Christian Origins & Early Schisms
UsefulCharts・18 minutes read
Matt Baker is creating a comprehensive family tree of Christian denominations, starting with second temple Judaism and early schisms that gave rise to various groups. The series explores the development of Christianity, including key events like the Nicene Christianity becoming the official religion of the Roman Empire and the subsequent splits like Nestorianism and the Council of Chalcedon leading to divisions between Oriental Orthodox and Calcedonian churches.
Insights
- Matt Baker is creating an extensive chart of major Christian denominations, starting with Christianity's roots in second temple Judaism and tracing its evolution through early schisms and ancient Israelite religion.
- The Councils of Constantinople, Ephesus, and Chalcedon played crucial roles in shaping Christian history, leading to significant splits and defining theological differences between major denominations such as the Church of the East, the Oriental Orthodox Churches, and the mainstream Calcedonian churches.
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Recent questions
What is the focus of Matt Baker's series?
Building a family tree of major Christian denominations.
What is the significance of second temple Judaism?
It evolved from ancient Israelite religion, influenced by Zoroastrianism and Hellenism.
What led to the split between the Church of the East and the Oriental Orthodox Churches?
The Council of Ephesus in 431 CE due to Nestorianism.
What event led to Nicene Christianity becoming the official religion of the Roman Empire?
The Edict of Thessalonica by Emperor Theodosius I in 380 CE.
What caused the major division leading to the split between the Oriental Orthodox Churches and the Calcedonian churches?
The Council of Chalcedon in 451 CE over the nature of Jesus.
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Summary
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"Christian Denominations Family Tree Series"
- Matt Baker is starting a series on building a family tree of major Christian denominations.
- The chart will be extensive due to the variety of Christian groups.
- The plan is to create a complete chart available as a poster.
- The first episode will discuss Christianity's development from second temple Judaism.
- Early schisms led to the Oriental Orthodox Churches and the Church of the East.
- Blinkist is introduced as a tool for quick knowledge acquisition.
- Ancient Israelite religion is traced back to the kingdoms of Israel and Judah.
- Different views on the origins of ancient Israelite religion are presented.
- Second temple Judaism evolved from ancient Israelite religion, influenced by Zoroastrianism and Hellenism.
- Second temple Judaism had various sects like the Pharisees, Sadducees, Essenes, and Zealots.
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Development of Christian Denominations in Roman Empire
- Nicene Christianity became the official religion of the Roman Empire in 380 CE through the Edict of Thessalonica by Emperor Theodosius I, distinguishing it from Constantine's earlier legalization of Christianity.
- The Council of Constantinople, held around the same time, resulted in minor revisions to the Nicene Creed, while the Council of Ephesus in 431 CE led to a split with the Church of the East due to Nestorianism.
- The Assyrian Church of the East, based in Northern Iraq and led by Patriarch Awa III, is the only major denomination tracing back to the Church of the East, with around 400,000 members.
- The Council of Chalcedon in 451 CE caused a major division, leading to the Oriental Orthodox Churches splitting from the mainstream Calcedonian churches over the nature of Jesus, with the Oriental Orthodox believing in one nature and the Calcedonian in two.
