2: The Medieval Church Period

For what alleged miracle was Bernard canonised a saint?A. While he was adoring a statue of Mary, its

breasts dripped milk onto his lips.B. While he was adoring a statue of John the

Baptist, it poured water on his head.C. While he was adoring a statue of Jesus, it

bled onto his hands.D. While he was adoring a statue of Samson,

it hit him on the side of the head with a donkey jawbone.

What alleged relic, kept in Canterbury England, did the medieval Church claim was the oldest relic in the world?

A. The club with which Cain killed Abel.B. The apple core from which Adam and Eve

took bites.C. A splinter of bone from Adam’s rib.D. The clay that God had left over after

making Adam.

What is the Church?Where/who is the authority?For much of the Middle Ages, this last

question was “settled”; the institutional Church in the person of the Pope was the authority

The Church was the mortar that held society together

Unity was seen to equal uniformity & unanimity

Early Church History – up to 500/600ADMedieval Church History – up to 1500 ADReformation Church History – 1500-1650ADModern Church History – 1650 onwardsThese are not simply dates chosen at random.

They represent changes of world-view in society & Church.

As we move from the Early Church into the Medieval Church period, there is a major change of worldview in the West

People started thinking of the Church and society in different ways, and this affected every level of society

The role of the institutional Church was now unquestioned, and considerably expanded

But what could individuals do to pursue God…?

The ultimate Christian heroes used to be martyrs, but this had now been removed as a “career option”

Although there had always been ascetics (St Antony was an early one) they became more numerous

No longer called on to die physically for their faith, devout believers needed a new goal and asceticism filled the gap. It was “dying” to self and bodily needs and desires; fuelled by Gnosticism

Unfortunately, it could also lead to self-obsession and insanity

A community of ascetics, recognising that complete solitude was not healthy

Like asceticism, saw life as a dynamic struggle between good and evil, requiring constant vigilance and discipline

Recognised benefits of accountability and community, including helping others on their spiritual journeys (mentoring)

Monasticism had advantages and disadvantages

Preservation of manuscriptsProvided charity for sick and poorPromoted scholarship & educationProvided a spiritual pathway through lifeReproved the worldliness and slackness in

the ChurchLater led to missionary outreach (many

Roman Catholic missionaries were from monasteries)

Promoted a false dualism (soul is good, body is bad)

Asceticism could crush natural instincts and lead to eccentricity and despair

Dual standards: “ordinary” Christians and “first-class” Christians (monastics)

An obsession with personal salvation and advancement: where is the concern for the world?

Withdrawal: the best men and women were often denied to society

From a wealthy family, but life in Rome shocked him

Lived in a cave for 3 yearsGrew in popularity, survived an assassination

attemptStarted a monastery at Monte CassinoUnder him, monks could not own property, shared

meals, avoided unnecessary conversation and devoted much time to the poor and needy in surrounding society.

Day was divided into corporate and private prayer, study, sleep & manual labour

Rome was the capital, therefore seen as pre-eminent (with dissent from Constantinople!)

Rome was associated with Peter & Paul and their deaths, therefore seen as apostolic & holy

Church councils showed bishops disagreed often, so good to have someone with the power of “veto” in the interests of overall unity

Church increasingly mirrored the hierarchical structure of the Empire

Leo I standing up to barbarians

588 Patriarch of Constantinople assumed the title of “Universal Bishop”. Gregory (Rome) protested this was “wicked” and “blasphemous”

Gregory claimed titles of “Servant of Servants”, “Vicar of Christ” and “Successor of Peter”

In practice, the primacy of the Roman Bishop was accepted everywhere except in the east (although they were still deferential) and the Celtic Church.

Growing tensions between eastern & western churches led to their split in 1054, each excommunicating the other (cf. 1965)

BC Celtic culture flourished across much of Europe (Ireland to Romania), but then it was largely overcome by the Romans and the barbarians. However it still flourished in British Isles.

Celtic culture strongly tribal. Before Christianity, there was strong focus on material creation and deities were associated with particular places – a nature religion.

Christianity in Britain from about 200AD, eventually accepted by many Celts.

St Ninian is the first Christian Celt we know of, ca. 400 AD.

Celtic society more tribal and nomadic than urban, therefore it adopted the monastic model (focus on abbot) rather than the Roman model (focus on bishop). Abbeys and monasteries did pastoral care.

Celtic abbots refused to be ordained by Roman bishops. Abbots were elected by the monks.

Celtic Christians had a strong sense of immanence of God in nature (contra the Gnostics)

Celts were ascetic, criticised wealth and luxuryCelts had a strong missionary focus , e.g. into

France

Mohammed & the Five Pillars: only one God and Mohammed is his prophet; pilgrimage to Mecca; zakat; regular prayer; fasting (esp. Ramadan)

Became a force in the early 7th century, at the beginning of the Dark Ages

The Church rapidly lost much of its “traditional territory” to Islam, including Syria, Egypt, Armenia and Persia

732 Battle of Tours in France

A misunderstanding of Christian doctrine (e.g. Trinity)

Both Eastern and Western Empires were weak at the time

Citizens were over-burdened with taxation. Social and economic discontent

Muslims were helped by the Jews, because they treated Jews better than Christians did

Islam fused political, religious and military interests into a cohesive whole

The triple choice: Koran, taxation or death. Accept Islam and be largely free of taxation; keep your own religion but bear the taxation burden (but no evangelism allowed); evangelism = death

Some felt that Islam could be embraced alongside their previous beliefs (syncretism)

First clearly identified by Peter Lombard in 1150AD

BaptismConfirmationMarriageConfession/penanceEucharistExtreme unctionordination

Items associated with saints (or part of them)Very numerous, seen as having spiritual

powerPope’s power partly due to the relics of Peter

& PaulCharlemagne’s throne filled with themPapal indulgences (began 11th century) based

on supererogationPope has the “keys” to this treasury; could be

applied in this life or in purgatory

Several different crusades, lasting 200 yearsBegan in 1095 and supported by Pope UrbanOnly the 1st crusade briefly recaptured

JerusalemMassive loss of lifeCreated permanent antagonism between

Muslims and ChristiansRaised some theological questions

Whose side was God on? The Muslims won – does this mean Christianity is wrong?

How can we “fight for God” and still lose – isn’t God all-powerful?

Acceptance that Islam wasn’t going away. This led to other ways of dealing with it, and eventually spurred missions.

Crusaders brought back books and scholars from the east; this gave further impetus to the new universities

During the late 1100sEnded the Dark AgesFounded in cities, e.g. Bologna & Oxford7 years in liberal arts, followed by another 7

years in either Medicine, Law or TheologyBrought a new focus on urban lifeVirtually all scholars were ordainedReplaced monasteries as centres of learning

Church was geared to rural life: the parishUrban life needed a new model of ministry

and the friars arose to meet thisDominicans and Franciscans, both named

after their foundersFeatured: primitive simplicity, teaching and

schools, lived by begging. Focused on the needs of towns (cf. the Black Death)

Literally “rebirth”Greater interest in classical writings due to a

greater unity between Roman and Greek churches, plus exodus of scholars when Constantinople fell

Aristotle’s emphasis on “particulars” saw relentless curiosity about humanity

New emphases in art and culture on the individualPortraits become common; Popes become art

collectorsFascination with original languages