3. The Church in the Christian Empire Flashcards

Question

Role of the Church

Answer 1

- Basic approval of the “Imperium” (rule in the empire) - Recognized independence of the State’s sphere of power - Preached that the State’s power came from God and depended on God - Prayed for the emperor during the liturgy → this gave him religious importance - Church never directed criticism against State or imperial power, but only could criticize against the individual representatives of the State who interfered in the inner life of the Church - In other words, you could criticize the Emperor but not the Empire (e.g., in Canada you could criticize the PM, but not the office of PM)

Answer 2

The power of the State and Church were exposed to constant temptation to abuse. The Church’s credibility was compromised by privileges granted, and there were false conversions to obtain privileges.

Answer 3

St. Ambrose of Milan... Positive Inference 1. Emperor Theodosius II proclaimed Church as official state and ordered random killings of innocent people because there had been an uprising, and an imperial official was killed during the uprising. St. Ambrose insisted that Emperor Theodosius do public penance. St. Ambrose stayed away from Milan until Emperor Theodosius did his public penance. Without St. Ambrose, no sacraments. Negative Inference 2. Christians destroyed a synagogue They wanted to build a Church, so they destroyed a synagogue. While it was the law that Judaism was not tolerated, it was not a good action for Christians, and Theodosius ordered them to rebuild the synagogue. Theodosius came to Church one day, and Ambrose would not let him in because of this incident (he thought that the synagogue did not need to be rebuilt; he thought Theodosius was undermining Christianity). St. Ambrose was being zealous for the independence of the the Church; this is the power of the Church against the State.

Answer 4

WEST was not mission-minded: The Western part of the Empire identified the Church with the Empire (the Church of the Empire). EAST took advantage of various opportunities: There was no great missionary thrust, but most often people took advantage of fortuitous opportunities.

Answer 5

Conversions often meant development of local languages, since many people still had only oral languages. In order to pass on Scripture and celebrate the liturgy, local dialects needed to be written. Alphabets developed so translations could be made from Greek into the local languages. So language developed to aid the Evangelization Example: Nino in Armenia

Answer 6

In 330, a slave named Nino carried off by the Romans had great influence since a miracle occurred due to his prayers. Led to the conversion of the local Georgians of the Caucasus As a result King Minian asked Constantine for priests, and Georgian became a written language.

Answer 7

Christians taken prisoner were often highly regarded for their wisdom Example: Frumentius in Ethiopia

Answer 8

In 350, a young student from Alexandria named Frumentius was on a trip to study philosophy in Ethiopia. Frumentius and his friend were imprisoned when their teacher was killed and they became known for their learning and wisdom, leading to Frumentius being named a high official. He began to ask if there were Christians in the region, and built oratories in various districts for Christians to meet and pray. He attracted attention of the king who sent him back to Alexandria to ask for a bishop to serve them. The new bishop there, Athanasius, ordained Frumentius a priest and sent him back to continue his work of evangelization among the Ethiopians and, in so doing, developed the local language of Ge´ez.

Answer 9

There was a fallout from controversies about Jesus. In the 4th century, arguments arose over developing theology about Jesus. 1. Arianism 2. Nestorianism 3. Monophysitism

Answer 10

Ancient Christian writers who are distinguished by the brilliance of their teaching, lived in the first seven centuries. The last Father of the Church died in 750, and any great writer after the fathers would have been titled a doctor of the Church. Examples: Ignatius, Tertullian, Justin Martyr, Clement, Eusebius, Augustine, Ambrose, Polycarp

Answer 11

The branch of theology of the Fathers of the Church. Patristics is the common term for the study of the Fathers in general, but specifically the term refers to their theological thought. The what of the study; what they said, what they wrote, what they thought. Sometimes called “Patrology” or a “patrology” could be a textbook on the subject .

Answer 12

( 1 ) A Source of Doctrine The Fathers of the Church are a primary source of doctrine and dogma. ( 2 ) The Canon of Scripture The important things for a book to be a part of the canon is that it had to be quoted by the fathers. ( 3 ) Unite Mind and Heart in Theology Their theology was more than an intellectual pursuit. Many Church Fathers were also priests and preachers. Their intent was to help people know and understand Jesus better.

Answer 13

The development of the papacy, or papal office, can be viewed (studied, analyzed) in four ways: ( 1 ) The history of an idea based on Jesus’ commision to Peter to lead the Church ( 2 ) Papal history is a series of 266 biographies (of the Popes), each with his own character ( 3 ) The papacy is an institution within an institution (the office is bigger than the man) ( 4 ) The study of the papacy is a microcosm of Western civilization (Thomas FX Noble)