What is the Didache?
The word Didache comes from the Greek word related to doctrine, didactic, teaching, etc. The Didache is a controversial instruction book, the date of writing of which has been much debated. Currently, the Didache, a non-canonical book, is believed to have been written between A.D. 70 and A.D. 100. It is claimed to be the…
Did Constantine decide what books belonged in the Bible?
It is very important to clarify exactly what role the Emperor Constantine played in the Council of Nicea, what the purpose for the council was, what happened at Nicea, and briefly how the canon—the Bible as we know it—was formed. Constantine was a Roman Emperor who lived from 274 to 337 A.D. He is most…
Who was Cyprian of Carthage?
Cyprian of Carthage was a third-century leader of the Christian church. He was one of the earliest, strongest proponents of the idea that only the church, particularly the bishops of the church, had the power to administer sacraments and determine who was or was not worthy of those rituals. His debate over apostate Christians laid…
What is the Nag Hammadi library?
Nag Hammadi is a town in northern Egypt where a collection of ancient writings was discovered in 1945. The collection of writings has since been titled the Nag Hammadi library, or the Nag Hammadi scrolls, or the Nag Hammadi codices. The vast majority of the scrolls in the Nag Hammadi library represent the writings of…
What is Novatianism?
Novatianism was a sect that split from mainstream Christianity in the 3rd century. The sect was more or less extinct by the 8th century. The Novatianists preferred to call themselves katharoi, literally meaning “clean.” Novatianism split from Roman Christianity over a dispute regarding apostasy and how to deal with church members who had committed grievous…
What happened at the Third Council of Constantinople?
The Third Council of Constantinople was a monumental event that took place from AD 680 to 681. This council, acknowledged as the sixth ecumenical council, was convened with the primary objective of addressing and resolving the monothelite controversy. The monothelites had been a source of unrest in the Byzantine Empire and the wider Christian world…
What is the Diatessaron?
The Diatessaron is an ancient literary work that combined the four Gospels of the New Testament into a single narrative. The word Diatessaron can be taken to mean “Harmony of Four”; it is a transliteration of the Greek dia tessaron (“through the four Gospels”). The Roman historian Eusebius first came up with the name Diatessaron.…
What was the Edict of Milan?
The Edict of Milan was an important step in securing the civil rights of Christians throughout the Roman Empire. For nearly three hundred years, Christianity was functionally illegal in the Roman Empire. Christians were subject to various levels of persecution, up to and including arrest or execution, depending on the whims of the ruling politicians.…
What happened at the Council of Jamnia?
The 1st-century Council of Jamnia (Jabneh) is where the limits of the Jewish canon are said to have been finalized. This canon rejects the Apocrypha. Opinions about this council are varied and contradictory. The Roman Catholic Church, which accepts the Apocrypha as inspired Scripture, denies that such a council ever happened. Many non-Catholic scholars, who…
What is the Nicene Creed?
Other than the Apostles’ Creed, the Nicene Creed is likely the most universally accepted and recognized statements of the Christian faith. The Nicene Creed was first adopted in A.D. 325 at the Council of Nicea. The Roman Emperor Constantine had convened the Council of Nicea in an attempt to unify the Christian church with one…