Episode 4 - On the Christian-Muslim Encounter & Church Schisms

This episode begins with a discussion of early Christian-Muslim interactions, especially in the “Oriental Church,” or what is the present-day Middle East. Then, Dr. Sawyer continues her conversation with Dr. Friesen on Schisms: first the Great Schism of 1054 which separated the Greek East from the Latin West, then the Reformation, which birthed the Protestant Church from the Roman Catholic Church (in the West).[00:10] See this simple timeline for events covered in this episode. [01:11] The Chalcedonian Definition can be read online here.[01:45] The primary source from this section is Sidney H. Griffith, The Church in the Shadow of the Mosque: Christians and Muslims in the World of Islam (Princeton University Press, 2008).[06:42] This is from an 11th century source, archived by CUNY, but originally published by Franceso Gabriell, Arab Historians of the Crusades (University of California Press, 1969).[10:07] If you remember our definition from class: “Hybridity notes the same blending or merging [that terms like ‘syncretism’ does], but also takes into account dynamics of unequal power in colonial relationships.” (From Sara Parks, Shayna Sheinfeld, and Meredith J.C. Warren, Jewish and Christian Women in the Ancient Mediterranean [Routledge, 2021]). [13:06] I am a little incorrect here. Bishops from the West were a part of the Council of Nicaea (though not in great number). They were less involved in the Council of Chalcedon because they were settled on the understanding of Jesus as two substances, one person (via Tertullian). Language difference likely played a role in settling this debate.[15:21] Phyllis Tickle, The Great Emergence: How Christianity Is Changing and Why[23:10] Again, Audre Lorde: “The master's tools will never dismantle the master's house.”[24:06] This is what Dr. Friesen and I were discussing specifically. [25:07] Pope Francis posed this question regarding gay Catholics. See this article by the BBC.