Lecture 4:
Historical Developments
312 - 604
Dr. Ann T. Orlando
Lecture 4 ATO
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Introduction
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Review of Third Century
Importance of Constantine
Church-State Relations:
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Emperor Theodosius and St. Ambrose;
Empress Eudoxia and St. John Chrysostom
Early Church Councils
Barbarian Invasions
Irish Christianity
Historical Situation at Beginning of 7th C
Review Readings
Lecture 4 ATO
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Review of Third Century
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Increased pressure on Rome from Persia and northern
barbarians
Political instability; murder and succession of generals
as emperors
Empire-wide persecution of Christians
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Martyrs
Apologists
Lapsed
Lecture 4 ATO
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Political Situation at Beginning of
Fourth Century
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Diocletian becomes emperor in 284.
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A few problems with Diocletian’s plan:
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Both Augusti and both Caesars headed their own armies and areas of influence
Except for Diocletian himself, the three other members of this tetrarchy saw this
scheme as a way to take over the Empire when Diocletian died
When Diocletian retires, political intrigues and battles break about among
the successors:
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Very strong ruler
Decides that best way to protect Empire is to divide it between two Augusti (East
and West) supported by two Caesars (Augusti in waiting)
Unleashes worst persecution of all
Manages to retire and force his co-Augutus, Maximian, to retire with him(305)
Constantius, Augustus, controlled England and Gaul, father of Constantine
Severus, Caesar, ruled Rome
Maximius, Caesar in Greece
Galerius, Augustus, in East
When Constantius dies, his troops proclaim his son, Constantine,
Augustus
Lecture 4 ATO
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Map of Roman Empire During Reign of
Diocletian www.biblestudy.org/maps/romandio.html
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Constantine the Great: Political Power
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Key to Constantine’s take-over of entire Empire was
battle of Milvian bridge over Tiber in Rome against
Maxentius, son of Maximian in 312.
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Constantine credits his victory to a vision he had in which
he was told to go into battle with the Christian symbol
Troops carry chi-rho on their shields
By 313 Constantine has captured all of the Empire
and officially declared that Christianity was to be
tolerated (Edict of Milan)
‘Gives’ most of Rome to the Catholic Church
(Vatican, St. Paul outside the Walls, Lateran)
Establishes Constantinople (on site of ancient
Byzantium) as his new capital
Lecture 4 ATO
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Constantine the Great: Ecclesial Power
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Builds Churches, with his mother Helen, in Holy Land (Church of
Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem, Church of Nativity in Bethlehem)
Moves against the Donatists in North Africa
Calls Council of Nicea to decide between Athanasius and Arius
on relation between Father and Son; Council supports
Athanasius and Son as ‘one in being with the Father’: The
Nicene Creed
Dies in 337 (after murdering his wife and eldest son); baptized by
(an Arian) bishop shortly before he dies
Reaction of Church:
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Eusebius of Caesarea: the Christian kingdom has arrived
 Also some concern about people entering Church for political, not
spiritual, reasons
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Major Social Changes in 4th C Due to
Constantine
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Christian clergy given tax relief
Churches could receive legacies
Sunday as a day of rest
Bishops could act as judges in their diocese (Roman
administrative province)
Christian could not charge another Christian interest
on a loan (sin of usury)
Crucifixion prohibited
No branding of prisoners because mars image of
God
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Key Historical Events in 4th Century
after Constantine
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Constantine’s Empire gets divided among his
sons; but this only leads to civil war and a
weakened Empire
After Constantine, all Emperors except Julian the
Apostate (361-363) were Christians
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Julian was a Christian, but returned to paganism
Julian tries to revive paganism
Planned to rebuild Jewish Temple
Killed in battle against the Persians
Some of Constantine's successors in 4th C were
Arians; sent missionaries to Goths north of Danube
(Arian missionary and bishop Wulfila)
Lecture 4 ATO
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Theodosius the Great (379-393) and
St. Ambrose of Milan (374-397)
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Theodosius
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Ambrose
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Becomes Emperor after Emperor Valens (an Arian) is killed at Battle
of Adrianople against Goths
Strong ruler who reunites the Empire
Orthodox Catholic ruler; makes Christianity the State religion
Prefect in Milan (Western Capital)
Baptized, Ordained Priest, Bishop in same week
Opposed Arians, in power in West
Politically more important than Pope (Siricius) because Milan more
important than Rome
Confrontations, in both Ambrose is successful
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Burning of Jewish synagogue in Mesopotamia
Massacre in Thessalonica
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Empress Eudoxia (398-404) and
St. John Chrysostom (396-407)
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Eudoxia married to Theodosius’ son,
Emperor Arcadius (other son, Honorius,
Emperor in West)
John Chrysostom (Golden Mouth)
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Patriarch of Constantinople,
One of greatest theologians of period, extensive
commentary on Scripture in Antiochene tradition
Preaches vehemently against courtly excess,
especially targeting Eudoxia
John is exiled from Constantinople (twice)
Lecture 4 ATO
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The Ecumenical Councils
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Nicea I, 325, called by Constantine the Great
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Constantinople I, 381, Called by Theodosius the Great
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Condemned Nestorius, Patriarch of Constantinople
Jesus was not two separate persons, but one person both human and divine
Mary as ‘Theotokos’ Mother of God
Chalcedon, 450, called by Empress Pulcheria (saint) at request of Pope St.
Leo I (the Great)
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Affirmed divinity of Holy Spirit
Modified Creed; what we have now
Ephesus, 431, called by Valentinian III
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Condemned Arianism
Son of one substance with the Father
Nicene Creed
Condemned monophysites: single nature
Christ has two natures: human and divine (Leo’s Tome)
Note: Both Nestorianism and Monophysitism are still present in a few
Eastern churches; consider themselves ‘orthodox’ because they
subscribe to Nicene Council
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Key Historical Events
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th
5
Century
Increasingly West was under pressure from northern tribes (Goths,
Visigoths, Vandals) who in turn under pressure from Huns
Some of those Goths led by Alaric sacked Rome in 410
Effect of Julian’s apostasy and sack of Rome caused Christian
theologians to rethink the initial triumphal historical view of
Constantine: Augustine The City of God
Augustine dies in 430 as Hippos is besieged by Vandals
Center of power in Empire is only in Constantinople
Attila the Hun reaches Rome in 452, persuaded by Pope St. Leo the
Great not to sack Rome (probably because there was nothing of
value to sack)
Last Roman emperor in West abdicated in 476
Pope Gelasius writes to Emperor Anastasius saying that spiritual
power superior to temporal, 494
Note Emperor Justinian tries but fails to reunite West and East in
early 6th C
Lecture 4 ATO
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th
5
Century Invasions
Lecture 4 ATO
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Irish Church
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Parallel development of Catholic Christianity for two centuries
 Ireland never part of Roman Empire;
 not affected by 5th, 6th C barbarian invasions
St. Patrick (d. 490) returned to Ireland from England after having
been a slave in Ireland to preach Christianity
 Organizes parishes around monasteries
 Makes Latin the scholarly language in Ireland
Irish monasteries are cutoff from Roman world due to barbarian
invasions, develop different customs
 Different calculation for Easter
 Discipline (penance, private confession)
 Organization: abbots rather than bishops
In early Sixth Century Irish monks led by St. Columba establish a
monastery at Iona, Scotland
Lecture 4 ATO
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6th Century Missionary Activities in
Western Europe
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Parallel, independent missionary activities from Rome and Ireland
(Iona)
Irish monks in 6th Century go to France, Germany, Holland to preach
Christianity
 St. Columban(us) travels extensively through Europe establishing
Irish style monasteries, including one in Northern Italy (d. 615)
Meanwhile, missionaries from Rome are also trying to convert Arian
and Pagan Germanic tribes
 Conversion of Chlodwech (Clovis) 496
 Pope St. Gregory the Great sends Augustine to England 597
Differences between Irish and Roman Churches resolved at Synod
of Whitby, 664, in favor or Roman customs
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Historical Situation in Early 7th C
in West
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City of Rome is a desolate ruin with poor sanitation and filled with
very poor people; under direct authority of Pope
 Pope St. Gregory the Great rebuilds sanitation and water supply
 Feeds the hungry
Bishops are often the only real source of learning, administration
and civil justice
Irish and Roman missionaries have some success in converting
pagan and Arian tribes
Visigoths rule Spain; Vandals rule North Africa; Lombards rule
northern Italy; Byzantine control of Southern Italy and Sicily,
Franks rule Western France; Anglo-Saxons in England; Alamani
in Germany
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Historical Situation in Early 7th C
in East
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Unified Eastern Empire firmly under control of
Byzantine Emperor from Egypt to Danube
Primary contact between East and West is
through the Pope
Ecclesial authorities are subordinate to civil
Eastern Empire will see itself as the
continuation of ancient Roman Empire until
the fall of Constantinople in 1453
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So When Did Rome (Western Roman
Empire) Fall?
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When Constantine founded Constantinople as New Rome, c.
330?
When Western capitol moved to Milan in c. 375?
When Alaric sacked Rome in 410?
When the last Roman Emperor of West abdicated in 476?
When Clovis crowned was King of Franks by Catholic bishop in
Rheims in 496?
With the failure of Eastern Emperor Justinian to recapture West
in early 6th C?
Arguably this lecture covered the greatest historical and social
changes in history of West
 Conversion of Constantine
 Sunset of Roman Empire in West and Rise of Europe
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Review Readings
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Vidmar, 46 -86
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Edict (Rescript) of Milan, all of it
Eusebius, Conversion of Constantine, Chapters XXVII – XXXII
Augustine, The City of God,
 Not easy reading; try to follow his arguments
 Great treatise exploring Church and history, i.e., God’s plan
 The relation between the Church and civil society
 Immediate reason why Augustine write the CoG
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Explain why this devastation (sack of Rome) now that Rome is
Christian
Remember that invaders were Arian Christians
Book I: Preface, 1, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 16, 17, 18, 20, 21, 25, 26, 27,
28, 29, 33, 34, 35
Book V: 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26
Lecture 4 ATO
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Readings
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Pope Gelasius, all of it
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The basis for ‘church-state’ relations for the next
1300 years in the West
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St. Columban, Boat Song, all
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CCC 1886-1889
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The Church’s current understanding of
conversion and society
Lecture 4 ATO
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