What is Christendom and why is it relevant for us?

I recently discussed the period of history known as Christendom with Professor Oliver O’Donovan, one of the greatest living theologians. He defined Christendom as follows:

Christendom is the name for a long period of European history that was dominated by certain institutional and legal arrangements that were common to all the European nations and involved the recognition of a dual structure of authority—a secular authority on the one hand, and an ecclesiastical authority on the other—each independent of the other and each answerable directly to God.

Many think the road to Christendom began in 312 with Constantine’s victory at the Milvian Bridge in Rome. As a result of his victory, Constantine became the ruler of the Western Roman Empire (it was not until 324, when he defeated Licinius, that he became the sole Emperor of a reunited Roman Empire). Constantine credited the victory at the Milvian Bridge to Christ, as before the battle he reportedly saw the image of the cross in the sky and the words ‘in this (sign), conquer’. The following year, Constantine and Licinius issued the Edict of Milan, which enforced toleration of Christians, ending the persecution of Christians in the Roman Empire. In 380 the Edict of Thessalonica, issued by Emperor Theodosius I, made Nicene Christianity the state religion of the Roman Empire.

The Western Roman Empire began to crumble in 410, when Alaric the Goth sacked Rome. The empire arguably came to an end in 476 when Romulus Augustus, the last western emperor, was overthrown by the German military ruler Odoacer (433 – 493), who was declared king of Italy. Christianity then continued under Barbarian rule. In 800, Pope Leo III crowned Charlemagne (747 – 814) the first Holy Roman Emperor, restoring a Christianised empire in Western Europe. Charlemagne’s empire included regions of modern-day France, Italy, and Germany. The Holy Roman Empire didn’t long survive Charlemagne’s death as a single political unit, but it continued in some form until 1806 when it was dissolved during the Napoleonic Wars; by then, the title ‘Holy Roman Emperor’ was an empty one.

I’m excited to have Dr Jon Balserak on the podcast soon, to discuss Christendom. Jon is a church historian and will be giving an overview of the period.

What’s clear is that for several centuries, Western Europe was Christian: its leaders, laws, government policies, art, universities, schools, and more were deeply influenced by the Christian faith. We can debate whether that was a good thing, but for now we may simply make note of it. That’s not to say that there were no other religions present: there were some Jewish, Muslim, and pagan areas. But these were minority religions. Christianity dominated.

We may also note that Western Europe is now post-Christian. Although many of our laws and institutions are based on Christian principles, the influence of the Christian church on wider society is much less than it was during Christendom.

Many of us have a sense that our culture is going through dramatic changes at present. This raises the question: what do we wish to conserve? Some argue that we need to return to Christendom. I recently had Jonathan Pageau on the podcast. Jonathan is an icon carver, speaker, and podcaster. He made a similar point to O’Donovan: a return to Christendom is unrealistic. Nevertheless, we should ask: what should we work towards? We must adopt either a political and cultural approach which prioritises one belief system—whether Christian, Muslim, humanist, or woke—or find an approach which creates a level playing field for people of all creeds. I state the obvious: during Christendom, Christianity was prioritised. Other political systems have been developed, particularly since the enlightenment, which claim to equally accommodate a plurality of belief systems.

This discussion of Christendom links into the topics of secularism, liberalism, and the enlightenment. I intend to discuss all of these over the coming months on this Substack.