We now enter a period of history that has left its marks on modern generations. Many of today’s religious traditions trace their origins back to the European period called the Middle Ages. Leaders made many changes to their ideas of Christianity. As we touch on examples of change, compare their ways with the Lord’s way as preserved in the New Testament.
Roughly speaking, the “Middle Ages” began in 476, when the Roman Empire fell, to about 1500, when the Reformation shook Europe. Many historians divide the “Middle Ages” into three parts:
Early Middle Ages (476-1000), during which the Roman church began to fill the leadership vacuum left after the Roman Empire’s collapse in the West. In the East, the empire continued, based in Constantinople or Byzantium (hence the name, Byzantine Empire). Conflict between Rome and Constantinople led to each claiming to have “the universal bishop” over all churches. These and other struggles eventually resulted in Christendom’s major division between East and West.
High Middle Ages (1000-1300), during which papal power reached the peak of its religious and secular power. In part, Roman popes exercised control through the early kings of the “Holy Roman Empire” (962-1806). In attempts to retake Jerusalem, the popes sent military “Crusades” against Muslims (1095-1291).
Late Middle Ages (1300-1500), also called the “Renaissance,” a French word for rebirth. It refers to a renewal of interest in ancient literature and freer thinking about human potential. During this period, papal authority was increasingly challenged. Europe suffered through the plague called the “Black Death” (1347-1351). The “Age of Discovery,” when Europe began to explore the world, extended from the 1400s to the 1600s. From then, and into the modern age, colonizers carried Europe’s religious traditions to many other lands. Their global impact was so great that this survey focuses on the West.
While Western history is better known, there was Christian activity in Central and Eastern Asia. An early historian, Eusebius (260-339), credits the apostles Thomas and Bartholomew with reaching Iran and India—which still has Thomas Christians. Cosmas (550) describes a church in Sri Lanka—where archaeology uncovered the ancient Anuradhapura cross. The Nestorian Stele in Xi’an reports 150 years (from 635) of Christian missions in China. The Church of the East influenced the Khans of the Mongol Empire (1206-1368). But Christian impact remained limited and eventually faded. Most dramatic was the fall of the Byzantine Empire in 1453 to Islamic Turks, the Ottomans.