Medieval Inquisition

We just learned about the Dominican Order.

Another part of early Christianity was the Medieval Inquisition.

We've learned that orthodoxy is what the church says you are supposed to do, and heresy is what the church says you are not supposed to do.

Long ago in many states and countries it was against the law to do or say something that was heresy.
If you were caught, the king or lord of the land would have a trial, and if you were found guilty you could be killed.

The church leaders decided that the kings and lords shouldn't be in charge of those trials, because they didn't know the laws that well.
They also wanted to try and give people the chance to learn what they did wrong and stop being heretics instead of being killed.

The church would send people from the Dominican or Franciscan order as judges to rule on trials as to whether the person was really bad or if they were just confused and needed to learn the right orthodox way to believe.
These trials were called Inquisitions.

For a while the Inquisitions were peaceful and did not allow anyone to be hurt. They were actually better than trials from the kings or lords where people were hurt and killed a lot more.

But as time went on the Inquisitions changed, and the Dominican and Franciscan leaders started to hurt people during the trials, to try and force them to admit that they had done something bad and were heretics.



(from: wikipedia - medieval inquisition)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Four Great Uncials

Dominican Order

We just learned about the Orthodoxy.

Another part of early Christianity is the Dominican Order.

We learned that the church all worked together and agree on rules that were called "Canon".
Following the rules is called "Orthodoxy", and breaking the rules is called "Heresy".

The Dominican Order is a group of people the church put in charge to make sure people followed the rules.

They were called the Dominican because the order was started by a church leader named Saint Dominic.


(from: wikipedia - dominican order)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Codex Vaticanus

Heresy

We just learned about the Rosary.

Another part of early Christianity is Heresy.

Through the hundreds of years after Jesus died, the church had a lot of talks about what was true, and what was right.
Their decisions were put together into books like the Decretum Gratiani that we learned about.

Sometimes people would say things that went against those rules.
When some idea was against the rules the church decided, it was called heresy.
Someone who said something that was heresy was called a heretic.

The word comes from the Greek word αἵρεσις (haíresis) which means choice.

When the church started getting their own soldiers and having wars, they started using that new power to force people not to say any heresies.


(from: wikipedia - heresy)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Seven Ecumenical Councils

Rosary

We just learned about the Franciscans.

Another part of early Christianity is the Rosary.

In 1214 AD, a Spanish priest named Saint Dominic said that he had a dream of Mary the mother of Jesus.
She told him to make a necklace with beads on it, and the beads would be used to help say prayers.

Most rosaries have 59 beads, and a cross. The beads are either "Our Father" beads or "Hail Mary" beads.

Four of the beads hang down from the circle necklace, with the cross.
The circle necklace is grouped in 5 sets of haily mary 10 beads called "decades" or "mysteries" and separated by 1 our father bead.

When praying, a person starts at the cross, then moves up the chain to the circle, then around the circle saying a prayer for each bead.
Many prayers have to be memorized in order to do the whole rosary: The Apostle's Creed, The Lord's Prayer, Glory Be, Hail Holy Queen.

So for a full rosary reading, you would say:
- (From the crucifix) - The Apostle's Creed, The Lord's Prayer, 3 x Hail Mary, Glory Be
- (Mystery 1) - The Lord's Prayer, 10 x Hail Mary, Glory Be
- (Mystery 2) - The Lord's Prayer, 10 x Hail Mary, Glory Be
- (Mystery 3) - The Lord's Prayer, 10 x Hail Mary, Glory Be
- (Mystery 4) - The Lord's Prayer, 10 x Hail Mary, Glory Be
- (Mystery 5) - The Lord's Prayer, 10 x Hail Mary, Glory Be
- Hail Holy Queen


(from: wikipedia - rosary)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Christianity in Armenia

Franciscans

We just learned about the Battle on the Ice.

Another part of early Christianity is the Franciscans.

Long ago a man named Francis of Assisi decided to go live by himself like a hermit.

A bunch of other people who also wanted to live away from other people to worship God together and called themselves Franciscans, because of Francis.

These groups of people became the monks that we know about today.


(from: wikipedia - franciscans)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: First Council of Nicea

Battle on the Ice

We just learned about the Basilica of Saint-Denis.

Another part of early Christianity was the Battle on the Ice.

We learned before about some of the first groups of people fighting wars in the name of Christianity, called Crusades.
From the years 1200 through 1300 there were a lot more wars like this.

There were around a dozen different crusades through these years, and they fought all over Western and Eastern Europe, the Middle East, Western Asia, and even Northern Africa.

There was even a crusade that went into Russia and was fought on a frozen lake.
The Western church from places like Germany and France was fighting against the Eastern church in places like Russia.
In the battle the Russians won by a lot and Lake Peipus became a famous place in Russia where the Eastern church won an important battle.


(from: wikipedia - battle on the ice)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: The Golden Legend