Christianity 4th Century Essay

Initially persecuted for their beliefs by the Roman Emperor Diocletian, Christians in the beginning of late antiquity, the late 3rd and early 4th century, saw innumerable death and oppression in the form of the Great Persecution. Nevertheless, Christianity continued to steadily increase throughout the 4th century until it became the predominant religion of the Roman Empire. Spread in numerous ways due initially to a sense of classlessness among members and through the effort of Evangelists, Christianity permeated throughout the region. However, the ways in which Christianity was practiced not only varied by organization within the Christian communities, but beliefs as well. By the 4th century, monks, acting as missionaries, began to spread the “word of God” as well, thus increasing the Christian base in the West. Ultimately, this period saw an intermingling of both high and low church. While the practice and study of theology, liturgy, and traditional ceremony …show more content…
Theologian and philosopher Peter Abelard upheld that, “Everyone knows too that the divine benefits of the sacraments administered in the Church are ascribed particularly to the effective power of divine Grace.” Abelard acknowledges the importance of not only the sacraments, but also the Church’s role in the dispensing of them. Moreover, being omitted from receiving sacrament was considered an undesirable punishment as seen by the words of Bede, “If any shall be guilty of them, they are to be excluded from the communion”. In addition to the sacraments of the Church, the understanding and study of theology became more commonplace, with men such as St. Augustine of Hippo and Abelard as the front runners of theology during their respective time periods, and scholasticism as the system of medieval schools. However, sacraments and theology were not the only practices that struck a chord with