Mahakama ya kadhi Tanzania imeanza kutumika- by Mtikila

MCHUNGAJI Christopher Mtikila, amedai kuwa sheria za Mahakama ya Kadhi zimeshaanza kufanya kazi nchini kutokana na Sheikh Ponda Issa Ponda kutangaza katika Msikiti wa Mtambani kuwa yeye (Mtikila) ni kafiri na anastahili kukatwa kichwa.
Mtikila, alitoa kali hiyo jana baada ya kuelezwa na wanachama wake kuhusu suala hilo, baada ya kulisikia msikitini.
Alisema Oktoba 26 mwaka huu, wanachama wake watatu waliokuwepo katika msikiti huo ndio waliompelekea taarifa hizo.
Akizungumza na waandishi wa habari nyumbani kwake jana, Mchungaji Mtikila, alisema matamshi hayo ya kutaka kukatwa kichwa ni lazima ayatumie kama ushahidi katika kesi yake.
"Kama mimi nikikatwa kichwa kwa kuwa tu nimesema kuwa Mahakama ya Kadhi ni ugaidi, basi Sheikh Khalifa Khamisi, Sheikh Yahya Hussein na Sheikh Issa Ponda wao ndio watakuwa wa kwanza kukatwa vichwa vyao, kwa kuwa wao ndio wanaokula fedha za Waislamu.
"Wananchi waelewe ugaidi umeanza hata kabla ya Mahakama ya Kadhi…..je, mahakama ingekuwepo si balaa….. watu wanatumia redio kusema kichwa cha mtu kikatwe, sasa huu ni utawala gani?" alihoji Mtikila.
Kutokana na hilo, Mtikila alisema amepekea taarifa ya suala hilo Kituo Kikuu cha Polisi, lakini hakuonana na Kamanda wa Kanda Maalumu ya Dar es Salaam, Alfred Tibaigana, na kuahidi kwenda tena.
Mtikila aliwataka wananchi waungane naye na ikibidi wafanye maandamano kwa kuipinga seikali, kwa kunyamazia suala hilo ambalo ni hatari kwa taifa.

Waislamu wamjia juu Mchungaji Mtikila

Kamati ya Kuokoa Mali za Waislamu Tanzania, imetoa siku tano kwa Kiongozi wa Kanisa la Wokovu Kamili, Mchungaji Christopher Mtikila kuwaomba radhi Waislamu kwa kuidhalilisha, kuitusi na kuikejeli dini yao. Kauli hiyo ilitolewa na Katibu wa kamati hiyo, Sheikh Khalifa Khamis alipozungumza na waandishi wa habari jijini Dar es Salaam jana. Sheikh Khalifa alisema iwapo Mchungaji Mtikila atashindwa kuwaomba radhi watajua nini cha kumfanyia. Aidha wamemtaka Mchungaji Mtikila kutamka hadharani kuwa Uislamu si dini ya kigaidi wala si ya kinyama, na badala yake ni dini ya amani na mapenzi kwa wanadamu wote. ``Tunamtaka Mchungaji Mtikila hadi kufikia Ijumaa ijayo, awe ametekeleza masharti yetu, asipofanya hivyo tutajua cha kumfanyia,`` alisema. Aliongeza kuwa, pamoja na hayo, kamati hiyo imeviomba vyombo vya dola kumchukulia hatua za kisheria Mchungaji Mtikila kwa matamshi yake ya kuudhalilisha Uislamu. Mchungaji Mtikila amefungua kesi katika Mahakama Kuu ya Tanzania kanda ya Dar es Salaam kupinga kuanzishwa kwa Mahakama ya Kadhi. Kwa mujibu wa kamati hiyo, sababu anazotoa Mchungaji Mtikila ni kuwa ameamua kufungua kesi hiyo ili kupinga ugaidi yaani Uislamu kwa kuwa Tanzania si nchi ya Kiislamu. Pia kuanzishwa kwa mahakama hiyo alisema kutaleta matabaka, kuchochea ugaidi, kuleta vurugu na kuharibu utawala wa kisheria au kuwagawa watu katika misingi ya kidini. ``Nchi yetu ni ya amani, tunaishi kwa kuheshimiana na kushirikiana katika shughuli zote za kijamii kama misiba, ndoa bila kubaguana,`` alisema. Aliongeza kuwa, endepo serikali itakaa kimya na kumwacha Mtikila kuendeleza matusi na kebehi dhidi ya Waislamu, serikali itabeba dhamana ya matokeo ya uchochezi huo. ``Tunayo mifano mingi ya Waislamu kubambikizwa kesi kuwa wamekashifu dini ya Kikristo, japo mashtaka wanayosomewa ni dhahiri yanatokana na misingi ya imani yao,`` alisema. Aliongeza kuwa, ili kulinda amani na utulivu ambao umedumu kwa muda mrefu, kamati hiyo haitaielewa Serikali endapo haitachukua hatua yo yote dhidi ya Mchungaji Mtikila. Sheikh Khalifa alisema Uislamu siyo dini ya kigaidi kama ambavyo Mchungaji Mtikila amedai katika kupinga kuanzishwa kwa Mahakama ya Kadhi. ``Maaskofu wameshapinga kuanzishwa kwa kadhi lakini hawajatoa matamshi ya kashfa na kejeli kama ya Mtikila,`` alisema. Aliongeza ``Lakini tunashangaa kuona makanisa yanataka kujiweka katika nafasi ya kuamua hatma na maslahi ya umma wa Waislamu kana kwamba wao ndiyo raia bora wenye haki ya kutuamulia wengine kile kisichostahili.

Mahakama ya kadhi Tanzania

Mtikila kuandamana kupinga mahakama ya kadhi

Mwenyekiti wa Democratic Party (DP), Mchungaji Christopher Mtikila, ametangaza kuandaa maandamano nchini nzima kupinga uundwaji wa Mahakama ya Kadhi nchini. Mbali na kuandaa maandamano hayo, Mchungaji Mtikila ametishia kukiburuza mahakamani kituo cha Redio Quraan cha jijijini Dar es Salaam na kuhakikisha kuwa kinafungwa baada ya kutishia kumuua kwa kumkata kichwa. Kauli hiyo ya Bw. Mtikila imekuja siku chache baada ya Waziri Mkuu Bw. Edward Lowassa kutoa msimamo wa serikali juu ya uundwaji wa mahakama hiyo hapa nchini kwamba suala hilo halijafikishwa serikalini rasmi. Mahakama ya Kadhi inashughulia masuala ya kutatua migogoro kama ndoa na mirathi kwa Waislamu. Akizungumza na waandishi wa habari jana jijini Dar es Salaam, Bw. Mtikila alidai kwamba kauli hiyo ya Waziri Mkuu inaashiria kuwa serikali inataka kuingilia kazi ya mahakama na kusema wataandamana ili kushinikiza isianzishwe. `Tumepanga kufanya maandamano nchi nzima kupinga suala hili maana ninaamini kabisa kuwa, kuna Watanzania ambao hawana dini na wanaohitaji ulinzi na utetezi wa sheria ambayo haifungwi na dini yoyote,` alisema. Hata hivyo hakueleza siku ya maandamano hayo wala mkoa yatakapoanzia. Aliendelea kusema kuwa waziri Mkuu anapaswa kuwaomba radhi wananchi waliomweka madarakani kwa kukiuka katiba ya nchi inayokataza utetezi wa kikundi kimoja cha dini. Aliongeza kuwa, ibara ya 20 ya katiba kifungu cha 2(a) na kifungu kidogo (i) inaeleza na kukataza suala hilo. Kuhusu kuishitaki na kuifunga Redio Quraan, Mwenyekiti wa DP alisema ataifungulia kesi ya kuchochea vurugu na kuhatarisha maisha yake katika vipindi inavyorusha hewani. `Jumamosi radio hiyo ilisema ninastahili kukatwa kichwa na maneno hayo nimeyasikia na kuyarekodi? hivyo nitaifikisha mbele ya sheria,` alidai. Mwanasiasa huyo hodari wa kufungua kesi, pia alipinga kauli ya Papa kuisifu Tanzania kwamba ina uvumilivu wa kidini. `Hatuna uvumilivu wowote ndiyo maana tunasikia makanisa yamechomwa moto na mikutano ya Injili kuvurugwa tena wakati mwingine polisi wamehusika,` alidai. Kwa mujibu wa Bw. Mtikila makanisa 16 yamechomwa moto na mikutano zaidi 36 ya Injili kuvamiwa na kuvurugwa bila hatua zozote za kisheria kuchukuliwa kwa wahusika. Wiki iliyopita Mchungaji Christopher Mtikila alifungua kesi Mahakama Kuu kupinga kuanzishwa kwa mahakama hiyo.

Paula White and Her husband seek Divorce

Wapendwa hii story niliipata muda mrefu,ilitoka august 24 mwaka huu, but niliamua kuifanyia uchunguzi na nimeamua kuiweka hapa baada ya watumishi wengi kuniandikia email kutaka maelezo zaidi baada ya kuona ya talaka ya juanita bynum.

TAMPA — Megachurch pastors Randy and Paula White stood before their congregation Thursday night and made the announcement that many in their flock feared had been coming for months.
They are divorcing.
"It is the most difficult decision that I have had to make in my entire life," said the Rev. Randy White, 49. "I take full responsibility for a failed marriage -100 percent. I don't blame Paula, and I don't blame other parties. But as the man of the house, I take full responsibility for that."
He praised his wife, calling her an exceptional woman and a great preacher and wife.
Standing by his side and appearing to fight back tears, the Rev. Paula White called the decision to divorce "one of the most painful of our lives."
"But God always comes to you in the dark places of life," White said, standing beside her husband in the pulpit.
White, 41, also offered a note of optimism.
"It's not the end of the story for Randy or Paula or maybe even Randy and Paula," she said.
The couple, who have both been married and divorced before, did not say what caused their breakup. They also did not detail if they had filed for divorce. They have grown children from previous relationships but none together.
Word about trouble in the couple's marriage has circulated for months. The Whites' disparate ministry paths have fueled much of the concern. Randy White, a bishop at Without Walls International Church, has been spending time in Malibu, Calif., in hopes of establishing a ministry on the West Coast. Paula White, the church's senior pastor and a sought-after televangelist, keeps an apartment in New York City, where she recently opened a new ministry and self-help center in July.
The couple, arguably the most prominent evangelical partners in the state, said they made their announcement at Thursday night's service to tell their church "family" before word of their separation appears in the local and national media.
The Whites' split calls into question the future of the 22,000 member megachurch, which the couple founded as South Tampa Christian Center in 1991. During their announcement, which came just before the sermon, the Whites sought to put those concerns to rest.
Randy White said he would continue to lead Without Walls and would focus on being a "great pastor" and a "great dad."
Paula White said she would also continue to preach at Without Walls when invited by her husband. She also said Paula White Ministries would continue to be based in Tampa.
Several hundred Without Walls members were in the audience for the announcement. As the Whites spoke, some people in the crowd cried. Others appeared stunned, noticeable by the audible gasps in the cavernous sanctuary.
Warming herself outside the church, one woman said "God knows best," before being told by another member to avoid talking to the media. At least one Without Walls member said the church was hurting and lashed out at a reporter for being on site to witness the announcement.
The church broadcasts its services via the Internet at www.streamingfaith.com. But last night's announcement was not aired. The video of the broadcast was interrupted without explanation and resumed after the announcement.
Inside the church, the preacher for the evening, the Rev. Tim Storey, sought to offer direction to a stunned congregation.
"How many of you feel sorrow tonight," Storey asked the crowd.
Hands shot up around the sanctuary.
"We should. But God is still good."

Juanita Bynum beaten by her husband

ATLANTA, Sept. 19 — The attack in a hotel parking lot here last month was remarkable not only because the victim, Juanita Bynum, is the most prominent black female television evangelist in the country, who is pals with Oprah, admired by Aretha, and who recently signed on to campaign for Obama.


Chris Rank for the New York Times
Mr. Weeks held a news briefing to respond to assault charges.
It was shocking, especially to legions of women who had latched onto her message that only chastity and self-respect would bring true love, because the attacker who choked, stomped and kicked her, Ms. Bynum said, was her husband.
The episode has led to debate about domestic violence and how churches, particularly black churches, respond to it.
But it has also raised questions about the trajectory of Ms. Bynum’s career as a woman who called herself a prophetess, and while condemning promiscuity spoke openly about her lust and longing, in what has been called one of the most significant contemporary American sermons. Her struggle struck a chord in many black communities, where marriage rates are notoriously low, and it seemed to culminate in the form of an earthly reward: a televised, million-dollar 2003 wedding to a fellow Pentecostal preacher, Bishop Thomas W. Weeks III, followed by what seemed to be a model marriage.
Since the attack, Ms. Bynum, 48, has tried to reinvent herself once more, announcing that she is “the new face of domestic violence.” But Tom Joyner, the syndicated radio talk show host, did not let her off the hook so easily: “If you’re a prophet,” Mr. Joyner asked, “didn’t you see this coming?”
In a telephone interview, Ms. Bynum said the public had overly romanticized the union. “What happened to me was reality,” she said. “I made a right decision that went bad. If you choose a Cadillac, if two years later someone runs into you and tears it up, it wasn’t a bad decision to buy the car.”
Mr. Weeks, who according to the police report was pulled off his wife by a hotel bellhop, pleaded not guilty to charges of aggravated assault and making terroristic threats. Ms. Bynum has filed for divorce.
Conservative critics among the evangelical clergy have accused her of exploiting the attack for publicity, calling her “loud,” “angry,” “aggressive” and “out of control,” while a group of black and Hispanic churches has demanded Mr. Weeks’s resignation. Fans responded with shock.
“It just hit me like a wake-up call, that even the strongest can be victims,” said Elizabeth Alexander, a student at Spelman College, a historically black women’s school here, which held a forum to discuss the issue.
Ms. Bynum, a former flight attendant and hair stylist, rose to fame in the late 1990s with the help of the powerful Bishop T. D. Jakes of Dallas, who supplied an audience of thousands for her frank sermon about sex and the single woman called “No More Sheets.” The sermon is said to have sold more than a million copies on video and profoundly affected many black women.
Ms. Bynum’s sermon admonished women looking for love to stop sleeping around and prepare for a lifetime commitment, but also dwelt on the difficulty of being Christian and single.
“I find it very difficult to listen to anybody preach to me about being single when they’ve got a pair of thighs in their bed every night,” she said that night. “You’re telling me, ‘Hold on, honey, sanctify yourself,’ and you’re going home to biceps and triceps, and big old muscles and thighs.”
She went on, her voice husky and anguished: “I want to hear ‘Hold on’ from somebody who is really holding on. I want to hear ‘Hold on’ from somebody who knows my struggle.” She used bed sheets borrowed from a hotel maid to signify her past promiscuity.
Ms. Bynum’s confessional approach, including of an abusive first marriage, made her a sought-after speaker and a popular host on the Trinity Broadcasting Network, although she did not lead a church of her own. She wrote books that ranked among Publishers Weekly’s top 10 religion best sellers, and her gospel album “A Piece of My Passion” went gold. Women across the country held “No More Sheets” parties to watch and discuss the sermon.
“She’s a powerful trailblazer,” said Shayne Lee, a sociologist of religion at Tulane University who closely follows what has become known as the neo-Pentecostal movement, which emphasizes self-improvement and prosperity over social issues like poverty and crime. “She resonated with so many people because sex is out there in a way that I don’t think any other preacher, or any other black preacher, has tapped into on a grand scale.”
The assault, Dr. Lee said, is a challenge to Ms. Bynum’s credibility: “Maybe she’s been living a lie all these years.”

Azusa Street with Bishop William J.Seymour

Bishop William J. Seymour
Pastor of the Apostolic Faith Mission
312 Azusa Street - Los Angeles, California
William Joseph Seymour was born May 2, 1870 in Centerville, St. Mary's Parish, Louisiana. His parents, Simon Seymour (also known as Simon Simon) and Phillis Salabar were both former slaves. Phillis was born and reared on the Adilard Carlin plantation near Centerville .
When President Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation ending slavery in the rebel states, Simon enlisted in the Northern Army and served until the end of the Civil War. While with the United States Colored Troops he marched across the southern gulf states of Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida. During his service, he became ill and was hospitalized in New Orleans. From the descriptions, it seems he may have contracted malaria or another tropical disease in the southern swamps. Simon never fully recovered.
William Seymour, the oldest in a large family, lived his early years in abject poverty. In 1896 the family's possessions were listed as "one old bedstead, one old chair and one old mattress." All of his mother's personal property was valued at fifty-five cents.
Seymour also suffered the injustice and prejudice of the reconstruction south. Violence against freedman was common and groups like the Ku Klux Klan terrorized southern Louisiana.
The young Seymour was exposed to various Christian traditions. His parents were married by a Methodist preacher; the infant William was baptized in the Roman Catholic Church in Franklin, Louisiana; and, Simon and Phillis were buried at a Baptist Church.
Many accounts of Seymour's life say he was illiterate. This is not true. He attended a freedman school in Centerville and learned to read and write. In fact, his signature shows a good penmanship.
Fleeing the poverty and oppression of life in southern Louisiana, Seymour left his home in early adulthood. He traveled and worked in Indiana, Ohio, Illinois, and other states possibly including Missouri and Tennessee. He often worked as a waiter in big city hotels.
In Indianapolis, Seymour was converted in a Methodist Church. Soon, however, he joined the Church of God Reformation movement in Anderson, Indiana. At the time, the group was called "The Evening Light Saints." While with this conservative Holiness group, Seymour was sanctified and called to preach.
In Cincinnati, Ohio after a near fatal bout with smallpox, Seymour yielded to the call to ministry. The illness left him blind in one eye and scarred his face. For the rest of his life he wore a beard to hide the scars.
In 1905, Seymour was in Houston, Texas where he heard the Pentecostal message for the first time. He attended a Bible school conducted by Charles F. Parham. Parham was the founder of the Apostolic Faith Movement, and is the father of the modern Pentecostal/Charismatic revival. At a Bible school in Topeka, Kansas, his followers had received a baptism in the Holy Spirit with the biblical evidence of speaking in tongues.
Because of the strict segregation laws of the times, Seymour was forced to sit outside the class room in the hall way. The humble servant of God bore the injustice with grace. Seymour must have been a man of keen intellect. In just a few weeks, he became familiar enough with Parham's teaching that he could teach it himself. Seymour, however, did not receive the Holy Spirit baptism with the evidence of speaking in tongues.
Parham and Seymour held joint meetings in Houston, with Seymour preaching to black audiences and Parham speaking to the white groups. Parham hoped to use Seymour to spread the Apostolic Faith message to the African-Americans in Texas.
Neely Terry, a guest from Los Angeles met Seymour while he was preaching at a small church regularly pastored by Lucy Farrar (also spelled Farrow). Farrar was also an employee of Parham and was serving his family in Kansas.
When Terry returned to Los Angeles, she persuaded the small Holiness church she attended to call Seymour to Los Angeles for a meeting. Her pastor, Julia Hutchinson, extended the invitation.
Seymour arrived in Los Angeles in February 1906. His early efforts to preach the Pentecostal message were rebuffed and he was locked out of the church. The leadership were suspicious of Seymour's doctrine, but were especially concerned that he was preaching an experience that he had not received.
Moving into the home of Edward Lee, a janitor at a local bank, Bishop Seymour began ministry with a prayer group that had been meeting regularly at the home of Richard and Ruth Asbery, at 214 North Bonnie Brae. Asbery was also employed as a janitor. Most of the worshippers were African-American, with occasional visits from whites. As the group sought God for revival, their hunger intensified.
Finally, on April 9, Lee was baptized in the Holy Spirit with the evidence of speaking in other tongues. When the news of his baptism was shared with the true believers at Bonnie Brae, a powerful outpouring followed. Many received the Holy Spirit baptism as Pentecostal revival arrived on the West Coast. That evening would be hard to describe. People fell to the floor as if unconscious, others shouted adn ran through the house. One neighbor, Jennie Evans Moore played the piano, something she did not have the ability to do before.
Over the next few days of continuous outpouring, hundreds gathered. The streets were filled and Seymour preached from the Asbery's porch. On April 12, three days after the initial outpouring, Seymour received his baptism of power.
Quickly outgrowing the Asbery home, the faithful searched for a home for a new church. They found their building at 312 Azusa Street. The mission had been built as an African Methodist Episcopal Church, but when the former tenets vacated, the upstairs sanctuary had been converted into apartments. A fire destroyed the pitched roof and it was replaced with a flat roof giving the 40 X 60 feet building the appearance of a square box. The unfinished downstairs with a low ceiling and dirt floor was used as a storage building and stable. This downstairs became the home of the Apostolic Faith Mission. Mix matched chairs and wooden planks were collected for seats and a prayer altar and two wooden crates covered by a cheap cloth became the pulpit.
From this humble location, the Pentecostal truth was spread around the world. Visitors came from locations both far and near to be part of the great revival at the Apostolic Faith Mission at 312 Azusa Street in Los Angeles.
On April 17, The Los Angeles Daily Times sent a reporter to the revival. In his article the next day, he baffooned the meeting and the pastor, calling the worshippers "a new sect of fanatics" and Seymour "an old exhorter." He mocked their glossolalia as "weird babel of tongues." More important than the critical opinions expressed by the reporter was the providential timing of his visit. The article was published on the same day as the great earthquake in San Fransciso. Southern Californians, already gripped with fear, learned of a revival where doomsday prophecies were common.
Immediately, Frank Bartleman, an itenerate evangelist and Azusa Street participant published a tract about the earthquake. Thousands of the tracts, filled with end-time prophecies, were distributed. Soon, multitudes gathered at Azusa Street. One attendee said more than a thousand at a time would crowd onto the property. Hundreds would fill the little building; others would watch from the boardwalk; and, more would overflow into the dirt street.
With the help of a stenographer and editor the mission began to publish a newspaper, The Aposotlic Faith. Seymour's sermons were transcribed and printed, along with news of the meetings and the many missionaries that were being sent forth. The papers literally spread the Pentecostal message across the globe. Circulation for the little paper passed 50,000. Services at the mission were conducted three times each day at 10 AM, noon and 7 PM. They often ran together until the entire day became one worship service. This schedule was continued seven days a week for more than three years.
It was common for the lost to be saved, sick healed, demonized delivered, and seekers to be baptized in the Spirit in almost every meeting. Many of the early leaders of the Pentecostal movement received their Holy Ghost baptism or worshipped at the Azusa "plank" altar.
In 1906 when there were more lynchings of black men then in any other year of America’s history, Seymour led an interracial worship service. At Azusa Street there were no preferences for age, gender, or race. One worshipper said, "The blood of Jesus washed the color line away."
Despite all of the success, the revival faced opposition from without and within. Charles Parham, insulted by the racial compositon of the meetings and emotionalism brought the first major split. Many others followed. When Seymour married Miss Jeanne Evans Moore on May 13, 1908 another group left the mission. Two ladies in the disscenters took the main mailing lists crippling The Apostolic Faith newspaper.
Denominational churches were vicious in their attacks.Not many years after the revival began only a skeleton crew, mostly black and mostly the Bonnie Brae group, kept the fire burning in the old mission.
Bishop Seymour continued to pastor the church until his death. Yet, his work was not limited to Los Angeles. He traveled extensively, establishing churches and preaching the good news. He even wrote and edited a book, The Doctrines and Discipline of the Apostolic Faith Mission to help govern the churches he had helped to birth .On September 28, 1922, Seymour experienced chest pains and shortness of breath. Although a doctor was called, the pilgrim passed to the Cellestial City.
Some say he died from a "broken heart." Faithful to the end, his last words were "I love my Jesus so." Seymour was laid to rest in Los Angeles' Evergreen Cemetery. His gravestone reads simply, "Our Pastor."
After his passing, his loving wife, Jennie, followed him as minister at the mission. Eventually, the mission was torn down by the city of Los Angeles and the property was lost, but what happened there will never be forgotten.
For many years the pivotal role of Seymour was almost ignored by church historians. Partially, no doubt, because he was an African American. This shameful neglect, however is finally ending as more and more students of Pentecostal history learn of the importance of William J. Seymour’s role in the formation of the Pentecostal movement.
One of the first significant church historians to recognize Seymour's importance was Sidney Ahlstrom, of Yale University. In 1972, he said that Seymour was "the most influential black leader in American religious history." The Assemblies of God Theological Seminary dedicated their new chapel to Seymour's memory in 1998. As the twentieth century closed, the Religion Newswriters Association named the Azusa Street Revival as one of the top ten events of the past millennium; Life Magazine listed Azusa Street as one of the top one hundred events of the millennium; and, Christian History magazine named William J. Seymour one of the top ten Christians of the 20th century.
To learn more about Bishop Seymour and the Azusa Street revival read The Life and Ministry of William J. Seymour by Larry Martin, available from our online bookstore. With 350 pages and over 100 illustrations, this is the most comprehensive book ever written on the great outpouring.

Unakumbuka hizi picha?

Siku Mzee Moses Kulola (Askofu mkuu wa EAGT) alipokumbatiana na Mzee Emmanuel Lazaro wa TAG pale kanisani Full Gospel kwa Askofu Kakobe.
Siku hii ilikuwa ni siku maalum ya kupatana kwa maaskofu wetu hawa wawili baada ya utengano wa muda mrefu wa kanisa la TAG na EAGT.Japokuwa siku hii watumishi hawa wa Mungu walisema hawakuwa kuwa na ugomvi wowote kati yao ila watu ndio walikuwa wakiwazushia.Walikumbatiana kwa furaha sana na hao wawili ni wake zao wakikumbatiana pia kwa furaha.

Picha hii hapa chini ni Mwimbaji wa injili wa siku nyingi Mtanzania anayeishi Kenya Faustin Munishi akiwa na Mchungaji Mwasota wakipiga picha na Askofu Moses Kulola enzi hizi injili ilikuwa si ya mzaha kama ilivyo sasa kuna wasanii wengi wamejiingiza makanisani.Picha hii ilipigwa miaka ya mwishoni mwa sabini au mwanzoni mwa themani.Mchungaji mwosota pia alikuwa ni mwimbaji maarufu hasa kwenye mikutano ya mzee kulola.Hata leo hii wote wawili Munishi na Mwasota bado wanaimba na niwachungaji.

Bishop T.D. Jakes ...TRINITARIAN OR MODALIST?

A Protestant, state corrections chaplain told CRI that "one of the most popular TV evangelists at our institution is T. D. Jakes." He concluded by asking for clarification of Jakes's position on the Trinity. CRI has received two e-mails sent by T. D. Jakes Ministries to people inquiring about that subject. One e-mail response is that "Bishop T. D. Jakes and The Potter's House of Dallas believe there is one God who manifest [sic] Himself in the Trinity — Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. We have never denied the Trinity, and we are disappointed that anyone would misunderstand or misrepresent us."27
The meaning of the term Trinity, according to historic Christianity, is that within the nature of the one God co-exist three equal and eternal persons — Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. T. D. Jakes Ministries and historic Christianity both use the word Trinity, but the meaning of the word appears to be different. Walter Martin taught us that we must scale the language barrier of the cults. We must recognize the reality that unless terms are defined, a semantic jungle will envelope us, making it difficult, if not impossible, to properly contrast orthodox Christianity with teachings outside it.28
On the T. D. Jakes Ministries Web site, an older but still accessible version of their Statement of Faith reads, "There is one God, creator of all things, infinitely perfect, and existing in three Manifestations: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit."29 Their current doctrinal statement has been altered somewhat to read: "THREE DIMENSIONS OF ONE GOD (1 John 5:7, Matt. 28:19, 1 Tim. 3:16)" — "We believe in one God, who is eternal in His existence, Triune in His Manifestations, being both Father, Son and Holy Ghost AND that He is Sovereign and Absolute in His authority."30
The position taken by T. D. Jakes Ministries remains problematic. The problem lies in the word "manifestation." Manifestation is a modalistic term often used by Oneness Pentecostals. Modalism views Father, Son, and Holy Spirit as different modes of God's activity rather than three separate persons.31
Jakes was interviewed in August 1998 by Living by the Word (LBTW) ministry. This interview was aired on KKLA 99.5 FM in Los Angeles. During this interview, Jakes said, "We have one God, but He is Father in creation, Son in redemption, and Holy Spirit in regeneration."32 This wording is identical to the Oneness Pentecostal view as described by David K. Bernard, pastor of New Life United Pentecostal Church (UPC), in his book The Oneness of God: "A popular explanation of Father, Son and Holy Ghost is that there is one God who has revealed [ie., manifested] Himself as Father in Creation, Son in redemption and Holy Ghost in regeneration."33
In his interview with LBTW, Jakes also describes the Trinity as a complex issue, saying, "I'm not sure we can totally hold God to a numerical system."34 This statement is consistent with his book Anointing Fall on Me: "The concept of the Godhead is a mystery that has baffled Christians for years. With our limited minds we try to comprehend a limitless God. How can we explain one God but three distinct manifestations?"35 This idea also reflects Bernard's Oneness Pentecostal views: "We cannot confine God to three or any other number of specific roles and titles."36
CRI Coordinator of Research Sam Wall spoke over the telephone with Pastor Lawrence Robinson, Director of Ministry Affairs at the Potter's House, inquiring about their view of the Trinity. Robinson affirmed that Jakes denies the biblical position of the Trinity, at one point saying that the Roman Catholic Church introduced the concept of three gods. Robinson gave some modalistic illustrations of the Trinity and said that Jakes has always held this position.37 Twice after that, Wall e-mailed Pastor Robinson to confirm the content of their discussion. Robinson never responded. Wall noted in his e-mail, "Should I not hear from you by e-mail, I will assume that these statements by you are correct."38
In the 1998 Wall Street Journal article on Jakes, Lawrence Robinson speaks of knowing T. D. Jakes since he was a young man.39 According to T. D. Jakes Ministries Web site, Elder Lawrence Robinson has been attached to the heart of T. D. Jakes Ministries since 1985 as a faithful partner.40
Jakes's denial of the orthodox doctrine of the Trinity is further betrayed by his association with the Higher Ground Always Abounding Assembly. He is a leader and elected bishop of this group.41 CRI spoke with Elder Mike Pearson, an instructor at the Higher Ground Bible Institute. He confirmed that the Assembly has a Oneness view of the Trinity and that T. D. Jakes has been part of this association for about seven years.42
In order to appropriately discern and respond to modalism, it is vital for Christians to understand the Trinity as it is presented in the Bible. James R. White offers three suggestions:
First we need to do some major league education on what the doctrine actually teaches....In the second place, we have to impress on every believer the vital importance of understanding, accepting, and experiencing the truth that God has revealed Himself to be Triune: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit....Finally, we have to educate, NOT with arrogance or pride, but with a passion and fervor born of love for the truth....Concerned Christians need to voice their disapproval of television networks, ministries, or publishers who tolerate poor theology just to mollify a larger 'audience.'43
The Trinity is the primary truth of New Testament theology. In his book Oneness Pentecostals and The Trinity, former Oneness teacher Gregory A. Boyd convincingly argues that "the denial that the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are eternally distinct 'persons' in the Godhead indirectly undermines the Christian view of God's character, God's revelation, and God's salvation by grace."44
Oneness believers beg to differ. As noted earlier, modalists, including T. D. Jakes, maintain the view of "one" God revealing Himself in three manifestations. This view has been known throughout history by several different names. One of them is modalistic monarchianism: "A movement which interpreted the Trinity as successive revelations of God — first as Father, then as Son, and finally as Holy Spirit. It began in the third century."45 Modalistic monarchianism emphasized the unqualified intrinsic oneness of God and the full deity of Christ.46
Denver Seminary's Dr. Gordon Lewis offered this response to T. D. Jakes's statement about God being Triune in His manifestation: "The revised statement on God revives Sabellian Modalism. Father, Son and Holy Spirit are not merely three manifestations of one God in history, three different hats he wears."47
Whether it is called modalism, Sabellianism, Oneness, or "Jesus only," this view of the Trinity is heretical. As White observes, "Whatever its name might be, it is a denial of the Trinity based upon the denial of the distinction between the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. It accepts the truth that there is only one true God, and that the Father, Son, and Spirit are fully God, but it denies that the Bible differentiates between the persons."48
OTHER DOCTRINAL CONCERNS
While the biggest concern with Jakes's teaching is the modalistic language he uses in regard to the Trinity, several aspects of his message and ministry are problematic. In a Wall Street Journal article, which described Jakes as a country preacher with a multimillion-dollar religious empire, he was quoted as saying, "I am the power and the kingdom and the glory, and I think I kind of like it that way."49 Even if he spoke these words in jest, he mocks God, who will not share His glory with another (Isa. 42:8).
Jakes's teaching on sin leaves much to be desired. In a three-hour video broadcast on TBN of his July 1999 WTAL conference in Atlanta, he addressed the women's immediate emotional and social needs, but nothing was said on the issue of sin and the need for a Savior, nor on the atoning death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.50 In Loose That Man and Let Him Go! Jakes describes men who have extramarital affairs as doing what they do because they fear confronting unresolved issues with their spouses.51 He depicts men who carry weapons as living in fear that others will see the frightened little boy hiding behind the big gun.52 He characterizes men who beat their wives as little boys having a temper tantrum.53
Jesus goes straight to the heart when He describes adultery (Matt. 5:28) and evil thoughts, murder, fornication, stealing, lying, and blasphemy (Matt. 15:19) for what they are. Jakes teaches that we have problems because we are victims of our environment or circumstances and minimizes the concept of personal sin. Along with victimization, he emphasizes self-empowerment; we can find the power to pull ourselves out of our problems. Yet Paul taught that all have sinned and come up short before God (Rom. 3:23). The way out of our sins is Christ-empowerment, not self-empowerment (Phil. 4:13).
Prosperity teachings stand out more than other Word of Faith teachings in T. D. Jakes's ministry. Jakes is a very wealthy man and enjoys it. The 19 November 1998 People magazine describes his $1.7 million Dallas home, his blue BMW convertible, and his colorful expensive clothing.54 (He also drives a Mercedes.) He feels his financial success is a sign of growing economic empowerment for African-Americans. The Charleston Gazette published a story that focused on his $600,000, 16-room Charlotte mansion with its bowling alley and indoor swimming pool. The story didn't accuse him of any wrongdoing, but Jakes felt betrayed, saying that if he couldn't get better press coverage, he'd take his wealth elsewhere.55 This may be one reason Jakes moved from Charleston to Dallas.
It's not disturbing that Jakes is wealthy and has this lifestyle, but it's very disturbing that he portrays Jesus as being rich in order to justify his wealth. He describes Jesus as having been rich in order to support His disciples and their families during His ministry. Jakes says the myth of the poor Jesus has to be destroyed because it's holding people back.56 Indeed, Jesus Christ owns everything and possesses all power, authority, glory, honor, and majesty. In His earthly life, however, He became poor for our sakes (2 Cor. 8:9; Matt. 8:20). He laid aside His divine prerogatives and died on the cross, owning nothing, like a common criminal.57 In fact, archaeological excavations of Nazareth in the 1950s demonstrate that poor agricultural people occupied the village in Jesus' day.58
The ministry's doctrinal statement makes it clear that Jakes adheres not only to the doctrine of guaranteed wealth for the believer but also guaranteed health: "We believe that it is God's will to heal and deliver His people today as He did in the days of the first Apostles. It is by the stripes of Jesus that we are healed, delivered and made whole. We have authority over sickness, disease, demons, curses, and every circumstance in life."59 This belief is reflected in Woman Thou Art Loosed! "Jesus has promised to set you free from every curse of the past. If you have suffered abuse, please know that He will bring you complete healing."60 Biblically, however, our faith does not dictate God's will; God's sovereign will dictates our faith (1 John 5:13–14). Healing in the New Testament is not a guarantee, but a benefit of the Atonement. God sometimes answers our prayers with a yes and sometimes with a no. He always answers our prayers according to His will and for our best. Paul's thorn in the flesh was never removed, even after he asked God three times to remove it (2 Cor. 12:7–10).
In addition to teaching the unbiblical (1 Cor. 12:27–30) classical Pentecostal doctrine that the gift of tongues is the necessary sign of being baptized in the Holy Spirit,61 T. D. Jakes has been observed "slaying people in the Spirit" on a TBN program that was aired on 6 August 1998. Hank Hanegraaff, in his Counterfeit Revival, has written about being "slain in the Spirit": "Despite the pious attribution of this phenomenon to the Holy Spirit as well as the pragmatic addition of 'catchers,' multitudes continue to suffer spiritual, emotional and physical damage from this practice. Some have even died."62

Kenya's secretive Mungiki sect

The grisly murders have shocked KenyansFollowers of Kenya's outlawed Mungiki sect were once known for tobacco sniffing, trademark dreadlocks and praying while facing Mount Kenya.
But the sect, which was banned in 2002, has undergone a metamorphosis since it first emerged in the 1980s.
It was inspired by the bloody Mau Mau rebellion of the 1950s against British colonial rule.
Thousands of young Kenyans - mostly drawn from Kenya's largest tribe, the Kikuyu - flocked to the sect whose doctrines are based on traditional practices.
One theory has it that Mungiki was formed in 1988 with the aim of toppling the government of former President Daniel arap Moi. The sect was, at one time, associated with Mwakenya, an underground movement formed in 1979 to challenge the former Kanu regime.
However, the sect members have now turned to horrific crimes leaving behind mutilated corpses and a trail of blood and trauma.
In May, Mungiki followers are said to have brutally murdered six people in the country's central region, in what is said to be a revenge attack on people who had leaked information about their activities to the police.
For weeks, the outlawed sect members have been battling with public transport operators who refuse to pay protection fees to them.
Following the crisis, a crackdown on them was ordered by Security Minister John Michuki.
Police say the latest victims of the sect members were abducted and tortured before being hacked to death and their bodies dismembered.
Underworld gang
Today, Mungiki followers no longer sniff tobacco in public and have traded in the dreadlocks and unkempt appearance for neat haircuts and business suits.
The religious bit is just a camouflage. It's more like an army unit
Sociology lecturer Ken OukoThey extort, engage in fraud, robbery, murder and even kidnap their victims.
Media reports say the sect has evolved over the years into an organised and intimidating underworld gang with bases in the capital, Nairobi, and parts of Central and Rift Valley Provinces.
They control public transport routes and demand illegal levies from operators.
Mungiki followers reign supreme within city slums, notably Mathare in the east of the capital. Here they provide illegal water and electricity connections to hundreds of makeshift shacks.
Residents of the slums also have to pay a levy to the sect to be able to access communal toilets and for security during the night in the crime infested slums.
Political connections
Following the latest gruesome murders, the government has vowed to wipe out the group but many Kenyans feel there is a lukewarm approach to counter activities of the sect.

The Mungiki sect has a violent reputationIts leadership has openly claimed to have two million members around the country and to have infiltrated government offices, factories, schools and the armed forces.
"Mungiki is a politically motivated gang of youths," says Ken Ouko, a sociology lecturer at the University of Nairobi.
"The religious bit is just a camouflage. It's more like an army unit. During the previous regime, they seemed to be complementary to the government. But now they seem to be antagonistic."
Mr Ouko suggests that security forces should infiltrate Mungiki to be able to counter its growing influence in Kenya.
But the sect is known to operate in secrecy, a fact that is complicating efforts by the police to identify its members as the crackdown on them continues.

T.L. Osbon ( Man of GOD) Mtu aliyeitikisa Dunia kwa Injili ya kweli

Soma historia ya mtumishi wa Mungu T.L. Osbon, mtu aliyeitikisa dunia kwa miujiza ya kutisha na maajabu mengi ambayo Bwana Yesu aliyafanya kupitia mtu huyu.

History of the Osborn MinistriesThe ministry of T.L. and Daisy Osborn has made an unprecedented impact on the world. Married at ages 17 and 18, they were missionaries in India at 20 and 21. They are valued among the great soulwinners of this century.In 1949 they instituted Osborn International, a world evangelism and missionary church organization.Their life commitment: To express and propagate the Gospel of Christ to all people throughout the world. Their motto: One Way - Jesus; One Job - Evangelism. Their guiding principle: The top priority of the church is the evangelization of the world.For over a half century together, they proclaimed the Gospel to millions, face to face, in 74 nations. (Daisy passed away in May, 1995.) Their crusade audiences have numbered from 20,000 to over 300,000 per meeting.

Their literature has been published in 132 languages and dialects.They have produced DocuMiracle crusade films, audio and video cassettes, crusade tapes and Bible courses for study and public evangelism in nearly 80 languages.They have sponsored over thirty thousand qualified national preachers, both women and men, as full-time missionaries to their own and neighboring tribes and villages where the Gospel of Christ had not been established.They have provided airlifts and huge shipments of soulwinning tools for Gospel missions and Christian workers worldwide, including scores of 4-wheel mobile vehicles equipped with films, projectors, giant screens, generators, public-address systems, audio cassettes and cassette players, and hundreds of tons of literature for evangelism abroad.They have been prolific writers.

Their books have helped to stimulate a worldwide rediscovery of apostolic miracle-evangelism.T.L.’s living classic, Healing the Sick, has been a faith-building best-seller since 1951. Over a million copies are in print.Their 510-page classic documentary, The Gospel According to T.L. & Daisy, with 489 photos, tells their story.Dr. Daisy's five major books are unmatched among Christian publications for the female members of the Body of Christ, helping women and men alike, to rediscover their Identity, Dignity, Destiny and Equality in God's plan for their lives.Together with their daughter Dr. LaDonna Osborn, they have probably reached and led more unreached souls to Christ in non-Christian lands, and may have witnessed more great healing miracles, that any other family in history. Their team efforts in world evangelism have been truly pace-setting as they have proclaimed to the world the good news that Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, to day and forever. He.13:8

Hindu Radicals Beat Up Pastor and Church Members

A group of 30 Hindu radicals beat up an Indian pastor and two of his church members during a worship service on Sunday, August 26. This incident took place in Mulluru village, Kolar District, Karnataka State in India. The pastor who was attacked was Immanuel Venkatesh who ministers at an independent church called Yesu Prithisuthane [Jesus Loves] Church. The attack took place at 11:30 AM on Sunday as the congregation had stood for the reading the Bible. A group of 30 Hindu extremists from the Bajrang Dal group arrived on motorbikes and some walking. They entered the church and began shouting. [Bajrang Dal is sometimes translated as “Monkey Brigade” and is the youth wing of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), and one of its family of organizations (Sangh Parivar) based on the core ideology of Hindutva.] They approached the pastor and one of them loudly asked him, “What are you doing here? Who gave you the right to do this activity? You are an outsider (from other state).” They began to beat up the pastor and delivered several blows to his chest and back. The church members present tried to intervene and prevent further blows. They managed to lock him in a nearby room. In the meantime, a church member named Yenkataraju was beaten up and blows on his face and then stabbed with a knife, leaving him badly wounded. On hearing the commotion, the pastor came out of the room and again the extremists attacked him and as he lay on the floor, about ten of the attackers kicked him savagely. Seeing this, Thimmakka, a lady member and the house owner of the rented house church, tried to intervene and they then punched on her on the face and back, and broke several of her teeth. One of the assailants then held the knife close to the pastor and said, “We’ll kill you if you won’t stop this activity.” Ravi, one of the onlookers from the church called managed to escape and inform the local police and they soon arrived and took the pastor and the assailants into their custody. Two of the church members’ sustained severe injuries have since undergone treatment. Previous Attack Speaking to ANS, Pastor Immanuel said, “Eight years back, these radicals had lodged a complaint against me and wanted me arrested on charges on conversion. But the police officials supported us and helped us.” Pastor Venakatesh has been ministering in this house church for the past 20 years. The group has no building and church construction is under progress and they are conducting their worship service in a rented house. Around 80 people gather for the worship service each Sunday. Dr. H.T Sangliana, a Member of Parliament and the former Commissioner of Police condemned these attacks. Taking to ANS he said, “These attacks on Christians are increasing day by day. Measures need to be taken to stop these atrocities on Christians.”

Chruch History in the The Second Century

105Justin Martyr born. Died 165.
1073rd Persecution of Christians, under Trajan (98-117). Ignatius of Antioch martyred in Rome. According to Severus, after Trajan discovered that Christians were guilty of no great crimes, he forbade any additional cruelty against them.
Ignatius stressed the role of the local bishop as the focus of unity. He claimed that the bishop was God’s representative on earth. By Ignatius’ time, the churches of Asia Minor were ruled by monarchial bishops, assisted by presbyters and deacons. In a letter to the Ephesians, Ignatius wrote, “Be ye subject to the Bishop and Presbytery ... For even Jesus Christ, our inseparable Life, is the manifest Will of the Father; as also Bishops, to the uttermost bounds of the earth, are so by the will of Jesus Christ.” Ignatius is the first writer known to apply the adjective Catholic to the Church: "Wheresoever the bishop shall appear, there let the people also be: as where Jesus Christ is, there is the Catholic Church." (Smyrneans.)
From various letters (written around the year 107):
On the deity of Christ: "...being united and chosen through his true passion, according to the will of the Father, and Jesus Christ our God." (Ephesians) "There is one physician, both fleshly and spiritual, made and not made; God incarnate; true life in death; both of Mary and of God; first passible, then impassible; even Jesus Christ our Lord." (Ephesians.) "...God himself appearing in the form of a man, for the renewal of eternal life." (Ephesians)
On the identity of the Son and the Logos: "God has manifested himself by Jesus Christ his Son; who is his eternal word." (Magnesians.)
On the Trinity: "Be subject to your bishop, and to one another, as Jesus Christ to the Father, according to the flesh: and [as] the Apostles [were subject] both to Christ, and to the Father, and to the Holy Ghost." (Magnesians.)
On baptism: “For our God Jesus Christ ... was born and baptized, that through his passion he might purify water, to the washing away of sin.” (Ephesians.)
On the eucharist: “... obeying your bishop and the presbytery with an entire affection; breaking one and the same bread, which is the medicine of immortality; our antidote that we should not die, but live forever in Christ Jesus..." (Ephesians.) “I desire the bread of God which is the flesh of Jesus Christ (of the seed of David), and the drink that I long for is his blood, which is incorruptible love." (Romans.) “For there is but one flesh of our Lord Jesus Christ; and one cup in the unity of his blood; one altar...” (Philadelphians.)
On Sunday: “For if we still continue to live according to the Jewish law, we do confess ourselves not to have received grace. ... no longer observing Sabbaths, but keeping the Lord’s day in which also our life is sprung up by him...” (Magnesians.)
Ignatius was martyred under Trajan’s persecution in 107. He warned influential Christians in Rome not to try to obtain his release from prison. That would deprive him of suffering in union with the Lord.
In his Ecclesiastical History (Book VI, Chapter 8), Socrates reported that Ignatius introduced responsive chants into the church in Antioch after a vision of angels "hymning in alternate chants the Holy Trinity."
We know from the second century account The Martyrdom of Ignatios that Ignatius' relics were revered, even at that early date. For there it is written, “only the harder portions of his holy remains were left, which were conveyed to Antioch and wrapped in linen, as an inestimable treasure left to the holy Church by the grace which was in the martyr.”
Hegesippus (see 170 below) related that Symeon, son of Clopas, when 120 years of age, suffered martyrdom under Trajan. Symeon, reportedly, was a son of the Lord's uncle, and had been bishop after James the Just.
Hegesippus also indicated that it was about this time that the heretics moved with vigor to corrupt the Church, the last of the apostles having died. He also listed many of these heretical groups: the Simoniani, Cleobiani, Dorithiani, Gortheani, Masbothaei, Menandrianists, Marcionites, Carpocratians, Valentinians, Basilidians, and Saturnalians - many of whom were resisted by second century apologists such as Irenaeus and Hippolytus.
110Marcion, leader of a heretical sect, born. Died 165. Marcion rejected the Old Testament God, the creator of this miserable world, and hence he rejected the Old Testament also. He believed it impossible that Jesus, the redeemer of mankind, had been born of a woman.
Papias, bishop of Hierapolis in Phrygia, lived in this era. He is the source of the tradition that Mark's gospel was based on Peter's testimony. Papias was a chiliast. Eusebius of Caesarea was of the opinion that Papias learned his millennialism from a certain John the presbyter. According to this view, others (including Irenaeus - see 177 below) understood Papias - incorrectly - to have gotten his view from the apostle John, and so were convinced there would be a literal millennium.
112 Pliny the Younger (61/62 - 113), governor of Bithynia, wrote a letter to the emperor Trajan. He stated that the Christians "are accustomed on a stated day to meet before daylight, to sing antiphonally a hymn to Christ as to God, and to bind themselves by a sacrament not to commit any wickedness."
115 Trajan narrowly survived an earthquake that devastated Antioch.
115 Revolt of the Jews of Cyrene.
116 Hadrian expelled the Jews from Cyprus after suppressing their revolt, in which many (traditionally 240,000) Greek inhabitants of the island were massacred.
1184th Persecution of Christians, under the emperor Hadrian (117-138). According to Severus, Hadrian set up “images of demons” on the temple mount and Golgotha. Hadrian also set guards to prevent Jews from approaching Jerusalem.
122-7 Building of Hadrian’s wall.
124 The anonymous Epistle to Diognetus, an apology for Christianity written to a pagan, "my lord Diognetus." The author made it plain that the the Word is not "some servant of" God's, or "some angel or prince." In fact, the Word was God: "as God he sent him, as man to men he sent him" who was "the artificer and constructor" of creation. The author contrasts the "transient flame" of martyrdom Christians sometimes experience with the unending torment those who have been unable to see through "the deceit and error of this world" will endure.
125 Papyrus 52 was written around this time. It is the oldest extant New Testament fragment, containing parts of John 18:31-33 and 37-38.
126 Quadratus wrote an apology for the Christian faith, addressed to the emperor Hadrian (as did Aristides around the same time). In his apology, Quadratus mentioned that some of those healed by Jesus were still living.
127-42 Ptolemy, an astronomer, geographer, and mathematician flourished in Alexandria. His earth-centered model of the universe held the field until 1542, when Copernicus supplied a solar-centered model. Ptology's estimate of the earth's circumference was 30 percent below the actual value.
130 (132?) The emperor Hadrian (117-138) rebuilt Jerusalem, calling it Aelia Capitolina (after himself - Aelius Hadrian). He erected a temple to Jupiter there. A special tax was levied on the Jews to pay for the upkeep of the temple Jupiter Capitolinus.
130 A certain Aquila produced a new, very literal Greek translation of the Old Testament. Aquila was a disciple of the Rabbi Akiba and a proselyte to Judaism. The purpose of his translation was to supplant the Septuagint. (Incidentally, Rabbi Akiba supported Bar-Cocheba, believing that he fulfilled Messianic prophecies.)
130The Epistle of Barnabaswas written sometime between the fall of Jerusalem (70) and this date. Known only in a Latin version for most of history, the complete Greek text was brought to light in 1859 with the discovery of Codex Sinaiticus. The epistle explains Old Testament events and practices in an allegorical manner, applying them to Christ and the Church. Barnabas identifies the one who became incarnate for our salvation with him to whom God said, "Let us make man in our image."
135 Another Jewish rebellion began, this one led by Bar-Cocheba. According to Justin, “In the recent Jewish war, Bar-Cocheba ... ordered that only the Christians should be subjected to dreadful torments, unless they renounced and blasphemed Jesus Christ.”
136 Second conquest and destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans. More than 500,000 put to the sword. The emperor Hadrian forbade the Jews to return to the Jerusalem, and they dispersed over the earth.
In this year the Alexandrian philosopher Valentinus, a baptized Christian, but Gnostic thinker, moved to Rome. He left the Christian community in 140, when another was chosen bishop of Rome. After departing Rome around 160, Valentinus continued to develop his religious philosophy, reportedly writing The Gospel of Truth. His system, like other Gnostic views, supposed a fundamental dualism between good and evil and salvation through gnosis. He was refuted by Irenaeus and Hippolytus.
Basilides was another Gnostic philosopher from Alexandria. The school he founded, known as the Basilidians, still existed in Alexandria in the fourth century. Basilidians are thought to be the first to celebrate Jesus' baptism on January 6 (or Jan 10), keeping an all-night vigil. Basilides used the term "Abraxas" (thought to have magical significance) for God.
Still another Gnostic group saw Simon Magus (Acts 8.9-24) as the true God or Father. God had generated the first thought (Ennoia) to create the angels, who, in turn, were to create the universe. Through jealousy, the angels imprisoned Ennoia in human flesh, and she was doomed to transmigrate to a new body upon the death of the old one. To free her, God had entered creation in the form of Simon, and he offered salvation to mankind in exchange for their recognition of his deity.
Mithraism became increasingly popular within the Roman empire, particularly among soldiers, from around this year. In 307, Diocletian dedicated a temple to Mithra at Carnuntum on the Danube. Mithra was a sun god, and his faith emphasized loyalty to the emperor. After the emperors became Christians, Mithraism faded. Mithra had been the most important Persian god prior to Zoroaster's time. Mithric sanctuaries were caverns. Only men attended the ceremonies of this faith, and there was, apparently, no religious hierarchy.
140Justin Martyr wrote his Apology to the emperor Antonius Pius (138-61). He gave a description of the Sunday service:
“On the day called the Feast of the Sun, all who live in towns or in the country assemble in one place, and the memoirs of the Apostles or the writings of the Prophets are read as time permits. Then, when the reader has ended, the President instructs and encourages the people to practice the truths contained in the Scripture lections. Thereafter, we all stand up and offer prayers together ...
“Our prayers being ended, we salute one another with a kiss. Then bread, and a cup of wine mixed with water, are brought to him who presides over the brethren. He, taking them, offers praise and glory to the Father of all through the Name of the Son and the Holy Spirit, and giving thanks at great length for that we have been counted worthy to receive these gifts from God; and when he finishes the prayers and thanksgivings all the people present cry aloud, Amen. Amen in the Hebrew tongue means, So be it.
“After the President has given thanks and all the people have said Amen, those among us who are called deacons give to all present, sharing it among them, the bread and wine mixed with water over which thanks has been given, and carry it also to those who are absent. And this food is called eucharist by us, of which it is not right for any one to partake save only he who believes that the things taught by us are true, and is washed with the washing that is for the forgiveness of sins and regeneration, and so lives as Christ commanded us.”
Justin rejected pagan mythology, but respected Greek philosophy. He believed in free will, and so was critical of the Gnostic doctrine that predestination was independent of morality. He also believed that the fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy was a strong proof that Jesus is the Messiah, and so rejected Marcion’s negative view of the Jewish scriptures. Justin believed in a literal thousand-year reign of Christ on earth, accepting the canonicity and literal interpretation of the Apocalypse.
Justin viewed baptism as a bath of repentance and knowledge of God, through which the Spirit is imparted, a replacement for circumcision, and the doorway to the remission of sins. The eucharist is the new sacrifice foretold by Malachi. He interpreted the words “Do this” to mean “offer this.” He associated the eucharist with Christ’s passion and he believed in the Real Presence: “We do not receive these as common bread or common drink. But just as our Savior Jesus Christ was made flesh through the Word of God and had both flesh and blood for our salvation, so also we have been taught that the food that has been eucharistized by the word of prayer from Him (that food which by process of assimilation nourishes our flesh and blood) is the flesh and blood of the incarnate Jesus.”
Justin regarded the Septuagint as the only reliable Old Testament text. He viewed Mary as the antithesis of Eve. Our fall was through a disobedient virgin, but our salvation is through an obedient one.
140 Aristo of Pella wrote his Disputation of Papiscus and Jason, a dialogue between a Jew and a Christian regarding the truth of the Christian faith. This work is now known only through second-hand references.
144 Marcion (see 110) excommunicated by the presbyters in Rome. Marcion, a wealthy shipper, had donated 22,000 sesterces to the church in Rome. It was returned to him as he left.
155Polycarp, bishop of Smyrna, visited Rome and found the Romans did not celebrate Easter as it was done in the East (see year 190). This was when Anicetus was bishop of Rome.
157 Polycarp was burned at the stake in Smyrna. A year later, the anniversary of Polycarp’s martyrdom was celebrated. The first “saint’s day” thus began.
157Montanus, leader of a heretical sect, flourished. He was a Phrygian. Together with two women, Prisca and Maximilla, he entered ecstatic states and spoke as moved by the Holy Spirit. They were chiliasts, believing that the new Jerusalem would land in Phrygia. They taught that disagreement with their ecstatic utterances was blasphemy against the Spirit. The sect he founded continued to exist at least until 722.
160 By this year, the grave of Peter was marked by a shrine.
The annual celebration of Easter may have began in Rome around this year (see 190). It had been celebrated in Asia Minor much earlier.
Tertullian was born. He died in roughly 230.
Claudius Apollinaris bishop of Hierapolis in Asia (160-180). Apollinaris related that an army of the Emperor Antoninus (Marcus Aurelius) (161-180) was sent rain on account of the prayers of Christians, while the enemy force was struck by lightning bolts. Apollinaris also remarked that the Lord was crucified on the Passover, the 14th of Nisan, not on the day after. The Last Supper, he stated, occurred before the Passover, as John relates (John 13.1).
During the reign of Marcus Aurelius, a certain Alexander the Paphlagonian generated a mystery spectacle involving a holy serpent named Glycon.
165 Death of Justin Martyr.
Tatian. Sometime before Justin’s death, a native of Mesopotamia (called an Assyrian) named Tatian converted to Christianity after an investigation into philosophy. His conversion may have occurred in Rome, where he met Justin. Tatian authored a harmony of the gospels, known as the Diatessaron, and an apologetic Address to the Greeks. After Justin’s death, Tatian became enamored of an ascetic Gnostic sect known as the Encratites, or the “self-controlled,” which had apparently arisen about the year 166. Tatian moved to Antioch and attracted disciples to this heresy until his death in 172.
165-180 The Plague of Antoninus. Smallpox was introduced into the western part of the Roman empire, possibly by Roman soldiers. According to Galen, one-fourth to one-third of the polulation of Italy died of smallpox during this period.
167 According to the Venerable Bede, the bishop of Rome, Eleutherus, received a request for baptism from a British king in this year.
168 Theophilus (died 181 or 188) became bishop of Antioch. Though reportedly the author of commentaries on the gospels and the book of Proverbs, his sole surviving work is apologetic in character, addressed to his pagan friend Autolycus. (Theophilus also seems to have written a chronology of the world, based on Biblical dates. The historian John Malalas (d. 538) cited a Theophilus, whose identity is otherwise uncertain, as a source in his historical writings.)
170 Melito of Sardis (died 177, under Aurelius' persecution) traveled to Palestine where he obtained a list of books in the Hebrew Old Testament. His list omits Esther.
That Melito believed in the deity of Christ is evident. He wrote, "...our Lord Jesus Christ ... is perfect reason, the Word of God; He who was begotten before the Light; He is creator together with the Father; He who is the fashioner of man; He who is all in all; ...in the Father, the Son; in God, God."
“For there is no need, to persons of intelligence, to attempt to prove, from the deeds of Christ subsequent to his baptism, that his soul and his body, his human nature like ours, were real, and no phantom of the imagination. For the deeds done by Christ after his baptism, and especially his miracles, gave indication and assurance to the world of the Deity hidden in his flesh. For, being at once both God and perfect man likewise, he gave us sure indications of his two natures: of his Deity, by his miracles during the three years that elapsed after his baptism; of his humanity, during the thirty similar periods that preceded his baptism, in which, by reason of his low estate as regards the flesh, he concealed the signs of his Deity, although he was the true God existing before all ages.”
Melito derived the word Pascha from the Greek paschein, to suffer. In his Peri Pascha, which dates to approximately 165, he wrote, “He came on earth from heaven for suffering man, becoming incarnate in a virgin’s womb from which he came forth as man; he took on himself the sufferings of suffering man through a body capable of suffering, and put an end to the sufferings of the flesh, and through his spirit incapable of death he became the death of death which is destructive of man ... this is he who in the virgin was made incarnate, on the cross was suspended, in the earth was buried, from the dead was resurrected, to the heights of heaven lifted up.”
170Hegesippus flourished around this time. He was an early chronicler of Church history.
170Dionysius of Corinth wrote, “it was the custom of the Romans ... from the beginning ... to assist all the brotherhood in various ways and send contributions to churches in every city, thus relieving the want of the needy.” Dionysius mentioned the martyrdom of both Peter and Paul in Rome.
~175 In the latter half of the second century, the Epistula Apostolorum was written. The work depicts Jesus commanding his followers to observe the Pascha “until I return from the Father with my wounds.” The Pascha in view appears to have been observed on 14/15 Nisan.
1775th Persecution of the church, under the Emperor Marcus Aurelius (161-180). About this time also Gnostic heretics disturbed the churches of the Rhone valley. These churches were largely Greek, having close connections with the churches of Asia Minor. The Gnostics provoked much of the work of Irenaeus of Lyons.
177Irenaeus, a pupil of Polycarp, was elected bishop of Lyons, then called Lugdunum, in Gaul. Born in 130. Died 200. Irenaeus believed that the plan of the new covenant is the “recapitulation” of the original creation: by Adam’s sin, the likeness to God had been lost, but the image had been retained. By faith in Christ, man may recover the lost likeness. For him, the history of salvation is a progressive education in which God has gradually brought man forward in a long process by the gospel. Irenaeus, like Justin Martyr, believed that Christ will reign on earth for a thousand years, and he vehemently protested against attempts to allegorize away the millenarian proof texts. Irenaeus argued against the Gnostic doctrine of a secret teaching by appealing to apostolic succession -- if there had been such a teaching, the apostles would have passed it on to their successors. The apostles, he claimed, taught the Rule of Faith (very similar to our Apostles’ Creed).
Irenaeus wrote, “The tradition of the Apostles is manifest throughout the whole world; and we are in a position to reckon up those who were, by the Apostles, ordained bishops in the churches, and the succession of those men to our own time. If the Apostles had known hidden mysteries, they would have delivered them, especially to those to whom they were committing the churches themselves. For they were desirous those men should be very perfect and blameless in all things, whom also they were leaving behind as their successors, delivering up their own place of government to these men.”
Irenaeus viewed baptism as the seal of eternal life and new birth unto God, through which the Holy Spirit is imparted. He wrote, “... he came to save all persons himself; all, I mean, who by him are regenerated unto God: infants and little ones and children and youths and older persons.” (Since infants are said to be born again, this seems to be a reference to infant baptism.) For Irenaeus the eucharist was the “new oblation of the new covenant” offered to God throughout the world. Irenaeus associated the eucharist not closely with Christ’s passion, as Justin did, but sees it primarily as an offering of first fruits. But Irenaeus did identify the bread and wine with Christ’s body and blood.
Irenaeus held that Mary was not sinless. He is the earliest source for the church’s observance of Pentecost as a special feast day.
With regard to the deity of Christ, Irenaeus wrote, “The sacred books acknowledge with regard to Christ, that as He is the Son of man, so is the same Being not a [mere] man; and as He is flesh, so is He also spirit, and the Word of God, and God.”
“But since it would be too long to enumerate in such a volume as this the successions of all the Churches, we shall confound all those who, in whatever manner, whether through self-satisfaction or vainglory, or through blindness and wicked opinion, assemble other than where it is proper, by pointing out here the successions of the bishops of the greatest and most ancient Church known to all, founded and organized at Rome by the two most glorious Apostles, Peter and Paul, that Church which has the tradition and the faith which comes down to us after having been announced to men by the Apostles. For with this Church, because of its superior origin, all Churches must agree, that is, all the faithful in the whole world; and it is in her that the faithful everywhere have maintained the Apostolic tradition.” St. Irenaeus, Against Heresies (3,3,2). The last line in that passage may also be translated, "For to this Church, on account of more potent principality, it is necessary that every Church (that is, those who are on every side faithful) resort; in which Church ever, by those who are on every side, has been preserved that tradition which is from the apostles." This expresses the idea that the church of Rome is faithful because of the faithful everywhere.
He does state that Peter had been in Rome, and that Linus had been the first bishop there, having been jointly ordained by Peter and Paul.
Irenaeus mentioned a group of Gnostics who honored images, giving the impression that the use of images was relatively unknown in the Church in his location and time. He affirmed that the charismata were still active in his day, noting that demons were expelled, the future predicted, and the dead raised by members of the Church. In refuting one of the Gnostics' peculiar interpretations of scripture, Irenaeus related the tradition he had received from those who had known John (and other apostles) to the effect that Jesus had been nearly fifty years old when he was crucified.
179 Conversion of Bardesanes (154-222) to Christianity. Unfortunately, he was influenced by Gnostic thought, denying the immediate creation by God of the universe and Satan, introducing a series of intermediate beings instead. Bardesanes thus became a leading figure in Syrian Gnosticism.
Mandaeanism originated sometime during the first three centuries in the Middle East. In this religion, salvation is of the soul alone, through esoteric knowledge. There is a system of intervening spiritual beings (Archons) between the soul and God. In these points, Mandaeanism is similar to Gnosticism. Unlike many Gnostic systems, however, sexual promiscuity is forbidden and marriage is encouraged. Mandaeans consider Jesus a false messiah, but they have great respect for John the Baptist.
180 Before this time, Christianity was established in North Africa, as witnessed by the Latin Acts of the Martyrs of Scillium, written around 180.
Rhodon, about whom little is known, wrote works against the Cataphrygians and the Marcionites.
Theophilus, bishop of Caesarea in Palestine, attested that the churches in Palestine and Alexandria observed Easter on a Sunday - which contrasts with the practice of thee churches in Asia Minor (see 190 below).
185Tertullian (160-230), a native of Carthage, converted to Christianity. According to Jerome, he was a priest. Yet it is clear that he was married.
Tertullian was the first Christian theologian to write in Latin. In contrast to Irenaeus and Clement of Alexandria, Tertullian held that Mary’s womb was opened at Christ’s birth, believing this to have been prophesied in Exodus 13:2. He assumed that Mary had normal sexual relations with Joseph and that Jesus’ brothers were the children of her union with Joseph.
Tertullian regarded the 2nd commandment’s provision against graven images as binding upon Christians. However, he does admit that some images are innocent and are not idols - such as the bronze serpent, which was symbolic of the cross (On Idolatry).
In a letter written sometime between 200 and 206, Tertullian argued against infant baptism. His reason was not that infant baptism is not of apostolic origin. Instead, he seems to hold that there is no forgiveness of sins committed after baptism. He argued that the unmarried should put off baptism until they marry; that single persons should delay baptism until old age; that widows and widowers should wait until they remarry or are confirmed in continence.
From the Catholic Encyclopedia article on baptism: “The threefold immersion is unquestionably very ancient in the Church and apparently of Apostolic origin. It is mentioned by Tertullian (De cor. milit., iii), St. Basil (De Sp. S., xxvii), St. Jerome (Dial. Contra Luc., viii), and many other early writers.”
Tertullian believed in the literal millennium, lasting for a literal 1000 years, centered in the new Jerusalem which will come down from heaven.
He used the phrase “Vicar of Christ,” but his reference is to the Holy Spirit (The Prescription Against Heretics, Chapter 28). In reference to the Matthew 16, Tertullian wrote (op. cit., Chapter 22), “Was anything withheld from the knowledge of Peter, who is called ‘the rock on which the church should be built,’ who also obtained ‘the keys of the kingdom of heaven,’ with the power of ‘loosing and binding in heaven and on earth?’ Was anything, again, concealed from John, the Lord's most beloved disciple, who used to lean on His breast to whom alone the Lord pointed Judas out as the traitor, whom He commended to Mary as a son in His own stead?” Notice that Tertullian made no distinction between Peter and John in the degree of their knowledge. He also makes no claim for Peter’s supremacy.
Tertullian taught that the Son derived his substance from the Father and that the Spirit proceeded from the Father through the Son. In a work against a certain Praxeas, who taught that the Father, Son and Spirit were one person, he described the Trinity as being "susceptible of number without division." In the same work, Tertullian indicated that the bishop of Rome (Victor) initially "acknowledged the prophetic gifts of Montanus, Prisca and Maximilla" but was persuaded by Praxeas to follow the example of the former bishop of Rome. Praxeas himself was persuaded to renounce his patripassionism, but he soon returned to teaching that error.
In The Prescription Against Heretics, Tertullian warned against arguing Scripture with heretics, because they will never be convinced. The guide to true interpretation, and confidence in doctrine, is to be found in the transmission of the apostolic tradition through the Church.
In a work sometimes attributed to Tertullian, the author identified March 25 as the date of Jesus’ crucifixion, stating, in agreement with John’s chronology, that the date was also 14 Nisan.
In his On the Apparel of Women, Tertullian argued for the inclusion of the Book of Enoch (1 Enoch) in the canon.
Tertullian became a Montanist in ~200. Jerome wrote, “After remaining a presbyter of the church until he had attained the middle age of life, Tertullian was, by the envy and contumelious treatment of the Roman clergy, driven to embrace the opinions of Montanus.” (See 157 above.)
185Maximus, bishop of Jerusalem (185-196). He wrote a work on the origin of evil.
189 Victor became bishop of Rome. Died 199. Victor was the first Latin bishop of Rome. During Victor’s tenure, the Monarchian controversy arose as a revolt against the Logos theology of Justin Martyr. Justin had taught that the Logos was “another God,” meaning “another in number, not in will.” Christians had argued against Gnostics that there was only one first principle, the creator God, a single monarchia, but the Logos theology prejudiced this argument. To circumvent Justin’s incipient ditheism, Sabellius propagated the view that the Father and the Son are one and the same, the distinction being in name only. Sabellius’ doctrine is often called modalism, because the Father, Son and Spirit are modes of the same being. In the West, it was called Patripassianism, meaning that the Father suffers.
190 Victor demanded conformity from the churches of the East in the date of Easter. He claimed his method for setting the date for Easter was established by Peter and Paul. The churches of Asia Minor regarded this as autocratic and took offense. Polycrates (130-196), bishop of Ephesus, wrote to Victor, supporting his Paschal practice by citing the example of the evangelist Philip, the apostle John, the martyred bishop Polycarp, and others. He added, “I, therefore, brethren, who have lived sixty-five years in the Lord, and have met with the brethren throughout the world, and have gone through every Holy Scripture, am not affrightened by terrifying words. For those greater than I have said, ‘We ought to obey God rather than man.’ ”
Irenaeus of Lyons also wrote to Victor: “And those presbyters who governed the church before Soter, and over which you now preside, I mean Anicetus [(155-66)] and Pius [(140-55)], Hyginus [(136-40)] and Telesphorus [(125-36)] and Xystus [(115-25)], neither did themselves observe, nor did they permit those after them to observe it. ...Neither at any time did they cast off any for the sake of the form. But those very presbyters before thee who did not observe it, sent the eucharist to those of the churches who did. And when the blessed Polycarp went to Rome, in the time of Anicetus, and they had a little difference among themselves likewise respecting other matters, they immediately were reconciled, not disputing much with one another on this head. For neither could Anicetus persuade Polycarp not to observe it, because he had always observed it with John the disciple of our Lord ... and neither did Polycarp persuade Anicetus to observe, who said he was bound to observe the practice of the presbyters before him.”
Irenaeus also pointed out that the difference in observance of the Pascha (Easter) resulted in differences in fasting. The ability to disagree on the question of the fast but to live in peace, he wrote, “confirms the agreement in the faith.”
The distinction between the churches that did ‘observe it’ and those that didn’t may refer to the practice of observing Easter on a Sunday: the churches in Asia Minor (known as Quartodecimans) observed the 14th of Nissan as Easter, regardless of the day of the week that fell on. There is disagreement over the precise meaning of Irenaeus’ words “to observe”. In one interpretation of the events (proposed by Karl Holl in 1927), Pascha was not observed in any form or on any date in Rome in Anicetus’ time (circa 155), but was introduced in about 165 when Soter was bishop. [Some historians argue that Victor did not excommunicate the churches in Asia minor, but Roman congregations that followed Asian practice, based on the unlikelihood that Victor’s predecessors sent the eucharist all the way to Asia Minor.]
190 About this time, of Clement of Alexandria became head of the catechetical school in Alexandria, and served there through 203. Born about 150. Died about 215. Clement was a lay theologian. The central principle of his theology was the doctrine of creation. Because creation was good, God has implanted the seeds of truth in all creatures. Hence, there was much to learn from the Greek philosophers. Clement's Stromata describe the attributes of the Christian gnostic. He held that marriage is not an inferior spiritual state to celibacy, and he rejected demands that all Christians be teetotalers or vegetarians. In his view, the church is a school where the lapsed can be restored. Clement saw the spiritual life as a never-ending process -- education does not end with death, and all will need to be purified before entering God’s presence. Clement rejected the millennial interpretations of Irenaeus and Justin. (According to Gwynne’s The Christian Year, Clement mentioned that Christ’s birthday was observed in his time. This observance may have been on January 6, in distinction to the December 25 observance begun in Rome in the fourth century.)
192 In a work from around this year, Tertullian mentioned the observance of the Easter vigil.
198 A council meeting in Caesarea of Palestine, led by Theophilos of Caesarea and Narcissos of Jerusalem, with Kassis of Akkar and Karos of Akka present, discussed the issue of the Pascha (Easter). They determined to celebrate Pascha on a Sunday, and wrote to other churches to inform them of their decision: “The day we celebrate, those in Alexandria also celebrate. … We have exchanged letters with them so that we may celebrate together on this holy day.” In the early church, it was common in Asia, Cilicia, northern Syria, and Mesopotamia to observe the Lord’s crucifixion on the 14th of Nisan (April), using the Hebrew lunar calendar, and his resurrection on the 16th. But churches in Greece, Italy, Africa, Egypt, Palestine, and Pontus commemorated the passion always on a Friday, and the resurrection on a Sunday. (See 190.)
198 Zephyrinus became bishop of Rome. Died 217. The Monarchian controversy continued. Hippolytus opposed Sabellius with the doctrine that the Father and Son are two distinct persons. Callistus, an emancipated slave and archdeacon of the church, had been exiled to the mines of Sardinia sometime between 188 and 193. The emperor Commodus (d. 193), at the urging of his Christian concubine Marcia, ordered a general release for all Christians exiled to Sardinia. So Callistus was allowed to return. (In those days, the Church considered concubinage marriage as long as the Christian concubine acted as if it were.) Apparently at Callistus’ urging, Zephyrinus attempted to steer a middle course between the Monarchians and the adherents of the Logos theology. He stated, “I know one God, Christ Jesus, and beside him I know no other who was begotten and passible” and “the Father did not die but the Son.”
Hippolytus is said to be the last Roman theologian to write in Greek. The transformation of the West from Greek to Latin was complete by the time of Constantine. (But see below, year 366.)
In his The Apostolic Tradition, written sometime between 215 and 217, we read, “And first baptize the little ones; and if they can speak for themselves, they shall do so; if not, their parents or other relatives shall speak for them. Then baptize the men, and last of all the women; they must first loosen their hair and put aside any gold or silver ornaments that they are wearing: let no one take any alien thing down to the water with them.” This clearly indicates the practice of the time at Rome to have been infant baptism, and the mode was probably immersion.
Hippolytus also gave an account of the preparation of candidates for baptism before Easter. These preparations were the root of the later Lenten fast. Baptism itself was by triple immersion: one immersion for the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, following a confession of each. Confirmation involved both the laying on of hands by the bishop (while he invoked the Holy Spirit to fill those just baptized) and the application of oil (chrismation).
The Apostolic Tradition shows the influence of Judaistic prayer forms on early Christian worship. It was probably written in opposition to Zephyrinus’ lax regard for traditional ceremony. Hippolytus comments somewhere that his archenemy Callistus and his followers, at least, held to the apostolic tradition.
That the eucharist was not understood to be mere symbolism is seen from the command to keep it safe from animals and the unbaptized. “For it is the body of Christ to be eaten by them that believe and not to be thought lightly of.”
The Apostolic Tradition also contains apparent references to the sign of the cross: “when tempted always reverently seal thy forehead. For the sign of the passion is displayed and made manifest against the devil if thou makest it in faith.” And it states that the bishop was “chosen by all the people.”
Hippolytus defended millenarianism. In the face of the growing reaction against this doctrine at Rome, which may have been led by the priest Caius, Hippolytus explained that the thousand years of Revelation 20.2-5 are not to be taken literally, but are symbolic of the splendor of the kingdom.
Caius is the source for the following information about Cerinthus’ (see 100? above) millennialism: “By means of revelations which he pretends were written by a great apostle, [Cerinthus] brings before use marvelous things which he falsely claims were shown him by angels; and he says that after the resurrection the kingdom of Christ will be set up on earth, and that the flesh dwelling in Jerusalem will again be subject to desires and pleasures. And, being the enemy of the Scriptures of God, he asserts, with the purpose of deceiving men, that there is to be a period of a thousand years for marriage festivals.” This passage has been interpreted to imply that Caius believed Cerinthus was the author of the book of Revelation.
Caius also engaged in a dispute with the Montanist Proclus. In that debate, Caius mentioned the existence of memorial chapels to Peter and Paul in Rome.
In a commentary on Daniel, Hippolytus stated that Jesus was born on Wednesday, December 25, in the 42nd year of the Emperor Augustus (2 BC?). He identified March 25 as the date of Christ’s crucifixion, believing this to have occurred on Nisan 14, following John’s chronology.
Hippolytus is also the first author to state that Peter had been bishop of Rome. His lost Chronicon is quoted to that effect by Eusebius.
200 The Muratorian Canon, a Latin list of the books of the New Testament, was drawn up in this period. The beginning of the manuscript is missing, and the first book listed as canonical is Luke, followed by John, Acts, Corinthians (two books), Galatians, Romans, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, Thessalonians (two books), Philemon, Titus, and Timothy (two books), Jude, two epistles of John, Wisdom of Solomon, Revelation, and the Apocalypse of Peter. Hebrews and the two epistles of Peter are absent. The Shepherd of Hermas is mentioned as being appropriate for private reading. See also 1740 below.
200Serapion (died ~211), eighth bishop of Antioch, wrote that the Gospel of Peter should be rejected on the grounds that it had not been "handed down to us."
200? Papyrus 66: 2nd Bodmer, John, 1956, "Alexandrian/Western" text-types: Jn 1:1-6:11, 6:35-14:26, 29-30; 15:2-26; 16:2-4, 6-7; 16:10-20:20, 22-23; 20:25-21:9 P46: 2nd Chester Beatty, "Alexandrian" text-type: Rom 5:17-6:3; 6:5-14; 8:15-25; 8:27-35; 8:37-9:32; 10:1-11:22; 11:24-33; 11:35-15:9; 15:11-16:27; 1Cor 1:1-9:2; 9:4-14:14; 14:16-15:15; 15:17-16:22; 2Cor 1:1-11:10; 11:12-21; 11:23-13:13; Gal 1:1-8; 1:10-2:9; 2:12-21; 3:2-29; 4:2-18; 4:20-5:17; 5:20-6:8; 6:10-18; Eph 1:1-2:7; 2:10-5:6; 5:8-6:6; 6:8-18; 6:20-24; Phil 1:1; 1:5-15; 1:17-28; 1:30-2:12; 2:14-27; 2:29-3:8; 3:10-21; 4:2-12; 4:14-23; Col 1:1-2; 1:5-13; 1:16-24; 1:27-2:19; 2:23-3:11; 3:13-24; 4:3-12; 4:16-18; 1Th 1:1; 1:9-2:3; 5:5-9; 5:23-28. Heb 1:1-9:16; 9:18-10:20; 10:22-30; 10:32-13:25. P46 is notorious for scribal errors, having the highest percentage on record. P32: J. Rylands Library: Titus 1:11-15; 2:3-8 P64 (+67): Mt 3:9,15; 5:20-22; 5:25-28; 26:7-8, 10, 14-15, 22-23, 31-33 P90: Jn 18:36-19:1; 19:2-7 P98: Rev 1:13-20
It is thought that the liturgy was translated into Syriac and Coptic during this century. In contrast with the West, the Eastern practice has always been to conduct the church service in the vernacular.
200 In this era, the population of Rome may have been as much as 1,000,000. Alexandria and Antioch may have had populations of 300,000. The population of Rome fell dramatically in the late fifth and early sixth centuries. (See 552.)