History of Christianity

The history of Christianity concerns the Christian re- 1.1 Apostolic Church
ligion, its followers and the Church with its various
denominations, from the 1st century to the present.
Christianity emerged in the Levant (now Palestine and
Israel) in the mid-1st century AD. Christianity spread Main article: Apostolic Age
initially from Jerusalem throughout the Near East, into See also: Christianity in the 1st century
places such as Syria, Assyria, Mesopotamia, Phoenicia,
Asia Minor, Jordan and Egypt. In the 4th century it The Apostolic Church was the community led by the
was successively adopted as the state religion by Armenia apostles, and to some degree, Jesus’ relatives.[7] In his
in 301, Georgia in 319,[1][2] the Aksumite Empire in "Great Commission", the resurrected Jesus commanded
325,[3][4] and the Roman Empire in 380. After the that his teachings be spread to all the world. While the
Council of Ephesus in 431 the Nestorian Schism created historical reliability of the Acts of the Apostles is dis-
the Church of the East. The Council of Chalcedon in puted by critics, the Acts of the Apostles is the major
451 further divided Christianity into Oriental Orthodoxy primary source of information for this period. Acts gives
and Chalcedonian Christianity. Chalcedonian Christian- a history of the Church from this commission in 1:3–11
ity divided into the Roman Catholic Church and Eastern to the spread of the religion among the gentiles[8] and the
Orthodox Church in the Great Schism of 1054. The eastern Mediterranean by Paul and others.
Protestant Reformation created new Christian communi-
ties that separated from the Roman Catholic Church and The first Christians were essentially all ethnically Jewish
have evolved into many different denominations. or Jewish Proselytes. In other words, Jesus preached to
the Jewish people and called from them his first disci-
Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox Christianity ples, see for example Matthew 10. However, the Great
spread to all of Europe in the Middle Ages. Christian- Commission is specifically directed at “all nations,” and
ity expanded throughout the world during Europe’s Age an early difficulty arose concerning the matter of Gentile
of Exploration from the Renaissance onwards, becoming (non-Jewish) converts as to whether they had to “become
the world’s largest religion.[5] Today there are 2 billion Jewish” (usually referring to circumcision and adherence
Christians, one third of humanity.[6] to dietary law), as part of becoming Christian. Circum-
cision in particular was considered repulsive by Greeks
and Hellenists[9] while circumcision advocates were la-
1 Early Christianity (c.33–325) belled Judaisers, see Jewish background to the circumci-
sion controversy for details. The actions of Peter, at the
conversion of Cornelius the Centurion,[8] seemed to in-
For early New Testament history, see Ministry of Jesus dicate that circumcision and food laws did not apply to
and Canonical gospels.
gentiles, and this was agreed to at the apostolic Council
For history between the Old and New Testaments, see of Jerusalem. Related issues are still debated today.
Intertestamental period.
Main article: History of early Christianity The doctrines of the apostles brought the Early Church
into conflict with some Jewish religious authorities. This
eventually led to their expulsion from the synagogues, ac-
During its early history, Christianity grew from a 1st- cording to one theory of the Council of Jamnia. Acts
century Jewish following to a religion that existed across records the martyrdom of the Christian leaders, Stephen
the entire Greco-Roman world and beyond. and James of Zebedee. Thus, Christianity acquired an
Early Christianity may be divided into 2 distinct phases: identity distinct from Rabbinic Judaism, but this distinc-
the apostolic period, when the first apostles were alive and tion was not recognised all at once by the Roman Em-
led the Church, and the post-apostolic period, when an pire, see Split of early Christianity and Judaism for de-
early episcopal structure developed, and persecution was tails. The name "Christian" (Greek Χριστιανός) was first
periodically intense. The Roman persecution of Chris- applied to the disciples in Antioch, as recorded in Acts
tians ended in AD 313 when Constantine the Great de- 11:26.[10] Some contend that the term “Christian” was
creed tolerance for the religion. He then called the First first coined as a derogatory term, meaning “little Christs”,
Council of Nicaea in AD 325, beginning of the period of and was meant as a mockery, a term of derision for those
the First seven Ecumenical Councils. that followed the teachings of Jesus.

1
2 1 EARLY CHRISTIANITY (C.33–325)

1.1.1 Early Christian beliefs and creeds

St. Lawrence (martyred 258) before Emperor Valerianus by Fra

Angelico

Christ Jesus,[11] the Good Shepherd, 3rd century.

even death for Christians such as Stephen (Acts 7:59) and
The sources for the beliefs of the apostolic community in- James, son of Zebedee (12:2). Larger-scale persecutions
clude the Gospels and New Testament epistles. The very followed at the hands of the authorities of the Roman Em-
earliest accounts of belief are contained in these texts, pire, beginning with the year 64, when, as reported by the
such as early creeds and hymns, as well as accounts of the Roman historian Tacitus, the Emperor Nero blamed them
Passion, the empty tomb, and Resurrection appearances; for that year’s great Fire of Rome.
some of these are dated to the 30s or 40s CE, originating According to Church tradition, it was under Nero’s perse-
within the Jerusalem Church.[12] cution that Peter and Paul were each martyred in Rome.
Similarly, several of the New Testament writings mention
persecutions and stress endurance through them.
1.2 Post-Apostolic Church
Early Christians suffered sporadic persecution as the re-
sult of local pagan populations putting pressure on the im-
Main article: History of early Christianity
perial authorities to take action against the Christians in
See also: Christianity in the 2nd century and Christianity
their midst, who were thought to bring misfortune by their
in the 3rd century
refusal to honour the gods.[13][14] The last and most severe
The post-apostolic period concerns the time after the
persecution organised by the imperial authorities was the
death of the apostles (roughly 100 AD) until persecutions
Diocletianic Persecution, 303 - 311.[15]
ended with the legalisation of Christian worship under
Emperors Constantine the Great and Licinius.
1.2.2 Reasons for the spread of Christianity
1.2.1 Persecutions
In spite of these at-times intense persecutions, the
Christian religion continued its spread throughout the
Main article: Persecution of Christians in the Roman Mediterranean Basin.[16] There is no agreement on an ex-
Empire planation of how Christianity managed to spread so suc-
See also: Persecution of Christians in the New Testament cessfully prior to the Edict of Milan and the establishment
of Christianity as the state religion of the Roman Em-
According to the New Testament, Christians were subject pire. For some Christians, the success was simply the
to various persecutions from the beginning. This involved natural consequence of the truth of the religion and the
1.2 Post-Apostolic Church 3

hand of Providence. However, similar explanations can and sick. In the 2nd century, an episcopal structure be-
be claimed for the spread of Islam and Buddhism. In The comes more visible, and in that century this structure was
Rise of Christianity, Rodney Stark argues that Christian- supported by teaching on apostolic succession, where a
ity triumphed over paganism chiefly because it improved bishop becomes the spiritual successor of the previous
the lives of its adherents in various ways.[17] bishop in a line tracing back to the apostles themselves.
Another factor was the way in which Christianity com- The diversity of early Christianity can be documented
bined its promise of a general resurrection of the dead from the New Testament record itself. The Book of Acts
with the traditional Greek belief that true immortality admits conflicts between Hebrews and Hellenists, and
depended on the survival of the body, with Christianity Jewish Christians and Gentile Christians, and Aramaic
adding practical explanations of how this was going to speakers and Greek speakers. The letters of Paul, Peter,
actually happen at the end of the world.[18] For Mosheim John, and Jude all testify to intra-Church conflicts over
the rapid progression of Christianity was explained by both leadership and theology. In a response to the Gnostic
two factors: translations of the New Testament and the teaching, Irenaeus created the first document describing
Apologies composed in defence of Christianity.[19] what is now called apostolic succession.[22]
Edward Gibbon, in his classic The History of the Decline
and Fall of the Roman Empire, discusses the topic in con- 1.2.4 Early Christian writings
siderable detail in his famous Chapter Fifteen, summariz-
ing the historical causes of the early success of Christian- Main article: Ante-Nicene Fathers
ity as follows: "(1) The inflexible, and, if we may use the
expression, the intolerant zeal of the Christians, derived,
it is true, from the Jewish religion, but purified from the As Christianity spread, it acquired certain members from
narrow and unsocial spirit which, instead of inviting, had well-educated circles of the Hellenistic world; they some-
deterred the Gentiles from embracing the law of Moses. times became bishops, but not always. They produced
(2) The doctrine of a future life, improved by every addi- two sorts of works: theological and "apologetic", the lat-
tional circumstance which could give weight and efficacy ter being works aimed at defending the faith by using
to that important truth. (3) The miraculous powers as- reason to refute arguments against the veracity of Chris-
cribed to the primitive church. (4) The pure and austere tianity. These authors are known as the Church Fathers,
morals of the Christians. (5) The union and discipline of and study of them is called patristics. Notable early Fa-
the Christian republic, which gradually formed an inde- thers include Ignatius of Antioch, Polycarp, Justin Mar-
pendent and increasing state in the heart of the Roman tyr, Irenaeus of Lyons, Tertullian, Clement of Alexan-
empire.”[20] dria, and Origen of Alexandria.

1.2.5 Early art

1.2.3 Structure and the episcopacy

In the post-Apostolic church, bishops emerged as over-

seers of urban Christian populations, and a hierarchy of
clergy gradually took on the form of episkopos (overseers;
and the origin of the term bishop) and presbyters (elders;
and the origin of the term priest), and then deacons (ser-
vants). But this emerged slowly and at different times
for different locations. Clement, a 1st-century bishop
of Rome, refers to the leaders of the Corinthian church
in his epistle to Corinthians as bishops and presbyters
interchangeably. The New Testament writers also use
the terms overseer and elders interchangeably and as
synonyms.[21]
Post-apostolic bishops of importance include Polycarp of Virgin and Child. Wall painting from the early catacombs, Rome,
4th century.
Smyrna, Clement of Rome, and Irenaeus of Lyons. These
men reportedly knew and studied under the apostles per-
sonally and are therefore called Apostolic Fathers. Each Main article: Early Christian art
Christian community also had presbyters, as was the case
with Jewish communities, who were also ordained and Christian art only emerged relatively late, and the first
assisted the bishop. As Christianity spread, especially in known Christian images emerge from about 200 AD,[23]
rural areas, the presbyters exercised more responsibili- though there is some literary evidence that small domes-
ties and took distinctive shape as priests. Lastly, deacons tic images were used earlier. The oldest known Christian
also performed certain duties, such as tending to the poor paintings are from the Roman Catacombs, dated to about
4 1 EARLY CHRISTIANITY (C.33–325)

AD 200, and the oldest Christian sculptures are from

sarcophagi, dating to the beginning of the 3rd century.[24]
Although many Hellenised Jews seem, as at the Dura-
Europos synagogue, to have had images of religious fig-
ures, the traditional Mosaic prohibition of “graven im-
ages” no doubt retained some effect, although never pro-
claimed by theologians. This early rejection of images,
and the necessity to hide Christian practise from persecu-
tion, leaves us with few archaeological records regarding
early Christianity and its evolution.[24]

1.2.6 Early heresies

Main article: Christian heresy § Early Christian heresies

The New Testament itself speaks of the importance

of maintaining correct (orthodox) doctrine and refuting
heresies, showing the antiquity of the concern.[25] Be-
cause of the biblical proscription against false prophets,
Christianity has always been occupied with the orthodox
interpretation of the faith. Indeed one of the main roles of
the bishops in the early Church was to determine and re- A folio from P46, an early-3rd-century collection of Pauline
tain important correct beliefs, and refute contrarian opin- epistles.
ions, known as heresies. As there were sometimes differ-
ing opinions among the bishops on new questions, defin-
ing orthodoxy would occupy the Church for some time. 1.2.7 Biblical canon
The earliest controversies were often Christological in na- Main article: Biblical canon (Christian)
ture; that is, they were related to Jesus’ divinity or human- See also: Development of the New Testament canon
ity. Docetism held that Jesus’ humanity was merely an il-
lusion, thus denying the incarnation (Deity becoming hu-
man). Arianism held that Jesus, while not merely mortal, The Biblical canon is the set of books Christians regard
was not eternally divine and was, therefore, of lesser sta- as divinely inspired and thus constituting the Christian
Bible. Though the Early Church used the Old Testa-
tus than the Father.[26] Trinitarianism held that the Father,
Son, and the Holy Spirit were all strictly one being with ment according to the canon of the Septuagint (LXX),
the apostles did not otherwise leave a defined set of new
three hypostases or persons. Many groups held dualistic
beliefs, maintaining that reality was composed into two scriptures; instead the New Testament developed over
time.
radically opposing parts: matter, seen as evil, and spirit,
seen as good. Such views gave rise to some theology of The writings attributed to the apostles circulated amongst
the “incarnation” that were declared heresies. Most schol- the earliest Christian communities. The Pauline epis-
ars agree that the Bible teaches that both the material and tles were circulating in collected form by the end of the
the spiritual worlds were created by God and were there- 1st century AD. Justin Martyr, in the early 2nd century,
fore both good.[27] mentions the “memoirs of the apostles”, which Chris-
The development of doctrine, the position of orthodoxy, tians called “gospels” and which were regarded as on par
and the relationship between the various opinions is a with the Old Testament,[29] which was written in narrative
matter of continuing academic debate. Since most Chris- form where “in the biblical story God is the protagonist,
tians today subscribe to the doctrines established by the Satan (or evil people/powers) are the antagonists, and
Nicene Creed, modern Christian theologians tend to re- God’s people are the agonists".[30][31]
gard the early debates as a unified orthodox position A four gospel canon (the Tetramorph) was in place by
against a minority of heretics. Other scholars, draw- the time of Irenaeus, c. 160, who refers to it directly.[32]
ing upon distinctions between Jewish Christians, Pauline By the early 3rd century, Origen of Alexandria may have
Christianity, and other groups such as and Marcionites, been using the same 27 books as in the modern New Tes-
argue that early Christianity was always fragmented, with tament, though there were still disputes over the canon-
contemporaneous competing beliefs.[28] icity of Hebrews, James, II Peter, II and III John, and
2.1 Establishment of Roman orthodoxy 5

Revelation[33] Such works that were sometimes “spoken

against” were called Antilegomena. In contrast, the major
writings and most of what is now the New Testament were
Homologoumena, or universally acknowledged for a long
time, since the middle of the 2nd century or before.[34]
Likewise the Muratorian fragment shows that by 200
there existed a set of Christian writings similar to the cur-
rent New Testament.[35]
In his Easter letter of 367, Athanasius, Bishop of Alexan-
dria, gave the earliest preserved list of exactly the books
that would become the New Testament canon.[36] The
African Synod of Hippo, in 393, approved the New
Testament, as it stands today, together with the Septu-
agint books, a decision that was repeated by Councils of
Spread of Christianity to AD 325
Carthage in 397 and 419.[37] These councils were under Spread of Christianity to AD 600
the authority of St. Augustine, who regarded the canon
as already closed.[38] Likewise, Damasus' commissioning
of the Latin Vulgate edition of the Bible, c. 383, was in-
strumental in the fixation of the canon in the West.[39] In Constantine the Great.
405, Pope Innocent I sent a list of the sacred books to
The Emperor Constantine I was exposed to Christianity
Exuperius, a Gallic bishop.
by his mother, Helena.[45] At the Battle of Milvian Bridge
When these bishops and councils spoke on the matter, in 312, Constantine commanded his troops to adorn their
however, they were not defining something new, but in- shields with the Christian symbol in accordance with a
stead “were ratifying what had already become the mind vision that he had had the night before. After winning the
of the Church.”[40] Thus, by the 4th century, there ex- battle, Constantine was able to claim the emperorship in
isted unanimity in the West concerning the New Testa- the West[46] In 313, he issued the Edict of Milan, officially
ment canon,[41] and by the 5th century the East, with a legalizing Christian worship.
few exceptions, had come to accept the Book of Reve-
How much Christianity Constantine adopted at this point
lation and thus had come into harmony on the matter of
is difficult to discern. The Roman coins minted up to
the canon.[42] Nonetheless, a full dogmatic articulation of
eight years subsequent to the battle still bore the images of
the canon was not made until the 1546 Council of Trent
Roman gods.[45] Nonetheless, the accession of Constan-
for Roman Catholicism,[43] the 1563 Thirty-Nine Arti-
tine was a turning point for the Christian Church. After
cles for the Church of England, the 1647 Westminster
his victory, Constantine supported the Church financially,
Confession of Faith for Calvinism, and the 1672 Synod
built various basilicas, granted privileges (e.g., exemp-
of Jerusalem for Greek Orthodoxy.
tion from certain taxes) to clergy, promoted Christians to
some high-ranking offices, and returned property confis-
cated during the Great Persecution of Diocletian.[47]
2 Christianity during late antiq- Between 324 and 330, Constantine built, virtually from
uity (313–476) scratch, a new imperial capital that came to be named for
him: Constantinople. It had overtly Christian architec-
Main article: History of late ancient Christianity ture, contained churches within the city walls, and had no
[48]
See also: Christianity in the 4th century and Christianity pagan temples. In accordance with a prevailing cus-
in the 5th century tom, Constantine was baptised on his deathbed.
Constantine also played an active role in the leadership of
the Church. In 316, he acted as a judge in a North African
dispute concerning the Donatist controversy. More sig-
2.1 Establishment of Roman orthodoxy nificantly, in 325 he summoned the Council of Nicaea,
the first Ecumenical Council. Constantine thus estab-
See also: Constantine I and Christianity lished a precedent for the emperor as responsible to God
for the spiritual health of their subjects, and thus with
Galerius, who had previously been one of the leading a duty to maintain orthodoxy. The emperor was to en-
figures in persecution, in 311 issued an edict which force [49] doctrine, root out heresy, and uphold ecclesiastical
[44]
ended the Diocletian persecution of Christianity. Af- unity.
ter halting the persecutions of the Christians, Galerius Constantine’s son’s successor, known as Julian the Apos-
reigned for another 2 years. He was then succeeded tate, was a philosopher who upon becoming emperor re-
by an emperor with distinctively pro Christian leanings, nounced Christianity and embraced a Neo-platonic and
6 2 CHRISTIANITY DURING LATE ANTIQUITY (313–476)

ular underground for some time. In the late 4th century

Ulfilas, a Roman bishop and an Arian, was appointed as
the first bishop to the Goths, the Germanic peoples in
much of Europe at the borders of and within the Em-
pire. Ulfilas spread Arian Christianity among the Goths
firmly establishing the faith among many of the Germanic
tribes, thus helping to keep them culturally distinct.[50]
During this age, the first Ecumenical Councils were con-
vened. They were mostly concerned with Christological
disputes. The First Council of Nicaea (325) and the First
Council of Constantinople (381) resulted in condemn-
ing Arian teachings as heresy and producing the Nicene
Creed.

2.3 Christianity as Roman state religion

(380 AD)
Further information: State church of the Roman Empire

On 27 February 380, with the Edict of Thessalonica

put forth under Theodosius I, the Roman Empire offi-
cially adopted Trinitarian Christianity as its state religion.
Prior to this date, Constantius II (337-361) and Valens
Icon depicting the Emperor Constantine (centre) and the bishops (364-378) had personally favored Arian or Semi-Arian
of the First Council of Nicaea (325) holding the Niceno– forms of Christianity, but Valens’ successor Theodosius
Constantinopolitan Creed of 381. I supported the Trinitarian doctrine as expounded in the
Nicene Creed.
mystical form of paganism shocking the Christian estab- After its establishment, the Church adopted the same
lishment. He began reopening pagan temples and, intent organisational boundaries as the Empire: geographical
on re-establishing the prestige of the old pagan beliefs, provinces, called dioceses, corresponding to imperial
he modified them to resemble Christian traditions such governmental territorial division. The bishops, who were
as the episcopal structure and public charity (previously located in major urban centres as per pre-legalisation
unknown in Roman paganism). Julian’s short reign ended tradition, thus oversaw each diocese. The bishop’s lo-
when he died while campaigning in the East. cation was his “seat”, or “see”. Among the sees, five
came to hold special eminence: Rome, Constantinople,
Later Church Fathers wrote volumes of theological
Jerusalem, Antioch, and Alexandria. The prestige of
texts, including Augustine, Gregory Nazianzus, Cyril
most of these sees depended in part on their apostolic
of Jerusalem, Ambrose of Milan, Jerome, and others.
founders, from whom the bishops were therefore the spir-
Some of these fathers, such as John Chrysostom and
itual successors. Though the bishop of Rome was still
Athanasius, suffered exile, persecution, or martyrdom
held to be the First among equals, Constantinople was
from Arian Byzantine Emperors. Many of their writings
second in precedence as the new capital of the empire.
are translated into English in the compilations of Nicene
and Post-Nicene Fathers. Theodosius I decreed that others not believing in the pre-
served “faithful tradition”, such as the Trinity, were to
be considered to be practicers of illegal heresy,[51] and in
2.2 Arianism and the first Ecumenical 385, this resulted in the first case of capital punishment
[52][53]
Councils of a heretic, namely Priscillian.

Main articles: Arianism and First seven Ecumenical

2.4 Nestorianism and the Sassanid Empire
Councils
Further information: Germanic Christianity Further information: Nestorian schism, Syriac Christian-
ity and Church of the East
A popular doctrine of the 4th century was Arianism, the During the early 5th century the School of Edessa had
denial of the divinity of Christ, as propounded by Arius. taught a christological perspective stating that Christ’s di-
Though this doctrine was condemned as heresy and even- vine and human nature were distinct persons. A particu-
tually eliminated by the Roman Church it remained pop- lar consequence of this perspective was that Mary could
2.6 Monasticism 7

munion of churches, including the Armenian, Syrian, and

Egyptian churches.[55] Though efforts were made at rec-
onciliation in the next few centuries the schism remained
permanent resulting in what is today known as Oriental
Orthodoxy.

2.6 Monasticism
Main article: Christian monasticism

Monasticism is a form of asceticism whereby one re-

nounces worldly pursuits and goes off alone as a hermit
Largely extinct Church of the East and its largest extent during or joins a tightly organized community. It began early
the Middle Ages. in the Church as a family of similar traditions, modeled
upon Scriptural examples and ideals, and with roots in
certain strands of Judaism. John the Baptist is seen as an
not be properly called the mother of God, but could only
archetypical monk, and monasticism was also inspired by
be considered the mother of Christ. The most widely
the organisation of the Apostolic community as recorded
known proponent of this viewpoint was the Patriarch of
in Acts 2.
Constantinople Nestorius. Since referring to Mary as the
mother of God had become popular in many parts of the Eremetic monks, or hermits, live in solitude, whereas
Church this became a divisive issue. cenobitics live in communities, generally in a monastery,
under a rule (or code of practice) and are governed by an
The Roman Emperor Theodosius II called for the Council
abbot. Originally, all Christian monks were hermits, fol-
of Ephesus (431), with the intention of settling the issue.
lowing the example of Anthony the Great. However, the
The councils ultimately rejected Nestorius’ view. Many
need for some form of organised spiritual guidance lead
churches who followed the Nestorian viewpoint broke
Pachomius in 318 to organise his many followers in what
away from the Roman Church, causing a major schism.
was to become the first monastery. Soon, similar institu-
The Nestorian churches were persecuted and many fol-
tions were established throughout the Egyptian desert as
lowers fled to the Sassanid Empire where they were ac-
well as the rest of the eastern half of the Roman Empire.
cepted.
Women were especially attracted to the movement.[56]
The Sassanid (Persian) Empire had many Christian con-
Central figures in the development of monasticism were
verts early in its history tied closely to the Syriac branch
Basil the Great in the East and, in the West, Benedict, who
of Christianity. The Empire was officially Zoroastrian
created the famous Rule of Saint Benedict, which would
and maintained a strict adherence to this faith in part to
become the most common rule throughout the Middle
distinguish itself from the religion of the Roman Empire
Ages, and starting point for other monastic rules.[57]
(originally the pagan Roman religion and then Christian-
ity). Christianity became tolerated in the Sassanid Em-
pire and as the Roman Empire increasingly exiled heretics
during the 4th and 6th centuries, the Sassanid Christian 3 Early Middle Ages (476–799)
community grew rapidly.[54] By the end of the 5th cen-
tury the Persian Church was firmly established and had Main article: History of Christianity of the Middle Ages
become independent of the Roman Church. This church See also: Christianity in the 6th century, Christianity in
evolved into what is today known as the Church of the the 7th century and Christianity in the 8th century
East.
The transition into the Middle Ages was a gradual and lo-
calised process. Rural areas rose as power centres whilst
2.5 Miaphysitism urban areas declined. Although a greater number of
Christians remained in the East (Greek areas), important
Further information: Oriental Orthodoxy developments were underway in the West (Latin areas)
and each took on distinctive shapes.
In 451 the Council of Chalcedon was held to further clar- The Bishops of Rome, the Popes, were forced to adapt
ify the christological issues surrounding Nestorianism. to drastically changing circumstances. Maintaining only
The council ultimately stated that Christ’s divine and hu- nominal allegiance to the Emperor, they were forced to
man nature were separate but both part of a single entity, negotiate balances with the “barbarian rulers” of the for-
a viewpoint rejected by many churches who called them- mer Roman provinces. In the East the Church maintained
selves miaphysites. The resulting schism created a com- its structure and character and evolved more slowly.
8 3 EARLY MIDDLE AGES (476–799)

increased the missionary activities, supported by the

Merovingian kingdom as a means to pacify troublesome
neighbor peoples. After the foundation of a church in
Utrecht by Willibrord, backlashes occurred when the pa-
gan Frisian king Radbod destroyed many Christian cen-
tres between 716 and 719. In 717, the English mission-
ary Boniface was sent to aid Willibrord, re-establishing
churches in Frisia continuing missions in Germany.[59]

3.2 Byzantine iconoclasms

A mosaic of Justinian I in the church of San Vitale, Ravenna,

Italy.

3.1 Western missionary expansion

The stepwise loss of Western Roman Empire dominance,

replaced with foederati and Germanic kingdoms, coin-
cided with early missionary efforts into areas not con-
trolled by the collapsing empire.[58] Already as early as in
the 5th century, missionary activities from Roman Britain
into the Celtic areas (current Scotland, Ireland and Wales)
produced competing early traditions of Celtic Christian-
ity, that was later reintegrated under the Church in Rome.
Prominent missionaries were Saints Patrick, Columba
and Columbanus. The Anglo-Saxon tribes that invaded Andrei Rublev's Trinity.
southern Britain some time after the Roman abandon-
ment, were initially pagan, but converted to Christian-
ity by Augustine of Canterbury on the mission of Pope Main article: Iconoclasm (Byzantine)
Gregory the Great. Soon becoming a missionary cen-
ter, missionaries such as Wilfrid, Willibrord, Lullus and Following a series of heavy military reverses against the
Boniface would begin converting their Saxon relatives in Muslims, the Iconoclasm emerged in the early 8th cen-
Germania. tury. In the 720s the Byzantine Emperor Leo III the
The largely Christian Gallo-Roman inhabitants of Gaul Isaurian banned the pictorial representation of Christ,
(modern France) were overrun by the Franks in the early saints, and biblical scenes. In the West, Pope Gregory
5th century. The native inhabitants were persecuted un- III held two synods at Rome and condemned Leo’s ac-
til the Frankish king Clovis I converted from paganism tions. The Byzantine Iconoclast Council at Hieria in 754,
to Roman Catholicism in 496. Clovis insisted that his ruled that holy portraits were heretical.[60]
fellow nobles follow suit, strengthening his newly estab- The movement destroyed much of the Christian church’s
lished kingdom by uniting the faith of the rulers with that early artistic history. The iconoclastic movement itself
of the ruled.[59] was later defined as heretical in 787 under the Seventh
After the rise of the Frankish Kingdom and the stabiliz- Ecumenical council, but enjoyed a brief resurgence be-
ing political conditions, the Western part of the Church tween 815 and 842.
4.2 Monastic Reform 9

4 High Middle Ages (800–1299) abbey of Cluny became the acknowledged leader of west-
ern monasticism from the later 10th century. Cluny cre-
Main article: Medieval history of Christianity § High ated a large, federated order in which the administrators
Middle Ages (800–1300) of subsidiary houses served as deputies of the abbot of
See also: Christianity in the 9th century, Christianity Cluny and answered to him. The Cluniac spirit was a re-
in the 10th century, Christianity in the 11th century, vitalising influence on the Norman church, at its height
Christianity in the 12th century and Christianity in the from the second half of the 10th centuries through the
13th century early 12th.

4.2.2 Cîteaux
4.1 Carolingian Renaissance
The Carolingian Renaissance was a period of intellectual
and cultural revival of literature, arts, and scriptural stud-
ies during the late 8th and 9th centuries, mostly during
the reigns of Charlemagne and Louis the Pious, Frankish
rulers. To address the problems of illiteracy among clergy
and court scribes, Charlemagne founded schools and at-
tracted the most learned men from all of Europe to his
court.

4.2 Monastic Reform

Bernard of Clairvaux, in a medieval illuminated manuscript.

The next wave of monastic reform came with the

Cistercian Movement. The first Cistercian abbey was
founded in 1098, at Cîteaux Abbey. The keynote of
Cistercian life was a return to a literal observance of
the Benedictine rule, rejecting the developments of the
Benedictines. The most striking feature in the reform was
the return to manual labour, and especially to field-work.
Inspired by Bernard of Clairvaux, the primary builder of
the Cistercians, they became the main force of technolog-
ical diffusion in medieval Europe. By the end of the 12th
century the Cistercian houses numbered 500, and at its
height in the 15th century the order claimed to have close
to 750 houses. Most of these were built in wilderness
A view of the Abbey of Cluny.
areas, and played a major part in bringing such isolated
parts of Europe into economic cultivation

4.2.1 Cluny 4.2.3 Mendicant orders

From the 6th century onward most of the monasteries A third level of monastic reform was provided by the es-
in the West were of the Benedictine Order. Owing to tablishment of the Mendicant orders. Commonly known
the stricter adherence to a reformed Benedictine rule, the as friars, mendicants live under a monastic rule with tradi-
10 4 HIGH MIDDLE AGES (800–1299)

tional vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience, but they ops, or translate them to other sees. Henry IV’s rejection
emphasise preaching, missionary activity, and education, of the decree lead to his excommunication and a ducal re-
in a secluded monastery. Beginning in the 12th century, volt. Eventually Henry received absolution after dramatic
the Franciscan order was instituted by the followers of public penance barefoot in Alpine snow and cloaked in
Francis of Assisi, and thereafter the Dominican order was a hairshirt (see Walk to Canossa), though the revolt and
begun by St. Dominic. conflict of investiture continued.
Likewise, a similar controversy occurred in England be-
tween King Henry I and St. Anselm, Archbishop of Can-
4.3 Investiture Controversy
terbury, over investiture and ecclesiastical revenues col-
lected by the king during an episcopal vacancy. The En-
Main article: Investiture Controversy
glish dispute was resolved by the Concordat of London,
The Investiture Controversy, or Lay investiture contro-
1107, where the king renounced his claim to invest bish-
ops but continued to require an oath of fealty from them
upon their election.
This was a partial model for the Concordat of Worms
(Pactum Calixtinum), which resolved the Imperial investi-
ture controversy with a compromise that allowed secular
authorities some measure of control but granted the se-
lection of bishops to their cathedral canons. As a symbol
of the compromise, lay authorities invested bishops with
their secular authority symbolised by the lance, and eccle-
siastical authorities invested bishops with their spiritual
authority symbolised by the ring and the staff.

Henry IV at the gate of Canossa, by August von Heyden.

4.4 Medieval Inquisition
versy, was the most significant conflict between secular
Main article: Medieval Inquisition
and religious powers in medieval Europe. It began as a
dispute in the 11th century between the Holy Roman Em-
peror Henry IV, and Pope Gregory VII concerning who The Medieval Inquisition is a series of Inquisitions
would appoint bishops (investiture). The end of lay in- (Roman Catholic Church bodies charged with suppress-
vestiture threatened to undercut the power of the Empire ing heresy) from around 1184, including the Episcopal
and the ambitions of noblemen for the benefit of Church Inquisition (1184–1230s) and later the Papal Inquisition
reform. (1230s). It was in response to movements within Europe
considered apostate or heretical to Western Catholicism,
Bishops collected revenues from estates attached to their
in particular the Cathars and the Waldensians in southern
bishopric. Noblemen who held lands (fiefdoms) hered-
France and northern Italy. These were the first inquisi-
itarily passed those lands on within their family. How-
tion movements of many that would follow. The inquisi-
ever, because bishops had no legitimate children, when
tions in combination with the Albigensian Crusade were
a bishop died it was the king’s right to appoint a succes-
fairly successful in ending heresy. Historian Thomas F.
sor. So, while a king had little recourse in preventing no-
Madden has written about popular myths regarding the
blemen from acquiring powerful domains via inheritance
Inquisition.[61]
and dynastic marriages, a king could keep careful control
of lands under the domain of his bishops.
Kings would bestow bishoprics to members of noble fam- 4.5 Conversion of the Scandinavians
ilies whose friendship he wished to secure. Furthermore,
if a king left a bishopric vacant, then he collected the es- Early evangelisation in Scandinavia was begun by Ansgar,
tates’ revenues until a bishop was appointed, when in the- Archbishop of Bremen, “Apostle of the North”. Ansgar,
ory he was to repay the earnings. The infrequence of this a native of Amiens, was sent with a group of monks to
repayment was an obvious source of dispute. The Church Jutland Denmark in around 820 at the time of the pro-
wanted to end this lay investiture because of the potential Christian Jutish king Harald Klak. The mission was only
corruption, not only from vacant sees but also from other partially successful, and Ansgar returned two years later
practices such as simony. Thus, the Investiture Contest to Germany, after Harald had been driven out of his king-
was part of the Church’s attempt to reform the episco- dom.
pate and provide better pastoral care. In 829 Ansgar went to Birka on Lake Mälaren, Sweden,
Pope Gregory VII issued the Dictatus Papae, which de- with his aide friar Witmar, and a small congregation was
clared that the pope alone could appoint or depose bish- formed in 831 which included the king’s own steward
4.6 Conversion of the Slavs 11

Hergeir. Conversion was slow, however, and most Scan- missionaries that could minister to the Moravians in their
dinavian lands were only completely Christianised at the own language.
time of rulers such as Saint Canute IV of Denmark and The two brothers spoke the local Slavonic vernacular and
Olaf I of Norway in the years following AD 1000. translated the Bible and many of the prayer books. As the
translations prepared by them were copied by speakers of
other dialects, the hybrid literary language Old Church
Slavonic was created.
Methodius later went on to convert the Serbs. Some of
the disciples returned to Bulgaria where they were wel-
comed by the Bulgarian Knyaz Boris I who viewed the
Slavonic liturgy as a way to counteract Byzantine influ-
ence in the country. In a short time the disciples of Cyril
and Methodius managed to prepare and instruct the fu-
ture Slavic clergy into the Glagolitic alphabet and the bib-
lical texts.
Bulgaria was officially recognised as a patriarchate by
Constantinople in 927, Serbia in 1346, and Russia in
1589. All these nations, however, had been converted
Stavronikita monastery. long before these dates.
The missionaries to the East and South Slavs had great
success in part because they used the people’s native lan-
4.6 Conversion of the Slavs guage rather than Latin as the Roman priests did, or
Greek.

4.6.1 Mission to Great Moravia

When king Rastislav of Moravia asked Byzantium for

teachers who could minister to the Moravians in their
own language, Byzantine emperor Michael III chose two
brothers, Cyril and Methodius. As their mother was a
Slav from the hinterlands of Thessaloniki, the two broth-
ers had been raised speaking the local Slavonic vernac-
ular. Once commissioned, they immediately set about
creating an alphabet, the Glagolitic alphabet. They then
translated the Scripture and the liturgy into Slavonic.
This Slavic dialect became the basis of Old Church
Slavonic which later evolved into Church Slavonic which
St. Cyril and St. Methodius monument on Mt. Radhošť. is the common liturgical language still used by the Rus-
sian Orthodox Church and other Slavic Orthodox Chris-
Though by 800 Western Europe was ruled entirely by tians. The missionaries to the East and South Slavs had
Christian kings, East and Central Europe remained an great success in part because they used the people’s native
area of missionary activity. For example, in the 9th cen- language rather than Latin or Greek. In Great Moravia,
tury SS. Cyril and Methodius had extensive missionary Constantine and Methodius encountered Frankish mis-
success in the region among the Slavic peoples, translat- sionaries from Germany, representing the western or
ing the Bible and liturgy into Slavonic. The Baptism of Latin branch of the Church, and more particularly rep-
Kiev in 988 spread Christianity throughout Kievan Rus’, resenting the Holy Roman Empire as founded by Charle-
establishing Christianity among the Ukraine, Belarus and magne, and committed to linguistic, and cultural unifor-
Russia. mity. They insisted on the use of the Latin liturgy, and
In the 9th and 10th centuries, Christianity made great in- they regarded Moravia and the Slavic peoples as part of
roads into Eastern Europe, including Bulgaria and Kievan their rightful mission field.
Rus’. The evangelisation, or Christianisation, of the Slavs When friction developed, the brothers, unwilling to be a
was initiated by one of Byzantium’s most learned church- cause of dissension among Christians, travelled to Rome
men — the Patriarch Photius. The Byzantine emperor to see the Pope, seeking an agreement that would avoid
Michael III chose Cyril and Methodius in response to a quarrelling between missionaries in the field. Constantine
request from Rastislav, the king of Moravia who wanted entered a monastery in Rome, taking the name Cyril, by
12 5 CONTROVERSY AND CRUSADES DIVIDING EAST AND WEST

which he is now remembered. However, he died only a

few weeks thereafter.
Pope Adrian II gave Methodius the title of Archbishop
of Sirmium (now Sremska Mitrovica in Serbia) and sent
him back in 869, with jurisdiction over all of Moravia and
Pannonia, and authorisation to use the Slavonic Liturgy.
Soon, however, Prince Ratislav, who had originally in-
vited the brothers to Moravia, died, and his successor did
not support Methodius. In 870 the Frankish king Louis
and his bishops deposed Methodius at a synod at Ratis-
bon, and imprisoned him for a little over two years. Pope
John VIII secured his release, but instructed him to stop
using the Slavonic Liturgy.
In 878, Methodius was summoned to Rome on charges
of heresy and using Slavonic. This time Pope John was
convinced by the arguments that Methodius made in his
defence and sent him back cleared of all charges, and
with permission to use Slavonic. The Carolingian bishop
who succeeded him, Witching, suppressed the Slavonic
Liturgy and forced the followers of Methodius into exile.
Many found refuge with Knyaz Boris of Bulgaria, under
whom they reorganised a Slavic-speaking Church. Mean-
while, Pope John’s successors adopted a Latin-only policy The Baptism of Vladimir,
which lasted for centuries.
and Ukrainians, as well as Rusyns. By the beginning
of the 11th century most of the pagan Slavic world, in-
4.6.2 Conversion of Bulgaria
cluding Rus’, Bulgaria and Serbia, had been converted to
Byzantine Christianity. The traditional event associated
Main article: Christianization of Bulgaria
with the conversion of Rus’ is the baptism of Vladimir
of Kiev in 989. However, Christianity is documented to
Bulgaria was a pagan country since its establishment in have predated this event in the city of Kiev and in Geor-
681 until 864 when Boris I (852–889) converted to Chris- gia. Today the Russian Orthodox Church is the largest of
tianity. The reasons for that decision were complex; the the Orthodox Churches.
most important factors were that Bulgaria was situated
between two powerful Christian empires, Byzantium and
East Francia; Christian doctrine particularly favoured the 5 Controversy and Crusades divid-
position of the monarch as God’s representative on Earth,
while Boris also saw it as a way to overcome the differ- ing East and West
[62][63]
ences between Bulgars and Slavs.
In 885 some of the disciples of Cyril and Methodius, in- See also: Christianity in the 11th century, Christianity
cluding Clement of Ohrid, Naum of Preslav and Ange- in the 12th century, Christianity in the 13th century and
laruis, returned to Bulgaria where they were welcomed Christianity in the 14th century
by Boris I who viewed the Slavonic liturgy as a way to
counteract Byzantine influence in the country. In a short
time they managed to prepare and instruct the future Bul- 5.1 Growing tensions between East and
garian clergy into the Glagolitic alphabet and the biblical
texts. As a result of the Council of Preslav in AD 893,
West
Bulgaria expelled its Greek clergy and proclaimed the Old
The cracks and fissures in Christian unity which led to the
Bulgarian language as the official language of the church
East-West Schism started to become evident as early as
and the state.
the 4th century. Cultural, political, and linguistic differ-
ences were often mixed with the theological, leading to
4.6.3 Conversion of the Rus’ schism.
The transfer of the Roman capital to Constantinople in-
The success of the conversion of the Bulgarians facili- evitably brought mistrust, rivalry, and even jealousy to the
tated the conversion of other East Slavic peoples, most relations of the two great sees, Rome and Constantino-
notably the Rus’, predecessors of Belarusians, Russians, ple. It was easy for Rome to be jealous of Constantinople
5.2 Photian schism 13

at a time when it was rapidly losing its political promi- which drew up the original Creed, had expressly for-
nence. Estrangement was also helped along by the Ger- bidden any subtraction or addition to the text. In addi-
man invasions in the West, which effectively weakened tion to this ecclesiological issue, the Eastern Church also
contacts. The rise of Islam with its conquest of most considered the filioque clause unacceptable on dogmatic
of the Mediterranean coastline (not to mention the ar- grounds. Theologically, the Latin interpolation was un-
rival of the pagan Slavs in the Balkans at the same time) acceptable since it implied that the Spirit now had two
further intensified this separation by driving a physical sources of origin and procession, the Father and the Son,
wedge between the two worlds. The once homogenous rather than the Father alone.[67]
unified world of the Mediterranean was fast vanishing.
Communication between the Greek East and Latin West
by the 7th century had become dangerous and practically 5.2 Photian schism
ceased.[64]
Main article: Photian schism
Two basic problems were involved: the nature of the
primacy of the bishop of Rome and the theological im-
plications of adding a clause to the Nicene Creed, known In the 9th century AD, a controversy arose between East-
as the filioque clause. These doctrinal issues were first ern (Byzantine, later Orthodox) and Western (Latin, Ro-
openly discussed in Photius’s patriarchate. man Catholic) Christianity that was precipitated by the
opposition of the Roman Pope John VII to the appoint-
By the 5th century, Christendom was divided into a
ment by the Byzantine emperor Michael III of Photius
pentarchy of five sees with Rome accorded a primacy.
I to the position of patriarch of Constantinople. Photios
The four Eastern sees of the pentarchy considered this
was refused an apology by the pope for previous points of
determined by canonical decision and not entailing hege-
dispute between the East and West. Photius refused to ac-
mony of any one local church or patriarchate over the oth-
cept the supremacy of the pope in Eastern matters or ac-
ers. However, Rome began to interpret her primacy in
cept the filioque clause. The Latin delegation at the coun-
terms of sovereignty, as a God-given right involving uni-
cil of his consecration pressed him to accept the clause in
versal jurisdiction in the Church. The collegial and con-
order to secure their support.
ciliar nature of the Church, in effect, was gradually aban-
doned in favour of supremacy of unlimited papal power The controversy also involved Eastern and Western ec-
over the entire Church. These ideas were finally given clesiastical jurisdictional rights in the Bulgarian church,
systematic expression in the West during the Gregorian as well as a doctrinal dispute over the Filioque (“and from
Reform movement of the 11th century. the Son”) clause. That had been added to the Nicene
Creed by the Latin church, which was later the theological
The Eastern churches viewed Rome’s understanding of
breaking point in the ultimate Great East-West Schism in
the nature of episcopal power as being in direct oppo-
the 11th century.
sition to the Church’s essentially conciliar structure and
thus saw the two ecclesiologies as mutually antithetical. Photius did provide concession on the issue of jurisdic-
For them, specifically, Simon Peter’s primacy could never tional rights concerning Bulgaria and the papal legates
be the exclusive prerogative of any one bishop. All bish- made do with his return of Bulgaria to Rome. This con-
ops must, like St. Peter, confess Jesus as the Christ and, cession, however, was purely nominal, as Bulgaria’s re-
as such, all are Peter’s successors. The churches of the turn to the Byzantine rite in 870 had already secured for
East gave the Roman See primacy but not supremacy, the it an autocephalous church. Without the consent of Boris
Pope being the first among equals but not infallible and I of Bulgaria, the papacy was unable to enforce any of its
not with absolute authority.[65] claims.
The other major irritant to Eastern Christendom was the
Western use of the filioque clause—meaning “and the
5.3 East-West Schism (1054)
Son”—in the Nicene Creed . This too developed grad-
ually and entered the Creed over time. The issue was
Main article: East-West Schism
the addition by the West of the Latin clause filioque to
the Creed, as in “the Holy Spirit... who proceeds from
the Father and the Son,” where the original Creed, sanc- The East-West Schism, or Great Schism, separated the
tioned by the councils and still used today by the East- Church into Western (Latin) and Easter ca (Greek)
ern Orthodox simply states “the Holy Spirit, the Lord andbranches, i.e., Western Catholicism and Eastern Ortho-
Giver of Life, who proceeds from the Father.” The East- doxy. It was the first major division since certain groups
ern Church argued that the phrase had been added uni- in the East rejected the decrees of the Council of Chal-
cedon (see Oriental Orthodoxy), and was far more sig-
laterally, and therefore illegitimately, since the East had
never been consulted.[66] nificant. Though normally dated to 1054, the East-West
Schism was actually the result of an extended period
In the final analysis, only another ecumenical council
of estrangement between Latin and Greek Christendom
could introduce such an alteration. Indeed the councils,
over the nature of papal primacy and certain doctrinal
14 5 CONTROVERSY AND CRUSADES DIVIDING EAST AND WEST

matters like the filioque, but intensified by cultural and tians and for the expansion of Christian domains. Gen-
linguistic differences. erally, the crusades refer to the campaigns in the Holy
The “official” schism in 1054 was the excommunica- Land against Muslim forces sponsored by the Papacy.
tion of Patriarch Michael Cerularius of Constantino- There were other crusades against Islamic forces in south-
ple, followed by his excommunication of papal legates. ern Spain, southern Italy, and Sicily, as well as the cam-
Attempts at reconciliation were made in 1274 (by the paigns of Teutonic knights against pagan strongholds in
Second Council of Lyon) and in 1439 (by the Council Northeastern Europe (see Northern Crusades). A few
of Basel), but in each case the eastern hierarchs who con- crusades such as the Fourth Crusade were waged within
Christendom against groups that were considered hereti-
sented to the unions were repudiated by the Orthodox as
a whole, though reconciliation was achieved between the cal and schismatic (also see the Battle of the Ice and the
Albigensian Crusade).
West and what are now called the "Eastern Rite Catholic
Churches". More recently, in 1965 the mutual excommu-
nications were rescinded by the Pope and the Patriarch of
Constantinople, though schism remains.
Both groups are descended from the Early Church, both
acknowledge the apostolic succession of each other’s
bishops, and the validity of each other’s sacraments.
Though both acknowledge the primacy of the Bishop of
Rome, Eastern Orthodoxy understands this as a primacy
of honour with limited or no ecclesiastical authority in Krak des Chevaliers was built in the County of Tripoli by the
other dioceses. Knights Hospitaller during the Crusades.
The Orthodox East perceived the Papacy as taking on
monarchical characteristics that were not in line with the The Holy Land had been part of the Roman Empire, and
church’s tradition. thus Byzantine Empire, until the Islamic conquests of the
7th and 8th centuries. Thereafter, Christians had gener-
The final breach is often considered to have arisen after ally been permitted to visit the sacred places in the Holy
the capture and sacking of Constantinople by the Fourth Land until 1071, when the Seljuk Turks closed Christian
Crusade in 1204. Crusades against Christians in the East pilgrimages and assailed the Byzantines, defeating them
by Roman Catholic crusaders was not exclusive to the at the Battle of Manzikert.
Mediterranean though (see also the Northern Crusades
and the Battle of the Ice). The sacking of Constantinople Emperor Alexius I asked for aid from Pope Urban II
and the Church of Holy Wisdom and establishment of the (1088–1099) for help against Islamic aggression. He
Latin Empire as a seeming attempt to supplant the Or- probably expected money from the pope for the hiring of
thodox Byzantine Empire in 1204 is viewed with some mercenaries. Instead, Urban II called upon the knights
rancour to the present day. of Christendom in a speech made at the Council of Cler-
mont on 27 November 1095, combining the idea of pil-
Many in the East saw the actions of the West as a prime grimage to the Holy Land with that of waging a holy war
determining factor in the weakening of Byzantium. This against infidels.
led to the Empire’s eventual conquest and fall to Islam.
In 2004, Pope John Paul II extended a formal apology The First Crusade captured Antioch in 1099 and then
for the sacking of Constantinople in 1204; the apol- Jerusalem. The Second Crusade occurred in 1145 when
ogy was formally accepted by Patriarch Bartholomew of Edessa was retaken by Islamic forces. Jerusalem would
Constantinople. Many things that were stolen during be held until 1187 and the Third Crusade, famous for the
this time: holy relics, riches, and many other items, are battles between Richard the Lionheart and Saladin. The
still held in various Western European cities, particularly Fourth Crusade, begun by Innocent III in 1202, intended
Venice, Italy. to retake the Holy Land but was soon subverted by Vene-
tians who used the forces to sack the Christian city of
Zara.[68]
5.4 Crusades Eventually the crusaders arrived in Constantinople.
Rather than proceed to the Holy Land the crusaders in-
Main article: Crusades stead sacked Constantinople and other parts of Asia Mi-
nor effectively establishing the Latin Empire of Con-
The Crusades were a series of military conflicts con- stantinople in Greece and Asia Minor. This was effec-
ducted by European Christian knights for control over the tively the last crusade sponsored by the papacy,
[68]
with later
lucrative trade routes running through the Middle East, crusades being sponsored by individuals.
and establishment of European, not necessarily Chris- Jerusalem was held by the crusaders for nearly a cen-
tian, influence in the region. However, many histori- tury, and other strongholds in the Near East would re-
ans write that its purpose was for the defence of Chris- main in Christian possession much longer. The crusades
 15

in the Holy Land ultimately failed to establish perma- took one position or the other until in 1351 at a synod
nent Christian kingdoms. Islamic expansion into Europe under the presidency of the Emperor John VI Can-
would renew and remain a threat for centuries culminat- tacuzenus, Hesychast doctrine was established as the
ing in the campaigns of Suleiman the Magnificent in the doctrine of the Orthodox Church. the theology was
16th century.[68] especially attractive in the East because it validated the
Crusades in southern Spain, southern Italy, and Sicily use of [69]
icons as a vehicle for contemplation of divine
eventually lead to the demise of Islamic power in light.
Europe.[68] The Teutonic knights expanded Christian do-
mains in Eastern Europe, and the much less frequent
crusades within Christendom, such as the Albigensian 6 Eastern Orthodox captivity
Crusade, achieved their goal of maintaining doctrinal
unity.[68] (1453–1850)
See also: Christianity in the 15th century, Christianity
5.5 Hesychast Controversy in the 16th century, Christianity in the 17th century,
Christianity in the 18th century and Christianity in the
Main article: Hesychast controversy 19th century
In 1337 Hesychasm—a mystical teaching at Mount

6.1 Fall of Constantinople

In 1453, Constantinople fell to the Ottoman Empire. By

this time Egypt had been under Muslim control for some
seven centuries, but Orthodoxy was very strong in Russia
which had recently acquired an autocephalous status; and
thus Moscow called itself the Third Rome, as the cultural
heir of Constantinople.
Under Ottoman rule, the Greek Orthodox Church ac-
quired substantial power as an autonomous millet. The
ecumenical patriarch was the religious and administrative
ruler of the entire “Greek Orthodox nation” (Ottoman ad-
ministrative unit), which encompassed all the Eastern Or-
thodox subjects of the Empire.
Eastern Christians fleeing Constantinople, and the Greek
manuscripts they carried with them, is one of the factors
that prompted the literary renaissance in the West at about
this time.

6.2 Isolation from the West

As a result of the Ottoman conquest of the Byzantine

Empire in 1453, and the Fall of Constantinople, the en-
Gregory Palamas. tire Orthodox communion of the Balkans and the Near
East became suddenly isolated from the West. For the
Athos came under attack from Barlaam of Calabria, an next four hundred years, it would be confined within a
abbot in Constantinople. Barlaam propounded a more hostile Islamic world, with which it had little in common
intellectual and propositional approach to the knowledge religiously or culturally. The Russian Orthodox Church
of God than the Hesychasts taught. Hesychasm is a form was the only part of the Orthodox communion which re-
of constant purposeful prayer or experiential prayer, ex- mained outside the control of the Ottoman Empire.
plicitly referred to as contemplation focusing on the idea It is, in part, due to this geographical and intellectual
of stillness and the characteristic mystical idea of light as confinement that the voice of Eastern Orthodoxy was
the vehicle for knowing God. not heard during the Reformation in 16th-century Eu-
Gregory Palamas, afterwards Archbishop of rope. As a result, this important theological debate often
Thessalonica, defended Hesychasm. Several synods seems strange and distorted to the Orthodox. They never
16 7 LATE MIDDLE AGES AND THE EARLY RENAISSANCE (1300–1520)

took part in it and thus neither Reformation nor Counter- investiture was accompanied by heavy payment to the
Reformation is part of their theological framework. government. In order to recoup their losses, patriarchs
and bishops taxed the local parishes and their clergy.
Few patriarchs between the 15th and the 19th centuries
6.3 Religious rights under the Ottoman died a natural death while in office. The forced abdica-
Empire tions, exiles, hangings, drownings, and poisonings of pa-
triarchs are well documented. The hierarchy’s positions
Further information: Christianity in the Ottoman were often dangerous as well. The hanging of patriarch
Empire, Persecution of Christians § Ottoman Empire Gregory V from the gate of the patriarchate on Easter
and History of the Eastern Orthodox Church under the Sunday 1821 was accompanied by the execution of two
Ottoman Empire metropolitans and twelve bishops.

The new Ottoman government that conquered the Byzan-

tine Empire followed Islamic law when dealing with the 7 Late Middle Ages and the early
conquered Christian population. Christians were offi-
cially tolerated as People of the Book. As such, the Renaissance (1300–1520)
Church’s canonical and hierarchical organisation were
not significantly disrupted and its administration contin- Main article: Medieval history of Christianity § Late
ued to function. One of the first things that Mehmet the Middle Ages (1300–1499)
Conqueror did was to allow the Church to elect a new See also: Christianity in the 14th century, Christianity in
patriarch, Gennadius Scholarius. the 15th century and Renaissance
Because Islamic law makes no distinction between na-
tionality and religion, all Christians, regardless of their
language or nationality, were considered a single millet,
or nation. The patriarch, as the highest-ranking hier- 7.1 Avignon Papacy (1309–1378)
arch, was thus invested with civil and religious authority
and made ethnarch, head of the entire Christian Ortho- The Avignon Papacy, sometimes referred to as the Baby-
dox population. This meant that all Orthodox Churches lonian Captivity, was a period from 1309 to 1378 dur-
within Ottoman territory were under the control of Con- ing which seven Popes resided in Avignon, in modern-day
stantinople. However, these rights and privileges, in- France.[72] The period was one of conflict and controversy
cluding freedom of worship and religious organisation, during which French Kings held considerable sway over
were often established in principle but seldom corre- the Papacy and rulers across Europe felt sidelined by the
sponded to reality. Christians were viewed as second- new French-centric papacy.
class citizens, and the legal protections they depended Troubles reached their peak in 1378 when, Gregory XI
upon were subject to the whims of the Sultan and the died while visiting Rome. A papal conclave met in Rome
Sublime Porte.[70][71] and elected Urban VI, an Italian. Urban soon alienated
Under Ottoman occupation the Church could no longer the French cardinals, and they held a second conclave
bear witness to Christ. Christian missionary work among electing Robert of Geneva to succeed Gregory XI, be-
Muslims was illegal and dangerous, whereas conversion ginning the Western Schism.
to Islam was entirely legal and permissible. Converts to
Islam who returned to Orthodoxy were put to death as
apostates. No new churches could be built and even the 7.2 Western Schism (1378–1416)
ringing of church bells was prohibited. The Hagia Sophia
and the Parthenon, which had been Christian churches for The Western Schism, or Papal Schism, was a prolonged
nearly a millennium, were converted into mosques. Ed- period of crisis in Latin Christendom from 1378 to
ucation of the clergy and the Christian population either 1416, when there were two or more claimants to the See
ceased altogether or was reduced to the most rudimentary of Rome and there was conflict concerning the rightful
elements. Violent persecutions of Christians were com- holder of the papacy. The conflict was political, rather
mon, and reached their climax in the Armenian, Assyrian, than doctrinal, in nature.
and Greek genocides. In 1309, Pope Clement V, due to political considerations,
moved to Avignon in southern France and exercised his
pontificate there. For sixty-nine years popes resided in
6.4 Corruption Avignon rather than Rome. This was not only an obvi-
ous source of confusion but of political animosity as the
The Orthodox Church found itself subject to the Turk- prestige and influence of city of Rome waned without a
ish system of corruption. The patriarchal throne was fre- resident pontiff. Though Pope Gregory XI, a Frenchman,
quently sold to the highest bidder, while new patriarchal returned to Rome in 1378, the strife between Italian and
7.4 Italian Renaissance (c.1375–1520) 17

French factions intensified, especially following his sub- priests and bishops. His followers, called Lollards, faced
sequent death. persecution by the Church of England. They went under-
In 1378 the conclave, elected an Italian from Naples, ground for over a century and played a role in the English
[73][74]
Pope Urban VI; his intransigence in office soon alien- Reformation.
ated the French cardinals, who withdrew to a conclave Jan Hus (or Huss) (1369?–1415) a Czech theologian in
of their own, asserting the previous election was invalidPrague, was influenced by Wycliffe and spoke out against
since its decision had been made under the duress of a the corruptions he saw in the Church; his continued de-
riotous mob. They elected one of their own, Robert of fiance led to his excommunication and condemnation by
Geneva, who took the name Pope Clement VII. By 1379, the Council of Constance, which also condemned John
he was back in the palace of popes in Avignon, while Ur- Wycliff. Hus was executed in 1415, but his followers or-
ban VI remained in Rome. ganized a peasants’ war, 1419–1436, that was put down
For nearly forty years, there were two papal curias and by the Empire with great brutality. Hus was a forerunner
two sets of cardinals, each electing a new pope for Rome of the Protestant Reformation and his memory has be-[75]
or Avignon when death created a vacancy. Each pope come a powerful symbol of Czech culture in Bohemia.
lobbied for support among kings and princes who played See also: Bohemian Reformation
them off against each other, changing allegiance accord-
ing to political advantage. In 1409, a council was con-
vened at Pisa to resolve the issue. The council declared
both existing popes to be schismatic (Gregory XII from 7.4 Italian Renaissance (c.1375–1520)
Rome, Benedict XIII from Avignon) and appointed a new
one, Alexander V. The existing popes refused to resign
and thus there were three papal claimants. Another coun-
cil was convened in 1414, the Council of Constance.
In March 1415 the Pisan pope John XXIII fled from Con-
stance in disguise. He was brought back a prisoner and
deposed in May. The Roman pope, Gregory XII, re-
signed voluntarily in July. The Avignon pope, Benedict
XIII, refused to come to Constance, nor would he con-
sider resignation. The council deposed him in July 1417.
The council in Constance elected Pope Martin V as pope
in November, having finally cleared the field of popes and
antipopes, .

7.3 John Wycliff and Jan Hus

Michelangelo’s Pietà in St. Peter’s Basilica, Vatican City

See also: Italian Renaissance

The Renaissance was a period of great cultural change

and achievement, marked in Italy by a classical orienta-
tion and an increase of wealth through mercantile trade.
The City of Rome, the Papacy, and the Papal States were
all affected by the Renaissance. On the one hand, it
was a time of great artistic patronage and architectural
Painting of Jan Hus in Council of Constance by Václav Brožík.
magnificence, where the Church pardoned such artists
John Wycliffe (or Wyclif) (1330–1384) was an English as Michelangelo, Brunelleschi, Bramante, Raphael, Fra
scholar and heretic best known for denouncing the cor- Angelico, Donatello, and da Vinci. On the other hand,
ruptions of the Church, and his sponsoring the first trans- wealthy Italian families often secured episcopal offices,
lation of the Bible from Latin into English. He was a including the papacy, for their own members, some of
precursor of the Protestant Reformation. He emphasized whom were known for immorality, such as Alexander VI
the supremacy of the Bible, and called for a direct rela- and Sixtus IV.
tionship between man and God, without interference by In addition to being the head of the Church, the Pope
18 8 REFORMATION AND COUNTER-REFORMATION

became one of Italy’s most important secular rulers, and the Protestant Reformation were the Lutheran, Reformed
pontiffs such as Julius II often waged campaigns to protect (Calvinist, Presbyterian, etc.), and Anglican traditions,
and expand their temporal domains. Furthermore, the though the latter group identifies as both “Reformed” and
popes, in a spirit of refined competition with other Ital- “Catholic”, and some subgroups reject the classification
ian lords, spent lavishly both on private luxuries but also as “Protestant.”
on public works, repairing or building churches, bridges, The Protestant Reformation may be divided into two
and a magnificent system of aqueducts in Rome that still distinct but basically simultaneous movements, the
function today. Magisterial Reformation and the Radical Reformation.
From 1505 to 1626, St. Peter’s Basilica, perhaps the most The Magisterial Reformation involved the alliance of cer-
recognised Christian church, was built on the site of the tain theological teachers (Latin: magistri) such as Luther,
old Constantinian basilica. It was also a time of increased Zwingli, Calvin, Cranmer, etc. with secular magistrates
contact with Greek culture, opening up new avenues of who cooperated in the reformation of Christendom. Rad-
learning, especially in the fields of philosophy, poetry, ical Reformers, besides forming communities outside
classics, rhetoric, and political science, fostering a spirit state sanction, often employed more extreme doctrinal
of humanism–all of which would influence the Church. change, such as the rejection of tenets of the Councils
of Nicaea and Chalcedon. Often the division between
magisterial and radical reformers was as or more violent
than the general Catholic and Protestant hostilities.
8 Reformation and Counter-
The Protestant Reformation spread almost entirely within
Reformation the confines of Northern Europe, but did not take hold in
certain northern areas such as Ireland and parts of Ger-
See also: Christianity in the 16th century many. By far the magisterial reformers were more suc-
cessful and their changes more widespread than the rad-
ical reformers. The Catholic response to the Protestant
Reformation is known as the Counter Reformation, or
8.1 Protestant Reformation (1521–1610) Catholic Reformation, which resulted in a reassertion of
traditional doctrines and the emergence of new religious
Main articles: Protestant Reformation and Protestantism orders aimed at both moral reform and new missionary
activity. The Counter Reformation reconverted approxi-
In the early 16th century, movements were begun by two mately 33% of Northern Europe to Catholicism and initi-
theologians, Martin Luther and Huldrych Zwingli, that ated missions in South and Central America, Africa, Asia,
aimed to reform the Church; these reformers are distin- and even China and Japan. Protestant expansion outside
guished from previous ones in that they considered the of Europe occurred on a smaller scale through colonisa-
root of corruptions to be doctrinal (rather than simply a tion of North America and areas of Africa.
matter of moral weakness or lack of ecclesiastical dis-
cipline) and thus they aimed to change contemporary
8.1.1 Martin Luther
doctrines to accord with what they perceived to be the
“true gospel.” The word Protestant is derived from the Main article: Martin Luther
Latin protestatio meaning declaration which refers to the See also: Theology of Martin Luther
letter of protestation by Lutheran princes against the de- Martin Luther was an Augustinian friar and professor at
cision of the Diet of Speyer in 1529, which reaffirmed the the University of Wittenberg. In 1517, he published a
edict of the Diet of Worms against the Reformation.[76] list of 95 Theses, or points to be debated, concerning the
Since that time, the term has been used in many different illicitness of selling indulgences. Luther had a particu-
senses, but most often as a general term refers to Western lar disdain for Aristotelian philosophy, and as he began
Christianity that is not subject to papal authority.[76] The developing his own theology, he increasingly came into
term “Protestant” was not originally used by Reformation conflict with Thomistic scholars, most notably Cardinal
era leaders; instead, they called themselves “evangelical”, Cajetan.[78] Soon, Luther had begun to develop his the-
emphasising the “return to the true gospel (Greek: euan- ology of justification, or process by which one is “made
gelion).”[77] right” (righteous) in the eyes of God. In Catholic the-
The beginning of the Protestant Reformation is gener- ology, one is made righteous by a progressive infusion of
ally identified with Martin Luther and the posting of the grace accepted through faith and cooperated with through
95 Theses on the castle church in Wittenberg, Germany. good works. Luther’s doctrine of justification differed
Early protest was against corruptions such as simony, from Catholic theology in that justification rather meant
episcopal vacancies, and the sale of indulgences. The “the declaring of one to be righteous”, where God im-
Protestant position, however, would come to incorporate putes the merits of Christ upon one who remains with-
doctrinal changes such as sola scriptura and sola fide. The out inherent merit.[79] In this process, good works are
three most important traditions to emerge directly from more of an unessential byproduct that contribute noth-
8.1 Protestant Reformation (1521–1610) 19

Ulrich Zwingli, wearing the scholar’s cap.

of icons was actually idolatry and thus a violation of the

first commandment, and the denial of the real presence
in the Eucharist.[82] Soon the city council had accepted
Zwingli’s doctrines and Zurich became a focal point of
more radical reforming movements, and certain admirers
and followers of Zwingli pushed his message and reforms
far further than even he had intended, such as rejecting
Martin Luther, by Lucas Cranach the Elder infant baptism.[83] This split between Luther and Zwingli
formed the essence of the Protestant division between
Lutheran and Reformed theology. Meanwhile, political
ing to one’s own state of righteousness. Conflict between
tensions increased; Zwingli and the Zurich leadership im-
Luther and leading theologians lead to his gradual rejec-
posed an economic blockade on the inner Catholic states
tion of authority of the Church hierarchy. In 1520, he was
of Switzerland, which led to a battle in which Zwingli, in
condemned for heresy by the papal bull Exsurge Domine,
full armor, was slain along with his troops.
which he burned at Wittenberg along with books of canon
law.[80]
8.1.3 John Calvin
8.1.2 Ulrich Zwingli
Main article: John Calvin
Main article: Huldrych Zwingli See also: Calvinism
Ulrich Zwingli was a Swiss scholar and parish priest who
was likewise influential in the beginnings of the Protestant John Calvin was a French cleric and doctor of law turned
Reformation. Zwingli claimed that his theology owed Protestant reformer. He belonged to the second gen-
nothing to Luther, and that he had developed it in 1516, eration of the Reformation, publishing his theological
before Luther’s famous protest, though his doctrine of tome, the Institutes of the Christian Religion, in 1536
justification was remarkably similar to that of the German (later revised), and establishing himself as a leader of
friar.[81] In 1518, Zwingli was given a post at the wealthy the Reformed church in Geneva, which became an “un-
collegiate church of the Grossmünster in Zurich, where official capital” of Reformed Christianity in the sec-
he would remain until his death at a relatively young age. ond half of the 16th century. He exerted a remarkable
Soon he had risen to prominence in the city, and when amount of authority in the city and over the city coun-
political tension developed between most of Switzerland cil, such that he has (rather ignominiously) been called
and the Catholic Habsburg Emperor Charles V. In this a “Protestant pope.” Calvin established an eldership to-
environment, Zwingli began preaching his version of re- gether with a "consistory", where pastors and the el-
form, with certain points as the aforementioned doc- ders established matters of religious discipline for the
trine of justification, but others (with which Luther ve- Genevan population.[84] Calvin’s theology is best known
hemently disagreed) such as the position that veneration for his doctrine of (double) predestination, which held
20 8 REFORMATION AND COUNTER-REFORMATION

that God had, from all eternity, providentially foreor- tant”), and other “unofficial” more radical movements
dained who would be saved (the elect) and likewise who such as the Puritans.
would be damned (the reprobate). Predestination was not
the dominant idea in Calvin’s works, but it would seem-
ingly become so for many of his Reformed successors.[85] 8.2 Counter-Reformation (1545–1610)

Main article: Counter-Reformation

8.1.4 English Reformation

See also: English Civil War The Counter-Reformation, or Catholic Reformation, was
Unlike other reform movements, the English Reforma- the response of the Catholic Church to the Protestant Ref-
ormation. The essence of the Counter-Reformation was
a renewed conviction in traditional practices and the up-
holding of Catholic doctrine as the source of ecclesias-
tic and moral reform, and the answer to halt the spread
of Protestantism. Thus it experienced the founding of
new religious orders, such as the Jesuits, the establish-
ment of seminaries for the proper training of priests, re-
newed worldwide missionary activity, and the develop-
ment of new yet orthodox forms of spirituality, such as
that of the Spanish mystics and the French school of
spirituality. The entire process was spearheaded by the
Council of Trent, which clarified and reasserted doctrine,
issued dogmatic definitions, and produced the Roman
Catechism.
Though Ireland, Spain, France, and elsewhere featured
significantly in the Counter-Reformation, its heart was
Italy and the various popes of the time, who established
the Index Librorum Prohibitorum (the list of prohibited
books) and the Roman Inquisition, a system of juridi-
cal tribunals that prosecuted heresy and related offences.
The Papacy of St. Pius V (1566–1572) was known not
only for its focus on halting heresy and worldly abuses
within the Church, but also for its focus on improving
Statue of Richard Hooker, whose emphases on reason, tolerance popular piety in a determined effort to stem the appeal
and inclusiveness influenced Anglicanism. of Protestantism. Pius began his pontificate by giving
large alms to the poor, charity, and hospitals, and the
tion began by royal influence. Henry VIII considered pontiff was known for consoling the poor and sick, and
himself a thoroughly Catholic King, and in 1521 he de- supporting missionaries. The activities of these pontiffs
fended the papacy against Luther in a book he commis- coincided with a rediscovery of the ancient Christian
sioned entitled, The Defence of the Seven Sacraments, for catacombs in Rome. As Diarmaid MacCulloch stated,
which Pope Leo X awarded him the title Fidei Defen- “Just as these ancient martyrs were revealed once more,
sor (Defender of the Faith). However, the king came Catholics were beginning to be martyred afresh, both in
into conflict with the papacy when he wished to annul mission fields overseas and in the struggle to win back
his marriage with Catherine of Aragon, for which he Protestant northern Europe: the catacombs proved to be
needed papal sanction. Catherine, among many other an inspiration for many to action and to heroism.”[86]
noble relations, was the aunt of Emperor Charles V, the
papacy’s most significant secular supporter. The ensu-
ing dispute eventually lead to a break from Rome and 8.2.1 The Council of Trent
the declaration of the King of England as head of the
English Church. England would later experience peri- Main article: Council of Trent
ods of frenetic and eclectic reforms contrasted by periods The Council of Trent (1545–1563), initiated by Pope
led by staunch conservatives. Monarchs such as Edward Paul III (1534–1549) addressed issues of certain ec-
VI, Mary I, Elizabeth I, and Archbishops of Canterbury clesiastical corruptions such as simony, absenteeism,
such as Thomas Cranmer and William Laud pushed the nepotism, and other abuses, as well as the reassertion
Church of England in many directions over the course of of traditional practices and the dogmatic articulation of
only a few generations. What emerged was a state church the traditional doctrines of the Church, such as the epis-
that considered itself both “Reformed” and “Catholic” copal structure, clerical celibacy, the seven Sacraments,
but not “Roman” (and hesitated from the title “Protes- transubstantiation (the belief that during mass the conse-
9.1 Trial of Galileo 21

Galileo before the Holy Office, a 19th-century painting by

Joseph-Nicolas Robert-Fleury

The Council in Santa Maria Maggiore church; Museo Diocesiano

Tridentino, Trento 9.1 Trial of Galileo

The Galileo affair, in which Galileo Galilei came into

crated bread and wine truly become the body and blood conflict with the Roman Catholic Church over his support
of Christ), the veneration of relics, icons, and saints (es- of Copernican astronomy, is often considered a defining
pecially the Blessed Virgin Mary), the necessity of both moment in the history of the relationship between reli-
faith and good works for salvation, the existence of purga- gion and science.
tory and the issuance (but not the sale) of indulgences, etc. In 1610, Galileo published his Sidereus Nuncius (Starry
In other words, all Protestant doctrinal objections and Messenger), describing the surprising observations that he
changes were uncompromisingly rejected. The Council had made with the new telescope. These and other dis-
also fostered an interest in education for parish priests to coveries exposed major difficulties with the understand-
increase pastoral care. Milan's Archbishop Saint Charles ing of the Heavens that had been held since antiquity,
Borromeo (1538–1584) set an example by visiting the re- and raised new interest in radical teachings such as the
motest parishes and instilling high standards. heliocentric theory of Copernicus.
In reaction, many scholars maintained that the motion of
the Earth and immobility of the Sun were heretical, as
8.2.2 Catholic missions they contradicted some accounts given in the Bible as un-
derstood at that time. Galileo’s part in the controversies
Catholic missions were carried to new places beginning over theology, astronomy and philosophy culminated in
with the new Age of Discovery, and the Roman Catholic his trial and sentencing in 1633, on a grave suspicion of
Church established a number of Missions in the Americas heresy.
and other colonies in order to spread Christianity in the
New World and to convert the indigenous peoples. At the
same time, missionaries such as Francis Xavier as well as 9.2 Puritans in North America
other Jesuits, Augustinians, Franciscans and Dominicans
were moving into Asia and the Far East. The Portuguese Main article: Migration to New England (1620–1640)
sent missions into Africa. While some of these missions See also: History of the Puritans
were associated with imperialism and oppression, others
(notably Matteo Ricci's Jesuit mission to China) were rel- The most famous colonisation by Protestants in the New
atively peaceful and focused on integration rather than World was that of English Puritans in North Amer-
cultural imperialism. ica. Unlike the Spanish or French, the English colonists
made surprisingly little effort to evangelise the native
peoples.[87] The Puritans, or Pilgrims, left England so that
they could live in an area with Puritanism established as
9 Church and the Enlightenment the exclusive civic religion. Though they had left Eng-
land because of the suppression of their religious prac-
(1610–1800) tice, most Puritans had thereafter originally settled in the
Low Countries but found the licentiousness there, where
See also: Christianity in the 17th century and Christianity the state hesitated from enforcing religious practice, as
in the 18th century unacceptable, and thus they set out for the New World
and the hopes of a Puritan utopia.
22 11 LATE MODERN ERA

10 Early Modern era 10.3 Restorationism

Main article: Restoration Movement

This is the period from the Industrial revolution and the See also: Restorationism (Christian primitivism)
French Revolution until the mid 19th century.
See the French Republican Calendar and anti-clerical Restorationism refers to the belief that a purer form of
measures. See also the Holy League, the Battle of Vi- Christianity should be restored using the early church
enna, Cardinal Richelieu, and Louis XIV of France. as a model.[89]:635[90]:217 In many cases, restorationist
groups believed that contemporary Christianity, in all its
forms, had deviated from the true, original Christianity,
which they then attempted to “Reconstruct”, often using
10.1 Revivalism (1720–1906) the Book of Acts as a “guidebook” of sorts. Restora-
tionists do not usually describe themselves as “reforming”
a Christian church continuously existing from the time of
Main article: Revivalism
Jesus, but as restoring the Church that they believe was
See also: Christianity in the 18th century and Christianity
lost at some point. “Restorationism” is often used to de-
in the 19th century
scribe the Stone-Campbell Restoration Movement.

Revivalism refers to the Calvinist and Wesleyan revival,

called the Great Awakening, in North America which 10.3.1 Jehovah’s Witnesses
saw the development of evangelical Congregationalist,
Presbyterian, Baptist, and new Methodist churches. The term “Restorationist” is also used to describe the
Jehovah’s Witness Movement, founded in the late 1870s
by Charles Taze Russell

10.2 Great Awakenings 10.3.2 Latter Day Saint movement

Main articles: First Great Awakening, Second Great The term “Restorationist” is also used to describe the
Awakening and Third Great Awakening Latter Day Saint movement, including The Church of
Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church), the
The First Great Awakening was a wave of religious en- Community of Christ and numerous other Latter Day
thusiasm among Protestants in the American colonies Saints sects. Latter Day Saints believe that Joseph Smith
c. 1730–1740, emphasising the traditional Reformed was chosen to restore the original organization established
virtues of Godly preaching, rudimentary liturgy, and a by Jesus, now “in its fullness”, rather than to reform the
[91][92]
deep sense of personal guilt and redemption by Christ church.
Jesus. Historian Sydney E. Ahlstrom saw it as part of
a “great international Protestant upheaval” that also cre-
ated Pietism in Germany, the Evangelical Revival, and 11 Late Modern era
Methodism in England.[88] It centred on reviving the
spirituality of established congregations, and mostly af-
Main article: History of Christianity of the Late Modern
fected Congregational, Presbyterian, Dutch Reformed,
era
German Reformed, Baptist, and Methodist churches,
See also: Christianity in the 20th century
while also spreading within the slave population. The
Second Great Awakening (1800–1830s), unlike the first,
focused on the unchurched and sought to instil in them The history of the Church from the mid 19th century
a deep sense of personal salvation as experienced in re- around period of the revolutions of 1848 to today.
vival meetings. It also sparked the beginnings of groups
such as the Mormons, the Restoration Movement and
the Holiness movement. The Third Great Awaken- 11.1 Modern Eastern Orthodoxy
ing began from 1857 and was most notable for taking
the movement throughout the world, especially in En- 11.1.1 Russian Orthodox Church in the Russian
glish speaking countries. The final group to emerge Empire
from the “great awakenings” in North America was
Pentecostalism, which had its roots in the Methodist, The Russian Orthodox Church held a privileged posi-
Wesleyan, and Holiness movements, and began in 1906 tion in the Russian Empire, expressed in the motto of
on Azusa Street, in Los Angeles. Pentecostalism would the late Empire from 1833: Orthodoxy, Autocracy, and
later lead to the Charismatic movement. Populism. Nevertheless, the Church reform of Peter I
11.1 Modern Eastern Orthodoxy 23

gions were never outlawed. Some actions against Ortho-

dox priests and believers along with execution included
torture being sent to prison camps, labour camps or
mental hospitals.[100][101] The result of state atheism was
to transform the Church into a persecuted and martyred
Church. In the first five years after the Bolshevik revo-
lution, 28 bishops and 1,200 priests were executed.[102]
This included people like the Grand Duchess Elizabeth
Fyodorovna who was at this point a monastic. Along
Churches of the Moscow Kremlin, as seen from the Balchug with her murder was Grand Duke Sergei Mikhailovich
Romanov; the Princes Ioann Konstantinovich, Konstantin
Konstantinovich, Igor Konstantinovich and Vladimir
in the early 18th century had placed the Orthodox au- Pavlovich Paley; Grand Duke Sergei’s secretary, Fyodor
thorities under the control of the Tsar. An official (titled Remez; and Varvara Yakovleva, a sister from the Grand
Ober-Procurator) appointed by the Tsar himself ran the Duchess Elizabeth’s convent. They were herded into the
committee which governed the Church between 1721 and forest, pushed into an abandoned mineshaft and grenades
1918: the Most Holy Synod. were then hurled into the mineshaft. Her remains were
The Church became involved in the various campaigns of buried in Jerusalem, in the Church of Maria Magdalene.
russification,[93] and was accused of involvement in anti-
Jewish pogroms.[94] In the case of anti-Semitism and the
anti-Jewish pogroms, no evidence is given of the direct
participation of the Church, and many Russian Orthodox
clerics, including senior hierarchs, openly defended per-
secuted Jews, at least from the second half of the 19th
century.[95] Also, the Church has no official position on
Judaism as such.[95][96]
The Bolsheviks and other Russian revolutionaries saw the
Church, like the Tsarist state, as an enemy of the people.

11.1.2 Russian Orthodox Church in the Soviet

Union

Further information: Religion in the Soviet Union

The Russian Orthodox Church collaborated with the

White Army in the Russian Civil War (see White move-
ment) after the October Revolution. This may have
further strengthened the Bolshevik animus against the
church.
After the October Revolution of 7 November 1917 (25
October Old Calendar) there was a movement within the
Soviet Union to unite all of the people of the world under Christ the Saviour Cathedral Moscow after reconstruction
Communist rule (see Communist International). This in-
cluded the Eastern European bloc countries as well as the The main target of the anti-religious campaign in the
Balkan States. Since some of these Slavic states tied their 1920s and 1930s was the Russian Orthodox Church,
ethnic heritage to their ethnic churches, both the peoples which had the largest number of faithful. Nearly its entire
and their church where targeted by the Soviet.[97][98] Crit- clergy, and many of its believers, were shot or sent to la-
icism of atheism was strictly forbidden and sometimes bor camps. Theological schools were closed, and church
lead to imprisonment.[99] publications were prohibited. In the period between 1927
The Soviet Union was the first state to have as an ide- and 1940, the number of Orthodox Churches in the Rus-
ological objective the elimination of religion. Toward sian Republic fell from 29,584 to fewer than 500. Be-
that end, the Communist regime confiscated church prop- tween 1917 and 1940, 130,000 Orthodox priests were
erty, ridiculed religion, harassed believers, and propa- arrested. Father Pavel Florensky was one of the New-
gated anti-religious atheistic propaganda in the schools. martyrs of this particular period.
Actions toward particular religions, however, were de- After Nazi Germany’s attack on the Soviet Union in 1941,
termined by State interests, and most organised reli- Joseph Stalin revived the Russian Orthodox Church to in-
24 11 LATE MODERN ERA

tensify patriotic support for the war effort. By 1957 about and other philosophical and religious paradigms devel-
22,000 Russian Orthodox churches had become active. oped during the Age of Enlightenment.
But in 1959 Nikita Khrushchev initiated his own cam-
paign against the Russian Orthodox Church and forced
the closure of about 12,000 churches. By 1985 fewer than 11.2.2 Fundamentalism
7,000 churches remained active.[103]
Main article: Christian fundamentalism
In the Soviet Union, in addition to the methodical clos-
ing and destruction of churches, the charitable and so-
cial work formerly done by ecclesiastical authorities was Fundamentalist Christianity, is a movement that arose
taken over by the state. As with all private property, mainly within British and American Protestantism in the
Church owned property was confiscated into public use. late 19th century and early 20th century in reaction to
The few places of worship left to the Church were legally modernism and certain liberal Protestant groups that de-
viewed as state property which the government permitted nied doctrines considered fundamental to Christianity yet
the church to use. After the advent of state funded uni- still called themselves “Christian.” Thus, fundamentalism
versal education, the Church was not permitted to carry sought to re-establish tenets that could not be denied with-
on educational, instructional activity for children. For out relinquishing a Christian identity, the "fundamentals":
adults, only training for church-related occupations was inerrancy of the Bible, Sola Scriptura, the Virgin Birth
allowed. Outside of sermons during the celebration of of Jesus, the doctrine of substitutionary atonement, the
the divine liturgy it could not instruct or evangelise to the bodily Resurrection of Jesus, and the imminent return of
faithful or its youth. Catechism classes, religious schools, Jesus Christ.
study groups, Sunday schools and religious publications
were all illegal and or banned. This persecution contin-
ued, even after the death of Stalin until the dissolution 11.2.3 Under/During Nazism
of the Soviet Union in 1991. This caused many religious
tracts to be circulated as illegal literature or samizdat.[100] The position of Christians affected by Nazism is highly
Since the fall of the Soviet Union there have been many complex.
New-martyrs added as Saints from the yoke. Regarding the matter, historian Derek Holmes wrote,
“There is no doubt that the Catholic districts, resisted
the lure of National Socialism [Nazism] far better than
11.1.3 Diaspora emigration to the West
the Protestant ones.”[104] Pope Pius XI declared - Mit
brennender Sorge - that Fascist governments had hid-
One of the most striking developments in modern his-
den “pagan intentions” and expressed the irreconcilabil-
torical Orthodoxy is the dispersion of Orthodox Chris-
ity of the Catholic position and Totalitarian Fascist State
tians to the West. Emigration from Greece and the Near
Worship, which placed the nation above God and fun-
East in the last hundred years has created a sizable Ortho-
damental human rights and dignity. His declaration that
dox diaspora in Western Europe, North and South Amer-
“Spiritually, [Christians] are all Semites” prompted the
ica, and Australia. In addition, the Bolshevik Revolution
Nazis to give him the title “Chief Rabbi of the Christian
forced thousands of Russian exiles westward. As a result,
World.”[105]
Orthodoxy’s traditional frontiers have been profoundly
modified. Millions of Orthodox are no longer geographi- Catholic priests were executed in concentration camps
cally “eastern” since they live permanently in their newly alongside Jews; for example, 2,600 Catholic Priests were
adopted countries in the West. Nonetheless, they remain imprisoned in Dachau, and 2,000 of them were executed.
Eastern Orthodox in their faith and practice. A further 2,700 Polish priests were executed (a quarter of
all Polish priests), and 5,350 Polish nuns were either dis-
placed, imprisoned, or executed.[106] Many Catholic lay-
11.2 Modern trends in Christian theology men and clergy played notable roles in sheltering Jews
during the Holocaust, including Pope Pius XII (1876–
11.2.1 Modernism and liberal Christianity 1958). The head rabbi of Rome became a Catholic in
1945 and, in honour of the actions the Pope undertook to
Main article: Liberal Christianity save Jewish lives, he took the name Eugenio (the pope’s
first name).[107] A former Israeli consul in Italy claimed:
Liberal Christianity, sometimes called liberal theology, “The Catholic Church saved more Jewish lives during the
is an umbrella term covering diverse, philosophically in- war than all the other churches, religious
[108]
institutions, and
formed religious movements and moods within late 18th, rescue organisations put together.”
19th and 20th-century Christianity. The word “liberal” The relationship between Nazism and Protestantism, es-
in liberal Christianity does not refer to a leftist political pecially the German Lutheran Church, was complex.
agenda or set of beliefs, but rather to the freedom of Though many Protestant church leaders in Germany sup-
dialectic process associated with continental philosophy ported the Nazis’ growing anti-Jewish activities, some,
11.5 Pentecostal movement 25

such as Dietrich Bonhoeffer (a Lutheran pastor) were establishment of the Latin Empire, Uniatism to note but
strongly opposed to the Nazis. Bonhoeffer was later a few) as well as practical matters such as the concrete
found guilty in the conspiracy to assassinate Hitler and exercise of the claim to papal primacy and how to ensure
executed. that ecclesiastical union would not mean mere absorption
of the smaller Churches by the Latin component of the
much larger Catholic Church (the most numerous single
11.3 Second Vatican Council religious denomination in the world), and the stifling or
abandonment of their own rich theological, liturgical and
Main article: Second Vatican Council cultural heritage.
With respect to Catholic relations with Protestant com-
On 11 October 1962, Pope John XXIII opened the munities, certain commissions were established to fos-
Second Vatican Council, the 21st ecumenical council of ter dialogue and documents have been produced aimed
the Catholic Church. The council was “pastoral” in na- at identifying points of doctrinal unity, such as the Joint
ture, emphasising and clarifying already defined dogma, Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification produced
revising liturgical practices, and providing guidance for with the Lutheran World Federation in 1999.
articulating traditional Church teachings in contemporary
times. The council is perhaps best known for its instruc-
tions that the Mass may be celebrated in the vernacular
11.5 Pentecostal movement
as well as in Latin.
Main article: Pentecostalism
11.4 Ecumenism
The final Great Awakening (1904 onwards) had its roots
Main article: Ecumenism in the Holiness movement which had developed in the
late 19th century. The Pentecostal revival movement be-
Ecumenism broadly refers to movements between Chris- gan, out of a passion for more power and a greater out-
tian groups to establish a degree of unity through dia- pouring of the Spirit. In 1902, the American evange-
logue. "Ecumenism" is derived from Greek οἰκουμένη lists Reuben Archer Torrey and Charles M. Alexander
(oikoumene), which means “the inhabited world”, but conducted meetings in Melbourne, Australia, resulting in
more figuratively something like “universal oneness.” The more than 8,000 converts. News of this revival travelled
movement can be distinguished into Catholic and Protes- fast, igniting a passion for prayer and an expectation that
tant movements, with the latter characterised by a re- God would work in similar ways elsewhere.
defined ecclesiology of “denominationalism” (which the Torrey and Alexander were involved in the beginnings
Catholic Church, among others, rejects). of the great Welsh revival (1904) which led Jessie Penn-
Lewis to witness the working of Satan during times of
revival, and write her book “War on the Saints”. In 1906,
11.4.1 Catholic ecumenism the modern Pentecostal Movement was born on Azusa
Street in Los Angeles.
Main article: Catholic Church and ecumenism
Another noteworthy development in 20th-century Chris-
tianity was the rise of the modern Pentecostal movement.
Over the last century, a number of moves have been made
Although its roots predate the year 1900, its actual birth
to reconcile the schism between the Catholic Church and is commonly attributed to the 20th century. Sprung from
the Eastern Orthodox churches. Although progress has
Methodist and Wesleyan roots, it arose out of the meet-
been made, concerns over papal primacy and the inde- ings at an urban mission on Azusa Street in Los Ange-
pendence of the smaller Orthodox churches has blocked les. From there it spread around the world, carried by
a final resolution of the schism. those who experienced what they believed to be mirac-
On 30 November 1894, Pope Leo XIII published the ulous moves of God there. These Pentecost-like mani-
Apostolic Letter Orientalium Dignitas (On the Churches festations have steadily been in evidence throughout the
of the East) safeguarding the importance and continuance history of Christianity—such as seen in the two Great
of the Eastern traditions for the whole Church. On 7 De- Awakenings that started in the United States. However,
cember 1965, a Joint Catholic-Orthodox Declaration of Azusa Street is widely accepted as the fount of the mod-
Pope Paul VI and the Ecumenical Patriarch Athenagoras I ern Pentecostal movement. Pentecostalism, which in turn
was issued lifting the mutual excommunications of 1054. birthed the Charismatic movement within already estab-
Some of the most difficult questions in relations with lished denominations, continues to be an important force
the ancient Eastern Churches concern some doctrine (i.e. in western Christianity.
Filioque, Scholasticism, functional purposes of asceti- In reaction to these developments, Christian fundamen-
cism, the essence of God, Hesychasm, Fourth Crusade, talism was a movement to reject the radical influences of
26 13 REFERENCES

philosophical humanism, as this was affecting the Chris- • Protestantism

tian religion. Especially targeting critical approaches to
the interpretation of the Bible, and trying to blockade the • Rise of Christianity during the Fall of Rome
inroads made into their churches by atheistic scientific as-
• Role of the Christian Church in civilization
sumptions, the fundamentalists began to appear in vari-
ous denominations as numerous independent movements • Timeline of the Roman Catholic Church
of resistance to the drift away from historic Christianity.
Over time, the Fundamentalist Evangelical movement • Restoration Movement
has divided into two main wings, with the label Funda-
mentalist following one branch, while Evangelical has be- • Timeline of Christian missions
come the preferred banner of the more moderate move-
ment. Although both movements primarily originated in
the English-speaking world, the majority of Evangelicals 13 References
now live elsewhere in the world.
[1] The Church Triumphant: A History of Christianity Up to
1300, E. Glenn Hinson, p 223
11.5.1 Ecumenism within Protestantism
[2] Georgian Reader, George Hewitt, p. xii
Ecumenical movements within Protestantism have fo-
cused on determining a list of doctrines and practices es- [3] Ethiopia, the Unknown Land: A Cultural and Historical
sential to being Christian and thus extending to all groups Guide, by Stuart Munro-Hay, p. 234
which fulfil these basic criteria a (more or less) co-equal [4] Prayers from the East: Traditions of Eastern Christianity,
status, with perhaps one’s own group still retaining a “first Richard Marsh, p. 3
among equal” standing. This process involved a redefi-
nition of the idea of “the Church” from traditional the- [5] Adherents.com, Religions by Adherents
ology. This ecclesiology, known as denominationalism,
[6] BBC Documentary: A History of Christianity by Diar-
contends that each group (which fulfils the essential cri-
maid MacCulloch, Oxford University
teria of “being Christian”) is a sub-group of a greater
“Christian Church”, itself a purely abstract concept with [7] R. Gerberding and J. H. Moran Cruz, Medieval Worlds
no direct representation, i.e., no group, or “denomina- (New York: Houghton Mifflin Company, 2004) p. 51
tion”, claims to be “the Church.” This ecclesiology is at
variance with other groups that indeed consider them- [8] "Cornelius". Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert
Appleton Company. 1913.: “The baptism of Cornelius,
selves to be “the Church.” The “essential criteria” gener-
a gentile, is an important event in the history of the Early
ally consist of belief in the Trinity, belief that Jesus Christ
Church. The newly formed Church, within which thus far
is the only way to have forgiveness and eternal life, and only those who were circumcised and observed the Law
that He died and rose again bodily. of Moses had been admitted, was now thrown open to the
uncircumcised Gentiles without the obligation of submit-
ting to the Jewish ceremonial laws.”
12 See also [9] Jewish Encyclopedia: Circumcision: In Apocryphal and
Rabbinical Literature: “Contact with Grecian life, espe-
• Christianity and Paganism cially at the games of the arena [which involved nudity],
made this distinction obnoxious to the Hellenists, or anti-
• Christ myth theory nationalists; and the consequence was their attempt to ap-
pear like the Greeks by epispasm (“making themselves
• History of Christian theology foreskins"; I Macc. i. 15; Josephus, “Ant.” xii. 5, § 1;
Assumptio Mosis, viii.; I Cor. vii. 18; , Tosef., Shab.
• History of the Roman Catholic Church xv. 9; Yeb. 72a, b; Yer. Peah i. 16b; Yeb. viii. 9a).
All the more did the law-observing Jews defy the edict of
• History of the Eastern Orthodox Church
Antiochus Epiphanes prohibiting circumcision (I Macc.
• History of Protestantism i. 48, 60; ii. 46); and the Jewish women showed their
loyalty to the Law, even at the risk of their lives, by them-
• History of Oriental Orthodoxy selves circumcising their sons."; Hodges, Frederick, M.
(2001). “The Ideal Prepuce in Ancient Greece and Rome:
• Christianization Male Genital Aesthetics and Their Relation to Lipoder-
mos, Circumcision, Foreskin Restoration, and the Kyn-
• Timeline of Christianity odesme” (PDF). The Bulletin of the History of Medicine
75 (Fall 2001): 375–405. doi:10.1353/bhm.2001.0119.
• Roman Catholic Church PMID 11568485. Retrieved 24 July 2007.

• Eastern Orthodox Church [10] E. Peterson, “Christianus” pp. 353–72

 27

[11] “The figure (…) is an allegory of Christ as the shepherd” [25] e.g., 11:13–15; 2:1–17; 7–11; 4–13, and the Epistle of
André Grabar, “Christian iconography, a study of its ori- James in general.
gins”, ISBN 0-691-01830-8
[26] John 14:28
[12] On the Creeds, see Oscar Cullmann, The Earliest Christian
[27] R. Gerberding and J. H. Moran Cruz, Medieval Worlds
Confessions, trans. J. K. S. Reid (London: Lutterworth,
(New York: Houghton Mifflin Company, 2004) p. 58
1949)
[28] e.g., Bauer, Walter (1971). Orthodoxy and Heresy in Ear-
[13] “As the existence of the Christians became more widely liest Christianity. ISBN 0-8006-1363-5.; Pagels, Elaine
known, it became increasingly clear that they were (a) an- (1979). The Gnostic Gospels. ISBN 0-679-72453-2.;
tisocial, in that they did not participate in the normal so- Ehrman, Bart D. (2003). Lost Christianities: The Battles
cial life of their communities; (b) sacrilegious, in that they for Scripture and the Faiths We Never Knew. New York:
refused to worship the gods; and (c) dangerous, in that Oxford. ISBN 0-19-514183-0.
the gods did not take kindly to communities that harbored
those who failed to offer them cult. By the end of the sec- [29] Everett Ferguson, “Factors leading to the Selection and
ond century, the Christian apologist (literally, 'defender' Closure of the New Testament Canon”, in The Canon De-
of the faith) Tertullian complained about the widespread bate. eds. L. M. McDonald & J. A. Sanders (Hendrick-
perception that Christians were the source of all disasters son, 2002) pp. 302–303; cf. Justin Martyr, First Apology
brought against the human race by the gods. 'They think 67.3
the Christians the cause of every public disaster, of every
affliction with which the people are visited. If the Tiber [30] A View From Above – The Bible’s Big Picture - Greg
rises as high as the city walls, if the Nile does not send Chaney
its waters up over the fields, if the heavens give no rain, [31] How to Read the Bible for All Its Worth - Gordon D. Fee
if there is an earthquake, if there is famine or pestilence, - Douglas Stuart - Harper Collins Publishing
straightway the cry is, “Away with the Christians to the
lion!"' (Apology 40)" - Bart D. Ehrman, A Brief Introduc- [32] Everett Ferguson, “Factors leading to the Selection and
tion to the New Testament (Oxford University Press 2004 Closure of the New Testament Canon”, in The Canon
ISBN 978-0-19-536934-2), pp. 313–314 Debate. eds. L. M. McDonald & J. A. Sanders (Hen-
drickson, 2002) pp. 301; cf. Irenaeus, Adversus Haereses
[14] de Ste. Croix, Geoffrey Ernest Maurice. “Why Were 3.11.8
Early Christians Persecuted?". Past & Present , No. 26
(Nov., 1963), pp. 105–152. [33] Both points taken from Mark A. Noll’s Turning Points,
(Baker Academic, 1997) pp. 36–37
[15] Gaddis, Michael (2005). There Is No Crime for Those
[34] The Cambridge History of the Bible (volume 1) eds. P. R.
Who Have Christ: Religious Violence in the Christian Ro-
Ackroyd and C. F. Evans (Cambridge University Press,
man Empire. University of California Press. ISBN 0-520-
1970) p. 308
24104-5.
[35] H. J. De Jonge, “The New Testament Canon”, in The Bib-
[16] Michael Whitby, et al. eds. Christian Persecution, Mar- lical Canons. eds. de Jonge & J. M. Auwers (Leuven Uni-
tyrdom and Orthodoxy (2006) online edition versity Press, 2003) p. 315
[17] Rodney Stark. The Rise of Christianity. Princeton: [36] Lindberg, Carter (2006). A Brief History of Christianity.
Princeton University Press 1996. Blackwell Publishing. p. 15. ISBN 1-4051-1078-3.
[18] Dag Øistein Endsjø. Greek Resurrection Beliefs and the [37] McDonald & Sanders’ The Canon Debate, 2002, Ap-
Success of Christianity. New York: Palgrave Macmillan pendix D-2, note 19: "Revelation was added later in 419
2009. at the subsequent synod of Carthage.”

[19] Moishem, Johann Lorenz von, The Ecclesiastical History [38] Everett Ferguson, “Factors leading to the Selection and
of the Second and Third Centuries : Illustrated from the Closure of the New Testament Canon”, in The Canon De-
Writings of Tertullian, F. & J. Rivington, London, 1845, bate. eds. L. M. McDonald & J. A. Sanders (Hendrick-
p. 106 son, 2002) p. 320; F. F. Bruce, The Canon of Scripture
(Intervarsity Press, 1988) p. 230; cf. Augustine, De Civi-
[20] Gibbon, Edward, History of the Decline and Fall of the Ro- tate Dei 22.8
man Empire, Chapter Fifteen. in 6 volumes at the Internet
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1988) p. 225
[21] Philip Carrington, The Early Christian Church (2 vol.
[40] Everett Ferguson, “Factors leading to the Selection and
1957) online edition vol 1; online edition vol 2
Closure of the New Testament Canon”, in The Canon
[22] Langan, The Catholic Tradition (1998), p. 107/ Debate. eds. L. M. McDonald & J. A. Sanders (Hen-
drickson, 2002) p. 320; Bruce Metzger, The Canon of
[23] “The earliest Christian images appeared somewhere about the New Testament: Its Origins, Development, and Signif-
the year 200.” Andre Grabar, p.7 icance (Oxford: Clarendon, 1987) pp. 237–238; F. F.
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[24] Andre Grabar, p7 p. 97
28 13 REFERENCES

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[60] Epitome, Iconoclast Council at Hieria, 754
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[43] "Canon of the New Testament". Catholic Encyclopedia. [62] Andreev, J., The Bulgarian Khans and Tsars, Veliko
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[45] R. Gerberding and J. H. Moran Cruz, Medieval Worlds [64] The Great Schism: The Estrangement of Eastern and
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[50] Padberg 1998, 26 [69] Diarmaid MacCulloch, Christianity: The First Three
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[51] It is our desire that all the various nations... should con-
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the Son and the Holy Spirit, in equal majesty and in a [72] Morris, Colin, The papal monarchy: the Western church
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shall not presume to give to their conventicles the name of
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tian Church, (London: Oxford University Press, 1943), p. [74] Shannon McSheffrey, Lollards of Coventry, 1486-1522
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[52] Halsall, Paul (June 1997). “Theodosian Code XVI.i.2”. [75] Thomas A. Fudge, Jan Hus: Religious Reform and Social
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[76] Definition of Protestantism at the Episcopal Church web-
[53] “Lecture 27: Heretics, Heresies and the Church”. 2009. site
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[54] Culture and customs of Iran, p. 61 [78] MacCulloch, Diarmaid, The Reformation: A History
(New York: Penguin Books, 2004) pp. 124–125
[55] Bussell (1910), p. 346.
[79] MacCulloch, Diarmaid, The Reformation: A History
[56] Jeffrey F. Hamburger et al. Crown and Veil: Female (New York: Penguin Books, 2004) p. 119
Monasticism from the Fifth to the Fifteenth Centuries
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[57] Marilyn Dunn, Emergence of Monasticism: From the
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(New York: Penguin Books, 2004) p. 137–138
[58] Kenneth Scott Latourette, A history of the expansion of
Christianity: vol. 2, The thousand years of uncertainty: [82] MacCulloch, Diarmaid, The Reformation: A History
A.D. 500-A.D. 1500 (New York: Penguin Books, 2004) pp. 146–48
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[83] MacCulloch, Diarmaid, The Reformation: A History the greens (we pack it to them), we will move only about
(New York: Penguin Books, 2004) pp. 148–149 10–20 versty and we will choke by hand the bourgeoisie,
the clergy and the landowners. There will be an award
[84] MacCulloch, Diarmaid, The Reformation: A History of 100,000 rubles for each one hanged.” He was speak-
(New York: Penguin Books, 2004) p. 238 ing about the future actions in the countries neighboring
[85] MacCulloch, Diarmaid, The Reformation: A History Russia.
(New York: Penguin Books, 2004) p. 243
[98] Christ Is Calling You : A Course in Catacomb Pastor-
[86] MacCulloch, Diarmaid, The Reformation: A History ship by Father George Calciu Published by Saint Hermans
(New York: Penguin Books, 2004) p. 404 Press April 1997 ISBN 978-1-887904-52-0

[87] MacCulloch, Diarmaid, The Reformation: A History [99] Sermons to young people by Father George Calciu-
(New York: Penguin Books, 2004) p. 540 Dumitreasa. Given at the Chapel of the Romanian
Orthodox Church Seminary, The Word online. Bucharest
[88] Sydney E. Ahlstrom, A Religious History of the American http://www.orthodoxresearchinstitute.org/resources/
People. (New Haven and London: Yale University Press, sermons/calciu_christ_calling.htm
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[100] Father Arseny 1893–1973 Priest, Prisoner, Spiritual Fa-
[89] Douglas Allen Foster and Anthony L. Dunnavant, The
ther. Introduction pg. vi — 1. St Vladimir’s Seminary
Encyclopedia of the Stone-Campbell Movement: Christian
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Church (Disciples of Christ), Christian Churches/Churches
of Christ, Churches of Christ, Wm. B. Eerdmans Pub-
[101] The Washington Post Anti-Communist Priest Gheorghe
lishing, 2004, ISBN 0-8028-3898-7, ISBN 978-0-8028-
Calciu-Dumitreasa By Patricia Sullivan Washington
3898-8, 854 pages, entry on Restoration, Historical Mod-
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C09 http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/
[90] Gerard Mannion and Lewis S. Mudge, The Routledge com- article/2006/11/25/AR2006112500783.html
panion to the Christian church, Routledge, 2008, ISBN 0-
415-37420-0, ISBN 978-0-415-37420-0, 684 pages [102] Ostling, Richard. “Cross meets Kremlin” TIME
Magazine, 24 June 2001. http://www.time.com/time/
[91] Roberts, B.H, ed. (1904), History of the Church 3, Salt magazine/article/0,9171,150718,00.html
Lake City, Utah: Deseret News, ISBN 1-152-94824-5
[103] Ostling, Richard. “Cross meets Kremlin” TIME
[92] Doctrine and Covenants (LDS Church edition) 21:11 Magazine, 24 June 2001. http://www.time.com/time/
(Apr. 1830); 42:78 (Feb. 1831); 107:59 (Mar. 1835). magazine/article/0,9171,150718,00.html
[93] Natalia Shlikhta (2004) "'Greek Catholic'-'Orthodox'- [104] Derek Holmes, History of the Papacy, p. 102.
'Soviet': a symbiosis or a conflict of identities?" in Reli-
gion, State & Society, Volume 32, Number 3 (Routledge) [105] Derek Holmes, History of the Papacy, p. 116.

[94] Shlomo Lambroza, John D. Klier (2003) Pogroms: Anti-

[106] John Vidmar, The Catholic Church Through the Ages: A
Jewish Violence in Modern Russian History (Cambridge
History (New York: Paulist Press, 2005), p. 332 & n. 37.
University Press)

[95] “Jewish-Christian Relations”, by the International Council [107] John Vidmar, The Catholic Church Through the Ages: A
of Christians and Jews History (New York: Paulist Press, 2008), p. 332.

[96] It is no coincidence that the entry on 'Orthodoxy' in the [108] Derek Holmes, History of the Papacy, p. 158.
seventh volume of the Kratkaya Evreiskaya Entsyklope-
dia [Concise Jewish Encyclopedia], devoted to the Rus-
sian Orthodox Church (pp. 733–43), where numerous ex-
amples are given of persecution of the Jews in Russia, in- 14 Further reading
cluding religious persecution, offers no evidence of the di-
rect participation of the Church, either in legislative terms • Bowden, John. Encyclopedia of Christianity (2005),
or in the conduct of policy. Although the authors of the 1406pp excerpt and text search
article label the active role of the Church in inciting the
government to conduct anti-Jewish acts (for example in • Cameron, Averil (1994). Christianity and the
the case of Ivan the Terrible’s policy in the defeated ter- Rhetoric of Empire: The Development of Christian
ritories) as “obvious”, no facts are given in their article to
Discourse. Berkeley, CA: University of California
support this. http://www.jcrelations.net/en/?id=787
Press. p. 275. ISBN 0-520-08923-5.
[97] President of Lithuania: Prisoner of the Gulag a Biography
of Aleksandras Stulginskis by Afonsas Eidintas Genocide • Carrington, Philip. The Early Christian Church (2
and Research Centre of Lithuania ISBN 9986-757-41-X vol. 1957) vol 1; online edition vol 2
/ 9789986757412 / 9986–757–41-X p. 23 “As early as
August 1920 Lenin wrote to E. M. Skliansky, President • Endsjø, Dag Øistein. Greek Resurrection Beliefs and
of the Revolutionary War Soviet: “We are surrounded by the Success of Christianity (2009).
30 15 EXTERNAL LINKS

• González, Justo L. (1984). The Story of Christian-

ity: Vol. 1: The Early Church to the Reformation.
Harper. ISBN 0-06-063315-8.; The Story of Chris-
tianity, Vol. 2: The Reformation to the Present Day.
1985. ISBN 0-06-063316-6.

• Grabar, André (1968). Christian iconography, a

study of its origins. Princeton University Press.
ISBN 0-691-01830-8.
• Hastings, Adrian (1999). A World History of Chris-
tianity. Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publish-
ing. ISBN 0-8028-4875-3.

• Holt, Bradley P. Thirsty for God: A Brief History of

Christian Spirituality (2nd ed. 2005)
• Johnson, Paul. History of Christianity (1979)
excerpt and text search
• Koschorke, Klaus et al. (2007). A History of Chris-
tianity in Asia, Africa, and Latin America, 1450-
1990: A Documentary Sourcebook. Wm. B. Eerd-
mans Publishing. excerpt ansd text search and
highly detailed table of contents

• Latourette, Kenneth Scott (1975). A History of

Christianity, Volume 1: Beginnings to 1500 (revised
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• Livingstone, E. A., ed. The Concise Oxford Dictio-
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• MacCulloch, Diarmaid. Christianity: The First

Three Thousand Years (2010)

• McLeod, Hugh, and Werner Ustorf, eds. The De-

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(2003) 13 essays by scholars; online edition
• McGuckin, John Anthony. The Orthodox Church:
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Culture (2010), 480pp excerpt and text search

• McGuckin, John Anthony. The Encyclopedia of

Eastern Orthodox Christianity (2011), 872pp
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• Tomkins, Stephen. A Short History of Christianity

(2006) excerpt and text search

15 External links
 31

16 Text and image sources, contributors, and licenses

16.1 Text
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Tbc, MichaelTinkler, Derek Ross, Chuck Smith, Brion VIBBER, Wesley, Koyaanis Qatsi, Slrubenstein, Ffaker, RK, Amillar, Andre Engels,
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Tbhotch, The-Giant-Andrew, Bento00, A history of the modern world, Armboy323, Noommos, DASHBot, Esoglou, Gfoley4, Bberchin,
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nal, Cadiomals, Smeat75, Harizotoh9, James nagic, Reynolds25, Jaqeli, Koyunbaba101, Encyclodicthesaurasmanac, Thelivingparadox,
Khazar2, EuroCarGT, Nathanielfirst, Mario2707, All Worlds, Dexbot, Ohff, Mogism, User332572385, Lugia2453, Graphium, Nguoibat-
tudocco, Epicgenius, Quincayero, , Tentinator, EvergreenFir, Shannonftu, Wikisliviayi, Keviniherd, Clr324, Ugog Nizdast, Ginsuloft,
32 16 TEXT AND IMAGE SOURCES, CONTRIBUTORS, AND LICENSES

Matsutonka, JaconaFrere, Monkbot, Poepkop, Radath, Silvia Amarachi Uzor, Kelmend antoni, Bhanley11, Piledhighandeep, Ethman1,
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