Religion
List the seven Ecumenical Councils in order.
Nicaea I
Constantinople I
Ephesus
Chalcedon
Constantinople II
Constantinople III
Nicaea II
Who was the founder of Islam?
Mohammed
What does veneration mean?
Showing great respect; reverence
What was the capital of the Byzantine Empire?
Constantinople
What was the Iconoclast Controversy?
The debate over the use of icons (some believed that icons/images were idols and other believed they could be used to glorify God).
Explain the purpose/goal of the seven Ecumenical Councils in one sentence.
Possible answers:
Orthodox church concerned about doctrinal subtleties
Hotly debated at all levels of society
Councils held to officially settle issues of doctrine and heresy
Many splits occurred after these councils
Who was the leader of the Franks in the Battle of Tours?
Charles Martel
What is monotheism?
Relating to or characterized by the belief that there is only one God
The Byzantine Empire was also called ___________.
The Eastern Roman Empire
What is Monophysitism?
The belief that Christ only has one nature.
What different languages did the Orthodox and Catholic Churches primarily use and why?
The Orthodox used Greek because it was more focused on ideas
The Roman Catholics used Latin because it was more focused on rhetoric/the art of persuasion and writing
Who was the leader of the Muslims/Umayyads in The Battle of Tours?
Abd al-Rahmad
What does ecumenical mean?
Representing a number of different Christian churches
Fill in the blanks of this statement:
Mohammed was born in _____ but fled to _____ in the ______.
Mecca, Medira, Hegira
What is Nestorianism?
The belief that Christ exists as two persons (the human and divine are separate).
List three differences between Christianity and Islam.
Possible answers:
Christianity: The belief in one God, three in one
Christians believe in the Holy Spirit
They believe in salvation
They believe it is not by works but by the death and resurrection of Jesus
Bible
Muslims:
Jesus was a prophet and not a savior
They believed Allah had a spirit that wasn’t a person
They believe that your good deeds save you
Koran
Who was called the "Wisest Man of the Middle Ages"?
Hint: He reigned with his wife
Justinian I
What is an icon?
A painting of Jesus Christ or another holy figure, venerated and used as an aid to devotion
What is the capital city of the early Islamic Empire?
Baghdad
Choose one of the seven Ecumenical Councils and explain their purpose/decisions they made.
Possible answers:
1. Nicaea I- 325
- Pope Sylvester I, 314-335
- Emperor Constantine, 306-337
Decisions: Condemned Arianism, which denied the divinity of Christ (elements of Arianism have reappeared in our own time); defined the consubstantiality of the Father and the Son; fixed the date for Easter; began formulation of Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed.
2.Constantinople I- 381, Pope Damasus I, 366-384, Emperor Theodosius, 379-395
Decisions: Recondemned Arianism; condemned Macedonianism, which denied the divinity of the Holy Spirit; completed the formulation of the Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed.
3. Ephesus- 431, Pope Celestine I, 422-432, Emperor Theodosius II, 408-450
Decisions: Condemned Nestorianism, which denied the unity of the divine and human in Christ; defined that Mary is the Mother of God (Theotokos), a doctrine denied by the Nestorians and by most of today’s Protestants; condemned Pelagianism, which held that man could earn his own salvation through his natural powers.
4. Chalcedon- 45, Pope Leo the Great, 440-461, Emperor Marcian, 450-457
Decisions: Condemned Monophysitism (also called Eutychianism), which denied Christ’s human nature.
5. Constantinople II- 553 Pope Vigilius, 537-555, Emperor Justinian I, 527-565
Decisions: Condemned the Three Chapters, writings tainted by Nestorianism and composed by Theodore of Mopsuestia, Theodore of Cyr, and Ibas of Edessa.
6.Constantinople III- 680, Pope Agatho, 678-681, Emperor Constantine IV, 668-685
Decisions: Condemned Monothelitism, which held Christ had but one will, the divine (this heresy arose as a reaction to the Monophysite heresy); censured Pope Honorius I for a letter in which he made an ambiguous but not infallible statement about the unity of operations in Christ (an episode commonly used by anti-Catholic writers as an argument against papal infallibility, but for the real meaning, see Catholicism and Fundamentalism, pages 227-229).
7.Nicaea II- 787, Pope Hadrian I, 772-795, Emperor Constantine VI, 780-797
Decisions: Condemned iconoclasm (which was mainly confined to the East), a heresy that held that the use of images constituted idolatry; condemned Adoptionism, which held that Christ was not the Son of God by nature but only by adoption, thereby denying the hypostatic union.
Who was called the "golden-mouthed preacher"?
John Chrysostom
What is a tradition?
The transmission of customs or beliefs from generation to generation.
What happened in the Battle of Tours? Who was involved?
Franks and Muslims
Charles Martel led the Franks
Abd al-Rahmad was killed and the Muslims were defeated
This stopped the Muslims taking over Europe and helped the Christian leaders
This later led to the Carolingian Empire with Charlemagne (Martel’s grandson)