church history vocab final

  • Caesaropapism- System in which the temporal ruler extends his own powers to ecclesiastical and theological matters.

  • Papal States- Lands given to the pope, making him a sovereign/secular leader as well as a spiritual leader.

  • Carolingian Renaissance- This period arose due to Charlemagne’s insistence upon classical renewal in the Roman Empire.

  • Hagia Sophia- Most famous example of Byzantine architecture - means Holy Wisdom

  • Dulia- Icons may be venerated through this type of respect and honor.

  • Monophysitism- Heresy claiming that there is only one nature in Christ and that His human nature is “incorporated” into the Divine Nature

  • Icon- A flat, two-dimensional picture which is used as an aid for acts of piety

  • Autocephalous- Independent of external patriarchal authority, found especially in Eastern national churches.

  • Latria-  Absolute adoration, of which God alone is worthy

  • Iconoclasm- A period in CHurch History when religious images were attacked and condemned as being heretical

  • Codex Justinian-  Became the basis for canon law as well as civil law throughout Europe

  • Ecumenical Patriarch- This has been the title of the Bishop of Constantinople since the Great Schism

  • Filioque- Means “and the son”, it was a controversy about the fact that some believed the Holy Spirit only passed through the father but not the son.

  • Iconoclast- The people who did not support icons.

  • Iconophile- The people who supported icons.

  • The Great Schism- It is the separation between the Catholic and Orthodox church.

  • Ecclesiology- The theology of the Church

  • Eschatology- It is the study of life after death, or just before death.

  • Eastern Orthodox Church- It is a separate type of christians that had different beliefs that catholic (more spread in the West) like priests can get married, different liturgy as well.

  • Act of Supremacy- Proclaimed King Henry VIII the supreme leader of the Church in England, which meant that the People was no longer recognized as having any authority within the country, and all matters of Faith, ecclesiastical appointment, and maintenance of ecclesiastical properties were in the hands of the king

  • Consubstantiation- A term describing Christ's coexistence in the Eucharist, Luther taught that the Eucharist was not truly Christ but that he was present in it as heat is in hot iron. Accordingly the substance of Christ's body coexists with the substance of bread and his blood with the wine.

  • Institutes of the Christian Religion- written by John Calvin, it contained four books which codified Protestant theology

  • Pluralism-Within the Church a bishop having control over more than one diocese

  • Predestination-a doctrine of Calvin which taught that salvation depended solely on God'sd predetermined decision. According to this principle those who are saved are chosen by God through no effort of their own. God also chooses others to be damned. This damnation is necessary to show God's great justice

  • Scrupulosity- the habit of imagining sin when none exists, or grave sin when the matter is not serious

  • Sola Scriptura- “scripture alone”; belief that all man needs for salvation is the Bible; tenet for most protestants

  • Spiritual Exercises- guide for spiritual perfection written by St. Ignatius, which is divided into reflections and meditations meant to help the believer emulate Christ

  • Thirty nine articles-Issued by Elisabeth I  these provided for the foundation of the Anglican Church maintaining all the outward appearances of Catholicism but implanting protestant doctrine into the Church of England

  • Transubstantiation- the change of the substance of bread and wine into the Body and Blood of Christ with only the accidents (properties) of bread and wine remaining

  • -Avignon Papacy- The seventy years (1305-1377) the papacy spent in avignon under the watchful eye of the french kings

  • Black Plague- Deadly epidemic which broke out around the year 1347, decimating the population.

  • Boniface (Bona Facere) 

    1. Latin for “doer of good” and the name given to St. Boniface, the missionary to Germany who set the stage for a radical reshaping of the heart of Europe. 

  • Canterbury

    1. The most important episcopal see in England in the sixth century and the site of St. Augustine’s mission to England.

  • Glagolitic Script 

    1. Based on the Greek alphabet, it was developed by St. Cyril to aid his mission to the Slavic peoples

  • Mozarabes 

    1. Spanish people who chose to live under Arab rule after the Muslim invasion of Spain in 711. 

  •  Pallium

    1. A sacred vestment symbolic of the fullness of Episcopal authority, worn by popes and archbishops. It is circular, one inch in width with six small crosses.

  • Patrons of Europe

    1. Title given by St. John Paul II in 1890 to Sts. Cyril and Methodius. 

  • Venerable

    1. This title refers either to a particular state in the process of canonization or to a person’s holy life, as in the case of St. Bede

  • Wata

    1. “Oak of Thor”, the sacred tree of the pagans of Hesse cut down by St. Boniface.