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The Essenes emerged out of disgust with the other two. This sect believed the others had corrupted the city and the Temple. They moved out of Jerusalem and lived a monastic life in the desert, adopting strict dietary laws and a commitment to celibacy.
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They are the most important because they are the spiritual fathers of modern Judaism. Their main distinguishing characteristic was a belief in an Oral Law that God gave to Moses at Sinai along with the Torah.
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The Sadducees were elitists who wanted to maintain the priestly caste, but they were also liberal in their willingness to incorporate Hellenism into their lives, something the Pharisees opposed.
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St. Paul was originally known as Saul, and he was a Roman citizen and a Pharisee. He even presided over the persecutions of the early Christians and was present at the martyrdom of St. Stephen.
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Jesus also referred to as Jesus of Nazareth and Jesus Christ, was a Jewish preacher and religious leader who is the central figure of Christianity. Christians believe him to be the Son of God and the awaited Messiah (Christ) prophesied in the Old Testament.
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Peter, who was also known as Simon Peter of Cephas, is considered the first Pope. Despite his papacy, Peter had humble beginnings and became one of the Twelve Apostles of Jesus.
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Zealot, member of a Jewish sect noted for its uncompromising opposition to pagan Rome and the polytheism it professed. The Zealots were an aggressive political party whose concern for the national and religious life of the Jewish people led them to despise even Jews who sought peace and conciliation with the Roman authorities.
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3rd and 4th centuries marked by a rapid increase in the expansion of the church. Also marked by the rise of Monasticism.
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First ecumenical council attempted to gain consensus by containing representatives from all of Christendom. Christology and at the nature of Christ was one in particular (Arius deemed heretic for his non-trinitarian view of Jesus). One of the major results of this communing of bishops was the writing of the Nicene Creed (which had a second version written in 381 at the third council).
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St. Basil was born in Caesarea, Asia Minor, and received his education in Constantinople and Athens. He joined the University of Athens in 351 where he studied philosophy and the great classical works for five years.
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Edits and adds onto Nicene Creed. This change is debated, but later councils claimed the initial to be superior and made no more changes.
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Saint Ambrose, Latin Ambrosius, bishop of Milan, biblical critic, and initiator of ideas that provided a model for medieval conceptions of church-state relations. His literary works have been acclaimed as masterpieces of Latin eloquence, and his musical accomplishments are remembered in his hymns.
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St. Jerome, Latin in full Eusebius Hieronymus, pseudonym Sophronius, biblical translator and monastic leader, traditionally regarded as the most learned of the Latin Fathers. He lived for a time as a hermit, became a priest, served as secretary to Pope Damasus I, and about 389 established a monastery at Bethlehem.
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St. Augustine of Hippo is the patron of brewers because of his conversion from a former life of loose living, which included parties, entertainment, and worldly ambitions. His complete turnaround and conversion had been an inspiration to many who struggle with a particular vice or habit they long to break.
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Benedict was born into a distinguished family in central Italy, studied at Rome, and early in life was drawn to monasticism. At first, the became a hermit, leaving a depressing world—pagan armies on the march, the Church turned by schism, people suffering from war, morality at a low ebb.
