%0 Journal Article
%T Da cruz ¨¤s espadas: A autoridade pol¨ªtica no pensamento medieval ocidental
%A Dawisson Bel¨¦m Lopes
%J Revista Estudos Hum(e)anos
%D 2010
%I Universidade Federal Fluminense (UFF)
%X Christianity played an important part in shaping the understanding that today we bring about the political authority in the West. The Church became ¡°Roman¡±, as it became adapted to the political thought of ancient Rome. Constantine the Great, relied on the Church to ensure to the Empire ¨C already declining ¨C the protection of the ¡°Almighty God¡±. On the opposite hand, Christianity has emulated the steps of the Empire, finally managing to overcome anti-institutional and anti-political trends that, at first, surrounded the creed. Christianity succeeded where the Hellenic and the Romans had failed, creating a new and more powerful idea of community. Although the nature of the community openly contrasted with classical ideals, and its historical purpose across time and space, it contained within itself germs of solidarity and inclusion, which would leave its mark on Western thought. The accelerated expansion of Christianity and the evolution of its institutional complex were accompanied by a politicization of the Church, visible in the behavior and in the language, whose sequel was the most unexpected people continually inculcating standards of its educational policies. The notion of ¡°civility¡±, the basis for understanding today¡¯s civil rights, is still a legacy of the Roman Christian Church.
%K Political Authority
%K Roman Catholic Church
%U http://revista.estudoshumeanos.com/da-cruz-as-espadas-a-autoridade-politica-no-pensamento-medieval-ocidental/