The seventh century produced yet another enemy of Christendom, Islam. The foundation of its teaching is the prime Catholic Doctrine, the omnipotence of God; however, its founder sprang from pagans. He taught main Catholic Doctrine oversimplified. It was the Catholic world, on the frontiers of which Mohammed lived, whose influence was all around and whose territories he had known by travel, which inspired his convictions. The teaching that struck the mortal blow to Christendom was the denial of the Incarnation. Mohammed did not take the first steps of denial, as the Arians had done; he advanced a clear affirmation against the whole doctrine of an Incarnate God. He taught that Our Lord was the greatest of the prophets, but still only a prophet: a man like other men. He eliminated the Holy Trinity altogether.

602
Death of Emperor Maurice.

603
The Deacon Boniface was sent by Pope St. Gregory the Great as Nuncio to Constantinople. He is the Future Pope Boniface III.

604
Death of Pope St. Gregory I the Great, Doctor of the Church. He is buried in St. Peter's; his tomb is marked with his epitaph, "Consul of God." The biggest thrill of his Reign must have been the Conversion of Roman England.

Sabinian becomes Pope. He was a Deacon under Pope St. Gregory.

607
Boniface III becomes Pope. He was the chief executive agent for the Church under Pope St. Gregory the Great. His brief reign lasted eight months. He did hold a Synod to regulate Papal elections.

608
St. Boniface IV becomes Pope. He was the son of a doctor, and held the titles Deacon and treasurer under Pope St. Gregory the Great.

610
Pope St. Boniface IV holds a Synod to regulate life and discipline in monasteries, among those present were Mellitus, the Bishop of London.

Heraclius becomes Byzantine Emperor.

613
In a struggle to overthrow Queen Brunhilda, Pepin the Elder, allied with Arnuf, Bishop of Metz. The armies of Austrasia were overthrown by Clotaire II of Neustria. He was the son of Fredegund, the man who instigated King Sigebert's murder in 575.

The aging Queen Brunhilda was taken prisoner. For three days she was insulted, tortured, and finally, tied to a horse and dragged to death.

614
The Holy City of Jerusalem is captured by the Persian King, Chosroes. He took possession of the Holy Lance, the same one St. Longines used to thrust into the side of Christ. The point of the blade was removed earlier in this year and was deposited in Constantinople.

615
Death of Pope St. Boniface IV. He is buried in St. Peter's.

St. Deusdedit becomes Pope. He was a Roman by birth and the son of a sub-Deacon, Stephen. He was an elderly man when elected, having been a priest for forty years. He was the first Priest to be named Pope since John II. He supported the Monastic polices of Pope St. Gregory the Great.

619
Boniface V becomes Pope. He completed the cemetery of St. Nicomedes on the Via Nomentana.

St. Isidore, Bishop of Seville, pronounced anathema against any ecclesiastic who should in any way molest the monasteries.

620
Birth of St. Chad.

622
The Muslim heresy founded by Mohammed. Mohammed was a camel driver, who had the good fortune to marry a wealthy woman, who was older than himself. It was from this security that he worked out his visions and enthusiasms, and untertook his propaganda. Mohammedanism was a heresy. It began as a heresy, not as a new religion. It was not a pagan contrast with the Catholic Church; it was not an alien enemy. It was a perversion of Christian Doctrine. It was its vitality and endurance that gave it the appearance ofa new religion. Mohammed was never Baptized. Mohammed means, "The Praised One."

He is the prophet of Islam and of course; its founder. Mohammed belonged to the Tribe of Fihr, or Quraish. The tribe was established in the south of Hijas, near Mecca, which was, even then, the principal religious center of Arabia. The power ofthe tribe was continually increasing; they had become the masters and the acknowledged guardians of the Kaaba, within the town of Mecca, then visited in annual pilgrimage by the heathen Arabs with their offerings and tributes, and had thereby gained such pre-eminence that it comparatively easy for Mohammed to inaugurate his religious reform and his political campaign, which ended the conquest of all Arabs and the fusion of the numerous Arab tribes into one nation, with one religion, one code, and one sanctuary.

On Mohammed's commercial journeys to Syria and Palestine, he became aquatinted with Christians and Jews, and acquired an imperfect knowledge of their religion and traditions. He was a man of retiring disposition, addicted to prayer and fasting, (very admirable traits), and was subject to epileptic fits. At the age of 40 (610), he claimed to have received a call from the Angel Gabriel, and thus began his active career as the prophet of Allah and the apostle of Arabia. His first converts were about forty in all, including his wife; the rich widow Khadeejah, who was fifteen years his senior, his daughter, Fatima, his father-in-law, Abu Bakr, his adopted son, Ali Omar, and his slave, Zayd. By his preaching and his attack on heathenism, Mohammed provoked persecution which drove him from Mecca to Medina in this year. This year is known as Hejira to Moslems, which means flight, and the beginning of the Mohammedan era. At Medina he was recognized as a prophet of God, and his followers increased. He took the field against his enemies, conquered several Arabian, Jewish, and Christian tribes.

Islam steadily increased not only in numbers and in the conviction of its followers, but in territory, and in actual political and armed power until close on the 18th century.

623
At the age of 53, Mohammed married a nine year old girl, she was one of his many wives. Mohammed had several wives, perhaps the most shameful is his marriage to this nine year old girl, Aisha.

625
Honorus I becomes Pope.

629
Emperor Heraclius recovers a portion of the True Cross of Christ from the Persians.

630
Mohammed entered Mecca in triumph, demolished the idols of the Kaaba, and became Master of Arabia, finally uniting all the tribes under one emblem and one religion, Islam.

632
Mohammed made his last pilgrimage to Mecca at the head of forty thousand followers.

633
Death of Mohammed. He was 63 and died of a violent fever. All Muslims chant three times a day while bowing to the East, "There is no god but Allah, and Mohammed is his prophet." He had at least nine wives, but did not marry anyone until the death of his first wife. There seems to be some disagreement among historians as to how many wives he had. When I was in college, the history book we used, (I don't recall the name of it), stated that he had 600 wives. I thought to myself, "wow, that guy got around!" He loved perfumes and hated strong drinks. He was a man of dauntless courage, great generalship, strong patriotism, merciful by nature, and even quick to forgive. He had many fine qualities that any Christian would find admirable. And yet, despite all these wonderful qualities, he was ruthless in his dealings with the Jews, when at once had ceased to hope for their submission. He approved of assassination, when it furthered his cause; however barbarous or treacherous the means, the end justified it in his eyes; and in more than one case he not only approved, but also instigated the crime. This is contrary to Catholic doctrine.

It appears he had little use for the Ten Commandments. Martin Luther looked upon Mohammed as "a devil and the first-born child of the devil."

Maracci held that Mohammed and Mohammedenism were not very dissimilar to Luther and Protestants.

Muslims believe that Jesus did not die on the Cross, that he somehow managed to make the betrayer, Judas, look like Him and vice versa. God had spared Jesus' life and took Him straight to Heaven. This is interesting. Jesus, did not die and was taken to Heaven, yet, Mohammed, the greatest of the prophets died of a violent fever. I wonder what this makes Jesus?

Muslims also believe that Heaven is a glorious place of rivers flowing with milk and honey; the choicest wines to drink, (I wonder why this is, Mohammed hated strong drink?); and my favorite part of all, Muslims believe that the men will recline on couches and are provided with dark-eyed maidens with recurring virginity. (Oh! That's the place to be!)

The Muslims believe at the end of the world, the city if Jerusalem will be a blazing inferno. A tight-rope will be stretched across the city and the souls of men will walk across on the tight-rope, high above the city. Mohammed, all the while will be there chanting and interceding for the souls to make it across. The unfortunate ones who fall off go to hell, while those lucky gymnastic ones who make it across will get their reward, Eternal Life in Heaven.

Muslims also believe is some sort of demonic being called a Jinn. The Jinn, or Jinns, fly around Heaven and try to hear what's going on. They are constantly being chased away by the angels. I suppose the Jinns do this as some sort of surveillance mission and report back to the devil whatever it is they found out. As ridiculous as this sounds to Christians, Moslems hold strong convictions and they will kill or die for this belief.

Death of St. Isidore of Seville, Doctor of the Church.

638
Death of Pope Honorus. The Holy See is vacant for one year and seven months.

Death of St. Sohronius of Jerusalem.

640
Severinus becomes Pope. HE was elected shortly after the death of Pope Honorius but Greek Emperor Heraclius refused to confirm his election. Instead he sent Severinus an heretical formula of faith called, "Ecthisis." It held there is one will in Christ, taken from the Greek word, "Monothelite" meaning one will. Once Consecrated Pope, Severinus promptly condemned the heretical formula. He also build the aspe of St. Peter's. He was an old man when elected, he died on August 2.

John IV becomes Pope.

641
Constans II becomes Byzantine Emperor.

642
Theodore I becomes Pope.

649
St. Martin I becomes Pope. He was an Umbrian from Todi. Emperor Constans II refused to recognize him as the legitimate Pope. He was uncompromising in the Monothelite teaching that Christ had only one will. The Pontiff held a Synod at the Lateran; 105 Western Bishops and a handful of exiled Greek Fathers attended. They reaffirmed the Catholic Dogma that Christ had two wills and anathematized both Monothelitism and Emperor Constan's recent edict, Typos, banning discussion of the number of wills in the Lord.

Pope St. Martin I excommunicates Bishop Paul of Thessalonica for rejecting the decision of the Lateran Synod. Thessalonica at this time was a strong hold for Monothelitism. He was replaced by an orthodox Catholic Bishop. This action made Emperor Constans furious. He quickly dispatched the chamberlain Olympius as Exarch to Italy with orders to arrest the Pope. Upon arriving in Rome, Olympius discovered the Holy Father had many supporters. Olympius then had a change of heart and revolted.

653
Theodore Calliopas becomes the new Exarch and seized Pope St. Martin I in the Lateran Basilica, where the Pontiff has sought sanctuary. The Exarch handed his clergy the imperial order declaring that he had made himself Pope illegally and was therefore deposed and smuggled out of Rome. In spite of the fact he had been inflicted with illness, he was under guard on a sailing ship to the Constantinople. After spending three months in solitary confinement, Pope St. Martin I was brought to trial on December 19th. He was found guilty of treason of having aided and abetted Olympius in his attempt to seize the Throne. The Pontiff raised the doctrinal issue, however it was dismissed as irrelevant. He was condemned to death and publicly flogged. On the pleading ofthe dying Patriarch, Paul II, his sentence was commuted to banishment. After spending another three months in prison, he was taken by ship to Chersonesus in the Crimea (near Sevastopol) in Southern Ukraine.

Death of Patriarch Paul II of Constantinople.

At the Eighth Synod of Toledo, the character of St. Isidore was recorded in these glowing terms: "The extraordinary doctor, the latest ornament of the Catholic Church, the most learned man of the latter ages, always to be named with reverence, Isidore."

654
St. Eugene I becomes Pope. He was a Roman, the son of Rufinianus. He had been brought up in the Church's ministry from childhood and was an elderly presbyter when elected after the deposition and banishment of Pope St. Martin I by Byzantine Emperor Constans II.

Peter was made Patriarch of Constantinople.

Pope St. Eugene I rejected the ambiguous Creed of Peter the Patriarch.

655
Pope St. Martin I dies in exile after his maltreatment by the heretic Emperor.

657
St. Vitalian becomes Pope. The first thing he did as Pontiff was to restore good relations between the Holy See and Constantinople. This relationship had been strained to the breaking point in recent Pontificates.

666
Death of Patriarch Peter of Constantinople.

668
Death of the heretic Emperor, Constans II.

670
Byzantine Emperor Heraclius restores the Holy Relies of the Lord's Passion to the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem.

672
Adeodatus becomes Pope.

Pope Adeodatus was a Roman, his father's name was Jovinian. He was a kindly Monk from the Monastery of St. Erasmus on Coelian Hill. The Monastery had been established in the mansion of the Valeri, one of the great Patrician families of old Rome. He was most gracious to his Monastery as Pope. He also restored the Church of St. Peter which is situated a few miles out of the city on the Via Portuensis. During his Pontificate, the Saracens made their marauding expedition on Sicily.

We have two extant letters from Pope Adeodatus dealing with the exemption of Monasteries from the control of the local Bishop. The Pope died in 676 and is buried in St. Peter's.

676
Donnus becomes Pope.

678
St. Agatho becomes Pope. He was a Sicilian who had been a monk. He was proficient in both Greek and Latin. He is venerated as a Saint by both Latins and Greeks.

679
Bishop Wilfrid of York arrives in Rome after making an appeal to Pope St. Agatho, to protect against the action of Theodore, Archbishop of Canterbury. Theodore had carved up Wilfrid's Diocese, appointing three Bishops to govern the new Sees. The Pope's decision was that Wilfrid's Diocese should be divided by that Wilfrid himself would name the Bishops.

680
The Ecumenical Council of Constantinople III. The Council condemned the Monothelites and declared Christ had two wills, human and Divine.

Pope Honorus was censored for not speaking Ex cathedra in regards to the Monothelites.

Birth of St. Boniface, whose name was originally Winfrid.

682
St. Leo II becomes Pope.

684
St. Benedict II becomes Pope.

685
John V becomes Pope. He was a Syrian from Antioch, the son of Cyriacus. He served as a Deacon under St. Agatho.

Justinian V becomes Byzantine Emperor.

686
Conon becomes Pope. He was a priest and a compromise choice. He was unworldly, and of Saintly appearance, he was simple minded and constantly ill.

Theodore I become Patriarch of Constantinople. He adhered to Monothelitism.

687
With Pope Conon still reigning, Theodore, then Paschal are anti-Popes.

St. Sergius succeeds Conon to the Chair of Peter.

688
The Fifteenth Synod of Toledo endorsed the tribute of St. Isidore of Seville, that had been given the Saint at the Eighth Synod in 653.

692
Quinisextum Council. This was the local Trullan Council. This local Council was called such because it was held in the same domed hall as the Council of Constantinople III. It was attended by 215 Oriental Bishops. Basil of Gortyna, was a Roman Bishop and called himself the Papal legate. The West never recognized the 102 disciplinary Canons of this Council; they were in fact reaffirmations of earlier canons. Their customs are anathematized and "every little detail of difference is remembered to be condemned."

694
St. Boniface entered the abbey of Nursling, in the Diocese of Winchester. Very studious himself, St. Boniface was the pupil of the learned abbot, Winbert.

696
St. Rupert of Worms, received the propriety Salzpurch as a gift from the Bavarian Duke Theodo, on which he built St. Peter's Abbey.

698-721
Lindisfarne Gospels written in Ireland.

700
The First Miracle of the Holy Eucharist occurs in Lanciano, Italy.

At the Consecration during Holy Mass, the host turned into flesh, human flesh; and the Chalice filled with wine turned into Blood, human Blood. Scientific Tests performed in our present century shows the Blood to be type AB+, the same blood type that would appear on the Holy Shroud of Turin.

The Priest saying Mass had doubts about the Real presence. He begged God to help him renew his Faith. The host that turned into human flesh is that of the heart. It is fitting because Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament is the HEART of the Catholic Church.

This is the actual host turned into human flesh from the first Eucharistic Miracle in Lanciano in the year 700. The Blood, now dried is preserved in the Chalice. Scientiflic tests have been preformed. The Blood was typed AB+; when liquified, the Blood had the properties of freshly shed Human Blood, over 1300 years old!

There have been 153 approved Eucharistic Miracles, not counting the two that occured in 1996.

See John chapeter 6. the "...I Am the living Bread that came down from Heaven; unless you eat My Body and Drink My BLood, there is no life within you."

This Reliquary can be viewed on certain days of the year for all to see.

Only a fool denies the Real Presence.

Greek becomes the official language of the Eastern Roman Empire instead of Latin.