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THE EARLY MIDDLE AGES
The Byzantine & Islamic Empires
CONSTANTINE
• Political Control—Constantine lived under the governmental system of Diocletian (2
rulers in West/2 rulers in East), but sought to become the sole emperor of all of Rome.
• Battle of the Milvian Bridge—Constantine allegedly saw the chi rho symbol in a
dream, which he took as revelation from God. He became a “Christian” and then
won the battle.
• Constantine’s Christianity—Even though he claimed to have become a Christian
and brought a significant amount of religious toleration to Christians in Rome,
Constantine’s “Christianity” was anything but biblical. He even remained a priest in
the pagan religion of “Sol Invictus” (Unconquered Sun).
• Pontifex Maximus—Constantine retained the title, “Pontifex Maximus” which referred
to his leadership in paganism. This is where we get the term, “Pope.”
• [video] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PjuHsUV6-QE
TRINITARIANISM & ARIANISM
• Trinitarianism—The belief that God is Triune (Father, Son, & Holy Spirit)
• Arianism—The belief that Jesus was the highest of all creatures, but less than
God (very similar to the modern-day beliefs of Mormonism)
• Council of Nicea—In 325, hundreds of pastors met in Nicea (near
Constantinople) to discuss the identity of the Son of God. This council ruled in
favor of Trinitarianism.
• Political Controversies—Following this ruling, Rome experienced turmoil in certain
areas over the ideas of Trinitarianism vs. Arianism
• Nicene Creed—This statement of belief explained the basic teachings of
orthodox Christianity (including Trinitarianism)
• [link] http://www.sacred-texts.com/chr/nicene.htm
THE CHALCEDONIAN CREED
• The Chalcedonian Creed—This statement of belief attempted to explain the
human-divine mystery of the Son of God. These Christians concluded that
Jesus possessed two natures: 1 human and 1 divine.
• Theological “Opponents”—Christians who believed that Jesus only possessed
one nature, a fused human/divine nature. They have been called
“monophysites.” Although much lower in number, there are still monophysite
Christians today (especially in Syria and Egypt).
• Analogy: Drop of honey into the ocean
BARBARIANS
• The Huns—They were a nomadic, barbarian group from central Asia that
conquered a significant amount of territory in the Roman Empire.
• The Visigoths—They were a Germanic people group that sacked Rome in
A.D. 410, and invaded other parts of the Empire (also referred to as the
Goths).
• [video] http://www.history.com/topics/ancient-history/ancient-rome/videos/thevisigoths-sack-rome
• The Vandals—They sacked Rome in A.D. 455
THE FALL OF ROME
• Attila the Hun—Nicknamed the “Scourge of God,” he was the most
successful and powerful of the barbarian leaders. Although he never
overtook Rome or Gaul, his men were greatly feared and brought
devastation.
• [Merovech vs. Attila Video] http://www.history.com/topics/middleages/videos/dark-ages-the-franks---merovech
• [Mulan Clip] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j9MfuWSQoWc
• The “Fall of Rome”—The traditional date for the “Fall of Rome” is A.D. 476. In
that year, Odoacer deposed the Roman emperor, Romulus Augustulus.
• [video] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p6jPzN_LjAk
CONSTANTINOPLE—“NEW ROME”
• Constantinople—Literally means, “City of Constantine.” This city was formerly
Byzantium, but the Emperor Constantine wanted it to be a “New Rome.”
• Language—While Latin remained common in the Western part of the Roman
Empire, Greek was often spoke in the East.
• Influence of Church History—Later on in the Middle Ages, churches in the
East and West encounter problems (possibly due to poor translations of each
language). A “schism” occurred in A.D. 1054.
• Eastern Orthodox Church—This branch of Christianity became distinguished
from Roman Catholic Christianity at the moment of the “Great Schism” in
A.D. 1054.
THE “HAGIA SOPHIA”
• [video] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KRPp3jzv1Tw
JUSTINIAN
• Reign: A.D. 527-565
• Justinian’s Goal—Restore the greatness of the Roman Empire under the
Byzantine state
• Theodora—Justinian’s wife, who helped him be a successful ruler. Surprisingly,
she was also a former prostitute, but was able to catch the attention of
Justinian nevertheless.
• [Video, start at 2 min.] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D50IUZPGPqg
ST. PATRICK OF IRELAND
• [Patrick DVD]
• Early Life—Patrick was living in modern-day England (perhaps Scotland)
when Irish (Celtic) invaders kidnapped him. After working as a slave and
shepherd, he escaped back to his hometown.
• Missionary—Patrick believed that God was calling him to become a
missionary to his former captors, the Celts, so he obeyed and then became
the greatest missionary in the Middle Ages.
• [video] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xOqWT2tk9Js
LEO THE GREAT
• Appeal to Peter—Leo appealed to the Apostle Peter as having authority from
Christ to build His Church, and that Peter’s authority was passed down to him.
This doctrine is sometimes called “apostolic succession.” The problem: Jesus
never promised an apostolic succession, only a “truth succession” (John
10:35; 17:17).
• Power—Leo’s claim to apostolic succession had implications on power and
a local church’s autonomy (self-rule). While Leo wanted to promote unity, he
also set up a system that could be easily corrupted.
• Dealings With Attila—When Italy was invaded by the Huns in 452, he met
personally with Attila the Hun. No one knows what Leo said, but apparently
Attila and his men left Rome afterwards. This helped the “first pope” gain
respect.
GREGORY THE GREAT
• Added Practices—During Gregory’s ministry as pope (A.D. 590-604), he
added numerous practices as being required for Christians: clerical celibacy,
Mass, and the belief of purgatory.
• Missionary Pope—Gregory was especially influential in sending out
missionaries to convert people to Christianity (albeit a “Romanized” form).
• The Angle/Angel—Having sent missionaries to the “Angles” (England), some
children of the Angles had traveled to Rome. Gregory corrected a listener
that these were not “Angles” but “Angels.”
• [Gregorian Chants] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hg26oCWFY-k
THE “DARK AGES”
• Time Period—Historians greatly disagree on when the “Dark Ages” actually
occurred, but for this class we will accept the years of A.D. 476-800 (The Fall
of Rome to the Crowning of Charlemagne)
• The “Darkness” of the Dark Ages—This is a time period that has little written
record (with the exception of Christian monks)
• [Video] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cqzq01i2O3U
THE BENEDICTINES
• The Monks—The reason why Christians started to become monks in the
Middle Ages: Persecution was no longer a threat, thus, some Christians felt
the need to be “serious” believers by strictly disciplining themselves. Some
monks lived by themselves, others lived in communities.
• The Benedictine Rule—This was a strict code of conduct for monks to follow.
It combined physical work with spiritual “exercise” (prayer, Scripture reading,
fasting).
• [video] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uDOO5UxpCKY
CHARLEMAGNE
• Emperor—In A.D. 800, the Pope crowned Charlemagne (a ruler of the
Franks) as emperor over the Roman Empire. This eventually turned into the
“Holy Roman Empire,” which completely tied the Church and State
together.
• Forced Conversion—Charlemagne was very successful at getting entire
tribes of people to convert to Christianity. Unfortunately, he was only
successful because he would kill anyone that denied Christianity.
• [video] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j4PI8dEWTGE
ISLAM’S FOUNDER (MUHAMMAD)
• Last Prophet—According to Islam, Muhammad was the last of the prophets
(others include Abraham and Jesus).
• Mecca—Muhammad lived in modern-day Saudi Arabia. According to Islam,
the angel Gabriel delivered the Quran to Muhammad in a cave.
• The Hijrah—In A.D. 622, Muhammad fled Mecca to another city in Saudi
Arabia, Medina.
• Sunni vs. Shiite (Shia) Muslims—After Muhammad’s death, Muslims divided
into two groups:
• Sunni Muslims = Leaders of Islam must be elected
• Shiite(Shia) Muslims = Leaders of Islam must be biologically related to
Muhammad
ISLAM’S TEACHINGS
• 5 Pillars
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1- Profession of Allah
2- Prayer (5x a day)
3- Giving of Alms
4- Fasting During Ramadan
5- Pilgrimage to Mecca (if possible)
• The Quran—Allegedly the dictated words from Allah (God) to Muhammad
• The Hadith—Alleged sayings of Muhammad (less significant than the Quran,
but still valuable to Muslims)
ISLAM VIDEO
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yX3UHNhQ1Zk
• 20 Min.
SURAH 5:117
• [link] http://quran.com/5/116-126
• Question: What is the Quran saying about Christian theology? Why is this a
major problem?