Christianity as a Bridge Between the Roman and Medieval Worlds

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Table of Contents

Introduction
The Eastern Roman Empire in the Post-Roman World
References

Introduction

There is an open discussion concerning the role of Christianity in the transition between the Roman and Medieval worlds. However, the Christian religion had a significant impact on that transition. Religion and the Church were essential components of both Roman and Medieval cultures. Christianitys primary role in the transition between those worlds was the promotion of a worldview system that led to conversion from one age to another because that system changed the world.

First of all, Christianity was used to change peoples attitudes toward their lives, behavior, and authority. According to Ershov et al. (2019), the Church possessed moral and religious leadership, promoting the idea that royal power is of divine origin. That was the first step in the transition to the Medieval age: royalty was identified as sacred, and authorities will was presented as Gods will. Therefore, being against that will factually mean being a heretic, so peoples faith in God made them fear and respect loyalty. Christianity encouraged people to be submissive and humble and love their ruler as they love Jesus Christ (Ershov et al., 2019). The ideological and moral principles controlled the population, which strengthened the powers of the Church and royalty.

Furthermore, the Church formed and supported the religious worldview of life, making people change their attitude toward their deeds and behavior. As Ershov et al. (2019) state, that worldview was based on the killing of the flesh and the liberation of the spirit (p. 59). That lies in the core of the philosophy of asceticism: to reject life pleasantries and behave strictly (Ershov et al., 2019). These conditions helped the Church cultivate the institution of monasticism, and its first form was asceticism based on the principles of solitude (Ershov et al., 2019).

To pursue a monastic life meant to have contempt for the world, so monasteries were places where people forgot about pleasure and concentrated on serving God (Ershov et al., 2019). Therefore, as contempt for the world was one of the essential features of the Medieval culture, monasteries significantly impacted the transition between the Roman and Medieval worlds.

Furthermore, monasticism was an instrument of the Church to ensure that people respect it and to eliminate heretics. According to Ershov et al. (2019), the implementation of that instrument was mendicant monastic orders, namely Franciscans and Dominicans. Those orders further became the courts of the Inquisition, and their purpose was to pursue heretics (Ershov et al., 2019). The monks were ordered to live only by begging, to dress in rough clothes, to walk barefoot, to be girded by a rope and not to have any property (Ershov et al., 2019, p. 61). That way, monasteries influenced the transition to the Medieval world because monks lives were a model for Medieval culture.

On the whole, Christianity played a significant role in the transition between the Roman and Medieval worlds as it promoted the worldview system that changed the world and became the bridge between the ages. Christianity changed peoples attitudes to their lives because the Church had moral and ideological control over the population. Thus, the Church formed and supported the Christian worldview of life with the help of monasticism. It further became the Churchs instrument to ensure that it is respected and heretics are punished. The Christian religion was a leading element of the Medieval ages formation, shaping its worldview system and determining its path. Therefore, the changes that Christianity brought to peoples lives made the transition to the Medieval world possible and significantly impacted that world.

The Eastern Roman Empire in the Post-Roman World

Historians of modern scientific society have an open debate on whether the fall of Rome was the end of the Roman Empire. An opinion exists that the events related to the fall of Rome did not truly end the Roman Empire, and it continued to flourish in the East. In fact, the Roman Empire found its continuation in the Byzantine Empire and played a significant role in the so-called post-Roman world, which cannot be identified as post-Roman in this case. The Eastern Roman Empire was a model to the outside world, and many historical events happened under Byzantine influence. The Byzantine Empire was a crucial historical period of the Roman Empires development, made its transition into the Medieval state possible, and influenced the formation of the entire world.

As mentioned before, the Byzantine Empire can be considered a transformation of the Roman Empire into a civilization of a new age. According to Bury (2019), Byzantiums culture consisted of the social elements of West and East, fusing into a new, unique culture. The historian states that, though the atmosphere of Eastern Rome was not the same, many elements of the Roman Empire were present in Byzantium (Bury, 2019). The Byzantine spirit was similar to the nature of the Eastern Roman Empire, judging by the archaeological findings and historical research of the past years (Bury, 2019). Thus, history cannot consider the Roman Empire dead after the fall of Rome since it continued its life and development in the East as the Byzantine Empire.

Moreover, the Eastern Roman Empire was a significant player in the world political arena, and its influence was a reason for many significant events that occurred in the world while Byzantium existed. The Byzantine Empire was a strong centralized state, and such political conditions became a model for many other countries (Bury, 2019). Many tribes that were weakly correlated followed the example of the Eastern Roman Empire, joining each other and forming new forms of government (Bury, 2019).

Furthermore, many historical conditions empowered the impact of the Byzantine Empire, including the fall of slave-holding construction, feudal fragmentation, cultural regress, and others (Bury, 2019). These events destroyed many achievements of the ancient world, whereas Byzantium managed to save them (Bury, 2019). Therefore, the Eastern Roman Empire was a model to the outside world, and many states were formed following its example.

Summing up, the Roman Empire did not die with the fall of Rome but continued its existence in the East as the Byzantine Empire, significantly influencing the world in its turn into the Medieval state. Byzantium saved many social and cultural elements of the Roman Empire and blended them into a unique culture. Rome cannot be considered an indeed fallen empire as Byzantium was a continuation of Roman history. Furthermore, the Eastern Roman Empire had a critical impact on the outside world because it managed to save many ancient achievements that other state states lost when the transition to the Medieval age began. The Byzantine Empire was a role model to the world in many ways, meaning that the so-called post-Roman world formed under the influence of Roman culture.

References

Bury, J. B. (2019). History of the Eastern Roman Empire: From the fall of Irene to the accession of Basil I. e-artnow.

Ershov, B. A., Belorukov, S. A., Bykov, A. G., & Serikov, T. A. (2019). The role of the church in medieval society. Bulletin Social-Economic and Humanitarian Research, 1(3), 58-64. Web.

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Christianity as a Bridge Between the Roman and Medieval Worlds

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