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Lent Day 28: Athanasius: Life of Anthony: Chaps. 71-80

Day Twenty-eight: St. Athanasius: Life of Anthony: Chaps. 71-80 Who: Bishop of Alexandria; Confessor and Doctor of the Church; born c. 296; died 2 May, 373 AD. He was the main defender of orthodoxy in the 4th-century battle against the Arianism heresy. Certain writers received the title “Doctor” on account of the great advantage their doctrine had on the whole Church, Athanasius especially for his doctrine on the incarnation. What: The biography of Anthony the Great’s life, which helped to spread the concept of Christian monasticism, particularly in Western Europe. Why: From the letter’s own prologue: “The life and conversation of our holy Father...

Lent Day 29: Athanasius: Life of Anthony: Chaps. 81-94

Day Twenty-nine: St. Athanasius: Life of Anthony: Chaps. 81-94 Who: Bishop of Alexandria; Confessor and Doctor of the Church; born c. 296; died 2 May, 373 AD. He was the main defender of orthodoxy in the 4th-century battle against the Arianism heresy. Certain writers received the title “Doctor” on account of the great advantage their doctrine had on the whole Church, Athanasius especially for his doctrine on the incarnation. What: The biography of Anthony the Great’s life, which helped to spread the concept of Christian monasticism, particularly in Western Europe. Why: From the letter’s own prologue: “The life and conversation of our holy Father,...

Lent Day 40: Leo the Great: Sermon LXXII: ON THE LORD'S RESURRECTION, II

...greed, or heresy, “let us arm ourselves always with the Lord's Cross” so that our “Paschal feast will never end” by abstaining from the “leaven of wickedness” and having the mind of Christ (1 Cor 2:16). The nature of the incarnation For only those who hold to the correct view of the incarnation can properly appreciate Easter and the Lord’s Passover, Leo says. In explaining this he gives a sort of creedal statement similar to the Nicene Creed, which I’ll quote in full to demonstrate, because I think it is worth repeating: For the Son of God is true God, having from the Father all that the Father is, with no beginning in time, subject to no so...

Evidence of the Trinity in the Hebrew Scriptures

...demned as heresy by Tertullian around 213 AD, and later by the bishop of Rome around 262 AD. A more modern sect of Christians, often called "Oneness Pentecostals", still hold to this heretical doctrine today. Now, to be clear: I do believe in the Trinity and accept that it is the orthodox position to hold. But that doesn't mean I've always fully grasped the concept. This is something Christians have struggled to define for centuries, hence the sometimes confusing and lengthy language of the creeds (see here, here, here and here for example). So after reading this debate online with some Oneness believers, I decided to look more into the Trinity to try and g...

Creedal Christians: The Apostle's Creed

...sition to heresy so that the Church could point to what was historically taught by Christ and the Apostles to show what was ancient and true, as opposed to new and “novel” doctrines. The Old Roman Creed The text of the Old Roman Creed survives in a letter from a bishop Marcellus of Ancyra, which was sent to Julius, the bishop of Rome, dating back to around 340–360 AD where it was mainly used as a baptismal text in the Roman church. Roughly 50 years later, Tyrannius Rufinus (an Italian monk) wrote a commentary on this creed whilst translating it into Latin, where he made a note about the view and belief that this creed had been originally written or dete...

Did a Roman Catholic priest perform 'invalid' baptisms for years?

...Donatist heresy and not relevant to bring up. But take a look at what Augustine pointed out when discussing priests who may have “[uttered] some words of error” with regards to sanctifying the waters of baptism: …if over some he offers an erroneous prayer, God is present to uphold the words of His gospel… [for] He Himself consecrates His sacrament. (Augustine, On Baptism VI, 25:47) As I mentioned earlier, the only time he would also agree that the words said in baptism matter is when it comes to the name in which a person is baptised: Clearly, if the baptism is not consecrated in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, it shou...