14th Century Christianity

Christianity in the 14th Century

• The 14th century saw major developments in Christianity, including the Western Schism, the decline of the Crusades, and the appearance of precursors to Protestantism.

• King Philip IV of France created an inquisition for his suppression of the Knights Templar during the 14th century.

• King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella formed another inquisition in 1480 to deal with distrusted ex-Jewish and ex-Muslim converts, which executed between 3,000 and 4,000 people over 350 years.

• The Western Schism was a prolonged period of crisis in Latin Christendom from 1378 to 1416, when there were two or more claimants to the See of Rome.

• Scholastic theology continued to develop, becoming ever more complex and subtle in its distinctions and arguments.

• The Hesychast Controversy arose in the Orthodox Church in the 14th century, with Barlaam and St. Gregory Palamas as major figures.

• Monastic orders developed within Roman Catholicism and Anglicanism, while Protestant monasticism emerged from John Wycliffe's Lollard Preacher Order.

• Unrest because of the Western Schism excited wars, uprisings, and concern over corruption in the Church, with John Wycliffe and Jan Hus as precursors to the Protestant Reformation.

• The Crusades had an enormous influence on the European Middle Ages, including the development of centralized bureaucracies and massive stone castles.

• The Crusades opened up European culture to the world, especially Asia, and led to increased trade and the beginning of the Renaissance in Italy.

• The status of the Serbian Orthodox Church grew along with the expansion and heightened prestige of the Serbian kingdom.

• The need to raise, transport, and supply large armies led to a flourishing of trade throughout Europe, bringing new products and technologies to Europeans.The Establishment and Decline of the Serbian Patriarchate

• The Serbian Archbishopric was raised to the status of Patriarchate in 1346, with the agreement of various religious leaders of Mount Athos.

• Stefan Dušan was crowned as "Emperor and autocrat of Serbs and Romans" by the new Serbian Patriarch, Joanikije II.

• The Serbian Patriarchate took over supreme ecclesiastical jurisdiction over Mount Athos and many Greek eparchies in Aegean Macedonia that were previously under the jurisdiction of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople.

• The Ohrid Archbishopric remained autocephalous but recognized the honorary primacy of the new Serbian Patriarchate.

• The proclamation of the Patriarchate was performed without the consent of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople, leading to canonical and political questions.

• Ecumenical Patriarch Callistus I of Constantinople issued an act of condemnation and excommunication of Tsar Stefan Dušan and Serbian Patriarch Joanikije in 1350, creating a rift between the Byzantine and Serbian churches.

• After the defeat of the Serbian army by the Turks in the Battle of Marica in 1371, the Serbian and Byzantine governments and church leaders reached an agreement in 1375 to revoke the act of excommunication and recognize the Serbian Church as a Patriarchate.

• Serbia became a tributary state to the Ottoman Empire after the Battle of Kosovo in 1389, leading to the gradual decline of the Serbian Patriarchate due to Ottoman expansion and raids into Serbian lands.

• The city of Skopje was taken by the Turks in 1392, and all other southern regions were taken in 1395, leading to the expansion of the jurisdiction of the Archbishopric of Ohrid.

• Lithuania and Samogitia were ultimately Christianized from 1386 until 1417 by the initiative of the Grand Duke of Lithuania Jogaila and his cousin Vytautas.

• The timeline of events includes the establishment of the Serbian Patriarchate in 1346, the act of condemnation by the Ecumenical Patriarchate in 1350, and the agreement to revoke the act of excommunication in 1375.

• Works cited, further reading, and external links are provided for additional information.