of the Christian's hope and his judgment of the order of this present world, the Christian felt that he was but a stranger and sojourner in the world, and that his real home was the kingdom of Chri... The Church At The Beginning Of T
Although Theodosius the Great had been the dominating power in the government of the Empire almost from his accession in 379, he was sole ruler of the united Roman Empire for only a few months before his death in 395. The East and the West became ... The Church In Relation To The Em
In the course of the second century the Church spread rapidly into all parts of the Empire, and even beyond. It became so prominent that the relation of the Church to heathen thought and institutions underwent a marked change. Persecutions of Chri... The Church In The Eastern Empire
At the beginning of the permanent division of the Empire, the church life of the East was disturbed by a series of closely connected disputes known as the First Origenistic Controversy (§ 87), in which were comprised a conflict between a rational... The Church Of Italy Under The Os
The schism between New and Old Rome lasted from 484 to 517, but attempts were made on both sides to end the deplorable situation. The two successors of Acacius were willing to resume communion with Rome and restore the name of the bishop of Rome t... The Church Of The Western Empire
The period between the closing years of the fourth century, in which the struggle was still going on between heathenism and Christianity (§ 81), and the end of the Roman Empire of the West is of fundamental importance in the study of the history ... The Constitution Of The State Ch
The Church's constitution received its permanent form in this period. The conciliar system was carried to its logical completion in the ecumenical council representing the entire Church and standing at the head of a system which included the provi... The Conversion Of The Franks The
Chlodowech (Clovis, 481-511) was originally a king of the Salian Franks, near Tournay. By his energy he became king of all the Franks, and, overthrowing Syagrius in 486, pushed his frontier to the Loire. In 496 he conquered a portion of the Aleman... The Death Of Peter And Paul
Eusebius, Hist. Ec., II, 25. (MSG, 20:207.) Cf. Mirbt, n. 33. For an examination of the merits of Eusebius as a historian, see McGiffert's edition, PNF, ser. II, vol. I, pp. 45-52; also J. B. Lightfoot, art. "Eusebius (23) of C... The Death Of The Apostle John
(a) Irenaeus, Adversus Haereses, II, 22, 5; III, 3, 4. (MSG, 7:785, 854.) Irenaeus was bishop of Lyons soon after 177. He was born in Asia Minor about 120, and was a disciple of Polycarp (ob. circa 155) and of other elders who had... The Decian-valerian Persecution
The first persecution which may fairly be said to have been general in purpose and effect was that falling in the reigns of Decius (249-251) and Valerian (253-260). Of the course of the persecution we have information bearing directly upon Carthag... The Defence Against Heresy
The Church first met the various dangerous heresies which distracted it in the second century by councils or gatherings of bishops (§ 26). Although it was not difficult to bring about a condemnation of novel and manifestly erroneous doctrine, the... The Definitive Type Of Religion
The works of Dionysius the Areopagite first appear in the controversies in the reign of Justinian, when they are quoted in the Conference with the Severians, 531 or 533. There are citations from the works of the Areopagite fifteen or twenty years ... The Development Of The Cultus
The Church's cultus and sacramental system developed rapidly in the third century. The beginnings of the administration of the sacraments according to prescribed forms are to be traced to the Didache and Justin Martyr (see above, §§ 13, 14). At ... The Diocletian Persecution
The last great persecution was preceded by a number of laws aimed to annoy the Christians. On March 12, 295, all soldiers in the army were ordered to offer sacrifice. In 296 sacred books of the Christians were sought for and burnt at Alexandria. I... The Dissolution Of The Imperial
The third period of the ancient Church under the Christian Empire begins with the accession of Justin I (518-527), and the end of the first schism between Rome and Constantinople (519). The termination of the period is not so clearly marked. By th... The Dogmatic Parties And Their M
The parties in the Arian controversy became greatly divided in the course of the conflict. Speaking broadly, there were still two groups, of which one was composed of all those who regarded the Son as a creature and so not eternal and not truly Go... The Donatist Schism Under Consta
The Donatist schism arose in connection with the Diocletian persecution, in part over the policy of Mensurius of Carthage regarding the fanatical desire for martyrdom and the delivery of the sacred books according to the edict of persecution. Comb... The Earlier Gnostics Gnosticism
Gnosticism is a generic name for a vast number of syncretistic religious systems prevalent, especially in the East, both before and after the Christian era. For the most part the movement was outside of Christianity, and was already dying out when... The Easter Controversy And The S
The Church grew up with only a loose form of organization. Each local congregation was for a while autonomous, and it was the local constitution that first took a definite and fixed form. In the first centuries local customs naturally varied, and ... The Emperor Theodosius And The T
The Emperor Theodosius was appointed colleague of Gratian and Valentinian II, 378. He issued in conjunction with these emperors an edict (Cod. Theod., XVI, 1, 2; cf. Cod. Just., I, 1, 1, v. infra, § 72, b, e), requiring all subjects of the Empire... The Emperors From Jovian To Theo
The reign of Jovian lasted so short a time, June, 363, to February, 364, that he had no time to develop a policy, and the assertion of Theodoret that he extinguished the heathen sacrificial fires is doubtful. On the death of Jovian, Valentinian wa... The Empire And The Imperial Stat
In the period extending from the accession of Constantine (311 or 324) to the death of Theodosius the Great (395), the characteristic features of the Church's organization took definite form, and its relations to the secular authorities and the so... The Empire Of The Dynasty Of The
Emperors of the West: Honorius; born 384, Emperor 395-423. Valentinian III; born 419, Emperor 425-455; son of Galla Placidia, the daughter of Theodosius the Great, and the Empress of the West 419-450. Emperors of the ... The Empire Under Constantine And
Constantine became sole Emperor of the West, 312, and by the defeat of Licinius, July 23, 324, sole ruler of the entire Roman Empire. On his death, May 22, 337, his three sons divided between them the imperial dignity: Constantine II (337-340), ta... The Episcopate In The Church
The greatest name connected with the development of the hierarchical conception of the Church in the third century is without question Cyprian (see § 49). He developed the conception of the episcopate beyond the point it had reached in the hands ... The Eutychian Controversy And Th
What is known as the Eutychian controversy is less a dogmatic controversy than a struggle between the patriarchs of the East for supremacy, using party theological differences as a support. Few passages in the history of the Church are more painfu... The Extension Of Christianity
It is impossible to determine with accuracy even the principal places to which Christianity had spread in the first half of the second century. Ancient writers were not infrequently led astray by their own rhetoric in dealing with this topic. ... The Extension Of Christianity
Under the head of Extension of Christianity are to be placed only such texts as may be regarded as evidence for the presence of the Church in a well-defined locality. It is apparent that the evidence must be incomplete, for many places must have r... The Extension Of Monasticism Thr
Asceticism arose within the Christian Church partly as the practical expression of the conviction of the worthlessness of things transitory and partly as a reaction against the moral laxity of the times. As this laxity could not be kept entirely o... The Extension Of The Church Abou
The most important missionary work in the early part of the fifth century was the extension of the work of Ulfilas among the German tribes and the work of the missionaries of the West in Gaul and western Germany. Of the latter the most important w... The Extension Of The Church At T
Some approximately correct idea of the extension of the Church by the middle of the third century may be gathered from a precise statement of the organization of the largest church, that at Rome, about the year 250 (a), from the size of provincial... The First Division Of Ancient Ch
By the accession of Constantine to the sole sovereignty of the Roman Empire, A. D. 324, ancient Christianity may be conveniently divided into two great periods. In the first, it was a religion liable to persecution, suffering severely at times and alw...