Heresy: Difference between revisions

Establishment of orthodoxy was essential for a unified Church and organized belief system. The Church Fathers constantly struggled with false teachers. Paul mentions those who have left the Way, such as we see in 2 Timothy:<blockquote>Avoid profane, idle talk, for such people will become more and more godless, and their teaching will spread like gangrene. Among them are Hymenaeus and Philetus, who have deviated from the truth by saying that [the] resurrection has already taken place and are upsetting the faith of some. Nevertheless, God’s solid foundation stands, bearing this inscription, “The Lord knows those who are his”; and, “Let everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord avoid evil.” ([https://bible.usccb.org/bible/2timothy/2?16 2 Tim 2:16-19])

 

... for Demas, enamored of the present world, deserted me and went to Thessalonica, Crescens to Galatia, and Titus to Dalmatia. ([https://bible.usccb.org/bible/2timothy/4?10 2 Tim 4:10]) ... Alexander the coppersmith did me a great deal of harm; the Lord will repay him according to his deeds.( [https://bible.usccb.org/bible/2timothy/4?14 2 Tim 4:14])</blockquote>

As the Church organized and diversified, it became essential to establish orthodoxy. Constantine, the Roman emperor, was distressed by the divisions within the church, and organized Councils to sort out belief. From '''The Canons of the Council of Constantinople''' (AD 381), we can see the type of struggles Church leaders faced:<blockquote>I. The faith of the Fathers who gathered in Nicaea of Bythinia should not be annulled. Rather it should continue to have authority, and every heresy (should be)  anathematized, especially that of the Eunomians, or the Anomians, that of the Arians, or Eudoxians, that of the Semiarians, or Pneumatomachians, that of the Sabellians, that of the Marcellians, that of the Photinians, and that of the Apollinarians. </blockquote>Here for [https://www.earlychurchtexts.com/public/constantinople_canons.htm another translation]