Expression

Justinian I (c. 482-565) rose from peasant roots in the Balkans to become one of the most ambitious emperors in history — and he ruled beside an equally remarkable partner, the Empress Theodora. Theodora's beginnings were even humbler: she was the daughter of a bear-keeper at the circus and worked as an actress, a low-status profession in that world, before marrying Justinian. Yet she became his closest adviser and, many historians argue, the steel in his spine. During the Nika riots of 532, when furious crowds nearly overthrew him and Justinian prepared to flee the city, Theodora reportedly refused, declaring that 'royalty is a fine burial shroud' — she would rather die an empress than live a fugitive. Her resolve held the throne. Together they reshaped the empire: Justinian's legal scholars produced the great Code that preserved Roman law for the West; his builders raised Hagia Sophia; and Theodora used her influence to protect the poor and reform laws affecting women. Their faces still gaze out from the golden mosaics of San Vitale in Ravenna, which you studied on Day 2 — a rare chance to look directly at the people who held the Roman world together as the West collapsed. Justinian's reign is the high point of early Byzantium and a bridge between the ancient and medieval worlds.

Just as the empire had two halves, Christian sacred music developed in two great traditions — what St. John Paul II would later call the 'two lungs' of the Church, East and West. Last week you heard the roots of Western chant in St. Ambrose. This week, listen east. Byzantine chant is the liturgical singing of the Greek-speaking Christian world, and it has been sung in an unbroken tradition for over 1,500 years — you can still hear it today in Orthodox and Eastern Catholic churches. Like early Western chant, Byzantine chant is monophonic (a single melodic line) and primarily vocal, with no instruments; the human voice alone is considered the worthiest offering. But it has its own distinct sound: it often uses a sustained drone note called the ison, over which the melody weaves, giving it a haunting, otherworldly quality. Byzantine chant is organized into eight modes (the 'Octoechos,' a system of eight musical scales/melodies that rotate through the liturgical weeks) — a system that would influence music theory broadly. Both East and West shared the same starting point: the sung Psalms of the early Church. As the two halves of Christendom grew apart politically and, later, in 1054, formally divided, their music grew distinct too. Hearing Byzantine chant is like hearing what the worship inside Hagia Sophia may have sounded like.

This week your persuasive writing grows from one paragraph into a short, developed argument. The question — 'Did Rome really fall in 476?' — is genuinely debatable, which makes it perfect for practice. A mature argument does three things. First, it takes a clear POSITION (your claim). Second, it DEVELOPS reasons: instead of just listing them, you give each reason a sentence or two of explanation and evidence. Third, it FAIRLY ACKNOWLEDGES the other side — this is called a counterargument or concession — then answers it. This makes you sound thoughtful rather than one-sided. For this prompt you might argue: 'Rome did not truly fall in 476; it transformed.' Develop reasons: the Eastern (Byzantine) Empire survived another thousand years; Roman law lived on through Justinian's Code; Latin survived as the language of the Church and learning; and the Catholic Church carried Roman order forward in the West. Then concede the other side: 'It is true that the Western imperial government did collapse and that Rome itself was sacked and shrank into ruin.' Answer it: 'But the loss of one government is not the death of a civilization.' Use the cluster diagram from Day 1 for your reasons. Draft your argument now (180-250 words); polish it as carry-over work using this week's rubric.

Return to St. Augustine, who watched Rome shake and wrote that the earthly city always passes but the City of God endures. This week you saw exactly that: the Western Empire fell, yet the Church, Roman law, and Greek learning survived through Byzantium and through humble institutions like the Church. Augustine's own greatness grew not from pride but from humility — from honestly confessing his faults and giving God the glory. As you close, recall your humility challenge from Day 2 and Augustine's restless-heart prayer. Ask St. Augustine to pray for you, that your own heart may rest in God and that you may see yourself, and history, truthfully.