Early Christian “Churches” • What, where and when were early Christian communities established?

• What, where and when were early Christian Churches established?

• [use c.10 and p.188 – 194]

• What early councils meet within Christendom? When and where did these occur? What issues were discussed? [use c.10 and p.188 – 194]

Early Christian “COMMUNITTIES” • diverse beginnings with few similarities = major differences grow

(entrenchment)

• born on the fringe of the Roman Empire

• spreads in multiple directions simultaneously / attracts and recedes

• for the first 6 centuries of Christianity, most Christians lived in /or/ Arabia, Persia, Ethiopia, India or China

Early Christian “Churches” • To the North and East:

• Syria / Turkey – first actual Church structure in Christendom • Syriac language / Huge Jewish influence (musical / chants)

• 3rd Century - Persia sees numerous converts – often seen as enemies (loyal to Rome)

• 4th Century - Armenia – first rulers to adopt Christianity / sacrificial animals (pre-Christian rituals)

• 4th Century – southern India

• 6th Century – Christian converts among the Arabs

• 7th Century – Chinese Christianity and to a lesser extent Central Asia • Nestorianism or Church of the East

• 10 Century – Kievan Rus

• 14th Century – some Mongols (until Ming)

• To the South and West

• Egyptian Coptic Church – Monasticism yo

• Church of North Africa (Carthage) – St. Augustine and martyrdom

• 4th Century – becomes the state religion of Axum • later Ethiopia – assert direct lineage to Jerusalem / use of Ge’ez / Lalibela Churches

• 5-6th Centuries - Nubia

• The Obvious: the Roman Empire by about the 4th Century

Early Christian “Churches” • What early councils meet within Christendom? When and where did these

occur? What issues were discussed?

• Council of Nicaea in 325, Chalcedon in 451 and Constantinople in 553

• sought to define orthodoxy

• the nature of Jesus (man, god or both)

• Jesus’ relationship to God (equal or subordinate)

• concept of the Holy Trinity

• what writings represent the Bible

• heretical / anathema views decreed

• Egyptian Christians – monophysite (J not fully “human)

• Nestorianism in the East – emphasized the human aspect of Jesus

• the skinny, Roman Pope becomes the dominate source of TRUTH

The Byzantine Empire

What was the identity of a “Byzantine citizen?”

When did the Byzantine Empire begin?

Constantinople

trade on Bosporus strait, natural harbor

Roman and Greek technology and engineering

Justinian

from 527 to 565 CE

extends borders

Hagia Sophia

Corpus Juris Civils

Caesaropapism – Christianity unified diverse subjects

Byzantine Buffer

withstood attacks from Persians, MUSLIMS, Slavs, Magyars, Mongols, and

Vikings

Kievan Rus

Crusades…lasting legacy

1453 CE and Mehmet II, a Turkish Muslim

The Western European “Dark Ages”

Medieval = “Middle” in Latin

Dating the Dark Ages is contentious

What natural features contributed to W. Europe being an “Outpost of

Civilization”?

West Asia!

Dense forests, sparse populations and few towns

Germanic Kingdoms

How different than Romans? a. no written laws / instead relied on unwritten customs

b. no cities

c. kings elected only in times of war

Franks

Clovis in 486 CE

Charles Martel / 732 CE Battle of Tours

Charles Magne…Charlemagne

Why was Christmas day in the year 800 CE so significant to:

Charlemagne's Legacy

Aachen as a “Second Rome”

Alcuin of York, curriculum and manuscript copying

Divisions at death

Invasion!

Muslims, Magyars and…VIKINGS!

Vikings [Danes, Varangian, Norse, Norsemen, Normans]

Scarcity of land = exploration [global warming!]

Plunder is easy when its free

TRADE!

Settle

Kiev

Greenland

Norman Conquest

Feudalism

The need for protection!

Feudal contract – complex

Church/Crown, Lords (Vassals) knights, “commoners”, peasants and serfs

Feudal World

Why did knights start tournaments?

Castles

Chivalry (double standard for women )

Manor System

a Lord’s estate...self-sufficient world

A peasant’s life…

Christianity…Full Circle

Religious AND Secular Authority in West; Religion ONLY in East

R.C.C. & Medieval Life Wide was his parish, houses far

asunder,

But never did he fail, for rain or

thunder,

In sickness, or in sin, or any

state,

To visit the farthest, regardless

their financial state,

Going by foot, and in his hand, a

stave.

This fine example to his flock he

gave,

That first he wrought and

afterwards he taught

Wyd was his parisshe, and houses

fer asonder,

But he ne lefte nat, for reyn ne

thonder,

In siknesse nor in meschief to visite

The ferreste in his parisshe, muche

and lite,

Upon his feet, and in his hand a

staf.

This noble ensample to his sheep he

yaf,

That first he wroghte, and

afterward he taughte.

R.C.C. & Medieval Life

Tithing

Relics!

SACREMENTS or HELL!!!

“knowledge” is a powerful force!

“Monasticism” in Western Europe

Monasteries (men) / convents (women)

Paradise or prison?!

Benedictine Rules

Monte Cassino, Italy in 530 CE

(3 vows)

vow of obedience, poverty, chastity (silence)

Centers of learning (copying!)

Missionaries like St. Patrick

Growing Power of RCC Papal Supremacy and Papal Infallibility

Bishops and priests appointed to high positions Due to their education

“Inasmuch as we have learned that, contrary to the establishments of the holy fathers, the investiture with churches is, in many places, performed by lay persons; and that from this case many disturbances arise in the church by which the Christian religion is trodden under foot: we decree that no one of the clergy shall receive the investiture with a bishopric or abbey or church from the hand of an emperor or king or of any lay person, male or female. But if he shall presume to do so he shall clearly know that such investiture is bereft of apostolic authority, and that he himself shall lie under excommunication until fitting satisfaction shall have been rendered.”

Political Christianity

Popes sought political and religious power through alliances with kings

started crowning “Holy Roman Emperors”

Investiture controversy – disagreement with Pope over who names Bishops

1122 – investiture compromise settled

Germanic feudal, canon (church), and Roman law conflicted

Excommunications

Interdicts “Power corrupts. Absolute power corrupts absolutely.”

Political Christianity

Cluniac Reforms no marriage for priests

no selling of Church offices (simony)

called for Church officials to appoint priests and bishops instead of laymen

Friars and new Denominations

Francis Assisi and Dominic = Franciscans and Dominicans

And…Anti-Semitism

High Middle Ages [1050 – 1450] Economic Revival:

Iron plows

Bills of Exchange and “banking”

Towns become cities

TRADE

High Middle Ages [1050 – 1450] Political Consolidation (ending feudalism)

Kings become powerful by:

Collecting their own taxes / treasury

Creating their own courts

bureaucracy

Creating their own armies

Ex. King John, the Magna Carta and Parliament

o King NOT above the law!!!

Crusades Byzantine (Roman) Emperor needs help; Muslim Sejluk Turks

To “liberate “Holy Land”

High Middle Ages [1050 – 1450] Pope Urban II calls for the 1st Crusade at the Council of Clermont

“Go, brothers, go with hope to the fight against the enemies of God, who for so long have dominated Syria, Armenia and the countries of Asia Minor. They have already committed many outrages: they have taken the Sepulcher of Christ and the marvelous monuments of our Faith; they have forbidden pilgrims to set foot in a city whose worth only Christians can truly appreciate. Are these facts not sufficient to upset the serenity of your faces? “Go and show your worth! Go, soldiers, and your fame will spread over the entire world. Do not fear to lose the Kingdom of God because of the tribulation brought by war. If you will fall prisoner to the enemy, face the worse torments for your Faith and you will save your souls at the same moment you will lose your bodies. Do not hesitate, most dear brethren, to offer your lives for the good of your neighbor. Do not hesitate to go because of love for your family, your country, or your riches, since man owes his love principally to God. You will have the greatest happiness one can have in his life, which is to see the places where Our Lord spoke the language of men.”

To these words the faithful answered unanimously: “ " [God wills it!]

High Middle Ages [1050 – 1450] Urban II added:

“Such a cry would not be unanimous if it were not inspired by the Holy Ghost.

Let this be, then, your war-cry to announce the power of the God of Hosts.

“And whosoever will undertake this journey shall carry on him the form of the

cross. Let you, then, bear the cross upon your sword or your breast, on your

weapons and standards. Let it be for you either the sign of victory or the palm

of martyrdom, and also the symbol to unify the dispersed children of Israel. It

will continuously remind you that Jesus Christ died for you and that for Him

you should die.”

Crusades Motives:

Alexius 1

Pope Urban II

Feudal kings / knights

peasantry

And…Anti-Semitism

Effects of the Crusades Religious hatred

Western Europe learns about more advanced civilizations

Sugar, cotton, rice, coins and money economy, knowledge!

Encourages travel (Marco Polo)

• epidemic- outbreak of rapid-spreading disease

• China, Mongols, Black Sea to Europe

• Half to two-thirds die

• Helps end feudalism! (supply and demand)

Plague Art – The Burials

Flagellants on march

Plague Art: Life and Death

Pogroms: Anti-Jewish Riots

• England vs France

• national pride

• English wins early with Long Bow

• Joan of Arc turns the tide of war

• French introduce a new weapon…a cannon

• war changes culture and war forever