Wen 丨 yo yo
<h1 class = "pgc-h-arrow-right" > the flow of faith in the plague</h1>
Earlier, we introduced the plagues of the Roman and Byzantine Empires. Since the middle and late Roman Empire, large-scale plagues have broken out several times, making the already crumbling empire more unstable and hastening its demise.
The Byzantine Empire did not escape the plague and fell into decline from a Justinian plague. In the midst of the people's livelihood and the decline of the empire, only Christianity has gone up against the current and has become the mainstream of European religion. All things are suffering, and only Christianity has become the winner behind the scenes. The rise of Christianity also seems to be inextricably linked to the plague.
The frequent plagues had a strong impact on all aspects of the Roman Empire. The city is full of corpses, doctors cannot cure the sick, priests can only shake their heads and sigh; in the face of life and death, the words of ancient Greek philosophers have become sophistry, and the gods once believed are not magical, all of which affect people's thinking about life, nature and faith, unconsciously shake the tradition of classical culture, and the authority of theology, philosophy, and law is also doubted.
As we all know, the ancient Roman belief in gods inherited the myths of ancient Greece, and most of the gods in Greek mythology were renamed by the Romans to continue to worship, such as Jupiter, the lord of the gods in Rome, corresponding to zeus in Greece, Venus, the god of love and beauty, corresponding to Aphrodite in ancient Greece, and so on.
Augustus the Great, in order to strengthen his centralized rule, deified himself and developed a cult of personality, so that all roman emperors after him became gods. Thus the god of nature, combined with the emperor's cult of personality, constituted the seemingly large but empty theological structure of the Roman Empire.
There were too many gods in the Roman Empire, but the Romans worshiped them all over again, and none of them could drive away the plague, which caused the people's faith in the gods to decline rapidly. When the Roman Empire searched for the gods to no avail, Christianity quickly entered a gap in the empire's faith.
At first, Christianity was seen as "pagan", and the Romans believed that the contempt and disrespect of the Christians for the Roman gods triggered the punishment of Rome by heaven, and under such assumptions, a large number of Christians were persecuted.
But the cruelty inflicted on christians did not end the catastrophe, but rather the Christian ideas of salvation and benevolence comforted the Romans, who were deeply trapped in the plague. People who had experienced the plague were extremely disappointed in the rule of the empire and turned their hopes to the afterlife, and Christianity was able to give them the hope of faith.
Undaunted by martyrdom, the Christians persisted in practicing medicine, preaching, preaching, rescuing and praying for the dead and wounded, saving the Romans spiritually and in deeds, and dispelling the rumors that had previously slandered them.
Christians have embraced Christianity, and it is estimated that during the reign of Constantine the Great, around 290-337 AD, Christians reached 6 million, or about one-tenth of the population. Constantine the Great, in order to strengthen his rule, issued the Edict of Milan in 313, legitimizing Christianity and ending the persecution of Christians.
As a result, the cross was erected on the ruins of the temples of the gods of ancient Greece and Rome, and became the state religion of the Roman Empire. It can be said that it was not Christianity that "invaded" the Roman Empire as a pagan religion, but the Roman Empire chose Christianity after suffering a lot.
By the time of the Byzantine Empire, Christianity was not only the official religion, but also the foundation of the empire. During this period, the Orthodox sect became orthodox, and the Nestori, Arius, Maconian and other sects arose everywhere and entered a period of vigorous development and sect prosperity.
Christianity has an absolute status, but it has become a tool for rulers to control the hearts and minds of the people. Under the dual control of imperial power and religion, the literature and art of that time were naturally restricted, and the humanistic spirit of ancient Greece was worn away, and there was not much improvement in the millennium.
From a pagan religion that was spurned and expelled to being revered as a state religion and having many believers, Christianity continued to counterattack and develop, which was inseparable from the assistance of the plague. But when Christianity reached a monopoly, it became a shackle that imprisoned ideas, which Europeans did not expect.
However, after the Middle Ages, a black death awakened the long-dormant humanistic spirit, the Reformation and the Renaissance took place almost simultaneously, Christianity revolutionized its own life, and also led Europe to openness and pluralism.
Beginning with one plague and then experiencing the baptism of another, the course of Christianity is the same, and so is the development of Europe.
History is always like this, similar and intricate, and the only constant is to move forward forever in samsara.