1. nd
2 Century
Doctrinal Development
from Pastors and Philosophers
There is one Physician who is possessed both of
flesh and spirit; both begotten and unbegotten;
God existing in flesh; true life in death; both of
Mary and of God; first passible and then
impassible— even Jesus Christ our Lord. - Bishop
Ignatius to the Ephesians, 7

2. Church Fathers

3. Apostolic Succession
Rome
• Upon the death of Clement in 99, Evaristus was elected Bishop
Alexandria
•Avilius elected bishop in 83 upon death of Anianus
•Elected by other Bishops
Antioch
•Ignatius martyred in 110, no appointment of a successor

4. Important Works
First Clement
•Written about 96 from Rome to Corinth
•Considered Canonical by some until 8th
Century
•Did not proclaim Roman authority, but
stressed the need for continuing authority
Letters of Ignatius
•Written to 6 Churches and Polycarp
•Written on the away to martyrdom
•Stressed the Episcopal nature of the Church
•Considered the Bishops the unifying factor
of the Church
•Apostolic and Catholic

5. POLYCARP
1. Epistle to Diognetus
1. Assumed by some to be written by Polycarp
2. C. 125
3.Written to an unknown, likely Roman Emperor
4. Focused on establishing Christianity as the
successor of Judaism
2.To the Philippians
1. C 110
2.Stressed holding to the right doctrines
3. Encourages a strong stand against Valens
3.Martyrdom of Polycarp
1. C 180
2.Eyewitness account of Polycarp’s death

6. Shepherd of Hermes
• Written in early to middle of century
• Considered Canonical until 3rd century
• Written by the brother of a bishop of Rome
• Christology is Economic to Adoptionist
She said to me, “Lo! do you not see opposite to you a great
tower, built upon the waters, of splendid square stones?” For the
tower was built square by those six young men who had come
with her. But myriads of men were carrying stones to it, some
dragging them from the depths, others removing them from the
land, and they handed them to these six young men. They were
taking them and building; and those of the stones that were
dragged out of the depths, they placed in the building just as
they were: for they were polished and fitted exactly into the
other stones, and became so united one with another that the
lines of juncture could not be perceived.

7. Early Creeds and Confessions
Wherefore I give you to understand, that no man speaking by the Spirit of God
calleth Jesus accursed: and that no man can say that Jesus is the Lord, but by the
Holy Ghost. (1 Corinthians 12:3 KJV)
That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in
thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.
(Romans 10:9 KJV)
And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in
the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the
Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory. (1 Timothy 3:16 KJV)

8. Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus:
Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: But
made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was
made in the likeness of men: And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled
himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.
(Philippians 2:5-8 KJV)

9. Irenaeus and the Rule of Faith
believing in one God, the Creator of heaven
and earth, and all things therein, by means of
To which course many nations of those
Christ Jesus, the Son of God; who, because of
barbarians who believe in Christ do
His surpassing love towards His
•Memorized by the baptismal candidates as a measure against the Gnostics
assent, having salvation written in their hearts
creation, condescended to be born of the
•Held to the Scripturesby virgin,source of Tradition through Himself
asthe Spirit,Himself uniting man
the He without paper or
•Believed that Tradition was necessary preserving the ancient not around
ink, and, carefully when Scriptures were
to God, and having suffered under Pontius
tradition: barbarians without the Scriptures:
•Wrote, as the Rule of Faith forand rising again, and having been
Pilate,
received up in splendour, shall come in
glory, the Saviour of those who are saved, and
the Judge of those who are judged, and
sending into eternal fire those who transform
the truth, and despise His Father and His
advent. (Irenaeus, Against Heresies, book
3, 4, 1-2)

10. The Gnostic Valentinus
1. Valens (Valentinus) of Rome (100-160)
1. Originally a Hellenist from Alexandria
2. Stood as a possible successor to bishop of Rome, but another
chosen
3. Taught three kinds of people (spiritual, psychical, and material)
1. Spiritual people, his followers, has gnosis, had a greater
salvation
2. Psychical people, ordinary Christians, has a lesser salvation
3. Material people were doomed to perish
4. Combined the dualism of Platonic thought with Christian theology
5. Taught that God is three natures called the Father, the Son and the
Holy Spirit
6. Expressly Denounced by Polycarp, bishop of Smyrna
2. Theodotus of Byzantium (the Tanner or the Showmaker)
1. Late second century
2. Taught adoptionism
1. Jesus born of Mary and Spirit, but still a mortal man until
adopted by God
2. Become God after the Resurrection
3. Excommunicated by Victor I of Rome.

11. The Apostles Doctrine
Ignatius of Antioch
Freely called Jesus Christ God
Never called the Son God
Ignatius was really an ‘economic trinitarian’, i.e., regarded God as an
undifferentiated monad in His essential being, the Son and the Spirit
being merely forms or modes of the Father’s self-revelation, only
distinguished from Him in the process of revelation – RND Kelly (Early
Christian Doctrines (Kelly, p.93) )

12. 1. Papias
1. Condemned anything outside of the Apostle’s words
2. Polycarp
1. Condemned the godhead of Valens
2. Death ended Apostolic Era
3. Theophilius of Antioch
1. Bishop of Antioch 169-183
2. One work survives, Autolycus
3. First used the word ‘trinity’
4. Consistently saw God as One

13. Theophilus’ Trinity
In like manner also the three days which were before
the luminaries, are types of the Trinity of God, and His
Word, and His wisdom. And the fourth is the type of
man, who needs light, that so there may be God, the
Word, wisdom, man. Wherefore also on the fourth day
the lights were made. The disposition of the
stars, too, contains a type of the arrangement and
order of the righteous and pious, and of those who
keep the law and commandments of God. For the
brilliant and bright stars are an imitation of the
prophets, and therefore they remain fixed, not
declining, nor passing from place to place. And those
which hold the second place in brightness, are types of
the people of the righteous. And those, again, which
change their position, and flee from place to
place, which also are called planets, they too are a type
of the men who have wandered from God, abandoning
His law and commandments

14. 1. Melito of Sardis
1. First to use Hebrew Old Testament
exclusively
2. Christ equated with God with no
apology
2. Athenagoras
1. Notes the oneness of the Father and
Son
2. God is indivisible
3. The Word/Son is an Emanation from
the Father

15. Irenaeus
1. Knew Polycarp as a youth in Asia Minor
2. Denied Doctrinal Development
3. God was one hypostasis
1. Word and Wisdom were two hands of God
4. Fought the Gnostics
1. Attempted to use words that the Gnostics did not
1. Emanation became a Gnostic word

16. Justin Martyr/Philosopher
1. Conversion
1. Philosopher
2. Saw Plato, Socrates as divinely inspired
1. Referred to 11/36 of Plato’s works
2. School in Rome
3. Development of Logos
1. Another God
Justin, after he became a Christian, continued
to wear the pallium, or cloak, as Eusebius and
Jerome inform us, which was the singular
badge of a philosopher. Aristides, the Athenian
philosopher and a Christian, did the same; so
did Heraclas, even when he was bishop of
Alexandria.

17. Plato sets forth the doctrine of the Trinity in his Phaedon, written four hundred years BC. His terms conform
striking Justin’s doctrine on the Godhead. Plato's first term for the Trinity was in Greek, the Agathon, the
supreme God or Father. Next was the Logos meaning the Word and then Psyche meaning the soul, spirit or
ghost, the Holy Ghost.