Christian History Course

Master of Christian History ~ Lesson #17 (Ya' win some, ya' lose some) by Bro. Jim DeManche 1. What were the new threats to Christianity at this time? The Eastern church had to face the threat of Islam. Islam overran most of the Byzantine Eastern Empire and was finally turned back by Byzantine Emperor Leo III by A.D. 718. The Western church was also worried about Islam until it was stopped in its tracks at Tours in A.D. 732 with its subsequent gradual recession lasting until the joint Spanish Roman Catholic monarchs Ferdinand II of Aragon and Isabella I of Castille and León finally kicked the Muslims out of Spain in 1492. The Western church also had to face a renewed effort from Scandinavian Vikings after the 8 th century A.D. The Eastern church also was threatened later by Slavs, Magyars, and Mongols. On top of all this, the Western church had to spread the Gospel among the Teutonic tribes that had settled within the territory of the old Roman Empire. The Western church also had to convert those tribes in Spain, North Africa, and Italy who had accepted the unorthodox Arian Christianity and also the remaining pagans. 2. What were the consequences of the spread of Islam to the Christian church and to Europe? Islam greatly impacted the religion and culture of Western Europe. Islam was the conduit through Arabic Spain for the Greek philosophy of Aristotle. The medieval scholastics tried to join Greek thought with Christian theology by using Aristotle's deductive reasoning as known through Averroes' translation of Aristotle's writings. Western and Eastern Christianity became weak through the losses of people and real estate to Islam. The losses were worse in the Eastern church than it was in the Western church. The North African church vanished. Egypt and the Holy Land were lost. The Eastern church barely managed to keep the Muslim hordes from overrunning Constantinople until 1453. The Western church fared better in northwestern Europe through its mission activity. The Eastern church also had to worry about the issue of whether pictorial images can be used in churches. This issue, called iconoclasm, surfaced in part because the Muslims were accusing Christians of idolatry because it seemed to them that the Christians were worshiping the images in their churches. 3. Is it true or not true that when an internal row foments between people of two different kinds of Christianity within a country (like what happened in Spain in the 8 th century A.D.), it makes it easier for outside invaders of another religion altogether to overrun the country? Why or why not? It is true.  Arian Visigoths in Spain was a problem for the Roman pontiff. Recared, who ruled Spain from A.D. 586 to 601, proclaimed in A.D. 589 at the Third Council of Toledo that he had rejected Arian Christianity and embraced orthodoxy. Many of his nobles and Arian bishops took the same action. This was not a complete capitulation. Soon rows began between the orthodox and the Arians in Spain. This made it much easier for the Muslims to overrun Spain in the 8 th century A.D. ******************************* The Universal Life Church is a comprehensive online seminary where we have classes in Christianity two courses in , Wicca, several in  Paganism, two courses in Metaphysics and much more. I have been a proud member of the ULC for many years and the Seminary since its inception. The Universal Life Church offers handfasting ceremonies, funeral ceremonies and free minister training.   As a long time member of ULC, Rev. Long created the seminary site to help train our ministers. We also have a huge selection of Universal Life Church  minister supplies. Since being ordained with the Universal Life Church for so many years and it's Seminary since the beginning, I've watch the huge change and growth that has continued to happen.   Try our new free toolbar at: ULC Toolbar

Christian History

Master of Christian History ~ Lesson #16 (Christianity enters the Middle Ages) by Bro. Jim DeManche 1. What made medieval church history different from ancient church history? Of course church historians do not always agree upon when these dividing lines ought to be placed. Some think medieval church history began at A.D. 313 when Christianity stopped suffering official Roman persecution. Others believe it began at the Nicene Council of A.D. 325. Still others think it should be at A.D. 378 when the Battle of Adrianople paved the way for the Visigoths to overrun the Roman Empire. Some are persuaded that the dividing line should be at A.D. 476 when the Roman Empire finally fell. Yet there is a plausible reason for the dividing line being placed at the accession of Pope Gregory I in A.D. 590 because the beginning of his papacy brought with it a new era of power for the Western church, a power that would help characterize the medieval church in Europe. 2. Did the pontificate of Pope Gregory I (the Great) truly usher the Christian church into the medieval period? Why or Why not? Gregory was one of the noblest leaders of the Roman church. His rejection of wealth impressed the people of his day. He was humble and thought of himself as serving the servants of God. He was passionate about missions, and he was crucial to bringing Roman Christianity to England. Because of his legal education and common sense, he was one of the most able administrators the Roman church had in medieval times. 3. What were Pope Gregory I's contributions and how did they form the foundations for what the Christian church, particularly the Roman Catholic Church, would become in the medieval period? Gregory believed that humanity was a sinner by nature and choice, but he softened Augustine's view of it by saying that human beings did not inherit guilt from Adam but only sin which all are subject. He believed in free will and only its goodness was lost. He believed in predestination but only for the elect. Grace is not irresistible because it is founded upon both God's foreknowledge and human merit. He held to the idea of purgatory as a holding place for souls to get purified before entering heaven. He believed in the verbal inspiration of Scripture, but he gave tradition an equal position with Scripture. He changed a little the Canon of the Mass which continued to show how the Eucharist was a sacrifice anew of Christ's body and blood each time it is observed. Gregory also stressed good works and the entreaty of the saints in order to gain their help. It can be assumed that the church's theology during the medieval period had the imprimatur of Pope Gregory I's thought. Pope Gregory I's time as bishop of Rome could very well be a milestone in the transformation of the Christian church's history from ancient to medieval. Those men who came after Pope Gregory I used the foundations that he laid to further develop the sacramental hierarchy that would shape the church in the Middle Ages. Pope Gregory I arranged Christian doctrine in an orderly fashion, and he made the church a significant player in secular political disputes. ******************************************** To ordain yourself with the Universal Life Church, for free, for life, right now, click on the Free Online Ordination link. Rev. Long created the ULC seminary site to help ministers learn and grow their ministries. The Seminary offers a huge catalog of materials for ministers of the Universal Life Church, as well as an online seminary program and a chaplaincy program.

Christian History

Master of Christian History ~ Lesson #15 (Origins of Roman Catholicism) by Bro. Jim DeManche 1. What were the factors that caused the Roman bishop to become so powerful? The bishop in the early church was thought of as one of many bishops who were equal in every respect to one another. Between A.D. 313 and 450 however, the Roman bishop became known as first among equals. Yet when Pope Leo I ascended the Roman cathedra in A.D. 440, the Roman bishop started asserting supremacy over all other bishops. Concentrating power is a logical result from the need for efficiency and order. The bishop was also the person who vouchsafed orthodox doctrine. The men who occupied the Roman cathedra did not fail in using the opportunities that came their way to increase their power. 2. In what ways did church liturgy become so complex?   The flood of barbarians and the increase in episcopal power brought changes to the church's worship. Since the barbarians were used to worshiping images, many church leaders thought that it would be necessary to materialize the liturgy to make God seemingly more visible to these worshipers. Venerating angels, saints, relics, pictures, and statues was the logical result of this approach. Being connected with the monarchical state resulted in a liturgical transformation from a simple and democratic worship to a more aristocratic, colorful liturgy with a profound division between clergy and laity. 3. How did all these things serve to become the foundation for medieval Roman Catholicism?   Aid from the state and religious freedom under Constantine resulted in a major church building program. The Christians borrowed the architectural style of the Roman basilica that had formerly been used by the Romans for business and pleasure. The basilica was a long rectangular cross-shaped building with two aisles, a western portico for the unbaptized, and an eastern chancel where the choir, the priests, and the bishop [if a cathedral church] presided over the services. The chancel was normally separated from the nave by an ironwork screen. The earliest singing in the church had been conducted by a leader to whom the people gave response in song. Antiphonal singing, where two separate choirs sing alternately, was formed in Antioch. Ambrose instituted antiphonal singing in Milan, and its spread throughout the Western church.   This was a time of great preachers. Ambrose in the West and John Chrysostom in the East were the major preachers. Before this time preachers wore no special vestments. Special vestments for the priests came about as people started throwing out Roman dress, and the clergy kept Roman dress for their church services.   It was in this time that a special priestly hierarchy came into being all under the very powerful Roman pontiff. There was also an enlargement of the number of sacraments that in turn became the major means of grace. The liturgy also became much more complicated. These several things assisted in the laying of the foundations for what would become medieval Roman Catholicism. ******************************* The Universal Life Church is a comprehensive online seminary where we have classes in Christianity two courses in , Wicca, several in  Paganism, two courses in Metaphysics and much more. I have been a proud member of the ULC for many years and the Seminary since its inception. The Universal Life Church offers handfasting ceremonies, funeral ceremonies and free minister training.   As a long time member of ULC, Rev. Long created the seminary site to help train our ministers. We also have a huge selection of Universal Life Church  minister supplies. Since being ordained with the Universal Life Church for so many years and it's Seminary since the beginning, I've watch the huge change and growth that has continued to happen.   Try our new free toolbar at: ULC Toolbar

Christian History

Master of Christian History ~ Lesson #20

(The Great Schism of 1054)

by Bro. Jim DeManche

1. What was the nature of and what things contributed to a renewal in the Western church in the period immediately prior to the Great Schism of 1054?

 
Western Christianity was under the influence of the Holy Roman Empire in the latter half of the time period between A.D. 800 and 1054, yet it experienced an internal renewal which offered the fortitude to deal with imperial meddling. Eastern Christianity at this time was more acknowledging of its differences with Western Christianity, and it ended with a great schism wherein the Western and Eastern churches went off on their separate ways. 

2. What things made the Great Schism of 1054 almost inevitable? What event became the "straw that broke the camel's back"?

 1054 saw the straw that finally broke the camel's back. It was a minor issue. Michael Cerularius, patriarch of Constantinople from 1043 to 1059, condemned the Western church for using unleavened bread in the Eucharist. The Western church had been doing it increasingly since the 9 th century A.D. Pope Leo IX sent Cardinal Humbert and two other legates to the East to settle the row. The differences widened as discussions continued increasingly entering into more and more issues. On 16 July 1054 the Roman legates placed a writ excommunicating the patriarch on the high altar of the Hagia Sophia church. The patriarch was furious. The patriarch in turn proclaimed the Roman pontiff and his legates to be anathema.

3. What were the consequences of the Great Schism of 1054, especially as it related to Eastern Christianity?

The surprise of the spread of Islam in the 7th century A.D. and the loss of people and real estate to the Muslims along with two centuries of chaos caused by iconoclasm left Eastern Christianity in a state of shrinkage. There was little change in liturgy, polity, or theology until modern times. It did not have the influence on the world as the Western church has had. Yet in the ancient period of Christian history the Eastern church had been on the forefront in forming Christian theology.

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To ordain yourself with the Universal Life Church, for free, for life, right now, click on the Free Online Ordination link.

Rev. Long created the ULC seminary site to help ministers learn and grow their ministries. The Seminary offers a huge catalog of materials for ministers of the Universal Life Church, as well as an online seminary program and a chaplaincy program.