CHRISTIANITY

1. CHRISTIANITY • In most respects, the Late Roman Empire was a time of decline • Sole exception was in the area of religion • Period of immense vitality • Included resurgence of paganism • But it was also the time when Christianity emerged in triumph • Transformed the way people comprehended God, their fellow human beings, and the entire universe

2. ORIGINS • Began with the teachings of Jesus • In 300 years following his death, Christianity gradually spread through the Roman Empire • Churches organized in Greek-speaking communities outside of Palestine in the Middle East shortly after death of Jesus

3. EARLY ORGANIZATION • By 200 AD, Christians had become numerous enough to become a politically important group • Began to attract members of the upper classes • Every city had a small Christian community • Presided over by a bishop • Elected by the community • Helped by priests and deacons

4. SPECIAL COMMUNITY • Disputes over doctrine were settled by councils of local bishops • Christians had strong sense of themselves as a special community • A “New Israel” • Gave alms to Church to help other Christians • Retained Jewish sense of exclusiveness of their religion • To be a Christian meant giving up all other forms of worship • Including worship of the emperor

5. PAGANS VS CHRISTIANITY • Christianity encountered great deal of hostility from pagan intellectuals • Miracle stories didn’t bother them • Nature of Jesus bothered them • Condemned and executed criminal and atraitor • Pseudo-teacher who presented teachings with simple, unsubstantiated assertions instead of using reasoned and logical arguments • Christianity seemed to be another irrational cult • Gave rise to ugly rumors that Christians were cannibals, that their services were orgies, that they engaged in promiscuous sex

6. PERSECUTION • As a general rule, Rome tolerated all religions • But Christians refused to worship the emperor and appeared to threaten unity of empire • Also met in secret • Also opposed to violence and sometimes refused to serve in army • From reign of Nero onwards, Christians subject to frequent persecutions • Never successful because they were never sustained long enough • Created martyrs which provided heroic examples which inspired survivors

7. GOOD LUCK • Last great persecution of Christians was launched by Diocletian in 303 AD • Then Constantine legalized Christianity, ending persecution of the religion • Why he did is not clear • Christians were not popular • Only formed minority of population • 25% in East and 10% in West • Did not figure in the army at all • No important practical reason for his action

8. MOTIVATED BY A DREAM • Christian god appeared to him in dream the eve of an important battle and promised him victory if he legalized Christianity • Had soldiers paint white crosses on their shields and won the battle the next day • Became convinced that Christian God was real and powerful and that his followers should not be persecuted

9. CONSTANTINE AND CHRISTIANITY • Constantine was an ignorant, brutal, and violent man • Doubtful that he ever understood Christian doctrine or ethics • But he was nonetheless baptized a Christian right before he died • Every emperor after him (except one) was also a Christian • As a result of this official support, Christianity quickly became the dominant religion of the Empire • All pagan religions outlawed by 395 AD

10. PERKS • As official religion, Church received special privileges from government • Clergy were tax exempt • Bishops could act as judges in civil cases that involved a Christian • Church buildings were proclaimed sanctuaries • Church also developed sophisticated administrative organization • Modeled after Diocletian’s administrative system

11. FORMALORGANIZATION • Cities and rural land around them organized into bishoprics • Bishoprics grouped together into dioceses • Administered by archbishop • Strict chain-of-command established • Originally, there was no central figure of authority • Although special prestige was associated with bishops of Rome, Jerusalem, Alexandria, Antioch, and Constantinople

12. POPE • Bishop of Rome (pope) claimed superiority because church in Rome had been founded by Peter and because it was the former capital of the empire • In 344, pope declared that any bishop who had been deposed could appeal to Rome • Confirmed by council of bishops • But council also argued that bishop of Constantinople was second highest because of the political importance of his city • Pope was worried because bishop of Constantinople might later use this argument to claim he was equal to or even superior to pope

13. POPE WINS • Series of pope successfully stressed their leadership on the basis that they were direct successors of St. Peter • Used Matthew 16: 18-19 • Argued Jesus had given Peter leadership of the Church and that the popes, as the heirs of Peter, inherited that leadership • By 500 AD, all Christians in the West and many in the East acknowledged pope as head of the Church • But there was still a lot of disagreement over what being the head of the Church actually meant Pope Boniface V

14. EAST VS WEST I • Eastern Christians tended to infuse Christian doctrine with heavy doses of classical philosophy • Western Christians preferred to stick with traditional doctrines • Even when they could not be defended by philosophical logic • Looked to many in East that the pope was trying to impose simple solutions to complicated theological problems • That he was robbing Christianity of all intellectual content

15. EAST VS WEST II • Eastern Christians allowed emperor in Constantinople to make decisions regarding doctrine • Pope often argued that this secular interference in religion was wrong and endangered purity of the faith • Major division began to develop • Western Christians looking to pope as their natural champion and leader • Eastern Christians looking to bishop of Constantinople and emperor as their natural leaders • Two different worlds were being created

16. ORIGINS OF MONASTICISM • First forms of monastic life appeared in the Middle East and North Africa shortly after Christianity became official religion of Roman Empire • Christians began to leave their neighbors, friends , and family and go to isolated places to become hermits • Devoted their waking hours to prayer and meditation • Many fasted and beat themselves • St. Simon the Stylite sat on top of a pillar for 15 years without even coming down

17. MONASTERY MONASTICISM • Hermit monasticism not suited to conditions in Western Europe • This hostile environment caused 2 important developments • Monks tried to convert pagan rural people as part of their religious duties • They also began to band together in groups for protection • Even began to build fortresses (monasteries) to protect themselves from the outside world • Monastery form of monasticism became dominant in the West

18. ST. BENEDICT • St. Benedict of Nursia established monastery of Monte Cassino in mountain range between Rome and Naples • 520 AD • Wrote “Rule” to guide the monks who lived there

19. BENDICTINE RULE • Benedict’s Rule encouraged moderation and stability • Monks prohibited from engaging in long, harmful fasts and self-inflicted tortures • Expected instead to live a hard and highly disciplined life in accordance with ideals of poverty, chastity, and obedience • Each monk required to give up his own individual needs and desires and live a strictly routine and monotonous life under the close supervision of a superior • Called an abbot

20. SELF-SUFFICIENCY • Abbot ran the monastery • Elected by other monks but, once elected, he had full authority over them • Each Benedictine monastery was also endowed with enough land to support the monks • Thus evolved into a self-sufficient and virtually independent community that could sustain itself no matter how much the surrounding society might disintegrate

21. PRAYER AND TOGETHERNESS • Each monk was require to divide his day into periods of work and periods of prayer • Monks met together 7 times within each 24-hour period for a service of psalm readings and prayers • Benedict regarded this as the essence of the monastery • Benedict also stressed “togetherness” • Monks slept in a common dorm, ate in a common room (refectory), worked together, studied together, and worshipped together • No monk could leave without the abbot’s permission

22. FEMALE MONASTICISM • Female religious communities were smaller and less wealthy than male ones • But many were founded during 4th and 5th centuries • Generally by aristocratic women • Convent life appealed to many women for several reasons • Offered an escape for women trapped in an unsatisfactory or violent marriage • Provided protection for widows against forced remarriage • Established an atmosphere were women could develop their own intellectual capacities and control their own lives