By the mid to late 100s, the Christian faith had spread to places such as Carthage, North Africa (180?), Lyon in what is now France (140?), and Pityus on the Black Sea (a place of refuge from persecutions). The next chapter in the history of the Christian church unfolds in the city of Lyon in what is now France. The Christian church in that city began shortly before 177 thanks to trading links with the province of Asia, and the first bishop of the Lyon church was someone called Pothinus.
One of the young believers at the Lyon church was called Irenaeus. He himself born in Smyrna, in the Roman province of Asia, where he had been discipled by none other than Polycarp. One day Irenaeus met up with someone who had once been a member of the Lyon church but was now "into" Gnosticism. This troubled Irenaeus and he made it his life's work to combat the new false teaching which was making in-roads into the church. Interaction with this and other rival teachings help to formulate the Christian faith. When the bishop was martyred in the persecution in 177, Irenaeus came to take his place.
Gnosticism was a society-wide mood which influenced the Christian church, but was not exclusive to it. The essence of Gnosticism was to claim a certain higher knowledge (gnosis). Leading Gnostic teachers included Valentine, Basilides and Marcion. Marcion is famous for the "canon of Marcion", a revised list of books in the Bible, including only the gospel of Luke and 10 of Paul's letters. Marcion rejected the Old Testament, and also those bits of the New Testament which went against his teaching. While Gnosticism was very varied, there were two common features. Firstly, a dualistic world view, whereby there are two gods - the higher God outside of our world, and the demiurge, a lower god who governs our world. Secondly, Gnostics rejected and despised the Old Testament, considering it to be the work of the demiurge. It followed that the Eternal Word of God (Son of God) could not have become part of what creation. This meant that, according to Gnostic teaching, salvation is a kind of escape from the material world into the disembodied realm of spiritual bliss.
Irenaeus led the battle for the truth. He insisted that it is one and the same God who created the world through the Eternal Word (Son) of God, and also saved the same world through that same Son. In envisioning how God saves us through the Son becoming man, Irenaeus elaborated the concept of "recapitulation". Christ is the Last Adam, the new head of the human race. The course of Christ's life, in particular his obedience "even unto death and death on the cross" reverses the course of Adam's life. A phrase he used was: "God humanised, so that men might be deified." This term "deified" was a way of expressing the process by which we come to participate in the eternal life of God. Besides Irenaeus, Tertullian and Hippolytus likewise fought against Gnostic teaching.
It was this conflict with Gnosticism which prompted Irenaeus and the church to think through what is the basis of faith. Irenaeus' answer was threefold.
Above all else, the basis of faith was the Word of God. Remember that Irenaeus was living and writing in the final quarter of the 100s. Nevertheless, based on his words and his writings, it is clear that he had a full Old Testament (in the Greek Septuagint translation), four gospels, a book of Acts, letters of Paul, general letters and the book of Revelation. At this time, and until the mid-300s, there was some debate over the letter to the Hebrews, a few of the general epistles and the book of Revelation. Irenaeus' Bible seems to match up with the so-called "Muratori canon". There was also some books which ended up outside the New Testament which were at least considered for inclusion, such as the Shepherd of Hermas. (An even earlier reference can be found in the writings of Clement of Rome, writing around the year 95, who had the Greek Old Testament, the gospels, the letter to the Romans, 1 Corinthians (but not 2 Corinthians), the letter to the Hebrews, and 1 Peter.) Irenaeus wrote, We have learned from none others the plan of our salvation, than from those through whom the Gospel has come down to us, which they did at one time proclaim in public, and, at a later period, by the will of God, handed down to us in the Scriptures, to be the ground and pillar of our faith.
In the 200s, there were four criteria for determining which books were (or were not) included in the canon. Firstly, was it written by an Apostle or under their guidance (e.g. the gospel of Mark under the guidance of Paul). Secondly, is it accepted by all. Thirdly, is it read in the churches? Fourthly, is in agreement with sound teaching. On this basis, the canon was finalised in the 300s, and books such as the Shepherd of Hermas not included.
Besides the Word of God, a second criterion was what was called the "rule of faith". This would be a short summary text, expounding the key truths of the faith, and which would form the basis for teaching new converts being catechised (taught the faith). In some cases, they would learn this text and recite it at their baptism. Initially, the rule of faith would differ from place to place, although, as Irenaeus demonstrated, the essential content was the same. By contrast, Gnosticism was very varied from place to place. The rule of faith was essentially a summary of the Bible's teaching.
The third basis of faith was the idea of "tradition" and the role of the "bishop". Once again, we need to be careful to understand what Irenaeus meant by this. What he was contrasting was the dubious and secret passing on of the Gnostic teachings with the clear and public passing on of the Christian faith across the known world and particularly through those who would take the lead with preaching, namely the bishop. In many cases, including that Irenaeus, the bishop would trace their ministry back to their predecessor/s and to the Apostles: John taught Polycarp who taught Irenaeus. This is called "Apostolic succession". Notice that what Irenaeus was defending was a succession of teaching. Later, the church tried to formalise these lines of succession. In some cases, the results are questionable. For example, it is true to say that the Apostle Peter founded the church at Antioch? Or that Peter and Paul founded the church at Rome? It would seem that the origin of churches at Rome, Colossae and elsewhere was a bit "messier" and no less apostolic as a result.
Now, besides this threefold basis of faith, there was at least one other element, namely "unwritten tradition". What was meant by this phrase? Later, in the 300s, Basil the Great makes reference to this idea as he defended the truth of the Trinity and the Holy Spirit. By "unwritten tradition" he did not mean other teachings not recorded in the Bible, such as teachings on Mary. Rather, he meant things like the particular procedure for baptising, or the practice of crossing oneself in prayer. We might contest whether all of these things go back to the Apostles, but at least we understand what was meant by referring to them.
The Christian thinkers from Irenaeus onwards are known as the Anti-Gnostic or Ante-Nicene Fathers. They lived and wrote in the time from about 180 to 311. This was a time when the Christian church continued to think through what it believed. At Alexandria, there was Clement of Alexandria (d. 215). He headed up the "catechetical school" which offered a course of learning for those wanting to get baptised and others also. Clement was opposed to Gnostic teachings, and he put forward the idea that it is in fact Christians who are the real gnostics. His idea was that one first needs to believe in Christ, and having done so, one needs to grow spiritually, acquiring "gnosis" (knowledge). As we grow spiritually, Christ is our teaching, guiding the soul to forsake passions and strive towards perfection.
About the same time, in neighbouring Latin-speaking Carthage (North Africa), a young lawyer by the name of Tertullian came to faith. The church in his part of the world was in its infancy at the time. Tertullian used his powers of reasoning and logic to defend the Christian faith, answering objections. Unlike Clement, Tertullian rejected any appeal to secular wisdom (philosophy); for Tertullian it is the very paradoxical nature of the Christian faith which is a hallmark of its truth: "it is true because it is absurd". In matters of Christian conduct, Tertullian was very strict, and argued against Christians serving in the armed forces and for unmarried Christian women to wear the veil. He also forbade widows from remarrying after losing their husbands. Perhaps this side to his personality drove his towards the Montanist movement (the "Phrygian heresy"), which advocated "New Prophecy".
Another great thinker of the 200s was Origen of Alexandria. Born around 203, as a teenager, Origen wanted to join his father in his martyrdom, but was prevented by his mother, who hid his clothes. Origen went on to lead the catechetical school at Alexandria, where he taught intellectuals the Christian faith. Origen was an extreme ascetic, and even went to the lengths of castrating himself to fight against temptation. Very possibly for this reason he was not ordained to the ministry at Alexandria, although he was recognised as a preacher and theologian. It was said that Origen held the whole Bible in his memory. He expounded it in his homilies (expository sermons) and in his sermons (thematic preaching). Some of his preaching has been preserved and can be read. Origen sought to systematise Christian teaching in his word, entitled "De Principia". After Alexandria, travelled to different places and in the end settled in Caesarea (Holy Land) where he was ordained. At the end of his life, when persecution of Christians flared up again, he was tortured and died in 253 of injuries sustained.
After Gnosticism, the main heresy of the 200s was called "Monarchianism". This was actually two different heresies. The essence of both was to assert that God is a single monad, i.e. to deny the truth of the Holy Trinity. The first iteration of Monarchianism was called "dynamic monarchianism" or "adoptionism". This was the teaching of Paul of Samosata and others. This taught that Christ's sonship was merely temporary, from the moment the Spirit rested on him at his baptism and until his death. The teaching of Paul of Samosata was condemned at the synod of Antioch in 268.
A second iteration of Monarchianism was modalism, represented by Praxeus, Sabellius and others. This likewise taught that God is a single monolithic unity, however at various stages he has presented in various roles. During the time of the Law, he was Father. At the time of the gospel he presented as "Son" and during the church age, he presents as "Spirit". Note that this is a denial of the truth of the Trinity, namely that God is, eternally, Father Son and Holy Spirit.
Responding to the heresy of Monarchianism, Tertullian used the term Trinitas: God is one substance in three persons. When, in the gospel of John, Jesus Christ says, "I and the Father are one," he means "I and the Father are one substance." There was a bishop of a town who had embraced this false teaching, whilst also opposing the Montanist movement which Tertullian sympathised with. This is what Tertullian had to say, "He had chased out the Comforter and crucified the Father."
Origen likewise found words to conceptualise the truth of the Trinity. Origen's line of thought was as follows. The Son is God because he is born of the Father. And the Spirit is God because he proceeds from the Father. In other words, it is the Father who is the "beginning and source" of the Godhead. Origen understood the terms "begotten" and "proceeding" as descriptions of the eternal origin of Son and Spirit. Origen also sought to explain Christian teaching on creation and salvation in terms of Neo-Platonic philosophy. Origen was very influential in his time and on later thinkers such as Athanasius and the Cappadocian fathers. However, he was later condemned for heresy in the 500s for some of the more speculative and controversial teachings he held.
Following Origen who died in 253, there was a generation of Christians who lived during the period of the Lesser Peace of the Church (260-303). These included the Christian thinkers, Dionysius of Alexandria, Gregory the Wonderworker and Lactantius (240-320). The latter went on to become the teacher of the son of the Emperor Constantine.
Thus, in the period from 177 to 311, the church formulated answers to false teaching which facilitated a fuller understanding and appreciation of Christian truth.
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