Unit 7: The Way of Beauty|Study Guide|

Monasticism-

•        - __way of life characterized by prayer and self-denial lived in seclusion__ from the world and under a fixed rule with professed vows (*poverty, chastity, obedience*)



•        __The monks model themselves off of Christ, dedicating themselves to prayer and penance__

St. Anthony of the Desert-

•        250-356 AD) = __one of “Desert Fathers,” saints who started Christian monasticism__



•        270 AD – hears Gospel passage of the Rich young man, gives possessions, retreats apart from others (still in city) to pray, give self to God alone



•        305 AD – Retreated to the desert in Egypt



•        Others follow, way of living this special way of life must be set-up to teach others

St. Benedict

•        -480-547 AD) Like St. Anthony, felt called to give life totally to God



•        __Recognized need and calling for hermits to live, pray together under one superior__ à __these places became monasteries__ (people who live in them = monks or nuns)



•        Wrote a “Rule” of life for other monasteries to use in organizing the monastic way of life



•        Founder of Western Monasticism

St. Patrick- 461AD)

•        Known as the Apostle of Ireland.  At 16, he was captured and sold as a slave in Ireland, escaped after 6 years, and later returned to Ireland as a priest and bishop to bring Christianity to the people.



 

Eremitical

•        “Hermit” (first type of Monastic life) \[Greek\] “desert” or “lonely” - individuals withdraw into loosely organized groups to live an isolated ascetical life

Coenobitical-

•        “Common” (second type of monastic life) ascetic life lived in community.

Ascetism-

From the Greek askesis which means practice bodily exercise, self-denial



\-        Spiritual exercises performed by physical denials for the purpose of acquiring the habits of virtue.



\-        Ex: fasting, poverty etc.

St. Cyril and St. Methodius-

__first missionaries among the Slavs__



•        Commissioned in 863 by Emperor Michael III



•        Both well-versed in the Slavic language



•        St. Cyril developed the Glagolithic script for use with the Slavs (the Cyrillic alphabet was a later development of the original Glagolithic alphabet)



•        __They used the vernacular Slavonic language for the celebration of the liturgy and translated the Bible into Slavonic__



 

Icon

•        - flat, two-dimensional picture of Jesus, Mary or the saints



•        Used in prayer, liturgy (especially in Eastern part of the Church) in the 5th century and beyond



•        Colors, symbols, gold leaf all have deeper meaning and are meant to draw the viewer into prayer

Iconoclasm

•        destruction of icons in attempt to purify the Christian Religion



•        Eikon (image) + klan (break) = image breaker/destroyer

1\.      How do disciples of Christ since the time of the Apostles use beauty to preach the Gospel?

\-        Beauty of the Gospel message (mercy, forgiveness)



\-        Beauty of a life of integrity, virtue (justice, love your enemies, clothe the naked, feed the hungry etc.)



\-        Beauty of art, music (quoted in the New Testament, verses of Psalms, sacred music/statues/paintings throughout centuries)



\-        Beauty of architecture (cathedrals, chapels, churches, monasteries).

1\.      What is the purpose of beauty when teaching about truth & goodness?

\-        Beauty is delightful, attractive and points us to something greater than ourselves it inspires us to more in life. Beauty, truth and goodness are all transcendentals (connected to each other).

1\.      How did Christians respond to the Fall of Rome? What did they do?

\-        The Christian response was to continue preaching the truth, goodness, and beauty of the Gospel. They did it in new ways such as through monasticism. The monks in the monasteries were able to revive the people and Christianity through feeding, teaching, and praying etc. Eventually that is how communities were built around monasteries.

1\.      What was the condition of the Roman Empire once it fell?

\-        Foreign, __violent character in society__ due to invading tribes (increase in immorality, roads unsafe, isolated villages instead of well-connected empire)



\-        __Superstition replacing Greco-Roman tradition of learning__



\-        Learning declining along with economic activity and populations



\-        Classical literature being destroyed, not passed down, in many places

1\.      What led St. Benedict to start monasteries?

Like St. Anthony of the Dessert, St. Benedict felt called to give his life totally to God. He recognized a need and calling for the hermit to live, pray together, and to offer assistance to those in need. He later established these places as monasteries to offer assistance to those in need.

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a.      Chief qualities that led the rule of St. Benedict to harmonious religious life?...Peace, love and moderation.

1\.      What were the three major effects of the monasteries on Europe? Explain each.

\-        Safe havens for literacy, faith, and culture.



\-        After attacks from barbarian tribes in 5th century, there is a re-emergence of new Christian culture with renewed spiritual strength.



\-        1.  __Recovery and evangelization of rural society__



\-        recovered abandoned lands



\-        spread into farming areas met the needs of the people



\-        evangelized rural people



\-          2. __Intellectual renewal__



\-        monasteries were the chief centers of learning



\-        teaching others how to read and write



\-        monks copied and retained Greek and Roman literary works, as well as Sacred Scripture



\-        3__. Preservation of Civilization__



\-        civilizing effect on Germanic people by their holiness and discipline



\-        taught barbarians how to read, farm, carpentry, stone masonry, ironwork, and infused spiritual meaning into work as a form of adoration to Christ



\-        Scriptorium- large rooms meant for copying manuscripts and texts, single handedly saving the oldest manuscripts from Greece and Rome



\-         

1\.      How did Irish monasteries protect and promote Western civilization?



\-        4 Effects of St. Patrick’s Influence:

\-        4 Effects of St. Patrick’s Influence:



\-        Thousands of people converted, Ireland= “land of saints and scholars”



\-        Monasteries



\-        1. Literacy brought to Irelands



\-        Became most important centers of learning in Europe. Preserved Greco-Roman Tradition



\-        2. Became a Christian country in short space of time



\-        3. Christian Culture-towns built around monasteries.



\-        4. Development of culture (arts, crafts, music)

Ex: Book of Kells (in Dublin)

1\.      Explain how monastic life (particularly that of early hermits in the desert) a supernatural calling.

The monastic life was a supernatural calling because it is total consciousness and awareness of God through total silence and withdrawal from society. It is a supernatural calling because not everyone is ment to live in solitude. They go through rigorous labor, prayer, fasting, reading and therefore need God’s grace.

1\.      What is the purpose of a sacred art icon?

\-        Icons are meant to make us aware of God’s presence



\-        Icons are called windows/doorways to the sacred



\-        Reminds us that as we gaze/contemplate God, He gazes at us



\-        Icons are simple, the credit is not owed to the artist/writer, but they are able to receive the gift of the process in creating them.



\-        Part of the artistic (or writing) process is prayer



\-        The iconographer prays for transformation of their own heart through grace

1\.      Describe some of the process in how icons are made and what the steps represent.

\-        1. Before starting your work, make the sign of the cross, pray in silence and pardon your enemies



\-        2. Work with care on every detail of your icon as if you were working in front of the lord.



\-        3. During work, pray in order to strengthen yourself physically and spritiually; avoid usles words and keep silence



\-        4. Pray in particular to the saint whose faice you are painting. Keep you mind from distractions and the saint will be close to you.



\-        5. When sketching and choosing colors; ask the Lord for his counsel.



\-        6. Do not be jealous of your neighbors work; his success Is your success too.



\-        7. When your icon is finished. Thank the God that His mercu has granted you the grace to paint the holy images



\-        8. Have your icon blessed by putting git on the altar. Be the first to pray before it, and before giving it to others

quote

1\.      *“I was no longer the center of my life and therefore I could see God in everything.”*



2\.      *— Venerable Bede (d. 735 AD)*

1\.      Conversion of the Germanic Tribes

\-        __Clovis – King of the Franks__



\-        Converted to Christian faith in 496AD



\-        __His alliance to the faith & Church helped to convert the nearby pagan barbarian tribes__ & many tribal leaders converted after Clovis, and their people followed



\-        France became known as the “Eldest Daughter of the Church” because the Franks were the first of the Germanic tribes to convert to Christianity

1\.      Evangelization of the Germanic Tribes and Europe: The Franks were the first of the Germanic Tribes to convert to Christianity:

\-        2 forces at work in the 5th – 9th centuries



\-        1. Missionaries from Ireland, England and Germany



\-        2. Chrisitna Queens influenced their husbands to convert, and the population followed the king

1\.      Disciples of Christ…

\-        …__Use beauty, truth and goodness to communicate the Gospel__



\-        All beauty, truth and goodness has its source in God, who is Beauty, Truth and Goodness Himself

Factors leading up to Rome

1. increase in population
2. declining army strength (too many mercernary soliders from germainc tribes
3. government corruption
4. pressure from the huns moving west

Actual fall of rome

\-        410AD: the Sack of Rome by the Visigoth King Alaric



\-        Invasions by barbaric tribes



\-        476 AD - Western Roman Empire falls, Eastern Roman Empire remains & becomes Byzantine Empire

1\.      Iconoclasm 725 AD -843 AD

\-        In the 700’s the Byzantine Empire still had some people who held to parts of Monophysitism and Manichaeism.



\-        What was the problem with that?



\-        One (Manichaeism) denied Jesus had a human body, the other (Monophysitism) denied he had a full human nature (absorbed by divine nature)



\-        726 AD- Emperor Leo II (of the Byzantine Empire) ordered the destruction of all icons



\-        Pope Gregory II, as well as as the patriarch and almost all bishops and monks immediately fought against iconoclasm. 2nd Council of Nicaea (787) condemned iconoclasm



\-        What is the problem with that?.... If Jesus didn’t really have a human nature or a human body, then it would be wrong (even blasphemous or idolatrous) to have icons of Him and to use them in prayer

1\.      Icons & Art Depicting Jesus=Good!

\-        Creation = good (Genesis)



\-        Jesus took on a human nature



\-        Preaching this through art & beauty serves to praise God, whose idea it was to create the world, take on a human nature and redeem humanity.



\-        Good Christian art is made to lead the viewer to contemplate God, not to idolize the beauty of the art



\-        Icon of the Triumph of Orthodoxy (14th century)



\-        Christ Pantocrator – 6th century

Destruction/ \n Invasion by the Barbarians

As various tribes began to overtake the Western Roman Empire, much of civilization risked being lost forever

Christian monasticism is unique because…

•__The monks model themselves off of Christ, dedicating themselves to prayer and penance__



•__way of life characterized by__ __**prayer**__ __and__ __**self-denial**__ __**lived in seclusion**__ from the world and under a **fixed rule** with **professed vows** (*poverty, chastity, obedience*)



•Common problem for early hermits in Egypt:



•They tried to live in seclusion and prayer, but people kept coming to them for spiritual advice and prayers

Conversion of the Germanic Tribes

•__Clovis – King of the Franks__



•Converted to Christian faith in 496AD



•__His alliance to the faith & Church helped to convert the nearby pagan barbarian tribes__ & many tribal leaders converted after Clovis, and their people followed



•



•France became known as the “Eldest Daughter of the Church” because the Franks were the first of the Germanic tribes to convert to Christianity

ST. JOHN DAMASCUS IS THE ONE WHO SAID THAT SINCE God revealed His human nature we should paint him.

“When the invisible becomes visible to the eye, you may then draw his form.



When he who is a pure spirit, immeasurable in the boundlessness of his own nature, existing as God,



takes on the form of a servant and a body of flesh,



then you may draw his likeness,



and show it to anyone who is willing to contemplate it.”



\- St. John Damascene (676-749 AD)

What was the effect of St. Patrick’s return to Ireland

(preserved the greo-roman traditions, bringing Christianity to parts of Ireland, more learning)

Monasteries what?

changed the hermetical life

who is the patriarch of western monasticism?

St. Benedict

true of false: St. Patrick was kidnapped by pirates

true

Which Church Father did Attila the Hun meet? What is one of the great mysteries of history according to this image

.St. Pope Leo the Great

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it remains unknown exactly what words Pope St. Leo used to dissuade Attila from attacking Rome

Review

notes in creative notebook about the icons