Oh Turtullian and Justin Martyr - you're going way back smile
   emoticon I tend to skip the "threads of influence" and go to the
   collective bodies. Prior to the Ecumenical Councils, it was a
   bit of a hodge-podge of competition. But when you get to the
   point where there was some true organization taking place and
   issues were raised that were strong enough that the church body
   as a whole had to get together to resolve them, that's when you
   start seeing progress (or backwardness, depending on your take
   of them, but I see them as progressive). Ecumenical councils
   would be the equivalent of the United Nations meeting or having
   important scientific/philosophical conferences (like the one
   that was just held the other week to discuss the future of
   Science and, in particular Physics - between Philosophers and
   Theoretical Physicists over a three day period. [they were
   bringing up issues of whether or not the newer theories in
   Theoretical Physics are properly a Science and should, instead,
   be considered Metaphysics perhaps, or whether the very
   definition of Science needs to change in order to incorporate
   ideas that have no practical hope of testing] I'd have to look
   back at Turtullian and Justin Martyr again but it's been a while
   since I looked at the individuals and their contributions. I
   made a rare exception for Gemistus Pletho because I've been
   looking for him for a VERY long time now. I knew there was a
   very important "link" between Byzantium and Latin West and the
   start of Humanism, but there was always a missing piece in the
   tales I would hear. I could never find that missing piece, but I
   tripped over him the other week and it was rather exciting to
   me.