Lesson 4: The Spread of Christianity

What are two questions related to grace?

1. What is the relationship between grace and human freedom? 2. Can a person save themselves by their own good efforts or does a person need God's grace?

What are the effects of the Edict of Milan?

1. Christians are no longer persecuted. 2. Rome returned confiscate property to the Christians. 3. Clergy did not have to pay taxes.

How did the Edict of Milan help Christianity grow?

1. Christians could worship in public without fear. 2. Christian privileges supported the work of the Church.

The fall of the Roman Empire left the need for social structures such as?

1. Government 2. Education 3. Services for the poor 4. Economic system.

What did Augustine say:

1. Humans were born with Original sin, or the fallen state of human nature inherited from Adam and Eve. 2. Thus humans can't do good alone, they need grace.

why does it matter?

1. If a person does not need grace then a person does not need Jesus to be saved. 2. If a person needs Christ to be saved, then only Christians can be saved.

Why did it collapse?

1. Increase in population 2. Decline in strength of the Roman Army. 3. Increase threat of outside invasions- Visigoths and Huns.

What did the Council of Constantinople do? (381 AD)

1. It affirmed the divinity of the Holy Spirit. 2. It corrected the belief that God the Son created the Holy Spirit. 3. This council affirmed the divinity of the Holy Spirit but it did not explain the relationship of the Holy Spirit with God the Father and Son.

What did Arius state?

1. Jesus Christ was God's greatest creature that existed before creation. 2. Jesus Christ was a creature adopted by God.

In some ways the shift from a Jewish sect to the religion of the Roman Empire helped Christianity by?

1. Rome helped evangelization. 2. If you want to be a Roman citizen you had to be baptized. 3. Emperors called for Ecumenical councils. 4. The Church adopted Roman styles of governing.

What are some challenges the shift brought to Christianity?

1. The involvement of Emperors in the matters of the Church led to abuses. 2. The political pressure to be a Christian meant that new converts were not really committed to Christian values and faith.

What did Pope Leo the Great do?

1. manage affairs in Rome 2. Fed the poor. 3. Convinced Attila the Hun to not destroy Rome.

What did it offer?

1. monotheism 2. a strong moral and ethical code. 3. embraced diversity. 4. a structured government.

What did Pelagius do?

1. responded to the moral laziness. 2. stressed human freedom and responsibility 3. stressed the need to strive for human holiness. 4. In doing so he denied original sin: thus humans don't need Jesus.

When was he baptised?

1496 AD

Who denied the divinity of Jesus?

Arius

Why did Christianity become the religion of the Empire?

Because it would keep the Empire united.

What did the Council of Nicea do?

Condemn Arius and affirm Jesus' divinity.

What happened in 313 AD?

Emperor Constantine issued the Edict of Milan.

What happened in 380 AD?

Emperor Theodosius made Christianity the religion of the Roman Empire.

Who is Jesus consubstantiatial with?

God the Father

Who is the Holy Spirit subordinate to?

God the Father and Son.

What is grace?

God's transformed love and a free undeserved gift that God gives to respond to the vocation to be God's adoptive children.

How was Clovis and what did he do?

He was the King of the Franks and he gave control of the Germanic Tribes.

What did the Pope's involvement do?

Increase the power and authority of the Pope in the Church and Western Europe.

What is hypostatic union?

Jesus Christ is one person with two natures.

What did the Alexandrian School emphasize?

Jesus' divinity over his humanity

What did the Antiochian School emphasize?

Jesus' humanity over his divinity

What law did the Church adopt?

Justinian's code of Law which created the Canon Law.

What did St. Athanasius affirm?

That Christ was made human so that the human person may be divine. He also affirmed that Jesus is consubstaintial with God the Father.

The Eastern Roman Empire countinued as?

The Byzantine Empire

What was the last organization able to meet the need of these social structures.

The Catholic Church

To maintain unity what did Emperor Constantine call for?

The Council of Nicea.

What is caesaropapism?

The combining of the power of the secular government with the authority of the Church.

What is clarified in the 4th and 5th centuries?

The debates regarding the theology of the Blessed Trinity, the person of Christ, and grace.

What was the problem regarding God the Father and Jesus?

The problem was that how can Christians both believe that the Father and Son are both divine but only believe in one God.

What does it mean to evangelize?

To spread the Gospel, the Good news of the the Kingdom of God. Also, it means to bring others to Christ and to be baptized.

What is monophysitism?

a belief that Jesus Christ possessed only one divine nature.

What did the Council of Ephesus do?

affirm the divinity of Jesus.

What did the Council of Chalcedon do?

affirm the teaching of hypostatic union.

The Council of Nicea left the need to?

explain the relationship between the divinity and humanity of Jesus Christ.

This affirmation led to?

the rise of monophysitism.

What did Arius theories question?

the theology of the incarnation and salvation.

What did Nestorius say?

there are two distinct persons in Jesus

What did Cyril of Alexandria say and do?

she defended Mary as Theotokos

What happened in 476 AD?

the Western Roman Empire collapsed.

The Church's collaboration with the Franks helped the Church....

to gain greater influence over European affairs.

true or false- Jesus Christ is fully human and fully divine.

true