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Gelasius became pope in 492 and was the first to assume the
title “Vicar of Christ.” He is one of the great architects of papal
primacy: “There are two powers by which this world is chiefly ruled. Of these, that of the priests is the more weighty.” -
In the West, the empire, ruled from Ravenna, was racked by constant revolutions and imperial intrigues. In 475 the young Romulus Augustus was put in place as a puppet emperor. In 476, taking advantage of the disarray, the Germanic mercenary general Odoacer launched a mutiny and was proclaimed king of Italy. This event marked the end of the Western Roman Empire.
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The Gothic tribes were divided into Ostrogoths (Eastern Goths)
and Visigoths (Western Goths). Other tribes included the Vandals,
Lombards, Alans, and Burgundians. Many of these tribes followed
Arian Christianity, a source of further conflict as the Germanic peoples gained a foothold in the Catholic empire. -
Mesrob Mashtots invented the Armenian alphabet and continued the mission work of Gregory the Illuminator. Translations of liturgical books, theological texts, and the full Bible soon followed, as well as original native works.
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Occasioned by Alaric’s occupation of Rome, Augustine wrote
The City of God in defense of Christianity against paganism on the one hand and Christian triumphalism on the other. -
Due to Visigoth excursions in Italy, Melania fled Rome in 408
and lived the monastic life in a number of locations before finally
settling in Jerusalem. In c. 431 she founded a convent for nuns on the Mount of Olives. A friend of Augustine and Jerome and influential in the conflict against Nestorianism, Melania was venerated early by the Greek Church but was relatively unknown in the West until the twentieth century. -
He became bishop of Alexandria in 328. Because of its strong
affirmation of the Incarnation and the Trinity, the fifth-century
“Athanasian Creed” used by Anglicans, Catholics, and Protestants
shares his name: “We worship one God in Trinity, and Trinity in Unity; neither confounding the persons nor dividing the substance.” -
Considered to be the greatest of the church doctors and the most influential thinker in the history of Western Christianity. Born into a North African Christian family, Augustine lived a dissolute life until joining the Manichaeists in 373.
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John was made patriarch of Constantinople in 398,
but his zeal for church reform soon led him afoul of Empress Eudoxia and clergymen loyal to her. At the Synod of Oak in 403, John was condemned on trumped-up charges and banished. Even in exile, John remained enormously popular with the Eastern and Western Churches. -
In 316 Constantine stood in opposition to the Donatists. A campaign of coercion against them lasted until 321, and thus for the first time in history, the church and the state collaborated in the suppression of heresy.
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Licinius and Constantine met at Milan and agreed upon
a course of action that has since come to be called the Edict of Milan. The policy gave legal standing to Christian churches, granting toleration to all religions in the empire and bringing an end to the Great Persecution. -
Emperor Diocletian ordered that all churches be
torn down, Bibles burnt, and clergy tortured. Diocletian abdicated in
305, but the persecutions continued until 312. -
One of the most important bishops of this era, Dionysius helped to restore the church order after the decimations of the Valerian persecution
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He had been a pagan philosopher before converting to
Christianity in c. 246 and became bishop of Carthage two years later. He fled the Decian persecution in 249 and only returned to his post after Decius’s death in 251, a move that was seen with suspicion by his opponents, many of whom had stayed to face the persecution. -
In 255, Cyprian demanded that anyone baptised
by a schismatic or heretic be rebaptized in order to enjoy full
communion with the true church. -
A severe plague struck the city of Carthage. The
outbreak evoked a widespread anti-Christian feeling, prompting church leaders to argue publicly that Christianity does not cause natural catastrophes. At the same time, Cyprian wrote a series of pastoral letters exhorting his fellow Christians to continue to help the dying and provide relief for those affected by the disaster. -
Was centered on belief in a primal conflict between Light and Darkness
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Was opposed by the presbyter and theologian Novation who held a much more rigorist stance
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Known as the center of religious ferment, and many cults fought for attention
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Lead to the persecution of Telesphorus
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Organized under a network of deacons
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1st writer to combine claims of faith and reason
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Declared a heretic and excommunicated from the church
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Emperor of Rome for 2 years
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Sylvester is the first Frenchman to hold that office. An avid reformer, Sylvester assumed responsibility for a papacy that had been plagued by years of corruption. Sylvester encouraged the spread of Christianity in Poland and Hungary, and he led the revival of philosophical, scientific, and mathematical studies in Europe. He is credited with the introduction of Arabic numerals to the West, and with the invention of the pendulum clock.
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By 1034 the Christian Portuguese frontier was established at
the river of Mondego. This, in turn, contributed to the creation of the Kingdom of Galicia and Portugal. -
The Danish warlord Canute conquered England
in 1016. After his conversion to Christianity, Canute earned a Holy Roman emperor, the German king Henry III convened a council
in the Italian town of Sutri to settle the dispute between Benedict IX -
The significant victory paved the way for Seljuk forces to
control Asia Minor and Syria, regions that had previously served as
recruiting grounds for the Byzantium army. Starved of resources and facing the increasing threat of Muslim forces, Emperor Alexius
Comnenus requested help from the West. In spite of the breach that existed between Constantinople and Rome -
The crusaders’ ostensible aim had been to defend the
Byzantine Empire against the Muslim threat, yet conflicts between
Western and Eastern Christendom continued in the Middle East. After a successful crusading campaign, the Norman prince took control of Antioch. Alexis and Bohemond warred over the territory between, with Bohemond even gaining papal blessing for his “Crusade” against the Christian emperor. -
The Normans were a people largely from Viking and Frankish
stock. Their outward expansion from the regions of northern France to Italy, England, and Sicily would have a comprehensive effect on the culture and Christian traditions of Western Europe. -
Canute IV became king of Denmark in 1080. He was a fervent
supporter of Christianity and passed laws for the care of the poor and sick. His aborted 1085 invasion of England marked one of the last times in history that a Viking army was assembled to invade another European country. Canute was killed by pagan rebels in 1086 and is considered a martyr and the patron saint of Denmark by the Roman Catholic Church. -
The crusades against Islam were accompanied by military
adventures against pagans of northern Europe and the Baltic states. The missionary Vicelin (c. 1090–1154) had already been preaching
peacefully amongst the tribes of northern Germany, but his small
successes were swept away by Saxon and Danish crusades against the Wends in 1147. -
The French Cistercian monk stands as a towering figure in the
twelfth century, and he was involved in most of the significant
disputes of the day. As a theologian, Bernard is known primarily for developing the concept of the church as the Bride of Christ and for being a forerunner to the movement of the Devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary. Unlike most of his contemporaries, Bernard opposed the persecution of the Jews. -
Archbishop of Canterbury from 1162, Thomas Becket opposed the attempts of King Henry II to exert authority over the English Church. In 1170 he was murdered in Canterbury Cathedral by four zealous knights, probably acting on an intemperate pronouncement from Henry. Thomas’s martyrdom sparked outrage throughout Europe, and Henry was forced to do public penance in 1172. Becket’s shrine remained a principal pilgrimage destination until dissolved by Henry VIII in 1538.
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A German Benedictine abbess, Hildegard was famous for her
mystical theology, writing, and wide learning, which included natural history, musical compositions, and medicine. From 1141 Hildegard experienced a number of visions, or “showings,” which she wrote down in her principal work Scivias. The mystical homilies were closely scrutinised (and approved) by Pope Eugenius III and Bernard of Clairvaux in 1147 and again by the archbishop of Mainz c. 1150. -
In 1189 the ruling member of the Ethiopian Zagwe dynasty ordered the construction of the stone monolithic churches at Roha (now known as Lalibela). The eleven churches were hewn from the rock, with their construction probably not completed for the next two centuries.
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The abortive Fourth Crusade gave rise to further popular
movements, not all of them welcomed or sanctioned by the church.
The spontaneous Children’s Crusade of 1212 involved thousands of poor children and peasants marching to Jerusalem. The ragged group dissolved at Genoa, with many participants returning home at the urging of the pope. From 1219 three more military crusades were raised in the attempt to win Egypt, retake Jerusalem, and defend Christian territories in Syria. -
Francis of Assisi renounced worldly possessions after a pilgrimage to Rome in 1205, after which he founded a society for preaching, poverty, and penance in 1209. From 1245 onwards, adherents to the original ideal of poverty clashed with moderates who allowed corporate ownership of property. Today the Franciscans are composed of three orders—the Conventuals, the Observants, and the Capuchins.
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The daughter of King Andrew of Hungary, Elizabeth gained a
reputation from an early age as an extreme ascetic and holy woman. When her husband Louis IV of Thuringia died on crusade in 1227, Elizabeth became a Franciscan nun. She served the poor in Marburg, Germany, and was responsible for building one of Europe’s first orphanages. The Gothic cathedral Elisabethkirche was built in her honor, and her remains were interned there in 1236. -
By 1223 Mongol invaders had begun raids on Russian territory.
By 1237 the invasion was fully underway. In 1238 the invaders sacked and burnt Moscow. In 1240 the principal city of Kiev was conquered, and Russia came under the rule of the Mongolian “Golden Horde” led by Batu, grandson of Genghis Khan. -
Francis founded the second order in partnership with Clare of
Assisi. Established in 1213, the Poor Clare
communities spread rapidly through Italy, France, and Spain. The Poor Clares’ strict rule included perpetual fasting, sleeping on boards, and complete silence. -
Boniface persisted in making claims for the papacy that was
resisted by secular rulers. The struggle with Philip of France continued when Boniface issued the bull Unam Sanctam in 1302, proclaiming: “It is altogether necessary to salvation for every human creature to be subject to the Roman pontiff.” Philip responded by sending a force to arrest the pope. Boniface was briefly taken prisoner in 1303 and died a few weeks later. -
Although Russia was under Mongol rule, the Orthodox Church
enjoyed a favoured position and was allowed to operate relatively
freely. -
This name was given to the bubonic plague that swept through
China, India, and Europe between 1347 and 1351. The plague may
have originated amongst the Kirgiz in central Asia. -
Jan Hus had been teaching at the University of Prague for five years before he encountered the radical theology of the English Reformer John Wycliffe in 1401. Wycliffe’s ideas inspired a Czech reforming party, encouraging a more rigorous obedience to Scripture and opposing German political and religious dominance in
their country. -
Elsewhere in Europe, dissatisfaction with the opulence and
power of the church led to the growth of movements emphasising the Christian values of simplicity, charity, and learning. In 1374 the Dutch theologian Geert Groote was converted under the influence of a Carthusian monk who preached strict contemplation. -
In an effort to restore order amongst the populace in Italy, Pope
Gregory returned the papacy to Rome in 1377. His death a year later and the events surrounding the appointment of his successor led to considerable division within the Western Church: a time known as the Great (or Western) Schism. -
The Great Schism lasted for decades, with successions of popes
and anti-popes along both lines claiming their legitimacy over the
other. In 1409 attempts to resolve the conflict led to the creation of the third line of popes based in the city of Pisa, beginning with Alexander V -
This peasant “Maid of Orléans” was born into the context of
the Hundred Years’ War with England and the ongoing civil strife
between the great houses of France. In 1425 she had the first of many visions, claiming from these experiences a supernatural mission to fight for France. In 1429 she convinced King Charles VII and his court theologians and was allowed to lead a successful military campaign to liberate the city of Orléans. -
A mystic and anchoress, Julian lived in a cell built into the wall
of her church. In 1373 she experienced a series of “showings,” or
mystical visions, which were then written up as Revelations of Divine Love. In 1393 Julian produced a major theological reflection on her experiences, drawing parallels between divine action in the world and human motherhood. -
Ivan III “the Great” ruled in Russia between 1462 and 1505. The 1472 marriage between Ivan and Sophia , niece of the last Byzantine emperor, helped strengthen Russia’s claim to be the natural successor to Byzantine Orthodoxy. When the Russians under the leadership of Ivan defeated their Mongolian rulers in 1480, these claims were further enhanced. This laid the foundation
for the idea of Moscow as “third Rome,” which would rise to
prominence in the following century. -
Although the Abyssinian Church operated largely
independently of the main Catholic and Orthodox traditions, a small
group of Ethiopian monks are recorded as attending the Council of
Florence in 1441. The Ethiopian Church at this time was experiencing cultural revival and reform, especially under the influence of the Christian emperor Zar’a Ya’qob (Zara Jacob). The
emperor wrote hymns and theological reflections on the creed of the Ethiopian Church. -
The phrase alludes to the capture and deportation of the
Hebrew people under the ruler Nebuchadnezzar as told in 2 Kings
24–25. It was first coined by the poet Francesco Petrarch with
reference to the situation of the church in Avignon. During the
Protestant Reformation in 1520, Martin Luther would use the phrase to denounce various doctrines that he thought held the church in bondage. -
Abbot of Sponheim in west Germany until 1506, Trithemius
was a major figure for monastic reform and a precursor to the
movements that would explode in the sixteenth century. His collection of manuscripts was one of the most famous libraries in the known world. -
The phrase alludes to the capture and deportation of the
Hebrew people under the ruler Nebuchadnezzar as told in 2 Kings
24–25. It was first coined by the poet Francesco Petrarch with
reference to the situation of the church in Avignon. During the
Protestant Reformation in 1520, Martin Luther would use the phrase to denounce various doctrines that he thought held the church in bondage. -
Luther was a German priest and theologian. Sometime between
1512 and 1515 Luther’s reading of Augustine and the apostle Paul led to his conviction that “faith alone justifies without works.” The idea that God’s salvation could be received independently of obedience to religious demands and church hierarchy would become central to the political and spiritual aspects of the Protestant Reformation. -
Luther was a German priest and theologian. Sometime between
1512 and 1515 Luther’s reading of Augustine and the apostle Paul led to his conviction that “faith alone justifies without works.” The idea that God’s salvation could be received independently of obedience to religious demands and church hierarchy would become central to the political and spiritual aspects of the Protestant Reformation. -
In Alcalá in 1522 a team of compilers published the first full
Bible to have parallel texts in Hebrew, Greek, and Latin. The work
paved the way for serious textual study of the Old and New Testament
Scriptures. -
Also known as John the Tailor, John was a craftsman living in
Constantinople under Ottoman rule. Captured by angry apostates
because he himself would not recant, he was burnt and beheaded in 1546. John is considered by the Orthodox Church to be a “New Martyr of the Great Captivity.” -
During the Ottoman period in Greece, many women were
forced into Turkish harems. The nun Philothei offered sanctuary to
these women and was killed as a result. A “New Martyr,” Philothei is
considered a patron saint of Athens. -
Luther supported the close coalition of church and state, and he
wrote to the German princes encouraging them to take reforms into
their own hands. By the 1530s the rulers of Saxony, Hesse,
Brandenburg, and Brunswick, along with a number of German “free
cities,” had adopted Lutheran principles. -
A Spanish mystic and doctor of the church, John worked
closely with Teresa of Ávila in reforming the Carmelite order. He
wrote on the self’s transformation in the presence of the Divine. John’s idea of the “dark night of the soul” has subsequently influenced much Christian life and thought. -
The original calendar was mandated by Julius Caesar c. 45 BC.
The Julian calendar introduced an error of one day every 128 years. The Gregorian calendar shifts approximately one day every 3,300 years. It simplified the leap year process and attempted to provide uniformity for the calculation of Easter. The national Orthodox churches continue to use a revised form of the Julian calendar for religious purposes.