1. Discuss the conflicts and differences between the eastern and western churches. The eastern church was never in agreement with the western church and the supremacy of the Papacy. Between 1054 and 1215AD, the Papacy became supreme, but the patriarch in the east always objected strenuously. The two churches differed on sacraments, on their worship, and on a few other fairly trivial things. For instance, some of their differences were: (1) the west used unleavened bread for the Lord’s Supper but the east used leavened, (2) the west added a word to the Nicene Creed to say that the Holy Spirit proceeded from the Father "AND" the Son, (3) the west insisted on celibacy whereas the east was much less strict (a low position clergyman in the east could get married, and if he rose to a higher position, he could stay married.), (4) confirmation of all individuals in the west had to be approved by the bishop while the east would allow lower level clergyman to approve confirmations, (5) the west would not allow the use of dairy products during Lent, (6) the west stuck to a strict liturgical order among all churches but the east was much less rigid, and (7) icons were allowed in the west but were not accepted to the same degree in the east.

There were also cultural differences between the two. The eastern church conducted their services in Greek while the western had their Vulgate translation by Jerome and stuck to Latin. The west, in general, was usually more restrictive. The two churches almost split in the 9th century, and they did split in 1054AD. When Leo III snuck up behind Charlemagne and crowned him emperor, that upset the east because the east and west thought that the patriarch and pope, respectively, should individually control the whole church. Nicholas I maintained the west’s prestige over the east. Michael Cerularius was patriarch in the east and Leo IX was pope in the west on July 16, 1054AD when the split began. Since then, the two churches have never been reunited, and at that time, both men excommunicated the other. Over time, the west expanded more, and papal domination was achieved between 1054 and 1215AD.

2. Discuss the various monasteries that arose in the west. Monasticism helped the Papacy, and in Monte Casino (529AD), the first monastery was started by Benedictine. Over time, though, it became corrupt. The Cluny monastery was started in France in 910AD, and it attempted to maintain its purity by demanding submission to the pope. Monasteries attracted many people during that time but often for the wrong reason, such as joining so that one could have access to the latest educational materials. Following the Cluny order, a variety of monastery systems developed.

The Cistercians set up their monastery in the desert. They never had a city monastery, and they dressed in white robes. Bernard of Clairvaux (1090-1153AD) was of noble birth and had a godly mother. He founded a monastery at Clairvaux in 1115AD, and it was one of the most famous centers of the Cistercian order. His effective preaching was largely responsible for the Second Crusade. The Augustinian monastery started several centuries after Augustine’s death, but those who joined wanted to maintain his strong theological position on predestination and election. Martin Luther had been an Augustinian monk until he was forced out for his heretical views. The Premonstratensians intended to be even more strict that the Augustinians. They wanted to be more Augustinian than Augustine, and they were the hyper-Calvinists before Calvin. The Military Orders were also monastic, but their objective was to produce militaristic monks that would go to war, carry banners, and minister to the troops. Some even tried to direct the campaigns, and in position, they were more than the chaplains but less than the generals. Some of the military orders were the Knights of Saint John (Knights Hospitallers - maintainers of the hospitals), the Knights Templars, and the Teutonic Knights.

The Dominicans, started by Dominic (1170-1221AD), was one of the most important orders. They were called the Black Friars because they dressed in black, and their goal was to root out the heretics (Hounds of the Lord). They lived in the world rather than in monasteries, and they were Martin Luther’s chief opponent. The Franciscans were the best known monastic order, and they are still around today. They were started by St. Francis of Assisi (1182-1226AD), and people said that he was so much like Jesus that his hands and feet bled as he lay upon his deathbed. He was very sincere, and the order wanted to be anti-intellectual in order to be more spiritual. The conventuals came out of this group, and they wanted to compromise on some of their standards. The spirituals, also of this order, remained stern, so the pope condemned them. It was not possible to be totally spiritual and still combine with the Papacy. All of the monasteries had to eventually conform to the bishop of Rome.

3. Discuss the rise of the Russian orthodox church. The Russian orthodox church came from the eastern church with the conversion of Bulgaria around 870AD. Kiev, led by a man named Vladimir, was converted when he sought a logical religion for his city. He rejected Judaism and western Christianity (because of earlier conflicts with the west), and in 988AD, he issued a decree for the town to embrace eastern Christianity. All the people of Kiev were baptized by an eastern church representative. Then, in the 14th century, Moscow became the center of Russian orthodoxy, and they started to call it the third Rome (Rome, Constantinople, and Moscow). Interestingly, the eastern orthodox church was willing to have more than one patriarch whereas the western church would only allow one pope.

4. Discuss the beginning of the Crusades. The crusades were a major factor for Papacy domination. The "crux" meant "cross", and the cross was their symbol for battle. The crusaders wanted to conquer their enemies by the cross as a form of Christian warfare, and the crusades, themselves, were largely orchestrated by the western orthodox church.

				Tom of Bethany

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