The Christian Clergy In The Middle Ages

In the Middle Ages the church had its own social hierarchy structure in the Feudal system. This is very important because the church is considered the most powerful in the Feudal system. The church dominated everyone’s life. All the people in the Middle Ages believed that there was a God, Heaven and Hell. Since the beginning of Christianity they were taught the only way to get to Heaven is if the church let them. “The medieval church constituted a kind of second social system, sharing governmental authority with the feudal hierarchy and occasionally coming in conflict with secular lords” (Singman). The social hierarchy set up in the Middle Ages of the church consists of the pope at the top. Like explained earlier he is the most powerful person.

The Church was the absolute most predominant foundation in medieval life, its impact invading practically every part of individuals’ lives. Its religious observances often shape to the plan; its customs checked every minute in a person 's life; and its lessons supported standard convictions about morals, the significance of life and existence. Church in Western Europe was recognized as the Roman Catholic Church went from the religion of the Roman Empire to the official religion and the most powerful institution of the Middle Ages. All of Europe had been converted to Christianity by the year 1000. Although this process was peaceful at times but other times it got downright ugly.

For most civilizations, religious figures have had a large influence over the lives of the common people. The Roman Catholic Church was a very influential figure in many civilizations. It can trace its origins to over 2000 years ago. One of the Church’s most influential periods of this time was the Middle Ages. The Roman Catholic Church played a very big role in the lives of the people during that period. For many, it was the center of their life. The three most important impacts of the Church on medieval life were their secular roles concerning laws and their position over the state, the way that the Church unified Europe, and their power over the common people.

In the Medieval times, the Roman Catholic Church played a great role in the development of England and had much more power than the Church of today does. In Medieval England, the Roman Catholic Church dominated everyday life and controlled everyone whether it is knights, peasants or kings. The Church was one of the most influential institutions in all of Medieval England and played a large role in education and religion. The Church's power was so great that they could order and control knights and sends them to battle whenever they wished to. The Church also had the power to influence the decision of Kings and could stop or pass laws which benefited them in the long run, adding to this, the Church had most of the wealth in Europe as the

Towards the end of the Middle Ages and into the duration of the Renaissance, the Medieval Church’s social and political power dwindled. Centuries prior the Catholic Church gained a surplus of control, largely due to the stability it maintained during the chaotic breakdown of the Western Roman Empire . Yet toward the end of the Middle Ages the Church set in motion factors that would ultimately lead to its downfall as the definitive figure of authority. However, despite political and social controversy surrounding the church, the institutions it established cleared a path for a new way of thinking, shaping society in an enduring way.

Council of Lyons (1274) declared a reunion of the Eastern Church with Rome after the pope sent forces to defend the Byzantine Empire against the Turks (the reunion only lasted seven years)

From being a persecuted religion, Christianity rose up to be an official religion of Rome with the support of the Emperor Constantine and Theodosius I in the fourth century. By the early Middle Ages, the Church had become extremely powerful and was one of the two dominant forces that controlled the entire Europe, with the other being the State. Although the popes and the kings were ought to be supportive of each other, there usually existed between them a constant struggle for ultimate authority over the kingdoms. More than often, these conflicts created tension between the State and the Church eventually resulted in the people's sufferings.

During the time of the early middle ages, religions seemed to be at its peak. Religion was at the forefront of people’s mind and with that came arguments about which is the true religion. Once again we will conflicts and possibility war between the religions, both fighting for their beliefs. It was during the time that bishops and popes a lot of the influential power when it came to religion. The people hung on every word and are inspired by these religious leaders. The most prominent example of the demonstration of power held by religious leaders is the speech held by Pope Urban II. His speech gave rise to the first crusade and influence 7 more to follow. The following paper will support and argue His justification for these crusades was to

During the middle ages the catholic church had a lot of power. As they were essentially the temporary caretakers of what was most important to the people, their souls which unlike their temporal bodies were eternal. The church also ran all the social services such as benefits for the poor, and education. In most societies the only person who could read the bible was the church priest as it was only available in latin. They also owned over a

The catholic church played a massive part in the people's lives in medieval europe. The Pope was the head of the church and was entirely in control of the clerey. He also had a huge influence on the king as the king would run everything by the pope. He was seen as God’s representative on Earth.

Effects of Church on Medieval Times Life during the Medieval Times was mostly based on the church and royalty. The word “royalty” meant to have status, dignity, or power. The Roman Catholic Church had much influence in this particular time of history. Before the church began gaining influence in the people, the Roman Catholic Church got its name during the Roman Empire. The word “church” had two meanings, one of them was, a group or meeting of believers; and the other meaning was universal and meant the “body of Christ”.

The papacy of Roman Catholic Church reached its zenith in the thirteenth century. But there was a decline of the papacy in the fourteenth century due to disaster like the Black Death, The Great Schism, and many other evolutions in Europe. Many new ideas and advanced technologies were developed after series of changes. These ideas influenced the lives of many normal people in the Medieval Ages.

The church had a huge influence on daily medieval life. The church helped reinforce the system of feudalism through creating the Great Chain of Being. The Great Chain of Being means that everybody has a fixed and unchangeable role (Richardson). This system meant that nobody could leave their fixed class, and it stated that people in the nobility are better than the lower classes (Richardson). The great chain of being supports feudalism because it says that nobles are better than serfs, while this may not have been true, nobles certainly had many more privileges than serfs (Richardson). Although it may have not been fair, people trusted this system because the church promised them salvation, which meant entry into heaven and everybody desired

The Church in medieval times played a dominate role in their lives. Everyone, whether they're peasants or nobles, believed that God existed, and along with Heaven and Hell. People were taught that the only way they could get to Heaven was if the Church let them, and to be granted that acceptance meant you had to be faithful. Hell, on the other hand, was terrifying. Priests would often read passages out of the bible and preaching the word of God, along with that the suffering that could be experienced if you sinned and were sent to hell. The idea of torture kept people's faith in check, after all eternal suffering was more threatening then it was to pray to God. The Church also had a lot of wealth and power. Mainly the wealth they got from

During the Medieval Ages the Catholic Church was able to rise to one of the most powerful institutions in Europe. After Rome subsequently