The Church and the Middle Ages

The Church and the M iddle Ages Aim: How did the Catholic Church gain power during the Middle Ages? Do Now: Why do you believe the Church became so influential in the Middle Ages? Explain your answer. The Church’s P ow er Grow s * As Europe experienced a lack of a strong, central government, the feudal system provided some political stability. * The Catholic Church also provided stability during the Middle Ages. * The Church appealed to people of all social classes. Church Structure v. R om an Em pire Structure         CATHOLIC CHURCH Clergy: religious officials The Pope was the head of the Catholic Church All clergy were under the authority of the pope Bishops supervised local parish priests Local priests had the greatest influence on most Europeans because they had the most contact with the people Canon = Church Law Religious         ROMAN EMPIRE Not the Republic! The Emperor was the head of the Roman Empire Everyone was under his authority. Regional Governors ran the provinces. Generals and Centurions controlled the military. Imperial law = Everyone had to obey Roman law or pay the price. Secular = non-religious The Church Helps Unify Europe        The Church was a stable force that helped unify Europe The Church provided a sense of security and a community Religion played a central role in Europe and the lives of most Europeans Christians believed that God would reward them with salvation (heaven) Christians believed that they needed to participate in the sacraments to achieve salvation The Church also brought communities together People worshipped together, especially on religious holidays The 7 Sacram ents  Priests and other religious officials administered the sacraments – Baptism – Reconciliation/Penance/Confession – Eucharist – Confirmation – Marriage – Holy Orders – Last Rights/Anointing of the Sick Church Justice The Church provided a unifying set of spiritual beliefs, ceremonies, rituals,  Canon Law is the official law of the Catholic Church  Excommunication: banishment from the Church (no sacraments = no heaven)  Interdict: many sacraments and religious services could not be performed in a kingdom or region (excommunication on a large scale for a entire area!!!) Why?  The Catholic Church As the power of the Church grew, the Church began to play a political role in Europe  This led to conflicts between the Church and the leaders of Europe  Otto I Otto I was influenced by Charlemagne  He allied himself with the Church and used the clergy to help limit the power of the nobles  Otto invaded Italy and helped end a threat to the pope  In return, the pope crowned Otto emperor  The Holy R om an Em pire The Holy Rom an Em pire Otto created a German-Italian empire that would eventually be called the Holy Roman empire  It was the strongest state in Europe until 1100  Lay I nvestiture  Lay investiture was the practice of kings and nobles appointing bishops Question: Why would the Church be against political leaders choosing bishops? Explain your answer. Lay I nvestiture : A Funny Story In 1075, Pope Gregory VII banned the practice of lay investiture  Henry IV sent a nasty letter to Pope Gregory VII  Pope Gregory excommunicated Henry IV  Henry IV begged for forgiveness  The pope lifted the excommunication  The Concordat of W orm s In 1122, the Church and the Holy Roman emperor reached a compromise over the issue of lay investiture  The Church gave bishops their spiritual authority (ring and staff)  The emperor chose the location where the bishop would serve  The emperor also had veto power  E.Q #3: How did the church’s structure in the 5th century reflect the structure of the Roman Empire?  Pope = Emperor  Bishops = regional governors  Priests = Centurions  Canon Law = Imperial Law E.Q #4: How did the church’s status when Rome fell lead to its importance during the Middle Ages?   church takes over basic functions of government (centralized authority, bureaucracy, judicial system, canon laws, etc.) power/ abuse of power E.Q #5: How did secular and religious authorities balance power?    spiritual power influenced temporal power (the government) the crowning of Charlemagne as Emperor of the Romans lay investiture controversy NEXT: The Crusades