I-II The Rise of Christendom and Papal Power Flashcards
What is the general consensus as to when the middle ages began? When did they end?
500AD
1300 or 1500 AD (we’ll go with 1300)
When did the disintegration of the Roman empire begin?
shortly after Christianity emerged
The emperors eventually became…
figureheads reduced to the status of puppets
What was the Praetorian Guard?
The Praetorian Guard assured the safety of the emperor and imperial family
What does the existence of the Praetorian Guard illustrate?
the fact that one was needed indicated the low state of things
Many Roman generals were more loyal to…
…their own interests than the Empire as such
Why was the economy of the empire crumbling?
the land (latifundia) was all passing to aristocrats and the people became serfs called coloni, taxes were raised to extortionist levels and public morale had evaporated
What did the Praetorian Guard do in 193AD?
They sold the throne to the highest bidder
To whom did the Praetorian Guard sell the throne in 193AD?
Julianus (Marcus Didius Julianus) His reign lasted 3 months during “the year of the 5 emperors.”
Which two emperors were able to prolong the length of the empire? When did they reign?
Diocletian (284-305) and Constantine (306-337)
Name the group of people which crossed the Rhine in 407, wandered across France and Spain, crossed the Straits of Gibraltar in 429, and took Carthage in 439. They became masters of the northern coast of Africa and took to the sea, occupying Sicily, Corsica, and Sardinia. When did they sack Rome? Why was their rule in North Africa disastrous for the church?
The Vandals sacked Rome in 455AD. Their rule was disastrous because they were Arians and they brought repeated persecutions against both catholics and Donatists. (They were conquered half a century later by the Byzantine Empire. The result in the area was a divided Christianity which disappeared easily after the Moslems conquered)
Name the group of people which defeated the Romans at the battle of Adrianople in 378, then swept through the Balkans and eventually took Rome. They then were in Spain and ruled that country until they were overthrown by the Moslems. When did they conquer Rome? When were they taken over by the Moslems? Which heresy did they embrace and how did it disappear?
The Visigoths conquered Rome in 410AD. They were overthrown by the Moslems early in the 8th century. They embraced Arianism for almost two centuries until the Visigoth King Recarred (586-601) was converted to Nicene orthodoxy. After him, the vast majority of the nobles became catholic, and Arianism soon disappeared.
Who is the outstanding Christian leader of the entire history of the Visigothic kingdom?
Isidore of Seville (he preserved and passed on the glories and the wisdom of antiquity)
What role did the church play for the Visigoths after the conversion of Recarred? How would this be described?
The church played the role of legislator. It provided a measure of order, but injustice and inequality reigned..
During most of the fifth century, Gaul was divided between which two groups who could be described religiously as what?
the Burgundians, who were Arians, and the Franks, who were still pagans (The Burgundians did not persecute catholics though)
When and how did the Burgundians become catholic and why didn’t this ensure Nicene faith for Gaul?
The Burgundians became catholic in 516AD when King Sigismund was converted to orthodox Trinitarian doctrine. But they were conquered by the Franks in 534.
What prevented the Moslems from taking over Gaul?
Charles Martel (the “Hammer”) - who was a “chamberlain” or prime minister - led the Frankish troops against the Moslems, who had taken Spain, crossed the Pyrenees, and threatened the heart of Europe. He defeated them at the Battle of Tours in 732.
How did Charles Martel’s descendants claim the title of king?
Charles Martel did not claim the title of king though he had virtually earned it by winning the Battle of Tours. His son Pepin the Short rid himself of the useless king Childeric III (known as “the Stupid”) by working through the pope to force him to abdicate and become a monk. Bishop Boniface then appointed Pepin the Short king (by papal instruction). Pepin the Short’s son was Charlemagne.
How did the Franks become Christians?
Clovis (the dyansty founder Meroveus’ grandson) was married to a Christian Burgundian princess, and on the eve of a battle promised that he would be converted if his wife’s God gave him victory. As a result, he was baptized on Christmas day, A.D. 496 along with a number of his nobles.
Which events led to the rampage of the Visigoths?
The Huns crossed the Volga River and subjugated the easternmost Germanic tribe - the Ostragoths. The Visigoths were terrified and petitioned the Romans for permission to settle as allies inside the empire. In 376 the entire tribe crossed he Danube into Roman territory, but the Roman officials mistreated them and they went on a rampage.
In what battle did the Romans lose to the Visigoths?
The battle of Adrianople (in today’s Turkey) in 378
Which event prompted the sack of Rome by the Visigoths?
the death of Theodosius I in 395 began their migrating and pillaging under Alaric - they sacked Rome in 410AD
Which event resulted in the Fall of Rome in 493AD?
Vandals sailed from their stronghold in Carthage, marched on Rome, and took it. Count Rikimer set up and pulled down powerless puppet emperors, the last of which was a little boy called Romulus Augustulus. In 475 another commander (Odovacar) deposed him and proclaimed himself head of the government. Then, in 493 the Ostrogoth Theodoric invaded, had Odovacar stabbed to death and declared himself King of the Romans. He had a long and good reign, but following his death everything in Italy was split into factions.
What initially allowed so many german leaders to gain power in Rome?
With the invasion of the Huns, the Romans took Germanic leaders into their own to fight against the Huns.
What prompted Augustine to write The City of God?
After the Visigoths stormed Rome in 410AD, many said that the reason it happened to Rome was that they were tolerating the false religion of Christianity. Augustine took the challenge to defend Christianity and extol the sovereignty of God.
Name the areas conquered by each of the Vandals, the Visigoths, the Anglo Saxons. Following these invasions, Rome became a picture of what?
The Visigoths conquered Gaul and Spain. The Anglo-Saxons invaded the Roman province of Britain and forced imperial armies to withdraw from the British Isles. The Vandals took control of North Africa and the Mediterranean. Rome was now a picture of political fragmentation.
Why were the Goths largely Arian?
A half century after the Council of Nicea in 325, an Arian missionary named Ulfilas (or Wulfila) crossed the Danube and worked amount them. He translated most of the Bible into the Gothic language (with the exception of Kings) and from the Goths, Arian Christianity spread to other German tribes. Their Arianism was apparently more ecclesiastical than theological, but they thought of Christ as the firstborn creature and a glorified warlord.
Describe the last Roman Imperial victory.
The Battle of Chalons took place in 451 AD led by the Roman general Flavius Aetius and the Visigothic King Theodoric I against the Huns commanded by king Attila. Germans composed the majority of the imperial army. Attila died only two years later and his Hunnic Empire was dismantled by a coalition of their Germanic vassals.
From 455-476AD, Rome had how many emperors?
9 incompetent emperors and the empire continued to suffer
What kind of Christian did Clovis in Gaul declare himself to be and what did that mean?
Clovis in Gaul declared himself a Christian of the catholic persuasion (specifying against many heresies, especially arianism). This meant he claimed to believe in one God revealed as the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. As Dr. McGoldrick noted, it’s a big deal to believe in a God who is pure spirit who created a material world. Why do we believe it? Because it’s the Word of God.
We can only know as much about God as…
He has permitted us to know.
Describe what we can know from general revelation.
General Revelation reveals a living and true God. It’s not sufficient for salvation though.
What is the greatest revelation we’ve ever had?
the person of work of Jesus Christ
How might we drift into our own arianism?
We have to remember that Jesus is the Son of God AND God the Son. Jehovah’s Witnesses deny Jesus as God the Son.
Clovis was baptized on Christmas day with 3,000 of his followers. Why was this problematic?
It was personally advantageous to agree with the king. This is a shabby way to start a new religion.
Name the military man who wanted to restore the empire, but died before he could.
Justinian I, Eastern Emperor (527-565)
As rulers such as Clovis and Recarred became catholic, it put arianism in a difficult position, but it also had negative effects on catholicism itself. Why is this?
These rulers were able to make themselves practically governors of churches. Some kings could intrude into church affairs - sometimes ousting a catholic bishop and putting their own guy there).
Barbarian invasions disrupted trade and harmed the economy, how did they also negatively impact the church?
many pagan influences infiltrated the church
By 900AD, throughout western Europe, there was nothing approaching…
…a national or international government.
Despite the lack of unity in the rest of Western Europe, the catholic church was remarkably successful at maintaining unity due to…
…many courageous and intelligent popes.
From 440-461AD, the bishop of Rome was who? What event caused him to take on a new role and stake a fresh claim of power on the future?
Bishop Leo I and 2 clergymen (notably not the emperor) encountered Attila the Hun at the Po River, gave him gits, and convinced him to spare the capital. (Of course, Attila had probably already decided to turn back as epidemics and famine were ravaging his army) Leo did not prevent them from plundering the capital, but they did not destroy it.
The Visigoths defeated the Romans at which battle in which year?
The Battle of Adrianople in 378AD
Name the emperor who did NOT meet Attila the Hun. Tell what you know about him.
Valentinian III - son of Emperor Honorius, grandson of the great Theodosius I (the last to unite the Eastern and Western Empires). He became emperor as a boy and was son, grandson, great-grandson, cousin, and nephew (twice over) of Roman emperors. Needless to say, all of this confusion did not unite to turn him into a powerful leader. He did reign for over 30 years, but his reign was dominated by powerful generals vying for power amid civil wars and the invasions of Late Antiquity’s Migration Period, including the campaigns of Attila the Hun.
The barbarian attacks in Italy made the imperial court at Ravenna desperate for the support of any authority that might help to hold the empire in the West together. Leo I was already arguing for papal primacy, thus, in 445 the Emperor Valentinian III issued a decree instructing Aetius, the Roman commander in Gaul, to compel the attendance at the papal court of any bishop wo refused to come voluntarily.
His imperial document ran: “As the primacy of the Apostolic See is based on the title of the blessed Peter, prince of the episcopal dignity, on the dignity of the city of Rome, and on the decision of the Holy Synod, no illicit steps may be taken against this See to usurp its authority. For the only way to safeguard peace among the churches everywhere is to acknowledge its leadership universally.”
Who is Theodoric I? What is he famous for?
Theodoric I was the Visigothic king who led the last Roman Imperial victory - the fight against the Huns in the Battle of Chalons in 451AD. He died there. (and is not to be confused with the Ostrogothic Theodoric the great who killed the emperor and took over in 493AD)
What were coloni?
land passed often to the aristocrats and the peasants gradually became serfs the peasants were known by the roman term coloni c-o-l-o-n-i it’s not a funny name for peasants but that’s what the romans called them and to deal with the crisis of the economy and the political structure taxes had to be raised to extortionate levels and as a consequence public morality almost evaporated public moral more not morality but not public morality too i guess but public morale evaporated
In the late Roman Empire and the Early Middle Ages a colonus (plural: coloni) was a tenant farmer. Known collectively as the “colonate”, these farmers operated as sharecroppers, paying landowners with a portion of their crops in exchange for use of their farmlands.
The coloni’s tenant-landlord relationship eventually degraded into one of debt and dependence. As a result, the colonus system became a new type of land tenancy, placing the occupants in a state between freedom and slavery. The colonus system can be considered a predecessor of European feudal serfdom.
What were latifundia?
A latifundium is a very extensive parcel of privately owned land. The latifundia of Roman history were great landed estates specializing in agriculture destined for export: grain, olive oil, or wine. They were characteristic of Magna Graecia and Sicily, Egypt, Northwest Africa and Hispania Baetica. The latifundia were the closest approximation to industrialized agriculture in Antiquity, and their economics depended upon slavery.
The latifundium first appears extensively during the later Roman empire as a type of large agricultural enterprise which obtained labour services from a resident workforce (coloni) in return for the temporary use of a plot of land, when the slaves on the estates created from the land of conquered communities became too costly. As the Empire declined, the latifundia also became local centres of economic and political power, absorbing the free peasantry into villein or ‘servile’ status, and providing the foundation for the manorial system of rural organization in the Middle Ages
Define comitatus
Comitatus was in ancient times the Latin term for an armed escort or retinue. The term is used especially in the context of Germanic warrior culture for a warband tied to a leader by an oath of fealty[1] and describes the relations between a lord and his retainers, or thanes (OE þegn). The concept is generally considered by scholars to be more of a literary trope rather than one of historical accuracy.[2][3]
Scholars Bruce Mitchell and Fred C. Robinson describe the comitatus more fully:
An heroic warrior brought up in this [comitatus] tradition would show a reckless disregard for his life. Whether he was doomed or not, courage was best, for the brave man could win lof [glory among men] while the coward might die before his time. This is the spirit which inspired the code of the comitatus. While his lord lived, the warrior owed him loyalty unto death. If his lord were killed, the warrior had to avenge him or die in the attempt. The lord in his turn had the duty of being generous to his warriors. He had to be the great fighter to attract men, a man of noble character and a generous giver of feasts and treasure to hold them.[4]
The comitatus ideal is seen in Old English heroic literature, such as The Battle of Maldon, Beowulf, The Battle of Brunanburh,The Battle of Finnsburh, and the story of “Cynewulf and Cyneheard.” The comitatus is also examined through a Christian context in works such as Dream of the Rood, where Christ is depicted more as a warrior-king doing battle with the Devil and accepts physical defeat for spiritual victory. The rood, or cross, in the poem acts as a retainer “who is forced by his very loyalty to become the instrument of his beloved Lord’s execution.”[5]
Who is Sylvester?
St. Sylvester was the first Pope of Rome to reign entirely under the liberty of the Church, guaranteed by the Edict of Milan in 313. Sylvester - a priest of Rome and the son of one Rufinus, according to the Liber pontificalis - was elected to the See of Peter in 314. During Sylvester’s reign, the city began its transition into its Christian era, with the construction of the great Constantinian basilicas - including the Basilica of St. Peter on the Vatican Hill, which was erected above a temple dedicated to Apollo, to mark the burial place of the first Bishop of Rome. St. Sylvester and Emperor Constantine also collaborated on the the Lateran Basilica and Baptistery, which were built adjacent to the former imperial palace where the Pontiff lived, as well as the (Roman) Basilica of the Holy Cross in Jerusalem, and the Basilica of St. Paul outside the walls. Sylvester’s memory, however, is most closely tied to the church of St. Martin and Sylvester (known as the titulus Equitii, owing to its building site’s having been donated by a priest, Equitius) which still stands in Rome’s Monti neighborhood.
Who suddenly ordered the most vicious of all persecutions of the Christians two years before the end of his highly effective reign?
Diocletian (284-305)
What was the Edict of Milan?
After the battle of the Milvian Bridge, Constantine was made master of the entire western part of the Roman Empire. In the city of Milan, Constantine issued an edict
“Our purpose is to grant both to the Christians and to all others full authority to follow whatever worship each person has desired, whereby whatsoever Divinity dwells in heaven may be benevolent and propitious to us, and to all who are placed under our authority. Therefore we thought it salutary and most proper to establish our purpose that no person whatever should be refused complete toleration, who has given up his mind either to the cult of the Christians or to the religion which he personally feels best suited to himself. It is our pleasure to abolish all conditions whatever which were embodied in former orders directed to your office about the Christians, that every one of those who have a common wish to follow the religion of the Christians may from this moment freely and unconditionally proceed to observe the same without any annoyance or disquiet.”
The rescript goes out of its way to ensure evenhanded treatment for all: “no diminution must be made from the honor of any religion. “ But the strongly pro-Christian flavor is tasted in the instructions to restore to the Christians all property that had been appropriated during the persecution. This applied to property belonging to individual Christians as well as to churches—and without regard for the present owners, who could apply to the state for compensation.
In battling heresies, bishops generally took the lead. during this era certain bishops became more prominent than others and they gradually acquired recognition as archbishops and in the east as patriarchal bishops so titled upon title there were four of them that acquired the dignity and authority of patriarchs. Name the four.
Constantinople
Antioch
Alexandria
Rome
All of those four exerted great influence over the development of the catholic church.
Of the four, Rome had some particular advantages. Name 5.
- Rome was always being connected with saint peter although there is no absolute proof that Peter ever was in Rome. It’s likely that he was but there’s no real confirmation for it.
- Rome though did have the reputation of strict orthodoxy and therefore the guardian of the apostolic faith
- Rome was the largest and wealthiest diocese in the church and there are some very prominent Roman citizens who were contributing members of that church
- Where the Roman empire was invaded by barbarians in the west as we’ve seen the bishop of Rome sometimes led to defense in Italy
- Once the capital moved to the east the bishops of Rome acquired even more political power in the west then too a number of powerful personalities occupied the roman bishopric and they were able to take advantage of a tendency to look toward Rome for theological advice for religious authority and even for political matters as early as the year 402
- the eastern church suffered badly from assaults of Islam and Christianity suffered heavy losses (for example in persia which is iran and north africa egypt syria all of those countries had a rich christian heritage in the past not any longer they’re all gone and christianity barely has a present in this presence in any of those countries the one exception is Egypt about 10 of the egyptian population claims to be christian that includes some roman catholics many more eastern orthodox and even a few protestant bodies but the others most of persia north africa and syria the christian presence is almost none )
On which Biblical text did they authorize their claim that the bishop of Rome could claim a papacy of supreme power?
eventually they got the bright idea that they found a biblical text which authorized that can you imagine where that biblical thanks might be on this rock i would build my church yeah matthew chapter 16 right matthew chapter 16 jesus was in the company of his disciples and he asked them whom do you say that i am or first he asked whom do people say that i am and they say well some say you’re elijah some say you’re john the baptist but the state of public opinion was one of a lot of confusion and then jesus said but you my close comrades and friends whom do you say that i am and peter took the occasion to make a statement and he said you are the christ son of a living god and how does jesus respond to that blessing blessed are you blessed are you simon bar jonah for flesh and blood of death revealedness unto you but my father who is in heaven and i say to you you are peter and upon this rock i will build my church and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it well that’s exciting language isn’t it uh-huh and the bishops in rome now latched on to that and they said see jesus himself authorized the of roman bishopric and so therefore the bishop of rome is the primate over the entire church well the passage was before that had usually been associated with the forgiveness of sins and the forgiveness of sins was granted to all christians not just to the pope or the bishop or the priest or whatever first was an able theologian and he led the church in defending itself against various heretics such as the mana keys and the the pelagians which we’ll look at more later
Name the most powerful pope of all time who in the 13th century claimed the title vicar of Christ
Innocent III
Name 5 things about Leo I.
- able theologian
- led the church in defending against many heresies including Manichees and Pelagians
- enjoyed reputation of being champion of catholic orthodoxy
- He did regard preaching as absolutely indispensable to church
- He awarded himself the title, “vicar of St. Peter”
What is a vicar?
One who takes the place - or stands in - for another
What were the results of the General Council of Chalcedon in 451AD?
- recognized Constantinople as the practical equivalent of Rome
- Leo I protested and when the Patriarch at Constantinople protested, Leo did the outrageous thing of excommunicating him.
- The emperor supported him and the Roman emperor decreed that the Bishop of Rome alone could validate the acts of church councils so whether it be a local council or a general counsel the findings and decisions of councils were subject to the confirmation or rejection of the Pope in Rome
- This led to a political struggle which went on for a very long time and eventually produced an apparently permanent separation between east and west. I say apparently for a very long time the pope in Rome and the patriarch in Constantinople were arch enemies each one excommunicated the other and the Greek Orthodox Church focused in Constantinople severed its relations with the latin church of the west
west that’s no longer the case we live in a so-called ecumenical era and today the two churches have drawn very close together they are they’ve always been very similar they have bishops and archbishops that their doctrines are almost identical in most things the churches are organized pretty much in the same way but in 1453 the turks conquered constantinople and put an end to the patriarch patriarchy at least for the time being that was a heavy blow and by that time the two churches had separated the date usually assigned to that separation is 1054
How did the myth of St. Peter holding the keys to the gate of heaven arise? What other myth was spread in the same way?
arose when catholic missionaries began entering into non-catholic areas to spread their message and gullible people such as the barbarians were were likely to believe a myth and they did they believe that some athletic missionaries conveyed to them another myth claimed privacy for rome over all the churches since the beginning of christian history well that too is nonsense in fact there are some documents that have survived which are now proven forgeries that argue for the supremacy of rome but catholic historians now are frank to admit that they are forgeries and they’re of no value historically
Name the three complaints Boniface made to the pope shortly before anointing Pepin as king.
- the church was practically in the hands of lay lords
- many bishops acted as lords rather than as pastors
- the notion of a council of bishops gathered to bring order and renewal to the life of the church was unheard of in the Frankish kingdom
(Such conditions would continue until the time of Charlemagne)
____, who occupied the episcopal throne in Rome between _____ and _____, was the ablest occupant of that chair until Gregory I took that position in 590.
Leo I (440-461)
In 452, Leo I persuaded __________ to let the city of Rome alone.
Again in 455, when ________ and his ____ followers from North Africa came to sack Rome, Leo persuaded them to save the city from fire and pillage
Attila the Hun
Genseric
Vandal
(he had to agree to a two-week period of sacking by the Vandals)
_____ insisted that appeals from the church courts of bishops should be brought to his court and that his decision should be final
Leo I
_____ defined orthodoxy in his Tome and wrote against the heresy of the ________ and the _______
Leo I, Manicheans, Donatists
_____, pope from _____ to _____, wrote that God gave both sacred and royal power to the pope and the king. Because _____________________, the sacred power of the pope was more important than the royal power. Hence, rulers should submit to the popes.
Gelasius I, 492 to 496
the pope had to account to God for the king at the judgment
In _______, almost everybody assumed the destinies of the church and the empire were identical
the East
When _______ was the Bishop of Rome at the end of the fifth century, he contradicted the idea that church and state should be one and the same - or at least should be so closely connected (that they have an equal and necessary connection
Gelasius
Gelasius said that both church and state are ____________________ institutions so both are subject to the __________. The state must be a __________ or more properly a __________.
divinely ordained
law of God
Christian
Catholic
Gelasius said the church enjoys ______ power. The authority of the state is the authority to issue laws that would regulate life in the state. On the other side is the church which has an ________. So the ____ in the end is subject to _____ after all. In this way, Gelasius hoped to ________________ and create the impression that ______________.
legislative
executive position
civil authority
religious
keep the emperor out of the church affairs
the legislative authority was the actual source for the power of the church
Gelasius said that the church is responsible for ______ and so the church must interfere when the state _______
the souls of all men violates morality (as it often did)
Gelasius opposed which two heresies?
The Manichees and the Pelagians
How did Gelasius oppose the Manichees? Why was this in opposition to them?
He insisted on serving the eucharist as the sacrament of the Lord’s Supper in both bread and wine. The Manichees (among other strange ideas) refused to drink wine
What doctrine did the Pelagians deny? How did Gelasius oppose the Pelagians?
They denied the deity of Christ. He wrote a book called “Concerning the Two Natures of Christ” - a ringing endorsement of the doctrine we hold today as orthodox in matters of church polity
________ would influence church and state relations all across the middle ages and eventually it landed when in the ____ century _____ demanded subjection from all civil rulers - subjecting them to papal authority
Gelasius
11th
Gregory VII
It was the ______ that brought about the great upsurge in the pope’s authority. In the East, the Empire continued existing for another ________ years. But in the West the church became _________________, as well as that of ______. Thus, the most prestigious bishop in the West became the focal point for regaining ______ that had been shattered by the ______.
barbarian invasions thousand the guardian of what was left of ancient civilizations order and justice a unity invasions
perhaps no other figure in the middle ages did as much to advance the cause of papal privacy as did _________ who reigned and spoke from ____ til ____
Gregory I
590
604
Gregory I was a vigorous patron of _______
missions
Gregory I became Bishop of Rome just after _______. As a result….
the control of the Eastern Empire in Italy had receded
Justinian tried vigorously for 20 years to reclaim imperial control in the west, but in the end he failed. Soon after he died, his successors gave up the effort and so the eastern church and the western church would be separate.
What motivated Gregory I to advance the power of the Bishop of Rome over the civil authorities?
prior to becoming pope, Gregory I had served six years as papal ambassador to the imperial court in Constantinople and while he was there for those years he observed how the eastern church operated and he witnessed the domination of the imperial state over the church and he didn’t like what he saw
Gregory I became involved in church affairs when
he became involved in church affairs particularly when the previous pope called upon gregory to become a papal deacon a papal deacon then would have responsibility for meeting the needs of the poor that was the main main duty that he would have to perform and Gregory did the job and he did it exceptionally well because he was devoted to his church not because he wanted to acquire prestige or more authority but he was really truly devoted to her to his church
Name two reasons why there were so many needy people when Gregory I became Pope.
- There had been a famine due to a flood just prior to him becoming pope.
- Barbarians had been on the rampage and many refugees had fled from the North of Europe to Italy
Name 4 ways Gregory I helped to feed and care for needy people
- He continued his abilities of organization and distribution which he had begun prior to becoming pope
- He spent large sums of papal money acquiring food from Egypt (the breadbasket of the world)
- He made use of the very fertile farmland which was Vatican property to grow and give away much food
- On some occasions he took church money and he paid to ransom people who had been taken prisoner by the Lombard barbarians.
What is the difference between dogma and doctrine?
- Doctrine is teaching so that all the teachings of the medieval church are doctrines.
- Dogma is mandatory to believe so that a person who denies a dogma is a heretic and may be excommunicated from the church.
Name 5 bad teachings which can be traced to Gregory I.
- he made purgatory a dogma
- he required bishops to submit to Rome for validation of their consecration
- He demanded celibacy for the clergy (wasn’t much practiced before that - an adverse reaction forced him to modify and allow for exceptions)
- He formalized a process for offering satisfaction to God for sins committed (penance) - contrition, confession, punishment/satisfaction, priestly absolution
- He said the living can help the dead out of purgatory by offering masses in their favor - he believed in the mass as sacrifice which became standard doctrine
What were the two purposes for which Gregory I sent missionaries to the Isles of Britain and to Germany?
- to seek the conversion of pagans who were numerous in both places
- to bring existing churches into the network of papal authority
Name 5 positive things about Gregory I.
- He had a huge heart for missions.
- He discouraged the use of force to obtain conversions to catholicism
- He called himself “servant of the servants of God” and lived that way
- He had a heart for people and preached in the language of the common people
- He was able to communicate with intellectuals as well as illiterate
Name 3 illustrations of Gregory I and his interaction with dreams, superstitions, and miracles.
- In his “commentary” on the book of Job called “Moralia”, he wrote about and talked about revelatory dreams that he experienced
- he wrote the Dialogues of Gregory which are full of superstition
- He uncritically accepted miracle tales whenever he heard them and these were rampant all over the place - even when there was no substantial evidence to support them
How William Ragsdale Canon summarize Gregory I’s religion?
Gregory’s religion rested on the motives of fear rather than the Pauline motives of faith and love and God’s free grace in Christ was exchanged for a mechanical system of merits issuing finally in rewards and punishments
What was the state of Christianity in England prior to Gregory I?
England had already received some missionaires, but they were not related to Rome in any way. The majority of the land was still pagan.
_______ was a North African theologian of some stature - a bit of a controversial figure - who lived about the year 200 and gives us our earliest reference to Christianity in Britain. What did he know about it?
Tertullian - He didn’t know much about the actual condition in England, but he recognized that the Christian faith had gone there as early as 200.
Who was the first Christian to lose his life as a martyr in England? Why did he die? What is built on the site of his execution?
Albanus
He died rather than betray another Christian for whom the Roman authorities were searching
St. Albans Cathedral
How did Constantius and his son Constantine aid the English?
They aided them in their wars against the Picts - though they were never able to subdue them for very long
What was the name of Constantine’s mother who appears to have become an outspoken Christian and influenced her son?
Helena
The West’s first inter-provincial conference was called by _____ in the year ___ in the city of _____ to deal with the problem of ______
Constantine
314
Arles
Donatism
Which three bishops from Britain attended the Conference at Ales?
Bishops from London, York, and likely Colchester
The Council of Nicea was held in ___ and dealt with which two major issues of doctrine? What was their finding? Did the church in Roman Britain accept this council?
325AD 1. the Trinity 2. the two natures of Christ We must regard Jesus Christ as fully God and fully man. It's a mystery beyond comprehension, but it's true because this is how the scripture portrays Him and this is how He portrayed Himself. Yes, they did.
What does archaeological evidence show about Christianity in Britain by the end of the fourth century?
There was widespread Christianity in all parts of Britain and believers were to be found in all classes of society. London had a Roman mint which issued coinage and many of those coins were issued with a Greek χ symbolizing Christ.
Between 361 and 363 the emperor was ____. Why was he considered an apostate? What was the result of this in Britain?
Julian the Apostate because he made a Christian profession which he later renounced and returned to paganism. Roman authorities turned against the Christian populace and this was the last time the Roman government persecuted Christians in England. It didn’t do much damage to Christianity there. It separated the men from the boys (those with a genuine faith were willing to suffer)
When the Romans withdrew from Britain, the ____ and the ______ conquered and assumed rule in ___ different states. Perhaps the most advanced of these was the kingdom of _____.
Angles
Saxons
7
Wessex
Who was the ruler of Wessex from 871 to 899?
Alfred the Great
Name 8 reasons why Alfred the Great was so great.
- He became fluent in Latin through personal study (in an era when only clergyman were literate) and assisted in translating the Bible into English.
- He had a love for learning and wanted the populace as a whole to take advantage of the opportunity to learn.
- He employed scholars from the continent to come to his palace and open a school
- He desired that the Bible and other Christian literature (including writings of Gregory the Great and Augustine of Hippo)
- He spent about half of his revenue on education.
- He created a literate nobility through the establishment of schools
- He is considered the father of English Prose by some
- He defeated the Danes in battle and designated a territory for them to live in to pacify them (called Dane Law)
From where do we learn what we know of church history in Britain?
From Bede’s Ecclesiastical History of the English People
What is the definition of a cathedral?
the residence of a bishop
Where are the two archbishops in England?
In the Church of England the ecclesiastical government is divided between two archbishops: the archbishop of Canterbury, who is called the “primate of all England” and metropolitan of the province of Canterbury, and the archbishop of York, who is called the “primate of England” and metropolitan of York.
What are two problems with pelagianism?
- denies the eternal and essential deity of Christ
2. promotes a doctrine in which human beings make meritorious contributions toward their own salvation
What probably alerted the papacy to the need to send missionaries to Britain?
Anglo-saxon Christians traveling to Rome brought their Pelagian beliefs with them
Why was Augustine of Canterbury’s success with Ethelberg and the King of Northumbria such a big deal?
previous missionaries had not been successful at ending Pelagianism - and Christianity had made limited gains (partly because the english and celtic monks were very ascetic)
Describe an ascetic monk.
one who became a monk in order to win his own salvation - he would make a sacrifice of many earthly pleasures and accept a rigorous life of fasting, prayer, pilgramage, etc. they weren’t generally very vivorous in missionary work
Describe five things that happened when Augustine got to Britain with the Franks he brought with him.
- very early on saw the conversion of Ethelbert, a man on his way to becoming a major monarch the kingdom of Kent. His wife Bertha was a Christian and appears to have influenced him.
- Ethelbert allowed the missionaries to do their work in his domain particularly in Canterbury where there were two church buildings - one was collapsing, but the other became his cathedral
- Gregory I awarded Augustine with the title off Archbishop
- Christianity slowly spread to Western England and Wales ( a slower and more discouraging process)
- The King of Northumbria was also converted
How was it decided that the church in England would be a truly Catholic Church under Roman Authority?
at the Synod of Whitby in 664
Who was the first archbishop to gain authority over the entire church in England? Tell about him
Theodore of Tarsus - a very leanred man who was educated in Athens - so he was an expert in Greek and Latin. He had the talent to be a competent administrator and he and Hadrian founded a school in Canterbury.
______ was well established before Patrick came on the scene
Irish monasticism of the Celtic variety
______were well situated for ascetic monks to give their time to contemplation, prayer, fasting
the remote areas of Ireland
Patrick was born in ___ and lived until ____
386 to 461
Patrick’s father was….
…a deacon in the English church
What are the two writings of Patrick’s which have survived?
Patrick’s Confession
Letter to Coroticus
Who was Coroticus?
a Scottish tribal chieftain in the lowlands who claimed to be a Christian but had been abusing Irish converts whom Patrick had led to Christ who settled on Scottish soil
Why did Patrick write his confession?
to defend his ministry against charges coming from his critics
Patrick was in Gaul at the same time that ____________ was conduting missionary work in England.
Germanus of Auxerre
When it became known that ____________ had revived in England, Germanus of Auxerre went looking for ________________ who would go to England or Ireland to confront the _______ and try to overcome their influence.
Pelagianism
able-bodied missionaries
Pelagians
On the basis of what we have from Patrick’s own pen, we are safe in concluding that he was an __________ and certainly _______.
Augustinian catholic
anti-pelagian
What’s the main problem with the idea of monasticism as building structures to keep good Christians inside and peace and all of the evil of the world outside of the wall?
There’s evil on both sides of the wall… for its in human nature.
Eventually, Irish monks enlarged their presence because
Irish conversions were very numerous and after awhile they went to Gaul, Belgium, Switzerland, and even Italy and founded monasteries which were outreach oriented.
Columba was born in the now famous town of ____ to a family of people ________
Donegal in Northern Ireland
very high in Irish society - they were tribal chieftains there in the northwestern part of Ireland
the chief source of information about Columba comes from a life of Columba written by a monk named _____ who was a _____ on the _____ in the ______
Adomnan
successor to Columba as Abbot on the Island of Iona in the 7th century
Columba’s foster father was a
priest
Colubmba migrated to _____ in ____. He took _____ with him and they came to ______.
Scotland in 563
12 companions
Dal Riata in the southwestern part of Scotland
The King of Dal Riata gave Columba ____ for his monastery
the Island of Iona between Scotland and Ireland in what we call the Irish Sea
Columba’s purpose at first was _____, but within a short time ______.
the religious life of asceticism
pilgrims went to Iona attracted by Columba’s reputation for piety. Some of those pilgrims stayed there and became monks so more monasteries were opened on other islands.
The arrangement for government in a monastery includes an ____ as the chief executive officer over a body of ____, a ____ as the authority over a single monastery, and the ____ and ____ all subject to the ____.
abbot monasteries prior prior friars
Eventually, Columba became _________ instead of ______ so he ______
aroused with concern for the salvation of lost people instead of hiding behind walls so he began venturing out and telling the priors of his monasteries to do the same. Prepare the monks and send them forth as missionaries.
Columba and his monks saw the need_____
to preach to the pagan Picts especially
The monks at Iona ___________ which was unheard of by this time.
studied the New Testament in the Greek Language - the only place Greek had survived was in some of the lesser monasteries in extreme southern Italy - otherwise Greek was for the Greeks
____ lies buried today in Durham Cathedral, one of the great churches architecturally speaking - side by side with ______
Cuthbert
the Venerable Bede
Cuthbert joined a monastery at _______ in ______ in _________ and later became the _____ of that monastery
Melrose
England
1651
prior
Cuthbert’s Abbott sent him to _________ where he was a prior as well
The Island of Lindisfarne
What was Cuthbert’s mission on the Island of Lindisfarne? What characteristics did he demonstrate?
introduce the Roman Catholic Church customs to a very strongly Celtic community
He demonstrated amazing tact and diplomacy and was able to make great progress
Cuthbert had frequent contact with the King of ______ who often visited him and regarded him as a _________.
Northumbria
royal holy man
The church in the region of Northumbria was ______ and its bishops often came from ______
quite wealthy and aristocratic in character
Island of Iona
What was a major triumph for the work of Cuthbert in working to convert celtic Christians to Roman Catholic practices?
The Synod of Whitby in 664
Whose body was removed for protection from the Danes and then passed around from place to place without decaying?
Cuthbert’s body
Who is known as the Apostle to the Germans? What was his original name? Where did he originally come from?
Boniface
Winfred
a noble family in the Kingdom of Wessex
Describe the education off Boniface. What did he join at the age of 30?
Because his family was wealthy,, he received an excellent education and became learned in Scripture, History, Grammar, Literature, etc.
He joined the order of St. Benedict
Boniface proved to be an eloquent preacher and aspired to be a ______ so he left England to work among _____. By _____ he was in Rome where he met the pope.
missionary
Saxon tribes
718
Which pope welcomed Boniface and approved of his plan for a mission to Germany.
Gregory II
What were Boniface’s two goals in Germany?
- conversion of pagans
2. bring existing churches into the network of papal structure
In ____, the pope made Boniface a ____ and appealed to the leader of the Frankish tribe named _____ to protect Boniface and give him support.
723
Charles Martel
Name two qualities which helped Boniface reach the Germans.
He was dynamic and assertive
Boniface not only ________, but he ______ in the German state of _____.
discredited pagan worship
planted monasteries
Turingia
Which pope made Boniface an archbishop and gave him permission to appoint other bishops as needed?
Gregory III
In ____, Boniface became the primate of Germany which means _____. How long did he hold onto this archbishopric? Why did he resign? What happened next?
748
all the clergy in the Catholic Church in Germany were now subject to the authority of Boniface
six years
He wanted to go back to doing mission work which he dearly loved. They murdered him and several of his co-workers. But the churches in Germany, Switzerland, and Austria were arranged into diocese each with its own bishop.
As one of the foremost exponents of a thaumaturgical or theocratic form of kingship, ______ had espoused the _______ doctrine of the two swords, whereby the monarch as the vicar of God on earth [vicarius Dei] exercised both spiritual and temporal power in the governance of his realm. In this dual function as both king and priest [_______], Charlemagne had managed to combine the interests of the Church with those of the State, the sacred with the secular, the religious with the manifestly political, for in extending his territory, he exerted his evangelizing influence over the peoples he subjugated, and in procuring for himself the ______ he needed to regulate his new dominions, he became an exemplary benefactor of church institutions.
Charlemagne
Gelasian
rex et sacerdos
literate clergy
The monastery or the Abbey of ______ was founded around 553 or 556 AD by Saint Columba who also established 26 other monasteries by the age of just 25! Saint Columba ran the monastery for a short while until around 563 AD before he left for ______ appointing his second cousin in his place. _____ was known for being a beacon for education it was very common for monks to pay pilgrimage to this site not only for religious reasons but also for the chance to learn to read and write both in Latin and Irish as well as have have access to beautiful illuminated manuscripts such as the book of ______, written around the ninth century AD.
Durrow
Scotland
Durrow
Durrow
_______ is the idea of combining the social and political power of secular government with religious power, or of making secular authority superior to the spiritual authority of the Church; especially concerning the connection of the Church with government.
Caesaro-papism
