The Rise Of The Papacy Essay

Even before the Middle Ages, there had always been tension between the government in the Holy Roman Empire and the Catholic Church. This tension had built over years and years of each trying to become top dog, and be the one true power within the empire. However, during this time national monarchies began to show up, such as England and France. These monarchies outside the empire, were out of its control began to gain their own power. With their newfound power, came even more conflict with the Church. One of the biggest conflicts was between the pope in the Empire and the King of France. These conflicts eventually led to the period of time known as the Avignon Papacy, which lasted about seventy years. The Avignon Papacy was the time during which the pope was moved from Rome to Avignon, just across the river from France. This marked a huge change within the empire, and had several important impacts. These impacts include a loss in Church prestige, the loss of the Roman identity of the Church, as well as a loss of faith in the Church by the people within the empire.

The Pope was the title give to the head of the church, to which he was changed with the religious care taking of the clergy and other believers. For military aid and expansion, early popes looked to medieval kings like Clovis of the Franks, but by the time of Charlemagne’s coronation by Pope Leo III, it became questionable whether the pope or the king was the higher authority. After the fall of the Roman Empire, Europe was decentralized with the development of feudalism, and this allowed the only unifying establishment, the Church, to become more powerful. Though the Pope and medieval kings originally held separate roles, with the rise of feudalism the popes gained greater political power despite challenges from kings and lay investiture.

In response to the how and why the papacy in Rome became the center of power as it did. Shortly after

The papacy – the office held by the pope as head of the Catholic Church - gained great power from the sixth through eighth centuries, and there are several reasons for this surge in influence. Starting around 590, Pope Gregory I sought to convert Teutonic invaders to Christianity. Islam was also in play, as it had taken over most of Asia and Africa. According to Earl Cairns, by trying to win Teutonic tribes to Christianity, the medieval church “…further centralized its organization under papal supremacy and developed the sacramental-hierarchical system characteristic of the Roman Catholic Church.”

The Catholic Church was very rich and very powerful, people gave the church 1/10ths of their earnings in tithes. Wealthy people often gave the church land which is way the church owned about one third of the land in Western Europe. They did not have to pay the king any tax for their land either. Of course, the leader of the Catholic Church was the pope. The cardinals was right below the pope, next the bishops, and the

Medieval secular and papal rulers often crossed paths. Through the many clashes between monarch and papal authority, an overreaching struggle between ecclesiastical and secular powers is present. In fact, not since the earliest days of Christianity had the pope been a mere religious ruler. Some historians, such as Klaus Schatz and Brian Tierney, argue that the primacy of papal authority, when the papacy actively began extending its influence, is relegated to a specific era from 1050 to 1300. Gregory VII, Innocent III, Innocent IV, and Boniface VIII played important roles in promulgating the power of the papacy in many ways as well as the so-called lesser churches of Rome. Gregory VII created the active basis of this movement and subsequent

Second, the church was a major political force. Therefore kings and queens wanted/needed papal approval like when they were somewhat weak, as in times of conflict. This allowed the Church to exercise political power as it could help to determine which claimants to a throne would be deemed acceptable.

When one thinks about the Pope today, there is an image of an elderly man in robes who kisses babies, makes broad statements about the policies or beliefs of the church, and travels around the world meeting with the leaders of the world and the church. If one confers with Merriam-Webster, the word “pope” is defined as “the head of the Roman Catholic Church,” a definition that falls in line with the thoughts of many, perhaps even most, people today. For those who are familiar with the history of western civilization, the papacy is a newer development. The papacy and the Christian church are tightly aligned with the Roman Empire, but the Empire underwent a variety of changes and no longer exists, and yet, the Roman Catholic Church and its head are still intact. If the papacy and the church are “newer” developments in the grand scheme of western

This essay gives a brief outline of the major developments in the role of the Papacy between the Early Church and the present day. It will cover four aspects. The development of the papacy as a temporal ruler, Papal elections, the Curia and the development of the ‘mission role’ of the Papacy. It will explore how the papacy changed from being an organisation that had the influence to appoint kings and arrange state borders to one with a billion followers. These followers see the papacy as being responsible for the administration, pastoral and spiritual care of their membership.

The church wanted to have a leadership role and had intentions to change the way things had been running. It looked as though civic government would be out of the picture and it would be strictly a papacy, but the church had other plans. Powerful families were granted sovereignty from the pope and were to be the voice of the civic people. The only issue was many were sons of rich bankers and such who bought their positions and would resign them to nephews or other family members as they moved up and got more important roles.

as soon the Catholic Church receives a newly elected pope, it is assumed that they will take the seat of Peter and lead the Church through the issues the world is currently facing while enacting a global mission to combat future world problems. As each new pope comes in, they enter into the beginning of their reign with a different worldview and insight that influences the Catholic Church as a whole and determines the achievements that are to come out of their papacy. Since 1958, the Church has relied on six popes to help guide the world through the rocky transition into modern life. These popes are Pope John XXIII, Pope Paul VI, Pope John Paul I, Pope John Paul II, Pope Benedict, and Pope Francis. Each of these popes is responsible for the

People faced the rise and the fall of the Catholic Church during the medieval time. The Popes used to hold the final authority for the church and over the state. Pope Gregory VII asserted the Pope had granted the divine power from God because Saint Peter was the first of getting this

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

In 308 AD, Emperor Theodosius made a declaration that Christianity officially be the religion of the Roman Empire. For Christianity to take hold in the region it needed to be normalized and made relatable to the people. Because of this the bishops created a chain of command so to speak within its leadership structure that would be known as the Patriarchs, with the bishop of Rome at the top, known as the Pope. The word pope comes from the Latin word meaning “father” which is why the Pope is also referred to as the Holy Father and it wasn’t until the eleventh century that Pope Gregory VIII began using the title of Pope.

Roman Catholics believe in a hierarchy with the Pope (Bishop of Rome) at the top. The Pope is the “Vicar of Christ” (Christ on Earth) and acts in his place to lead the Church in determining what is right and proper for all Catholics. He exercises authority over the 3,250 Bishops in the Roman Catholic Church and speaks on issues pertaining to faith and morals. Roman Catholic tradition of the Pope is based on the apostle Peter being ordained the first “pope” when Jesus declared, “And I say also unto thee, that thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it” (King James Bible Matthew 16:18). Cardinals, who have the right to