COURSE CONTENT:

Module 2.
Brief History of the Church
As we move forward to our stop…
On the Brief History of the Church…

Let us take on some important points from

the previous lessons…
History of the Catholic Church
A 2,000-Year Journey
 No Mosaic Burdens: Acts 15:23-29

• New Christians need not become

Jews first
• Circumcision would not be required of
converts to the faith
• The mission to the Gentiles was
approved as authentic
• This Council opened the Church to all
believers
• Thus the Church became “catholic” in
the root sense of the word: universal
or all-inclusive
• From then on belief in Jesus Christ Philip Baptizes the
and participation in His Church Ethiopian Eunuch
became the defining characteristic of (Acts 8:26-40)
a Christian

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Jerusalem Council Sets the Pattern
• After debate, Peter, the Rock, set the
tone of the Council (Acts 15:7-11), in
effect deciding the issue
• Peter is joined by James, Bishop of
Jerusalem, in this decision
• Here James and Peter both seem to
exert leadership. (Peter already
speaks for the universal Church by
virtue of the commission given him by
Jesus; James speaks as Bishop of
Jerusalem.)
• A formal announcement of the
council’s conclusions as members “in
agreement with the whole Church” Sts. Peter & James
concur (Acts 15)

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Jerusalem Council Sets the Pattern
• The Church recognizes a
problem or issue affecting
the whole Church
• A meeting is called with all
the Church leaders (Paul &
Barnabas go to Jerusalem
– to the Church – for a
solution)
• Open discussion of the
issues with prayers for
The Upper Room guidance by the Holy Spirit.
(Acts 1:13)
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Effects of the Council of Jerusalem
• Set the format for future
councils: discussing all sides of
the problem; reaching a
decision through the guidance
of the Holy Spirit;
communicating the decision to
universal Church.
• Brought order, unity,
organization, and stability to the
Church at a crucial time in its
history

11 Jerusalem
 Foundation for Apostolic Collegiality

• Apostles shared in the decision,

assured of God’s guidance [“It is
the decision of the holy Spirit and
of us…”] (Acts 15:23-29)
• A process was identified and the
Church leadership did not
hesitate to take authoritative
positions
• The bishops and the pope,
working together under the
guidance of the Holy Spirit, chart
the course for the future journey
of the pilgrim people of God.
Bishops, Cardinals in
Rome
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 Final Break with Judaism
• As a Jew, Jesus followed Jewish
Law, the Torah; and many Jewish
Christians continued to live as
Jews.
• But Jesus often met with Gentiles
and praised their faith.
• He also commanded the Church
to “Go, therefore, and make
disciples of all nations, baptizing
them in the name of the Father,
and of the Son, and of the Holy
Spirit, teaching them to observe
all that I have commanded you. ..”
Jesus Reading from Isaiah
(Luke 4:16-21)
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 Final Break with Judaism
• Three decades of
sometimes severe
persecutions by Jewish
authorities, in Jerusalem
and elsewhere in the
Empire, tested the Jewish-
Christian relationship
• 62 AD. The separation
became pronounced when
James the leader of the
Christians in Jerusalem
was arrested by the Jewish Jesus Laments over Jerusalem
High priest for blasphemy (Luke 19:41-44)
and beheaded

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 Final Break with Judaism
• 70 AD the Roman army took Jerusalem and leveled the temple.
Judaism’s center was gone and it seemed that Israel would disappear. To
survive it had to unify and require conformity of belief.

 The synagogues no
longer welcomed the
Christian sect. In the
year 90 the Jewish
leadership settled on
the canon of the
official Jewish sacred
Scripture – the break
was final.

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 The Word Spreads: Peter in Rome
• Ultimately, St. Peter
went from Jerusalem
to Antioch and finally
to Rome, which from
that time forward
became the seat of
the Church’s
governance
 Tradition holds that Peter spent more than 20 years in
Rome as bishop before his martyrdom under Nero
 He was buried on the Vatican hill, in a pagan cemetery;
Constantine built the first St. Peter’s Basilica over his
grave.
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 Preserving the Tradition
• A major responsibility (2
Thes 2:15)
• Deposit of faith preserved
orally (2 Tim 1:13-14)
• Didache – early teachings of
the Apostles put in writing
• Episcopate – authoritative
teaching office needed to
ensure these Apostolic
traditions are passed down
intact
• This remains the role of the
bishops: to teach, to govern,
and to sanctify
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 One Turning Point
• Resurrection of Jesus,
foreshadowed the
resurrection of all believers,
the day of the Lord
• Many early Christians
thought that the second
coming would occur within
the lifetime of those who had
heard Jesus preach,
continually admonishing his
audience to be alert and
ready (Mk 13:32-37, Lk
12:35-37)

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 One Turning Point
• Christians also began to
question fate of those who
had already died; to worry
when and if the end would
ever come [1 Cor 15:51-52]
• Passing of Apostles
accelerated the change from
oral to written tradition
• Church developed more
permanent structures; roles
more clearly defined
• Scripture canon formalized

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 The Early Church
• They also met in private
homes for the “breaking of
the bread” and the prayers.
• Eventually some houses
were specifically designated
for worship.

 A house-church in Dura-
Europos [Iraq] was built c. 250
A. D. and still stands.

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 The Good News: Public to “Private”
• The ministry of the apostles, as
presented in the New Testament,
was conducted in public
• After the first persecutions in 64 A.D.,
Christians continued to preach the
Gospel publicly, despite the risk
• The Church also maintained its
organization (39 of 1st 40 popes
martyred)
• In the post-apostolic Church
conversions came via the nascent
Church organization, apologists,
“street evangelizers”, ordinary
Christians, and martyrs Catacombs of Callistus
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 Evolution of Church Organization
• From Acts and Paul’s letters
we know that a hierarchal
Church emerged very early
during Apostolic times
• The Apostles at first sent our
Apostolic delegates (e.g.,
Titus, Timothy) with authority
from the Apostles
• This naturally evolved into
bishops with responsibility for
local Churches

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Early Church Fathers
 COURSE CONTENT:
Module 2.
Brief History of the Church
At the Close of the Story of Paul…
PERSECUTION was already existing..

Paul himself was persecuted and was

executed to death by being beheaded…

And the PERSECUTION in the Church

continues… even to this day…
 COURSE CONTENT:
Module 2.
Brief History of the Church
Now, what about the PERSECUTIONS in the
Church…

In our present time…

What persecutions are we encountering…