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CLASS 4:

Review and Introduction

In the last class, we looked at the early development of early church doctrine as it concerned the person of Jesus, Jesus the Christ, the and the development of the concept of the Holy Trinity.

What we will do in this class is move quickly through the development of the early church and the formation of the Christian Empire under Constantine and his successors. We will look briefly at the development of the papacy in the western church in response to the power vacuum created by the fall of Rome, and the subsequent emergence of the Holy Roman Empire. We will look at the the schism that developed between the Eastern and Western Churches over the nature of the trinity.

After setting this stage, we will look at the abuses of the Roman Catholic church that many reformers wished to address. The reformation took different shapes in Europe and England, and we will look in depth at the reformation in Europe. This will set the stage for our discussion in Class 5 for the reformation in England and the development of our distinctive strand of Protestantism.

As in the previous classes, the material presented here draws heavily on the published histories and works of several authors. Check out the Bibliography.

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Early Christian Expansion

The Early Expansion of Christianity

The early Christian communities were marked by their allegiance to Jesus (see McManners, 1-26). They elevated him to a high station, and in him they believed God had visited God's people. Jesus was a prophet and more than a prophet; he was an example and a teacher of a way of truth and righteousness that surpassed John the Baptist, Jesus' immediate forebear. He was the messiah, the leader of ancient expectation. His work, life, and ministry was felt by high-ranking priestly families of Jerusalem to be a threat to their power and to their political collaboration with the occupying Roman forces. The claim that with his coming, God had inaugurated his dominion left Jesus open to charges of blasphemy, which were quickly changed into charges of sedition. He was arrested, tried, and sentenced to die the death of a political criminal: crucifixion. Curiously, about 400 years earlier, the Greek philosopher and teacher Socrates had observed that a really righteous person would be so unacceptable to human society that he would be subjected to every humiliation and then crucified.

Jesus followers - chiefly the disciples - did not believe that Christ’s crucifixion was the end of the story. The rising again of Jesus from the dead is described in the earliest Christian and texts. These descriptions to take two forms. The first speaks of Jesus rising and appearing to apostles, women disciples, and other witnesses. The second speaks of Jesus being delivered from the limitations and particularity of human form to be present to human beings at all times and in all places. No one can know with certainty the mystery of that first Easter, but historians do know that something extraordinary transformed the disciples from frightened men into bold missionaries willing to risk their lives for their faith.

The community that believed in Jesus experienced his presence in their worship, visibly embodied in the Sacrament of Holy Communion. The presence of Jesus in and with the community was a sign of the kingdom of God on earth.

The earliest Christians believed that by the death of Jesus - the suffering servant of Isaiah - God had formed a new covenant not only with the Jews, of which they were a part, but with all peoples of the earth. Inclusion of Gentiles by the earliest Christians was hotly contested in the apostolic community. Many conservative Jews did not want their national religion assimilated into the surrounding Gentile world. James, the brother of Jesus, emerged as the head of the Jewish Christian community in Jerusalem. James was a strict conservative and wished the moral and ceremonial law to be observed. Peter was recognized as a prominent leader among the Apostles, and he took the lead in opening a membership of the church to Gentiles. He could be described as a moderate Jewish-Christian. He believed that Gentile Christians did not need to be circumcised or had to keep the traditional Jewish festivals.

Another leader of the mission to the gentiles was Saul for Paul of Tarsus. Paul was a Hellenized Jew with Roman and citizenship. He was a Pharisee with a once conservative view; he persecuted the early church (Acts 8:1-3). But following a conversion experience in which he had a vision of the risen that Jesus, Paul became a fervent missionary. He rejected the view that non-Jewish believers should keep the law of Moses. This eventually led to a break between the church and of the synagogue. Others have observed that the conservatives led by James were more traditionally "Hebrew" in their thinking and political leanings, whereas the more liberal faction was more Hellenized.

Paul understood the distinctive heart of Christianity to lie in the historic facts of the gospel; that is, the Jesus of history was one with the Christ of his faith. Jesus represented the eternal wisdom of God in creation. Like the author of the gospel of John, Paul believed that God was uniquely present in Jesus. Other writers of new testament literature also saw the incarnational manifestation of God in Jesus. The writer of Hebrews for example, emphasizes the fullness of the Jesus’ humanity and his position as the eternal son of the father. The author of the Gospel of John was Jesus as the means by which God will unite believers to God self; Jesus is our representative bringing to the Father and to the heavenly company all those who put their trust in Jesus.

The Missionaries and the Gentile Mission

Paul together with Barnabas went to Antioch where they spent a year teaching about Jesus and spreading the gospel. It was in Antioch that the followers of Jesus were first called Christians. Finally, in a number of missionary voyages, first with Barnabas and then with others, Paul took the gospel to the island of Cyprus, to several cities of Asia Minor, and to Rome. There is a tradition that Paul also Spread the gospel to Spain, but that cannot be confirmed.

Paul was not the only evangelist. There were many others preaching the gospel. Barnabas and St. Mark went to Cyprus. The Alexandrine Jew, Apollos, preached in Ephesus and Corinth.

It is of the interest to note that Paul, who felt called to preach to the Gentiles, often went to the synagogue after arriving at a new town to preach to the Jewish community. Paul did not believe that he was creating a new religion, but rather that he was preaching the fulfillment of God’s promises made to Israel. Paul did not believe that Israel had been abandoned by God or that the Gentiles were to replace the Jews. Rather, through the resurrection of Jesus, the age of the Messiah had dawned, and therefore the way was made open for Gentiles to join the people of God.

By about 35 C.E., the gospel had spread from Jerusalem to include most of Judea (including Capernaum, the town where Jesus spent most of his time as an adult). By 40 C.E. it had spread to Antioch and Cyprus. By 48 C.E. it had spread to Asia Minor, including Ephesus and Laodicea. By 52 C.E., Greece was hearing the gospel in Corinth, Athens, Philippi, Thessalonica, and Berea. By 60 C.E., it has spread to Rome.

This was possible because of the missionary trips taken by Philip, Peter, Paul and other evangelists.

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Orthodoxy: Making Christianity Christian

Shortly after Christ's death, Christianity was not a unified religion. Faithful people in the Roman-Jewish world had different perceptions of Jesus, different ideas about salvation and Jesus' role in the salvific work of God, even as they professed Jesus as Lord and Savior. Complicating that was the profound influence of the Hellenistic influence on Jewish thinking. The philosophy of the Greeks had appeal to some, but not all early Christian groups. In addition, there were many other religions in the Roman territories other than Judaism and early Christianity. Paganism and mystery cults abounded, and their influence was to be felt as Christianity wrestled with its own self-definition. The early years of the church were involved with defining what was meant by professing Jesus as Lord and Savior.

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Becoming the World Religion

Christianizing the Empire Under Constantine

Bronze bust of Constantine

In this section we'll look at the theology of four leaders of the early church.

As noted above, Constantine was the son of one of the four emperors who ruled Rome at the same time. Upon his father's death, he was able to use military and political means to secure the throne for himself. In 313 when he had eliminated all other contenders to the throne, he issued the Edict of Milan which promoted tolerance of all religions - including Christianity. This made it possible for the church to own property.

Constantine reigned for 13 years as emperor. It was a period of prosperity and rebuilding. One of the projects was to build a New Rome, the City of Constantine or "Constantinople." Constantinople was in the heart of ancient Byzantium. It was in a strategic military location to deal with the Germanys and the Persians, and was in an ideal location with regard to the trade routes. In the center of the city was a statue of Apollo, set atop a huge stone column brought from Egypt. Constantine left this statue in the city, but had the head removed so that his own bust could be placed on Apollo's body. Constantinople was a prosperous city, and grew rapidly, thanks in part to Constantine granting that those who came to live there would be exempt from taxes and military service. When Rome was overrun by the barbarians from the north, Roman culture was kept alive in the eastern empire for a thousand years (until the rise of Islam in 600 C.E.).

The First Church Councils

After Constantine became emperor, he discovered that there was a major theological dispute in progress in the Christian Church. It began as a local quarrel between the bishop of Alexandria, Alexander and one of his presbyters, Arius. The followers of the teachings of Arius were called "Arians." Hearing about the disruptive controversy in Egypt, Constantine sent his ecclesiastical advisor to Alexandria with a letter demanding reconciliation, because Constantine didn’t want anything disrupting his rule. The advisor ended up making matters worse, and Constantine called for a general council to be held at Nicea.

The Council of Nicea was held in 325, attended by Constantine and some 220 bishops. All but four or five came from the East. The Council produced a sharply anti-Arian creed affirming that the Father and the Son were “homoousios,” “of one substance.” The creed was accepted almost unanimously, however, the crucial term, “homoousios” was ambiguous. This ambiguity was good because it allowed for accommodation of diverse views. Despite their defeat, therefore, the Arians were able to re-establish considerable support after 325.

Development of the Creeds

In Christianity, there are over 150 officially recognized creeds and confessions. In part this is because the church was from the beginning doctrinally oriented, making the acceptance of a specific creed (or kerygma) a condition for membership. The faith of the community was expressed in acclamations such as “Jesus is Lord” (e.g., Rom. 10:9, I Cor. 12:3) and in longer, partly stereotyped summaries of essential beliefs (e.g., 1 Cor. 15:3 ff.) For the New Testament community, in contrast to some Christian groups in later times, a creed-less Christianity was inconceivable.

What does the Book of Common Prayer teach about the Creeds? Click Here to Find Out!

Fully formed creeds first developed for use in baptismal rites and catechetical instruction. They generally had three sections concerned with God the Father, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit, but were variable in wording and content and only gradually became standardized.

This process culminated in the West in the Apostles’ Creed, which is now almost universally recognized by Western churches, and is still used in baptismal rites as well as public worship by Catholics and most Protestants. This creed is wholly derived from the New Testament. The Twelve Apostles were not its authors. Its sources are to be found in earlier baptismal creeds, going back to the 2nd century. As is true of other creeds, it is in part intended to exclude heretical views. For example, against Gnosticism and Marcionism (dualistic heresies), it emphasizes that God, not an evil demiurge, is the creator of the world, and against docetic views that Jesus was a heavenly being with a phantom body, it insists that he was born of the Virgin Mary and actually suffered and died and was buried.

What does the Book of Common Prayer teach about the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit? Click Here to Find Out

The Nicene Creed exists in two versions and represents a new type of doctrinal statement. It was first formulated at Nicea in 325 by the first of the universal, or ecumenical, councils, after Christianity became the official religion of the Roman Empire. The Western church was content to stand by an early formula of the Godhead: in Christ there were two natures united in one person (Tertullian). In the east, there were two schools of thought: one (the Alexandrines like Clement and Origen) thought Jesus was more divine than human, and the other (the Antiochenes from Syrian Antioch) emphasized Jesus' humanity. Whether Jesus was a human with a divine mind or whether he was a person with two natures and two persons became very important theological issues. Eventually the eastern controversy swamped the entire church, and a Council was called to meet in Ephesus in 449 C.E. But the western church was forcibly excluded from this council. Eventually the next emperor called an ecumenical Council at Calcedon in 451 C.E. to which all members of the church were invited. The council affirmed the nature of Christ:

Following then, the holy fathers, we all with one voice that it is to be confessed that 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, begotten of the Father before all time in his divinity,a nd also begotten in the latter days, in his humanity, of Mary the virgin bearer of God.

This is the one and the same Christ, Son, Lord, Only-begotten, manifested in two natures without any confusion, change, division, or separation. The union does not destroy the difference of the two natures, but on the contrary the properties of each are kept, and both are joined in one person, and both are joined in one person and hypostasis. They are not divided into two persons, but belong to the one Only-begotten Son, the Word of God, the Lord Jesus Christ. All this, as the prophets of old said of him, and as he himself has taught us, and as the Creed of the Fathers has passed on to us.

The Council of Chalcedon produced what is called the “Niceno-Constantinopolitan Creed.” This is the version of the Nicene Creed we say in church today. The Council of Chalcedon affirmed this statement as the “faith of the 150 fathers” (i.e., the Council of Constantinople of AD 381). The 325 and 451 versions both make the same fundamental affirmations against the Arian heresy that denied the equality of the Father and the Son, asserting that Jesus Christ, the Son of God, is homoousios (“of one substance”) with the Father. Today, the Nicene Creed has become the most fully ecumenical of Christian creeds, accepted in East and West alike, including the major Protestant bodies. In Eastern churches, it is regularly employed in both Baptism and eucharistic worship; in the West, only in the Eucharist, and chiefly by Roman Catholics, Anglicans (Episcopalians), and Lutherans.

The filioque clause, affirming that the Spirit proceeds “from the Son” as well as the Father, was inserted into the text in Spain during the 6th century and gradually spread to all Western churches, but was probably not used in Rome itself until 1014. Eastern Christians continue to reject this addition, though now they do not generally regard it as heretical, especially if it is understood in the sense of “through the Son.” (see the section on the filioque below).

The Athanasian Creed, also called the Quicumque vult from its initial words, is the last of what in the West are regarded as the three catholic or ecumenical creeds. It has received some slight recognition in the East, but only since the 16th century. While officially accepted in the Roman Catholic, Anglican, and Lutheran communions, its liturgical use has greatly declined in recent centuries. In part this is because it is in form more a theological exposition than a creed, and in part because of the damnatory clauses that exclude from salvation all those who do not accept every detail of its teaching. The main themes are the nature of Christ and the Trinity, and these are developed in opposition not only to Arianism but also apparently to later heresies such as Nestorianism and Eutychianism. While its doctrine can in general be attributed to the 4th-century Church Father Athanasius, he was not its author. It probably originated in southern France about 450-500, although there is no complete consensus on this point.

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Empires

The Collapse of the Roman Empire

The Roman Empire in the West is often quoted as ending in 410 when Alaric, a barbarian from the north, sacked Rome. But the fall of the Roman empire was not instantaneous. Several groups invaded previously occupied Roman territories. The Vandals crossed the Rhine in 407 C.E., and proceeded into Gaul, Spain, and North Africa, taking Carthage in 439 C.E. The Visigoths, the Franks, the Burgundians, the Saxons, the Merovingians, the Lombards, the Ostrogoths, and the Sueves were all groups from Europe who invaded the old empire and divided it into smaller territories (see map below). It is important to note that the invaders often brought Arianism with them into Roman territories. This is because early Arian missionaries had converted many of the gothic tribes to Arianism.

The divison of the Roman Empire by the invading Barbarians

The Holy Roman Empire and the Rise of Feudalism

Charlemagne

History. The Holy Roman Empire officially began Christmas Day in 800 when the Pope Leo III declared Charles, the King of the Franks - later known as Charlemagne - the first Holy Roman Emperor of the West. This time, the Roman Empire was incarnated under the auspices of the Church. Charlemagne began a series of military moves designed to consolidate his power, and demonstrate his sovereignty. He battled the Saxons and their Frisian allies. He also invaded Spain. He felt called to be the civil and ecclesiastical ruler, and he appointed bishops and named generals. He was also a patron of education (although himself not well educated), and he revived and reformed many schools.

The empire did not last long after Charlemagne's death, and several factors led to its decline. The Arab conquest of the Mediterranean beginning in about 600 C.E. made trade difficult, because land routes were blocked. Currency became less valued, and land became more important. This was the beginning of hierarchical Feudalism, based on the holding of land. This ultimately led to fragmentation of power for the fledgling nations of Europe, as well as for the Church. This was because the monasteries had now vast holdings of land, and bishops, abbots, and abbesses became very rich and influential.

Theological Issues. There were several theological controversies that arose during Charlemagne's rule. The first was over the presence of Christians in Moorish occupied Spain. When Charlemagne conquered some of these lands, it was discovered that there were Christians who had been worshipping in isolation for centuries. These "Mozarabic Christians" kept their pre-Islamic traditions. Charlemagne's Frankish priests wanted the Mozarabs to use the Roman and Frankish rites. The second issue had to do with the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist. Radbertus worte a book that declared that at the moment of consecration, the bread and wine became transformed into the body and blood of Jesus. Radbertus said that this transformation was a mysterious process, but that there were extraordinary cases where a believer was allowed to see he body and blood instead of the bread and wine. We will continue this discussion in the next class period when we speak of the doctrine of transubstantiation that was proclaimed by the ROman Church in 1215 at the Fourth Latern Council.

The Carolingians. An important note. Charles, King of the Franks was the first of the Carolingians, which is what the dynasty of Charles' family was called. This will become important later.

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The East Versus the West and the Early Middle Ages

Introduction

The Council of Nicea in 325 C.E. and the Council at Constantinople in 381 C.E. were essentially called to settle the question of the basic tenets of the Christian faith. They were necessary because the church wanted to define itself against Arianism, a philosophical position that the church deemed heretical. But because of the movement of the center of power from Rome to Constantinople by Constantine, the church found itself in two cultural worlds, and those cultural differences affected the understanding of the person of Jesus.

The eastern empire spoke Greek and the western empire spoke Latin. The vacuum of power in the west with the collapse of the political structure in Rome gave the Bishop of Rome the opportunity to fill the void and become an increasingly important political power. The eastern empire was politically stable and would last 1000 more years until the rise of Islam.

The Filioque and the Division of the Church into the Eastern and Western Branches; The Schism of 1054

The original Nicene Creed said that the Holy Spirit proceeds "from the Father." In the sixth century the words "and from the Son" (called the filioque) were added to this sentence so that it reads, "from the Father and from the Son." The eastern churches saw this as tampering with the Definition of faith. By Charlemagne's time, the filioque was recited in the Frankish churches. In Rome, the Pope tried unsuccessfully to avoid alienating the eastern churches by using the Apostle’s Creed instead of the Nicene Creed.

There were two other problems the eastern churches had with the west. One was that the western churches began to use leavened bread for communion (such as we use at St. George's), and the second was that the Western church had declared celibacy for its priests a universal rule (eastern clerics could marry). The western church had a problem with the power that the Byzantine emperor had over the Christian churches (as a result of the stability of the eastern political empire).

Finally, on June 16, 1054, the Pope excommunicated the patriarch of the eastern church, and the final break between the eastern and western churches was completed.

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Europe in 1050

The Middle Ages in Europe

By about 1050 (the time of the schism between the Eastern and Western churches), most of Western Europe was Christian (see the map to the right). The rise of Islam in the seventh century C.E., had laid claim to many of the ancient Roman provinces, including North Africa, Spain, Sicily, and Western Asia, including Jerusalem (note the lower-left to upper-right hatched areas in the map). Collin Morris writes about this period that the majority of people in Western Europe were "baptized in childhood, and knew no alternative pattern of worship. The religion into which they were thus admitted was cultic in character: that is, it valued above all the power of the church to win the blessing of God by its prayers. The ordinary affairs of men could only be upheld by the intervention of God." (McManners, 194) (all works cited in these notes are referenced in the bibliography).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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An Age of Growth (1050 - 1300 C.E.)

The medieval church was in many respects a state. Southern describes it this way: "It had all the apparatus of the state: laws and law courts, taxes and tax collectors, a great administrative machine, power of life and death over the citizens of Christendom and their enemies within and without" (Southern, 18). Although the power over people available to the church was considerable, Southern believes that the church was restrained from wide-scale abuse out of fear that misuse of church authority would be rewarded by an eternity of punishment hereafter (Southern 19). However, there were indeed several instances of violence and cruelty, particularly during the period of the crusades (which we will not discuss here).

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The Ascent of the Papacy

One of the effects of the crusades and the Reconquista was that they increased the power of the papacy. When Urban II called for the first crusade, he was not universally heard - particularly in the Germanys. But, by the time of Innocent III, when the fourth crusade took Constantinople, the papacy was at the zenith of its power.

The Donation of Constantine

The supremacy of the papacy began in 315 with a forged document known as the Donation of Constantine. It is supposed to be a letter dated 315 C.E. from Constantine to Pope Sylvester I, willing the City of Constantine (Constantinople) to the Bishop of Rome (the pope). It was likely written about 750 C.E. The letter records Constantine's gifts to the Vicar of St. Peter (Sylvester I) in thanksgiving for the Pope's intervention and cure from leprosy. Sylvester was granted preeminence over the patriarchal sees of Antioch, Alexandra, Jerusalem and COnstantinople. All imperial power in the west is also transferred to the Pope, as well as significant land and property holdings.

Although a forgery, the document indicates that by the 8th Century C.E., the Pope was regarded as the universal and sovereign bishop; the vicar through whom St. Peter displayed his power.

The Vicar of St. Peter

In reality, St. Peter became Bishop of Antioch, and in 40, C.E., he moved his see to Rome. In 57, C.E. he instituted the feasts of Advent and Lent, and in 59 he consecrated Linus and Cletus his successors. As Southern put it, "There were no awkward gaps [in the papacy]. from the beginning, St. Peter and his successors could be seen at work directing the church, founding bishoprics. This scheme of things had the same unambiguous clarity as the generations of mankind from Adam" (Southern, 94).

Finally, there was also the presence of Peter's body in Rome. The tomb of St. Peter was the most significant fact that guaranteed an understanding of apostolic succession. Peter's continued physical presence guaranteed the link between the church on earth and God's kingdom in heaven. Obedience to St. Peter meant obedience to God, and disobedience to the Pope meant disobedience to St. Peter. When the archbishop of Ravenna was blinded for leading a rebellion, his punishment was pronounced by St. Peter for disobedience to his vicar.

Papal Growth, Decline, and Reform

It is important to note that prior to Gregory VII, the papacy had committed their future to the Carolingians (Charlemagne being crowned the first HR Emperor). However, the Carolingian empire did not last long, for although the Pope seemed to exert great power (having crowned Charlemagne), the governance of Rome itself was a shambles. In time the papacy fell into decline, and by the end of the tenth century under Pope Sergius III, the papacy went into serious decline. Sergius had two of his rivals killed, and subsequent popes were strangled, poisoned, imprisoned and starved. In other words the papacy fell into the hand of one incompetent after another. The office of pope was obtained by simony (purchase of the office), bribery, or murder.

Eventually, the papacy needed reformation, and that process began under Gregory VI. Subsequent popes continued the reformation. Two of these popes stand out. Leo IX (Pope from 1049 to 1054) and especially Gregory VII (Pope from 1073-1085) not only reformed the papacy, they expanded papal power.

Leo IX was an administrator, and surrounded himself with capable men. He forged a political alliance with the Normans, reformed the administration and refined a scheme of government using legates who had ecclesiastical authority over bishops even if they held inferior rank. His successor, Nicholas II reformed the way popes were elected by the college of cardinals (ca. 1000).

The next great reforming pope was Gregory VII (who wa the monk Hildebrand before his consecration as Bp. of Rome). He defined papal authority as being over kings and emperors because it came from no human being, but from God alone. He wrote in his letters that the pope can be judged by no one; that the church was founded by Christ alone; the Church has never erred; only the pope can translate (name) Bishops; only the pope can call councils, authorize canon law, use the official seal. He also declared that only the pope can depose emperors. Gregory VII was also the pope who ended marriage in the clerical ranks (prior to this time priests could marry).

The Ecumenical Councils
from 680-1312

Constantinople	680
Nicaea	787
Constantinople	869
Lateran	1123
Lateran	1139
Lateran	1179
Lateran	1215
Lyons	1245
Lyons	1274
Vienne	1311-12

The Vicar of Christ

After Gregory VII, the papacy took a different path. Papal emphasis on the link to St. Peter was replaced with a link to Christ himself. Under Pope Innocent III, the Pope became the Vicar of Christ. He wrote, "Just as God established two great luminaries in the heavens, the greater to preside over days, and the lesser to preside over nights, so did he establish two luminaries in the heavens of the universal church ... The greater to preside over souls as over days, and the lesser to preside over bodies as over nights. These are pontifical authority and royal power" (Gonzales, 1984a).

Ecumenical councils of the church became the tools of government, and the city and date of the councils during the medieval period were as shown in the table at the right. The constructive period of the papacy is understood by most scholars to be the period between 1123 and 1312.

Combating Heresy

The crusading spirit was also used to combat heresy. In the 13th Century, C.E., the papacy made war against the Albigensians in Southern France and Northern Italy who had adopted a form of Manicheism imported from Bulgaria. Many atrocities were conducted by both sides during these conflicts. This was also the time that the inquisition was granted extraordinary power.

 

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Division in the Western Church: The Great Schism

Beginning with Pope Clement V (died 1314), the popes resided in Avignon, France (on the border of Italy and France). For seventy years the popes would be seated in that city instead of Rome. This was the period of the "Avignon Papacy" or the "Babylonian Captivity of the Church." This was also the time of the Hundred Years War, and the papacy became enmeshed with the forces of England and France.

After Clement V died, the cardinals were unable to select a successor. They chose a 72 year-old man who they figured would buy them time to decide whom to elect. This pope, John XXII, lived much longer than expected. To keep the palace in Avignon functioning he levied high ecclesiastical taxes that further alienated France from Italy. The next pope, Benedict XII promised that he would return to Rome, but instead, he ordered a larger palace constructed in Avignon. He also put the services of the papacy at the disposal of the French crown. This alienated the Holy Roman Empire from England. Eventually, and with the considerable help of St. Catherine (a Dominican nun), pope Gregory XI returned the papacy to Rome.

However, when Gregory died, the majority of cardinals were French, and the Italians feared the college of cardinals would elect a French pope and move the papacy to Avignon once more. A mob literally ensured that an Italian was made pope. This pope Urban VI was incompetent and a political fool. A group of cardinals opposed to Urban VI, declared his election was invalid, and elected a second pope, who took the name Clement VII and moved to Avignon. Now there were two popes, and they made war against each other. England backed the Roman pope, Scotland backed the Avignon pope. This situation persisted for many years; in 1394 the theologians at the University of Paris (where Aquinas had taught) proposed a solution, and several kings in Europe tried to convince the pope they backed to negotiate with the other. But negotiation was out of the question.

Eventually the cardinals called for a council to meet in Pisa in 1409. The council met, but the two popes withdrew to their own fortified strongholds. They deposed both popes and elected Alexander V to be the new pope. But the two popes refused to accept their depositions, and so there were now three popes. In terms of the line of succession, the current Roman church considers the popes who resided in Rome legitimate and the Avignon popes and Alexander as "anti-popes."

A second council was convened in 1414, and elected Martin V as the new legitimate pope. The Avignon pope living at the time ignored this new pope, but the rest of the world ignored him as well. When he died, no successor was named, and the papacy was restored.

Most importantly, the convening of the councils modeled a new approach to church leadership, namely the Counciliar Movement. The Council of the church began to take on more and more power. When the Eastern Church, which had been doing battle with the Turks, requested military aid from the Western church in exchange for reunification with the West, Pope Eugene IV jumped at the opportunity to reunite Christendom. But the Council was divided, and there were now two councils and one pope. Eventually, the controversy grew, and there were two popes and two councils. Eventually, in 1449, the rival pope gave up his claim to the throne of Peter and the Roman papacy was restored once more. The councils would forever be subject to the pope.

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A Map of Europe at the Time of the Reformation

The Reformation in Europe

A map of Europe at the time of the reformation is shown to the right. The Holy Roman Empire extended northward from the Papal states toward the Baltic, adjacent to the nation of France.

The root causes of the reformation are complex. A renaissance of pre-Christian art and the development of humanism (the earthly life) began to challenge the Western church. Second, the centuries of wrangling with the papacy had severely weakened the authority of the papacy. The invention of the printing press in the 15th C also made it possible to mass produce the Bible, so that all people could read it. In time there were calls for major church reform. John Wycliffe in Oxford, England, and Jan Hus in Prague were among the early voices that called for church reform.

The papacy demanded greater obedience from laity and clergy, and promoted a fear of punishment after death. The sacrament of penance became a tool by which the hierarchy could rule. Life became ruled by "if-then" propositions: "If I do this for God and Church, then I will endure less punishment now and in eternity." the church, which had previously tolerated the doctrine of purgatory, now actively encouraged it. It was into this world that Martin Luther was born on November 10, 1483.

Martin Luther

While in law school, he had a calling, and joined the order of the Augustinian Hermits (see the Augustinians, above). Luther went through an identity crisis while in seminary, and began wrestling with serious questions about the nature of God (Was God so wrathful that nothing he could do would win God's favor? Did a gracious God exist?). On the brink of a breakdown, his mentor in seminary finally told him that he would go to university and become a doctor of holy scripture.

Luther discovered a new source of faith: himself. He discovered that one becomes reconciled with God through faith rather than through personal or moral efforts. In other words, good works are not the key to salvation. This insight was in direct opposition, however, to one of the principal teachings of the church at the time.

The sale of indulgences and holy relics

Ever since the crusades, the church had promised the forgiveness of sins in the form of indulgences for those who fought. The practice of giving indulgences had increased over the years, and it was a money making enterprise for the church. preemptory indulgences were purchased for sins not yet committed, and for the payment of large sums, indulgences were granted that promised the release of relatives from purgatory. One particularly good "salesman of indulgences" Fr. Johann Tetzel, promised his customers, "As soon as the coin in the coffer rings, the soul out of purgatory springs." The monies collected from Luther's community was added to monies collected from provinces all over Europe and funneled to Rome to pay for the construction of St. Peter's Basilica. A woodcut of Jan Breu The Elder (ca 1530) shown to the right illustrates trafficking in indulgences.

 

 

 

 

Martin Luther and Katherine von Bora

Luther was troubled by what he viewed as theologically unsound and uncharitable practices of the church - including indulgences. He called for a debate by the church by posting 95 thesis on the door of Wittenberg Castle Church on October 31, 1517. Luther became recognized by laity, nobility, and other

members of the church to be a defender of the ancient Christian teachings. Luther wrote many treatises, and it is impossible to summarize them all (he wrote more than 450 treatises, more than 3000 sermons, 2600 letters, and 7000 table talks - recorded informal discussions of Luther with his students and colleagues). The interested reader is referred to the very good and concise review of Luther and the fundamentals of Lutheranism by Eric W. Gritsch entitled, Fortress Introduction to Lutheranism . A long, but relatively thorough collection of Luther's basic theological writings is the volume edited by Timothy Lull entitled, Martin Luther's Basic Theological Writings. See the bibliography.

Luther was excommunicated on January 3, 1521. But he was a favorite of the German prince, Frederick the Wise, and Frederick (see below) allowed him to continue to function as priest and professor. Luther married an apostate nun named Katherine von Bora (see below).

Frederick of Saxony

Frederick persuaded Holy Roman Emperor Charles V to meet with the Papal Legate and the German princes at the Diet of Worms in April 1521. Luther was asked to recant his written works that criticized the mother church. He was granted one day to prepare his defense. The next day he declared that he could not recant unless persuaded by reason and scripture. On May 26, 1521, the Diet condemned Luther (Luther was 42 at the time). His life in danger, he was spirited away from Worms to Wartburg Castle where he lived under the protection of Frederick.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A drawing of Emperor Charles V hearing the Augsburg Confession. On the right side, blood flows from Christ's side into the chalice, and the people receive communion in both kinds.

Five years after Luther's condemnation, another Diet was convened at Augsburg, and Seven Lutheran territorial princes and two cities submitted a confession of Faith. This became known as the Augsburg Confession. Charles V appointed a group of theologians headed by a Papal representative to review the document, and although they accepted 28 of the articles, they refused to accept others. The break between Luther's Protesters and the Roman Catholic Church had been achieved.

The Lutheran movement began a course of reformation that would continue in various forms all over Europe. Some reformers would call for more radical reform, such as Thomas Muntzer and Ulrich Zwingli. The Anabaptists came from Zwingli's group of reformers, and were named "anabaptists" because they specifically rejected the notion of infant baptism. Under the leadership of Menno Simons, the anabaptists would become the Mennonites. John Calvin was another of the reformers.

One major issue for the reformers was the issue of the presence of Christ in the eucharist. Zwingili claimed that the eucharist was only a memorial of Christ's death. Calvin asserted that Christ was only present in a non-corporeal spiritual sense during communion, and that holy communion should be celebrated only on a few days of the year instead on every Sunday. Luther believed that these views were inspired by Satan, not by the Holy Spirit.

The work of Luther and the other reformers forever changed the religious landscape of the world. By 1546, Lutheranism was on its way to becoming a separate church from Rome, and later, other Protestant denominations began to appear in many places of the world. In 1555, the peace of Augsburg was signed between the Catholics and the Protestants using the formula "he who rules a region is in charge of its religion," a phrase used by Luther before his death in February 1546. The German territories were split into two official religious communities: Roman Catholic and the churches of the Augsburg Confession (Gritsch, 23). Note the map below.

The face of Protestantism in Europe showing the areas influenced by Luther, Zwingli, and Calvin (From McManners, 270)

The Counter-Reformation

The Council of Trent

The Roman Church formally refuted the tenets of Lutheranism at the Council of Trent. The Council was first convened by Pope Paul III, and then reconvened by Popes Julius III and Paul IV. The Council met for three periods between 1545 and 1563, due to strife, internal struggle, or outright rebellion that prevented the Council from remaining in session. A drawing of the Council during one of the periods is shown below.

This Council is credited with affirming many of the doctrines of the RC Church. One of the items affirmed was that tradition was a source of revelation. Luther claimed that truth came from scripture alone. But, by its language the Council of Trent opened the way for "theological extensions" of scripture, such as the immaculate conception of Mary. Other items affirmed were the theology of the sacraments, and that there were seven named sacraments and all were necessary to salvation.

The doctrines of transubstantiation during the Eucharist, penance, and extreme unction were defined, and the Protestant ideas about the Eucharist (Lutheran, Calvinist, and Zwinglian) were refuted. The presence of the undivided Christ under either species (bread or wine), and the adequacy of communion in one kind were affirmed. The authority of the Latin Vulgate Bible (translated by St. Jerome), was affirmed as well. The Council's actions were facilitated by the newest order, the "Society of Jesus" - the Jesuits who by the time of the third period of meeting, had begun to play a major role in church politics.

 

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Demoninational Growth

The Reformation led to the development of many Protestant denominations. The development of some of these is discussed above. The chart below shows the outgrowth of some of the major groups.

 

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Bibliography

Henry Chadwick. The Early Church, Revised Edition. London, England: Penguin Books. 1993.

Justo L. Gonzales. A History of Christian Thought, Vol 1, Revised Edition: From the Beginnings to the Council of Chalcedon. Nashville, TN: Abingdon Press. 1970. pp. 157-185.

Justo L. Gonzales. The History of Christianity, Vol 1: The Early CHurch to the Dawn of the Reformation. New York, NY: HarperSanFrancisco. 1984.

Judith Herrin. The Formation of Christendom. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press. 1987.

E. Glenn Hinson. The Early Church: Origins to the Dawn of the Middle Ages. Nashville, TN: Abingdon Press. 1996.

W.H.C. Frend. The Early Church. Minneapolis, MN: Fortress Press. 1991.

Alastair H.B. Logan. "Gnosticism." The Oxford Companion to Christian Thought. Edrain Hastings, Alistair Mason, Hugh Pyper, eds. Oxford, England: Oxford University Press. 2000.

John Manners (ed). The Oxford Illustrated History of Christianity. Oxford, England: Oxford University Press. 1990.

Pagels, Elaine. Beyond Belief: The Secret Gospel of Thomas. New York: Random House, 2003.

Owen Chadwick. The Reformation. London, England: Penguin Books. 1990.

F.L. Cross and E.A. Livingstone (eds.). The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church. Oxford, England: Oxford University Press, 1997.

Justo L. Gonzales. The History of Christianity, Vol 1: The Early CHurch to the Dawn of the Reformation. New York, NY: HarperSanFrancisco. 1984a.

Justo L. Gonzales. The History of Christianity, Vol 2: The Reformation to the Present Day. New York, NY: HarperSanFrancisco. 1984b.

Justo L. Gonzales. A History of Christian Thought, Vol 2: From Augustine to the Eve of the Reformation. Nashville, TN: Abingdon Press. 1987.

Eric W. Gritsch. Fortress Introduction to Lutheranism. Minneapolis, MN: Fortress Press, 1994.

Timothy Lull. Martin Luther's Basic Theological Writings. Minneapolis, MN: Fortress Press, 1989.

Donald K. McKim. Theological Turning Points: Major Issues in Christian Thought. Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 1988.

John M. Mcanners (ed). The Oxford Illustrated History of Christianity. Oxford, England: Oxford University Press. 1990.

R.W. Southern. The Middle Ages. London, England: Penguin Books. 1990.

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