By the time Rome was sacked, the center of the Roman empire was for several hundred years already in the east.

To be more precise in Nova Roma or Constantinople (modern day Istanbul) and this since the 11th May 330.

It remained the center of the Roman empire until 1453, this was long after the Roman culture in the west was almost completely destroyed. (and with it western Christianity turned into a tool of oppression)

So while the West during these times faced oppression and feudalism, the Roman empire certainly did not.