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CHRISTIANITY ENTERS THE MIDDLE AGES
Church Gaining Power
 Took on more secular responsibilities as Germanic tribes invade
 administration, justice, defence and gov’t services
○Empire had collapsed (power vacuum)
 5th-7th c. – Germanic tribes inhabiting Western Europe become Christian
 Made gifts to the Church
○buildings, grants of land and wealth
 Why give wealth to the Church?
Problems
 Kings desired control over land and those on it
 Began influencing appointment of bishops and abbots
 Needed their support
 Criteria – good spiritual leader vs. political support
 Politics often won
Were converts really Christians?
 Doubtful
 Christian in appearance only – nominally Christian (in name only)
 No instruction in the faith
 If peasants saw a priest or received the sacraments once a year that was
exceptional
○Parish clergy didn’t exist yet
 Pagan rituals remained
 Reinterpreted
 Continued worship of forces of nature
 Popular religion consisted of devils, magic, saint worship (local nature deities often
disguised as saints), relics, holy places and miracles
 Clergy decided adoption of these practices was acceptable and in line with
Christianity
 These elements of Germanic virtues and culture were incorporated into Christianity
Church and State Make Friends
 Pope under constant threat from outside forces
 Attacked by Lombards (mid 8th c. – ca. 756)
 Pope Stephen fled
 Franks, led by Pepin III rush to defend pope
 “Donation of Pepin” – set aside Papal States for pope to rule.
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Charlemagne (742-814)
 Conquered Lombards
 Viewed himself as a Christian King
 Took responsibility for Christian education, liturgy, discipline and theology
 Wasn’t perfect – used violence and terror for compliance
 Wanted to revive Roman Empire in the West
 799 A.D. – Pope Leo III driven out of Rome (Roman Noble families)
 Charlemagne re-installed him.
Outcome
 Christmas Day, 800 A.D.
 Pope Leo crowns Charlemagne Emperor
 Germans officially incorporated into Roman civilization
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 Germans officially incorporated into Roman civilization
Tension With Byzantine Empire
 Byzantine Emperor – rightful ruler of entire Empire
 Leo III’s actions infuriated him
 Western Empire was now ruled by a barbarian – not pleased
Iconoclasm
 Icon – flat, 2D image of Jesus, Mary, or saints
 Also crucifixes and statues
 “Iconoclast” – literally means: image breaker
 use of icons in Christianity became an issue in 8th c.
 Some emperor’s saw icons as form of idol worship – outlawed by 10 commandments
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Use of Icons
 give physical form to conception of the divine
 way of mystically connecting to divine energy
 aid in prayer/meditation on person or significance of event depicted
 kept mind from wandering – focus attention
 Come to be venerated (honoured)
Iconoclasm
 Action taken to destroy icons, and end idolatry
 Began with Emperor Leo III
 Led destruction of icons
 Persecution of those who protected them
 Iconoclasm took place on and off for over 100 yrs
 Church interiors were bare
Iconoclasts Loose
 Use of icons triumphs in 843 ad.
 Once again icons could be created and used
 increased tensions b/w East and West
Tensions Increase – East and West
 Pope was not supreme authority
 Eastern Christians seldom referred to him – listened to their Patriarchs
(Constantinople, Antioch, Alexandria, Jerusalem)
 Pope’s authority questioned – interference resented
 Differences in language (Greek in East, Latin in West), customs and practices
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The Great Schism (1054)
 Final break b/w Eastern and Western churches
 Patriarch of Constantinople (Michael Cerularius) said the two churches couldn’t
remain in union
 Pope had seized too much power
 Pope Leo IX sends representative (Cardinal Humbert) to discuss situation with
Patriarch
 End up arguing most of the time
 Pope Leo dies
 Humbert excommunicates Patriarch (middle of mass)
 Patriarch declared the Latin's had perverted the faith – excommunicated them
 Both sides claim to have the authority of God
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 Both sides claim to have the authority of God
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Still Divided
 Split remains
 Main issue remains authority of the papacy
 Attempts at healing division have been made
 The double excommunications were removed, 1965
 Respect but not agreement
Question
 What is standing in the way of unification?
Homework
 Read pg. 281 in the Textbook
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