Chapter 5 - From Multiplication to Division

Book Outline (pg 49):

  1. The Wobbling West (the Middle Ages arrive in the West)
    1. Middle Ages (Medieval times)
      1. former Western Empire
    2. Feudal system with no centralized government
      1. Land is wealth
      2. Landowner (lord) sets up a self-sufficient community (manor)
      3. Hires knights to protect the investment
      4. Peasants (serfs / vassals) work the Lord’s land in return for protection and provisions
    3. Priests were hired by the Landowner to serve the community
      1. Transgressions of the landowner were often overlooked because otherwise they were out of a job (i.e. a place to live, without protection, etc)
      2. The church begins to become dependent on the wealthy
    4. Priests taught a mostly illiterate population.
      1. Used statues, paintings, stained glass (the arts) to teach about God
  2. An Empire in Search of Survival
    1. The Fire-Storm From the South (the rise of Islam)
      1. Muhammad (610 AD)
        1. claims to receive angelic visitation from Gabriel from Allah
        2. run out of Mecca by merchants
        3. returns years later with band of armed followers
        4. Muslim: those who submit to Allah
        5. Islam: submission
      2. Muslim conquests
        1. conversion at the point of a sword
        2. conquered all of north Africa, the Eastern Mediterranean (including Jerusalem, which will be important later), and up into Spain and Portugal
        3. generally allowed religious freedom to Jews and Christians
    2. Smashers and Kissers (icon debate)
      1. Icons (paintings of Jesus and saints) used in worship for hundreds of years
        1. illiterate populations and books are expensive (hand copied)
      2. Debate for some time about the appropriateness of icons
        1. some seem to take it too far and worshipped the icon (usually of Jesus or Mother Mary)
        2. Muslims called the Eastern Christians idol worshippers
      3. Iconoclasts vs Iconodules (icon-smashers versus icon-kissers)
        1. we will see this same debate in the West 800 years later
        2. volcano erupts and emperor thinks it is God’s judgment (725 AD)
          1. sends soldiers to destroy famous icon.
          2. Citizens rebel and attack the soldiers
        3. Feud turns bloody
      4. Second Council of Nicea (780 AD)
        1. called by Empress Irene
        2. 350 overseers to end the dispute
        3. Icon-smashers denounced.
        4. Icon worship banned
        5. 3-D depictions of Jesus and the saints banned (i.e. statues)
        6. Promote: “icon-reverence”
          1. an earthly tool to help focus your mind on the Lord
          2. analogy of a special Bible (heirloom, etc)
  3. Franks Become Top Dogs
    1. How the West Was Won (Or, At Least, Baptized)
      1. Franks (west Germany) turn from paganism to Christianity
        1. Clovis (Frankish battle-chief) forces mass conversion of country
      2. Franks begin conquest of Europe.
      3. Most Christians do not put up much of a fight
        1. Being conquered by a Christian power isn’t so bad
        2. Surrender is better than death.
      4. Charles Martel (the Hammer)
        1. credited with stopping the Muslim invasion into Europe
          1. incredibly popular military figure in Europe.
      5. Franks support the Roman church.
      6. King Pepin III 
        1. son of Charles Martel
        2. gives central Italy to the Roman Church (754 AD)
      7. King Charles (Pepin’s son) goes on conquest
        1. sword-point conversions of conquered tribes.
        2. be baptized or die
        3. killed 4,500 in one day on Christmas after they refused conversion
      8. Charles controls all of (modern day) Germany and France (800 AD)
    2. A Frightened Friar Flees to the Franks (Leo III)
      1. Donation of Constantine (800-ish AD)
        1. forged document supposedly written by Constantine
        2. gives Pope political power
        3. referred to later in trying to force the East into submission
      2. Nobles try to gain control of church
        1. put forward their candidate for Pope
        2. Leo III wins (not the noble’s pick)
        3. Nobles hired thugs to maim the new Pope
      3. Leo flees to King Charles for sanctuary
      4. Nobles charge Leo with misuse of church funds
    3. The Franking Privilege (Charlemagne)
      1. King Charles clears Leo of all charges
        1. Rides into Rome and restores him to title of Pope
      2. In return, Leo crowns Charles as “Emperor”
        1. Charlemagne (Charles the Great)
        2. 1st time the church created an Emperor
      3. Charlemagne supports (and controls) Roman Xnty 
        1. sets up monasteries
          1. preserve texts, teach the public about God
        2. appoints Bishops
        3. “Holy Roman Empire”
  4. Holy Church, Unholy Leaders (Bad Popes)
    1. Roman Bishop Office (Pope) held by unsavory characters (880-980 AD)
      1. Marozia-Italian heiress
        1. controls Popes for 60 years
        2. one’s Mom, one’s murderer, one’s mistress
      2. Several ungodly Popes tarnish the office of it’s original intent
  5. The Church Does the Splits (East and West split)
    1. Somebody’s Messing with My Creed! (Additions to the Nicene Creed, 867 AD)
      1. “And the Son” (Filioque) added to the Nicene Creed in Spain and adopted by Rome.
        1. Original: “[The Spirit] proceeds from the Father”
        2. Revised: “[The Spirit] proceeds from the Father and the Son”
      2. Political Disagreement:
        1. Both Eastern and Western churches had approved the original Nicene Creed and vowed never to change it. Rome decides to change it on its own.
      3. Theological Disagreement:
        1. Different concepts of Trinity
        2. West: The Divine Being dwells equally in the Father, Son and Spirit
        3. East: One being can only dwell in one person. Therefore, the Divine Being can only dwell in one person of the Godhead—the Father. The Father shares his divinity with the Son and the Spirit without decreasing the deity of either.
          1. The East could say the Spirit proceed from the Father through the Son.
          2. The East cannot confess the Spirit proceeds from the Son. This would mean the Holy Spirit’s divinity is also coming from Jesus not just from the Father.
      4. Constantinople denounces the phrase.
      5. Rome offers to drop “and the Son” if the Eastern churches accept Rome’s supremacy. Constantinople declines.
      6. Crack #1
    2. A Roman Bull Gores the East (1048 AD)
      1. Pope Leo IX (Rome)
        1. Attempts to free the church from outside influence
          1. didn’t want the church continually exploited by nobles
          2. priests banned from marrying
            1. so they couldn’t pass the church on to their children
          3. fights against the buying and selling of church offices
          4. fights against the choosing of church offices by political officials
        2. Believes Pope has authority over all Christians
          1. including those in the Eastern Empire
          2. movement from Papacy as local influence to a world power
      2. Bishop Michael (Constantinople)
        1. refuses to recognize Leo IX as Pope
          1. due to Leo’s seeming constant provocation of the Eastern Church
        2. closes all churches in Constantinople loyal to the Roman Bishop (i.e. the Pope)
          1. due to military action taken in land owned by the Eastern Church
      3. Leo IX sends Humbert as an envoy to possibly negotiate peace.
        1. After several failed weeks of meetings, Humbert places a bull (an edict) excommunicating Bishop Michael from the church
          1. ‘bull’—a notice written in a Pope’s name
            1. we get the English word ‘bulletin’ from this word
          2. Accused the Eastern Church of:
            1. allowing priests to marry (true)
            2. re-baptizing Roman Christians (untrue)
            3. deleting ‘and the Son’ from the Nicene Creed (untrue)
              1. Remember the Romans added it.
        2. The bull was prepared and signed before the delegation left Rome.
        3. Leo had died before the delegation arrived. So, the Eastern church condemned Humbert but did not mention the Pope in hopes of restoring peace. This allows for the next Pope to condemn the actions and reopen channels of communication
          1. It didn’t happen because the next Pope was good friends with Humbert.
        4. Crack #2 
    3. The Crusades
      1. Pilgrimage
        1. a way to show how sorry you were for your sin
        2. the ‘supreme’ pilgrimage was to Jerusalem
        3. interfering with a person’s pilgrimage was seen as interfering with their salvation (it’s like saying ‘you’re not allowed to pray)
        4. Muslims interference
          1. Muslims had controlled Jerusalem since 638 AD
          2. Began to force Christians to pay heavy tariffs
      2. Pope Urban II (1095 AD)
        1. preached the first sermon calling for a crusade against the Muslims
        2. the response was immense.
        3. Constantinople was the place of convergence before being ferried across the river into enemy territory
      3. 1st Crusade
        1. ‘the people’s crusade’
          1. before the Lord’s could get their armies ready, peasants flooded towards Constantinople.
          2. bands of peasants pillaged as they went for supplies
            1. both in the West and in the East
          3. Emperor of Constantinople gave them passage simply to get them out of his empire
            1. he knew they wouldn’t make it
          4. the ill-equipped peasants slaughtered by the Muslim army
          5. The East begins disliking the Western Church and their crusades
        2. ‘The Prince’s Crusade’
          1. made up from European Lords.
          2. well-organized and well-equipped.
          3. Captured Antioch from Muslims
            1. deposed the Eastern Bishop and installed a Western Bishop
            2. The East now despises the Western Church and their crusades
          4. Captures Jerusalem (1099 AD)
            1. brutal killing of Jews and Muslims
      4. 2nd Crusade (1147-1149 AD)
        1. sparked by the fall of Edessa
          1. population either slaughtered or sold into slavery
        2. Many nobles and several kings join together
        3. The Muslims were united and waiting for them
        4. Complete failure
      5. 3rd Crusade (1189 AD)
        1. Jerusalem conquered in 1187 by Muslim Egyptian named Saladin
        2. almost 100 years after the 1st sets of Crusades
        3. England’s Richard the Lion Hearted
          1. made a truce with Saladin
          2. Christians can enter Jerusalem without paying tariff
        4. Robin Hood tale
      6. The Fourth Crusade—of most interest to us (1202 AD)
        1. 10 years after the end of the previous war
        2. Pope Innocent III intends to destroy large Muslim army in Egypt
        3. Merchants of Venice agree to ferry the crusaders for a price
        4. Crusaders show up
          1. 1/3 of those expected
          2. cannot pay the agreed price
        5. Shrewd merchant seizes the opportunity agreeing to pay the Crusaders way for a military favor: 
          1. sack Zara, Venice’s major competitor, which is owned by the Eastern Empire
          2. After taking the city Zara, the crusaders have a taste for plunder. The Venetian Merchant convinces them to depose the current Emperor of the Eastern Empire.
          3. Pope Innocent III forbids it
          4. Crusaders agree to it
        6. Crusaders sack the city and plunder it
          1. Christians killing Christians in the name of Christ
          2. Burned libraries
          3. Destroyed paintings
          4. Any moveable wealth was taken
        7. Constantinople remains under crusader control for 60 years until the Eastern Empire is able to retake the city.
        8. Constantinople never fully recovers and soon falls again to the Turks never to recover
      7. The Split in the churches is complete.
        1. The West has dealt the East a mortal blow
        2. West: Roman Catholic
        3. East: Eastern Orthodox
  6. Separate Churches, Separate Paths
    1. The Shaping of Roman Catholicism
      1. Fourth Lateran Council
      2. Called by Pope Innocent III
      3. Transubstantiation
        1. The Lord’s supper undergoes an unseen change 
        2. They become the actual body and blood of Jesus (literal)
      4. The Inquisition
        1. laid the groundwork for a court to uproot dissenting ideas about Christianity (heresies, etc)
          1. at first it focused on Gnostics and Pagans
          2. spread to Jews and Muslims
        2. very soon became a terror in Europe.
          1. began to focus on all groups who would not tow the line
  7. Do You Understand Me?
    1. “For every Devilish pope or crusader, there were thousands of bishops, priests, and common people who sincerely believed they were following Christ. Some lived out their faith as farmers and merchants. Others lived out their faith as lords and kings. Some were authentic Christians. Others were not.”
    2. But for the grace of God go I.

East & West Churches: What’s the Difference?




  1. Background
    1. 395 A.D. the empire is divided under the sons of Theodosius I
    2. Germanic tribes invaded the western empire
    3. the Balkans suffered the worst barbarian invasions
    4. the Avars and Slavs move in and all direct communication is lost
    5. the Arabs invade the eastern empire and capture major sea ports
  2. Major Differences
    1. Church focus
      1. West - the church and the role of man 
        1. legal and practical concerns
        2. 4th century - Donatism in North Africa
        3. 5th century - Pelagianism
        4. emphasize the act of communion
      2. East - the nature of the Trinity
        1. great philosophical issues
        2. 4th century - Arianism
        3. 5th century - the person of Jesus
        4. emphasize the presence of God in the communion
    2. Church organization
      1. West
        1. the bishop of Rome holds all things together
        2. Germanic tribes change the face of the church
      2. East
        1. the patriarchs were subject to the emperor of Constantinople
        2. the Slavs are converted and assimilate
        3. Muslims simply mess things up
        4. Constantinople is equal with Rome
    3. Church rules
      1. West
        1. clergy were forced to be unmarried
        2. Jesus Christ was represented as a Lamb
        3. they ate meat from strangled animals (German sausage links)
      2. East
        1. clergy could stay married when they took office
        2. Jesus Christ could NOT be a Lamb (He is a man)
        3. no eating blood, especially from strangled meat
        4. no fasting on Saturday during Lent (except the Great Sabbath)
    4. Church culture
      1. Language - Latin vs. Greek
      2. National character - pope vs. emperor
      3. Church structure - one pope vs. five patriarchs
      4. Theology - church & man vs. the Trinity and Jesus
      5. Emphasis - canon law & church hierarchy vs. communion & creeds
  3. the Fourth Crusade (1203-1204)
  4. the Fall of Constantinople (1453)