Christian Controversies during 1st and 5th Century

During the 1st Century, Judaism was the predominant Gentile religion which the Christian restorationists proposed that it represented the purest church that should exist today. Nevertheless, major controversies dated back to the 2nd Century such as the Quartodeciman disagreement. The controversy involved the celebration of the Passover between the western churches and the Asia minor.  The Asia minor celebrated Easter on the 14th day of the month of Nisan, depending the day of the week it fell on. They argued the Passover fell on that day since according to the Apostles of John; it was Jesus crucifixion and the day before the Passover. Conversely, the Quartodeciman celebrated Easter on a Sunday after the 14th Jewish day of Nisan. The First Council of Nicaea proposed the celebration of Easter to be on Sunday. However, there is still disagreement about the appropriate date for Easter: the west adopted Gregorian Calender while the East-Julian Calender. (Bauckham 440).

After Constantine the Great led the Christian religion in German and presided over the Council of Nicaea, Arian controversy emerged on the nature of the Son of God. Athanasius argued that Jesus was a created being. As a result, He was not the Son of God. The Council of Nicaea refuted their claims, and 451  Council of Chalcedon supported the claim by saying His divine and human nature were two parts, but in a single entity. The First Council of Ephesus also supported the argument that there were two separate bodies in the incarnate Jesus, and God was reconstituting human being through the mystical power of the God-Man form (Gwatkin 2).

During the 4th and the 5th Century, the Donatist controversy emerged among the Western Christianity. The main controversy was the validity of the sacraments and the membership of the Donatist church. The Donatists debated that the validity of the sacraments depended on how much a minister was worthy. On the other hand, the Christain communion in Rome believed that the only Jesus could validate the sacraments and not a man (Mulde 116).

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Works Cited

Bauckham, Richard. Jesus and the Eyewitnesses: The Gospels As Eyewitness Testimony.

Cambridge: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing, 2008. Print.

Gwatkin, Henry Melvill. The Arian Controversy. Hamburg: tredition, 2012. Print.

Mulde, Jack. Kierkegaard and the Catholic Tradition: Conflict and Dialogue. Bloomington:

Indiana University Press, 2010. Print.