WISDOM FOR TODAY
FROM THE EARLY CHURCH
Study Guide
Questions for Reflection and Discussion
At the Beginning of our Study Together:
1. Why do you want to learn more about Church History at this period in your life?
2. What do you hope to gain through this study?
3. Have you ever studied Church History before now? If so, what did that study involve, and how did
it benefit you?
4. Why do you think it’s important for Christians to know more about the history of Christianity – in
particular, the story of what happened during the first 500 years or so of the Christian era?
For Chapter One:
1.
2.
3.
4.
Have you ever read the Book of Acts straight through in one sitting, or in a short period of time?
Would you be willing to do so now?
Why do you think this book could also be called The Acts of the Holy Spirit?
What do you think are the five or six most important episodes in the Book of Acts regarding the geographic
spread of the Christian message?
5. What would be nine or ten additional passages that strike you as being particularly important and/or
memorable, and why?
For Chapter Two:
1. Have you ever read any of the writings in the collection known as The Apostolic Fathers? If so, what were
they, and what do you remember from that reading?
2. Which of these writings do you think are most important historically, and why?
3. Why do you think we can trust the truthfulness of what is taught by The Apostolic Fathers?
4. Which five or six themes are discussed most frequently in The Apostolic Fathers?
5. What is your favorite writing in this collection, and why?
For Chapter Three:
1. Before now, had you ever heard of any of the writers known as The Apologists?
2. Which of the Apologists do you find to be the most appealing, and why?
3. What do you think were the four or five most effective ways in which the Apologists refuted the
misunderstandings that the surrounding society typically had concerning Christianity?
4. What role do you think the Apologists as a whole had in the eventual conquest of the Roman Empire by the
Christian Faith?
5. In what ways do you think the lives and work of the Apologists are most relevant for our attempts to spread
Orthodoxy in our surrounding society today?
For Chapter Four:
1. Which of the ways that St. Irenaeus used to refute the Gnosticism of his time do you think were the most
important and effective?
2. Which aspects of modern-day Gnosticism do you think are most prevalent in our surrounding society
today? And which of these aspects do you think are the most dangerous, and why?
3. How do you think the life and work of St. Irenaeus can be helpful for us as we try to resist and combat the
various Gnostic influences in our surrounding society today?
4. How effective do you think the work of Rev. Philip J. Lee could be in helping our Protestant friends and/or
relatives come closer to Holy Orthodoxy?
For Chapter Five:
1. What characteristics of Montanism do you think made it most threatening to the stability and health of the
hierarchical Church in Asia Minor in the second century, and why?
2. What do you think are the most significant reasons why the Church had to condemn Montanism?
3. What do you think our Pentecostal and Charismatic friends and/or relatives might be able to learn from the
story of Montanism?
4. What are the four or five most important things you would want to emphasize in talking to Pentecostals and
Charismatics about Holy Orthodoxy?
For Chapter Six:
1. What do you think are the most important things we can learn from the story of Tertullian?
2. What do you think are the four or five most harmful aspects of the sectarian mind-set, and why?
3. Are there any aspects of contemporary Orthodoxy in America that you think might indicate a certain
influence of the sectarian mind-set?
For Chapter Seven:
1. What do you think were the four or five most important factors prompting the Church to create the canon of
the New Testament?
2. What do you think were the most significant ways in which the Church decided which books to include in
the New Testament canon, and which ones to reject?
3. Which Church Fathers played the most important role in the story of the canonization of the New
Testament, and why?
4. How do you think this story might be helpful to Protestants in leading them closer to Holy Orthodoxy?
For Chapter Eight:
1. What is the proper place and role in the worldwide Church of the bishop of the Church in Rome, according
to the Fathers of the first four Ecumenical Councils?
2. In your opinion, which Roman bishops, by doing what things, contributed most to the rise of Papal
presumption during the first six centuries of the Christian era?
3. How do you think this story might be helpful to our Roman Catholic friends and/or relatives in drawing
them closer to Holy Orthodoxy?
For Chapter Nine:
1. How would you describe the relationship of the early Christians with the civil authorities of their time
and place?
2. How would you describe the ways in which the governmental authorities and the general populace viewed
the Christians during the first three centuries of the Christian era?
3. How would you describe the Christians’ understanding of martyrdom for Christ?
4. How would you relate in your own words the way in which “through the living the dead were being brought
back to life” during the persecution at Lyons and Vienne?
5. How did the many martyrs for Christ aid the expansion of the Church during the first three centuries of the
Christian era?
For Chapter Ten:
1. In what ways do you think the monastic life can be considered a life of martyrdom?
2. What do you think are the four or five most important reasons for the dramatic rise of monasticism in the
fourth century?
3. Of all the vignettes and sayings given in this chapter from the Desert Fathers and Mothers, which five or six
are your favorites, and why?
4. How do you think people who have never heard of the Desert Fathers and Mothers might respond to these
vignettes and sayings?
For the Conclusion:
1. In your opinion, which five or six factors were the most important/effective in Christianity’s virtually
complete conquest of the Roman Empire by the end of the fifth century, and why?
2. How would you assess the role of St. Constantine the Great in the spread of Christianity?
For the Epilogue:
1. How would you relate in your own words the story of St. John the Theologian rescuing the errant
young man?
2. What does this story convey to us about the possibility of repentance for even the worst sins?
In conclusion:
1. What would you say are the four or five most important/significant things you’ve learned through this study,
and why are these things important/significant?
2. Which five or six Saints do you feel closer to through what you’ve learned in this study, and why?
3. At this point, as (hopefully) you think about continuing your study of Church History, which two or three
Saints from the first five centuries would you like to learn more about and draw closer to, and why?
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