The beginning of this period is usually taken to be when in Late Antiquity, in 313, Emperor Constantine granted freedom to all religions. He then began to interfere in various ecclesiastical matters, giving rise to Caesaropapism, and a relationship of "difficult entanglement between Church and State",[1][2] a unique characteristic of this period.
One of the first demonstrations of a state power administered by the popes, also emerged at this time, although it was purely diplomatic: "Defender of the needy and the people", as observed in Pope Leo I's confrontation with Attila, emperor of the Huns,[3] in which Leo convinces Attila not to invade and sack Rome.
The most significant and important pontificate of Christian antiquity was that of Leo I, who fought for Catholic unity and orthodoxy.[4]
The synodal organization that had been vital in the 3rd century also grew in importance at this time - through ecumenical councils called by emperors (for pragmatic and also caesaropapism reasons), to provide a definitive resolution to doctrinal disputes in the Catholic Church. The attempt by some councils to be independent of papal authority, to challenge it or even to control it, caused Pope Boniface I to declare early on that papal power is superior to synodal power and the latter cannot judge it.[5]
At this time the conflicts between the Church of the West and East deepened. In 330, the capital of the Roman Empire was transferred to Constantinople, thus quickly in the Eastern Roman Empire the civil power controlled the Church and the bishop of Constantinople grew in importance, basing their power on being bishop of the capital and being a trusted man of the Emperor.[6] In the West, on the other hand, the bishop of Rome was able to consolidate the influence and power he already had since early Christianity.[6] In 380, the Edict of Thessalonica issued by Emperor Theodosius I established the Catholic religion as taught by Pope Damasus I as the exclusive state religion of the Empire.[7][8]
The end of the papacy in Late Antiquity is usually placed in 472, in the beginning of the Middle Ages, when Germanic tribes invaded and caused the collapse of the Western Roman Empire, turning the Roman provinces into a series of small kingdoms, administered by the Visigoths, Vandals, and Franks. Italy, in turn, was dominated by the Ostrogoths, beginning the period of interaction between the popes and the Ostrogoth kings.[9]
In 313, Emperor Constantine I issued the Edict of Milan in which he granted freedom to all religious creeds, beginning the Peace in the Church. Constantine convened in 325 the First Council of Nicaea, a minimal manifestation of the belief shared by the Christian bishops,[10] which condemned Arianism, and dogmatized Trinitarianism. It also stated in its sixth canon that it was following "ancient custom" in officiating the special powers of Rome, as well as those of Alexandria and Antioch[11] - the popes being great defenders of the Nicaea faith.
Although the bishop of Rome at the time, Sylvester I, held his office at a crucial time in the history of the Catholic Church,[12] little is known about him.[13] He did not attend the council for unknown reasons, yet his legates played an important role in it[14] (Constantine had ordered the assassination of his family for political reasons).[10] As a way of doing penance, he ordered the construction of three basilicas in Rome, the Basilica of St. John Lateran, St. Peter's, St. Paul Extramuros, and several cemeteries on the tombs of martyrs and donated them to the papacy.[13][15]
Constantine I and the next emperors considered it their role to maintain proper worship of God, and preserve orthodoxy in their domains,[16] although they did not decide on doctrine - that was the responsibility of the bishops.[16] Still, this attitude erupted a series of theological conflicts between the emperors and the popes.[2] Due to the pressure and influence of the emperors, the popes stopped participating in the next seven ecumenical councils, only approving or disapproving their decrees later.
In 343, during the pontificate of Pope Julius I, the Council of Serdica was convened, making official the custom of bishops appealing to the pope if disputes arose. Although it was originally convened with the claim of being an ecumenical council, it lost its universality due to the absence of many bishops.[5] Later Constantius II, son of Constantine, converted to Arianism and tried to impose his doctrinal views on Pope Liberius, Liberius refused and was exiled to Berea and replaced by Antipope Felix II. After the emperor's death, the Roman people expelled Felix, Liberius returned to Rome and annulled his decrees and reiterated his Trinitarian position, imposing it on the other western bishops.[17]
Pope Damasus I then deposed several bishops related to Arianism, affirmed the primacy of the pope as Peter's successor,[1] reformed temples, tombs, and monuments in Rome, and converted the city's nobility.[18] Damasus ordered Jerome to translate the Bible from Greek and Hebrew into Latin, giving rise to the Vulgate. Damasus also convened the regional council of Rome, whose canons were instrumental in fixing the biblical books in the West.[19] Since in 330, the capital of the empire was moved to Constantinople, the eponymous council, held in 381 for the first time, decreed a position of significant importance for the bishop of this city[20] (originally it was not an ecumenical council, but a regional one, which is why the western bishops and the pope were ignored).
In 385, Pope Siricius, in a decree to the Bishop of Tarragona, advocated celibacy and chastity.[5]
Between 427 and 428,[21]Nestorius became Patriarch of Constantinople and was opposed to the use of the term Theotok (in Greek, Mother of God) to refer to the Virgin Mary;[22] in contrast, St. Cyril, Patriarch of Alexandria, advocated the use of the term, and both patriarchs sent their sermons to Pope Celestine I, asking him to decree his opinion,[21] Celestine ruled in favor of Cyril and delegated him the authority to hunt down Nestorius' episcopate.[22] However, Emperor Theodosius II resisted the papal verdict and called an ecumenical council. In 431, Cyril opened the council as president and papal representative, effectively dogmatizing his position.
Pope Leo I was the most notable pontiff of this period,[3] and had an essential participation in the Christological conflicts of the Church against the monophysitism of Eutyches. To settle this question definitively, in 451, Emperor Marcian convened the Council of Chalcedon, which adopted Leo I's letter on the subject, Tomus I, as dogma.[23] The same synod also regards the Council of Constantinople as ecumenical,[note 1][24][25] and strengthens in two canons the powers of the Bishop of Constantinople.[note 2][26][27] The council justified this decision on the ground that "the Fathers justly granted privileges to the throne of ancient Rome, because it was the royal city," and that what the First Council of Constantinople[28][29]
"moved by the same consideration, gave equal privileges to the holiest throne of New Rome, justly judging that the city is honored with the sovereignty and the Senate, and enjoys privileges of equality with ancient imperial Rome, in ecclesiastical matters, well ought in ecclesiastical matters to magnify itself like it and to align itself after it [...].".
Pope Leo I, although having recognized the council as ecumenical and confirming its decrees, rejected all canons granting privileges to Constantinople, arguing that the Bishop of Rome based his authority on the fact that he was the successor of St. Peter and not the bishop of the imperial capital.[30]
Popes of this period
Although the characteristics of the papacy in late antiquity developed over time, the period 313–476, is a rough approximation used by scholars as a likely date to characterize this era. There were 15 popes at this time:
↑ The Council of Constantinople is considered ecumenical by Chalcedon because it uses its creed as a continuation of the First Council of Nicaea (originating the Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed). However, it was not recognized by the West as ecumenical until the sixth century by Pope Hormisda and even then the validity of the third canon, which creates the patriarchate of Constantinople, was not accepted.
↑ Canon 9 stated that bishops and priests should have recourse to the Bishop of Constantinople in case of conflicts, and Canon 28 definitively recognizes the patriarchate of Constantinople, defining its jurisdiction over Pontus, Asia Minor, and Thrace.
Related Research Articles
The Council of Chalcedon was the fourth ecumenical council of the Christian Church. It was convoked by the Roman emperor Marcian. The council convened in the city of Chalcedon, Bithynia from 8 October to 1 November 451 AD. The council was attended by over 520 bishops or their representatives, making it the largest and best-documented of the first seven ecumenical councils. The principal purpose of the council was to re-assert the teachings of the ecumenical Council of Ephesus against the heresies of Eutyches and Nestorius. Such heresies attempted to dismantle and separate Christ's divine nature from his humanity (Nestorianism) and further, to limit Christ as solely divine in nature (Monophysitism).
An ecumenical council, also called general council, is a meeting of bishops and other church authorities to consider and rule on questions of Christian doctrine, administration, discipline, and other matters in which those entitled to vote are convoked from the whole world (oikoumene) and which secures the approbation of the whole Church.
The First Council of Constantinople was a council of Christian bishops convened in Constantinople in AD 381 by the Roman Emperor Theodosius I. This second ecumenical council, an effort to attain consensus in the church through an assembly representing all of Christendom, except for the Western Church, confirmed the Nicene Creed, expanding the doctrine thereof to produce the Niceno-Constantinopolitan Creed, and dealt with sundry other matters. It met from May to July 381 in the Church of Hagia Irene and was affirmed as ecumenical in 451 at the Council of Chalcedon.
Pope Agatho served as the bishop of Rome from 27 June 678 until his death. He heard the appeal of Wilfrid of York, who had been displaced from his see by the division of the archdiocese ordered by Theodore of Canterbury. During Agatho's tenure, the Sixth Ecumenical Council was convened to deal with monothelitism. He is venerated as a saint by both the Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches.
Pope Damasus I, known as Damasus of Rome, was the bishop of Rome from October 366 to his death. He presided over the Council of Rome of 382 that determined the canon or official list of sacred scripture. He spoke out against major heresies, thus solidifying the faith of the Catholic Church, and encouraged production of the Vulgate Bible with his support for Jerome. He helped reconcile the relations between the Church of Rome and the Church of Antioch, and encouraged the veneration of martyrs.
The Council of Ephesus was a council of Christian bishops convened in Ephesus in AD 431 by the Roman Emperor Theodosius II. This third ecumenical council, an effort to attain consensus in the church through an assembly representing all of Christendom, confirmed the original Nicene Creed, and condemned the teachings of Nestorius, Patriarch of Constantinople, who held that the Virgin Mary may be called the Christotokos, "Christ-bearer" but not the Theotokos, "God-bearer". It met in June and July 431 at the Church of Mary in Ephesus in Anatolia.
The Third Council of Constantinople, counted as the Sixth Ecumenical Council by the Eastern Orthodox and Catholic Churches, as well as by certain other Western Churches, met in 680–681 and condemned monoenergism and monothelitism as heretical and defined Jesus Christ as having two energies and two wills.
The East–West Schism, also known as the Great Schism or Schism of 1054, is the ongoing break of communion between the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches since 1054. It is estimated that, immediately following the beginning of the schism, a slim majority of Christians worldwide were Eastern Christians; most of the rest were Western Christians. A series of ecclesiastical differences and theological disputes between the Greek East and Latin West preceded the formal split that occurred in 1054. Prominent among these were the procession of the Holy Spirit (Filioque), whether leavened or unleavened bread should be used in the Eucharist, the Pope's claim to universal jurisdiction, and the place of the See of Constantinople in relation to the pentarchy.
Pentarchy is a model of Church organization formulated in the laws of Emperor Justinian I (527–565) of the Roman Empire. In this model, the Christian church is governed by the heads (patriarchs) of the five major episcopal sees of the Roman Empire: Rome, Constantinople, Alexandria, Antioch, and Jerusalem.
In the history of Christianity, the first seven ecumenical councils include the following: the First Council of Nicaea in 325, the First Council of Constantinople in 381, the Council of Ephesus in 431, the Council of Chalcedon in 451, the Second Council of Constantinople in 553, the Third Council of Constantinople from 680–681 and finally, the Second Council of Nicaea in 787. All of the seven councils were convened in modern-day Turkey.
The selection of the pope, the bishop of Rome and supreme pontiff of the Roman Catholic Church, prior to the promulgation of In nomine Domini in 1059 varied throughout history. Popes were often appointed by their predecessors or by political rulers. While some kind of election often characterized the procedure, an election that included meaningful participation of the laity was rare, especially as the popes' claims to temporal power solidified into the Papal States. The practice of papal appointment during this period would later result in the jus exclusivae, i.e., a right to veto the selection that Catholic monarchs exercised into the twentieth century.
According to the Catholic Church, a Church Council is ecumenical ("world-wide"), if it is "a solemn congregation of the Catholic bishops of the world at the invitation of the Pope to decide on matters of the Church with him". The wider term, 'ecumenical council', relates to Church councils recognised by both Eastern and Western Christianity.
The East–West Schism that occurred in 1054 represents one of the most significant events in the history of Christianity. It includes various events and processes that led to the schism and also those events and processes that occurred as a result of the schism. Eastern and Western Christians had a history of differences and disagreements, some dating back to the period of Early Christianity. At the very root of what later became the Great Schism were several questions of pneumatology and ecclesiology. The most important theological difference occurred over various questions regarding the procession of the Holy Spirit, and the use of the filioque clause in the Nicene Creed. One of the main ecclesiological issues was the question of papal supremacy. Other points of difference were related to various liturgical, ritual, and disciplinary customs and practices. Some political and cultural processes also contributed to the breakout of the schism.
The historical roots of Papal primacy can be traced back to the early centuries of Christianity, wherein the Bishop of Rome, commonly referred to as the Pope, gradually accrued increasing authority and recognition. A confluence of historical, theological, and political factors contributed to this development.
Christianity in the 4th century was dominated in its early stage by Constantine the Great and the First Council of Nicaea of 325, which was the beginning of the period of the First seven Ecumenical Councils (325–787), and in its late stage by the Edict of Thessalonica of 380, which made Nicene Christianity the state church of the Roman Empire.
The Lateran Council of 649 was a synod held in the Basilica of St. John Lateran to condemn Monothelitism, a Christology espoused by many Eastern Christians. The Council did not achieve ecumenical status in either East or West, but represented the first attempt of a pope to convene an ecumenical council independent of the Roman emperor.
Christianity in late antiquity traces Christianity during the Christian Roman Empire — the period from the rise of Christianity under Emperor Constantine, until the fall of the Western Roman Empire. The end-date of this period varies because the transition to the sub-Roman period occurred gradually and at different times in different areas. One may generally date late ancient Christianity as lasting to the late 6th century and the re-conquests under Justinian of the Byzantine Empire, though a more traditional end-date is 476, the year in which Odoacer deposed Romulus Augustus, traditionally considered the last western emperor.
Constantine the Great's (272–337) relationship with the four Bishops of Rome during his reign is an important component of the history of the Papacy, and more generally the history of the Catholic Church.
Christianity became the official religion of the Roman Empire when Emperor Theodosius I issued the Edict of Thessalonica in 380, which recognized the catholic orthodoxy of Nicene Christians in the Great Church as the Roman Empire's state religion. Most historians refer to the Nicene church associated with emperors in a variety of ways: as the catholic church, the orthodox church, the imperial church, the imperial Roman church, or the Byzantine church, although some of those terms are also used for wider communions extending outside the Roman Empire. The Eastern Orthodox Church, Oriental Orthodoxy, and the Catholic Church all claim to stand in continuity from the Nicene church to which Theodosius granted recognition.
The Eastern Orthodox Church is opposed to the Roman Catholic doctrine of papal supremacy. While not denying that primacy does exist for the Bishop of Rome, Eastern Orthodox Christians argue that the tradition of Rome's primacy in the early Church was not equivalent to the current doctrine of supremacy.
References
1 2 Alves, J. Os Santos de Cada Dia (in Portuguese) (10thed.). Editora Paulinas. pp.296, 696, 736. ISBN978-85-356-0648-5.
1 2 Cotrim, Gilberto. História Global Brasil e Geral (in Portuguese). pp.101, 130. ISBN978-85-02-05256-7.
↑ Wilken, Robert (286). "Christianity". In Esposito, John; Hitchcock, Susan Tyler (eds.). Geography of Religion. National Geographic Society. p.286. ISBN0-7922-7317-6.
↑ Erikson, John H. (1991). The Challenge of Our Past: Studies in Orthodox Canon Law and Church History. St Vladimir's Seminary Press. p.97. ISBN0881410861.
↑ "Canon 28". Christian Classics Ethereal Library.
↑ "Canon IX". Christian Classics Ethereal Library.
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Pope Sylvester I (314-335)
Pope Mark (335-336)
Pope Julius I (337-352)
Pope Liberius (352-366)
Pope Damasus I (366-383)
Pope Siricius (384-399)
Pope Anastasius I (399-401)
Pope Innocent I (401-417)
Pope Zosimus (417-418)
Pope Boniface I (418-422)
Pope Leo I (440-461)
Pope Hilarius (461-468)
Pope Simplicius (468-483)
