History of Christianity

The history of Christianity concerns the Christian re-ligion, its followers and the Church with its variousdenominations, from the 1st century to the present.Christianity emerged in the Levant (now Palestine andIsrael) in the mid-1st century AD. Christianity spreadinitially from Jerusalem throughout the Near East, intoplaces such as Syria, Assyria, Mesopotamia, Phoenicia,Asia Minor, Jordan and Egypt. In the 4th century itwas successively adopted as the state religion by Armeniain 301, Georgia in 319,[1][2] the Aksumite Empire in325,[3][4] and the Roman Empire in 380. After theCouncil of Ephesus in 431 the Nestorian Schism createdthe Church of the East. The Council of Chalcedon in451 further divided Christianity into Oriental Orthodoxyand Chalcedonian Christianity. Chalcedonian Christian-ity divided into the Roman Catholic Church and EasternOrthodox Church in the Great Schism of 1054. TheProtestant Reformation created new Christian communi-ties that separated from the Roman Catholic Church andhave evolved into many dierent denominations.Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox Christianityspread to all of Europe in the Middle Ages. Christian-ity expanded throughout the world during Europes Ageof Exploration from the Renaissance onwards, becomingthe worlds largest religion.[5] Today there are 2 billionChristians, one third of humanity.[6]

1 Early Christianity (c.33325)For early New Testament history, see Ministry of Jesusand Canonical gospels.For history between the Old and New Testaments, seeIntertestamental period.Main article: History of early Christianity

During its early history, Christianity grew from a 1st-century Jewish following to a religion that existed acrossthe entire Greco-Roman world and beyond.Early Christianity may be divided into 2 distinct phases:the apostolic period, when the rst apostles were alive andled the Church, and the post-apostolic period, when anearly episcopal structure developed, and persecution wasperiodically intense. The Roman persecution of Chris-tians ended in AD 313 when Constantine the Great de-creed tolerance for the religion. He then called the FirstCouncil of Nicaea in AD 325, beginning of the period ofthe First seven Ecumenical Councils.

1.1 Apostolic Church

Main article: Apostolic AgeSee also: Christianity in the 1st century

The Apostolic Church was the community led by theapostles, and to some degree, Jesus relatives.[7] In his"Great Commission", the resurrected Jesus commandedthat his teachings be spread to all the world. While thehistorical reliability of the Acts of the Apostles is dis-puted by critics, the Acts of the Apostles is the majorprimary source of information for this period. Acts givesa history of the Church from this commission in 1:311to the spread of the religion among the gentiles[8] and theeastern Mediterranean by Paul and others.The rst Christians were essentially all ethnically Jewishor Jewish Proselytes. In other words, Jesus preached tothe Jewish people and called from them his rst disci-ples, see for example Matthew 10. However, the GreatCommission is specically directed at all nations, andan early diculty arose concerning the matter of Gentile(non-Jewish) converts as to whether they had to becomeJewish (usually referring to circumcision and adherenceto dietary law), as part of becoming Christian. Circum-cision in particular was considered repulsive by Greeksand Hellenists[9] while circumcision advocates were la-belled Judaisers, see Jewish background to the circumci-sion controversy for details. The actions of Peter, at theconversion of Cornelius the Centurion,[8] seemed to in-dicate that circumcision and food laws did not apply togentiles, and this was agreed to at the apostolic Councilof Jerusalem. Related issues are still debated today.The doctrines of the apostles brought the Early Churchinto conict with some Jewish religious authorities. Thiseventually led to their expulsion from the synagogues, ac-cording to one theory of the Council of Jamnia. Actsrecords the martyrdom of the Christian leaders, Stephenand James of Zebedee. Thus, Christianity acquired anidentity distinct from Rabbinic Judaism, but this distinc-tion was not recognised all at once by the Roman Em-pire, see Split of early Christianity and Judaism for de-tails. The name "Christian" (Greek ) was rstapplied to the disciples in Antioch, as recorded in Acts11:26.[10] Some contend that the term Christian wasrst coined as a derogatory term, meaning little Christs,and was meant as a mockery, a term of derision for thosethat followed the teachings of Jesus.

1

2 1 EARLY CHRISTIANITY (C.33325)

1.1.1 Early Christian beliefs and creeds

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

The sources for the beliefs of the apostolic community in-clude the Gospels and New Testament epistles. The veryearliest accounts of belief are contained in these texts,such as early creeds and hymns, as well as accounts of thePassion, the empty tomb, and Resurrection appearances;some of these are dated to the 30s or 40s CE, originatingwithin the Jerusalem Church.[12]

1.2 Post-Apostolic Church

Main article: History of early ChristianitySee also: Christianity in the 2nd century and Christianityin the 3rd centuryThe post-apostolic period concerns the time after thedeath of the apostles (roughly 100 AD) until persecutionsended with the legalisation of Christian worship underEmperors Constantine the Great and Licinius.

1.2.1 Persecutions

Main article: Persecution of Christians in the RomanEmpireSee also: Persecution of Christians in the New Testament

According to the New Testament, Christians were subjectto various persecutions from the beginning. This involved

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

even death for Christians such as Stephen (Acts 7:59) andJames, son of Zebedee (12:2). Larger-scale persecutionsfollowed at the hands of the authorities of the Roman Em-pire, beginning with the year 64, when, as reported by theRoman historian Tacitus, the Emperor Nero blamed themfor that years great Fire of Rome.According to Church tradition, it was under Neros perse-cution that Peter and Paul were each martyred in Rome.Similarly, several of the New Testament writings mentionpersecutions and stress endurance through them.Early Christians suered sporadic persecution as the re-sult of local pagan populations putting pressure on the im-perial authorities to take action against the Christians intheir midst, who were thought to bringmisfortune by theirrefusal to honour the gods.[13][14] The last andmost severepersecution organised by the imperial authorities was theDiocletianic Persecution, 303 - 311.[15]

1.2.2 Reasons for the spread of Christianity

In spite of these at-times intense persecutions, theChristian religion continued its spread throughout theMediterranean Basin.[16] There is no agreement on an ex-planation of how Christianity managed to spread so suc-cessfully prior to the Edict ofMilan and the establishmentof Christianity as the state religion of the Roman Em-pire. For some Christians, the success was simply thenatural consequence of the truth of the religion and the

1.2 Post-Apostolic Church 3

hand of Providence. However, similar explanations canbe claimed for the spread of Islam and Buddhism. In TheRise of Christianity, Rodney Stark argues that Christian-ity triumphed over paganism chiey because it improvedthe lives of its adherents in various ways.[17]

Another factor was the way in which Christianity com-bined its promise of a general resurrection of the deadwith the traditional Greek belief that true immortalitydepended on the survival of the body, with Christianityadding practical explanations of how this was going toactually happen at the end of the world.[18] For Mosheimthe rapid progression of Christianity was explained bytwo factors: translations of the New Testament and theApologies composed in defence of Christianity.[19]

Edward Gibbon, in his classic The History of the Declineand Fall of the Roman Empire, discusses the topic in con-siderable detail in his famous Chapter Fifteen, summariz-ing the historical causes of the early success of Christian-ity as follows: "(1) The inexible, and, if we may use theexpression, the intolerant zeal of the Christians, derived,it is true, from the Jewish religion, but puried from thenarrow and unsocial spirit which, instead of inviting, haddeterred the Gentiles from embracing the law of Moses.(2) The doctrine of a future life, improved by every addi-tional circumstance which could give weight and ecacyto that important truth. (3) The miraculous powers as-cribed to the primitive church. (4) The pure and austeremorals of the Christians. (5) The union and discipline ofthe Christian republic, which gradually formed an inde-pendent and increasing state in the heart of the Romanempire.[20]

1.2.3 Structure and the episcopacy

In the post-Apostolic church, bishops emerged as over-seers of urban Christian populations, and a hierarchy ofclergy 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 dierent timesfor dierent locations. Clement, a 1st-century bishopof Rome, refers to the leaders of the Corinthian churchin his epistle to Corinthians as bishops and presbytersinterchangeably. The New Testament writers also usethe terms overseer and elders interchangeably and assynonyms.[21]

Post-apostolic bishops of importance include Polycarp ofSmyrna, Clement of Rome, and Irenaeus of Lyons. Thesemen reportedly knew and studied under the apostles per-sonally and are therefore called Apostolic Fathers. EachChristian community also had presbyters, as was the casewith Jewish communities, who were also ordained andassisted the bishop. As Christianity spread, especially inrural areas, the presbyters exercised more responsibili-ties and took distinctive shape as priests. Lastly, deaconsalso performed certain duties, such as tending to the poor

and sick. In the 2nd century, an episcopal structure be-comes more visible, and in that century this structure wassupported by teaching on apostolic succession, where abishop becomes the spiritual successor of the previousbishop in a line tracing back to the apostles themselves.The diversity of early Christianity can be documentedfrom the New Testament record itself. The Book of Actsadmits conicts between Hebrews and Hellenists, andJewish Christians and Gentile Christians, and Aramaicspeakers and Greek speakers. The letters of Paul, Peter,John, and Jude all testify to intra-Church conicts overboth leadership and theology. In a response to theGnosticteaching, Irenaeus created the rst document describingwhat is now called apostolic succession.[22]

1.2.4 Early Christian writings

Main article: Ante-Nicene Fathers

As Christianity spread, it acquired certain members fromwell-educated circles of the Hellenistic world; they some-times became bishops, but not always. They producedtwo sorts of works: theological and "apologetic", the lat-ter being works aimed at defending the faith by usingreason to refute arguments against the veracity of Chris-tianity. These authors are known as the Church Fathers,and study of them is called patristics. Notable early Fa-thers include Ignatius of Antioch, Polycarp, Justin Mar-tyr, Irenaeus of Lyons, Tertullian, Clement of Alexan-dria, and Origen of Alexandria.

1.2.5 Early art

Virgin and Child. Wall painting from the early catacombs, Rome,4th century.

Main article: Early Christian art

Christian art only emerged relatively late, and the rstknown Christian images emerge from about 200 AD,[23]though there is some literary evidence that small domes-tic images were used earlier. The oldest known Christianpaintings are from the Roman Catacombs, dated to about

4 1 EARLY CHRISTIANITY (C.33325)

AD 200, and the oldest Christian sculptures are fromsarcophagi, 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 g-ures, the traditional Mosaic prohibition of graven im-ages no doubt retained some eect, 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 regardingearly Christianity and its evolution.[24]

1.2.6 Early heresies

Main article: Christian heresy Early Christian heresies

The New Testament itself speaks of the importanceof maintaining correct (orthodox) doctrine and refutingheresies, showing the antiquity of the concern.[25] Be-cause of the biblical proscription against false prophets,Christianity has always been occupied with the orthodoxinterpretation of the faith. Indeed one of themain roles ofthe bishops in the early Church was to determine and re-tain important correct beliefs, and refute contrarian opin-ions, known as heresies. As there were sometimes dier-ing opinions among the bishops on new questions, den-ing orthodoxy would occupy the Church for some time.The earliest controversies were often Christological in na-ture; that is, they were related to Jesus divinity or human-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,was not eternally divine and was, therefore, of lesser sta-tus than the Father.[26] Trinitarianism held that the Father,Son, and the Holy Spirit were all strictly one being withthree hypostases or persons. Many groups held dualisticbeliefs, maintaining that reality was composed into tworadically opposing parts: matter, seen as evil, and spirit,seen as good. Such views gave rise to some theology ofthe incarnation that were declared heresies. Most schol-ars agree that the Bible teaches that both the material andthe spiritual worlds were created by God and were there-fore both good.[27]

The development of doctrine, the position of orthodoxy,and the relationship between the various opinions is amatter of continuing academic debate. Since most Chris-tians today subscribe to the doctrines established by theNicene Creed, modern Christian theologians tend to re-gard the early debates as a unied orthodox positionagainst a minority of heretics. Other scholars, draw-ing upon distinctions between Jewish Christians, PaulineChristianity, and other groups such as and Marcionites,argue that early Christianity was always fragmented, withcontemporaneous competing beliefs.[28]

A folio from P46, an early-3rd-century collection of Paulineepistles.

1.2.7 Biblical canon

Main article: Biblical canon (Christian)See also: Development of the New Testament canon

The Biblical canon is the set of books Christians regardas divinely inspired and thus constituting the ChristianBible. Though the Early Church used the Old Testa-ment according to the canon of the Septuagint (LXX),the apostles did not otherwise leave a dened set of newscriptures; instead the New Testament developed overtime.The writings attributed to the apostles circulated amongstthe earliest Christian communities. The Pauline epis-tles were circulating in collected form by the end of the1st century AD. Justin Martyr, in the early 2nd century,mentions the memoirs of the apostles, which Chris-tians called gospels and which were regarded as on parwith the Old Testament,[29] which was written in narrativeform where in the biblical story God is the protagonist,Satan (or evil people/powers) are the antagonists, andGods people are the agonists".[30][31]

A four gospel canon (the Tetramorph) was in place bythe time of Irenaeus, c. 160, who refers to it directly.[32]By the early 3rd century, Origen of Alexandria may havebeen using the same 27 books as in the modern New Tes-tament, though there were still disputes over the canon-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 spokenagainst were called Antilegomena. In contrast, the majorwritings andmost of what is now theNewTestament wereHomologoumena, or universally acknowledged for a longtime, since the middle of the 2nd century or before.[34]Likewise the Muratorian fragment shows that by 200there 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 booksthat would become the New Testament canon.[36] TheAfrican Synod of Hippo, in 393, approved the NewTestament, as it stands today, together with the Septu-agint books, a decision that was repeated by Councils ofCarthage in 397 and 419.[37] These councils were underthe authority of St. Augustine, who regarded the canonas already closed.[38] Likewise, Damasus' commissioningof the Latin Vulgate edition of the Bible, c. 383, was in-strumental in the xation of the canon in the West.[39] In405, Pope Innocent I sent a list of the sacred books toExuperius, a Gallic bishop.When these bishops and councils spoke on the matter,however, they were not dening something new, but in-stead were ratifying what had already become the mindof the Church.[40] Thus, by the 4th century, there ex-isted unanimity in the West concerning the New Testa-ment canon,[41] and by the 5th century the East, with afew exceptions, had come to accept the Book of Reve-lation and thus had come into harmony on the matter ofthe canon.[42] Nonetheless, a full dogmatic articulation ofthe canon was not made until the 1546 Council of Trentfor Roman Catholicism,[43] the 1563 Thirty-Nine Arti-cles for the Church of England, the 1647 WestminsterConfession of Faith for Calvinism, and the 1672 Synodof Jerusalem for Greek Orthodoxy.

2 Christianity during late antiq-uity (313476)

Main article: History of late ancient ChristianitySee also: Christianity in the 4th century and Christianityin the 5th century

2.1 Establishment of Roman orthodoxy

See also: Constantine I and Christianity

Galerius, who had previously been one of the leadinggures in persecution, in 311 issued an edict whichended the Diocletian persecution of Christianity.[44] Af-ter halting the persecutions of the Christians, Galeriusreigned for another 2 years. He was then succeededby an emperor with distinctively pro Christian leanings,

Spread of Christianity to AD 325Spread of Christianity to AD 600

Constantine the Great.The Emperor Constantine I was exposed to Christianityby his mother, Helena.[45] At the Battle of Milvian Bridgein 312, Constantine commanded his troops to adorn theirshields with the Christian symbol in accordance with avision that he had had the night before. After winning thebattle, Constantine was able to claim the emperorship intheWest[46] In 313, he issued the Edict ofMilan, ociallylegalizing Christian worship.How much Christianity Constantine adopted at this pointis dicult to discern. The Roman coins minted up toeight years subsequent to the battle still bore the images ofRoman gods.[45] Nonetheless, the accession of Constan-tine was a turning point for the Christian Church. Afterhis victory, Constantine supported the Church nancially,built various basilicas, granted privileges (e.g., exemp-tion from certain taxes) to clergy, promoted Christians tosome high-ranking oces, and returned property cons-cated during the Great Persecution of Diocletian.[47]

Between 324 and 330, Constantine built, virtually fromscratch, a new imperial capital that came to be named forhim: Constantinople. It had overtly Christian architec-ture, contained churches within the city walls, and had nopagan temples.[48] In accordance with a prevailing cus-tom, Constantine was baptised on his deathbed.Constantine also played an active role in the leadership ofthe Church. In 316, he acted as a judge in a North Africandispute concerning the Donatist controversy. More sig-nicantly, in 325 he summoned the Council of Nicaea,the rst Ecumenical Council. Constantine thus estab-lished a precedent for the emperor as responsible to Godfor the spiritual health of their subjects, and thus witha duty to maintain orthodoxy. The emperor was to en-force doctrine, root out heresy, and uphold ecclesiasticalunity.[49]

Constantines sons successor, known as Julian the Apos-tate, was a philosopher who upon becoming emperor re-nounced Christianity and embraced a Neo-platonic and

6 2 CHRISTIANITY DURING LATE ANTIQUITY (313476)

Icon depicting the Emperor Constantine (centre) and the bishopsof the First Council of Nicaea (325) holding the NicenoConstantinopolitan Creed of 381.

mystical form of paganism shocking the Christian estab-lishment. He began reopening pagan temples and, intenton re-establishing the prestige of the old pagan beliefs,he modied them to resemble Christian traditions suchas the episcopal structure and public charity (previouslyunknown in Roman paganism). Julians short reign endedwhen he died while campaigning in the East.Later Church Fathers wrote volumes of theologicaltexts, including Augustine, Gregory Nazianzus, Cyrilof Jerusalem, Ambrose of Milan, Jerome, and others.Some of these fathers, such as John Chrysostom andAthanasius, suered exile, persecution, or martyrdomfrom Arian Byzantine Emperors. Many of their writingsare translated into English in the compilations of Niceneand Post-Nicene Fathers.

2.2 Arianism and the rst EcumenicalCouncils

Main articles: Arianism and First seven EcumenicalCouncilsFurther information: Germanic Christianity

A popular doctrine of the 4th century was Arianism, thedenial of the divinity of Christ, as propounded by Arius.Though this doctrine was condemned as heresy and even-tually eliminated by the Roman Church it remained pop-

ular underground for some time. In the late 4th centuryUllas, a Roman bishop and an Arian, was appointed asthe rst bishop to the Goths, the Germanic peoples inmuch of Europe at the borders of and within the Em-pire. Ullas spread Arian Christianity among the Gothsrmly establishing the faith amongmany of the Germanictribes, thus helping to keep them culturally distinct.[50]

During this age, the rst Ecumenical Councils were con-vened. They were mostly concerned with Christologicaldisputes. The First Council of Nicaea (325) and the FirstCouncil of Constantinople (381) resulted in condemn-ing Arian teachings as heresy and producing the NiceneCreed.

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 Thessalonicaput forth under Theodosius I, the Roman Empire o-cially adopted Trinitarian Christianity as its state religion.Prior to this date, Constantius II (337-361) and Valens(364-378) had personally favored Arian or Semi-Arianforms of Christianity, but Valens successor TheodosiusI supported the Trinitarian doctrine as expounded in theNicene Creed.After its establishment, the Church adopted the sameorganisational boundaries as the Empire: geographicalprovinces, called dioceses, corresponding to imperialgovernmental territorial division. The bishops, who werelocated in major urban centres as per pre-legalisationtradition, thus oversaw each diocese. The bishops lo-cation was his seat, or see. Among the sees, vecame to hold special eminence: Rome, Constantinople,Jerusalem, Antioch, and Alexandria. The prestige ofmost of these sees depended in part on their apostolicfounders, from whom the bishops were therefore the spir-itual successors. Though the bishop of Rome was stillheld to be the First among equals, Constantinople wassecond in precedence as the new capital of the empire.Theodosius I decreed that others not believing in the pre-served faithful tradition, such as the Trinity, were tobe considered to be practicers of illegal heresy,[51] and in385, this resulted in the rst case of capital punishmentof a heretic, namely Priscillian.[52][53]

2.4 Nestorianism and the SassanidEmpireFurther information: Nestorian schism, Syriac Christian-ity and Church of the EastDuring the early 5th century the School of Edessa hadtaught a christological perspective stating that Christs di-vine and human nature were distinct persons. A particu-lar consequence of this perspective was that Mary could

2.6 Monasticism 7

Largely extinct Church of the East and its largest extent duringthe Middle Ages.

not be properly called the mother of God, but could onlybe considered the mother of Christ. The most widelyknown proponent of this viewpoint was the Patriarch ofConstantinople Nestorius. Since referring to Mary as themother of God had become popular in many parts of theChurch this became a divisive issue.The Roman Emperor Theodosius II called for the Councilof Ephesus (431), with the intention of settling the issue.The councils ultimately rejected Nestorius view. Manychurches who followed the Nestorian viewpoint brokeaway from the Roman Church, causing a major schism.The Nestorian churches were persecuted and many fol-lowers ed to the Sassanid Empire where they were ac-cepted.The Sassanid (Persian) Empire had many Christian con-verts early in its history tied closely to the Syriac branchof Christianity. The Empire was ocially Zoroastrianand maintained a strict adherence to this faith in part todistinguish itself from the religion of the Roman Empire(originally the pagan Roman religion and then Christian-ity). Christianity became tolerated in the Sassanid Em-pire and as the Roman Empire increasingly exiled hereticsduring the 4th and 6th centuries, the Sassanid Christiancommunity grew rapidly.[54] By the end of the 5th cen-tury the Persian Church was rmly established and hadbecome independent of the Roman Church. This churchevolved into what is today known as the Church of theEast.

2.5 Miaphysitism

Further information: Oriental Orthodoxy

In 451 the Council of Chalcedon was held to further clar-ify the christological issues surrounding Nestorianism.The council ultimately stated that Christs divine and hu-man nature were separate but both part of a single entity,a viewpoint rejected by many churches who called them-selves miaphysites. The resulting schism created a com-

munion of churches, including the Armenian, Syrian, andEgyptian churches.[55] Though eorts were made at rec-onciliation in the next few centuries the schism remainedpermanent resulting in what is today known as OrientalOrthodoxy.

2.6 MonasticismMain article: Christian monasticism

Monasticism is a form of asceticism whereby one re-nounces worldly pursuits and goes o alone as a hermitor joins a tightly organized community. It began earlyin the Church as a family of similar traditions, modeledupon Scriptural examples and ideals, and with roots incertain strands of Judaism. John the Baptist is seen as anarchetypical monk, and monasticism was also inspired bythe organisation of the Apostolic community as recordedin Acts 2.Eremetic monks, or hermits, live in solitude, whereascenobitics live in communities, generally in a monastery,under a rule (or code of practice) and are governed by anabbot. Originally, all Christian monks were hermits, fol-lowing the example of Anthony the Great. However, theneed for some form of organised spiritual guidance leadPachomius in 318 to organise his many followers in whatwas to become the rst monastery. Soon, similar institu-tions were established throughout the Egyptian desert aswell as the rest of the eastern half of the Roman Empire.Women were especially attracted to the movement.[56]

Central gures in the development of monasticism wereBasil theGreat in the East and, in theWest, Benedict, whocreated the famous Rule of Saint Benedict, which wouldbecome the most common rule throughout the MiddleAges, and starting point for other monastic rules.[57]

3 Early Middle Ages (476799)Main article: History of Christianity of the Middle AgesSee also: Christianity in the 6th century, Christianity inthe 7th century and Christianity in the 8th century

The transition into the Middle Ages was a gradual and lo-calised process. Rural areas rose as power centres whilsturban areas declined. Although a greater number ofChristians remained in the East (Greek areas), importantdevelopments were underway in the West (Latin areas)and each took on distinctive shapes.The Bishops of Rome, the Popes, were forced to adaptto drastically changing circumstances. Maintaining onlynominal allegiance to the Emperor, they were forced tonegotiate balances with the barbarian rulers of the for-mer Roman provinces. In the East the Churchmaintainedits structure and character and evolved more slowly.

8 3 EARLY MIDDLE AGES (476799)

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

3.1 Western missionary expansion

The stepwise loss ofWestern Roman Empire dominance,replaced with foederati and Germanic kingdoms, coin-cided with early missionary eorts into areas not con-trolled by the collapsing empire.[58] Already as early as inthe 5th century, missionary activities fromRoman Britaininto the Celtic areas (current Scotland, Ireland andWales)produced competing early traditions of Celtic Christian-ity, that was later reintegrated under the Church in Rome.Prominent missionaries were Saints Patrick, Columbaand Columbanus. The Anglo-Saxon tribes that invadedsouthern Britain some time after the Roman abandon-ment, were initially pagan, but converted to Christian-ity by Augustine of Canterbury on the mission of PopeGregory the Great. Soon becoming a missionary cen-ter, missionaries such as Wilfrid, Willibrord, Lullus andBoniface would begin converting their Saxon relatives inGermania.The largely Christian Gallo-Roman inhabitants of Gaul(modern France) were overrun by the Franks in the early5th century. The native inhabitants were persecuted un-til the Frankish king Clovis I converted from paganismto Roman Catholicism in 496. Clovis insisted that hisfellow nobles follow suit, strengthening his newly estab-lished kingdom by uniting the faith of the rulers with thatof the ruled.[59]

After the rise of the Frankish Kingdom and the stabiliz-ing political conditions, the Western part of the Church

increased the missionary activities, supported by theMerovingian kingdom as a means to pacify troublesomeneighbor peoples. After the foundation of a church inUtrecht 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-establishingchurches in Frisia continuing missions in Germany.[59]

3.2 Byzantine iconoclasms

Andrei Rublev's Trinity.

Main article: Iconoclasm (Byzantine)

Following a series of heavy military reverses against theMuslims, the Iconoclasm emerged in the early 8th cen-tury. In the 720s the Byzantine Emperor Leo III theIsaurian banned the pictorial representation of Christ,saints, and biblical scenes. In the West, Pope GregoryIII held two synods at Rome and condemned Leos ac-tions. The Byzantine Iconoclast Council at Hieria in 754,ruled that holy portraits were heretical.[60]

The movement destroyed much of the Christian churchsearly artistic history. The iconoclastic movement itselfwas later dened as heretical in 787 under the SeventhEcumenical council, but enjoyed a brief resurgence be-tween 815 and 842.

4.2 Monastic Reform 9

4 High Middle Ages (8001299)Main article: Medieval history of Christianity HighMiddle Ages (8001300)See also: Christianity in the 9th century, Christianityin the 10th century, Christianity in the 11th century,Christianity in the 12th century and Christianity in the13th century

4.1 Carolingian RenaissanceThe Carolingian Renaissance was a period of intellectualand cultural revival of literature, arts, and scriptural stud-ies during the late 8th and 9th centuries, mostly duringthe reigns of Charlemagne and Louis the Pious, Frankishrulers. To address the problems of illiteracy among clergyand court scribes, Charlemagne founded schools and at-tracted the most learned men from all of Europe to hiscourt.

4.2 Monastic Reform

A view of the Abbey of Cluny.

4.2.1 Cluny

From the 6th century onward most of the monasteriesin the West were of the Benedictine Order. Owing tothe stricter adherence to a reformed Benedictine rule, the

abbey of Cluny became the acknowledged leader of west-ern monasticism from the later 10th century. Cluny cre-ated a large, federated order in which the administratorsof subsidiary houses served as deputies of the abbot ofCluny and answered to him. The Cluniac spirit was a re-vitalising inuence on the Norman church, at its heightfrom the second half of the 10th centuries through theearly 12th.

4.2.2 Cteaux

Bernard of Clairvaux, in a medieval illuminated manuscript.

The next wave of monastic reform came with theCistercian Movement. The rst Cistercian abbey wasfounded in 1098, at Cteaux Abbey. The keynote ofCistercian life was a return to a literal observance ofthe Benedictine rule, rejecting the developments of theBenedictines. The most striking feature in the reformwasthe return to manual labour, and especially to eld-work.Inspired by Bernard of Clairvaux, the primary builder ofthe Cistercians, they became the main force of technolog-ical diusion in medieval Europe. By the end of the 12thcentury the Cistercian houses numbered 500, and at itsheight in the 15th century the order claimed to have closeto 750 houses. Most of these were built in wildernessareas, and played a major part in bringing such isolatedparts of Europe into economic cultivation

4.2.3 Mendicant orders

A third level of monastic reform was provided by the es-tablishment of the Mendicant orders. Commonly knownas friars, mendicants live under amonastic rule with tradi-

10 4 HIGH MIDDLE AGES (8001299)

tional vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience, but theyemphasise preaching, missionary activity, and education,in a secluded monastery. Beginning in the 12th century,the Franciscan order was instituted by the followers ofFrancis of Assisi, and thereafter the Dominican order wasbegun by St. Dominic.

4.3 Investiture ControversyMain article: Investiture ControversyThe Investiture Controversy, or Lay investiture contro-

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

versy, was the most signicant conict between secularand religious powers in medieval Europe. It began as adispute in the 11th century between the Holy Roman Em-peror Henry IV, and Pope Gregory VII concerning whowould appoint bishops (investiture). The end of lay in-vestiture threatened to undercut the power of the Empireand the ambitions of noblemen for the benet of Churchreform.Bishops collected revenues from estates attached to theirbishopric. Noblemen who held lands (efdoms) hered-itarily passed those lands on within their family. How-ever, because bishops had no legitimate children, whena bishop died it was the kings right to appoint a succes-sor. So, while a king had little recourse in preventing no-blemen from acquiring powerful domains via inheritanceand dynastic marriages, a king could keep careful controlof lands under the domain of his bishops.Kings would bestow bishoprics to members of noble fam-ilies whose friendship he wished to secure. Furthermore,if a king left a bishopric vacant, then he collected the es-tates revenues until a bishop was appointed, when in the-ory he was to repay the earnings. The infrequence of thisrepayment was an obvious source of dispute. The Churchwanted to end this lay investiture because of the potentialcorruption, not only from vacant sees but also from otherpractices such as simony. Thus, the Investiture Contestwas part of the Churchs attempt to reform the episco-pate and provide better pastoral care.Pope Gregory VII issued the Dictatus Papae, which de-clared that the pope alone could appoint or depose bish-

ops, or translate them to other sees. Henry IVs rejectionof the decree lead to his excommunication and a ducal re-volt. Eventually Henry received absolution after dramaticpublic penance barefoot in Alpine snow and cloaked ina hairshirt (see Walk to Canossa), though the revolt andconict of investiture continued.Likewise, a similar controversy occurred in England be-tween King Henry I and St. Anselm, Archbishop of Can-terbury, over investiture and ecclesiastical revenues col-lected by the king during an episcopal vacancy. The En-glish dispute was resolved by the Concordat of London,1107, where the king renounced his claim to invest bish-ops but continued to require an oath of fealty from themupon 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 secularauthorities some measure of control but granted the se-lection of bishops to their cathedral canons. As a symbolof the compromise, lay authorities invested bishops withtheir secular authority symbolised by the lance, and eccle-siastical authorities invested bishops with their spiritualauthority symbolised by the ring and the sta.

4.4 Medieval Inquisition

Main article: Medieval Inquisition

The Medieval Inquisition is a series of Inquisitions(Roman Catholic Church bodies charged with suppress-ing heresy) from around 1184, including the EpiscopalInquisition (11841230s) and later the Papal Inquisition(1230s). It was in response to movements within Europeconsidered apostate or heretical to Western Catholicism,in particular the Cathars and the Waldensians in southernFrance and northern Italy. These were the rst inquisi-tion movements of many that would follow. The inquisi-tions in combination with the Albigensian Crusade werefairly successful in ending heresy. Historian Thomas F.Madden has written about popular myths regarding theInquisition.[61]

4.5 Conversion of the Scandinavians

Early evangelisation in Scandinavia was begun by Ansgar,Archbishop of Bremen, Apostle of the North. Ansgar,a native of Amiens, was sent with a group of monks toJutland Denmark in around 820 at the time of the pro-Christian Jutish king Harald Klak. The mission was onlypartially successful, and Ansgar returned two years laterto Germany, after Harald had been driven out of his king-dom.In 829 Ansgar went to Birka on Lake Mlaren, Sweden,with his aide friar Witmar, and a small congregation wasformed in 831 which included the kings own steward

4.6 Conversion of the Slavs 11

Hergeir. Conversion was slow, however, and most Scan-dinavian lands were only completely Christianised at thetime of rulers such as Saint Canute IV of Denmark andOlaf I of Norway in the years following AD 1000.

Stavronikita monastery.

4.6 Conversion of the Slavs

St. Cyril and St. Methodius monument on Mt. Radho.

Though by 800 Western Europe was ruled entirely byChristian kings, East and Central Europe remained anarea of missionary activity. For example, in the 9th cen-tury SS. Cyril and Methodius had extensive missionarysuccess in the region among the Slavic peoples, translat-ing the Bible and liturgy into Slavonic. The Baptism ofKiev in 988 spread Christianity throughout Kievan Rus,establishing Christianity among the Ukraine, Belarus andRussia.In the 9th and 10th centuries, Christianity made great in-roads into Eastern Europe, including Bulgaria and KievanRus. The evangelisation, or Christianisation, of the Slavswas initiated by one of Byzantiums most learned church-men the Patriarch Photius. The Byzantine emperorMichael III chose Cyril and Methodius in response to arequest from Rastislav, the king of Moravia who wanted

missionaries that could minister to the Moravians in theirown language.The two brothers spoke the local Slavonic vernacular andtranslated the Bible and many of the prayer books. As thetranslations prepared by them were copied by speakers ofother dialects, the hybrid literary language Old ChurchSlavonic was created.Methodius later went on to convert the Serbs. Some ofthe disciples returned to Bulgaria where they were wel-comed by the Bulgarian Knyaz Boris I who viewed theSlavonic liturgy as a way to counteract Byzantine inu-ence in the country. In a short time the disciples of Cyriland Methodius managed to prepare and instruct the fu-ture Slavic clergy into the Glagolitic alphabet and the bib-lical texts.Bulgaria was ocially recognised as a patriarchate byConstantinople in 927, Serbia in 1346, and Russia in1589. All these nations, however, had been convertedlong before these dates.The missionaries to the East and South Slavs had greatsuccess in part because they used the peoples native lan-guage rather than Latin as the Roman priests did, orGreek.

4.6.1 Mission to Great Moravia

When king Rastislav of Moravia asked Byzantium forteachers who could minister to the Moravians in theirown language, Byzantine emperor Michael III chose twobrothers, Cyril and Methodius. As their mother was aSlav from the hinterlands of Thessaloniki, the two broth-ers had been raised speaking the local Slavonic vernac-ular. Once commissioned, they immediately set aboutcreating an alphabet, the Glagolitic alphabet. They thentranslated the Scripture and the liturgy into Slavonic.This Slavic dialect became the basis of Old ChurchSlavonic which later evolved into Church Slavonic whichis the common liturgical language still used by the Rus-sian Orthodox Church and other Slavic Orthodox Chris-tians. The missionaries to the East and South Slavs hadgreat success in part because they used the peoples nativelanguage rather than Latin or Greek. In Great Moravia,Constantine and Methodius encountered Frankish mis-sionaries from Germany, representing the western orLatin branch of the Church, and more particularly rep-resenting the Holy Roman Empire as founded by Charle-magne, and committed to linguistic, and cultural unifor-mity. They insisted on the use of the Latin liturgy, andthey regarded Moravia and the Slavic peoples as part oftheir rightful mission eld.When friction developed, the brothers, unwilling to be acause of dissension among Christians, travelled to Rometo see the Pope, seeking an agreement that would avoidquarrelling between missionaries in the eld. Constantineentered 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 afew weeks thereafter.Pope Adrian II gave Methodius the title of Archbishopof Sirmium (now Sremska Mitrovica in Serbia) and senthim back in 869, with jurisdiction over all ofMoravia andPannonia, and authorisation to use the Slavonic Liturgy.Soon, however, Prince Ratislav, who had originally in-vited the brothers to Moravia, died, and his successor didnot support Methodius. In 870 the Frankish king Louisand his bishops deposed Methodius at a synod at Ratis-bon, and imprisoned him for a little over two years. PopeJohn VIII secured his release, but instructed him to stopusing the Slavonic Liturgy.In 878, Methodius was summoned to Rome on chargesof heresy and using Slavonic. This time Pope John wasconvinced by the arguments that Methodius made in hisdefence and sent him back cleared of all charges, andwith permission to use Slavonic. The Carolingian bishopwho succeeded him, Witching, suppressed the SlavonicLiturgy and forced the followers of Methodius into exile.Many found refuge with Knyaz Boris of Bulgaria, underwhom they reorganised a Slavic-speaking Church. Mean-while, Pope Johns successors adopted a Latin-only policywhich lasted for centuries.

4.6.2 Conversion of Bulgaria

Main article: Christianization of Bulgaria

Bulgaria was a pagan country since its establishment in681 until 864 when Boris I (852889) converted to Chris-tianity. The reasons for that decision were complex; themost important factors were that Bulgaria was situatedbetween two powerful Christian empires, Byzantium andEast Francia; Christian doctrine particularly favoured theposition of the monarch as Gods representative on Earth,while Boris also saw it as a way to overcome the dier-ences between Bulgars and Slavs.[62][63]

In 885 some of the disciples of Cyril and Methodius, in-cluding Clement of Ohrid, Naum of Preslav and Ange-laruis, returned to Bulgaria where they were welcomedby Boris I who viewed the Slavonic liturgy as a way tocounteract Byzantine inuence in the country. In a shorttime they managed to prepare and instruct the future Bul-garian clergy into the Glagolitic alphabet and the biblicaltexts. As a result of the Council of Preslav in AD 893,Bulgaria expelled its Greek clergy and proclaimed theOldBulgarian language as the ocial language of the churchand the state.

4.6.3 Conversion of the Rus

The success of the conversion of the Bulgarians facili-tated the conversion of other East Slavic peoples, mostnotably the Rus, predecessors of Belarusians, Russians,

The Baptism of Vladimir,

and Ukrainians, as well as Rusyns. By the beginningof the 11th century most of the pagan Slavic world, in-cluding Rus, Bulgaria and Serbia, had been converted toByzantine Christianity. The traditional event associatedwith the conversion of Rus is the baptism of Vladimirof Kiev in 989. However, Christianity is documented tohave predated this event in the city of Kiev and in Geor-gia. Today the Russian Orthodox Church is the largest ofthe Orthodox Churches.

5 Controversy and Crusades divid-ing East and West

See also: Christianity in the 11th century, Christianityin the 12th century, Christianity in the 13th century andChristianity in the 14th century

5.1 Growing tensions between East andWest

The cracks and ssures in Christian unity which led to theEast-West Schism started to become evident as early asthe 4th century. Cultural, political, and linguistic dier-ences were often mixed with the theological, leading toschism.The transfer of the Roman capital to Constantinople in-evitably brought mistrust, rivalry, and even jealousy to therelations of the two great sees, Rome and Constantino-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-nence. Estrangement was also helped along by the Ger-man invasions in the West, which eectively weakenedcontacts. The rise of Islam with its conquest of mostof the Mediterranean coastline (not to mention the ar-rival of the pagan Slavs in the Balkans at the same time)further intensied this separation by driving a physicalwedge between the two worlds. The once homogenousunied world of the Mediterranean was fast vanishing.Communication between the Greek East and Latin Westby the 7th century had become dangerous and practicallyceased.[64]

Two basic problems were involved: the nature of theprimacy of the bishop of Rome and the theological im-plications of adding a clause to the Nicene Creed, knownas the lioque clause. These doctrinal issues were rstopenly discussed in Photiuss patriarchate.By the 5th century, Christendom was divided into apentarchy of ve sees with Rome accorded a primacy.The four Eastern sees of the pentarchy considered thisdetermined by canonical decision and not entailing hege-mony of any one local church or patriarchate over the oth-ers. However, Rome began to interpret her primacy interms of sovereignty, as a God-given right involving uni-versal jurisdiction in the Church. The collegial and con-ciliar nature of the Church, in eect, was gradually aban-doned in favour of supremacy of unlimited papal powerover the entire Church. These ideas were nally givensystematic expression in the West during the GregorianReform movement of the 11th century.The Eastern churches viewed Romes understanding ofthe nature of episcopal power as being in direct oppo-sition to the Churchs essentially conciliar structure andthus saw the two ecclesiologies as mutually antithetical.For them, specically, Simon Peters primacy could neverbe the exclusive prerogative of any one bishop. All bish-ops must, like St. Peter, confess Jesus as the Christ and,as such, all are Peters successors. The churches of theEast gave the Roman See primacy but not supremacy, thePope being the rst among equals but not infallible andnot with absolute authority.[65]

The other major irritant to Eastern Christendom was theWestern use of the lioque clausemeaning and theSonin the Nicene Creed . This too developed grad-ually and entered the Creed over time. The issue wasthe addition by the West of the Latin clause lioque tothe Creed, as in the Holy Spirit... who proceeds fromthe Father and the Son, where the original Creed, sanc-tioned by the councils and still used today by the East-ern Orthodox simply states the Holy Spirit, the Lord andGiver of Life, who proceeds from the Father. The East-ern Church argued that the phrase had been added uni-laterally, and therefore illegitimately, since the East hadnever been consulted.[66]

In the nal analysis, only another ecumenical councilcould introduce such an alteration. Indeed the councils,

which drew up the original Creed, had expressly for-bidden any subtraction or addition to the text. In addi-tion to this ecclesiological issue, the Eastern Church alsoconsidered the lioque clause unacceptable on dogmaticgrounds. Theologically, the Latin interpolation was un-acceptable since it implied that the Spirit now had twosources of origin and procession, the Father and the Son,rather than the Father alone.[67]

5.2 Photian schism

Main article: Photian schism

In the 9th century AD, a controversy arose between East-ern (Byzantine, later Orthodox) and Western (Latin, Ro-man Catholic) Christianity that was precipitated by theopposition of the Roman Pope John VII to the appoint-ment by the Byzantine emperor Michael III of PhotiusI to the position of patriarch of Constantinople. Photioswas refused an apology by the pope for previous points ofdispute between the East andWest. Photius refused to ac-cept the supremacy of the pope in Eastern matters or ac-cept the lioque clause. The Latin delegation at the coun-cil of his consecration pressed him to accept the clause inorder to secure their support.The controversy also involved Eastern and Western ec-clesiastical jurisdictional rights in the Bulgarian church,as well as a doctrinal dispute over the Filioque (and fromthe Son) clause. That had been added to the NiceneCreed by the Latin church, which was later the theologicalbreaking point in the ultimate Great East-West Schism inthe 11th century.Photius did provide concession on the issue of jurisdic-tional rights concerning Bulgaria and the papal legatesmade do with his return of Bulgaria to Rome. This con-cession, however, was purely nominal, as Bulgarias re-turn to the Byzantine rite in 870 had already secured forit an autocephalous church. Without the consent of BorisI of Bulgaria, the papacy was unable to enforce any of itsclaims.

5.3 East-West Schism (1054)

Main article: East-West Schism

The East-West Schism, or Great Schism, separated theChurch into Western (Latin) and Easter ca (Greek)branches, i.e., Western Catholicism and Eastern Ortho-doxy. It was the rst major division since certain groupsin the East rejected the decrees of the Council of Chal-cedon (see Oriental Orthodoxy), and was far more sig-nicant. Though normally dated to 1054, the East-WestSchism was actually the result of an extended periodof estrangement between Latin and Greek Christendomover the nature of papal primacy and certain doctrinal

14 5 CONTROVERSY AND CRUSADES DIVIDING EAST AND WEST

matters like the lioque, but intensied by cultural andlinguistic dierences.The ocial schism in 1054 was the excommunica-tion of Patriarch Michael Cerularius of Constantino-ple, followed by his excommunication of papal legates.Attempts at reconciliation were made in 1274 (by theSecond Council of Lyon) and in 1439 (by the Councilof Basel), but in each case the eastern hierarchs who con-sented to the unions were repudiated by the Orthodox asa whole, though reconciliation was achieved between theWest and what are now called the "Eastern Rite CatholicChurches". More recently, in 1965 the mutual excommu-nications were rescinded by the Pope and the Patriarch ofConstantinople, though schism remains.Both groups are descended from the Early Church, bothacknowledge the apostolic succession of each othersbishops, and the validity of each others sacraments.Though both acknowledge the primacy of the Bishop ofRome, Eastern Orthodoxy understands this as a primacyof honour with limited or no ecclesiastical authority inother dioceses.The Orthodox East perceived the Papacy as taking onmonarchical characteristics that were not in line with thechurchs tradition.The nal breach is often considered to have arisen afterthe capture and sacking of Constantinople by the FourthCrusade in 1204. Crusades against Christians in the Eastby Roman Catholic crusaders was not exclusive to theMediterranean though (see also the Northern Crusadesand the Battle of the Ice). The sacking of Constantinopleand the Church of HolyWisdom and establishment of theLatin Empire as a seeming attempt to supplant the Or-thodox Byzantine Empire in 1204 is viewed with somerancour to the present day.Many in the East saw the actions of the West as a primedetermining factor in the weakening of Byzantium. Thisled to the Empires eventual conquest and fall to Islam.In 2004, Pope John Paul II extended a formal apologyfor the sacking of Constantinople in 1204; the apol-ogy was formally accepted by Patriarch Bartholomew ofConstantinople. Many things that were stolen duringthis time: holy relics, riches, and many other items, arestill held in various Western European cities, particularlyVenice, Italy.

5.4 Crusades

Main article: Crusades

The Crusades were a series of military conicts con-ducted by European Christian knights for control over thelucrative trade routes running through the Middle East,and establishment of European, not necessarily Chris-tian, inuence in the region. However, many histori-ans write that its purpose was for the defence of Chris-

tians and for the expansion of Christian domains. Gen-erally, the crusades refer to the campaigns in the HolyLand against Muslim forces sponsored by the Papacy.There were other crusades against Islamic forces in south-ern Spain, southern Italy, and Sicily, as well as the cam-paigns of Teutonic knights against pagan strongholds inNortheastern Europe (see Northern Crusades). A fewcrusades such as the Fourth Crusade were waged withinChristendom against groups that were considered hereti-cal and schismatic (also see the Battle of the Ice and theAlbigensian Crusade).

Krak des Chevaliers was built in the County of Tripoli by theKnights Hospitaller during the Crusades.

The Holy Land had been part of the Roman Empire, andthus Byzantine Empire, until the Islamic conquests of the7th and 8th centuries. Thereafter, Christians had gener-ally been permitted to visit the sacred places in the HolyLand until 1071, when the Seljuk Turks closed Christianpilgrimages and assailed the Byzantines, defeating themat the Battle of Manzikert.Emperor Alexius I asked for aid from Pope Urban II(10881099) for help against Islamic aggression. Heprobably expected money from the pope for the hiring ofmercenaries. Instead, Urban II called upon the knightsof Christendom in a speech made at the Council of Cler-mont on 27 November 1095, combining the idea of pil-grimage to the Holy Land with that of waging a holy waragainst indels.The First Crusade captured Antioch in 1099 and thenJerusalem. The Second Crusade occurred in 1145 whenEdessa was retaken by Islamic forces. Jerusalem wouldbe held until 1187 and the Third Crusade, famous for thebattles between Richard the Lionheart and Saladin. TheFourth Crusade, begun by Innocent III in 1202, intendedto retake the Holy Land but was soon subverted by Vene-tians who used the forces to sack the Christian city ofZara.[68]

Eventually the crusaders arrived in Constantinople.Rather than proceed to the Holy Land the crusaders in-stead sacked Constantinople and other parts of Asia Mi-nor eectively establishing the Latin Empire of Con-stantinople in Greece and Asia Minor. This was eec-tively the last crusade sponsored by the papacy, with latercrusades being sponsored by individuals.[68]

Jerusalem was held by the crusaders for nearly a cen-tury, and other strongholds in the Near East would re-main in Christian possession much longer. The crusades

15

in the Holy Land ultimately failed to establish perma-nent Christian kingdoms. Islamic expansion into Europewould renew and remain a threat for centuries culminat-ing in the campaigns of Suleiman the Magnicent in the16th century.[68]

Crusades in southern Spain, southern Italy, and Sicilyeventually lead to the demise of Islamic power inEurope.[68] The Teutonic knights expanded Christian do-mains in Eastern Europe, and the much less frequentcrusades within Christendom, such as the AlbigensianCrusade, achieved their goal of maintaining doctrinalunity.[68]

5.5 Hesychast ControversyMain article: Hesychast controversyIn 1337 Hesychasma mystical teaching at Mount

Gregory Palamas.

Athos came under attack from Barlaam of Calabria, anabbot in Constantinople. Barlaam propounded a moreintellectual and propositional approach to the knowledgeof God than the Hesychasts taught. Hesychasm is a formof constant purposeful prayer or experiential prayer, ex-plicitly referred to as contemplation focusing on the ideaof stillness and the characteristic mystical idea of light asthe vehicle for knowing God.Gregory Palamas, afterwards Archbishop ofThessalonica, defended Hesychasm. Several synods

took one position or the other until in 1351 at a synodunder the presidency of the Emperor John VI Can-tacuzenus, Hesychast doctrine was established as thedoctrine of the Orthodox Church. the theology wasespecially attractive in the East because it validated theuse of icons as a vehicle for contemplation of divinelight.[69]

6 Eastern Orthodox captivity(14531850)

See also: Christianity in the 15th century, Christianityin the 16th century, Christianity in the 17th century,Christianity in the 18th century and Christianity in the19th century

6.1 Fall of Constantinople

In 1453, Constantinople fell to the Ottoman Empire. Bythis time Egypt had been under Muslim control for someseven centuries, but Orthodoxy was very strong in Russiawhich had recently acquired an autocephalous status; andthus Moscow called itself the Third Rome, as the culturalheir of Constantinople.Under Ottoman rule, the Greek Orthodox Church ac-quired substantial power as an autonomous millet. Theecumenical patriarch was the religious and administrativeruler of the entire Greek Orthodox nation (Ottoman ad-ministrative unit), which encompassed all the Eastern Or-thodox subjects of the Empire.Eastern Christians eeing Constantinople, and the Greekmanuscripts they carried with them, is one of the factorsthat prompted the literary renaissance in theWest at aboutthis time.

6.2 Isolation from the West

As a result of the Ottoman conquest of the ByzantineEmpire in 1453, and the Fall of Constantinople, the en-tire Orthodox communion of the Balkans and the NearEast became suddenly isolated from the West. For thenext four hundred years, it would be conned within ahostile Islamic world, with which it had little in commonreligiously or culturally. The Russian Orthodox Churchwas the only part of the Orthodox communion which re-mained outside the control of the Ottoman Empire.It is, in part, due to this geographical and intellectualconnement that the voice of Eastern Orthodoxy wasnot heard during the Reformation in 16th-century Eu-rope. As a result, this important theological debate oftenseems strange and distorted to the Orthodox. They never

16 7 LATE MIDDLE AGES AND THE EARLY RENAISSANCE (13001520)

took part in it and thus neither Reformation nor Counter-Reformation is part of their theological framework.

6.3 Religious rights under the OttomanEmpire

Further information: Christianity in the OttomanEmpire, Persecution of Christians Ottoman Empireand History of the Eastern Orthodox Church under theOttoman Empire

The new Ottoman government that conquered the Byzan-tine Empire followed Islamic law when dealing with theconquered Christian population. Christians were o-cially tolerated as People of the Book. As such, theChurchs canonical and hierarchical organisation werenot signicantly disrupted and its administration contin-ued to function. One of the rst things that Mehmet theConqueror did was to allow the Church to elect a newpatriarch, Gennadius Scholarius.Because Islamic law makes no distinction between na-tionality and religion, all Christians, regardless of theirlanguage or nationality, were considered a single millet,or nation. The patriarch, as the highest-ranking hier-arch, was thus invested with civil and religious authorityand made ethnarch, head of the entire Christian Ortho-dox population. This meant that all Orthodox Churcheswithin Ottoman territory were under the control of Con-stantinople. However, these rights and privileges, in-cluding freedom of worship and religious organisation,were often established in principle but seldom corre-sponded to reality. Christians were viewed as second-class citizens, and the legal protections they dependedupon were subject to the whims of the Sultan and theSublime Porte.[70][71]

Under Ottoman occupation the Church could no longerbear witness to Christ. Christian missionary work amongMuslims was illegal and dangerous, whereas conversionto Islam was entirely legal and permissible. Converts toIslam who returned to Orthodoxy were put to death asapostates. No new churches could be built and even theringing of church bells was prohibited. The Hagia Sophiaand the Parthenon, which had been Christian churches fornearly a millennium, were converted into mosques. Ed-ucation of the clergy and the Christian population eitherceased altogether or was reduced to the most rudimentaryelements. Violent persecutions of Christians were com-mon, and reached their climax in theArmenian, Assyrian,and Greek genocides.

6.4 Corruption

The Orthodox Church found itself subject to the Turk-ish system of corruption. The patriarchal throne was fre-quently sold to the highest bidder, while new patriarchal

investiture was accompanied by heavy payment to thegovernment. In order to recoup their losses, patriarchsand bishops taxed the local parishes and their clergy.Few patriarchs between the 15th and the 19th centuriesdied a natural death while in oce. The forced abdica-tions, exiles, hangings, drownings, and poisonings of pa-triarchs are well documented. The hierarchys positionswere often dangerous as well. The hanging of patriarchGregory V from the gate of the patriarchate on EasterSunday 1821 was accompanied by the execution of twometropolitans and twelve bishops.

7 Late Middle Ages and the earlyRenaissance (13001520)

Main article: Medieval history of Christianity LateMiddle Ages (13001499)See also: Christianity in the 14th century, Christianity inthe 15th century and Renaissance

7.1 Avignon Papacy (13091378)

The Avignon Papacy, sometimes referred to as the Baby-lonian Captivity, was a period from 1309 to 1378 dur-ing which seven Popes resided in Avignon, in modern-dayFrance.[72] The periodwas one of conict and controversyduring which French Kings held considerable sway overthe Papacy and rulers across Europe felt sidelined by thenew French-centric papacy.Troubles reached their peak in 1378 when, Gregory XIdied while visiting Rome. A papal conclave met in Romeand elected Urban VI, an Italian. Urban soon alienatedthe French cardinals, and they held a second conclaveelecting Robert of Geneva to succeed Gregory XI, be-ginning the Western Schism.

7.2 Western Schism (13781416)

The Western Schism, or Papal Schism, was a prolongedperiod of crisis in Latin Christendom from 1378 to1416, when there were two or more claimants to the Seeof Rome and there was conict concerning the rightfulholder of the papacy. The conict was political, ratherthan doctrinal, in nature.In 1309, Pope Clement V, due to political considerations,moved to Avignon in southern France and exercised hisponticate there. For sixty-nine years popes resided inAvignon rather than Rome. This was not only an obvi-ous source of confusion but of political animosity as theprestige and inuence of city of Rome waned without aresident ponti. Though Pope Gregory XI, a Frenchman,returned to Rome in 1378, the strife between Italian and

7.4 Italian Renaissance (c.13751520) 17

French factions intensied, especially following his sub-sequent death.In 1378 the conclave, elected an Italian from Naples,Pope Urban VI; his intransigence in oce soon alien-ated the French cardinals, who withdrew to a conclaveof their own, asserting the previous election was invalidsince its decision had been made under the duress of ariotous mob. They elected one of their own, Robert ofGeneva, who took the name Pope Clement VII. By 1379,he was back in the palace of popes in Avignon, while Ur-ban VI remained in Rome.For nearly forty years, there were two papal curias andtwo sets of cardinals, each electing a new pope for Romeor Avignon when death created a vacancy. Each popelobbied for support among kings and princes who playedthem o 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 declaredboth existing popes to be schismatic (Gregory XII fromRome, Benedict XIII fromAvignon) and appointed a newone, Alexander V. The existing popes refused to resignand thus there were three papal claimants. Another coun-cil was convened in 1414, the Council of Constance.InMarch 1415 the Pisan pope John XXIII ed fromCon-stance in disguise. He was brought back a prisoner anddeposed in May. The Roman pope, Gregory XII, re-signed voluntarily in July. The Avignon pope, BenedictXIII, 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 popein November, having nally cleared the eld of popes andantipopes, .

7.3 John Wycli and Jan Hus

Painting of Jan Hus in Council of Constance by Vclav Brok.

John Wyclie (or Wyclif) (13301384) was an Englishscholar and heretic best known for denouncing the cor-ruptions of the Church, and his sponsoring the rst trans-lation of the Bible from Latin into English. He was aprecursor of the Protestant Reformation. He emphasizedthe supremacy of the Bible, and called for a direct rela-tionship between man and God, without interference by

priests and bishops. His followers, called Lollards, facedpersecution by the Church of England. They went under-ground for over a century and played a role in the EnglishReformation.[73][74]

Jan Hus (or Huss) (1369?1415) a Czech theologian inPrague, was inuenced by Wyclie and spoke out againstthe corruptions he saw in the Church; his continued de-ance led to his excommunication and condemnation bythe Council of Constance, which also condemned JohnWycli. Hus was executed in 1415, but his followers or-ganized a peasants war, 14191436, that was put downby the Empire with great brutality. Hus was a forerunnerof the Protestant Reformation and his memory has be-come a powerful symbol of Czech culture in Bohemia.[75]

See also: Bohemian Reformation

7.4 Italian Renaissance (c.13751520)

Michelangelos Piet in St. Peters Basilica, Vatican City

See also: Italian Renaissance

The Renaissance was a period of great cultural changeand 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 wereall aected by the Renaissance. On the one hand, itwas a time of great artistic patronage and architecturalmagnicence, where the Church pardoned such artistsas Michelangelo, Brunelleschi, Bramante, Raphael, FraAngelico, Donatello, and da Vinci. On the other hand,wealthy Italian families often secured episcopal oces,including the papacy, for their own members, some ofwhom were known for immorality, such as Alexander VIand Sixtus IV.In addition to being the head of the Church, the Pope

18 8 REFORMATION AND COUNTER-REFORMATION

became one of Italys most important secular rulers, andpontis such as Julius II often waged campaigns to protectand expand their temporal domains. Furthermore, thepopes, in a spirit of rened competition with other Ital-ian lords, spent lavishly both on private luxuries but alsoon public works, repairing or building churches, bridges,and a magnicent system of aqueducts in Rome that stillfunction today.From 1505 to 1626, St. Peters Basilica, perhaps the mostrecognised Christian church, was built on the site of theold Constantinian basilica. It was also a time of increasedcontact with Greek culture, opening up new avenues oflearning, especially in the elds of philosophy, poetry,classics, rhetoric, and political science, fostering a spiritof humanismall of which would inuence the Church.

8 Reformation and Counter-Reformation

See also: Christianity in the 16th century

8.1 Protestant Reformation (15211610)

Main articles: Protestant Reformation and Protestantism

In the early 16th century, movements were begun by twotheologians, Martin Luther and Huldrych Zwingli, thataimed to reform the Church; these reformers are distin-guished from previous ones in that they considered theroot of corruptions to be doctrinal (rather than simply amatter of moral weakness or lack of ecclesiastical dis-cipline) and thus they aimed to change contemporarydoctrines to accord with what they perceived to be thetrue gospel. The word Protestant is derived from theLatin protestatio meaning declaration which refers to theletter of protestation by Lutheran princes against the de-cision of the Diet of Speyer in 1529, which rearmed theedict of the Diet of Worms against the Reformation.[76]Since that time, the term has been used in many dierentsenses, but most often as a general term refers to WesternChristianity that is not subject to papal authority.[76] Theterm Protestant was not originally used by Reformationera leaders; instead, they called themselves evangelical,emphasising the return to the true gospel (Greek: euan-gelion).[77]

The beginning of the Protestant Reformation is gener-ally identied with Martin Luther and the posting of the95 Theses on the castle church in Wittenberg, Germany.Early protest was against corruptions such as simony,episcopal vacancies, and the sale of indulgences. TheProtestant position, however, would come to incorporatedoctrinal changes such as sola scriptura and sola de. Thethree most important traditions to emerge directly from

the Protestant Reformation were the Lutheran, Reformed(Calvinist, Presbyterian, etc.), and Anglican traditions,though the latter group identies as both Reformed andCatholic, and some subgroups reject the classicationas Protestant.The Protestant Reformation may be divided into twodistinct but basically simultaneous movements, theMagisterial Reformation and the Radical Reformation.TheMagisterial Reformation involved the alliance of cer-tain theological teachers (Latin: magistri) such as Luther,Zwingli, Calvin, Cranmer, etc. with secular magistrateswho cooperated in the reformation of Christendom. Rad-ical Reformers, besides forming communities outsidestate sanction, often employed more extreme doctrinalchange, such as the rejection of tenets of the Councilsof Nicaea and Chalcedon. Often the division betweenmagisterial and radical reformers was as or more violentthan the general Catholic and Protestant hostilities.The Protestant Reformation spread almost entirely withinthe connes of Northern Europe, but did not take hold incertain northern areas such as Ireland and parts of Ger-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 ProtestantReformation is known as the Counter Reformation, orCatholic Reformation, which resulted in a reassertion oftraditional doctrines and the emergence of new religiousorders aimed at both moral reform and new missionaryactivity. The Counter Reformation reconverted approxi-mately 33% of Northern Europe to Catholicism and initi-atedmissions in South andCentral America, Africa, Asia,and even China and Japan. Protestant expansion outsideof Europe occurred on a smaller scale through colonisa-tion of North America and areas of Africa.

8.1.1 Martin Luther

Main article: Martin LutherSee also: Theology of Martin LutherMartin Luther was an Augustinian friar and professor atthe University of Wittenberg. In 1517, he published alist of 95 Theses, or points to be debated, concerning theillicitness of selling indulgences. Luther had a particu-lar disdain for Aristotelian philosophy, and as he begandeveloping his own theology, he increasingly came intoconict with Thomistic scholars, most notably CardinalCajetan.[78] Soon, Luther had begun to develop his the-ology of justication, or process by which one is maderight (righteous) in the eyes of God. In Catholic the-ology, one is made righteous by a progressive infusion ofgrace accepted through faith and cooperated with throughgood works. Luthers doctrine of justication dieredfrom Catholic theology in that justication rather meantthe declaring of one to be righteous, where God im-putes the merits of Christ upon one who remains with-out inherent merit.[79] In this process, good works aremore of an unessential byproduct that contribute noth-

8.1 Protestant Reformation (15211610) 19

Martin Luther, by Lucas Cranach the Elder

ing to ones own state of righteousness. Conict betweenLuther and leading theologians lead to his gradual rejec-tion of authority of the Church hierarchy. In 1520, he wascondemned for heresy by the papal bull Exsurge Domine,which he burned atWittenberg along with books of canonlaw.[80]

8.1.2 Ulrich Zwingli

Main article: Huldrych ZwingliUlrich Zwingli was a Swiss scholar and parish priest whowas likewise inuential in the beginnings of the ProtestantReformation. Zwingli claimed that his theology owednothing to Luther, and that he had developed it in 1516,before Luthers famous protest, though his doctrine ofjustication was remarkably similar to that of the Germanfriar.[81] In 1518, Zwingli was given a post at the wealthycollegiate church of the Grossmnster in Zurich, wherehe would remain until his death at a relatively young age.Soon he had risen to prominence in the city, and whenpolitical tension developed between most of Switzerlandand the Catholic Habsburg Emperor Charles V. In thisenvironment, Zwingli began preaching his version of re-form, with certain points as the aforementioned doc-trine of justication, but others (with which Luther ve-hemently disagreed) such as the position that veneration

Ulrich Zwingli, wearing the scholars cap.

of icons was actually idolatry and thus a violation of therst commandment, and the denial of the real presencein the Eucharist.[82] Soon the city council had acceptedZwinglis doctrines and Zurich became a focal point ofmore radical reforming movements, and certain admirersand followers of Zwingli pushed his message and reformsfar further than even he had intended, such as rejectinginfant baptism.[83] This split between Luther and Zwingliformed the essence of the Protestant division betweenLutheran and Reformed theology. Meanwhile, politicaltensions increased; Zwingli and the Zurich leadership im-posed an economic blockade on the inner Catholic statesof Switzerland, which led to a battle in which Zwingli, infull armor, was slain along with his troops.

8.1.3 John Calvin

Main article: John CalvinSee also: Calvinism

John Calvin was a French cleric and doctor of law turnedProtestant reformer. He belonged to the second gen-eration of the Reformation, publishing his theologicaltome, the Institutes of the Christian Religion, in 1536(later revised), and establishing himself as a leader ofthe Reformed church in Geneva, which became an un-ocial capital of Reformed Christianity in the sec-ond half of the 16th century. He exerted a remarkableamount of authority in the city and over the city coun-cil, such that he has (rather ignominiously) been calleda Protestant pope. Calvin established an eldership to-gether with a "consistory", where pastors and the el-ders established matters of religious discipline for theGenevan population.[84] Calvins theology is best knownfor his doctrine of (double) predestination, which held

20 8 REFORMATION AND COUNTER-REFORMATION

that God had, from all eternity, providentially foreor-dained who would be saved (the elect) and likewise whowould be damned (the reprobate). Predestination was notthe dominant idea in Calvins works, but it would seem-ingly become so for many of his Reformed successors.[85]

8.1.4 English Reformation

See also: English Civil WarUnlike other reform movements, the English Reforma-

Statue of Richard Hooker, whose emphases on reason, toleranceand inclusiveness inuenced Anglicanism.

tion began by royal inuence. Henry VIII consideredhimself a thoroughly Catholic King, and in 1521 he de-fended the papacy against Luther in a book he commis-sioned entitled, The Defence of the Seven Sacraments, forwhich Pope Leo X awarded him the title Fidei Defen-sor (Defender of the Faith). However, the king cameinto conict with the papacy when he wished to annulhis marriage with Catherine of Aragon, for which heneeded papal sanction. Catherine, among many othernoble relations, was the aunt of Emperor Charles V, thepapacys most signicant secular supporter. The ensu-ing dispute eventually lead to a break from Rome andthe declaration of the King of England as head of theEnglish Church. England would later experience peri-ods of frenetic and eclectic reforms contrasted by periodsled by staunch conservatives. Monarchs such as EdwardVI, Mary I, Elizabeth I, and Archbishops of Canterburysuch as Thomas Cranmer and William Laud pushed theChurch of England in many directions over the course ofonly a few generations. What emerged was a state churchthat considered itself both Reformed and Catholicbut not Roman (and hesitated from the title Protes-

tant), and other unocial more radical movementssuch as the Puritans.

8.2 Counter-Reformation (15451610)

Main article: Counter-Reformation

The Counter-Reformation, or Catholic Reformation, wasthe response of the Catholic Church to the Protestant Ref-ormation. The essence of the Counter-Reformation wasa 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 spreadof Protestantism. Thus it experienced the founding ofnew 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 asthat of the Spanish mystics and the French school ofspirituality. The entire process was spearheaded by theCouncil of Trent, which claried and reasserted doctrine,issued dogmatic denitions, and produced the RomanCatechism.Though Ireland, Spain, France, and elsewhere featuredsignicantly in the Counter-Reformation, its heart wasItaly and the various popes of the time, who establishedthe Index Librorum Prohibitorum (the list of prohibitedbooks) and the Roman Inquisition, a system of juridi-cal tribunals that prosecuted heresy and related oences.The Papacy of St. Pius V (15661572) was known notonly for its focus on halting heresy and worldly abuseswithin the Church, but also for its focus on improvingpopular piety in a determined eort to stem the appealof Protestantism. Pius began his ponticate by givinglarge alms to the poor, charity, and hospitals, and theponti was known for consoling the poor and sick, andsupporting missionaries. The activities of these pontiscoincided with a rediscovery of the ancient Christiancatacombs in Rome. As Diarmaid MacCulloch stated,Just as these ancient martyrs were revealed once more,Catholics were beginning to be martyred afresh, both inmission elds overseas and in the struggle to win backProtestant northern Europe: the catacombs proved to bean inspiration for many to action and to heroism.[86]

8.2.1 The Council of Trent

Main article: Council of TrentThe Council of Trent (15451563), initiated by PopePaul III (15341549) addressed issues of certain ec-clesiastical corruptions such as simony, absenteeism,nepotism, and other abuses, as well as the reassertionof traditional practices and the dogmatic articulation ofthe traditional doctrines of the Church, such as the epis-copal structure, clerical celibacy, the seven Sacraments,transubstantiation (the belief that during mass the conse-

9.1 Trial of Galileo 21

The Council in Santa MariaMaggiore church; Museo DiocesianoTridentino, Trento

crated bread and wine truly become the body and bloodof Christ), the veneration of relics, icons, and saints (es-pecially the Blessed Virgin Mary), the necessity of bothfaith and good works for salvation, the existence of purga-tory and the issuance (but not the sale) of indulgences, etc.In other words, all Protestant doctrinal objections andchanges were uncompromisingly rejected. The Councilalso fostered an interest in education for parish priests toincrease pastoral care. Milan's Archbishop Saint CharlesBorromeo (15381584) set an example by visiting the re-motest parishes and instilling high standards.

8.2.2 Catholic missions

Catholic missions were carried to new places beginningwith the new Age of Discovery, and the Roman CatholicChurch established a number ofMissions in the Americasand other colonies in order to spread Christianity in theNewWorld and to convert the indigenous peoples. At thesame time, missionaries such as Francis Xavier as well asother Jesuits, Augustinians, Franciscans and Dominicanswere moving into Asia and the Far East. The Portuguesesent missions into Africa. While some of these missionswere associated with imperialism and oppression, others(notably Matteo Ricci's Jesuit mission to China) were rel-atively peaceful and focused on integration rather thancultural imperialism.

9 Church and the Enlightenment(16101800)

See also: Christianity in the 17th century and Christianityin the 18th century

Galileo before the Holy Oce, a 19th-century painting byJoseph-Nicolas Robert-Fleury

9.1 Trial of Galileo

The Galileo aair, in which Galileo Galilei came intoconict with the Roman Catholic Church over his supportof Copernican astronomy, is often considered a deningmoment in the history of the relationship between reli-gion and science.In 1610, Galileo published his Sidereus Nuncius (StarryMessenger), describing the surprising observations that hehad made with the new telescope. These and other dis-coveries exposed major diculties with the understand-ing of the Heavens that had been held since antiquity,and raised new interest in radical teachings such as theheliocentric theory of Copernicus.In reaction, many scholars maintained that the motion ofthe Earth and immobility of the Sun were heretical, asthey contradicted some accounts given in the Bible as un-derstood at that time. Galileos part in the controversiesover theology, astronomy and philosophy culminated inhis trial and sentencing in 1633, on a grave suspicion ofheresy.

9.2 Puritans in North America

Main article: Migration to New England (16201640)See also: History of the Puritans

The most famous colonisation by Protestants in the NewWorld was that of English Puritans in North Amer-ica. Unlike the Spanish or French, the English colonistsmade surprisingly little eort to evangelise the nativepeoples.[87] The Puritans, or Pilgrims, left England so thatthey could live in an area with Puritanism established asthe exclusive civic religion. Though they had left Eng-land because of the suppression of their religious prac-tice, most Puritans had thereafter originally settled in theLow Countries but found the licentiousness there, wherethe state hesitated from enforcing religious practice, asunacceptable, and thus they set out for the New Worldand the hopes of a Puritan utopia.

22 11 LATE MODERN ERA

10 Early Modern era

This is the period from the Industrial revolution and theFrench Revolution until the mid 19th century.See the French Republican Calendar and anti-clericalmeasures. See also the Holy League, the Battle of Vi-enna, Cardinal Richelieu, and Louis XIV of France.

10.1 Revivalism (17201906)

Main article: RevivalismSee also: Christianity in the 18th century and Christianityin the 19th century

Revivalism refers to the Calvinist and Wesleyan revival,called the Great Awakening, in North America whichsaw the development of evangelical Congregationalist,Presbyterian, Baptist, and new Methodist churches.

10.2 Great Awakenings

Main articles: First Great Awakening, Second GreatAwakening and Third Great Awakening

The First Great Awakening was a wave of religious en-thusiasm among Protestants in the American coloniesc. 17301740, emphasising the traditional Reformedvirtues of Godly preaching, rudimentary liturgy, and adeep sense of personal guilt and redemption by ChristJesus. Historian Sydney E. Ahlstrom saw it as part ofa great international Protestant upheaval that also cre-ated Pietism in Germany, the Evangelical Revival, andMethodism in England.[88] It centred on reviving thespirituality of established congregations, and mostly af-fected Congregational, Presbyterian, Dutch Reformed,German Reformed, Baptist, and Methodist churches,while also spreading within the slave population. TheSecond Great Awakening (18001830s), unlike the rst,focused on the unchurched and sought to instil in thema deep sense of personal salvation as experienced in re-vival meetings. It also sparked the beginnings of groupssuch as the Mormons, the Restoration Movement andthe Holiness movement. The Third Great Awaken-ing began from 1857 and was most notable for takingthe movement throughout the world, especially in En-glish speaking countries. The nal group to emergefrom the great awakenings in North America wasPentecostalism, which had its roots in the Methodist,Wesleyan, and Holiness movements, and began in 1906on Azusa Street, in Los Angeles. Pentecostalism wouldlater lead to the Charismatic movement.

10.3 Restorationism

Main article: Restoration MovementSee also: Restorationism (Christian primitivism)

Restorationism refers to the belief that a purer form ofChristianity should be restored using the early churchas a model.[89]:635[90]:217 In many cases, restorationistgroups believed that contemporary Christianity, in all itsforms, had deviated from the true, original Christianity,which they then attempted to Reconstruct, often usingthe Book of Acts as a guidebook of sorts. Restora-tionists do not usually describe themselves as reforminga Christian church continuously existing from the time ofJesus, but as restoring the Church that they believe waslost at some point. Restorationism is often used to de-scribe the Stone-Campbell Restoration Movement.

10.3.1 Jehovahs Witnesses

The term Restorationist is also used to describe theJehovahs Witness Movement, founded in the late 1870sby Charles Taze Russell

10.3.2 Latter Day Saint movement

The term Restorationist is also used to describe theLatter Day Saint movement, including The Church ofJesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church), theCommunity of Christ and numerous other Latter DaySaints sects. Latter Day Saints believe that Joseph Smithwas chosen to restore the original organization establishedby Jesus, now in its fullness, rather than to reform thechurch.[91][92]

11 Late Modern eraMain article: History of Christianity of the Late ModerneraSee also: Christianity in the 20th century

The history of the Church from the mid 19th centuryaround period of the revolutions of 1848 to today.

11.1 Modern Eastern Orthodoxy

11.1.1 Russian Orthodox Church in the RussianEmpire

The Russian Orthodox Church held a privileged posi-tion in the Russian Empire, expressed in the motto ofthe late Empire from 1833: Orthodoxy, Autocracy, andPopulism. Nevertheless, the Church reform of Peter I

11.1 Modern Eastern Orthodoxy 23

Churches of the Moscow Kremlin, as seen from the Balchug

in the early 18th century had placed the Orthodox au-thorities under the control of the Tsar. An ocial (titled