Chapter 9 (I)
The Language of Faith:
Symbolism and the Arts
The Turning Point
Emperor Constantine’s
conversion in 312 C.E.
The Reorganized Empire
Diocletian
(284-316
C.E.) saved the
empire from the
third-century crisis.
Diocletian’s reform
Diocletian
Maximian
Caesar
Caesar
Emperor Constantine
313
Edict of Milan
Christianity became a
legitimate faith.
Emperor Constantine
325
Council of
Nicaea
Purpose: to establish
the Christian dogma
→the Nicene Creed
The
Nicene
Creed
http://www.goarch.org/en/resources/clipart/icondetail.asp?i=55&c
=Other&r=Ecumenical_Synod
Doctrinal Quarrels
(1)
(2)
(3)
Trinity: Christ = Father, Son, Holy
Ghost
Regionalism: regional hostilities
were aggravated. Roman Catholic
and Eastern Orthodox churches split
in 1054.
State involvement: Secular
interference in Church matters
increased, esp. in the East.
Hierarchical Organization
Patriarchs → bishops in charge
of Rome, Jerusalem,
Constantinople, Antioch, and
Alexandria.
 Archbishops/metropolitans →
provinces
 Bishops → dioceses
 Priests → parishes

Primacy of
the Bishop of Rome
 (1)
a scene of the
missionary activities and
eventual martyrdom of
the Apostles Peter and
Paul.
 (2) the doctrine of the
Petrine Succession
Primacy of
the Bishop of Rome
 (3)
After the capital was
moved to Constantinople,
the pope replaced the
Roman emperor as head
of public administration.
Spread of Monasticism
Fourth century
 (1) A substitute for martyrdom:
a desire to prove one’s religious
ardor by self-abasement and
suffering.
 (2) Monasticism satisfied the
desires of those who wished to
avoid secular temptations.
St Simeon
Stylite spent
thirty-six years
living on top of
a pillar, in
prayer and
devotion.
East:
St. Basil
(330-379)
Features:
fasting,
poverty, and
celibacy
http://www.st-basil.org/
West:
St. Benedict
(480-547)
The Benedictine
rule
http://www.mycatholictradition.com/
saint-benedict.html
The Benedictine Rule
Vows:
poverty, chastity,
obedience
A program of “prayer
and work”
The Benedictine Rule
 Contributions:
(1) Missionary work
(2) Emphasize the dignity of
Manual labor
(3) Learning: Benedictine
monasteries became centers
for learning and transcribing
in the Middle Ages.
Women

The rise of a negative attitude toward
women?
 (Con) Spiritual egalitarianism:
women could be saved as fully as
men.
 (Pro) (1) Excluded from positions
of leadership in church (2)Women
> flesh; Men > spirit (3) Virginity
accepted as the highest standard
Marriage
 Marriage
>>> procreation
Women >>> limited roles
submissive wives
mothers
Latin Church Fathers

Jerome (c. 347-420)
Ambrose (340-397)
Gregory (c. 540-604)
Augustine (354-430)
St. Jerome
Translated
the Bible
from Hebrew (OT)
and Greek (NT) into
Latin: the Vulgate
St. Jerome
(painted by El
Greco)
translated the
Old and New
Testaments into
Latin.
http://www.tihof.org/images/jerome/greco.jpg
St. Jerome
 Much
of the Bible was to be
understood allegorically,
rather than literally.
 Classical learning could be
valid if subordinated to
Christian aims.
St. Augustine
 The
Confessions : his
autobiography. Established the
dualistic model of reality: the
“unclean body” and the “purified
soul” (by extension, matter and
spirit, earth and heaven, Satan
and God, state and Church).
St. Augustine
On
the City of God
“City of Earth” vs.
“City of God”
Christianization
of Classical Culture
 (1)
A gradual winnowing out
of the classical texts that had
been produced in Greece and
Rome between the 5th
century B.C.E. and the 2nd
century C.E.
Christianization
of Classical Culture
(2)
An understanding of
the purposes of
classical culture for a
Christian audience.
Early
Christian Art
sacophagus
catacomb
Christ as
Good
Shepherd
Christ as the Good Shepherd, the mausoleum of Galla Placidia, Ravenna, c. 425426. Mosaic. http://mh1.xplana.com/imagevault/upload/c20fadda23a7d46f8003.jpg
Christian
Symbolism
Symbolism and Early Christian Art: (a) Christian monograms; (b)
symbols of the four evangelists; and (c) Latin and Greek crosses
http://mh1.xplana.com/imagevault/upload/34b4a94ac52f06114f9d.jpg
The chi-rho symbol
Orans
http://www.orderofcenturions.org/IMAGES/orans_catacomb2.jpg
Food for Thought
Study
and identify
the iconography of
the life of Jesus.
http://members.aol.com/nonsto
pny/italiano/nativity.jpg
The End