Nicene Fathers: Part 1

OBJECTIVE

The objective of this lesson is to learn about the Ante-Nicene, also known as apologetic fathers, the characteristics of their writing, and their impact on the church until today.

INTRODUCTION

Who were the Ante-Nicene/Apologetic Fathers?

"Ante": Coming before. "Ante-Nicene": before Nicene Council
"Apologetic": Defenders of faith. Writing an "apology" means writing a defense of faith.

The Christian faith was passed down from the apostles to the succeeding generations, called the apostolic fathers. These received the faith from the apostles but they faced a lot of unique problems. The church was growing and local churches in many places were being established, there was much persecution and there were very few teaching texts for the Christians to learn about their faith except the Bible. So the apostolic fathers urged the new Christians to remain faithful to the faith and to their bishop, to stick to the mysteries of the church and especially the Eucharist, and they wrote them letters that were used for teaching.

As the circumstances in the Roman empire changed, the Christian fathers also started to find lots of challenges and they had to respond to them. Some were old, like persecution and the growth of the church, and others were new obstacles.

Early Christians were accused of being "atheists" because they did not worship the Roman gods or the emperor, they did not offer sacrifices in the temples or anything. Therefore, the Romans said they were atheists, and it was one crime they were often charged with
The Romans had a practice of exposing sick newborns to the open air thinking that these children would die anyways. The Christians would go around and collect these babies and take care of them, and some were able to survive. However, the Romans accused the Christians of kidnapping these babies, making them Christian, and "sacrificing them to their God."
Early Christians were also accused of being "cannibals"

Since many, particularly the Romans, did not understand Chrsitian life, many Christians were charged with the mentioned crimes above as well as others and would be tried in court. An important role of the church fathers at that time was to explain to the world who the Christians are and what they do. This is why we call them the Apologetic Fathers - since they defended the Christian faith.

One difference between the apostolic and apologetic fathers is this: whereas the apostolic fathers wrote for the Christians themselves, the apologetic fathers explained and defended the faith to non-Christians. They wrote to the educated Greeks, to the Jews, and even to the Roman rulers and emperors.

CONTENT (KEY POINTS)

Summaries about some of the Apologetic Fathers, St. Melito of Sardis, St. Justin Martyr, St. Irenaeus of Lyons, St. Clement of Alexandria can be found in a handout attached below.

Objectives of Apologists

Defended that the church was not a danger to the state in which it existed. This was important because rulers feared Christianity as at its core, it taught that we do not belong to the world and that our kingdom is eternal
Exposed immoralities of Paganism and defended that Christianity has the correct understanding of God/Universe. As well as defended against Jews
- Judaism was the religion most closely associated with Christianity. For the apologetic fathers, it was a constant battle to defend that Christianity was not a "spin off" of Judaism
Defended Christianity as offering absolute truth and divine philosophy
Gave reasoned explanations of Christian doctrines
Were more debaters than preachers as it was their role to debate the merits of Christianity

DISCUSSION/ACTIVITY

Have the students read the attached discussion passages below and answer the respective questions. This may also be given as homework.

Takeaway: The apologetic writings address how Christians shall live among other people in the world. And we face very similar challenges today, particularly living in a country considered to be a "melting pot" of faiths and cultures. As Christians, we have to be active members of the society we live in. But to what extent should we allow this "melting" and to what extent should we preserve our identity?

Maybe it's difficult to tell what one should do in every single situation, but a good starting point is the rule that the Letter to Diognetus sets: "what the soul is to the body, Christians are to the world. The soul dwells in the body, but is not of the body; likewise Christians dwell in the world, but are not of the world."

APPLICATION (Action)

The Impact of the Apologetic Fathers

The apologetic fathers did not know that this was their role as they lived in their time. What these fathers knew is that this was a faith worth defending, even unto death. They knew that the truth was given to them by the apostolic fathers, who received it from the apostles and by way then, through Christ.

The works of many of these fathers, though now 1600 to 1700 years old, found a new generation in need of their defenses today. Defending our faith is arguably just as necessary today as it was in the early birth years of the faith.

Many of the works offered to us today by these fathers also became the basis for much of the works of the fathers to come (Nicene and Post Nicene fathers) ... which became foundational to our faith today.

Ways to be In the World and Not of It

Know your faith
Have courage to stand out
Have your morality and identity be in Christ and not the norms of the world--you'll face ostracization/bullying/ridicule.
Having spiritual goals and not just monetary or secular goals
Focusing with your friends at church, focus our lives around the weekly routine of liturgy, Sunday School, liturgical service, hymns lessons.
Realize we are sojourners in this world and this world is not our final destination.

SERVANT RESOURCES

The Apostolic Fathers: Greek Texts and English Translations, 3rd edition. Edited and translated by Michael Holmes. Baker Academic Publishing, 1992.
Fr. Basilous al-Maqary, Dirasat fi 'Aba' al-Kanisa (Studies in the Church Fathers), Majalit Markus Publishing House, 1999.
Church Fathers: The First Apology (St. Justin Martyr)