The rise of the papacy came at a time when the Roman Empire collapsed and there was chaos as it related to the bishops who held office in Rome and what religion would be at the forefront of the representation of the west or east of Rome since its demise. The term “papacy” (papatus), meant to distinguish the Roman bishop’s office from all bishoprics (episcopatus), and The Head of the Roman Catholic Church the pope is considered the successor of Peter and the vicar of Christ (Elwell, p. 888). The “pope” is a terms of endearment which means “father” and this was the title of the most important and influential bishops in the early church. The church at Rome nevertheless enjoyed and wanted to preserve the original apostolic faith and the prominence, and they as bishops also owned its apostolic “founders” and to its political setting, and this led to the inspiration of these bishops to exercise greater leadership in Rome and abroad (Elwell, p. 888). Most emperors and patriarchs of Constantinople, challenged the bishops and their beliefs by saying that the church in Rome is new and improved but that they are still believe in the old Roman church. The popes or bishops were not moved by their words and they knew that they were not living up to the apostolic ways of the founding fathers who came before them and that their primacy was derived from Peter and not from their political setting which in turn made their claim to fame to be truly based upon the “apostolic”(Elwell, p. 888). The Apostle Peter was sent to Rome by Jesus to build God’s Church. In Matthew 16:18, NLT, says 18 Now I say to you that you are Peter (which means ‘rock’),[a] and upon this rock I will build my church, and all the powers of hell[b]…
The Pope is regarded as the successor of Saint Peter, the Apostle, and is the figure head of the Catholic Faith and as part of this role had a great deal of authority in Catholic doctrine. With this position of power the Pope was able to create and annul laws and decrees at will, which would then be followed by individual kings and states. One very important example of this was the Magna Carta created in 1215 which Pope Innocent III publicly condemned. Clanchy states that Innocent used the Magna Carta to highlight his authority as Pope, “To emphasize the authority of papal monarchy Innocent cited the text from Jeremiah.” From this, one can see how being the Pope means that there are certains aspects in which are automatically under papal control, such as in the case of creating or abolishing laws helping to assure dominance over the church.…
Pope Gregory was born as Hildebrand in 1025, to an upper class family in southern Tuscany. He adopted the name Gregory in memory of Gregory I after his election as pope in 1073. He became convinced that the pope was the living successor of St. Peter. Because of this connection, the pope, and he alone, would always remain a true Christian, never deviating from the faith and always aware of the will of God. Therefore, all Christians owed him absolute and unquestioned obedience. Disobedience was regarded as heresy, and obedience to God became obedience to the papacy. Gregory VII had a good understanding of political realities and was always willing to take them into account, provided they fit in with his own reform efforts. The most successful example of the use of feudal arrangements by the papacy was the alliance with…
How important were the German princes in creating the atmosphere within which Lutheranism was successful?…
A letter written to the king by Robert Aske (doc 5) shows the grievance they want addressed. One of these demands are for the supreme head of the church to be the pope. This is an issue with the King because the pope would not grant him a divorce, therefore the pope cannot be head of the church. By understanding this document we know the problems that Robert Aske had with the king.…
P.21: It was widely believed among religious figures of the Church that the creation of the papacy was a divine creation. For this reason they believed that adding or changing any of the dogmas that were the basis of the papacy was heresy. They made it a priority to keep the beliefs of the Church intact.…
During the Middle Ages the struggle of power between the monarchy and the church was an ongoing battle from the time of Charlemagne until the time of the Renaissance. I believe the Pope or high up church officials had more power over the king and in the eyes of the people.…
In the textbook, The Western Experience, Mortimer Chambers states, “Although the culmination of these disruptions did not come until the Reformation in the 1500s, the history of the previous two centuries made it clear that the institution was profoundly troubled” (Chambers 347). The Avignon Exile, in which the center of power of the Papacy moved from its historic home in Rome to the French city of Avignon undermined the institution’s legitimacy. Several successive Popes stated that, at the time, the Papacy could not be effectively controlled in Rome, even though they expressed desire to return, showcasing administrative weakness (Chambers 347). Seven months after the return of the Pope to Rome, a second Pope was named, prompting the Great Schism. Although the Council of Pisa succeeded in ending this conflict, there were still long-term consequences. Chambers argues that the Papacy’s close association with Italian politics degraded its universal appeal, particularly in Northern nations, “undermining the centrality of the papacy to the life of Europe” (Chambers 349). The political and cultural influence that the Papacy previously experienced all across Europe had eroded away. Most telling is that nations such as England, France, and Spain issued decrees limiting the Church’s authority in their territory. Chambers notes that these acts clearly, “document the decline of papal control over the international Christian community” (Chambers…
It is important however to remember that the pope had never had much direct political power in England. He had no army and no proper tax base therefore he could not invade except through an alliance with secular allies. Indeed he blocked Henry 's dispensation to divorce Catherine of Aragon, but a king who was less worried about his soul and his wife’s nephew, the emperor, invading would probably just have ignored his commands. The king had also always had lots of power over the church. Political partnerships between kings, their bishops and abbots had always been a feature of the church, and this war true throughout the period 1485-1529. Henry VII enjoyed a very close relationship with the church through Cardinal John Morton, who was not only Archbishop of Canterbury but enjoyed secular power too as Lord Chancellor. Bishop Richard Foxe was also important to Henry Tudor and these senior figures of the clergy helped Henry develop his tax policies, while at the same time, Benefit of Clergy and other privileges of the church were untouched by the king. This close relationship between church and crown continued for the first twenty years of Henry CIII’s reign, as demonstrated by his long reliance and trust for Cardinal…
The first “Holy Roman Emperor” was Charlemagne although he was originally crowned as “Emperor of the Romans” before the Roman Empire fell. He was dubbed “Holy Roman Emperor” after the Holy Roman Empire rose. The Roman Catholic Church was one of the sole central and unifying establishments in the Roman Empire and later in the Holy Roman Empire. This allowed The Church to establish authority over all the…
English and French kings used common tactics in order to increase their standing in the world. The Church in the Medieval world was the most influential power in Europe, to gain the backing of its leader, the pope, was an incredible boon for a kingdom. King William of England, and King Louis IX, were two powerful kings who took advantage of the pope’s backing. The descendants of these powerful kings would come to…
This began a two century struggle between popes and emperors. The first part of the struggle is called the “Investiture Controversy” which lasted between 1070 to 1125. This conflict was saw both anti-popes rise and fake emperors talk false claims of legitimacy. The second phase came as the Homenstaufen family, having defeated during the Investiture Controversy, tried to re-instate the faltering empire as a secular, feudal state. In this conflict, the word “holy” was placed in the name of the empire to separate the Empire and the Papacy. The emperors believed the Empire was inheritably sacred and did not need the Pope’s blessing to the Empire. The emperors also still believed Italy was in the Empire, which in turn saw the opposition of the Papal States. After the death of Emperor Frederick II in 1250, the Holy Roman Empire was in complete ruin. The emperors held any local authority if that. The empire would not rise up any more times after that. It was no longer a single “state” but a touchy alliance between princes under a powerless Emperor. “Of the German Nation” was added during the late 14th Century when all of Italy and the rest of Europe were out of the Empire’s…
Inversely, the effects seen on religious groups and cities allow for the change into to current state of the Christian Church, Islamic religion, and the Holy Land itself. Impacted by the Crusades, the Christian Catholic Church witnessed the temporary power of the papacy and wealth of the Church, while allowing unbiblical doctrines to seep into practices of the Church. As the need and interest for the Crusades grew, likewise, the head of command for the Crusade, the papacy also grew in power. Looked up to by the peasants and volunteers for the holy war cause, as Bollinger notes, “they [the papacy] were able to extend their powers in both secular and sacred matters” (200). Similar to years before with the European kings, the papacy readily went…
The Church was extremely respected making them more powerful than the kings. The Pope and bishops were thought to be close to…
Once the protestant reformation started and warfare had been happening. The declines of popes had begun to start.…