PETRINE PERIOD

500 - 1400

• This time covers the Fall of Rome to the Age of Exploration and Discovery

• “Petrine” refers to Peter; this era was a time of the rise and dominance of the papacy.

- In the Fifth Century, a barbarian army attacked the Roman Empire- Barbarians were violent and worshipped

pagan gods- They were illiterate and had no art, culture or

organized government- This era in Rome is known as the Dark Ages

- The pope at this time was Pope St. Gregory the Great (540-604AD)

- Pope Gregory:

- Organized Rome- Wrote letters to instruct Catholics- Reformed the liturgy- Compiled church music- Sent monks to evangelize the barbarians

• In 800AD, Charlemagne => was crowned emperor

<= The pope at this time was Pope St. Leo the

Great (795-816AD)

• Charlemagne established the Holy Roman Empire– He linked all of Europe to the Roman Church

–During this time, a struggle for power ensued

–Church leaders were becoming involved in government

- lay investiture was the practice of having political leaders assign jobs to bishops and priests

- This practice led some clergy to forget that they were supposed to be spiritual leaders

- Pope St. Gregory VII (1073-1085 AD) - a reformer who worked to get the Church back

on the right track- he fought to end lay investiture and other

wrongdoing by members of the Church

The Great Schism:

* By the Middle Ages differences began to divide the Church.

- In the East, Greek was used for liturgy- Priests were allowed to marry- The Eastern Church was moving away from the

authority of the pope

- In the West, Latin was used for liturgy- Priests could not get married

• In 1054, almost all of the Eastern Churches separated from the West.

- This event is known as the Great Schism- a schism is a split or division- this schism still exists today- The Church in the East became the Eastern

Orthodox Church- In the West, the Roman Catholic Church

Eastern Orthodox Crucifix Roman Catholic Crucific

CRUSADES

• At the end of the Tenth Century, the Holy Land was controlled by Muslims who wanted Christians to adopt their new religion of Islam

• The Crusades were expeditions to regain the Holy Land. They were a series of wars fought between European Christians and Muslims in the Middle East to take back control of Jerusalem.

• There were seven Crusades. • The first was in 1095; the last was in 1291.

• The Crusades did not win back the Holy Land

• They DID:- stir up enthusiasm for the Catholic faith- open communication between the East and

West - promoted pilgrimages - renewed devotions- introduced the Way of the Cross (aka Stations)

to Europe

INQUISITIONS

• In Medieval times the Church influenced many aspects of life

• Heretics at this time were seen as traitors and were put on trial. A heretic is someone who acts against a religion

• These trials were known as the Inquisition

• Once tracked down, if a heretic confessed, they were punished. Punishment was quite severe. Punishment ranged from loss of property, to imprisonment, to death. If a heretic did not confess, they were tortured until they did confess. There was no escape. According to the Church, these punishments were necessary to save the souls of heretics.

SAINTS OF THE PETRINE PERIOD

- St. Francis of Assissi gave up riches to live according to the Gospel- Founded a mendicant group called

Franciscans (mendicants live by begging)- Feast day is October 4

• St. Dominic was a Spanish nobleman who became a priest- he saw a need for scholars within the Church- He encouraged his group, the Dominicans, to

study the gospels and Catholic teachings- Feast day August 8

* St. Thomas Aquinas was a Dominican teacher- He is a Doctor of the Church- wrote Summa Theologica, which means

“A Summary of Theology”

- Feast day – January 28