In this lesson, we explore the thousand-year period roughly from 500-1500, during which the Church mostly existed as the Roman Catholic Church. We will see some ways in which the Catholic Church developed new understandings and practices that had not been part of the earlier church. We will explore how some Christians separated from the mainstream church in order to focus on God in monastic life. Finally, we will look at three key ways that philosophy influenced the church in the late Middle Ages and continues to influence us today.

This lesson aims to equip you to:

1. Distinguish between the various monastic groups that arose in the early church and Middle Ages.
2. Describe how the Roman Catholic Church developed some unique thinking on matters like the authority of the Pope, the celibacy of priests, purgatory, and so forth.
3. Explain the three basic philosophical approaches to how what we know relates to reality, as exemplified by Anselm, Aquinas, and William of Ockham.