church-history
Historical studies on the development of Christian doctrine, early church writings, councils, and controversies.
Palamas and Islam Revisited Paid Members Public
In this post I will be quoting from Gregory Palamas: The Hesychast Controversy and the Debate with Islam, Translated Texts for Byzantinists, Volume 8, translated with an introduction and notes by Norman Russell, published by Liverpool University Press, 2020. Palamis assumes that both Christians and the Turkish Muslims have the
St. Jerome on Illustrious Men Paid Members Public
I quote a part of St. Jerome’s De Viris Illustribus (Illustrious Men), in which he writes in respect to some of the most influential Christians that ever lived, starting with specific Apostles of our Lord. The details he gives about their lives, works and even deaths are truly remarkable
Zwingli On Mary’s Perpetual Virginity Paid Members Public
Huldrych (Ulrich) Zwingli was a prominent magisterial Protestant reformer who even opposed Martin Luther in respect to core doctrines such as the holy Eucharist, which he denied became the actual body and blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. Yet despite his vehement opposition to the Roman Catholic Church, Zwingli actually
Justin Martyr: Jews Worship the Same God Paid Members Public
In his dialogue with Trypho the Jew and his companions, the great saint and martyr Justin Martyr acknowledged that both Jews and Christians worship the same exact God. I cite the relevant section of that discussion. All emphasis will be mine. Chapter 10. Trypho blames the Christians for this alone—
A Protestant Defends the “Apocrypha” Paid Members Public
I quote from Protestant authority William Heaford Daubney’s The Use of the Apocrypha In the Christian Church, published by C. J. Clay & Sons, Cambridge University Press, 1900, pp. 106-110. Daubney refutes some of the alleged contradictions which leveled by Protestants against the canonicity of the “Apocrypha,” such as
Chrysostom, God & the Jews Paid Members Public
I quote here the entirety St. John Chrysostom’s, Against the Jews. Homily 1, which is a homily written to Christians who were still fascinated by the Jews and their religious practices, thinking that these rites were still somehow pleasing to God. In this highly emotionally charged letter, Chrysostom severely
Augustine, Jews, Philosophers & God Paid Members Public
Here is what the great saint wrote in respect to whether the Jews worshiped God or not, and also in regards to the Greek philosophers like Plato agreeing with Christianity if they were alive to have seen it spread: iv, 6. Those who think it a vain or even a
Athanasius & the Arian Creeds Paid Members Public
This lengthy extract is from Athanasius’ De Synodis. It chronicles the beliefs of Arius and those who believed like him, and further details some of the many councils and creeds which followed after Nicaea in order to either overturn it or revise it. What makes these creedal formulations rather peculiar,