St. James’ Sunday Study Group Lectures

The Shaping of Orthodoxy

Lecture # 10
Nov. 24, 2019 11:45 am. To 1:00 pm.

We have surveyed some of the variety to be found in 2nd- and 3rdcentury Christianity: prophetic utterances and promises in Montanism; wonder-working in the apocryphal acts, mystical ascent
in Gnosticism. But when does diversity become deviance? When are more definite boundaries required? In the middle of the 2nd century, at least partly in response to extreme impulses, Christianity took on a clearer shape. This period represents the most important stage of selfdefinition for Christianity, when it emerged fully and identifiably as a new religion.