How Rome’s Collapse Reshaped Christianity and Reconfigured European Power
1. Why this episode matters to the series
Across our earlier episodes, the Triumphal Entry showed Jesus publicly redefining kingship—authority expressed through humility, truth, and peace rather than coercion. Episode 14 traces the long political arc of that confrontation: what happened when Rome’s western imperial system collapsed, and how the church’s institutional endurance reshaped governance, culture, and public authority in post-Roman Europe.
2. What “the fall of Rome” actually means
It is historically precise to say that the Western Roman Empire ended in AD 476, when Romulus Augustulus was deposed by Odoacer. (oxfordbibliographies.com)
However, “Rome” did not vanish overnight:
- The Eastern Roman Empire (often called the Byzantine Empire) continued for centuries, preserving Roman imperial institutions in the eastern Mediterranean. (Encyclopedia Britannica)
- In the West, imperial bureaucracy and security weakened unevenly, producing regional variation rather than a single “switch-off” moment. (Encyclopedia Britannica)
Key political implication: the end of the Western Empire was less a single catastrophe than an extended reallocation of power, from central imperial administration towards local elites, military leaders, and—crucially—bishops. (Encyclopedia Britannica)
3. Why Christianity did not collapse with the Western Empire
3.1 The church was organised to survive political fragmentation
Late Roman Christianity increasingly mapped itself onto imperial administrative geography: bishops oversaw church life within civic territories (dioceses), which meant the church already had durable local leadership embedded in cities and regions. (Encyclopedia Britannica)
3.2 Bishops began to function as civic stabilisers
As western civic administration faltered in the 5th–6th centuries, bishops in many places assumed practical responsibilities for supplying cities and helping administer local affairs, partially replacing older municipal structures. (Encyclopedia Britannica)
This is a major political shift: the church became not merely a spiritual community, but a public institution capable of continuity where imperial offices became intermittent or contested.
3.3 The papacy’s role matured in a changed political landscape
Over time, the office of the bishop of Rome (the papacy) accumulated greater jurisdictional and political significance, particularly as Italy’s power dynamics shifted and Rome’s bishops navigated changing relationships with imperial and regional authorities. (Encyclopedia Britannica)
4. Europe after Rome: why “Dark Ages” and feudalism enter the story
4.1 Urban contraction and the localisation of life
A standard historical summary of the early medieval West highlights declines in population, economic vitality, and urban prominence, alongside migrations and the formation of new kingdoms. (Encyclopedia Britannica)
4.2 Land, protection, and the logic behind feudal relationships
With weakened central enforcement and reduced long-distance security in many regions, power often concentrated among those controlling land and armed followings. This is one context in which “feudal” arrangements (lordship, vassalage, fiefs) are commonly discussed—though modern scholarship also stresses that “feudalism” is a contested umbrella term rather than a single uniform system. (Encyclopedia Britannica)
4.3 Monastic and ecclesiastical literacy as infrastructure
Monastic communities became key centres of learning and scribal labour, producing literate personnel and preserving texts through copying and library culture—an important reason the church remained structurally influential across centuries of political change. (Encyclopedia Britannica)
5. Biblical-theological integration: “kingdom” versus “empire” across time
Episode 14 does not claim that the early medieval church simply “replaced” Rome in a pure sense; rather, it shows a structural irony consistent with the Gospel narrative:
- Jesus’ kingdom announcement confronts coercive power without mirroring it (the donkey rather than the war horse).
- Centuries later, as western imperial order disintegrates, the most persistent trans-regional institution is not an army or senate, but an ecclesial network of bishops, monasteries, and teaching structures. (Encyclopedia Britannica)
This provides a coherent “political theology” reading: the Christian movement’s long-term influence was not secured primarily by military means, but by institutional formation, moral authority, literacy, and local presence.
6. Preaching framework you can deliver from this episode
Sermon Title Options
- “When Empires Fall: The Kingdom That Remains”
- “Power That Serves: From Jerusalem to Post-Roman Europe”
- “The Donkey and the Crown: Authority Without Coercion”
Three Movements (simple, preachable)
- Jesus redefines kingship (Gospels): authority expressed through humility and truth (Triumphal Entry lens).
- Rome fragments (history): when coercive systems weaken, communities still need order, care, and meaning (AD 476 as a turning point). (oxfordbibliographies.com)
- The church endures (witness): bishops, monasteries, and Christian teaching become stabilising structures—showing how faith can form resilient communities. (Encyclopedia Britannica)
Application Lines (contemporary)
- Lead like the donkey-King: credibility through service, not display.
- Build institutions of peace: literacy, discipleship, charity, and accountability outlast crisis cycles.
- Do not confuse empire with kingdom: Christian public influence must remain cruciform, not coercive.
Reflection questions (study / meditation)
- Where do I equate “authority” with force, visibility, or control rather than service?
- In my community, what structures would remain if “normal life” destabilised—relationships, teaching, care systems, integrity?
- What is one concrete practice (weekly) that builds long-term resilience: prayer, learning, generosity, reconciliation, disciplined speech?
Reference list
- Encyclopaedia Britannica (2025a) Late antiquity: the reconfiguration of the Roman world (incl. bishops’ civic responsibilities). Available at: Encyclopaedia Britannica website (Accessed: 22 January 2026). (Encyclopedia Britannica)
- Encyclopaedia Britannica (2025b) The organisation of late imperial Christianity. Available at: Encyclopaedia Britannica website (Accessed: 22 January 2026). (Encyclopedia Britannica)
- Encyclopaedia Britannica (2025c) History of early Christianity (on diocesan organisation). Available at: Encyclopaedia Britannica website (Accessed: 22 January 2026). (Encyclopedia Britannica)
- Encyclopaedia Britannica (2026a) The Middle Ages (government; feudal system context). Available at: Encyclopaedia Britannica website (Accessed: 22 January 2026). (Encyclopedia Britannica)
- Encyclopaedia Britannica (n.d.) Middle Ages summary. Available at: Encyclopaedia Britannica website (Accessed: 22 January 2026). (Encyclopedia Britannica)
- Encyclopaedia Britannica (n.d.) Education: Europe in the Middle Ages (monastic learning). Available at: Encyclopaedia Britannica website (Accessed: 22 January 2026). (Encyclopedia Britannica)
- Encyclopaedia Britannica (n.d.) Library: The Middle Ages and the Renaissance (monastic libraries). Available at: Encyclopaedia Britannica website (Accessed: 22 January 2026). (Encyclopedia Britannica)
- Oxford Bibliographies (2012) Feudalism (historiographical complexity). Available at: Oxford Bibliographies website (Accessed: 22 January 2026). (oxfordbibliographies.com)
- Oxford Academic (n.d.) Feudalism in The Oxford Handbook of the Ancien Régime (definition and origins overview). Available at: Oxford Academic website (Accessed: 22 January 2026). (OUP Academic)
- Source on AD 476 deposition (Odoacer/Romulus Augustulus). Available online (Accessed: 22 January 2026). (oxfordbibliographies.com)