Western Heritage Final Study Guide

Apocalyptic View

A counter-cultural view where Early Christians saw the Roman Empire as a corrupt, evil world system destined for sudden divine overthrow by God. He would then establish His own Kingdom on Earth, leading believers to live in expectancy for Christ’s imminent return, repent, and prepare for this judgment. To them, the Roman Empire contained evil that was pulling people away from Christianity (usurpation of political leaders by evil)

• supported by Early Church

Integralist View

The view that faith must integrate with all of life, including politics. Integration between Church and Empire created Christendom. Christianity appeared to be a civic asset, holding rulers accountable to God’s principles, serving the poor, and integrating spiritual truth into public life. They believed the temporal (state) serves the eternal (Church) for humanity’s ultimate good.

• supported by Eusebius

Realist View

The view that follows the church and is flexible to politics. It wasn’t about joining world power but about acknowledging humanity’s fallen, sinful nature while recognizing God’s work in imperfect earthly structures to maintain order and justice, requiring leaders to balance power with moral responsibility. The state exists to create an order that can be realized so we live with peace

• supported by Augustine

Eusebius

Articulated the idea that the Christian Roman Empire under Constatine was the earthly fulfillment of God’s Plan - the beginning of Christendom as a political reality

Constantine

He ended the persecution of Christians; he turned the empire into the protector and promoter of the Church

Edict of Milan

Full legal toleration for Christianity and all religions, immediate restitution of all Church property confiscated in the Great Persecution, and Christianity is now fully lawful and protected

Edict of Thessalonica

Christianity is delcared the sole official religion of the Roman Empire and Heretics and pagans lose civic rights; thei rmeetings and sacrifices are banned

Augustine’s City of God

Loves God above all, citizens are faithful Christians, creation and grace, the goal is eternal peace in heaven

Western Monasticism

The Christian tradition of monks and nuns living communal or solitary lives dedicated to prayer, work, and spiritual devotion in the Latin Church.

The Benedictine Rule

Monks transcribed texts into Latin so they could be handed down. They cultivated holiness and maintained what was falling away by creating monasteries. Benedictine opposes Aristotle’s view of reason, saying that we need external help. You can grow in holiness through participation in grace (divine role and human role)

Pope Gregory the Great

The man who decided, almost single-handedly, to convert the pagan English (the Angles, Saxons, and Jutes who had taken over Britain after the Romans left). Started the Monastic Mission

Monastic Mission

Pope Gregory sent Augustine and about 40 monks to go live amongst the pagans, following a routine of work and worship - attracting locals curious about this “new way of life”

Petrine Theory

Based on Matthew 16:18-19, in which Peter was named the first bishop of Rome and was martyred there. Therefore, every subsequent bishop of Rome inherits Peter’s unique authority. The main idea is Apostolic Succession. Helped win the Synod of Whitby

The Synod of Whitby

The universality of Christendom is at stake when a debate over when Easter should be celebrated arises

Charlemagne

He unified Western Europe, forced Christianization, perfected the feudal land-for-service system. Revived the classical world by instructing in the liberal arts and bending them towards Christianity

Feudalism

Political and civic organization: public authority became privatized and hierarchical, and the basic unit of civic order was no longer the citizen and the state, but the vassal and his lord

The Holy Roman Empire

Crowned by Pope Leo III, the emperor was now the protector of the Church and the supreme Christian ruler

The Investiture Controversy

Life-or-death struggle between popes and emperors over who had the right to appoint bishops and abbots - a question that decided whether the Church would be a department of the empire or an independent power

John of Salisbury

Believed the rule of a tyrant can be an institution of God, if bound by an oath… take refuge in God’s protection, if not bound by oath… the body should correct the head

St. Thomas Aquinas

Believed people needed to pray to God to remove the tyrant, call to repent, call to the body politic (do not seek outside help), acting against natural law if you kill the tyrant

The Medieval Sacramental System

Centered on seven key rituals - Baptism, Confirmation, Eucharist, Penance, Annointing of the sick, Holy Orders, and Matrimony

Medieval Soteriology

Centered on salvation as a cooperative porcess between divine grace and human effort

The Italian Renaissance

a “rebirth” of classical Greek and Roman culture, sparking huge advancements in art, science, literature, and philosophy, fueled by trade wealth and humanism (focus on human potential)

Christian Humanism

focus on human potential, reason, and dignity with Christian faith, emphasizing that humans, made in God’s image, can achieve fulfillment throguh both scripture study and intellectual freedom, leading to ethical living and church reform

Heliiocentrism

the model of our solar system with the Sun at the center, and Earth and other planets revolving around it

Scientific Revolution

a period of profound transformation in European thought, shifting from reliance on ancient authorities to observation, experimentation, and reason, creating modern science

Reformation Lutheran Soteriology

Justification by faiath alone; sacraments actually deliver forgiveness

Reformation Calvinist Soteriology

justification by faith alone; but faith is evidence of prior election and regeneration

Reformation Anglican Soteriology

justification by faith only; works are fruit, not cause

Reformation Anabapist Soteriology

justification by personal faith alone after repentance; obedience follows

Reformation Lutheran Ecclesiology

wherever Word and sacrament are pure, there is the church — and the prince keeps order

Reformation Calvinist Ecclesiology

a disciplined covenant community ruled by pastors and elders, not kings or bishops

Reformation Anglican Ecclesiology

the historic catholic church reformed, reformed and governed by bishops under the monarch

Reformation Anabaptist Ecclesiology

a voluntary fellowship of reborn disciples, separate from the world and the sword

French Wars of Religion

Catholic majority vs Huguenot minority. Could a Protestant ever legally inherit the throne in a “most catholic” kingdom?

English Civil War

Puritan-Parliamentarian vs High-Church/Arminian Royalists. Who is sovereign: King (divine right) or Parliament (mixed monarchy + ancient constitution)

Glorious Revolution

monarchy became constitutional: parliament can depose and choose the king/queen. Replaced an absolutist-leaning Catholic king with a Protestant parliamentary monarchy in a nearly bloodless coup

312 CE

Conversion of Constatine / Battle of the Milvian Bridge

313 CE

Edict of Milan

325 CE

Council of Nicaea

380 CE

Edict of Thessalonica

410 CE

Visigoths sack Rome; City of God

476 CE

Odoacer sacks Rome; deposes Roman emperor in the West

530 CE

Rule of St. Benedict

596-664 CE

Gregorian Mission to Angles and Saxons

664 CE

Synod of Whitby

800 CE

Charlemagne crowned Holy Roman Emperor (by Pope Leo III)

936 CE

Coronation of Otto I

1076 CE

Investiture Controversy

1215 CE

Magna Carta

Christendom

union of church and empire

Benedictine Monasticism

the monastic tradition established by St. Benedict, characterized by a communal lifestyle governed by the Rule of St. Benedict. This rule emphasizes principles such as prayer, work, and obedience, guiding monks and nuns in their spiritual lives

Gregorian Mission

a Christian mission sent by Pope Gregory the Great to convert the Anglo-Saxons in England. Mission aimed to establish Christianity among the southern Anglo-Saxons and influenced the conversion of other parts of Britain

Medieval European Culture: Classical | Christian | Germanic

Classical: latin as the universal written language

Christian: one God, linear history, slavation, charity as a virtue

Germanic personal loyalty between lord and man

Medieval Catholicism: Universal | Public | Papal

Universal: one single Church for all of Latin Christendom; no national churches, no competing denominations

Public: religion was the public legal and social order; being Christian = being a member of society itself

Papal: the pope in Rome was the real judicial nad legislative head of this universal pulic Church

Charlemagne and the Frankish Empire

first pan-European Christian empire since Rome by relentless conquest, forced conversion, personal rule on horseback, and a deliberate revival of Roman-Christian learning

Magna Carta

a document forced upon King John by rebellious barons, establishing that everyone, inccluding the king, was subject to the law, not above it, introducing concepts like due process, trial by jury, and limited government

1486 CE

Pico publishes Oration on the Dignity of Man

1517 CE

Luther’s 95 Theses

1521 CE

Diet of Worms

1524 CE

Peasant’s Rebellion

1534 CE

English Act of Supremacy

1543 CE

Copernicus publishes Treatise on Heliocentrism

1555 CE

Peaces of Augsburg

1572 CE

St. Bartholomew’s Day Massacre

1649 CE

Execution of Charles I

1651 CE

Hobbes publishes Leviathan

1688 CE

Glorious Revolution

1689 CE

Locke publishes Second Treatise of Civil Government

Ad Fontes

back to the sources

Medieval Cosmology

characterized by the geocentric model, where Earth was viewed as the center of the universe, surrounded by concentric celestial spheres, a concept heavily influenced by Aristotle and Ptolemy

Priesthood of all Believers

Theological concept asserting that all Christians share in Christ's priestly status, meaning there is no special class of mediators between God and believers. This doctrine emphasizes that every believer has the right and authority to read, interpret scripture, and apply the teachings of Scripture, allowing direct access to God without the need for an earthly mediator

Sola Scriptura

scripture alone

Magisterial Reformation

significant movement within the Reformation that emphasized the relationship between the church and secular authorities, particularly in the Lutheran, Reformed, and Anglican traditions

Radical Reformation

a movement in teh 16th century that sought more profound changes in Christianity than those proposed by mainstream reformers, leading to the emergence of groups like the Anabaptists

True Religion

a belief system that connects individuals to a transcendent truth or higher power and provdies a framework of moral and ethical behavior

Absolutism

political system in which the monarch claimed to hold total sovereign power directly from God, not shared it with no other institution (estates, parliaments, or courts), and was answerable only to God

Republicanism

rule by the many for the common good, in explicit contrast to one-man rule

In Praise of the Emperor Constantine

Eusebius

City of God

Augustine

The Rule of St. Benedict

Benedict

The Ecclesiastical History of the English People

Bede

Life of Charlemagne

Einhard

Policratus

John of Salisbury

On Kingship

Thomas Aquinas

Oration on the Dignity of Man

Giovanni Pico

On Christian Liberty

Martin Luther

The Institutes

John Calvin

Schleitheim Confession

no author

Defense of Liberty Against Tyrants

anonymous

Absolutism

Jacques-Beninge Bossuet

Leviathan

Thomas Hobbes

Second Treatise of Government

John Locke

1800 BC

Abram relocates from Ur (Genesis 12-17)

1300 BC

Exodus from Egypt

1000 BC

Reign of King David

490 BC

Battle of Marathon

431- 404 BC

Peloponnesian War

399 BC

Death of Socrates

509

Republic of Rome established