Christendom Tamed
Peter Toon on Postmodernity & Asceticism
Why do we refer to a lengthy period of Western European history, from the early Middle Ages through the Reformation, as “Christendom”? Not because every person in that period, or even the majority of people, were living virtuous lives, obeying the commandments of Christ Jesus.
We call it Christendom for several reasons. (The word means “the Christian jurisdiction” or “the place where Christianity prevails.”) First, everyone was baptized in the Name of the Holy Trinity. Second, history was universally seen as beginning with the Creation and then the Fall, as centering upon the Incarnation, and as ending with the Second Coming of Christ Jesus and the Final Judgment. Third, the Christian Festivals, including the weekly Lord’s Day (Sunday), gave meaning to the days and weeks and months of the year. Public worship was central to life.
THIS ARTICLE ONLY AVAILABLE TO SUBSCRIBERS.
FOR QUICK ACCESS:
subscription options
Order
Print/Online Subscription
Get six issues (one year) of Touchstone PLUS full online access including pdf downloads for only $39.95. That's only $3.34 per month!
Order
Online Only
Subscription
Get a one-year full-access subscription to the Touchstone online archives for only $19.95. That's only $1.66 per month!
bulk subscriptions
Order Touchstone subscriptions in bulk and save $10 per sub! Each subscription includes 6 issues of Touchstone plus full online access to touchstonemag.com—including archives, videos, and pdf downloads of recent issues for only $29.95 each! Great for churches or study groups.
Transactions will be processed on a secure server.
more from the online archives
33.3—May/June 2020
Maternal Body: A Theology of Incarnation from the Christian East by Carrie Frederick Frost
Fertile Ground: A Pilgrimage Through Pregnancy by Laura S. Jansson by Agnes R. Howard
18.4—May 2005
The Idylls, Idols & Devils That Corrupt the Moral Imagination by Vigen Guroian
24.3—May/June 2011
The Making & Endurance of the King James Bible, 1611-2011 by Barton Swaim
calling all readers
Please Donate
"There are magazines worth reading but few worth saving . . . Touchstone is just such a magazine."
—Alice von Hildebrand
"Here we do not concede one square millimeter of territory to falsehood, folly, contemporary sentimentality, or fashion. We speak the truth, and let God be our judge. . . . Touchstone is the one committedly Christian conservative journal."
—Anthony Esolen, Touchstone senior editor
