Lecture 4: Historical Developments 312 - 604

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Lecture 4Historical Developments 312 - 604

• Dr. Ann T. Orlando

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Introduction

• Review of Third Century
• Importance of Constantine
• Church-State Relations
• Emperor Theodosius and St. Ambrose
• Empress Eudoxia and St. John Chrysostom
• Early Church Councils
• Barbarian Invasions
• Irish Christianity
• Historical Situation at Beginning of 7th C
• Review Readings

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Review of Third Century

• Increased pressure on Rome from Persia and
  northern barbarians
• Political instability murder and succession of
  generals as emperors
• Empire-wide persecution of Christians
• Martyrs
• Apologists
• Lapsed

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Political Situation at Beginning of Fourth
Century

• Diocletian becomes emperor in 284.
• Very strong ruler
• Decides that best way to protect Empire is to
  divide it between two Augusti (East and West)
  supported by two Caesars (Augusti in waiting)
• Unleashes worst persecution of all
• Manages to retire and force his co-Augutus,
  Maximian, to retire with him(305)
• A few problems with Diocletians plan
• Both Augusti and both Caesars headed their own
  armies and areas of influence
• Except for Diocletian himself, the three other
  members of this tetrarchy saw this scheme as a
  way to take over the Empire when Diocletian died
• When Diocletian retires, political intrigues and
  battles break about among the successors
• Constantius, Augustus, controlled England and
  Gaul, father of Constantine
• Severus, Caesar, ruled Rome
• Maximius, Caesar in Greece
• Galerius, Augustus, in East
• When Constantius dies, his troops proclaim his
  son, Constantine, Augustus

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Map of Roman Empire During Reign of Diocletian
www.biblestudy.org/maps/romandio.html
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Constantine the Great Political Power

• Key to Constantines take-over of entire Empire
  was battle of Milvian bridge over Tiber in Rome
  against Maxentius, son of Maximian in 312.
• Constantine credits his victory to a vision he
  had in which he was told to go into battle with
  the Christian symbol
• Troops carry chi-rho on their shields
• By 313 Constantine has captured all of the Empire
  and officially declared that Christianity was to
  be tolerated (Edict of Milan)
• Gives most of Rome to the Catholic Church
  (Vatican, St. Paul outside the Walls, Lateran)
• Establishes Constantinople (on site of ancient
  Byzantium) as his new capital

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Constantine the Great Ecclesial Power

• Builds Churches, with his mother Helen, in Holy
  Land (Church of Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem,
  Church of Nativity in Bethlehem)
• Moves against the Donatists in North Africa
• Calls Council of Nicea to decide between
  Athanasius and Arius on relation between Father
  and Son Council supports Athanasius and Son as
  one in being with the Father The Nicene Creed
• Dies in 337 (after murdering his wife and eldest
  son) baptized by (an Arian) bishop shortly
  before he dies
• Reaction of Church
• Eusebius of Caesarea the Christian kingdom has
  arrived
• Also some concern about people entering Church
  for political, not spiritual, reasons

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Major Social Changes in 4th C Due to Constantine

• Christian clergy given tax relief
• Churches could receive legacies
• Sunday as a day of rest
• Bishops could act as judges in their diocese
  (Roman administrative province)
• Christian could not charge another Christian
  interest on a loan (sin of usury)
• Crucifixion prohibited
• No branding of prisoners because mars image of
  God

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Key Historical Events in 4th Century after
Constantine

• Constantines Empire gets divided among his sons
  but this only leads to civil war and a weakened
  Empire
• After Constantine, all Emperors except Julian the
  Apostate (361-363) were Christians
• Julian was a Christian, but returned to paganism
• Julian tries to revive paganism
• Planned to rebuild Jewish Temple
• Killed in battle against the Persians
• Some of Constantine's successors in 4th C were
  Arians sent missionaries to Goths north of
  Danube (Arian missionary and bishop Wulfila)

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Theodosius the Great (379-393) and St. Ambrose
of Milan (374-397)

• Theodosius
• Becomes Emperor after Emperor Valens (an Arian)
  is killed at Battle of Adrianople against Goths
• Strong ruler who reunites the Empire
• Orthodox Catholic ruler makes Christianity the
  State religion
• Ambrose
• Prefect in Milan (Western Capital)
• Baptized, Ordained Priest, Bishop in same week
• Opposed Arians, in power in West
• Politically more important than Pope (Siricius)
  because Milan more important than Rome
• Confrontations, in both Ambrose is successful
• Burning of Jewish synagogue in Mesopotamia
• Massacre in Thessalonica

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Empress Eudoxia (398-404) and St. John
Chrysostom (396-407)

• Eudoxia married to Theodosius son, Emperor
  Arcadius (other son, Honorius, Emperor in West)
• John Chrysostom (Golden Mouth)
• Patriarch of Constantinople,
• One of greatest theologians of period, extensive
  commentary on Scripture in Antiochene tradition
• Preaches vehemently against courtly excess,
  especially targeting Eudoxia
• John is exiled from Constantinople (twice)

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The Ecumenical Councils

• Nicea I, 325, called by Constantine the Great
• Condemned Arianism
• Son of one substance with the Father
• Nicene Creed
• Constantinople I, 381, Called by Theodosius the
  Great
• Affirmed divinity of Holy Spirit
• Modified Creed what we have now
• Ephesus, 431, called by Valentinian III
• Condemned Nestorius, Patriarch of Constantinople
• Jesus was not two separate persons, but one
  person both human and divine
• Mary as Theotokos Mother of God
• Chalcedon, 450, called by Empress Pulcheria
  (saint) at request of Pope St. Leo I (the Great)
• Condemned monophysites single nature
• Christ has two natures human and divine (Leos
  Tome)
• Note Both Nestorianism and Monophysitism are
  still present in a few Eastern churches consider
  themselves orthodox because they subscribe to
  Nicene Council

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Key Historical Events 5th Century

• Increasingly West was under pressure from
  northern tribes (Goths, Visigoths, Vandals) who
  in turn under pressure from Huns
• Some of those Goths led by Alaric sacked Rome in
  410
• Effect of Julians apostasy and sack of Rome
  caused Christian theologians to rethink the
  initial triumphal historical view of Constantine
  Augustine The City of God
• Augustine dies in 430 as Hippos is besieged by
  Vandals
• Center of power in Empire is only in
  Constantinople
• Attila the Hun reaches Rome in 452, persuaded by
  Pope St. Leo the Great not to sack Rome (probably
  because there was nothing of value to sack)
• Last Roman emperor in West abdicated in 476
• Pope Gelasius writes to Emperor Anastasius saying
  that spiritual power superior to temporal, 494
• Note Emperor Justinian tries but fails to reunite
  West and East in early 6th C

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5th Century Invasions
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Irish Church

• Parallel development of Catholic Christianity for
  two centuries
• Ireland never part of Roman Empire
• not affected by 5th, 6th C barbarian invasions
• St. Patrick (d. 490) returned to Ireland from
  England after having been a slave in Ireland to
  preach Christianity
• Organizes parishes around monasteries
• Makes Latin the scholarly language in Ireland
• Irish monasteries are cutoff from Roman world due
  to barbarian invasions, develop different customs
  
• Different calculation for Easter
• Discipline (penance, private confession)
• Organization abbots rather than bishops
• In early Sixth Century Irish monks led by St.
  Columba establish a monastery at Iona, Scotland

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6th Century Missionary Activities in Western
Europe

• Parallel, independent missionary activities from
  Rome and Ireland (Iona)
• Irish monks in 6th Century go to France, Germany,
  Holland to preach Christianity
• St. Columban(us) travels extensively through
  Europe establishing Irish style monasteries,
  including one in Northern Italy (d. 615)
• Meanwhile, missionaries from Rome are also trying
  to convert Arian and Pagan Germanic tribes
• Conversion of Chlodwech (Clovis) 496
• Pope St. Gregory the Great sends Augustine to
  England 597
• Differences between Irish and Roman Churches
  resolved at Synod of Whitby, 664, in favor or
  Roman customs

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Historical Situation in Early 7th Cin West

• City of Rome is a desolate ruin with poor
  sanitation and filled with very poor people
  under direct authority of Pope
• Pope St. Gregory the Great rebuilds sanitation
  and water supply
• Feeds the hungry
• Bishops are often the only real source of
  learning, administration and civil justice
• Irish and Roman missionaries have some success
  in converting pagan and Arian tribes
• Visigoths rule Spain Vandals rule North Africa
  Lombards rule northern Italy Byzantine control
  of Southern Italy and Sicily, Franks rule Western
  France Anglo-Saxons in England Alamani in
  Germany

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Historical Situation in Early 7th Cin East

• Unified Eastern Empire firmly under control of
  Byzantine Emperor from Egypt to Danube
• Primary contact between East and West is through
  the Pope
• Ecclesial authorities are subordinate to civil
• Eastern Empire will see itself as the
  continuation of ancient Roman Empire until the
  fall of Constantinople in 1453

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So When Did Rome (Western Roman Empire) Fall?

• When Constantine founded Constantinople as New
  Rome, c. 330?
• When Western capitol moved to Milan in c. 375?
• When Alaric sacked Rome in 410?
• When the last Roman Emperor of West abdicated in
  476?
• When Clovis crowned was King of Franks by
  Catholic bishop in Rheims in 496?
• With the failure of Eastern Emperor Justinian to
  recapture West in early 6th C?
• Arguably this lecture covered the greatest
  historical and social changes in history of West
• Conversion of Constantine
• Sunset of Roman Empire in West and Rise of Europe

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Review Readings

• Vidmar, 46 -86
• Edict (Rescript) of Milan, all of it
• Eusebius, Conversion of Constantine, Chapters
  XXVII XXXII
• Augustine, The City of God,
• Not easy reading try to follow his arguments
• Great treatise exploring Church and history,
  i.e., Gods plan
• The relation between the Church and civil society
• Immediate reason why Augustine write the CoG
• Explain why this devastation (sack of Rome) now
  that Rome is Christian
• Remember that invaders were Arian Christians
• Book I Preface, 1, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 16, 17, 18,
  20, 21, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 33, 34, 35
• Book V 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26

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Readings

• Pope Gelasius, all of it
• The basis for church-state relations for the
  next 1300 years in the West
• St. Columban, Boat Song, all
• CCC 1886-1889
• The Churchs current understanding of conversion
  and society