Church History
5th-6th Centuries
Article VII
Monasticism
Since the time of Christ, from the 1st century until the 5th, the leadership of the Church had significantly changed - especially during the time of Constantine. The Church had added elements of paganism and cultism, and its leadership had altered drastically. What used to be servant leaders in the early Church, following the examples of Christ, changed to a hierarchy form of government, placing a substantial division between Church leaders and the Christian populace. Leaders in the Church were no longer “servant leaders” but the congregations were called upon to “serve their leaders.” This form of hierarchy government also created a division between church leaders. The higher the leadership position, the higher the stature and far-reaching power over the people - each using their power to live lifestyles that exalted themselves above the people. Church leaders lived and worked in ornate buildings, wore formal robe attire during ceremonies, and gained feelings of superiority that were visible to those around. The Old Testament practice of the Jewish tithe was resurrected and brought into the Church under Constantine. It was forced upon the people within the empire as a Church tax to bring in exhorbitant amounts of money for the Church, creating a very wealthy Church system. Many elements of this hierarchy form of church government created under Constantine, although a lot more subtle, is practiced within certain denominations of churches – Catholic and Protestant - even today.
Monasticism
Many Christians strongly opposed the influences of paganism, cultism and affluency within the Church and counterbalanced it by fleeing to the desert to live a life of solitude, - meaning a lifestyle of monasticism. People left by the thousands to the deserts in Egypt and North Africa in mass exoduses. They felt they had to get away to subdue and punish the body - not live within the hierarchy of the traditions of the Church, paganism, or sensual livings by which they were surrounded. Going to the other extreme, these believers thought they were following the ways of the early apostles. Being inspired by the words of Paul, they chose not to marry, believing they had greater freedom to serve the Lord. Celibacy was pushed by the expectations of the return of the Lord. If the end was at hand, it was said, then it made no sense to marry and to begin a lifestyle of those were making plans for the future.
Influences within Christian monasticism
A number of outside influences played a part in the development of Christian monasticism. Several schools of "classical philosophy" held to the belief that the body was the prisoner of the soul, which could not be truly free as long as it did not overcome the limitations of the body. Several pagan religious traditions included sacred virgins, celibate priests, eunuchs, and others, having lifestyles which they believed set them apart for the service of the gods. These ideas, intermingled with Scripture, gave rise to Christian monasticism. Monasteries were developed where groups of men, and sometimes women, lived in solitude within communal living. Every monk was commanded to obey his superiors, having many rules and regulation. Sadly, a hierarchical system eventually came within monasticism as well.
The Tonsures
The men within monasticism were known as monks, meaning solitary. They wore robes, just like the hierarchy Roman Catholic Church leaders, but their robes were not the elaborate robes of the Church leaders, but very plain and generally made of sack cloth. Many of the monks shaved the crown of the head when they took their vows of celibacy. These tonsure monks were very popular within the Catholic Church. They were not abolished until 1972. A.D.
Jones, Timothy Paul. Rose Publishing. Torrance, CA. 1999
As monasteries grew, various orders cropped up, each having their own doctrines, persuasions, and mission.
Augustine of Hippo
Augustine was born to Christian parents in North Africa. His father was converted on his deathbed, however, he was reared in the Christian faith from childhood by his mother. He was not baptized, however, until 387 A.D. when he took a lengthy religious and philosophical pilgrimage. Augustine excelled in the literary education and lectured in rhetoric at Carthage, North Africa. Repelled by the Bible’s apparent barbarity, he became a follower of Manicheism, a Gnostic sway with a dualistic mythology, which encouraged asceticism and intense devotion to Christ. For nine years he followed that belief, although he began to distrust its claims to “demonstrate the truth by rational means.” [1]
Disillusioned, Augustine wanted to go to Rome. His mother begged God not to let her son go, fearing he would drift further into sin. Regardless, Augustine went to the Rome where the infancy papacy city resided, and was later appointed imperial rhetorician at Milan. While there, he exposed the cult of Neoplatonism, which was a belief that Jesus was two distinct persons. [2] Augustine came to believe that the causes of evil, which preoccupied him all his life, lie in the absence of good, rather than being a power in itself as the Manichees believed. Challenged to abandon the flesh and the world, and his life with his common-law wife for over ten years, Augustine chose to return to Africa, and there he formed a monastic community for study and contemplation.
Augustine later went into the priesthood at Hippo, a city along the coast, and by 396 A.D. he became the Catholic bishop of the city. For the rest of his life he was a preacher and pastor, ministered the sacraments, was judge and intercessor, trustee and organizer of charity, as well as a tireless defender of Catholic orthodoxy. He believed that marriage should be regarded as a sacrament. The Church father Cyprian, of Carthage, Africa, held that penance was vital to the Christian life. With the increased gap between the clergy and the laity, as demonstrated within the hierarchy form of church govrnment, it opened the doors for ordination to be considered a sacrament. Around 400 A.D. confirmation and extreme unction came to be looked upon also as having sacramental value. The early theological development of the doctrine of original sin contributed to the importance of infant baptism. By the beginning of the third century (200 A.D.) Tertullian and Cyprian considered infant baptism as acceptable. Augustine especially emphasized the importance of this kind of baptism.
Augustine, earlier in his ministry, seemed to have looked doubtfully at the miraculous ministry of the Holy Spirit. In his homily he referred to the tongues at Pentecost as a sign “adapted to the time which has passed away.”[3] He later showed great interest in the supernatural and related many miraculous incidents in his own life and in the lives of others. [4] Augustine spent his life writing on the defense of Catholic orthodoxy, and against the Donatists, Arianism, and other cults within the Church. He died in 430 A.D.
Precursers to the fall of the Roman Empire
Reverting back a few decades, and turning our thoughts to the western end of the Roman Empire, the borders were being militarily neglected. Surrounding Germanic tribes (Goths, Vandals, Burgundian, Lombards and others) had been threats against the Roman frontier for several centuries. There were also other tribes of nomads who had lived on the edges of the Roman Empire who wanted the pleasures that came with living in the Empire, but because they wre not being allowed in, they gained their strength and were willing to make war to receive such pleasures. These tribes of nomads were dubbed “Barbarians” because, to the Romans, their language sounded like someone babbling … "bar-bar-bar. They were also accused of all sorts of savagery.
Refusal by the Roman government to grant land to the Barbarians, a series of wars began by various tribes, and new independent Barbarian kingdoms began creeping into the Western section of the Roman Empire. The Visogoths, who were a western branch of the Goths, invaded Italy in 401 A.D. In 407 A.D. another Barbarian tribe crossed the Rhine and marched into France and Spain. At the other end of the Empire, Hun nomadics of unknown ethnological affinities, who originated in Asia, appeared about the same time and built up an military empire there. They organized military branches, undertaking extensive campaigns by mercenaries, living off the countries they ravaged. They were headed for the Eastern Roman Empire.
The beginning of Medieval (Middle) Ages
The beginning of the fall of Rome – 410 A.D.
The Roman Empire was now surrounded on both sides. On August 24, 410 A.D. Alaric, king of Visogoths, stormed his troops over the walls of Rome in a surprise attack and for three days pillaged the city. Rome, which was once the symbol of the Empire's invincible power, was crumbling. Rome had been for eight centuries the administrative center of the Western Empire, and now its power was gone. This date in 410 A.D., is considered the official date of the Middle (or Mideaval) Ages. Many people also refer to this time in history as the dawn of the “Dark Ages.”
Attila the Hun
Attila - king of the Hungarian Huns, fought for rule across Europe. In 432 A.D. other Huns on the Eastern side of the Empire crossed the Danube, penetrating deep into the Eastern Empire, forcing Eastern Emperor Theodosius to pay them tributaries. In addition, Attila and his huns ravaged territories that now constitute Russia, Poland, and Germany. Each country was forced to pay tributaries. In Rome, tributes were demanded by the Huns; however, but Rome refused to pay. This caused Attila and his huns, in 452 A.D., to invade Italy and Gaul. He and his troops came sweeping into Italy through the mountains to threaten Rome. It looked like nothing would stand in their way. The reigning Emperor Valentian had fled, prepared to desert his people and empire. As a result, Rome had no army. So when Attila and the Huns approached the city of Rome to ravage and burn it, the only one who remained in any sort of power was the Roman bishop by the name of Leo. Fearig for the city, Bishop Leo, dressed in full ceremonial Episcopal vestment, went out to meet Attila and his huns and commanded that they spare their city, offering them a large ransom.
Lillie, Amy. I Will Build My Church. Westminster Press. 1950.
Attila claimed that he saw the Apostles Peter and Paul behind Bishop Leo. Out of fear and respect, Attila withdrew his troops, took the ransom and departed. He did not attack Rome.
Leo – claiming the title of Pope
When the Huns did not attack Rome, Bishop Leo claimed himself power over Rome and the people. [2] Because Rome was spared, Leo, in turn, was considered their hero. Taking it further, Bishop Leo came to see himself as the power over the Church-at-large, even though the seat of power was no longer in Rome, but in Constantinope in the Eastern Empire. In a display of showing his power, Bishop Leo was the first to make the following claims.
- Bishop Leo gave himself the title of "pope" which was simply the Greek name for father. At this time, there were several popes placed throughout the Western Empire, referring to an important and respected bishop in the Church. Bishop Leo, however, was the first to claim himself as the "only" pope.
- Bishop Leo claimed that he was the one in power over the Church (meaning over all of the Western and Eastern Empire).
- Bishop Leo was the one who made the first claim that "he" came down from the line of the Apostle Peter, setting himself in the "papacy" as authority over the whole Church throughout the empire.
Since the helpless Rome, where the infancy papacy resided, no longer had any military force to support it, the people of Rome and it's surrounding areas had nowhere to turn except to the Church. Because of his heroism, and taking on the leadership role, Leo was considered the head over all of the churches in the Western part of the Empire.
Monks and nuns came out of hiding
"Pope" Leo, as the now head over the Western Church, set out to rebuild Rome. The monastery monks and nuns came out of hiding, and the churches and the monasteries joined together to help build Rome back again. Many monks left their monasteries to walk on broken Roman roads to evangelize the Christian message to faraway places - to Barbarians, pagans or cultic Christians - whomever would listen. The monks also centered themselves in the cities to help rebuild Rome. Augustine was also one of those who also helped Christians deal with the aftermath of Rome’s fall. [4]
Christians, however, became targets of criticism within broken Rome among the pagans. As pagans, they declared that when they sacrificed to the gods, Rome prospered. When sacrifices were banned, however, disaster came upon them. Thus, to them, Christianity was blamed as the destructive force behind the fall of Rome.
The end of the Western Empire
In 455 A.D. the Vandals, another Barbarian tribe, besieged Rome. This time Pope Leo could not convince them to retreat, but he did persuade them not to rape or kill. They instead looted and vandalized the city. They took as slaves many Roman citizens, and sold them to the Barbarians. The Western Empire now lay helpless as fierce tribes from the north swarmed across Europe and North Africa. [5] Many ancient monuments and buildings were destroyed in order to provide stones for repairing the walls of Rome to be used as a defense against invaders. In 476 A.D., a Barbarian named Odovacer broke through and deposed the last of the Western Empire. Rome’s palaces and churches were stripped of their treasurers, and many buildings were in ruins. The aqueducts and the system of drainage had fallen into disrepair, and disease was rampant. Rome had been destroyed! The map below shows the division of the old Western empire after its fall.[6]
Succeeding popes after Pope Leo continued to stay in desolute Rome amongst the ruined city and operate as an infant papacy while the Eastern Empire remained as the administrative power of the Empire.
Benedictine Monasticism
Benedict was born in the small Italian town of Nursia around 480 A.D. He grew up under the rule of the Ostrogoths. His family belonged to the old Roman aristocracy so he was very much aware of the tensions between Catholic orthodox and the continuing Arianism. At around the age of 20 Benedict became a hermit and went off to live in a cave. He lived a life of asceticism as he sought to overcome the temptations of the flesh. Eventually his fame grew and other monks gathered around him as a group of disciples.[7]
Benedict then moved his disciples to a small remote community that once had pagan worship and altars. He and his followers destroyed all hint of paganism and built a monastery over it. Benedict wrote “The Rule” which became a standard of behavior for many monasteries throughout the centuries. Benedict was considered to many as Pope Benedict. Monasteries also became storehouses for Roman art and learning. They took the place of learning for the young and old. Monasteries became the means of education. In the monasteries monks also copied manuscripts that have been passed on down through the centuries.
Benedict was also endowed with the revelation gifts of the Holy Spirit and the gift of prophecy. He often described to his colleagues what they had done in his absence. In addition, he foretold future events. He was forwarned of his own death and told his disciples to dig his grave six days before the end. He died standing in the chapel with his hands raised toward heaven. [8]
The Franks
During most of the fifth century, Gaul was divided between the Burgundians, who were Arians, and the Franks, who were still pagans. The Burgundians, however, did not persecute the Catholics, as did the Vandals in North Africa. The Burgundians actually imitated their customs, and soon many Burgundians had accepted the Nicene faith as did the Catholics. In 516 A.D. the Burgundian king was converted to the orthodox Trinitarian doctrine. The Franks (later called France) were a Barbarian group of independent tribes until the Merovingian dynasty took over. In 534 A.D. the Burgundians were conquered by the Franks, which united the whole region.
Great Britain
Great Britain had never been entirely under Roman control. Its Emperor Hadrian had built a wall separating the southern portion of the island which was under the Roman Empire. When disaster threatened the Roman occupation, the legions withdrew from Great Britain. Those who remained were soon conquered by the Anglo-Saxons, which is a general name given to the Germanic peoples who inhabited Britain between the fifth and the eleventh centuries. Most of these invaders were pagan.
Ireland had not been part of the Roman Empire; however, Christianity had spread through a young Christian by the name of Patrick. [9] Monasteries were built there, and then the Irish began sending missionaries to other countries as witnesses for Christ.
The Papacy
The origins of the papacy are not altogether clear. Most scholars agree that Peter did visit Rome, and there is a high probability that he was martyred there. However, as was stated in an earlier article, there is no scriptural evidence of either, nor is there evidence of Peter starting churches in Rome. As early as late in the second century, Church fathers have disagreed as to the first father in Rome, whether it was a single person or a group of leaders. While such a theory is open to debate, it is clear that during the early centuries the strength of Christianity was in the Greek-speaking East, and that churches such as Antioch and Alexandria were much more important than the one in Rome. Even in the West the theological leadership of the Church was in North Africa, which produced such people as Tertullian, Cyprian, and Augustine. [10] It was through the Barbarian invasions that brought about the great upsurge in the pope’s authority. The Western Church then became the guardian of what was left of ancient civilization, as well as trying to keep order and justice. Because of that, the bishop, or pope, of Rome became the focal point for regaining a unity that had been shattered by the numerous military invasions. [11]
The institution of the papacy also gave unity to the Church during the Middle Ages.
The Middle Ages
The Middle Ages is the period which intervenes between ancient and modern times – referring to the dawn of the Reformation in 1517 A.D. The Middle Ages form the transition from the Greco-Roman civilization to the Romano-Germanic civilization, which gradually arose out of the intervening chaos of barbarism. Politically, the Middle Ages date from the great migration of the nations and the downfall of the western Roman Empire in 410 A.D. Ecclesiastically, the Middle Ages, or Medieval Christianity, begins with Gregory the Great, the last of the Nicene fathers and the first of the official popes in 590 A.D.
Gregory the Great
Born in Rome around 540 A.D. to an old aristocracy family, Gregory became one of the ablest men ever to occupy the papacy. As bishop of Rome, he has been called by many the first “pope” in the modern sense, although Gregory did not accept the title of “universal pope” which others wanted to give him. He did not claim himself as ultimate authority as Leo had earlier done; however, while disclaiming the title of supreme head of the Church, he would not let any one else lay claim to the title as well. He exercised total papal power, calling himself the “servant of the servants of God.” No bishop in what was the Western Empire dared to go against his will. [12]
Gregory was a preacher, prolific writer and theologian. He preached in various churches throughout Rome, calling the faithful to renewed commitment to Christ. He also introduced many new or renewed doctrines of former Church fathers back into the Catholic Church. He took measures to promote clerical celibacy, which in theory was being practiced, but in practicality often disobeyed. Gregory records many miracles of which he had personal knowledge, including the raising of the dead. He believed that miracles were to continue throughout the history of the Church. He emphasized that holy men of God performed these miracles, thereby exhibiting the medieval tendency to associate miracles with only the ascetic and saintly lifestyle.
The younger Gregory
Gregory was a monk in a monastery and eventually was raised to a position of leading a Roman army to fight the Lombards. He appointed commanders, conducting war efforts, and caring for thousands of refugees. During Gregory’s young adulthood, Benedict was the recognized pope. Pope Benedict made him a deacon – a member of his administrative council. The next pope, Pelagius II, appointed Gregory his ambassador before the court at Constantinople. After six years he returned to the monastery in Rome where he was appointed to the position of abbot.
An epidemic broke out in Rome right after floods had destroyed much of the food supply for the city. People were dying everywhere. Pope Pelagius, with the help of Gregory and other monks, organized the sanitation of the city, the burial of the dead, and feeding the hungry. Pope Pelagius became ill and died. Against Gregory’s wishes, the people then elected him for the position of pope. [13]
Gregory had the garrisons drilled until morale was restored. He organized the distribution of food among the needy and obtained wheat from Sicily through the retrained garrison legions. Receiving little assistance from Constantinople, Gregory supervised the rebuilding of the aquaducts and the defenses of the city. In spite of the poverty throughout Rome, Gregory ended up using his administrative skills by making the Papacy of Rome one of the wealthiest in the Western Church of his day. With the money he was able to act as the protector of the peace in the West.
Doctrines of Gregory
Gregory’s prolific writings became influential throughout the Middle Ages. He promoted the writings of Augustine of Hippo, reaffirming and giving impetus to the doctrines he had claimed, such as purgatory – a place of purification for those who died in sin, in which they would spend some time before going to heaven. Gregory was concerned how the Church could offer satisfaction to God for sins committed. Gregory then acclaimed it could be done through penance, which would consist of contrition, confession, actual punishment or satisfaction. To these must be added priestly absolution, which confirms the forgiveness of sins that would be granted by God to the priesthood. Those then, Gregory acclaimed, who die in the faith and communion of the Church, but without having offered satisfaction for all their sins, will go to Purgatory before they attain their final salvation. He then acclaimed that the living can help the dead out of Purgatory by offering masses in their favor. [14]
Tertullian and Cyprian, earlier Church fathers, considered infant baptism as acceptable by the third century. Augustine favored it, and in 590 A.D. Gregory acclaimed it. “The veneration of Mary, coming out of the 2nd century churches in Asia Minor as a replacement for the female pagan goddesses, was reaffirmed by Gregory in 590 A.D. This eventually led to the adoption of Mary’s immaculate conception in 1854 A.D. and her miraculous assumption to heaven edicted in 1950 A.D. The false interpretation of Scripture and the mass of miracles associated with Mary in the apocryphal gospels created great reverence for her. The Nesotians [w] and other Christological controversies of the fourth century resulted in the contribution of Mary as the “Mother of God” and promoted her to special honors in the Church liturgy. Augustine of Hippo claimed that the mother of the sinless Christ never committed actual sin herself. Monasticism, with its emphasis on the virtue of virginity, strengthened the Church to give special honor to Mary. What was at first mere acknowledgement of her exalted position as Christ’s mother soon became belief in her intercessory powers, because it was thought that the Son would be glad to listen to the requests of His mother.”
By the middle of the fifth century Mary was placed at the head of all saints. Feasts associated with her sprang up all over. The veneration of saints grew out of the natural desire of the Western, or Catholic Church, to honor those who had been martyred under the times of persecution. It was customary within paganism to venerate their heroes, so when pagans came into Christianity, it was natural for them to do the same. It eventually became accepted within the Roman Catholic Church. Up to the year 300 A.D. Christians prayed at the grave of martyrs. By 590 A.D., through Gregory, prayer for them had become prayers to God through them.
The use of images and pictures in worship expanded rapidly as more and more untutored Barbarians came into the Church. Images and pictures materialized the invisible reality of deity for these converted barbariac and other worshippers. Images and pictures lining the walls also beautified the Church and were a part of the liturgy. The fathers of the Church tried to make a distinction between reverence and worship of these images and the worship of God. It was doubtful, however, whether this subtle distinction prevented the ordinary church worshipper from offering worship to the images and pictures, which was suppose to be reserved for God alone. [15]
Up until the time of Constantine, preachers did not wear special vestments. During his era there arose a special hierarchy foundation under the Church and State. Sacraments increased and became the main avenue of grace and the movement to elaborate the liturgy. [16] These sacraments were acclaimed and strengthened by Gregory. All these heretical doctrines helped lay the foundation for the medieval Roman Catholic Church.
Missionary work in Europe
Gregory possessed great missionary zeal. He sent forty monks to Great Britain in 596 A.D. under the leadership of Augustine (not the famous bishop of Hippo, but another). The ministry was successful, especially in the area of Canterbury, which eventually became the religious capital of England and the seat of the archbishop. Monasteries were also founded all over Ireland. As they rose in numbers and prestige, the ecclesiastical organization that Patrick once established withered away. By the end of the sixth century the Irish church had become a church of monks who valued literacy and emphasized missionary activity. The bishop no longer had any administrative functions and lost all rule in Ireland. [17]
End Notes
[1] Augustine, The City of God, pg. 485.
[2] Cairns, Earle E. Christianity Through the Centuries. 3rd ed. Zondervan. 1996.
[3] Jones, Timothy Paul. Rose Publishing. Torrance, CA. 1999
[4] Dowley, Tim. Introduction to the History of Christianity. Fortress. Minneapolis. 1995.
[5] Erickson, Millard. Introduction to Christian Doctrine. 2nd ed. Pg. 239. Baker Academic. 2001
[6] Cairns, Earle E. Christianity Through the Centuries. 3rd ed. Zondervan. 1996.
[7] Walsh, Butler’s Lives of the Saints. Pg. 212.
[8] Gonzalez, Justo. The History of Christianity, vol. 1. HarperSanFranscisco. 1984.
[9] Gonzalez, Justo. The History of Christianity, vol. 1. HarperSanFranscisco. 1984.
[10] Gonzalez, Justo. The History of Christianity, vol. 1. HarperSanFranscisco. 1984.
[11 Cairns, Earle E. Christianity Through the Centuries. 3rd ed. Zondervan. 1996.
[12] Gonzalez, Justo. The History of Christianity, vol. 1. HarperSanFranscisco. 1984.
[13] Gonzalez, Justo. The History of Christianity, vol. 1. HarperSanFranscisco. 1984.
[14] Cairns, Earle E. Christianity Through the Centuries. 3rd ed. Zondervan. 1996.
[15] Cairns, Earle E. Christianity Through the Centuries. 3rd ed. Zondervan. 1996.
[16 Cairns, Earle E. Christianity Through the Centuries. 3rd ed. Zondervan. 1996.
[17] Vos, Howard F. Exploring Church History. Thomas Nelson Publishers. Nashville. 1996.