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January 12, 2018
Even before the incarnation, and from the very moment of the first sin, God has been leading humanity toward closer communion with the divine. For this reason, God curses the serpent and the earth, but only punishes the man and the woman.
Clement of Alexandria
Eastern Father
the syncretistic spirit of the time reached its high point in that city at the mouth of the Nile.
and his goal was not so much to expound the traditional faith of the church—although he did hold that faith—as to help those in quest of deeper truth, and to convince pagan intellectuals that Christianity was not the absurd superstition that some claimed it was.
He is convinced that there is only one truth, and that therefore any truth to be found in Plato can be none other than the truth that has been revealed in Jesus Christ and in scripture.
Clement was convinced that a careful study of scripture would lead to the same truth that the philosophers have known.
There is a close relationship between faith and reason, for one cannot function without the other.
Reason builds its arguments on first principles which cannot be proven, but are accepted by faith.
Among those who were present at the Council of Nicea there was a young man, so dark and short that his enemies would later call him “the black dwarf.” This was Athanasius,
His strong suit was in his close ties to the people among whom he lived, and in living out his faith without the subtleties of the Arians or the pomp of so many bishops of other important sees.
These works show the deep conviction that the central fact of Christian faith, as well as of all human history, is the incarnation of God in Jesus Christ.
the presence of God in history was the central element in the faith of Athanasius.
Eusebius of Nicomedia and the other Arian leaders knew that Athanasius was one of their most formidable enemies.
the emperor responded: “My will also is a canon of the church.” On that ominous threat, many of the bishops signed the condemnation of Athanasius.
The high point for Arianism came when a council gathered in Sirmium openly rejected the decisions of Nicea. This was what orthodox leaders called the “Blasphemy of Sirmium.”
Along these lines, Athanasius argued that the corruption of humanity as the result of sin was such that a new creation was required, a radical reformation and restoration of what had been destroyed by sin. The work of salvation is no lesser than the work of creation. Therefore, the one responsible for our re-creation can be no lesser than the one responsible for our creation.
The two Greek words were homoousios (of the same substance) and homoiousios (of a similar substance). The Council of Nicea had declared the Son to be homoousios with the Father. But now many were saying that they would rather affirm that the Son was homoiousios with the Father.
Finally, in a synod gathered in Alexandria in 362 CE, Athanasius and his followers declared that it was acceptable to refer to the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit as “of one substance” as long as this was not understood as obliterating the distinction among the three, and that it was also legitimate to speak of “three substances” as long as this was not understood as if there were three gods.
most of the church rallied in its support of the Council of Nicea, whose doctrine was eventually ratified at the Second Ecumenical Council, gathered in Constantinople in 381 CE.
There lived three church leaders known as the Great Cappadocians: Basil of Caesarea, the theologian known as “The Great”; his brother Gregory of Nyssa, famous for his works on mystical contemplation; and their friend Gregory of Nazianzus, a poet and orator, whose many hymns have become traditional in the Greek-speaking church.
This remarkable woman was Macrina, the sister of Basil and Gregory of Nyssa, and someone who should certainly be counted among the Great Cappadocians.
Basil changed his life entirely. He resigned his teaching position and all other honors, and he asked Macrina to teach him the secrets of religious life.
True happiness is not found in the glories of the world, but in the service of God.
Since Basil eventually became the great teacher of monasticism in the Greek-speaking church, and since it was Macrina who awakened his interest in it, it could be said that she was the founder of Greek monasticism.
BASIL THE GREAT
Since all the legislation in the Greek church regarding monastic life is based on the teachings of Basil, he is usually regarded as the father of Eastern monasticism.
If all would take only what they needed, he said, and give the rest to others, there would be neither rich nor poor:
Basil collected resources from the well-to-do, telling them that this was their opportunity to invest their resources in a treasure in heaven, beyond the reach of thieves and moths.
Finally, in a heated encounter, the praetorian prefect lost his patience and threatened Basil with confiscating his goods, and with exile, torture, and even death. Basil responded, “All that I have that you can confiscate are these rags and a few books. Nor can you exile me, for wherever you send me, I shall be God’s guest. As to torture you should know that my body is already dead in Christ. And death would be a great boon to me, leading me sooner to God.” Taken aback, the prefect said that no one had ever spoken to him thus. Basil answered, “Perhaps that is because you have never met a true
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Through a vast correspondence and several theological treaties, he made a significant contribution to the reaffirmation of trinitarian doctrine and the definitive rejection of Arianism.
GREGORY OF NYSSA
Gregory of Nyssa, was of a completely different temperament.
While Basil was tempestuous, inflexible, and even arrogant, Gregory preferred silence, solitude, and anonymity.
For him, the monastic life was a way to avoid the pains and struggles of active life. He became known for his mystical life
GREGORY OF NAZIANZUS
at that time bishops were often married.
“I have been overcome, and I confess my defeat,” and declared that his reluctance to serve as a pastor was due in part to his interest in the contemplative life, and in part to his fear that he would be unequal to the task, for “it is difficult to practice obedience; but it is even more difficult to practice leadership.”
The obscure monk from Nazianzus was now patriarch of Constantinople.
The Council of Constantinople reaffirmed the doctrine of Nicea regarding the divinity of the Son, and added that the same ought to be said about the Holy Spirit. Thus, it was this council that definitively proclaimed the doctrine of the Trinity.
Thus, the Latin West and the Greek East came to agree on a common formula: one essence—or ousia—in three persons—or hypostases.
for fifty years after the Council of Nicea most emperors embraced the Arian cause and staunchly opposed the Nicene.
He was convinced that the differences between Chalcedonians and Monophysites were mostly verbal, and that the two parties could be reconciled through a series of meetings and dialogues.
