The Church through the Ages

The Middle Ages, 1000-1450

Larry Fraher

Kino Institute

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A Brief Overview Historical Events

1054: Eastern Schism 1095: First Crusade Launched 12th c.: Monastic Revival 1170: Murder of Becket 1215: Fourth Lateran Council Mid-1200’s: Scholasticism, Inquisition 1270: Crusades End 1305-1370: Avignon Papacy 1370-1415: Papal Schism 1415: The Council of Constance

A Brief Overview Important People

Pope Urban II (Council of Clermont & the People’s Crusade)

St. Bruno & St. Bernard of Clairvaux (Monastic Revival)

Ss. Francis and St. Dominic Ss. Thomas Aquinas and St.

Bonaventure The Rise of Great Medieval Religious

Art The Popes of the Papal Schism John Wycliffe and Jan Hus

A Brief Overview

Important Theological Issues The Rise of New Religious Orders Scholasticism Mysticism Papal Location The First Attempts at Reform

Wycliff: Self-interpreting Scripture Hus: Eucharist under both species

Seeds of Reform

Setting the Theological Stage

Late Dark Ages (800-1100) Church’s fall into Pelagianism:

Belief in the doing of good, meritorious (Earning) of Grace.

Florus, Deacon of Lyons: The Grace of God is never merited…

Eucharistic Controversies Radbertus: Real change of bread and wine

into Body and Blood of Christ Ratramnus: Bread and wine become

mystical symbols of the Body and Blood of Christ

Setting the Theological Stage

Theological Debates triggered by Gregorian Reform & East-West Schism Papal Primacy Filioque Church/Diocese run as a Monastic

Community The first Crusade

Pope Urban II

The Crusades The First Crusade – 1096

Gathers in Constantinople in 1097 Nicaea: Western defeat in victory Antioch: “The General’s Ego” Taking of Jerusalem

Second Crusade – 1144 First Crusaders go home. Territories Captured by Christians, retaken by

Islam Fights between eastern and western

Christianity don’t help… Reaches Antioch before being given up.

The Crusades

The Third Crusade – 1187 Philip II, Barbarossa and Richard the

Lionhearted Make it as far as the outskirts of Jerusalem

Barbarossa dies en route Philip II tires and goes home Richard is the only one left fighting

Jerusalem not re-captured. The Last Crusades

Disease and Bad Strategy doom the last Crusades.

Pillaging of Constantinople deepens east-west anger.

The Crusades The “Goal” of the Crusades

Spiritual – Pilgrimage & Religious Fervor Military – Recapture the Holy Lands Geographic – Re-establish the Holy Roman

Empire Ecclesiological – Eastern and Western Unity

The Problem with the Crusades Spiritual – Pilgrimage implies a return home Military – Supply lines and morale Geographic – unfamiliar territory and climate Ecclesiological – East often allied with

Turks/Islam to preserve their traditions.

Crusades in Context

Holy Land as a place of pilgrimage… Safety of pilgrims Respect and honor of holy sites

Military combination of Church and State Common Reality of the 11th to 13th

centuries In service to God and Country

Monastic Revival The “New Spirituality”

Return to the “strict” observance of the Rule(s)

Bruno Bernard

Battle against Abbot Suger of St. Denis Monastery

Augustinian Canons – Religious in the Parishes

Dominic Preaching against Albigensianism (Neo-

Manicheaism) The craft of argument

Francis Poverty, Simplicity and Service “Rebuild my church.”

Monastic Revival

St. Bernard vs. Abbot Suger

Monastic Revival

Francis of Assisi“And after the Lord gave me brothers, no

one showed me what I should do, but the Most High Himself revealed to me that I should live according to the form of the Holy Gospel. And I had this written down simply and in a few words and the Lord Pope confirmed it for me. And those who came to receive life gave to the poor everything which they were capable of possessing and they were content with one tunic, patched inside and out, with a cord and short trousers. And we had no desire for anything more…”

Monastic Revival

The rise of the combination of Art and Theology…

Illuminated Manuscripts

Images decorating and informing the text with an understanding of the faith.

Here: Mary as Eve’s Corrective.

Scholasticism

The question of the day: Religion OR Philosophy

Scholasticism’s Response: Religion AND Philosophy

Great Names of Scholasticism Anselm of Canterbury, Thomas Aquinas

Anselm of Canterbury1033-1109

“And so, O Lord, since thou givest understanding to faith, give me to understand – as far as thou knowest it to be good for me – that thou dost exist, and that thou art what we believe thee to be.”

Ontological Argument for the Existence of God. (Modern Adaptation)

God is that entity over which nothing can be greater.

The concept of God exists in human understanding.

God exists in one's mind but not in reality. The concept of God's existence is understood in

one's mind. If God existed in reality, it would be a greater

thing than God's existence in the mind. There are things which exist in reality greater

than in one’s mind. Since God is that which noting can be greater,

God in reality, must exist.

Five Ways – Proofs for the Existence of God1. From Motion: The Unmoved Mover2. From Causality: First Efficient Cause3. From Contingency: Regression to

Nothing Creatio ex nihilo (Creation from Nothing)

4. From Being/Order/Perfection5. From Intelligence: Beyond Instinct

Thomas Aquinas, OP1225-1274

Aquinas

“1.1. Whether another doctrine is necessary besides the philosophical sciences.

I answer: it was necessary for man’s salvation that there should be a doctrine founded on revelation, as well as the philosophical sciences discovered by human reason. It was necessary, in the first place, because man is ordained to God as his end, who surpasses the comprehension of reason…Men must have some foreknowledge of the end to which they ought direct their intentions and actions. It was therefore necessary that some things which transcend human reason should be made known through divine revelation.” – Summa, 1.1

Aquinas

“85.2. Whether the whole good of human nature can be destroyed by sin…

I answer: we said in the preceding article that the natural good which sin diminishes is the natural inclination to virtue. Now the reason that man inclines to virtue is that he is rational. It is because he is rational that he acts in accordance with his reason, and this is to act virtuously. But a man would not be able to sin without his rational nature. Sin cannot deprive him of it altogether. It follows that his inclination to virtue cannot be entirely destroyed. …” Summa, 85.2

Aquinas

Transubstantiation Eucharistic Controversies Beginning in

the 9th c. Historical/Physical Presence (Radbertus &

Ratramnus, 9th c.) Christ’s Glorified Body and Eucharistic

Presence (Berengarius, Lanfranc, 11th c.) Relation to Body and Blood in Sacramental

Species (12th c.) Aquinas Responds with

“Transubstantiation”

Aquinas

Substance is always Immeasurable Substance is always retained,

accidents (appearance) may change. In Transubstantiation, Substance

changes, accidents remain. When it ceases to be bread

(Accidentally)… When it ceases to be wine

(Accidentally)… Eucharist is the Reception of Christ,

Substantially

The “Balance” to Scholasticism

Bonaventure Not only invest in reason… The heart and head must combine to

know Jesus Christ. This gets taken to extreme…

Rejection of theology Rise of “experientialism”

Bonaventure argued that we cannot rely only on reason… But would not have been hostile to

reason.

Scholasticism = extrinsic Bonaventure:

God’s existence is known from: within Without

God’s presence is imprinted on the soul Observation of the external should not be the sole criteria

Bonaventure, OFM

Bonaventure

“And thus it is clear how the manifold wisdom of God, which is clearly revealed in Sacred Scripture, lies hidden in all knowledge and in all nature. It is clear how all divisions of knowledge are handmaids of theology. It is likewise evident how wide is the luminous way and how in everything which is perceived or known, God himself lies hidden within.”

St. Bonaventure – Retracing the Arts to Theology

Inquisition!!! Franciscans and Dominicans

Learned and well versed in Church teaching and doctrine…

“Thinking with the mind of the Church” To an area where heresy was thought

to be present. 3 days to 2 weeks ‘Preaching the

Inquisition” Root out the heretics Reconciliation

Inquisition!!!

Trial of Heretic followed If heretic failed to recant

Punishment Most often penitential or imprisonment Sometimes death…

Spanish Inquisition is very Different than the Ecclesial Inquisition

The office of the Inquisition existed in most dioceses until Vatican II.

The Papal Schism

1377 Pope Gregory XI Returns the Papacy to Rome from Avignon, France, initiating the “Papal Schism” in 1378 Increasing National Religious Loyalties

= Divisions French Cardinals want Papacy in

France Pope Urban VI Elected Keeps Papacy in Rome French Cardinals Elect another Pope

(Clement VII) Two Popes…Governments begin to take

sides Rome: England and Germany Avignon: Scotland, Spain and Naples

The Papal Schism Urban’s Dastardly Politics

Both “popes” excommunicate each other The Council of Pisa (1409-1410)

Cardinals from Both Sides Meet in Pisa Elect Alexander V (1409) John XXIII (1410-1415)

Total Number of “reigning” popes = 3 Emperor Sigismund

Calls the Council of Constance Reconciles Pisa and Rome, Avignon (Benedict

XIII) Refuses Reconciliation and Flees to Spain.

Abdicates in 1429

The Papal Schism Effects of Papal Schism

Early attempts at democracy = Conciliarism

Dominican Order – Some in the papal curia believe this to be an answer

Cries for Reform John Wycliffe – No Confidence in the Clergy Jan Hus – Simony and Eucharist

Religious Identity was the Culture“In the fifteenth century, indeed, the

Church was enjoying its last years as the relatively unchallenged custodian and interpreter of the cosmos.” -- Ahlstrom, p. 22

Wycliff and Hus

John Hus Treatise on Simony Accessibility of all to both Species of

Eucharist Hus at the Council of Constance (1415)

John Wycliff Evil of the Priesthood Everyone can be holy Scripture is Self Interpreting

Adding to the Seeds of Reform

1440 – Guttenberg invents the printing press… Wycliffe’s call to read the bible now

becomes possible Self interpretation of scripture and faith

becomes widespread The lack of trust in the hierarchy

combines… and the stage is set…