I was thinking about this earlier but how could a Christian State arise similar to the idea of a Caliphate in Islam? A united Christian nation, Christendom, if you will.

I was thinking if the Papal States tried to rule more directly instead of indirectly you could at least have a Catholic State, uniting all Catholics under a single banner.
 
Not sure if that counts but the IInd Empire of France was protector of all catholics? It fought abroad to defend them (Lebanon, Indochina...)
 
The pope claimed sovreignity over all secular rulers. Of course, he didn't have the military force to back that up, but a different Papacy might have better success.
 
An alternative option might be a different Roman Empire which blends the Imperial title with religious authority in an effort to truly co-opt Christianity?
 
I was thinking about this earlier but how could a Christian State arise similar to the idea of a Caliphate in Islam? A united Christian nation, Christendom, if you will.

I was thinking if the Papal States tried to rule more directly instead of indirectly you could at least have a Catholic State, uniting all Catholics under a single banner.

Well I think Dante alludes to an idea of a "Universal Emperor" who would unite all Christendom under one banner and usher in an age of peace and prosperity. Ultimately though it's going to be quite difficult to get a Christian Caliphate going, because from the beginning Christianity had a separation of secular vs. religious loyalty ("Render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and unto God the things that are God's") which Islam didn't.
 
If the Roman Empire didn't fall in 476 then there is a possibility that the Roman Emperor's could have had a relationship with the Papacy where the Pope crowns the Emperor and proclaims him the defender of Christendom, in return the Emperor would swear allegiance to the Church and declare himself a servent of God. This would serve a symbiotic relationship where the Catholic church serves the Roman state but Rome works to spread Christianity and protect the faith from Pagans and future invasions of Muslims. As Rome was the only "civilized" western state at the time then the Roman Empire would be associated with Christianity and vice versa.
 
Top