Category Archives: History

Spread of Christianity in England, Ireland, and Germany

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Stain Glass Window of Saint Patrick.

The Carolingian Dynasty of the Holy Roman Empire wanted to restore the Western Roman Empire but with a Christian dynasty. The government would be similar to the emperors of Rome, but the ruler would be called the Holy Roman Emperor. The capital was the German city of Aachen, the home of Charlemagne’s palace. Charlemagne hired artists, writers, and builders from every city he visited to build great structures. Alcuin of York, who was an Englishman, became a key advisor to Charlemagne and became Abbot of Tours, where he translated many works into Latin. In 787, Charlemagne told every abbot and bishop to establish a school in all monasteries and cathedrals, so the clergy could learn to read and write. 

Saint Patrick of Ireland was one of the most influential Saints of all, converting Ireland from Druidism to Christianity without violence, and established many churches and monasteries. After its conversion in the 5th century, Ireland was known as the “Isle of Saints.” Many of the greatest missionaries of the Early Church were from Ireland and were converted by Saint Patrick. Irish Saint Columbia built a monastery on the Scottish Island of Iona and set out to Christianize England. Moreover, Columbanus (born 546) established monasteries throughout Gaul and Italy. 

Pope Gregory the Great (590-604) used the famines, plagues, and wars to help convert thousands of people. By the 7th century, most of Europe was Christian even in the formerly pagan countryside. The Anglo-Saxons had been the most violent against conversion, killing many missionaries who tried to convert them. 

Conversion of the Anglo-Saxons by Saint Augustine of Canterbury.

Saint Augustine of Canterbury approached King Ethelbert of Kent (leader of the Anglo-Saxons) with 40 monks and convinced him to marry a Christian queen from France, so he could baptize his people. By 597, a substantial portion of England had been converted. Once the Anglo-Saxons accepted the Faith, the Celts refused to convert because of their hatred of the Anglo-Saxons. In 626, Irish missionaries convinced the Celtic King Edwin to accept Christianity, but in 633 Edwin was defeated in battle by the Welsh, which meant the Celts were no longer Christian. In 634, Edwin’s nephew, Oswald, came to power and made his kingdom Christian again. 

In 686, Pope Conan sent three Irish monks on a missionary trip to Germany, which still had a large pagan population. Killian, one of the Irish monks, was made the first Bishop of Germany. Bishop Killian baptized the Duke Gosbert of Franconia but was martyred in 689. Saint Willibrord and 11 other Irish monks went on missions to the Netherlands and Germany. Subsequently, Pope Sergius I made Willibrord Bishop of Frisia, and as bishop, Willibrord traveled to Wurvburg in 704 and converted the Rhineland. 

Saint Boniface (675-754) was an Englishman from Wessex, was sent by Pope Gregory II to continue the work of Killian. In Thuringia and Hesse, Boniface converted two chieftains along with their whole tribe and he succeeded Killian as Archbishop of Germany. As bishop, Boniface built many monasteries and churches in Germany, and even chopped down a large tree dedicated to the pagan god Thor. 

Holy Roman Empire in 814, During the Carolingian Renaissance.

During the 7th, 8th, and 9th centuries, the Kingdom of the Franks and the Holy Roman Empire had a golden age known as the Carolingian Renaissance, in which they were the most influential kingdom in Western Europe. They had more control over the Church and the pope than the Byzantines, and this would eventually cause tension. 

The New Testament Part 1

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Saint Luke the Evangelist Writing the Gospel.

The Apostles of Jesus wrote four books about Jesus’s time on earth: Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. These books are similar, although they have some differences, but all tell the same story. Known as the Gospel, they make up the first part of the New Testament of the Bible. Unlike other classical literature, the Bible is historical not mythological. Its historical accuracy is even agreed upon by some atheist historians. 

God the Father sends his only Son, Jesus, to earth as a man to show his love for the world. Jesus is both the Son of God and a man at the same time. Born in the town of Bethlehem, Jesus’s mother, Mary, remained a virgin after she gave birth and bore the Son of God. Jesus lived in the town of Nazareth most of his early life and first preached at the age of 12. John the Baptist (or John the Forerunner) announced that the Son of God was coming soon. John baptized Jesus around AD 30. When Jesus was baptized, he was confirmed as both the Son of God and a man. After his baptism in the Jordan River, Jesus started his public ministry. 

Jesus’s first miracle occurred at a wedding, when the hosts ran out of wine for the meal, so Jesus miraculously turned water into wine. He began preaching to large crowds and healing dozens of people. He recruited 12 disciples to help spread His message across Israel, and also gave them the power to heal. When Jesus healed a man on the Sabbath Day (Saturday) this angered the Jewish religious leaders (the Pharisees) because they claimed it was against the Law. Jesus stated that he was the fulfillment of the Law, and that certain practices did not need to be followed anymore. Consequently, the enraged Pharisees proclaimed that he was a false prophet and sought to destroy him. 

Icon of Jesus Calming the Stormy Sea.

During this time, Jesus did some of his greatest miracles, such as calming a stormy sea, walking on water, feeding 5,000 men with only five bread loaves and two fish, and healing the daughter of Roman Centurion. King Herod thought Jesus was a resurrected John the Baptist, who he had put to death. After Jesus forced a legion of demons into a herd of swine, the local residents did not let Jesus stay because they feared the Pharisees. The Jewish religious leaders hated Jesus because he preached against them and against the Law. 

Charlemagne and the Holy Roman Empire

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Charlemagne, King of The Franks and Holy Roman Emperor.

By the 4th Century, about 15% of the empire was Christian, mostly in cities, while the countryside was still overwhelmingly pagan. Later, the cities started adopting the Arian heresy, which was widespread until the 6th century. During this time, most of the barbarian tribes either converted to Christianity or were killed, like the Vandals, who were defeated in battle against the Byzantines in 534, and the Ostrogoths, who were beaten in 554. In 517 the Burgundians abandoned Arianism after being conquered by the Franks in 534. 

The Visigoths and Lombards, two of the larger barbarian tribes, were converted by the start of the 7th century. In the mid 5th century, Pope Leo the Great protected Rome from Atilla the Hun, when he convinced Atilla to turn around and leave Italy. Early missionary journeys in Northern Europe converted major tribes like the Franks and eventually the Anglo-Saxons. These groups were usually turned to Christ when their ruler followed God who then baptized his tribe. The Suevians and most of the tribes in the Iberian Peninsula were converted by 500. 

The Frankish tribe originated in modern-day France, Belgium, and Germany. In the 6th century, they conquered much of Francia under King Clovis. As they defeated most of the tribes in Western Europe, they converted the Arian or Pagan tribes to Christianity. Clovis (466-511) was the first king of the Merovingian Dynasty. He baptized his people in 496 and made his capital city Paris in 508, later subduing the Visigoths. Unfortunately, after his death in 511 the dynasty fell into infighting. 

Frankish Victory at the Battle of Tours, 732.

During the 8th Century, the Umayyad Caliphate, a Muslim empire, invaded and conquered most of the Arabian Peninsula, the Middle East, and North Africa. In 732, they took Spain and advanced north towards the Kingdom of the Franks. At the Battle of Tours in 732, the Franks annihilated the Muslims, forcing them to fall back all the way to Africa. After this battle, the Carolingians Dynasty ruled the Franks. As the Frankish Kingdom grew in Western Europe, the Pope of Rome used this to try to get more power and distance themselves from the Byzantine Empire. Before the split of the Eastern and Western Churches in 1054, there were five main Patriarchs of the Church, the Patriarchs of Constantinople, Antioch, Alexandria, Jerusalem, and the Pope of Rome. The Pope of Rome was the first among equals with the four other Patriarchates. 

The Kingdom of The Franks in 714.

The Pope blessed the Carolingian Dynasty. This angered the Byzantines, who thought they were the continuation of the Roman Empire. The West was also mad because the Byzantine Emperor said he had to consecrate the Pope before he took power. Under Pope Gregory III (731-741), the Lombards invaded the Papal States, taking most of Italy. Under their ruler Aistulf (749-756), the Lombards invaded Byzantine controlled land in Southern Italy. Pope Stephen II negotiated with Aistulf in 753, but he refused to stop sieging Rome. 

In 754, Pepin the Short, King of the Franks, agreed to help the Pope and defeated the Lombards in Italy. He was later crowned by the Pope, further cementing the Pope’s connection to the West. 

The Pope Crowning Charlemagne Holy Emperor of the Romans in 800.

Charlemagne (748-814) was the King of the Franks from 768 to 814. In 771, Charlemagne united all the Frankish lands under his power. More than 53 campaigns were fought under his reign and the Lomabards were completely subjugated. Charlemagne defeated and converted the Anglo-Saxons, and conquered as far south as Northern Spain. On Christmas Day 800, Pope Leo III crowned Charlemagne “The Holy Emperor of the Romans,” which meant that the Pope thought that they were now the continuation of the Roman Empire, not the Byzantines. The Kingdom of the Franks was changed to the Holy Roman Empire. 

This solidified a divide between the Pope of Rome in the West and the Byzantine Empire in the East. In 812, the Byzantine Emperor officially recognized Charlemagne as the Holy Roman Emperor in exchange for giving part of Southern Italy back to the Byzantines. Charlemagne appointed bishops and convened councils even though he wasn’t a religious leader. He also forced tribes to convert and gave the title of bishop to his political friends as rewards. 

The Cathedral of Aachen, Formely Charlemagne’s Palace.

This abuse of power caused people like Saint Boniface to call out Charlemagne, stating that he was only a political ruler and should not have power of the Church. Eastern Christians also were concerned by Charlemagne’s crowning.