Download Grade 8 – Chapter 10 Study Guide The early Christians followed the

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.