The Church in the Late Empire and Antiquity

(Originally written February 8, 2006 in Book 24)

The Church in the Late Empire and Antiquity

Constantine (306-337)
-Battle of the Milvian Bridge (312)
-Edict of Milan (313)
-Sole Emperor (323)
-Called ecumenical councils Nicaea

Constantine legalized Christianity. He used Christianity to stabilize the empire.

Edict of Milan

Donatis was one of the priests who did not cave in to the Roman persecution of 303.

Donatis (Donatus?) contended that the priests who caved into the Roman persecution and sacrificed to the pagan gods should not be reinstated to the priesthood. These priests should not be giving the Holy sacraments because they would taint it and diminish their power.

This sets up the argument of whether the sacraments are holy or whether the priest administering the sacraments make them holy.

Heresy of Arianism
- God is the father
- The son has a different essence than the father, the son is not God. The son has the properties of God because God gave him the properties out of Grace
- The son is not immortal, he was created by God and then was the co-creator with God
- Jesus was sinless by practice, not by nature

Theodosius (379-395)
- Theodosius (and Ambrose)
- Orthodox Christian State circa A.D. 391
- ban on sacrifices
- divination outlawed as treason
- ordered polytheistic temples closed, these were gradually converted into churches in the 5th and 6th centuries
- made Christianity the only legal religion. Plato's academy in Athens survived another 140 years.

In the late empire the church is creating a hierarchy of leadership.

The bishops became powerful and a social status symbol, especially in the west.

A separate hierarchy
- Ambrose, bishop of Milan (AD 340 -397)
- Born into power, educated in law
- Governor of Milan at age 30
- A catechumen (still in training to be a member of the church)
- Appointed as bishop after 4 years of governing, while he still was a catechumen and not even baptized.
- Ambrose taught and converted Augustine
- Wrote on how ministry should be carried out and how a pastor should live.

Theodosius was an emperor while Ambrose was bishop of Milan
- Theodosius puts Christianity as the only legal religion, thus the persecuted becomes the persecutors
- In 388 a group of Christians burned a synagogue. Theodosius states that the bishop of the Church that burned down the synagogue has to pay for the synagogue. Ambrose rebukes him for promoting Judaism and Theodosius backed down.
- In 390 Theodosius slaughtered 3000 Thessalonians for rioting. Ambrose forced Theodosius to publicly confess of his sins. Thus the Church proved more powerful than the state.

God has two swords of power:
1) Temporal sword - government the wielder's responsibility was to create a government conducive to Christ
2) Spiritual sword: Pope/bishop the spiritual sword trumpeted the temporal sword

From the adoption of Christianity as the only legal religion, Jews find themselves losing more and more liberties like being barred from government positions

From the 6th century on Jews were barred from making wills and prohibited from testifying in court

Monasticism
Types of Monks:

- Ascetic (denial of physical comforts or pleasure, anti-materialistic)
- Eremitical (withdrawn) Monasticism: hermits, Anthony
- Cenobitic Monasticism (community): Cuenobium (common meal). Held ideals like community (strength, safety, health), obedience, abbot (father), manual labor

Very important in medieval society and continues today

Early Western Civilization (800 BC - 1650 AD)

800 BC - 265 BC: Greek
265 BC - AD 700: Roman
AD 700 - 1650: Western Europe
AD 324/476-1453 Byzantine Reign
AD 600 - 1258 Islamic World