Africa Study Bible Sampler - Flipbook - Page 102
101
N AD 258. Bishop Cyprian of
Carthage, who became bishop
just before persecution broke out,
is martyred during persecution
under Roman emperor Valerian.
Cyprian guided other bishops in
deciding when Christians who denied their faith under persecution
could be readmitted to the church.
Cyprian’s opponent, Novatian, dies
the same year. Novatian believed
that no one who had betrayed the
faith during persecution could be
readmitted to the church. Novatian
split away from Christianity when
the church supported Cyprian.
O AD 270. Anthony, a Christian
monk from Egypt, goes to live as a
hermit in the Egyptian desert after
he hears a sermon about Jesus’
command to sell all and follow
him. Anthony is known as the
A
AD 50
B
AD 100
AD 150
C
D E F
G H
I
AD 200
J
A Desert Father (O).
K
Saint Anthony (O).
father of desert monasticism (often
called “Desert Fathers”) because
Athanasius wrote a biography
about him. The Desert Fathers
and their communities serve as
a model for Christian monasticism in Europe and the East. So
many monks and nuns followed
Anthony’s example by the time of
his death in AD 356 that “the desert
had become a city,” according to
Athanasius.
AD 250
L
N
O
AD 300
P
M
P AD 296.* Athanasius is born
to a Christian family in or near
Alexandria, Egypt and later became
bishop of Alexandria. He is called
the father of orthodoxy (which
means following correct and
accepted Christian beliefs) because
he opposes the Arian heresy (which
are beliefs opposed to accepted
beliefs) because it denies the full
deity of Jesus Christ. Athanasius
is banished five different times by
Roman emperors for his orthodox
views.
* approximately