An early apologist and great Christian leader who followed after Clement and Origen.

[tags]BlogRodent, church-history, ChurchRodent, history, John-Chrysostom, Origen[/tags]

Pupil of the stoic philosopher Pantanaeus. Eventually surpassed his teacher as leader of the so called "catechetical school" at Alexandria with Origen. Among the first of a succession of Christian scholars thoroughly familiar with the wisdom of Greece and enthusiastic for its philosophy, yet loyal to the teaching of Christ. Considered the "first Christian scholar." He aimed to be an apostle to the intellectual Hellenistic world. After Clement, Greek thinking united with Christian thought.

[tags]BlogRodent, church-history, ChurchRodent, Clement-of-Alexandria, history, Origen, Pantanaeus[/tags]

Bishop of Alexandria. Demetrius found Origen to be uncooperative in his efforts to organize the church in Egypt. Origen thought Demetrius a power-hungry church official, consumed with his own self-importance.

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A pupil of Origen from the Alexandrian school. His missionary endeavors among his people in Asia Minor earned him the nick-name "Wonder-Worker." A young law student, after five years of instruction under Origen, Gregory wrote a book praising him.

[tags]BlogRodent, church-history, ChurchRodent, Gregory-VII, history, Origen[/tags]

One of the early leaders of the "Catechetical School" in Alexandria, he succeeded Clement at age eighteen. Origen set before his students the goal of genuine philosophy, the attainment of the good life. Ignorance, he said, is a great barrier to godliness. He developed the "allegorical interpretation" of Scripture. He held that there are three levels of meaning in the Bible: the literal sense; the moral application to the soul; and the allegorical or spiritual sense, which refers to the great mysteries of Christian faith. He greatly influenced Gregory. Was singled out under the persecution of Decius and was tortured and flung in jail under poor conditions. Three years after his eventual release, he died at sixty-nine in Tyre.

[tags]BlogRodent, church-history, ChurchRodent, Decius, history, Origen[/tags]

Nero — In A.D. 64, fire ravaged Rome under the leadership of Emperor Nero. To direct the hatred of the people away from him, Nero blamed the fire on the Christians, thus sparking an intense, bloody persecution, probably resulting in the martyrdom of Peter and Paul.

Decius — In A.D. 250, the most violent persecution the church had yet faced was instigated by the emperor Decius (249-251). A general from the Danubian frontier, Decius was determined to have no nonsense from Christians. In his eyes, they were enemies of the empire. Their atheism was responsible for the many troubles in the realm. Thus, Decius commanded all citizens of the empire to sacrifice to the traditional Roman gods. Those who did so were given certificates (libelli) as evidence that they had obeyed the order. Those who refused to obey and were unable (or unwilling) to obtain false libelli faced death. An unknown