RELG 402 - World's Living Religions
Christian Leaders
- Anthony of Egypt
- Monasticism began in the third century, when Christians seeking a deeper relationship with God would leave the cities and go into the desert to be alone.
St. Anthony of Egypt (251-356) is one famous early hermit, who went into the desert to be alone in 285. So many disciples followed him that by 395 he had to organize some rules for their lives. The rules included manual labor to support themselves. At this time, hermits usually lived alone. - Augustine of Canterbury
- In 595 the pagan King Ethelbert of Kent (in England) wanted to marry a Frankish princess, Bertha, who was Christian. She said she would only go to Britain and marry him if he would allow her to have a Christian priest in her household. Queen Bertha sent to Rome for help and the Pope sent Augustine and several other monks. Augustine really didn't want to go - he dragged his feet, and spent six months on the journey, but arrived in Kent at last. The King agreed to hear him preach, provided it was in the open - he thought that being under a roof would put him under Augustine's control. When Augustine preached about God, and Jesus as Savior, not only was the King converted, but also the Chief Druid. The Chief Druid then pulled down the pagan altar and declared that he would worship God.
Unfortunately, Augustine's mission did not go as smoothly as it might have done. There were still Bishops of the Celtic Church in Britain, and they came to meet with Augustine. They were not sure about how genuine he was, and had agreed amongst themselves that if he welcomed them and came to greet them they would take it as a good sign. However, when they approached, Augustine was seated on a throne, and he did not rise to greet them, so they went off in a huff. Relations between the remaining Celtic Christians and the new Roman mission to the Anglo-Saxons were strained from then on. - Augustine of Hippo
- Augustine of Hippo (354-430 AD) had a Christian mother who was married to a pagan husband. Augustine and his brother grew up as pagan party-goers under the influence of their father and friends. His mother prayed for them for 19 years until they finally became Christians.
He became a Christian at the age of 31, and continued to grow as a theologian and Christian leader. He became Bishop of Hippo (in Algeria, northern Africa) in 395 AD Augustine is famous for his studies on the nature of sin, and his teaching about "Original Sin" (Adam and Eve's disobedience to God as a trait inherited by all their offspring) - Basil the Great
- Basil the Great (330-379) formulated the Eastern Rule for monks. The rule requires that monks and nuns make vows of "poverty, chastity, and obedience", and spend their days in communal worship, prayer, and manual work.
- Benedict of Nursia
- Benedict of Nursia (480-547) and his twin sister Scholastica (480-543) were born in Nursia in central Italy. Benedict became disillusioned with the hedonistic life of a Roman noble, and turned to a deeper life of dedication to God, first becoming a hermit, and then a monk. Eventually he set up twelve monasteries, including the one at Monte Cassino in southern Italy, where he lived until his death in 547
His "Rule" was written to help the monks live a life centered on Christ, and also to give them advice on the administration of a monastery - how to organize the day-to-day life of the community. The "Rule of Benedict" was so clear to understand, and so well-written that most later monastic organizations used it as a guide. The rule requires that monks and nuns make vows of "poverty, chastity, and obedience", and spend their days in communal worship, prayer, and manual work.
Monasticism spread throughout Europe (and Russia), and monasteries served as centers for spiritual guidance, teaching, healing, and hospitality for wayfarers.
A development within monasticism was mysticism, where mystics sought to experience a closer union with God. - Hildegard of Bingen
- Hildegard of Bingen (1098-1179) was a German nun who had prophetic visions, and who also composed music and hymns.
- John Calvin
- John Calvin (1509-1564) was originally a French Roman Catholic lawyer who had a religious conversion in 1533 which led him to leave the Roman Catholic Church and become a Protestant. He was forced to flee from his College, and spent some time in hiding in France before he escaped to the city of Basel (in Switzerland) in 1535.
In 1535 Calvin published his "Institutes of the Christian Religion"I, a work on the theology and doctrines of Christianity. There was already a Protestant church in the city of Geneva, in Switzerland, and Calvin was asked to help organize and run the church - he became the pastor in 1537. However, there were tensions and disagreements between the Protestant groups in Geneva and in other Swiss towns, and eventually Calvin was ordered to leave Geneva.
He traveled to Basel, and then to Strasbourg, on the French-German border, where he served as pastor to several churches (1538-1541). By that time the church in Geneva had decided that it wanted Calvin to come back. At first he was very unwilling, but said that he would follow the Lord's calling, and eventually agreed to return for six months (1541).
Calvin returned to Geneva and started to reform the government of the city as well as the church, but by 1546 opposition to his leadership started again (mainly by the libertines - a group of rich people who said that they were now free from the law, and could do whatever they pleased.) The opposition was eventually dealt with in 1555, when French protestants supported Calvin against the libertines and forced them to flee from the city or stay and be executed. From then on, until his death in 1564, Calvin remained in control at Geneva. He differed from Luther in his understanding of the Eucharist, and in his view that God had already decided who was to be "saved" and who was to be condemned (Predestination). - Emperor Constantine I
- Constantine (272--337 AD) was a Roman soldier, who was acclaimed as Augustus (an imperial title, but not "Emperor") by his troops in Britain in 306. He came to prominence during a very troubled time of the later Roman Empire, when there was civil war and several claimants to the Imperium.
Constantine finally became sole Emperor in 324 AD.
In 312 AD matters came to a head, and Maxentius, the remaining rival Emperor marched against Constantine with an army twice as large as Constantine's. An early Church historian, Eusebius, recounts that before the battle Constantine saw in the heavens a vision of the cross arising from the light of the sun, carrying the message, "In Hoc Signo Vinces" (In this sign, you will conquer), and the following night Constantine had a dream in which Christ appeared with the same heavenly sign, and told him to make a standard, (the labarum), for his army in that form. Consequently Constantine and his soldiers went into battle with the Greek letters chi and rho (the first letters of the Greek word Christos) on their shields. The armies met at the Milvian Bridge over the river Tiber, to the north of Rome. Maxentius' army broke on the first charge, and fled. Maxentius was pushed into the river Tiber by the crush of soldiers, and drowned. Constantine became the Emperor of Rome in 312 AD. However, there were still some other claimants, but they eventually surrendered to Constantine and he became sole Emperor of the whole Roman Empire.
Constantine set about reversing the edicts which had been passed against Christianity and other religions by the previous Emperor Diocletian, and in 313 he issued the "Edict of Milan", which legalized Christianity throughout the Empire.
The Roman Empire was very large and difficult to administer from Rome, so Constantine chose the city of Byzantium as his new capital, and renamed it Constantinople in 330 AD. He rebuilt the city, and built new churches (basilicas). He was the first Roman Emperor to legalize Christianity and to stop the persecution of Christians.
During his reign the Arian heresy arose (Arius taught that Jesus was a lesser being than God the Father) Constantine called the Council of Nicaea (near Constantinople) in 325 AD, to deal with the heresy, and the Council formulated the Nicene Creed (statement of belief).
Just when Constantine became a Christian is debatable - he waited until 337 AD, when he was dying, before asking to be baptized. This was not unusual for that time - people were afraid of sinning after their baptism, so would delay baptism until they were old.
Constantine's mother, Helena, was a devout Christian. She made a pilgrimage to the Holy Land to discover the places where Christ had been. - Henry VIII of England
- For the Reformation in England it is important to know that the period preceding this was a time of war which lasted for about 100 years - wars between England and France, followed by about thirty years of the "Wars of the Roses" (between the Houses of York and Lancaster), which had arisen because of disputes as to who was the legal heir to the throne.
Henry VII was the Lancastrian/Tudor heir who won one of the last battles, and then married a Yorkist princess to consolidate his claim to the throne.
Henry VIII was the second son of Henry VII (his older brother Arthur died before becoming king), and Henry VIII desperately wanted a legitimate male heir to the throne. He knew that otherwise the kingdom might well suffer civil war again. That was the background to why Henry VIII wanted to divorce his aging wife Katherine of Aragon. The Pope could not grant a divorce, because the Pope was a virtual prisoner of Katherine's uncle.
Born in 1491 as the second son of Henry VII, and originally destined for the Priesthood, Henry became heir to the throne when his elder brother Arthur died in 1502. He became King in 1509, and in his early years was firmly against any attempts at reformation. In 1521 Henry wrote a treatise attacking Martin Luther and his teachings, for which Pope Leo X awarded Henry the title "Defender of the Faith" - a title which Henry and all successive English sovereigns have retained.
In 1509 Henry married Catherine of Aragon, who had been married in 1501 to Henry's 16-year-old brother. A papal dispensation was necessary for the marriage because of the previous "marriage". Catherine swore later that the marriage with Arthur had never been consummated, and that she was a virgin when she went to Henry. Henry countered by saying that he was too young and inexperienced to know whether or not she had been a virgin when he married her.
Henry and Catherine were married for twenty years; Catherine had several miscarriages and children who died as infants. Only one child, a daughter, Mary, born in 1516, survived. Henry already had a healthy illegitimate son, Henry Duke of Richmond, so he blamed Catherine for not producing a healthy son as heir to the throne.
At some time between 1527 and 1530 Henry became enamored of Anne Boleyn, one of Catherine's Ladies in Waiting. Anne stuck out for marriage. Catherine was five years older than Henry, and showing her age. Henry convinced himself that the lack of a male heir from Catherine was the result of God's judgment on him for marrying his brother's widow, and asked the Pope for a ruling that the marriage was not valid and should be annulled. Pope Clement VII was willing to give a dispensation for a new marriage (basically allowing bigamy), but the Pope was virtually a prisoner of the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V (nephew of Catherine). Charles V was not going to give permission for his aunt to be dishonored, so the Pope could do nothing more to placate Henry.
In 1529 Thomas Cranmer, a scholar who had been traveling around the European Universities and had come under the influence of the Reformers, suggested that Henry should appeal to the Universities for judgment on the validity of the marriage with Catherine. Henry liked the idea, and favorable judgments were obtained from some of the Universities where the Reformation had taken hold. So Henry determined on a "Reformation" for England - particularly by cutting free from Rome.
Henry prepared the way by engineering the consecration of Thomas Cranmer as Archbishop of Canterbury in 1533. Henry had Archbishop Cranmer call both Henry and Catherine to court to pass judgment on whether or not their marriage was valid. Catherine did not attend the court, so was judged in contempt of court. Cranmer ruled that the marriage was invalid, and that a secret marriage between Henry and Anne Boleyn earlier that year was in fact the valid marriage.
Pope Clement reacted to the divorce by excommunicating Henry and declaring the divorce and remarriage to be invalid, so Henry retaliated by passing more Acts of Parliament, including the Act of Supremacy in 1534 which stated that the King was "the only Supreme Head in Earth of the Church of England" and although Henry added the clause "as far as the Law of God doth allow", a number of leading clergy and lay people could not in good conscience assent to it.
Anne Boleyn was already pregnant by the time her marriage with Henry was announced, and on September 1533 she gave birth to a daughter, the future Elizabeth I.
Henry soon tired of Anne Boleyn, and had her executed on a charge of adultery. He married a total of six wives (some were executed, one died in childbirth, the lucky ones were divorced, and the last one survived him). His only surviving legitimate son, who was brought up as a Protestant became the next king, Edward. - Jan Hus
- Jan Hus (1373-1415) was born in Bohemia (what is now the Czech Republic). He was trying to reform the Church, but was condemned as a heretic. He was tricked into going to a Church Council in Prague. The Emperor of what is now Germany gave him a safe-conduct guaranteeing his safety, but when he arrived he was seized, imprisoned, and brought to trial. The Pope said that he (the Pope) hadn't given the safe-conduct, and he didn't recognize the Emperor's right to do so, so it didn't count. In the end, Jan Hus was condemned and burnt to death in Constance (Germany) - while they set fire to the wood around him he was singing hymns, and continued to sing until he was consumed by the flames.
Many of his followers broke with the Roman Catholic Church and became the "Bohemian Brethren" - which later gave rise to the Moravian Church. - Jerome
- By the fifth century there were several different translations of the Bible in use in the Church. Pope Damasus commissioned Jerome to prepare a good new translation, using the Greek New Testament and the Hebrew Old Testament. Jerome traveled to Palestine, and lived in a cave under the Church in Bethlehem which commemorates the Birth of Christ. He learned Hebrew and translated the Bible into Latin. Because Latin was the common (vulgar) language throughout the Roman West, this translation is the basis for the version now known as the Vulgate. It is still in use even today. Jerome used the order of Books found in the Septuagint version. The Septuagint is the Greek translation of the Old Testament produced ca. 260 BC which contains the Deuterocanonical and Apocryphal Books in addition to those of the Hebrew canon.
- Julian of Norwich
- Julian of Norwich (1342-1416) was an English mystic who lived as an "anchoress" (alone in a small room attached to a church) and became famous as a counselor for people with problems. She related to Jesus as her mother, brother, Redeemer, and Lord - her most frequent revelation was that "All will be well, all will be well, and all manner of things will be well". She wrote (or dictated) an account of her visions and conversations with Jesus.
- Martin Luther
- Martin Luther (1483-1546) lived in Germany. He grew up as a Roman Catholic in a working-class family. His father wanted him to become a lawyer, but after a year at university he switched from Law to Theology.
In 1505 he had a life-changing experience when he was caught in a thunderstorm and was nearly struck by lightning. At the time, he prayed for help and vowed to become a monk if he lived. Soon after that he became an Augustinian friar, then a priest, and in 1512 he was appointed as a professor of theology at the University of Wittenberg.
In 1516 Johann Tetzel was sent to Germany by Pope Leo X to raise money by selling "indulgences" - certificates that promised forgiveness of sins. Tetzel went way beyond official Roman Catholic teaching on the subject, and Luther wrote to Archbishop Albert of Mainz protesting the trade, and saying that the Pope was so rich that he ought to pay for repairs to St. Peter's in Rome himself rather than trying to raise the money by selling indulgences.
Luther stressed that forgiveness of sin could be obtained for free from God, by faith in what Jesus had done on the Cross. He was furious that Tetzel and others were teaching that forgiveness could be bought with money. Luther wanted to have a public debate with Tetzel, but this seems not to have taken place. So Luther made his protest public - by nailing a copy of his "95 theses" against the sale of indulgences to the door of the church in Wittenberg. The original document was in Latin, but within a few months translations into German and other European languages started to spread through the whole of Europe - aided by the newly-invented printing press
Albert of Mainz did not reply to Luther's letter, but sent it to Rome for the Pope to see. The Pope brought charges of heresy against Luther, and a trial was arranged in Augsburg in 1518. During the trial, Luther declared that the Pope was the Antichrist, and then he escaped from Augsburg and fled to Saxony.
In 1520 Luther wrote a letter to all the German princes and nobility. Germany was not one unified kingdom, but a collection of little kingdoms and principalities, who generally held allegiance to the "Holy Roman Emperor" who was a sort of "High King" elected by a group of nobles. In his letter to the German nobility he called for a reformation of the Church, and attacked the position of the Pope.
In 1521 the Pope excommunicated Luther, and the Emperor Charles V called for a council (called a "Diet" in Germany) at Worms ("The Diet of Worms"). Luther stated his case to the Diet, and is reported to have said "Here I stand. I can do no other. God help me. Amen". The Diet was heading towards sentencing Luther as a heretic, but he escaped, and eventually went into hiding at the castle of the Wartburg in Eisenach.
While in the Wartburg Luther started his translating of the Bible into German, and also composed many hymns in German - often using the tunes of German drinking songs (saying "Why should the devil have all the best tunes").
In 1522 Luther was able to return to Wittenberg, where he was protected by Prince Frederick III of Saxony.
In 1526 another Diet, at Speyer, ruled that each German prince could decide whether or not Lutheran teachings and style of worship would be allowed in their territories. This decision was reversed in 1529 at the Second Diet of Speyer, but the ruling caused such a strong "Protest" (hence the term "Protestant") that the Emperor Charles V called a Diet at Augsburg in 1530. At the Diet of Augsburg another reformer, Philipp Melanchthon, presented the "Augsburg Confession of Faith" based on Luther's teachings, and several German princes formed a League (the Schmalkaldic League) of Lutheran territories. Luther died in 1546. - Pachomius
- Pachomius (ca. 292-348) was a retired soldier who organized a communal form of society for monks, where they lived together in a building, rather than alone in caves, as had previously been common. As monasteries grew larger and attracted more monks, "rules" had to be formulated for their societies.
- Hudson Taylor
- Hudson Taylor (1832-1905) was born into a Methodist family. His parents prayed that he would become a missionary to China and as a teenager he studied Medicine and Mandarin Chinese in preparation for his mission. In 1853, at the age of 23, he sailed for China. On arrival he decided that he would not dress as a European and spend time with European traders and businessmen, but that he would wear Chinese dress, grow his hair into a pigtail like the Chinese, and head into inland China. He started work on translating the Bible into some of the Chinese dialects, and recruited other missionaries, both men and women, to join him. In 1865 he founded the China Inland Mission, and it is estimated that by the time of his death he had brought 800 missionaries to China and begun up to 125 schools
- Theresa of Avila
- Theresa of Avila was a Spanish mystic who founded the Carmelite order of nuns and wrote "The Interior Castle" about the path of mysticism;
- John Wesley
- John Wesley (1703-1791) was an Anglican priest and hymn-writer. His brother Charles wrote many hymn tunes, John wrote the words.
John Wesley was the son of an Anglican clergyman, and he and his brother Charles also became a priests. While John and Charles were studying to become priests, they became members of what was called the "Holy Club" - a group of young men who wanted to study the Bible, pray, and try to live a good Christian life. This group included George Whitefield, who also became a leading evangelical preacher.
The word "Methodist" comes from this time, when other students ridiculed them because of their "methods" of prayer and fasting.
Shortley after they were ordained John and Charles Wesley went to America to try to preach to the Native Americans, but did not have much success and John was very discouraged.
On the journey to America there was a violent storm, and it seemed as if the ship might sink. However, there were some Moravian Brethren (a German Protestant group) on board, who were not afraid but sang hymns and prayed through the storm. John was impressed by their faith, and wished that he too could have such deep faith.
When John returned to England after two years in America he visited a Moravian church in Aldersgate Street, London. Here he heard someone reading Martin Luther's preface to the Epistle to the Romans, which describes the change that God works in a person's heart when they trust in Christ. Wesley recorded that he "felt his heart strangely warmed", and felt that he did indeed trust Christ for salvation - he no longer had to try to be "good enough by himself, and he was assured of his place in Christ. This was a crucial point in Wesley's life and ministry. It has been said that "His transformation from works-oriented religion to grace-oriented faith was in fact a true conversion to biblical Christianity."
Wesley started preaching about personal salvation by faith, and about God's love and grace.
Wesley stayed in contact with the Moravians, and wrote some hymns for them.
Wesley wanted to preach in the regular Anglican parish churches - but his bishop would not give permission. Wesley's friend George Whitefield was also forbidden to preach in the churches - so he went into the fields and started preaching to the laborers and lower classes.
Whitefield persuaded Wesley to preach out-of-doors also, and from then on Wesley rode all over England preaching to miners, laborers, and anyone who would listen. Eventually great crowds would assemble to hear his preaching, and men who had been abusive drunks were sobered up by his preaching and reformed their lives. Wesley continued to preach and minister for the next 50 years. He attracted a large following, and groups of people started to form all over the country to put his "methods" of Bible study, prayer, and holy living into practice.
He helped them organize themselves, and wanted them to be members of the Anglican Church, but many local churches were not receptive, so they started meeting independently, first as the "Methodist Society", and later as the "Methodist Church".
Wesley realized that there was a great need for preachers who would proclaim the call to repentance from sin and the call to trust Jesus for new life. However, there were very few ordained clergy who would do so. So Wesley trained and appointed Lay preachers - this put him in a very bad position with the Anglican Church because he was breaking a number of rules and regulations. He also appointed some women as lay ministers, which was completely against the rules of that time. As the societies grew, they needed places to meet for worship, and started to build chapels.
A real break with the Anglican Church occurred when Wesley appointed Thomas Coke to go as a minister to America, and prayed for him, and laid hands on him the way the apostles prayed and laid hands on the deacons in the early Church.
Thomas Coke took this to mean that he was now an "ordained" minister, and when he reached America he started ordaining other ministers and the break with the Anglican Church was complete.
Wesley's call to personal and social holiness continues to challenge Christians who take the Christian life seriously.
Wesley died in 1791, surrounded by friends. His final words, which he kept repeating, were "The best of all, God is with us." - John Wycliffe
- John Wycliffe (1330-1384) was one of the reformers who prepared the way for the Protestant Reformation.
Wycliffe wanted the Bible to be translated into English so that everyone could read it.
He also had anti-authoritarian ideas about the Church hierarchy, and was condemned as a heretic.
Wycliffe was thrown out of his professorship at Oxford, but was protected by John of Gaunt (Duke of Lancaster) and Lord Percy (Earl Marshall of England), and by the Queen who was the mother of the young King Richard II, and was supported by Parliament and by many of the English people. Although Wycliffe was brought to a heresy trial, the judges didn't dare to sentence him, and he was allowed to return to pastoring a small country Church, where he worked on translating the Bible into English.
After he died he was condemned as a heretic and his bones were dug up and burned.
Copyright © 1999 Shirley J. Rollinson, all Rights Reserved
