History of Catholic Dogmatic Theology - Patristic Period (about A.D. 100-800)

Patristic Period (about A.D. 100-800)

The Fathers of the Church are honoured by the Church as her principal theologians. Tertullian (b. about 160) died a Montanist, and Origen (d. 254) showed a marked leaning towards Hellenism. Some of the Fathers, e.g. St. Cyprian (d. 258) and Gregory of Nyssa, were unorthodox on individual points; the former in regard to the baptism of heretics, the latter in the matter of apocatastasis.

It was not so much in the catechetical schools of Alexandria, Antioch, and Edessa as in the struggle with the great heresies of the age that patristic theology developed. This serves to explain the character of the patristic literature, which is apologetical and polemical, parenetical and ascetic, with a wealth of exegetical wisdom on every page; for the roots of theology are in the Bible, especially in the Gospels and in the Epistles of St. Paul. It was not the intention of the Fathers to give a systematic treatment of theology; Möhler called attention to the variety found in their writings: the apologetic style is represented by the letter of Diognetus and the letters of St. Ignatius; the dogmatic in pseudo-Barnabas; the moral, in the Pastor of Hermas; canon law, in the letter of Clement of Rome; church history, in the Acts of the martyrdom of Polycarp and Ignatius. After the recovery of lost manuscripts may be added: the liturgical style, in the Didache; the catechetical, in the Proof of the Apostolic Preaching by Irenæus.

Although the different epochs of the patristic age overlap each other, it may be said in general that the apologetic style predominated in the first epoch up to Constantine the Great, while in the second epoch, that is to say up to the time of Charlemagne.

Christian writers against paganism and Judaism, had to explain the truths of natural religion, such as God, the soul, creation, immortality, and freedom of the will; at the same time they had to defend the chief mysteries of the Christian faith, as the Trinity, Incarnation, etc., and had to prove their sublimity, beauty, and conformity to reason. The list of those against pagan polytheism is long: Justin, Athenagoras, Tatian, Theophilus of Antioch, Hermias, Tertullian, Clement of Alexandria, Origen, Cyprian, Minucius Felix, Commodianus, Arnobius, Lactantius, Prudentius, Firmicius Maternus, Eusebius of Cæsarea, Athanasius, Gregory of Nazianzus, Cyril of Alexandria, Nilus, Theodoret, Orosius, and Augustine of Hippo. The most prominent writers against Judaism were: Justin, Tertullian, Hippolytus of Rome, Cyprian, Athanasius, Gregory of Nyssa, Epiphanius of Salamis, Chrysostom, Cyril of Alexandria, Isidore of Seville, with attacks on Jews who refused to recognize the prophetic Christian interpretation of the Old Testament.

The efforts of the Fathers to define and combat heresy brought writings against Gnosticism, Manichæism, and Priscillianism, with the focus on principles of faith and the Church's authority. In the struggles against Monarchianism, Sabellianism, and Arianism the emphasis was on the true meaning of the dogma of the Trinity. When the contest with Eunomianism broke out, theological and philosophical criticism turned to the doctrine of God and our knowledge of Him. The Christological disputes began with the rise of Apollinarianism, reached their climax in Nestorianism, Monophysitism, and Monothelitism, and were revived once more in Adoptionism. In this long and bitter strife, the doctrine of Christ's person, of the Incarnation, and Redemption, and in connection with that Mariology also, was placed on an orthodox foundation. Eastern Christian in this dispute on the Trinity and Christology included: the Alexandrines, Clement, Origen, and Didymus the Blind; Athanasius and the three Cappadocians, Basil, Gregory of Nazianzus, and Gregory of Nyssa; Cyril of Alexandria and Leontius of Byzantium; finally, Maximus the Confessor and John Damascene. In the West the leaders were: Tertullian, Cyprian, Hilary of Poitiers, Ambrose, Augustine, Jerome, Fulgentius of Ruspe, Pope Leo I and Pope Gregory I. As the contest with Pelagianism and Semi-pelagianism clarified the dogmas of grace and liberty, providence and predestination, original sin and the condition of our first parents in Paradise, so also the contests with the Donatists brought codification to the doctrine of the sacraments (baptism), the hierarchical constitution of the Church her magisterium or teaching authority, and her infallibility. Augustine here was the leader, and next to him came Optatus of Mileve and disciples. A culminating contest was decided by the Second Council of Nicæa (787); it was in this struggle that, under the leadership of John Damascene, the communion of saints, the invocation of the saints, the veneration of relics and holy images were placed on a basis of orthodoxy.

These developments left the dogmatic teachings of the Fathers as a collection of monographs rather than a systematic exposition. Irenæus shows attempts at synthesis; the trilogy of Clement of Alexandria (d. 217) marks an advance in the same direction; but the most successful effort in Christian antiquity to systematize the principal dogmas of faith was made by Origen in his work De principiis, which is unorthodox. Gregory of Nyssa (d. 394) then endeavoured in his "Large Catechetical Treatise" (logos katechetikos ho megas) to correlate in a broad synthetic view the fundamental dogmas of the Trinity, the Incarnation, and the Sacraments. In the same manner, though somewhat fragmentarily, Hilary (d. 366) developed in his work "De Trinitate" the principal truths of Christianity.

The catechetical instructions of Cyril of Jerusalem (d. 386) especially his five mystagogical treatises, on the Apostles' Creed and the three sacraments of Baptism, Confirmation, and the Holy Eucharist, contain an almost complete dogmatic treatise, Epiphanius (d. 496), in his two works Ancoratus and Panarium, aimed at a complete dogmatic treatise, and Ambrose (d. 397) in his chief works: "De fide", "De Spiritu S.", "De incarnatione", "De mysteriis", "De poenitentia", treated the main points of dogma in classic Latinity, though without any attempt at a unifying synthesis. In regard to the Trinity and Christology, Cyril of Alexandria (d. 444) was a model for later dogmatic theologians. Augustine of Hippo (d. 430) wrote one or two works, as the "De fide et symbolo" and the "Enchiridium", which are compendia of dogmatic and moral theology, as well as his speculative work De Trinitate. His disciple Fulgentius of Ruspe (d. 533) wrote an extensive and thorough confession of faith under the title, "De fide ad Petrum, seu regula rectæ fidei".

Towards the end of the Patristic Age Isidore of Seville (d. 636) in the West and John Damascene (b. ab. 700) in the East paved the way for a systematic treatment of dogmatic theology. Following closely the teachings of Augustine and Gregory the Great, Isidore proposed to collect all the writings of the earlier Fathers and to hand them down as a precious inheritance to posterity. The results of this undertaking were the "Libri III sententiarum seu de summo bono". Tajus of Saragossa (650) had the same end in view in his "Libri V sententiarum". The work of John Damascene (d. after 754) not only gathered the teachings and views of the Greek Fathers, but reduced them to a systematic whole; he deserves to be called the first and the only scholastic among the Greeks. His main work, which is divided into three parts, is entitled: "Fons scientiæ" (pege gnoseos), because it was intended to be the source, not merely of theology, but of philosophy and Church history as well. The third or theological part, known as "Expositio fidei orthodoxæ" (ekthesis tes orthodoxou pisteos), is a combination of positive and scholastic theology, and aims at thoroughness.

After John Damascene, Greek theology went through the Photian schism (869). The only Greek prior to him who had produced a complete system of theology was Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite, in the fifth century; but he was more popular in the West, at least from the eighth century on, than in the East. Although he openly wove into the Catholic system neo-Platonic thoughts and phrases, nevertheless he enjoyed an unparalleled reputation among the scholastics of the Middle Ages. For all that, Scholasticism did not take its guidance from John Damascene or Pseudo-Dionysius, but from Augustine. Augustinian thought runs through the whole progress of Western Catholic philosophy and theology.

The Venerable Bede (d. 735), a contemporary of John Damascenehad solid education in theology, and extensive knowledge of the Bible and of the Fathers of the Church. He is the link which joins the patristic with the medieval history of theology.