Church History II  SurveySession #2

Eastern ChristianityThe Church in the Middle Ages

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© 2010, Ed Sherwood, Berachah Bible Institute

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Session 2 – Eastern Christianity

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© 2010, Ed Sherwood, Berachah Bible Institute

© 2010, Ed Sherwood, Berachah Bible Institute

Opening Prayer 

The Jesus Prayer “ Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner.”“Κύριε Ιησού Χριστέ, Υιέ του Θεού, ελέησόν με τον αμαρτωλόν. ”

Origin – believed to be from the Desert Fathers Said repetitively, but not a mantra – focus is on the meaningPrayed on nine levels:

• The prayer of the lips.• The prayer of the mouth.• The prayer of the tongue.• The prayer of the voice.• The prayer of the mind.• The prayer of the heart.• The active prayer.• The all‐seeing prayer.• The contemplative prayer.

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© 2010, Ed Sherwood, Berachah Bible Institute

Overview of Chapter 27 – Eastern Christianity

• Christianity in the Eastern Roman Empire (p. 251-252)

• The Byzantine Empire (Byzantium)

• The Christological Debates to the Council of Chalcedon (p. 252-257)

• Further Theological Debates (p. 257-261)

• The Dissident Churches of the East (p. 261-262)

• Eastern Orthodoxy after the Arab Conquest (p. 262-265)

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© 2010, Ed Sherwood, Berachah Bible Institute

http://www.costumes.org/history/racinet/new/byzantine181.jpg

Byzantine and court and ecclesiastical dress in the early Medieval Age

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© 2010, Ed Sherwood, Berachah Bible Institute

Christianity in the East

• 1st Cent. BC - Roman province of Judea established

• 1st - 4th Centuries AD – Christianity mostly in the East

• 324 AD - Emperor Constantine moves capital to Greek city of Byzantium (renamed Constantinople)

• 476 AD - Western Roman Empire falls• 476AD to 1453 AD - Eastern Roman Empire

continues• 639-732 AD - Rise of Islam (major setback

for Christianity in the East) “The Great Recession”

• 1054 AD - Western and Eastern Christian churches divide, “The Great Schism”

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© 2010, Ed Sherwood, Berachah Bible Institute

Eastern Orthodox Cross

© 2010, Ed Sherwood, Berachah Bible Institute

Europe in 600 AD

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© 2010, Ed Sherwood, Berachah Bible Institute

The Byzantine Empire (Byzantium)

• 667 BC - Founded by Greeks, named for their king, Byzas, Greek name Βυζάντιον, Byzántion

• One of most powerful economic, cultural, and military forces in Europe

• Through middle ages, Constantinople was Europe’s largest and wealthiest city

• 1071 AD – Lost most of Asia Minor to Seljuk Turks

• 1081-1180 AD – Reestablished rule• 1204 AD – Fourth crusade from the

west attacks Constantinople and partitions the Empire

• 1453 AD - Fall of Constantinople

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© 2010, Ed Sherwood, Berachah Bible Institute

Theodosius II's great chain of land walls withstand countless sieges until the Ottoman conquest of the city in 1453 AD.

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530 AD

The Rise and Fall of the Byzantine Empire 

After the fall of the Western Roman Empire and before the conquest of Islam.

1453 ADAfter the conquest of Constantinople and the partition of the Empire.

© 2010, Ed Sherwood, Berachah Bible Institute

© 2010, Ed Sherwood, Berachah Bible Institute

The Christological Debates to the Council of Chalcedon (p. 252-257)

• The fundamental issue – “How Christ’s divine and human nature are joined. Two schools:– Alexandrines – divinity asserted at

expense of human nature (e.g. Apollinarius of Laodicea - A human body with a divine mind. View rejected.

– Antiochemes – divinity and human nature asserted as distinct (Nestorius –two natures, two persons). View rejected.

• 431 AD, 449 AD Councils of Ephesus449 AD council “robber’s synod”

• 451 AD – Council of Chalcedon –“two natures, one person”

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© 2010, Ed Sherwood, Berachah Bible Institute

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Byzantine Dress

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© 2010, Ed Sherwood, Berachah Bible Institute

The  Confession of Chalcedon 

• aka, “Definition of Chalcedon” or “Chalcedon Creed”

• Restates Tertullian’s view “two natures, one person”

• Does not explain union of two natures, sets limits

• Orthodoxy for entire Western Church, most in East

• Doctrine – “hypostatic union” Hypostasis means, literally, that which lies beneath as basis or foundation.

• Doctrine consistent with letter from Pope Leo denied at Council of Ephesus in 449 AD

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“… our Lord Jesus Christ is one and the same God, perfect in divinity, and perfect in humanity; true God and true human, with a rational soul and a body, of one substance with the Father in his divinity, and of one substance with us in his humanity, in every way like us, with the only exception of sin ”

Pope Leo

© 2010, Ed Sherwood, Berachah Bible Institute

Six Christological Heresies 

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Orthodox View of Hypostatic Union:• No divine attributes lost, complete human attributes gained (except sin)• Two natures do not function independently – Jesus not a “split personality”• Christ did not just dwell in a human body, he took on a human body eternally• Incarnation not fully revealed, some aspects remain a mystery

ORTHODOX VIEW OF GOD

Fully God Fully Man

One Person Two Natures

EbionismJesus was not

God

ArianismJesus was not

fully God

NestorianismJesus was two

distinct persons

DocetismJesus was not

human

ApollinarianismJesus was not

fully human

Eutychianism Jesus had one blended nature

© 2010, Ed Sherwood, Berachah Bible Institute

Further Theological Debates (p. 257-261)

• Christological debates continue • Emperors wrongly seek compromise

– 476 AD Basliscus annuls Chalcedon– 482 AD Zeno “edict of union”, opposed by

Pope Felix III, supported by Patriarch Acasius “Schism of Acasius”

– 519 AD, Emperor Justin and Pope Hormisdas restore Chalcedon

• 639-732 AD - Islamic conquests of Syria and Egypt was where opposition to Chalcedon was strongest (p. 259)

• 787 AD - Controversy over worship vs. veneration of icons settled.

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© 2010, Ed Sherwood, Berachah Bible Institute

http://www.answers.com/topic/iconostasis

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1. Council of Nicaea (325 AD) RESULT: Nicene Creed; affirmed deity of Christ against Arian heresy denying divinity. Fixed date of Easter vs. maintaining Jewish Passover date.

2. First Council of Constantinople (381 AD), RESULT: affirmed the Divinity of the Holy Spirit. Added affirmation to the Nicene creed.

3. Council of Ephesus (431 AD) RESULT: Defined the true personal unity of Christ, declared Mary the Mother of God (theotokos) rather than Mother of Christ , renewed condemnation of Pelagius.

4. Council of Chalcedon (451 AD) RESULT: defined the two natures (Divine and human) in Christ.

5. Second Council of Constantinople (553 AD) RESULT: condemned errors of Origen and other writings (The Three Chapters) of Bishop Theodoret, of Theodore.

6. Third Council of Constantinople (680-681 AD) RESULT: put an end to Monothelism by defining two wills in Christ, the Divine and the human, as two distinct principles of operation.

7. Second Council of Nicaea (787 AD) RESULT: regulated the veneration of holy images (icons). “worship” vs. “veneration”

The Seven Ecumenical Councils © 2010, Ed Sherwood, Berachah Bible Institute

© 2010, Ed Sherwood, Berachah Bible Institute

The Dissident Churches of the East (p. 261-262)• The Persian Church – 410 AD 

organized as separate church ‐Nestorian

• The Armenian Church – 450 AD invaded by Persia (“monophysites” – Christ had one nature)

• The Ethiopian Church – rejected Chalcedon and are today one of the largest “monophysite” churches.

• The Egyptian Coptic Church – has both Chalcedon believers (“melchites” – imperial Christians) and monophysites .

• The Syrian Church  ‐ split between Chalcedonians and monophysites (Jacobites)

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Persian church is now made up of mostly  Assyrian and Armenians

Restoration of St Anthony’s Monastery in Egypt by the Copts 

© 2010, Ed Sherwood, Berachah Bible Institute

Eastern Orthodoxy after the Arab Conquest (p. 262-265)

• Eastern Chalcedonian Church – the Orthodox Church• Islam blocked its spread to the east and south• Missionary efforts were north and northwest

– Modern Poland, the Baltic countries, Russia, the Balkan countries, and Greece.

– Mission to the Bulgars – 950 AD - Conversion of Russia was greatest missionary effort

• With union of the Western European countries under Charlemagne, the Pope in the west no longer needed the support of Constantinople.

• Final schism came in 1054 AD in which the churches in the west and east excommunicated each other.

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Back Up Slides

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20http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constantinople

http://individual.utoronto.ca/hayes/earlychurch/17earlymedieval.htm

After the Fall  ‐ 530 AD 

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© 2010, Ed Sherwood, Berachah Bible Institute

End of the Early Middle Ages – 1050 AD

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© 2010, Ed Sherwood, Berachah Bible Institute

© 2010, Ed Sherwood, Berachah Bible Institute

Two Centers – Rome and Constantinople

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• Western Church Center• Led by Pope• Pope authoritative• Latin speaking

Rome Constantinople

• Eastern Church Center• Led by Patriarchs• Councils authoritative• Greek speaking

The Western and Eastern Churches Split in 1054 AD

© 2010, Ed Sherwood, Berachah Bible Institute

Europe in 600 AD

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© 2010, Ed Sherwood, Berachah Bible Institute

Map of Islam During 661–750 AD

25http://moinansari.files.wordpress.com/2008/09/islam_map‐ummayads.jpg