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 extent to which the papacy asserted dominance over the Western Church has been greatly disputed amongst historians. Certain historians would argue that there is little to suggest that the pope had control from inside other than papal reform to prevent unrest and, would argue that in fact the real conflict was between him and individual states and that he had to deal with multiple reforms and claims that failed. However, there are Historians who would suggest that, in fact, the papacy was successful in asserting its authority over the Western Church due to the religious significance of the Pope’s position which on occasions caused individual kings to submit to his power. Furthermore, it can be argued that although the Pope was the figure head of the Church and had power, he had to rely on the support and co-operation of Kings if he was to be able to keep control over the Western Church and therefore it could be said that he was not as dominant as one would think.…
There was criticism of the personnel of the church both high and low, from village priests to roman cardinals; criticism of lifestyles; criticism of the clergy seen as not fully committed to or measure up to Christian ideals. All of these strands of criticism were of long standing in England and elsewhere in Europe. Anti-clericalism and antipapalism had little real threat to the English church in the 1520’s. Erastainism usually operated to uphold the church and its powers, but in the late 1520’s because of the peculiar set of circumstances, it would be the main force that brought about the reformation.…
In the case of the emperors, their authority had been transformed into something more ephemeral. “Emperors”, states John Larner, “when they intervened in Italy, appear as ghosts feared at first through their re-evocation of the past, yet soon mocked with the swift realisation of their impotent insubstantiality”. The empire, it seemed, was to be progressively confined only to the German lands; the emperors’ powers being checked from within by the great princes and city-states of empire, and from abroad, by the defiant will of regional kings. The authority of the other universal power, the papacy, by all appearances, was in decline also. The papacy’s sphere of influence apparently shrinking, with its attention primarily focused on France and the states of Italy. This appeared to be exacerbated by the Avignon Captivity which supposedly subjected the papacy to the will of the French monarchy. Seemingly, in the words of Joseph Strayer, the idea of the universal empires “had never been anything but a dream”. Yet, this commonly held conclusion; that fourteenth-century witnessed the final breaking of the authority of the universal powers, is questionable. As Watts explains, although few emperors invaded Italy after the 1320s, “the ideal of a universal secular prince certainly persisted”, as its jurisdictional claims “could not easily be…
Popes were secular as well as religious leaders 4. Popes were patrons of the arts 5. Much rivalry and fighting between Roman families (Orsini, della Rovere, etc.) 6. The Della Rovere family produced two Popes (Sixtus IV and Julius II) who were major patrons of the arts 7.…
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.…
One reason for this is that Popes usually won when it came to battles over power. Pope Gregory VII was a prime example of this. Gregory did not hesitate to excommunicate King Henry IV after his attempt to take power away from the clergy. To have this horrible punishment revoked Henry proceeded to travel to Italy's northern mountains and stood barefoot in the snow for three days. After three days the Pope finally agreed to see Henry and had his excommunication revoked. King Henry's willingness to stand in frozen mountains proved he was giving the power back to the Pope, for only high up Church officials could excommunicate and excommunicate.…
Throughout the middle ages, many different institutions have been changing and growing as time has passed. Religion, military, and art and literature have changed significantly over hundreds of years. There are many reasons as to why this happens. As civilizations learn and grow, they begin to change their way of living and thinking according to what might fit in current society. As people begin to change their way of thinking, the culture surrounding them has to change as well. The formation of the papal monarchy between the 11th and 13th century played a huge role in the way society behaved during that time period…
As the church’s power declined, the monarchs began to rise in power. The monarch’s rise in power encouraged and established absolutism, such as in England, Spain, and France. During this period, the Protestant Reformation and the Enlightenment were occurring. After the Crusades, Italian city-states such as Florence, Milan, Venice and Genoa, became wealthy merchants…
* The Church, due to the scandals that occurred, lost much of its power and people began to doubt its ultimate authority…
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…
Two hundred years before Luther came onto the Church’s radar, the Catholic Church was enjoying great power and success. The Church leaders wielded considerable influence on all matters in Christendom. Even those who felt discontent with the Church were too afraid to rebel against its order, fearing the loss of their salvation. The despair of the Great Famine and Black Death, however, greatly destabilized the Church’s position. The people of Europe had placed so much faith in the Church, yet what could they think when their priests and monks proved susceptible to the plague, dying in higher numbers than the common people? Should not the Pope, with his power bestowed by God, be able to stop this famine and disease from ravaging the continent? Should…
became corrupt as popes seemed to have a stronger interest in the luxury and power that was…
For example, Catholics were seemed as extreme monarchy and corrupt priesthood. They did not like the idea of the Pope being the supreme leader of the church and could have power over the state. They thought Catholics were also a trained army who were going to attack them. As a result, they wanted to exclude parochial churches and schools. They also did not agree with the idea of Confession, it was view as an invasion of privacy and did not agree that Priests has the authority by God to forgive sins.…
Once the protestant reformation started and warfare had been happening. The declines of popes had begun to start.…