Christianity in Anglo-Saxon England
Through the efforts of Augustine and his monks, the relationship between Christianity and the government in Anglo-Saxon England changed dramatically. Pope Gregory declared that “St. Augustine and his companions led the English race to the knowledge of truth, not only by preaching the Word but also by showing heavenly signs” (Bede 101). Pope Gregory, prompted by divine inspiration, sent Augustine and several other monks to England to convert the Anglo-Saxons to Christianity. At this point in history, the Anglo-Saxons practiced primarily Anglo-Saxon polytheism, a form of paganism. Upon Augustine’s arrival to England, Augustine sent to Ethelbert, king of Kent and a powerful monarch, to say that he had come
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However, he granted Augustine a dwelling in Canterbury and promised him adequate provisions and allowed he and his monks freedom to preach within England. Augustine and his monks began preaching at a church built in ancient times in honor of St. Martin, which was constructed when the Romans were previously in Rome. King Ethelbert was attracted by Christianity and the lives of the saints and “their most precious promises, whose truth they confirmed by performing many miracles” (Bede 96). Eventually, King Ethelbert himself, and many more Anglo-Saxons converted to Christianity. The relationship between Anglo-Saxon government and Christianity transitioned from a form of skepticism to a form of regular practice. In response to the increased practice of Christianity, Pope Gregory “sent a letter to King Ethelbert as well as numerous gifts of every kind” (Bede 98). In addition to the numerous gifts, Pope Gregory sent more ministers to England including: Mellitus, Justus, Paulinus, and Rufinianus. The most important change granted by Pope Gregory, however, was the use of the Pallium. The Pallium allowed Augustine to ordain twelve bishops in various places, all of whom were subject to Augustine’s jurisdiction. The Pallium allowed Augustine to further promote Christianity in Anglo-Saxon
This loss of power was a direct result of several factors: the patriarchal canons of early Eastern and Western Church councils, the conversion of the Emperor Constantine, and the decree of Emperor Theodosius that made Christianity the state religion of Rome (Lynch,10). These events led to positions in the Church such as presbyter, deacon, and bishop being held in high regard, and also hi...
Francis of Assisi is one of the most influential personalities in the entire world. In the book ‘Francis of Assisi: Performing the Gospel Life,’ Cunningham recounts the life of this humble monk who lived in the medieval times, and shaped the Christian life, which spread in Western culture throughout the rest of history. I believe Cunningham accurately accounts for the life of Francis of Assisi, and in doing so; he provides a trajectory of the Christian faith from its early and historical proponents through its fusion with western culture, and its subsequent spread throughout the world.
The rise of the church had a great impact in medieval society. The great belief of Christianity began with Jesus of Nazareth who presented public preaching’s of a friendly and forgiving God as he claimed he was the Messiah. According to Jesus, god’s command was for all human kind to love, cherish, and focus their lives to the Lord. The love that was expected for humans to have for God was to adore him with all of their hearts, minds, and souls. He also preached to the early people of how one should love one another. A friendly and forgiving God would later attract many sacredly inspired communities to worship him. People of the medieval world placed great belief in Christianity causing the rise of the church to impact many aspects of the society including government, family, and architecture.
First and foremost, the English Christian embrace of Roman Christian tradition causes the Pope to become a more powerful figure, with an increase in the amount of people that look to him for guidance. Prior to Gregory sending Augustine to England, he was already one of the largest landowners in Rome, overseeing hundreds of estates affiliated with the Roman Church (MP p. 48). Along with this responsibility, at this time the Pope was also responsible for the military defense of Rome. Add to this the religious guidance over the English that came with England’s conversion to Roman Christianity, and the title of Pope had become a very powerful position. Along with the increasing power of the Pope, this conversion also created a stronger connection between England and Rome. English abbots and monks made many trips to Rome, bring back relics, and artifacts for use in their own monasteries (SH p.66). These journeys not only brought back artifacts and relics, but also books causing the culture of England became more of a mixture with aspects of the culture of Rome, particularly in respect to Art. With the importing of Roman books, English art began to increasingly depict the human form, something that had not been as common before (SH
A biography on Saint Augustine is not our primary concern on this writing but, since he was the most important Christian theoretician in the late Roman Empire in the elaboration as stated Marvin Perry in his book, Western Civilization: “A Brief History” (117). It is relevant to stress out that his explanation of the origin of the unity of the human race has evoked the most pertinent questions. Augustine of Hippo or Saint Augustine was born on November 13th, 354 in Tagaste, Algeria then died on August 28th, 430 in Hippo Regius. Saint Augustine, bishop of Hippo in North Africa and author of The City of God, was an early Christian theologian and philosopher who developed the view of life and of the individual about the Christianity.
In Medieval England the Church was all powerful. The fear of going to Hell was very real and people were told that only the Catholic Church could save your soul so that you could go to Heaven. The head of the Catholic Church was the pope based in Rome. The most important position in the church in Medieval England was the Archbishop of Canterbury and both he and the king usually worked together.
Walls, Andrew. 2000. 'The Expansion Of Christianity: An Interview With Andrew Walls'. Christian Century 117: 2--9.
As previously stated Saint Augustine wasn’t always a Saint. Before he fully converted to Christianity, Saint Augustine encountered numerous acts, in which his decisions were not always that of a righteous Saint. The first noticeable co...
Augustine’s long road to becoming a Christian started when he first became interested in philosophy. This happened in Carthage in the year 372 AD. It was at this time that he read Cicero’s Hortensius.This writing, which explained the search for true wisdom, the pursuit of truth for life, and how people should live that led Augustine to search for a religion or way of life that he could be at comfort with.
This paper will outline specific points in Saint Augustine’s Confessions that highlight religious views following the fall of Rome. Though Augustines views on religion may not reflect that of most people in his time period, it still gives valuable insight into how many, namely Neoplatonists,, viewed God and his teachings.
Nearly 300 years separated Ignatius of Antioch and Augustine of Hippo, during that time a lot changed for Christians in the Roman Empire. The church moved from being a criminal religious organization, to a legal religious organization, to the only legal public religion. Christians during this time were always engaging the culture around them—religion, politics, literature, education, etc. This paper will describe the Christian Roman religion before Constantine and after Constantine.
In researching his life, I found interesting facts that originally he did have a Christian belief system. However, after the death of his mother, he returned to Rome where he by a bishop named Ambrose began teaching him scripture and later who baptized him. What I found extremely interesting is that he was not a fan of Greek literature and in fact disliked many Greek writings. Because of this one fact, he was limited to the language of the Christians, which was Latin. This I also found to be a break from previous philosophers who seem to be great thinkers of Greek society. Augustine also framed the concept of the original sins and just war. Augustine believed that Christians should be passive and peaceful people but he would lay the foundation of terms that a nation should go to war about.
Before the year 596, almost everybody had strong pagan beliefs. In 596 missionaries had begun to attempt to convert the Anglo-Saxons to Christianity. By the year 650, almost all of England had converted to Christianity- at least in name. Although almost everyone claimed to be strong believers in Christ and the church, most still held on to their pagan beliefs and traditions. No matter what they believed, everyone applied their religious beliefs to their everyday life. (Chin et al. Glencoe Literature, p.35).
During the major growth period of the Christian church in the 13th and 14th centuries, there were several figures that helped the church prosper. One important man, St. Augustine, is considered one of the few “Doctors of the Church,” a title given to those whose teachings had incredible influence. While a bishop, St. Augustine wrote The City of God, in order to enlighten those who perceived the empire’s conversion as a punishment, explaining two cities known as the earthly and heavenly city (Feduccia Jr., Wagner). He discusses the earthly city divided against it, and this idea can be seen in today’s society. Also, Pope Francis’ vision of today’s changing views of living out a holy life reflects St. Augustine’s views discussed in his book.
Before the Reformation, England was a Roman Catholic society that was led by the Pope in Rome. Religious life followed a very traditional and structured way of life and was very much ‘deeply embedded in the whole social and mental fabric of the country’ (Russell, 1996, p. 262). Roman Catholic’s were a very visual and ritual based religion and their churches were extremely lavish in design and contained highly decorated furnishings inside (Wolffe, 2008). The changes in religion in England over the centuries tended to follow the religion of each different King or Queen (The Crown and the Bible, 2011).