Reincarnation

As far back as we have testimonies it is a fact that there has been violent disagreements and refractoriness within the religious movements, also concerning the idea of reincarnation. The early Church' great synods between 325 and 787 were also characterized by intense internal struggles, condemnations and prohibitions, even in some cases riots took place and illegal resolutions were made. But the unrest started as early as in the time immediately after the beginning of the Gregorian calendar. The many Gnostic movements, mystery religions and competing sects were a continuous challenge for some of the early Christians, who furthermore opposed a militant Roman dominion. Certain Christians saw consistence and inner connections between the gospel of Christ and related spiritual movements. Others refused any form of syncretism and insisted that Christianity should be kept pure and immaculate.

Right from the beginning there were different movements, which in time fought against each other, and it finally resulted in powerful alliances and the establishment of a prevailing church structure. There were losers and winners, which Elaine Pagels has so clearly described in the book "The Gnostic Gospels". With the Emperor Constantine the Great's assumption of power the Roman Empire was christianised and the church finally established as a powerful institution. One of the Fathers of the Church Ireneus (second century) repudiated in his work "Against Heresy" reincarnation and many other apprehensions as incompatible with Christianity. Nevertheless there were still adherents within the church, at least in the first centuries, and another of the Fathers of the Church St Clement of Alexandria (150-220) was very likely subscribed to the reincarnation teaching.

Also St Justin Martyr (100-165), one of the Fathers of the Church, pointed at the deeper, esoteric comprehension of Christ and maintained that the soul lives in a human body several times, but it cannot remember its past lives. One of the most significant patristic figures, who emphasized the repeated lives, was Father of the Church Origenes (185-254), who had considerable influence on the church history. As a very natural thing he held that: "The souls has neither beginning nor end… Any soul is born into this world, strengthened by its defeat from its past life… Its work in this world determines its place in the world following this". It has been discussed whether Origenes talks about physical rebirth, or he means that the soul is merely born into other dimensions. Irrespective of the result, Origenes describes a progressive movement towards the reunion with the divine, which implies that the soul repeatedly appears in a manifested character, which conditions are results of previous acts. In other words repeated lives controlled by what has been called karma in the East, the cause-effect principle. The neo-platonist and Father of the Church Synesios (370-430) also believed in the teaching of repeated lives, just as the contemporary Christian philosopher Kalkidios. Among the Christian Gnostics Basilides was a significant teacher in Alexandria already about the year 125. He said that his enlightenment came from Matthew and Peter via the latter's disciple Glaucos.