Church and State

Church and State Chapters 12 and 13 Decline of Roman Empire     Constant competition for position of emperor, violence Unable to maintain control over large empire Regional self-sufficiency and allegiance Declining economy Division of Empire      Diocletian (r.284-305 BC) Eastern and Western Districts Each district had co-emperor, Eastern-Greece, Anatolia, Syria, Egypt Western-Italy, Gaul, Spain, Britain, and North Africa Roman Empire Re-united      After Diocletian’s death, competition for power. Constantine, son of Diocletian’s co-emperor took power Reunited Rome in 324 CE Made Constantinople the the capital of the united Roman Empire Faced with same economy and administrative problems Constantine’s Symbols     Identified himself with Apollo as the sun god. Soli invicto (invincible sun) On his coinage, Apollo had a halo. Constantine’s image on coinage also had a halo. In Hoc Signo Vinces     In 312 BC as he fought to conquer Rome, he had his soldiers place a symbols on their shields Debate: Sign was originally clear Christian symbol or a pagan solar symbols, or a sign of the astrological significance of the specific date. Two stories: dream and vision. “In this sign conquer” came to be the motto of the sign. Constantine (280-337)        Mother Helena was a Christian Edict of Milan in 312: made Christianity legal Returned church property confiscated by Diocletian. Supported the church financially Summoned the Council of Nicaea Established precedent for role of Christian emperor of the church. Eventually converted to Christianity and was baptized. 1st Council of Nicaea      Issue was the nature of Christ Challenge of Arian Christianity. First move to create consensus within the church on doctrine and beliefs. Established the Nicene Creed Established a day on which to celebrate Easter. Nicene Creed of 325  We believe in one God, the Father Almighty, Maker of All Things Visible and Invisible and in one Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, begotten of the Father [the only-begotten; that is, of the essence of the Father, God of God] Light of Light, very God of very God, begotten, not made, being of one substance with the Father. . . . Easter Controversy    Had been celebrated at various times by different Christians. Council changed the date, making it independent of the Hebrew calendar to the first Sunday after the first full moon of the vernal equinox and said all Christians should celebrate Easter on that day. This was not the end of the debate, though. Constantine and the Jews    Made it illegal to convert to Judaism Restricted Jewish worship. Made the day of rest Sunday. Conversion of Roman religion    Worship of Roman gods assimilated into Christianity For instance, church of the Holy Apostles built on site of temple of Aphrodite. Halo of Apollo becomes a Christian symbol of holiness. Sunday Law Sunday was the pagan day to worship the sun.  Many Christians still kept Jewish Sabbath (Saturday).  Constantine: Let all judges and all city people and all tradesmen rest upon the venerable day of the sun.  Christianity As State Religion    Constantine takes on role of Pontifex Maximus (the Supreme Pontiff), Caesar of the Incarnated Lord.Inaugurated state-church union in the Christian world Later Christianity Becomes Official State Religion in 380 CE. Persecution of non-Christians Questions    How has Christianity changed? How is Christ as God now perceived? Who is the Byzantine Jesus? Augustine (354-430)      Bishop of Hippo Made Christianity popular to elite Concept of Original sin, Fall of Humanity Just War Doctrine of the Trinity (Father, Son and Holy Ghost) Relationship to Western Empire     Eastern emperors claimed supremacy though there were challenges to their rule. In 395 emperor Theodosius after reuniting the empire, divided the eastern and western portions between his two sons Arcadius and Honorius. A new line of western emperors. Western Rome continued to decline and shrink in size. Last western emperor Julius Nepos (474475) appointed by Eastern emperors Leo (457-474) and Zeno (474-491) Church     Church in western Roman empire survives. Church virtually takes the place of the Roman empire. Tensions between Constantinople and Rome Eventually churches split in 1054 in “The Great Schism.” End of Western Empire     Germanic tribes lived on eastern and northern borders of Roman empire. Visigoths, Ostrogoths, Vandals, Franks Nomads who settled down, adopted agriculture and Roman culture. Romans kept them out of interior of empire. Huns     Late 300s until mid-400s Huns pushed westward into borders of Roman empire. Huns were nomadic warriors from central Asia. Under Attila in mid-400s invaded Hungary, borders of Roman frontier in the Balkans, northern Italy, Gaul. Huns did not set up administrative structure and disappeared after the death of Attila in 453 CE. Influx of Germanic tribes      The attacks of the Huns on the borders of the Roman Empire pushed the Germanic tribes into interior of Roman Empire. They encountered little resistance and established settlement throughout western Roman Empire. In 410 CE, under Alaric, the Visigoths sacked Rome. In 476 CE Odovacer deposed Romulus Augustulus, an usurper to the throne of the last Western Roman emperor, Julios Napos. Odovacer swore allegiance to the eastern emperor. Byzantine Empire    Western Roman Empire as a political entity ended, but Eastern Roman Empire survived and flourished. Known as the Byzantine Empire after the fall of the Western Roman Empire. Constantinople the capital of the Byzantine empire for a thousand years, except for briefly during 1204 when fellow Christians of the 4th Crusade sacked the city. Byzantine Monasticism     Christian ascetics embraced celibacy and poverty Monastic communities formed. Monastic rules developed under Basil (329-379 CE) Monks sought mystical union with God through meditation and prayer