1.
History of Christian theology
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The most widely recognized Biblical foundations for the doctrines formulation are in the Gospel of John. Nontrinitarianism is any of several Christian beliefs that reject the Trinitarian doctrine that God is three persons in one being. Modern nontrinitarian groups views differ widely on the nature of God, Jesus, the Biblical canon is the set of books Christians regard as divinely inspired and thus constituting the Christian Bible. The writings attributed to the apostles circulated amongst the earliest Christian communities, the Pauline epistles were circulating in collected form by the end of the 1st century AD. Justin Martyr, in the early 2nd century, mentions the memoirs of the apostles, but his references are not detailed. Around 160 Irenaeus of Lyons argued for only four Gospels, and argued that it would be illogical to reject Acts of the Apostles but accept the Gospel of Luke, as both were from the same author. Likewise by 200 the Muratorian fragment shows that existed a set of Christian writings somewhat similar to what is now the 27-book New Testament. In his Easter letter of 367, Athanasius, Bishop of Alexandria, gave a list exactly the same in number and order with what would become the New Testament canon and be accepted by the Greek church. The African Synod of Hippo, in 393, approved the New Testament, as it today, together with the Septuagint books. Pope Damasus Is Council of Rome in 382, only if the Decretum Gelasianum is correctly associated with it, in 405, Pope Innocent I sent a list of the sacred books to a Gallic bishop, Exsuperius of Toulouse. Nonetheless, a full articulation of the canon was not made until the Council of Trent in the 16th century. The emergence of Christian theology has sometimes been presented as the triumph of Hellenistic rationality over the Hebraic faith of Jesus, the early African theologian Tertullian, for instance, complained that the Athens of philosophy was corrupting the Jerusalem of faith. More recent discussions have qualified and nuanced this picture, from the very beginning of the Christian movement, followers of Jesus tried to make sense of the impact of Jesus of Nazareth, and began arguing about differing ways of making sense. There has never been an uncontested, unrationalized Christian faith and these processes of making sense initially drew upon the ideas and narratives of contemporary Judaism, which was already Hellenized in various degrees. Some elements of early Christian theologizing previously thought to be thoroughly Hellenistic are now regularly argued to be thoroughly Jewish, as Christianity spread, it acquired certain members from well-educated circles of the Hellenistic world, they sometimes became bishops but not always. They produced two sorts of works, theological and apologetic, the latter being works aimed at defending the faith by using reason to refute arguments against the veracity of Christianity and these authors are known as the church fathers, and study of them is called Patristics. Notable early Fathers include Justin Martyr, Irenaeus, Tertullian, Clement of Alexandria, Origen, so, for instance, a good deal of the Greek language literature can be read as an attempt to come to terms with Hellenistic culture. Influential texts and writers between c.200 and 325 include, Tertullian Hippolytus Origen Cyprian Arius Other Gnostic texts and texts from the New Testament apocrypha
2.
Christian theology
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Christian theology is the study of Christian belief and practice. Such study concentrates primarily upon the texts of the Old Testament, Christian theologians use biblical exegesis, rational analysis and argument. Systematic theology as a discipline of Christian theology formulates an orderly, rational and coherent account of the Christian faith, inherent to a system of theological thought is that a method is developed, one which can be applied both broadly and particularly. Christian theology has permeated much of Western culture, especially in pre-modern Europe, Revelation is the revealing or disclosing, or making something obvious through active or passive communication with God, and can originate directly from God, or through an agent, such as an angel. One who has experienced such contact is called a prophet. Christianity considers the Bible as divinely or supernaturally revealed or inspired, such revelation does not always require the presence of God or an angel. For instance, in the concept called of interior locution by Roman Catholics, thomas Aquinas first described in two types of revelation in Christianity as general revelation and special revelation. General revelation occurs through observation of the created order, such observations can logically lead to important conclusions, such as the existence of God and some of Gods attributes. General revelation is also an element of Christian apologetics, certain specifics, such as the Trinity and the Incarnation, are revealed in the teachings in the Scriptures and can not otherwise be deduced except by special revelation. Christianity regards varied collections of books known as the Bible as authoritative, Biblical inspiration is the doctrine in Christian theology concerned with the divine origin of the Bible and what the Bible teaches about itself. Different groups understand the meaning and details of inspiration in different ways, in many passages of the Bible it claims divine inspiration of itself. In the New Testament, Jesus treats the Old Testament as authoritative and says it cannot be broken in John 10,2 Peter 2 Pet 1, 20–21 says that no prophecy of Scripture. Christians who receive the Bible as authoritative generally think that the Bible is breathed out by God, in English,2 Timothy 3. 16–17 reads, All scripture is given by inspiration of God and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correction and training in righteousness. Some argue that Biblical inspiration can be corroborated by examining the weight of the Bibles moral teaching and its prophecies about the future, corroboration of this sort is a form of Christian apologetics. Others maintain that the authority of the Church and its counsels should carry more or less weight in formulating the doctrine of inspiration, Christianity regards the collections of books known as the Bible as authoritative and written by human authors under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. Some Christians believe that the Bible is inerrant or infallible, in addition, for some Christians, it may be inferred that the Bible cannot both refer to itself as being divinely inspired and also be errant or fallible. For if the Bible were divinely inspired, then the source of inspiration being divine, for them, the doctrines of the divine inspiration, infallibility, and inerrancy, are inseparably tied together. Historians note, or claim, that the doctrine of the Bibles infallibility was adopted hundreds of years after those books were written, the Protestant Old Testament is synonymous with the Hebrew Scriptures included in the Jewish canon, but not the Catholic Old Testament, which contains additional texts
3.
Trinity
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The Christian doctrine of the Trinity holds that God is three consubstantial persons or hypostases—the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit—as one God in three Divine Persons. The three persons are distinct, yet are one substance, essence or nature, in this context, a nature is what one is, whereas a person is who one is. Reflection, proclamation, and dialogue led to the formulation of the doctrine that was felt to correspond to the data in the Bible. The simplest outline of the doctrine was formulated in the 4th century, further elaboration continued in the succeeding centuries. Scripture contains neither the word Trinity, nor an expressly formulated doctrine of the Trinity, rather, according to the Christian theology, it bears witness to the activity of a God who can only be understood in Trinitarian terms. The doctrine did not take its shape until late in the fourth century. During the intervening period, various solutions, some more. Trinitarianism contrasts with nontrinitarian positions which include Binitarianism, Unitarianism, Oneness Pentecostalism or Modalism, the word trinity is derived from Latin trinitas, meaning the number three, a triad. This abstract noun is formed from the adjective trinus, as the word unitas is the noun formed from unus. The corresponding word in Greek is tριάς, meaning a set of three or the number three, the first recorded use of this Greek word in Christian theology was by Theophilus of Antioch in about 170. He wrote, In like manner also the three days which were before the luminaries, are types of the Trinity, of God, and His Word, and His wisdom. And the fourth is the type of man, who needs light, that so there may be God, the Word, wisdom, man. The Ante-Nicene Fathers asserted Christs deity and spoke of Father, Son and Holy Spirit, Trinitarians view these as elements of the codified doctrine. Ignatius of Antioch provides early support for the Trinity around 110, exhorting obedience to Christ, and to the Father, and to the Spirit. Justin Martyr also writes, in the name of God, the Father and Lord of the universe, and of our Saviour Jesus Christ, the first of the early church fathers to be recorded using the word Trinity was Theophilus of Antioch writing in the late 2nd century. He defines the Trinity as God, His Word and His Wisdom in the context of a discussion of the first three days of creation, the first defence of the doctrine of the Trinity was in the early 3rd century by the early church father Tertullian. He explicitly defined the Trinity as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, St. Justin and Clement of Alexandra used the Trinity in their doxologies and St. Basil likewise, in the evening lighting of lamps. The highly allegorical exegesis of the Valentinian school inclined it to interpret the relevant scriptural passages as affirming a Divinity that, the Valentinian Gospel of Phillip, which dates to approximately the time of Tertullian, upholds the Trinitarian formula
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Restorationism
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Fundamentally, this vision seeks to correct faults or deficiencies by appealing to the primitive church as a normative model. Efforts to restore an earlier, purer form of Christianity are often a response to denominationalism, the relative importance given to the restoration ideal, and the extent to which the full restoration of the early church is believed to have been achieved, also varies between groups. Landmarkism is more properly a theory of the continuation of the pure Church through the centuries, recognizable by certain key doctrines, many groups have attempted a history of their movement and an ecclesiology that falls somewhere in between the two ideas of Restorationism and Successionism. The term restorationism is sometimes used specifically as a synonym for the American Restoration Movement. The terms restorationism, restorationist and restoration are used in several senses within Christianity, Restorationism is called apostolic as representing the form of Christianity that the twelve Apostles followed. These themes arise early in history, first appearing in the works of Iranaeus. A variety of more contemporary movements have also described as restorationist. Restorationism has been described as a component of some Pentecostal movements such as the Assemblies of God. The terms Restorationism movement and Restorationist movement have also applied to the British New Church Movement. Capitalized, the term is used as a synonym for the American Restoration Movement. The term restorationism can also include the belief that the Jewish people must be restored to the land in fulfillment of biblical prophecy before the Second Coming of Christ. Christian restorationism is generally used to describe the 19th century movement based on this belief, the term primitive, in contrast with other uses, refers to a basis in scholarship and research into the actual writings of the church fathers and other historical documents. Since written documents for the underground first-century church are sparse, the church passed down its knowledge verbally. To do this, they revive practices found in the Old Testament, the term apostolic refers to a nonmainstream, often literal, apostolic succession or historical lineage tracing back to the Apostles and the Great Commission. These restorationist threads are sometimes regarded critically as being Judaizers in the Ebionite tradition, the restoration ideal has been interpreted and applied in a variety of ways. Four general historical models can be identified based on the aspect of early Christianity that the individuals and these are, Ecclesiastical Primitivism, Ethical Primitivism, Experiential Primitivism, and Gospel Primitivism. Ecclesiastical primitivism focuses on restoring the ecclesiastical practices of the early church, huldrych Zwingli, John Calvin and the Puritans all advocated ecclesiastical primitivism. The strongest advocate of ecclesiastical primitivism in the United States was Alexander Campbell, Ethical primitivism focuses on restoring the ethical norms and commitment to discipleship of the early church
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Christology
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Christology is the field of study within Christian theology which is primarily concerned with the nature and person of Jesus as recorded in the canonical Gospels and the epistles of the New Testament. Primary considerations include the relationship of Jesus nature and person with the nature, as such, Christology is concerned with the details of Jesus ministry, his acts and teachings, to arrive at a clearer understanding of who he is in his person, and his role in salvation. The views of Paul the Apostle provided a major component of the Christology of the Apostolic Age, Pauls central themes included the notion of the pre-existence of Christ and the worship of Christ as Kyrios. The pre-existence of Christ became a theme of Christology. Proponents of Christs deity argue the Old Testament has many cases of Christophany, Christophany is often considered a more accurate term than the term theophany due to the belief that all the visible manifestations of God are in fact the preincarnate Christ. Many argue that the appearances of the Angel of the Lord in the Old Testament were the preincarnate Christ, many understand the angel of the Lord as a true theophany. From the time of Justin on, the figure has been regarded as the preincarnate Logos, following the Apostolic Age, the early church engaged in fierce and often politicized debate on many interrelated issues. Christology became a focus of these debates, and every one of the first seven ecumenical councils addressed Christological issues. The second through fourth of these councils are generally entitled Christological councils, the Council of Chalcedon in 451 issued a formulation of the being of Christ — that of two natures, one human and one divine, united with neither confusion nor division. Chalcedonian Christianity - Eastern Orthodox, Roman Catholic, and many Protestant Christians - continue to advocate this doctrine of the hypostatic union, due to politically-charged differences in the 4th century, schisms developed, and the first denominations formed. In the 13th century, Saint Thomas Aquinas provided the first systematic Christology that consistently resolved a number of the existing issues, in his Christology from above, Aquinas also championed the principle of perfection of Christs human attributes. The Middle Ages also witnessed the emergence of the image of Jesus as a friend. Over the centuries, a number of terms and concepts have been developed within the framework of Christology to address the seemingly simple questions, a good deal of theological debate has ensued and significant schisms within Christian denominations took place in the process of providing answers to these questions. After the Middle Ages, systematic approaches to Christology were developed, the term Christology from above refers to approaches that begin with the divinity and pre-existence of Christ as the Logos, as expressed in the prologue to the Gospel of John. These approaches interpret the works of Christ in terms of his divinity, Christology from above was emphasized in the ancient Church, beginning with Ignatius of Antioch in the second century. The term Christology from below, on the hand, refers to approaches that begin with the human aspects and the ministry of Jesus and move towards his divinity. The concept of Cosmic Christology, first elaborated by Saint Paul, the terms functional, ontological and soteriological have been used to refer to the perspectives that analyze the works, the being and the salvific standpoints of Christology. Some essential sub-topics within the field of Christology include the incarnation, the resurrection, the term monastic Christology has been used to describe spiritual approaches developed by Anselm of Canterbury, Peter Abelard and Bernard of Clairvaux
6.
Augustine of Hippo
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Augustine of Hippo was an early Christian theologian and philosopher whose writings influenced the development of Western Christianity and Western philosophy. He was the bishop of Hippo Regius, located in Numidia, Augustine is viewed as one of the most important Church Fathers in Western Christianity for his writings in the Patristic Era. Among his most important works are The City of God and Confessions, according to his contemporary, Jerome, Augustine established anew the ancient Faith. In his early years, he was influenced by Manichaeism. After his baptism and conversion to Christianity in 386, Augustine developed his own approach to philosophy and theology, accommodating a variety of methods and perspectives. Believing that the grace of Christ was indispensable to human freedom, he helped formulate the doctrine of original sin, when the Western Roman Empire began to disintegrate, Augustine developed the concept of the Church as a spiritual City of God, distinct from the material Earthly City. His thoughts profoundly influenced the medieval worldview, the segment of the Church that adhered to the concept of the Trinity as defined by the Council of Nicaea and the Council of Constantinople closely identified with Augustines On the Trinity. Augustine is recognized as a saint in the Catholic Church, the Eastern Christian Church, and he is also the patron of the Augustinians. His memorial is celebrated on 28 August, the day of his death, Augustine is the patron saint of brewers, printers, theologians, the alleviation of sore eyes, and a number of cities and dioceses. Many Protestants, especially Calvinists and Lutherans, consider him to be one of the fathers of the Protestant Reformation due to his teachings on salvation. Lutherans, and Martin Luther in particular, have held Augustine in preeminence, Luther himself was a member of the Order of the Augustinian Eremites. In the East, some of his teachings are disputed and have in the 20th century in particular come under attack by such theologians as John Romanides, but other theologians and figures of the Eastern Orthodox Church have shown significant appropriation of his writings, chiefly Georges Florovsky. The most controversial doctrine surrounding his name is the filioque, which has been rejected by the Orthodox Church, other disputed teachings include his views on original sin, the doctrine of grace, and predestination. Nevertheless, though considered to be mistaken on some points, he is considered a saint. In the Orthodox Church his feast day is celebrated on 28 August and he was an early Christian theologian and philosopher whose writings influenced the development of Western Christianity and Western philosophy. Augustine was the bishop of Hippo Regius, located in Numidia and he is viewed as one of the most important Church Fathers in Western Christianity for his writings in the Patristic Era. Among his most important works are The City of God and Confessions, Augustine was born in the year 354 AD in the municipium of Thagaste in Roman Africa. His mother, Monica or Monnica, was a devout Christian, in his writings, Augustine leaves some information as to the consciousness of his African heritage
7.
Monothelitism
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Specifically, monothelitism is the view that Jesus Christ has two natures but only one will. This is contrary to the Christology that Jesus Christ has two corresponding to his two natures. Monothelitism is a development of the miaphysite or monophysite position in the Christological debates, formulated in 638, it enjoyed considerable popularity, even garnering patriarchal support, before being rejected and denounced as heretical in 681 at the Third Council of Constantinople. During the 5th century, some regions of the Christian Church were thrown into confusion because of the debates that erupted over the nature of Jesus Christ. Although the Church had already determined that Christ is the son of God, the Church had declared heretical the notion that Jesus is not fully divine in the 4th century, during the debates over Arianism and had declared that he is God the Son become human. However, in arguing that he is both God and man, there now emerged a dispute over exactly how the human and divine natures of Christ actually exist within the person of Christ and this position was opposed by the Monophysites who held that Christ possesses one nature only. The term Monophysitism of which Eutychianism is one type, held that the human, as described by Eutyches, his human nature was dissolved like a drop of honey in the sea, and therefore his nature is really divine. This is distinct from Miaphysitism, which holds that, after the union, the two are thus united without separation, without confusion, and without alteration, and with each having a particularity. Miaphysitism is the doctrine of the Oriental Orthodox churches. Nevertheless, the resultant debates led the Chalcedonians to accuse the non-Chalcedonians of teaching Christs humanity to be of a different kind from our own. Meanwhile, the accused the Chalcedonians of espousing a form of Nestorianism. In these provinces, the non-Chalcedonians′ were far more numerous than the Chalcedonians, in Egypt for instance, some 30,000 Greeks of Chalcedonian persuasion were ranged against some five million Coptic non-Chalcedonians. Meanwhile, Syria and Mesopotamia were divided between Nestorianism and Jacobitism, while the religion of Armenia was wholly Cyrilline Non-Chalcedonian, consequently, the Monothelite teaching emerged as a compromise position. The Byzantine emperor Heraclius tried to unite all of the factions within the empire with this new formula that was more inclusive. This approach was needed to win over the non-Chalcedonians, since they, already believing Christ possesses a single nature, Patriarch Sergius I of Constantinople was the driving force behind this doctrine, with the full blessing of the Emperor Heraclius. This doctrine of Monoenergism was the precursor of Monotheletism, to help bring this about, a synod was held in 622 at Theodosiopolis, called the Synod of Garin where Monoenergism was discussed. In 626, he asked Patriarch Sergius to approach Cyrus, Bishop of Phasis, so in 629, a meeting took place between the emperor and Athanasius the Jacobite at Hierapolis. An agreement was struck whereby the Jacobites were to return to the Imperial Church on the basis of the single energy doctrine, then in 630, Bishop Cyrus was made Patriarch of Alexandria, and he soon won over another Non-Chalcedonian group
8.
Byzantine Iconoclasm
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The First Iconoclasm, as it is sometimes called, lasted between about 726 and 787. The Second Iconoclasm was between 814 and 842, according to the traditional view, Byzantine Iconoclasm constituted a ban on religious images by Emperor Leo III and continued under his successors. It was accompanied by destruction of images and persecution of supporters of the veneration of images. Iconoclasm, Greek for breaker of icons, is the destruction within a culture of the cultures own religious icons and other symbols or monuments. People who engage in or support iconoclasm are called iconoclasts, a term that has come to be applied figuratively to any person who breaks or disdains established dogmata or conventions, conversely, people who revere or venerate religious images are derisively called iconolaters. They are normally known as iconodules, or iconophiles and these terms were, however, not a part of the Byzantine debate over images. They have been brought into usage by modern historians and their application to Byzantium increased considerably in the late twentieth century. The Byzantine term for the debate over religious imagery, iconomachy means struggle over images or image struggle, Iconoclasm has generally been motivated theologically by an Old Covenant interpretation of the Ten Commandments, which forbade the making and worshipping of graven images. It was a debate triggered by changes in Orthodox worship, which were generated by the major social and political upheavals of the seventh century for the Byzantine Empire. Traditional explanations for Byzantine iconoclasm have sometimes focused on the importance of Islamic prohibitions against images influencing Byzantine thought, the role of women and monks in supporting the veneration of images has also been asserted. On the other hand, the wealthier Greeks of Constantinople and also the peoples of the Balkan and Italian provinces strongly opposed Iconoclasm, Christian worship by the sixth century had developed a clear belief in the intercession of saints. A strong sacramentality and belief in the importance of physical presence also joined the belief in intercession of saints with the use of relics and holy images in early Christian practices. Believers would, therefore, make pilgrimages to places sanctified by the presence of Christ or prominent saints and martyrs. Relics, or holy objects which were a part of the remains, or had come into contact with, Christ, the Virgin or a saint, were also widely utilized in Christian practices at this time. The use and abuse of images had greatly increased during this period, in some cases it defends itself against infidels with physical force. Key artefacts to blur this boundary emerged in c.570 in the form of miraculously created acheiropoieta or images not made by human hands and these sacred images were a form of contact relic, which additionally were taken to prove divine approval of the use of icons. The two most famous were the Mandylion of Edessa and the Image of Camuliana from Cappadocia, by then in Constantinople. The latter was regarded as a palladium that had won battles and saved Constantinople from the Persian-Avar siege of 626
9.
Pope Gregory I
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Pope Saint Gregory I, commonly known as Saint Gregory the Great, was pope of the Catholic Church from 3 September 590 to his death in 604. Gregory is famous for instigating the first recorded large-scale mission from Rome to convert a pagan people to Christianity, Gregory is also well known for his writings, which were more prolific than those of any of his predecessors as pope. He is also known as the Great Visionary of Modern Educational System, for his writings, the epithet Saint Gregory the Dialogist has been attached to him in Eastern Christianity because of his Dialogues. For this reason, English translations of Eastern texts will sometimes list him as Gregory Dialogos or the Latinized equivalent Dialogus. A senators son and himself the Prefect of Rome at 30, Gregory tried the monastery but soon returned to public life, ending his life. Although he was the first pope from a background, his prior political experiences may have helped him to be a talented administrator. Gregory regained papal authority in Spain and France, and sent missionaries to England, the realignment of barbarian allegiance to Rome from their Arian Christian alliances shaped medieval Europe. Gregory saw Franks, Lombards, and Visigoths align with Rome in religion, throughout the Middle Ages he was known as the Father of Christian Worship because of his exceptional efforts in revising the Roman worship of his day. His contributions to the development of the Divine Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts, Gregory is a Doctor of the Church and one of the Latin Fathers. He is considered a saint in the Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox Church, Anglican Communion, immediately after his death, Gregory was canonized by popular acclaim. The Protestant reformer John Calvin admired Gregory and declared in his Institutes that Gregory was the last good pope and he is the patron saint of musicians, singers, students, and teachers. The exact date of Gregorys birth is uncertain, but is estimated to be around the year 540. The medieval writer who provided this etymology did not hesitate to apply it to the life of Gregory, aelfric states, He was very diligent in Gods Commandments. Gregory was born into a wealthy patrician Roman family with connections to the church. Gregorys mother, Silvia, was well-born, and had a sister, Pateria. His mother and two aunts are honored by Catholic and Orthodox churches as saints. Gregorys great-great-grandfather had been Pope Felix III, the nominee of the Gothic king, Gregorys election to the throne of St Peter made his family the most distinguished clerical dynasty of the period. The family owned and resided in a villa suburbana on the Caelian Hill, the north of the street runs into the Colosseum, the south, the Circus Maximus
10.
Thomas Aquinas
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Saint Thomas Aquinas O. P. was an Italian Dominican friar, Catholic priest, and Doctor of the Church. He was an influential philosopher, theologian, and jurist in the tradition of scholasticism, within which he is also known as the Doctor Angelicus. The name Aquinas identifies his ancestral origins in the county of Aquino in present-day Lazio and he was the foremost classical proponent of natural theology and the father of Thomism, of which he argued that reason is found in God. His influence on Western thought is considerable, and much of modern philosophy developed or opposed his ideas, particularly in the areas of ethics, natural law, metaphysics, the works for which he is best known are the Summa Theologiae and the Summa contra Gentiles. His commentaries on Scripture and on Aristotle form an important part of his body of work, furthermore, Thomas is distinguished for his eucharistic hymns, which form a part of the Churchs liturgy. Thomas Aquinas is considered one of the Catholic Churchs greatest theologians, Pope Benedict XV declared, This Order. Acquired new luster when the Church declared the teaching of Thomas to be her own and that Doctor, honored with the praises of the Pontiffs. The English philosopher Anthony Kenny considers Aquinas to be one of the dozen greatest philosophers of the western world, Thomas was most probably born in the castle of Roccasecca, located in Aquino, old county of the Kingdom of Sicily, c.1225. According to some authors, he was born in the castle of his father, though he did not belong to the most powerful branch of the family, Landulf of Aquino was a man of means. As a knight in the service of King Roger II, he held the title miles, Thomass mother, Theodora, belonged to the Rossi branch of the Neapolitan Caracciolo family. Landulfs brother Sinibald was abbot of the first Benedictine monastery at Monte Cassino and it was here that Thomas was probably introduced to Aristotle, Averroes and Maimonides, all of whom would influence his theological philosophy. There his teacher in arithmetic, geometry, astronomy, and music was Petrus de Ibernia, at the age of nineteen Thomas resolved to join the recently founded Dominican Order. Thomass change of heart did not please his family, in an attempt to prevent Theodoras interference in Thomass choice, the Dominicans arranged to move Thomas to Rome, and from Rome, to Paris. Political concerns prevented the Pope from ordering Thomass release, which had the effect of extending Thomass detention, Thomas passed this time of trial tutoring his sisters and communicating with members of the Dominican Order. Family members became desperate to dissuade Thomas, who remained determined to join the Dominicans, at one point, two of his brothers resorted to the measure of hiring a prostitute to seduce him. According to legend Thomas drove her away wielding a fire iron and that night two angels appeared to him as he slept and strengthened his determination to remain celibate. By 1244, seeing all of her attempts to dissuade Thomas had failed, Theodora sought to save the familys dignity. In her mind, an escape from detention was less damaging than an open surrender to the Dominicans
11.
Anselm of Canterbury
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Anselm of Canterbury was a Benedictine monk, abbot, philosopher and theologian of the Catholic Church, who held the office of archbishop of Canterbury from 1093 to 1109. After his death, he was canonized as a saint, his feast day is 21 April, beginning at Bec, Anselm composed dialogues and treatises with a rational and philosophical approach, sometimes causing him to be credited as the founder of Scholasticism. Despite his lack of recognition in this field in his own time, Anselm is now famed as the originator of the argument for the existence of God. He was proclaimed a Doctor of the Church by a bull of Pope Clement XI in 1720, as archbishop, he defended the churchs interests in England amid the Investiture Controversy. For his resistance to the English kings William II and Henry I, he was exiled twice, once from 1097 to 1100, while in exile, he helped guide the Greek bishops of southern Italy to adopt Roman rites at the Council of Bari. Anselm was born in or around Aosta in Upper Burgundy sometime between April 1033 and April 1034, the area now forms part of the Republic of Italy, but Aosta had been part of the Carolingian Kingdom of Arles until the death of the childless Rudolph III in 1032. The Emperor and the Count of Blois then went to war over his succession, humbert the White-Handed, count of Maurienne, so distinguished himself that he was granted a new county carved out of the secular holdings of the less helpful bishop of Aosta. Otto and Adelaides unified lands then controlled the most important passes in the western Alps and formed the county of Savoy whose dynasty would rule the kingdoms of Sardinia. Records during this period are scanty, but both sides of Anselms immediate family appear to have been dispossessed by these decisions in favour of their extended relations. The marriage was probably arranged for political reasons but was incapable of resisting Conrads decrees after his successful annexation of Burgundy on 1 August 1034. Ermenberga appears to have been the wealthier of the two, Gundulph moved to his wifes town, where she held a palace, likely near the cathedral, along with a villa in the valley. In later life, there are records of three relations who visited Bec, Folceraldus, Haimo, and Rainaldus. The first repeatedly attempted to impose on Anselms success but was rebuffed owing to his ties to another monastery, at the age of fifteen, Anselm desired to enter a monastery but, failing to obtain his fathers consent, he was refused by the abbot. The illness he then suffered has been considered a psychosomatic effect of his disappointment, once Gundulph had entered a convent, Anselm, at age 23, left home with a single attendant, crossed the Alps, and wandered through Burgundy and France for three years. His countryman Lanfranc of Pavia was then prior of the Benedictine abbey of Bec, attracted by the fame of his fellow countryman, after spending some time in Avranches, he returned the next year. His father having died, he consulted with Lanfranc as to whether to return to his estates and employ their income in providing alms or to renounce them, becoming a hermit or a monk at Bec or Cluny. Professing to fear his own bias, Lanfranc sent him to Maurilius, the archbishop of Rouen, probably in his first year, he wrote his first work on philosophy, a treatment of Latin paradoxes called the Grammarian. Over the next decade, the Rule of Saint Benedict reshaped his thought, a notable opponent was a young monk named Osborne
12.
Gregory Palamas
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Gregory Palamas was a monk of Mount Athos in Greece and later the Archbishop of Thessaloniki known as a preeminent theologian of Hesychasm. The teachings embodied in his writings defending Hesychasm against the attack of Barlaam are sometimes referred to as Palamism, Palamas is venerated as a Saint in the Eastern Orthodox Church. Some of his writings are collected in the Philokalia, the second Sunday of the Great Lent is called the Sunday of Gregory Palamas in those Churches that commemorate him according to the Byzantine Rite. He also has a feast day on November 14, Gregory was born in Constantinople in the year 1296. His father was a courtier of the Byzantine Emperor Andronikos II Palaiologos, the Emperor himself took part in the raising and education of the fatherless boy. The Emperor had hoped that the gifted Gregory would devote himself to government service, St Gregory received his secular philosophical training from Theodore Metochites. Eventually, he was tonsured a monk, and continued his life of asceticism, after the demise of the Elder Nicodemus, Gregory spent eight years of spiritual struggle under the guidance of a new Elder, Nicephorus. After this last Elders repose, Gregory transferred to the Great Lavra of St. Athanasius the Athonite on Mount Athos, where he served the brethren in the trapeza and in church as a cantor. Wishing to devote himself fully to prayer and asceticism he entered a skete called Glossia. In 1326, because of the threat of Turkish invasions, he and the brethren retreated to the city of Thessaloniki. Dividing his time between his ministry to the people and his pursuit of perfection, he founded a small community of hermits near Thessaloniki in a place called Veria. He served for a time as Abbot of the Esphigmenou Monastery but was forced to resign in 1335 due to discontentment regarding the austerity of his monastic administration. Trained in Western Scholastic theology, Barlaam was scandalized by hesychasm, as a private teacher of theology in the Western Scholastic mode, Barlaam propounded a more intellectual and propositional approach to the knowledge of God than the Hesychasts taught. On the Hesychast side, the controversy was taken up by Palamas who was asked by his monks on Mt Athos to defend hesychasm from the attacks of Barlaam. Palamas was well-educated in Greek philosophy, Gregory wrote a number of works in its defense and defended hesychasm at six different synods in Constantinople ultimately triumphing over its attackers in the synod of 1351. Although Barlaam came from southern Italy, his ancestry was Greek, arriving in Constantinople around 1330, Barlaam was working on commentaries on Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite under the patronage of John VI Kantakouzenos. Around 1336, Gregory received copies of treatises written by Barlaam against the Latins, thus, Barlaam asserted that it was impossible to determine from whom the Holy Spirit proceeds. According to Sara J. Denning-Bolle, Palamas viewed Barlaams argument as dangerously agnostic, in his response titled Apodictic Treatises, Palamas insisted that it was indeed demonstrable that the Holy Spirit proceeded from the Father but not from the Son
