NCTM TUESDAY EVENING CLASSES, TERM 2, 2012, QUEENSTOWN, TURNING POINTS: UNDER CHRISTS PRESENT REIGN - TREVOR FAGGOTTER

THE CORONATION OF CHARLEMAGNE800 A.D.

Study 5 Trevor Faggotter SIGNIFICANT PEOPLE As we proceed to our next Turning Point, I would like to briefly mention in passing the extraordinary influence of two Christian leaders, Augustine and Gregory: Augustine (354430 AD) was a bishop of Hippo in North Africa. He was a profound Trinitarian Theologian whose writings have greatly influenced the church down through historyprimarily, but certainly not entirely, in beneficial ways. In particular he clarified the biblical doctrines of sin, salvation and gracein opposition to the very popular Pelagius who put a most unbiblical emphasis upon human free will and self-effort. Gregory the Great (540604 AD), of Rome, was a most unlikely candidate for greatnessfifty, balding, frail and with no ambition for high office, indeed he preferred the quietness of the monastic life, to that of public leadership. But, he came to prominence, because his predecessor Justinian had lost his life due to the plague, which ravaged the city of Rome. Gregory wrote a book called Pastoral Care, and his leadership was exercised at a time when all of Western Europe was in chaos.1 His teachers in the faith were Ambrose, Augustine and Jerome, but he lacked their intellectual capacities. A SYMBOLIC AND DRAMATIC CHANGE On Christmas Day in Rome, December 25th, 800 A.D. Charles the Greatthe King of the Franks2came to St. Peters church with a large retinue for Christmas worship. Pope Leo III (795816) sang the mass, while Charles prayed in his knees in front of the crypt of the apostle Peter. Charles saw the pope approach. In his hands was a golden crown. Leo placed it on Charles head as the congregation cried out 3 times (in Latin): Carolo Augusto a Deo coronato, magno et pacifico imperatori, vita et VictoriaTo Charles Augustus, crowned by God, great and peace-giving emperor of the Romans, life and victory.3 Charlemagne then headed back over the Alps to continue his annual campaign (21 so far) against the Saxons in the north, and east. Conquests over the Spanish to his west, and the Lombards to his south had made him lord over more of Europe than anyone since the end of the fourth century. This was such a Turning Point, for it was here that the idea of Christendom really began to take shape, as an enduring power or description of large
1 2

Bruce L. Shelley, Church History in Plain Language, Word, 1982, p. 166 Modern France and much of Germany 3 Bruce L. Shelley, Church History in Plain Language, p. 173-174; See also Mark Noll, Turning Points: Decisive Moments in the History of Christianity, Baker/IVP, 1997, p. 108-109 1

NCTM TUESDAY EVENING CLASSES, TERM 2, 2012, QUEENSTOWN, TURNING POINTS: UNDER CHRISTS PRESENT REIGN - TREVOR FAGGOTTER

regions of society who lived as primarily Christian peopleeven if often in merely nominal ways. CHRISTENDOM What a change of circumstances: Christians crowning Kings! In the early church they were persecuted for their message of Christ. Indeed Paul could say: we have become like the rubbish of the world, the dregs of all things, to this very day.(1Corinthians 4:13). However did this happen? Mark Noll puts his finger upon the heart of the matter:
The event at Rome in 800 was linked through an elaborate skein of connections to widely scattered events all throughout the Mediterranean world. It is no exaggeration to say that the course leading to the papal coronation of Charlemagne in 800 was influenced nearly as much by a non-Christian contemporary of Gregory the Great, who never set foot in Europe, as it was by Gregory and his 4 papal successors. That contemporary was the prophet of Islam, Mohammed.

Mohammed was born about 570. In 630 he and his army came in from Media, and conquered Mecca. When he died two years later, already one third of Arabia was Muslim. Two years on from that, under Abu Bakr all of Arabia had turned to Islam. Within 10 years the Arab armiesin submission to Islamic teachinghad taken Syria, Palestine, and Persia (Iran). They had conducted raids as far east as the borders of India and in 642 Islam moved westward and entered Egypt.5 The spread of Islam into North Africa was probably made easier by the weakness of Christianity there, where the Monophysite doctrines possibly predisposed many towards Islams radical monotheism. In 674 attacks began further north, upon Constantinoplestill quite a strong imperial capital. By 698 the whole region around Carthage was under Islamic controlonce the home of the great Christian leaders Tertullian and Cyprian. Compared to the norms of the ancient world6 certainly early Islam exercised relative tolerance, thereby easing the transition from Christianity to Islam. This spread of Islam hastened the division between the Eastern and Western forms of Christianity (which will become more apparent in the next Turning Point. Noll says:
Even if the will had existed to bridge East-West, Greek-Latin, patriarchal-papal differences within Christianity, the strain in politics, military affairs, trade, and communications that an expanding 7 Islam exerted on both parts of the church would have probably been too great.

THE POPEAND THE CHURCH IN ROME As we reflect upon some of the low points and weaknesses of the Christian church through the past 2000 years, it is helpful to have not only a critical eye upon the leadership and the sinful outcomes of he ministry of others, but also to grow in

4 5

Mark Noll, Turning Points: Decisive Moments in the History of Christianity, p. 117 Mark Noll, p. 118 6 Mark Noll, p. 119 7 Noll, p. 119 2

NCTM TUESDAY EVENING CLASSES, TERM 2, 2012, QUEENSTOWN, TURNING POINTS: UNDER CHRISTS PRESENT REIGN - TREVOR FAGGOTTER

understanding how it is that things developed in days and places quite different from our own, in terms of safety government and the search for solutions and a way forward. Bruce Shelleys remarks help us to understand the complexity of interpreting all aspects of Christian history, surrounding the papacy:
The papacy is a highly controversial subject. No other institution has been so loved and so hated. Some Christians have revered the pope as the Vicar of Christ; others have denounced him as the 8 Anti-Christ. According to the official teaching of the Roman Catholic Church, defined at the First Vatican Council (1870), Jesus Christ established the papacy with the apostle Peter; and the Bishop of Rome as Peters successor bears the supreme authority (primacy) over the whole church. Both Eastern Orthodox churches and Protestant denominations deny both these claims. For this reason any study of the history of the papacy creates controversy, comparable to sticking your hand into a hornets nest. Whatever the absolute claims of church authorities, history indicates that the concept of papal rule of the whole church was established by slow and painful stages. Leo is a major figure in that process because he provides for the first time the biblical and theological bases of the papal claim. That is why the term pope itself is not crucial in the emergence of the doctrine of papal primacy. The title papa originally expressed the fatherly care of any and every bishop of his flock. It only began to be reserved for the bishop of Rome in the sixth century, long after the claim of primacy.

CHURCH AND STATE CHRISTENDOM AND CHRISTIANITY Jesus instructed his followers to love and to pray for their enemies (Matthew 5:44) and, as the Prince of Peace (Isaiah 9:6) warned against the consequences of taking up the sword.9 Even so, Christians, and the regions in which they have lived, have of necessity always had to think through and learn wisdom in responding to the effects of violent peoples, advancing upon their nations or communities. This was so with the barbarians10andas we saw in the previous studythe Monasteries were often built in high almost inaccessible fortress type locations, in part, as a safe-haven and refuge for Christian communities. This was so with Islam advancing. I suggest we need to spare some sympathy and understanding for Leo III. Even so, from Charlemagne onward, Christianity came to be expressed in a new way. The institutional expressions of daily life changed. The church formalized their sacramental practice into a system of seven sacraments, (not merely two). We may say, overly-influencing all of life. Christendom dominated life. But, was eventually wounded by many factors, such as:
8 9

Bruce L. Shelley, Church History in Plain Language, Word, 1982, p. 133 Matthew 26:52 Then Jesus said to him, Put your sword back into its place; For all who take the sword will perish by the sword Matthew 5:38-39 You have heard that it was said, An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. But I say to you, Do not resist an evildoer. But if anyone strikes you on the right cheek, turn the other also. 10 The barbarian tribes were mostly from the north, near Scandinavia: Vandals, Franks, Angles, Saxons, Goths, Lombards, Burgundians, and others; see Bruce L. Shelley, Church History in Plain Language, Word, 1982, p. 153 3

NCTM TUESDAY EVENING CLASSES, TERM 2, 2012, QUEENSTOWN, TURNING POINTS: UNDER CHRISTS PRESENT REIGN - TREVOR FAGGOTTER

The Renaissance - 14th century art, literature, etc. questioned church dominion Protestantism - altered the fundamental source of authority, Pope to Bible! The modern nation-state - came into being Atheism - questioned both/all sources of authority - Pope, Bible authority itself The Spread of Christian faith far beyond the boundaries of Europe, beyond Rome!

Christians belong to the church, and as such are simultaneously citizens of the Kingdom of God, and participants in the daily life of creation, and society. All humanity must learn to function, by serving one another in government, law and societyresisting anarchy. The relationship between church and state involves contribution to the wellbeing of others, responsibilities, and tensions. What must be done to resist invasion and war? In our own day, Christians must consider how should nation-states, and how should Christians themselves, respond to rogue states (such as North Korea, Iraq and Iran), which have flexed their military muscles, with the threat of nuclear power. In World War 1 and 2, Christian leaders and nations had to quickly rethink the appropriateness of pure pacifism.11 It continues to be so, for Christian communities in South Sudan, Nigeria, and parts of Indonesiaparticularly in relation to Islam. The relationship between church and state, and the responsibilities of community leaders to provide places of safety and to respond to evil are complex. Christendom had continued on through many dark days of political and moral chaos, through to times of renewal as well; it deeply affected the life of the church, and what was to become European society for the next 1000 years. Unfortunately, even as Jesus had said to Pilate my kingdom is not of [or from] this world (John 18:36), many people have come to view the establishment and continuity of Christendom as synonymous with the success or fruitfulness of Christianity, and as the test or measure of the health of the Christian faith in any given society and nation. Even today in Australia, we still feel the effects of The End of Christendom.12
11

Geoffrey C. Bingham, Christian Ethics and Their Practice, Living Faith Studies, Series 3, No. 30, N.C.P.I., 1978, p. 218, writes: The pacifist believes in non-resistance, non violence, non-killing. He claims that man being evil does not excuse wars. Positive pacifism alerts others to war's evil and seeks to outmode war. Retaliation is sub-Christian as also selfish aggrandisement and all national and racial hatreds. Whilst wars may be predicted as continuing this is no reason for acquiescence in any. Christ took the way of non-resistance and accomplished his goal. Because pacifism has not worked, nor may not work is no reason why it should not be espoused and followed. Evils such as slavery have been diminished by teaching. If all refused to fight wars would cease and governments would wish to gain the support of their people by not fighting. It is not a utilitarian question but a (totally) moral one. (g) Pacifist or Not Pacifist? Each person must abide by his own convictions whilst he is sure they are right. He does not go against his own conscience for whatsoever is not of faith is sin. He is responsible, however, to make sure - as far as possible - that his convictions are correct. That honest believers see two views in the Bible is patently clear, i.e. war is right (in some circumstances) and war is wrong (in all circumstances). These conclusions ought to be reached only when the total Biblical portrayal is considered. No conclusion is valid which omits the fact of man's depravity, of constituted authorities and of the working of penal elements of God's wrath in history. The question may not seem, finally, to be an "either-or" but a concession that whilst war and killing are evil of themselves it may be simplistic to work from this basis alone. The whole matter of morality and judgement is also involved. 12 See Malcolm Muggeridge, The End of Christendom. 4