Expansion of the Christianity of Ve century in XVe century

This article treats Christianisation and Expansion of the Christianity of the 5th century with the 15th century .

Article in History, it presents the subject through its fundamental aspect which is, until the end of the Moyen-âge, the Christian mission . At the beginning of the modern period , as from the 16th century, the use of the term “mission” specializes. The various forms which then the evangelization takes are the subject of separate articles:

  1. Expansion of the Christianity of the 5th century at the 15th century
  2. the period of Employers (S)
  3. catholic Missions of 1622 at the end of the XVIIIe century
  4. catholic Missions at XIXe and the XXe centuries
  5. History of the Protestant missions

Evangelization at the time of the first Christianity

The Évangile according to Matthieu brings back the words of the Christ:

“Go, made of all the nations of the disciples, baptizing them in the name of the Father, of the Son and the Holy Spirit,
and teach to them to observe all that I prescribed you. ” (XXVIII, 19-20)

There the first definition of the “evangelization is”: to bring the word of Christ to the various people, i.e. to diffuse the Gospels in which it was collected, and to give the sacraments, of which the first is the Baptême.

Consequently, the Evangelization involves the constitution of a “ Christian Église ” with the direction first, i.e. of an assembly of faithful (the ecclesia ).

It was initially the fact of the Apôtre S, i.e. “envoys” of Christ, according to a Greek word. Among them was distinguished in particular Paul, whose Épîtres addressed to various pagan were used as reference to the later evangelists.

By analogy, the principal evangelists of the pagan nations were described as Apôtre S during the Moyen-âge.

During the Roman Antiquity, the Christian religion had hardly left the Roman cities where the first Churches were constituted. The word of the Gospels was propagated in the campaigns of the Empire especially by monks of eremitic tradition (of the Greek “ monos ”: only), like Martin de Tours in Gaulle, at the end of the 4th century.

Other itinerant hermits allowed Christianity to exceed the borders of the Roman Empire, like Saint Patrick (389 - 461) in Ireland, at the 5th century. In more Tertullien writes already at the II-3rd century in its work Adversus Judaeos " that there are places (in the West), which are not occupied by the Romans, who went to Christ". Origène (3rd century) speaks several times in its Homilies about Christians in Brittany (Roman province).

The Christian mission during the Early middle ages

As of the 6th century and during all the Early middle ages, the “ Christian mission ” developed with the borders of a Christian world which had been until there, with few differences near, superposable with the Roman Empire of Constantin I {{er}}: work of evangelization carried out by the envoys of a Church, or “missionaries”, it continued to be based on the monastic dash but often gained an “official” character, sometimes less spontaneous, which had with the mandates and the supports of an organized Church, a kingdom, or both.

The name even of “mission” revêt a particular direction, at least until the 16th century century, which should be explained: it refers to the sending of the Son by the Father to save the Men; the missionary is thus the “envoy” ( missus ) for safety. An ideology related to this direction developed, in particular with the S: in this one, the action of the missionary lies within the vaster scope of the propagation of the faith and the expansion of the Catholic church to the borders of the ground, from the eschatologic point of view , which is that of the hello of humanity.

Through the mission, the evangelization incidentally gained a “national” character more marked: the evangelization and the birth of a Church could correspond to the birth or the assertion of the identity of people (Latin people) Christian resulting from a “barbarian” nation (Latin natio ). It is, for example, which describes Bède Worthy the in its ecclesiastical Histoire of the English people (Latin historia ecclesiastica gentis anglorum ) completed towards 732. The concept of “elected people”, such as it is expressed in the Old Testament, had a role to play in this evolution: thus Bède considered it that its people had served the intentions of God by invading the grounds of Breton touched by the heresy pélagienne. Still according to this ideology, the Anglo-Saxon had another role to play while bringing the Gospels in the areas from where they were originating and which were remained pagan: the medieval Plank and Saxony.

The evangelization became still an policy issue for the Christian sovereigns who sought to increase their influence: the role of the frank kings, supported by the Church since the baptism of Clovis, in 496, was as important in this respect for the Germanie as that of the Emperors of the East near the Slaves, of the Magyars and of the Russian S. the temporal power knew, with the liking of the conquests and of the victories, to support the mission, to cause the conversion of sovereigns of the pagan people entered his sphere of influence and, when that proved to be insufficient, it could have recourse to the force to extend Christendom.

Thus, after the kings Mérovingiens had supported the expansion towards the east of their kingdom on the expansion of the Catholic church, in particular in Bavaria, Pépin the Brief supported the action of Saint Boniface in pagan Frise; perhaps it accepted the sacring of the hands of this last, in 751. Its continuation, Charlemagne encountered against the resistance of the Saxons. This last finally tried to convert them by the force, at the time of bloody campaigns led to the end of the 8th century. This extreme process had probably only little success.

In all the Occident, the “directing” role of the Roman Church continued, inter alia, through the mission. Rome, “seat apostolic”, became the starting point, or of “recognition”, several missions: that of Augustin de Canterbury, sent in 596 by the pope Gregoire Large the near the Angles in the Kent, was success with the baptism of Ethelbert, in 610.

It was immediately followed, in 616 - 625 by that of Paulinus near the Angles of north, in Northumbrie, which involved the baptism of the king Edwin. After being itself there run up against against the influence of the Irish Christianity, another large supplier of missionaries, the influence of the Roman Church carried it in the English Church.

Anglo-Saxon monks , eager of évangéliser German the remained pagan ones on the continent, took over with the S: Willibrord († 739) was sent in Frise in 695 by the pope Serge II; Little time after, Winfrid followed it. This last went to Rome and accepted there the episcopal sacring of the hands of the Pope in 722. Taking the name of Boniface, it was sanctified following its martyrdom with Dokkum, in Eastern Plank, 754.

Occupying the spheres of influence franque and Byzantine, a certain competition took place to convert the pagan ones between the Churches of Rome and Constantinople: the Churches of the Bavarian and the Slaves of the west founded under the benevolent wing of the Roman Pope and were placed under the authority of Germanic bishops, while the Slavic ones of the east, majority of Slavic of the south, then the Russian , accepted the baptism of the Greeks: among the latter, Cyrille and Méthode were the apostles of the Slavic ones.

They carried out a first mission in Grande Moravie on the initiative of the patriarch of Constantinople, Photius, during second half of the 9th century (in 862 - 863). If they could constitute a Church slavonne quickly there, this one was transitory, because of the absence of a real support on behalf of Rome, of the degradation of the relations between the two Churches and, especially, because of the resistance of the Germanic clergy to the Greek liturgy. Cyrille died in 869 and Méthode, in 885. Thereafter, their disciples were driven out by the catholic clergy. They obtained nevertheless the fruits of this first experiment in Bulgaria: provided with an adapted writing and a liturgy, it posed the bases of the Slavic Church.

In the East, the evangelization played a big role in the diffusion of the writing: at the 4th century, the bishop arien Wulfila had created, successfully, a Alphabet gotic to make available the Holy Scriptures to the Goths. With the S, the glagolitic Alphabet had the same range at the Slaves. The Cyrillic alphabet that we know and who owes his name with Cyrille of it is the heir.

In Occident, so of vernacular works with character missionary could exist, the exclusive use of Latin for the liturgy limited the role of the evangelization in this respect and it is especially the Christian iconography which could play a teaching part near the pagan ones. Thus, the typically Germanic vegetable reasons for the period of the migrations of the people tend to disappear, into Germanic interior, of the art of the Alamans and the Thuringes at the 7th century, whereas Christianity progresses in their areas. The transition from a “barbarian” art towards a Christian art could be done gradually. In the island of Great Britain, the Anglo-Saxon poem of the Christ on the Cross (known through a version the 9th century) depicts the martyrdom and the triumph of the Christ-King. It is probably an indication of method for the conversion which the missionaries used, namely association of the god-king Woden with the Christ-Lord. This poem echoes the Croix of Ruthwell, in Scotland, former work as for it decorated of a poem runic on the same topic.

The action of the Roman missionaries was eclipsed, after the end of the 8th century, by the role of the lately converted sovereigns, as in Scandinavia. In this last area, the role of the Danish kings, following Harald with the blue Tooth, baptized in 826 was the first determining one. In Sweden, it was necessary to await the dynasty of the Götaland so that Christianity is essential in the Années 1060. The political influence of the Christian kings was also determining in Poland. The duke Mieszko I {{er}} accepted the baptism in 966, following a voyage in the prince of Bohemia Boleslas I {{er}}, of which he had married the Christian girl.

The model of the missionary of the Early middle ages - inspired by the apostles, in particular by holy Paul - was promised with a bright future: it is the major heritage of the period. Deactivation when the Christian kingdoms organized their Church, the ideology which had been formed around the action of the missionaries, especially at the 8th century, will perdura in the monasteries.

It re-appears through the apostolic ideal of life which made new great strides in the orders beggars, Dominicain S and Franciscain S, at the end of the 12th century. The first, in particular, took the name of “preaching friars”.

The 13th century

A new rise of the Christian mission prepared in Occident at the 12th century, mainly with the creation of many religious orders and the assertion, through the ideology of the Croisade, of a “spirit of conquest” in the Church.

Among the participants in this evolution, at the beginning of the 13th century, two personalities were distinguished: Dominique de Guzmán and François d' Assise. Taking again on their account the ideal of apostolic life in the orders which they founded, they gave rise to two new seedbeds of missionaries, whose sphere of activity largely overflowed the borders of the Christian world.

The Dominican S, following the example theirs founder, rather quickly turned their attention towards the fight against the heresies inside the Christian Occident. In that, they were illustrated in particular by an action of evangelization of the campaigns, that their later role in the Inquisition could tarnish but does not have to make forget.

The Franciscain S, as for them, started to open with cultures not-Christian women with the Muslim world, in Christian Spain and Mozarab. From there, they launched missions to North Africa, not without to have developed the knowledge and the use of the Arab language, but also of the Talmud (Raymond Lulle). They had their first martyrs thus.

The Order of Cîteaux dispatch a bishop missionary named Christian to organize the Baltic Crusades aiming at évangéliser the Baltic Old man-Prussians and people with the support of the Germanic military orders. He and the Order teutonic find an ally secular in 1222 in the person of Conrad Ier de Mazovie, which enables them to settle in the low-Vistula.

After 1233, when the Mongolian made irruption with the borders of the worlds Christian and Moslem, of the preaching friars were with the outposts, sent by the Hungary near the first victims of the Horde of Gold. Having succeeded in converting some of the Eastern neighbors of the Russians (the Comans), they played the part of ambassadors of the Occident near the khans, not without some of them knowing the deportation or martyrdom.

After the council of Lyon (1245), several emissary of the two orders were sent by the Pope Innocent IV to help the Christians of the remote Churches. According to the ways towards the East which the latter had been among the first to be explored, the mission of these two kinds went then in Asia, in the the Caucasus, in Perse and until China or India. These “missionary-ambassadors” évangélisèrent and constituted new Churches, as at the Alains of the Crimea or in some khanats Mongolian.

The contacts which took place between the envoys of the pope, Jean de Plan Carpin, in 1244, or of the king de France Louis IX, Guillaume de Rubrouck, in 1253, were unfruitful from the point of view of the evangelization. But these two franciscains brought back invaluable information on the organization of the Mongols, and they caused a certain passion of their fellow-members for the remote mission.

In China, the mission of Jean de Montecorvino, sent in 1289, discovered even a Christian core nestorien which remained at the Önguts in a total insulation since antiquity. This brother founded finally the Church of Beijing (or Khambaliq), of which he became bishop, after having converted a certain number of victims of the Mongols. Several brothers franciscains joined it to continue the mission.

End of the Middle Ages

The success of the companies missionaries of the 13th century was however limited in time. The insulation of these “remote” Churches, or the hostility of the local authorities to Christianity, ends up being right of the majority of their foundations, during S.

A new era opened for the evangelization at the end of the Middle Ages, in 1492, with the completion of the Reconquista by the catch of Grenade, in Spain and with the discovery of the America, followed soon its conquest.

Chronology

Towards 300: Evangelization of Arménie Towards 400: Evangelization of Ethiopia
  • 400-410: foundation of the abbey of Lérins by Holy Honorat
  • 430: in Ireland, the Christianity is introduced by Saint Patrick which will become patron saint of the island (fine of the evangelization of the island in 444).
  • 431 : the '' pope '' of Rome Célestin of Rome sends its deacon Palladius in Ireland which becomes the first bishop about it.
  • 450 : Saint Patrick founds évêché of Armagh in Ireland
  • 496: baptism of Clovis, king of the Frank , with three thousand warriors with Rheims
  • 596: Augustin de Canterbury, sent by the pope Gregoire Ier, arrives in the kingdom of Kent, in the United Kingdom, to convert the Anglo-Saxon with Christianity.
  • 597 : baptism of the king Ethelbert, then of ten thousand warriors in the Kent
  • beginning of the 7th century: evangelization of the Alamans and the Western Plank by the Frank
  • 618 - 625: mission of Paulinus in Northumbrie and baptism of the king Edwin
  • 678: beginnings of the evangelization of the Plank by Wilfrid of York
  • 690: Willibrord, disciple of Wilfrid of York, évangélise the Clippings.
  • 695 : foundation of évêché of Utrecht.
  • 719 : mission of Winfrid (Holy Boniface) in Plank
  • 722: Saint Boniface is crowned bishop with Rome by the pope Gregoire II; he receives the mission of évangéliser the Bavaria, the Hesse and the Thuringe.
  • 739 : died of Willibrord
  • 754: martyrdom of Holy Boniface with Dokkum, in Eastern Plank
  • 782 - 802: conquest and pacification of the Eastern Plank and the Saxony by Charlemagne; pagan revolts are hard repressed
  • 826: baptism of Harald to the blue Tooth, kings of the Danish, at the Frank
  • 830: beginnings of the evangelization of the Sweden by Christian slaves brought back by the Viking S to Birka, close to Stockholm
  • 860: embassy Cyrille near the Khazars converted with the Judaism
  • 862 - 863: mission of Cyrille and Large Method of Salonique in Moravie; foundation of the Church slavonne
  • 869: died of Cyrille in Rome (on February 14th); Method is named bishop of Pannonia
  • 885: died of Method; its disciples are driven out by the catholic clergy and take refuge in Bulgaria near Boris I {{er}}
  • 957: baptism of the princess of Kiev Olga. First mission in Russia
  • 966: baptism of the duke of Poland Mieszko I {{er}}
  • 981: collective baptism of the inhabitants of Kiev
  • 989: baptism with Cherson (the Crimea) of the Russian prince Vladimir
  • 1000: The Iceland embraces Christianity at a meeting of the Althing
  • 1008: baptism of the Swedish king Olof Sköttkonung
  • 1050: Byzantine victory over the Magyar : baptism of several their chiefs
  • v. 1060: the dynasty of Götaland imposes Christianity in Sweden
  • 1077: died of Holy Leonce, apostle of Rostov; conversion of the Slavic tribes of the east, between Novgorod and Kiev
  • 1095: call to the First Crusade by the pope Urbain II with Clermont
  • 1157: The first Swedish “crusade” in Finland introduces Christianity among people of large-north (of others take place in 1191 and 1202)
  • 1223: mission sent by the Hungarians near the Comans after a Mongolian victory.
  • 1244 : first contacts between the pope and the Mongols, mission of Jean de Plan Carpin
  • 1253: mission of Guillaume de Rubrouck among Mongols.
  • 1289 : mission of Jean de Montecorvino in China
  • 1250: foundation of a school of languages by the Dominican Raymond Martin
  • 1396: died of Etienne de Perm, evangelist of the Zyrianes
  • 1308: The pope names Jean de Montecorvino bishop of Beijing ( Beijing )
  • 1318: creation of the ecclesiastical province of Sultanieh in the south of the Black Sea by the pope Jean XXII
  • 1368: repression of the Christians by the Ming in China
  • 1555: Gurij appointed bishop of Tatars de Kazan

See too

  • Bond with the article Christianization in term of diffused culture: to see cultural Radiation.

External bond

  • Certificate delivered with a former monk become Protestant (1574)

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