Transcript Dark Ages Missions (or Early Middle Ages) 500

Nestorians in the East
 Spread throughout the caravan cities of central Asia to China and
beyond.
 Syrian Christians had a global vision, whereas Western Christians
sought to build a Christian Empire
 By 578 the first recorded Chinese Christian – a monument for their
work from 8th cent discovered in 1625.
 Well received by Chinese emperor, spread throughout 10 provinces
and over 100 cities
 By 1000 Nestorian Christianity had reached India, Mongolia, Tibet,
Korea, China and Japan—Western missions had barely left the
empire
 Remnants of Nestorians found when Franciscans entered China in
1294
 Their strict monastic nature prevented them from identifying with
the Chinese culture, thus limited their impact
 Persian Church had 8 million followers by 760, before the Muslim
conquest reached their area
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Christianizing of Europe
 Britain
 Strong churches before 300 wiped out by Anglo-Saxon invasions
 Irish Celtic missionaries re-evangelized Britain from Ireland from island of
Iona
 Pope sent Augustine to convert pagans and Celtics to Roman Christianity
by 7th century
 Mainland Europe
 Celtic missionaries spread out in Europe (Columba and Columbanus)
starting monasteries
 Roman missionaries sent to N. Europe to Christianize warring pagan
tribes primarily as emissaries of Christian kings (Willibrord and Boniface)
 Valiant English missionaries attempted to win the Vikings who were
raiding their homeland
 Emperor sends missionaries to Denmark who convert the king Herald
 Pope and Emperor sent Anskar (801-865), French monk trained by
Columba, to be the official legate to the Swedes, Danes, Slavs of N.
Europe. He created a training center to send out missionaries to
Scandinavia.
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Unholy Alliance of Church
and State
 Successful missions were the result of winning the kings to
Roman Christianity
 Sponsors of mission efforts were kings, emperors and popes
granting imperial credentials and diplomatic authority to deal
directly with the pagan kings.
 Political leaders saw the financing of Catholic missionaries as
practical, rather than conquering pagan states militarily.
 As nations became “Christian” they could be incorporated into
the Christian coalition of the Holy Roman Empire – the
missionary became the arm of the state, an instrument of
imperialism. Local churches were useless.
 However, Charlemagne was more interested in his own people
becoming Christian, than in a bold mission outreach to
Scandinavia – a pivotal mistake that would undo his empire
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Vikings in the
North
 As Charlemagne consolidate mainland Europe, by 800 the Vikings
began to create chaos for the next 250 years
 The Tribes that invade Rome (400-600) were mostly Arian Christians –
but the Vikings were pure pagans
 As “men of the sea” they attacked the islands and shorelines where
mission training centers and monasteries existed and destroyed
everything Christian (churches, monasteries, priests, monks)
 The captured slaves and forced marriages would eventually evangelize
the pagan leaders
 Viking warriors based in Ireland followed trail of the Peregrini. The
wealthier the monastery, the greater the attraction for looting
 Wherever the Northmen Vikings conquered, they eventually became
Christian Normans – this resulted in a new form of Christian culture
spreading back to Scandinavia.
 What Satan means for evil, God turns to His purpose!
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Islam in the
South
 In 622 Mohammed moved from Mecca to Medina (Hegira) in first step of conquest, which
would unite all the Arab tribes by the time of his death in 632.
 25 years after his death (657) Islam reached East to Afghanistan and west to Tunisia.
 By 732 had reached to France. It would take 760 years before Christian Europe was free of
Islam (1493)
 Some reasons for the quick yielding to Islam in N. Africa:
1.
Superficial, non-indigenous Christianity of N. Africa
2.
Simple monotheistic theology gave hope of wealth and sensual salvation
3.
Roman Empire was defenseless due to multiple-front wars (left a power vacuum)
4. Byzantines demanded high taxes for war-costs with Persia
5.
Most Middle Eastern and Egyptian Churches were excommunicated anyway
6. People in this area had more in common with Arabs than with Europeans
7.
Muslims did not destroy everything; only non-Muslims had to pay taxes
8. Use of statues and Icons appeared polytheistic, thus Islam’s strict monotheism
seemed purer
 Qur’an compiled in final form in 933
 By 949 50% of all former Christendom now captured by Islam
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Mosque in Cordoba, Sp
Rise of the Papal State
 After the reconquest of Italy from Islam,
Italy was devastated
 Lombards entered Italy from the North,
defeated the Byzantine authority leaving
Italy vulnerable
 Pope had Pepin of the Franks crowned
“Patrician of the Romans” to secure
military aid against Lombards in 754-6
 Pepin’s victory granted the Byzantine
Exarchate (seat of Constantinople’s
power) to the Papacy (called the
“Donation of Pepin”)
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Rise of the Holy Roman
Empire AD 962
 Christmas AD 800 Pope Leo III crowned Charlemagne
“Emperor of the Romans”
 Everyone born within his kingdom territory had to
become Catholic or be executed
 Charlemagne ordered the establishing of schools,
regulated the clergy
 Charlemagne’s son and grandsons could not hold the
empire together, so it split into France (Charles),
Germany (Louis) and the Lowlands (Lothair).
 As the Carolingian line (from Charlemagne) disintegrated,
so the power of the Pope declined – paid tribute to
Muslims in South
 To raise money the church sold high positions
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Great Schism of the
Church
 Officially divided the Mediterranean Christendom into Eastern (Greek)
Orthodox, and Western (Latin) Roman Catholic.
 Reasons for Split:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
Controversy over Icons
Filioque clause: the procession of the Spirit: “Who proceeds from the
Father” in the Nicene Creed -- (Rome added, “and of the Son”) to assure
Arians declared a trinity view
Personality conflicts between Pope and Patriarch
Boundary disputes in the Balkans, S. Italy, and Sicily
Prohibition of Icons in the East, rejected in the West
Liturgical difference: unleavened bread (West)
Celibacy among Western priests
Absolute submission to the Papal Primacy and infallibility
 Resulted in a mutual excommunication in 1054
 4th Crusade when Western army sacked Constantinople
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Early Reform Movements
 Bogomilism (968): a dualistic Gnostic Manichaean
sect that gave birth to the Cathars and Albigencians
in the next centuries
 Paulicians (872) were a Gnostic Manichaean
Christian group opposed the formalism of the
Church of Rome
 Other groups would become dissident groups as
corruption and abuses increased but it would be
another 300 years before movements began
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A Bogomil Temple in Bosnia
Key
Missionaries
Slavic worlds
 Cyril and Methodius
 Two Greek brothers from Thessaloniki
became missionaries to the Slavs of
Moravia and Pannonia
 Studied in Constantinople, became
professor of philosophy and theology
 Devised the Glagolitic or Cyrillic alphabet
 Little known but their translations and
teaching transformed the Slavs
 Ansgar, Christianized Denmark, Norway,
Sweden, but they returned to paganism
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Mission
Methods Used
 Art works and majestic cathedrals gave heavenly
experience
 Civilization was organized in parishes.
 Bishops authorized priests to preach in rural areas
 Latin, literature, Bible commentaries, theology had
to be taught, thus emperor backed monasteries
 Military conquest of force conversions
 Political alliances, wealthy partnerships
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