HST 121 - Rise of Christian Culture

I. Triumph over various heresies
    - Case Study - Arianism
        A. Arius, Christian priest at Alexandria in Egypt
                - denied the doctrine of the Trinity
                - said God created Jesus; he had not always existed
        B. Council of Nicea (325)
                - denounced Arianism as heretical
        C. Arianism had already spread among certain Germanic tribes
        D. Clovis united Frankish tribes and conquered most of Gaul [Map] [Map]
        E. Clovis converted to non-Arian Christianity (Catholicism) in 496
                - this assured the triumph of Catholicism over Arianism
II. The Primacy of Rome
        A. bishop of Rome and the Petrine Doctrine
                1. belief that St. Peter was Rome's first bishop
                2. Matthew 16:18-19 -- "And I say to you, you are Peter,
                        and upon this rock I will build my church and the gates of 
                        Hell shall not prevail against it.  And I will give you the 
                        keys of the kingdom of heaven and whatsoever you shall bind
                        on earth, it shall be bound in heaven, and whatsoever you
                        shall loose on earth, it shall be loosed in heaven."
                3. pope (bishop of Rome) came to be the head of the Christian
                        Church in the west (Roman Catholic Church)
        B. Leo I (440-461)
                1. believed that all bishops are the successors of the apostles
                2. also believed that all apostles were subordinated to Peter
                3. thus, all bishops are subordinated to Peter's successor,
                        the bishop of Rome (i.e., the pope)
        C. Gregory I, the Great (590-604)
                1. Justinian's general Belisarius had defeated the Ostrogoths
                        and brought Italy under Byzantine control in the mid 6th c.[MAP]
                2. the Lombards invaded Italy and threatened Rome (568) [MAP]
                3. because the ruler of Italy resided in far away Constantinople,
                        Gregory decided to defend Rome himself
                4. Gregory negotiated a truce with the Lombards in 592
III. Six more important names in the rise of Christian Culture
        A. 3 of the 4 Church fathers (Gregory the Great was the other)
                1. Jerome (345-420): translated the Vulgate Bible
                2. Ambrose (340-397): great preacher
                3. Augustine (354-430): great Christian philosopher (Civitas Dei)
        B. Preservers of classical tradition
                1. Boethius (480-525): translated Aristotle
                2. Cassiodorus (490-575): collected, copied classical texts
                3. Isidore of Seville (576-636): encyclopedia
IV. Monasticism
        A. eastern Mediterranean origins of the hermit lifestyle
                - e.g., St. Simeon the Stylite
        B. eremitic monasticim = monks who live as hermits
                - St. Antony; hermit; attracted several followers
        C. cenobitic monasticism = monks who live together
                - St . Pachomius, founder of cenobitic monasticism
        D. St. Benedict (c. 480-550)
                - founded a monastery at Monte Cassino in Italy [MAP]
                - Doc 16: Rule of St. Benedict
                    - Read excerpt
                    - Discuss: How would you describe this type of monasticism?
                            - How is it different from eastern monasticism?
                    - Images: Maulbronn Monastery in Germany -- plan, picture
                        (Cistercian monastery founded in 1147)
        E. Irish Monasticism
                1. St. Patrick: conversion of Ireland
                2. Irish Christianity developed apart from the western Church
                        a. monasteries rather than bishoprics, were the basic
                                unit of Irish Church organization
                        b. asceticism: Irish monks practiced a more severe asceticism
                                - silence, fasts, standing in icy water, confession
                        c. learning: Irish monks had to acquire Greek and Latin
                                grammar texts to learn these languages and then
                                translate Greek and Latin Christian texts
                                - classical Latin survived best in Ireland
                        d. art: illuminated manuscripts
                            - Image from the Book of Kells, c. 800
                                [first page of the Book of Matthew ]
                        e. travel: Irish monks were not cloistered; they traveled
                                throughout Britain and continental Europe preaching
                                and trying to convert people
                                1. St. Columba: founded a monastery on the island of
                                        Iona off the west coast of Scotland [MAP]
                                        - traveled throughout Scotland converting people
                                2. St. Columbanus: founded monasteries and converted
                                        people in central and southern Europe
        F. the Conversion of England
                1. Augustine (late 6th - early 7th centuries)
                        a. converted the kingdom of Kent [MAP]
                        b. founded a monastery at Canterbury
                        c. the pope appointed him archbishop of Canterbury
                                - this position became the head of the English church
                2. problems arose when Roman Christianity ran into
                        Irish Christianity in the kingdom of Northumbria
                        in northern England [MAP]
                3. Synod of Whitby called by king of Northumbria in 664
                        - the synod decided that Roman Christianity should be followed