Due to the teacher being a bit windy last week - we will be finishing last week's class this week focusing on two topics: (1) Justinian; and (2) Eastern Orthodoxy.
- JUSTINIAN (Reigned 527-565)
- Justinian is also commonly called Justinian the Great. He is remembered for his massive project of rebuilding Constantinople and for collecting and systematizing Roman Law. Justinian is the last Emperor whose first language was Latin. Although Justinian worked hard to bring Western parts of the Empire back under his control, from the death of Justinian onward there is a growing separation between East and West.
- The building project that Justinian is most famous for is the astonishing Church he had built called Hagia Sophia ("Holy Wisdom"). Please take a moment to look at some photographs here.
A question to think about: Since Justinian was a committed Christian, why was he so concerned to collect and refine Roman law which had developed almost exclusively among non-Christians?
- EASTERN ORTHODOXY
- Orthodox means either "right thinking" or "right worship". Clearly both ideas are clearly related since all good theology should lead to doxology (praise of God).
- There are about 300 million Orthodox Christians in the world.
- Orthodoxy places great emphasis on preserving the faith once and for all delivered to the saints. Many Orthodox believe that their worship can be traced back to the Apostolic times. How likely do you think that this is? What other periods would likely have been very influential in shaping Orthodoxy and why?
In order to understand what is distinctive about other branches of Christianity we need to understand what is distinctive about our own churches. What 4 or 5 beliefs or practices do you think are most distinctive of the church that you belong to?
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