Compiling a list of notable European people in the Western-Christian religion was tricky because I had to omit Jesus, St. Paul and St. Augustine, the first, second and third most important people in the formation of the faith. They were Middle Eastern and North African, but it felt strange to leave off people who had such a massive impact on Europe; please bare them in mind! This list is in chronological order.
Constantine the Great c. 280 - 337 CE
The son of an army officer, Constantine rose to become sole emperor of the Roman Empire, reuniting the east and west under his control. He was the first Roman Emperor to adopt Christianity, legalising the faith and laying the groundwork for the empire to become officially a Christian state and for the religion to spread across the Empire.Theodosius the Great 347 - 395
Theodosius ruled the eastern part of the Roman Empire from 379 and then the whole empire from 392. A Christian, he followed the Nicean Creed, as opposed to Arianism, and made an attempt to unify the whole empire under one version of Christianity when he declared that the Nicean Creed was the true basis for Catholic Christianity in 380. A church council approved the decision, albeit after the fact.Saint Benedict of Nursia 480 – 547
Often called the Father of Western Monasticism, Benedict was far from being the first monk, but he founded a monastery at Monte Casino and wrote a rule which became the basis for western monks for much of the middle ages. His order, the Benedictines, spread widely across Europe. In 1964, in honour of the evangelical work done by Benedictines, Benedict was named Patron Saint of all Europe by the Pope.Pope Gregory the Great 540 – 604
Elected Pope Gregory I from 590, Gregory the Great is considered the founder of the medieval version of the Papacy, despite initially shying away from the appointment. His views on morality and theology were key in the development of medieval spirituality, especially the emphasis he placed on the Eucharist. A man of great energy but frequent illness, he is considered one of the Latin Church Fathers.Saint Isidore of Seville 560 – 636
Considered the last of the Western Latin Church Fathers, Isidore was an archbishop and theologian who wrote on a wide variety of subjects, chief of which was the Etymologies, an encyclopaedia of earthly and divine knowledge. He also acted as the head of the Fourth Council of Toledo which reformed the Spanish church.Pope Urban II 1035 – 1099
A Frenchmen elected to the Pontificate in 1088, Urban II worked to secure the reforms of Gregory VII and strengthen the church and its political role, in both of which he was successful. He also tried to unite the Western/Latin church with the Eastern one, which failed. However, he is best known for starting the crusading movement with his call for Christians to retake the Holy Land, starting centuries of conflict.Saint Anselm of Canterbury 1033/4 – 1109
A theologian and philosopher, Anselm was the founder of Scholasticism, a form of religious thinking which dominated the next few centuries. He developed the ontological argument for the existence of God and a theory of redemption. He also served as the Archbishop of Canterbury in England for a short time, playing a major role in the Investiture Contest over who had the right to make ecclesiastical appointments.Saint Bernard of Clairvaux 1090 – 1153
Perhaps best known today as one of the leading men in the Cistercian monastic movement, Bernard was one of the leading churchmen of his day, assisting at Church councils, acting as an intermediary between rival Popes, advising five Popes and playing important roles in the development of doctrine. However, after being nominated to preach the Second Crusade, and doing so, he was attributed some of the blame for its failure.Saint Francis of Assisi 1181/2 - 1226
Born into a mercantile family in Assisi, Francis actually fought in a war between Assisi and Perugia before experiencing a vision which caused him to dedicate his life to God. He led a movement which mixed evangelical preaching with poverty, founding the order of the Franciscan Friars to travel, with few belongings, and spread the word. He also founded the Order of St. Claire for women.Saint Thomas Aquinas 1224/5 – 1274
An Italian Dominican friar and a theologian, Aquinas is considered the greatest of Catholicism’s western religious thinkers. His writings established him as the leading Scholasticist (the foremost religious philosophy of the twelfth to fourteenth centuries) of his era. He attempted to organise Latin theology and in his Summa Theologiae merged Greek philosophy with Christianity, though not without criticism.
