CHAPTER 5

HISTORY OF THE CHURCH | | '

= CHAPTER 5 iis i] FROM THECATECHISM continued LjGg ht ie | im H \ } besa and lange Comlnuntiies Dee man, inthe name of Christ, tohis dignity and Yhroughout allofthe insecurity, one institution

| RE VIGNE RInEGRETORERI|) | Sietenchics(inn the dercanic eng eae remainedfirm: the Ghurch. mid the darkness, the Ghurch

Beads Shere es ese diinsilsh tres 'The Caurch imakés'a torent held up thepowerful light of Ghrist.

| OIOY — TES We iu oaks :

2420 The Church makes a moral judgment Fils gio Ay ce ee Moke ese >a _ + : oa , f Way Tk My ip / — a :

; | es | | f the R E | Li ht in The Collapse of the Roman Empire g he collapse of the Roman Empire resulted in a crisis that took the early Church by surprise.

(pee Church now had to dissociate herself from the fallen Empire. which was assumed would | | last forever. Throughout the decline of the Roman Empire and the rise of monasticism, the Holy

| | Spirit inspired and strengthened the Church for the next great wave of evangelizing activity among | the German tribes. By the time the different groups in Europe had converted in the eleventh

| | century, Christianity had spread to virtually the entire European continent.

| To the Church and the human race of every age. the Divine Master has left | | * I have loved you!" A se | | his everlasting testament of love:

"Love one another as have Ic nse | of great sadness invades the mind at the thought of God's infinite goodness on the THE FALL OF ROME (476) | "

| one hand and on the other hand, human indifference, hatred and wars that obscure The City which had taken the whole world was itself taken!

Nila | Divine Providence's plan on earth. You, with your prayers and your testimony (St. Jerome on the Fall of Rome, Letter CXXVII [To Principia], no. 12) .

| of goodness, can offer a daily oe Sabdapiidedcs aese of pacifying hearts Historians do not have an official date for the fall of Rome, but sometime during the fifth century,

| and establishing peace on earth. the West collapsed. In 410, Alaric, king of the Visigoths, sacked Rome. Odoacer (sometimes

| | — John Paul Il, Meeting with handicapped children, Assisi, Italy, January 9, 1993 Odovacar), chieftain of the Heruli, who served as a mercenary in Rome, led a revolt and overthrew

| the last western emperor in 476. Soon after, the Ostrogoths, united under Theodoric, invaded Italy | A St. Augustine waited for death in Hippo, Vandals beset the in 489 and overthrew Odoacer by 493. The last ten western emperors rarely sat for more than a i city. The collapse of the Roman Empire during the fifth few years on the throne before they were deposed by invading barbarians.

| century inaugurated a period of decline in the West as the old e a The moral situation from the fifth through eighth centuries was grim as the former Roman order

. world passed away, and confusion reigned as the basis for a new is f be crumbled. The Roman Empire was not yet completely Christianized when the barbarian invasions order had yet to coalesce. Throughout all of the insecurity, one ae injected a foreign and often violent character into the culture. The concept of human rights was institution remained firm: theChurch. She continued to spread the unfamiliar to many Romans as well as to the invading barbarian tribes. The brutality of the Romans r | Gospel message while providing continuity in an uncertain time. has already been discussed. The barbarians brought their own variations of tribal law with them—

| Regardless of the transitoriness ofany age, the Church proclaims a " law that was based on very primitive understandings of justice. For instance, in some tribes, in | ee of trust in the life and light of Christ amid trials and order to determine guilt or innocence, the accused would be forced to immerse his hand in a pot

| tribunares promises eternal life after death. Amid the darkof boiling hot water. If the burned hand healed, then the accused was understood to be innocent. hess, the Church holds up the powerful light of Christ. ons Two people who sought justice would fight to the death to determine who was right. Adulterous

| This chapter will look at the repercussions of the fall of Rome. the fae (em wives were handed over to their husbands, who punished them by whatever means they deemed

| nse and importance of monasticism, and the rise of Islam. l /' fit. Barbarian kings had harems, and it was common for a teenage king to have many children with wr | | e ; his servants. Their religious practices were both primitive and brutal. The Franks, for example, bi | sacrificed women and children to placate battle spirits.

| Visipaths sack Rome os at Ephesus Council of Chalcedon Official end of Raman Empire Council of Constantinople ti, Pope St.Gr 590-604 — Jerusal b | IKI under king Alanic mu 4th Ecumenical, decreed last Western emperor is 5th Ecumenical called ee :

Mee a ae heater Ww | amex | er of God te tSWO natures, human Romulus Augustulus by Justinian Muhammad hasvision 1] | ih | AS ; t Gaul — , 12mone " natitee St Benedict begins of archangel Gabriet Library ofAlexandria 5 < | . i | 1 ) SL Augustine dies | know te Pope St. Leo | (the Gre it) ene 7 Monastery at Monte Cassing M Muhammad destroyed with 300,000 pout > | | i || | ) | | 'oe | | meets Atha the Fon a becomes king of Italy ee at deleats Meccan ancient papyrus scrolls radon Hl} | | < Honorlus SS caps | | | Honorius -Western Emp | PopeCs SS SS SS SS 5SsSe | \| MTT 4 en oa noEastern Emp ustinian East.

Heraclius - East. Em : j | abo | npn |RENSRE OS Sa eee en sesec | || || |) Lo : | | | = scence ; Chapter Five ——— | | |) f ; Chapter Five 179 .

| ee _ Fee HISTORY OF THE CHURCH LIGHT IN THE DARK AGES | _— ——— —— — ——— ' a | | | quickly undermined th Dow | || ae oe ong the Germanic Franks quic the gre : iW | | Tlie, abstr See tiie wi GIL Thus, the fall of Rome brought about a dramaty

(s , | : vil | "eCOan tradition of learning ai VA | oh See ate in intellectual activity throughout the former empire is West. Classic

| | | -ce es lost Latin deteriorated, and illiteracy became the oe a loss of literacy Ce tt iy heat | neeasi | affected the Church because most people could no longer read the Scriptures, The —.- A \, al | oreFein the only locus of intellectual activity. epee ae was ae CO priests

| | urcn rer ICG Ul TT =; ee ; o% , has eT logy. The long GrecoRoman tradition of ° '

% f | and religious studying the Scriptures and theology Phil.

Ry ¥ sophical Miquiny caine f BNE" of the empire entered . gi '

\ : i -onomy €d a period of Ly to the collapse of education, the vibrant ec F | | aewell. Roads pane unsafe. People lived in fear and distress, and crime Increased, Ay an _ Ny d y ar production and commercial activity declined, the cities and towns began to shrink. Conse.

' a ~~ | | aehtialiy the former empire dissipated into a rural society of isolated towns and villages.

The influence of the Church was not yet sufficiently profound to impact On the daily life of the Ye f bos | . whole population. Some Christians acted like pagans: they participated in eating and drinking

, a ih | orgies, often on a saint's feast day. Ifgames were held on Sundays, the churches would be empty b >| \ ~ ; . } i} | Idol worship was still found among Christians, as well as among the invading tribes. as \ iy \ .

Vil | | | With the disappearance of the Roman Empire, the Church had the important task to adapt herself . to a deamatic cultural change. The Church's organization reflected the ways and customs of the |hy | | Empire. The governing structure of the Church was modeled after the rule and territorial division f i Hi] | of the Empire. Christians had assumed, as had the Roman emperors, that the destiny of Christianity

HH] i | | was permanently intertwined with the Empire, especially after Theodosius I made Christianity the | 'im uit ; Official religion in 379. The Barbarian invasions helped the Church realize that she was not wedded

Ly | wail | to the Roman Empire and had to adapt to a significant cultural shift.

The baptism of the leader of the Franks, Clovis. Under his leadership, the Franks were the first Germanic tribe to iy convert to Christianity || | > THE GERMANIC TRIBES ae | Tt =. _» Wi |i = "= The mission of the Church is to bring the Good News to all peoples. This effort invariably involves

__ — , Christianizing cultures and at the same time adapting insofar as possible to these cultures. With the yi ad . advent of the barbarian invasions, the Church was now called to extend her messages to the Ger- * > _* t :

= * manic tribes who were different in many ways from the citizens of the previous Roman civilization.

The Germanic tribes began pressing on the Roman frontier in the early fourth century as the Huns ] Hy | : ry | We | — Y . a PS steadily pushed west from Mongolia and China (China had built its Great Wall to keep the Huns

The Germanic tribes came from the area around the Vistula River in Poland down to the i 7 Black Sea, and may have originally come from Scandinavia. The culture of the Germanic tribes is

=F he, oe wees . => Ny ' on ; complicated and multi-faceted, by no means unified, although they shared the same family of .

14) rl f4 < f' —— , _ languages. They were the second largest Northern European group after the Celts, who had been ul | | > !

N lr jaw f. 7 if Pr ' such powerful warriors that they had settled as far south as Austria and even managed to sack > Rome in 390. After settling down, they developed into a peaceful people engaged in agrarian life.

| fe } : | a , By the time ofthe Germanic invasions, the Celts had been long conquered by the Romans orwere i « a \ oy, \) id é being taken over by the advancing Germanic tribes.

Ever occupied with the difficult task of defending the vast borders of the Empire, the Roman | | af 77, gx legions had battled the barbarians for some time but were never able to conquer them in their own

M i n | | a % |Lf , ' y termtory. For three centuries the barbarians pushed to enter into the Empire, but the Romans used i Wii

| igs , ual = —_ whatever advantage they could to stop them. They did, however, invite many of the tribes to settle ia .

' newer) . along the frontier in Roman territory. The Romans intermittently battled the barbarians to keep Historians donot have an ofc date orthea ee them out and settled them along the frontier in exchange for conscripts for the Roman legions. The "= fal of Rome, but sometime during the fifth century, the West collapsed peaceful settlement of some tribes also helped to bolster the Empire's lagging population.

180 Chapter Five = es SS —— ———— : i \ | Chapter Five 181 | = i tho HISTORY OF THE CHURCH LIGHT IN THE DARK AGES i.

— ; he army remai Rom AND .

Wripica oil Germanized to such an extent that t rmy ained TURIES aeee vulnerability of the Roman Empire. That the Roman army no longey —— > Se ce, Sa eee | consisted primarily of Romans—as the Germanic tribes Cagerly f ' desired the conquest of new territory—partially explains the fall "

— a ve aod, A of Rome. wr Ss Jute } | "

| _— It was only a matter of time before the Germanic barbarians would <) & aore | /\ score a number of military victories against the Romans whichwould

Li \eral lead to their ultimate defeat. It was common for the tribes toalive in J i = "Angles .

| rs vA, waves, only to be supplanted by succeeding tribes. In 378, the s 1 de Bigseal | ¥ \y fi.

Visigoths defeated the Byzantine army at the Battle of Adrianople ~— Aondgg ; er , | ) é J x and by December 406, many tribes had crossed the Rhine to settle in ~ tp ale .

' p { id A,P| Gaul. With the border of the Empire penetrated, Gaul soon fell to the 2 ae 3 ff Oe, Se | | & @f Visigoths, led by Alaric, Soon thereafter Rome fell on August 2449

| Pe \f ge aa) and was pillaged for four days.

} Sy, rue fF, "9em | ) af if ( Wa Of the different tribes that merit mention here, the two branchesof + i Of Sana | MW a Ys Goths—Visigoths and Ostrogoths —were first to invade the empire

& gas + azo mpi | | | ' {b Wf \ Alaric, as mentioned above, was the Visigoth leader who led the cS y_ epimct Sonu «2 | | ee kk — invasion of the Italian Peninsula. Later, the Visigoths were pushed ff (§TIN ah ; " Ns | = into the Iberian Peninsula by the Franks, where they remained until

Toulouse sg _ | "Aauilela>\ aeAA L | German Barbarian Chiet Spain fell to the Muslims in the eighth century. Theodoric led the aed 409 Dr — ies Write» ~om nop } a .

| Ostrogoths who occupied the Italian Peninsula, replacing the Visigoths. Ostrogoth rule wouldend Ne \ nsernens ~ ~~ ' qT | with their defeat in 536 by Byzantine forces. bi \ 7 Reine D_ 455 Sack of Rome by\N

| | The Franks —a name meaning "fierce" or "bold"— were a Germanic people who settled in Gaul late eg '. .

— PE:Me oe a :< | é: BSsalOnc | 1 &¢ | in the third century. They are the ancestors of modem France and, under the leadership of the . a ks A vs. oF | } | | great chieftain Clovis, were the first Germanic tribe to convert to Christianity (497). A more

~~ ; — ae + | | | detailed account of the conversion of the Franks appears in the following chapter.

; mn NSt 7, | } | The Alemanni (meaning "All Men") were another Germanic people. They settled south of the Aa eee : = bil r ; | ie | | Main River in central Germany around 260 before moving later to Alsace and Switzerland.

| The Burgundians arrived on the Main River around 250. They establi ) | ished "

| | before being defeated by the Romans in 436.

; 2 capil a i "OITERRANEAN SEA | t | teenie 'Ssae wat is Elbe and began advancing toward the Danube by the middle of the er eg > ee Sar, | Seat ry. aecehnine ina Roman province of Pannonia (eastern Austria and a<a - ; Ca ; | A (e) a :

F _ -) = — ~ — > ———$_—___ , fay ine shh eas nd east by the Danube River) before finally migrating to ap enMeee iA) er « | =* Vogoths = —=—= i. oe Siguaaac. of the Germanic tribes. Beginning in 406 they attacked Gaul , Pee ee | a a,4 | SS pe —_ | such atrocities that ee ehSee Africa. The Vandals were so fierce and committed e IP Set Seiecaneorae cuit is still used in English today. They were also relentless a.

» oe ae ae | The Germanic tribes began pressing on the Roman me & | frontier in the early fourth century as the Huns * we ULPH ILAS: steadily pushed west from Mongolia and China.

| eee . APOSTLE OF THE GOTHS Itis reported that the Huns' imposing physical et aie a.

311-388) was born j | appearance shocked - | of the Arian bishop SPA:ie but was captured by the Goths. Under the influence made a bishop around 341. Hi omedia, Ulphilas translated the Bible into Gothic, and he was

| missionary efforts, the Gc 'S translation is the oldest Germanic document. Because of Ulphilas G BrAe nreess, Attlee Hunlala | Gieicn the Goths, Burgundians, Lombards. and Waris : te ae aul, and Attila continually augmented his army by | | y.

S were converted to assimilating conquered Germanic tribes, a.

| | | - - | j As the Empire was struggling to control the invadingoa Dee frst hal of ce to '< a at . 1

| both the Romans and the barbarians emerged from the oa Rae saan sate Century > , - | } | The Huns, a powerful nomadic people of unknown aites arts akin The fi = hs Lew — .

| | md had crossed into the Volga valley by the end of the Seeies Sa Beas ee srociousalg ~ - {~ a iI | | sifbless feleneiand by 432 they had established themselves in the Eastern Empire, forcing tribyys

| ruthless fig S,¢ rue ioe . la from Emperor Theodosius II. By 451, the Huns had invaded Gaul and threatened the heart Of the | Western Empire.

~ | | Phe , Re (ot et ancie Ss were no doubt :

| | These were a people foreign to the West. Many of the Aasee ne NaeBErated, | | but through their embellishment they present a picture of the meeting of two alien cultures. ltis a ~% ~ €:

I | | reported that the Huns' imposing physical appearance shocked the people of the Roman Empire ne Je a pe :

1 | | Their physical attributes were distinctive: squat bodies with enormous arms and shoulders ang é Oe ; ' é fy ra = i | | SICa py erp rat the Hine S j pt Ss A sn / , .

| huge heads covered with thick facial scarring. Many of the Huns shee their oe faces so much 3= GS ' y § fr | | that they became disfigured. Roman reports relate that many Romans Were Hot sure if the Huns

Ht] We | were people or beasts. It was believed that they always remained Fe horseback, whether at ; a ae , a all atl:

| meetings or while selling and buying goods—even when they ate and slept. Women and children A = 1h Hite it lived in wagons; the Huns did not settle down to live in homes on farms as other groups did. The 1h"

+ & ; ii} TE Huns rarely, if ever, cooked. Instead, they ate raw meat, which they kept with themselves, and as ; '

| 4 consequence, was usually rotten and rancid. During battle the stench coming from the Huns was 1h said to be so powerful that the Roman soldiers could not bear to get close to them, Though these he | reports cannot be taken as one hundred percent accurate, it is clear that these were a powerful

— ) . and frightening people who devastated much of the Empire.

ILA THE HUN in one of the great mysteries of history, it remains unknown exactly what words Pope St. Leo used to dissuade Attila from attacking Rome.

ATT Wa | MEETS POPE ST. LEO THE GREAT (452) | Uy).

| | history. The pope was able to repeat the same success in 455 when he convinced the leader of the i Attila (d. 453), "the Scourge of God," succeeded to joint kingship over the Huns with his brother in Vandals, Genseric, not to burn Rome, and spare the lives of the people. i) 433. Not long after, his brother died (perhaps murdered by Attila), and Attila for the first time

Wl . successfully united the Hunnish hordes under one rule. He Was a tr avi Wh PASRORICRC ES Eee A S a tremendously brave warrior,a HISTORICAL INTERPRETATION OF THE Tea skilled diplomat, and a keen military strategist. He was also ruthless—if he discovered that a Hun had served the Romans as a mercenary soldier, he ordered his crucifixion. Earlier in his life, he had

GERMAN IC INVASIONS | been held as a hostage in Rome where he learned Latin and discovered Rome's weaknesses. His A Ee. ears ' ambition was to establish an Asiatic empire with himself as emperor. He did succeed, but the It took some time for the Church to digest the historical significance of the Germanic invasions,

| | empire collapsed after his death, and what they meant for her mission of evangelization. Over time. several concrete ideas emerged.

Ve Hi After having successfully united the hordes, Attila moved west began engaging the Romans in Primarily, the Church recognized that Christianity was universal. The Faith needed to be coms

| | the 440s, and invaded Gaul. With relentless swiftness, Attila's Hung devastated Gaul and continually municated as much to the Germanic tribes as it was in previous centuries to the Greco-Roman

| . augmented their army with each military victory. Finally, in 451, an allied army of Romans and world. Christianity was meant to incorporate everyone, and this would be emphatically reinforced

Visigoths defeated Attila on the Plains of Chalons, forcing Attila back across the Rhine. pe Aare When the Church was presented with opportunities -te SvanEIEN oleae

| | Defeated in Gaul, Attila tumed his sights south to Ital Beginning in 452, his H d hem SISA Secae | | i Wa antics.

DEginning in . his Huns ravaged norther Hanes S ; ea Italian cities and towns. As they drew close to Rome, Pope St. Leo theae went tonnes him. In Though the Church was identified with the Roman Empire for four centuries and adopted its it | one of the éreat Mysteries of history, it remains unknown exactly what words Pope St. Leo used to overnmental structures (dioceses), customs, language, and laws, the Church now pana

| | | ae osa from attacking Rome. Attila is Said to have come upon a procesian of priests eee roe civilizing and evangelizing the Germanic peoples.

| man sitting on a 'ane i ng hymns atts psalms. At the end of the procession there was an old The effort to reach out to the Germanic tribes was no small task. The German character Was very

| I or ee eee See Le) aying intens } eee Ph ss differs ee . replied, "Leo the Pore: x ysee Attila asked him, What is your name?" The old man different from the Greco-Roman one: the Germans were less philosophically and theologically

| entirely from Italy. Attila died ene ee move, Attila did not attack Rome, and he withdrew 2% ned, Placed less emphasis on order, culture, organization, and law. In effect. most of what the .

| disintegrated. This confrontat = ae = alter, and his empire, divided among his sons, soon ; ny n lear ned and developed within the context of Roman culture had to be radically altered in | :

Ope St. Leo in a certain sense changed the course of order to work with the Germanic populace without changing the essential doctrines of the Catholic ri a > ; = —- —— —=—_ = = ——$— —_——— ———_ | | "

Chapter Five $< ——— ____ — —————— ———————_—_—_—_——————— Chapter Five 185 | ; wey '

A mmm | ——————————— HISTORY OF THE CHURCH __ LIGHT IN THE DARK AGES I ———— -e q — oe | | -hiirch found access to these people. Monasticism had €stablisheg

Through monasticism Ue vee 4 by which time the Roman Empire had been reduced tp i] ° Wi mosaic of kingdoms ruled by Germanic c!

T e ise O ona | iyLa THE CHRISTIAN ATTITUDE TOWARD THE INVASIONS THE FIRST APPEARANCE OF MONASTICISM MW til arienced profound discouragement as the Greco-Roman world passed away

: r wih | Initially Christians experiencec ae ne Ro 1an Empire meant that the Second Coming of Chris, Monasticism is a way of life characterized by prayer |

| lh) | ; Many thought the disintegration ae Se and lessons from the parables in the Gospels fp and self-denial lived in seclusion from the world and | was at hand. Indeed, SE Ed ae ane state of the world of that time. under a fixed rule with professed vows. Monastic

; os significant part seemed to have been Tul =e so INF, ist f communities withdraw from the affairs of the world Saks a mG Hhretiane aleo understood the fall of the Roman Empire as the just punis esl Or the sing order to seek God through asceticism and silence.

| | Some Christians also understoo | eading politicians, philosophers, and cultural thinkers pointed in order to seek (@) z | | of the Romans and of all humanity. Leading pollinans, p ay on the infidelity of kona Chefs

Though monasticism is common to many of the ) | | | to the moral degradation of the Roman Empire —not to menuo s ns— world's religions, Christian monasticism is unique. Cs m

HI) | as a sign of impending doom for their civilization. cer Men and women who enter the monastic life seek to a ae } soral deterioration ofthe cities, coupled with the desire to pursue a heroic imitation of Jesis model themselves on Christ by dedicating them- | rsmesSS RO men and women to depart from the hustle and bustle of the wor selves toa life of prayer and penance. Once the eal ml Bie Goats eeieelies to a demanding life of asceticism, expressed ina faithful comm from God has been recognized, the person makes a 'es | | eh to the evangelical counsels of poverty, chastity, and rsa, Thisssee from life-long commitment to the monastic life.

| the world for the sake of Christ's kingdom through prayer, pae : me npe sie es There are two types of monastic life. The eremitical. characterized monasticism. Monasticism offered a path for some Ct wistians to make reparation for or hermit life, involves individuals withdrawing into | the sins of the world in general, and of the Roman world in particular. loosely organized groups to live an isolated ascetical

| | life. The word hermit comes from Greek word .

| . erémia, meaning "desert," which comes from erémos, .

| | "lonely." The second, and more common form, is || } | known as the cenobitical, or common life. Ceno- :

| ATTILA'S LOVE: WHY HE INVADED THE WEST bitical monastic life is lived in community.

. ti | — Ann on bod oes tad vv > early ; ¥ oh _ Lie | as ttila the Hun's ———— Monasticism started very early with St. Paul of | aL rest Gea of Chalon | ie = sage! as SeSrieeten pee . began by a very strange request.

Sv Ay of whom. lived eremitical HVES AG prayel an Valentinian III was the emperor of the =) NS seclusion in Egypt. St. Paul of Thebes is held by .

Western Roman Empire during the time tradition to be the first hermit: he had fled a .

| Attila the Hun was attacking Europe. His | BY RE . persecution under the Roman Emperor Decius . sister, Honoria, had been sent into exile YB! Yl (A.D. 249-51). St. Anthony indirectly influenced

1] after having a scandalous affair. In an 7), awn (ee Western monasticism through his impact on St.

| attempt to escape, Honoria purportedly Uf /i ay Pa Athanasius, who, during one of his exiles, wrote a | | a athe una Ging along witha Wi a fj ih él AS ! celebrated biography of St. Anthony. St. Athanasius

. letter asking him to rescue her from exile. uf A a Th by WAY brought this book to Rome. and rould later serve | The Hun, however, treated the letter and _|w- "pad fT ad Abia pa ma ir Se a HE ARGIE WOUNG TARE SELVE . fing aS a Marriage proposal, which he aa é RN J a a Handbook aoe Western monasticism. In the accepted. He then felt justified in asking

\ > t beginning, hermits like St. Paul and St. Anthony gen- | ValentinianIII for half of the Western f/ ry crally withdrew to desert areas in order to lead a | .

| Empire as a dowry. Naturally, Valentinian I i ma 3 a i contemplative life. Though hermits in principle do Py l " refused, but when Attila the Hun finally iiale . se We, * My 7, not follow a rule by which they organize themselves, ral ! y crossed the Rhine and invaded the West, Pp rae e = '2 iets {wo monastic orders have taken much inspiration i | he felt that he was merely taking by force Amy p:

:¥ 3, irom the eremitical life: the Carthusians and Carmel- . a) what he was rightfully owed, - ?

' eae ites. In the West the eremitical life almost died out a | | am = : alter the Catholic Reformation. possibly because

| tose attracted to sucha life joined the Carthusians .

. van 186 Chapter Five — — = ——__—_a ——— iii i ————— ee | Chapter Five 187 ee tt Io —— as —_ 1] A eso ee a kK _—_ES_------ @6§6K§aGs-_—si—'"=?—ma; 2. vo i] HISTORY OF THE CHURC LIGHT IN THE DARK AGES Wie | | aa —— | | | ———— Hi | Zz Mth tT HN an | RST MONKS, 4TH TO 8TH CENTURIES WAL UH :

THE FI | | "tt + ae lona gi '

| Ong Dor | ) ot (se | ATLANTIC DF '

| | OCEAN Tintagel i .

Ts ) mes Rouen "5 Ro J 7"

/ ; ; » a) I Paris ¢ '{ \" rn iguge Aye regenz ; Ve .

5% A) | Poug's que Real" sey f a Se, eg | 4 J \ + .

T St ~ * a ; \\ Je hiers fan lia ».

Zaragozagy "e D Lert : x SEA '

Marseilles, Di sia = ac d iS >a,'

"f Toledo O Marte Cassino Constantinople, chaicadon " cuhastes :

Ede yd &Y. Nis | ZY »® _ + . a ,: 1 ? x Vivarium = ee) yl Oo RK - | Hippo Regius Mey ; o f\ ; 'i Ven, ) .

/ Ep ie P 5b | | s ANE, Ri | . a N Ss EA Je 'usaieny \ ; Fe ff | =P Fone of monastic expansion : nal ahem .

Eastern imenspered monasticism ; 7, '

— Celtic monastiasm via er :

NI -| Monast M Started very early with St Pa t Thebe dS? Anth .

* ¥ af i pe After the barbarian invasions, academic } ie \ m™ «matters fell into neglect except among St.

Pachomius (ca. 290-346) founded cen rs ore eee > m= the monks who copied and retained j Egypt. he converted and Re ie Sy Neha eat in Egypt. Born to pagan parents in y wan = literary works. Monks meticulously copied in a situation similar to EN '= sy at % i vilis in the army unt 313. Pachomius found himself i A manuscripts of texts in an age when it took

" the world in order to he mere Pe:a' and women in Egypt. He desired to withdraw from = a>) st y months and years to copy a book by hand.

| sought him out in the ae ie i with God, but as word of his holiness grew, ordinary people R c ~~ ve % ee ; NM §©6Benedictine monasteries quickly established | | | disrupted, Pachomius inste d allowed mane o.oo. t pavers and guidance. His eremitical solitude

% ? at: y= Scriptoria (singular, scriptorium), large | | foun Ch mosh Aie e es ger to Join him in his way of life, and he wrote an early

' rooms in the monasteries set aside for the | | and ScaBente G i. uka Owers. His Rule influenced St. Basil the Great. St. John Cassian.

| 'Se V _ = , purpose of copying and maintaining texts.

| ruled over nine monasteries and --.... t a ~~~ JST. ét the time of his death, St. Pachomius i rS ; y4) a a} a 7 & | | ypt. His feast day is celebrated on May 9.

| | Chapter Five 189 ) = =_ HISTORY OF THE CHURC LIGHTIN THE DARK AGES HiT | THE EMERGENCE OF | oases | lation h ead | | MONASTICISM AND Through its educational work, the monastery also taught the surrounding population how to re

| | EW CHRISTIAN CULTURE and write. The monks elevated them intellectually, which facilitated the development of a new j | A N -ulture expressed in a fusion of the old Greco-Roman tradition and a Germanic culture. Once a | . rhe rice of monasticism in the early Church proved vital tor the spread ol Christianity, the student at the monastery learned Latin, he was taught Sacred Scriptures, the writings of the i ene ati » of Greco-Roman writings, and the formation of a new Christian culture. Fo, the Church Fathers, geometry, and music for the singing of the Divine Office. This emphasis on the | Pi gets steries served a triple purpose:

(1) they were a source of great spiritual st@€ngth: (2 Bible and the Church Fathers would plant deep Christian roots into this new people.

. they served as seminaries for priests and bishops; and (>) a y Tunctioned as centers of | | The monasteries ao had hee mao fects on Europe.

The fst eect was the recov a THE "PATRIARCH OF WESTERN MONASTICISM population was concentrated in cities. However, as the cities began to depopulate and disintegrate

Ora et labora. (motto of the Benedictines, "Pray and work.") people scattered and Clustered around talicuwes hi s ~ More rural Little is known about the early life of St. Benedict (ca. 480-ca. 547). He was born at Nursia, Italy,

| Heh sist PN nde IS pay eerie ce Be and educated in Rome, but eventually the moral decay of the city impelled him to withdraw to a | . agricultu hic] Ba cave in Subiaco to live the life of a hermit. As time passed, others joined him, and his reputation for of the people.

This movem id pc im :

Paipenee™ Ch Was suffering sanctity spread. At one point, the abbot of a local monastery died, and the monks invited St. due to the slow depopulation of the Roman Empire and attacks of the barbarians. The invasion:

; ee L, ab Sicck ralhiesnieeute rary : ie :

-; = — — , Manto forests Th ; VASIONS Benedict to join them. He at first refused, seeing that discipline and life at the monastery was established different from what he wanted, but eventually, in the face of their constant supplications, he iti meeeil Were drained agreed. As he had expected, the other monks disagreed with his brand of monasticism to such an : extent that some tried to poison him. He blessed the pitcher of poisoned wine, and it broke into . aie) a fyex mere On Curope was intellectual. Monasteries pen A geN fee = became the chief centere of le- "

BA pLoeZ, mine tarteenth century. The barbarian | | | ogo [i loge wr 4 g invasions had dismantled the empire and .

| i vith t intelle i ea.

; ~ ya 4 a 7; with it intelectual and ¢ ultural centers of a | '

| r ; = A earning Arademirn F < ~ a r | Jem E. t —ammee =ooning. Academic matters fell into neglect = a RR — = = = -_ ; = Chapter Five

—, 1) JUS Bawa ———— Ll —le a ul ) | HISTORY OF THE CHURCH LIGHT IN THE DARK AGES | Hy | —$——$————— PW TH | A short time later, St. Benedict gedae es and eeeeae= where the noble si and commoner labored, each in his own and separate way, but always

| | ! tidance. Finally, he founde for the common good.

| is Heoefea a thirteenth monastery at Monteae=ee eaea hedie The Rule divides the day into two parts: prayer and work, in that order.The chief aim ofthe monk i)| Hh some years later, and was buried in the same grave Hiecerca fiaeick day is cane S feag or nun following the Benedictine Rule is to give praise and glory to God. The habitual prayer in | HF | day is celebrated on July 11 (formerly March 21), ane

>t. rated common is called the opus Dei ("work of God") or laus Det ("praise ofGod"), Prayer in common February 10. d . was divided among eight periods of the day: Vigils/Matins (12 midnight), Lauds (6 a.m.), Prime if i | | | St. Benedict composed his Rule at Monte Cassino,ynee-koa cae World War [|

(7 am.). Terce (9 a.m.), Sext (12 noon), None (3 p.m.), Vespers (6 p.m.), and Compline (9 p.m.). As a was subsequently rebuilt. The Rule of St. Benedict was adopte . Z virtually allmonastic com, explained by St. Benedict in Chapter 16 of his Rule, this division of the hours has its root in | || munities throughout the Medieval period. The Rule has been lauded for its spirit of peace and love Scripture: "At midnight I rise to praise thee," and "Seven times a day I praise thee (Ps 119 [118]:

| as well as its moderation in the ascetical life. For example, monks were to sleep between siy to 62, 164). This practice would comprise what is now called the Divine Office or Liturgy of the yt eight hours a night (with a siesta in the summer following lunch) and were to have a bed, Pillow,

Hours. The continual focus on God throughout the day and the use of the Scriptures, especially | | Liiee i | | and sufficient food. This was in stark contrast to the austerity of the Egyptian hermits, who Prideg the Psalms of the Divine Office, brings the monastic community into contact with God as the themselves on a strict ascetical life that included sleep deprivation and little food as a Means of members habitually contemplate the life of Christ. The Rule instructs, "let nothing be preferred" to | | furthering the quality of their spirituality. the Divine Office (chapter xliii). Reading and meditating on Scripture, called Jectio divina, forms iy | The Rule essentially divides the schedule of the monk into four parts: chanting the Psalms and an important facet of monastic life.

| . reciting prayers in community (four hours). private prayer and Scriptural reading (four hours) St. Benedict did not specify a particular area or type of work for those adhering to the Rule, thus

| physical labor (six hours), and meals and sleep (ten hours). many types of labor were permitted. However, the first monasteries focused on the manual labor ii} .

According to the Benedictine model, the monastic life is lived in common. No one is allowed to associated with agriculture and, later, education of the young was entrusted to the care of the | own personal property, though the monastery itself may. The Rule made provision for an abbo.

Benedictines. Work was given spiritual meaning by the monks, and it became for them a form of | | who holds virtually all power to govern the monastery. St. Benedict intended that the monastery prayer and penance offered for the praise and glory of God.

| would be a family and a self-sustaining community. Different monks had different tasks ang Even in the earliest years, Benedictine monks made vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience after Wi . functions, which were organized and distributed in such a way as to ensure self-sufficiency, Notal undergoing a year-long novitiate. These vows are binding for life. A vow is a solemn promise made

| monks were literate or expected to study theology diligently; not all monks were expected to work voluntarily by a person of reason, to practice a virtue or perform some specific good deed in order i) | in the garden; not all monks were expected to be able to rebuild damaged monastery walls to accomplish a future good, viz., the individual's growth in the spiritual life.

A | Working together for the good of the whole and the glory of God, the monastery was a place Wey ST. SCHOLASTICA . | i St.

Scholastica (ca. 480-ca. 543) was St. Benedict's twin sister. Most of what is known of her is told if .

| MONTE CASSINO: CAUGHT IN THE STORMS OF HISTORY in the Dialogues of St. Gregory the Great. St. Scholastica, as St. Gregory reports, was consecrated

Wa) | | | OO0 | iabestiatege: positechute fo onAc a3 rane and after sonisb as founded the monastery at Monte Cassino, she

| | | i 2 | Bal imide ft the repeated Searle uf Hetil aim ae ished and governed a convent at lombariola, only five miles from her brother. The nuns at f "e™ olbgke FASS | sieges. In World War Il, the Battle of Monte ombariola followed the Benedictine Rule. Although these siblings were very close, they were en @ See r(BA = 4 Cassino (also known as the Battle for Rome} not allowed to visit each other at their respective homes. Once a year, however, St. Benedict and | . ao he) eo este Ne ae nepes ariiiuad Ac eeeBede St. Scholastica would meet for the day in another house, some distance from Plombariola and ) .

.== re: BeSi cepte breaking hrodghithe Nazi Monte Cassino. There they would spend the day discussing spiritual issues and praying.

| | ook oes AE Hees attic mhekurfethas eae ni ee en ot, Gregory tells the story of the last of these annual visits. They spent the day as usual, but as , ee tSoe lives and:20,000 Nazi lives night approached, St. Scholastica, having had a presentiment that this would be the last time they

SS eT ov aes would see each other in this life, entreated her brother to stay the night. Not wishing to break his oy eee ia at: own Rule by spending the night outside his monastery, St. Benedict refused. St. Scholastica, ye eae od — X ih desperate to spenda little more time with her brother, decided to petition God that her brother

| vay=foe > See a a me Ly might stay. She bowed her head in concentrated prayer, and immediately, the skies opened ina | ascites cee m= ae i Pan EP att dal St. Benedict was unable to return to Monte Cassino, and the two spent the rest

) Cassino on May 19,1944. Its Hots iy A 2night in deep spiritual discussion. St. Benedict returned home the next morning, and three

: removed Tor slekeeping to Rome and survived tewar ays later beheld a vision of St Scholastica's soul in the form of a dove rising to Heaven. He sent

H _ Right: The rebuit Monte Cassino tis for her corpse, and St. Benedict buried his sister's body in the grave he had prepared for himself.

| | i m | Some years after, St. Benedict's soul joined his beloved sister in Heaven, and their bodies were | | | reunited in the same grave.

| 192 Chapter Five —— Sa ee SS 1) | | — Chapter Five 193 | [mmm ee = th .

HISTORY OF THE CHURC / paar ok LIGHT IN THE DARK AGES ) | POPE ST. GREGORY THE GREAT | | | | | am forced to consider the affairs of the Shares cage the eee I must weigh the .

. lhe | lives and acts of individuals. I am responsible for t e concerns of our citizens, I muse | worry about the invasions of roving bands of barbarians, and beware of the wolves who lie

| | | in wait for my flock.

I must become an administrator lest the religious go in want, | must | | FI put up with certain robbers without losing patience and at times I must deal with them in J) | | | all charity. (St. Gregory the Great, from a homily on Ezekiel, Lib. 1, 11, 4-6: Cer 142. ie | 170-172) | | St. Gregory (ca. 540-604) became pope in 590. A Church Father, he is considered the last of the traditional Latin Doctors. St. Gregory's papacy is often used as a marker for the beginning of the Medieval age, and certainly his papacy illustrates the noblest ideals of Medieval Christianity, aswel

| as some of the tensions of his day. ys |) St. Gregory was the son of a senator, a nobleman, and he played an important role in the civic

G , | . il | affairs of the city of Rome. In 573 he became prefect for the police and a judge for criminal cases After the death of his father (his mother Silvia and two aunts Tarsilla and Emiliana were eventually

' s Fs | i} | i] | canonized as saints), St. Gregory sold his properties and gave away his wealth in order to found Tr | \ seven monasteries and alleviate the plight of the poor. This was a common cultural phenomenon

L tt > | | | | | of the time among some of the nobility, a practice that was subsequently extolled as mode!

St. Gregory's missionary success, map s a 'hs | | | | Christian behavior in the Medieval Church. One of the monasteries was in Rome. Here St Gregory spon 1 agen aeae .:

| vai I Ee Ry L At fae ris ' ry ? poor through the administration of the oi $ { | became a regular monk, and he placed an abbot in charge, to whom he pledged obedience.

Church's estates, won for St. Gregory }} | | i After several years of living the holy, austere life of a monk, the pope made St. Gregory one of the eae WEES P :

, = Hh 'tt se sec of Rome. Around 579 Pope Pelagius II appointed him as the nuncio, the pope's , i . {| personal ambassador, to the court in Constantinople. Though St. Gregory preferred to remain a i Pi ea| | aei he deferred to the pope and went to Byzantium. Later St. Gregory retuned to Rome

HU and worked directly for Pelagius II. whe ' aii : cs | al | .

| NAME Rae ab 0 died in 590. title of "Ecumenical Patriarch." St. Gregory had recognized it for what it was: an attempt to usurp int | ; ae sgh death, the Roman populace universally acclaimed St. Gregory as the new pope bie Petrie primacy. i} | nitially St.

Gregory fled the city to avoid taking the office af ¢ :

— i ie VO] ¢ nh > af.) = | Seathhohe earth Gee at King the office of St. Peter, but after intense soul The Lombards began threatening Rome shortly after St. Gregory became pope. The Eastern

|i | Sek ie rece tet aes ; | emperor's €xarch (an imperial representative) displayed no intention of preventing or averting a | | needed: Vidlent Lombard ites hat of his talents and gifts for leadership was greatly eer see He as remained idle in Ravenna. When St. Gregory received a threatening

| . ent Lom invaders pillaged towns and citjiec a * tter from the ' iluf < im j . decreased, the roads became eae : ayi and cities. The population of the cities action himself ot i a seemedeedS Sue Oe ais OFane

| | Wl Rome's peviluee ies sae oy ees and prisoners were reduced to slavery Abie sel without the consent or counsel of the exarch or emperor—and succeeded in Wty If | } | surrounding Rome was racked ened < cec Y seventy-five percent, and the entire area sk " See peace in 592-593. This only lasted a short time, however, due to hostile i | I | Thoin' is Y famine, plagues, and floods, ctlons of the hitherto idle exarch. Again working without the consent of exarch or emperor,

Wy : eae weak health from the physical austerities he faa enaeeen ; | St. Gregory finally made peace with the Lombards in 599. This peace was short-lived, but the brief

| [. Gregory Was 4 tireless worker. and he enjoyed the s _ : iposed on himself as a monk, WalTing eventually gave way to a peace that lasted throughout the remainder ofSt Gr

, os treatises and commentaries on Sareea <. yed the support of the people. He wrote many St. Gregory's actions de of ot.

Gregory's life. eas eee €s on Sacred Scripture, many of which have survive Utegorys actions demonstrate the growing temporal power of the popes and their care for | réd of his letters, St. Gregory's greatest stren; ee ich have survived, as have over eight Rome. It also marked the beginning of a rejection of the Eastern em

| administrative ability. He took the title sek 1gth was his combination of humility and skillful West. This instance only highlighted the fact that the Ea peror s political power in the which F "¢ AUC OCTVUS SE4 I } ra, Fal "

} j | which highlights the humble view of his position He aesA '('Servant of the servants of God') viewed each other as competitors ~—_—— ee | .

/ liturgical life of the Church, more Gontachiy ies « also helped to establish plainsong chant in the St Gregory's mil wigs ea | | St. Gregory was also Cees cle vty KNOwn as Gregorian Chant. a oe: eeprage e ee oes some of his most successful endeavors, more of which PSE S also very active in the temporal enhere Da... wm be covered in the following chapter.F it i ici the Eastern Church were not very good pase Sphere, Papal relations with Byzantium and with Conversion of St. Ethelbert and a Sa in Engla meee i Keen A) | | Ecumenical Patriarch" Whecee ee regory adamantly refused to acknowledge the title princess Theodelinda, a Catholi axons in England. St. Gregory also influenced the Lombard

| Council of Constantincnle (zery wee ech Of Constantinople ; Bae:

; eng tat clinda, a Catholic, to marry the Lombard king Agiluf. Their childr i . er Astantinople (381). The council was opie adopted by canon 28 at the First Catholic and Theodelinda worked to build many churches.

By th h weno at Was not convened under th se ge Ors "u WdS Nor recognized at firs :

Y e seventh centu . the Lomb | century, however jt fae the POPe's authority, and no western b 4st as ecumenical eee ~ converted to Christianity. St. Gregory's missionary success along with his eoaaae feet

| | | wwe Vel, IC Was Tecornizedac an a. wStCil) DISNODS were pres P DOOr q ory :

| wenized as an ecumenical council Hoi coe WEES Prgoete By the six ~< Poor through the administration of the Church's estates, won for St Gregory the title "

Wt) | | | cu. Mowever, as for the legitimacy of the Ureat." His feast day is celebrated on September 3 pre eee . | | | > > } \ a = | 194 Chapter Five —— | ———— = —— .

—— —————— | | oa ——— ————————— —— | | !

Chapter Five 195 . | .

| LIGHT IN THE DARK AGES HISTORY OF THE CHURCH .

& | =— SE ————E———E— a...

...~—i<'(<' ;273}FW#*é'~: fy | PART III The Rise of Islam | GREGORIAN CHANT: THE DEVELOPMENT | OF MUSICAL NOTATION There is no god but Allah, and Muhammad is his prophet. in the Middle Ages played _used in the earliest type of notation are

(The Shahada, the creedal belief statement of Islam) onasticism s . a :

"oe M: pivotal role in developing Western ele:feaehow high on ie a he rise of Islam is important for a number ofreasons. Itjoined Judaism andee,eethe music, especially with regard to musical ae ae f : ind third great monotheistic religion. Its history is intimately linked to the Arab peoples an , later, notation. Gregorian Chant, attributed to sna eeie UP or ane the peoples conquered by Islamic invaders in Asia, Africa, and Europe. Islam grew rapidly, and Pope St. Gregory the Great, wasaRoman —_chanteri ae beeiie ae sy ee becamea threat to the existence of Christianity. This particular religion relates to the history of the Poet of platichanbetingSRee the arobeea & ptezper Church insofar as wars between Christians and Muslims have unfortunately persisted throughout bellished by the de: an | abe chalbbs Cotte hibett They did not, however, indicate a precise the centuries. These religious wars have had a profound impact on Christian history. was used extensively for the Mass and relation of pitches within a syllable or | | the Divine Office throughout Europe and from one syllable to the next.

ARABIA | | the Middle East. Although St. Gregory the During the tenth and eleventh centuries, ; ; | | | Great probably did not write any of the marks arranged above and belowa fixedThe Arabian Peninsula is mostly barren desert and in the sixth century was sparsely populated by | | melodies, he did encourage the orderly pitch line-heightened neumes—were Bedouin tribes. These nomadic tribes controlled the few caravan trade routes that crossed the H y I use of music in church, which led tothe used to make the intervals of a melody peninsula. A strong and proud people, the Arabs were also fierce warriors. The time at which Islam

| eventual cataloging ofthe melodies in an more discernible. In the first half ofthe appeared was a tenuous period in the history ofthe peninsula: the various tribes were in a state of | | Carly form 'of taiksical TMitataneleventh century, an Italian Benedictine constant warfare with one another and the economic situation was dire.

Gregorian Chant was written, preserved, monk, Guido d'Arezzo, developed the ans who worshiped various local objects of nature. One obiect in particular

| peck selimacrrehelt oe eeeysbial Seedpare following oie Kaaba, a large black stone, in Mecca. Folklore dates the . writing down its melodies in a series of Gregorian Chant is still notated today. a '

| marks and dashes. The signs-neumesThe modern five line staff is developed Kaaba to the time of Abraham, and issupposed to occupy the spot where he worshiped the one

| from this system of notation. true God. The Kaaba is an axus mundi (turning-point of the world), a connection between Heaven

/ Bi? 5 2h-¢Ty Gregorian Chant had fallen out of and earth; hence, it is the focal point of prayers in the individual Muslim's life. Christianity and ) | >> OE aul t tie axcaaly at the Mass: to\more Judaism both had a very small presence among the Arabs. The Arabs were searching for a religion

| | Toitaf, mes — Bi) «fashionable forms ofustaby the that would give them certainty about this life and the next. In the person of Muhammad, the | | J v Ms)? '

(Ll y, eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.

Jewish, Christian, and pagan traditions were woven into a uniquely new Arabic religious tradition | y , fae During the latter half of the nineteenth called Islam.

| kj NS a | Wn | — century, some groups of Benedictine | BGM | rnonks began to revive the useof MUHAMMAD (ca. 570-632) AND THE KORAN | | ~ -s—'w¢/ Gregorian Chant, making it available | | '

| / worldwide for use at the Mass. The In the Name of God, The Compassionate, the Merciful / All praise belongs to God, /

| | >. wee revival became popular, prompting Pope Lord of all worlds, / the Compassionate, the Merciful, / Ruler of Judgment Day.

Se ne St. Pius X in 1903 to declare Gregorian (Koran, opening lines of The Essential Koran, 1) | "Yes on Chant "proper to the Roman Church."

! —- _ eee He added, "[Holiness and universality ] | Muhammad was born near Mecca around 570. By the age of six he was an orphan, and an uncle i | : fr Kinnoos Aine are to be found, in the highest degree, . took over his upbringing. He worked as a camel driver until he married a wealthy, widowed woman,

— :a in Gregorian Chant." The fathers of Khadeejah, when he was twenty-five years old. He had six children, all of whom died except his

. | |) oa Bak the Second Vatican Council reiterated daughter Fatima. Shortly thereafter, Muhammad decided to withdraw from the world to pursue a | ' | | | Sw bis arts imperium 4 these statements: "Gregorian chant [is] life of mystical prayer.

| wi vy : specially suited : i} ia | a ae Mig e ae ; beeshi a» ot4 By the age of 30, Muhammad had become despondent. Pagan worship gave him no spiritual peace. iF | Be , 2a * place in liturgical services" (Sacrosanctum

He retired to a cave and around the year 612, he announced to his acquaintances that he had had | ine, oe Ee. concilium (Constitution on the Sacred a vision of the archangel Gabriel that called him to be the herald of Allah. the Jewish God. He said

Liturgy), no. 116), that over a period of time he wrote exactly the words that Gabriel told him. resulting in the Koran.

| | Thus, Muslims believe that the Koran (Arabic for "recitation") is not Muhammad's work but God's.

| i The Koran is comprised of 114 chapters of sayings that Muhammad recorded. le Y :

Chapter Five a i ee SS — { Chapter Five 197 | | ~~ '

= ea ssi ™ i] J Mle | ARK AGES iT | HISTORY OF THE CHURCH LIGHT IN THE D I t | | — $$ —————————— | || eeee eS ——— | ————— Wt rr a i ; is li estioned, Wy | | AM BY A.D 661 Muhammad continued to suffer a great deal of spiritual anxiety throughout his aeHe a mae:

Wile | Wh THE EXTENT OF ISL ' t times, whether he was being divinely inspired or if he was suffering delusions.

< ; ———— Tee gave him constant encouragement, the latter saying that the revelations of the Koran were | | | part of the truths of Judaism and Christianity.

| BYZANTINE EMPIRE :, | The Koran's language and revelation have special status in Islam. Because Arabic was the nere | | | | of revelation, it is considered the only true language in which to read the Koran. Thoug pa! tN ypo rn lations are made, Muslims are encouraged to learn Arabic in order to grasp the full nature x | Pe iy | "Se ° dl power of the Koran's revelation. The Koran is also written in the form of poetry, and is meant to 2a

| Ma AZERBAIJAN . read aloud, which aids the goal of memorization. Finally, the Koran is considered technically to be | | won sos 2 a 2 "God's Word," perfect and eternal.

| | "ty Bi Gog So amma rr mW NAW Egy cc.

KHURASAN © — ) ae > F ude iF re) ah 'Bane Yarmut, 636 re oSelevoa-Cresioho ' i) } I | ad Oars Agana O Jerusalem May O 8 1°] Isfahanis = -uaa | 1 ; | ¢ 2, Fustat (Carol Deb rs) PERS KERMAN ; .

) @ & OS Antony _\ Q Sim | ; h | st 'a %, : mal = shmael and his father Abraham pray rn tp!

) meee = after building the Kaaba | | | .

"a Ishmael and his mother Hagar moved i oM nea ~) to Mecca where Ishmael and his father i be o | "

> Abraham established the sanctuary and in @P @ Merce o=— sed = rebuilt the Kaaba. After this, God sent | } Nubia O Mecca ARABIA ARABIAN | ; cd

Ishmael as a prophet to the Amalekites | | @ Sta > SEA > and the tribes of Yemen. When the time i i | [J Extent of isiam by 661

| ¥ > a of Ishmael's death was at hand, he ae } "(Gj Matropabtan see of Manoohysites lung 4 \ v bequeathed to his brother Isaac that he .

| > Meets aa ct aera > .

1'. should marry his daughter to Esau, son my lt .

Ay °f 'saac. Ishmael lived for 137 years ail | .

YK and was buried in al-Hijr in the tomb of WU!

—_+—__4 ETHIOPIA® / op his mother Hagar .

| a aaa ol f H t , Bl al :

ISLAM'S BIBLICAL REINTERPRETATION | \ i} = E | , o | So she [Sarah] said to Abraham, "Cast out this slave woman with her son"... And the thing

| | | | was very displeasing to Abraham on account of his son. But God said to Abraham. "Be not | i displeased because of the lad and because of your slave woman....I will make a nation of | We the son of the slave woman also, because he is your offspring." So Abraham rose the early

# in the morning, and took bread and a skin of water, and gave it to Hagar, putting it on her i ly ; a shoulder, along with the child, and sent her away. And she departed, and wandered in the | i | , a y LA.

: A rt — A wilderness of Beer-sheba. (Gen 21: 10-14) | .

Yr ) ;\ } . hal ——_ a a Islam reinterpreted the Jewish and Christian narratives for its own purposes. Islam traces itself

| | = | , &@ . v4 \\ = — back to Abraham, Hagar, and Ishmael in the story from Genesis quoted above. Ishmael is the father

'yi | =< =—_ of the Arabic people, and Islam became the means for transforming them into a great nation.

SSSee peop & . r 4, J ipa! | \ Above: Muslims worship Muhammad eventually proclaimed his worship of the one true God a national religion. Islam

| a R | i . 4\ in a mosque (Arabic for "submission") borrows from Judaism and Christianity in that it recognizes the Jewish

Le oem —- : me \\ am es rd Mistin phaoins making Prophets and Christian writings, but it contends that both Jews and Christians have misunderstood

| ( es : their way t 1eCCa he :

| | pala he the intentions of God. Jesus and Mary are both respected in Islam, but only as a prophet and his Wy a | i eles Tarbes > | holy mother. Islam holds that God's revelation culminated not in the birth, death, and Resurrection

I] | | a of Jesus Christ, but in Muhammad's visions recorded in the Koran. Muhammad was God's last ae Prophet who brought to the world the perfect religion.

Hy ill 198 Chapter Five = ———— sn —— —___ _____ —.$...— ———————— ——— nn | Chapter Five 199 || :

| Le —_ _ ———— rt —_t— = :

HISTORY OF THE CHURCH , LIGHT IN THE DARK AGES i"

| = EOPLE OF THE BOOK with the Old Testament prophets Moses, Ezekiel, | btteipe tn eae ° Jeremiah, and Isaiah. The Jews refused because they

| Be they Muslims, Jews, / Christians, or Sabians, / Bee oe sens en hes Last Las held that the prophetic line had ended over a thousand

Day / and who do good / have their reward with their Lore."

They oa +} years before. During a later confrontation with Mecca, and they will not sorrow. (Koran, verse 62).

- { the Jewish community appeared to have supported hes that Jews and Christians are "People of the Book," that is, they share with « the Medeans absinee Mi d, who in turn slaughbpsa monotheistic tradition and a common religious history. The Koran TECOgnizes

Ll , ke <g tered the Jewish men and sold the women and child- | arate ae Allah "strengthened him with the holy spirit" (Koran, verse 87), but Jesus tga

= go Seeeee ren into slavery. a She — Se oe ee Koran was only a prophet. According to Muhammad, enawele!es Be religion by | is. en ==:2 ee MAA The year 624 proved to be a key turning point in the interpreting God's intentions as they were communicated t oug eSUS. lost of the que TKI ¥ . tty Mea) evelopment of Islam. After a new inspiration, Muhammysteries of Faith in Christianity are denied by Islam: the Incarnation, redemption and aton ment

1 PARA aAAAAAAAAAS Oe ST === wer——re mad changed the direction of Muslim prayer (qibla) of the cross, the Resurrection, and the Trinity.

« a aaara SBMOBRRE 07¢ hundred eighty degrees from Jerusalem to Mecca.

At first Christians were generally tolerated by Muslims. But as the religion became increasingly UbeLee :Pipe: =; In 624 Muhammad also led his forces in ajihad (holy | militant and nationalized in the seventh and eighth centuries, tensions dramatically mounted, Jews eaenaed Dinitiaeds ei war) against the Meccans, and he defeated them at | and Christians were forced to pay a special tax called the jizya in order to retain the right fy Paik aoe Suen Badr. With only three hundred men, Muhammad was

| | practice their own religion. This financial burden and the difficulties of trying to live ina Mustim neal,SSaaee Pee Hi able to defeat a much larger Meccan force of about | state eventually coerced many Jews and Christians to convert to Islam. eon) Vides aeEoNa son)1) 900, as well as capture an entire caravan as booty.The | | <i agen ae pate sdrae Battle of Badr (624) has often been interpreted by | f BR We Uotagtcn A Seer = Muslims as their Exodus story.

MUHAMMAD'S PREACHING Be nan eG Mus pinball : ween: hammad to take control of | ig Te Muhammad preached monotheism, the immortality

This paved the wey hte s Ortality of pepaSite pkAg Geet Mecca as well, which he purged of all the pagan reli- | ae eis muzit Ci the soul, the resurrection of the body,justice to the poor,

St a eat ean a Wei tt gions. The Kaaba (Arabic for "square building") alone | oly CLTUS pe)tga | 27d a sensual paradise in the next life. When he began his Mucins Olcte treaehoe was spared destruction, though its meaning was trans- | elt. =ger i fea preaching, his critique of the pagan religion in Mecca and formed. Under Islam, the Kaaba became the focus of pilgrimage, which every Muslim is required

| Bay pristai. rg call for moral reform among the ruling elite upset many to visit at least once in his lifetime, means permitting. The Kaaba itself is housed inside a square

| | 'e oa ayepa}en yel in the city, and Muhammad was forced to flee for his life building that Muslims believe Abraham built. Only Muslims are permitted to see the Kaaba, and | yt (peaneae | (0 Medina (which means "the city of the prophet" in shoes are removed before entering.

| | Pe eres 'Ware3 ea Arabic) with his followers on Friday, July 16, 622. This | ee ee re tyale| Migration is known as the hejira (Arabic for "flight" of | | ro aarae fearaa | "emigration"), and it marks the year 1 in the Islamic

| THE FIVE PILLARS OF ISLAM ; |MOLAo eb whee) calendar. In the West, the Muslim year is represented by ive Pi fee | J[rrJtnel imbe Tee 7 J} the abbreviation "A.H." which stands for the Latin anna

| The Five Pillars of Islam are the requirements of all Muslims. They are the following:

| Til df st leerCte | hegiree ("in the year ofthe hejira"). Thus, the JubileeYear | * The Shahada: the creedal statement of Islam | | tnt Ree yt" (Heme) ©2000 was the year 1478 AH. in the Muslim world.

EL pl fdeae Po SAF | ® The Hajj: pilgrimage to Mecca | K gis.Tee Dated to he seventh century AD, this Koran manuscript is thought tobe the ® Ramadan: the holy month (ninth month of the Islamic calendar) eS Parilest style of Koran writing. It is located in the Tareq Rajab Museum in Kuwall

° Zakah: (alms) for purification | Prayer is required five times daily in the direction of the Kaaba in Mecca, and includes a ritualistic y | IN MEDINA ISLAM MATURES format of prayers and prostration. (Hotel rooms in the Muslim world normally have a marker in the :

In Medina, Muhammad was hai ee comer that points toward Mecca.) In Muslim lands, the muezzin, a man who calls the community t | was hailedas a re] Pde.

Ft» sp. ty to | to be the new ruler as a means t ae '610us leader. The leaders of the city invited Muhammad Prayer, stands atop a minaret and calls Muslims to pray with the sound of the human voice.The | | immediately set about the taskeRaa aiepeoihee among contending parties. Muhammad holy day for Muslims is Friday, taken from the Jewish Sabbath, which begins at sundown on Friday. a) | any separation between the civineh::eeaeae beginning of Islam, there was never

Typically, the Muslim community gathers for prayers on Friday at themosque (Arabic for "place of Via | the temporal and spiritual powersin one seance sige Islam functions in unityme prostration") where the Muslim cleric will also speak.

With Islam rooted i ina, Muhamma ines E ; vie | :So became the head of the miltary force, which wee Reiseeen Medina, Mu be Aaj is the pilgrimage to Mecca. It is required at least once in the adult life of every Muslim if | We | aie was also a small Jewish population in Medina ee a © monetary means exist. It normally takes place on the eighth through twelfth days of the last

| pon his arrival Muhammad demanded that this aa numbered at least five hundred ae month of the lunar year, which places it after the holy month of Ramadan. Through a number of I unity recognize him as a prophet in line ntualistic ceremonies and prayers that include three laps on foot around the Kaaba, Muslims share

Chapter Five —— _—— | | Chapter Five 201 | .

MUM —- —EEE———=—_—_eo~--|-=S:éi'=;PB'.t HISTORY OF THE CHURCH .

_ 7 LIGHT IN THE DARK AGES | ——— | ie in the history of the Kaaba and the heijra, and express unity with all Muslims. Through Wh . | | ritualistic re-enactment around the Kaaba, Muslims symbolically share in Muhammad's igh

| "Ti Medina from Mecca. The entire Hajj is a profound expression of unity with Muslims throushoy ie | | || eae THE SPLIT IN ISLAM: SUNNI VERSUS SHIITE Wt!

] The Shahada contains the beliefs of Islam. In order for one to be a Muslim, the following state , i] q | must be made in freedom and with belief: "There is no god but God ('Allah' in Arabic) an f AN f 'i eal :aai identity that includes many smaller, local

! in Muhammad is his prophet." There are no sacraments. si of oe caeae elttcel oi eae eMSings, Today SuneNa Eos ales HH | |} Ip in almost ei p i | Ramadan is the holy month, celebrated during the ninth lunar month. A strict fast from supp the Muslim community. These Muslimweeee ae | .

| sunset is enforced that encompasses eating, drinking, smoking, and sexual relatos disagreements led to the early split of M :

J val \ | challenging fast increases one's spiritual dependence on God and openness to the Material i Ths Islam into two factions, Sumni;and Shiite, ee iage oe8 | ma] | the poor, who normally go without food. In the evenings families and friends come toxethan a Shiite (or Shi'a) is short for "Shi'at Senne eee: a pica Henne* ay | | | meal. Ramadan is a sacred, joyful time that carries a great deal of historical significance: the Kone

| Ali"—Arabic for "the party of Ali," and following Mubnsi ai tne ee hy i) . was given during this time to Muhammad, the Battle of Badr took place in this month Khad constitutes Islam's largest non-Sunni and recognize the authori f religi ons) | j | died on the tenth, Mecca was occupied on the nineteenth, and Ali, the grandson of Muh —

| sect. Shiites claimed that Ali, the sonscholars, Shiites believeeras HT | | who is especially important to Shiite Muslims, died on the twenty-first. ammaq in-law and cousin of Muhammad, was the successor of Ali, isa spirited ia | | .

| In support ofthe poor, Muslims are also asked to give alms in the form ofa special tax, given plese ibid.'asam and temporal leader—a descendant of ; | ie | i | ae ak percentage of one's wealth. In some countries the government collects theBe ' designation of Ali as his suebiien? and fUriagymadtdlvinlysneer | | others, individuals freely give it. This is separate from charitable givi i ne, i umane sre Piri tauhyaan aa Hl .

. if ' encouraged to do on a regular basis giving, which Muslims are also oe piesae of preserving leaderalso very mystical. Shiites emphasize

Ge b oodline. The community suffering, martyrdom, veneration of Ali Wil | | TH leaders, however, did not agree, and and praying at the tombs of Muslim

| | E MORAL CODE OF |SLAM ae chose a close companion of prophets and saints. The rivalry between it ome hammad, Abu Bakr, to become th ie ev | In additio vbann me the these two sects is .

| F Sos FEES Pillars (requirements), Islam also holds its followers to a stri first Caliph (Arabic for "successor"). After through ee . rom Judaism, Islam borrowed dietary prohibiti Ct moral code the third Caliph, U MST a ee esta | practice of kosher in th prohibitions including pork, and it accepts the Jewish proaibameakSeid A | i] | | ae EE € preparation of meat products. Thus, in many places Jews and M se in 656, Ali was named the fourth Caliph. for meat to be tune salpe pence the obligations of their religions. For example nate atest titteten to(Ae | * ared for human consumpti =! lites constitute ten to fifteen percent of | Hes aif ption, all the blood must first be drained from all followers of Islam.

| ) Idolatry is strictly forbidden. Islami Unlik i | | s . Islamic art does , nlike the followers of Ali, the Sunni | because it is considered a form of idolatry ae ics the image of Allah or the human person

Muslims accept the order of succession 1 4 geometric shapes and architecture as ihe esireciah has developed complex and beautiful of the first four Caliphs (including Ali as Ow | | ra strict prohibition against depictions of the nitea Output. It is also quite likely tha the fourth Caliph) and oppose political y | | | Clastic controversy, about which more will be said in Ch ected Christianity during the icono: succession based on bloodline. "Sunni"

, | ALE Apostasy and adultery are also | ce Arracition isis eae {| I strictly for "tradition."

) i conditions: a man may have n y forbidden. Polygamy was permitted, though with strc pie ion." Sunni Muslims adhere to ry . equality, f y © more than four wives, and } octrines and practices based on the a :

Ri Y; inancial support, and equal love. Cheats :

1€ must treat them with perfect traditions of Muhammad as understood Ee .

| | peg polygamy is technically permitted by the es '¢ must remain monogamous. Hence, and interpreted by Muslim scholars | ieSee and meet the necessary edna rses a is generally impossible to show all through history. Because the Sunnis »> Polygamy has been generally outlawed, or the maintenance of multiple wives. have no centralized authority, the tra- | | | dition is better understood as a general | | .

; | Jihad is a Muslim holy Sure uit JIHAD '

| | | in ees €d in the name of es Re ; | aek according to Muslim belief —go ae ieee against "infidels." Those who die fighting

| Ih 'S IT Ww } limmiel c > \ Theis a vith a limitless number ofae Seen WHEE swords provide shade and ek ile AC: me a | | seof religions f '

. iro. of IslambaSieh promote war has prompted the | —— be | | mad died in 632. he hadFle cies linked to Muhammad Fee ofjihad as the "sixth pillar"

| | | | | ene had already expertly utilized Jihad to defe Islam S expansion. When Muham11] | | L Cat his foes in Mecca. In 634 his suc .

\ oe | | 202 Chapter Five — ;a | | | ——— SE ——_— | i | _ .

-aravan trade routes. Syria and quickly f 711, Spain fell to | cessors began to wage2aelands were the main target. The use of war also serie

Sie care they were met in 732 by the Frankish chieftain Charles Martel, known as Charles | } and soon it became clear that "ans ' impossible to do before Islam's rise.

"the Hammer." The subsequent battle, the Battle of Tours, marked the high water mark of the | unite the Arabs, which had been nearly Muslim expansion into Europe. The Franks dressed in armor and stood firm before the hail of EAD OF ISLAM arrows. When the Muslims charged, their general was killed and the defeated army slinked back

THE SPR towards Spain. After their retreat to Spain, the Muslims never attempted any further advance into | | § suc spreading and establishing a strong and long-lasting empire remains one ofthe

Europe through Spain. But the Muslims did remain in Spain for over 700 years, and it would not be | | | | cpSEEas in history. Beginning in 634, the Muslims remained unstoppable for the until the Reconquista under the reign of Queen Isabella in 1492 that Spain would be completely

WIDE | |, | aie beepees years. Within eighty years of Muhammad's death, Muslim territory already liberated from Muslim domination.

TWEE spread from the Indus River in India to parts of North Africa and southern Spain. Asia Minor ang In 717, the Muslim army laid siege to Christian Constantinople, but Emperor Leo III defeated them.

We } Europe. for the most part, were as yet unthreatened by Muslim expansion.

The Muslims would attempt to breach the city again in 740 but would suffer a second defeat | The spread of Islamic territory and faith went hand in hand. Believers were obligated by thei against Leo III. The emperor's successful defense against the Muslim forces established ai tos to seek converts and wage a holy war to destroy unbelievers. With an excellent Cavalry

Byzantium's position as an eastern bulwark to the Muslim empire.

Wh . aalight archery (learned from the Persians and Byzantines), the Muslim army became the best in | | | ee JERUSALEM, THE HOLY CITY H | : ians ing Jerusalem in 638. The fall of the q Muslim forces began by defeating the Persians and sacking e fi city ; —S sent a chackvase threes the East and West and would eventually prompt Christians to launch

The capture of Jerusalem in 638 by the Muslims has had Mah yiiglhors epee dpe lye | | a counterattack to try to retake the Holy Land during the Crusades. Having taken Jerusalem, historical consequences felt even today. The Muslim caliph

| Muslims spread westwards sacking Christian Alexandria, also a great repository of one thousand Umar cleared the Temple Mount, the site of the two Jewish % ) years of Greek culture, in 643. With Alexandria taken, Muslims quickly spread throughout North temples, and built a temporary mosque. In 684 the Dome of and | Africa. Nestorians and Monophysites in North Africa for the most part welcomed the Muslim the Rock was erected, on the site of the former Temple, asa

| invaders since they were at odds with the Byzantine emperor. By 698, all of North Africa was Muslim shrine to commemorate "the Night Journey" of MuPie 6'O%O%O"¢ . under Muslim rule, Six hundred years of North African Christianity, with its apologists, early hammad. The Dome of the Rock was intended to surpass the "aK 92504950 , | | Doctors of the Church, and martyrs, were destroyed. The Old Roman (Byzantine) Empire was beauty and size of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jeru- %. oe. rs 0 - 05 049° | | reduced to an area not much larger than Greece. salem, the church built on the site where Jesus was buried. i o5 5 Cc | According to Muslim beliefs, while sleeping one night near the §& ae ~ 9 x O° | Kaaba, Muhammad was taken by the angel Gabriel to Jerujj

| | salem, where he met the other prophets Abraham, Moses, and ae 0% ) | Jesus, among others, before ascending through seven heavens BY | before he stood in the presence of God. After this direct Ps.

| experience of God, Gabriel returned Muhammad to Mecca.

S f Whether Muhammad's experience was an actual event, a 2, . a dream, or a result of a hallucination is not clear, but the sevenZ

~ i} |] # teenth verse of the Koran describes Muhammad's "Night ~, .

* holiest city in Islam after Mecca and Medina. ee =e ¥ | .

The "temporary" mosque was eventually replaced by the PMA Ap Mig ti OSL | BIEN a =~ magnificent Al-Aqsa Mosque (Arabic for "farthest mosque." a Prophet Muhammad returns from ' i >. r4 ee a reference to the Koran) also on the Temple Mount. It was" Might Journey and Ascension

| completed around 710, and quickly became an important GOs Seorth entee aes | ——— lif ° ed L'] i) center of learning. At Friday prayers, the mosque and the area Mecca and sent first to the Arabs to revive the .

——_ as e & | en ~ Bae? surrounding it often hold four to five th d | religion of Abraham. Early in his mission he is -A 498 a a ¥ ¥ Paco * ; | ve thousand people. taken on a special Night Journey to the ends

| ; ——— The appropriation of the site of the former Temple by the °o Ledeh andNSN peanons Of fanriiae | | | j tf ror iiec i:

Muslims has caused great tensions through the centuries. Jews Banbaiact Al laniberceen Tair:

* Pi b were not able to rebuild a third Temple because of the the Prophet Muhammad ascends into the seven Fy ine ne Diaspora after 70 heavens where he meets the prophets who | .

| nS te Dae ot Rok was waco en bests aangeae Wal,an euler wall efee camebefor hin, ang eventual comes into the | | | of ihatommad ® erectedon the siteof the Temple Mount in Jerusalem as a Muslim shrine to commemorate "the Night Journey' the Temple p : g tro pre of God—The Teachingof Islam | t | !

204 Chapter Five I a | | | Chapter Five 205 | bao HISTORY OF THE CHURCH LIGHT IN THE DARK AGES iI} i | Se eeeeee--—S—t—'_"O ——— =< i] 1 I | / ni | A PAPAL PERSPECTIVE ON ISLAM SPE ararine REAL NG WA ndenci sterners have since learned to || Despite aggressive andue SS reunevelnion FGDE John Paul Il in particular i he landof the old Europe, which . some of the positive characteristics of the Isamc | Ig pra dialogue with members of St. Benedict, The Rule ofSt. Benedict, fleeing from the land of the ; id eee | | said stich regarding Islam and had hoped esoy pr ; Pope John Paul II wrote ae

Ch. 33, "Whether Monks Ought to Have notwithstanding the perdurance 2 its p = .

| | that religion. In his book Crossing the Threshold of Hope, rop € Anything of Their Own and spiritual power, has come to : seen%

| following about the nature of Islam as a religion: ve = The vice of private ownership is above all to more as condemned to decline and crumble. a .

Some of the most beautiful names in the parsetea pared ee "! be cut off from the monastery by the roots.

St. Gregory the Great, The Book of \ l | f | the Koran. but He is ultimately a God outside of the shee : iP = we Y Let none presume to give or receive anything

Pastoral Rule, I.VI To John, Bishop of the WW |} | Majesty, never Emmanuel, God-with us. Islam is not d " igion o redemption. without leave of the Abbot, nor to keep city of Ravenna || ; i\ .

There is no room for the Cross and the Resurrection. Jesus is RIESE but | anything as their own, either book, or writing

Sne: oles | f li only as a prophet who prepares for the last prophet, Muhammad. There is also tablet, or pen, or anything whatsoever: since

That those who fly from the re ae ee at i mention of Mary, His Virgin Mother, but the tragedy of redemption is completely

| they are permitted to have neither body nor through humility arethen truly humble when | absent. For this reason not only the theology but also the anthropology of Islam will in their power. But all that is necessary they resist not the Divine decrees. There

| is very distant from Christianity. Nevertheless, the religiosity of Muslims deserves they may hope to receive from the father of are some also who fly by reason only of their

| shah the monastery; nor are they allowed to keep humility, lest they should be preferred to ; ; pe others to whom they esteem themselves | —— ibdiden Dakine priate iter a: epmety unequal. And theirs, indeed, if it be surrounded

| — least permitted them to have. Let all things be Beiwe we ; me . ad in common to all, as it is written: "Neither did by other virtues, is then true humility before | | & '

| anyone say that aught which he possessed the Suse of God, when a ee i pas z | | > was his own." But if anyone shall be found to rejecting what it SSCTOMES Leen 'a ' we | | a r indulge in this most baneful vice, and after one profit. For neither is he truly humble, who .

We or two admonitions does not amend, let him understands how the good pleasure of the .

| ss be subject to correction.

Supernal Will ought to bear sway, and yet | | We .

: contemns its sway. But, submitting himself to . j ; _—- = | John Paul II, Crossing the Threshold of the divine disposals, and averse from the vice

. f UP AL 1) Ne \ i ci | Hope, On the Question: "Muhammad?" of obstinacy, it be be already prevented with .

= | (4 | . j | it) ] \¢ \ Whoever knows and reads the Old and New gifts whereby he may profit others also, he | | if y) Testaments, and then reads the Koran, clearly ought, when enjoined to undertake Se anes

HT | Ba \ '| i/ i | sees the process by which it completely rule, in his heart to flee from it, but against his reduces Divine Revelation. It is impossible not will to obey.

—_ A | | to note the movement away from what God | . .

AD (MN said about himself, first in the Old testament | though the prophets, and then finally in the | | new Testament through his Son. In Islam all

| the richness of God's self-revelation. which | constitutes the heritage of the Old and New a\ .

| CON Testaments, has definitely been set aside.

| CLUSION | Josef Cardinal Ratzinger (future Pope "4

| aa eeeante|sae ne Church made the transition from existing within the Roman eeFal qnotedBoleee (4 ) Sea ake: feces: a Germanic invasions. However, the Church did not merely

| ree€, "omiletic and Pastoral Review, '

+ ) ee ail ::aEnBeeseeaesbliss evangelization of Germanic tribes, ic teais | | Ss i | men and women who trois ie mics:a Eee chapter relates the stories of the ht Deas of Islam is not only bound up with ——w —-* al | by great challenges, the steadfast labors of iit ae Seka tale Europe. Though beset b : bs ner nehPaeenae, ) | soldiers under the guidance of the Fok i ea eibowioN nuns, kings, queens, and ite a 50 it is ted BY the knowledge that Islam is

| | | | fall of the Empire. The rising Srinchas? - 4 oug It a new unity to the West after the 3Sree to offer a spiritual base that is | | | challenge of its own tinechers fon peli however, would soon pose a severe valid for the life of a people. The traditional

St. Benedict's Rule has been lauded for its spirit of peace and love. as Ore Christian world | Christian basis that made Europe seems to be well as its moderation in the ascetical life

206 Chapter Five ———Y ——— a a ee = = ee || | | Chapter Five 207 |Lb —, -- k_—_—_—— = | a, a WW Ta ij if = | if HISTORY OF THE CHURCH LIGHT IN THE DARK AGES LITE | | SSS -—~CSOC—O Oe _____..___ —e i a VOCABULARY | VOCABULARY continued HI .

JIZYA RAMADAN THE SHAHADA MAS, ALLAH oe Tax placed upon Jews and Christians under The holy month of Islam believed to be the The first pillar and creedal statement of Is= | ee Muslim rule. It Owe e aa ie keep their | fe when the Koran was given to Muhammad.

"There is no God but Allah, and Muhamma '| | CENOBITICAL LIFE religious laws, and retain the right to Practice | Celebrated in the ninth lunar month of each is his prophet.

We | | More common form of monasticism, called the their own religion. year, a strict fast is observed from sunrise to rts | | CrInCRUIG, Cet tropes Be lived in KAABA sunset.

A solemn promise made voluntarily by a | | | community.

Arabic for "square building," this large black | SCRIPTORIUM person of reason, to practice aae | | | | DIOCESE stone is the main focus of the pilgrimage to Large room in a monastery dedicated to the or perform a specific good deed in order to | | ii A territorial division of the Church, adapted

Mecca, which every Muslim is required to take | eopyinig and maintaining of texts. accomplish a future good which is better

. from the Roman Empire. at least once in his lifetime. Housed inside a ae than its contrary.

| | | square building that Muslims believe Abraham SERVUS SERVORUM DEI : i | ECUMENICAL PATRIARCH built, Muslims gather around the stone to Latin for "servant of the servants of God,

| | Title adopted by the Patriarch of re-enact Muhammad's flight to Medina from | this title was adopted by Pope St. Gregory

| THE HAJJ KORAN | | The pilgrimage to Mecca required ofall Muslim Arabic for "recitation," this is the holy book of | | | faithful once during their lifetime. the Muslim faith, written by Muhammad, and .

THE HEJIRA containing all of the writings that Muhammad Arabic for "flight." The flight ofMuhammad claimed hewas told by the archangel Gabriel

| be | and his followers from Mecca to Medina on under God's direction. r | .

Perper: Marks year 1 in the Islamic LAUS DEI fi | | | Latin for "praise of God." in Benedictince life it \ \ a i | | HERMIT referred to the four hours of the day spent in ( wer A "ral | .

| One who, for religious motives, has retired communal prayer. Alternatively called opus Dei by | into solitary life, especially one of the early (work of God).

Christian recluses. Derived from the Greek \ a= :

— | | word erémia, meaning "desert." it is also known LECTIO DIVINA , -s y. as eremitical life Reading and meditation on Scripture.

| HUNS MONASTICISM | J | A powerful nomadic people of unknown ethnic" WAY Of life characterized by asceticism and .

' origin who invaded Europe ca, 375, self-denial lived more or less in seclusion frorh | the world and under fixed rule and vows.

| ISLAM wf Monastic communities withdraw from the '- | | Arabic for Submission," the faith of the affairs of the world in order to seek God

@ aa \ | prophet Muhammad. it traces its roots back to through asceticism and prayer.

Abraham, Hagar and Ishmael, N i ; UNCIO he :

| = - } Abley Personal ambassador of the pope.

£ : aii Holy War waged by Muslims in the name of Once a student at the monastery learned Latin, he was taught Sacred Scriptures, the writings of the Church Fathers

| religion. Muslim men who die in a jihad are OPUS DEI meen, and music forthe singing of the Divine Office | believed to go Straight to Heaven ; See laus Dej ORA ET LABORA | Benedictine Motto meaning "pray and work."

| | | 208 Chapter Five — —— ——___.____—— — —__ ———— = — —_—— — SS —_————— /, ) Chapter Five 209 iF a ee LE EEO | i i — CH LIGHT IN T S HEH HISTORY OF THE CHUR — HE DARK AGE | ——oo—r_—_._.

SS PPE | i | tS y |i | | STUDY QUESTIONS PRACTICAL EXERCISES | } | Roman Empire 12. In what ways wes Pope St. Gregory | | 1. Why is it easy to understand why many

5. The largest mosque in Europe was built f | | 1. Describe conditions in ane the empire (the Great) an historical nai Christians thought that the Second Coming in 1995 in Rome. What reasons might there be i] aea fifth century W 13. What was Pope St. Gregory I's | was close at hand when the Roman Empire for choosing Rome for this mosque?

> lapsed? Can you think of other times in , sR ae | : ackground' collapse Y 6. The Rule of St.

Benedict, written in the ie 2. How did Ulphilas influence the Germanic backg | | history when conditions also seemed to be se € ame Seria'ea ee | | .

14. What title did Pope St. Gregory I use | erate S d Coming? century, is s y in tribes and Christianity during his papacy. and what tile aia right for the second Coming: a number of other monastic communities tT al 3.

What was the key for the Church in reject for the Patriarch of Constantinople 2. The "Dome of the Rock" was built in 684 today. Its focus on a simple life of prayer and il | 1 I . converting the Germanic tribes?

What did these titles imply?

' over the site of the former Jewish temple in work and its adaptability to different Whe) How did the Germanic invasions change | Jerusalem. What psychological impact might circumstances have been credited with the wh \/ pig Poet ide in the fifth century?

15. What is unique about the use of Arabic as this have had upon Jews?

Rule's enduring to the present day. Find a | | Dea | | the Christian attitu the original language in the Koran? f the Rule and comm t } | 5. How is Christian monasticism unique?

| 3. What arguments would you use to try and ae "3 as on: ¥e ent K thiash ye | rie .

16. Who is the common ancestor for Judaism, convince a Muslim that the Christian teaching of its Chapters.

6. How is the eremitical life structured, and Christianity, and Islam. To whom do on the 'Thinley does nobiviolare nonctnelera of your two chosen chapters? Why are these

' ith | which two orders have taken much of Muslims trace the origin of their people?

| not commit idobaey2 topics important to cenobitical life? How might .

. their inspiration from eremitical : following these chapters of the Rule help a ati nus?

17. What does the Koran have to say about 4, What did Pope John Paul I] mean when monk get to Heaven?

| blem of the Mary and Jesus? he stated that Islam is not a religion of Hie } .

; a common proble Sr | | ; 4 aera in Eevee?

18. List the Five Pillars of Islam, and give a redemption? How does Christianity differ? a h Are : ni brief description of each.

SS | | ri) 8. What were the three major effects of the re, eM A/D OES yry We ; y monasteries on Europe?

19. Islam's expansion came at whose ee Es Me: (me bn 9 ot | af ae expense?

| -- » ae 9, What are the chief qualities that lend ee SS , :

| the Rule of St. Benedict to harmonious 20. At the famous Battle of Tours in France ei, 7] Wa a religious life? in 732, who defeated the Muslim forces = y == aie | . ie .

(fag Nii ne | | 10. What three vows were accepted by the __ Ae aCas ie ys = | Benedictines?

21. What religious significance does A pe , ~~ fo) = OR : salem hold in Islam?

Ta) fa 11. Who was St. Scholastica, and what was Hers cs: b aeQ \ Ny * , <t || her chief accomplishment?

22. How did Pope John Paul II analyze | ee .

Islam? shits.' 'Y 'g> Se | (a —_ ali | | "7 oe ol \. fe<,--| Jesus speaks immediately .

OU hn mee | alter his birth 1} | Ms '

[y > NS fe cs bs 5= God revealed to the Jesus' mother Mary to \ "

; set out with him for Syria. She did what she | > um; =Was Commanded. The revelation came to him \ | 4: é . when he was thirty years old. His prophethood i fz L | lasted three years, then God raised him up

J — to heaven. Some of the early Muslims said | } ee biea wee to wear hair and ate the leaves tah of trees.

He had no house, no family, and no ~.

'- 2 property. Jesus is the seal of the Israelite , St. Paul of Thebes is held by tradition to be the ' prophets. After his rejection by the Israelites,

| | first hermit. He had fled a persecution under the a¢ Jerusalem was destroyed I il * ~ Roman Emperor Decius —s :

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