Exploring the Church

Exploring the ChurchQuestions

Exploring the ChurchQuestions

Share a memory about “how things used to be.”

Pope Gregory I (540-604)•served as Pope 590-604•known as Pope Gregory the Great•highly involved in the administrative and diplomatic duties of the church•known for overseeing the Roman defenses against the attack of the Lombards•developed a way of interpreting Scripture that became a standard (literal, mystic, moral interpretation)•directed the Latin church’s missionary endeavors to Northern Europe•known for his humility and piety•GREGORIAN CHANT!!

Termssee – “a seat of a bishop’s office, power, or authority;” e.g., the See of Rome

Franks – a group of Germanic tribes that occupied modern day Eastern Germany and France

Lombards – Germanic tribe that originated from the area in and around the Elbe River (modern day Czech Republic and Germany)

Corresponding MovementsAs the political power and influence of Rome decreased, the influence of the Church in Rome increasedAs the political power and influence of Constantinople increased, the influence of the Church in Constantinople increased

The Pressure Buildsfrom 622 on Islam expanded in influence and territory – Arabian peninsula largely Muslim by 634; most of Persia, Armenia, Egypt and the Holy Lands by 661; the entire southern Mediterranean basin, Spain and Afghanistan by 750

Lombard invasions left most (but not all) of Italy under their control by 600

Muslim as well as Turkish and Slavic tribes bordered Byzantium (Eastern Roman Empire) to the east and north

Constantinople and Rome functionally cut off from one another by terrain and near constant threat of invasion

I. Old Wounds FesterA. Rome (church and state) felt slighted because calls for aid during the time of the Western Empire’s collapse went largely unheeded

B. Because they were functionally separated from Constantinople (and the other Christian centers in the East [Antioch, Jerusalem, & Alexandria]), Rome began to make decisions independently of its brother and sisters

1. filioque – “and from the Son,” regarding the source of the Holy Spirit, added to the Nicene Creed w/o the approval of an all- church council

1. Case in Point – the filioque“Second Edition” of the Nicene Creed – 381(from the 1st Council of Constantinople)

And [we believe] in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the Giver of Life, who proceeds from the Father; who with the Father and the Son together is worshipped and glorified; who spoke by the prophets. In one Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church. We acknowledge one baptism for the remission of sins. We look for the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come. Amen

1. Case in Point – the filioqueNicene Creed w/filioque - 589(adopted by the Third Council of Toledo [West only])

And [we believe] in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the Giver of Life, who proceeds from the Father and the Son; who with the Father and the Son together is worshipped and glorified; who spoke by the prophets. In one Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church. We acknowledge one baptism for the remission of sins. We look for the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come. Amen

NOTE: the Nicene Creed as appeared this way in the Western Church since its adoption

2. The filioque – What’s at stake?Church of Rome added to a Creed that was formulated in an all-church council, but without the input or knowledge of other Christian leaders (unilateral decision)

Adding filioque raises theological questions as to the place of the Holy Spirit in the Trinity (though not to the Spirit’s divinity)

Biblical support for filioque? – John 14:16, 26; 15:26; 16:7; 20:22; Acts 2

I. Old Wounds FesterA. Rome (church and state) felt slighted because calls for aid during the time of the Western Empire’s collapse went largely unheeded

B. Because they were functionally separated from Constantinople (and the other Christian centers in the East [Antioch, Jerusalem, & Alexandria]), Rome began to make decisions independently of its brother and sisters

1. filioque – “and from the Son,” regarding the source of the Holy Spirit, added to the Nicene Creed w/o the approval of an all- church council

2. what’s at stake

C. Rome reasserted its preeminence among other Christian centers and the Bishop of Rome’s consequent authority in matters taking place in those centers

II. New Connections Formed (West)A. Because the Roman church was the only major Christian center in the Western Empire (and later, Western Europe) with apostolic roots, new converts to Christianity looked to Rome for leadership (not to Constantinople)

B. The Church of Rome had been cultivating a relationship with the Franks ever since the Frankish king converted to Christianity in 496

C. When the Lombards invaded (starting in the 560s) and help from Constantinople was slow in coming (if at all), the Bishop of Rome began looking to the Franks for protection and help

C. The Franks1. Charles Martel (“the hammer”) stopped the Muslim advance in 732 near Tours (central France)

2. In 756, Charles’ son, Pepin, delivered the seat of Byzantine government in Italy (Ravenna) and Rome from the Lombard threat

3. After Pope Leo III was kidnapped by local nobles hoping to install their own pope (and subsequently rescued), Pepin’s son Charles (known as Charles the Great or Charlemagne) came to his aid with an army to settle the matter. After Pope Leo was cleared of charges leveled against him by the nobility, he crowned Charles the first Holy Roman Emperor (800 AD).

II. New Connections Formed (West)A. Because the Roman church was the only major Christian center in the Western Empire (and later, Western Europe) with apostolic roots, new converts to Christianity looked to Rome for leadership (not to Constantinople)

B. The Church of Rome had been cultivating a relationship with the Franks ever since the Frankish king converted to Christianity in 496

C. When the Lombards invaded (starting in the 560s) and help from Constantinople was slow in coming (if at all), the Bishop of Rome began looking to the Franks for protection and help

D. Cooperative relationship between the Franks and the Roman Church continued until after the death of Charlemagne in 814

New Connections Formed (West)Because the Roman church was the only major Christian center in the Western Empire (and later, Western Europe) with apostolic roots, new converts to Christianity looked to Rome for leadership (not to Constantinople)

The Church of Rome had been cultivating a relationship with the Franks ever since the Frankish king converted to Christianity in 496

When the Lombards invaded (starting in the 560s) and help from Constantinople was slow in coming (if at all), the Bishop of Rome began looking to the Franks for protection and help

Cooperative relationship between the Franks and the Roman Church continued until after the death of Charlemagne in 814

III. New Connections Formed (East)Patriarch (bishop) of Constantinople sent missionaries to the peoples of Eastern Europe and Russia (e.g., Cyril & Methodius)

Cyril and Methodius •brothers born in 820s in Thessolonika, Greece to a Greek father and Slavic mother•sent to minister in Khazar (modern day Ukraine and Russia) in 860•in 862, they were asked to preach the gospel among the Slavic peoples in Moravia (modern-day Czech republic)•developed what became known as the Cyrillic alphabet in order to translate the Scriptures and liturgy (worship service) into the language of the Slavs•Cyril – d. 869, Methodius – d. 885

III. New Connections Formed (East)Patriarch (bishop) of Constantinople sent missionaries to the peoples of Eastern Europe and Russia (e.g., Cyril & Methodius)

Bulgarians embraced Christianity in 863

The Rus peoples began to embrace Christianity in 886. Their leader was baptized in 987, looking to Constantinople for both spiritual leadership and military alliance (similar to the history in the West)

Age of the Councils1. Nicea #1 (325) – rejected Arianism (Christ wasn’t divine), The Nicene Creed2. Constantinople #1 (381) – expanded Nicene Creed, affirmed the divinity of the Holy Spirit3. Ephesus (431) – rejected Nestorius, wrestled with how Jesus had both a human and divine nature4. Chalcedon (451) – rejected belief that Christ only had a divine nature (monophysitism), affirmed two natures of Christ

5. Constantinople #2 (553) – wrestled with how Christ’s two natures were joined in one person

6. Constantinople #3 (680-681) – rejected the belief that Christ had two natures but only one will

7. Nicea #2 (787) – rejected iconoclasm (breaking of icons), affirmed that icons are worthy of veneration (like Scripture)

P.S. – In Defense of Icons(OrthodoxWiki)Iconoclasm – “the destruction of religious icons and other sacred images or monuments, usually for religious or political motives,” usually based on (a misunderstanding of) the 2nd commandmentIconoclast movement began in earnest ca. 730, when the Byzantine Emperor (NOT the Patriarch of Constantinople) banned the use of icons of Jesus, Mary, and the Saints and commanded that they be destroyedJohn of Damascus - distinguished between worship (which is reserved for God alone) and veneration (to honor or have deep reverence for), argued:"I do not worship matter, I worship the God of matter, who became matter for my sake and deigned to inhabit matter, who worked out my salvation through matter. I will not cease from honoring that matter which works for my salvation. I venerate it, though not as God.“Pope Gregory III agrees with those defending icons (731)! Byzantine bishops back Emperor.Second (all-church) Council of Nicea (787) affirms the use of icons in worship, argues that Christ is the icon of God!Iconoclasm finally defeated in the East in 842 – day is celebrated in the Orthodox and Eastern Catholic churches as the “Triumph of Orthodoxy” (celebrated on the first Sunday of Lent)

Exploring the ChurchThe Lord’s Prayer

Our Father in heaven, Your name is holy. Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is

in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. And forgive our sins, as we forgive those who sin

against us. And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For the kingdom, the power, and the glory belong to you forever and

ever. Amen.