EARLY EUROPEAN HISTORY

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The final rupture of Christendom was delayed until the middle of the
eleventh century. In 1054 A.D. the pope sent his legates to Constantinople
to demand obedience to the Papacy. This being refused, they laid upon the
high altar of Sancta Sophia the pope's bill of excommunication. Against
the patriarch and his followers they pronounced a solemn curse, or
anathema, devoting them "to the eternal society of the Devil and his
angels." Then, we are told, they strode out of Sancta Sophia, shaking the
dust from their feet and crying, "Let God see and judge." The two branches
of the Christian Church, thus torn apart, were never afterward reunited.
[32]

128. THE GREEK CHURCH

THE GREEK AND ROMAN CHURCH COMPARED

The Greek and Roman churches, in some respects, are nearer together than
Roman Catholicism and Protestantism. Both recognize three orders for the
ministry, namely, bishops, priests, and deacons. Priests of the Greek
Church may marry, but this privilege is not extended to bishops, who,
therefore, are chosen from the monks. Baptism, by both churches, is
administered to infants, but by the Greek Church under the form of total
immersion. Confirmation in the Greek Church follows immediately after
baptism; in the Roman Church it is postponed to the age of reason. In the
communion service the Greek Church gives leavened bread, dipped in wine.
The Roman Church withholds wine from the laity and uses only a dry,
unleavened wafer. While the services of the Roman Church are conducted in
Latin, for those of the Greek Church the national languages (Greek,
Russian, etc.) of the communicants are used. Its festivals do not coincide
in time of celebration with those of the Roman Church, since the "Julian
Calendar" followed in the East is now thirteen days behind the "Gregorian
Calendar." [33]

SPREAD OF THE GREEK CHURCH

The Greek Church has not lacked missionary zeal. Through her agency the
barbarians who entered southeastern Europe during the early Middle Ages
were converted to Christianity. At the present time nearly all the peoples
of the Balkan peninsula, including Greeks, Montenegrins, Serbians,
Bulgarians, and Rumanians, belong to the Greek Church. [34] Its greatest
victory was won toward the close of the tenth century, when the Russians
were induced to accept the Greek form of Christianity. Outlying branches
of the Greek Church are found also in the Turkish Empire. It now includes
about one hundred and thirty-five million adherents in European lands.

PRESENT ORGANIZATION OF THE GREEK CHURCH

The patriarch of Constantinople is the spiritual head of the Greek Church.
He enjoys, however, no such wide authority over eastern Christians as that
exercised by the pope over all Roman Catholics. There are as many as
sixteen branches of the Greek Church, each self-governing and under its
own officers. Despite the local independence of its branches, the Greek
Church remains unified in doctrine. It claims to be the only "Orthodox"
church and clings with almost Oriental conservatism to the traditions of
earlier ages. Nevertheless, as the official church of Russia, the largest
and most swiftly growing of European countries, the Greek Church has
before it a future of great importance.

129. THE ROMAN CHURCH

THE ROMAN CHURCH PROGRESSIVE

The separation of eastern and western Christianity naturally increased the
importance of the Papacy. The popes henceforth had a free hand to guide
the destinies of the Roman Church. That church under their direction was
to show itself vigorous and progressive, with a wonderful power of
adaptation to new and changed conditions.

THE ROMAN CHURCH SURVIVES THE EMPIRE

The Roman Empire in the West had gone down before the assaults of the
Germanic barbarians, but in its place had arisen a new creation--the Roman
Church. The chief city of the old empire became the capital of the Papacy.
The pope took, and has since retained, the title of Supreme Pontiff
(_Pontifex Maximus_), once given to the head of the Roman state religion.
[35] Latin has continued to be the official language of Roman Catholicism.
The Roman genius for law and government found a new expression in the
creation of the papal power. The true successors of the ancient Roman
statesmen were the popes of the Middle Ages. The idea of Rome, of her
universality and of her eternity, lived on in the Roman Church.

WORK OF THE ROMAN CHURCH

The Roman Church, as the successor of the Roman Empire in the West, formed
the chief center of civilization during the earlier part of the Middle
Ages. She stood between the conquering Germans and the Romanized
provincials and helped to join them both in lasting union. To the heathen
she sent out her missionaries, preaching a religion of love and charity
and introducing a higher morality than the barbarians had ever known
before. She multiplied hospitals, orphanages, and asylums. Her bishops
were the only protectors of the weak and the oppressed. She fostered
education, art, and learning within the walls of churches and monasteries.
Her priests and monks were the only teachers in an ignorant age. In an age
of bloodshed and violence, when might made right, she proclaimed the
superiority of the spirit to mere brute force. To sum up: the Roman Church
was an indispensable agent in the making of medieval Europe.

THE MENACE TO CHRISTENDOM

Christianity in its Greek and Roman forms was not the only great religion
of the Middle Ages. In the seventh century, before the separation of the
two churches had been completed and before all Europe had become
Christian, another religion arose. It grew with marvelous rapidity,
stripped the Church of much territory in western Asia, northern Africa,
and Spain, and promised for a time to become the dominant faith of the
world. This was Islam, or Mohammedanism, the religion of the Arabs.

STUDIES

1. In what different senses is the word "church" often used?

2. "The eastern patriarch was the shadow of the emperor, cast on the
spiritual world." Explain this statement.

3. Why did heresies develop in the East rather than in the West?

4. Look up in the New Testament the following texts relating to the
primacy of St. Peter: _Matthew_, xvi, 18-19; _Luke_, xxii, 31-32; and
_John_, xxi, 15-17.

5. What is "the power of the keys" which the popes claim to possess?

6. What reasons for the growth of the Papacy have been set forth in this
chapter?

7. In what non-Christian religions is monasticism an established
institution?

8. Look up in the New Testament the following texts quoted as favorable to
monasticism: _Matthew_, xix, 21; _Mark_, x, 29-30; and _Luke_, xiv, 26.

9. What is the origin of the words "monk," "hermit," "anchorite," and
"abbot"?

10. Summarize the principal benefits which the monastic system conferred
on Europe.

11. Give reasons for the rapid conversion of the Germans to Christianity.

12. In what sense is it true that "half Europe owes its Christianity to
women"?

13. Who was the "Apostle to the Germans"?

14. Who were the "Apostles to the Slavs"?

15. Comment on the significance to European civilization of the missionary
activity of the Christian Church in the Middle Ages.

16. Why has the separation of the Greek and Roman churches been described
as "the most momentous fact in the history of Christendom during the
Middle Ages"?

17. Why could not such an institution as the Papacy develop in the East?

FOOTNOTES

[1] Webster, _Readings in Medieval and Modern History_, chapter iii, "The
Benedictine Rule"; chapter iv, "The Reestablishment of Christianity in
Britain"; chapter v, "St. Boniface, Apostle to the Germans."

[2] The correspondence may be indicated as follows:

The Roman Empire The Christian Church
City--Municipal officials. Bishop.
Province--Governor. Archbishop, or Metropolitan.
Diocese--Vicar. Patriarch.
Prefecture--Prefect. (No corresponding division.)

[3] See page 235.

[4] See page 258.

[5] See page 236.

[6] See page 284.

[7] _John_, xx, i, 19; compare I _Corinthians_, xvi, 2.

[8] See page 235 and note 1.

[9] See _Acts_, ii, 1-4.

[10] See page 239, note 1.

[11] In modern India (Malabar) there are no less than 400,000 Syrian
Christians who owe their religion to Nestorian missionaries.

[12] See page 362.

[13] See page 236.

[14] See pages 248-249.

[15] See page 322.

[16] _Servus servorum Dei_.

[17] See pages 305-307.

[18] From a Greek word which means "living alone."

[19] See Tennyson's poem, _St. Simeon Stylites_.

[20] From a Syrian word, abba, meaning "father." Hence a monastery was
often called an abbey.

[21] Other monastic orders arose during the later Middle Ages (see pages
449, 452), but the Benedictines still exist, chiefly in Austria and Italy.
Their order was introduced into the United States during the nineteenth
century.

[22] _Laborare est orare._

[23] For the missionary work of Celtic Christians see page 323 and note 1.

[24] See page 236.

[25] See pages 304-305.

[26] See pages 322-325.

[27] See page 308.

[28] Cyril and Methodius were canonized by Pope Leo XIII in 1881 A.D. A
millenial celebration of the two apostles was held in 1863 A.D. by the
people of Moravia and Bohemia.

[29] See page 335. The Bulgarians also got their Christianity from
Constantinople in the ninth century.

[30] See pages 217, 223.

[31] See page 376.

[32] Unsuccessful attempts to heal the schism between the two churches
took place in the Middle Ages. The latest movement in this direction was
made by Pope Leo XIII in 1894 A.D., but his efforts were not crowned with
success.

[33] See page 186, note 2.

[34] Many Roman Catholics are found in Croatia-Slavonia, Bosnia, Dalmatia,
and Albania.

[35] See page 148, note 2.

CHAPTER XVI

THE ORIENT AGAINST THE OCCIDENT: RISE AND SPREAD OF ISLAM, 622-1058 A.D.
[1]

130. ARABIA AND THE ARABS

THE ARABIAN PENINSULA

Arabia, a vast peninsula between the Persian Gulf, the Indian Ocean, and
the Red Sea, forms the link between Asia and Africa. It is connected with
Asia by the arid plains extending northward to the Euphrates; with Africa,
by the equally arid isthmus of Suez. Though the country is more than one-
third the size of the United States (excluding Alaska), it has never
supported a large population. The interior, except for occasional oases,
is a desert, inhabited only by wandering tribes. Along the southern and
western coasts, between the mountains and the sea, the soil is generally
fertile, the climate temperate, and the rainfall sufficient. Here the
chief cities and towns are located.

INHABITANTS OF ARABIA

The original home of the Semites is believed to have been Arabia. Some
Semitic peoples appear to have migrated northward to Babylonia and Syria,
while others crossed the Red Sea to Abyssinia. Physically, the Arabs are
an attractive people, with well-shaped, muscular figures, handsome,
bronzed faces, brilliant, black eyes, and all the organs of sense
exquisitely acute. Simple and abstemious in their habits, they lead
healthy lives and often reach an extreme yet vigorous old age.

THE BEDOUINS OF THE DESERT

The Bedouin Arabs, by which name the nomadic inhabitants of the desert are
known, claim Ishmael, the son of Abraham and half-brother of Isaac, as
their ancestor. The life which they lead in the Arabian wilderness closely
resembles that of the Hebrew patriarchs, as described in the Old
Testament. The Bedouins are shepherds and herdsmen, continually moving
with their sheep and camels from one pasturage and water-hole to another.
Their virtues--hospitality to the stranger, generosity, faithfulness to
the ties of kinship--are those of a nomadic, barbarian people. Such also
are their vices--love of fighting and plunder, revengefulness, and
impatience of restraint. Nothing like a settled government is known to
them. The only tribal authority is that of the chief, or "sheik," who,
because of his birth, courage, or wealth, has been chosen to the
leadership. This description of the Bedouins to-day applies equally well
to them in the age of Mohammed, during the sixth century.

[Illustration: MECCA
The chief sanctuary of Mecca is the building called the Kaaba, which lies
in the center of a vast courtyard surrounded by a colonnade. The Kaaba is
here seen covered with a heavy black cloth renewed each year. Pilgrims
enter the courtyard, walk slowly around the Kaaba seven times--seven is a
holy number in Islam--and kiss the sacred black stone fixed in the walls
of the structure. The stone is now broken into pieces, which are kept
together by a silver setting. The Kaaba has been rebuilt several times
since the days of Mohammed, but it still preserves the old form of a
heathen temple.]

THE SEDENTARY ARABS

The Arabs who settled along the southern and western coasts of the
peninsula had reached in the sixth century a considerable degree of
civilization. They practiced agriculture and carried on a flourishing
trade across the Red Sea and even to distant India. Between these
sedentary Arabs and the Bedouins raged constant feuds, leading to much
petty warfare. Nevertheless the hundreds of tribes throughout the
peninsula preserved a feeling of national unity, which was greatly
strengthened by Mohammed's appearance on the scene.

ARABIAN HEATHENISM

The city of Mecca, located about fifty miles from the Red Sea, was a
commercial metropolis and the center of Arabian heathenism. Every year the
Arab tribes ceased fighting for four months, and went up to Mecca to buy
and sell and visit the famous sanctuary called the Kaaba. Here were three
hundred and sixty idols and a small, black stone (probably a meteorite),
which legend declared had been brought from heaven. The stone was
originally white, but the sins of the people who touched it had blackened
it. Although most of the Arabs were idolaters, yet some of them recognized
the "Unknown God" of the Semites, Allah, the Creator of all things. Arabia
at this time contained many Jews, Zoroastrians, and Christians, who helped
to spread abroad the conception of one God and thus to prepare the way for
a prophet of a new religion.

131. MOHAMMED: PROPHET AND STATESMAN, 622-632 A.D.

EARLY LIFE OF MOHAMMED

Mohammed, [2] born at Mecca about 570 A.D., belonged to the tribe of the
Koreish, who had long been guardians of the sacred Kaaba. Left an orphan
at an early age, the future prophet was obliged to earn his own living. He
served first as a shepherd on the hillsides of Mecca. This occupation,
though lowly, gave him the love of solitude, and helped to nourish in his
soul that appreciation of nature which later found expression in so many
of his utterances. While still a youth he became a camel-driver and twice
crossed the deserts with caravans to Syria. Doubtless he made many
acquaintances on these journeys and picked up much useful information.
Mohammed, however, did not receive a regular education; it is doubtful
whether he could read or write. His marriage, when about twenty-five years
of age, to a rich widow, named Khadija, brought him wealth and
consideration. For some time, henceforth, he led the life of a prosperous
merchant of Mecca.

[Illustration: A LETTER OF MOHAMMED
A letter, probably in the handwriting of Mohammed's secretary, addressed
to the governor of Alexandria. The seal is inscribed "Mohammed, the
prophet of God."]

MOHAMMED'S VISIONS

Mohammed seems always to have been a deeply religious man. As he grew
older, his thoughts more and more centered on spiritual themes. He could
not reconcile the gross idolatry of the Arabs with that belief in the
unity of God which he himself had reached. In his distress he would
withdraw into the wilderness, where he spent much time in fasting and
solitary vigils, practices perhaps suggested to him by the example of
Christian hermits. [3] During these lonely hours in the desert strange
scenes passed before his eyes and strange voices sounded in his ears. At
first Mohammed thought that evil spirits possessed him, but Khadija
encouraged him to believe that his visions were a revelation from another
world. One day, so he declared, God's messenger, the archangel Gabriel,
appeared to him and bade him preach a new religion to the Arabs. It was
very simple, but in its simplicity lay its strength: "There is no god but
God, and Mohammed is the prophet of God."

THE HEGIRA, 622 A.D.

The prophet made his first converts in his wife, his children, and the
friends who knew him best. Then, becoming bolder, he began to preach
publicly in Mecca. In spite of Mohammed's eloquence, obvious sincerity,
and attractive personality, he met a discouraging reception. A few slaves
and poor freemen became his followers, but most of the citizens of Mecca
regarded him as a madman. Mohammed's disciples, called Moslems, [4] were
bitterly persecuted by the Koreish, who resented the prophet's attacks on
idolatry and feared the loss of their privileges at the Kaaba. Finally
Mohammed and his converts took refuge in Medina, where some of the
inhabitants had already accepted his teachings. This was the famous Hegira
(Flight of the prophet). [5]

LATER LIFE OF MOHAMMED

At Medina Mohammed occupied a position of high honor and influence. The
people welcomed him gladly and made him their chief magistrate. As his
adherents increased in number, Mohammed began to combine fighting with
preaching. His military expeditions against the Arab tribes proved to be
very successful. Many of the conquered Bedouins enlisted under his banner
and in 630 A.D. captured Mecca for the prophet. He treated its inhabitants
leniently, but threw down all the idols in the Kaaba, After the submission
of Mecca most of the Arabs abandoned idolatry and accepted the new
religion.

DEATH OF MOHAMMED, 632 A.D.

Mohammed did not long enjoy his position as uncrowned king of Arabia. He
died in 632 A.D., at Medina, where he was buried and where his tomb is
still visited by pious Moslems. His followers could scarcely believe that
their great prophet had gone away from them forever. They were ready to
worship him as a god, until old Abu Bekr, Mohammed's father-in-law,
rebuked them with the memorable words: "Whoso worshipeth Mohammed, let him
know that Mohammed is dead; but whoso worshipeth God, let him know that
God liveth and dieth not."

MOHAMMED'S CHARACTER

The character of Mohammed has been variously estimated. Moslem writers
make him a saint; Christian writers, until Mohammed's recent times, have
called him an "impostor." We know that he was a man of simple habits, who,
even in the days of his prosperity, lived on dates, barley bread, and
water, mended his woolen garments, and attended to his own wants. He was
mild and gentle, a lover of children, devoted to his friends, and
forgiving toward his foes. He seems to have won the admiration of all with
whom he came in contact. We know, too, that Mohammed was so deeply
impressed with the consciousness of his religious mission that he was
ready to give up wealth and an honorable position and face for years the
ridicule and hatred of the people of Mecca. His faults--deceitfulness,
superstitiousness, sensuality--were those of the Arabs of his time. Their
existence in Mohammed's character should not prevent our recognition of
his real greatness as a prophet and as a statesman.

132. ISLAM AND THE KORAN

FORMATION OF THE KORAN

The religion which Mohammed preached is called Islam, an Arabic word
meaning "surrender," or "resignation." This religion has its sacred book,
the Koran ("thing read" or "thing recited"). It contains the speeches,
prayers, and other utterances of Mohammed at various times during his
career. Some parts of the Koran were dictated by the prophet to his
disciples and by them were written out on skins, leaves of palm trees,
bones, and bits of parchment. Many other parts remained at first only in
the memory of Mohammed's followers. Soon after his death all the scattered
passages were collected into one book. Since the middle of the seventh
century the Koran, every word of which the Moslems consider holy, has
remained unchanged.

[Illustration: A PASSAGE FROM THE KORAN
From a manuscript in the Bodleian Library, Oxford.]

RELIGIOUS TEACHINGS OF THE KORAN

The doctrines found in the Koran show many adaptations from the Jewish and
Christian religions. Like them Islam emphasizes the unity of God. The
Moslem cry--"_Allah Akbar!_" "God is Great!"--forms its cardinal
principle. Like them, also, Islam recognizes the existence of prophets,
including Abraham, Moses, and Jesus, but insists that Mohammed was the
last and greatest of the prophets. The existence of angels and demons is
recognized. The chief of the demons, Iblis, bears some resemblance to the
Jewish Satan and the Christian Devil. The account of the creation and fall
of man is taken, with variations, from the Old Testament. The description
of the resurrection of the dead, the last judgment, and the division of
the future world into paradise and hell, the former for believers in
Islam, the latter for those who have refused to accept it, seems to have
been based on Persian and Jewish ideas. These borrowings from other
religions facilitated the spread of Islam among eastern peoples.

OBSERVANCES OF ISLAM

The Koran imposes on the faithful Moslem five great obligations. First, he
must recite, at least once in his life, aloud, correctly, and with full
understanding, the short creed: "There is no god but God, and Mohammed is
the prophet of God." Second, he must pray five times a day: at dawn, just
after noon, before sunset, just after sunset, and at the end of the day.
In every Mohammedan city the hour of prayer is announced from the tall
minaret of the mosque by a crier (_muezzin_). Before engaging in prayer
the worshiper washes face, hands, and feet; during the prayer he turns
toward Mecca and bows his head to the ground. Third, he must observe a
strict fast, from morning to night, during every day of _Ramadan_, the
ninth month of the Mohammedan year. [6] In this month God presented the
Koran to Gabriel for revelation to the prophet. Fourth, he must give alms
to the poor. Fifth, he must, "if he is able," undertake at least one
pilgrimage to Mecca. The annual visit of thousands of pilgrims to the holy
city helps to preserve the feeling of brotherhood among Moslems all over
the world. These five obligations are the "pillars" of Islam.

ORGANIZATION OF ISLAM

As a religious system Islam is exceedingly simple. It does not provide any
elaborate ceremonies of worship and permits no altars, pictures, or images
in the mosque. Islam even lacks a priesthood. Every Moslem acts as his own
priest. There is, however, an official, who on Friday, the Mohammedan
Sabbath, offers up public prayers in the mosque and delivers a sermon to
the assembled worshipers. All work is suspended during this service, but
at its close secular activities are resumed.

MORAL TEACHINGS OF THE KORAN

The Koran furnishes a moral code for the adherents of Islam. It contains a
few important prohibitions. The Moslem is not to make images, to engage in
games of chance, to eat pork, or to drink wine. This last prohibition has
saved the Mohammedan world from the degradation and misery which alcohol
has introduced into Christian lands. To Mohammed strong drink was "the
mother of all evil," and drunkenness, a sin. The Koran also inculcates
many active virtues, including reverence toward parents, protection of
widows and orphans, charity toward the poor, kindness to slaves, and
gentle treatment of the lower animals. On the whole it must be admitted
that the laws of the Koran did much to restrain the vices of the Arabs and
to provide them with higher standards of right and wrong. Islam marked a
great advance over Arabian heathenism.

133. EXPANSION OF ISLAM IN ASIA AND EGYPT

ISLAM SPREAD BY THE SWORD

Mohammed, as we have learned, did not scruple to use the sword as a means
of spreading his new religion among the idolatrous Arab tribes. By thus
following up preaching with force, he subdued the greater part of Arabia.
The prophet's methods were adopted by his successors. Within a century
after Mohammed's death, they carried the doctrines of Islam over a large
part of the civilized world and founded an Arabian Empire.

ISLAM AS A RELIGION OF CONQUEST

Islam was a religion of conquest. It proclaimed the righteousness of a
"holy war," or _jihad_, against unbelievers. It promised rich booty for
those who fought and won, and paradise for those who fell. The Arab
soldier, dying on the battlefield, expected to be carried away by bright-
eyed maidens to a garden of delight, where, reclining on soft cushions and
rugs, he was to enjoy forever an existence of sensual ease. "Whosoever
falls in battle," so runs a passage in the Koran, "his sins are forgiven,
and at the day of judgment his limbs shall be supplied by the wings of
angels and cherubim."

ISLAM AS A POLITICAL FORCE

The sudden creation of the Arabian power must not be understood, however,
as solely a religious movement. Pride and greed, as well as fanaticism,
drove the Arabs forward on their conquering career. Long before Mohammed's
time Arabia had been in a state of unrest. Its warlike tribes, feeling a
sense of their superiority to other peoples, were eager to overrun the
rich districts of western Asia, much as the Germans had overrun western
Europe. Islam strengthened the racial pride of the Arabs, united them into
one nation, and gave them an effective organization for world-wide rule.