Lesson 8 Flashcards
Discuss the development, rise, and practices of monasticism
- As persecution of the Christian church starting to subside, believers who fled had to decide as to whether to return to the cities. Some decided not to return.
- At the same time, Christians in the city were disturbed by the nominal Christians - and their sinning - in a Post Constatine world.
- There already were examples of some groups of people living a secluded life, focusing on worshiping God, outside the city. An example of this would be the Essenes.
- Also, Jesus was another example of someone who owns no property, left His family, traveled, and lived remotely devoting Himself to prayer.
- Monasticism rose as a results of many factors including an attempt to follow examples of Christ, scripture, remove themselves from temptation, and to live out their lives in communion with the Saints until Christ would come again.
- St. Anthony was a leading example who became monastic after reading Matt 19:21
Discuss the missionary work by Monk St. Patrick
After escaping slavery, St. Patrick was a 5th-century missionary to Ireland and later served as bishop there. He is credited with bringing Christianity to parts of Ireland and was probably partly responsible for the Christianization of the Picts and Anglo-Saxons. He is one of the patron saints of Ireland.
Discuss the missionary work by Monk Gregory
Gregory I (540-604) was the first monk to become pope. He was born into the ruling class, but had given away everything he owned to become a monk. During his impressive papacy, he devoted himself to reforming the church and monasteries and to helping Italians who were suffering from famine, plague, and invasions.
wanted missionaries to go out and bring the teachings of Jesus to those who did not have knowledge of Christianity. It has been hypothesized that he was inspired to do so after seeing slaves in a Roman market.
Discuss the missionary work by Monk Boniface
- Apostle to the Germans
- Wynfrith of Crediton (680-754)
- Appointed bishop of German frontier
- Sacred oak of Thor
- Establishes bishoprics and monasteries
- Reform of the Frankish church
- North to Frisians, killed by mob
For 10 years (725–735) Boniface was active in Thuringia, converting pagans and renewing the faith of Christians who had been converted earlier by Irish missionaries, whose haphazard methods of evangelization were henceforth to be the bane of Boniface’s life.
St. Boniface is known as the “Apostle of Germany” for his tremendous missionary efforts spreading the faith through that region of Europe during the Dark Ages.
He was a brilliant monk in a Benedictine monastery in England. He was the head of a school, but he thought God wanted him to be a missionary. He went to Frisia (Northern Netherlands and Germany) to begin his work.
Summarize the decline of culture in the West with the “dark ages” and the rise of feudalism
Dark ages between 500 - 1000 AD
The Roman Empire had been united by a common language. As Germanic peoples with new languages invaded the empire, this common language was lost and literacy plummeted. Very few people could read the works of the ancient world, and pretty much no one was writing anything new.
Religious positions were sold to highest bidder and layman were appointed leadership within the church.
Feudalism, also known as the feudal system, was the combination of the legal, economic, military, cultural and political customs that flourished in medieval Europe between the 9th and 15th centuries. Broadly defined, it was a way of structuring society around relationships that were derived from the holding of land in exchange for service or labour.
Feudalism arose out of the decline of the Western Roman Empire across Europe, when the rise of invasions by barbarian tribes led Roman landowners to seek protection from soldiers. Under the feudal system, kings granted parcels of land called fiefs to supportive nobles, who pledged their loyalty in exchange.
Summarize the rise and influence of Islam in the seventh and eighth century
Islam came to the Southeast Asia, first by the way of Muslim traders along the main trade-route between Asia and the Far East, then was further spread by Sufi orders and finally consolidated by the expansion of the territories of converted rulers and their communities.
During the seventh century, after subduing rebellions in the Arabian peninsula, Arab Muslim armies began to swiftly conquer territory in the neighboring Byzantine and Sasanian empires and beyond. Within roughly two decades, they created a massive Arab Muslim empire spanning three continents.
Who was Patrick what significant contributions did they make to the church: ?
- St. Patrick was a 5th-century missionary to Ireland
- At age 16 he was kidnapped by Irish raiders and carried into slavery in Ireland.
- After six years in servitude, he had a dream of his escape and fled his master.
- Returned to his home in Ireland in 432
- Long term influence:
- He builds churches and monasteries
- Missionaries - Brought Christianity to Ireland
- Convert tribal kings
- Confronts the Druids
- Celtic Christianity
Who was Cassiodorus what significant contributions did they make to the church: ?
historian, statesman, and monk who helped to save the culture of Rome at a time of impending barbarism.
He also founded a monastery, Vivarium (or “Castellum”), where he worked extensively the last three decades of his life.
Who was Boethius what significant contributions did they make to the church: ?
Boethius (480-524) Boethius was a prolific Roman scholar of the sixth century AD who played an important role in transmitting Greek science and philosophy to the medieval Latin world. His most influential work is The Consolation of Philosophy.
Boethius worked to mend relations between the Church in Rome and the Church in Constantinople
Boethius chose to pass on the great Greco-Roman culture to future generations by writing manuals on music, astronomy, geometry and arithmetic
Who was Gregory the Great what significant contributions did they make to the church: ?
Gregory is known best for his contributions to the liturgy. He reformed the Mass and the daily prayer of the Church and wrote prayers we still use today as well as commentaries on Scripture that shaped theology through the Middle Ages.
during his lifetime, he penned over 800 letters and authored accounts of the lives of saints and other religious works, including a six-volume commentary on the book of Job. He was also involved in church music, writing many songs and hymns, and is most notably associated with the Gregorian chant.
he used his family’s wealth for the benefit of others, turning their estate into a monastery.
Who was Alcuin what significant contributions did they make to the church: ?
Alcuin was an English clergyman and scholar, who became a leading member of the Carolingian Court and a prominent figure in the subsequent Renaissance which emerged. Born around 732 in Northumbria, not much is known about Alcuin’s family or background.
He was the foremost scholar of the revival of learning known as the Carolingian Renaissance. He also made important reforms in the Roman Catholic liturgy and left more than 300 Latin letters that have proved a valuable source on the history of his time.
Alcuin is credited with inventing the first known question mark, though it did not resemble the modern symbol. Alcuin transmitted to the Franks the knowledge of Latin culture, which had existed in Anglo-Saxon England.
Tell how the monastic tradition understands Christian spirituality.
- They focused on spiritual discipline and learning from Scripture
- Control of:
1. Gluttony
2. Impurity (lust)
3. Avarice (greed)
4. Sadness
5. Anger
6. Sloth (acedia)
7. Vainglory
8. Pride - freedom from inner turbulence
- Distracted by scattered desires
- Mastery over uncontrolled passions
- Better able to love God and neighbor
What were the benefits of
Monasticism?
A. A stronghold against heresy
B. Evangelized the barbarians
C. Kept learning alive
D. Held up the ideal of commitment and service
E. Stable Christian communities
F. Long-term impact – “godliness requires training”
G. Two classes of Christians?
St. Patrick returns to Ireland
432
When was Benedict’s Monastic Rule
529
