Christianity in the 9th century

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
See also: Christianity in the 8th century and Christianity in the 10th century
For broader coverage of this topic, see
Christianity of the Middle Ages
.
Slavic peoples.

In the 9th century, Christianity was spreading throughout Europe, being promoted especially in the Carolingian Empire, its eastern neighbours, Scandinavia, and northern Spain. In 800, Charlemagne was crowned as Holy Roman Emperor, which continued the Photian schism.

Carolingian Renaissance

Main article: Carolingian Renaissance

On

imperial church, paths culminating in the Great Schism
.

With Charlemagne's coronation, the papacy had acquired a new protectorate in the West. This freed the pontiffs to some degree from the power of the emperor in Constantinople but also led to a

heretic because he kept the filioque in the creed, which referred to the Holy Spirit emanating from God the Father and the Son. The papacy was strengthened through this new alliance, which in the long term created a new problem for the Popes, when in the Investiture Controversy succeeding emperors sought to appoint bishops and even future popes.[2][3]

Charles followed with a policy of forcible conversion of all Frankish subjects to the Roman Church, specifically declaring loyalty to Rome (as opposed to Constantinople). The strength of the Frankish armies helped repel further incursion of Muslim forces in Europe. Charles was seen in the West as having revived the Roman Empire and came to be known as Charles the Great (Charlemagne in French). The re-unification of Europe led to increased prosperity and a slow re-emergence of culture and learning in Western Europe. Charlemagne's empire came to be called the Holy Roman Empire by its inhabitants. The Church in Rome became a central defining symbol of this empire.

The

Alcuin of York
.

By the 9th century, largely under the inspiration of the Emperor Charlemagne, Benedict's Rule became the basic guide for Western monasticism.

Theology

Western theology

With the division and decline of the Carolingian Empire, notable theological activity was preserved in some of the Cathedral schools that had begun to rise to prominence under it – for instance at

Ottonian Holy Roman Empire
, successor to the Carolingian Empire).

Tensions between East and West

In the 9th century,

Ignatius there. After Michael was murdered, Ignatius was reinstated as patriarch without challenge.[4] An ecumenical council in Constantinople, held while Ignatius was patriarch, anathematized Photius.[4] With Ignatius' death in 877, Photius became patriarch, and in 879-880 a second ecumenical council in Constantinople annulled the decision of the previous council.[4]
The West takes only the first as truly ecumenical and legitimate. The East takes only the second.

Filioque clause

Since the 5th century, Christendom had been divided into a pentarchy of five sees with Rome holding the primacy. This was determined by canonical decision and did not entail hegemony of any one local church or patriarchate over the others. However, Rome began to interpret her primacy in terms of sovereignty, as a God-given right involving universal jurisdiction in the Church. The collegial and conciliar nature of the Church, in effect, was gradually abandoned in favor of a supremacy of unlimited papal power over the entire Church. These ideas were finally given systematic expression in the West during the Gregorian Reform movement of the 11th century.

This fundamental difference in ecclesiology would cause all attempts to heal the schism and bridge the divisions to fail. Rome bases her claims to "true and proper jurisdiction" (as the Vatican Council of 1870 put it) on St. Peter. This "Roman" exegesis of Matthew 16:18, however, has been unacceptable to the patriarchs of Eastern Orthodoxy. For them, specifically, St. Peter's primacy could never be the exclusive prerogative of any one bishop. All bishops must, like St. Peter, confess Jesus as the Christ and, as such, all are St. Peter's successors. The churches of the East gave the Roman See primacy but not supremacy, the pope being the first among equals but not infallible and not with absolute authority.[5]

The other major irritant to Eastern Orthodoxy was the Western interpretation of the procession of the Holy Spirit. Like the primacy, this too developed gradually. This theologically complex issue involved the addition by the West of the

Latin phrase filioque ("and from the Son") to the Creed. The original Creed sanctioned by the councils and still used today by the Orthodox Church did not contain this phrase; the text simply states "the Holy Spirit, the Lord and Giver of Life, who proceeds from the Father." Theologically, the Latin interpolation was unacceptable to Eastern Orthodoxy since it implied that the Spirit now had two sources of origin and procession, the Father and the Son, rather than the Father alone.[6] The balance between the three persons of the Trinity was altered and the understanding of the Trinity and God confused.[6]
The result, the Orthodox Church believed, was theologically indefensible.

But in addition to the dogmatic issue raised by the filioque, the Greeks argued that the phrase had been added unilaterally and, therefore, illegitimately, since the East had not been consulted.[7][8] In the final analysis, only another ecumenical council could introduce such an alteration. Indeed, the councils, which drew up the original Creed had expressly forbidden any subtraction or addition to the text.

Photian schism

The controversy also involved Eastern and Western ecclesiastical jurisdictional rights in the Bulgarian church. Photius did provide concession on the issue of jurisdictional rights concerning Bulgaria, and the papal legates made do with his return of Bulgaria to Rome. This concession, however, was purely nominal, as Bulgaria's return to the Byzantine rite in 870 had already secured for it an autocephalous church. Without the consent of Boris I of Bulgaria, the papacy was unable to enforce its claims.

Justinian I

The city of Rome was embroiled in the turmoil and devastation of Italian peninsular warfare during the Early Middle Ages. Emperor Justinian I attempted to reassert imperial dominion in Italy against the Gothic aristocracy. The subsequent campaigns were more or less successful, and the Imperial Exarchate was established in Ravenna to oversee Italy, though actually imperial influence was often limited. However, the weakened peninsula then experienced the invasion of the Lombards, and the resulting warfare essentially left Rome to fend for itself. Thus the popes, out of necessity, found themselves feeding the city with grain from papal estates, negotiating treaties, paying protection money to Lombard warlords, and, failing that, hiring soldiers to defend the city.[9] Eventually, the failure of the empire to send aid resulted in the popes turning for support from other sources, especially the Franks.

Spread of Christianity

Scandinavia

Main article: Christianization of Scandinavia

Early evangelisation in Scandinavia was begun by

Olaf I of Norway
in the years following 1000.

The Roman emperor encouraged

Slavic Moravia
.

St. Cyril and St. Methodius Monument on Mt. Radhošť

Though by 800 Western Europe was ruled entirely by Christian kings, Eastern Europe remained an area of missionary activity. The

Baptism of Kiev in 988 helped spread Christianity throughout Kievan Rus', establishing Christianity among the Ukraine, Belarus and Russia
.

Orthodox churches in Vologda, Russia

Moravia

See also: Christianization of Bohemia

The evangelisation, or Christianisation, of the Slavs was initiated by one of Byzantium's most learned churchmen — the Patriarch Photius. The Byzantine emperor Michael III chose

Slavonic vernacular and translated the Bible and many of the prayer books. As the translations prepared by them were copied by speakers of other dialects, the hybrid literary language Old Church Slavonic
was created. Photius has been called the "Godfather of all Slavs." For a period of time, there was a real possibility that all of the newly baptized South Slav nations: Bulgarians, Serbs, and Croats would join the Western church. In the end, only the Croats joined the Roman Catholic Church.

In Great Moravia, Constantine and Methodius encountered Frankish missionaries from Germany, representing the western or Latin branch of the Church, and committed to linguistic, and cultural uniformity. They insisted on the use of the Latin liturgy, and they regarded Moravia and the resident Slavic peoples as part of their rightful mission field. When friction developed, the brothers, unwilling to be a cause of dissension among Christians, travelled to Rome to see the Pope, seeking his approval of their missionary work and the use of Bulgarian liturgy which would allow them to continue their work and avoid quarrelling between missionaries in the field. Constantine entered a monastery in Rome, taking the name Cyril, by which he is now remembered. However, he died only a few weeks thereafter.

Pope Adrian II gave Methodius the title of Archbishop of Sirmium (now Sremska Mitrovica in Serbia) and sent him back in 869, with jurisdiction over all of Moravia and Pannonia and authorisation to use the Slavonic Liturgy. Soon, however, Prince Ratislav died, and his successor did not support Methodius. In 870 the Frankish king Louis and his bishops deposed Methodius at a synod at Ratisbon and imprisoned him for a little over two years. Pope John VIII secured his release but instructed him to stop using the Slavonic Liturgy. In 878, Methodius was summoned to Rome on charges of heresy and using Slavonic liturgy. This time Pope John was convinced by the arguments that Methodius made in his defence and sent him back cleared of all charges, and with permission to use Slavonic Liturgy. The Carolingian bishop who succeeded him, Wiching, suppressed the Slavonic Liturgy and forced the followers of Methodius into exile.

Bulgaria

Main article: Christianization of Bulgaria

After its establishment under Kubrat, the new First Bulgarian Empire found itself between the kingdom of the

East Franks and the Byzantine Empire. Christianization then took place in the 9th century under Boris I. The Bulgarians became Eastern Orthodox Christians and the Bulgarian Orthodox Church
was created.

In 863, a mission from the Patriarch of Constantinople converted Tsar Boris I of Bulgaria to Christianity. Boris realized that the Christianization of his subjects by the Byzantine mission would facilitate the undesired spread of Byzantine influence in Bulgaria, as the liturgy was carried out in the Greek language, and the newly established Bulgarian Church was subordinate to the Church of Constantinople. A popular revolt against the new religion prompted the king to request that the Bulgarian Church be granted independence by Constantinople.

After Constantinople refused to grant the Bulgarian Church independence, Boris turned to the Pope. In August 866, a Bulgarian mission arrived in Rome, carrying a list of 115 questions to the Pope by Boris, regarding the Christian way of life and a future Bulgarian Church under Rome's jurisdiction. In Constantinople, people nervously watched the events taking place in their northern neighbour, because a pro-Rome Bulgaria threatened Constantinople's immediate interests. A religious council was held in the summer of 867 in the Byzantine capital, during which the Roman Church's behaviour was harshly condemned. As a personal culprit, Pope Nicholas I was anathematized. On 13 November 866, Boris was presented with the Pope's 106 answers by Bishops Formosa from Portua and Paul of Populon, who led the pope's mission to Bulgaria. The arrival of the Roman clerical mission concluded the activity of the Byzantine mission, which was ordered by the king to leave Bulgaria. In a letter to Boris, the Byzantine emperor Michael III expressed his disapproval of Bulgaria's religious reorientation and used offensive language against the Roman Church.

The Roman mission's efforts were met with success, and King Boris asked the pope to appoint Formosa of Portua as Bulgarian Archbishop. The Pope refused. Pope Nicolas I died soon after. His successor Pope Adrian II was more disinclined to comply with Boris' demand that a Bulgarian archbishop be appointed by him.

Consequently, Boris again began negotiations with Constantinople. These negotiations resulted in the creation of an autonomous national (Bulgarian) Archbishopric, which was unprecedented in the practice of the Churches. Usually, churches that were founded by apostles or apostles' students became independent. Rome had been challenging Constantinople's equality to Rome, on the grounds that the Church of Constantinople had not been founded by a student of Christ. Nevertheless, Boris had been granted a national independent church and a high-ranking supreme representative. In the next 10 years, Pope Adrian II and his successors made desperate attempts to reclaim their influence in Bulgaria and to persuade Boris to leave Constantinople's sphere of influence, but their efforts ultimately failed.

The foundations of the Bulgarian national Church had been set. The next stage was the implementation of the

Glagolitic alphabet and the Bulgarian language as official language of the Bulgarian Church and State in 893 — something considered unthinkable by most European Christians. In 886, Cyril and Methodius' disciples were expelled from Moravia, and the use of Slavic liturgy was banned by the Pope in favour of Latin. St. Kliment and St. Naum
who were of noble Bulgarian descent and St. Angelaruis, returned to Bulgaria, where they were welcomed by Tsar Boris, who viewed the Bulgarian liturgy as a means of counteracting Byzantine influence in the country. In a short time, they managed create the Bulgarian Alphabet and to instruct several thousand future Bulgarian clergymen in the rites using the newly created Bulgarian language. In 893, Bulgaria expelled its Byzantine clergy and proclaimed Bulgarian as the official language of the Bulgarian Church and State. In this way it became one of the first European countries with its own official language.

Rus'

Baptism of Vladimir
Main article: Christianization of Kievan Rus'

After the

Rus' (Ruthenians), predecessors of Belarusians, Russians, and Ukrainians/Rusyns
. By the beginning of the 11th century most of the pagan Slavic world, including Russia, Bulgaria and Serbia, had been converted to Christianity. Between the 8th and the 13th century the area was settled by the
Chersonesos
.

China

Main article:
Nestorianism in China

An early medieval mission of the

Nestorian Stele and Daqin Pagoda of Xi'an
.

Timeline

See also

References

  1. ^ Jedin 36
  2. ^ Vidmar, The Catholic Church Through the Ages (2005), pp.107–111
  3. ^ Duffy, Saints and Sinners (1997), p.78
  4. ^ a b c "Photius." Cross, F. L., ed. The Oxford dictionary of the Christian church. New York: Oxford University Press. 2005
  5. ISBN 978-0-913836-58-3
  6. ^
    ISBN 0-227-67919-9
    )
  7. ISBN 978-0-8236-8074-0
  8. ISBN 978-0-8236-8074-0
    p. 87
  9. ^ Richards, Jeffrey. The Popes and the Papacy in the Early Middle Ages 476–752 (London: Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1979) p. 36
  10. ^ Neill, p. 69
  11. ^ Barrett, p. 24
  12. ^ "St. Erluph - Saints & Angels".
  13. ^ Anderson, p. 202-203
  14. ^ Latourette, 1953, p. 307
  15. ^ Anderson, pp. 79-80
  16. ^ "The Antiochian Orthodox Church in the United Kingdom and Ireland". Archived from the original on 2008-05-13. Retrieved 2016-02-06.
  17. ^ a b Barrett, p. 25

Further reading

  • Fletcher, Richard, The Conversion of Europe. From Paganism to Christianity 371-1386 AD. London 1997.
  • Padberg, Lutz v., (1998): Die Christianisierung Europas im Mittelalter, Stuttgart, Reclam (German)
  • Lawrence, C. H. Medieval Monasticism. 3rd ed. Harlow: Pearson Education, 2001.
    ISBN 0-582-40427-4

External links
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Christianity in
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