Episode 6 — From Empire to Christendom

Rome’s Collapse, Christianity’s Consolidation, and Europe’s Re-ordering

Position in the series

In Episodes 1–5 we established how Jesus’ Triumphal Entry publicly signalled kingship while redefining power (peaceful authority rather than coercive domination), and how that claim was read within a Roman–Jewish governance matrix and a Greek-speaking cultural world. Episode 6 traces what happens when that wider imperial order later fractures: how Rome “ends” (in stages), why that matters for Christian history, and how Europe’s political economy reconfigures into early medieval forms.

6.1 When did “Rome” end?

Western Roman Empire (conventional endpoint): AD 476. The standard marker is the deposition of Romulus Augustulus by Odoacer. (Oxford Reference)

Eastern Roman Empire / “Byzantine” endpoint: AD 1453. The conquest of Constantinople by the Ottomans is widely treated as the end of the Eastern Roman state. (Encyclopedia Britannica)

Important historical nuance: AD 476 is a conventional signpost, not a clean cliff-edge. Significant Roman institutions and “Roman-ness” persisted in Italy and the West under post-imperial rulers, and the transformation is better understood as a long, uneven process. (TIME)

6.2 Why did the Western Empire fragment?

Modern scholarship treats the Western collapse as multi-causal—a convergence of external pressures and internal stresses rather than a single event or single explanation. A concise synthesis includes:

  • External military pressure and “barbarian invasions” placing sustained strain on frontier defence and internal stability. (Encyclopedia Britannica)
  • Internal governance weaknesses (political instability, corruption/abuse, contested legitimacy), reducing the state’s capacity to respond coherently. (Encyclopedia Britannica)
  • Fiscal and economic disruption (inflationary pressures, taxation burdens, commercial instability), undermining both military and civic administration. (Encyclopedia Britannica)

This matters for the series because it reinforces a theme we have already seen in the Passion narrative: systems of power can look immovable—until their legitimacy, administrative coherence, and social consent erode.

6.3 What changed for Christianity after the Western collapse?

The fall of Western imperial administration did not dissolve Christianity. Instead, it accelerated Christianity’s institutional consolidation in at least four ways.

(1) The Church became a stabilising civic institution

As Western civic structures weakened, bishops and clerical networks increasingly carried public responsibilities (mediation, welfare, negotiation, local administration) because they remained among the few durable, trans-regional institutions. (Encyclopedia Britannica)
A well-documented example is Gregory I (“the Great”), whose papal leadership is often discussed in relation to the papacy’s expanding administrative and diplomatic role in post-imperial Italy. (Encyclopedia Britannica)

(2) Christianity supplied a “shared frame” across successor kingdoms

As Roman unity fractured into multiple polities, Christianity increasingly served as a cross-cultural organising identity, shaping law, education, moral discourse, and diplomacy across diverse peoples and rulers. (Encyclopedia Britannica)

(3) Christianisation of rulers altered legitimacy claims

Conversion of rulers could reshape political legitimacy by aligning kingship with the Church’s moral and sacral authority. The conversion of Clovis is a frequently cited example in the Latin West for how royal conversion could influence wider social and political trajectories. (Encyclopedia Britannica)

(4) Monastic and cathedral cultures preserved and transmitted learning

Monastic scriptoria and ecclesial libraries played an important role in the copying, preservation, and circulation of texts (biblical, liturgical, and also wider learning), especially in contexts of reduced urban literacy and infrastructure. (Encyclopedia Britannica)

6.4 How did Europe change politically and economically after Rome?

It is common (though increasingly contested in wording) to describe the early post-Roman West as a period of political fragmentation and localisation. Many historians prefer “Early Middle Ages” over the blanket label “Dark Ages,” because the period includes both rupture and innovation. (Encyclopedia Britannica)

Two structural shifts are especially relevant:

(1) From imperial administration to local lordship

With weaker central extraction and protection capacities, security and governance became more local, negotiated, and land-based. (Encyclopedia Britannica)

(2) The emergence of feudal relations (in broad terms)

“Feudalism” is debated in detail, but at a basic level it refers to land-for-service and personalised bonds of obligation that became prominent in parts of medieval Europe (varying by region and century). (Encyclopedia Britannica)

6.5 A theological lens: Augustine, the sack of Rome, and “two cities”

A crucial moment for Christian political theology is the Sack of Rome (AD 410) and its aftermath. Augustine’s City of God (begun in the early 5th century) is closely associated with interpreting Rome’s vulnerability and relativising the claims of earthly power. (Encyclopedia Britannica)

For our series, the connection is direct:

  • Jesus’ entry announces kingship without imperial coercion.
  • Rome’s later instability becomes a historical theatre in which Christians articulate the distinction between ultimate loyalty to God’s reign and provisional participation in earthly polities.

6.6 Lessons drawn from Episodes 1–6

Secular (history, leadership, governance)

  • Legitimacy is not identical with force. Empires can field armies yet lose coherence when administration, economy, and moral credibility decay. (Encyclopedia Britannica)
  • Institutions that endure are those that hold trust and continuity. Post-Roman civic stability often depended on durable social infrastructure—frequently ecclesial. (Encyclopedia Britannica)

Biblical and spiritual

  • The kingdom of God confronts empires without mirroring them. The Triumphal Entry’s donkey-sign is not “anti-political”; it is a redefinition of power.
  • Earthly orders are provisional; faithfulness is not. Augustine’s framing after AD 410 presses believers to refuse panic and resist idolatry of the state. (Encyclopedia Britannica)

Motivational (practice)

  • Choose “donkey-shaped” leadership when the moment demands it: clarity of purpose, non-theatrical integrity, refusal to weaponise power.
  • Build for longevity: invest in education, discipline, and communities of practice (what monasteries institutionalised at scale). (Encyclopedia Britannica)

Meditation (short guided reflection)

  • Sit with the contrast: imperial spectacle versus humble kingship.
  • Ask: Where am I tempted to secure outcomes by coercion, image-management, or fear?
  • Practise a concrete act of “peaceful authority” this week: a truthful conversation, a reconciliatory step, a principled refusal to retaliate.

Preaching shape you can deliver from this episode

Sermon Title: When Empires Fade and the Kingdom Remains

  1. Rome’s power had an expiry date (AD 476 as a signpost; the deeper truth is gradual fragility). (Oxford Reference)
  2. Christ’s kingship enters without coercion (the donkey is not weakness—it is a different kind of authority).
  3. God preserves witness through enduring communities (bishops, monasteries, scripture, teaching—faith outliving regimes). (Encyclopedia Britannica)

References

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