The study of the Dark Ages ( 410 A.D. to 1000 A.D.) is important in regards to our Christmas holidays...because it was basically during this time is the celebration of Christmas began. In fact, not only our Christmas holiday...but Lent, Easter, Advent, in fact the entire church calendar ...and for those of us who attend liturgical type worship services, the lectionary as well.
So, the question is..."What was so Dark about this period in history?.......
For many of us in the U.S., we have been taught this period of history from a western European viewpoint, and certainly for that general area...it was "Dark". The Roman province of Italy, its surrounding areas, and into Great Britain, suffered much during this period. The Roman Empire was decimated by the northern tribes of Europe including the Germanic tribes, the Franks, the Vandals, the Goths and the Visigoths. As a result, the great armies of the Roman Empire had to pull back...and protect its great capital...Rome herself. The Romans simply referred to all these northern tribes as "Barbarians", and these Barbarians had blocked supplies coming into the Roman Empire and particularly Rome during the start of the Dark Ages. One great advantage to being a Roman citizen up to this time was...every family received free grain once a month, most of it coming from the North Africa countries as payment for taxes due to the Romans. Now, these trade routes were blocked and Rome herself was starting to feel their economy whither...to the point where Rome was actually starving. Yet, with all this going on...Rome continued to self indulge herself and fail to realize the severity they were now in. An example was the great Colosseum, where gladiator fights and the killing of innocent people (including Christians) continued. Roman citizens were actually going to see these gory displays...and were starving. It is recorded that when a person such as a gladiator was slain...the crowds would yell..."How much to purchase...that meat?" Rome...was near her end.
As for Christianity, problems had been developing since its onset. Saint Paul had written in some of his letters of the infiltration of wrong teaching, and as the years went by....the wrong teachings did not go away. Instead, they continued to linger and cause havoc in the growth of the Early church.
Saint Paul had announced that it was no longer necessary to follow Jewish Law in becoming a Christian. This upset many Jews who had embraced the Christian faith. After all, wasn't the Messiah of Jewish origin? Did He Himself not observe Jewish religious practices?
Then, came the debates on who Jesus actually was? Was He God?, was He man?, Was He only Deity?, or was He less than God?
The Early church originally met in homes, with no overseer to regulate what exactly was being taught or discussed. The Christian church began to appear unraveled, and now the focus seem to shift...from knowing Jesus personally and allowing Him to come into one's heart and direct his life through the power of the Holy Spirit...to what steps must one follow to actually become a "member" of the Christian religion.
So, overseers....deacons, elders, and bishops were assigned to various regions, and the influence of a bishop would largely depend on the Christian population within his region. Rome herself had seemed to be a Christian's major hope....if Rome became Christian...the whole world would follow suit. The Bishop of Rome became the "papa" of bishops...the leader among leaders...and eventually this "papa" became known as "The Pope".
Now, emphasis seem to turn toward: 1) to put an end to the "home meetings"...and begin to build structures that would accommodate a large mass of people. And, because these structures were to house God's people, they need to be elaborate and beautiful...to show respect and honor to...Him. 2) the actual teachings in these "home meetings" need to be addressed...what is the proper way for water baptism, how is one to observe communion, who should be the one actually teaching or preaching the Gospel, and who should be appointed to interpret the Sacred Scripture?
Along with this change in format, the spreading of the Gospel..."into other nations", how will the Christian church with all the non-Christian cultures (pagan)... eliminate some of their celebrations and festivals?
The Christian church was ever changing...and Christmas was just around the corner!
So, the question is..."What was so Dark about this period in history?.......
For many of us in the U.S., we have been taught this period of history from a western European viewpoint, and certainly for that general area...it was "Dark". The Roman province of Italy, its surrounding areas, and into Great Britain, suffered much during this period. The Roman Empire was decimated by the northern tribes of Europe including the Germanic tribes, the Franks, the Vandals, the Goths and the Visigoths. As a result, the great armies of the Roman Empire had to pull back...and protect its great capital...Rome herself. The Romans simply referred to all these northern tribes as "Barbarians", and these Barbarians had blocked supplies coming into the Roman Empire and particularly Rome during the start of the Dark Ages. One great advantage to being a Roman citizen up to this time was...every family received free grain once a month, most of it coming from the North Africa countries as payment for taxes due to the Romans. Now, these trade routes were blocked and Rome herself was starting to feel their economy whither...to the point where Rome was actually starving. Yet, with all this going on...Rome continued to self indulge herself and fail to realize the severity they were now in. An example was the great Colosseum, where gladiator fights and the killing of innocent people (including Christians) continued. Roman citizens were actually going to see these gory displays...and were starving. It is recorded that when a person such as a gladiator was slain...the crowds would yell..."How much to purchase...that meat?" Rome...was near her end.
As for Christianity, problems had been developing since its onset. Saint Paul had written in some of his letters of the infiltration of wrong teaching, and as the years went by....the wrong teachings did not go away. Instead, they continued to linger and cause havoc in the growth of the Early church.
Saint Paul had announced that it was no longer necessary to follow Jewish Law in becoming a Christian. This upset many Jews who had embraced the Christian faith. After all, wasn't the Messiah of Jewish origin? Did He Himself not observe Jewish religious practices?
Then, came the debates on who Jesus actually was? Was He God?, was He man?, Was He only Deity?, or was He less than God?
The Early church originally met in homes, with no overseer to regulate what exactly was being taught or discussed. The Christian church began to appear unraveled, and now the focus seem to shift...from knowing Jesus personally and allowing Him to come into one's heart and direct his life through the power of the Holy Spirit...to what steps must one follow to actually become a "member" of the Christian religion.
Now, emphasis seem to turn toward: 1) to put an end to the "home meetings"...and begin to build structures that would accommodate a large mass of people. And, because these structures were to house God's people, they need to be elaborate and beautiful...to show respect and honor to...Him. 2) the actual teachings in these "home meetings" need to be addressed...what is the proper way for water baptism, how is one to observe communion, who should be the one actually teaching or preaching the Gospel, and who should be appointed to interpret the Sacred Scripture?
Along with this change in format, the spreading of the Gospel..."into other nations", how will the Christian church with all the non-Christian cultures (pagan)... eliminate some of their celebrations and festivals?
The Christian church was ever changing...and Christmas was just around the corner!
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