RELIGION CTT Ch. 9 The Age of the Imperial Church

Bishop

Means "overseer"

Theodosius I

Successor of Constantine who made Christianity religion of empire not just a tolerated religion,

Monk

Word comes from the Greek word meaning "a single or solitary person", coined in 4th century as a name for the many men and women who had begun to withdraw to secluded desert regions to lead lives of prayer and spiritual discipline

Antony of Egypt

(251-356) father of Christian monasticism, chose to change his life when he heard gospel story in which Christ tells a rich young man to sell all his possessions and donate his money to achieve perfection and follow Christ, many groups were already practicing asceticism but Antony's main innovation was physical seclusion

Emperor Constantine

(306-337) -converted to Christianity and thus inaugurated a new era in which Christianity won legal toleration and eventual establishment as the empire's official religion, union of church and state -Constantine's father was a co-ruler with previous Emperor Diocletian so when he died Constantine succeeded him and fought for control of western half of empire -Battle of Milvian Bridge -after a second dream in which he saw a cross of light above the sun with the words "by this, conquer", he and the eastern emperor declared universal religious toleration and restored seized property to churches (Edict of Milan) -324 went to war with Emperor Licinius and defeated him, thus uniting the whole empire under him -although his faith is debated, he did a lot to support Christianity -developed his eastern capital Constantinople as a Christian city -believed he was meant to bring Christianity to Roman Empire and in return God would bless his reign with peace and prosperity -saw Christianity as heavenly support for empire, a common religion to unify diverse peoples -gave clergy benefits -never revoked Edict of Milan to make Christianity sole religion of empire, his successors did that -established Ecumenical Councils -his conversion motivated many conversions to Christianity, although many politically not religiously motivated -established a model of Christian kingship in which the kind receives his authority to rule directly from God, not from an institution like the church; saw his job as to enable the church to perform its divine tasks rightly not to take over the spiritual work of the church -inspired growth of a Christian devotion to the Roman state as an institution willed by God, thus linked Christianity and patriotism

Ecumenical Council

(General Council) universal gathering of Christian bishops to resolve urgent issues affecting the whole church, practice of calling these councils established by Constantine, the decrees of these councils were important in development of Christianity, only a few of these councils however are actually recognized as ecumenical (worldwide) because of false doctrines, attendance list that did not represent whole church, use of excessive political/social pressure, etc., thus the 4 accepted ecumenical councils are: 1. Nicaea, 323 2. Constantinople, 381 3. Ephesus, 431 4. Chalcedon, 451

Milvian Bridge Battle

312, Emperor Constantine defeated his last western rival here outside Rome, before this battle he had a dream that told him to put the chi rho as the sign of God on his soldiers' shields and that with God's help they would win

Edict of Milan

313, decision announcing universal religious toleration and restoration of seized property to Christian churches under Constantine and Licinius

Council of Nicaea

325, ecumenical council called in response to Arius's teachings, bishops indicated opposition to Arianism by approving the Nicene creed

Yearly Cycle of Religious Feasts

Began to take shape in 4th century -Easter and its season of penitential preparation Lent -Pentecost -Christmas, in West on 12/25

Cathedral

Bishop's church (like cathedra meaning bishops' chair)

Athanasius of Alexandria

Bishop/patriarch of Alexandria (328-373) made the anti-Arian case most forcefully: according to Bible humans can see God in Christ, not a subordinate God but the true God, no subordinate God was necessary to protect true divinity from contact with the world, Father and Son are co-eternal

Catechumens

Candidates for Baptism who were undergoing instruction in the Christian religion, adult Baptism normal in 4th century as infant baptism did not become the norm until 5th century

Pros of Link b/t Christianity and Patriotism

Christians held public office and served in the army, fostered civic responsibility

Imperial Church

Church of the Roman Empire, 4th century marked the beginning of the imperial church after 303-313 the last and longest persecutions under Diocletian

Cenobitic Monasticism

Communities of monks, from Greek words meaning "common life", organized communities governed by abbots, followed a written rule and a routine of manual labor and public and private prayer, all designed to help monks avoid sin

Constantinople

Constantine's eastern capital of the Roman Empire established as a Christian city, symbolic beginning of the Byzantine Empire

Nicene Creed

Creed formed at Council of Nicaea that adapted an already existing creed to better link the Father and Son as closely as possible, anti-Arianism, however used the Greek word for "one in being" that sparked controversy because it could also mean the Son and Father are the same, etc. and it was not a biblical word

What is a main achievement of the 4th/5th centuries?

Definition of dogmas of the Trinity and the incarnation

Emperor Diocletian

Emperor before Constantine, divided Roman Empire into sections ruled by an imperial board/college, inflicted last brutal persecution on Christians which failed but left schisms in many churches

Emperor Licinius

Emperor of the east Roman Empire until Constantine defeated him in 324

Basilica

From the Greek word "loyal", adaptation of the standard rectangular layout of royal audience halls and public buildings in Roman cities, an audience hall for Christ -nave: central hall, consisting of 2-4 aisles -apse: rounded extension usually found at the end of the nave in the direction of Jerusalem -transept: in larger churches a shorter cross-section built at the end of partway down the nave -cathedra: bishop's chair, on back wall of apse, gave sermons from here -sanctuary: east end of the nave where apse located, set off from rest of church by screen/rail reflecting the distinction between the clergy and the laity -no pews, congregation stood for the service -artistically decorated

Chi Rho

Monogram consisting of the first two letters of the Greek spelling of Christ's name, Emperor Constantine used on his royal standards and battle gear

Church Architecture

Newly won support of Roman emperors and rapid growth of church changed worship life of Christians, show in development of church architecture from the house churches of the first 3 centuries, 3 types of new churches: 1. basilica 2. memoria 3. baptistery

Penitents

People who were denied communion because of serious sin (murder, adultery, apostasy), usually performed lengthy public penance (penalty) before readmitted to communion

Pillar Saints

People who would mount columns in order to withdraw from society

Cons of Link b/t Christianity and Patriotism

Possible corruption of the church due to increased wealth and influence (i.e. bishops would want to switch cities to get more power), emperor's tempted to overstep their duties and intervene in church affairs, associated Christianity with civilization of empire and thus led to persecution of other peoples, religious coercion (institutional church persecute heretics and unbelievers) EX: Jews lost many of the legal protections they previously had

Arius

Priest from Alexandria, taught that there's a distinction between God the Father and the Son and the Word, said God the Father is the only true God without beginning, as both the Son and the Word had beginnings and thus were lesser Gods, thus separated Father and Son by denying true divinity of the Son

Dogma

Religious teaching based on divine revelation and defined by the church, not defined for Christianity until 4th century because needed time to develop beliefs and there was no church structure that spoke for everyone, this was solved by ecumenical councils

Pentecost

Season after Easter commemorating the day on which the Holy Spirit descended upon the apostles, time of joy and further instruction for newly baptized

Abbot

Spiritual leader who governed cenobitic monastic communities, means "father"

Asceticism

The training or discipline of the passions and the appetites, not a condemnation of the world but a personal struggle against the reign of sin and the demons of the soul, movement did not condemn Christians who continued to live in world, etc., this existed in paganism as well

Monasticism

The way of life of monks, who separate themselves from society to pray for the world, became popular in 4th century when Christianity was winning acceptance by Roman Empire, replaced martyrdom as model of Christian perfection, monks did not coldly leave humanity for its fate but instead sought to support themselves and work for good of others, mainly positive influence not trying to condemn the world, primary models for this life = Jesus, John the Baptist, and Paul, open to women as well as men, became popular and important in Christian development in West

How were catechumens and penitents different?

They both had to leave the liturgy after the Bible readings and sermon, did not receive the Eucharist each week like everyone else,

Baptistery

Type of Christian structure where at Easter new Christians were initiated into faith, had a centered design like a memoria but focus on the baptismal font (water), could be either freestanding or attached to churches

Memoria

Type of church very different from basilica, built to honor the tomb of a saint or martyr or a holy site, could be any shape usually not rectangular (called rotunda if circular), orientated around middle of building where the shrine/tomb lay, show the growing desire to experience salvation in connection with the physical location of the saving events of Jesus's life