Western Civilization I, HIS 101
The Rise of Christianity

Outline

1.  Second Temple Judaism:  538 B.C.E. - 70 C.E.

2.  Judea at the Time of Christ

3.  Jesus

4.  The Four Canonical Gospels

5.  Destruction of the Second Temple in Jerusalem by the Romans in 70 CE

6.  Gradual Separation of Christianity from Judaism

7.  When were the Gospels Written?

8.  An Aside on Dates and Calendars

9.  The Jerusalem Church

10.  Decline of the Jerusalem Church
 and Formation of the Orthodox Patriarchal Church.

11.  St. Paul

12.  The followers of Jesus (the Jerusalem Church) and Paul (Saul) of Tarsus

13.  The Letters of Paul and Acts

14.  The Development of the Organizational Structures of the Christian Community

15.  Persecutions, Legalization, and becoming the Official State Religion of the Empire

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1.  Second Temple Judaism
Outline

Prelude

In 586 BCE, the Chaldaean King Nebuchadnezzar II of the New Babylonian Empire destroyed the Temple in Jerusalem and brought to an end the Southern Kingdom of Judah, which had existed from 931 to 586 BCE.

This marked the end of the First Temple Period of Jewish history.

Nebuchadnezzar took the families of the king, the high priest, and the leaders of Judah as captives to Babylon.  There they were forced to live from 586 to 538 BCE.  This is known as the period of the Babylonian Captivity of the Jews (586 - 538 BCE).

After King Cyrus the Great of Persia conquered the New Babylonian Empire, he allowed some of the Exiles to return to Jerusalem.

Under the leadership of Nehemiah and Ezra, Jerusalem was refortified, the Temple was rebuilt, and a semi-independent Jewish state was reestablished within the Persian Empire.  This client state under the Persians was ruled by the High Priest and is therefore considered to have been a theocracy.

The rebuilding of the Temple in 538 BCE marks the beginning of the Second Temple Period of the history of the Jewish people.

The Hebrew Bible, the Old Testament of the Christians, ends its historical account with the glorious return of the Jews to Jerusalem and the reestablishment of the Temple.

Later books detailing subsequent Jewish history are not considered canonical by either Jews or Christians.

Second Temple Period 538 BCE- 70 CE

Nehemiah and Ezra returned with some of the exiled Jews from Babylon and founded the second Temple.

Theocracy under Persian domination 538 - 323 BCE

Theocracy under Hellenistic Kingdom of Ptolemaic Egypt 323 - 200 BCE

Theocracy under Hellenistic Kingdom of Seleucid Syria 198 - 160 BCE

                    Antiochus III the Great,  ca. 241–187 BC, ruled 223–187 BC)

                    Seleucus IV Philopator, ruled 187 BC to 175 BC

                    Antiochus IV Epiphanes ca. 215 - 264, ruled 175 - 164 BCE

                            Maccabean Revolt starts in 167

                            Jewish Independence first re-established 165

                                                Celebration of Chanukkah when the Temple is cleansed and enough oil is found to light the candles.

Maccabean (167 – 135) and Hasmonaean (142 - 38 BCE) Periods.

Struggle for Independence Under the Maccabees 167 – 135

Narrative
The Maccabean Period is from 167 to 135.

The Maccabean Period is from 167 to 135.  It refers to the struggle by Mattathias and his five sons to liberate Judea from Seleucid domination. 

In 172 BC Antiochus IV Epiphanes murdered Onias III, the High Priest, breaking the line of traditional Zadokite priests in Jerusalem. He put the office up to the highest bidder. Different Jewish religious factions vied with each other to gain the position of High Priest.  There was a bitter  power struggle within the Jewish community between traditionalists and Hellenizers. The Maccabees represented the traditionalists.  They gained control of the High Priesthood position.  It never did return to the legitimate line of hereditary Zadokite priests.  The position had become politicized and remained so till the end of the Temple period.

Mattathias began the uprising in 167 but died within the year.  He was from a Jerish priestly family and a traditionalist.

Mattathias had five sons who carried on the uprising.  The first of these was Judas the Maccabaean.  Maccabae means battle hammer.  So Maccabaean is not a family name but a nickname or moniker. The five brothers are collectively called the Maccabaeans.  They succeeded in re-establishing the political and religious independence of the Hebrew state for the first time since the destruction of the First Temple in 586 BCE.

Judah, the son of Matthatias,  assumed the leadership of the rebellion from 167 to 160. He was followed by Jonathan from 160 to 143 and Simon from 142 to 135.  Simon is the last of the Maccabean brothers and the founder of the Hasmonean line.

Judas the Maccabaean successfully liberated Jerusalem in 165 and cleansed the Temple from pagan practices.  This event marks the Jewish festival of lights--Chanukah.  The war went on even after this victory.  Judas died in 160 and his younger brother Jonathan took over the struggle to gain complete independence.

Antiochus V (164-162) appointed a new high priest, Alcimus.  This violated ancient traditions that the high priest had to come from the Zadokite family.

In 152, the Seleucid pretender Alexander Balas appointed Jonathan as high priest.  He also was not a Zadokite.  It is possible that the Qumran Sect, the Teacher of Righteousness, broke with the Jerusalem Temple on this issue. 

Jonathan becomes high priest in 152 BCE.  This in effect made the family of Judas and Jonathan into the new royal dynasty of Judaea.

The struggle against the Seleucid kings continued until 142 when the Seleucids were forced to withdraw their garrison from Jerusalem and could no longer collect tribute.  

A third brother, Simon, ruled from 143 to 134 BCE.

[See also, Jona Lendering, "The Hasmonaeans" at http://www.livius.org/ha-hd/hasmonaeans/hasmonaeans.htm

Hasmonean Rule:  142 - 38 BCE

Simon starts the Hasmonean line. He and his descendants rule from 142 to 38 BCE.  However, after 63 BCE, they are under Roman tutelage.

The struggle against foreign occupation by the Seleucid rulers of Syria is also mirrored in a domestic struggle between Hellenizing Jews and traditionalists who oppose them.

Ironically, the Maccabees and Hosmonaean rulers politicize the position of High Priest.  The Biblical line of High Priests going back to Aaron and Zadok is ended in 172 BCE.

Outline Continues

                   The Independent Hasmonean Kingdom 142 - 63 BCE

                    Hasmoneans Under Roman Tutelage 63 - 38 BCE

            Judea under Roman Domination 63 BCE - 70 CE

                    Pompey 63 BCE

                    Hasmoneans Under Roman Tutelage 63 - 38 BCE

                    King Herod the Great 38 - 4 BCE

                    Later Herodians

                                    Archelaus ruled Judea and Samaria

                                    Herod Antipas ruled Galilee and Peraea

                                    Philip ruled Batanaea

                    Archelaus 4 BCE – 6 CE

Roman Prefects, CE 6-41 

 Herod Agrippa I, 41-44 

 Roman Procurators, 44-66 

The first Jewish-Roman War (years 66–73 CE),

            Destruction of the Second Temple 70 CE
            Masada 73 CE

2.  Judea at the Time of Christ
The Jewish State and the Second Temple

As noted above, Judea was under Roman occupation during the time of Christ.  The Romans ruled indirectly through native leaders. Native peoples were largely left alone to rule themselves through their own leadership, as long as the local aristocracy cooperated with the Romans.  Thus the Temple in Jerusalem continued to function and govern most of the affairs of Jewry.

The High Priest was the most important official within the Temple priesthood.   According to Jewish tradition dating back to Moses, priests formed a separate caste.  “Priests (Kohens) claimed descent from Aaron of the tribe of Levi, who was believed to have been appointed by God to care for the Tabernacle and perform the priestly rituals.”  Aaron was the brother of Moses.   “During the First Temple Era the priests were limited to their work in the Temple; political power officially rested in the hands of a king who was believed to rule by divine right.”

Insert

First Jewish Monarchy

Saul c.1050 BC – c. 1010 BCE

David  c..1010 – 970 BCE

Solomon c. 970 – 931 BCE

First Temple Period c.957 – 586 BCE

Northern Kingdom of Israel 931 - 722 BCE destroyed by Assyria

Southern Kingdom of Judah 931 - 586 BCE destroyed by Chaldaeans

First Temple Destroyed 586

Babylonian Captivity 586 - 538 BCE

Second Temple Period 535 BCE – 70 CE

Second Temple Foundation Laid 535 BCE

Second Temple Consecrated 516 BCE

“The temple was completed on the third day of the month Adar, in the sixth year of the reign of King Darius. (Ezra 6:150”

The Second Temple Period is usually dated from the end of the Exile in 538 BCE to the destruction of the Second Temple by the Romans in 70 CE.  For most of this time period, Judea was a client state of the Persians, Greeks, or Romans.  What remained of their independence depended on their religion and the religious cult centered on the Temple.  This form of government has often been called a theocracy.

As we saw above, the Biblically sanctioned line of high priests extended from Aaron through Zadok, the High Priest who crowned Solomon, to Onias III and Jason.  The line of Zadokite High Priests came to an end in 172 BCE.

After 172 BCE, conflict erupted within the Jewish community between Hellenizers and those opposed to Hellenization.  The war against the Seleucid Empire was not only a struggle for national independence but may also have had a domestic dimension.  Clearly, the Maccabees opposed Hellenization from within and outside

Divisions within Judaism

During Roman times, the following divisions existed within the Jewish Community.

                                    Sadducees were the aristocratic faction, who controlled the Temple and cooperated with the Romans.  They did not believe in the resurrection of the dead and did not accept the oral tradition to supplement the Torah. They favored a limited and traditional interpretation of the Torah.

                                    Pharisees came largely from the middle classes, believed in strict adherence to the Torah, but were willing to supplement it with the oral tradition.   The purity practices which had been limited to the Temple were brought into the home so that all Jews would practice them.  They introduced the idea of the resurrection of the dead in a future, messianic age.  Rabbinic Judaism claims its origins in the Pharisees.

                                    Zealots were those who wanted to rise up against the Romans, looked for a messiah, a new King David, who would throw out the Roman military occupation with God's help.

                                    Essenes (Qumran and the Dead Sea Scrolls).  At one time the Essenes were viewed as a monastic community, who had withdrawn to the desert to escape both the Roman and the Jewish establishment in Jerusalem.  They were believed to be pacifists.  John the Baptist may have been an Essene.  If he was, then Jesus may also have been influenced by this sect.  The discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls and the Qumran settlement have raised many questions.  It is not so clear how pacifistic this group was in fact.  Their writings sound very militant and messianic.

                                    Herodians.  King Herod the Great overthrew the last of the Hasmonaean High Priests with Roman permission.  The relationship between the Herodians and the Temple Priesthood is of interest.  The Herodians were upstarts.  What was their relationship to the Sadducees.  It should also be noted that the Hasmonaean High Priests had themselves usurped the Zadokite line of high priests.  The Essenes may have been defenders of the Zadokite  priesthood.

                                    Samaritans were Jews who had remained in Judah when the leadership had been carried off to Babylon after the destruction of the First Temple.  They did not accept the Jerusalem leadership of the Second Temple period.  There was a great deal of animosity between most Jews and Samaritans.  Samaritans, while Jewish, did not worship at the Jerusalem Temple.

                                    Hellenized Jews in Judea and the Diaspora  How Hellenized were these Jews?  And just what does Hellenization mean?  Was Jesus a Hellenized Jew?

3. Jesus

Jesus.  The New Testament is our primary source of information about the historical Jesus.  According to the New Testament, Jesus was born during the rule of King Herod the Great.  Herod died in 4 BCE  The Christian calendar, whose year one is the birth of Jesus, was constructed by a monk named Dionysius Exiguus about 525 C.E.  He appears to have placed the date of Jesus' birth at least four years too late.  We really do not know when Jesus was born; he was certainly not born on December 25, which was the traditional date for the Roman holiday of Saturnalia and the alleged birthdate of Mithras.

Jesus public ministry begins with his Baptism by John the Baptist, which is dated in the Gospel of Luke to have taken place in the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar.  Tiberius succeeded Caesar Augustus at the end of August 14 C.E.  This would place the Baptism in the year 29 or 30 C.E. depending on what months the baptism took place.  Jesus’ public ministry lasted at most three years.  This would place his execution about 33 C.E.

The exact dates for Jesus are unclear.[1]  Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia makes the following introductory remarks regarding Jesus:

Jesus (8–2 BC/BCE to 29–36 AD/CE),^[1] also known as Jesus of Nazareth, is the central figure of Christianity. He is also called Jesus Christ, where "Jesus" is an Anglicization of the Greek Ίησους (Iēsous), itself a Hellenization of the Hebrew יהושע (Yehoshua) or Hebrew-Aramaic ישוע (Yeshua), meaning "YHWH is salvation"; and where "Christ" is a title derived from the Greek christós, meaning the "Anointed One," which corresponds to the Hebrew-derived "Messiah."

The main sources of information regarding Jesus' life and teachings are the four canonical Gospels of the New Testament: Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. Most scholars in the fields of history and biblical studies agree that Jesus was a Galilean Jew, was regarded as a teacher and healer, was baptized by John the Baptist, and was crucified in Jerusalem on orders of the Roman Governor Pontius Pilate under the accusation of sedition against the Roman Empire.^[2][3] Very few scholars believe that all ancient texts concerning Jesus are either completely accurate or completely inaccurate concerning Jesus' life.^[4]

Christian views of Jesus (see also Christology) center on the belief that Jesus is the Messiah whose coming was promised in the Old Testament and that he was resurrected after his crucifixion. Christians predominantly believe that Jesus is God incarnate, who came to provide salvation and reconciliation with God. Nontrinitarian Christians profess various other interpretations regarding his divinity (see below). Other Christian beliefs include Jesus' Virgin Birth, performance of miracles, fulfillment of biblical prophecy, ascension into Heaven, and future Second Coming.

In Islam, Jesus (Arabic: عيسى, commonly transliterated as Isa) is considered one of God's most beloved and important prophets, a bringer of divine scripture, a worker of miracles, and the Messiah. Muslims, however, do not share the Christian belief in the crucifixion or divinity of Jesus. Muslims believe that Jesus' crucifixion was a divine illusion and that he ascended bodily to heaven. Most Muslims also believe that he will return to the earth in the company of the Mahdi once the earth has become full of sin and injustice at the time of the arrival of Islam's Antichrist-like Dajjal.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jesus)

4.  The Four Canonical Gospels

Our knowledge of Jesus derives almost entirely from the Canonical Gospels and the New Testament.  Just as there are no definitive dates for the birth and death of Jesus, the dates when the Gospels were written are unclear.  It is even unclear who wrote them and in what order. 

Tradition links the Gospels to the apostles.   Mathew and John were supposed to be written by the apostles themselves. Mark is supposed to have been a companion of both Peter and Paul.  Luke linked to Paul.   Modern scholarship questions these traditions and holds that the Gospels were written in the second and third generation after Jesus between 70 CE and 100 CE.  They may perhaps have based on teachings that date back to the apostles, but were not written by the apostles or their companions themselves..

The traditional order lists the Gospels in the order of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.  This tradition has been questioned as well.  There is good reason to hold that Mark is the earliest Gospel dating from about 70 CE.  Mark is the shortest and is used by both Matthew and Luke as a source.  These three Gospels are very similar in their accounts of Jesus and are named the Synoptic Gospels.  John’s Gospel is the most spiritual and Christological.   My assumption is that Mark comes first, followed by Matthew and Luke, and John is last. 

5.  Destruction of the Second Temple in Jerusalem by the Romans in 70 CE

The destruction of the Jewish Temple in Jerusalem by the Romans in 70 CE is an important historical marker because it created a profound crisis for both Judaism and the fledgling religion of Christianity.  With the hindsight of centuries of  history, it is clear that there was a gradual separation of Christianity from its Jewish roots.  Christianity began as a sect within Judaism.  But as Christian Jews, under the influence of Paul, recruited more and more gentiles, the Jewish influence diminished.  The three great uprisings of the Jews against the Romans may have accelerated the split between gentile Christians comfortable within the Roman Empire and Jews desperately determined to overthrow Roman oppression.   There probably was a progression from Christian Jews, to Jewish Christians, to Christians. 

The unfolding Christology would be another growing dividing line between Jews and Christians.  At the time of Jesus, the hope for a Messiah and Messianic speculation formed a strong current within Judaism.  There would be nothing incongruous for Jews to believe in a coming Messiah and the Kingdom of Heaven.  They were looking for a new King David.  The difference between Christian Jews, Jewish Christians, and Pauline Gentile Christians was a conflict concerning the nature of the Messiah.  Devout Jews would have found it impossible to believe that Jesus was God incarnate in human form.  A Jesus who proclaimed himself the Son of God, equal to the one God, would have been stoned for sacrilege.   It is doubtful that Jesus would have attracted any Jewish followers if he had openly preached that message during his lifetime.  Even the Gospels reflect this fact.  In the Synoptic Gospels, the Divinity of Christ is not openly proclaimed.  His divinity is his secret message taught only to his inner circle.

6.  Gradual Separation of Christianity from Judaism

It is also clear from Acts of the Apostles that Paul is a central figure in the formation of Christianity.  Paul described himself as the Apostle to the Gentiles.  It is Paul who allowed non-Jews, usually referred to in the Bible as the Greeks, to convert to Christianity without first becoming Jews.  Greek converts did not have to undergo circumcision and did not have to follow the Jewish dietary laws.  And it is Paul, who emphasizes the Divinity of Jesus.  These three issues are the basis of the conflict with the Jewish followers of Jesus often referred to as the Jerusalem Church..  Not surprisingly, Paul is described as being in conflict with the Jerusalem Church.

Paul did not know Jesus in person.  He was not one of the twelve disciples.  After the death of Jesus, the leadership of this Jesus community would have fallen to his disciples.  There is reference to James the Just, the brother of the Lord, as the leader of the Jerusalem Church.  We know too little about the differences between the Jerusalem Church and Paul. 

There is general consensus that Paul’s vision of Christ became the dominant force in defining Christianity.  Paul is also the writer of the earliest material found in the New Testament.  The four Gospels, even though they are placed before the Letters of Paul were written later.  How much later is an important  question.  Were they written under the influence of Paul’s theology?  Do they accurately portray the teachings of Jesus or do they put a Pauline interpretation on Jesus’ mission.  Did Jesus see himself as the Son of God?  Is that what he taught?  Or do the Pauline Christians deify the Jewish messiah as they move further and further away from their Jewish roots?  How accurate are the Gospels in portraying the historical Jesus and what Jesus actually taught and believed?  It is clear that the later the date for writing the Gospels the more explicit they become about the Divinity of Christ.

7.  When were the Gospels Written?

One key answer in dealing with these questions is whether the Gospels were written before the destruction of the Jewish Temple or later and by whom.  Were they written by the alleged authors as reported by Church tradition?  Were they written by the apostles themselves?  If they were written before 70 CE, then the disciples and Jewish followers of Jesus would still have been alive.    The leaders of the Jerusalem Church were still the dominant group within this Jesus movement. They were Jews.  They sacrificed at the Temple. They had known Jesus personally and would have objected to accounts of Jesus that they believed were false.  Maybe the conflict with Paul was not only on the issue of circumcision and dietary regulations, but also on the question of the Divinity of Christ.  Mark is much more circumspect on that issue than is John.

 But after the destruction of the Temple, the leadership role of the Jerusalem Church over all Christian communities declined.  The leadership may have been killed by the Romans.   Their voices were gone.  Paul’s Gentile Christian converts were now free to develop Paul’s Christology.  As the numbers of Gentile Christians grew, Jewish sensitivities would have become less important in the development of this new religion.  If all the Gospels were written after the destruction of the Temple in 70 CE, then the Gospels may reflect Paul’s vision.  If they were written before 70 CE and by the Apostles who knew Jesus personally, then they do indeed reflect the Jesus of history as He saw Himself.

There are no generally accepted answers to these questions.  Most of the faithful still believe in the traditional point of view.  Modern Biblical scholarship has raised serious questions and holds that the Gospels were written between 70 and 100 CE.  This would place them after the destruction of the Temple.    (See the insert and the selections from Wikipedia in the Webpage below.)

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Inserts from Wikipedia on When the Gospels Were Written

[M]ost contemporary scholars regard [the Gospel of Mark] as the earliest of the canonical gospels^[3] (c 70)

Secular scholarship generally agrees [that the Gospel of Matthew] was written by an anonymous non-eyewitness to Jesus' ministry. The author apparently used the Gospel of Mark as one source and the hypothetical Q document as another, possibly writing in Antioch, c 80-85

Contemporary scholars generally conclude that the author of Luke/Acts, probably a Gentile Christian, wrote the gospel about 85-90.

Most scholars agree on a range of c. 90-100 for when the gospel [of John] was written, though dates as early as the 60s or as late as the 140s have been advanced by a small number of scholars. Justin Martyr quoted from the gospel of John, which would also support that the Gospel was in existence by at least the middle of the second century.

______________________________

 While we do not know precisely who the authors were, tradition links the Gospels to the Apostles.  Mark is supposedly written based on the teachings of the Apostle Peter.  Matthew and John were supposedly written by the Apostles by that name.  Only Luke is clearly linked to Paul.    But there is also a strong traditional linkage to Paul for Mark.  Mark, according to tradition, was a traveling companion of Paul. Luke is Biblically linked to Paul.  There may also be a linkage between John and Paul through the priestly establishment of the Temple. Thus the Gospels may reflect a Pauline bias.

Joseph Ratzinger, Pope Benedict XVI, in his recent book  Jesus of Nazareth:  From the Baptism in the Jordan to the Transfiguration makes a strong case that the Gospel of John, if not written by, then it was  based on, the personal experiences of Jesus’ disciple John, the Son of Zebedee, who may also  have been the unnamed “beloved disciple of Christ.”  This John may not have been a simple fisherman from Galilee, but “closely connected with the priestly aristocracy of Jerusalem.”[2]  An educated theologian may have provided the insights for this Gospel.  Paul also had ties to the Herodian establishment in Jerusalem.

Obviously, the Pope’s purpose is to establish that there is no difference between Pauline Christianity and the teachings of Jesus.  John, the beloved disciple, teaches the inner core of the teachings of Jesus.  The Synoptics reflect the outside message to the world before the Cross.  One could also argue, however, that Paul and John derived their ideas from the same “priestly aristocracy of Jerusalem.” 

 What appears to be clear is that by the end of the first century, the four canonical gospels have been written.  They interconnect theologically with each other and provide the basis for what we now know as Christianity.

Jesus was crucified by the Romans under Pontius Pilate probably in 30 or 33 C.E.  According to the Gospels, his disciples encountered him as a living person after the crucifixion.  They gave witness to his resurrection.  Christianity as a religion begins after the death of Jesus with the resurrection.  Easter is the beginning of the Christian era.  Jesus, himself, obviously, was not a follower of the Christian religion.  He was a practicing Jew whose actual message is still controversial. If Christology was not at the core of his teaching, then what did he actually teach?

8.  An Aside on Dates and Calendars

General Observations

All historical dates regarding ancient and classical history must be treated with caution. One should distinguish between relative dating and absolute dating. Absolute dating would place an historical event precisely on the date that it occurred given the solar year counting backward from our own time.  Relative dating depends on whatever calendar was in use by the people whose history is being studied.

Christian Calendar

The starting point for our own calendar used in the US, Europe, and much of the rest of the world, sometimes as a secondary calendar, is the Christian calendar.  This starting point for any calendar is called an Epoch.  For our calendar, the year one is the birth of Jesus.  We are living in the Year of the Lord 2007.

We use the designation A.D. or Anno Domini and B. C. or Before Christ.  Since these are Christian reference points, many scholars have adopted the designation C.E. or Common Era and B.C.E. or Before the Common Era.  Most of these Web pages use the CE and BCE designations when required.[3]

Muslims and Jews have their own calendars with their own epochal starting date.  Jews date their calendar from the Biblical creation of the world which is assumed to have taken place on Monday, October 7, 3761 BCE.[4] (Read the section on the Hebrew Calendar for a much more detailed explanation.)   For Muslims, the epoch starts with the hegira of the Prophet in 622 CE.[5]  The ancient Greeks sometimes used an epochal starting date of 776 BCE when the first Olympiad was supposed to have taken place.  The Romans sometimes told time from the founding of the City of Rome dated at 753 BCE.  Please note that all these dates are approximate conversions into our current Western (Christian) calendar.

There are at least four other major problems in dating historical events.  Many ancient peoples did not have an epochal starting date.  The Romans during the Roman Republic usually dated particular years by the name of the consuls in power.  During the Roman Empire, years were designated by the name of the ruling Emperor and the year of his rule.  The Romans did not consistently tell time from their founding date.

A second major problem is that the calendar that an ancient people used depended on their astronomical knowledge.  Early calendars may have been seasonal.  Some calendars are based on lunar cycles and a lunar year.  Unfortunately lunar cycles do not conform to the solar year.  It is the solar year, which describes one complete rotation of the earth around the sun. This cycle determines the seasons of the year. Knowing the right time to plant and harvest is important for agricultural societies.  Religious celebrations are often linked to a liturgical calendar.  In ancient times, creation and maintenance of the calendar was usually a religious function.  But if your knowledge of astronomy is poor, your calendar is going to be confused.

A third problem is that there is no obvious starting point at which a new year must begin.  For us in the West, January 1 is the starting date for a new calendar year.  But many American businesses start their business year on July 1.   The U.S. Federal Government starts its budget year on October 1.  The start of a new year depends, ultimately, on an arbitrary starting date.

There are four periods marked by the solar year, namely the Winter and Summer Solstices and the Spring and Fall Equinoxes.   One could start the year at any point.  It is important to know what starting point a particular ancient culture used.

Lastly, there is nothing inevitable about the length of a month or into how many months the year is divided.  Our months vary in lengths from 28 to 31 days and we have twelve months in the year.  Some calendars periodically add a month or add periodic holidays that are not included into the regular months at all.

Egyptian history is based on XXXII dynasties with varying numbers of pharaohs who lived both long and short lives.  Sometimes dynasties overlap; pharaoh lists omit pharaohs or count them twice. There was no epochal year in the Egyptian calendar. Unless some astronomical event can be identified, like a solar eclipse, it is very difficult to date a given event or ruler precisely and then that relative date must be translated into the appropriate the date in our Western calendar.[6]

Since we really do not know the precise birth date of Jesus, we may excuse the monk Dionysius Exiguus, who about 525 C.E., erred slightly in placing the Epochal year of the Christian calendar where he did.

To summarize, since people in ancient times did not know the precise length of the solar year and often used calendars based on the cycles of the moon or seasonal calendars, the relative date of an event, according to their own dating system, can be off my many months or years.  It is also difficult to place an event into a specific year, since ancient people had no epochal starting year, used different starting dates for their years, had different lengths for their years, and varied the lengths of their months.    They also kept poor records and most of what they produced has long since rotted away.  It is actually quite remarkable that we have as much information about ancient times as we do.

The Roman Calendar.

I will not bore you with a long description of the Roman Calendar during the Republic.  But it is important to note that this calendar had gotten out of synchronization with the solar year.  It was reformed by Julius Caesar based on a solar year of 365 1/4 days. This Julian calendar came into effect in 45 BCE.[7] 

This Julian calendar was updated for most Catholic countries on the authority of by Pope Gregory XIII on 24 February 1582 via the papal bull Inter gravissimas.[8]

Insert:  Calendars.

9.  The Jerusalem Church

The Jerusalem Church.  Jesus was crucified in Jerusalem.  All his early disciples were Jewish and worshipped at the Temple in Jerusalem.  “Jerusalem, is regarded by Orthodox Christians as the mother church of all of Christendom, because it was in Jerusalem that the Church was established on the day of Pentecost with the descent of the Holy Spirit on the disciples of Jesus Christ (Acts 2:1-41).”[9]

Eusebius (c 275 – 339), bishop of Caesarea[10], wrote a history of the early Christian Church, which has survived.[11]  He gives us “the names of an unbroken succession of thirty six Bishops of Jerusalem up to the year 324.  The first sixteen were Jewish—from James the Brother of Jesus through Judas (died 135)—the remainder were Gentiles.”[12]

Until 135, the Jerusalem Church was dominated by what have been called Jewish Christians.  Paul, the Apostle to the Gentiles, was in opposition to the leaders of the Jerusalem Church.

James, the Brother of Jesus.   The first leader (bishop) of the Jerusalem Church was James, the Brother of Jesus.[13] In Acts of the Apostles, Paul goes “up to Jerusalem to see the apostles and elders .” (Acts 15:2) Paul of Tarsus in Galatians 2:9 describes James as one of the “pillars” of the Jerusalem Church together with Cephas (Peter) and John.

The Wikipedia article on James states:

“Acts of the Apostles, in later chapters, provides evidence that James was an important figure in the Christian community of Jerusalem. When Peter, having miraculously escaped from prison, must flee Jerusalem, he asks that James be informed (12:17). When the Christians of Antioch are concerned over whether Gentile Christians need be circumcised to be saved, and they send Paul and Barnabas to confer with the Jerusalem church there, James plays a prominent role in the formulation of the council's decision (15:13ff). Indeed, after Peter and Paul have made their case, it is James who finally delivers what he calls his "judgement" — the original sense is close to "my ruling" — and afterwards, all accept it. James, in other words, is shown in charge of the Jerusalem group.^[5] And when Paul arrives in Jerusalem to deliver the money he raised for the faithful there, it is to James that he speaks, and it is James who insists that Paul ritually cleanse himself at Herod's Temple to prove his faith and deny rumors of teaching rebellion against the Torah (21:18ff) (a charge of antinomianism).”[14]  (Also see the Web Page on James nested below this page).

Brothers of Jesus.  From the execution of Jesus until his own stoning in 62 CE, James clearly is the leader of the Jerusalem Church.  He is an important figure in Church history but controversial because he is identified as the “brother of Jesus.”  Mark 6:3 referring to Jesus makes the following remark:  “3 Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary, and brother of James, and Joses, and Judas, and Simon? and are not his sisters here with us? And they were offended in him.”  If Jesus has blood brothers and sisters, then his mother Mary would not have remained a virgin.  Even his miraculous birth becomes doubtful.   The Churches have various “explanations” for rationalizing the Biblical word “brother”.

Desposyni: Those Related to the Lord According to the Flesh.  It is clear, however, that Jesus did have family.  After his death, his eldest “brother” assumed the leadership of the Jesus community in Jerusalem.  The second bishop of Jerusalem, Simeon (62 – 107) may also have been a brother.[15]  “Eusebius relates that Simeon was elected by the community at Jerusalem to succeed James:

“After the martyrdom of James and the conquest of Jerusalem which immediately followed, it is said that those of the apostles and disciples of the Lord that were still living came together from all directions with those that were related to the Lord according to the flesh (for the majority of them also were still alive) to take counsel as to who was worthy to succeed James. They all with one consent pronounced Symeon, the son of Clopas, of whom the Gospel also makes mention, to be worthy of the episcopal throne of that parish. He was a cousin, as they say, of the Saviour. For Hegesippus records that Clopas was a brother of Joseph.^“ (Eusebius, Church History, Book III, Chapter 11).[16]

If Jesus had brothers, it would be logical to assume that they would carry on his mission.  Anyone related to the Messiah would have great prestige and might assume positions of leadership.

“Those that were related to the Lord according to the flesh,” that is his blood relatives , were known as the desposyni.  “In Ebionite belief, the desposyni included his mother Mary, his father Joseph, his cousin John the Baptist, (and in the modern Protestant Christian perspective), his sisters and brothers such as: James the Just, Joses, Simon and Jude; in modern Catholic and Orthodox Christian belief, Mary is counted as a blood relative, Joseph only as a foster father and the rest as close relatives, such as step-siblings or cousins.”[17]

Genealogy of Jesus.  The Gospels of Matthew and Luke provide a genealogy of Jesus (Matthew 1:2–16 and Luke 3:23–38.).  “Both of them trace Christ's line back to King David and from there on to Abraham; Luke traces the line all the way back to Adam. These lists are identical between Abraham and David, but they differ radically from that point onward.”[18] We need not be concerned about these discrepancies.  But both make the claim that Jesus and his family belong to the royal family of Israel. The Cross at the Crucifixion is ironically inscribed with “King of the Jews.”

This genealogy makes sense only if Joseph is the father of Jesus.  And Matthew 1:16 concludes his list as follows:  “16 and Jacob the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus, who is called Christ.”  Luke 3:23 begins his list as follows: “23 Now Jesus himself was about thirty years old when he began his ministry. He was the son, so it was thought, of Joseph, the son of Heli,” . . . all the way to Adam.  Note the qualification in Luke:  “He was the son, so it was thought, of Joseph. With the developing Christology, this genealogy no longer fits.  For the Jewish Christians, Jesus bloodline with King David is important if he wants to be recognized as the Messiah.  For the Gentile Christians of Paul, this connection is less significant.  The genealogy is extended to Adam.  Luke 3:38 ends his genealogy as follows: . . .  “38 the son of Enosh, the son of Seth, the son of Adam, the son of God.”  Adam was created by God is “the son of God.”

If Joseph is merely a step-father, then this genealogy is irrelevant.  But if Joseph is the father of Jesus, then Mary was a normal woman who had children.  She married as a very young women, a young maiden, a virgin.  But in the Pauline tradition, Jesus is not a normal human being.  He is the Son of God.  In the Gospels of Matthew and Luke, he is given a miraculous birth.  These ideas appealed to gentiles; they horrified pious Jews.

Here we are, once again, at the core:  Who was Jesus? Who did he think he was? What did he teach about himself?  What was his message? 

A royal bloodline with direct descent from King David would have made Jesus and his family a threat to both the Herodian establishment and to the Romans.

“The purportedly non-fiction book The Holy Blood and The Holy Grail, the fictional book and film The Da Vinci Code, and the documentary The Lost Tomb of Jesus claim that Jesus was married to Mary Magdalene. The children of such a marriage would have been desposyni.”[19]

The Essenes.  We have seen above that the Jewish community at the time of Jesus was divided and in turmoil.  Roman occupation was extremely unpopular and offensive to the world’s only monotheistic people.  One group that has received renewed attention since the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls are the Essenes.  They may not have been a simple monastic community that had withdrawn from both the Jerusalem establishment and the Roman occupation.  They may have broken with the Jerusalem Temple when the Hasmoneans usurped the high priest position from the descendents of Aaron.  They seem to have been extremely religious, nationalistic, messianic, and millennial.  John the Baptist has been considered to be an Essene.  Some think that James, the Brother of Jesus, was also an Essene.

“The Dead Sea Scrolls community, who are probably Essenes, were led by a high priestly leadership, who are thought to be the descendents of the "legitimate" high priestly lineage, which the Hasmoneans ousted. The Dead Sea Scrolls bitterly opposed the current high priests of the Temple. Since Hasmoneans constituted a different priestly line, it was in their political interest to emphasize their family's priestly pedigree that descended from their ancestor, the high priest Zadok, who had the authority to anoint the kingship of Solomon, son of David.”[20]

“One theory on the formation of the Essenes suggested the movement was founded by a Jewish High Priest, dubbed by the Essenes the Teacher of Righteousness, whose office had been usurped by Jonathan (of priestly but not Zadokite lineage), labeled the "man of lies" or "false priest"” (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Essenes)

“Some Essene rituals, such as daily immersion in the Mikvah, coincide with contemporary Hasidic practices; some historians had also suggested, that name "Essene" is an hellenized form of the word "Hasidim" or "Hasin" ("pious ones").” (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Essenes)

Complete translation and publication of all the Dead Sea Scrolls may shed light on just who wrote and then stored these documents in caves in the desert just before the Jewish War of 66 CE.  It may also shed light whether there is a connection between the Essenes and the early Jewish Christians.

Ebionites.   Jesus is often referred to as Jesus of Nazareth.  While born in Bethlehem, his family is supposed to have lived in the town of Nazareth in the region of Galilee.  There is, however, serious doubt that a town of Nazareth existed during Jesus’ lifetime. 

“[E]xcavations conducted prior to 1931 in the Franciscan venerated area revealed "no trace of a Greek or Roman settlement" there, and according to studies written between 1955 and 1990, no archaeological evidence from Assyrian, Babylonian, Persian, Hellenistic or Early Roman times have been found. . . . [L]ack of archaeological evidence from Assyrian, Babylonian, Persian, Hellenistic or Early Roman times (see above), at least in the major excavations between 1955 and 1990, show that Israelite presence in the basin is unsubstantiated. James Strange, an American archaeologist notes that “Nazareth is not mentioned in ancient Jewish sources earlier than the third century AD. . . . Some historians have argued that the absence of textual references to Nazareth in the Old Testament and the Talmud, as well as the works of Josephus, suggest that a town called 'Nazareth' did not exist in Jesus' day. . . . The critical question now under scholarly debate is when in the Roman period Nazareth came into existence, that is, whether settlement there began before or after 70 AD (the First Jewish War).”[21]

It is possible that the real designation should be Jesus the Nazarean.  Jesus’ name should not linked to a physical place, the town of Nazareth,  but a movement, the Nazareans.  The Nazarenes referred to in the Gospels[22] may not refer to the residents of a town, but the members of a movement.[23]  “The Nazarenes (Hebrew: Netzarim, נצרים) were a group of early followers of Jesus of Nazareth who, like the Ebionites, were noteworthy for refusing to follow Christianity in its complete break with Judaism.”[24]

“Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia describes the Ebionites as follows:

The Ebionites (Greek: Ebionaioi from Hebrew; אביונים, Evyonim, "the Poor Ones") were an early Jewish Christian sect that lived in and around the land of Israel in the 1st to the 5th century CE.

“Their name was at first, like "Nazarenes", a common name for all early Christians, signifying their religious poverty, which was especially characteristic of the early Jerusalem Church. Following schisms within the early Christian communities the "Ebionite" application was limited to Jewish Christians who rejected the emerging influence of Paul of Tarsus. Later in the 4th century, the name was retrospectively used for a separate party within the Jewish Christian community distinct from the Nazarenes.

“Without authenticated archaeological evidence for the existence of the Ebionites, their views and practices can only be reconstructed from textual references. The little that is known about them comes from polemics by early and influential theologians and writers in the Christian Church who considered them to be heretics. Several modern scholars, however, contest the traditional portrayal of Ebionites as "Judaizers" by asserting that they were not only the legitimate spiritual successors to the original disciples of John the Baptist, his cousin Jesus the Nazarene and Jesus' brother James the Just, but that they were more faithful than the followers of Paul to the original teachings of the historical Jesus”[25]

The article continues with this summary:

“Although it remains an open question whether the Ebionites, denounced by the Church Fathers, were direct descendants of the earliest Jersualem church or the first Judeo-Christian synagogue built on Mount Zion, some scholars argue that the first self-identified Ebionites were poor Jewish peasants who began to follow John the Baptist.^[7][ After the death of John, many of them joined the ministry of Jesus, who they believed was the Messiah come to fulfill the Law of Moses. The ministry sparked a movement which organized itself into communes in several cities overseen from Jerusalem by Jesus' brother, James the Just, after his death. It was during this time that Paul of Tarsus joined the movement. This eventually led to a dispute with regard to the circumcision of gentile converts, which Paul maintained was unnecessary. The book of the Acts of the Apostles records the compromise that James brokered during the Council of Jerusalem c. 49, which did not require that gentile converts circumcise. However, in 58, Paul complains, in his second epistle to the Corinthians, of 'super-apostles' that were questioning his honesty and continuing to counter his mission with their "judaizing teachings".^[ After the death of James in 62, Simeon of Jerusalem, another of Jesus' brothers, was chosen as the new leader. It is a matter of debate whether or not the movement fled across the Jordan River to Pella, Jordan before the siege of Jerusalem in 70.

“After the end of the First Jewish-Roman War, the importance of the Jerusalem church began to fade. Jewish Christianity became dispersed throughout the Jewish diaspora in Southwest Asia, where it was slowly eclipsed by Pauline Christianity. The proto-orthodox Christian church, which had previously been struggling to survive against the disapproval of Jerusalem, now spread throughout the Roman Empire without impediment. Once the Jewish leadership of the movement was eliminated during the Bar Kokhba revolt in 135, the Ebionites gradually lost the struggle for their claim to being the true followers of Jesus. This decline was due to marginalization and persecution by both Jews and Christians. Following the defeat of the rebellion and the expulsion of all Jews from Judea, Jerusalem became the gentile city of Aelia Capitolina. Many of the Jewish Christians residing at Pella renounced their Jewish practices at this time and joined to the proto-orthodox Christian church in Jerusalem. Those who remained at Pella and continued in obedience to the Law were called heretics and mocked as “Ebionites (poor in doctrine)” Epiphanius personally knew of a settlement of Ebionites on Cyprus c375, but by the mid-fifth century, Theodorus of Cyprus reported that they no longer existed in the region as autonomous groups.”[26]

The Ebionite or Jewish Christians were persecuted to extinction on the anvil of Pauline Christianity and the hammer of Rabbinic Judaism.  But it is highly probable that Ebionite groups influenced Mohammed and Islam’s views on Jesus and Christianity.

The religious views of these Ebionites have come down to us only in the polemics of their opponents.  They were summarised as follows in the Wikipedia article:

“The majority of Church Fathers agree that the Ebionites rejected many of the central Christian views of Jesus such as the pre-existence, divinity, virgin birth, atoning death, and physical resurrection of Jesus.^[2] The Ebionites are described as emphasizing the oneness of God and the humanity of Jesus as the biological son of both Mary and Joseph, who by virtue of his righteousness, was chosen by God to be the messianic "prophet like Moses" (foretold in Deuteronomy 18:14-22) when he was anointed with the holy spirit at his baptism.

“Of the books of the New Testament, the Ebionites are said to have accepted only a Hebrew version of the Gospel of Matthew, referred to as the Gospel of the Hebrews, as additional scripture to the Hebrew Bible. This version of Matthew, Irenaeus reports, omitted the first two chapters (on the nativity of Jesus), and started with the baptism of Jesus by John.

“The Ebionites believed that all Jews and gentiles must observe the commandments in the Law of Moses, in order to become righteous and seek communion with God; but that these commandments must be understood in the light of Jesus' expounding of the Law, revealed during his sermon on the mount. The Ebionites may have held a form of "inaugurated eschatology" positing that the ministry of Jesus had ushered in the Messianic Age so that the kingdom of God might be understood as present in an incipient fashion, while at the same time awaiting consummation in the future age.”[27]

 It is not my purpose to challenge the traditional views on Christianity, but to alert readers that Jewish Christians held views different from those of Pauline Christianity .[28]  If your are interested in this material, I would also suggest that in addition to reading the entire article on the “Ebionites”[29] you read the article entitled “Cultural and historical background of Jesus” from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.[30]

10.  Decline of the Jerusalem Church
 and Formation of the Orthodox Patriarchal Church.

“As Christianity spread, and the persecution of the Hebrews by Roman authorities in their homeland increased, causing the dispersion of many of the Hebrews and Christians from Jerusalem, the importance of the church of Jerusalem and its impact on the ongoing life of the whole Church diminished, though a remnant always remained in the city.” (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jerusalem_Church).

The Jewish-Roman wars are a series of revolts by the Jews of Iudaea Province against the Roman Empire. Some sources use the term to refer only to the First Jewish-Roman War (66–73 CE) and Bar Kokhba revolt (132-135). Other sources include the Kitos War (115–117) as one of the Jewish-Roman wars.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jewish-Roman_Wars (Accessed on August 5, 2007).

“The Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem is the head bishop of the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem, ranking fourth of nine Patriarchs in the Eastern Orthodox Church.

“Until 451, Jerusalem was a Christian bishopric, but it was recognized as a patriarchate by the Council of Chalcedon that year. The earliest bishop was James the Just, martyred ca 62. After the Arab conquest in the 7th century, Muslims recognized Jerusalem as the seat of Christianity and the Patriarch as its leader.” (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orthodox_Patriarch_of_Jerusalem)

11.  St. Paul

St. Paul or Saul of Tarsus is the first great theologian of Christianity.  Paul's Letters (thirteen Epistles) to various Christian congregations are the oldest part of the New Testament.  It is Paul who first places the risen Christ at the center of the developing Christianity.  It is also Paul who allows gentiles to convert to the new religion without first converting to Judaism.  These policies brought him into conflict with the Jerusalem Church, as described in his own letters and in Acts.

Tradition holds that Paul was born before 10 C.E., was raised as a devout Pharisaic Jew, persecuted the early Christians (probably on behalf of the Herodians), and converted to Christianity in 36 C.E. while on the road to Damascus.

He founded many churches and called himself the Apostle to the Gentiles.  

About 58 C.E., he was arrested in Jerusalem, was sent to Rome two years later to stand trial as a Roman citizen for whatever he was charged with in Jerusalem.  He is in Rome under house arrest in 63 C.E. according to the Acts of the Apostles.  Unfortunately that invaluable source of early Church history ends abruptly at that point in 63 C.E.  Early Church tradition holds that he was exonerated of the charges against him, traveled to Spain for more missionary work, was rearrested in Rome, and was martyred under the Emperor Nero about 67 C.E.  The Apostle Peter is also believed to have been martyred in Rome about the same time.