Medieval Christianity

Question: Given what we know about the Christian message thus far, what problems will it face as it comes in contact with the Post-Roman world in Europe (think about what Europe was like after the fall of Rome.)?

What to keep in mind when looking at Medieval Christianity – It was the only institution to survive the fall of Rome. Its other-worldliness and emphasis on peace directly contradicted the European warrior code.

Europe had been built on warfare

Pilgrimages and Indulgences and the Cult of the Saints

Christian saints take the place of Greco-Roman gods in Post-Classical Europe.

The Communion of Saints The doctrine states that all Christians both living and dead are connected to each other through their baptism into Christ. Therefore, grace has a real communal aspect to it. Someone, like a saint, who has a superabundance of grace can share it with the less fortunate and weaker members of “Christ’s Body”. It will be Thomas Aquinas who will give this doctrine its final form.

Cluny Abbey

Part of the motivation for building this cathedral was to wipe away the sins of the patron.

Pilgrimages

The Way of St. James or St. James' Way, often known by its Spanish name, el Camino de Santiago, is the pilgrimage to the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela in northwestern Spain, where legend has it that the remains of the apostle, Saint James the Great, are buried. The Way of St James has existed for over a thousand years. It was one of the most important Christian pilgrimages during medieval times. It was considered one of three pilgrimages on which a plenary indulgence could be earned the others are the Via Francigena to Rome and the pilgrimage to Jerusalem.

Scholasticism

Why was there a strong movement to systematize the Christian religion? Europeans wanted to establish the Christian religion on a solid foundation. Prove that Christianity was reasonable. Provide a defense of Christianity to use against its critics. The Crusades brought increased contact with the Islamic world and fostered a need to make Christianity more appealing to Muslims. Bring order to a wide variety of beliefs and doctrines. Expand Christian thought so it could address the new situations in Medieval Europe. The re-introduction of Aristotle’s philosophy to Europe through contacts with the Islamic world.

What were the distinguishing marks of Scholasticism? The distinguishing mark of Scholasticism was the adoption of a common method of inquiry: the method of discovering and defending philosophical and theological truth by means of Aristotelian logic or dialectic. The dialectical method involved three basic steps: The posing of the question – quaestio Followed by argument for and against answers proposed earlier authorities – disputatio pro et contra Ending in a conclusion that is logically warranted – sententia Scholasticism may be defined as the rational attempt to penetrate the revealed data of faith through a logical apparatus.

Reason Faith

St. Thomas Aquinas ( ) Born of lower Sicilian nobility at the family castle in Roccasecca, near the ancient city of Aquino. Thomas joined the Dominicans in 1244 much to the displeasure of his family who wanted him to become a Benedictine (more money). In 1248 he followed his teacher Albert the Great to Cologne for further study where his fellow friars dubbed him bovem mutum “dumb ox” – a reference to his corpulence and personal reserve. The Dumb Ox bellowed so loud that it changed the Church up to this day.

How did Thomas Aquinas change Catholic thinking? Aquinas’ goal was to give true knowledge of God and of humanity’s supernatural origin and destiny. Such knowledge comes in part by natural human reason which can apprehend the rational preambles of faith – namely, the existence of an omnipotent and omnipresent God and the immortality of the soul. Thomas’ insistence that these things can be known through reason apart from divine assistance was a major break with the Augustinian/ Platonic tradition. Thomas also insisted on the Aristotelian premise that all natural knowledge – including knowledge of God – begins with sense experience. The existence of God is therefore not self-evident as it was for St. Augustine and his “soul-searching” method. Knowledge of God is known mediately through reflection on the data of experience.

We live near the world’s largest Gothic structure – St. John the Divine on the Upper West Side in New York City.