8th Grade Religion

1. PETRINE
PERIOD
500 - 1400

2. • This time covers the Fall of Rome to the Age of
Exploration and Discovery
• “Petrine” refers to Peter; this era was a time of
the rise and dominance of the papacy.

3. - In the Fifth Century, a barbarian army attacked
the Roman Empire
- Barbarians were violent and worshipped
pagan gods
- They were illiterate and had no art, culture or
organized government
- This era in Rome is known as the Dark Ages

4. - The pope at this time was Pope St. Gregory the
Great (540-604AD)

5. - Pope Gregory:
- Organized Rome
- Wrote letters to instruct Catholics
- Reformed the liturgy
- Compiled church music
- Sent monks to evangelize the barbarians

6. • In 800AD, Charlemagne =>
was crowned emperor
<= The pope at this time
was Pope St. Leo the Great
(795-816AD)

7. • Charlemagne established the Holy Roman Empire
– He linked all of Europe to the Roman Church
– During this time, a struggle for power ensued
– Church leaders were
becoming involved
in government

8. - lay investiture was the practice of having political
leaders assign jobs to bishops and priests
- This practice led some clergy to forget that they
were supposed to be spiritual leaders

9. - Pope St. Gregory VII (1073-1085 AD)
- a reformer who worked to get the Church back
on the right track
- he fought to end lay investiture and other
wrongdoing by members of the Church

10. The Great Schism:
* By the Middle Ages differences began to divide
the Church.
- In the East, Greek was used for liturgy
- Priests were allowed to marry
- The Eastern Church was moving away from the
authority of the pope

11. - In the West, Latin was used for liturgy
- Priests could not get married

12. • In 1054, almost all of the Eastern Churches
separated from the West.
- This event is known as the Great Schism
- a schism is a split or division
- this schism still exists today
- The Church in the East became the Eastern
Orthodox Church
- In the West, the Roman Catholic Church

13. Eastern Orthodox Crucifix Roman Catholic Crucific

14. CRUSADES
• At the end of the Tenth Century, the Holy Land
was controlled by Muslims who wanted
Christians to adopt their new religion of Islam
• The Crusades were expeditions to regain the
Holy Land. They were a series of wars fought
between European Christians and Muslims in
the Middle East to take back control of
Jerusalem.

15. • There were seven Crusades.
• The first was in 1095; the last was in 1291.

16. • The Crusades did not win back the Holy Land
• They DID:
- stir up enthusiasm for the Catholic faith
- open communication between the East and
West
- promoted pilgrimages
- renewed devotions
- introduced the Way of the Cross (aka Stations)
to Europe

17. INQUISITIONS
• In Medieval times the Church influenced many
aspects of life
• Heretics at this time were seen as traitors and
were put on trial. A heretic is someone who acts
against a religion
• These trials were known as the Inquisition

18. • Once tracked down, if a heretic confessed, they
were punished. Punishment was quite severe.
Punishment ranged from loss of property, to
imprisonment, to death. If a heretic did not confess,
they were tortured until they did confess. There was
no escape. According to the Church, these
punishments were necessary to save the souls of
heretics.

19. SAINTS OF THE PETRINE PERIOD
- St. Francis of Assissi gave up riches to live
according to the Gospel
- Founded a mendicant group called
Franciscans (mendicants live by begging)
- Feast day is October 4

20. • St. Dominic was a Spanish nobleman who
became a priest
- he saw a need for scholars within the Church
- He encouraged his group, the Dominicans, to
study the gospels and Catholic teachings
- Feast day August 8

21. * St. Thomas Aquinas was a Dominican teacher
- He is a Doctor of the Church
- wrote Summa Theologica, which means “A
Summary of Theology”
- Feast day – January 28