The Origins of Christianity and the Decline of the Roman Empire 117the Protestant Reformation of the sixteenth century.
The rest of Augustine’s thought was less controversial.
His concept of the church, its sacraments, and even his
view of history were widely accepted in the Middle
Ages and remain influential among Christians today.
Though not an original theologian, Augustine’s
older contemporary St. Jerome (c. 347–c. 420) was an
outstanding scholar and Latin stylist who supported
Augustine in the Pelagian controversy and continued
the history of the church begun by Eusebius. His most
important contribution, however, was the Latin transla-
tion of the Bible known as the Vulgate, which remained
the standard for western Christendom until the six-
teenth century.
Perhaps the most striking feature of Christian life
in the later Roman Empire was the spread of monasti-
cism. Most of the world’s great religions have produced,
at one time or another, men and women who dedicate
themselves to a life of religious devotion away from the
distractions of the secular world. In Christianity, this
impulse first surfaced when the church began to change
from a persecuted congregation of believers to a univer-
sal faith. In 291 a young Egyptian named Anthony took
to heart the words of Jesus: “If you will be perfect, go
sell all thou hast and give to the poor, and come, follow
me.” He retired to a cave in the desert and became the
first of many hermits who followed his example.
Within only a few years, another Egyptian, Pa-
chomius (c. 290–346), realized that the isolated life of
the hermit placed demands upon the mind and body
that only the strongest could survive. Ordinary mortals,
however devout, needed the support and discipline of a
community that shared their goals. He therefore orga-
nized the first formal congregations of hermits and
gave them a rule that became the basis of all subsequent
monastic institutions in the west. The monks were to
live in common and divide their time between work
and prayer. Poverty and chastity were assumed as es-
sential to a life lived in imitation of Christ, and obedi-
ence was regarded as a natural part of communal living.
During the age of Constantine, monasteries, some
of them with congregations numbering in the thou-
sands, sprang up throughout Egypt, Palestine, and
Syria. Women were as attracted to the movement as
men. Athanasius (c. 293–373), bishop of Alexandria
and energetic opponent of the Arians, spread the
gospel of monasticism during his travels in the west,
and by the end of the fourth century, the institution
was solidly established in every part of Europe. Augus-
tine practiced communal living as a matter of course,
and Jerome established a convent of saintly women at
Jerusalem.
The chaos of the fifth century may have enhanced
the attractions of monastic life, but monasteries were
not as isolated from the world as their inmates might
have wished. Many, if not most, houses were estab-
lished in rural areas whose populations were imper-
fectly Christianized. Monks surrounded by pagans were
obligated to attempt their conversion, and the monas-
teries became centers for the spreading of the faith.
Each community, moreover, had to be supported eco-
nomically. Peasants attached themselves to nearby con-
vents and monasteries in much the same way that they
became tenants of the great secular estates—and for
many of the same reasons. The larger foundations be-
came latifundia in their own right. Abbots and abbesses
mastered the art of administration and exerted a sub-
stantial influence on regional politics. But monasticism
made its greatest contributions in the intellectual realm.
In a world of declining literacy, monasteries remainedDOCUMENT 6.5
The Petrine Theory
One of the clearest expositions of the Petrine theory or doctrine
of the apostolic succession was by Pope Leo I “the Great” who
claimed universal authority over the Christian church because
as bishop of Rome he was the successor to St. Peter and in
Matthew 16:18 Jesus had said: “Thou art Peter, and upon
this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not
prevail against it.”Our Lord Jesus Christ, the Saviour of the world,
caused his truth to be promulgated through the
apostles. And while this duty was placed on all of
the apostles, the Lord made St. Peter the head of
them all, that from him as from their head his gifts
should flow out into all the body. So that if anyone
separates himself from St. Peter he should know
that he has no share in the Divine blessing....
Constantinople has its own glory and by the
mercy of God has become the seat of the empire.
But secular matters are based on one thing, ecclesi-
astical matters on another. For nothing will stand
which is not built on the rock [Peter] which the
Lord laid in the foundation [Matt. 16:18].... Your
city is royal, but you cannot make it apostolic.
Thatcher, O. J., and McNeal, E. H., eds. A Source Book of
Medieval History.New York: Scribner’s, 1905.