Deck 9: Christianitys Spiritual Life

Question 1

Monachos, Greek for monk, literally means what?

A) Contemplation
B) Desert
C) Asceticism
D) Solitary

Answer 1

D

Question 2

The author said that monks became white martyrs. What did he mean by that?

A) Monks tended to die in the desert after having witnessed a life of purity
B) Instead of battling the beasts of the Coliseum, they battled against the beasts of internal sinfulness
C) By praying unceasingly, their faces were offered up to God and became radiant
D) They were said to join the early martyrs by their dying to themselves

Answer 2

B

Question 3

How did Symeon the Stylite model the monastic life?

A) He lived on a sixty-foot-tall pillar
B) He preached from a monastic rooftop
C) He created a new model of working monks
D) He made reed baskets while in prayer and sold them to feed the poor

Answer 3

A

Question 4

Anchoritic monasticism refers to:

A) Monks who never left the monastery
B) A monastery that principally drew members from sailors off of Alexandria
C) Monks who lived as hermits
D) Monks who previously had been priests

Question 5

Why was Antony of Egypt important?

A) He was the first great abbot of a large monastery
B) He became a model of what a monk was to be
C) By levitating in prayer, he showed that the life of prayer could defy the normal laws of nature
D) He preached monasticism in Constantinople, creating a new wave of monks

Question 6

How long did Antony live?

A) 33 years (same as Christ)
B) 77 years
C) 95 years
D) 105 years

Question 7

Who were the ammas?

A) Women spiritual guides of the desert
B) Women deacons who lived monastically, but in the church compound
C) Typically wealthy women who subsidized the monastic movement
D) Women who preached about the ascetical life in churches that would allow them

Question 8

The author describes the relationship between early monasticism and the institutional church as:

A) An electrical jolt
B) A wound in the heart
C) A wound to the conscience
D) A silent revolution

Question 9

What is coenobitic monasticism?

A) Monasticism devoted to reformation of the clergy
B) Monasticism devoted to copying scripture
C) Monasticism devoted to copying all religious texts
D) Monasticism focused on community life

Question 10

Who did the author identify as one of the great innovators of communal monasticism?

A) Pachomius
B) Antony
C) Pontus Deus
D) Albertus Magnus

Question 11

What was Basil's innovation to monasticism?

A) He created a monastic life entirely made up of clergy
B) He created monasteries that had both men and women (though they lived separately)
C) He created urban-centered monasteries
D) He demanded that all of his priests become monks first

Question 12

What was John Cassian's greatest contribution to monasticism?

A) He wrote the Regula Magistri
B) He wrote the Conferences
C) He disseminated Basil's Longer Rules for Monks in the West
D) He founded the first monastery in the West

Question 13

What was the most dramatic thing that happened to Benedict when he was first Abbot?

A) He was discovered levitating
B) Every monk left the monastery to become a priest
C) The monks in his monastery all resigned
D) The monks in his monastery tried to kill him

Question 14

Who was Benedict's sister?

A) Scholastica
B) Junia
C) Benedicta
D) Fontana

Question 15

According to the author, how was Benedict's Rule different from what one reads in Cassian?

A) Benedict's Rule now allowed monks to leave the monastery for work
B) Benedict's Rule only required that monks come to chapel once a day
C) Benedict's Rule has nothing to say about contemplation
D) Benedict's Rule demanded that the abbot be a priest

Question 16

What is Lectio Divina?

A) A four-fold method of scriptural prayer
B) A practice of divination using lots (dice)
C) The form of speaking for God
D) Benedict's expression for how one receives the grace of prophecy

Question 17

What was a basilica similar to in style?

A) The temple in Jerusalem
B) A Jewish synagogue
C) A Roman temple devoted to Jupiter
D) A Roman public building

Question 18

What are Christian liturgical rites in church called?

A) Holy Orders
B) Sacraments
C) Divina Operatus
D) The church at prayer

Question 19

According to the author, how elaborate was the Eucharist in the early church?

A) It was probably relatively simple
B) It was imagined a miniature version of Jewish temple worship
C) It was just elaborate enough to include the main parts of a Jewish Seder meal
D) It was exactly what they believed the Last Supper was supposed to be

Question 20

Many Orthodox churches have an enormous painting on their central dome. What is this a painting of?

A) Heaven
B) The Trinity
C) Mary
D) Jesus

Question 21

In 988, Prince Vladimir sent ambassadors to Constantinople. On entering the church of the Hagia Sophia, what was their experience?

A) They were so amazed at the architecture that they made copies to reproduce it in Kiev
B) They reported that they wanted to live on the church grounds for the rest of their lives
C) They reported that they did not know whether they were still on earth or had entered heaven
D) They found themselves so dizzy that they had to leave the church for a while, only to return and become dizzy again

Question 22

Does the author say that Eastern Orthodox Eucharist merges heaven and earth?

A) No, he said that it tries to copy heaven
B) No, he said that it prays to be accepted like that of the angels
C) Yes, he said that they engage in a type of heavenly liturgy with the angels
D) Yes, he said that heaven has a Eucharist, earth has a Eucharist, and yet there is but one Eucharist

Question 23

What is an iconostasis?

A) A tower that depicts images of God
B) A series of icons that separate the sanctuary from the rest of the church
C) A pillar in the church that is intended to symbolically ascend to heaven
D) A large wall in a church that depicts an image of Mary and the saints

Question 24

According to the author, who is the greatest saint in the Eastern Orthodox Church?

A) Peter
B) Paul
C) Mary
D) Constantine

Question 25

Many Orthodox liturgical texts refer to Mary as what?

A) "Second goddess"
B) "Pinnacle of Virginity"
C) "Light-Bearer"
D) "Mother of the universe"

Question 26

The two great icon controversies spanned what years?

A) Second-third centuries
B) Fifth and sixth centuries
C) Eighth and ninth centuries
D) Eleventh and twelfth centuries

Question 27

Those who objected to icons were called:

A) Image haters
B) Idonodules
C) Iconoclasts
D) Keepers of the faith

Question 28

Which ecumenical council declared icons acceptable?

A) Nicaea
B) Ephesus
C) Nicaea II
D) Chalcedon

Question 29

What does the term hesychasm mean?

A) Inner stillness
B) Elated proclamation
C) Deep devotion
D) Finding God

Question 30

What is the Jesus Prayer:

A) Another term for the Our Father or Lord's Prayer
B) Petitioning Jesus' mercy through the breath
C) Gazing at icons of Jesus
D) Trying to become the very prayer of Jesus

Question 31

Early expressions of monasticism were varied.

Question 32

One of the roles monks had for Christianity at large was as potent intercessors to God.

Question 33

The author of the Life of Antony was Pachomius.

Question 34

Antony was a desert father in Eastern Syria.

Question 35

Pachomius was one of the greatest articulators of anchoritic monasticism.

Question 36

Monastic ammas hold a similar role as monastic abbas.

Question 37

Monasticism took a long time to eventually be adopted in the West.

Question 38

According to the author, Benedictine monasticism provides a vision of a sacramental world.

Question 39

Benedictine life is often depicted through the phrase beatus et contemplatio.

Question 40

The bishop's church was called the cathedral.

Question 41

The author describes engaging past events through sacraments as an anamnesis. This literally means "remembering."

Question 42

The Council of Ephesus declared Mary as the Son Provider.

Question 43

Orthodox Christians consider Mary to be another Eve.

Question 44

Icon literally means "face."

Question 45

The Jesus Prayer is highly controversial in Eastern Orthodoxy.

Question 46

In the early church, there were deeply rooted disagreements concerning the use of icons. Even today, there are diverse approaches to their use. From a Christian theological view, do you think the church decided right or wrong on the issue in the eighth century? What are your reasons for your views?

Question 47

Monasticism gained a reputation for being an ideal expression of Christian spirituality. What are some arguments in favor of and against continuing to view it as such today?

Question 48

The sacraments are believed to serve as intermediaries between God and believers. Do you think sacraments can actually convey actual spiritual reality?

Question 49

One of the most exotic expressions of monastic asceticism is that of Symeon the Stylite, who dwelt for years on a pillar. As the author notes, Christians from neighboring cities and villages hoisted food for him and sought his spiritual advice as well as intercessions for healing. What do you make of such a Christian witness?

Question 50

The Orthodox use the Jesus Prayer claims that ultimately one could worship God in utter stillness. What is your reaction to this claim? Do you think it is possible or even commendable for having a "perpetual silent prayer" ongoing in one's psyche? Explain your answer.