Some of Historical Themes in Deus Caritas Est
or
Who was Julian the Apostate and
Why Should You Care?
Ann T. Orlando
17 September 2006
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Limiting the Scope of this Talk
 Other approaches that could be taken in discussing Deus
Caritas Est
 Biblical themes (John’s Gospel and Letters; Song of Songs,
Deuteronomy)
 Linguistic themes (eros and agape, caritas, dioconia)
 Philosophical themes (Plato, Aristotle, Descartes, Gassendi,
Marx, Nietzsche)
 Theological themes (Christology, Trinity)
 Spirituality (Christianity as a personal relationship with
Jesus, monasticism, spiritual ascent, Jacob’s Ladder)
 My approach
 Talk about historical themes;
 Then questions and discussion that may lead us into some
of these other areas
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Outline
 Summary of Deus Caritas Est (DCE)
 Very Broad Historical Periods and
Terminology
 Julian the Apostate
 Karl Marx and Modernity
 What this means for us and our practice of
charity
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Structure of DCE
 Introduction [1]
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Major theme
Purpose in writing this as the first encyclical
 Part I Unity of Love [2-18]
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Differences and unity of true eros and agape [4]
Path of ascent as renunciation, purification, healing [6]
Jesus Christ as personification of divine love [12]
 Part II Caritas Practice of Love [19-39]
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Caritas has always been part of the Church’s ministry, as much as the
Word, and liturgy, since both flow from the Trinity [22]
Relationship between justice and charity [26]
Relationship between Church and State [28]
The distinctiveness of Christian charity [31]
Proper attitude of Christian engaged in charity: humility [35]
 Conclusion [40-42]
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Importance of saints and Mary
As both examples of true charity and intercessors for us
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Some ‘Surprising’ Aspects of DCE
 For a Pope who is popularly portrayed as being ‘opposed’ to Vatican II,
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the Encyclical quotes VII, and does so very positively [DCE 28, 30]
On the other hand, the Encyclical recognizes that the Church’s
leadership in the 19th C did not respond well to challenges of
Enlightenment [DCE27]
For a Pope who is popularly believed to be ‘the enforcer’ of orthodox
Catholicism as the only valid religion, the Encyclical goes out of its way
to eschew any type of coercion or charity as a tool for proselytism [31].
Indeed the Pope suggests that as the occasion warrants, silence about
specifics of faith may be the best course
For a Pope who is popularly believed to be antagonistic to American
and Western European governments, the Encyclical goes out of its way
to recognize the important work for justice that belongs primarily to the
State
This Encyclical seems designed to open a fruitful dialog with
Governments on justice and charity
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Example of culture of death is Church-State cooperation in volunteer
organizations working to reduce drug use among young people [DCE
30]
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But I think the main point of DCE is
 Not about Church-State relations, but how we as
individual Christians are to practice charity
 Justice is all about common good; charity is all about
the individual giving and receiving works of Christian
love [DCE 34]
 But charity should be practiced in humility; we cannot
‘fix the world’ or even one person; only God can do
that [DCE 35]
 All these points are presented with examples from
history; and the points cannot be fully appreciated
without some understanding of history
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Three Very Broad
Historical Periods
 Early Christianity, Patristics (1- 604)
 Middle Period (604-1600)
 Enlightenment and Modernity (1600- Present)
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Early Christianity
Patristics
 Jesus Christ and Writing New Testament ( 1 – 90 AD)
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Among the last to be completed John’s Gospel
 Time of Martyrs (64 – 312 AD)
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Ignatius of Antioch (d 110)
Justin Martyr (d. 166)
Tertullian (d 220)
 Time of Christian Roman Empire in West (312 – 604)
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Constantine the Great converts to Christianity
Establishment of monasteries in Egyptian Desert
Julian the Apostate (r 361-363) attempted to return Empire to paganism
as official religion
St. Ambrose, Bishop of Milan
Martin of Tours (397)
Augustine (d. 431)
Pope Gregory the Great (d. 604)
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‘Middle Ages’
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Usually divided into early, high, late
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Renaissance and Reformation
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Rise of Islam (622 Hajij)
Charlemagne (Crowned by Leo III 800)
Crusades (First one preached by Urban II in 1095)
The great 13th C: Dominic and Francis, Aquinas and Bonaventure, countless others
Avignon Papacy 14th C
Plague
Turks capture Constantinople, rename it Istanbul
Rebuilding St. Peter’s: Michelangelo, Raphael, Bramante, Bromine, Bernini
Expulsion of Moors from Spain
Columbus (1492)
Martin Luther (95 Theses 1517)
Founding of Jesuits, Teresa of Avila, Council of Trent
Great age of missionary activity in South America and Asia
Religious wars in Europe
Great Historical Void in DCE; virtually no mention of any historical event or saint from this period
(1000 years)
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Half the period of Christianity;
Not a single reference to Thomas Aquinas!!
Arguable this was the time of Catholic Europe
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Enlightenment and Modernity
 New philosophical developments
 Descartes (1650)
 Gassendi (1658)
 Rise of Science and Technology; Globalization
 New Political Structures
 Separation of Church and State
 Social problems resulting from marriage of
economics and technology
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Marx (d. 1883)
Labor movements of 19th C
Rerum Novarum (1891)
Blessed Teresa of Calcutta (1997)
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Why Emphasize Patristics and Modernity
… but a great Void in the Middle
 Benedict XVI is deeply concerned that the Church has
not yet fully responded to challenges posed by the
Enlightenment
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Agnosticism
Ethical Relativism
Materialism
Only valid knowledge comes from scientific method
Belief in mankind’s ability that through science we can ‘fix’
anything
 Unlike the ‘Middle Ages’ the Enlightenment is NOT a
Christian era [DCE 3]
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In this it is like earlier Patristic Period in the Roman Empire
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Key Historical Example in DCE:
Fourth Century
 Fourth Century was perhaps the most important century in
Christianity other than the First
 Opens with Great Persecution under Emperor Diocletian
 Major turning point: Constantine the Great
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Constantine the Great has a vision (dream) before Battle of
Milvian Bridge to put sign of Christ on shields of his army; wins
battle; succeeds in uniting the Roman Empire under himself,
Shows great favoritism toward Christianity; edict of toleration, 313
Council of Nicea, 325
Leaves Rome under protection of papacy, establishes new eastern
capitol in Constantinople (Istanbul)
 Attitude of Church theologians during time of Constantine:
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God had established a Christian Roman Empire to rule the world,
and so..
The Kingdom of God led by the Church must be close at hand
To call it ‘triumphalist’ is putting it mildly; Constantine as another
apostle
 What happened to burst this bubble? Julian the Apostate
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So Who Was Julian the Apostate?
 Nephew of Constantine the Great
 Constantine was succeeded by his sons Constans,
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Constantius and Constantine (Julian’s cousins)
Constantius consolidated power through intrigue and
murder, including the murder of Julian’s father and older
brothers [DCE 24]
Julian as a boy sent to study in Athens (may have known
St. Basil Great and Gregory Nazianzus there); pretended to
be a Christian
After his studies, he commanded Roman troops in Gaul
When Constantius died (363), Julian was named Emperor
by Army
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Tried to reestablish paganism and other non-Christian
forms of religion in Empire
Tried to mimic Church’s charitable structures in the State
Died on campaign in Persia
 Julian was succeed by a Christian Emperor, Jovinian
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Julian the Apostate in DCE
 A paragraph devoted to Julian, 24; and
another mention in 31; and the Encyclical
even quotes from one of his letters!!??
 The only historical figure who gets more ‘air
time’ than Julian the Apostate, is Karl
Marx!!??
 Why??
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Julian as a Metaphor for
Contemporary Church-State Relations
 First consider that Julian was an apostate,
that is someone who abandoned Christianity;
 Just as much of the contemporary Western world
He abandoned it because of the hurtful things that those calling
themselves Christians had done to him and his family “Emperor
Constantius who passed himself off as an outstanding Christian”
[DCE 24]
What remained in Julian was a recognition of the importance of the
Church's charitable activities
But with Julian, these activities, because they no longer had Christ
at their center, became a vehicle to ensure his own political
popularity and social stability
General restructuring of society and social welfare systems to
ensure political stability was part of the political theories of Karl Marx
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Karl Marx and Problems of Modernity
 Industrial revolution created new economic
opportunities and power structures; also created vast
social dislocations and urban poverty [DCE 26]
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Railroads as primary example of an industry that
abused workers and their families
Rise of labor movements
 Marxism tried to collectivize all industries and
dispense all material goods to members of society by
the State [DCE 27]
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Charity would be unnecessary; an anachronism
 Rerum Novarum [27] and subsequent Church
teaching argued against both Marx and unfair labor
practices
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Key Examples of Theology and Practice:
Augustine and Teresa of Calcutta
 Augustine (d. 431) Theology of Christian Charity
“If you see Charity you see the Trinity” [DCE transition from
Part I to II, 19]
 Great Christian political theorist [DCE 28, 36]
 God governs the universe, and we cannot fully understand
this [DCE 17, 38]
 Recognize historical moment: Immediately after Julian the
Apostate; after Fall of Rome; Against Pelagian Heresy
 Teresa of Calcutta (d 1997) Great Modern Practitioner of Charity
 Love of neighbor renewed in Eucharist [DCE 18]
 Prayer and devotion to God are drivers for Christian charity
[DCE 36]
 Recognize historical moment: working in charity, not as a
social worker in late 20th C
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What are some of the aspects of a Christian
Working in Charity? DCE 31
 “Following the example given in the parable of
the Good Samaritan, Christian charity is first of
all the simple response to immediate needs and
specific situations” [DCE 31 a]
 “Christian charitable activity … is a way of
making present here and now the love which
man always needs” [DCE 31 b]
 “Love is free; it is not practiced as a way of
achieving other ends.” [DCE 31 c]
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How Does this Practice of Christian
Charity Affect the Christian?
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“I must give to others not only something that is my own, but my very self; I must
be personally present in my gift.” [DCE 34]
“This proper way of serving others also leads to humility. The one who serves
does not consider himself superior to the one served, however miserable his
situation at the moment may be. Christ took the lowest place in the world—the
Cross—and by this radical humility he redeemed us and constantly comes to our
aid” [DCE 35]
“It is time to reaffirm the importance of prayer in the face of the activism and the
growing secularism of many Christians engaged in charitable work. Clearly, the
Christian who prays does not claim to be able to change God's plans or correct
what he has foreseen. Rather, he seeks an encounter with the Father of Jesus
Christ, asking God to be present with the consolation of the Spirit to him and his
work.” [DCE 37]
“Hope is practised through the virtue of patience, which continues to do good
even in the face of apparent failure, and through the virtue of humility, which
accepts God's mystery and trusts him even at times of darkness” [DCE 39]
“Love is the light—and in the end, the only light—that can always illuminate a
world grown dim and give us the courage needed to keep living and working”.
[DCE 39]
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DCE 40: The Saints and A Subtle
Reference to Julian the Apostate
 “Finally, let us consider the saints, who exercised charity
in an exemplary way. Our thoughts turn especially to
Martin of Tours († 397)” [DCE 40]
 When the story of meeting the beggar and sharing his
cloak occurred, Martin was in the army of Julian the
Apostate!!
 Julian had Martin imprisoned for refusing to fight; “I am a
soldier for Christ and it is not lawful for me to fight”
 After Julian’s death, Martin was released and became
famous for his practice of Charity as monk and bishop
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