What is Roman Catholic Christianity?

Overview of the distinctiveness of the Roman Catholic tradition.
Discussion of Jesus of Nazareth in his historical context as well as the central claims that the New Testament makes about him.
Survey of early Christian beliefs about Jesus that would eventually lead to the development of the doctrine of the Trinity.

1. What is Roman Catholic Christianity ? “ Celebrating our Diversity Now ” St. Gregory the Illuminator Armenian Cathedral of Montreal January 24 th , 2018

2. What is Roman Catholic Christianity ? Overview of the distinctiveness of the Roman Catholic tradition. D iscussion of Jesus of Nazareth in his historical context as well as the central claims that the New Testament makes about him . S urvey of early Christian beliefs about Jesus that would eventually lead to the development of the doctrine of the Trinity.

3. What is Roman Catholicism? Roman : that branch of Christianity (“the Church”) that considers the city of Rome to be its “centre”. Catholic : the “universal” Church under the leadership of the Bishop of Rome (i.e. the Pope). Pope Francis (Jorge Bergoglio ). Elected Pope on March 13, 2013 266 th “Successor of Peter”, “Supreme Pontiff of the Universal Church” There are presently 1.2 billion Roman Catholics in the world.

4. What is Roman Catholicism ? The “petrine” factor Words of Jesus: “…you are Peter , and on this rock I will build my church …I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven…” Gospel according to St. Matthew 16.18-19 Jesus delegated his authority to his 12 “apostles” (i.e. representatives). Among the apostles, Peter was chosen to be the “head” of the Church ( primus inter pares ).

5. What is Roman Catholicism? The “petrine” factor Tradition teaches that St. Peter was martyred in Rome during the persecution of the Church by the Emperor Nero ( reign : 54-68 AD). St. Peter’s Basilica (Vatican City) is believed to stand on the site of Peter’s grave. 

6. What is Roman Catholicism? The “petrine” factor As the Church expanded, local authority was invested in “ bishops ”, whose “see” was usually a large metropolitan area, the most prominent of which were called “patriarchates” (Jerusalem , Constantinople, Alexandria, Antioch, Rome = the “Pentarchy ”). Due to its connection with Peter (one of the original apostles of Jesus) & Paul (the greatest Christian missionary of the first century; also martyred in Rome), the patriarchate of Rome took on special prominence and the Bishop of Rome acquired unique status. Peter was held to have been the first Bishop of Rome and due to the fact that Jesus had endowed him with special authority , each of Peter’s successors in Rome came to be considered the supreme leader ( “ Pope ”) of the (Western/Latin) Church.

7. What is Roman Catholicism? The “imperial” factor Rome = imperial capital Emperor Constantine I (272 – 337 AD) 312: conversion of Constantine to Christianity 313: Edict of Milan 325: Council of Nicaea Emperor Theodosius I (347 – 395 AD) 380: Edict of Thessalonica

8. What is Roman Catholicism? The “imperial” factor Tensions between East & West Consecration of “Constantinople ” as imperial capital (a “new Rome ”) in 330 AD Division of the Empire (395 AD) West : Rome (Latin) East : Constantinople [i.e . Istanbul ] (Greek) First 7 ecumenical councils (4 th – 8 th Centuries AD) All held in the general vicinity of Constantinople

9. What is Roman Catholicism? The Church: one root, three branches 1054 : Great Schism (mutual excommunication) between Eastern and Western Church. Eastern Church would become known as the “Orthodox” Church. After 1054, the RC Church is that Latin- speaking Church in Western Europe, centred in Rome. 1517 : beginning of the “ Protestant ” Reformation in the Western Church. After the various 16 th - century reformations, the RC Church is that (Western) Church under the leadership of the Bishop of Rome (i.e. the Pope). Colonization of the “New World” : beginning in the 16 th century, Catholicism and Protestantism would expand through the colonization/conversion, by European powers, of the Americas, Africa and southern Asia as well as through missionary efforts . Global Churches : today , the Orthodox , Catholic and ( many ) Protestant Churches are truly global in scope.

10. What is Roman Catholicism? The Church: o ne root, three branches How many Churches? Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed : «  I believe in one, holy, catholic and apostolic Church .” Theologically speaking, there is one Church of Jesus Christ. What we see around us are many Churches, all loyal to Jesus, yet not fully “in communion” with each other. However, great efforts are being made to reconcile the different Churches to one another.

11. How did it all begin? Jesus of Nazareth A first- century ( Palestinian ) Jew . Not a ruler . Not a leader within one of the branches of Judaism . An obscure figure from a rural hamlet of Galilee . Now worshipped by 2.2 billion people worldwide .

12. Jesus of Nazareth What the New Testament (Christian Scripture ) claims about Jesus: Jesus is the true “Son of David”, the King of Israel. The title of «  Anointed One » ( Messiah /Christ) refers to the KING. Jesus is the true “Lord” of the world. The Scriptures of Israel (OT) prophesied that the YHWH would rule the world through Israel’s king (cf. Pss . 2, 89; 2 Sam. 7.14, etc.). The NT claims that Jesus is the fulfillment of the biblical hope for the Creator to establish his rule ( kingdom ) of justice and peace over the entire world.

13. G ood N ews …about what? “The beginning of the good news of Jesus Christ, the Son of God .” ( Gospel of St . Mark 1.1) “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near; repent, and believe in the good news .” ( Gospel of St. Mark 1.15)

14. Jesus & Judaism We cannot understand Jesus without studying him within the context of the people of Israel, their history and their relationship to God (YHWH).

15. T he call of Abraham “Now the  Lord  said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you.    I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you, and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing.    I will bless those who bless you, and the one who curses you I will curse; and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed .” (Genesis 12.1-3)

16. Israel: the people of God The C reator promised to save his world through Abraham’s descendants; i.e. the nation of Israel. At the beginnings of the people of God , the Creator was first known as the God “of Abraham (Isaac & Jacob)”. The Creator revealed himself to Moses as YHWH ( “I AM”). At the time of the Exodus from Egypt , YHWH renewed the covenant with Israel that he had first established with Abraham.

17. Israel: the people of God Israel was to be YHWH’s instrument of salvation for the entire world. However , according to the ( Hebrew ) Scriptures (OT), Israel was unfaithful to the covenant with YHWH and incurred the judgment of exile (to Babylon). For the Creator’s plan of salvation to go forward , the covenant with Israel had to be renewed ; Israel needed to be restored as God’s people in order for the promised blessings of the covenant to extend to all nations. The term that summed up this hope for the renewal & salvation of Israel and the entire world was the “kingdom of God”.

18. Jesus: unexpected fulfillment

19. Early Christianity : an unusual messianic movement “ For some time ago Theudas rose up, claiming to be somebody, and a number of men, about four hundred, joined him; but he was killed, and all who followed him were dispersed and disappeared .   After him Judas the Galilean rose up at the time of the census and got people to follow him; he also perished, and all who followed him were scattered .” Acts of the Apostles 5.36-37

20. Why talk about J esus ’ execution ? Whatever happened on easter morning convinced the disciples that J esus ’ death had meant something after all … “Jesus of Nazareth…was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people , and …our chief priests and leaders handed him over to be condemned to death… But we had hoped that he was the one to redeem Israel. ” ( Gospel of St. Luke 24.19-21 )

21. Jesus & YHWH: towards a trinitarian understanding of God

22. Gospel of St. John 1.1-18 : Jesus is equated with the 5 ways that God interacted with his creation in the Scriptures The “ Word ” with which God spoke all things into existence ( cf. Gn. 1.3, etc.). The wisdom through which God created the world ( cf. Proverbs 8.22-31; Wisdom 9.1-2, 4, 9). The “ glory ” of God (cf. Numbers 12.5) that hovered over and filled The tabernacle/ Temple (cf. Ex. 40.34; 1 Kings 8.10-11). The Torah (Law, instruction) of Moses (cf. Ex. 20.1-17, etc.).

23. Gospel of St. John 1.1-18 This way, John has equated Jesus with YHWH , the God of Israel, who was understood by his people as being the Creator of all things. John identifies Jesus of Nazareth with the Creating and Redeeming God of the Old Testament! John does not, like the Church would do later on, use philosophical categories to speak of Jesus’ “divinity”; rather, he describes Jesus in the ways that the Old Testament describes God (using biblical categories).

24. Early Christian theology ( theos = «  god  » + logia = «  knowledge  ») 3 things we know about what the early Christians believed about “God”

25. Early Christian theology The early Christians were Jewish , they were accustomed to hearing the Jewish Scriptures (OT) read in the synagogues, and they practiced Judaism (observance of Sabbath and kosher laws , prayers , pilgrimages to the Jerusalem Temple, etc.). Therefore , the early Christians were monotheists ; i.e. they believed in one God : “Hear , O Israel: The  Lord our God, the  Lord   is one .” Deuteronomy 6.4

26. Early Christian theology The early Christians worshipped, praised, and prayed to Jesus in the same way they had been used to worshipping, praising and praying to YHWH . They somehow “included ” Jesus within YHWH’s divinity (divine “status ” , identity). “…for us there is one God, the Father , from whom are all things and for whom we exist, and one Lord, Jesus Christ , through whom are all things and through whom we exist .” 1 Corinthians 8.6 (redefinition of the “Shema”)

27. Roman jurisprudence concerning the early Christians « … [the Christians] declared that the sum of their guilt or their error only amounted to this, that on a stated day they had been accustomed to meet before daybreak and to recite a hymn among themselves to Christ, as though he were a god …” -- Letter of Pliny the Younger , governor of the province of Bithynia , to the emperor Trajan ( early 2 nd century AD)

28. Early Christian theology The first Christians had a powerful experience of YHWH’s Spirit and quickly began to speak, not only of “God”, but of “ God/the Father and the Son/Lord/Christ and the Spirit ”. Suddenly, “God ” had a tripartite nature (i.e. God was somehow “3 ” ). “ But when the fullness of time had come, God sent his Son …in order to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as children.  And because you are children, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts , crying, “Abba !  Father !” (Galatians 4.4-6; cf. Ac. 2.32-33)

29. 4 th – 5 th centuries AD: the rise of Christian “ orthodoxy ” “ ecumenical councils ” 325: Nicaea (Jesus is divine in the same way that the Father is.) 381: Constantinople (the Holy Spirit is fully divine.) 451: Chalcedon (Jesus has two natures, divine and human, yet remains 1 person.)

30. Thank you !