CH 510 – The History of Christianity 1

1. CH 510 – The History of Christianity 1 UNIT THREE – The Medieval Church Slides based in part on The Story of Christianity by Justo Gonzalez

2. The New Order

3. Fall of the Western Roman Empire • Theodosius I was the last emperor to rule over a unified Roman empire (West and East) – 379-395; the empire was permanently divided after his death • Rome was sacked by the Visigoths (under Alaric I) on August 24, 410; first time in 800 years that it had been sacked by a foreign enemy • At the time it was no longer the capital of the western empire (being replaced by Mediolanum and later Ravenna), but it was still considered the “eternal city” and spiritual center of the Roman empire • The western empire officially ended with the abdication of Romulus Augustus (the last defacto emperor) in 476 under pressure from Flavius Odoacer who led a revolt against him • Odoacer would be considered the first “barbarian king” of Italy. • The last de jure emperor was Julius Nepos (who died in 480)

4. “Barbarians” – The Goths • Goths: East Germanic tribes originating from Scandinavia; • Pushed eastward by Huns invading Gothic territories from Asia; stopped the advancement of the Huns (under Attila) at the battle of Chalons (451) • Converted to the Arian faith by the half-Goth missionary, Ulfilas (Wulfila) in the 4th century • Gothic War of 375-382 resulted in the Roman defeat at Adrianople (378) • Divided into Visigoths (“Western Goths”) and Ostrogoths (possibly translated as “Eastern Goths”) during the 5th and 6th centuries

5. Barbarians – “The Visigoths” • Defeated the Romans at Adrianople (378) • The Visigoths under Alaric I sacked Rome in 410, before finally settling in Gaul • By 415, they had settled in Spain and would not be removed until the Muslim invasion in the 8th century • They were Arian Christians, though they did not persecute the orthodox to the extent that the Vandals did; relied on the conquered orthodox inhabitants of their territories as the guardians of ancient culture (providing a measure of stability) • The conversion of King Recared (586-601) to Nicene orthodoxy meant the conversion of the majority of Visigoth nobles; Arianism would soon disappear

6. “Barbarians” – Ostrogoths • Under Theodemir, they dealt the final blow to the Huns by defeating the sons of Attila at the Battle of Nedao in 454 • After the collapse of the Hunnic empire in 455, the Ostrogoths under Theodoric the Great moved east eventually into Italy • Theodoric established the “Kingdom of Italy” – a relatively short-lived empire that replaced the Western Roman Empire • After the death of Theodoric, the Kingdom of Italy was conquered by Justinian I in the Gothic War of 535-554

7. “Barbarians” – The Vandals • Vandals: East Germanic tribe that entered the Roman empire in the 5th century • Under King Genseric, the Vandals entered N. Africa in 429, and established a kingdom there by 439 (Conquest of Carthage) • The Vandal kingdom also included Sardinia, Sicily, Corsica and the Belearics • In 455, the Vandals sacked Rome (a second time) • The Vandals were Arian Christians, and so their rule was disastrous for the church • The Vandal kingdom collapsed in the Vandalic War (533-4), when Justinian I managed to recapture N. Africa for the Eastern Roman Empire

8. “Barbarians” – The Franks • The Franks: A western Germanic tribal confederation, living north and east of the Rhine River • Raided Roman territories from the 3rd-5th centuries; other Franks joined the Roman legions in Gaul • United under the Merovingians in the 5th century, they conquered nearly all of Gaul from the Burgundians by the 6th century • Clovis (the grandson of Meroveus) married a Burgundian princess and on the eve of battle promised to convert to Christianity in his wife’s God gave him victory; Baptized Christmas day (496) • The Merovigians would go on to found one of the most enduring monarchies to replace the old western Roman empire (developing later into the Caroligians); one of the most active forces in the spread of Christianity over western Europe • By the eighth century, the Carolingian Empire would come to dominate most of western Europe • This empire would eventually evolve into France and the Holy Roman Empire

9. “Barbarians” – The Lombards • Lombards: Germanic tribe of Scandinavian origins • By the 5th century they had migrated and settled in the valley of the Danube River • Justinian I had re-taken Italy from the Ostrogoths in the Gothic War of 535-554 • However, by 568 the Lombards conquered Italy under the leadership of Albion, setting up a Lombard Kingdom in Italy (later named the Kingdom of Italy) • In 774, the Lombard kingdom would fall to the Franks, though Lombard nobles would rule parts of the Italian peninsula until the 11th century • Largely pagan; their initial conversion to Christianity was nominal and largely incomplete; while allied to the Ostrogoths they were Arian; pressure to embrace Catholicism after the conquest of Italy

10. “Barbarians” – The Burgundians • Burgundians: East Germanic tribe, initially from Scandinavia • In 369, Valentinian I enlisted the help of the Burgundians to fight against another tribe, the Alamanni • They crossed the Rhine and entered the empire in the early 5th century with other tribes of the great Germanic migration (e.g. Vandals); settled in southern and central Gaul • They had a stormy relationship with the Romans, who used them to fend off other tribes, but were suspicious of their Arianism; often raided border regions and expanded their territories when possible • Converted to Catholicism circa 500 AD • Conquered by Clovis of the Franks in 534; the Burgundians were largely absorbed into the Frankish kingdom

11. “Barbarians” – The Angles, Saxons, & Jutes • Germanic tribes that invaded Britain beginning in the early 5th century; following the withdrawal of the Roman legions in 410 • Angles – from Angeln (in north Germany) • Saxons – from Lower Saxony (in Germany) and the Low Countries • Jutes – from the Jutland Peninsula (Denmark) • Language: “Old English” (Ingvaeonic) a West Germanic language • Anglo-Saxon period: 550-1066 (Norman conquest) • Christianization of the Anglo-Saxons began around 597 and was nominally completed by 686

12. Christianization of the British Isles

13. Hadrian’s Wall

14. Withdrawal of Roman legions • Christianity had existed in Britain even before the conversion of Constantine • Glastonbury, located near the mouth of the Severn River, is one of the earliest Christian holy places in Britain • Latin-speaking British bishops were present at the Council of Arles (314) • By the end of the fourth century, Roman troops were gradually removed from Britain (mostly by imperial usurpers seeking to make their fortunes in Gaul) • Result was the vulnerability of the Romano-Celtic inhabitants, who had to defend themselves first against their pagan neighbors (to the North and West) and then against invading Angles, Saxons, Jutes and Frisians • The country reverted back to tribal organization and towns depopulated as the Germanic invasions turned into full-blown occupation

15. Invasion of Britain (beginning in the 5th century)

16. Survival of “Celtic” Christianity • Bishop Germanus of Auxerre made to visits to Britain at the request of colleagues there (429 and 444-5); to combat Pelagianism, and to lead a British force against a joint Saxon and Pictish invasion in the north • However, over the course of the century, Christianity was driven farther and farther west, until confined to Cornwall, Wales and Strathclyde • Conversion of Ireland is associated with a Briton named Patrick (389-461) • Son of a Christian deacon named Calpurnius • Kidnapped by Irish pirates as a young man, and put to work as a slave • Escaped after six years, ended up in Gaul, then back to Ireland as a missionary

17. St. Patrick

18. The Career of St. Patrick • In 431, Pope Celestine dispatched Palladius to be bishop for “the Scots (Irish) who believed in Christ”; died within a year • Patrick was sent to replace him; won significant converts among local royalties • Established territorial bishoprics (on tribal basis) rather than dioceses, since “cities” of Romano-Gallic society did not yet exist in Ireland • Introduced communal ascetic life to Ireland; after his death these monastic communities would become the pastoral centers of the Irish church • The abbots of these communities typically belonged to royal families of the various tribes, and were often (but not always) bishops as well • In this way the Irish episcopate was monastically based and essentially tribal, rather than territorially based (as was the rest of the catholic world)

19. Celtic Christianity • Monastic communities would become the foci of pastoral and missionary work • Also become the centers of learning, the arts and education • Irish monasticism influenced the parallel development in Wales – St. Illtyd (d. 535) and St. David (d. 560) • During the time of Patrick, British Christianity extended northwards into the territory above Hadrian’s Wall through the efforts of St. Ninian • The conversion of Scotland proper (north of the Clyde and Forth) was the work of monastics from Ireland • The inspiration behind these missions was St. Columba (521-597)

20. St. Columba (or Colum Cille)

21. St. Columba’s career • A member of the royal family of O’Neill of Connaught; educated at the abbey at Clonard • Tradition holds that a dispute over a copy of a manuscript of a psalter led to pitched battle at CúlDreimhne in 561 in which many were killed; Columba was threatened with excommunication by a synod; St. Brendan interceded for him and it was agreed to send him into exile • Columba vowed to convert as many people in Scotland as had been killed in battle • Columba and twelve companions eventually established a community on the island of Iona in 563 (under the patronage of King Dalriada of Argyleshire) • Iona would become the center for the conversion of the Picts

22. Conversion of Northumbria • The missionary work of Iona continued after Columba’s death and began to extend to pagan Anglo-Saxon settlers of NE England by the 7th century • King Oswald of Bernicia, having been raised among the converted Scots and Picts (while in exile), summoned help from Iona upon regaining his throne in 633 • The response was from St. Aidan of Iona, who established a monastery on the Holy Island of Lindisfarne (634) • Aiden also trained the brothers Chad and Cedd, who worked for the conversion of Mercia and the East Saxons respectively

23. Iona and Lindisfarne

24. The Anglo-Saxon kingdoms • Northumbria (Northern England) • Mercia (Central) • East Anglia (East-Central) • Wessex (South & West) • Kent (Southeast)

25. The Mission of Augustine • In the same year that Columba had reached Iona (597), Augustine arrived in southeastern England to establish a mission for Kent and East Anglia • Augustine had been sent by Pope Gregory the Great to take advantage of the new political situation there • King and Bretwalda (High King) Ethelbert of Kent had married a Christian Frankish princess by the name of Bertha • Augustine baptized Ethelbert on Easter Day in the year 601 • Established his see in Canterbury, and two others in Rochester and London • The mission fell apart after the deaths of Augustine (605) and Ethelbert (616), but would be revitalized in the second half of the 7th century

26. Celtic Christianity v. Roman Christianity • The northern missions were structured according to the Irish model; the Saxons missions in the south were structured after the Roman territorial model • The southern missions were also consciously loyal to Rome and to the papacy • Many obvious and definable differences between the two traditions, particularly in liturgical practice, including the dating of Easter and difference in monastic tonsure • The entire ethos and organization of Celtic Christianity was different from that of the Roman mission

27. Council of Whitby (663) • King Oswy of Northumbria called for a council to resolve the matter for his kingdom • Whitby on the North Sea was chosen as the site; St. Hilda (d. 680) had established a double monastery there • Arguing the Roman cause was Wilfrid, abbot of Ripon; while Colman of Lindisfarne argued the case for the Celtic tradition • When King Oswy learned that the bishop of Rome was the successor of Peter (and held the keys to heaven) , he decided in favor of the Roman discipline • The decision resulted in eventually bringing the whole of England under Roman obedience • This decision would have momentous consequences for the reform of European churches through the proliferation of monastic communities on the continent that continued in the spirit of Irish missionary endeavors

28. Benedictine Monasticism

29. Benedict of Nursia (480-547) • Family belonged to the old Roman aristocracy; grew up under Ostrogoth rule in Italy; familiar with the tensions between Arianism and orthodoxy • At the age of 20 he resolved to become a hermit • Established 12 monastic communities east of Rome before moving his base of operations to Monte Cassino in the mountains of southern Italy • Benedict’s greatest significance was not in the founding of an order, per se, but in the writing of the Rule for his community at Monte Cassino

30. Benedict’s Rule • Two elements: permanence and obedience • Monks were bound to their monastery for life, unless ordered to go to another place • Monks were to obey the Rule and their abbot “without delay” • Core of monastic life was prayer; eight periods of prayer (or “eight hours”) were assigned throughout the day • Matins/Lauds, Prime, Terce, Sext, None, Vespers, and Compline • Devoted to the recitation of the Psalms, Scripture reading, other devotions • The Lombards destroyed Monte Cassino in 589; the monks fled with the Rule in hand • Benedict’s Rule became widespread as it caught the attention of Pope Gregory the Great; went with Augustine to England

31. The Rise of the Papacy

32. Origins of the Papacy • Most scholars agree that Peter visited and was martyred in Rome; however, it is unclear that he established any form of lasting hierarchy there • The Roman church during the Imperial Era was important, though the theological influence of North Africa was arguably just as important during this time • The barbarian invasions brought an upsurge in the authority of the Roman papacy; • In the West, the church was regarded as the guardian of ancient civilization; and the western church’s most prestigious bishop became the focal point for regaining Christianity’s hold on Europe

33. Important Roman Popes • Leo the Great (440-461) – Attila the Hun; Vandals; Sack of Rome (455) • Hilarius (461-468) – Schism with the East • Hormisdas (514-523) – Ended schism with Constantinople • Benedict I (575-579) – Held the Lombards at bay • Pelagius II (579-590) – Bought the Lombards off; appealed to the Franks • Gregory the Great (590-604) – One of the most important popes in history; Gregorian reforms

34. The Arab Conquests • Expansion under Muhammad (622-632) • Expansion under the Rashidun Caliphate (632-661) • Expansion under the Umayyad Caliphate (661-750)

35. The Eastern Church

36. The Eastern Empire and the Faith • In the East, the Empire continued for another thousand years • Often beleaguered by foreign invasion; autocratic emperors who kept a tight reign on ecclesiastical leaders • Civil interventions in ecclesiastical matters, particularly theological debates; appeals to the emperor in doctrinal disputes was common • Emperors often made theological decisions based on political considerations; leading to even greater acrimony • Theological controversy became the hallmarks of eastern Christianity in the Middle Ages; issues at stake were often central to the Gospel • Decisions made in the East (even with little participation in the West) were regarded as normative for the whole Church • First permanent schisms within Christianity

37. Christological Controversies • The Councils of Nicaea (325) and Constantinople (381) had settled the matter of the divinity of the Second and Third Persons of the Trinity • Subsequent controversies would focus on the question of how the two natures – divinity and humanity – were joined in Jesus Christ

38. Two Sides of the Same Coin Antiochene Christology Alexandrian Christology Emphasis on the divine nature Insisted that Jesus had to be fully (psychologically) divine Revered Athanasius, who taught that the incarnation involved the union of the Logos with the bodily dimension of human nature Mono-phusis(one nature) • Emphasis on the human nature • Insisted that Jesus had to be fully (psychologically) human, therefore the Godhead “dwelt” in him • Early teacher: Diodore of Tarsus • Duo-phusis(two natures)

39. Apollinaris of Laodicea (d. 390) • Friend and supporter of Athanasius and the Nicene faith • Largely responsible for converting Basil of Caesarea to the homoousian position • Christology was driven by the desire to affirm that Christ, the divine Son, was immediately present to transform and divinize the sinful mortality of the human creature • Taught that the true “ego” (or life-principle) in Jesus was simply the Logos himself • Impossible to assert that the divine Son united with a complete, normal human being, for that would require the union of two competing wills, two minds, two selves, and hence two Sons, human and divine • The unity of Christ would be destroyed; God would not be “with us”

40. Apollinaris’ Christology • A “trichotomy” of the divine mind, and a human body & soul Divine Logos (Mind) Human Body/Soul

41. Apollinaris’ views attacked • Gregory of Nyssa – Against Apollinaris • Gregory of Nazianzus insisted that since it is not merely the flesh which sins, but soul and mind as well, it was necessary for the divine Logos to take a complete human nature, intellect as well as ensouled body • Condemned by a Roman synod in 377 and by a synod in Antioch in 379 • Council of Constantinople included Apollinarianism in its lengthy list of erroneous teachings to be condemned (Canon 1) “For that which he has not assumed he has not healed, but that which is united to his Godhead is also saved.” (Gregory of Nazianzus)

42. “Nestorianism” • Initially, the Antiochene position was articulated by Diodore of Tarsus and his pupil, Theodore of Mopsuestia • The Antiochene opposed Apollinarianism’s teaching that the Christ is “one composite nature,” objecting that this negated what they wanted to affirm – namely that in Christ were TWO SUBJECTS of action and predication – TWO NATURES and TWO HYPOSTASES • This position was too much for those who embraced the Alexandrian position • The elevation of Nestorius to the patriarchate of Constantinople in 428 brought this issue to a head

43. Nestorianism • Prosopic union : One “Prosopon” (i.e. face) – Unity of Indwelling “The Logos” Complete Divine Hypostasis “The Man” Complete Human Hypostasis

44. Nestorian Controversy • Early on in Constantinople, Nestorius delivered a sermon in which he condemned the use of Theotokos(God-bearer) as a title for the Virgin Mary • “That which is formed in the womb is not…God” • “God was within the one who was assumed” • “The one who was assumed is styled God because of the One who assumed him” • More appropriate to refer to Mary as “Christotokos” • Nestorius’ views were reported to Cyril of Alexandria, a strong supporter of the Theotokos position; Cyril had been looking for an occasion against Nestorius over a case in which Nestorius had reversed a judgment of Cyril in the case of some Egyptian monks

45. Cyril of Alexandrian: Champion of Alexandrian Christology • “One incarnate nature of the divine Logos” • The one Lord Jesus Christ was identical to the only begotten Son of God, who was “enfleshed and became a human being” • Therefore, there could only be ONE subject, one nature and one hypostasis, that of the Divine Logos • The humanity of Christ, body and soul, was a mode of existence which the Logos made his own through his birth of a woman; the humanity could not be separated from the Logos as “another” beside him • Nestorius understood Cyril to be saying that the humanity and the divinity had somehow been fused into Christ into something that was no longer either divine or human

46. Council of Ephesus (431) • Called by Theodosius II in the East and Valentinian III in the West • Cyril and his allies were the first to arrive and quickly condemned Nestorius before his supporters could stop him • John of Antioch (Nestorius’ main support) was delayed in getting to Ephesus and thus convened his own council to condemn Cyril and exonerate Nestorius • Finally, the delegates of Pope Celestine (Rome) joined the Cyrillian assembly and proceeded to add John of Antioch to the deposed • The two sides were at an impasse with Theodosius unsure as to what to do

47. Formula of Reunion • In 433, John of Antioch sent Cyril his text called the Formula of Reunion, which admitted to the use of Theotokos, and also that Christ was “complete God and complete human being” and that a “union of two natures had occurred, as a consequence of which we confess one Son.” • Cyril signed it with enthusiasm; Nestorius’ cause was now lost, and he was exiled: the Cyrillian assembly at Ephesus was vindicated • However, the document turned out to be a compromise which each side; by 438, Cyril was convinced that the Antiochenes had been duplicitous; he then wrote against the teachings of Diodore of Tarsus and Theodore of Mopsuestia • The stage was set for a renewal of acrimony

48. The Aftermath of the Council of Ephesus (431) • Formula of (Re)Union (433) – Both John of Antioch and Cyril of Alexandria agreed to it • Victory for the Alexandrian position: “Monophysite” language; exile of Nestorius • “One (monos) incarnate nature (phusis) of the divine Logos.” • Theotokos language was upheld as orthodox • Truce with the Antiochenes: “Complete God and complete human being” language • Both sides suspected duplicity and recriminations soon began

49. Controversy flares up again • Cyril’s condemnation of the teachings of Diodore of Tarsus and Theodore of Mopseustia, which many Antiochene signers of the Formula of Reunion still honored • Cyril dies in 444, succeeded as bishop of Alexandria by Dioscorus, who had little regard for the Formula • The new bishop of Constantinople was Flavian (447-449), who supported the Formula but was inclined towards the Antiochene position

50. Eutyches (380-456) • Popular leader of a monastery in Constantinople and the principle support of Dioscorus of Alexandria in that city; influential in the imperial court • Accused before Flavian at a synod of teaching that the human nature of Christ was altered or absorbed by his deity • Eutyches refused to admit that Christ’s humanity was the same (homoousios) as ours, famously maitaining that Christ was “from two natures before the union, but in one nature after the union” • Eutyches was condemned by the synod but made an immeidate appeal to the imperial court, which then proceeded to demand that Flavian, not Eutyches, produce a confession of faith! • Back in Alexandria, Dioscorus called for and obtained an imperial summons for a general council