HRE33 - Midterm Exam

Review Questions

How did the birth and growth of Christianity in a Roman world contribute to its establishment, growth, development, and supremacy?

• Rome was a lawful and ordered society in the beginning of the Church, which allowed it to gain a foothold

  • Pax Romana - stability and prosperity

    • While persecutions still happened against Christians, there was still a stable society to grow in, so persecutions were not as serious at first

  • Large trade routes and safe roads

  • Rich philosophical tradition allowed for virtues and morals to be understood, but also left a personal, loving God to be desired

  • Idea of religious unity allowed both the persecutions, and later growth of Christianity

  • The large spread required more structures to be left in place

• Rome’s religious unity caused persecutions, which allowed the Church to grow and develop independent of the state

  • Early persecutions, such as those in Thessalonica, prompted the apostles to write very important texts about the Deposit of Faith

  • Martyrs inspired more Christians in a serious faith

  • Decius’ persecutions led to apostates and the Novatian schism, which was an opportunity for the Church to reinforce its teachings of reconciliation

  • The importance of bishops became more important, as writers such as St. Ignatius of Antioch and St. Polycarp created more valuable writings in response to heresy, misconceptions, and their martyrdoms

• Eventually, Constantine, and later Theodosius, made Christianity the religion of the state

  • This led to the Church being part of the state, which gave the Church more temporal duties

    • This was significant for when the Empire fell

  • More heresies developed

    • In response, Church Fathers such as Augustine, and councils such as Nicaea, created documents and teachings that solidified the faith and protected it from heresy

  • The decreased authenticity of Christians because of its commonness led to monasticism

Discuss some significant historical developments in the context of the Roman persecutions. How did growing during Roman persecutions contribute to the survival and development of the Church after the fall of the Western Empire?

• Establishing a structure

  • Bishops were needed to help guide the faithful, and the pope was the unifying symbol

  • They provided a lot of writings to clarify and spread the faith

  • Once the Empire fell, they took on temporal duties as well, making the Church the keystone religious and state unifier in the West

• Apostates and the Novatian Schism led to a stronger structure and process of faith

  • If brought into question people’s faithfulness

  • Established authority of pope through Pope St. Stephen

  • Reinforced the mechanism of repentance to be rejoined with the faith

• Martyrs and confessors served as holy inspirations

  • These holy people kept the faith growing

  • Many passed on important writings as well

  • When the empire fell, these holy people were replaced by monks, who also preserved culture

What are some of the key developments of the Church during the Dark Ages? How did this time frame the role of the Church in society? What were some of the challenges and responses of the Church?

• Monasticism - the preservation of culture

  • Preserved culture and guided the people

  • Ora et Labora made these monasteries centres of guidance and self-sufficiency

  • Scriptoria

• Church and temporal affairs - the Church was the only structure

  • Attila the Hun and the Lombards

  • Pope St. Gregory improved the streets and brought in food

• Conversion of barbarians made the region more unified

  • Missionaries translated scripture into gothic languages

  • Brought agriculture and literacy to Germanic tribes

  • St. Patrick in Ireland, St. Columba in Scotland

  • Top-down method of conversion

  • Also had to combat the previously widespread Arianism

How did the relationship between Church and state develop over the period covered? What can be said about the nature of the relationship, the key issues, and the impact on the mission of the Church?

• Apathy/persecutions

  • Originally seen as part of Judaism

  • At first, persecutions are slower, but become more severe under Diocletian

  • These persecutions create martyrs, a stronger structure, and a sounder faith foundation

• Supported by the state, but also dependent

  • Faith was a mechanism of loyalty

  • Created doubts in authenticity of faith, lead to heresies

  • Allowed the Church to refute these heresies

  • Church is now dependent on the state - ex. Constantine, St. John Chrysostom in the East

• The sole unifying structure

  • Church now takes on temporal duties

  • In some sense distracts the bishops, so monasteries emerge

  • However, they can fully preach the gospel and cause conversion

    • Still have to deal with heresies

Identify some of the key roles and structures that emerge in the Church and how they respond to the historical context and needs at the time.

• Papacy and Bishops - need unifying forces

• Councils and creeds in response to heresy

• Monasticism - need for authentic faith

Discuss the impact of heresy on the development of the Church. Be able to discuss the main heresies that we have covered, what was so dangerous about them, and the response of the Church.

• Gnostic heresies

  • Threaten understanding of creation, and Christ’s humanity

• Arianism and Christological heresies

  • Threatens understanding of Christ, and salvation

  • Undermines authority of the pope

  • Hypostatic union

• Dogmatic Heresies

  • Threatens understanding of God’s grace

Documents

Gospel Excerpt - Matthew 12:1-8

• The Gospels were written to explain misunderstandings or confusion about the Deposit of Faith, especially about the divinity of Jesus and authority of the Apostles

• On the Sabbath day, some of Christs followers pick grain to feed themselves, which is criticized by the Pharisees, and Christ tells them to learn mercy

• He claims that He is the Lord of the Sabbath, establishing His authority over the Holy Law, and also His command for mercy and love towards one another

Paul Excerpt - 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18

• He clarifies laws and teachings for early Christians

• For example, amidst persecutions in Thessalonica, he clarified the doctrines of Heaven and Parousia

  • Many early Christians expected the return of Christ soon, but they were also grieving the death of those who have fallen asleep

  • He writes that all who have been faithful, alive or dead at the Second Coming of Christ, will be redeemed

  • It is also a message of hope for a greater life ahead, and a message of comfort for their inevitable earthly deaths

Pliny-Trajan Correspondance

• Pliny writes to Emperor Trajan about how to persecute Christians, who were seen as a superstitious contagions

• Christianity was criminal, but Christians were only persecuted if they caused trouble

• The Christians could sacrifice to the emperor and pagan gods, or be punished

• Trajan wants to maintain unity within Rome

  • Only persecute those who have been denounced, found guilty, and refuse to worship pagan gods

  • If Christians perform the sacrifice, they would be pardoned

  • Anonymous accusations would not be accepted, as they followed law and order, not mob rule

• Christians were generally good citizens, but their stubbornness had them persecuted

Martyrdom of St. Polycarp

• They were brutally lashed and tortured

• St. Polycarp prayed to God, and many were amazed at his grace

• He steadfastly refused to give up sacrifice to Roman gods

• He had a vision he should be burned alive

• When he was burned, he was like precious metals and spices being refined, rather than the burning of flesh

  • An executioner stabbed him, and the blood was so plentiful that it quenched the fire

• His death was celebrated as a holy martyrdom

Martyrdom of Sts. Perpetua and Felicity

• Perpetua had an infant son

  • Her father was trying to get her to give a pagan sacrifice

  • She refused, stating “I cannot be called anything other than what I am, a Christian.”

• She was soon after baptized, and then imprisoned

  • She found the prison to be her palace, because she could truly serve God there

  • She had a vision of a tall ladder and a dragon that tried to scare people away from it. Saturus, the first of that group who was later martyred, told her to not let the dragon bite her. She then stepped on the dragon and started climbing to heaven

  • Her father visited her again, this time begging her to not be a Christian and disadvantage their family socially

• Other Christians had visited them in jail

  • It was not a widespread, systematic persecution

• They were condemned to the beasts

  • She had another vision, this time of striking her opponent on the head with her heel

• Felicitas was worried that she would not be martyred at the same time as her friends due to her pregnancy

• Some people believed these Christians were magical or superstitious

• On the day of their death, they celebrated Agape, and early eucharistic celebration

• The Romans tried to dress them as pagan gods when they were martyred, but they refused

• When the women were attacked by animals, they cared more about maintaining their modesty

• When they were being killed by gladiators, Perpetua guided his sword to her throat

• The martyrs were not killed in the ways that they feared being killed

Letter to Abbot Mellitus

• From Pope Gregory the Great to Abbot Mellitus, who helped St. Augustine, about the conversion of English people

• Christianity became more widespread, but also incorporated worthy elements of other cultures (assimilation)

• Do not destroy pagan temples, but instead bless them with holy water, add an altar, replace idols with relics of saints, and use them for Christianity

  • People are already familiar with this place

• Instead of sacrifice, let them have large celebrations for feast days of martyrs

  • Instead of eating for the devil, they are eating for God

• They will not be deprived of exterior joys, and will associate goodness with the faith

1 Clement

• Clement was the 2nd or 3rd successor of St. Peter

• Apostolic Fathers - Those who led the Church following the Apostles

• There was evidence to suggest St. John was still alive, yet the Corinthian Church would write to the Bishop of Rome instead

• He writes about how the structure of the Church should work

  • Apostolic succession should establish authority to maintain unity

    • The Apostles preach the word from Christ, as do their successors, so their teachings should be obeyed

  • The Church he was writing to wrongfully moved appointed bishops of the Church, in violation with the authority of the Church

  • They are still experiencing divisions among themselves, like they did in Paul’s time

Bearing False Witness Chapter 2

In the second chapter of Rodney Stark’s Bearing False Witness, “The Suppressed Gospels,” he addresses conspiracy theories of hidden gospels that were “suppressed…by the narrow-minded men…[who ruled] the early Church” (p. 37). These “newly discovered Christian gospels” (p.37) were found in Egypt in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries and were “forgeries” in the sense that their supposed authors or times of writing were false (p. 49). Still, these “Gnostic” gospels reserved for the small “elite” (p. 39) were upheld by scholars who believed that it either revealed an “enlightened Christianity,” or proved Christianity and its teachings to be a “complete hoax” (p. 38). This belief of silenced gospels is flawed for a number of reasons, including the authors falsely claiming to be witnesses of Christ (p. 49), their absurd claims which “resemble pagan mythology,” (p. 49), and their teachings being overwhelmingly heretic when compared to accepted Christian texts (p.43). Instead, Stark presents that the unreliability of these texts, which contrasted Christian teachings, were grounds for early Church leaders to disregard them as “forgeries and nonsense” (p. 43). He shows that there was no intent for these writings to be maliciously “excluded” and “suppressed” (p. 37), but rather, they were simply “not Christian,” as they supported a very different set of beliefs (p.50).

Bearing False Witness Chapter 3

In the third chapter of Rodney Stark’s Bearing False Witness, “Persecuting the Tolerant Pagans,” he addresses the “brutal persecution of paganism” believed to be inflicted and encouraged by the Church and Constantine to produce their “Christian victory” over the pagan world. This view was born from historians such as Edward Gibbon, who believed the Church was “repressive” in nature, and that “the final destruction of paganism” was the result of Rome submitting to the “yoke of the Gospel.” Additionally, more recent critics, such as Jonathan Kirsch, believe that the revival of paganism in Roman society by the Emperor Julian would have instilled a “spirit of respect and tolerance” that would root itself in our “benighted” world today. However, Stark argues this belief of an intolerant Church that deliberately supressed an otherwise tolerant group is flawed because paganism “wasn’t quickly obliterated,” and instead was “assimilated by Christianity.” Quoting the historian Peter Brown, Stark argues that paganism simply “slipped out of history,” by means of Christian, tolerant emperors making Christianity more commonplace, the long persistence of paganism throughout history, indicating that it was never directly eradicated, and the social and doctrinal benefits of Christianity that caused a general shift away from paganism and a growth in Christianity.

Nicene Creed

I believe in one God,
the Father almighty,
maker of heaven and earth,
of all things visible and invisible.

I believe in one Lord Jesus Christ,
the Only Begotten Son of God,
born of the Father before all ages.
God from God, Light from Light,
true God from true God,
begotten, not made, consubstantial with the Father;
through him all things were made.
For us men and for our salvation
he came down from heaven,
and by the Holy Spirit was incarnate of the Virgin Mary,
and became man.
For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate,
he suffered death and was buried,
and rose again on the third day
in accordance with the Scriptures.
He ascended into heaven
and is seated at the right hand of the Father.
He will come again in glory
to judge the living and the dead
and his kingdom will have no end.

I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life,
who proceeds from the Father and the Son,
who with the Father and the Son is adored and glorified,
who has spoken through the prophets.

I believe in one, holy, catholic and apostolic Church.
I confess one Baptism for the forgiveness of sins
and I look forward to the resurrection of the dead
and the life of the world to come. Amen.

Review of Terms, Concepts, Events, and People

St. Peter

• The “rock” that the Church was built upon, and Christ’s vicar

• As the Apostle made head Church by Christ, he retained his power when he became the Bishop of Rome, and all his successors continued this lineage of primacy and authority through the papacy.

• During the debate over Gentiles joining a predominantly Jewish Church, he received a vision that nothing was unclean

St. Paul

• He went from a persecutor to a preacher of the faith

• He wrote many texts addressing Church teachings and concerns in early Christian communities

• He travelled all over the Empire and left structures so that he could maintain unity amongst the Church

Pope St. Clement

• The second or third successor of St. Peter as the Bishop of Rome

• He wrote about the structure of the Church and the authority of the bishops

• During his papacy, St. John was still alive, but the Church wrote to him instead, signifying his primacy and authority

St. Ignatius of Antioch

• He was a Bishop of Antioch and a disciple of Sts. John and Peter

• He was an Apostolic Father, and wrote many texts about the importance of the bishops in the Church and the primacy of the papacy

• He denounced heresy and wrote about the presence of Christ in the Eucharist

St. Justin Martyr

• An apologist who used reason and philosophy to explain the faith

• He spoke out against false descriptions of Christianity and would write to the emperor and senate about Church teachings

St. Jerome

• A rough, but well-educated character and influential saint who addressed heresies

• He wrote the Vulgate, the first official Latin translation of the Bible, which became important as Christianity became the official religion in the empire, so the texts were accessible to everyone

St. Ambrose

• A popular and influential 3rd century and Bishop of Milan

• He worked hard to maintain the independence of the Church from the state

• When Emperor Theodosius massacred the villagers of Thessalonica, St. Ambrose excommunicated him from the Church and made him repent

• He also fought Arianism

St. Athanasius

• He marshaled the necessary orthodox forces to defeat the Arian heresy in the Church, and still voiced the truth

• He proposed the term homoousios to describe the divinity of Christ

• In Alexandria, he wrote many books in defense of the Nicene Creed

St. Augustine

• A convert with an influential story to becoming the Bishop of Hippo

• He refuted heresies and wrote many texts about Just War, the Trinity, grace, original sin, and evil

• His writings influenced official Church doctrine, and his writings, as the dominant theological voice at the time, set the tone for Christianity in the world

Nero

• A paranoid tyrant that used Christians as a scapegoat for the Great Fire of Rome

• He accused Christians of hating the human race

• While this was a brief period of persecutions, it set the precedent for killing Christians

Trajan

• He ruled at the height of the empire, where the borders were largest

• Makes Christianity illegal, bringing law into the relationship between Church and state

• He also says Christians do not need to be deliberately hunted down, and should only be persecuted if they are denounced, found guilty, and refuse to offer pagan sacrifices

Decius

• He enforced an empire-wide policy against Christians designed to attack the structure and leadership of the Church, turning them into apostates

• Instead of killing the Christians who refused, they were tortured, and became confessors to inspire the people

• The increased amount of apostates led to the Novatian Schism, where the matter of lapsed Christians returning to the faith via penance arose

Julian the Apostate

• Rejected his Christian faith and tried to restore paganism to Rome

• He created new pagan structures that imitated Christian structures such as bishops

• He restricts the ability for Christianity to practice and grow

• While it isn’t an official persecution, it creates a new fear among Christians

Diocletian

• Great empire-wide persecutions begin in 303 AD

  • He wants to remove Christians from positions

  • He burns Christian texts and demands everybody gives sacrifices

  • His edicts included the destruction of Churches and Scripture, the imprisonment of clergy, mandatory sacrifices from the clergy, and pagan sacrifices from every Christian

Constantine

• After having a vision of a Christian symbol, he takes over the West, and attributes his victory to the Christian God

• In 313 AD, he signs the Edict of Milan, which decriminalizes Christianity and ends Roman-sanctioned persecutions

• He gives Christian land back, builds Churches, and encouraged unity in the empire

• The Church starts to become dependent on the state, as shown through the Council of Nicaea

Theodosius

• In 381 AD, Theodosius made Christianity the official religion of Rome

  • Paganism is not supported, and pagan sacrifices are outlawed

  • Heresies become illegal

St. Benedict

• He withdrew from society, but when people followed him, he became their abbot (father)

• He established monasteries, but he himself was not the abbot

  • He submitted himself to the authority of another

  • Rule of St. Benedict - The scheduled day that the monks were to follow

  • Ora et Labora - Prayer and work; the ideal for living a consecrated life for God

Pope St. Gregory the Great

• He lived as a monk, but was then elected to Pope by the popular vote of the crowd

• He sold his wealth and helped the poor (Servant of the Servants of God)

• Gregory affirms the primacy of the Bishop of Rome, even when the Eastern emperor tries to pressure him out

• He stood firm in religious matters

• He worked to convert barbarians and works directly with the tribes

• He enshrined St. Augustine’s writings as teachings

Council of Jerusalem

• Paul approached the Apostles regarding if Gentiles had to obey the old Jewish laws, under the influence of Judaizer beliefs

• It was agreed that they only had to obey marriage laws, and could not eat animals sacrificed to pagan gods

• The council gave the Church a means to adapt to future problems, as well as spread universally

  • It also establishes authority of apostles/bishops

• The Church shifts to Rome as many Gentiles become converts, and the Jewish authority in Jerusalem is destroyed

• The Apostles would write that a decision made by their authority is good to them and the Holy Spirit, as it agrees will the will of God

Council of Nicaea

• Called by Constantine, who wanted unity

  • An early example of the state’s influence on the Church

• At this point, the persecutions were still recent, and this was the first free, large-scale action of the Church

• At this council, they settle the dispute over the person of Christ

• Eventually, it was agreed that Christ is consubstantial with God the Father

Council of Constantinople

• A council in 381 AD that reaffirmed the Nicene Creed and provided clarity against Arianism and Apollinarianism

• Finalized the Nicene Creed, which is a truthful testament to the Christian faith

Monasticism

• Because Christianity was widespread, and the authenticity of faith was questionable, some sought out asceticism to live a more authentic Christian life

• They responded to rural life, where towns would emerge around monasteries

• They protected intellectual tradition (scriptoria)

• They civilized the Germanic people by sharing literacy, agriculture, and skills

• They trained new priests and provided spiritual/missionary guidance to the people

Bishop

• The Apostles and their successors, given their authority from Christ

• They guided the flock and performed sacraments

Patriarch

• The Bishops of important sees, such as Rome, Jerusalem, Alexandria, Constantinople, and Antioch

• When the Bishop of Rome gains influence, his primacy is challenged by the influence of other patriarchs

Milan

• A western city with political and religious importance

• St. Ambrose was the bishop there following the death of the previous bishop

• St. Augustine met St. Ambrose there, where he had a spiritual awakening

• Edict of Milan was signed there

Rome

• The Empire under which Christianity began

• Its safety, order, and philosophical tradition allowed Christianity to spread

• The emperors first persecuted Christianity, then supported it

• After the fall of the Empire, the Church became the new structure

Constantinople

• The new capital of the Empire, as it was a big centre

• It was a border for Islam

• The changing of capitals led to tensions between Church officials from both sides

Arius and Arianism

• Jesus was not God, He was simply did His will

• Jesus was an elevated figure, but not divine, nor equal to the Father

• The Trinity is not real

• His views reduce Jesus to the status of a creature, and call into question teachings of the Trinity, redemption, and Incarnation

• The bishops reject his teachings, but Arius refuses to submit to the authority of the bishops, calling into question Apostolic succession

• This heresy grows over the Empire and Germanic tribes, and is a source of division later on

• This prompted the Council of Nicaea

Plato and Platonism

• It was helpful for understanding divine truth

• However, it suggested that the material world (logos) was inferior, which suggests that Jesus, fully human and fully divine, is inferior to the divine God the Father

Gnostic Heresies

• Gnostic heresies believed that there was a secret knowledge for a select few to obtain salvation by

• They believed in dualistic gods: the evil demiurge that created the world, and a divine being

• It believed that a good God cannot be material, so if Jesus was good, He could not be human

• Church Response: Creation is good, there is a supremacy of one God, and Christ is human

Christological Heresies

• They are related to the person and nature of Christ

• They are a response to Arianism, but in some manner violate the hypostatic union

  • Hypostatic Union - Jesus is one person, fully God and fully human, with a divine and human will, and with a human and divine nature

• The Church reinforces the humanity AND divinity of Christ

Dogmatic Heresies

• They contested God’s grace and it’s necessity

• The Church, including St. Augustine, respond with the necessity of grace, original sin, and how God’s grace is not limited by humans

Martyr

• “Witness”; Those who died for their faith as a witness to the person of Christ

• They were usually average converts, so their suffering strengthened other Christians

• Death was not intended to be sought after, but it was important to truly stand firm in the faith

• “[The] blood of the martyrs [is the] seed of the Church” -Tertullian

Creed

• Creeds are standards that capture the essence of Church beliefs

• They were defenses and statements of belief, often responding to heresies, or used in sacraments like Baptism

• Words were carefully selected to articulate the truth of the Catholic faith

• Anathema - Statements of the faith so important such that one who does not accept them is outside of the faith

Marks of the Church

• One - There is one faith, united by Christ, symbolized by the Pope

• Holy - It has a holy founder and a holy mission

• Catholic - It is meant for the whole world

• Apostolic - The succession of authority follows a lineage directly to the Apostles

• It is important for defining Church structure and processes

Timeline

• 4-6 BC - Birth of Jesus

• 33 AD - Death and Resurrection of Jesus

• 33 AD - Pentecost

• 49-50 AD - Council of Jerusalem

• 60-65 AD - Martyrdom of Sts. Peter and Paul

• 111-113 AD - Pliny-Trajan Correspondance

• 203 AD - Martyrdom of Perpetua and Felicity

• 249-251 AD - Persecutions under Decius

• 303 AD - Persecutions under Diocletian

• 313 AD - Edict of Milan

• 325 AD - Council of Nicaea

• 361-363 AD - Reign of Julian the Apostate

• 381 AD - Theodosius and Christianity as a State Religion

• 452 AD - The Meeting of Attila and Pope Leo the Great

• 590 AD - Pope St. Gregory the Great