Church History: Part II

1
Church History Part II

• Destruction of the Temple 70 A.D
• Organization of the Church 110 A.D
• Edict of Milan 312 A.D
• Council of Nicaea 325 A.D
• Christianity use Greek Philosophy to talk about
  the nature of God.
• The Great Schism
• The Crusades
• The Reformation/Counter Reformation

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With time, the Church Spreads

• The Apostles led by Paul, spread the Christian
  message and its morals to other groups of people.
  
• In 325, the Emperor Constantine makes
  Christianity the official Religion of the Empire.
• Council of Nicaea Creed/Trinity/Scripture
• With each group of people who come in contact
  with this new faith, the religion is influenced
  and takes on a different look as does the
  group/culture.
• The Major Developments of the Greek, European
  time period..

3
Period of Jewish Christianity

• 30-130 A.D
• Ananias and Saphira misappropriate funds
• Example that sin still exists and that we need
  some rules or norms to help us determine what is
  right/wrong.
• It is over this first century in the Church that
  these 2 faiths slowly start to move in different
  directions.

4
Period of Greek Christianity

• 50-1964 A.D
• The encounter with the Greeks results in
  Philosophy being infused in Christianity
• Rather than talking about the worship of God we
  discuss the nature of God.
• This will be more evident with Aquinas later.
• The period of Global Christianity is from
  1964-present and will be discussed later

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Evangelization of Northern Europe

• It is from here that we develop a detailed
  understanding of Heaven/Hell and Angels/Demons
• We also develop penitential practices (some
  severe) to help us atone for sins
• It is important to note that every time the
  church encounters a culture that the church
  changes the culture and the culture changes the
  church.

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Greek Philosophical thinking

• First and foremost is the affect of Greek
  philosophical thinking on the Church
• Plato Goodness happiness
• He wrote the Republic in which he spoke of the
  ideal City State which would be run by a
  philosopher. The closest we come to
  understanding the real GOOD is through
  contemplation. (And as a Result Philosophers come
  closest to the Good)
• He Compares the Good (God) to the Sun

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The First encounter with Greek Philosophy

• Different Christian thinkers used Platos
  philosophy as a tool to make the gospel
  understandable

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Augustine

• In the 5 Century, some blamed Christianity for
  the collapse of Rome. Augustine argued that the
  fall of Rome showed the power of evil in the
  world. People only thought of their own selfish
  interest. In his book, The City of God, he
  stated that the real purpose of history was to
  bring people to their destined end, eternal life
  with God. He stated that Jesus message of love
  for God and neighbour as explained by the Church
  was the guide to true human civilization.

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• Athanasius Confessor and Doctor of the Church
  born c. 296 died 2 May, 373. Athanasius was the
  greatest champion of Catholic belief on the
  subject of the Incarnation that the Church has
  ever known and in his lifetime earned the
  characteristic title of "Father of Orthodoxy", by
  which he has been distinguished ever since
• Origen (Greek ???????? Origénes, or Origen
  Adamantius, ca. 185ca. 254) was an early
  Christian scholar, theologian, and one of the
  most distinguished of the early fathers of the
  Christian Church. According to tradition, he is
  held to have been an Egyptian1 who taught in
  Alexandria, reviving the Catechetical School of
  Alexandria

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Dark Ages and Monasteries

• With the fall of the Roman Empire in the west,
  the Christian faith and morals almost disappears
  save for the work of those in the monasteries.
  They functioned as centres of learning where the
  monks spent much of their time copying books,
  thus preserving Christian culture, theology,
  ethics.
• Since Monks were basically the only people who
  could read, rulers of different countries
  recruited them to teach basic learning to their
  people.

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The Great Schism

• As the Church grew larger, it began to slowly
  divide into two separate Churches.
• As Christianity expanded into Western Europe, the
  influence of the Roman Bishop (or patriarch)
  increased and he came to be called pope.
  Serious disagreement developed as the pope
  claimed authority over the whole Church. There
  were also some major differences regarding
  doctrine

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Filioque Clause

• The breaking point between the eastern and
  western Churches was the Latin word inserted into
  the Nicene Creed. The Roman Pope added the
  expression and the Son to the end of the
  Creeds statement, And we believe in the Holy
  Spirit, the Lord and giver of Life, who proceeds
  from the Father.
• In 1054 the Pope in Rome and the patriarch in
  Constantinople excommunicated each other. This
  is known as the GREAT SCHISM.

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Context

• Once again in order to help us understand some of
  the Historical events that played a role in
  shaping and forming our Christian Ethics we will
  examine some of Christianity The Second
  Thousand Years.
• Prepare 5-7 points from this section on The
  Crusades and/or The Reformers to prepare to
  write a paragraph question on your test.

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The Medieval Church

• IN 1095, Pope Urban II proclaimed a great
  expedition to recover Jerusalem and the Holy Land
  from Muslim rule. This is better known as the
  beginning of the Crusades which lasted more than
  a century (there were at least 5 waves). This
  helped to unify Europe and extended the reach of
  the Roman Catholic (Western) Church.
• This point of time is often called the Age of
  Faith or the age of Christendom. People thought
  of themselves as Christians first, not their
  nationality.
• The Church takes on a greater role as a moral
  power against cruelty and violence against the
  poor and defenseless. It offered the peace of
  Christ as a social ideal.
• Monastic orders like the Dominicans and
  Franciscans stated their calling was to serve the
  needs of the people in need.
• Universities emerged where Christian thinkers
  discovered the use of reason. One of the
  greatest theologians of this time was Aquinas who
  discovered the teachings of Aristotle.

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Aristotle/Aquinas Connection

• Platos student was Aristotle
• Ultimate goodGod
• Good is inscribed in all things by God
• Must find a things purpose or nature to discover
  its goodness
• Want happiness, you must live ethically
• Develop good character by practicing good
  virtuous behaviour
• Follow the mean

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Thomas Aquinas

• Aquinas rediscovers Aristotles teachings in the
  1200s and uses them in creating a Christian
  understanding of ethics.
• He considers Aristotle THE PHILOSOPHER.
• Like Aristotle believes Good God but for
  Aquinas it is the Holy Trinity.
• Our desire, our design is to be good.

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Natural Law

• Because it is our design (teleological) to be
  good, there is obviously a natural law we must
  follow.
• CCC 1954 The Natural Law is the Original Law
  inscribed into our Heart by God
• Like Aristotle, he believed there were cardinal
  virtues we should follow
• A) Prudence
• B) Temperance
• C) Fortitude
• D) Justice
• Aquinas also believed the Complete person
  Possessed the three Theological Virtues as well
  (Faith/Hope/Charity)

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Reformation

• By the late 1400s, Europe is no longer in the age
  of Faith. Nationalism is now important, kings of
  different countries are demanding taxes and
  therefore are paying less to the Church.
• The R.C. Church came up with unique ways to
  make money, one of the most controversial was
  Indulgences.
• Martin Luther, a monk in Germany called for a
  simpler Church and challenged issues such as
  Indulgences. The Church excommunicates him
  marking the beginning of the Protestant
  Reformation.

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Other Reformers

• Other Protest-Ants followed

King Henry VIII who started the Anglican Church
John Calvin who preached predestination
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The Council of Trent and the Catholic Counter
Reformation

• Because of the Protestant Reformation, the
  Catholic Church came to realize
• A) It needed to end corruption in its ranks
• B) Doctrine must be clarified (it was necessary
  to know just what exactly the Catholic position
  was).
• In 1545, the Pope (Paul III) called for all the
  bishops to meet in Trent to discuss these issues
  and reform from within. This council would last
  until 1563.

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The Council restated the Churchs teaching on

• The sacraments
• Celibacy of the clergy
• The meaning of the Eucharist
• Emphasized that tradition was just as important
  as scripture in guiding ones spiritual life
• Although faith is important, good deeds DO help
  to procure Gods grace.
• It made a commitment to holiness, worship and the
  spreading of the Gospel.
• It asserted the need for seminaries in dioceses
  that did not have universities so as to educate
  its clergy (the Church recognized that many of
  the problems the Protestants pointed out was due
  to the lack of education of the clergy).
• Orders such as the Jesuits were founded to spread
  the Catholic doctrine to places as far as the
  New World (which they proved time and time
  again they were willing to die for).

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In Review

• Period of Jewish Christianity 30-130
• Sin still existed Ananias/Saphira
• Needed guidelines or Norms
• Influence of Greek and W. Eur. Christianity
• 110 Ignatius of Antioch
• Gnostics
• Edict of Milan
• 325 Council of Nicaea

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Review

• New Breed of Christians Monk
• New Thinkers Augustine and Origen
• Church changes Culture and vice versa
• Evangelization of Northern Europe
• Political Turmoil/Great Schism (Filioque)
• Crusades Urban II/Innocent III/Sack
• Age of Christendom/Renaissance
• Re-Discovery of Aristotle/Aquinas
• Reformation/Reformers
• Counter Reformation/Trent/Jesuits