Church History: The Big Picture

1. Christianity is Born and Tested (30 to 300 AD) 1.Just before his crucifixion, Jesus appoints Simon Peter as first leader (“pope”) of new Christian community. 2.After Jesus’ resurrection, on Jewish Feast of Pentecost, frightened apostles receive strength from God’s Spirit to start teaching about Jesus. 3.The apostles do not intend to start a new religion. They want to convince Jews that Jesus was the awaited Jewish “messiah.” 4.An enemy of the early Christians, Saul (or Paul), converts and joins the Christians. He travels throughout Roman Empire, converting non-Jews (Gentiles) to Christianity. At a meeting known as the Council of Jerusalem, Paul convinces apostles to allow Gentiles to join the new Christian movement without needing to follow all the strict laws of the Jews. 5.In Rome, Emperor Nero is blamed for burning down the city. He persecutes Christians as scapegoats. Peter and Paul both are martyred during this time in Rome. 6.Soon after in Jerusalem, Jews revolt against Roman rule. The Romans ruthlessly suppress this Jewish Revolt. The Christians are blamed by the other Jews for not fully supporting the revolt. They are expelled from the Jewish religion, forcing Christianity to become its own separate religion. 7.Until about 300 AD, Christians faced sporadic persecution and martyrdom. The worst persecution occurs in about 300 A.D. under the Emperor Diocletian and is known as the “Great Persecution.” 8.Christianity continues to grow, despite persecution. Christians known as “apologists” write books to defend their religion.

1. Christianity is Born and Tested (30 to 300 AD) PEOPLE Simon Peter St. Paul (Saul) Emperor Nero Emperor Diocletian TERMS Messiah Gentile Martyr Persecution Apologist EVENTS Pentecost St. Paul’s Conversion and Missionary Journeys Council of Jerusalem Nero burns Rome Jewish Revolt in Israel Great Persecution by Diocletian

2. Christianity Takes Over the Roman Empire (300 to 500 AD) 1.In 313 AD, the Emperor Constantine issues the Edict of Milan, legalizing Christianity. This ends the Age of Martyrdom. 2.Some Christians, such as St. Antony of the Desert, choose to become “white martyrs” by living very strict lives of fasting and prayer as hermits (living alone in caves) or monks. This begins a new age – the Age of Monasticism. 3.Constantine wants to unify Christianity, especially because different groups of Christians argue about the nature of God and Jesus. He convenes a meeting of bishops, the Council of Nicaea, in 325 AD. It and later councils, such as the Council of Chalcedon in 451 AD, unify Christians around a common belief that the one God is a Trinity (Father, Son, Holy Spirit), and Jesus is the Son who is both fully human and divine. This becomes known as the “orthodox” or “correct” belief. Those who believe differently are condemned as false teachers, or “heretics.” 4.By about 450 AD, Christianity has become the official religion of the Roman Empire. But non-Christian pagan barbarians from the north invade and conquer the western half of the Roman Empire. Church leaders start to run the government during this time of chaos. 5.The greatest Christian writer during this time period is St. Augustine. He witnesses the sack of Rome and the Fall of the Roman Empire in the west.

2. Christianity Takes Over Roman Empire (300 to 500 AD) PEOPLE Constantine St. Antony of Desert St. Augustine TERMS Monasticism/ white martyrdom Heresy / Orthodoxy EVENTS Edict of Milan Council of Nicaea Council of Chalcedon Fall of Western Roman Empire

3. Christianity Takes Over Europe (500 to 1000 AD) 1.Christian missionaries start to convert the pagan barbarians of Europe to Christianity. For example, St. Patrick converts the Irish. 2.In the 500s AD, St. Benedict starts a new monastery in Italy. One of his monks becomes Pope Gregory the Great. This Pope starts to send followers of St. Benedict, called Benedictines, into the pagan parts of Europe to build new Benedictine Monasteries and to convert the pagans. 3.The kings of France become Christians. Most famous of the French rulers are the Carolingians (the “Carol Family”). They include:  Charles Martel. At the famous Battle of Tours, he stops the armies of the new religion of Islam (which was started in Arabia by Muhammad) from spreading into western Europe;  Pepin, his son, who defended the Pope and gave a gift of land to the Pope in central Italy. This “Donation of Pepin” became the Papal States;  Charlemagne, Pepin’s son, who spreads Christianity into Germany and other parts of Europe. This age of Christian growth in Europe becomes known as the “Carolingian Renaissance.” 4.The Pope rewards Charlemagne on Christmas Day, 800 AD, by crowning him as emperor of the new Holy Roman Empire in western Europe. This angers the church in Eastern Europe, leading to a split within Christianity, known as the East-West Schism, with two rival churches, Roman Catholics in the west and Eastern Orthodox in the east.

3. Christianity Takes Over Europe (500 to 1000 AD) PEOPLE St. Benedict Pope Gregory the Great St. Patrick Charlemagne (and Carol family: Charles Martel, Pepin) TERMS Schism Holy Roman Empire EVENTS Battle of Tours Donation of Pepin/ Papal States Carolingian Renaissance (of Charlemagne) East-West Schism

4. Christianity Soars (1000 to 1300 AD) 1.The Popes of this time period, known as the High Middle Ages, proclaimed a series of bloody holy wars, called Crusades, against Muslims (followers of the religion of Islam) in the Holy Land. Mostly, the Christians lost these wars. 2.In Europe, the Popes began the Inquisition – a set of investigations and trials aimed at wiping out heresies, or false teachings. At first, the Inquisition did not use torture or burn its victims at the stake. Later, the Inquisition became bloodier. 3.On the positive side, new religious communities developed in towns and villages, instead of monasteries. They were called “mendicants,” which means “begging,” because they earned money through begging. They were poor and ministered to the poor. St. Francis of Assisi started the Franciscans and St. Dominic started the Dominicans. 4.During this time period, the church built tall, elegant Gothic Churches and started Europe’s great universities. The greatest Christian scholar during this Age of Scholasticism was St. Thomas Aquinas.

4. Christianity Soars (1000 to 1300 AD) PEOPLE St. Francis of Assisi St. Dominic St. Thomas Aquinas TERMS Islam / Muslim Mendicant Scholasticism EVENTS Crusades Inquisition Franciscans & Dominicans (religious orders) founded Gothic churches built Universities started

5. Christianity Divided (1300 to 1600 AD) 1.In the 1300s and early 1400s, the church faced internal divisions. French kings controlled the Popes, who actually left Rome and lived in Avignon in France. St. Catherine of Sienna convinced the Pope to return to Rome, ending the Avignon Papacy. But soon after this, the French cardinals and the Italian cardinals each elected rival Popes. This became known as the Great Western Schism. 2.The 1400s and early 1500s is known as the Renaissance. A church council ended the Great Western Schism. The Renaissance saw many great Christian artists, such as Michelangelo and Leonardo Da Vinci. It also saw many corrupt, immoral Popes such as Pope Alexander VI of the Spanish Borgia family, who bought the Papacy through bribery and promoted his illegitimate children to high positions in the church. 3.Corruption led to the Protestant Reformation. In 1517, a Catholic monk named Martin Luther broke away from the Catholic Church. He protested the use of indulgences, promises to get people out of purgatory if they donated money to the church. Other reformers soon also started their own new churches. 4.The Catholic Counter-Reformation was an attempt to reverse the Protestant Reformation. Most notably, St. Ignatius of Loyola started a new religious order, the Society of Jesus (Jesuits), to combat Protestantism. 5.In the 1600s, bloody Wars of Religion raged between Catholics and Protestants.

5. Christianity Divided (1300 to 1600 AD) PEOPLE St. Catherine of Sienna Michelangelo Pope Alexander VI (Borgia Pope) Martin Luther St. Ignatius of Loyola TERMS Indulgences EVENTS Avignon Papacy Great Western Schism Renaissance Protestant Reformation Catholic Counter-Reformation Wars of Religion

6. Christianity Goes Global (1492 AD to Now) 1.As the Protestant Reformation began in Europe, Christopher Columbus had just discovered the Americas. Soon, Spanish missionaries were accompanying the conquistadors, converting the Caribbean, Mexico, Central and South America, and the American South (Florida, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, California) to Catholicism. A Spanish bishop in Mexico, Bartolomeo De Las Casas, defended the Indians against mistreatment by the Spanish. Later, Fr. Junipero Serra built missions up and down the coast of California. 2.Soon, French Catholic missionaries began to convert the Indian tribes in Canada, the Great Lakes region of North America, and the Mississippi River Valley. A notable convert was St. Kateri Tekakwitha. Later, Fr. Basil Moreau sent Holy Cross missionaries into these French-speaking areas, where they eventually founded the University of Notre Dame. 3.English Protestants such as the Pilgrims and Puritans settled along the eastern Atlantic coast of North America. Only one of the 13 British colonies, Maryland, was founded by Catholics. In the 1800s and 1900s, however, floods of Catholic immigrants from Europe and Asia came to the United States, looking for jobs created by the Industrial Revolution. Catholics often were not welcome in the U.S. The first and only Catholic President of the U.S. was John F. Kennedy, elected in In the 1500s and 1600s, the Jesuits sent missionaries to Asia (India, Philippines, Japan, China). Most notable was St. Francis Xavier.

6. Christianity Goes Global (1492 AD to Now) PEOPLE St. Francis Xavier Bishop Bartolomeo de las Casas St. Junipero Serra TERMS Evangelize EVENTS Catholics evangelize Asia (India, Japan, Philippines, China) Catholics evangelize Americas - Spanish come first - French come second - English are Protestants but Catholics settle Maryland

7. Christianity in the Modern World (1700 AD to Now) 1.In the 1700s and 1800s, Catholicism faced ideological and political threats. The Age of Reason (Enlightenment) and the Scientific Revolution challenged the authority of of the church. The French Revolution and Napoleon openly attacked the church. Then, in the late 1800s, Italian nationalists seized the Papal States and kept the Pope as a virtual prisoner inside the Vatican, as they created the new nation of Italy. 2.Pope Pius IX convened the First Vatican Council during this time of chaos. He was the longest reigning Pope in history. During his reign, nationalists seized the Papal States. Vatican I declared the Catholic dogma of Papal Infallibility. 3.Popes in the 1800s and 1900s condemned “modernism” and ideas of the Enlightenment. But in 1960, Pope John XXIII convened the Second Vatican Council. It modernized the church for the 20 th and 21 st centuries. 4.Important Popes after Vatican II include John Paul II; Benedict XVI, who resigned; and now, Francis.

7. Christianity in the Modern World (1700 AD to Now) PEOPLE Pope Pius IX Pope John XXIII Pope Francis TERMS Papal Infallibility Papal States/ Vatican City Modernism EVENTS and TERMS Enlightenment (Age of Reason) Scientific Revolution Nationalism French Revolution & Napoleon Vatican I Council Vatican II Council