History of the Catholic Church
A 2,000-Year Journey
Church History
Part 2
The Church of
the Fathers
(330-650)
Constantine’s Rise to Power
 Diocletian forced to resign -disintegrating government and
disgust over bloodbath he had
unleashed
 Constantine stepped in and
wrested control of the Empire at
the Battle of Milvian Bridge (312)
 Constantine, not a Christian, was
told in a vision to use a Christian
symbol during the battle
 His victory effectively gave him
control of the Empire
Constantine at Milvian Bridge
3
Constantine – Edict of Milan
 In 313 through the Edict of Milan,
Constantine legalized Christianity, granting
religious freedom to everyone, with
Christians getting special mention. He also
ordered the return of all property
confiscated from Christians.
 Constantine reunited the Empire and
wanted to maintain unity at all costs. He
perceived the Church as a means to
achieve that unity.
 He became the first Christian Emperor. He
radically changed both the Church of his
time and the Church of the future.
4
Constantine
Constantine’s Motives?
Historians disagree on this…
 Although Constantine certainly identified
with the Church, his motives are debated:
Was he a true, believing Christian [it
seems he wasn’t baptized until his death
bed]? Or did he use the Church for his
unification campaign? Or both?
 He believed that God had given him the
duty to direct the Church [a state–
controlled religion].
 He believed that the Roman state’s
survival depended on the unity of the
Church.
5
Constantine
Positive Effects of Constantine’s rule
 Christianity transformed from a persecuted minority religion
to an official religion of the Empire
 Bishops given honors and were allowed to function as
judges
 More humane punishments
 Building of new churches with public money
 Christians influence society in
positive ways
 New converts
 Monasticism developed rapidly
 Peace allowed a persecuted
church to be secure
6
Pope Sylvester I and Constantine
Crisis because of Constantine’s rule
 Being a Christian became easier;
less risk [whole households, tribes,
etc. were baptized if leader was
baptized]
 Some people converted for upwardly
mobile, political reasons
 State influence over the Church
increased
 Some in Church began to identify
less with powerless and poor
 Pagan custom was prohibited and
state persecuted pagans and those
considered heretics
7
The Church Grows
 By the middle of the fourth century,
Christianity was a significant influence
in the Roman Empire -- a social 'glue,'
holding the Empire together.
 But the Church struggled with internal
divisions, and for Constantine, division
in the Church threatened political
instability.
 Doctrine had developed and solidified
during persecution; challenges to
Christian beliefs continued
8
Athanasius, Patriarch of Alexandria
[c. 296-373]
 Confessor and Doctor of the
Church
 Fathers of the Church and
Bishops gradually filtered through
the early Christian texts
 Athanasius, Bishop of Alexandria,
in his Easter letter (c.367) gave us
the earliest extant list of the books
of the New Testament which
became the Canon of the New
Testament
 Church Councils confirmed the list
9
Our Lady of Vladimir -Theotokos
 A fifth-century heresy claimed Jesus was
not one person, both divine & human.
Instead, he was two persons "stuck
together".
 According to this heresy, Mary gave birth to
the human person, and it was the human
person who died on the cross; the divine
person was above this.
 The heresy – Nestorianism (after the
heretic, Nestorius) – was condemned by the
Council of Ephesus 431, which defined that
Jesus is one person, with both a human
and divine nature, and that Mary can be
called "Mother of God“ or theotokos, which
in Greek means the God-bearer.
10
And with Growth, Came Problems
 Growth brought organizational complexity: local
synods, regional synods
 After he became the sole Emperor, in 324 AD,
Constantine turned his attention to divisions in
the Church.
 He was faced first with the Donatist Schism in
Africa and learned quickly that the council of
bishops was an efficient instrument of Church
government
11
 Greater challenges came from the heresies of
Gnosticism and Arianism
 The Council of Nicaea was called primarily to
address Arianism
Councils – Explaining Our Faith
 Doctrine developed in the face
of controversy and persecution
 Challenges and splinter groups
led to clarification and
expression of church teachings
 Councils were an effective way
to clarify major theological
disagreements that threatened
Church unity
 Followed Apostolic model, and
must be convened or
recognized by the Pope
12
The Great Heresies [313-476 A.D.]
 Arians. Opposed by Nicaea in
325. “There was a time when
he was not.”
 Apollinarians. Condemned
1st Constantinople, 381. Christ
had a human body and a
human sensitive soul, but no
human rational mind, the
Divine Logos taking its place.
13
 Nestorians. Condemned by
Ephesus, 431. Mary shouldn’t
be called “Mother of God,”
since she’s mother only of the
human side of Jesus.
Augustine refuting heretic
The Great Heresies [313-476 A.D.]
14
 Monophysites. Condemned by Chalcedon
in 451. Jesus really has only one nature, a
divine nature, which supplanted his human
nature.
 Donatist. Condemned local Council of Arles
in 314. Repeated errors of Novatianism and
Montanism regarding sinners; held that
sacraments administered by clergy in state
of mortal sin are invalid.
 Pelagians. Condemned by Council of
Ephesus in 431. British monk, Pelagius,
denied existence of original sin; possible to
achieve salvation solely through reason and
free will, without necessity of grace or the
Church.
Pelagius
Council of Nicaea (325 A.D.)
 When the Arian crisis arose, a
great council was the first move
to restore order
 Nicaea was unique: a general,
not a local, council
 Nicaea was summoned to
determine whether Arius
contradicted Church teaching,
and, if so, whether he and his
party could be excluded from the
communion of the faithful
15
Council of Nicaea
Nicaea & Arianism
 Arius, an Egyptian, declared that
Jesus was a created being
 This contradicted settled Church
teaching that went back to the
Apostles
 The debate at Nicaea was a
debate between Arius and his
followers and historic
Christianity -- about what it
meant to say that Jesus was the
Son of God.
Arius
 The result did not change Church teaching or Christian belief
– it only clarified it.
16
Barbarians and the Fall of Rome
 Rome didn’t fall in one
catastrophic event (410-476)
 Last roman emperor
(Romulus Augustulus)
deposed in 476 by Odoacer
 But this wasn’t the real
cause of the fall – that came
about when masses of
barbarians overflowed the
northern and eastern
borders.
Visigoths sack Rome in 410 A.D.
 These Germanic (or Gothic) peoples weren’t attacking so much as
being pushed into the empire in sheer panic.
17
 The cause? The Huns!
Huns Move West - Unstoppable
 From north of China
 After failing to defeat China, entire
people marched 6,000 miles west
 Every tribe in Eurasia fled in panic,
forcing them further west into the
Roman empire
 Fierce tactics, mobility, Mongolian
features – generally a scary bunch
 Camped in Pannonia (Hungary) and
seemed to settle down
 Then Attila came to the throne –
ambitious, genius, ruthless – planned a
great Asiatic empire to replace the
Roman Empire
18
Hun Officer & Soldier
Attila: The Scourge of God
 A man of contradictions - skilled at manipulating people
 Used diplomacy effectively but didn’t hesitate to employ terror and
atrocities: “I will show force so as not to use it.”
 Called himself, “The most detestable man in the world” and was pleased
when Pope St. Leo called him “The Scourge of God”
 Began hostilities by wiping out the Danube merchant settlements, and
70 cities in the Balkans; struck city after city in Western Europe
 Forced Romans and Visigoths to form an alliance (451) which held Attila
at the Battle of Chalons – so he headed south…toward Rome!
Attila
19
The Aftermath
Rome’s experience with Attila and
his Huns led to two conclusions:
1. The pagan gods had been
unable to save Rome, while the
Christian Church had
2. Romans and barbarians could
actually cooperate in meeting a
common threat (Chalons)
Cooperation of Romans, barbarians
and Church would form the
foundation of a new future
civilization – still a long way off
20
Battle of Chalons
More to come…
Serious problem remained:
 Germanic tribes hostile to Rome
and Church – most had been
evangelized by Arians
 Tribes differed widely in character
 Some settled down peacefully
(Switzerland)
 Some (Vandals) devastated the
Empire; settled in N. Africa and
terrorized Mediterranean for 100
years
 One group – the Franks – would
be the most influential for the
future of civilization and
21
Christianity
Vandal Gaiseric Sacks
Rome (455)
Vocation of the Franks
 Franks had remained pagan
 St. Clotilda (Burgundian
princess) married Frankish
chief, Clovis, in 493
 Devoted couple although
Clovis was pagan, children
Catholic
 In 496 Clovis converted before
the Battle of Tolbiac in which
he defeated the Alemanni
22
 This began the alliance of the
Kingdom of Franks with the
Church – and formed the heart
of Catholic civilization in the
West
Clovis & St. Clotilda
Changing the Face of Europe
23
 Odoacer dethrones last emperor
in West (476 A.D.)
 West deteriorates into multitude
of barbarian kingdoms
 The Church was the only
organized institution
 Even where barbarians did not
destroy the Empire’s
infrastructure, they had no clue
how to maintain it
 Cities eventually disappeared
 Although pagan barbarians
adopted Christianity, their
ignorance and low morals
actually lowered society’s
standards
 Conversion of Frankish king,
Clovis, leads to conversion of
barbarians – common religion
brought some unity
Christianity Suffers & Regroups
24
 Not all converts were ideal
Christians
 Pope St. Leo I horrified to see
visitors to St. Peter’s
performing ritual signs to Mithra
 Clerical abuses rose – celibacy
became rare in many areas
 Even monasteries, which tried
to preserve the Rule of St.
Benedict suffered due to the
general ignorance and moral
St. Columbanus
decay of recruits
 Ireland bright spot – St. Columbanus
 “Lay investiture” became
created centers of holiness in Gaul
common – local landowners
and Italy; Irish monks kept the faith
appointing abbots, etc.
alive in a sea of barbarism
The “Dark” Ages
For Catholics, the early Middle Ages are not dark
ages so much as ages of dawn
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25
Conversion of the West to Christianity
Foundation of Christian civilization
Creation of Christian art and literature
Catholic liturgy
Age of Monks – from Desert Fathers to the great
monastic reforms of Cluny (West) and Mt. Athos (East)
Christianity & the Late Empire
26
 Historical revisionists claim
Christianity rejected classical
civilization – even sought to
destroy it – and thus
inaugurated the Dark Ages
 Truth: Christianity not at all the
cause of the decline of late
Roman culture
 Last flowering of classical
literary culture – largely the
work of Church Fathers
 No pagan writers of the period
could rival such greats as John  The Church’s monasteries alone
saved classical civilization from the
Chrysostom, Gregory
total eclipse it would otherwise have
Nazianzen, Augustine, Jerome,
suffered
Ambrose
Causes of Decline
 In the West the collapse of the
Empire was due to centuries of
internal wasting and decay, and
to external pressures against
which the Empire had no longterm defense
 Pressures exerted by moral and
consequent political decay,
plague, warfare, and
demographic decline
 The Church’s monasteries
alone saved classical
civilization from the total
eclipse it would otherwise
have suffered
27
 In the East, Christian civilization
united the intellectual cultures of
Greek, Egyptian and Syrian worlds
and preserved Hellenic wisdom in
academies and libraries throughout
Greece, Syria and Asia Minor
The Dark Ages: Italy
The Ostrogoths and Theodoric
 Theodoric effective ruler; used
educated Romans
(Cassiodorus & St. Boethius)
 Kept up the infrastructure
 An Arian, but initially cordial
with the papacy
 Angry with Eastern Emperors
for opposing Arianism – sent
Pope John I as emissary
 Bad tempered – killed St.
Theodoric (d. 526)
Boethius and Pope John
28
The Dark Ages: Italy
St. Boethius (d. 524)
 Wrote the “Consolation of
Philosophy” when in
prison
 Translated Aristotle into
Latin
 Formulated the doctrine of
one person, two natures
 The last Roman and the
last lay writer for centuries
to come
29
Boethius
The Dark Ages: Italy
The Lombards
 In 533 Emperor Justinian defeated
the Ostrogoths
 After Justinian’s death the Lombards
established a powerful kingdom in
Northern Italy
 They soon conquered almost the
entire peninsula – except for Rome,
Naples, Venice & Ravenna
 Their rise to power was
accomplished in part through savage
atrocities
 They ruled Italy for almost 200 years
Lombards
30
Changing the Face of Europe
 Church must assume much of the role of the state
 Gregory the Great [d. 604] increases
power of papacy to fill vacuum of
civil leadership
31
St. Columba & St. Theodore –
Converting England
 In 563 and a small band of monks founded a
monastery on the island of Iona off Scotland
 Converted the savage Picts on the mainland
 Columba’s disciple, St. Aidan, established
monasteries in Northumbria
 Followed by Sts. Finnian and Colman, by 664
the area was largely converted.
 In 669 St. Theodore, a Greek monk, was
appointed as Archbishop of Canterbury
 Founded the renowned School of Canterbury
and the great monastic schools under his
influence played an important role in the later
revival of Christian learning under
Charlemagne and Alcuin
32
St. Columba
Irish Monks Lead the Conversion
of Europe
33
 In 590 St. Columban and 12 companions went
to Burgundy where they founded 3 monasteries
 For 20 years they led the people to Christ
through preaching and lives of self-denial
 Columban, expelled by the local royalty, went
to Italy, leaving a trail of monasteries behind
him – all followed the Columban Rule
 St. Killian (d. 689) and over 600 monks carried
the faith to Bavaria; there Killian was martyred.
 These monks prepared the way for St.
Boniface to evangelize the German people in
the next century
 St. Willibrord (d. 739), a York Benedictine,
carried the faith to the Frisians. Founded
monasteries throughout Northern Europe
St. Columban
The Dark Ages: England
St. Bede the Venerable (672-735)
 Represents the highest point in intellectual culture
in the West from the fall of Rome to the 9th century
 Entered the monastery (Jarrow) at age of seven
and never left
 Thrived on learning and teaching and became one
of the greatest transmitters of secular and sacred
learning to later ages – science, nature,
geography, grammar, Scripture, writings of the
Fathers (Greek and Latin)
 Most famous for his History of the Church of the
English People (55 B.C. – 731 A.D.) – Father of
English History
 Died as he finished translating Gospel of John into
Anglo Saxon
34
St. Bede
Monastic Movement
 Even before the 4th century a new kind
of Christian witness emerged from North
African deserts
 Began during the persecutions and was
already established when Constantine
became emperor.
 Movement of men and women to pursue
holiness, to follow Jesus (spirituality) by
retreating from everyday world to find
truth and meaning in the desert silence
35
 Anthony of Egypt was one of the earliest of the
hermits and among the first who attracted a
large following. Athanasius’ book on Anthony
contributed to the growth of monasticism
Monastic Movement
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36
Eastern Monasticism
Eremitic monasticism (isolated
“monks” or hermits living “alone”
in the desert
Life of hermits developed into
ascetic competition
Anthony: 1st Eastern monk
Basil, bishop of Caesarea,
condemned the eccentricities of
the hermits and encouraged
them to live in community and
pursue intellectual endeavors
and care for the poor
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Western Monasticism
Cenobitic: “brothers” or “sisters” living in
communal “monasteries”
Jerome: intellectual effort to understand
Scripture; Vulgate translation
Augustine: wanted his clergy to adopt the
hallmarks of monastic life, particularly
celibacy
John Cassian: formed a bridge between the
monks of the east and the West. Prime
focus is discretion.
Benedict: Rule of Benedict has been the
inspiration of all western monasteries,
particularly in the Middle Ages. The rule
provides a basis for monastic life while
being flexible. Benedictine monasteries
contributed to the birth of Europe.
The Desert Fathers
Why did they do it?
37

The example of Jesus

Striving for holiness in an unholy world
– constant bombardment by moral
depravity

To come into union with God through
undistracted prayer and labor

A mass movement of disheartened
urban Christians

To fight Satan

A new kind of Martyr
St. Anthony of Egypt
Western Monasticism
 St. Jerome – great Scripture
scholar; translated Scripture into
Latin (Vulgate); had major impact
on monastic intellectual life
St. Jerome
 St. Augustine – after his
conversion wanted his clergy
to adopt the hallmarks of
monastic life, particularly
celibacy
38
Western Monasticism
 John Cassian – formed a bridge
between the monks of the east and
the West. Discretion became the
prime focus of monastic life.
St. John
Cassian
 Benedict – Rule of St. Benedict inspired
virtually all western monasteries;
continues today; provided a flexible basis
for monastic life; Benedictine monasteries
contributed to the birth of Europe.
St. Benedict
39
St. Benedict
To thee are my words now addressed,
whosoever thou mayest be that
renouncing thine own will to fight for the
true King, Christ, dost take up the strong
and glorious weapons of obedience.
Prologue of the Rule of St. Benedict
St. Benedict
40
Montecassino
Abbey
Impact of Monasticism
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41
Rise of Monasticism in the
West starting with the
founding of Montecassino by
St. Benedict
Western monasticism
became the major carrier of
Western civilization during the
early Middle Ages
Monasteries provided islands
of learning and culture and
Faith
Benedictines ran nearly 2,000
hospitals throughout Europe
The Age of the Church Fathers
Patristic Period (AD 95 – 636)
Who were the “Church Fathers”?
 They were the most
influential theologians &
writers in the early Church
 Generally during the period
from the 2nd through the 7th
centuries
 These early thinkers and
preachers more clearly
defined Church teaching
through the interpretation of
Scripture and Tradition
Early Church Fathers
42
The Age of the Church Fathers
Patristic Period (AD 95 – 636)
Great Eastern Church Fathers
St. Athanasius (297-373)
 Council of Nicaea (425)
 Bishop of Alexandria -- Exiled and
deposed five times for fighting against
Arianism
 Friend of St. Antony of the Desert –
wrote his biography – boon to the
growth of monasticism
43
The Age of the Church Fathers
Patristic Period (AD 95 – 636)
Great Eastern Church Fathers
St. Gregory of Nazianzus (329-390)
 Bishop of Caesarea
 Father & Doctor of the Church
 Strong defender of the Faith against
Arianism
 Close friend of St. Basil
 Called to restore the faith as Bishop of
Constantinople
44
The Age of the Church Fathers
Patristic Period (AD 95 – 636)
Great Eastern Church Fathers
St. Basil the Great (329-379)
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
Father & Doctor of the Church
Founder of monasticism in Asia Minor
Archbishop of Caesarea
Close friend of Gregory of Nazianzus
Took on the job as defender of the faith
when Athanasius died
 Remarkable pastor and preacher – one of
the great teachers of the CHurch
45
The Age of the Church Fathers
Patristic Period (AD 95 – 636)
Great Eastern Church Fathers
St. John Chrysostom (d. 407)
 Father & Doctor of the Church
 Most famous as a preacher
 From Syria, but called to be bishop of
Constantinople
 Challenged the wealthy and immoral
and was constantly persecuted for his
orthodoxy
 Eventually exiled by the Empress and
died in exile
46
The Age of the Church Fathers
Patristic Period (AD 95 – 636)
Great Western Church Fathers
St. Ambrose (340-397)
 Father & Doctor of the Church
 Bishop of Milan
 Staunch defender of the Church’s
independence from secular rule
 Converted Augustine
 Learned, classically educated
 Contemplative, spiritual
47
The Age of the Church Fathers
Patristic Period (AD 95 – 636)
Great Western Church Fathers
St. Augustine (354-430)
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Converted to Christianity in his 30s
Made Bishop of Hippo at 41
A prophetic voice in his time
Writings are still with us:
Confessions, City of God, many
books of scriptural exegesis
 Fought against the heresies of his
day
48
The Age of the Church Fathers
Patristic Period (AD 95 – 636)
Great Western Church Fathers
St. Jerome (345-420)
49
 Father & Doctor of the Church
 The Church’s first great scriptural
scholar
 Translated the Bible from its
original languages (Hebrew,
Greek, Aramaic) in Latin – the
Vulgate
 Studied in Rome, Trier
 A mystic, lived in a cave near
Bethlehem
The Age of the Church Fathers
Patristic Period (AD 95 – 636)
Great Western Church Fathers
St. Gregory the Great (540-604)
50
 Wealthy, aristocratic family; prefect
of Rome at 30 - resigned
 Founded 6 monasteries in Sicily
 Benedictine monk – became one of
Pope’s 7 deacons – Abbot
 At 50 elected Pope
 Firm, direct, liturgical reformer,
missions
 Father of the medieval papacy that
held Europe together
The Age of the Church Fathers
Patristic Period (AD 95 – 636)
Influential women in the early Church
 Augustine’s mother Monica is
described beautifully in his
biographical work Confessions
 Constantine’s mother, Helena,
suffered much from the actions
(including murder) of her son. She
identified many of the holy sites in
the Holy Land, saving them from
destruction
 Benedict’s twin sister Scholastica
also had an impact on the monastic
movement especially among
women
51
St. Monica with
St. Augustine
St. Helena
St. Scholastica
Theological Influence of Augustine
 Augustine, born 354, convert from
paganism; Bishop of Hippo, North
Africa, 395-430 – for 35 years!
 vs. Donatists, on the validity of
sacraments administered by sinful
ministers, esp. those who had
lapsed under persecution
 vs. Pelagians, on the priority of
God’s grace over free will; on
human nature created good, but
corrupted by sin; original sin
St. Augustine
52
Church Life in the Patristic Period
 Sacramental Life became more
structured: Baptism (esp. infants),
Eucharist (Latin Mass), Penance (more
frequent, but private)
 Devotions to Mary and the saints
became more popular: not “praying to”
them, but asking for their intercession
(“pray for us”)
 The Bible was “canonized” (list of OT &
NT books settled); and translated into
Latin (esp. the “Vulgate Bible” by St.
Jerome, 374-419)
 The Church continued to grow; the
deposit of faith was more clearly
defined in its theology; liturgy
53
Changing the Face of Europe
 Islamic threat grows – Northern Africa falls along with
much of East. Invasions stopped in Spain.
54