Chapter 10 The World of European Christendom

In chapter 10, it has a lot to do with the world of European Christendom. This was a huge topic back with the Byzantium Empire.

The topic in this chapter that I found most interesting would probably be the “Byzantine Church and the Christian Divergence.” Caesaropapism meant that the state was tied to the church. On the other hand, Roman Catholic Churches maintained independence from more political authorities. This was ironic because in Byzantium the emperor was the role of both “Caesar” which head of state and was the pope being head of Church. He made many decisions about the doctrine and treated the Church as a government department. The church and state had a great unity and community, and virtually could not be separated. Bishops and priests spread the word of the Church to every corner of the empire. It was a great experience for both state and church because they were bonded by one. Orthodox Christianity also had a big influence on every aspect of the Byzantium life.

I think that the idea of church and state being bonded by one is good in some aspects but on the other hand can also cause problems. If everyone is agreeing to the fact of church and state being affiliated then it is okay because many people are all for it. The problems arise when people disagree about the rules and regulations that church has on the state. I know that our government in this day does not have too much affiliation between church and state because we are not a one religion country. The United States has numerous religions such as Christianity, Catholicism, Hinduism, Islam, Judaism, etc. If one specific religion was affiliated with the state, it would be like a smack to the face because everyone could not agree. I think this would be a major issue in our society today. Back then almost everyone had the same religious beliefs and attitudes so it was easier that Church and state was affiliated. I think it shows how much times have changed, because we are no where near where we were at centuries ago. It shows that many of our beliefs have branched out into more belief, resembling the growth our world has made.