Name: ORLANDO Y.

ESTOR
Subject: ANCIENT-MEDIEVAL CHURCH HISTORY
School: St. Vincent School of Theology
Professor: Fr. AMADO T. TUMBALI, Jr. S.J., MA, STL

THOMAS BOKENKOTTER: THE CHURCH TRIUMPHS OVER PAGANISM

Main Statement: The Catholic Church has always claimed Jesus of Nazareth as its founder.

Case Statements:

1. JESUS early life is wrapped in almost complete obscurity. The important sources for his life

were found in the Gospels of Mark, Matthew, Luke, and John. The question then occurs: Are

the Gospel accounts of the arrest, trial, and execution of Jesus true to history?

2. The resurrection of Jesus was the starting point of Christian faith. The idea of resurrection

had already appeared in Judaism during the second century B.C. The Acts of the Apostles

pictures the Church itself as only beginning with the Pentecostal explosion of the Spirit

occurred on the Jewish feast of Pentecost shortly after the resurrection. The first apostles

were all Jews, and so were their first converts.

3. The spread of the Church beyond Jerusalem occurred very gradually as the disciples carried

their message to the numerous Jewish communities scattered along the Mediterranean coast.

Their leader Stephen, the deacon, was arrested and denounced to the Sanhedrin for speaking

against the Temple.

4. It was at Antioch, it seems, that they took the revolutionary step that would have momentous

consequences for the spread of the Church and the history of the world. Saul of Tarsus,

known by his Roman name, Paul. He who stripped the Gospel of much of its Jewish

character and adapted it to appeal to all humanity. The Gospel spread among the pagans, and

constituted the greatest religious revival in the history of man.

most important rituals. The Eucharist, which was celebrated by repeating Christ’s words at

the Last Supper over bread and wine in obedience to his command to remember him and in

the firm conviction that he was present as their risen Lord.

6. The apostles Peter and Paul. Irenaeus cited Rome as the preeminent example of his principle

of apostolic succession.

JUSTO L. GONZALEZ: THE EARLY CHURCH

Main Statement: The early Christians did not believe that the time and place of the birth of

Jesus had been left to chance.

Case Statements:

1. The first Christians were first-century Jews, and it was as such that they heard and

received the message. Faith spread to the Jews, and the Gentiles beyond the borders of

the Roman Empire. Hellenistic ideology consisted of equating and mixing the gods of

different nations, they saw in it a threat to Israel’s faith in the One God.

2. Palestine history the time of Alexander’s conquest to the destruction of Jerusalem in 70

CE. Jesus was a child there was an uprising against Archelaus, Herod’s son, who had to

call in the Roman army. The Romans then destroyed a city in Galilee near Nazareth, and

crucified two thousand Jews.

3. The Sadducees rejected many of the doctrines of the Pharisees as unwarranted

innovations. Diversity of tendencies, sects, and parties should not obscure two

fundamental tenets of all Jews: ethical monotheism and eschatological hope.

4. Jews, scattered far and wide, but with strong emotional and religious connections with

the land of their ancestors, are called the Diaspora or Dispersion. Eschatological hope
 was another common tenet in the faith of Israel. God would intervene in order to restore

Israel and fulfill the promise of a Kingdom of peace and justice.

5. During Alexander’s conquests, Greek had become the common language of the majority

of people living in the Mediterranean. Septuagint was of enormous importance to the

early church. It is the version of scripture quoted by most New Testament authors, and it

profoundly influenced the formation of early Christian vocabulary.

6. The third century BCE, attempts were made to retell the history of Israel following the

accepted patterns of Hellenistic historical writing. The presence of Judaism in various

parts of the world the proclamation of the new faith; but they also provided obstacles and

even dangers.

7. Earliest Christian community is often idealized. Pentecost tend to eclipse his wavering on

what ought to be done with the Gentiles who wished to join the church. The death of

Stephen, Acts turns to Philip, another of the seven, who founded a church in Samaria.

8. Peter and the twelve, of the seven, and of Paul. Their faith was not a denial of Judaism

but was rather the conviction that the messianic age had finally arrived. It continued

claiming that its faith was the fulfillment of Judaism, and that Jews should therefore

accept Christianity.
MARGARET R. MILES: The Word Was Made Flesh

Main Statement: A time of great stress as Christians struggled to explain their religious beliefs

to their Roman neighbors, to create liturgies that expressed their beliefs and values, and to face

persecution and martyrdom courageously.

Case Statements:

1. Martyrdom in Roman arenas came to be seen as nothing less than proof of the power of

Christian faith.

2. Death apparently seemed to many confessors a welcome relief from a society that sneered

at and rejected them, a society they saw as violent and corrupt.

3. Christians did not regard martyrdom as “heroic” in the ordinary sense. Martyrdom

accounts assumed that a person cannot approach shameful death with peace and joy except

by a special grace.

4. From the earliest writings, Christians affirmed that Christ the Redeemer was God, not a

lower order of being.

5. They strongly resemble Jewish blessings that accompanied the third cup of the paschal

meal, and there is no mention in them of the body and blood of Christ.

6. Christians had achieved informal consensus about the reality of Jesus Christ’s incarnation.

But central doctrinal issues were unresolved, and although most Christians did not realize

it, persecution was not over.

Jesus Christ appointed his twelve followers, and initiated his mission to save humanity from

sinfulness. This fact was also the outset or the beginning of the Catholic Church. Amid the time

of Christ, the Catholic Church was in its beginning, Christ needed his body to expand and

become a religion that would build a strong and enduring community. At the time of Christ’s

death and resurrection, the Apostles exhort the good news of Christ. They preach the Gospel to

the Jews and gentiles. They were capable to this duty with the help of the Paraclete. The

Paraclete was sent by Christ to grant his followers the power to preach the good news to the Jews

and Gentiles.

Early Christian Community began to grow especially the Christian Catholic Church. The first

Jewish Christians initiated to proclaim the gospel that they learned from the apostles. The gospel

initiated to grasp within the whole of Israel even in Jerusalem. Then the gospel initiated to be

proclaimed within the gentile community. As the Christian community began to grow

persecution and martyrdom of believers began. There was still defiant from a few of the Jewish

and gentile communities but with the guidance of Paul and his radical approach, he was capable

to break this hurdle and fully make Jewish and Gentile communities believe in Christ. A new

mission to the gentiles was initiated at Antioch, where Christianity was able to flourish and it

was adept to spread to all of the Roman Empire because of the enormous Jewish Christian

Communities.

Christianity spread throughout the Roman Empire; the Romans persecuted the Christians by

Roman authorities. Romans abhorred Christianity as it disobeys the Roman Law, it abandoned

the religious position of the Roman emperor, and according to Romans, caused the roman gods

to discipline the roman empire because of people committing crime against the gods. This enmity
concluded in the Jews destroying a fortress in Jerusalem and burn it down and looting the temple

leaving Jews without a home. Above all the misfortune induce by roman persecution,

Christianity reach or cover all over the world.

Conclusion

On behalf of all trials, hardships, and persecution that our Church facing before still the

Christianity continuous until this present generation. Christianity emerges along the path of

persecutions. The history of Christianity enlightens everyone to stand on our faith in whatever

circumstances. The significance of this historical event of the church is the born of Christianity.

The Church can also play a relevant role in community adherence. This is important because we

live in a progressive integrated and multireligious community.

Christian’s faith holds on that the Church can be a preserving or a driving force for good in a

world that is increasingly unreligious. The Church can help people who are in the midst of

difficulties, whatever tradition they may come from. Generally, the Church will explore or find

to work with other religious groups to help keep the friendship, love, reconciliation, and

harmony in the community as religious. The significance of the church history we are still united

in our faith in God. It is the reason why martyrdom or persecution still existing until now, The

Church still persecuted those who did not believe in God. But we are still now remains standing

for our faith because we believe in Jesus.

On accuracy of information
 There’s a lack of citations and footnotes to prove the accuracy of your information.
On Analysis
 I observed that there was a lack of demonstration that the topics’ points of views were weighed in
according to the lenses of the three prescribed authors.
On Relevance and Application
 I failed to see any relevance / application written in the essay with an in-depth updates in Church
and national situations.

Accuracy of information: 26%

Compliance of essay guidelines (font 12 TNR, double-spaced, footnotes and

Sources: Bokenkotter (Catholic priest historian), Miles (female historian), Gonzalez (Protestant historian).