Transcript The Church - USD305.com

The Church in the Middle Ages
The Role of the Church
• Christianity was a major
religion of the Roman
Empire
• “The Church”= Catholicism
Organization of the Church
1. Pope
– Pope is the Bishop of Rome
and leader of the entire
catholic Church
2. Archbishops
– In charge of bishops
3. Bishops
– In charge of groups of
churches called diocese
4. Parish Priests
– Leaders of local churches (Parish)
– Had contact with ordinary, church-going people (laity)
5. Monks and Nuns
– Men and women whose lives are devoted to service to
God
6. Laity
– Regular folk who attend church
Pope
Archbishop
Bishop
Priest
Monks
Laity
Importance of Priests
• After the Lord of the Manor, the priest was the
most important man in the village
• Parish priests were also responsible for the
following activities:
Importance of Monks
• Monks were the social
workers and record
keepers of the
community:
–Provided schools for
the young
–Hospitals for the sick
–Hospitality for travelers
Why was the Church so powerful?
• Organization
– Allowed messages to spread
quickly through the ranks
• Owned Land
– Controlled large areas of
farmland
– People who used the land
owed 1/10 of the crops to
the church (tithe)
• Controlled People’s Beliefs
– People were frightened of their soul suffering in Hell
• It Was Rich
– Earned money through taxes, fees and “special services”
– To shorten a soul’s time in Purgatory the church said you could:
• Attend more Church (Give money every Sunday)
• Go on a pilgrimage (Pay the Church to guide you)
• Buy an Indulgence
• Not Controlled by the King
– The king could not tell anyone
from the Church what to do
• Even if a churchman committed
a crime, he would be tried by
other churchmen who were
very lenient
• Active in Government
– Many important positions in
government were held by
Archbishops
– This sometimes meant that
churchmen had to choose
between loyalty to their king
or the Pope
Catholic Church Conflicts with Kings
• By the 800-900s, the lords had control of the
local church leaders and could make their
appointments
– Church leaders did not like it
Pope Gregory VII
• In the 11th century Pope
Gregory VII sent out a papal
decree
– It stated that the Pope’s power
is the most high in the Catholic
Church
• This decree allowed the
complete take back of the
power of the Church
– Also gave the Church a foothold
in politics
Decline of the Church Power
• Church had a majority of the
power in the late 1200s
– By the end of the 14th Century
(1300s) it began to decline
• European Kings no longer
wanted to accept the
supremacy of the pope and
the church
The Great Schism
• 1378-1417
– 2 Popes divided Europe
• Driven by politics rather
than theological
disagreement
– Romans and English
wanted a Roman as Pope
– French wanted a more
trustworthy man in power
• France and their allies
supported the Pope in
Avignon
• Because religion
was not united,
people lost faith in
both the papacy
and the Church
–The Church lost
much of its
political and
spiritual authority