CHRISTIANITY DURING THE APOSTOLIC PERIOD:

a. Councils of the Church before Nicean Council:

INTRODUCTION: One of the different methods in the historiography of the ancient Christianity
is ‘Councilliar History’ which, in short, is a study of the church by reflecting issues, discussions
and resolutions in its historical councils. Throughout the history of Christianity Councils of the
church often played vital roles in shaping its pattern of administration and in formulating
Christian doctrines and practices. These councils have always understood themselves as
instruments of the Holy Spirit. This paper briefly deals with the councils and synods that were
held before the famous Nicean Council.

1. THE ORIGIN OF THE COUNCIL: The very starting point at this history, according to
Kretschmar, dictates that its proper theme is the struggle for the rightful, spiritual unity of the
church of God.i The missionary success of the church and the rapid spread of Christian faith in
the first century after Pentecost led to one of the most serious crises for the unity of the church.
The questions of the authentic message, with the authority of the apostles posed certain
controversies within the church. The councils were called mainly in order to settle these issues.

2. THE COUNCIL OF JERUSALEM: The Council of Jerusalem was the first known historical
council and was dated to the year 49 or 50, about two decades after the death of Jesus. ii By this
time the church was enlarged, and was definitely numbered thousands in its ranks, having gained
many among those Jews who have accepted the crucified as their Messiah; but it also
encompasses adherents who have come from among the pagans, chiefly, of course, from those
sympathizers with Jewish monotheism who are termed the “god fearing” people. This influx of
pre-Christian elements into a pre-dominantly Judaic body has raised a delicate problem. In
addition, the opposition of the Jewish Christians to St. Paul and his teaching became so violent,
that he decided to place the whole matter before the Apostles and Elders of the mother church of
Jerusalem. Accordingly on his arrival in Jerusalem he first interviewed the apostles James, Peter
and John, and outlined the gospel that he was preaching. This met with their approval, they gave
him ‘the right hand of fellowship,’ and then calling together the whole church for consultation
finally decided that in the case of Gentile believers the Levitical Law was not to be enforced, but
that the Gentiles should be careful to abstain from certain acts which might offend the Jewish
converts. The decision of the Council declared in emphatic terms that the Gentile Christian is,
apart from the Mosaic Law, admitted to full privileges and membership of the Church. iii It was
decided that the Levitical Law was not to be enforced to the gentile believers while they were
supposed to be careful to abstain from certain acts that might offend the Jewish converts. The
gentile churches rejoiced as they received the judgment of the Council.

2. THE SYNODS OF THE THIRD CENTURY: The study of history of the Councils in the
ancient Christianity is incomplete without the study of Local Synods, which commonly took
place in the third century. These synods took place in variety of forms. We will look according to
their regions as follows:

2.1. The Councils in North Africa: In the third century North Africa (which consisted of Cartage
with its hinterland, covering the Proconsular Africa and Numidia as far as the more
 sparsely settled Mauretania, having a small number of Christian congregations) takes its
place alongside Asia Minor as the classical land of synods. The questions arose under
during the Decian persecution of 249/50, asking whether and under what conditions the
large number of apostates could be restored. Cyprian played a prominent role, trying to
settle the question in the council. The Council met in Carthage after Easter, 251, iv and
was attended by several foreign bishops. Another synod was convened on September
256, attended by eighty-seven bishops coming from Africa, Numidia, and Mauretania.
Decisions were made by votes cast by the delegates. It is doubtless that Cyprian, being
the president, played an influential role in the synods, and the decisions of the synod of
256 were considered to be the mere echo of his theology. The synods rejected the special
claims of Rome, and denied baptism by heretics.

2.2. The Councils in Italy and Egypt: The pre-eminence of Rome and Alexandria in Italy and
Egypt, respectively, made the Synods of these cities playing prominent roles in the life of the
ancient church. Moreover, Synods accordingly developed here in a different fashion. The first
known Roman synod displayed the features that keep recurring in the following period. During
the Easter controversy near the end of the second century a council of Italian bishops assembled,
according to Eusebius account, but the initiative lay wholly with the bishop of Rome, not with
the synod.v The third century synods made clearer how largely the other Italian bishops at the
meetings were mere clients and followers of the bishop of Rome. Conditions in Egypt were
almost similar, except that Alexandrian presbyters, down to the fourth century, maintained a far
greater independence of their bishop than those under Rome. They apparently ordained the new
bishops till the time of the Council of Nicea.

However, the Latin councils in general were primarily concerned with disciplinary
themes, with questions of church order; the Egyptian synods also dealt with questions of this
sort. The teaching of Origen in Caesarea posed several questions and discussions. The nature of
God as well as the anthropological problem in his teaching were dealt with. Besides, the third
century synods were concerned with the respective types of ecclesiology. Reflections were made
over divine ordained offices. But the spiritual authority of the ante-Nicene period may be
concluded that they were limited only to those who believed and approved them.

3. THE SYNODS UNDER CONSTANTINE AND HIS SUCCESSORS: Constantine not

only tolerated the church but also tried to use it as an instrument for the renewal of his
empire. Synods met several times in his reign when the quest for the proper relationship
between church law and imperial law became one of the basic themes of the councils.
The synods of Elvira in Spain (c.306), Ancyra (c.314) and Neocaesarea in Asia Minor
(between 314 and 325) were the well-known meetings with their cannons being survived.

Another remarkable meeting under Constantine was the Council of Arles in Gaul
on August 1, 314. This council basically meant to examine the feud between two African
factions named the Caecilians and the Donatists. The council was exceptionally
remarkable as it was the largest and most representative yet assembled in the history of
the Church, and it was noteworthy that three bishops from Britain, namely of London,
Lincoln and York were present. vi The council decided in favor of Caecilian. But Donattus
 fiercely rebelled against the church and started the famous Danatist schism that caused a
long-standing and serious battle within the church.

CONCLUSION: The above study on the brief history of the councils of the church before
Nicean Council shows us how important were the roles played by councils in the life of the
ancient church. They meant for shaping theology and ecclesiology. They started the present
structure of the church. They tried to settle schism in the church. They undoubtedly played
important role at the initial stage of Christianity. But, on the other hand, those councils had
certain limitations. The authority of their decision were limited to those who accepted their
resolutions, they could hardly helped the church from heresies and divisions. Therefore, their
impact on the church may be understood in both positive and negative ways.

b. Orgnisation of the early church

ORGANISATION IN THE EARLY CHURCH

Organization in the first century Church can not be compared with the present strongly structured
church organization. Each local church was independent and self supporting, each managing its
own affairs. None of the churches was above the other. But this should not be compared with
division we experience in modern denominational-based churches. Christians felt that they
belonged to one universal church, but there was no formal general organization which controlled
the widely scattered churches.

The apostles were admired and their decisions were authoritative as we see in the Acts 15.
However, the twelve disciples were not the only apostles. The pioneers of the gospel, church
planters and elders who earned respect in the believers’ community seemed to have been called
apostles. Their authority was not given by the structure nor by formality of their offices, but they
enjoyed spiritual authority, for they believed that they were directly appointed by Jesus. Gifts
formed another authority and there were several gifts of the Holy Spirit (See Ephesians 4:11). No
elected and dignified positions were vested by anybody, even then, they played certain
significant role in the organization of the church.

The first century Christian community was heavily influenced by the Jewish religion. There were
the offices of prophets and teachers. Their primary involvement is to expound the scriptures,
bringing light on the meaning of the gospel. There were priests/pastors who concerned
sheepherding of the members in their respective churches. The office of evangelists was also
there but their main job was preaching good news and not church planting as the apostles did. No
outer qualifications were required but they held their respective offices according to the gift of
the Holy Spirit. The rest of them were not permanently attached to one church. They moved from
one place to another to minister churches according to the need of the time. It is probable that
leaders of the local churches did not involve much n preaching and teaching.

Organization in local churches was obscure. There was no single pattern of administration which
all churches followed. Those churches founded by Paul seemed to have two sets of officers- (i)
The elders/Presbyters/Bishops and (ii) The Deacons. The first group of officers were responsible
in pastoral care, discipline and financial affairs. They preached in the absence of the apostles,
prophets or evangelists and they presided over the Lord’s Super. The Deacons helped the elders
in carrying out their duties. Both these officers held their offices by public choice or appointment
from the apostles. Again it is possible that there were some churches led by one leader.

However, life in the early church was far from being perfect. The church is holy but members of
the church were not wholly true. A number of problems troubled the NT church. Eg. Deception
by a couple (Acts 5:1,11), food distribution issue (Acts 6:1), quarrel between Barnabas and Paul
(Acts 15:36-41). In spite of these, the early Christians deserved admiration due to their brotherly
love, moral earnestness, purity, honesty, meekness etc. The community was characterized by a
strong unity and fellowship that attracted many to embrace Christianity at ist initial stage. Many
believed daily as the Bible says in Acts 2:42-47. The contemporary church, with its organized
structure, must have many things to learn from the early Christianity.

c. Worship in the early church:

1. INTRODUCTION: Christians developed both collective and individual worship since the
earliest period of the religion. At first a small community began each part of worship with simple
expression mostly under the influence of its environment. But they grew more and more
complex. Each one of these parts had undergone certain changes especially during the early
centuries in the history of the church. However, every single issue can not be considered in a
small paper like this. But the advent and development of different parts of worship will be briefly
discussed.

2. THE DEVELOPMENT OF WORSHIP:

2.1. Early Christian Worship: The church in the first century did not seem to follow any single
pattern. We are told that in the first days of the church in Jerusalem the initial large influx of
converts, those who came out of stirring events of Pentecost, “continued steadfastly in the
apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread and in prayers” vii. Paul’s first letter to
the Corinthians handed down to us some information about the worship of the early church. Both
men and women spoke, several might simultaneously ‘speak in tongues’ while some other
interpreted, some might ‘prophesying’. The ‘Lord’s supper’ was prominent in the life of the
church and was seemed to have associated with a meal, the agape, or ‘love feast’. However,
from the very beginning the forms of worship in the Jewish Synagogue had a marked influence
upon Christian Worship.

i
Georg Kretschmar, The Council of the Ancient Church, Hans Jochen Margull, ed., “The
Councils of the Church (History and Analysis),” Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1966. p. 1
ii
Henri Daniel-Rops, The Second Vatican Council: The Story Behind the Ecumenical Council of
Pope John XXIII, London: George G. Harrap & Co. Ltd., 1962. p. 18
iii
W.P. Hares, A History of the Christian Church of the Six centuries, Madras: The Christian
Literature Society, 1983. p. 2
iv
Kretschmar, The Council of the Ancient Church, p. 12
v
Kretschmar, The Council of the Ancient Church, p. 15
vi
W.P. Hares, A History of the Christian Church of the Six Centuries, p. 136
vii
Kenneth Scott Latourette, A History of Christianity Vol. I, New York: Harper & Row Publishers,
1975 p.196.
2.2. Later Developments in Worship: The developments of worship from the second century
mainly focussed on the Lord’s Supper which later came to be known as the ‘Eucharist’, a Greek
word meaning ‘the giving of thanks’. It must not be confused with the love feast or agape in the
first century. Lattourete defines:
“The emphasis upon the Lord’s Supper was to be expected, for it perpetually
focussed attention upon the source of the church’s origin and vigour-Christ, his death,
his resurrection, his continuing life, and the new and eternal life given to the Christian through
him. It was the narrative of the death and resurrection of Christ, if we may judge from the
proportion of space given it in all Four Gospels and from the emphasis upon it in the other
writings in the New Testament, that the instruction of catechumens was largely concerned and on
it the thought and faith of Christians were centredviii.
In early Christian thought a believer was not only ‘a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God,’
but all actions of worship were sacrificial. The Eucharistic gifts of bread and wine presented to
God were viewed as the “pure sacrifice” foretold by Malachi and as the Christian forms of the
Old Testament offerings of fine flour and firstfruits. ix There are many factors determining the
realistic view of the Lord’s Supper as a sacrifice. It was the occasion of the offering of gifts in
kind as well as in money for the clergy and the needy. Further, the struggle with docetism meant
an increasing emphasis on the reality of Christ’s passion as presented in the Supper, while a
ancient sense of a vital and mystical relation between a sacramental likeness and its inner reality
naturally furthered this way of thinking.

Church Fathers contributed a lot towards the developments of the Lord’s Supper. By Justin’s
time (153) the Lord’s Supper was already separated from common meal. Irenaeus developed the
idea of that the bread which received the invocation of God is no longer a common bread. So the
Eucharist consists of two realities, earthly and heavenly; so also our bodies, when they received
the Eucharist, are no longer corruptible, having the hope of the resurrection to eternity. It may be
said that, by the middle of the second century, the conception of a real presence of Christ in the
Supper was wide-spread.x Cyprian fully developed the doctrine of the Lord’s Supper as a
sacrifice offered to God by a priest.

The development of baptism was also seen during the early Christianity. It is older than
Christianity itself. The possible origin is a spiritualization of the old Levitical washings. Peter
defined baptism as the rite of admission to the church, and to the reception of the Holy Spirit. xi
To St. Paul, baptism was not merely the symbol of cleansing from sin, xii it involved a new
relation to Christ,xiii and a participation in his death and resurrection.xiv The writer of the fourth
gospel regarded it as indispensable unlike Paul who never seemed to understand baptism as
essential to salvation. By the time of Justin and Hermas baptism the prevailing view was that
baptism washed away all previous sins. However, it is certain that baptism is practised at the
influence of the non Christian world.

viii
Latourette, A History of Christianity, pp. 197 & 198.
ix
Williston Walker, A History of the Christian Church, Edinburg: T & T Clark, 1958. p. 90
x
Walker, A History of the Christian Church, p. 90
xi
Acts 2:38
xii
I Corinthians 6:11
xiii
Galatians 3: 26 & 27.10/23/02
xiv
Romans 6:4; Colossians 2:12
Infant baptism came into practice, most probably, in the late second century, and became a
controversial issue since that time. Irenaeus mentioned it by about 185. Tertullian discouraged
and advocated the delay of baptism only after one’s character was formed. Emperor Constantine
postponed his baptism to his death-bed. Origin thought that infant baptism was an apostolic
custom. Cyprian favoured the earliest possible reception. The reason why infant baptism arose is
yet unsolved. Cyprian favoured the practice because of the doctrine of original sin. Another
possible explanation is the feeling that there is no salvation outside the church.

As to the method of baptism, to Walker, it is probable that the original form was by immersion,
complete or partial.xv It continued to be the prevailing practice till the late middle ages in the
West. Justin taught that fasting and expression of belief, together with an agreement to live the
Christian life, were necessary prerequisites. During Tertullian’s time, the ritual was developed
with the formal renunciation by the candidate of the devil and all his works. Then the three fold
immersion followed. The newly baptized tasted a mixture of honey and milk, on coming from
the fount, as a symbol of his condition of a new-born babe in Christ. After that he was anointed
with oil and he lay on the hands of the baptizer in token of the reception of the Holy Spirit. It has
been the only sacrament in the Greek and Roman churches which any Christian, or indeed any
seriously intending person, can administer in case of necessity. xvi

3. DEVELOPMENTS OF OTHER ELEMENTS IN WORSHIP:

3.1. Liturgy: Before the end of the fifth century, the use of liturgy in connection with Eucharist
had been greatly enlarged. This is mainly caused by the influx of non Christians into the church
through mass movements. The church tried to accommodate this people, who were no more than
nominal Christians. If the barbarians who had been used to worship images were to fin any real
help in the church, many church leaders believed that it would be necessary to materialize the
liturgy to make God seem more accessible to these worshippers. xvii These liturgies were used in
different kinds of sacraments and worships and were developed time to time. They were
extended in the fourth century as the congregations swelled in size. Often older prayers were
expanded by inserting biblical quotations- so that it is a paradoxical law of early liturgical study
that the greater the biblical element in any given prayer the less primitive it is likely to be. xviii The
Creed properly belonged to baptism and appeared late in the fourth century as a part of liturgy.
Another late addition to the Latin mass was the appending of the Benedictus to the sunctus
during the sixth century.

3.2 Church Music: The earliest singing in the church had been conducted by a leader to whom
the people gave response in song. The so called ‘antiphonal singing’ in which two separated
choirs sing alternately, developed at Antioch during the second half of the fourth century.
Ambrose introduced antiphonal singing at Milan from whence it spread through the Western
Church.xix It is no surprise that the church practised singing and chanting of Hymns at its earliest
since they already existed as the worship elements in the Synagogues. However, Clement of
xv
Walker, A History of the Christian Church, p. 88
xvi
xvii
Earle E. Cairns, Christianity through the centuries (Revised edition), Grand Rapids: Zondervan
Publishing House, 1967. p. 172
xviii
Henry Chadwick, The Early Church, Harmondsworth: Penguin Books, 1967. p. 266.
xix
Cairns, Christianity Through the Centuries, p. 175
Alexandria was the first Christian writer who discussed the appropriate kind of music for
Christian use. He directed that it should not be the kind associated with erotic dance music; the
melodies should avoid chromatic intervals and should be austere. xx It is very likely that he had in
mind some of the Gnostic sects among whom there would probably have been much less sense
of inhibition and restraint.

The use of music in the church was not quite universally accepted. A few strong minded puritans
vehemently protested in the fourth century, wanting to exclude them altogether. In addition, there
were some people who felt that chanting obscured the meaning of words. Athanasius of
Alexandria tried to respond the issue by demanding speed rhythm in chanting the psalms.
Meanwhile, Augustine in his Confessions claimed that he was moved as he listened to the psalm
chants used at Milan. Augustine observed that there is no emotion of the human spirit which
music is incapable of expressing, and that it is extensive austerity to exclude it from church
services.xxi However, the early church music was highly influenced by the Greeks.

3.3. Customs of Prayer: Prayer held important position in the early church’s worship. The
manner of public prayer developed or took over certain forms. The custom early arose of facing
the East in prayer. In public prayer one attitude was that of standing with arms outstretched or
upraised. Another was lying prone, face downwards. To Tertullian’s disgust, some sat down after
a prayer had been completed. Tertullian declared that fasting or kneeling in worship on the
Lord’s Day and between Easter and Whitsunday (Pentecost) was improper.xxii

3.4. Private Worship and Devotion: Family and private devotion nourished among the early
Christians. Books were expensive for printing was still centuries in the future. Besides, literacy
was not as universal as today. But many individuals and families had copies of scriptures and the
temper of the church encouraged Bible reading by both individuals and groups. Translations of
all or parts of the Bible were made into several of the vernaculars. Many books which are not
included in the canon were also widely circulated. Books dealing with devotional nature were
written. Augustine’s Confessions and Julianus Pomerius’ Gaul De Vita Contemplativa (The
Contemplative Life) were the most popular ones.

4. TIME OF WORSHIP: Sunday became one of the major days in the church calendar after
Constantine decided to be a day of civic as well as religious worship. But services were held on
Wednesday and Friday as days of fasting.xxiii The festival of Christmas became a regular practice
about the middle of the fourth century with the adoption of the December date that had been
previously used by the worshippers of Mithra. xxiv The feast of Epiphany to celebrate the coming
of the Magi to see Christ was also brought into church calendar.

5. CONCLUSION: Many omissions are committed. But this brief discussion gives the basic idea
of the development of worship of the Christian church in the first six centuries. The early
Christians, being a small and caring community, developed worship at the initial stage of
Christianity which is still growing till today. Though simple they might be, these developments
xx
Chadwick, The Early Christian Church, p. 275
xxi
Chadwick, The Early Christian Church, p. 276
xxii
Latourrete, A History of Christianity, p. 206
xxiii
Cf. Walker, A History of Christian Church, p. 85
xxiv
Cairns, Christianity through the Centuries, p. 173
lead into a more complicated forms of worship today they served as one of the most important
pillar in the growth of Christianity. No one could underestimate the role of worship to the spread
of the church.

d. Problems in the early church:

1. PROBLEMS IN PRACTICE: The first major problems arising with practice in the early
Christianity was in relation to the observance of Mosaic Law, particularly among the gentile
converts. It was called ‘Judaising controversy’. The issue was whether the gentile converts
should obey the Mosaic laws including circumcision. We see a response to this issue in Paul’s
letter to the Galatians. The council of Jerusalem was convened to settle the matter and Paul’s
idea was major influence to the council’s decision. Division rising with the question of eating
meat was a problem witnessed in the church at Corinth. As Christian population increased with
the inflow new converts who embraced Christianity from the other religions, the eating of meat
offered to idols arose. Paul’s letters also evident that there were problems of fornication in the
church.

2. PROBLEMS IN DOCTRINES: There was no solid creedal formulation or statement of belief

which received general recognition in the church. As a result, there arose problems concerning
faith and order in the church. Scholars believed that there were attempts to formulate generally
accepted doctrine and the evidence for this is Matthew 28:18-20. However, generally speaking,
the NT church believed in the trinity. They accepted the teaching of Jesus towards love of others
as their moral ideals. Parousia was eagerly awaited and the final judgment was belonged to Jesus
and eternal life will be granted to those who believe in him. The thoughts of these believers were
wholly dominated by Jesus Christ the wholly depended upon the him.

3. SECTERIANISM WITHIN JEWISH CHRISTIAN COMMUNITY: A number of sects were

there:

3.1. Nazarites: They accepted Christian faith but without leaving the Mosaic law. They refused
to accept resolution made by the Jerusalem council on Judaising issue. They clung to the OT
rites and ceremonies and they believed circumcision to be applied to the gentile converts. They
set themselves apart from the mainline Christian community and retrieved to Judaism while
some of them joined Ebionites.

3.2. Ebionites: They formed a strong opposition to Paul. They taught that all, including the
gentile converts must observe the Jewish law as a moral ethical life as well as for salvation.
Christ divinity was questioned and they believed that the Holy Spirit indwelled Jesus after
receiving baptism and left him on the cross. Messianic kingdom was stressed and they
anticipated that Jesus would return to the World to establish this kingdom an earth.

3.3. Elsesaites / Sampseans: They were the offshoots of the Ebionites who practiced
circumcision, observed Sabbaths and other levitical laws. They had to face Jerusalem while
praying. They support Gnosticism and they set themselves apart from the rest of the Jews. They
discarded animal sacrifices, practiced baptism by immersion, celebrate the Lord’s Supper b using
bread and salt. They were strict vegetarians and they encouraged ascetic life. They claimed to be
the followers a Elcesai who revealed himself to the book of revelation maintained by the
community.

However, these internal problems hindered the growth of the church in many ways.