This is part 22 of the Early Church History class.

This episode aims to wrap up our early church history class. We'll cover relics and pilgrimage, emperors Zeno and Justinian, as well as the theological battles that continued to rage in the 5th and 6th centuries. Unsurprisingly the christological controversy of the 5th century did not come to an end when the emperor endorsed the Council of Chalcedon of 451 that declared Jesus to have two natures "unconfusedly, unchangeably, indivisibly, and inseparably." In addition to covering the Second Council of Constantinople of 553, we'll also briefly consider how the dual natures doctrine continued to foment division resulting in the Third Council of Constantinople in 681 and the Second Council of Nicea in 787.

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=59zyj9dMH4k&list=PLN9jFDsS3QV2lk3B0I7Pa77hfwKJm1SRI&index=22

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—— Notes ——

Byzantine Beginnings

• 293 Diocletian initiated the division between east and west with his tetrarchy.
• 330 Constantine built a “New Rome” on the cite of old Byzantium, naming it Constantinople.
• Constantine’s mother, Helena, initiated the pilgrimage movement.
• 381 Egeria wrote a travelogue to her friends that influenced later pilgrimages.
• Helena also sent Constantine relics of the true cross.
• 397 Martin of Tours died, leaving behind his cloak, which became a famous relic.

Fifth Century Developments

• Theodosius I (r. 379-392) had outlawed pagan sacrifices and endorsed Trinitarian Christianity as the official religion of the Roman Empire.
• Arian Germanic tribes moved into the western Roman Empire and began taking territory.
• 378 Visigoths win at Adrianople.
• 410 Alaric sacked Rome.
• 455 Vandals sacked Rome.
• 476 Odoacer deposes the last Roman Augustus.
• 493 Theodoric and the Ostrogoths took Italy.

Zeno’s Henotikon

• 451 Chalcedon affirmed the dyophysite position (two natures in one person).
• 488 Byzantine Emperor Zeno attempted to reconcile monophysites and dyophysites by condemning Eutyches and Nestorius and approving Cyril’s 12 anathemas (Henotikon).
• Chalcedon remained controversial with Christianity now split into several groups: Arian Germanic kingdoms, monophysites (Egypt and Ethiopia), Chalcedonian dyophysites (Rome & Constantinople), and Nestorian dyophysites (Syria and Persia).

Justinian (482-565)

• 525 Justinian married Theodora and became co-emperor with Justin.
• 527 Justinian became the sole emperor.
• 528 He initiated legal reforms under John the Cappadocian and Tribonian.
• 532 Nika riots
• 537 He finished Hagia Sophia, whispering, “O Solomon, I have surpassed you!”
• 555 He had retaken much of the Roman Empire, including Italy, North Africa, and part of Spain.

More Christology Councils

• 553 Justinian called for the Second Council of Constantinople.
  • Condemned the 3 chapters
  • Condemned Nestorius
  • Condemned Origen of Alexandria
• 681 Third Council of Constantinople
  • Condemned monotheletism, concluding that Jesus had 2 wills that never conflict.
• 787 Second Council of Nicaea
  • Iconoclasts were fighting with iconodules.
  • Some considered icons Nestorian while others called them Monophysite.
  • Affirmed veneration of icons.
• 843 Iconaclasm controversy broke out.
  • Empress Theodora upheld the ruling of Nicaea II.

Review

• In 293, Diocletian split the administration of the Roman Empire into east and west, appointing an Augustus in each.
• In 330, Constantine founded Constantinople in the old town of Byzantium, making it his administrative capital.
• While the west fell to Germanic Arians and the Huns, the Roman Empire in the east continued until 1453.
• Byzantine emperors played barbarian warlords off each other in an attempt to keep them from taking Constantinople.
• From the fourth century onwards, Byzantines embraced relics and pilgrimages to holy places.
• Byzantine emperor Justinian made a lasting impact on law via the work of Tribonian to identify, harmonize, and codify Roman law.
• Justinian succeeded, mostly due to the military genius of Belisarius, to retake northern Africa, Italy, and part of Spain.
• Justinian built and improved several churches, the most notable of which was his renovation of the Hagia Sophia.
• In 553, the Second Council of Constantinople condemned three writings critical of Cyril of Alexandria to reunite with the Egyptian and Syrian churches, but ultimately failed.
• In 681, the Third Council of Constantinople condemned monothelitism, affirming that Christ had two wills.
• In 787, the Second Council of Nicaea affirmed the veneration of icons, denying icons either were too monophysite or Nestorian.