This was the last occasion when a single emperor ruled both halves of the Roman Empire.. Theodosius governed not from Rome in the West but at Constan-tinople in the wealthier and more po
Trang 1was defeated by Theodosius, which left him sole
emper-or femper-or the entire empire from Britain to eastern
Anato-lia This was the last occasion when a single emperor
ruled both halves of the Roman Empire Theodosius
governed not from Rome in the West but at
Constan-tinople in the wealthier and more populous East
Theodosius was a zealous Christian When he fell
ill in 380 and believed that he was near death, he was
baptized It was not uncommon to wait until just before
death for baptism in order to wash away sins However,
he recovered unexpectedly, becoming the fi rst emperor
to reign as a full member of the church This gave
bish-ops tremendous infl uence during his reign
When Christians destroyed a Jewish synagogue in
an Eastern city, Theodosius ordered the local bishop to
pay for its restoration Ambrose was appalled,
believ-ing that this demonstrated the triumph of Judaism over
Christianity He demanded the emperor rescind his order
if he wanted to stay in good standing with the church
The emperor yielded In 390, after Theodosius had
mas-sacred several thousand citizens in Thessalonica for the
murder of his military governor, Ambrose threatened
Theodosius with excommunication The emperor again
yielded, publicly repenting for his action
When Theodosius had fi rst reached the East, he
found the church struggling against Arianism, even
though Arian theology had been condemned at the
Council of Nicaea (325) Theodosius expelled Arian
clergy in Constantinople and fi rmly stood by the
Ortho-dox Church, including Patriarch Gregory Nazianzus
He called the Second Ecumenical Council that met in
Constantinople in 381 and ended the Arian threat
The-odosius also supported the church by legislating against
non-Christians He closed pagan temples, banned
pagan sacrifi ces, ended the pagan Olympic Games, and
declared Orthodox Christianity the offi cial religion of
the empire Henceforth, loyalty to the emperor was
determined by adherence to his theological position
Upon his death in 395 his younger son Honorius ruled
in the West, while his older son Arcadius ruled in the
East The dynasty of Theodosius ruled the empire until
at least 450
See also Cappadocians; late barbarians; Rome:
decline and fall
Further reading: Bury, J B A History of the Later Roman
Empire Vols 1 and 2 New York: Dover, 1958; Williams, S.,
and G Friell Theodosius: The Empire at Bay New Haven,
CT: Yale University Press, 1995
Matthew Herbst
Theravada and Mahayana Buddhism
Theravada and Mahayana Buddhism (often called northern Buddhism) are forms of Buddhism, a spiritual religion and philosophy created by Gautama Buddha (b c 566 b.c.e.) and followed by more than 700 mil-lion people worldwide Developed over thousands of years, Buddhist tradition ultimately leads to what is called enlightenment, becoming a Buddha, and break-ing the cycle of reincarnation Mahayana, derived from Theravada Buddhism, dominates in India, China, Tai-wan, Tibet, Japan, Korea, and Vietnam Theravada is often called southern Buddhism Theravada Buddhism
is more conservative and is popular in Sri Lanka, Thai-land, and Myanmar (Burma)
After his enlightenment the Buddha delivered his
fi rst sermon and set the framework for his teachings, consisting of the Four Noble Truths Buddha laid out the fundamental principles of nature that ruled the human condition He taught that these Four Noble Truths were the way people should frame their experi-ences The Four Noble Truths are Dukkha, the suffering
of people, stress, and discontent of ignorance;
Samuda-ya, the cause of this dissatisfaction is desire; Nirodha, the cessation of desire and the achievement of nirvana (extinguishing or liberation); and Magga, the path of practice that leads out of suffering and into nirvana, Noble Eightfold Path Buddha wandered the Indian plains for 45 more years Along his travels he taught what he had learned in the moment of his awakening Around him a community of monks, and later nuns, developed from every tribe and caste These followers believed in his path, or dharma, and devoted themselves
to his teachings Buddha did not call himself a deity, nor did he wish to be worshipped
THE FOUR NOBLE TRUTHS AND THE EIGHTFOLD PATH
Buddhist tradition teaches that living in ignorance of the Four Noble Truths is due to inexperience and desire
to frame the world on one’s own terms and thus, one remains bound to the cycle of birth, life, aging, illness, death, and rebirth in another life Craving and desire propel this cycle over the course of countless lifetimes in accordance with karmic actions The Buddha taught that gaining release from this cycle requires adherence to each
of the Four Noble Truths and to assign a task to each one The fi rst is to comprehend, the second to abandon, the third to realize, and the fourth to develop The full realization of the third is the path to enlightenment and the achievement of nirvana
Theravada and Mahayana Buddhism 461