Methodius of Olympus (Full Script)

Too lazy to read?  Watch the video!
www.youtube.com/watch?v=V4lfH9i16jg

Methodius of Olympus

Post-Apostolic Church

INTRO

Methodius wrote around AD 290.  He was an overseer in Olympus in Asia Minor, modern-day Cirali, Turkey.  Later he was overseer in Tyre.  Methodius died a martyr under the persecutions of Emperor Maximinus Daia around AD 311.

WORKS

Methodius is known for having strongly disagreed with some of the teachings of Origen.

Victorinus of Pettau (Full Script)

Too lazy to read?  Watch the video!
www.youtube.com/watch?v=FlswFHNL5J8

Victorinus of Pettau

Post-Apostolic Church

INTRO

Victorinus lived in Pettau, modern-day Ptuj, Slovenia around AD 280.

LIFE

He was martyred during the persecutions under Emperor Diocletian.

WORKS

Victorinus wrote commentaries on at least nine books of the Bible, but the only work that has survived in its entirety is his work on Revelation.  He was the first to see a repetitious pattern in Revelation.  He believed that each pattern, or cycle, runs parallel to the other.  That is, Revelation tells the same story seven times with increasing degrees of intensity.

Archelaus of Cashar (Full Script)

Too lazy to read?  Watch the video!
www.youtube.com/watch?v=wWinJxQktjE

Archelaus of Caschar

Post-Apostolic Church

INTRO

Archelaus was an overseer in Caschar in Roman Mesopotamia around AD 277.  The location of this ancient city has been lost.

WORK

His work, The Disputation of Archelaus with the Heretic Manes, is a record of the debate between Mani and himself.  Mani was a Persian philosopher and founder of Manichaeism.  Manichaeism was a religion that was a mixture of Zoroastrianism, Christianity, and Gnosticism.

Anatolius of Laodicea (Full Script)

Too lazy to read?  Watch the video!
www.youtube.com/watch?v=vQdyljWOoDg

Anatolius of Laodicea

Post-Apostolic Church

INTRO

Anatolius of Laodicea wrote around AD 270 and was an overseer in Syrian Laodicea, modern-day Latakia, Syria.

LIFE

Anatolius was born and raised in Alexandria.  He was extremely knowledgeable about many things such as the teachings of Aristotle, geometry, astrology, and math.

When Zenobia, queen of the Palmyrene Empire besieged a section of Alexandria and when many people in the city were dying from the famine, Anatolius persuaded the Romans to allow many people to defect and join them in the Roman section of Alexandria as refugees.  Through this, Anatolius gained great honor among the people because he helped many Christians and non-Christians escape starvation.

WORKS

Among his writings that have survived is a work about when to celebrate Pascha, that is, Christ's resurrection.  We also have a portion of his book about mathematics.

Dionysius of Alexandria (Full Script)

Too lazy to read?  Watch the video!
www.youtube.com/watch?v=b1dkRjz_b20

Dionysius of Alexandria

Post-Apostolic Church

INTRO

Dionysius of Alexandria was an overseer in Alexandria, Egypt around AD 260.

LIFE

Dionysus was born into a wealthy pagan family.  He was converted at an older age and was a student of Origen.  Origen's student Heraclas took over the catechetical school after him.  Dionysius took over the school after Heraclas and taught in that role for 15 years.

When the severe persecutions under Emperor Decius broke out, Dionysus was arrested.  But before he was to be killed, a group of Christians freed him and he fled from Alexandria.

WORKS

Most of his works were letters he wrote to other Christians throughout the Roman Empire.

About the nature of God, Dionysius wrote,

There certainly was not a time when God was not the Father.  Indeed, neither... did God afterwards beget the Son because the Son has existence not from Himself but from the Father....  God is the eternal Light, which has neither had a beginning, nor will ever fail.  Therefore the eternal Brightness [Son] shines forth before Him [Father] and co-exists with Him [Father], in that, existing without a beginning and always begotten, He [Son] always shines before Him [Father]....  Therefore, since the Father is eternal, the Son also is eternal, Light of Light....  Then, since God is the Light, Christ is the Brightness.  (Dionysius of Alexandria.  AD 260.  ANF, vol 6, page 92.)

Treatise on Re-Baptism (Full Script)

Too lazy to read?  Watch the video!
www.youtube.com/watch?v=w_jCcxha-z0

Treatise on Re-Baptism

Post-Apostolic Church

INTRO

The Treatise on Re-Baptism was written around AD 257.  The author is unknown.

WORK

This work discusses a debate in the middle third century about what to do about those who were baptized by heretics but were still baptized in the name of Jesus Christ.  In other words, there appears to be many cases where heretics, perhaps including the Gnostics, who baptized their converts in the name of Jesus Christ.  Once these people realized their error in joining a heretical group, they wanted to come to the Universal Church in repentance.  The question the Church had was whether or not to accept their baptism in the name of Jesus Christ or to baptize them according to the Universal Church.

Very analytically, the author goes through some key Scriptures as well as some realistic situations to make his argument.  Unlike his contemporaries, Cyprian and Dionysius of Alexandria, the author takes a more accepting stance on the baptism of heretics, as long as the baptism was in good faith.  His work goes into much detail.

He wrote,

When he should be baptized--he on whom invocation should be made in the name of Jesus--although he might obtain baptism under some error, [he] still would not be hindered from knowing the truth at some time or another.  [When] correcting his error, coming to the Church and to the bishop, and sincerely confessing our Jesus before men, so that... when hands were laid upon him by the bishop, he might also receive the Holy Spirit, and he would not lose that former invocation of the name of Jesus.  (Treatise on Re-Baptism.  AD 257.  ANF, vol 5, page 670.)

In his work, he addresses questions such as: what if a person dies (specifically martyred) after they believe but before they are baptized or receive the Holy Spirit?  What kind of importance should the Church place in the laying on of the bishops' hands in order to receive the Holy Spirit?

To make his arguments, he isn't afraid to refer to various examples from Scripture such as the baptisms of the Apostles on Pentecost, of Cornelius' family, and of the Ethiopian eunuch.

QUOTATIONS

The writer also wrote,

The Spirit, indeed, continues to this day invisible to men, as the Lord says, "The Spirit breathes where He will; and you do not know from where He comes or to where He goes."*  (Treatise on Re-Baptism.  AD 257.  ANF, vol 5, page 677.)

* John 3:8.

...That hearts are purified by faith, but that souls are washed by the Spirit; further, also, that bodies are washed by the water, and moreover that by blood [in martyrdom] we may more readily attain at once the rewards of salvation.  (Treatise on Re-Baptism.  AD 257.  ANF, vol 5, page 677.)

Post-Apostolic Church's Biannual Update 2015

Too lazy to read?  Watch the video!

www.youtube.com/watch?v=hni8uHGQ868

 

Biannual Update 2015

Post-Apostolic Church

INTRO

On this day, two years ago, I posted an introduction video to this channel.  It gave six very good reasons why it is beneficial to study the writings of the early Christians.  If you have not seen the introduction video, please do!  Click this video or the link in the description.

I felt that this is a good time for a video update for all my subscribers, both through Youtube and through email.  I want to talk about how far this channel has come, what is in store for the future, and also get a little personal.  In advance, thank you for listening to this update.

HISTORY

Subscribers

Over the last two years, this channel has gained 542 Youtube subscribers.  And even though there is some overlap as some have subscribed both ways, this channel has also gained 70 subscribers by email.  You might ask, "What is the difference?"  Well, Youtube has an algorithm that gives some subscriptions more importance than others—based on various criteria.  Because of this, it is possible for Youtube subscribers to miss seeing it when I post a new video.  On the other hand, email is more reliable, that is, those who subscribe by email will certainly be notified when a new video is posted.

To all 612 subscribers who have decided that early Christianity is worth learning about: thank you for your support!  I am very surprised and pleased to see how this channel has been received.  And I am very encouraged by your comments and emails.  I sincerely thank you!

Videos

Over the last two years, I've posted 35 videos with 26,590 total views.  That is an average of 1 video every 3 weeks.  The rate at which I post videos has been far less frequent than I would like, especially during the first year.  There are a few reasons why videos come slowly.

I have other commitments besides sharing the faith and history of early Christianity.  For example, I have a full-time secular career in Technology Information Systems.  My wife and I have four sons, all under the age of seven.  And as a member of my local congregation, I teach Bible classes and serve in a few ministries.  Lastly, for me to make these videos as accurate as I can, it requires a lot of research to complete a video.

I love working on this channel and all the research that goes with it.  I feel that God has given me this ministry as part of my purpose here on earth.  Please be patient with me as I work hard to share the faith and history of early Christianity on the Internet.  I ask that you pray that this channel will progress quickly and these topics can be shared sooner rather than later.

FUTURE

So what are the future plans for this channel?  In the introduction video, I mentioned that I plan to explain what happened to the apostles after they wrote their gospels and letters and after Acts.  And I still plan to deliver just that... eventually.  Until then, here is what you can expect.

First, I plan to finish videos that introduce the rest of the major early Christian writers and works.  There are 10 more.

Once these are done, I want to do a four-video series on the Septuagint, the Greek translation of the Old Testament which began around 250 BC.  The Septuagint was very significant to the early Christians.

Once that is done, I will begin sharing what this channel is all about: explaining what the early Christians believed about all kinds of subjects... many of which I mentioned in my introduction video.  Here are the next few categories of subjects that you can look forward to.  Each of these will be its own series of videos.

NON-EARLY CHRISTIAN VIDEOS

Less than a year ago, I posted a video about when Obadiah was written.  Though the main purpose of this channel is sharing early Christianity, from time to time, I plan to share videos that are more of a Bible study or a history lesson.

For example, of the books of the Bible that occurred while the Jews were under the Persian Empire, I worked to put them in chronological order.  I plan to post a video that will put all the passages from Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther, Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi, and parts of Daniel in chronological order.  Stay tuned for that and more like it.

ENDING

Please know that I do my best to answer all comments and all emails.

Very recently, I gathered all the videos I have posted so far and put them into one convenient location.  It is a video archive for this channel.  It has a short description of each video with a direct link to the video.  The link to this archive is in the description.

I feel very blessed to be able to share the faith and history of early Christianity with you.  Please stay tuned for more, and share this channel with your friends and your ministers.  Again, I ask that you pray for this ministry.  May the Lord bless you.