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Grade 8 – Chapter 10 Study Guide
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The early Christians followed the spiritual practice of going on a pilgrimage
A pilgrimage is a journey to a shrine or other holy place for spiritual and devotional reasons.
From 1000 – 1200 A.D., the Holy Land fell into the hands of Muslim conquerors.
Many feared that if the conquerors weren’t stopped, the Muslim armies might sweep into the heart of
Europe.
Pope Urban II organized a Crusade. The Crusades were holy wars to take back the cross, freeing
the Holy land and its sacred sites.
They acted out of faith hoping to save Christianity.
There were 4 major crusades between 1097 and 1204. The Crusades took control of Jerusalem in 1099
but by 1187, Jerusalem fell back into Muslim reign until 1917.
In 1204, the armies of the Fourth Crusade attacked and looted Constantinople, a city in the eastern part
of the Christian world.
During the Middle Ages, the world looked to the leader of the church for moral and spiritual leadership.
It was commonly accepted that the pope had authority from God to give power to kings, princes, and
other civil rulers.
At this time there was much corruption in the church.
Bishops and abbots, those who ran monasteries, were living very well with money and power. Kings
and princes wanted to appoint these bishops and abbots within their kingdoms.
Lay investiture is the illicit practice of empowering a church leader with authority outside the church.
At this time, it seemed that the papacy was weakened. Pope Gregory VII guided the church and started
“the Gregorian reforms.” Gregory forbade lay investiture, insisted on celibacy (priests not being
permitted to marry), and banned all forms of simony. Simony is the buying and selling of spiritual
things, and services, or Church offices.
In some cases, entire dioceses were sold to the highest bidders.
Henry IV would not adhere to Pope Gregory’s reforms. Gregory sentenced Henry IV to
excommunication, a severe penalty imposed by the Church for serious sins against the Catholic
religion.
Pope Gregory forgave Henry IV, who returned to Germany, put together an army, and drove Pope
Gregory from Rome. Gregory died in exile, but because of the Gregorian reforms, the church has
survived until today.
In the High Middle ages, Christendom refers to the cultural and political atmosphere that came
into existence during this period in Europe when nearly everyone was Catholic.
Pope Innocent III held the Fourth Lateran Council. At this ecumenical council, it was ruled that:
a) Catholics must receive Holy Communion at least once a year and
b) transubstantiation is the term that describes the changing of the bread and wine into the body
and Blood of Christ.
As the church moved into the later Middle Ages, spiritual leaders began to defend the faith against
heresy. Those who taught false doctrines, and sometimes even those who criticized the Church in
a positive and faithful way, were identified as heretics.
Pope Gregory IX set up an official court to investigate heresy in 1231. This special court was called the
Inquisition.
The court had the power to impose fines, imprison people, and even condemn heretics to death.
In Spain, the Spanish Inquisition under King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella, was particularly vicious.
 In addition to punishing people of suspected heresy, the Spanish Inquisition targeted Muslims and Jews
who converted to Christianity.
 The leaders and rulers administered cruel punishments. It is hard to realize how this was done as
Christians. Fear can cloud good judgment, and the leaders of the Inquisition acted out of fear.
 The excesses of the Inquisition and the Crusades marked a sad episode in our Church history.
 During the High Middle Ages, a great number of peasants relocated from farms to the cities. There
were no social structures in place to deal with the increase of people to the cities.
 Throughout history, God always cared for his people. With the guidance of the Holy Spirit, a new
form of religious life arose. These men were known as friars. The word friar comes from the
Latin word “frater” which means brother. Friars were mendicants. Mendicants are those who
survive by begging or by the generosity of other people. Friars would work among the poor and
would travel from town to town, preaching the Gospel.
 Friars also committed themselves to being well educated in their faith.
 Two great orders of friars that began at this time were the Franciscans and the Dominicans.
 Medieval Europe was ruled by feudalism. Feudalism is a system that organized society by social
class and land ownership.
 Serfs were peasants who had the lowest positions in society.
 Serfs farmed the land but did not own the land.
 Vassals held a higher position than the serfs. They held the land, but in exchange for the land,
they had to give military or other services to the overlords
 The overlords are the actual landowners and the most powerful class in society.
 The Crusades brought change to the feudal system. The Crusades helped to promote cultural, economic,
and technological growth throughout Europe.
 Peasants that moved to the towns were hoping to find freedom from the drudgery of farm work.
 Theology comes from the Greek word theos which means god. Theology is the study of God.
 St. Thomas Aquinas was one of the scholars of the Church.
Grade 8 – Chapter 9 Study Guide
 When Christianity became the official religion of the Roman empire, some people thought Baptism
would give them social status.
 True Christians resisted this trend and some even separated themselves apart from society.
 These people lived as hermits, most often in the desert.
 In the year 300, Anthony of Egypt brought these hermits together to live in community.
 This was the beginning of monasticism. Monastic life is a life dedicated to prayer, work, study , and
the needs of society.
 Each monastery, a place where monks and nuns live, established rules to live by.
 Basil the Great, from the eastern part of the empire, was a holy monk who developed a great “rule of
life” for monks.
 Under Basil’s rule, the monks vowed, or promised to practice poverty, chastity, and obedience.
These vows are called the evangelical counsels.
 Monks also followed a daily routine of community prayer, manual labor, contemplation, and service to
those in need.
 Benedict of Nursia, from the western part of the empire, founded a monastery at Monte Casino,
Italy.
 He had a sister, now Saint Scholastica, who founded a monastery for nuns nearby.
 Benedict built on the rules set out by Basil. He said that monks should live by the motto, “Ora et
labora,” which means “Pray and work. He set up a rule of prayer, which identified seven specific
times each day for community prayer.
 In the Benedictine system, each monastery was independent. The monks followed their abbot, and the
nuns followed their abbess.
 In the 10th century, there was a movement to reform or reorganize monastic life. At the French
monastery at Cluny, the abbot directed his monks to a life of prayer.
 Later, an even more rigid code of prayer was established by Bernard Clairvaux, who founded the
Cistercian order. His monks followed a strict rule of prayer, manual labor, and simple living.
 The strength of the Roman empire was weakening, even though monastic life was flourishing.
 From the 5th century, “barbarian” tribes invaded Roman territories. Barbarian refers to those
who are uneducated and have no culture.
 The western part of the empire collapsed with the invasions of the Germanic tribes. Armies of Franks
and Vikings also invaded Roman territories. The western empire collapsed and the eastern empire
barely survived.
 These invasions threatened the very existence of the Christian faith. Education, housing, health care and
security declined. Food was scarce and death was never far away. These tribes brought with them the
practice of paganism.
 Christian leaders like Pope Gregory the Great reached out to these pagan leaders. Gregory made treaties
with the leaders and sent Christian missionaries to their homelands.
 Gregory the great reformed the church by contributing to canon law. Canon law are laws that are
used to govern the church and would provide for good order.
 Ecclesial governance refers to church governance.
 Gregory was involved in the Gregorian Sacramentary, a book that would guide the celebration of
the Mass and sacraments for years to come.
 He is associated with the beginning of church music. This beautiful music has been chanted at the
Liturgy of the Hours and other church celebrations. His music is referred to as the Gregorian chant.
 The pagan invaders were impressed with the kindness and virtue of the monks and nuns.
 Clovis, King of the Franks, lived in Gaul (what is now France). He laid the ground work for the
conversion to Christianity. Later two Greek leaders Cyril and Methodius brought the good news of
Jesus Christ to their territories.
 By the year 1000, most of what was “barbarian” Europe was now Christian.
 The Franks had conquered the western part of the Roman Empire. In the year 800, Pope Leo III
crowned Charlemagne, the leader of the Franks, as the Holy Roman Emperor.
 Charlemagne immediately began to reform the church. He did not distinguish between church
and politics.
 Charlemagne decreed that all monasteries open schools to everyone
 He encouraged monastic libraries to preserve and copy ancient manuscripts.
 He appointed Alcuin, a monk from England to set up a school of Religious Studies.
 By the end of the first thousand years, or millennium, many monasteries and cathedral schools
provided education and preserved ancient culture.
 It was assumed that the pope was the true ruler of the Roman Empire, since he crowns the
Emperor.
 By the eighth century Muslim armies began invading much of the Middle East, including sites in
Jerusalem. They conquered northern Africa and Spain. Spain remained under Muslim rule for almost
another 800 years.
 In 1054, a great division in the church occurred. Up until now, the eastern and western parts of the
empire were united under the same pope.
 This division or schism, separated the eastern part of the Roman empire from the Western part.
The western part of the empire remained under the guidance of the Pope and became known as
the Roman Catholic Church.
 The Eastern Catholic Churches remained close to the Roman Catholic pope and bishops, but established
their own tradition, language, and liturgical customs.
 The Catholic Church today consists of 22 churches: the Roman Catholic Church and 21 Eastern Catholic
Churches.
 The Eastern Churches chose not to accept the pope’s leadership. These churches today are now known
as The Eastern Orthodox Church. This division or schism continues to present day. It is the hope of the
pope that one day both churches would be united.
 There are two several forms of prayer:
In prayers of Petition, we ask something of God, usually for ourselves. Included in these prayers we
ask for forgiveness.
In prayers of Intercession, we ask God for something on behalf of another person, group of people,
or the world.
In prayers of Thanksgiving, we show God our gratitude for all he has given us.
In prayers of Praise, we give glory to God simply for being God.
 St. Columba was an Irish monk, abbot, and missionary. He established monasteries in Ireland , and
then, with 12 companions they sailed to Scotland to spread the Gospel. St. Columba was also a poet and
scribe. He was responsible for copying manuscripts to preserve ancient writings. He established a
monastery in Iona, Scotland. Today, a monastic community of laypeople still exists.
Grade 8 – Chapter 8 Study Guide
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Early Christians endured many persecutions.
Roman emperors Decius and Diocletian tried to make the Christians worship them as gods.
In the year 303 Emperor Diocletian issued edicts, or orders, that led to what we now call the
“Great Persecution” which continued until 311.
During this persecution thousands of Christians were martyred for their faith.
Emperor Galerius who succeeded Diocletian, confiscated church property and burned all
Christian books.
Emperor Constantine ruled the Roman Empire from 312 to 337. Although he was not a Christian
until the end of his life, he favored Christianity after winning the Milvian Bridge battle. He attributed
winning this battle because his soldiers had crosses on their shields.
Emperor Constantine issued the Edict of Milan in 313, allowing Christians the freedom to worship
openly.
Encouraged by his Christian mother, Constantine made Rome a Christian city.
He built a great Basilica over the tomb of Saint Peter, gave many buildings to the Christians to worships,
declared every Sunday a holiday, and made Easter and Christmas official holidays.
Emperor Theodosius, Constantine’s successor, made Christianity the official religion of the
Roman Empire. The early Christians again experienced that the Holy Spirit is at work in their world.
In the second century, the Church accepted the Old Testament as part of the Christian Bible.
The Bible is a collection of books concerned with God’s covenant: The agreement that God made with
the people of Israel (the old covenant) and the agreement brought to fulfillment in Jesus (the new
covenant).
Testament is another word for “covenant.”
Early Christians had to decide which writings should be included in the New Testament, the part of the
Bible that recalls the story of Jesus, his mission, his first followers, and the beginnings of the Church.
Under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, the Church developed its New Testament of 27 books. In 367, in
a letter written by St. Athanasius, the Bishop of Alexandria, Egypt, we find the first written list of the
New Testament books.
Canon, or canon law is the official list of Sacred Scripture.
The original Fathers of the Church include:
1. Origin (185-254) – He studied and explained Scripture
2. Tertullian (155-222) – Developed a vocabulary of terms used to describe faith.
3. St. John Chrysostom (347-407) – A great preacher. His name means “goldenmouthed.”
4. St. Jerome 9347-420) – Translated the Bible into Latin from Hebrew, Greek and
Aramaic
Heresy is a belief or collection of beliefs that rejects one or more of the revealed truths of the
faith..
To combat heresy, the Church gave rise to the first ecumenical councils.
Ecumenical comes from the Greek, and means “of the whole world.”
An ecumenical council brings together the bishops of the whole world with the bishops of Rome and the
Pope to guide the church in matters of faith and life in Jesus Christ.
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In 325, a priest named Arius, claimed Jesus was not fully divine. This Arian heresy threatened the
peace of the Roman empire. At the Council of Nicea, Athanasius argued that Jesus had to be fully
human and fully divine to have the power to save us. The Arian heresy was condemned.
The controversy of Jesus’ divinity continued into 381. Emperor Theodosius I called a Council at
Constantinople where it was decided that the Holy Spirit, like Jesus, is also fully divine.
The Blessed Trinity is “the central mystery of Christian faith and life.”
The creed that was written in Council of Nicea was added to at Constantinople that we proclaim
even today in Mass. In this creed we proclaim our faith, first in God the Father, then in God the
Son, and then in God the Holy Spirit.
Other controversies included that Jesus was really 2 different people, and that Mary only gave
birth the human Jesus.
The Council of Ephesus confirmed that Mary gave birth to Jesus Christ, the Son of God, and that
Mary can truly be called “Mother of God.”
The Council of Chalcedon is considered the greatest of the first four ecumenical councils. At this
council it was confirmed as Pope Leo the Great taught, that Jesus was one person with two
natures – divine and human.
Grade 8 – Chapter 7 Study Guide
 Imagine living in the year 30 A.D. Imagine being Christian living in the Roman Empire, ruled
exclusively by the emperor. It was around this time that Jesus ascended to the Father. The Holy
Spirit came upon the disciples at Pentecost.
 Pentecost marked the beginning of the Church. The Church was openly displayed to the crowds
and the spread of the Gospel among the nations.
 Peter told the people of Jerusalem that God has made Him both Lord and Messiah, this Jesus whom you
crucified.
 Peter told the people of Jerusalem to repent and be baptized for the forgiveness of sins to receive
the gift of the Holy Spirit.
 The Holy Spirit was with the members of the first Christian community, guiding them to believe in Jesus
Christ.
 With the Holy Spirit, the community of Jesus’ disciples had become something that we can recognize
today, over two thousand years later: the Catholic Church growing and working.
 The Roman Empire was at peace. They spoke Latin but favored the Greek language.
 Paul was the most famous Christian missionaries. After a conversion to belief in Jesus Christ,
Paul spread the Gospel throughout the Roman Empire.
 Paul and other Christian missionaries faced many challenges including tension with the Christians’
Jewish neighbors.
 The disciple Stephen was put to death in Jerusalem, falsely accused of speaking blasphemous
words against Moses and God.” It is believed he is the first Christian martyr.
 Tensions also existed with the Roman authorities. At first they did not see the early Christians as a
threat. Soon, the authorities began to fear that Christianity, with emphasis on dignity and equality of all
people, could become a revolutionary political movement.
 When the Christians refused to worship the Roman gods, and denied that the Roman emperor
himself was not a god, they began to persecute the Christians. Emperor Nero persecuted the first
Christians around A.D. 64. Thousands of Christians were persecuted rather than deny their faith.
 At the end of Paul’s first missionary journey with Barnabas they visited a community at Antioch. In the
year 40 the word Christian referred to the followers of Jesus Christ. These Christians were
Gentiles, or non-Jews.
 The people of Antioch questioned whether Gentiles first needed to become Jews before becoming
Christians. Paul and Barnabas went to Jerusalem to ask the presbyters, or priests to answer this
question.
 The Torah is the sacred law of faith given by God to Moses. The Council of Jerusalem met to
discuss whether men and women who had not been born Jews could be excused from some of the
requirements of Jewish law.
 The Council of Jerusalem was the first great council of the Catholic Church. It took place in
Jerusalem in about year 49.
 The Council ruled that all Christians would follow the Ten Commandments and certain marriage
laws, but some Torah requirements would be done away with for Gentile converts, those who did
not come to Christianity through Judaism.
 The Holy Spirit worked through the community of the Church at the Council of Jerusalem, helping
leaders to decide on matters about which Jesus left no specific instructions.
 As the first eyewitness Christians began to die, the Christian community became aware that future
generations would need something more than oral tradition. Early Christians began to write things down.
 Many scholars agree on the following timeline:
a. Around A.D. 70, the Gospel of Mark was the first written account of Jesus’ life and teaching.
b. Gospels of Matthew and Luke were written down between A.D. 80 and 90. Their Gospels were
based on Mark’s and other early Christians.
c. These 3 Gospels are very similar and closely related. We refer to them as synoptic Gospels.
d. The 4th Gospel of John was written about A.D. 100. John’s writings describe some words and
deeds of Jesus as the other Gospel writers, but he addresses other incidents and issues not
included in the other three Gospels.
 These four Gospels are included in the New Testament along with other writings. Fourteen books in
the New Testament are epistles, or letters written to the early Christians, probably by St. Paul. Seven
were written by other Church leaders. The Acts of the Apostles, also included in the New Testament
include the very earliest days of the Church, followed by Revelation, the last book of the Bible.
Revelation calls believers to look forward with hope to eternal glory.
 The human authors of these sacred texts were inspired by the Holy Spirit to write what would faithfully
present God’s saving truth.
 The Holy Spirit was also working in the Church, guiding the development of Tradition. Tradition
refers to the written and spoken beliefs and practices that have been handed down to us from the
time of Christ.
 Together Tradition and Scripture make up “a single sacred deposit of the Word of God.”
 The Ordinary time is the season of life and hope. The color green, which we use during this season, reminds
us of the life and hope that come with Christ.
 Ordinary Time lasts 33 – 34 weeks. Ordinary Time is celebrated twice during the year.
 In the Jewish calendar, Saturday was, and still is the Sabbath.
 Today our church keeps Sunday as our holy day.
 In the celebration of the Eucharist, the Mass, we praise and thank God for his many gifts, listen to God’s
word, remember Jesus’ life, death and Resurrection and celebrate Jesus’ gift of himself in the Eucharist,
receive the body and blood of Christ in Holy Communion, and are sent out to share Jesus’ love.
 Trinity Sunday is the first Sunday after Pentecost. On this Sunday, we celebrate our belief in the Blessed
Trinity: God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.
 Corpus Christi Sunday is celebrated on the Sunday after Trinity Sunday. The term “Body of Christ” comes
from this term.
 Christ the King Sunday is the last Sunday in Ordinary Time. We rejoice that Christ is the King of the
universe. He saves us from evil and brings us new life.
 Magisterium is the living teaching office of the Church through the Pope and bishops.
 Through letters, statements, and documents, the Magisterium continually teaches us about the truth.
When new issues or circumstances arise today, the Holy Spirit guides the Magisterium and the whole
Church to develop an understanding and answer.
Grade 8 – Chapter 5 & Chapter 6 Study Guide
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To gain eternal life, keep the commandments and live out the commandments as an expression of love
of God.
Jesus called his disciples to be perfect, as God is perfect.
Jesus teaches us that we can live out our discipleship by loving and forgiving all people – even those
who are hard to love and hard to forgive.
The fourth commandment is “Honor your father and your mother.”
We can live out the 4th commandment by:
1. appreciating and obeying our parents, guardians, family members, and all who lead and serve us.
2. continually being grateful to our parents for all they have given us.
3. eventually supporting our families and helping to care for our parents in their old age.
respecting those who are our elders, appreciating their wisdom as valued members of our
communities and avoiding any form of discrimination that causes us to treat older people differently.
4. valuing and listening with respect to parents, guardians, family members, teachers, friends, officials
As citizens, along with our civil authorities, we are responsible for building up society in a spirit of
truth, justice, and solidarity.
The fifth commandment says, “You shall not kill.”
This commandment is based on the truth that all life is sacred, created by God.
The right to life, from the moment of conception to natural death is the most basic human right.
Some forms of violence are always wrong: abortion, euthanasia, murder, suicide, terrorism, war, death
penalty, domestic violence, pollution, and scandal.
The sixth commandment says, “You shall not commit adultery.”
God created us with human sexuality. Human sexuality is the gift of being able to feel, think, choose,
love, and act as the male or female person God created us to be.
Adultery is infidelity in marriage, unfaithfulness to one’s husband or wife.
Married couples take a vow or promise to commit their lives together forever while showing their love
for each other in a beautiful physical way. This full expression of sexual intimacy is reserved for
marriage.
Divorce is the breaking of the marriage contract between a man and a woman.
Married couples must be open to the children whom God may bless them.
The sixth commandment obliges us to grow in loving ourselves, in respecting our bodies, in loving our
family and friends, and in properly showing our feelings of love.
The 6th commandment reminds us to practice the virtue, or good habit of chastity.
Chastity is the use of our human sexuality in a responsible and faithful way.
We refrain from any offenses against the dignity of marriage including: polygamy, incest, free union,
fornication, lust, masturbation, pornography, promiscuity, prostitution rape, and homosexual acts.
The seventh commandment says, “You shall not steal.” Stealing is any action that unjustly takes away
the property or rights of others.
Justice is respecting the rights of others and giving them what is rightfully theirs.
Living according to the seventh commandment means:
Being God’s stewards of creation-caring for the world God has given us.
Caring for the things that belong to us and respecting what belongs to others
Not taking things that are not ours, including homework, test answers, or ideas
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Treating all people as valuable and important
Appreciating human work as a participation in the work of creation
Showing respect for the goods and property of others and not damaging the property of others
Working to help all people, especially those who are poor and powerless.
Giving alms as a work of justice
The eighth commandment says, “You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.” To give
witness means to to have personal knowledge of a person or event and to tell others the truth about it.
The 8th commandment teaches us about the need for the truth.
The 8th commandment obliges us to:
To witness to the truth of Jesus by the things we say and do
To tell the truth
To respect the privacy of others
To honor the good names of others and avoid anything that would harm their reputations.
The eighth commandment forbids us to lie. A lie is to speak or act falsely with the intention of
deceiving others.
Rash judgment, detraction , calumny, boasting, and sarcasm are forms of lies.
The eighth commandment teaches us about keeping promises. If someone asks you to keep a secret, you
promise to keep it.
We should avoid gossip and rumors.
The ninth commandment says, “You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife.” This commandment means
we should not wrongly desire someone or something.
Temptation is the attraction to choose sin.
With God’s grace we can form virtues or good habits, rather than vices, or bad habits.
To covet means to wrongly desire someone or something.
When we desire, or want, something unreasonably, our thoughts and feelings can lead us to do things we
should not do. We are obliged to become more aware of the gift of human sexuality that God has given
us and of the emotions, feelings, desires, and even temptations that may go with it.
The 9th commandment calls us to protect even our desires – our feelings and intentions.
We are obliged to:
Keep our instincts and desires within the limits of what is good and honorable.
Respect and protect the fidelity of the marriage commitment
Practice temperance, which moderates the attraction of pleasures and helps us to bring our desires into
balance.
Trust in God’s ways and value our human sexuality
Practice the virtue of chastity and the virtue of modesty. Modesty means thinking, speaking, acting, and
dressing in ways that show respect for ourselves and others.
Avoid thoughts and feelings that lead us away from following God’s Commandments
Pure of heart means living in the love of God, our Father, just as his Son, Jesus Christ, calls us to do,
and allowing the Holy Spirit to fill us with goodness and love.
The tenth commandment says, “You shall not covet your neighbor’s house.” This commandment
reminds us to not desire wrongly, or covet, the things that do not belong to us.
The 10th commandment obliges us to thank God for what we have, to work for what we need, and to
help others have what they need.
Greed is an excessive desire to have or own things. Desiring things unnecessarily is greed.
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We live out the 10th commandment by trusting in God knowing that He is more important than money or
success.
We must also restrain ourselves from being envious of others. Envy is a feeling of sadness when
someone else has the things we want for ourselves.
The 10th commandment reminds us to become “poor in spirit,” depending on God and making God more
important than anyone or anything else in our life.
We must remember the things that are important:
God and his love.
People and their needs.
The Church community in which we worship and grow in faith.
God’s gifts of creation that we share with all people. God made a covenant with Moses and the
Israelites.