Page 44 - History of Christianity I - Student Textbook

Holy Roman Empire 962-1800 AD

The Holy Roman Empire originates in the eastern
half of Charlemagne's empire, divided after his
death. In 800, Charlemagne had received from
the pope the title of Emperor (Imperator
Augustus), reminiscent of the title held by
Roman emperors, both in the Rome of old and in
the Byzantium of the time. In 962 Otto I the
Great reclaimed the imperial dignity which had
lost all prestige and was conferred by popes on
bit players in Italian politics. This is usually taken
to be the founding date of the Holy Roman
Empire.

The Holy Roman Empire evolved over time into a
limited elective monarchy, and at the same time
a state composed of many states. At its head
stood an elected emperor (Kaiser), who was the
sole sovereign and monarch of Germany. The
exercise of his power was considerably limited,
however, by a body representing the member
states, the Imperial Diet (Reichstag). Although
the various princes and lords of the Empire were
all his vassals and subjects, they possessed a
number of privileges that brought them close to
de facto sovereignty; in particular, the emperor
could not intervene in their particular affairs as long as they ruled according to the law. This system lasted into
the 1800s.

Cyril and Methodius – 860 AD

The Greek missionaries Saints Cyril (827-869) and Methodius (825-885) were the
apostles of the Slavic peoples. Preaching Christianity in the native language, they
brought the Slavic countries firmly into the sphere of the Christian Church go as
missionaries to the Slavic people and end up converting many of them and inventing an
alphabet for them. They were born “Constantine” and “Michael” to a high ranking
officer in the Byzantine Army. They both were successful in their as teachers, but felt
the call to go to the Slavic people. They learned the language and began using this
language in the church services (a “no no”). Since the Slavic people had no written
language, they invented the Slavic alphabet based on Greek characters.

In 878, the brothers found themselves in Rome explaining themselves to Pope Adrian II
about using the Slavic language in their liturgy. Eventually Methodius was brutally treated and jailed for doing
this and freed by the intervention of Pope John VIII. Unfortunately Pope Stephen V reversed the previous pope’s
protection, and drove Cyril and Methodius into exile. They translated the Bible into Slavic and the Word spread
over Eastern Europe and gave birth to the Bulgarian and Serbian Orthodox churches. Russia, which converted to
Orthodoxy about a century after Methodius died, continues to use his Cyrillic alphabet to this day.

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