HSTCMP 209 Study Guide - Winter 2018, Comprehensive Midterm Notes - Christianity, Jesus, Early Christianity
12 Oct 2018
School
Department
Course
Professor
HSTCMP 209
MIDTERM EXAM
STUDY GUIDE
Fall 2018
10/6--OUTLINE—LIFE IN THE EARLY CHURCH
I-Sacred Time and Sacred Space
--Sacred Time
*Sunday worship
- Jews worship on Saturday
*fasting days on Fridays
*the Church calendar (Easter, Lent, Holy Week, Christmas, Advent, feast days)
- Easter is the first holiday celebrated by Christians (the day Jesus rose from the
dead); no specific day; lunar and solar calendars together are involved in when
Easter takes place
- Christmas (Jesus’ birthday)
- Candlemas - February 2nd - Presentation of Jesus in temple when he was 40
days old
- Accession - 40 days after Easter
- Pentecost - 50 days after Easter
- The week before easter: “Holy Week”
- Begins on Ash Wednesday and ends approximately six weeks later, before
Easter Sunday : “Lent”
- Season running up to christmas: “Advent”
- Sunday closest to November 30th
- Feast of Martyrs
- Idea of all Christians going to heaven is modern; martyrs were known for
sure to go to heaven
- Death day is entry to eternal life; more important than birthday (no one
cares)
- Every year, death date of martyrs was celebrated; people visited bones of
martyrs because you knew for sure that those bones were going to
heaven
*the daily office (aka liturgy of the hours) → prayers from the Bible
- Really important when Monks and Nuns emerge
--Sacred Space or Place
* Early Christians didn’t build churches (too risky…) so semi-secret meet places
- (homes of the wealthy)
*worship at graves of martyrs
- Eventually, worship at graves of any saintly person
*churches; (relics in churches… bones of one of Saints in church) → 4th century
*pilgrimages (especially Jerusalem… by middle-ages, huge role in Christianity)
- Connection between living and dead christians is a viable bond
II-Culture and Worship
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
--music, art, poetry, architecture
● ART
○ Christian art such as “Catacomb Art”
○ The earliest art was not pictures of Jesus; was symbolic representations
■ E.g. anchor to represent church, fish to represent Jesus Christ, shepherd
to represent Jesus (image of Jesus; shepherding us, the sheep)
■ “Daniel and the Lion’s Den”
■ “Adam and Eve and the serpent”
■ “The Men in the fiery furnace”
■ “Jonah and the Whale”
■ “Noah and the Ark”
■ Art was not perfect; usually crafted by local artisans; symbolism more
important than quality
○ As Christianity develops, symbolism disappears and is replaced by portraits of
Jesus, Mary, and the Saints
■ Emergence of Icons
● MUSIC
○ Praying in groups
III-Sacraments
● Rituals carried out that Christian believe would bring you special graces from God
○ Baptism → the initiation rite in Christianity
■ Christians did this because Jesus did it and promoted it; Jesus put a big
stress on this
■ Christians believed Baptism washes away your sins
● What you do after Baptism… unclear if that can be washed away
● Christians believed that Baptism would regenerate you, bring you
eternal life (in heaven), and put God within you
● Some people would wait until they were about to die until they
became baptized
○ Saint Augustine’s mother didn’t want him baptized until
he’s done sinning (premarital sex, etc.) otherwise his life
would be jeopardized
● Infant baptism becoming more popular
● Description of early baptism by Teritulian:
○ Fast before ceremony, began with renouncing Satan,
saying Creed in Q&A form, (kind of like an interrogation),
then dipped in water, anointed with oil, then hands laid on
you, then gave you milk and honey (doesn’t happen
anymore)
■ Sacraments → god’s grace working through
physical acts
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
Document Summary
*the church calendar (easter, lent, holy week, christmas, advent, feast days) Easter is the first holiday celebrated by christians (the day jesus rose from the dead); no specific day; lunar and solar calendars together are involved in when. Candlemas - february 2nd - presentation of jesus in temple when he was 40 days old. Begins on ash wednesday and ends approximately six weeks later, before. Idea of all christians going to heaven is modern; martyrs were known for sure to go to heaven. Death day is entry to eternal life; more important than birthday (no one cares) Every year, death date of martyrs was celebrated; people visited bones of martyrs because you knew for sure that those bones were going to heaven. *the daily office (aka liturgy of the hours) prayers from the bible. Really important when monks and nuns emerge. * early christians didn"t build churches (too risky ) so semi-secret meet places.
