Transcript Slide 1

The Early Medieval
Period
500-1000 A.D.
Christian Meeting Places

In the New Testament, the meeting place was
primarily domestic—in homes.

The Jerusalem church met in the temple for
teaching and prayer, and also met in their homes
for breaking bread.

The shift from domestic meeting place to a
dedicated meeting facility had a significant
impact on the nature of Christianity.
Dura Europos: Church Plan
Dura Europos: Church Plan
Dura Europas: Baptistry
The Roman Basilica
Romans emphasized law and order.
 Their law courts were not only places for
legal proceedings but were centers of civic
and public activities. They functioned
sometimes as “town meeting” halls under
the guidance of the government.
 The basilica form was adopted by
Christians as the best architecture suited
for church buildings (rather than temples).

The Roman Basilica
Basilicas took their form from a ship. The center
portion was the nave (from Latin word for ship),
flanked by side aisles, and a curved end known
as an apse.
The largest and most impressive Roman basilica was built by Maxentius and finished
by Constantine in the early 4th century. The apse contained a colossal statue of
Constantine. It stood until largely destroyed by an earthquake in the 17th century.
Two views showing how the Basilica
of Maxentius and Constantine would
have appeared originally
Christian Basilica (Constantine’s Basilica at Trier)
Basilica as Church Building

A basilica was a “Roman town hall” derived from
a Greek word which means “belonging to the
king.”

The apse was the authority seat in the hall
where the council or chairperson would sit.

The bishop’s chair was called a throne
(cathedra) because the Greek word also referred
to a teacher’s seat and not only to royalty.
Drawing of St. Peter’s Basilica
Interior of St. Peter’s Basilica
Buildings and the Arts
Just as Roman public buildings were decorated
with art, so church buildings were decorated
with frescos and mosaics.
 The earliest known Christian mosaic was found
beneath St. Peter’s Basilica in the 1940s—Jesus
is pictured in a gold mosaic as the sun-god,
Helios.
 Frescos were more common as mosaics were
expensive. Most of these are lost to us due to
the Germanic settling of the West but frescos
were revived in the Renaissance period.

Earliest Christian Mosaic, ca. 300

Earliest known
Christian mosaic was
found beneath St.
Peter’s Basilica in the
1940s—Jesus is
pictured in a gold
mosaic as the sungod, Helios.
Byzantine Architecture

Where: Eastern Turkey, Northern Italy,
Slavic countries and Russia.

When: 330-1453

Major Building Form: Churches

Plan: Cross-in-Square capped with Dome
Byzantine Architecture

Support: Pendentives and Piers

Hallmark: Dome

Décor: Lavish inside, plain outside
(though development meant more
ornamentation on the outside); mosaics
and icons dominate.
Byzantine Architecture

Effect: Mysterious, transcendence, the
presence of God

Inspiration: God’s own throne room.

Goal: to arouse emotion, transport into
the presence of God, evoke worship
Byzantine Architecture:
Hagia Sophia
– Built by Justinian in 532-37 to project the power of
his church and empire.
– Dome: 107’ diameter and 180’ height.
– Hired two geometricians (Anthemios and Isidorus) to
design it.
– The arches open up into apses, and domes into semidomes to create a funneling effect of space.
– Dome rests of 70’ piers hidden by colonnades and
rounded arches
– In contrast to classical architecture, it is all curves
that intersect, as if in motion.
Justinian Built Hagia Sophia, 533-537
“Most beautiful church in the world”
Hagia Sophia
Left: Interior of Hagia Sophia
Above: Icon of Mary & Child in
Hagia Sophia with Justinian I and
Constantine I presenting Hagia
Sophia to them.
Massive Church
In 612 the records list a total of 600
persons assigned to serve in Hagia
Sophia: 80 priests, 150 deacons, 40
deaconesses, 60 subdeacons, 160 readers,
25 chanters, 75 doorkeepers.
 Impresses everyone:

– Russian Non-Christians
– Western Christians
– Turkish Muslims
Basilica St. Vitale in Ravenna
Byzantine Architecture
Basilica of San Marco, Venice
– Though overlaid with Gothic features, the
interior preserves the domed, Greek-cross
plan built to house the body of St. Mark
(stolen by a Venice Merchant from Egypt).
– Begun in 830, final completions in 1094
– 45,000 square feet of mosaics and filled with
decorations (including four gilded-bronze
horses stolen from Constantinople in 1204)
San Marco Floor Plan
San Marco, Venice
Byzantine Art
Byzantine churches are rarely decorated
with statues and, in the beginning, not
very ornate on the outside.
 However, on the inside they are filled with
frescos, mosaics and icons.
 Art creates the atmosphere of heavenly
surroundings while architecture creates a
sense of three levels: heaven, paradise
and earth.

Mosaic in St. Vitale in Ravenna, which Justinian built
Theodora and her court, in St. Vitale in Ravenna
The “Cult of the Martyrs”

Tombs of martyrs became sacred places with
annual memorials and feasts.

The relics of martyrs were thought to have
spiritual power, especially against demons and
for physical healings.

Two Classes:
– Martyrs
– Confessors
The “Cult of the Saints”

Since dead saints, especially martyrs, were now in the
presence of Christ, they could intercede for others.

San Sebastian Catacomb in Rome, ca. 260: “Peter and
Paul, pray for me in eternity.”

Saints were not, however, worshipped, though they were
venerated or honored.

Saint market days and holidays grew locally at first with
the consecration of local bishops but about 1200 only
the Pope in the West could decide who was “regarded”
as a saint.
Origins of Monasticism

Several conditions contributed to the rise of
Monasticism:
– With peace between the Empire and the church,
there were no more martyrs. In an era of persecution,
one’s Christianity separated them from the “world.”
– With the influx of “pagans” into the church, the
church appeared to become more “worldly.” Monks
sought a higher form of spirituality.

The search for spiritual communion with God led
many into new forms of spirituality that was a
new form of martyrdom (sacrifice) and antiworldliness.
Monasticism

Beginnings in Egypt: Saint Anthony
 Egyptian Hermits (“The Desert Fathers;” the solitary way)

Communal Beginnings: Pachomius
 From Hermits to Monks (cenobitic life)

Eastern Empire: St. Basil (Asia Minor)
 Basil visited Pachomius’ monastery in 357-358.
 Prayer, Good Works, Meditation, Solitary Life (living as
“skete” or “lavra” (groups of monastic cottages of 2 to 6
under the personal direction of an elder or geron).
 “Guarding the Walls”—Palladios of Helenspolis (360-430).

Western Empire: St. Benedict (Italy)
 Added Labor (agriculture, copying books, serving churches)
Mt. Athos:
Three Eastern Monastic Forms
Solitary
 Cenobitic
 “Skete” or “Lavra”
(alley)—living in
individual cells but
sharing a common
small group or church
with a spiritual guide.
Also known as
idiorrhythmic

By 550, Constantinople had 76 monasteries and ther
were over 100,000 monks within the Eastern Empire.
Eastern Monasticism

“The pride of Christ’s Church consists in the life of the
solitaries.”
 St. Issac the Syrian (died around 700).

“Unless someone says in his heart, ‘In the world there is
only myself and God,’ he will find no peace.”
 The Sayings of the Desert Fathers

“Love the ease of solitude more than providing for the
starving in the world and converting a multitude of
heathen from error to the worship of God…Better is he
that edified his own soul than he that edifies the whole
world.”
 St. Issac the Syrian.
“Life According to the Gospel”
St. Basil
Monks are not exceptions or abberations of the gospel
life, but are examples to the whole Church—a life
withdrawn from the sinfulness of the world and in
obedience to Scripture.
 Monasticism, however, is regarded as a “second
baptism”—a renewal of baptismal vows.
 Monasticism is a “sacrament of love” where people
devote themselves to loving God and loving their
neighbor without reserve.
 Monasticism is the life of continual repentance—a life of
constantly renewed conversion.

– St. Anthony: “This is our chief task: always to be mindful of our
sinfulness in God’s sight.”
– Abba Dioscorus (died 400) constantly weeps over sin in his cell.
Eastern Orientation


Eschatological: herald the coming of the new age by
their radical detachment (renunciation) from the world.
Marriage is a “cataphatic” (affirmative) way of affirming
the sacrament of love, but monasticism is a “apophatic”
(negative) expression.
– Marriage: “Grant, Lord, that in loving each other we may love
you.”
– Monks: express their love for God without the mediation of
another human being—they love directly and wholly.
– Monks thereby anticipate the eschatological reality—to live in the
presence of God without marriage.
– Thus, in later Byzantium only monks could become bishops as
those dedicated to the “higher” form of life which is the goal of
all Christians.
– Monks become salt and light, examples of the kingdom of God.
Eastern Priorities

First Priority: The Living Flame of Prayer as
Loving God.
– St. Seraphim of Sarov (d. 1833): “Acquire inner
peace, and thousands around you will find their
salvation.”
– The goal is to intercede for themselves, for others
and seek union with God.

Secondary Priorities: Loving Neighbor
–
–
–
–
Scholarly and educational work
Evangelism and missionary work
Social and philanthropic work
Spiritual guidance and mentoring work
The image below left (from the Monastery of Dionysiou on Mt. Athos) shows monks
ascending the Ladder to God (and some of them, unfortunately, falling off); the image on
the right (from the Monastery of Esphigmenou on Mt. Athos) shows the "Life of the True
Monk" -- with demons tormenting him, although he remains unmoved, with his whole
body in the form of the Crucified Christ).
Irish (Celtic) Monasticism



Irish monasticism
predates Benedict’s
westernization of
monasticism.
The first monks lived as
hermits in “beehive” cells
where the cold was their
penance instead of the
heat (Ireland instead of
Egypt).
Irish monasticism has a
tradition of spirituality
similar to Eastern
monasticism.
St. Benedict Established Monastery of
Monte Cassino, 529
Benedictine Monasticism
became model for all new
orders in Middle Ages
Goal: Purity, Model of
Apostolic Church, Service
Vows of Poverty, Chastity,
Obedience
Summary: “pray and work”
Monastery of Monte Cassino
Restored after original monastery destroyed in Allied
attack during World War II
The Benedictine Rule

Growing up near Rome, he experienced the chaotic life of an era
embroiled in constant war.

In 529, Benedict (480-550) founded a monastery at Monte Cassino
for which he wrote his Rule.

The Benedictine Rule emphasized poverty, chastity and solitude, but
it also emphasized the importance of work (agriculture), learning
and communal meals.

The Benedictine monastic tradition is the foundation of Western
monastic life.

Monasteries became islands of learning; faith and order in Western
Europe which was filled with disorder, war and insecurity.
Western Monasticism
It was primarily, if not exclusively, cenobitic
(communal).
 It found its priorities in service, education, and
mission alongside of worship and prayer.
 Benedict’s rule regulates the community,
provides a spiritual leader (abbot), and
emphasizes the above priorities.
 It was written for autonomous communities and
not intended as a special monastic order.

Western Monastic Orders





Monastery of Cluny spreads its communal form through
the establishment of more than 1000 monasteries from
900 to 1100.
Carthusian Order began in 1084 as a place for the
solitary life in the western world.
In 1098 Cistercian order began to emphasize the role of
manual labor in a communal life (“white friars”).
In 1210 the Franciscan order begins which stresses the
vow of poverty and working among the poor (“grey
friars”)
In 1215 the Dominican order begins which stresses the
role of education and theological orthodoxy (“black
friars”).
ISLAM
Muhammad (570-632)
Muhammad
Life of the prophet
Muhammad (570-632)

Born in Mecca, at the age of 40 began to receive
a series of revelations. He begins to affirm
monotheism as he is taught through visions
from the angel Gabriel.

These “recitations” (qur’an) given through the
angel Gabriel became the Koran.

Muhammad was the last prophet of the God of
Abraham and the Koran was the perfect
expression of divine will for all humanity.
Muhammad’s Career

610-622, he lived in Mecca preaching his monotheistic faith. He was a
shepherd but married into the family of his employer and became a teacher
of ethics.

622 (year 1 for Muslims), he fled to Yathrib (Medina, “the city”).
Muhammad became the leader of the city where a theocratic style of
government was implemented.

624-628, Mecca and Medina fought three major battles.

629, Muhammad makes a pilgrimage to Mecca.

630, Muhammad becomes theocratic ruler of Mecca and by his death in 632
of the whole Arab peninsula.

Muhammad united Arabs politically and religiously
ISLAM
Koran
114 chapters (saris)
Memorized
Adored
Not translated
Never changed
Islam’s Missionary Zeal

By 632, Islam was the faith of the Arabian peninsula
with Mecca as its political and cultural center.

By 661, Islam had spread to Libya, Egypt, Palestine and
Mesopotamia with Damascus as its political and cultural
center under the Umayyad Dynasty.

By 732, Islam covered North Africa, Spain, southern
France, parts of Asia Minor, at times parts of Sicily and
southern Italy and the Indus Valley with Baghdad as its
political and cultural center under the Abbasid Dynasty
Stopping the Spread of Islam

Leo III of the Byzantine Empire drove back a
Muslim army from a siege of Constantinople in
717-18.

Charles Martel, King of the Franks, defeated a
Muslim army in 732 at Tours, France and forced
it back across the Pyrennes into Spain.

Gibraltar is the “rock of Tariq” (Gib-al-Tariq). The
Muslim Tariq invaded Spain in 711.
Expansion of Islam 634-750
Later Developments

Seljuk Turks from Central Asia, after converting
to Islam, conquered the Arabic dynasties by
1050.

Mongols from Asia conquered Baghdad in 1258.
This led to the existence of small Islamic states
rather than one Empire.

Ultimately, all the Arabic states fell to the
Ottoman Turks in 1517. The Ottoman Empire
existed till 1918.
The Basic Impulse of Islam

Monotheistic faith

Submission to the will of God

Jesus, like the OT kings and prophets, were true prophets, but
Judaism and Christian corrupted the “true religion.”

The Qu’ran (from the Arabic root which means “to read”) calls for
toleration of the “people of the book” (Jews and Christians) though
polytheists and pagans are called infidels. The Hadith are a
collection of traditions based on Islamic teaching.
– Islam means “submission”
– Muslim means “those who submit”
Five Pillars of Islamic Piety

Confession: There is one God and Muhammed is his
prophet.

Pray five times a day toward Mecca—communal prayer
on Friday

Fast during the month of Ramadan

Give alms to the poor—required 2.5% giving.

Make a pilgrimage to Mecca at least once for those who
are able.
Basic Beliefs
Paradise is their view of the afterlife.
 Acceptance of Old Testament ethics.
 Strict administration of justice.
 The presence of angels and jinn (spirit beings who can
possess human beings for good or evil).
 Fatalistic or deterministic understanding of Allah.
 Strong ethic: no alcoholic drinks.
 Seclusion of women—protection against sexual
aggressors/predators.
 God intends one community among all people.
 Holy War (Jihad)

Three Islamic Divisions

Sunni Muslims: mainstream faith and majority (90% of
Muslims).

Shi’ite Muslims: believe that only a blood relative of
Muhammed can lead the Muslim faith. Shi’ite means
“partisan of Ali” who was the son-in-law and cousin of
Muhammad. They look to the “Imam.”

Sufi Muslims: believe in the continuation of revelations
through mystical encounters and practiced a relatively
ascetic lifestyle
Origins of the Icnonclastic
Controversy



The beginnings of Christian art
are found in the catacombs
and in early church buildings—
more often the portrayal of
biblical stories rather than
iconography.
Icons as images of Christ for
liturgical purposes began to
appear in the fourth century in
the Constantinian age.
By the seventh century, the
use of icons is a wellestablished tradition in the
church.
Seventh Century Understanding
Leonitus of Neapolis
“I sketch and paint Christ and the sufferings of Christ in
churches, in homes, in public squares, on icons, on linen
cloth, on clothes, and in every place I paint so that men
may see them plainly, may remember them and not
forget them…And as you, when you make your
reverence to the Book of the Law, bow down not to the
substance of skins and ink, but to the sayings of God
that are found in therein, so I do reverence the image of
Christ. Not to the substance of wood and paint—that
shall never happen!...But by doing reverence to an
inanimate image of Christ…I think to embrace Christ
Himself and to do Him reverence….We Christians by
bodily kissing an icon of Christ, or of an apostle or
martyr, are in spirit kissing Christ Himself or His martyr.”
Recognition of Abuse

St. Anastasius of Sinai: “Many think that he
sufficiently revers his baptism who, entering the
church, kisses all the icons without paying
attention to the Liturgy and the divine service.”

Orthodox theologians have always rejected such
abuses and have tried to give a theological
grounding to the use of icons.
Icon Controversy (726-843)


Several bishops on the Eastern borders of the empire
began to oppose icons and Germanos the Patriarch of
Constantinople defended them.
Emperor Leo III decided against icons and ordered their
destruction in 730.
– Perhaps he thought spiritual realities should not be depicted in
material form.
– Perhaps he was reacting to the Muslim charges of idolatry.
– Leo felt he should defend the faith: “The Lord, having entrusted
the realm to the emperors, has likewise commanded them to
tend Christ’s faithful flock, after the example of Peter.”

Immediately divided the Empire.
– Iconoclasts (icon-smashers)
– Iconodules (icon-venerators)
John of Damascus
Born in Damascus, he served as a chief advisor
to the Muslim Caliph for many years.
 In 725 he retired to a monk’s life and began
writing and died in 749.
 His most famous book is The Orthodox Faith,
which is part 3 of his massive work The Fountain

of Knowledge (Wisdom).

He also composed hymns, wrote works on ethics
and epitomized Orthodox theology. Still
standard Orthodox theology.
Imperial Iconoclasm

Constantine, Leon’s son, inaugurated a systematic
persecution of iconodules.
– In 753 he summoned a council at Constantinople after he had
purged the episcopate of many iconodules. The council
condemned icons and their veneration
– From 762-775, he exiled and executed monks who resisted his
policy.
– The persecution did not end till after his death and elevation of
his son Leo IV. When he died in 780, the Empress Irene restored
iconodules to episcopacies and installed Patriach Tarasius who
supported icons.

Destroyed icons had been replaced by “secular” art
depicting hunting scenes, decorative designs and the
like.
John of Damascus on Icons
“When He Who is without a body and without form, Who
has neither quanity nor magnitude, Who is incomparable
with respect to the superiority of His nature, Who exists
in Divine form—accepts a bond-servant’s appearance
and arrays Himself in bodily form, then do you trace Him
upon wood, and rest your hopes in contemplating Him,
Who has permitted Himself to be seen…I do not bow
down to matter but to the Creator of matter, Who for my
sake took on substance and Who through matter
accomplished my salvation, and I shall not cease to
honor matter, through which my salvation was
accomplished.”
Thus, matter has been sanctified and has become a means
of grace.
Theology of Icons

According to John of Damascus, just as the wine, bread
and water of the sacraments (mysteries) makes Christ
present to his people, the portrayal of Christ in an icon
may also be filled with the grace and power of Christ’s
presence.

It is no longer a mere image of Christ, but a the means
by which we encounter the spiritual reality of Christ.

This is primarily rooted in the affirmation of the reality of
the incarnation—just as Christ sanctified flesh, so he
sanctified materiality. Materiality, including images, can
convey the spiritual presence of divine grace.
Controversy Settled

Though often politically volatile and sometimes
violent, the theology was settled at the 2nd
Council of Nicea (787), the 7th ecumenical
council.
– Images of God in his essence are forbidden.
– Images of God in the flesh (incarnate) or God in his
theophanies, Mary and his saints are permitted.
– Images represent God’s involvement in the material
world and through those images people approach
God without worshipping the image.
– Images can mediate divine presence and mystical
encounter; they are not mere aides for the faithful.
th
7

Ecumenical Council
We, therefore, following the royal pathway and the
divinely inspired authority of our Holy Fathers and the
traditions of the Catholic Church (for, as we all know, the
Holy Spirit indwells her), define with all certitude and
accuracy that just as the figure of the precious and lifegiving Cross, so also the venerable and holy images, as
well in painting and mosaic as of other fit materials,
should be set forth in the holy churches of God, and on
the sacred vessels and on the vestments and on
hangings and in pictures both in houses and by the
wayside, to wit, the figure of our Lord God and Savior
Jesus Christ, of our spotless Lady, the Mother of God, of
the honorable Angels, of all Saints and of all pious
people.
th
7

Ecumenical Council
For by so much more frequently as they are seen in
artistic representation, by so much more readily are men
lifted up to the memory of their prototypes, and to a
longing after them; and to these should be given due
salutation and honorable reverence, not indeed that true
worship of faith which pertains alone to the divine
nature; but to these, as to the figure of the precious and
life-giving Cross and to the Book of the Gospels and to
the other holy objects, incense and lights may be offered
according to ancient pious custom. For the honor which
is paid to the image passes on to that which the image
represents, and he who reveres the image reveres in it
the subject represented.
Revival of Iconoclasm
Upon the death of Irene in 802, the empire’s
misfortunes were blamed upon icon-veneration.
 In 815, Emperor Leo V decreed that icons should
be raised above human height so that no one
could kiss them. Monks led a protest procession
carrying icons. The Emperor responded with
violence.
 The persecution continued under Michael II
(820-29) and Theophilus (829-842).

Triumph of Icon-Veneration
Empress Theodora, wife of Theophilus,
halted the persecution after the death of
her husband in 842.
 In March, 843, Methodius, one of the
persecuted, became Patriarch.
 On the first Sunday of Lent icons were
reinstated in Hagia Sophia. Each year the
church celebrates this victory as the
“Triumph of Orthodoxy.”

“Icon of the Holy
Trinity” by St.
Andrei Rublev,
Russian Orthodox
(1411) for the “Holy
Trinity Monastery”
founded by St.
Sergius.

“Theotokos” (Mother
of God) by Vladimir
from the end of the
11th century
(Constantinople), but
moved to Moscow in
the 13th century
where it remains.
Diminished Empire after Justinian
1.
Germanic Lombards invade and conquer Italy
2.
Visigoths retake previously lost parts of Spain.
3.
Slavs (primarily Bulgars) take Balkan provinces
except Thrace
4.
Arabs take Africa and the east (including
Jerusalem) except for Asia Minor
Map of Post-Justinian Empire, ca. 700
Significance of Byzantium

Strengths:
–
–
–
–

Geography encourages trade
Impregnable city of Constantinople
Strong imperial personalities, autocracy
Hellenistic culture and religiously united (except for
some Christian “heresies”—the monophysites)
Weaknesses:
– Problems with Succession (2/3 killed)
– Isolated, Separatistic
– Cultivated luxurious, pleasure-seeking culture
Significance of Byzantium

Language and Literature
–
–
–
–

Preserved Greek, including Bible MSS.
Half of literature was theological
Based education on Greek classics
Preserved Greek culture while the West was overrun
with “Barbarian” cultures (except what was
introduced into Celtic culture in Ireland)
Influence on Slavic Culture
– Gave them religion, alphabet, art, architecture
– Christian Slavic nations looked to Byzantium for
leadership
Byzantium and the West

Had territories in Italy till 1100.

Substantial commerce between
Constantinople, Venice and other Italian
cities.

Preserved Roman law and Greek culture
for the West to rediscover
Slavic Missions: Cyril & Methodius



Invited by the Prince
Ratislav to Moravia in 862
The brothers led Moravia
into Christianity, and their
disciples evangelized the
Bulgars and other Slavs.
Moravia ultimately came
under Roman Catholic
control but the influence
of the brothers continued
among the other Slavs.
Cyril and Methodius
They created a written language for Slavonic—
provided Slav churches with alphabet,
translations of creeds, liturgies and texts (“Old
Church Slavonic”).
 Unlike the West where Latin was the only
liturgical language, the East had from the
beginning used the language of the people for
liturgy.
 The Cyrillic alphabet, developed in the 10th
century, was based on their old alphabet and
language.

The Primary Chronicle
Vladimir again called together his vassals and the elders. The Prince
announced the return of the envoys who had been sent out, and
suggested that their report be heard. He commanded them to speak
out before his vassals. The envoys reported: "When we traveled
among the Bulgars, we saw how they worship in their temple, called
a mosque, while they lounge about slackly. Bulgarians bow, sit
down, and look here and there as if possessed. There is no
happiness among them, but instead only sadness and bad smells.
Their religion is not good. Next we went among the Germans. We
saw them performing many ceremonies in their temples, but we saw
no glory there. Then we went on to Greece. The Greeks led us to
the edifices where they worship their God, and we did not know
whether we were in heaven or on earth. On earth there is no such
splendor or such beauty, and we are at a loss how to describe it. We
know only that God lives there among men, and that the Greek
service is fairer than the ceremonies of other nations. We cannot
forget that beauty. Once he has tasted sweetness, no man is willing
to settle for bitterness.
Conversion of Rus



Vladimir, the prince of
Rus, invited Byzantine
teachers to Kiev in 988.
All Russians were
commanded to be
baptized in order to stay
in favor with the Prince.
Vladimir married the
sister of the Byzantine
Emperor in 989.
Russian History
Russian Christianity was centered in Kiev
from 988 to 1240 when Mongols burned
Kiev to the ground.
 The center of Russian Christianity moved
to Moscow in the 14th century when in the
1380s Mongols (Tartars) were first
defeated by Muscovite princes.
 Moscow becomes the Patriarch of Russian
Christianity in the late 14th century.

The Germanization of Western Europe: “Franks”
Merovingian Franks

Clovis (466-511), a Frank, married a
Burgundian princess who insisted he
become Catholic.

After winning a battle, he converted in 496 and
supported missionaries. He also forced conversions
among the Franks and those he conquered.

Germanic Gaul became Christian and began the fusion of
Germanic and Roman culture.

Clovis is the first “French” King.
St. Patrick (385-461), Apostle to
the Irish


Patrick was a missionary
among the Irish Celts.
Native Welsh (Maewyn),
former slave, 12 years in
Gaul.

Monasticism was a dominant feature of Irish Christianity since the
population was almost entirely rural. They preserved classical
learning in the western world and promoted education (e.g.,
influencing even England at York where schools flourished)

Irish monks evangelized Scotland, Burgundy, Switzerland and
northern Italy.
Conversion of England

After the fall of Rome, England was overrun by pagan
Saxons, Angles and Jutes between 450-500.

Irish monks evangelized in England (primarily northern),
but also Augustine of Rome was sent by Pope Gregory I
in 597. He converted Ethelbert (560-616; a Jute), King
of Kent, in 601 and established the bishopric of
Canterbury (later center of the English church).

Celtic and Augustinian (Roman) Christianity had their
differences and this created tension.
Resolution to Side with Rome

Celtic Church older with own traditions
– Existed in Scotland, Northern England and Ireland
– Emphasized monasticism and learning

Roman and Celtic missionaries “compete” for
English Northumberland.
– King Oswy of Northumberland called synod
– Synod of Whitby (664)
– Oswy decided for Roman based on the “Petrine
Thesis” (Roman primacy).
Boniface, Apostle of Germany

Boniface (675-754),
Anglo-Saxon from
southern England,
pioneered missionary
work among the Saxons
of Hesse.

He was ultimately
appointed Archbishop of
Mainz.

He was martyred while
preaching among the
pagans in Frisia.
Empire of Charlemagne
Carolingian Franks

Pope Zacharias (741-752) approved the plan of Pepin the Short to
seize the throne for himself after the last Merovingian died.

Pope Stephen II (752-757) appealed to Pepin for help against the
Germanic Lombards and the Byzantine Empire.

Pepin conquered Italy and received the title of “father-protector of
the Romans”. He gave the Papacy the lands the Pope claimed in
Italy (“the Papal States”), which was called the “Donation of Pepin.”

The document entitled “Donation of Constantine” appeared which
gave the Pope of Rome jurisdiction over the whole of the western
church unhindered by the emperor.
The Papal States
Charles the Great (768-814)
Creates an empire
– 53 military campaigns
– Crowned emperor 800

Rules well
–
–
–
–
–

Appoints own household staff
Primitive law: ordeals
Creates feudal army
Builder
Weights and Measures
Generous to church, but master of church
Charlemagne (742-814)

Pacified the Saxons in Germany, extended the
border to the Danube in eastern Europe, pacified
the Lombards in Italy and crossed the Pyrennes
into Spain.

When Pope Leo III (795-816) was forced out of
Rome by local nobles, Charlemagne arranged his
return. In Rome, December 25, 800 A.D.,
Charlemagne was crowned emperor of the “Holy
Roman Empire.”
Charlemagne receiving gifts
Empire of Charlemagne
Carolingian Renaissance

600 years before the Italian Renaissance, it successfully merged
Germanic and Greco-Roman cultures into “Christian Europe.”

Alcuin of York (740-804), one of Charlemagne’s scholars at Aachen
(near Cologne), taught at a palace school. The net effect was
higher educational and moral standards for clergy. Education was
popularized in France.

Alcuin established the basic liberal arts educational philosophy:
– Elementary disciplines: grammar, rhetoric, dialectic (logic)
– Advanced disciplines: arithmetic, geometry, music, astronomy
– Highest discipline: theology
Alcuin of York
Appointed head of Charlemagne’s Palace School
Aix-la-Chapelle (780-790)
Carolingian kings of France not
competent after division

Invasion of Vikings
– Carolingian kings unable to protect people
– Paris withstood the onslaught (888)

Normans invade and settle in north
– Rollo first Duke of Normandy 933
– Normandy strongest area in France

Lords ask Hugh Capet to be king 987
– Son of Eudes’ brother Robert
– Beginning of Capetian Dynasty
Two Kingdoms Emerge

Frankish (French) Kingdom:
Hugh Capet (987-996).

German and Saxon Kingdom:
Otto the Great (936-973). Otto continued
the legacy of the “Holy Roman Empire” as
he sought to control Italy as part of his
territory.
Otto I, 936-973
 Makes
Germany great
– Establishes authority
– Dreams of re-creating Roman Empire
– Builds up alliances
– Uses middle class as civil service
– Puts down revolt of nobles
 Defeats
Magyars at Lech 955
Germany Becomes Empire
 962
Otto crowned emperor
– Son married to Byzantine princess
 Church
is weak
– Otto deposes 2 popes, elects 2
– Otto meddles in Italian affairs
 Otto
re-creates Carolingian Empire
Papacy and Frankish Empire
Frankish/German Emperors control the
Papacy
 Popes tortured, killed, desecrated
 48 popes, 880-1046
 Most were immoral, incompetent
 Deliberate strategy of German emperors

Pope Innocent I (401-417)
The western Emperor Honorius had moved his
government to Ravenna.
 Innocent I was Pope when Rome was sacked by
the Visigoths in 410.
 Innocent I took the opportunity to extend his
authority in both political and theological
contexts.

– He confirmed the decisions of the North African
churches against Pelagianism as he sided with
Augustine.
– He took on political and judicial functions in the city
of Rome, especially the absence of imperial authority.
Pope Leo I (the Great), 440-461
Leo centralized western ecclesial
government and located juridical
power in Rome.
 Leo also led the city politically and
was praised for dissuading Attila
the Hun from sacking Rome in
452.
 Stressed the priority of Rome in
the universal government of the
church, especially as he sought to
maintain jurisdiction over
Illyricum.
 Leo is sometimes regarded as the
“first Roman Pope” since he
stressed his universal
responsibility for the church based
on Petrine supremacy and his
rights as the successor of Peter.

Gregory I (the Great, 590-605)
Born of aristocratic
Roman family
 Comes with political,
diplomatic experience

– Papal ambassador to
Constantinople
Roman official then
monk, then Pope
 Sends Augustine to
England as Missionary

Gregory I (the Great)

Takes over the political rule of city of Rome
– (Helps when Rome besieged)

Works for high morals in church
– (Encouraged monks to be faithful to their vows)
Uses family home as a church; Did not want titles or
honor
 Developed idea of Purgatory; emphasized penance over
grace
 Encouraged idea of Communion as literal body & blood
 Wrote and collected songs: Gregorian Chants; Prolific
writer
