Soldiers and Missionaries: 600–700

CH Lecture Notes Chapter 7

Soldiers and Missionaries: 600–700

Introductory Matters:

· Continued divide between the Western and Eastern Cultures

· 7th Century witnesses the distinct Byzantine Empire (Byzantium, Eastern Empire)

· Constantinople achieves a height of glory

I. The Bobbio Monastery

A. Began by Columbanus (see previous chapter) in 612

B. Like many other monasteries, the Bobbio Monastery became a center for scholarship

C. Due to the work of Columbanus, the library at the monastery became “one of the greatest libraries of the Middle Ages”[1]

D. The Bobbio Library also held two of Columbanus’s works: Penitential and Monastic Rule (see handout)

E. Ultimately Benedict’s less-severe rule would overtake Columbanus’s

II. Celtic Christianity

A. Although not under the singular leadership of a Pope or Ecumenical Patriarch, Celtic Christianity “did tend to share common characteristics”[2]

B. One common characteristic was a different calendar and different date for Easter

C. Another common characteristic was “the practice of tonsuring”[3]

1. Tonsuring is the act of cutting some or all of the hair of the scalp for religious devotion.

2. This practice was observed in both the Roman Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodox Church.

3. “The origins of the Christian use of this rite are not clear, but early Christian ascetics may have imitated the ancient religious practice among the Greeks and Semites that involved the cutting of some of the hair and offering it to a deity as a sign of dedication.”[4]

III. Anglo-Saxon Christianity

Anglo-Saxon Christianity developed on two fronts: southern and northern.

A. Anglo-Saxon Christianity in the South

1. The Efforts of Augustine

a. Pope Gregory the Great’s missionary efforts to evangelize England focused on Augustine

b. Augustine arrived in Kent in 597 and set to work

c. Augustine, “a somewhat reluctant missionary,” baptized King Aethelbert (or, Ethelbert) on Easter in 601[5]

d. Although Pope Gregory the Great’s plan was for Augustine to establish a see in London, Augustine established a church in Canterbury and a monastery nearby

2. The Efforts of Paulinus

a. Pope Gregory the Great also sent Paulinus (?–c. 644) to aid Augustine

b. Paulinus was successful in converting King Edwin of Northumbria (or, the kingdom of Deira)

c. Paulinus became bishop of York in 625

3. Other significant advances in the South

a. Justus (?–c. 627) appointed bishop of Rochester

b. Mellitus (?–624) became first bishop of London

IV. The Lindisfarne Community

A. King Oswald of Northumbria (or, Bernicia) required the help from Iona to help Christianize his people.

B. Iona sent St. Aidan (?–d. 651), “who under Oswald’s sponsorship established a monastery on the ‘Holy Isle’ of Lindisfarne (634), and from it, during the reigns of Oswald (d. 641) and his brother Oswy (641–670), rooted Christianity in Northumbria.”[6]

C. The Lindisfarne Community established Christianity “all over modern-day Scotland and England”[7]

D. The First Encyclopaedia

E. Lindisfarne Gospels—an important translation (c. 696–698)

V. Synod of Whitby—Return to Rome

A. The Council of Whitby (or, Synod of Whitby) came as a result of the great differences between Celtic and Roman Christianity.

B. The conflict arose from the differences in Easter between the Celtic Christians and King Owsy’s wife, Queen Eanfleda (Roman Catholic)

C. King Oswy called for a council to determine a solution to these differences—they met at Hilda’s monastery

D. Hilda

1. Baptized by Paulinus in 627

2. Established a “double monastery, with houses for both men and women” in 659[8]

3. Ultimately, she accepted the decision of the Synod and helped continue developing Whitby as a “centre for scholarship, literature, and theology”[9]

E. Synod’s Decision—return to Rome

1. After learning about the apostolic succession of the bishop of Rome to Peter (cf. Matt. 16:18), King Oswy embraced Roman Catholic Christianity

Matthew 16:18 ESV

And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.

2. “The decision that resulted from this discovery eventually brought the whole of England under the Roman obedience, and English Christianity eventually proved a principal ally of the papacy in both the establishment and the reform of Churches on the continent of Europe.”[10]

VI. Chinese Christianity

A. Christian Tradition states that the Gospel reached China and India through the efforts of the apostle Thomas (cf. John 20:24–29)

B. “The first historical evidence for the presence of Christianity in China comes from the Sian-Fu (or His-an-fu) Stone.”[11]

C. Alopen arrived some time in 635 and spread the Gospel

D. Alopen came from the Assyrian Church (or, Church of the East)

1. The Church of the East rejected Nestorianism and the teachings of the Chalcedonian Creed/Definition

E. Left without a Bible or connection to the Church at large, Christianity did not flourish and was soon syncretized with Buddhism

VII. Byzantine Christianity

A. The combining of political and ecclesiastical authority continued through the 7th century

B. This merging of church and state led to greater theological confusion

VIII. Emperor Heraclius (575–641)

A. Emperor from 610–641

B. Croatia

IX. The One Activity of Christ

X. The One Will of Christ

XI. Two Natures

XII. Muslim Advance

XIII. The Quinisext Council—Away from Rome

[1]https://www.historyofinformation.com/detail.php?id=1398, accessed 19 October 2023. [2]Backhouse, Essential Companion, 57. [3]Backhouse, Essential Companion, 57. [4]https://www.britannica.com/topic/tonsure, accessed 19 October 2023. [5]Walker, et. al., A History of Christianity, 224. [6]Walker, et. al., A History of Christianity, 223. [7]Backhouse, Essential Companion, 58. [8]Walker, et. al., A History of Christianity, 224. [9]Backhouse, Essential Companion, 59. [10]Walker, et. al., A History of Christianity, 225. [11]Backhouse, Essential Companion, 59.