2-UNIT STUDIES OF RELIGION



STUDIES OF RELIGION PRELIMINARY COURSE

DEPTH STUDY 2: CHRISTIANITY

CHURCH HISTORY TO THE REFORMATION

You will be working in one of six groups. Each group will be given one of the following topics:

• Saint Paul and the growth of the early Christian Church.

• The influences on early Christianity in the Roman Empire.

• The growth of Christianity in the Roman Empire.

• The Church of Rome.

• How the early Christians prayed and worshipped.

• Persecutions and heresies.

• The Barbarian invasions.

Study the material given to you. Then prepare a presentation on butcher paper to give to the class. You may use the review questions (if available) to help you.

In order to become a religion in its own right, the Christian church needed to develop its own coherent set of:

• Beliefs.

• Sacred stories.

• Sacred texts.

• Experiences.

• Rituals.

• Social structures.

• Ethics.

• Symbols.

As you listen to each presentation, complete the wheel on the following page by listing the characteristics of the developing religion in the appropriate space on the wheel.

Read each summary and use it to match the following words with the explanation or definition given.

|Archbishop |Agape |Barbarian |Arianism |

|Blaspheme |Aristocrat |Endowment |Bishop |

|Catechumenate |Catechesis |Gnosticism |Catacombs |

|Edict |Church Fathers |Hierarchical |Feudal system |

|Heresy |Heresy |Parousia |Gentiles |

|Messiah |Martyr |Patriarch |Hellenisation |

|Nicene Creed |Pope |Sect |Mission |

|Philosophy |Theology |Synagogue |Temple |

| |Speaking against God; saying things which are offensive to people’s beliefs about God. |

| |Beliefs and teachings which are contrary to official religious views; religious authorities would determine which |

| |teachings were not true to their religion and would label these as heresy. |

| |A sub-group within a religion, usually with some distinguishing beliefs and/or religious practices. |

| |A collective name given to all non-Jewish people. |

| | |

| |One “Sent by God to save the Jewish People”. In the time of Jesus, some expected this to happen by rebellion against |

| |the Romans. |

| |The organisation of beliefs into a system, together with reflection on the meaning of those beliefs. |

| |The Greek influence on a culture; from the word Hellene meaning Greek. |

| | |

| |Systematic thought about the nature of reality and the meaning of human life. |

| | |

| |The important Christian Church scholars in the early centuries CE who studied and wrote about Christian theology and the|

| |Christian way of life. The term was used to mean teacher and guide. |

| |A system of authority with the person in charge at the top of the system with others arranged in a decreasing order of |

| |authority. |

| |The Christian belief that Jesus would return at the end of the world to judge the lives of people, both living and dead.|

| |The Christian belief that they were called upon Jesus to preach the good news of the gospel to all peoples on earth. |

| |Those who were specially committed to this role were called missionaries. |

| |A legally enforced order from an authority such as an emperor. |

| | |

| |One from the wealthy class or the ruling class. |

| | |

| |Gifts of money and/or property. |

| | |

| |The period of preparation for Baptism, lasting for up to three years. |

| | |

| |Learning about the Christian story and the Christian tradition. |

| | |

| |A Jewish house of worship. |

| | |

| |The shared meal that followed the celebration of the Eucharist. |

| | |

| |A system of underground passages near Rome, used as Jewish cemeteries. It was here that the Christians were able to |

| |worship without fear of persecution. |

| |The most sacred site of Judaism, in Jerusalem, built originally by Solomon. |

| | |

| |Individuals who have given their lives for their beliefs. It comes from the Greek word meaning witness. |

| |An early heresy in the Christian Church which denied the humanity of Jesus, and claimed that salvation came from special|

| |knowledge. |

| |An early heresy in the Christian Church which denied the divinity of Jesus. |

| | |

| |A formula expressing the fundamental beliefs of Christianity which was prepared at the Council of Nicaea in 325 CE |

| |Recognised as the main authority in the Western Church since the fifth century. |

| | |

| |The principal bishop of a province or region; usually the bishop of the capital of the region. |

| |The person in charge of a region, whose purpose was to ensure that Christian held the same beliefs and followed the same|

| |religious practises. |

| |The Bishop of Constantinople. Recognised as the main authority in the Eastern Church. |

| |Name given to the different tribes which invaded the Roman Empire over a long period of time. |

| |A situation in which a lord provided protection for the vassal, who in turn paid for the protection they received. |

Saint Paul and the Growth of the Early Christian Church

The followers of Jesus were called Nazarenes, until they became established in Antioch some years later, when they were called Christians. The Nazarenes were allowed to preach in the synagogues. They lived like good Jews, they prayed in the Temple, observed the rules about diet and practised circumcision of male children. What was different about them was that they baptised their followers in the name of Jesus, they broke bread together. However, at first the Jews regarded them as a sect or sub-group within their religion.

The growing popularity of the new sect made the Roman authorities suspicious and caused the Jewish religious authorities to become opposed to the Christians. There were also arguments within the Christian communities themselves about beliefs and practices.

Saul, a Pharisee, thought that the Christians’ claims about Jesus being the Messiah were blasphemous (speaking against God). He worked hard to destroy the Christians until, on the road to Damascus in about 34 CE he was converted. His new name became Paul.

For the next thirty-five years Paul travelled throughout the Roman Empire setting up and teaching Christian communities. He wrote many letters to Christian communities. As Paul began to convert large numbers of Gentiles (non-Jewish people) to Christianity, problems arose about the relationship between Christian teachings and Jewish teachings. At the Council of Jerusalem in 49 CE it was decided that the followers of Jesus were no longer bound by the Jewish law.

Paul taught that Jesus was not just a Jewish Messiah, but that Jesus was the saviour of all peoples. He developed his system of beliefs, or theology, in response to the challenges made to his message as he travelled through the Empire. He had an important influence in helping the early Church to realised that it was more than a Jewish sect.

In the mid-60’s CE Paul journeyed to Rome. He was arrested in 67 CE for being a Christian. He was sentenced to death. Because he was a citizen of Rome, he was given the privilege of an honourable execution and was beheaded rather than crucified.

The influences on early Christianity in the Roman Empire

The Influence of Judaism

Christian moral teaching was mainly influenced by Jewish teachings. There was great respect for the individual; widows and orphans were cared for; children were taught in synagogue schools; there was a strong emphasis on family life and the sacredness of marriage.

The Christians adopted the Ten Commandments. They also adopted Jewish beliefs and practices that emphasised respect for all created things, and a concern with justice.

The Influence of Greek Culture

The process of Greek influence or Hellenisation of the Roman Empire began in about 200 BCE when Greece was conquered by Rome. In time the Greek and the Roman cultures became blended.

Greek influence was most important in relation to Christianity in the area of thought or philosophy. The Greek method of learning was the inquiry method. Greek philosophers organised their ideas into systematic explanations of life. Christian teachers used their systems of thought to explain and organise Christian beliefs.

The first Christian scholars to study and write about Christian beliefs were Greek. They are known as the Greek Fathers. (Father was a word used to describe a teacher and guide.) These scholars had been trained to be scientific in their study of any topic. They developed a systematic explanation of the mysteries of Christianity.

Roman Influence

The Romans were excellent organisers and law makers. The Christians organised their Church along Roman lines. The good organisation of the Church was one of the factors that helped it grow in strength.

The Church was organised along Roman administration. It had a hierarchical order – that is, one person in charge and elected people in other positions of authority with responsibility for organising particular jobs.

From the first century onwards, each Christian community had a bishop as its leader. He was in charge of a certain district. As the Church grew, lower orders of clergy were established: priests and deacons. Women were in charge of communities and were involved in instruction and preaching. In many communities women had an equal place with men.

By the fourth century the central role of the bishops was to exercise authority and leadership so that all Christians held the same beliefs and followed the same religious practices. The bishops of particular provinces of the Empire met regularly to discuss Church matters, settle disputes and promote a sense of unity.

The bishop of the provincial capital of each region was given the title Metropolitan or Archbishop. In the fifth century the bishop of Rome was made the head of the Western Church and was given the title Pope. His authority was not recognised in the East, where the emperors from the time of Constantine has lived – here the power of the Church was divided by the head of the Church in the capital, the Patriarch, and the ruling Emperor.

As the Christian Church developed its theology, the Roman way of writing laws was used by theologians to write down Christian beliefs.

The growth of Christianity in the Roman Empire

The early Christians believed that at the end of the world Jesus would reappear to judge the lives of people, living and dead. This event was called the Parousia. The early Christians expected the Parousia in their life time, and when this did not happen they thought about spreading their faith and the idea of mission – preaching the good news of the gospel to all people – developed.

Christianity was for all people. It did not discriminate against people because of their race, class or sex.

Christians lived moral and caring lives. By the third century, the early Church had established an efficient organisation throughout the Empire. The Christian churches worked together and supported each other, showing that they shared the same beliefs and had the same aims.

Most of the converts came from the large cities of Empire, and they included slaves, free workers, merchants, craftsmen and families. The friendship and caring offered by the strong Christian communities and the security which the Christian faith promised for life after death gave them a sense of dignity and hope, and meaning and direction to their lives.

The people of ancient times believed in demons. Christianity became popular due to the miracles attributed to some Christians.

At first Christian missionaries preached in the cities in or near the synagogues, but eventually they turned to the country where they converted people to Christianity.

The aristocratic class retained their pagan religions longer than any other group because their religious beliefs were part of their class identity – a part of their sense of superiority. However, as one Christian Emperor succeeded another, and as the Christian Church became more organised and able to maintain order at a time when the Western Empire was falling apart, the aristocrats were also converted.

By the fourth century, the Church had established orphanages, hospitals, inns for travellers and pilgrims, and homes for the aged and the needy.

In 380 CE Emperor Theodosius made Christianity the sole religion of the Empire. All pagan religions were declared illegal. Pagan rituals and practices were outlawed and the pagan priesthood abolished.

The Church of Rome

Initially the Christian communities looked for guidance from the Christian community in Jerusalem, but it was Rome that eventually became the most important Christian centre.

When the Jews began their fight against Rome, the Christians in Jerusalem decided to leave the city. In 70 CE, Jerusalem was destroyed by the Romans. In time Christian communities returned to Jerusalem, but Jerusalem was never again as influential in deciding Church matters as before.

Antioch in Syria was an important centre of the early Church because the community there had a strong influence on shaping the beliefs of early Christianity. It was in Antioch that non-Jews were first accepted into the Christian community without having to be circumcised. It was here that the followers of Jesus were first called Christians. The Gospel of Matthew is believed to have been written in Antioch. It was in Antioch that the early Christian communities started to develop some formal organisation.

Peter and Paul were martyred in Rome in about 64 CE This fact became a deciding factor in making Rome the foremost Christian centre in the Empire.

The centralised system of government of the Empire, based in Rome, made the Empire relatively safe for most of its citizens. As time passed, the influence of the Roman system of administration on the developing Church became more evident. Christians reasoned that, if the Church was to grow, it needed to be united under a strong central authority, as in the Roman model. However, the development of a strong authority in the Roman Church took a long time.

From the earliest times the Roman Church assisted small and struggling Churches with money. But with Roman money there went a gentle but persistent pressure to conform to Roman standards.

In 313 CE the Emperor Constantine made Christianity a legal religion. He donated land, buildings and money to the new religion, and gave gifts and endowments (gifts of money or property) to the Church in Rome, because of Rome’s special place as capital of the Empire. These gifts, along with the fact that the Church in Rome was linked with the government of the Empire, gave the Roman Church great prestige.

In the middle of the fourth century, Constantine made Constantinople in the Eastern part of the Empire his new capital. The Church in Constantinople became a very wealthy and important centre of Christianity, in keeping with the status of the new capital of the Empire.

As time went on, great friction developed between the Roman Church and the Church in Constantinople.

How the early Christians prayed and worshipped

Until 49 CE when Christianity separated from Judaism, the followers of Jesus met together in synagogues as Jews to pray and perform the rituals of the Jewish faith. They also discussed the teachings of Jesus and broke bread together in their homes.

In the early centuries, the places for Christian meetings were changed regularly because people were afraid of being arrested and executed for being Christian. Many met in catacombs. The catacombs consisted of kilometres of underground passages near Rome which were used as Jewish cemeteries. In the West they also met in the dining room of a home. In the East they met in the room of a quiet secluded house. Baptisms were performed in the bathroom. From the end of the second century, some Christians donated houses to be used as places of worship; these house churches were the first buildings to be used exclusively as places of Christian worship. The first churches were built during the third century.

In the second century, Baptism included Confirmation and Communion. The period of preparation for Baptism, which was called the Catechumenate, could last for three years. In the Catechumenate, people spent time learning about the Christian story with other adult Christians. This process was called catechesis. Candidates for baptism (catechumens) had to be presented by Christians who would be their sponsors (like godparents) and guarantee their good behaviour.

On the Friday before their baptism, catechumens would fast. During baptism the bishop would lay his hands on the candidates, absolve them of their sins, breathe on their faces and make the sign of the cross. They were then baptised with water.

Christians met on Sundays to worship together. The Eucharist was initially said in the language spoken by the community. It was only much later that the Eucharist was said only in Latin in the Western churches. In may Christian communities, the celebration of the Eucharist was followed by a shared meal which was called an agape. Christians retained the Jewish practice of reading the Jewish scriptures and in time added readings from the Christian scriptures about Jesus. During this early period, the celebrant wore no special vestments.

Christians usually prayed standing with their arms up and palms opened outwards. The first prayers were said in the morning. Other times were at 9 am, 12 noon, 3 pm and when the lamps were lit at dusk. The Christian communities saw that prayer, both private and communal, was an essential part of the spiritual life of the Church.

Singing and chanting were part of worship in the Jewish synagogue, and the Christians adopted and continued these traditions.

Persecutions and heresies

Why Were the Christians Persecuted?

The Romans believed that if they performed the right worship, then the gods would protect the Empire and its people. They believed that it was a good idea to have as many gods on their side as possible.

The Christians drew attention to themselves because they worshipped only one god, and because they would not worship the Emperor. Christians were accused of being atheists because they did not take part in imperial worship or even in the practices of the Eastern religions.

The early Christians were very secretive and protective of their liturgical practices and this led to the spread of all sorts of strange rumours about what happened when Christians met together. Often too, when people became Christians, they no longer associated with non-Christian friends and refused to go to the bloodthirsty sports that were popular at the time. Worst of all, Christians were seen as bad citizens, because they would not take part in military service and would not be involved in the administration of the law. Therefore, the authorities concluded that Christians were not interested in the welfare of the Empire and in fact were a dangerous example for the citizens of Rome.

The Martyrs

The term martyr comes from the Greek word meaning witness. During various times of persecution, there were many people who were killed for their beliefs. Those Christians who chose to die, rather than to deny their faith, were called martyrs. Persecution of Christians stopped in 313 CE when Christianity was made an official religion.

Heresies

There were differences of opinion in the early Christian communities about beliefs and practices. Some of these developed into doctrines that opposed the official teaching of the Church and they are known as heresies. Heresies became more common by the fourth century.

One of the earliest heresies was Gnosticism. According to this heresy, spiritual things were good and material things were evil. Therefore Jesus was truly God, but not human. Salvation was possible only for an elite group who was told about the rites and ceremonies of their mysterious tradition. To fight these ideas, Christian scholars stressed that all creation was good, both spiritual and material, and that salvation could be attained by all through faith in God and doing good works.

According to Arianism, Jesus was not God, but a man with certain special divine characteristics; and, if Jesus was not God then people were not really saved by him. The Arian heresy (founded by Arius) had a great following, so much so that Emperor Constantine called a general council of the Christian bishops in 325 CE to settle the issue. They met in Nicaea, where they agreed to a set of fundamental Christian beliefs, known as the Nicene Creed. However, the dispute continued for many years after the Council of Nicaea.

To the present day, almost every Christian Church recites the Nicene Creed or one similar to it to express its beliefs.

The Barbarian invasions

The word ‘barbarian’ was given to the different tribes that invaded the Roman Empire over a long period of time. The Romans regarded them as crude, uneducated and on a lower scale of civilisation.

From about the third century CE onwards, barbarian tribes that lived near the borders of the Roman Empire were attracted by its wealth. Many of these were allowed to settle in the Empire in exchange for protection against other barbarian tribes. Thus for a long time, much of the barbarian invasion took place in a relatively peaceful way.

A number of barbarian tribes had been converted to Arianism, and they persecuted the Catholic Christians and confiscated Church property. In 406 CE barbarians took part of the Western Empire by force.

The barbarian tribes were often warring with each other. Travel became increasingly hazardous and the general culture of towns and cities was diminished. Gradually the Western Roman Empire began to break up into small parts. Within a short time, trade and communications began to break down. In most provinces, Roman culture and civilisation survived only in the Church communities and monasteries. In various regions, it was the Church officials, priests, deacons and bishops, who tried to keep law and order in the community when the civil administration could no longer cope or had simply disappeared.

The barbarian invasions added to the feeling of separation between the Eastern and the Western parts of the Empire.

The process of Christianising and civilising the barbarians was begun by missionaries in the Church and over the next three centuries the barbarian tribes settled down in the lands they had conquered and accepted, in their own way, Roman Christian civilisation.

In the seventh century the Empire was threatened by the Muslim invasions. Great Christian centres like Jerusalem, Antioch and Alexandria were conquered by the Arabs.

From the ninth to the eleventh centuries, the Western parts of the Empire were raided by the Vikings. Unlike the first barbarian invaders, they showed no interest in settling down in the centres they raided, and it was only after several centuries of raiding that they settled down in France and other European centres. Slowly they adopted Christianity.

The Viking raids were responsible for creating the feudal system, in which a lord (or protector) provided protection for the vassals (persons in need of protection) and they in turn paid for the protection they received. The King of a country owned all the land. He rented some of his land to the nobles and to the Church in exchange for their loyalty. The nobles rented some of their land to lesser nobles – knights and gentlemen – who in turn rented land to the peasants. The Church also rented land to the peasants who lived in the villages that belonged to the Church.

By the end of the ninth century the Church owned quite a lot of land and money through donations given by the Christian Emperors. The bishops were often members of powerful families and so some sought the protection of a lord as a way of safeguarding their land and possessions. Inevitably, some bishops became too involved in politics and secular affairs and neglected their spiritual duties. Often the lords chose to appoint as bishops, men they favoured for the position regardless of whether they had a true vocation to the Church or not. This practice was to have a bad effect on the Church as a whole. Many bishops were corrupt.

Many priests also became worldly and disinterested in the people in their charge. They saw a career in the Church as the surest way of getting money and power. The Church was in great need of reform.

References

Bartlett, T. (2000). New studies of religion: preliminary course depth study 2: Christianity.

Board of Studies. (1999). Stage 6 syllabus: studies of religion. Sydney: Board of Studies New South Wales.

Brown, S., F. (1991). Christianity: World religions. New York: Facts on File, Inc.

Courtie, B., & Johnson, M. (1990). Christianity explored. Oxford: Lion Publishing plc.

Crawford, M. (1991a). Beginnings (Vol. 1). Newtown: E. J. Dwyer.

Crawford, M. (1991b). Challenges (Vol. 2). Alexandria: E. J. Dwyer.

Crawford, M. (1991c). Decay and renewal (Vol. 3). Newtown: E. J. Dwyer.

Crawford, M. (1991d). Medieval Church and society: part one (Vol. 4). Newtown: E. J. Dwyer.

Crawford, M. (1991e). Medieval Church and society: part two (Vol. 5). Newtown: E. J. Dwyer.

Crotty, R. (2000). Christianity. In D. Parnham (Ed.), Exploring religion (2nd ed., pp. 53-94). South Melbourne: Oxford University Press.

Fleming, L. (1998). Studies of religion. Glebe: Pascal Press.

Lovat, T., & McGrath, J. (Eds.). (1999). New studies in religion. Katoomba: Social Science Press.

Morrissey, J., Mudge, P., Taylor, A., Bailey, G., Gregor, H., McGillion, C., O'Reilly, P., Magee, P., & Mills, L. (2001). Living religion (2nd ed.). Sydney: Longman.

© Emmaus Publications (2003). Every effort has been made to trace and acknowledge all materials used. This material may be photocopied for educational use only.

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Students learn about the origins and history of Christianity –

• The early development of Christianity:

– the early Church as found in the New Testament.

• The diversity and change in the historical development of Christianity and the development of various sub-groups until the present.

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