The Church and Empire From its beginnings, the Christian Church has had close, often symbiotic relationships with empires and imperial power. Christianity emerged within the Roman Empire; it was shaped amid persecution and martyrdom by imperial power. Then, in 313 AD Constantine granted Christianity toleration, and soon it became the official religion of the Roman Empire, influenced by Roman imperial institutions. Following the collapse of the Western Roman Empire, Christianity remained the religion of the Eastern, or Byzantine Empire until its fall in 1453. In the West, the connection of Christianity and imperial power was revived in the ninth century with the Carolingian Empire – which was itself again revived in the tenth century – and with the Anglo-Norman, Genoese and Venetian Empires. The medieval and early modern periods saw re-conceptualisations of empire as both a theoretical structure of rulership and a political-theological order. This included conceptions of papal dominium through the idea of universal empire and Christ/the pope as dominus mundi – as well as emerging notions of ‘regnal imperialism’, with ‘the king as emperor in his own kingdom’. Henry VIII famously based his claim to supremacy over the Church on the idea that ‘this realm of England is an empire’. The Russian Tsarist Empire was from its beginnings associated with Orthodoxy and conceptions of Moscow as the ‘Third Rome’. From the sixteenth century, the Churches were connected with European empires in the Americas, Africa and Asia – the Spanish Empire, the Dutch Empire, the French Empire and the British Empire. These empires were driven primarily by the pursuit of wealth and power, but they developed Christian and humanitarian missions – women playing prominent roles – including efforts to suppress slavery. The connections between the Bible and the flag were ambivalent; while men and women missionaries sometimes supported empire, they were frequently its greatest critics. Another aspect of empire and its after-echoes was (and still is) the extraordinary mass migration first of European peoples, and then of those they colonized, too, and the resultant growth and diversification of Churches. The conference will explore the relations of Churches and empires, and Christian conceptions of empire, in the ancient, medieval, early modern and modern periods, as well as the role of empire in the global expansion of Christianity. Themes that could be explored in papers include: The perceived implications of Christ's birth under the Roman empire The ‘establishment’ of Christianity under Constantine, the nature of the Christian Roman Empire, and the role of imperial power in defining Christian doctrine Medieval conceptions of sovereignty and of the relations of spiritual and political power The imperial authority of monarchs over their Churches in the Reformations The effects of the Reformation on the structures of the Holy Roman Empire and vice versa Christianity and non-Christian Empires, including the Ottoman Empire, the Mughal Empire, the Chinese Empire, the Aztec Empire and the Inca Empire the role of Christianity in national liberation movements within the Napoleonic Empire, and within the European overseas empires overseas missions and humanitarian campaigns to end slavery and safeguard the rights of subject peoples; the vital role of women in humanitarian critiques of empire Christianity and twentieth- century non-Christian empires – the Soviet empire and the Nazi Third Reich Stewart Jay Brown President-elect Plenary speakers include Stewart Jay Brown (Edinburgh), Gillian Clark (Bristol), Ruth Macrides (Birmingham) and Ronnie Hsia (Penn State) for the Summer Conference, and Rosamond McKitterick (Cambridge) as the first of two speakers for the Winter Meeting. To book your place please use the forms at the bottom of their webpage:http://www.history.ac.uk/ehsoc/ehs-conferences-2016-17-church-and-empire Those interested should be aware that this year we encourage submissions on any aspect of ecclesiastical history, although only papers that fall within the theme will be considered for publication. Postgraduate students should also be aware that the EHS offers a number of generous bursaries which cover the FULL COST of attendance and accommodation, and half bursaries for those who already have funding from other sources. The form for these is at the bottom of this page: the deadline is 15 May. Jul 26 2016 00.00 - Jul 28 2016 00.00 The Church and Empire 26th - 28th JULY 2016 - Ecclesiastical History Society Summer Conference Pollock Halls, University of Edinburgh, Pollock Halls, 18 Holyrood Park Rd, Edinburgh EH16 5AY Find this venue on Google Maps
The Church and Empire From its beginnings, the Christian Church has had close, often symbiotic relationships with empires and imperial power. Christianity emerged within the Roman Empire; it was shaped amid persecution and martyrdom by imperial power. Then, in 313 AD Constantine granted Christianity toleration, and soon it became the official religion of the Roman Empire, influenced by Roman imperial institutions. Following the collapse of the Western Roman Empire, Christianity remained the religion of the Eastern, or Byzantine Empire until its fall in 1453. In the West, the connection of Christianity and imperial power was revived in the ninth century with the Carolingian Empire – which was itself again revived in the tenth century – and with the Anglo-Norman, Genoese and Venetian Empires. The medieval and early modern periods saw re-conceptualisations of empire as both a theoretical structure of rulership and a political-theological order. This included conceptions of papal dominium through the idea of universal empire and Christ/the pope as dominus mundi – as well as emerging notions of ‘regnal imperialism’, with ‘the king as emperor in his own kingdom’. Henry VIII famously based his claim to supremacy over the Church on the idea that ‘this realm of England is an empire’. The Russian Tsarist Empire was from its beginnings associated with Orthodoxy and conceptions of Moscow as the ‘Third Rome’. From the sixteenth century, the Churches were connected with European empires in the Americas, Africa and Asia – the Spanish Empire, the Dutch Empire, the French Empire and the British Empire. These empires were driven primarily by the pursuit of wealth and power, but they developed Christian and humanitarian missions – women playing prominent roles – including efforts to suppress slavery. The connections between the Bible and the flag were ambivalent; while men and women missionaries sometimes supported empire, they were frequently its greatest critics. Another aspect of empire and its after-echoes was (and still is) the extraordinary mass migration first of European peoples, and then of those they colonized, too, and the resultant growth and diversification of Churches. The conference will explore the relations of Churches and empires, and Christian conceptions of empire, in the ancient, medieval, early modern and modern periods, as well as the role of empire in the global expansion of Christianity. Themes that could be explored in papers include: The perceived implications of Christ's birth under the Roman empire The ‘establishment’ of Christianity under Constantine, the nature of the Christian Roman Empire, and the role of imperial power in defining Christian doctrine Medieval conceptions of sovereignty and of the relations of spiritual and political power The imperial authority of monarchs over their Churches in the Reformations The effects of the Reformation on the structures of the Holy Roman Empire and vice versa Christianity and non-Christian Empires, including the Ottoman Empire, the Mughal Empire, the Chinese Empire, the Aztec Empire and the Inca Empire the role of Christianity in national liberation movements within the Napoleonic Empire, and within the European overseas empires overseas missions and humanitarian campaigns to end slavery and safeguard the rights of subject peoples; the vital role of women in humanitarian critiques of empire Christianity and twentieth- century non-Christian empires – the Soviet empire and the Nazi Third Reich Stewart Jay Brown President-elect Plenary speakers include Stewart Jay Brown (Edinburgh), Gillian Clark (Bristol), Ruth Macrides (Birmingham) and Ronnie Hsia (Penn State) for the Summer Conference, and Rosamond McKitterick (Cambridge) as the first of two speakers for the Winter Meeting. To book your place please use the forms at the bottom of their webpage:http://www.history.ac.uk/ehsoc/ehs-conferences-2016-17-church-and-empire Those interested should be aware that this year we encourage submissions on any aspect of ecclesiastical history, although only papers that fall within the theme will be considered for publication. Postgraduate students should also be aware that the EHS offers a number of generous bursaries which cover the FULL COST of attendance and accommodation, and half bursaries for those who already have funding from other sources. The form for these is at the bottom of this page: the deadline is 15 May. Jul 26 2016 00.00 - Jul 28 2016 00.00 The Church and Empire 26th - 28th JULY 2016 - Ecclesiastical History Society Summer Conference Pollock Halls, University of Edinburgh, Pollock Halls, 18 Holyrood Park Rd, Edinburgh EH16 5AY Find this venue on Google Maps
Jul 26 2016 00.00 - Jul 28 2016 00.00 The Church and Empire 26th - 28th JULY 2016 - Ecclesiastical History Society Summer Conference
