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The The SSpread pread of of CChristian hristian IIdeasdeas

What’s the Connection?In the last section, you read

about the growth of the Christianchurch. In this section, you will learnhow the church underwent a greatdivision and how Christians spreadtheir faith to new lands.

Focusing on the • Church and government worked

closely together in the ByzantineEmpire. (page 359)

• Christians founded new communitiesand spread their faith to variousparts of Europe. (page 361)

Locating PlacesByzantine Empire

(BIH•zuhn•TEEN EHM•PYR)Britain (BRIH•tuhn)Ireland (EYER•luhnd)

Meeting PeopleCharlemagne (SHAHR•luh•MAYN)Basil (BAY•zuhl)Benedict (BEH•nuh•DIHKT)Cyril (SIHR•uhl)Patrick

Building Your Vocabularyicon (EYE•KAHN)iconoclast (eye•KAH•nuh•KLAST)excommunicate

(EHK•skuh•MYOO•nuh•KAYT)schism (SIH•zuhm)monastery (MAH•nuh•STEHR•ee)missionary (MIH•shuh•NEHR•ee)

Reading StrategyOrganizing Information Create adiagram to show the reach of Christianmissionaries.

358 CHAPTER 10 The Rise of Christianity

c. A.D. 450Patrick preachesChristianity inIreland

A.D. 726Emperor Leo IIIremoves iconsfrom churches

A.D. 1054Eastern Orthodox and Roman CatholicChurches separate

A.D. 400 A.D. 800 A.D. 1200A.D. 400 A.D. 800 A.D. 1200

Missionaries

EasternEurope

Britain/Ireland

AFRICA

ASIAMINOR

GREECE

ITALYGAUL

SPAIN

BRITAINIRELAND

Rome

Jerusalem

Constantinople

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CHAPTER 10 The Rise of Christianity 359

This gold Byzantine incense burner is in the shapeof a church. What was the Christian church thatdeveloped in the Byzantine Empire called?

Religious Arguments Byzantines, fromthe emperor down to the poorest farmer,were very interested in religious matters. Inhomes and shops, they argued about reli-gious questions. For example, Byzantinesloved to discuss the exact relationshipbetween Jesus and God.

In the A.D. 700s, a major dispute dividedthe Church in the Byzantine Empire. Theargument was over the use of icons (EYE •KAHNZ). Icons are pictures or images of Jesus,Mary (the mother of Jesus), and the saints,or Christian holy people. Many Byzantineshonored icons. They covered the walls oftheir churches with them. A few importanticons were even believed to work miracles.

Some Byzantines, however, wanted anend to the use of icons. They thought thathonoring them was a form of idol worshipforbidden by God. Supporters of icons,

Web Activity Visit jat.glencoe.com and clickon Chapter 10—Student Web Activity to learn more about the rise of Christianity.

The Byzantine ChurchChurch and government worked closely

together in the Byzantine Empire.Reading Focus In our country, religion and govern-ment are separated. Read to learn about the relation-ship between religion and government in the ByzantineEmpire.

As you learned earlier, the church ofRome survived the fall of the WesternRoman Empire. Its head, the pope, becamethe strongest leader in Western Europe.Under the pope, the Latin churches of theregion became known as the RomanCatholic Church. In the East, however, theRoman Empire continued. It developedinto the Byzantine Empire (BIH • zuhn • TEENEHM • PYR). Like Roman Catholics in theWest, the Byzantines developed their ownform of Christianity. It was based on theirGreek heritage and was known as theEastern Orthodox Church.

Church and State Church and governmentworked closely together in the ByzantineEmpire. The Byzantines believed theiremperor represented Jesus Christ on Earth.The emperor was crowned in a religiousceremony.

The emperor also chose the patriarch ofConstantinople, the leading Church officialin the Byzantine Empire. In this way, theemperor controlled the Church as well asthe government. Byzantines believed thatGod wanted them to preserve and spreadChristianity. All Church and governmentofficials were united in this goal.

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however, claimed that icons were symbolsof God’s presence in daily life. Theseimages, they also said, helped explainChristianity to people.

Emperor Leo III did not approve oficons. In A.D. 726 he ordered all iconsremoved from the churches. Governmentofficials who carried out his orders wereknown as iconoclasts (eye •KAH •nuh • KLASTS),or image breakers. We use this word todayto mean someone who attacks traditionalbeliefs or institutions.

Most Byzantines, many church leaders,and even the pope in Rome opposed theemperor’s order. In fact, the dispute overicons damaged ties between the churches ofRome and Constantinople. Over the next100 years, the argument cooled, and the use of icons became accepted once again.They are still an important part of EasternOrthodox religious practice.

Conflicts Between Churches Icons werenot the only issue that caused bitternessbetween the churches of Constantinopleand Rome. The most serious argument wasabout how churches were to be run. Thepope claimed that he was the head of allChristian churches. The Byzantines did notaccept the pope’s claim. They believed thepatriarch of Constantinople and other bish-ops were equal to the pope.

Making matters worse was the fact thateach church sometimes refused to help theother when outsiders attacked. In the lateA.D. 700s, the Byzantine emperor refused tohelp the pope when Italy was invaded. Thepope turned instead to a Germanic peoplecalled the Franks for help. The Franks wereRoman Catholics and loyal to the pope.

The pope was grateful to the Franks for stopping the invasion. In A.D. 800 hegave the Frankish king, Charlemagne(SHAHR • luh •MAYN), the title of emperor. Thisangered the Byzantines. They believed theleader of the Byzantines was the only trueemperor.

This conflict pointed out the differencesin how each church felt about relations withthe government. In the Byzantine Empire,the emperor was in control, with churchleaders respecting his wishes. In the West,however, the pope claimed both spiritualand political power. He often quarreledwith kings over church and governmentaffairs.

Byzantine cross

This icon on woodshows the archangelGabriel, who servedas a messenger forGod according tothe Bible. Whatreasons were givento support the useof icons?

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Finally, after centuries of tension, thepope and the patriarch of Constantinopletook a drastic step in their ongoing feud. In A.D. 1054 they excommunicated (EHK •skuh • MYOO • nuh • KAY • tuhd) each other.Excommunication means to declare that aperson or group no longer belongs to thechurch. This began a schism (SIH • zuhm), orseparation, of the two most importantbranches of Christianity. The split betweenthe Roman Catholic and Eastern OrthodoxChurches has lasted to this day.

Describe How did churchand government work together in the ByzantineEmpire?

Christian Ideas SpreadChristians founded new communities

and spread their faith to various parts of Europe.

Reading Focus Have you ever tried to get someoneto believe something you believe? Read to learn howChristians spread their faith across Europe.

After the fall of Rome, the people ofWestern Europe faced confusion and con-flict. As a result, people were looking fororder and unity. Christianity helped to meetthis need. It spread rapidly into lands thathad once been part of the Roman Empire. It

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Spread of Christianity A..D. 325–1100. 325–1100

Christian areas by A.D. 325Added by A.D. 400Added by A.D. 600Added by A.D. 800Added by A.D. 1100

KEY

By the year A.D. 1100, Christianity hadspread throughout Western and EasternEurope, as well as north into Scandinavia.1. In what time period did Christianity

spread throughout Britain?2. What areas were the last to convert to

Christianity?CHAPTER 10 The Rise of Christianity 361

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Missionaries of manydifferent religions work around theworld today. While sharing their

religious message, they also help thepoor and the sick. Many are not monks

or nuns. Some people volunteer for missiontrips that can last for weeks or months.

Would you be interested in doing mission work?Why or why not?

MissionariesMissionaries

Apostles, monks, and nuns spread Christianitythroughout western Asia and the Roman Empire.Paul of Tarsus traveled to Greece, Turkey,and Damascus to tell Jews and Gentilesabout Christianity. Monks and nuns served as missionaries, in addition toproviding community services such as medical care and education.

Benedictine monks

A Catholic missionary in Senegal


also brought new ways of thinking and liv-ing to these areas.

What Are Monasteries? During the A.D. 300s, a new kind of religious group wasborn in the Eastern Roman Empire. Mencalled monks banded together in religiouscommunities called monasteries (MAH •nuh •STEHR •eez). Some monasteries were built nearcities, while others arose in isolated areas.

One of the earliest monks was Anthony,who founded a monastery in the deserts ofEgypt. Monks tried to live a spiritual life

apart from the temptations of the world.Many also tried to do good deeds and beexamples of Christian living. Women soonfollowed the monks’ example and formedcommunities of their own. These womenwere called nuns, and they lived in convents.

In the early A.D. 400s, Paula, a Romanwidow, gave up her wealth and went toPalestine. There she built churches, a hospi-tal, and a convent. Well-educated, Paulahelped a scholar named Jerome translatethe Bible from Hebrew and Greek intoLatin.

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A bishop called Basil (BAY • zuhl) drewup a list of rules for monks and nuns to follow. This list, called the Basilian (buh•ZIH•lee•uhn) Rule, became the model for EasternOrthodox religious life.

In the West, another set of ruleswas followed. It was written by anItalian monk named Benedict (BEH •nuh •DIHKT).Monks who followed theBenedictine Rule gave up theirbelongings, lived simply, and spenttheir time in work and prayer. LikeBasil’s rule in the East, Benedict’srule became the model for monas-teries and convents in the West.Basilian and Benedictine communi-ties still exist today.

Monks and nuns began to play impor-tant roles in Roman Catholic and EasternOrthodox life. They ran hospitals andschools and aided the poor. They also helpedpreserve Greek and Roman writings. Oneimportant duty was to serve as missionaries(MIH•shuh•NEHR•eez).Missionaries teach theirreligion to those who do not believe.

Christianity Spreads North Among themost successful Byzantine missionarieswere two brothers, Cyril (SIHR • uhl) andMethodius. They carried the Christian mes-sage to the Slavs, a people of Eastern Europe.

About A.D. 863, Cyril invented a newalphabet. He wanted to present the Christianmessage in the Slavic languages. He believedthat people would be more interested inChristianity if they could worship and readthe Bible in their own languages. TheCyrillic (suh •RIH • lihk) alphabet was basedon Greek letters. It is still used today byRussians, Ukrainians, Serbs, and Bulgarians.

Eastern Orthodox missionaries traveledin northern lands that bordered theByzantine Empire. At the same time, othermissionaries from Rome were also busy.


Christianity Spreads West In the West,Christian missionaries looked to the islandsof Britain (BRIH • tuhn) and Ireland (EYER •luhnd). In the A.D. 300s, Roman soldiers inBritain were called home to defend theempire against Germanic invaders. Whenthe Romans left, Britain was opened toattack by others.

Starting in the A.D. 400s, tribes fromwhat are today Germany and Denmarkinvaded Britain. These people were theAngles and the Saxons. These groupsunited to become the Anglo-Saxons. Theybuilt settlements and set up several smallkingdoms. The southern part of Britainsoon became known as Angleland, orEngland.

While invading Britain, the Angles andSaxons pushed aside the people already living there. These people were called the Celts (KEHLTS). Some Celts fled to themountainous regions of Britain. Others wentto Ireland.

In the A.D. 400s, a priest named Patrickbrought Christianity to Ireland. He set up anumber of monasteries and churches. Over

WrittenName

EnglishSound

CyrillicLetter

behgey

emzheh

peyess

chehef

B

G

MZH

PS

CHF

The Cyrillic AlphabetThe Cyrillic Alphabet

Cyril, a Byzantine missionary, developedthe Cyrillic alphabet, part of which isshown above. What peoples still use theCyrillic alphabet today?

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Reading SummaryReview the • In the Byzantine Empire,

Christianity developed into the Eastern Orthodox Church,which in time split with theRoman Catholic Church in the West.

• Eastern Orthodox and Catholicmissionaries helped spreadChristianity to areas such as Eastern Europe, Ireland,and Britain.

1. What are icons, and why wastheir use controversial?

2. What roles did monks andnuns play in Roman Catholicand Eastern Orthodox life?

Critical Thinking3. Cause and Effect Draw a

diagram to show the causesthat led to the schism betweenthe Roman Catholic andEastern Orthodox Churches.

4. Describe How did Cyril makethe Christian message availableto the Slavs?

5. Explain What role did theFrankish king Charlemagne play in the schism between theRoman Catholic and EasternOrthodox Churches?

6. Analyze Why do you think theBasilian and Benedictine Ruleswere put in place for monks?

7. Expository Writing Write a newspaper article thatdescribes the spread ofChristianity to Ireland andBritain.

What Did You Learn?

Homework Helper Need help with the material in this section? Visit jat.glencoe.com


the next centuries, Irish monks played animportant role in preserving Christian andRoman learning.

The Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of Britain were slower than Ireland to accept the new religion. In A.D. 597 Pope Gregory Isent about 40 monks from Rome to takeChristianity to England.

The missionaries converted Ethelbert,the ruler of the English kingdom of Kent.Ethelbert allowed the missionaries to builda church in his capital city of Canterbury. Inabout 100 years, most of England wasChristian. Today, Canterbury is still animportant center of Christianity in England.

Analyze Why were Basiland Benedict important?

Effect:Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox Churches split

Cause:

Cause:

Cause:

Gregory was a monk before he becamePope Gregory I in the late 500s. How didGregory impact Christianity in England?

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The Spread of Christian Ideas

The Christian Church

The First Christians

Section

Section

Section

Vocabularymessiah disciple parable resurrectionapostlesalvation

Vocabularypersecutemartyrhierarchyclergylaitydoctrinegospelpope

Vocabularyiconiconoclastexcommunicateschismmonasterymissionary

Focusing on the • Roman rule of Judaea led some Jews to oppose Rome peacefully, while

others rebelled. (page 343)

• Jesus of Nazareth preached of God’s love and forgiveness. He was eventu-ally crucified and then reported to have risen from the dead. (page 344)

• Jesus’ life and a belief in his resurrection led to a new religion calledChristianity. (page 348)

Focusing on the • Christianity won many followers and eventually

became the official religion of the RomanEmpire. (page 352)

• Early Christians set up a church organizationand explained their beliefs. (page 355)

Focusing on the • Church and government worked closely together in the Byzantine Empire.

(page 359)

• Christians founded new communities and spread their faith to variousparts of Europe. (page 361)


Saint Matthew

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Sequence Clues Looking for Sequence CluesFind the words in each of these sentencesthat help you identify the order in whichevents occur.15. At the same time, many Christians started

to accept the empire.

16. While on the road to Damascus, Paul hadan unusual experience.

17. It is still used today by Russians,Ukrainians, Serbs, and Bulgarians.

18. The southern part of Britain soon becameknown as Angleland, or England.

19. After Jesus’ death, his followers made astartling claim.

20. At first, they ruled through Jewish kings.

To review this skill, see pages 340–341.

Review Vocabulary1. Write a paragraph about the basic beliefs

of Christianity using the following words.messiah salvation

resurrection gospel

Write the vocabulary word that completes eachsentence. Then write a sentence for each wordnot chosen.

a. laity e. parablesb. missionaries f. schism c. martyrs g. apostled. iconoclasts h. pope

2. Jesus told symbolic stories called ___.3. The bishop of Rome was called the ___.4. The ___ in the Christian churches hap-

pened in A.D. 1054.5. Christians who died for their faith were ___.

Review Main IdeasSection 1 • The First Christians

6. How did Jews react to the Roman rule ofJudaea?

7. On what is Christianity based? Section 2 • The Christian Church

8. How did the Roman Empire eventuallyrecognize Christianity?

9. What did early Christians do to organizetheir religion?

Section 3 • The Spread of Christian Ideas10. What was the relationship between the

church and the government in theByzantine Empire?

11. How and where did the Christian religionspread?

Critical Thinking12. Analyze Why do you think Jesus’ follow-

ers remembered his teachings more whenhe used parables?

13. Contrast How did Jews and Christiansdiffer in their belief about Jesus and hismessage?

14. Predict How would the growth ofChristianity have been affected if theemperor Constantine had not become aChristian?

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Spread of Christianity

Geography SkillsStudy the map below and answer the follow-ing questions.21. Human/Environment Interaction What

geographical feature do you think mosthelped the spread of Christianity?

22. Location By A.D. 325, Christianity hadspread to which continents?

23. Region Why do you think the cities ofJudaea were all important centers ofChristianity?

Read to Write24. Creative Writing Rewrite the parable of

the Good Samaritan as if the events tookplace in the present day. Read your parableto your classmates, and explain anychanges in the meaning that occurred as you modernized it.

25. Using Your Use your foldableto write three sentences that summarizethe main ideas of this chapter. Share yoursentences with the class, and listen to theirsentences. Then vote for the one you thinkbest summarizes the chapter.

Using Technology26. Reviewing Media Use a video or DVD

player to view one of the many films madeabout the life of Jesus or the impact ofChristianity on the people of the RomanEmpire. Some examples are Ben Hur, TheRobe, The Silver Chalice, and The GreatestStory Ever Told. After you watch the movie,write a review of it. Based on what youhave learned about the Roman Empire andChristianity, how accurate is the movie?How does it present Jesus, his early follow-ers, the different Jewish groups in Judaea,and the Romans? Share your review withyour classmates.

Linking Past and Present27. Recognizing Patterns Conduct research

to find out the number of people world-wide who are Christian, Jewish, Buddhist,Hindu, and Muslim. Also record the countries where people of each religionlive. What do you notice about religions in different regions of the world?

Self-Check Quiz To help you prepare forthe Chapter Test, visit jat.glencoe.com

AnalyzeAnalyzeBenedict wrote of the importance ofkeeping busy.“Idleness [inactivity] is the enemy of thesoul. Therefore should the brethren beoccupied at stated times in manual labour,and at other fixed hours in sacred reading.”

—Benedict, The Rule,“Of the Daily Manual Labour”

28. What does Benedict mean when he saysinactivity is “the enemy of the soul”?

29. What do you think probably followsthese lines?


Main areas of Christian growthto A.D. 325Areas largely Christian by A.D. 600

KEY

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