Augustine In The Middle Ages

In the later fourth century and early fifth century, the Western Roman Empire fell into rapid decline. Signs of decline included incursions by many of the Northern Kingdoms, also known as “barbarians,” including Vandals, Goths, Saxons, Angles, and Gauls. The actual fall of Rome is recorded in history by the Visigoths in 410 A.D. While the fall of the empire included looting and the loss of writings and items of antiquity, most notably the invaders were looking to settle in the conquered lands and enjoy the benefits of civilization.
The decline of the empire included significant ramifications for the medieval church and Christianity. A notable ramification included conquering invaders bringing with them Paganism and Arianism. For example, in
North Africa, the Vandals, who were primarily Arian, initiated persecution against the Catholics and Donatists. In other cases, some invaders were exposed to the gospel that resulted in the conversion to the Catholicism of their subjects. A good example of this conversion is found in the King Sigismund of the Burgundians in 516 A.D. His conversion led the many to faith in his kingdom.
From the fifth to eighth century, during these times of upheaval, the Western Church looked to preserve their history, which strengthened the intuitions of monasticism and the papacy. The primary figure in the monastic movement during this period of history was Benedict. The greatest contribution of Benedict is found in the fairly brief document titled, the “Rule.” This document provided stability and obedience. The Rule also outlined the elements of physical labor and prayer.
The other significant element during the Middle Ages was the papacy.
The papacy provided structure and leadership for the church. The pope is also known as the bishop of Rome, which provided a central location that is still evident today in the Roman Catholic Church. Leo the Great is referred to as the first pope. The pope recognized with the most influence during this time was Gregory. He was a contemporary of Augustine and is considered first and foremost a religious leader who preached to the faithful. Gregory’s writings did nothing to contradict the great teachers of the early church, especially those of Augustine. To this end, Gregory affirmed speculations of Augustine as he developed the doctrine of
purgatory.
Through monasticism and the papacy, the church made its way through the upheaval of the earlier invasions of the Germanic Kingdoms. However, early in the seventh century, new invaders made their way from Arabia. This wave of Arabs, driven by the teachings of Muhammad, resulted in an expansion and settlement into many areas occupied by the church. These invasions did not result in the outright persecution of Christians at the hands of Muslims, but it did constrict the growth of the church in areas now under Muslim rule.
Looking back at the Medieval Church, it is often seen as a one church with two branches, one West and one East.
However, in 1054 A.D., the fault lines of these two braches broke. Issues that led to this break included the fundamental Christological question of how divinity and humanity are joined in Jesus Christ. The two sides in this debate included the Alexandrines who stressed the divinity of Jesus the teacher, while the Antiochenes emphasized Jesus, the savior of human beings must be fully human. Nestorius was the individual spearheading the Antiochenes position that in Jesus there were two natures and two persons, one divine and one human. On the other side, Bishop Cyril, used maneuvering to garner support from the west including emperors Valentinian III and Theodosius II, which resulted in the eventual outcome of the Alexandrines position and the exile of
Nestorius.
The outcome of the first Christological controversy did not last long as Dioscorus, using even more unscrupulous maneuvering than his predecessor Cyril reignited the controversy. This came to a head after a first council in Ephesus in 449 A.D., also known as the Robber Synod, in 451 A.D. in Chalcedon. The second council became known as the fourth Ecumenical Council. At this council, condemned the Robber Synod and produced a “Definition of Faith.” This definition became the standard of Christological orthodoxy in the Western church and in most of the East. However, this definition is seen as the caused the break or schism between East and West.
After the Arab conquests, the Eastern Church, also known as the Orthodox Church expanded areas of Eastern Europe mostly populated by the Slavs. However, the greatest missionary success of the Eastern Church came about through the conversion of the Russian royal family including Queen Olga in approximately 950 A.D. and her grandson Vladimir.