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THE EARLY CHURCH CONSTANTINE - CRUSADES
FROM PERSECUTION TO RECOGNITION TO WAR
CHURCHES IN 100 CE
CHURCHES IN 200 CE
CHURCHES IN 300 CE
EARLY CHURCH LEADERS/TEACHERS
APPEAL OF CHRISTIANITY
• Spread due to 5 main factors:
1. Embraced all people – men, women, slaves, poor,
nobles
2. Gave hope to the powerless
3. Appealed to those who were repelled by Roman
extravagance
4. Offered personal relationship with a loving God
5. Promised eternal life after death
EARLY CHURCH ORGANIZATION
• As the faith spreads, it takes on an
organizational hierarchy
• No such thing as “clergy” as a
profession in first centuries
• There are local priests and then
regional bishops or overseers
• As church grew, need for more
“organization” (2nd century)
• Alexandria and Antioch =
important centers
• Bishops here held in greater esteem,
therefore title of “patriarch”
• Eventually, the bishop of Rome
becomes the pope
PERSECUTION
• Romans were typically tolerant of
foreign religions
• State religion was way of assuring
allegiance to State
• Judaism was legal religion which
provided some protection for
Christians during early years
• Fall of Jerusalem put permanent
rift between Jews and Christians
• Romans began to see Christianity was
its own religion
• For first 300 years Christians could
be legally persecuted for their
beliefs
REASONS FOR ROMAN PERSECUTION:
POPULAR OPINION
• Separated themselves from
immorality and idolatry
• This particularly angered those who
prospered from idolatry
• Refused to worship Roman Gods
• Had no idols or temples  brought
charge of atheism
• Claimed to have absolute religion
in pluralistic society
• Somewhat secretive – breeds
suspicion
• Accused of many ludicrous
fabrications
• Blamed for earthquakes, floods, etc.
REASONS FOR ROMAN PERSECUTION:
GOVERNMENT FEAR
• Refused to worship
Caesar – questionable
loyalty
• Threat to state religion
and thus unity of
empire
• Unified group that
proclaimed their own
king (Christ)
• Proselytized
PERSECUTION
• Persecution was typically restricted to local inflammations
• They would be released by simply denying Christ or
sacrificing to the Emperor
• There were occasional intense outbreaks due to certain
emperors (e.g. Nero)
• When put to death,
Christians were often
subjected to incredible
cruelty including:
•
•
•
•
•
•
Thrown to lions
Burned at stake
Used as torches
Beheaded
Tortured
Crucified
PERSECUTING EMPERORS
• Nero (64 A.D.) blamed Christians for fire which destroyed
large part of Rome. First severe persecution
• Domitian (81-96) second emperor to intensify
persecution
• Trajan (99-117) intensified persecution in an attempt to
stamp out secret associations
• Hadrian (117 – 138) briefly intensified persecution of
Christians when Jews revolted and were subsequently
slaughtered
• Decius (249-251) made the thorough repression of
Christianity a key part of his reign
• Valerian (243-260) initially spared Christians but
eventually led an attempt to execute or banish all
bishops
• Diocletian (303-311) resumed general persecution
THE MARTYRDOM OF PETER
• Peter the Apostle traveled
to Rome and was crucified
upside down by Nero
• Believed to be the first “Bishop”
or Pope of the Christian Church
• Today, all Popes are believed
to be descendants of St. Peter
• We now call this the “Catholic”
church which means
“Universal”
CHRISTIANITY RECOGNIZED
• Christianity spread
throughout Roman Empire
• 312 A.D., Emperor
Constantine converted to
Christianity and issued the
Edict of Milan which gave
freedoms and equality to
Christians
• 380 A.D., Emperor
Theodosius made
Christianity the official
religion of the Roman
Empire
CONSTANTINE’S CONVERSION
• Turning Point: Battle of Milvian Bridge
• According to various Christian sources,
Constantine looked up to the sun before the
battle and saw a cross of light above it, and
with it the Greek words “In this sign, conquer!”
• Constantine commanded his troops to adorn
their shields with a Christian symbol (the ChiRho), and thereafter they were victorious.
A monogram of chi (Χ) and
rho (Ρ) as the first two letters
of Greek Khristos Christ, used
as a Christian symbol
EDICT OF MILAN (313)
• Constantine legalized
Christianity, granting religious
freedom to everyone, with
Christians getting special
mention
• Constantine reunited the
Empire and wanted to
maintain unity at all costs
• Church as a means to achieve
that unity
• First Christian Emperor
• Radically changed both the
Church of his time and the
Church of the future
CONSTANTINE’S MOTIVES?
Historians disagree on this…
• Although Constantine certainly identified with the
Church, his motives are debated: Was he a true,
believing Christian [it seems he wasn’t baptized until
his death bed]? Or did he use the Church for his
unification campaign? Or both?
• He believed that God had given him the duty to
direct the Church [a state–controlled religion]
• He believed that the Roman state’s survival
depended on the unity of the Church
POSITIVE EFFECTS OF CONSTANTINE’S
RULE
• Christianity transformed from a persecuted minority
religion to an official religion of the Empire
• Bishops given honors and were allowed to function as
judges
• More humane punishments
• Building of new churches
with public money
• Christians influence
society in positive ways
• New converts
• Monasticism developed
rapidly
• Peace allowed a
persecuted church to be secure
CRISIS DUE TO CONSTANTINE’S RULE
• Being a Christian became easier;
less risk
• Whole households, tribes, etc. were
baptized if leader was baptized
• Some people converted for
upwardly mobile, political
reasons
• State influence over the Church
increased
• Some in Church began to identify
less with powerless and poor
• Pagan custom was prohibited
and state persecuted pagans
and those considered heretics
THE CHURCH GROWS
• By the middle of the fourth century, Christianity was
a significant influence in the Roman Empire
• A social 'glue,' holding the Empire together
• But the Church struggled with internal divisions, and
for Constantine, division in the Church threatened
political instability
• Doctrine had developed and solidified during
persecution; challenges to Christian beliefs
continued
COUNCILS –
EXPLAINING THE FAITH
• Doctrine developed in the face
of controversy and persecution
• Challenges and splinter groups
led to clarification and
expression of church teachings
• Councils were an effective way
to clarify major theological
disagreements that threatened
Church unity
• Followed Apostolic model, and
must be convened or
recognized by the Pope
THE COUNCIL OF NICAEA
• Constantine called the Council of Nicaea
• Sought to settle some religious disputes and provide
some standard Christian doctrines
NICENE CREED
• I believe in one God, the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth, and
of all things visible and invisible.
• And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only-begotten Son of God, begotten of the
Father before all worlds; God of God, Light of Light, very God of very God;
begotten, not made, being of one substance with the Father, by whom all
things were made.
• Who, for us men for our salvation, came down from heaven, and was
incarnate by the Holy Spirit of the virgin Mary, and was made man; and was
crucified also for us under Pontius Pilate; He suffered and was buried; and
the third day He rose again, according to the Scriptures; and ascended into
heaven, and sits on the right hand of the Father; and He shall come again,
with glory, to judge the quick and the dead; whose kingdom shall have no
end.
• And I believe in the Holy Ghost, the Lord and Giver of Life; who proceeds
from the Father [and the Son]; who with the Father and the Son together is
worshipped and glorified; who spoke by the prophets.
• And I believe one holy catholic and apostolic Church. I acknowledge one
baptism for the remission of sins; and I look for the resurrection of the dead,
and the life of the world to come. Amen.
BARBARIANS
THE FALL OF ROME
• Rome didn’t fall in one
catastrophic event (410476)
• Last roman emperor
(Romulus Augustulus)
deposed in 476 by
Odoacer
• But this wasn’t the real
cause of the fall – that
came about when masses
of barbarians overflowed
the northern and eastern
borders.
•
The cause? The Huns!
CHANGING THE FACE OF EUROPE
• Odoacer dethrones last
emperor in West (476 A.D.)
• West deteriorates into multitude
of barbarian kingdoms
• The Church was the only
organized institution
• Even where barbarians did not
destroy the Empire’s infrastructure,
they had no clue how to maintain it
• Cities eventually disappeared
• Although pagan barbarians adopted Christianity, their
ignorance and low morals actually lowered society’s
standards
• Conversion of Frankish king, Clovis, leads to conversion of
barbarians – common religion brought some unity
CHANGING THE FACE OF EUROPE
• Church must assume much of the role of the state
• Gregory the Great [d. 604] increases power of
papacy to fill vacuum of civil leadership
EUROPE IN THE 6TH CENTURY
THE POWER OF THE CHURCH
• The decline of Rome led the church to assume
many political and social tasks
• Bishop of Rome, now the Pope, became the strongest
political leader in W. Europe.
• The Pope claimed spiritual authority over all Christians
• Many Bishops and Abbots were nobles who
received land
• Local lords began to control many church offices
and lands - contrary to church tradition - appointing
leaders
• Signs of corruption
RISE OF EUROPEAN MONARCHY
• After decline of Rome…no central authority existed until the
1100 ADs when many European monarchs began building
strong states
THREATS IN THE EAST
• Islamic threat grows – Northern Africa falls along
with much of East. Invasions stopped in Spain
THE CRUSADES
• Europeans undertook a series of military expeditions
(9) to reclaim the holy lands (Jerusalem) from the
Muslims
Why did the Christians consider these lands holy?
• This was where Jesus was killed and resurrected
Why did the Muslims consider these lands holy?
• This was where Muhammad ascended to heaven
• In the 600s AD, Jerusalem fell to Muslim Arabs
• Christians and Jews were allowed to live there peacefully
• In the 1000s AD, the Seljuk Turks (Muslims from Asia)
took over and closed the city to Jewish and
Christian pilgrims
1ST CRUSADE
• November, 1095 CE
• Pope Urban II addresses crowds imploring them to
take back the holy lands
• “God Wills It!”
1ST CRUSADE
• June, 1099AD- Jerusalem falls to the Europeans
• Religious fever cools down… but tensions are rising between
Muslims and Christians
2ND CRUSADE
• Less than 50 years later, the Seljuks recapture part of the
Palestine states
• Pope Eugenius IV calls for the second crusade
• It fails… They were easily defeated
• This crusade only lasted from 1147-1149AD
3RD CRUSADE
• 1187 AD a forceful leader named
Saladin united the Muslims
• Took back Jerusalem - Europe
was horrified!
• Many kings, including King
Richard I of England assembled
warriors for a third crusade
(called the “Crusade of Kings”)
3RD CRUSADE
• After three years of fighting King Richard called a truce
• Many other crusades followed… none were successful