Unit 5: The Medieval Church

Unit Overview:
This unit focuses on the organization and role of the Catholic Church in Medieval Europe. This unit is aimed to help the students develop a more nuanced understanding of the roles of the catholic clergy and monasticism during the Middle Ages and compare it to the role of the Church today. This unit will also help our students increase their tolerance and respect for other religions by discussing the similarities and differences between different belief systems.

Lesson 1: The Church Hierarchy

Overview: This lesson focuses on how the Catholic Church is organized. It covers the hierarchy of the clergy and their respective roles.





Click here for larger view

Enjoy the story book that helps you know more about the organization and ranks within the Roman Catholic Church.....


Lesson 2: Monasticism

Overview: This lesson focuses on the origins of monasticism and the roles of monks and nuns in medieval society.

Monasticism started in Egypt back in the third century!
To escape Roman persecution and enjoy freedom of worship, the first hermits moved away to the Eastern and western Desert. By time, hermits formed monastic communities. The map below introduces the first monastic community known to man.


View A Journey to the Monastery of Saint Anotonie, Egypt in a larger map


Lesson 3: The Decline of Church Power

Overview: This lesson covers how the role of the Church was undermined during the late medieval period. The emergence of new ideas that threatened the authority of the church paved that way for the Reformation and later the Renaissance.

Biographical Sketch Assignment:

Instructions:
Use the search engine posted below to write a one page biographical sketch of one of the following scientists/thinkers:

John Wycliffe
Jan Hus
Johannes Kepler
Nicolas Copernicus
Galileo Galilee

Fill in the online sign-up sheet to choose your figure

FOR EXTRA CREDIT....
Create your own podcast using Audacity and record your biography script to share with your class and with other people who visit our blog. Please see me for instructions on how to use audacity to create your podcast.

Click the play icon below to listen to a podcast about the biography of John Wycliffe.

Click here to view the script for this podcast.