Running head: The Crusades 1 The Crusades Matthew D. Price Instructor Dr. Laura Descalzo Indiana Wesleyan University BIL 402 – Major Prophets BSBO50 August 16, 2019 The student name indicated on this title page signifies that the author has read and understands the IWU Honesty Policy as outlined in the Student Handbook and IWU Catalog. Affixing this statement to the title page certifies that no cheating or dishonest use of information has occurred in completing this assignment. The work submitted is original work specific for this course. If cheating and/or plagiarism are discovered in this paper, it is acknowledged that the university policy will be followed, and may result in dismissal of the student from Indiana Wesleyan University. The Crusades 2 The question at hand is how did the Crusades contribute to dooming the future of reunification between East and West? In order to answer this question, we need to look first at what the original cause of the divide between the church in Rome and the Eastern Orthodox church was. We also must dispel some of the misinformation about the Crusades and acknowledge the mistakes of the Crusades. All of this information together will show us how the Crusades contributed to the ultimate division of the church. “that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me.” (John 17:21, NIV) Jesus prayed that his followers would be one, would be united. Unfortunately, we as humans, have a tendency to allow differences to come between us and that leads to divisions, sometimes permanent divisions. In 1054 a division was developing in the church and was really coming to a head. The issues at hand were “first the different levels of involvement in politics…Second, each held to different sources of authority.” (Cornish, 2005, p.110) In the fourth century, Emperor Constantine moved the capital of the empire from Rome to Constantinople. Meaning the church would be more influenced by the Greeks than it would be by the Western culture. “But when the Roman Empire fell, the church of Rome assumed political power and even expanded it over time.” (Cornish, 2005, p.110) The cultural differences from the west and the easterners, in their forms of worship and even in the wording of the Nicene Creed, led to the Church in Rome to send a delegation to Constantinople to excommunicate the eastern church. The Eastern church in turn excommunicated the church in Rome. Many people, today, believe the Crusades were meant to force people to become Christians or to simply kill Muslims and other religions. The facts are greatly different. After the birth and growth of the religion of Islam, “Christian pilgrims began to encounter persecution, The Crusades 3 and when the Seljuk Turks, new and fanatical converts to Islam, came sweeping and plundering into the Near East, the situation became especially intense.” (Shelley, 2012, p.196) The Seljuks seized Jerusalem and controlled the city were many Christians came to worship at the place where Christ walked. In 1095, the Eastern Emperor reached out the pope, Urban II, for help. Pope Urban II launched the first of seven Crusades to reclaim the Holy Land. So, the Crusades were originally about keeping access to Jerusalem. “Unfortunately, Urban’s pious hopes and truly noble ideals that at least some of the crusaders brought to their task led to mostly ironic and tragic results.” (Noll, 2012, p.131) “But the Crusaders were human beings, so their motives, like our own, were mixed and often in conflict.” (Shelley, 2012, p.197) Many of the Crusaders were motivated by spiritual reasons, to reclaim Jerusalem from the Muslims, however, some Crusaders were motivated by other rewards. In some of the later crusades, merchants were involved and only interested in the things they could take from the cities that they pillaged. Many of the Crusaders were violent and were led to murder, rape, torture, and even eat their victims. What started out as a noble cause became an event that would leave a scar on the reputation of Christians for centuries to come. In April of 1204 as the fourth Crusade was just under way, “the crusade turned aside from its supposed objective (to do battle with Islam) and came to Constantinople seeking what it could devour.” (Noll, 2012, p.131-132) For centuries, Constantinople had been the center of the Eastern Orthodox church, there were many religious articles that were kept there. The city was the cite of a violent and bloody attack at the hands of the Crusaders, the people that were originally there to help the eastern Christians. Despite the fact that later that same year the pope, Innocent III, condemned the attack on the city, the physical and emotional damage was too great and the divide between the eastern and western churches was now cemented. “The Eastern The Crusades 4 church has not yet forgotten those three days of unrestrained horror, and the two churches remain divorced.” (Cornish, 2005, p.112) The Crusades 5 References Cornish, R. (2005). 5 minute church historian: Maximum truth in minimum time. Colorado Springs, CO: NavPress. Noll, M. (2012). Turning points: Decisive moments in the history of Christianity (3rd ed.). Grand Rapids, Mich.: Baker Academic. Shelley, B. (2012). Church history in plain language (4th ed.). Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic.
