Lecture 13

This lecture is entitled Byzantine Jerusalem.  We began by speaking about the shift of faith from a physical sense to a more spiritual sense.  We see that with the destruction of the temple and the holy places that the Jews had, the need to accommodate became vital.  With the coming of Jesus, their faith began to develop into a more spiritual faith, focusing on the everlasting spirit of god, rather than his physical dwelling.

In the Byzantine Jerusalem, we see different methods of exercising control.  One way was by establishing what is called a "tetrarchy."  In this, 4 different people rule in different manners, 2 in the west and 2 in the east.  West and east have their own Augustus, and their own Caesar.  This system worked poorly, however, and was soon toppled by Constantine.  Here are notes about Constantine:

o   The one that got rid of the tetrarchy and took command was CONSTANTINE THE GREAT

§  Was the son of constantius

§  312-337CE

§  312: Battle of Milvian bridge (“by this, conquer”)

§  313: edict of Milan legalizes Christianity

§  324 Council of Nicaea

·         7^th canon, “aelia should have an honored position”

·         Brings together all the Christian leaders to so they can figure out an make an orthodox system of standard belief

·         Doctrine of the trinity

o   Notion that jesus was fully god and fully human

§  Jesus said to be god from the very beginning

·         Touching on nature of creation

o   Greco-roman influence

·         Nicaean Christianity of the west started to win over other sects

·         Western notion that there should only be 1 way to worship

§  330CE: Byzantium (bosphorus straight) becomes Constantinople

§  “used” Christianity to unite empire?

§  He had some strong influence on the formation of orthodox Christianity politically

Constantine gave power to his mother frequently.  His mother, Helena, began to create her own kind of Jerusalem.  Perhaps most important in her journeys is the rededication of the Holy Sepulcher.  It was here that she is said to have found remnants of the "true cross" where Jesus was crucified.  Soon, the Church of the Holy Sepulcher becomes the central axis mundi, not the temple.

After the rule of Constantine, Julian takes over.  As he does so, he dismantles the strength of Christianity by reestablishing the temple.  He did so because he wanted to establish the Jewish faith.  Soon after him, Theodosius takes over and makes Jerusalem become a primarily Christian place.  In this we begin to see the importance of pilgrimage, and the expansion of Jerusalem (with places such as the Nea Church).  Here are some notes about pilgrimage:

·         Pilgrimage

o   Jewish pilgrimage

§  Pre-destruction: 3 festivals

§  Post-destruction: 9^th of Ab

o   Christian pilgrimage

§  Empress Helena augusta (Constantine’s mom), 326 CE

o   Pilgrim of Bordeaux, 333CE

o   Egeria, Spanish pilgrim, 381CE

o   Gregory of Nyssa (338-395) writes of  benefits for pilgrimage

o   Psalms of Ascents

§  Psalms 120-134

§  Psalm 122:1-2

§  “I was glad when they said to me, let us go to the house of the lord”

o   Pilgrim’s graffito              

§  DOMINE IVIMUS, “lord we have come”

With the Madaba map, a map found on the ground tiles of a church, we see the depiction of Jerusalem as a Roman city.  We also see the Church of the Holy Sepulcher as the central axis mundi.  With this, and the growth of importance of the Nea Church, we see Jerusalem becoming more and more Christian.