The Ante-Nicene Apologists

Article 3. The Ante-Nicene Apologists

a) The Greek Apologists; b) The Alexandrian Apologists;

c) The African Apologists.

a) The Greek Apologist s of the period before the Council of Nicaea (325) included the following: i. Aristides, an Athenian Philosopher, who wrote an Apology about the year 140. ii. St. Justin (died 166), a native of Palestine, who wrote a Major Apology, a Minor Apology, and a Dialogue with Try-phon. iii. Athenagoras (2 century), probably an Athenian, who wrote a Message for Christians, and On the Resurrection. iv. St. Theophilus of Antioch, who wrote a book To Autolycus, a pagan philosopher. v. St. Irenaeus (140—202), Bishop of Lyons, whose work Against the Heresies is one of the greatest of apologetic writings. vi. St. Hippolytus (or Hippolyte) (died about 235), of unknown origin, a disciple of St. Irenaeus, wrote many books of Scripture Commentary and many apologetic treatises ; chief of the latter is his Philosophwmena, or refutation of all heresies, a monumental work in ten volumes. The Greek Apologists taught that the Greek Philosophy had prepared the way for the Christian Revelation, that it was the praeambula fidei, or “preamble of the Faith.” They maintained also that Greek Philosophy was an apt instrument for setting forth the truths of Revealed Religion in scientific order. These Apologists, therefore, go about their work in strictly logical fashion. They offer precise arguments for the existence of God, for the truth that all things were created by God out of nothing, for the fact of Divine Providence, for the truth that God is in no wise identified with the world, etc., SS. Justin and Irenaeus took up the Stoic doctrine of the Logos and gave it a Christian interpretation. These early Fathers prove the immortality of the soul and the free-will of man. Some of them, however, went to such extremes in their opposition to the Gnostic doctrine which would make the soul an emanation or outpouring of the Divine Substance, that they made the soul material, and hence not naturally immortal, but immortal by the special gift and dispensation of God.

b) The Al exandr ian Apol ogist s. The precise time of the founding of the Alexandrian School is not known, but it enjoyed some fame as early as the middle of the 2 century. It was then under the leadership of Pan-taenus, who had been a Stoic before his conversion, and whose renown rests largely upon the fact that Origen and Clement were his pupils. The Alexandrian School was inaugurated to teach the Gentiles the Christian Religion and to prepare them for Baptism; hence it is often mentioned in history as “The Alexandrian School of Catechetics.” But it was soon apparent that something more was needed by the pupils of this School than a simple statement of the truths of the Christian Religion. Alexandria was at this time a great intellectual centre; noted pagan philosophers lived there, as well as leading Gnostics and Manichees. Many pupils of the School of Catechetics had philosophical difficulties to overcome, especially those who had been under Gnostic of Manichean influence. Hence the teachers of the School studied philosophy with great earnestness; their work grew more and more scientific in method ; they di 153 reeled their best efforts against pagan philosophy in general and against Gnosticism and Manicheism in particular. It must be mentioned that some of the teachers in the Alexandrian School, Fathers though they were, did not always succeed in avoiding Gnostic and Manichean errors in their own expositions of doctrine. This does not mean that they were not full-fledged Christians ; it merely means that they were fallible men, and that they made mistakes in their explanations of some of the dogmas of the Faith in which they believed with all sincerity. Of the more famous teachers in the Alexandrian School, we have available a full account only of St. Clement and Origen. i. St. Clement of Alexandria (about 150-214) was born either at Athens or Alexandria, was converted to Christianity, and became a priest. He studied under Pantaenus in the Alexandrian School, and succeeded his master as its principal. His most notable work is his Miscellany, or eight books of discourses partly religious and partly philosophical, in which he tries to establish a rational basis for the doctrines of Christianity. Other works are Exhortation to the Gentiles, a criticism of heathen religion and philosophy, and a presentation of the doctrines of Christianity as the only true religion; and The Pedagogue, a presentation of Christ as the Divine Teacher of men. In the Miscellany St. Clement proposes three grades of knowledge with respect to the highest or religious truths. The first grade is philosophy, which is the praeawibula fidei preparing the way for faith; the second grade is Faith in the Christian Revelation; the third grade is the scientific systematization of dogmatic truths. The last or third grade is the true Gnosis, the Christian Gnosis, and its possessor is the perfect Christian philosopher who adheres to truth by faith and understanding, by will and intellect. St. Clement is regarded by many as the founder of Christian philosophy properly so-called.

ii. Origen (185-254), called “The Adamantine Philosopher,” was born at Alexandria of Christian parents (his father, Leonidas, was a martyr and is a canonized Saint). He studied under St. Clement in the School of Catechetics, in which he was afterwards a master. He was a man of splendid talent and wide learning, but he lacked prudence. Ever a sturdy Christian, he threw himself headlong into the work of controverting false doctrines; and over-eagerness led him into errors. He wrote a very great number of books, the most of which are lost. His chief work, On Principles, has come down to us in a Latin translation. Besides this he wrote numerous treatises of an exegetical nature, and works of apologetics and controversy. He adopted from Philo the opinion that Greek philosophy derives from Revelation. He held the world to be an eternal creature, and admitted the doctrine of an indefinite series of worlds. He declares matter to be indestructible, and asserts that, outside God, there is no creature free of an admixture of matter. The matter which is in angels is most subtle and pure; that which is in the sidereal spirits is less pure; and that which is in man is crass. All intellectual creatures inhabited the heavens when created. Some of them retained their perfection, and these are the angels. Others lost their perfection and their material elements became more heavy and more crass ; the devils did not lose their subtlety and lightness, and hence are invisible; the sidereal spirits or stars became visible; man became the least subtle of all the spirits. Thus Origen taught the eternal creation of all spiritual substances and the inseparability of a creature-spirit from matter —doctrines that we may formulate as pre-existence of souls, and materiality in angels. All intellectual creatures will be restored through Christ to pristine perfection; yet even after their restoration the possibility of sinning will not be taken away from them. Notwithstanding his errors, Origen ever believed himself a thorough Christian. His mistakes can be traced to no perversity of will, but to his love of Platonic philosophy and to his excessive zeal in controverting doctrines opposed to his beloved Faith.

c) The Afr ican Apol ogist s who have a place in the History of Philosophy are the following: i. Minucius Felix, born in Africa, flourished as a notable orator and lawyer in Rome at the end of the 2 century. He wrote an apologetic work called Octavius, a dialogue between a Christian, Octavius Januarius, and a pagan, Caecilius Natalis. ii. Tertullian (about 160—245), born a pagan, and converted to Christianity by the heroism of the martyrs. We have the testimony of St. Jerome that Tertullian became a priest. About 202 he fell into the heresy of Montanism, and it is not known whether he retracted before his death. Before his defection, however, he did notable work in the field of Christian Apologetics. Among other writings we may mention his Apologetic; his two books To the Nations, a severe attack upon paganism; On Idolatry, an admonition against participating in idol worship. Tertullian was an ardent controversialist, an extremist in everything, and an iron rigorist. Notable among his erroneous doctrines are the theory that the soul is derived from the parents by generation, that it is immortal, but not spiritual; and the doctrine that soul and body in man are not substantially united. iii. Arnobius (died about 325) wrote seven books in refutation of paganism and in defense of the Christian Faith. iv. Lactantius (died about 330), a pupil of Arnobius, was the teacher of Crispus, a son of Constantine the Great. Lactantius wrote instructions in the Christian Faith and refuted heresy in such elegant Latin that he was called “The Christian Cicero.” CONSTRUCTIVE PATRISTIC PHILOSOPHERS (325-7 century) The First General Council of the Church—if we except the Apostolic Council of Jerusalem—was held at Nicæa or Nice in Asia Minor in the year 325. It condemned the heresy of Arius {Arianism), who denied the Divinity of Christ and the doctrine of the Incarnation, thus striking directly at the dogma of the Holy Trinity. Other matters of doctrine were cleared up in the Council, and the authoritative decisions of the great synod gave a new impetus to the slowly developing science of theology, which was closely wedded to philosophy. The present Chapter deals with the development of philosophy after the Council of Nice. It discusses the philosophical doctrine of the Greek and Latin Fathers of the period. Augustine, a Latin Father, was the greatest philosopher of the age, and one of the greatest of any age. For this reason the philosophy of Augustine is given special attention in a separate article. The Chapter has the following articles : Article I. Greek and Latin Fathers after Nice Article 2. St. Augustine Article I. Greek and Latin Fathers after Nice

a) The Greek Fathers; b) The Latin Fathers. Some of the Fathers named in the’ following lists were not philosophers in any strict sense. Yet the Fathers here mentioned constitute the group of learned men who kept and trans- 156