Download Christianity and the Dark Ages

CHRISTIANITY
FROM THE DARK TO MIDDLE AGES
A CHANGING CHURCH
THE HOLY ROMAN EMPIRE
• After the fall of Rome, the Catholic Church
centered in Rome held together society in Western
Europe.
• In the 8th/ 9th Century, a King named Charlemagne
brought all of Western Europe under his rule.
• He combined his own rule with that of the Church and
named this new Empire the Holy Roman Empire.
• The Holy Roman Empire: a confederation of
Kingdoms united under the banner of the Roman
Catholic Church.
CHARLEMAGNE
• Realized that he could
use the Church to unify
his Empire (much like
Constantine) and
utilized the Church
structure.
• He was the official
political Emperor, but
was united to the
Pope’s Authority.
CHANGES FOR THE CHURCH
Emperor Charlemagne strengthens the church in order
to strengthen his empire.
• The Pope, although technically not the Emperor, was as
powerful and if not more powerful than the Emperor himself.
• However, many bishops were elected by
the Emperor Charlemagne. More and more,
the clergy is a political position as well as
religious.
EFFECTS ON
EUROPE
• The Church, in league with the Empire, helps
usher in a more unified Europe.
• Europe was previously a warrior culture where
neighboring Kingdoms constantly fought for land and
resources.
• The Truce of God: instituted by the Church, it
made it illegal fight from Thursday-Monday. It
couldn’t take place During lent or the Easter
Season. Fighting was forbidden for half of the
year!
• The Empire’s might and the Church’s power together brings
people in line.
THE GREAT SCHISM
• Trouble on the Horizon
• Divisions between East and West
• Remember, the Roman Empire was split – Rome and
Constantinople.
• 1054 – The Great Schism
• As the two halves of the Empire grew more and more
different from each other, the Church – which became
engrained in those cultures – grew apart as well.
• The Patriarch of Constantinople (East) was at odds with
the Bishop of Rome/Pope (West)
A CHURCH DIVIDED
• The Western Church – the Roman Catholic Church
• The Eastern Church – Eastern Orthodox
THE MEDIEVAL CHURCH
• As the Church came into the Middle Ages (5001500), it coincided with a period of growth in
Europe.
• Cities were becoming more populated.
• Cities increasingly made up of rich merchants and
nobility.
• Cathedrals and religious centers were at the center of city
life.
• Schools and University’s (religious) begin to spring
up.
• Time of Theology – like Thomas Aquinas.
RELIGIOUS ORDERS
• Many different Religious Orders spring up to see to the
ever growing needs of cities.
• Each order focused on something different to better serve the
people of God.
• Franciscans, Dominicans, Carmelites, Capuchins, Augustinians, and
Jesuits: all spring up to help the people.
• Benedictines: stuck to themselves. Many monasteries became wealthy.
Mendicant Orders: these were orders
where you begged for your food. They
were the lowest of the low, and people
trusted and respected them.
IMPORTANT THEOLOGIES
• Atonement:
• The idea that Jesus atoned – or paid for our sins
– by dying on the cross.
• Human beings owed a debt to God, through sin, and Jesus
pays for that debt. Since Jesus is God, all powerful and
everlasting, his sacrifice is everlasting too! It covers everyone!
• The Summa Theologica
• Written by St. Thomas Aquinas, it summarized and
expanded upon the Theology of the Church.
• Still one of the most important works for the Church today.
THE MARKS OF THE CHURCH
• ONE
• The Church is a unified body – made one in Christ. The Pope
leads as a sign and symbol of that unification.
• HOLY
• Because it is one with Jesus, and the treasury of grace
through the Sacraments.
• CATHOLIC
• “Catholic” means universal, as in: 1) the gospel should be
spread all over the world, 2) the church has everything you
need to receive salvation.
• APOSTOLIC
• The Church goes back to the apostles through the bishops
and the bishops lead with their authority.
• The Magisterium (bishops led by the Pope) are infallible.
• Infallibility: led by the Spirit, the teachings of the Magisterium are
without error in matters of faith and morals.