Christianity Final Short Terms

St. Augustine

• An early Christian philosopher, theologian, and bishop whose writings shaped much of Western Christianity.

• He’s best known for his books Confessions and The City of God (which can be considered a late “apology.”

• Augustine emphasized the ideas of original sin, God’s grace, and the inner spiritual journey. His work helped define core Christian teachings and influenced theology for centuries.

• St Augustine was strongly influenced by Plato’s philosophy, so his influence on Christianity enforced emphasis on the soul and disregard for the body.

Thomas Cranmer

• The first Archbishop of Canterbury during the English Reformation. He helped separate the Church of England from the Roman Catholic Church.

• Cranmer wrote and shaped the Book of Common Prayer, which set the foundation for Anglican worship. Although he was later executed under Queen Mary I, his ideas had a lasting impact on Protestant Christianity.

Syllabus of Errors

• A document by Pope Pius IX that is a list of 80 ideas condemned by the Catholic church in 1864. It condemned secularism, indifferentism, separation of Church and State, and many other tenets of modern democracy.

• It is an expression of the Catholic Church that felt cornered by modern ideas and reacted by closing in on itself and condemning all ideas coming from outside.

"Manual of the Christian Soldier"

• Authored by Erasmus of Rotterdam, this is a devotional guide that teaches believers how to live faithfully, resist temptation, and strengthen their spiritual discipline through prayer and moral reflection.

• It serves as a practical handbook for cultivating a virtuous Christian life in the face of everyday challenges.

• It shows that Erasmus, like Luther, thought that Christian excellence is not reserved for the few (monks and nuns) but should be an aspiration of all Christians.

Encomiendas

• The encomienda system was used by the Spanish when they colonized the Americas. Through this system, a group of natives was entrusted (encomendado) to a Spanish colonist to be taught Christian faith and Western values, and in exchange, to demand forced labor from them.

• Originally, this system was meant to influence the Natives to trust the Spanish and introduce them to their Christian faith, but instead it was used and abused to impose excessive forced labor on the natives

“Institutes of Christian Religion”

• A book written by John Calvin explaining the major beliefs of the reformed church in a clear and organized way.

• It helped guide churches and teach Christians what Calvin believed the bible taught for centuries.

•  It is the Protestant equivalent of the Summa Theologica for Catholics.  

Conciliarism

• A reform movement that argued that a general church council has greater authority than the Pope.

• Born as a response to the crisis generated from having two popes (one in Rome and one in Avignon), Conciliarism temporarily restored unity, albeit through creating a third line of popes (the Pisan popes).  

• In its most exaggerated version, conciliarism wanted a permanent council of bishops from the whole world to take care of the routine running of the Catholic Church. The papacy later reasserted its authority, and the movement declined.

Pepin the Short

• He was the father of Charlemagne, the first Carolingian king of the Frankish kingdom, and was crowned king of the Frankish throne by a bishop sent by the Pope. In return he came to Rome’s defense against the Lombards’ invasion.

• This mutual aid established the foundation of the close collaboration between Frankish kings (later Holy Roman Germanic Emperors) and the popes.

“City Upon a Hill”

• A Biblical image from the Sermon on the Mount used by John Winthrop in his “A Model of Christian Charity” discourse. It was preached while coming to the “new world” aboard the Arbella to describe their purpose and mission.

• It can be seen as the original formulation of the God-given expansionist belief that has animated English colonialism in New England and later the Westward expansion of the US in the 1800s.

• The image proposes the idea that their Protestant lifestyle should become a model for all others to follow around the world, and that their take on society should prevail all over the continent.

• Winthrop founded the Massachusetts Bay Colony, which he claimed would be a virtuous example for the world and other Christians.

• For the colony to succeed, the colonists must be devoted and act in accordance with God to establish the Massachusetts Bay Colony as a Christian example, founding the “city upon a hill.”

Benedict of Nursia

• He lived as a monk and wrote his “Rule,” which was used as a guide for Western monasticism, especially after Charlemagne used it as a template for the foundation of monasteries in his territories.

• It outlined the manual labor and praying standards for monks. It preached humility and obedience from monks.

Martyrs

• Someone who suffers or sacrifices their life due to their religious beliefs. Martyrs would rather die than give up their beliefs.

• During the time when Christians were under persecution, there were many martyrs.

• The tradition of devotion to the saints in Catholicism comes from the high regard granted to martyrs in the Early Church.

Apologists

• Someone who defends the Christian faith through reason, evidence, and logic. They help strengthen the faith of believers, spread the word of the lord, and defend beliefs.

• During the time when Christians were being persecuted by the Roman Empire, apologists did their best to dispel false rumors saying that they were incestuous, that they offered baby sacrifices, etc.

• One way to do this was to present Christian teachings in language that Romans were familiar with, to establish connections and comparisons between Christian ideas and Greco-Roman classic culture.

Ignatius of Antioch

• An early Christian bishop and martyr.

• On his way to execution in Rome, he wrote many letters to Christian communities urging unity, obedience to bishops, and faith in Christ.

• In his letters to Christian communities along his path to Rome, where he would be executed, Ignatius asked Christians not to help him avoid execution as he considered it an honor to die as a martyr.

Julian Apostate

• Roman emperor from 361 to 363 CE, he was the nephew of Constantine and tried to restore paganism after the empire had become largely Christian.

• Called “the Apostate” because having been baptized in his early life, he abandoned Christianity and tried to revive traditional Roman religions.