Universalism the prevailing view in the early church

[Paidion]

According to the Schaff Herzog Encyclopedia of Religious Knowledge, in the first five or six centuries of Christianity there were six known theological schools. Out of the six, four were universalist: Alexandria, Antioch, Caesarea, and Edessa. One of the six, Ephesus, accepted conditional immortality, and one other, Rome, taught endless punishment of the wicked.

Hmmmm... it seems that universal reconciliation was not "heretical" but "orthodox" during that time period!

Go to the link below and under "history" scroll down to "in the west", and you'll find it.

early theological schools

[Homer]

Paidion,

Interesting! I noticed that Clement of Alexandria was the first universalist theologian, which would confirm what I had shown on the old forum about the eternal punishment views of Justin and the other earliest "fathers".

Did you notice that the article indicated that probably most modern scholars disagree and "in many cases the expression of the 'larger hope' or of doubt as to the endlessness of future punishment is all that can be fairly claimed"?

I am not sure what value you find in the article as support for your ideas. Similar information can be found to support infant baptism.

[Paidion]

Did you notice that the article indicated that probably most modern scholars disagree and "in many cases the expression of the 'larger hope' or of doubt as to the endlessness of future punishment is all that can be fairly claimed"?

You didn't state precisely that with which they disagree, and thus it would seem that your words quoted above are misleading. It doesn't state that they disagreed with the fact that four of the six early theological schools were universalist. Rather it states that "the ascription of universalism to many of the ancient, medieval, and modern theologians and institutions would be disapproved by many scholars of the present, probably by a majority." This is a much broader statement.
I understand that the Schaff Herzog Encyclopedia of Religious Knowledge was published in 1912. So the "many scholars of the present" would have been people from nearly 100 years ago.

Interesting also is the case of Gregory of Nyssa. Gregory played a prominent role in the Second Ecumenical Council in 381 A.D. by bringing forth his Trinitarian formula to the Council and revising the Nicene Creed to make it Trinitarian --- the biggest blow ever against Arianism. Gregory's revised Nicene Creed is used to this day by the Catholic Church, various Orthodox Churches, and the mainline Protestant Churches. So Gregory was perhaps the central figure in Christian "orthodoxy".

For modern Christians within these mainline churches who are aware of this, it must seem inconsistent, or at least surprising, that Gregory was a strong proponent of the universal reconciliation of all to God.