The Church in Europe
The Church Shaping Empires, Empires Shaping the Church
Photograph: Mosaic in the southwestern entrance of Hagia Sophia, the great cathedral built by Emperor Justinian in Constantinople, now a museum in Istanbul, Turkey. Photo credit: Unknown, Public Domain. In the mosaic, the virgin Mary sits with child Jesus in the center. To their left is the Emperor Constantine presenting a model of the city to them. To their right is the Emperor Justinian presenting a model of the Hagia Sophia. This symbolizes how temporal power bowed to Jesus, influencing law, cities, architecture, and art.
Introduction
The selection of perspectives on church history in this section — Church and Empire — has been guided by three factors: (1) to demonstrate that Christianity has not been a “white man’s religion”; (2) the study of empire as a recurring motif in Scripture by recent biblical studies scholars; and (3) explorations of biblical Christian ethics on issues of power and polity, to understand how Christians were faithful to Christ or not. Christian relational ethics continues a Christian theological anthropology that began with reflection on the human nature of Jesus, and the human experience of biblical Israel. The resources are framed by biblical exposition of “empire” in Church and Empire and Pentecost as Paradigm for Christianity and Cultures, then grouped by region: Middle East, Asia, Africa, Europe, Americas, then Nation-State, with special attention given to The Shoah of Nazi Germany.
Church and Empire in Europe: Topics:
This section explores the experience and activities of Christians under various European regimes: the Roman Empire 313 - 800, the Celtic Kingdoms 431 - 1798, the Anglo-Saxon Kingdoms from 597, the Eastern Roman Empire 800 - 1453, the Latin Kingdoms 800 - 1787, and the Slavic Kingdoms 988 - 1917. See also our page on The Myth of Christian Ignorance, for resources contesting Christian faith as anti-science, politically backward, etc.
Church and Empire: Topics:
This page is part of our section on Church and Empire. These resources begin with a biblical exposition of Empire in Church and Empire and the meaning of Pentecost in Pentecost as Paradigm for Christianity and Cultures, then grouped by region: Middle East, Asia, Africa, Europe, Americas, then Nation-State, with special attention given to The Shoah of Nazi Germany.
