History of the Church I: Week 12

The Awesome Power of God The story of Anthony p. 116 Boniface and the Oak of Thor p, 152

Converting the Barbarians  Romans started to face the Germanic tribes in the 3 rd century  Called them barbarians because they spoke neither Greek or Latin  They came from Scandinavia (Vandals, Franks, Anglos, Saxons, Goths and others)  Roman historian Tacitus wrote they were heavy drinkers, gamblers, good fighters and treated their women well

Converting the Barbarians  Romans defeated many of them so they came into the empire and lived under Roman rule  Many joined the military and by the 4 th century most of the western army in Rome was German  Late in the 4 th century, the Visigoths located north of the empire were being harassed by the Huns. They asked to come into empire which was granted

Converting the Barbarians  Soon after coming into the empire they were being mistreated by Roman officials  They revolted and defeated the Romans at the Battle of Adrianople (378) one of history’s most decisive battles  The Visigoth leader, Alaric then led the invasion of Rome which Bishop Leo saved the city in 410

Converting the Barbarians 

Converting the Barbarians  The Germans were open to Christianity as it was the religion of Rome  The difficult task was trying to get them to change their behavior  They saw Christ as a kind of warrior king  Patrick was captured by the Irish, escaped and went back to win the entire island of Ireland

Converting the Barbarians  Gregory the Great sent Augustine to Great Britain to win the English  Once the English were converted, they sent missionaries back to the continent to spread the word to the Goths  One of the missionaries sent to the continent was the monk Boniface who helped turn the Germans of the north to Christianity