Church History II Survey
Session #2
© 2010, Ed Sherwood, Berachah Bible Institute
Eastern Christianity
The Church in the Middle Ages
1
http://www.kypros.org/Occupied_Cyprus/cyprus1974/images/cultural_destruction/Kanakaria_church_6th_century_700_bg.jpg
© 2010, Ed Sherwood, Berachah Bible Institute
Session 2 – Eastern Christianity
2
© 2010, Ed Sherwood, Berachah Bible Institute
Opening Prayer The Jesus Prayer “ Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner.”
“Κύριε Ιησού Χριστέ, Υιέ του Θεού, ελέησόν με τον αμαρτωλόν. ”
‰
‰
‰
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Origin – believed to be from the Desert Fathers Said repetitively, but not a mantra – focus is on the meaning
Prayed on nine levels:
The prayer of the lips.
The prayer of the mouth.
The prayer of the tongue.
The prayer of the voice.
The prayer of the mind.
The prayer of the heart.
The active prayer.
The all‐seeing prayer.
The contemplative prayer.
3
© 2010, Ed Sherwood, Berachah Bible Institute
Overview of Chapter 27 – Eastern Christianity
• Christianity in the Eastern Roman
Empire (p. 251-252)
• The Byzantine Empire
(Byzantium)
• The Christological Debates to the
Council of Chalcedon (p. 252-257)
• Further Theological Debates (p.
257-261)
• The Dissident Churches of the
East (p. 261-262)
• Eastern Orthodoxy after the Arab
Conquest (p. 262-265)
http://www.costumes.org/history/racinet/new/byzan
tine181.jpg
Byzantine and court and ecclesiastical dress in the early Medieval Age
4
5
© 2010, Ed Sherwood, Berachah Bible Institute
Christianity in the East
• 1st Cent. BC - Roman province of Judea
established
• 1st - 4th Centuries AD – Christianity mostly
in the East
• 324 AD - Emperor Constantine moves
capital to Greek city of Byzantium (renamed
Constantinople)
• 476 AD - Western Roman Empire falls
• 476AD to 1453 AD - Eastern Roman Empire
continues
• 639-732 AD - Rise of Islam (major setback
Eastern Orthodox Cross
for Christianity in the East) “The Great
Recession”
• 1054 AD - Western and Eastern Christian
churches divide, “The Great Schism”
6
© 2010, Ed Sherwood, Berachah Bible Institute
Europe in 600 AD
7
© 2010, Ed Sherwood, Berachah Bible Institute
The Byzantine Empire (Byzantium)
Theodosius II's great chain of land walls withstand countless sieges until the Ottoman conquest of the city in 1453 AD.
• 667 BC - Founded by Greeks, named
for their king, Byzas, Greek name
Βυζάντιον, Byzántion
• One of most powerful economic,
cultural, and military forces in Europe
• Through middle ages, Constantinople
was Europe’s largest and wealthiest city
• 1071 AD – Lost most of Asia Minor to
Seljuk Turks
• 1081-1180 AD – Reestablished rule
• 1204 AD – Fourth crusade from the
west attacks Constantinople and
partitions the Empire
• 1453 AD - Fall of Constantinople
8
© 2010, Ed Sherwood, Berachah Bible Institute
The Rise and Fall of the Byzantine Empire 530 AD
After the fall of the Western Roman Empire and before the conquest of Islam.
1453 AD
After the conquest of Constantinople and the partition of the Empire.
9
© 2010, Ed Sherwood, Berachah Bible Institute
The Christological Debates to the
Council of Chalcedon (p. 252-257)
• The fundamental issue – “How
Christ’s divine and human nature are
joined. Two schools:
– Alexandrines – divinity asserted at
expense of human nature (e.g.
Apollinarius of Laodicea - A human body
with a divine mind. View rejected.
– Antiochemes – divinity and human
nature asserted as distinct (Nestorius –
two natures, two persons). View rejected.
• 431 AD, 449 AD Councils of Ephesus
449 AD council “robber’s synod”
• 451 AD – Council of Chalcedon –
“two natures, one person”
http://www.costumes.org/history/roman/1882anci
entromechrist.jpg
Byzantine Dress
10
11
© 2010, Ed Sherwood, Berachah Bible Institute
The Confession of Chalcedon “… our Lord Jesus Christ is one and the same God, perfect in
divinity, and perfect in humanity; true God and true human, with a
rational soul and a body, of one substance with the Father in his
divinity, and of one substance with us in his humanity, in every way
like us, with the only exception of sin ”
• aka, “Definition of Chalcedon” or
“Chalcedon Creed”
• Restates Tertullian’s view “two natures,
one person”
• Does not explain union of two natures,
sets limits
• Orthodoxy for entire Western Church,
most in East
• Doctrine – “hypostatic union” Hypostasis means, literally, that which lies beneath as basis or foundation.
• Doctrine consistent with letter from Pope
Leo denied at Council of Ephesus in 449
AD
Pope Leo
12
© 2010, Ed Sherwood, Berachah Bible Institute
Six Christological Heresies Ebionism
Docetism
Jesus was not
God
Jesus was not
human
Arianism
Jesus was not
fully God
Nestorianism
Jesus was two
distinct persons
Fully God
Fully Man
ORTHODOX VIEW OF GOD
One Person Two Natures
Apollinarianism
Jesus was not
fully human
Eutychianism
Jesus had one
blended nature
Orthodox View of Hypostatic Union:
•
•
•
•
No divine attributes lost, complete human attributes gained (except sin)
Two natures do not function independently – Jesus not a “split personality”
Christ did not just dwell in a human body, he took on a human body eternally
Incarnation not fully revealed, some aspects remain a mystery
13
© 2010, Ed Sherwood, Berachah Bible Institute
Further Theological Debates (p. 257-261)
• Christological debates continue
• Emperors wrongly seek compromise
– 476 AD Basliscus annuls Chalcedon
– 482 AD Zeno “edict of union”, opposed by
Pope Felix III, supported by Patriarch
Acasius “Schism of Acasius”
– 519 AD, Emperor Justin and Pope
Hormisdas restore Chalcedon
•
639-732 AD - Islamic conquests of
Syria and Egypt was where opposition
to Chalcedon was strongest (p. 259)
• 787 AD - Controversy over worship vs.
veneration of icons settled.
http://www.answers.com/topic/iconostasis
14
© 2010, Ed Sherwood, Berachah Bible Institute
The Seven Ecumenical Councils
1. Council of Nicaea (325 AD) RESULT: Nicene Creed; affirmed deity of
Christ against Arian heresy denying divinity. Fixed date of Easter vs.
maintaining Jewish Passover date.
2. First Council of Constantinople (381 AD), RESULT: affirmed the Divinity
of the Holy Spirit. Added affirmation to the Nicene creed.
3. Council of Ephesus (431 AD) RESULT: Defined the true personal unity of
Christ, declared Mary the Mother of God (theotokos) rather than Mother of
Christ , renewed condemnation of Pelagius.
4. Council of Chalcedon (451 AD) RESULT: defined the two natures (Divine
and human) in Christ.
5. Second Council of Constantinople (553 AD) RESULT: condemned errors
of Origen and other writings (The Three Chapters) of Bishop Theodoret, of
Theodore.
6. Third Council of Constantinople (680-681 AD) RESULT: put an end to
Monothelism by defining two wills in Christ, the Divine and the human, as
two distinct principles of operation.
7. Second Council of Nicaea (787 AD) RESULT: regulated the veneration of
holy images (icons). “worship” vs. “veneration”
15
© 2010, Ed Sherwood, Berachah Bible Institute
The Dissident Churches of the East (p. 261-262)
• The Persian Church – 410 AD organized as separate church ‐
Nestorian
• The Armenian Church – 450 AD invaded by Persia (“monophysites” – Christ had one nature)
• The Ethiopian Church – rejected Chalcedon and are today one of the largest “monophysite” churches.
• The Egyptian Coptic Church – has both Chalcedon believers (“melchites” – imperial Christians) and monophysites .
• The Syrian Church ‐ split between Chalcedonians and monophysites (Jacobites)
Persian church is now made up of mostly Assyrian and Armenians
Restoration of St Anthony’s Monastery in Egypt by the Copts 16
© 2010, Ed Sherwood, Berachah Bible Institute
Eastern Orthodoxy after the Arab Conquest (p. 262-265)
• Eastern Chalcedonian Church – the Orthodox Church
• Islam blocked its spread to the east and south
• Missionary efforts were north and northwest
– Modern Poland, the Baltic countries, Russia, the Balkan
countries, and Greece.
– Mission to the Bulgars
– 950 AD - Conversion of Russia was greatest missionary effort
• With union of the Western European countries under
Charlemagne, the Pope in the west no longer needed
the support of Constantinople.
• Final schism came in 1054 AD in which the churches in
the west and east excommunicated each other.
17
Back Up Slides
18
19
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constantinople
20
© 2010, Ed Sherwood, Berachah Bible Institute
After the Fall ‐ 530 AD http://individual.utoronto.ca/hayes/earlychurch/17earlymedieval.htm
21
© 2010, Ed Sherwood, Berachah Bible Institute
End of the Early Middle Ages – 1050 AD
http://brian.hoffert.faculty.noctrl.edu/REL100/20.ProtestantReformation.html
22
© 2010, Ed Sherwood, Berachah Bible Institute
Two Centers – Rome and Constantinople
Rome
•
•
•
•
Western Church Center
Led by Pope
Pope authoritative
Latin speaking
Constantinople
•
•
•
•
Eastern Church Center
Led by Patriarchs
Councils authoritative
Greek speaking
The Western and Eastern Churches Split in 1054 AD
23
© 2010, Ed Sherwood, Berachah Bible Institute
Europe in 600 AD
24
© 2010, Ed Sherwood, Berachah Bible Institute
Map of Islam During 661–750 AD
http://moinansari.files.wordpress.com/2008/09/islam_map‐ummayads.jpg
25