|
B351 The victory of Christianity produced many changes in the way late ancient society and institutions functioned. Among the more important changes in the period was a new conceptualization of the relations of religion and the state. Through a careful historical analysis of five documents from your source book, describe this change in theory and practice during the late antique period. The five documents in chronological order are the Edict of Milan (p. 16), the letter of Ambrose to Valentinian II (p.20), the selection from Augustine's City of God (pp. 22-24), the sermon of Leo the Great about the primacy of Peter's Church (pp. 50-51), and Gelasius' classical definition of state and church in his letter to Anastasius (pp. 24-25). In putting together this paper you should set each document in its historical context. Under what conditions was it written? Your textbook will help you answer this question. Then you should discuss very briefly what the document says and, finally, what contribution each document makes to the evolving and changing conception of the relation of religion and the state. For example, what is the underlying supposition about this topic in Emperor Constantine's Edict of Milan? What contribution to the question does Ambrose make in his letter? What historical and religious factors account for Ambrose's position? Under what circumstances did Augustine write his City of God? To what degree are the Heavenly and Earthly City identified with Church and State? Under what circumstances can the two institutions cooperate and where are the divisions drawn between them? What does Leo's sermon indicate about his social, legal and political role in Rome and the role of Bishops in the late ancient Western Roman Empire? What ideas lie behind his thinking about the office of the papacy? How does Gelasius' thinking indicate the appearance of a well-focused conceptualization of church and state? This essay requires a very careful presentation of ideas and a thoughtful analysis of documents. Each document and its author must be introduced in its setting and discussed in terms of contribution and meaning. You are not uncovering new ideas, but thinking through a process of change in theory and practice with reference to important episodes in the development. Read, think, organize, write, punctuate, and proofread. The textbook and class discussions and notes should provide help. Please do not consult other books. The article by Peter Brown in the volume of readings will be useful, too. The paper should not exceed 2500 words and will be due in class Tuesday, 16 October. The grade will be lowered one letter grade for each day the paper is late. Quote text, sources and readings in parentheses followed by name of writer, location of quotation and page number, for example (Ambrose, Sources, 20). Choose quotations very carefully to illustrate the points you are making. All quotations should be short. |