Christendom refers to the worldwide community of Christians, encompassing all denominations and traditions that profess faith in Jesus Christ. The term highlights Christianity’s global reach and influence throughout history, tracing back to the apostolic era when the gospel first began to spread beyond Israel.
At its core, Christendom represents the collective body of believers united by their faith in Christ. This spiritual connection transcends national, ethnic, and denominational divisions. All Christians who trust in Jesus for salvation are part of the universal church, regardless of secondary doctrinal differences (Ephesians 4:4-6).
There are several key aspects that characterize Christendom:
- Alliance to Christ: Christendom refers to the society of those aligned with Christ, who profess Him as Lord and Savior. A defining mark is allegiance to Jesus above other gods or ideologies (Acts 4:12).
- Global Presence: Christendom encompasses Christians worldwide, not confined to any single region, ethnicity, or nation. The gospel transcends human boundaries (Matthew 28:19, Revelation 7:9).
- Diversity Within Unity: Christendom includes Catholics, Protestants, Orthodox, and other traditions. Despite disagreements, there is unity in the essentials of the faith (John 17:20-23).
- Institutional Structures: Christendom refers to organized Christianity under institutional systems like the Catholic hierarchy or Reformed denominations.
- Sociopolitical Influence: Historically, Christendom also represented Christianity’s societal influence in politics, law, education, arts, etc.
Origins and Expansion of Christendom
The foundations of Christendom were laid by Jesus Christ’s earthly ministry and fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy. The community of believers began as a small sect within Judaism, then rapidly expanded after Pentecost and the preaching of the apostles (Acts 2). The Great Commission (Matthew 28:19-20) propelled the fledgling church outward from Jerusalem into the farthest reaches of the Roman Empire.
By the early 4th century, Christianity gained status as a legal religion within the Roman Empire. Under Emperor Constantine, the faith began to transform from a persecuted minority to a favored religion. In 380 CE, Emperor Theodosius I established Christianity as the state religion. This marked a seminal turning point, facilitating the church’s acculturation into European society in the Middle Ages. Christendom became virtually synonymous with Western civilization and culture.
The historic work of missionary monks and priests drove the gospel into Northern and Eastern Europe in the following centuries. In the high Middle Ages, Christendom expanded beyond Europe through explorers, colonists, and missionaries, spreading Christianity globally over the next several centuries.
Characteristics and Institutions of Medieval Christendom
In medieval Europe, Christendom represented a unified religious culture that dominated society and infused all areas of life. Christianity provided the ideological foundation for thought, morality, customs, governance, and creativity. While centered in Catholicism, it included all baptized members of society.
Defining traits of medieval Christendom included:
- Supremacy of the Roman Catholic Church as the authority over secular rulers as well as spiritual matters
- Union of church and state, though each claimed authority in different spheres
- Unifying force that transcended feudal loyalties and ethnic identities
- Triumphalist worldview that saw Christianity as the pinnacle of truth, superior to all other religions
- Crusading zeal to reclaim the Holy Lands and convert non-Christians
- Gothic architecture, art, literature that expressed Christian themes
- Calendar structured around Christian holy days and seasons
- Education rooted in church schools and Christian philosophy
- Sacramental rituals marking major life events like birth, marriage, death
Vital institutions of medieval Christendom included the papacy, monasteries, universities, and channels for intellectual authority like Scholasticism. Christian kingdoms of Europe united (however tenuously) under shared values derived from Catholic teachings and Scripture. Church leaders mediated political disputes between nobles; papal sanction legitimized royal power. Bishops and abbots wielded both religious and secular authority as large landowners.
Historical Splintering of Western Christendom
The Protestant Reformation fractured the religious unity of medieval Christendom, as reformers like Martin Luther and John Calvin broke from Catholicism. This challenged the Catholic Church’s supremacy and exclusively Christian worldview. Religious wars erupted as Catholic and Protestant rulers vied for power. Eventually, the Peace of Westphalia (1648) established a system of separate Protestant and Catholic states.
The Enlightenment continued the fissure between faith and the growing secularity of European society. Revolutionary concepts of reason, liberty, and individualism clashed with traditional church authority and doctrine. Scientific advancement and biblical criticism stirred new controversy. While remaining culturally Christian, the public sphere shifted toward pluralism and a divide between church and state.
These cultural tremors continued through the 19th and 20th centuries via modernism, theological liberalism, evolution, and globalization. The hegemony of Christendom gradually gave way to a more diverse, polarized, and skeptical postmodern age. Western civilization moved beyond its distinctly Christian roots, as religious devotion declined in many countries.
Christendom and the Global Expansion of Christianity
Through exploration, colonization, and missionary work from the 15th-19th centuries, European Christendom transmitted Christianity across the world. Jesuit missionaries spearheaded evangelization in India, China, Japan and the Americas. British, French, and Dutch colonists established Christian institutions in their settlements. Sub-Saharan Africa, East Asia, and South America opened as fields ripe for missionary activity.
Indigenous forms of Christianity took root across Africa, Asia, and Latin America, under the auspices of European churches and mission groups. The faith spread through native evangelists and independent churches as well as foreign efforts. This marked a major geographic shift, as the Global South emerged as a new center of Christian vitality and growth.
Today, over 1/3 of Christians worldwide live in the Global South, particularly Africa and Latin America. The World Christian Encyclopedia estimated 2.5 billion Christians in mid-2020, encompassing one-third of the global population. Catholicism remains the largest tradition, followed by Protestantism and Eastern Orthodoxy.
Modern Critiques and Redefinitions
Postcolonial theologians have re-evaluated Christendom from the perspective of indigenous churches in Africa, Asia, and Latin America. Some criticize Christendom as unduly Western, imperialistic, and complicit in colonialism. Others celebrate its positive cultural contributions while calling for local contextualization.
In recent decades, some church leaders have promoted Christendom’s decolonization through cross-cultural partnership, resource-sharing, and decentralizing power from the West. Networks like the World Council of Churches facilitate cooperation across denominations and regions worldwide.
Within academia, the closely related term “Christianity” has largely replaced “Christendom” to describe the global Christian community. Christendom now frequently carries a negative tone, associated with Christianity’s entanglement in politics, oppression, or ecclesial abuse.
However, the heart of Christendom persists as the diverse, transnational body of Jesus’ followers. Despite imperfections, the church remains Christ’s chosen vehicle to redeem humanity and restore God’s kingdom on earth, according to Scripture (Matthew 16:18, 1 Timothy 3:15). Authentic unity transcends outward labels or institutional ties (1 Corinthians 12:12-13).
Christendom’s Legacy and Enduring Concept
For over two millennia, Christendom represented Christianity’s society and civilization, despite its internal differences and external changes. Its legacy remains present across the globe in families, morality, healthcare, education, literature and the arts. Vestiges persist in many nations’ culture, holidays, values, and built environment.
While its predominance has diminished since medieval times, Christendom’s basic notion continues of a transnational Christian commonwealth under God’s reign. The kingdom of God ultimately transcends every earthly polity and struggle (John 18:36). Christians worldwide await Christ’s return to consummate this eternal, unified community across time and space.
Despite its flaws, Christendom at its best cultivated human creativity and potential under God’s grace. Its countercultural vision calls believers in every age toward faithfulness in word and deed. The essence of Christendom remains tied to God’s redemptive plan for humanity across cultures and through ever-changing eras until Christ comes again.
