Exam 1

Question 1

Cappadocian Fathers

Answer 1

Basil the Great, Gregory of Nyssa, Gregory of Nazianzus; Developed idea of perichoresis; Council of Constantinople (381) under Theodosius clarified the Nicene Creed; Main Tenants: 1) consubstantiality- all parts of the Trinity have the same essence of God, 2) perichoresis- mutual indwelling, 3) “Order of Persons” –Father begets the Son, Spirit proceeds from the Father

Question 2

Concupiscence

Answer 2

lust in a general sense; desiring something that is not rightfully yours. Usually, desires of the flesh (as opposed to the spirit

Question 3

(Third) Council of Toledo (589)

Answer 3

Included the Filioque clause in the Nicene Creed.

Question 4

Filioque clause

Answer 4

Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father and from the Son. Before this change, the Nicene Creed said that the Spirit proceeds “from the Father, through the Son.” (Gonzalez, 312) horning

Question 5

Pelagius

Answer 5

[denies the inborn inclination to sin; posits that Adam’s relation to future men is only that of a bad example]
Adam was created mortal, and would have died whether he had sinned or not sinned.
Adam’s sin injured only himself and not the human race.
The law no less than the gospel leads us to the kingdom.
There were sinless men previous to the coming of Christ.
Newborn infants are in the same condition Adam was before the fall.
The whole human race does not, on the one hand die through Adam’s death or transgression, nor, on the other hand, does the whole human race rise again through the resurrection of Christ.
[Augustine’s response to Pelagius
Adam before Fall: able not to sin
Adam after the Fall: not able to not sin]

Question 6

Perichoresis

Answer 6

Perichoresis can be defined in this way: the Father is in the Son and the Son is in Him. Both Father and Son are in the Spirit and the Spirit is in them.

Question 7

Psychological analogy

Answer 7

Augustine thought the Trinity was like a great mind. In the human mind there is intellect, memory, and will, but the three are one. And, when we know ourselves, we are the knower, the known, and the knowledge at the same time. God, of course, has a mind; and, Augustine thought, when God knows himself, his thought of himself is so perfect that that thought itself is a divine being. So, the three persons of the Trinity are God as knower, known, and knowledge. This is an interesting model, but it doesn’t do much to account for three persons. In our experience, the known and the knowledge are not persons, nor is the triad memory, will, and knowledge. The psychological model is pretty good in illustrating God’s oneness but not his threeness, his substance but not his persons.

Question 8

Augustine of Canterbury (c. early 6th Century-604 AD)

Answer 8

Sent by Pope Gregory I (*also known as Gregory the Great) of Rome to evangelize the island of Britain. Ran into trouble when his group was robbed. Went back to the Pope asking for permission to abandon his mission and was instead turned around and sent right back towards the island.
Converted Ethelbert of Kent.
Later he would successfully evangelize the island and be appointed the first “Bishop of Canterbury”.

Question 9

Clovis the Frank

Answer 9

Salian (long-haired) Frank who unified various tribes into one kingdom and became the “first” Frank King.
Promised to believe in Jesus if he won against the Alemanni in battle, he won and was baptized w/ at least 3000 soldiers who followed him.

Question 10

Columba

Answer 10

Chose to become a monk (founded 41 monasteries)
Secretly copied his master’s psalter, but forced to return it by King Diarmait
Gets an army to fight King Diarmait (for another reason), and takes the psalter back in the spoils
Later exiled for fighting
Wrote “The Hermit Song” which contained the ideal life of a hermit.

Question 11

Columbanus

Answer 11

An Irish missionary to the Frankish and Lombard kingdoms 540-615 .
Wrote a letter and called the bishops out as lazy for not spreading the Gospel.
Brunhilda opposed Columbanus and exiled him back to Ireland. On the way, his ship sank. He survived and established a monastery in Bobio among the Lombards.
Inspired a wave of warrior-monks and explorers.
Some of them went out on boats with no oars and just let the current lead. (White Martyrs)

Question 12

Gregory the Great

Answer 12

Former monk who was appointed pope against his desires; he would prove to be a very capable pope.
Saved Rome from the Lombards by paying Roman soldiers out of church funds and by paying the Lombard leader Agilulf to leave.
Sent Augustine to Britain (Augustine of Canterbury).

Question 13

Simeon Stylites

Answer 13

Monk who built a massive pillar in Syria and lived year round on the top to find solitude.
Started a whole wave of pillar-dwellers.
The pillar was 60 feet tall.
He lived on top for 37 years.
His fame spread and people flocked to hear his preaching
He is an example of eremitic monasticism and its potential for extreme behavior

Question 14

St. Patrick

Answer 14

Roman Brit who was taken captive by Irish pirates.
Lived in slavery for some years before he escaped.
Had a vision that he would one day go back to Ireland. Had a second vision where voices cried out to him and called for him to return.
He was then sent back as a missionary.
Basically ended up converting the entire island.

Question 15

Purpose of Benedict’s Rule

Answer 15

“He wrote his Rule primarily for monks” (Benedict, The Rule of St. Benedict, 9).
Benedict’s Rule “offered definitive direction and established an ordered way of life that gave security and stability. He sought to lay down ‘nothing harsh, nothing burdensome,’ but was intent on encouraging the person coming to the monastery” (Benedict, The Rule of St. Benedict, 11).
He called it “that little rule for beginners” (Benedict, The Rule of St. Benedict, 11).
“It contains directions for all aspects of the monastic life,
From establishing the abbot as superior
The arrangement of psalms for prayers
Measures for correction of faults
To details of clothing and the amount of food and drink”
(Benedict, The Rule of St. Benedict, 11)

Question 16

Steps to Humility according to Benedict’s Rule

Answer 16

1. Fear God
2. Do not love your own will nor take pleasure in the satisfaction of your desires.
3. Submit to your superior
4. Embrace suffering and endure it without weakening or seeking escape.
5. Do not conceal any sinful thoughts/confess.
6. Be content with the lowest and most menial treatment.
7. Be convinced you are inferior to all.
8. Do only what is endorsed by the common rule of the monastery and the example set by your superiors.
9. Control your tongue.
10. Do not be given to ready laughter.
11. Speak gently and seriously without laughter.
12. Manifest humility in your bearing no less than in your heart, so that it is evident.

Question 17

Accommodation for Human Nature in Benedict’s Rule

Answer 17

During a fast, readers are allowed to have diluted wine before reading: “because the fast may be too hard for him to bear, the brother who is reader for the week is to receive some diluted wine before he begins” (61)
“The sick who are very weak may eat meat” (59)
Acknowledges that humans are often grumpy when they wake up :) “On arising for the work of God, they will quietly encourage each other, for the sleepy like to make excuses.” (49)
Separates the young men with seniors during bed time so that they younger ones remain quiet. “The young brothers should not have their beds next to each other, but interspersed among those of the seniors.” (49)

Question 18

Belisarius

Answer 18

General Under Justinian
Reclaimed much of the land that belonged to the old Roman empire. Reclaimed North Africa.
Took Rome in 536.

Question 19

First Council of Nicaea (325)

Answer 19

established doctrinal stances against Arianism and Monarchism.
As a response to doctrines which diminished the full deity of Christ, it focused on the equality of the Son with the Father and is not a full articulation of the doctrine of the Trinity. It makes no mention of the deity of the Spirit, nor did it clarify how Christ can be both God and man.

Question 20

First Council of Constantinople (381)

Answer 20

Called by Theodious I to clarify the Nicene Creed.
Key Tenets (Letham)
One and Three
Consubstantiality
Each of the three person share in the same substance (Ousia)
Perichoresis - Mutual Indwelling
Order of Persons
There is an hierarchical order, not an ontological subordination: The Father, Son and the Spirit.

Question 21

Council of Ephesus (431)

Answer 21

“Condemned Nestorius and his teaching (Nestorianism) that Christ had two separable natures, human and divine [meaning that Christ was two distinct persons with two natures, not one person with two natures]. Declared Mary to be theotokos (lit. God-bearer, i.e. Mother of God) in order to strengthen the claim that Christ was fully divine against those who called her merely Christotokos (Christ-bearer).”

Question 22

Council of Chalcedon (451)

Answer 22

Questions unanswered by Nicea
If Jesus was fully divine, how was he human?
If Jesus was both human and divine, how did that humanity and that divinity coexist?
Chalcedon’s Answer:
Jesus was “one person” consisting of “two natures” [also known as the ‘Hypostatic Union’].

Question 23

Second Council of Constantinople (553)

Answer 23

“Condemned the Three Chapters, a compendium of the writings of Theodore of Mopsuestia, Theodoret of Cyrus, and Ibas of Edessa. These three were advocates of Antiochene theology, emphasizing Christ’s humanity at the expense of his deity. Their opponents held Alexandrian theology emphasizing Christ’s deity.”

Question 24

Third Council of Constantinople (680)

Answer 24

Denied Monothelitism (Christ had only one-will) and upheld that Christ had two wills: One human and one divine will (not to be confused with the heresy monophysitism - Christ has one nature).

Question 25

Second Council of Nicaea (787)

Answer 25

Icons to aid in worship are allowed, rejects iconoclasts

Question 26

Icons, veneration vs. worship, Iconoclasm

Answer 26

“a final episode in the christological debates” (Gonz 305)
“If Jesus was truly human, and in him God had become visible, how could one object to representing him?” (Gonz 306)
John of Damascus: On the Holy Icons
“possible and necessary to depict (Jesus) as incarnate” (148)
Veneration not worship
Centrality of the Incarnation
Iconoclasm determined a heresy

Question 27

John of Damascus

Answer 27

Strong advocate for icons, wrote “On Holy Icons”

Question 28

caesaro-papism

Answer 28

spiritual leadership by the emperor in place of a pope.

Question 29

Justinian

Answer 29

Emperor of Eastern Roman Empire. expanded the empire to include most of the med. sea including italy, hispania and northern africa. Ordered the compiling of the “Justinian Code”. Was said to rarely ever sleep more than a few hours a night.

Question 30

Theodora

Answer 30

Former prostitute, married Justinian and became empress when he ascended. Stopped him from running during the blue/green riot.

Question 31

Justinian Code (characteristics)

Answer 31

“…nothing to be found in all things so worthy of attention as the authority of law” (Cantor, 125)
A codification of Imperial Roman laws
based on rationality, coherence, equality and the furtherance of Imperial power
Favors absolutism: The Emperor is considered the living law, and his will has the unchallenged force of law.
would become the basis of the modern European legal system.

Question 32

Hagia Sophia

Answer 32

massive church/cathedral which contains the ‘dome of heaven’ built by Justinian.

Question 33

Be able to explain why Justinian was vilified at his death

Answer 33

Heavy taxation, squandering the empire’s resources on reconquest of old Western Roman Empire territories while ignoring threats closer to home (like the Persians), and his persecution of the Monophysites in Egypt and Syria.

Question 34

Heraclius - particularly the pattern of “religious war” he establishes and his role in the demise of Sassanid 
Persia

Answer 34

General turned Emperor. Stood on the cusp of losing constantinople to the Persians. A letter from the king of persia challenged the christian God and Heraclius used this to enflame the populace against the persians. He turned this zeal into a recruiting effort. This caused the war to become a “religious war”
Convinced by Patriarch defense of the city his sacred duty
End of Persian Empire plus weakened Roman Empire = Islamic conquest
Last attempt to appease Monophysites: Monothelism
Monophysites less important after Egypt and Syria lost to Muslims

Question 35

via negativa and apophatic theology

Answer 35

“Via negative” means “way of negation,” which holds that one can only speak truthfully about God by describing what he is not. Via negative and apophatic theology refer to the same thing.

Question 36

Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite (Sixth Century)

Answer 36

He was accepted by Western Europeans as been the same Dionysius that Paul converted at Mars Hill. This “Dionysius” had written works in the fifth century, and his works were translated from Greek into Latin by John Scotus Erigena (a native of Ireland who ‘settled at the court of Charles “the Bald”’ in the mid-9th century). These works “expounded a form of Neoplatonic mysticism,” and his theology was confused with Paul’s - thus, Paul himself was thought to have been Neoplatonist as well.

Question 37

Photius


Answer 37

Photius excommunicates Nicholas I (867)
“The Western Church according to Photius: Photius, Patriarch of Constantinople (858-67, 880-86), confused the situation further. He insists that the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father alone, the Son having no part to play, although he did not require this to be accepted by Rome. His intent is not to deny the intimate relations between the Son and the Spirit but to make very clear that the Father alone causes the existence of the Son and Spirit. In turn, Photius attributes to the Western church the arrangement whereby the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father and the Son from two separate principles. He regards this as heresy since two separate principles in the trinity would destroy the unity of God”

Question 38

Theosis

Answer 38

The goal is the attainment of likeness to or union with God. As a process of transformation theosis is brought about by the effects of katharsis (purification of mind and body) and theoria. According to eastern Orthodox teaching theosis is very much the purpose of human life. It is considered achievable only through a synergy (or cooperation) between humans’ activities and God’s uncreated energies (or operations).