My Visit to St. Peter's Catholic Church in Charlotte, North Carolina

Christianity has become one of the world’s largest religions to date. We see the widespread of Christianity began in the Byzantine Empire during the rule of Constantine The Great after his decision to convert to Christianity and make the religion legal in his empire. The actions Constantine took paved the way for the religion to spread through the West and through Europe during the Middle Ages. The church would become a symbol of power, wealth, and social status among the clergy and society, it provided the idea of a divine right to rulers and the pope, and would ultimately influence almost every aspect of people’s lives. This document analysis will dig deep into the theme of Christianity during late antiquity and the middle ages with a focus on the relationship between church and state, the English conversion to Christianity, and Charlemagne’s efforts to spread Christianity in Europe.

As time constantly presses forward and the earth continues to revolve, the world will never stop progressing and adapting to better suit the needs of mankind. The evolution of religion has greatly enhanced the quality of life for humanity by providing individuals with a strong belief system that is now the foundation of many peoples’ core values. One universal religion that has undergone extensive amounts of reform is Christianity. In particular, the Catholic church is well-known for the development of their famous ecumenical council meetings that help determine the future of the church. Numerous Councils have been conducted throughout the course of history, but none more significant than the most recent, the Second Vatican Council or Vatican II. The Catholic church was operating as if it was still the medieval period and desperately needed to be modernized. As a result, every Roman Catholic Church official was gathered to meet and devise a plan for how to introduce the church to the modern world. Consequently, the following will reveal the Second Vatican Council and the ramifications of the agenda, history and theology evolution, significant texts, and new developments.

During the 14 and 1500’s, the Catholic Church was the major powerhouse on the world stage. The church became the largest land owner, giving them massive amounts of economical power. With limitless amounts of power for the church, they were even more powerful than the king himself; they had their own taxes, laws, and they even could excommunicate the king if they chose to do so. The church made royal officials fear it while also gaining the support of the people, sometimes unwilling support was given. Indulgences were purchased in the hopes that their loved ones would be saved from Purgatory or even Hell. The church’s goal used to be helping all people and preaching the word of God, but now the church was corrupt and blinded by power and money, only one man could initiate the change needed, Martin Luther.

As I delved into Backman’s The Worlds of Medieval Europe, the largely in depth topics of the fall of the Roman Empire, and the rise of christianity were explored. Backman’s writings broke down these monumental moments, and profiled people who had impact on said events. The fall of Rome and the rise of christianity create a sense of nation-state versus nation showing that for unification and solidarity one does not need an imperial body which divides, conquers, and rules, even as effective as that of Rome. Individuals instead just required faith and devotion to ideals, which led to the uprising of christianity across the Mediterranean Empire, and was a large factor in the decline of Rome. However this influential event, that

“In the thirteenth century, the Catholic Church reached the height of its political, intellectual, and secular power (322). ” The Pope Innocent III was very honest with his desire for power within

In an age filled with war and political instability, the Roman Catholic Church served as a way to unify members of Europe during the Middle Ages. The Middle Ages was a time of low literacy rates. The Roman Catholic Church allowed members of medieval society (both literate and illiterate) an understanding of how the world worked. Although political leaders had only great local power, the Church was recognized as the most powerful institution, as its power covered all of Europe. The Roman Catholic Church was able to touch everyone’s life, no matter their class or ranking. In a time of darkness and suffering, The Church gave everyone a sense of belonging and place in the world. During the Middle Ages, the Roman Catholic Church stood as the central

The Roman Church dominated the western world from 590-1517. Subject to the Roman Catholic Church were areas of religion, politics, education, philosophy, and art. Biblical doctrines and principles were none existent creating an opportunity for corruption to ensue. This was a dark period for Christianity. Rome’s teachings were created to control and exploit the population. Corruption of the Church in the Middle Ages was caused by neglecting true doctrine and giving place to greed and power.

The Catholic Church dominated the western world between 590 and 1517. The church fully controlled and dominated over religion. In addition, it also regulated philosophy, morals, politics, education and art. As a result of neglect of vital Biblical doctrines of Christianity, the Catholic Church controlled most of the life aspects. It had full domination over the decisions that political institutions made. Theologically, the Catholic Church was ailing and most of its requirements led to atrocious corruptions. It is during this era that Rome nearly departed from teaching Biblical lessons. The church engrossed in heresy to an extent that it was not possible to regulate the corrupt deals that took place in the institution in the name of corruption and other evils. The essay critically evaluates some of the causes of this aspect of corruption during the middle ages, ways in which the leaders manifested corruption and how corruption impacted on the society and to the Church from a historical perspective. Given the fact that the Catholic Church had power over political and religious systems, its exercise of power created a situation that the society then

A World Lit Only By Fire: The Medieval Mind and the Renaissance: Portrait of an Age illustrates the past corruption of the Catholic Church. At the time, the church controlled the intellectual, religious, and political mindsets of the world. Few people were literate during this time, the Catholic Church held a monopoly over its people, and the vast majority of citizens vehemently rejected any and all attempts at changing the way society operated. Because of these three things, the “Dark Ages” can be considered the darkest point in the history of Catholicism.

Pope John XXIII was one of the most influential Popes the Catholic Church had in the 20th century, and perhaps one of the most important in its history. What he was able to do for the Church in his short amount of time holding the Papacy was incredible. Originally seen as a transitional Pope, John XXIII was certainly much more than that. His work in connecting with those of different denominations of Christianity, as well as those of different faiths, has been instrumental to this day. And, most of all, his call for the Vatican Council II was paramount for the modernization of the church. Because of this, this paper will show that Pope John XXIII was important to the history of the Catholic Church by pushing it toward the 21st century and

The Roman Catholic church has been around for hundreds of years. The church stood strong when Rome, one of the greatest empires of the world, crumbled. The church has united people of all kinds from all corners of the world. However, with any entity that holds power, questionable acts and ideas surround the article. The church has been accused of corruption innumerable occasions. Common people began to wrench into the workings of the church. Many discovered that wealth and privilege surrounded the church and the higher powers within the church. The church and the common man seemed to be in an ever lasting tug of war.

Success is obtained through desire, purpose, and conviction. “Napoleon Hill wrote that, “desire is the starting point of all achievement”” (Chew, 2016). The desire to give rebirth to Catholicism and faith in God gave reformers the absolute conviction needed to achieve success. Success came after the Protestants rebellion against the Catholic Church. During this time, the Catholic Church needed reform because, in its attempt to establish its preeminence, the papacy had squandered the prestige it had recovered. The Catholic Church also did not take the Protestant movement seriously. In short, sociopolitical forces along with spiritual and theological factors and the papacy’s refusal to reform itself lead to the most traumatic era in Roman Catholic history.

In the time of king Henry VIII’s rule the pope became the dominant figure of power and influence in Europe and maybe the world. The church had vast amount of land and wealth. The church’s wealth was mainly due to the countless amount of donations, taxes, and indulgences

It is not unusual for an average American to possess a negative view on the Catholic Church. Indeed, historians find it difficult to convince most people that the Catholic Church did not give rise to the cultural and intellectual retrogression experienced during the Middle Ages. Dr. Thomas E. Woods, Jr. wrote a book called “How the Catholic Church built Western Civilization” to demonstrate that the Church’s contributions to Western societies go past the aspects of music, arts and architecture. As the title suggests, the author goes beyond: The Catholic Church built Western civilization. Dr. Thomas Woods completed a Bachelor of Arts at Harvard University and a Ph.D. in History at Columbia University. He is also the author of 11 New York Times bestselling books. In this essay, there will be a synopsis of each chapter of Dr. Woods’ book. A detailed discussion of chapter 5 (The Church and Science) will also be included.

This paper will look into the primary reasons for the rise of the Roman papacy to power, and a few of the many things that aided the papacy in getting there. The fall of the Roman Empire is clearly a key factor in the rise of the papacy, so a look into the factors that caused the fall of the Roman Empire is essential. Secondly, a look into how the church positioned itself, to step into the vacuum of power left behind by the fall of the Roman Empire will prove to be needed. Lastly, there will be a brief look at the positive and negative ramifications that ensued from the churches rise to power. This paper will not be an exhaustive look into the rise of the papacy, but instead will provide a good place to start ones study into