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Church History - Lecture
Church History - Lecture
CHURCH
I. THE EARLY YEARS OF THE CHURCH
Catechesis
– the instruction given to
the baptized so that they
may grow in their
understanding of faith
which they embraced
( Tertullian, 197)
“ Crucify us; torture us; send us
to death; wipe us out? Your
injustice is the proof of our
innocence!”
1) As the head of the Roman Empire, the emperor was the official
high priest of pagan worship. As such, although he had the
power to issue decrees suppressing pagan practices, he could
not reasonably insist on their implementation.
THREE VOWS:
1. STABILITY- the monk is forever bound to his monastery
2. OBEDIENCE – to his abbot as his spiritual father
3. CONVERSION OF LIFE- the cultivation of monastic life to his
own life as a monk
After the fall of the Roman Empire, there was only one emperor
(in the east). His failure to protect the west from invading
peoples led the Pope to crown Charlemagne as Holy Roman
Emperor in the year 800.