Question 1

Which of the following was not one of the important and prestigious sees of the Church?&#10;A) Rome&#10;B) Alexandria&#10;C) Jerusalem&#10;D) Athens

Accepted Answer

Rome, Alexandria, and Jerusalem were all considered important and prestigious sees of the Church because they were associated with significant events in Christianity's early history (Rome being the seat of the Papacy, Alexandria and Jerusalem were centers of early Christian scholarship). Athens, while significant in the ancient world, was not as important to the Church and was never considered a major see.

Question 2

Which of the following was not used by the West to justify the supremacy of Rome?&#10;A) Jesus said his church would be built on Peter&#10;B) Jesus gave Peter ultimate authority&#10;C) Paul acknowledged Peter's position as head of the church&#10;D) Peter's authority is passed on through the office he founded in Rome

Accepted Answer

Paul's acknowledgment of Peter's position as head of the church is not specifically cited as a justification for the supremacy of Rome in traditional Christian doctrine. The other options directly relate to theological arguments used historically to justify the primacy of the Bishop of Rome (the Pope), based on interpretations of New Testament texts and the belief in apostolic succession from Peter.

Question 3

Which of the following was not a major issue that led to the split between East and West?&#10;A) The authority of the Pope&#10;B) The filioque controversy&#10;C) The iconoclastic controversy&#10;D) The purgatory controversy

Accepted Answer

The purgatory controversy did not play a major role in the split between East and West. The split was mainly due to the authority of the Pope, the filioque controversy (the disagreement over whether the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father alone or from both the Father and Son), and the iconoclastic controversy (the debate over the use of religious images and icons).

Question 4

The filioque controversy concerns:&#10;A) whether Latin should be the official language of the Church&#10;B) whether the Bishop of Rome has ultimate papal authority&#10;C) whether the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Son and well as the Father&#10;D) whether the authority of the church fathers is equal to that of the Bible

Accepted Answer

The filioque controversy concerns the question of whether the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Son as well as the Father, which was added to the Nicene Creed by the Latin Church without the consent of the Eastern churches, leading to a theological dispute between the two.

Question 5

Which of these best describes the Eastern understanding of the Trinity?&#10;A) The unity of the persons of the Trinity&#10;B) The communal three-ness of the Trinity&#10;C) The hierarchal relationship of the persons of the Trinity&#10;D) Tritheism

Accepted Answer

The Eastern understanding of the Trinity emphasizes the communal three-ness of the Trinity, highlighting the dynamic love and relationship between the three divine persons rather than their individual unity or hierarchical relationship. This is often referred to as the doctrine of perichoresis.

Question 6

The inconoclastic controversy involved:&#10;A) the prohibition of images depicting Christ&#10;B) veneration of Mary&#10;C) venerating the relics of saints&#10;D) the role of indulgences

Accepted Answer

The iconoclastic controversy was a religious dispute in the Byzantine Empire over the use of religious images or icons. Supporters of the prohibition of images believed that the use of images depicting Christ or other religious figures was a form of idolatry and therefore should be banned. This controversy lasted from the 8th to the 9th century and was a major issue in the Church.

Question 7

What was John of Damascus's central argument in favor of using images?&#10;A) There are examples of using images in the Bible&#10;B) The Church Fathers used images for centuries&#10;C) There was a change in the status of God's relationship to the visible world with the coming of Christ&#10;D) Failure to use images results in the overemphasis on matter.

Accepted Answer

John of Damascus argued that with the coming of Christ, there was a change in the status of God's relationship to the visible world. He believed that God became visible in the person of Jesus Christ, and therefore it was appropriate to use images as a means of honoring and venerating Him. John of Damascus also believed that the use of images helped in the spiritual understanding of the scriptures and allowed for a deeper connection between believers and God.

Question 8

What of the following was not an argument against utilizing images to depict Christ?&#10;A) Images either confuse or separate the two nature of Christ&#10;B) This elevates one of the persons of the Trinity above the others&#10;C) Using them is idolatrous&#10;D) Places undo importance on the material realm.

Accepted Answer

Utilizing images to depict Christ does not necessarily elevate one of the persons of the Trinity above the others, so this was not an argument against it. The other options (A, C, and D) are all arguments that have been made against using images of Christ.

Question 9

A collection of major writings of the Eastern Fathers from the fourth to the fifteenth century is:&#10;A) the Apocrypha&#10;B) the Philokalia&#10;C) the Book of the Dead&#10;D) the Didache

Accepted Answer

The Philokalia is a collection of writings from prominent Eastern Orthodox Christian monastic writers and theologians, spanning from the fourth to fifteenth centuries. The texts included encompass topics such as prayer, the nature of humanity, and asceticism. The Apocrypha is a collection of Jewish and Christian texts considered non-canonical or of dubious authenticity, the Book of the Dead is an ancient Egyptian funerary text, and the Didache is an early Christian manual of church practice.

Question 10

What was the Hesychast controversy about?&#10;A) Whether God can be known through moments of mystical ecstasy&#10;B) Which saints had more authority&#10;C) Whether prayers should be addressed to individual members of the Trinity&#10;D) The role of women within monastic communities.

Accepted Answer

The Hesychast controversy was primarily about whether or not God could be known through moments of mystical ecstasy, specifically through the practice of the Jesus Prayer, which involved repeating the name of Jesus over and over in order to reach a state of stillness and inner peace. The controversy arose in the Byzantine Empire in the fourteenth century, and involved a dispute between the Hesychasts, who believed in the possibility of direct contemplation of God, and their opponents, who saw this as a form of heresy.

Deck 13: Eastern Christianity Splits From the West