In this post I will be referencing two pseudonymous works attributed to St. Clement of Rome. Despite the fact that scholars question the authenticity of these writings, they still serve as an early witness, in fact a 2nd–4th century testimony, to the beliefs of the Christians which composed them. These sources show that the author(s) affirmed the essential Deity of Christ, his Incarnation and…
I continue from where I left off from Book II of Origen’s commentary on John: Origen: Trinity, Creatio Ex Nihilo & the Church as Spiritual Israel.
So many meanings occur to us at once of the word arche. We have now to ask…
In this post I will be quoting from the Commentary on John (Origen).
The citations that I will be providing will help the readers see that Origen affirms,
The Monarchy (monarchia) of the Father, that he is the unbegotten Source of Divinity.
Christ is the uncreated Wisdom of God, being the timelessly begotten Son of the Father.
Christ is the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End, the…
The following excerpt is taken from St. Augustine’s On the Holy Trinity, Book 4. In it, the blessed saint reasons that the Father’s sending of the Son into the world is a sign and reflection of the Father’s having eternally begotten/generated the Son. Augustine takes this economic procession, e.g., the Father’s sending forth the Son to be born of a woman, as indicative of their eternal…
In this post I will cite from a letter of St. Ignatius, the holy martyr of Christ and the Bishop of Antioch, being an eyewitness and pupil of the holy Apostles, who learned the faith directly from them. Ignatius testifies that Christ was raised in his physical, fleshly body, which he has now made immortal. All emphasis will be mine.
Chapter 1. Thanks to God for your faith
I Glorify God,…
(The Conversation) — Pope Leo is following the teachings of Francis on human dignity and applying them to ongoing international crises, argues a scholar of global Catholicism.
The following excerpts are from Origen’s Commentary on the Gospel of John. In this section, Origen will argue for the Father being stronger and greater than the Son, and the Spirit owing his existence/essence to the Son, and not just the Father alone. However, Origen makes it clear that he doesn’t mean this in terms of the Son and Spirit being created from nothing or creation, but in respect to…
The following extracts are taken from Eusebius’ Church History. All emphasis is mine.
Book III
Chapter 2. The First Successor to St. Peter in Rome.
Chapter 3. The Epistles of the…
In this post I will be looking at two OT texts, which the early Christians saw as foreshadowing Christ’s crucifixion. These early writers employed these particular verses as prophesying or prefiguring Christ’s death on a cross.
First Prophecy
I begin with the following reference from the Jeremiah:
“and I am as a lamb or a bullock brought to the slaughter; and I know not that they fabricate…
In this post I will be quoting from St. Athanasius’ On the Incarnation of the Word. This great Trinitarian defender and Bishop of Alexandria, Egypt appealed to Messianic prophecies to prove that Jesus is the Christ and the Lord God whom the prophets foretold would come in the flesh and die for the sins of the world. The texts which Athanasius quoted include: Genesis 49:10; Numbers 24:5-17; Psalm…
The following citation comes from St. Augustine's On the Trinity, Book 1.. The blessed Augustine quotes Philippians 3:3 to prove that the Holy Spirit is given latreuo, which is the worship giveN to God alone. All emphasis will be mine.
L’armée a reconnu la gravité de l’acte, affirmant que ce comportement est « totalement incompatible avec les valeurs attendues » de ses troupes.
The quotations from St. Augustine are taken from On the Trinity, Book 1. All emphasis will be mine.
Chapter 8.— The Texts of Scripture Explained Respecting the Subjection of the Son to the Father, Which Have Been Misunderstood. Christ Will Not So Give Up the Kingdom to the Father, as to Take It Away from Himself. The Beholding Him is the Promised End of All Actions. The Holy Spirit is Sufficient…
The quotations from St. Augustine are taken from On the Trinity, Book 1. Augustine will cite texts such as 1 John 5:20, where Jesus is called the true God and eternal life, to prove that Christ is one divine Person who operates in/by/through two natures since he is the God-Man. He will explain that Jesus, by virtue of becoming Man, not only became lesser than the Father and the Spirit, but also…
The quotations from St. Augustine are taken from On the Trinity, Book 1. The beloved saint will show that the words of our Lord Jesus in Mark 13:32 do not imply that the Son was ignorant of the Day or Hour, but that he chose to veil that knowledge for the express purpose of not making it known to his disciples. Augustine then quotes the Apostle Paul’s words in 1 Corinthians 2:2 to explain that…
The quotations from St. Augustine are taken from On the Trinity, Book 1. The blessed saint will cite texts such as 1 Timothy 6:13-16 and apply that to the Trinity. In so doing, he identifies the only God of the passage as the Trinity. Augustine also applies 1 John 5:20 to the Son, which describes Christ as the true God and eternal life. He will even cite 1 Cor. 8:6 to prove that the Father and…
In this post I will quote from a few fathers and saints of the Church whom all believed that the reason the Son honored the Father as his God is because of the Incarnation, as a result of the eternal Word becoming flesh and taking on a human nature. All emphasis will be mine.
Hippolytus
I will be quoting from the Epistle of Barnabas, which is a letter attributed to Paul’s companion that was composed somewhere between the middle and latter part of the first century AD. It contains a lot of allegorical interpretations of the Old Testament commandments and events, which the author connects to Christ, his commandments, and the Church. All emphasis will be mine.
Genesis 1:26 & Jesus…
In this post I will be quoting from the works of Justin Martyr and Tertullian in respect to Old Testament prophecies and typology pointing to Christ. All emphasis will be mine.
One interesting typology that both of them employ is the case of Joshua, whom they not only take to be a picture of Jesus but as also foreshadowing Christ’s actual name. Both Justin and Tertullian argue that Joshua is the…
The excerpts cited here are taken from St. Justin Martyr’s First Apology.
Justin appeals to Old Testament prophecies and to written records by Pilate, which were still in existence, to convince the Roman authorities of the divine origin and historicity of the Christian faith. Justin’s knowledge of Messianic prophecies is truly remarkable since he cites a plethora of OT texts to prove that Jesus…
I continue from where I previously left off: Novatian, Trinity, Modalism, Hypostatic Union.
Chapter 20.
It is Proved from the Scriptures that Christ Was Called an Angel. But Yet It is Shown from Other Parts of Holy Scripture that He is God Also.
But if some heretic, obstinately struggling against the truth, should persist in all these instances either in understanding that Christ was properly…
The quotations which I will cite here are taken from Novatian's Treatise Concerning the Trinity. All emphasis will be mine.
Novatian sets forth biblical texts to refute the modalist lie that Jesus is the Father. He instead proves that the Father, Son and Spirit are personally distinct and yet one and the same Divinity. Novatian also demonstrates that the Son is fully God and fully human, being…
Here’s the link to the first part: Cyprian, Messianic Prophecies & Christ’s Hypostatic Union.
I cite from the rest of St. Cyprian’s treatise where he quotes verse after verse from both testaments to prove that the prophets announced our Lord’s Deity, Humanity, vicarious death, resurrection, physical, heavenly ascension, physical, bodily return to the earth to judge all flesh, and his spiritual…
The senseless US-Israel war has caused economic tremors around the world and sucked all of us into an unprecedented crisis characterised by soaring oil prices, the wanton destruction of infrastructure, the killing of innocent people, a humanitarian crisis and uncertainty
Christians being treated as cows to be milked is not an insult. It is an observation. The monetisation of fear, blessing, prophecy, oil, water, soil and access has turned pulpits into kiosks
The Chosen season 6 is swiftly approaching, and we should all be prepared for an absolutely devastating season of TV. Creator Dallas Jenkins has been vocal that the new season will only be covering Good Friday (the day Jesus (Jonathan Roumie) went under trial and was crucified), which means we're in for a batch of episodes full of drama, tears, and a lot of detail.
Well, during…
The following is taken from Eusebius’ Church History, Book III. All emphasis will be mine.
Chapter 3. The Epistles of the Apostles.
In his refutation to the Arians, the beloved saint and outstanding defenders of the most Glorious and Holy Trinity, St. Athanasius lists Origen among those who held to an orthodox of the Trinity and Deity of Christ. All emphasis will be mine.
Chapter 6.— Authorities in Support of the Council. Theognostus; Dionysius of Alexandria; Dionysius of Rome; Origen.