ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY . Luis Vives Ed.
Lesson 6. Heresies (the last two points of the chapter are missing in this transcription).
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59. First Heresies: From the earliest times of Christianity the Church had to fight against great enemies. Not only was it persecuted, but it also found greater obstacles in the errors and heresies of the rebellious sons.
The first heretical sect with whom it had to fight was that of the Judaizers or Judeo-Christians who demanded, in order to be saved, the fulfillment of the Mosaic Law, and went so far as to deny the real existence of the Body of Christ. It was condemned by St. Peter in the first Council of Jerusalem, in the year 50.
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[They still infest the Church, but they are a secret satanic society, who think that the Holy Eucharist is like the offering of bread that they made in the Temple and for that reason they want to take communion with the hand, as they are satanic, they already have their brains eaten away and they want to make a religion to their measure, with much content of human sensual love, where even they use the psalms for recitals with banal worldly music, ex. the musical group Hakuna (that means There is no) For them, deep down there is NO GOD. And they got Hakuna from the song Hakuna Matata, from the Lion King movie. A recital recently, in January 2023, gathered 17,000 people, I saw a bit of the video. Sickening]
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Gnosticism was a mixture of Christian and pagan doctrines. The Gnostics held that matter is eternal; that there were two principles, one of good and the other of evil; that God and the Creator of the world are two distinct beings; that Jesus Christ had suffered only in appearance, because He had no real body, but a fantastic one; that he who knows the mysteries is already saved, and many other errors. The Gnostics were divided into more than thirty sects, of which Manichaeism was the principal one.
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Montanism was founded by the Phrygian Montano, who in the middle of the second century began to preach an extremely rigorous and austere doctrine. The conduct of the Montanists was as immoral as their doctrine was rigorous. They were condemned by the Church.
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Manichaeism: Manes, born in Mesopotamia at the beginning of the third century, founded a pagan sect called Manichaeism, whose foundation was the existence of two principles: that of Light or good, and that of Darkness or evil. According to this doctrine, each creature was good or evil, according to the principle that dominated it. The Manichaeans had a special religious organization and practiced secret worship. At the end of the third century Manichaeism was fought by the Church.
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61. Arianism: This heresy took its name from its founder, Arius, a presbyter of Alexandria, an ambitious man, who, not having obtained the patriarchal chair of Alexandria, conceived such resentment that he rose up against the faith, denying the divinity of the Word, and began to preach this doctrine publicly, affirming that Jesus Christ is not God, thereby destroying the whole Christian religion [of those who followed him]; in spite of which, Arius succeeded in attracting many followers. [They are the same as the Judaizers, but under another name, and they still infest the Church today.]
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Alexander, patriarch of Alexandria, convoked a provincial Council in 320, attended by about 100 bishops; Arius was excommunicated and his doctrine condemned as heretical. The heresiarch did not accept the decision of the Council and continued teaching heresy and exercising the sacred ministry. Numerous faithful of Asia and Syria embraced this doctrine, which was later the origin of new errors.
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62. Council of Nicaea: Seeing the disturbance that this doctrine produced in the East, Constantine promoted the meeting of a general Council to put an end to the heresy. Some 318 bishops, presided over by the pontifical legates and by Osius, bishop of Cordova, met in Nicaea in the year 325.
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This assembly carefully examined the doctrine of Arius and condemned it as opposed to the constant and universal belief of the Church. Among the impugners of the error distinguished St. Athanasius, a distinguished champion of Catholic truth. Osius drew up a profession of faith, known in the Church by the name of the "Nicene Symbol."
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Macedonius: Council of Constantinople (381): In the middle of the fourth century new heretics arose from among the Arians who openly denied the divinity of the Holy Spirit.
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At the head of them all was Macedonius, after whom the new heresy was named, and although he admitted the divinity of the Word, he taught that the Holy Spirit was a mere creature inferior to the Father and the Son.
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St. Athanasius defended the Catholic doctrine against the Macedonians. In 381 a Council met in Constantinople (II Ecumenical) and in it this doctrine was officially condemned, the Nicene symbol was confirmed and these words were added: "I believe in the Holy Spirit, Lord and life-giving, who proceeds from the Father and the Son."
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64. Nestorianism: Council of Ephesus - The Nestorians recognize Nestorius, patriarch of Constantinople, as the head of their heresy. They distinguish in Jesus Christ two persons: one divine, the Word, and the other human, Christ. To this error they added that Mary was only the mother of Christ and, therefore, should not be called Mother of God.
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In the third General Council, in Ephesus, it was defined that in Jesus Christ there is only one divine person and that Mary is and must be called Mother of God. [One divine Person, but two natures: human and divine, the human being totally subject to the divine.]
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Nestorius was deposed from his office and banished by the Emperor.
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In order to procure for the faithful an easy means of honoring the divine maternity of Mary, the Church added later (16th century), to the angelic salutation, the following words, "Holy Mary Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death."
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65. Eutychianism: Council of Chalcedon: The error of Eutyches, superior of a monastery of Constantinople, was opposed to that of Nestorius. His sectarians did not admit in Jesus Christ more than one nature, claiming that the human nature after the Incarnation had been absorbed by the divine.
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St. Flavian, patriarch of Constantinople, sought the recantation of the author of this new heresy; but, having become enraged at the number and influence of those who had adhered to him, he obstinately refused.
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Pope St. Leo I the Great, in agreement with the Emperor, gathered in Chalcedon a general council. It began with the reading of a letter in which the Sovereign Pontiff victoriously combated and condemned that heresy. In its consequence, this Council made it clear that in Jesus Christ there are two distinct natures, united in one person, which is that of the Son of God.
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66. Fathers of the Church: To defend the faith threatened by so many heresies, God raised up men of great learning and holiness who were the impregnable bulwark of the Gospel. They have been given the name of Fathers of the Church.
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67. Fathers of the Greek Church - The most important Greek Fathers are:
1st, St. Athanasius, patriarch of Alexandria, was for fifty years the luminary of the councils and the defender of the faith, mainly against the Arians, who made him suffer hard persecutions and banished him 5 times.
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2nd, St. Basil, archbishop of Caesarea of Cappadocia, challenged Arianism, but fought mainly against Macedonianism. He led for some years a secluded life and composed for his numerous disciples a rule that was the basis of the cenobitic life in the East.
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3º St. Gregory Nazianzen, a great friend of St. Basil, was patriarch of Constantinople, a dignity he resigned for love of peace, and retired to Nacianzo, where he died a saintly death in 389.
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4º St. John Chrysostom, was one of the most notable figures of the Church in the fourth century, for the holiness of life and for his incomparable eloquence. In 389 he occupied the patriarchal chair of Constantinople; like the three previous ones, he fought against the Arians. Expelled by the Empress Eudoxia, he ended his days in the lands of Pontus Euxinus (407).
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5th St. Cyril of Alexandria (370-444). St. Cyril distinguished himself mainly in the defense of the Catholic faith against Nestorius. He reported this heresy to the Pope, who appointed him his legate at the Council of Ephesus, held in 431, where the doctrine of Nestorius was condemned.
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6º St. Gregory Nisenus (331-396) brother of St. Basil and bishop of Nyssa, defended with tenacity the Catholic doctrine against the Arians, who persecuted him fiercely.
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68. Fathers of the Latin Church: The most important Latin Fathers are:
1st St. Hilary (300-367), bishop of Poitiers, called the "Athanasius of the West", for his firmness in defending the faith against the Arians. Exiled by Emperor Constantius to Asia Minor for six years, he continued to preach the Catholic doctrine with the same courage and integrity as in his diocese, being everywhere the terror of the heretics.
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2nd St. Ambrose (304-397), son of a prefect of Gaul. He embraced the career of the magistracy. In 372 he was appointed governor of Milan and carried out the office with such success and so much virtue that two years later the clergy and the people of the city acclaimed him as bishop (1). He was an excellent orator, impugner of Arianism, advisor to Pope St. Damasus, exemplary bishop and prolific writer, of transcendental influence on the events of his time. The friendship that united him with Theodosius was not an obstacle for him to impose severe penance, to which the emperor humbly submitted, giving an example of obedience to the ecclesiastical authority.
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(1) In the year 374, the orthodox and Arian parties were arguing fiercely over the election of the bishop of Milan. One day, while the governor was speaking to the people to recommend calm, a child interrupted the speech shouting, "Ambrosius, bishop!". The clergy and the people, as if obeying a higher command, proclaimed him bishop in the very streets of the city.
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3º St. Jerome (346-420), a native of Dalmatia, is above all famous for his translation of the Holy Scriptures, which he made after having studied the Bible and Hebrew in depth in the Syrian desert, where he lived a life of great austerity and penance. His version, known as the Vulgate, is the official Bible of the Church [before the CVII allowed other versions approved by local bishops, remember not to accept Bibles printed after 1964, as Our Lady of the Roses commands us. She also commands us to read the writings of the Founding Fathers of the Church]. He died in Bethlehem in 420.
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4º St. Augustine (354-430), bishop of Hippo (Africa), sought only personal glory and worldly amusements during his youth, embracing the errors of Manichaeism. After his conversion, due to the prayers and tears of his mother St. Monica and the zeal of St. Ambrose, he was the main challenger of Pelagianism and an eminently religious soul, burned entirely in divine love. Among the 432 works he wrote there stand out: Confessions and the City of God
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69. Osio and Prudencio: In the Spanish Church two figures of exceptional importance stand out: Osio and Prudencio.
Osio (256?-357) suffered for the faith during the persecution of Diocletian, was adviser of the emperor Constantine and presided over the Council of Nicaea as delegate of the Pope. Constantius, son and successor of Constantine, favored Arianism and demanded from Osius the condemnation of the Bishop of Alexandria St. Athanasius, but in the face of his constant refusal he banished him to Sirmium, where he died after many sufferings.
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Prudentius (348-405). He was born, it is believed, in Calahorra (some maintain that his homeland is Zaragoza) of a noble family; he held the office of governor of the empire; later he abandoned his dignities to embrace the ascetic and retired life. He wrote the famous works Cathemerinon, or book of the hours, composed of 12 hymns, and the Peristéphanon, or book of 14 crowns, in which he sings wonderfully the triumph of the martyrs of Christ over the tyrants. Prudentius occupies the first place among the Latin poets of the Western Church. The martyrs sung in his beautiful and elegant verses are almost all Spanish.