Medieval Church History
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It is somewhat difficult to really say where Ancient Church History ends and Medieval Church History begins. Likewise it is true concerning the end of the Medieval period and the beginning of the Modern period. To be sure, the Reformation declares the beginning of our Modern dispensation of Church history; but when does the period of Reformation end and the Modern Church Era begin? There are some who would suggest that even today we are in a state of reformation within the Church. For our purposes here, we will assume that the Medieval Church Age or dispensation finds its beginning around A.D. 590 with the Pontificate of Gregory the Great. It is at this time, more so than any other, that the Greek Church gives way to the Latin Christianity which seems to be an entirely different culture than its predecessor. We must also define where the Medieval period ends and the Reformation period begins. We will assume that the Medieval Age is beginning to end with the invention of Printing (A.D. 1440). This will ultimately give way to the Reformation period which itself shall encompass a great revival of learning. It could be argued when the Reformation period actually begins as we shall see when we consider the events that ultimately lead us towards the inevitable, but for our purposes, we shall approximate the beginning of the Reformation with Martin Luther (A.D. 1517). Modern history must naturally begin where ever the Reformation period ends, but this is beyond the scope of this work.We might further break down the Medieval period into its three natural divisions. The first division begins with Gregory the Great and extends until Gregory VII (A.D. 1050). This same Gregory the Great might be appropriately called the true founder of the Medieval Papacy. The second would include the period between Gregory VII and Boniface VIII. This second division might be referred to as the glorious Middle Ages. Lastly we have that time between Boniface VIII and the fall of Medieval Christianity which begins to give way to the Reformation.
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The Conversion of EnglandIn the days of Gregory the Great, England had become saturated with paganism by the invasion of the conquering Saxons and Angles. It is Gregory the Great who is credited with bringing spiritual life and truth to England. In those days it was the Pope's modus operandi to attempt to christianize the heathen world by not pushing too forcibly against the heathen, or making excessive demands upon them to succumb too stringently to the Roman ideals and philosophies. In short, whatever could be found among the pagan people to be somewhat beneficial should somehow be adopted after being reshaped and transformed into what might afterwards be referred to as a christianized custom. The general philosophy that promoted this notion was that these conquered people would naturally be more resistant to replacing their old customs in place of the new. Through the careful christianizing of such common practices however, the new might now be perceived to the heathen as merely the old under a new name. This would seem much more palatable and therefore easier for the heathen to swallow. Through a careful and selective process of purposeful syncretism, the Roman Church had hoped to christianize the world.
The doctrines of Christianity by the time of Augustine's arrival had consisted of many differing and often opposing views. Viewed as unacceptable and undesirable to Rome, the prophetic voice must be silenced altogether. If the tare that caused so much religious confusion is to be pulled out from among the wheat, it becomes unfortunate yet necessary that some of that wheat must also be yanked out along with it. Such was the preferred method employed by Roman Christianity. At its very foundation there must be one voice and only one voice, unchallenged and unrivaled throughout the entire realm of Christianity; that one voice must be Rome and none other.
Although Augustine had hoped to christianize England under the submission of the Roman Pontiff, the British Christians would not willingly accept the Roman Bishop, and refused to submit themselves under the yoke of Rome. The struggle between Celtic and Roman Christianity would become inevitable. The two churches it seems were of two entirely different folds. The Celts permitted the clergy to marry, used a Latin bible different from the Vulgate translation, and maintained the observance of the seventh day Sabbath rest according to the scriptures, which was in itself completely anticatholic. Augustine is credited with the massacre of many adherents of the Celtic Church who stood in opposition to the doctrine of the Roman Holy See.
The inevitable submission to the Roman yoke would ultimately result in the loss of some of the greater precious Christian truths, which possibly have been lost forever due to the gross spiritual ignorance and superstitious teachings of Rome. As the Celtic Church began to lose their hold on British soil, they instead turned their focus upon the many churches founded by their own missionaries in Northern Germany. The same struggle would soon arise between the Celtic Church and the Roman Church in Germany, with Rome once again becoming the victor.
It has been argued by some whether the Church could really have survived without the unifying government of the Church of Rome, for without Rome, it seems that the Church might only have consisted of an ever increasing number of splinter groups thereby dividing the Church even more. What ever the case would have been otherwise, the Roman influence did cause the Christian Religion to flourish throughout the world.
England would eventually begin to gradually grow weaker, as men began to seek the "spiritual world" rather than focusing upon the "natural world". Soon, there was too little emphasis upon military strength. As a result, England became a country of little defense against the more aggressive forces that patiently awaited their opportunity from outside the camp. First the Dane, and afterwards the Norman, would be used to awaken England to her obvious state of her gross inability to defend herself. These new threats might have been an act of God for good, for soon they must ultimately be confronted by the even greater armies from the Muslim world. Mohammadism would threaten the very existence of the Church herself.
As already stated, one might easily argue that it was absolutely necessary for the Roman Church to exist at the time when she began to ascend to such great power and influence. The Church of England being the obvious example, it is quite probable that Christianity might never have survived against the threat of annihilation by the growing Kingdom of Islam. The Roman Church, being united under its one head, the Vicar of Christ, became somewhat of a shield of protection for the whole of Christianity. The Kingdom of Islam was made up of various warring factions of the offspring of Ishmael. Being almost miraculously unified by the prophet Mohammad, these various splintered groups would now become united. Soon there arose a great and mighty Islamic Kingdom. It may just be divine providence that allowed the Roman Church to be prepared to meet such a worthy opponent. This powerful enemy would begin to challenge her right to sit upon the throne of the whole earth.
Born between A.D. 569 to 570 at Mecca, the boy was nobody special, being born of a poor family, although belonging to one of the most noblest of tribes; for the Koreishites were known to be the sacred guardians of the Kaaba; the Holy temple of the Arab people for centuries before Mohammad had himself been born. In his young adult years, Mohammad finds himself privileged to have visited many countries and has experienced many diverse faiths. As for the Church during his time, Mohammad is regarded as the Son of Satan and an Image of Antichrist; but for the Muslim, he is that holy prophet whom Moses spoke of. False prophet or true, the results of the religion brought forth by Mohammad continues to spread throughout the entire globe, having what appears to be the undeniable blessings of God, whether that God be the creator who sits above in heaven, or the other who pretends to reign in hell beneath.
Mohammed was a man who had been deeply concerned about the great moral depravity and spiritual degradation of his people. Among his fellow Arabian brothers, there had existed a great idolatry along with an extremely notable departure from the God of Abraham; for surely the worship of the true God could not have been originally delivered to Abraham's son Ishmael in such an apostate form. Mohammad was able to somehow clearly perceive that his people were a people continually warring against each other, primarily because they had lacked a realization of their common origin and faith. How better to unify his brothers than by calling them to reject their damnable idolatry and return to the God who had originally revealed himself to their father Abraham. If the Church was truly the descendants of Abraham as they now claimed, would they not be following a prophet like unto Moses? But these Christian prophets appear to be more akin to the prophetess of Babylon.
The Church had claimed to be the sons of God and the ambassadors from heaven, but their leaders were becoming exceedingly sinful. Paganism and superstition began to become common place in the Church. No longer was there a call to true biblical holiness throughout her ranks, but a number of sects each desiring to entertain and promulgate every false doctrine. Islam has been perceived by some to be the rightful executioner raised up by God himself, akin to the avenging angel sent forth to enter into every house that bears the mark of idolatry throughout the world, thereby calling them again to repentance. God had tried grace and patience, but such a gospel proved to be powerless to truly convert the world from such gross idolatry and superstition, to a living practical holiness. God would now be forced to rely upon brute force to convert the world. That strong arm of God must be none other than Mohammad himself.
If the Church is typified by Israel, perhaps Islam is the Assyrian who chastises the people of the one true God, that is until they shall finally repent from their sin altogether. As the Church weakens historically, the Muslim Kingdom continues to claim the spoils of war. Such success threatens the very existence of not only the Church, but every other religion on the globe. While the Church of that time consists of a people consumed with sinful self indulgence and pleasure seeking, the Arab tribes possess a military might surprisingly unexpected and unknown to the Western world. The Arab people appear upon the scene suddenly, appearing as a mighty people accustomed to and skilled in the arts of war for centuries. How could the Islam armies have conquered so many lands and taken captive almost the total number of those souls within their borders, and that with the Church having had at least a six hundred year jump on them?
In the East, the two main powers of the world (A.D. 610-641), the Byzantine and Persian Empires, had critically weakened each other so much so that the unified Muslim tribes were able to conquer both without too much effort. Soon Jerusalem, Antioch, and Alexandria each would fall easily under the yoke of the new Islam Empire. After the Persian Empire ceases to exist, North Africa is subdued (A.D. 665-709), followed by the Kingdom of the Goths (711). The Western world seems to have been miraculously spared their inescapable annihilation by the grace of God, when the crushing defeat of the Hammer (Charles Martel A.D. 732) had been able to force a halt to the Muslim aggression, at least for a season. It might be argued that had it not have been for the Christian Knights under the directions of Charles Martel, Islam would have overtaken Christianity completely. Charles Martel therefore becomes extremely important in the plan of God and the preservation of Christianity.
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The Conversion of GermanyAttempts at the conversion of Germany had consisted of missionary endeavors from three distinct and diverse sources. These three were the British, the Frankish, and the English, or perhaps more properly referred to as the Anglo-Saxon. The British had since lost their hold in the land of England, being driven from the land by the Anglo-Saxon Church that had recently accepted the Roman Pontiff as their head. The British now consisted primarily of the Irish and the Scotch. These British are also referred to as the Celtic Church.
Because of the language barrier, the Anglo-Saxon or English Church had possessed an obvious advantage in their attempts at the conversion of Germany. One would think that these three churches should have worked together, but in reality there was not one body of Christ; for that one body had unfortunately consisted of not one but many distinct members. The many faced Church was in competition to further their individual creeds rather than to further the cause of Christ. The most successful endeavor in Germany was that of Boniface who taught the newly established churches to be closely aligned with Roman policy, although he himself had freely challenged Rome whenever he sharply disagreed on any particular issue. The extent of the churches' competition against each other had become increasingly evident in Bonifaces' last days. Instead of concentrating his efforts upon the conversion of the heathen that remained in Germany, Boniface had suddenly turned violently against the Celtic Churches of Germany who had persisted in their refusal to acknowledge the supremacy of Rome.
After Boniface followed Charles the Great, who continually fought against the Saxons who resisted the domination of the Roman Church. Several times Charles was able to force the Saxons under the yoke of Rome, but each time they had somehow managed to rebel, murdering all the priests and destroying all the churches, until finally the last of the rebels had been crushed out of existence. The missionary work of Charles the Great consisted of the massacre of all who would outwardly oppose Christine doctrine. Tens of thousands of people were massacred in the name of Christ, and right or wrong, such method of evangelism might be considered as that which chiefly made the European world a Christian world. The Crusades of the Teutonic Order which would follow (A.D. 1230-1280), would continue to employ these same merciless military methods.
Such military force continued as is attested to by the extermination of the Prussians by the Teutonic Knights. These military monks were sent out not to convert but to annihilate the Prussian resistance. When we consider all of what history dares to report to us concerning the Roman method of converting the world, one must question whether the Christian religion was any more the arm of God than that of the opposing Muslim religion, which even today continues to compete against her for world domination.
The great Roman imperial system of government, at one time being the great persecutor of the Christian Church, would later become the servant and protector of the Church throughout the empire, and eventually throughout the world. After the capitol of Rome is relocated to Constantinople, the Roman Empire becomes divided exactly as prophesied by the prophet Daniel in the vision of Nebuchaddnezzar's great image, the iron legs representing the divided Empire of Rome. Although the empire falls apart, Roman government continues to rule by means of and through the Roman Catholic Church and the Papacy. That Roman form of government now becomes the pattern for the organized world Church. With the supposed conversion of Constantine, Rome itself has undergone a certain baptism which begins to cause a transformation in political Rome. Transformation seems to be a far better word then conversion here, especially as we retain Daniel's prophecy in our minds, and watch for this strange government to materialize right before our own eyes. While some might suggest that Christianity had conquered Rome by defeating the Roman gods and pagan worship throughout the Roman Empire, others might suggest that by swallowing the pagan rites, festivities, and polytheistic ceremonies of the old Roman religion, Christianity had been finally conquered by Rome. To be sure, the Church still existed after following its marriage with Rome, yet none can doubt that Rome still existed. The truth is that the two had now became one flesh, and that one new man, was neither Rome, nor the Christian Church, but a new creature, which the world had never truly seen the likes before, being itself "diverse from all the others" (Dan. 7:19 KJV).The idea and realization of a great universal theocratic kingdom, being primarily derived from the misrepresentation of Dan. 2:31-45, began with Constantine who had been the first Christian Emperor of Rome. In his day, the Roman Emperor became both political sovereign of the world empire as well as the official spiritual head of the Christian Church. The rise of the Papal Church is perhaps one of the greatest of all mysteries. At the very infancy of the Christian Church, Rome had been the wealthiest city of all. From the beginning, the Roman Church seemed to have a predestined place to serve in God's over all plan. The Roman doctrine of apostolic succession and Peter's primacy had been taught long before its marriage or espousal to political Rome. The doctrine is at least as old as the second century, and although challenged here and there throughout the history of the Church by different ones, especially in the East, there is some evidence that the Petrine doctrine had been almost universally accepted throughout the churches by the third century, even before her marriage to Rome had been consummated. It is this almost universal belief in the apostolic supremacy of the Roman Church that made possible the rise or realization of the Papal hierarchy. The fact seems to have been established so early on throughout the early Church, that one becomes heavily taxed when even attempting to deny that there might at least be some biblical foundation for the doctrine. One need only to read the early writings of Clement, Bishop of Rome (A.D. 95), to feel what has been described as the anointing and authority of Peter, as if Peter's mantle had fallen upon Clement, much as Elijah's mantle had fallen upon Elisha, along with a double portion of his own spirit of divine power and authority. There is no denying that the early Church continually sought the advice and council of the Bishop of Rome especially when disputes had arisen over doctrinal error and heresy. The early churches read Clement's own writings throughout the world as if they had come forth from the pen of the apostle Peter himself.
The image of a united Christian Church having one voice and one purpose seems to have been greatly desired by all throughout the Church, with the exception of course of those who had sought to build their own little heretical empires. A united Church was a powerful Church, especially after Rome began to wield the might and power of the imperial sword of the emperor. The notion of one body, one baptism, and one doctrine had been clearly taught by Paul. How was this to be possible as long as the Church continued to divide herself over this or that doctrine? Out of a dream to rid the Christian Church of the heresy of false teachers, the proposed solution seems to have been the establishment of a priesthood. In a day before the institution of the Christian College and certification through the achievement of a Biblical Degree, such a priesthood would merely become a means by which the pureness of sound doctrine might be preserved and pastors might be certified for the work which God had called them to. Such a system had been proposed and found acceptable to the masses of Christianity. After all, who was better to certify such men as priests then the already recognized Bishop of Rome?
While some teach that Constantine had actually become a Christian as a result of a vision that he had seen, the facts seem to suggest that an authentic conversion to Christ never took place. As Emperor of Rome, he continued to honor the Unconquered Sun god as well as the other pagan deities of Rome. Constantine never established Christianity as the State religion, although it would appear that he obviously favored the religion, but this is probably purely for political reasons alone. There had been a belief among many, after the time of Constantine, that a preservation of the Roman Empire in at least some form would also help to preserve Christianity from the competing religions of the world. Although it can be argued whether Constantine ever had been truly converted to Christianity himself, it cannot be denied that it was he who had handed the imperial scepter over to the Bishop of Rome, in hopes that in doing so, he might also assist him in ruling over the empire, giving him complete authority to handle any disputes throughout the Christian world during his reign. Truly it might be said that "he exerciseth all the power of the first beast before him, and causeth the earth and them which dwell therein to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed" (Rev. 13:12 KJV), that first beast being of course the Roman Empire.
Because of the marriage of Rome to her new "Christian" religion, the entire Western Church began to act as one unified organism, while the Eastern Church continued to resist Papal authority. As a result, the Eastern Church continued to be plagued with various and strange off shoots of Christianity, being somewhat tossed to and fro by every sort of strange or new doctrine. The establishment of the organized Western Church, having its sanction by the emperor himself, stood as a pillar of Orthodox Christianity retaining a much more conservative Christianity. In all appearances, the threat of heresy in the West had been removed with the appearance of political control. Many churches in the East also looked to Rome as the guardian of that apostolic truth that had once been delivered to the Church.
Although handed the imperial scepter by Constantine, the Roman Pontiff had acquired his great power slowly as the rest of the Church found themselves willfully submitting to and acknowledging the Roman Bishopry as being somehow supreme. His power continuously grew over the years, with each year adding to the previous. Whenever local Church descension or disputes had arisen, whether throughout the West or the East, the Roman Bishop was called upon to settle such disputes. In this way, the Bishop of Rome began to exercise certain powers originally exercised by the emperor alone. In A.D. 378, Emperor Gratian added a civil sanction thereby giving judicial authority to the Bishop of Rome which now compelled any accused bishops to appeal to Rome rather than to the emperor. Emperor Gelasius (A.D. 496) considered the Bishop of Rome as supreme in all judicial matters concerning the Church throughout the empire, whether from the West or East. Finally in A.D. 604, Gregory the Great assumes the subjection of every other bishop throughout the empire to the Holy See of Peter.
It is Constantine who established the second Rome at Byzantium thinking to better shift the balance of wealth, power, and population to the eastern parts of the empire. The new headquarters or capital of Rome was named Constantinople. With the removal of the capital from Rome to Constantinople, the Roman Bishop had become without question the most politically influential man in the western portion of the empire. Although the seat of the emperor had been removed from Rome to the East, the people throughout the western portion of the empire continued to look to Rome for leadership. With the continual threat of attacks by barbarian forces, the Bishop of Rome began to assume command of the imperial militia throughout the Western world, always acting as the arm of the emperor for the supposed good of the empire. The various emperors continued to allow the Bishop of Rome to exercise a certain amount of authority in both civil and military situations, in exchange for his assistance in helping to support and to keep the empire intact. The marriage between the Church and State had helped to allow both kingdoms, political and ecclesiastical, to enjoy the fruits of their combined rulership.
The marriage between the Roman Empire and the Christian Church was sealed in the days of the Emperor Theodosius the Great. Christianity was now to be recognized as the only acceptable religion throughout the empire. Paganism had now become outlawed. As such, Christianity became not a matter of spiritual conversion but the physical cohesion by military force. At this point in time the prophetic office began to suffer much as doctrine would now become a matter of Roman influence rather than divine revelation.
As early as the fifth century, the term "papa" or "pope", which simply means "father of fathers", had been commonly used by the various bishops of Rome. Throughout the Eastern Church the term was used also as a general term, used to award a certain amount of respect to the position and authority that each had held. The same term is employed today in the use of the word "father", which is simply the word "papa". In A.D. 1073, Gregory VII formally decreed that from here forth the title of "Pope" would be awarded to only the Bishop of Rome. With that decree came also the recognition, at least throughout the Western Churches, of a certain apostolic authority on all letters originated from the Bishop or Pope of Rome. His letters would now come to be regarded as apostolic ordinances throughout the Church.
According to the Roman constitution, the emperor held the religious title Pontifex Maximus of religions. This office declared him to be sovereign over all religions and demanded that all foreign religions must submit by conforming to the constitution or be banned as illegal. When Constantine as emperor legalized Christianity he subjected it to the seat or authority of the State. As Pontifex Maximus, Constantine maintained the right to regulate the Christian Church just as he would have regulated paganism. It was now the emperor who would determine what rites would be performed, how the Church government would be organized and administered, how the doctrines of the faith would be defined, and what privileges and authority the Church officers would have within the Church and over the laity.
As Pontifex Maximus, the emperor maintained the power to elect whosoever he chose to sit in the chair of the Pope. He could also at any time for any reason depose the current Pope and even excommunicate him from the Church. This power possessed by the Roman Emperor has been exercised repeatedly down throughout history. Pope Gregory outwardly acknowledged the supremacy of the emperor's temporal power, and openly stated that God himself had awarded the emperor the right and authority to rule, not only over the empire as the civil governor, but to exercise dominion over the priesthood as well.
The rise of the Roman papacy and recognition of the apostolic authority of the Bishop of Rome, did not imply that the government of the Christian Church had immediately been transformed from a more democratic form of government to a monarchy. The process seems to have evolved rather slowly. The government of the Church was an oligarchy. The various bishops had originally enjoyed Episcopal equality and independence as allowed in Apostolic Canon 35 where it had been agreed that each province should determine which one of the churches in that province should hold jurisdiction over the rest. The Imperial Emperor however had continually addressed the Bishop of Rome on all matters thereby raising his office above all others. Indirectly then, the Bishop of Rome was always viewed as the head of the Church by the emperor. From the perspective of the emperor, it seemed much easier to deal with one head when discussing anything having to do with the Church. The emperor might then delegate the responsibility to the Bishop of Rome to see that all other Bishops had been made aware of the decisions made between the two. It is certainly easy to understand why the emperor would desire to deal with the one whom he already recognized to be the true monarch who reigned over the Church, whether the rest of the Church had agreed in his assumption of such authority or not. It is therefore the emperor himself, more than the individual churches, who had awarded such political power to the Bishop of Rome over all of his peers. Continual invasions of barbarian forces served to strengthen the political power and independence of the Roman Church. At first these forces had just about destroyed the Imperial Kingdom from England to Constantinople. Once the Teuton barbarians had finally been converted to Roman Christianity, they became staunch supporters of the Holy See. It was largely the Germans who had enabled the Pope to gain his great power and to enforce his prerogatives over the entire Western world. Eventually, the Pope grew powerful enough to declare the Roman Church free and independent from the Byzantine court. The conversion of the Teutons is largely attributed to Arianism, which is ironically regarded today as cultic teachings such as that taught by the Jehovah Witness. Arius taught that God is unbegotten and without beginning. The Son, the Second Person of the Trinity, therefore, because he is begotten, cannot be God in the same sense that the Father is. The Son was not generated from the divine substance of the Father; neither did He exist from all eternity, but He was created out of nothing like all other creatures, and exists by the will of the Father. In other words, the relationship between the Son and the Father is not natural, but one of adoption.
The first real Pope was Leo I, also called Leo the Great. As early as A.D. 440-461, Pope Leo had declared that there was in reality only one God, one Church, one Universal Bishop over the one great faith, and that it was the Roman Pontiff alone whom God had invested with such great privilege and responsibility as to be that one divine interpreter of the universal faith. Through his cultivation of a very strong alliance with Valentinian III, the Pope had now been given the imperial edict exalting him to the position of "Spiritual Director and Governor" of that one universal church. From here forth, the Pope would have the imperial authority to issue laws directed for the entire Church having as much authority as the emperor himself possessed over the empire.
After Pope Gregory I, also called Gregory the Great, had become Pope (A.D. 590-604), he issued a formal declaration of independence from the empire, and further assumed complete jurisdiction over the entire Western world. It is Gregory who is said to have merged the office of Roman Emperor and that of the Christian Bishop into one. Although considering the Roman Church as independent from the authority of the imperial throne, Gregory sought to unite the kingdom again as one imperial kingdom and one Christian Church. As such, he willingly submitted himself to imperial authority, even when the desires of the imperial throne had conflicted with his own. Gregory envisioned a unified and purified Christian Church, together with one imperial government encompassing the entire earth. As Gregory the Great ended his remarkable career as Pope, the Papacy now very much resembled the original Roman Empire. The laity would no longer have right to exercise any authority within the Church. Election of clergy would no longer be democratic, but now became an aristocratic process. Due to his own great superstitious beliefs in miracles, ghosts, supernatural manifestations, and the supernatural power of relics, the practice of such superstitions greatly increased throughout the Church. Worship of the saints became wide spread, along with the use of images and pictures throughout the Church. Finally, the Virgin Mary was exalted to a position of divinity and as such, the outward worship of her not only increased throughout the Church, but was now very much encouraged.
The Roman Kingdom began to crumble away both from the inside as well as the outside. The image and dream remained however for many years afterwards, with a belief by some that the theocratic Roman-Christian government would return, eventually encompassing the entire world. Rome was not powerful enough to oppose the Lombards who threatened her very existence, and on A.D. 752, Boniface, the Archbishop of Mentz, made a significant gesture that would pave the way for the realization of this Revived Roman Empire. Under the authority of the Roman Pontiff, Boniface declared Pepin the son of Charles Martel to be the rightful King of the Franks thereby severing the previous Merovingian dynasty. Such action sets the new regime as divinely appointed of God in the minds of the masses. In return, Pepin now becomes extremely loyal to the Roman Pontiff, and begins to make war against the Lombards, primarily to defend the Pope. Upon the death of Pepin (A.D. 768), Charlemagne, also called Charles the Great, would succeed his father, dividing the kingdom between himself and his brother Carloman. On A.D. 770, Charlemagne married the daughter of the King of the Lombards as a covenant of peace between them. Suddenly, his brother Carloman died (A.D. 771), and Charlemagne had seized the entire kingdom. Afterwards, the peace was broken by Charles who had repudiated his wife, and finally on A.D. 774, the Lombard capital was taken, and the kingdom had been overthrown by the forces of the Franks under Charles the Great.
From the time of Emperor Leo, when the Papacy had proclaimed its independence from the emperor, papal documents would no longer even contain the name of the emperor (A.D. 772). The empire began to crumble away and split into its various parts, while the papacy remained independent, being now a political government rightfully reigning over all. Rome finally seized her second glorious opportunity in A.D. 800, on Christmas day, when Pope Leo III unexpectedly placed the golden Imperial crown upon the head of Charles, declaring him to be Caesar and Augustus, the new Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire. Such action added to the pretended authority and mystic of the Pope, and without question had served to magnify that office in the minds of men everywhere. Many challenged this action by the papacy in years to come suggesting that the Pope had no such authority to transfer the Grecian Empire over to the Germans or revive the Western Empire again under Charlemagne, but others merely supposed that it must indeed be his divine right as the Vicar of Christ. It has been debated whether the Christian Church could have ever survived against the threat of Muslim annihilation, without the umbrella of protection that the Roman Pontiff had successfully orchestrated, but to debate such seems to be wholly unprofitable.
The new emperor, Charles the Great, being greatly educated himself, began to focus his attention upon the preservation of the Latin and Greek civilizations, and all that might be included under the heading of the theological learning of the Christian Church. Charles feared that without a purposeful preservation of these things, all such knowledge and educational advances might be lost forever, now being threatened by the multitude of anarchies during his time. He spent much time educating himself and his children. He initiated great building projects of schools, attaching them to the cathedrals and monasteries, believing that such knowledge might only be preserved by attaching it to the Christian Church, which he was convinced would somehow stand forever.
From the beginning, there seems to have been a great amount of difference between Western and Eastern Christianity. The Eastern Church might best be described as being much more philosophical. Deep meditation upon the new Christian truths brought forth the fruits of many diverse ideas and opinions, originating from an obvious sense of freedom to question or to think about such things. Such freedom of the mind allowed for the further development of a keen discernment of spiritual thoughts. As a result, the Eastern Church seems to be naturally more concerned with the metaphysical than the practical.
The Western Church seems to have been much more concerned with the practical aspects of Christianity. Due to their extreme conservatism, they clung rigidly to a much more consistent and orthodox belief. As a result, the West had a very legalistic attitude about their Christianity, which as a result, provided much order, and clearly defined the boundaries which people generally need, especially those who are much younger in the faith. On the other hand, freedom to think or to speak, in contrast to what the Church taught, was very much suppressed. The religious leaders of the Western Church considered it dangerous to have thoughts that seemed to go against the grain. The danger of free thought might be clearly realized by the first great crisis between the East and the West, that is, the Arian Controversy, where the divinity of Christ himself was questioned. No such doctrine ever had much chance of gaining support in the West. In the East however, the Arian Controversy had surprisingly gained much ground.
Another issue of major controversy was the doctrines of celibacy and marriage of the clergy, Rome of course demanding that the clergy must be married to the Church alone. The greatest controversy seems to have been the Iconoclastic dispute. The issue of image worship however was not truly an East and West dispute, for history shows that there was a greater love for image worship in the East then in the West. It would seem that the greatest burden of responsibility for allowing image worship rests upon the Roman Pontiff. Twice the Eastern Church had been thoroughly cleansed from image worship. Had Rome have followed suite, the use of such images would have likely been banned from the Christian Church forever. Image worship seems to have evolved in three different phases. At first only the cross was used as an emblem of Christ. Afterwards, other emblems and symbols began to appear. Finally, portraits were allowed which eventually gave birth to images for worship. Soon the outward worship of saints and martyrs, and the sacred relics that were somehow associated with them. Eventually, these objects themselves were reverently worshipped with kisses, bows, and prostrations made before them. Candles and lamps were now set before them so that they might be illuminated, and incense soon ascended before them. These abominations were running rampant throughout the Church as early as the sixth century. Opposition against the use of images in worship began as early as A.D. 167, with Irenaeus denouncing the practice. Tertullian and Clement of Alexandria also denounced these practices as sinful on the basis of the Ten commandments. Others as well throughout the early years of the Church had repeatedly warned of the great danger and continued to denounce the practice.
Perhaps more than anyone else, Leo III, called Leo the Isaurian, helped to cause a great tear between the Western and Eastern Church over the controversy of image or icon worship. Being somewhat familiar with the Muslim hatred of religious images and idols, Leo had come to his own conclusion that it was the prophet Mohammad and not the Pope who was right concerning the abuses of images in worship. The Christian Church was headed on a continual path of increased idolatry, and he supposed that a forced reformation within the Church was now absolutely necessary. The Church had embraced the use of images within their worship. Although Leo III declared such religious practices to be in great violation of the second commandment, the Church had now become married to her images and their use would not easily vanish away. Although some within the Eastern Church agreed with Leo, that a thorough cleansing was necessary, many others clung to their images as if they had fallen in love with them. As for the Western Church, the Pope could envision no harm whatsoever in allowing the continued use of these religious images, and as such, he absolutely refused to agree with Leo's desire to reform the Christian Church.
When Emperor Leo, believing himself called of God to purify the Church (A.D. 726), had issued his edict against images, the Pope responded in condemnation of the Iconoclastic heresy, and further cautioned him that such doctrines of the Church were not to be the concern or business of the emperor, but of the bishops. He further threatened Leo with the military power of the West, being at his command. In A.D. 730, Leo issued another edict demanding the complete abolition of all image worship throughout the empire. The Pope responded by declaring that all Iconoclasts would be excommunicated if they persisted in this activity. Leo responded with armies resulting in the capturing of papal territories in Greece and Italy. After Leo's attempts at reasoning had failed (A.D. 726), he finally demanded upon the threat of great physical punishment that the Eastern Church obey him by disposing of all their religious images. The greatest resistance to his new law came from the monks. As a result of this great controversy between the Eastern and Western Church, the Pope ultimately excommunicated Leo from the Church (A.D. 731).
When Leo was succeeded by his son Constantine Copronymus (A.D. 741), the cleansing continued with an even greater voice, and transgressors were now being brutally punished. He called together the Seventh Council of Constantinople (A.D. 754), which consisted of 338 Bishops from throughout the Eastern Church. These unanimously agreed with the prohibition against the usage of religious icons and images. Those who would continue to use religious images would now be tortured in a variety of different ways. Such punishments ranged from scourging, imprisonment, and exile, to such unimaginable cruelties such as the blinding of the eyes or the mutilation of the flesh. Eventually, the Eastern Church had been almost completely purged of image worship.
The abolition of images would not last for long in the Eastern Church. Through the efforts of the Empress Irene (A.D. 787), the Second Council of Nicaea now would completely overturn the previous decision made by the Council of 754. The Roman Pontiff stood in agreement with the Council of Frankfurt (A.D. 794), expressing condemnation upon the Second Nicene Council for their stand against image usage throughout the Eastern Church. The images would once again be seen throughout the Eastern Church until Leo of Armenian (A.D. 813-820) would violently oppose their usage once again, but his efforts were again overturned through the efforts of the widow of an Iconoclast Emperor named Theodora around (A.D. 842).
Monasticism
Secularization and materialism eventually began to flourish within the Church, to the extent that the early Church fathers of the third century had written writings deploring such corruption and decay of Christendom as a whole. The only way to escape such corruption to the ideal place of sacred Puritanism, often in excess, and that of spiritual growth, seemed to be the choosing of the monastic lifestyle. Such a lifestyle often encompassed a life of asceticism, including both fasting and celibacy, and originally had been advocated by the most eminent of the early Fathers. Monasticism might therefore be best understood as an early attempt at reforming the Church. It was as if the Church had gone from being the pure bride of Christ, to the adulterous mistress of Satan. Those who embraced monasticism consisted largely of those who sought to return to a simple or more pure apostolic Christianity.Among the many monastic orders, the rule of St. Benedict (A.D. 529) was received and accepted by the mainstream of the Church as being that which was most recommended. The Benedictine order made each monastery a highly independent group, each having no common head. If it were not for this order, we would not have the famous compilation and preservation of the writings of the Church Fathers. These monks were considered to be made up of laity rather than clergy. It has been suggested that monasticism probably ranks second, only to the establishment of the Papacy, as regards the historical preservation of Christianity.
The spirit of prophecy, from the days of the Old Testament prophets, such as Jeremiah and Isaiah, has always insisted without apology, that this world should take heed and turn to God in true repentance, as every man is to stand under severe judgment for the evil and wicked works that they have done. For such reason does the mighty wrath of God fall upon this entire earth, to consume it with fire in the last days. With the entrance of monasticism, the prophetic ministry is now able to influence the Church again, through the various monasteries that were now flourishing. Once again there seemed to be too much risk in simply allowing these great variety of monasteries to coexist. One order had to be selected over all others. By selecting the order of St. Benedict over all others, Rome was once again influencing order and control over the prophetic voice. Such control was considered to be far better than simply allowing such great divergence and disparity of religious teachings to coexist throughout the Church. According to Rome, reason had dictated that such a notion as religious freedom would only promote further disunity and increased disloyalty to the recognized central head of the Church. Such measures therefore had to be taken if the Pontiff was to guarantee the preservation of Roman Christianity. So it is that Rome, rather than the Holy Spirit, must become the preserver of the truth which God himself could not preserve. False teachers could not be and therefore would no longer be tolerated. False teaching is of course defined as anything that contradicts the Roman Church's doctrine.
The validity of the Monastic system has been highly questioned as to its being founded upon a Christian or Biblical foundation. The value of these various orders to the Church historically, and to the preservation of the sacred treasures of ancient literature is indisputably immense. It may be questioned whether a necessary compliance with the rigid rules of any given Monastic order was ever biblical or justified. On the other hand, had it not have been for the monasteries, how would the sacred learning and teachings, acquired by the Church down through history have been preserved for us today? It was these monks who had patiently continued in their laboring by making hand copies of the ancient books and writings. It is directly because of them that we even have these writings available to us today? If not for the monks, who would have been the preserver of these teachings, or who would have been the educator or teacher? Monasticism is also often credited with the feeding of the hungry, caring for the sick, entertaining of the traveler, and becoming in essence an asylum for any of the unfortunates. Throughout the dark ages of ignorance, it is the monastery that kept the learning and arts of civilization alive. It is the monk who kept and preserved the like for a future generations to come. There is no true way to evaluate the riches which monasticism has preserved for modern man. The tree must ultimately be judged according to the fruit that it has produced. Upon considering the whole, the results of our fruit inspection suggests that the whole of monasticism must be considered as a work and grace of the Holy Spirit.
As for the Roman Catholic Church, how heavily they valued the monastic orders is common knowledge. The Pope himself would usually have come forth out of a monastery somewhere. Gregory the Great is the first monk to be elected as Pope. Although many may challenge the Papacy, suggesting that the monastic orders were not founded upon any biblical basis, others seem to find a parallel between the Old Testament School of the Prophets and the various monastic orders of the Church. It has been proposed that the secular clergy might be likened to the Levitical priesthood, while the monastic orders find their foundation in the ministry of the Old Testament prophets such as Elijah and Elisha.
When considering the entire history of the Christian Church, it seems fair to conclude that emphasis has been upon the need for order and structure, at the expense of limiting the prophetic office. Regardless of what Church leaders might stress as the need in the Church today, it is an undisputed fact that the founder of Christianity, that is Christ himself, stood in the office of a prophet. As a prophet, he called for a repentance from dead works and continually sought to transform the world systems by turning them inside out and upside down. Order through human government despises the ministry of the prophet, for his message always contradicts those foundations upon which they stand, thereby making their lives uncomfortable. When the Church and her leaders are comfortable, that Church begins to slowly die from the inside out. It is the voice of the prophet that keeps the Church alive. Where the voice of the prophet is refused, the branch is severed from the vine. If this situation should happen, the Church becomes merely just another social organization belonging to the secular world.
There are those who have suggested that Christianity is merely an off shoot from the religion of the Essenes of Qumran. Although there seems to be some similarity between their Teacher of Righteousness and Christ himself, in reality, the leader of the Essene religion was more of a political leader who opposes the religious leadership of the Maccabees. While it cannot be denied that there are common characteristics between the two systems, showing what we would be willing to concede as an obvious Essenic influence upon Christianity, the differences are indeed much greater than any such similarities.
The monasticism that flourished throughout Church history, although apparently wide spread throughout the Essenes, cannot be said to have had its origin among this religious sect. The same ascetic behavior might easily be traced to such men as John the Baptist, Elijah, Elisha, or the men who made up the School of the Prophets. While some have supposed a life of deliberate separation to be entirely foreign to the biblical revelation, this seems to be a judgment made in haste without careful meditation or observation. Jesus himself would classify as one leading a monastic lifestyle, which is probably why we have no record of his life after the age of twelve; that is until he first appears within the scriptures at the age of thirty. It seems quite probable that he might have spent much of his life in a state of ascetic withdrawal, at least for specified periods of time as he saw such need. The temporary vow of the nazarite might certainly have been characteristic throughout his early life, at least in some form. His forty day separation into the wilderness, along with short periods of withdrawal to solitude for prayer and meditation, is more characteristic of one accustomed to a continuing ascetic lifestyle. Considering that he at no time sought to turn away from this life of celibacy, while further encouraging others (Mat. 19:12 KJV) to do likewise, suggests that Christ himself gives the monastic lifestyle his stamp or seal of approval.
Although the revived Roman Kingdom won by Charlemagne could be held together as long as he lived, it became manifest that it was the person of Charlemagne that held the whole of it together. As soon as he had passed off the scene, the kingdom again became fragmented. Often there was no official emperor of the new kingdom. The right to the throne was often considered to be the right of the Germans or East Franks. Such right to the throne is exhibited during the days of Otto the Great (A.D. 936-973), where the imperial dignity is said to have been permanently annexed to Germany.The political advancement of the papacy is especially increased when there seemed to be no rightful heir to sit upon the throne as emperor. One notable occurrence is the crowning of Nicholas I as Pope. It is interesting that he is the first pope to wear this royal crown. From the time of Nicholas I until Hildebrand (867-1049), the office of Pope seems to be occupied by worldly men who had obtained their office through crime, force, or bribery, while intending to use that powerful office to accomplish their own corrupt purposes. Most of the popes during this time ended their careers by being placed in prison, assassinated, or at the least being deposed for one reason or another. Often the Papacy was purchased openly, being bought and sold for monetary endowments. The higher clergy consisted primarily of wealthy landowners who often ruled as secular princes, even possessing the rights and privileges to coin their own money, and to exhort tolls and taxes, etc. Benedict IX (A.D. 1033-1045) acquired the office of Pope at the youthful age of ten. Many of the higher clergy had been married, possessed families, and even kept mistresses. They came to be thought of as the equivalent of the Nobles in the mind of the kings, and as such, became dependent upon such kings for the appointment to their Church office. As Nobles they even led their troops into the battlefield. This corruption even extended to the abbots and monasteries. The abbots began to strive for worldly reputation and power, and the old forms of discipline throughout the monasteries were soon neglected. Monks and nuns began to indulge in inappropriate behaviors. As a result, an ever increasing cry began to be heard throughout the churches for internal reform, from those of the clergy who sought to live a proper Christian life, by continuing in spiritual truth as it had been once delivered to them. Religion had simply become a cloak for all kinds of indecent, immoral, and licentious practices and behavior. As in the Old Testament however, it seems that God still had a faithful remnant who would not bow their knee to Baal.
Many of this faithful remnant had attempted various types of reform during the latter days of this period, but the greatest success came with the appointment of Pope Leo IX (A.D. 1049-54), whose name was originally Bruno. Bruno was the relative of Conrad II, the Holy Roman Emperor, and was elected Pope primarily due to the influence of Conrad's son and successor, Henry III. Leo strongly pursued the Church policy of maintaining celibacy, opposition to concubinage, and the sale of Church offices. It is Hildebrand who is credited with being the genius of this reformation of purification within the Church. Leo's attempt to reform the Church began initially with the Curia. The Curia consisted of a bureaucracy of ten separate congregations that were designed to assist the Pope in his administration of the Roman Church. Each of these ten had been charged with the peculiar or special administrative power over a specific area of the government. After securing these changes, he then focused upon abolishing the evils of simony, violations of celibacy, and unjust taxing of the laity, as well as what was considered to be the uncanonical marriages of the laity. Such reforms he enforced somewhat successfully at times through the necessary use of the military. Upon his death, he entrusted all of the affairs of the papacy to Hildebrand, until such time as a new pope might be elected. Hildebrand did not think it wise to accept the office of pope himself although many would have approved his nomination. Instead he used his affluence with Emperor Henry III to request his confirmation of the nomination of Gebhard to the office. After obtaining confirmation by the emperor, Gebhard went to Rome to be elected as Pope Victor II (A.D. 1055). As soon as he was elected as the new pope, he raised again the banner of Hildebrand's reformation. Upon the death of Victor II, while Hildebrand was away on papal business, Rome elected Stephen IX to the pontiff's holy office. This election of the new pope was accomplished without regard to any German Imperial consent or approval, as Stephen despised the Emperor Henry III, although he also was in agreement with Hildebrand's reformation movement. The reign of Stephen IX was short, and upon his untimely death he requested that no pope be elected without the advice of Hildebrand, however the nobles of Rome, refusing to honor the Pope's request, elected Benedict X, an avowed enemy of the reform. Benedict relinquished the throne willingly upon Hildebrand's return to Rome thereby demonstrating the true political power and influence which Hildebrand did possess. The new Pope, Nicholas II, became practically a puppet of Hildebrand. To prevent the repeat of an election of another undesirable pope, the Lateran Council (A.D. 1059) created the College of Cardinals. The election of the future pontiffs would now be placed in their hands, although the lower clergy would still be required to approve such nomination. This was a great triumph for the Roman Church as now the election of the Pope would be taken completely out of the hand of the Roman Nobles, as well as the Roman Emperor. Upon the death of Nicholas, the College of Cardinals elected Alexander II as Pope, but the emperor declared his election to be nullified. In his place he appointed Honorius II to the office. This caused a revolt throughout Germany and eventually Alexander II would ultimately succeed as the victor. The decision of the College of Cardinals was now proved to be final and authoritative, regardless of imperial confirmation or acceptance. It could now be unequivocally stated that the Church was no longer ruled by submission to the State. Although Hildebrand was without doubt a man of great influential power during this age of internal reform within the papacy, it is Cardinal Humbert who is considered to be the greatest champion of the movement. The Lateran canons of 1059 are said to represent his views more so than the views of Hildebrand.
Alexander II died (A.D. 1073), and the College of the Cardinals elected Hildebrand as Pope Gregory VII, the new Roman Pontiff. Although Hildebrand had unquestionably accepted his appointment as head over the Church, he also felt obligated to request the imperial confirmation and approval of his nomination by Emperor Henry IV. Obviously the action was prompted to reopen the door of imperial diplomacy. Henry IV was cautioned by his imperial advisors to completely reject the appointment of Hildebrand to the office of Pontiff but the emperor found himself to be in a great dilemma due to the obvious political power and affluence which Hildebrand had obviously possessed throughout the empire. Hildebrand declared to the emperor that he would surrender the throne, providing the emperor would willfully reject his appointment. This act would demonstrate his public submission to the head of the Roman Empire. Somewhat hesitatingly, the emperor accepted Hildebrand's appointment to the new office, and as of June 30, 1073, Hildebrand becomes recognized by the imperial throne as Pope Gregory VII.
Gregory continued his attempts at Church reform especially in the areas of investiture, simony, and celibacy. This reform was perceived as absolutely necessary by Gregory to gain the sought after theocratic control over the world, as he had envisioned to be his right as Vicar of Christ. As long as the clergy could buy and sell Church offices, property, and relics, such secular materialism would promote only multitudes of evils throughout the clergy. Secular wealth attracted the wrong type of person into the ranks of the clergy. Investure allowed secular kings to have control over the Church, thereby weakening the power of the papal throne. The edicts of the papacy could never be enforced as long as secular kings could manipulate the higher clergy as puppets. Marriage produced an allegiance to one's own family and children rather to the Roman See. Absolute celibacy was considered to be absolutely essential to destroy licentiousness and immoral behavior throughout the clergy. The clergy must be married to the Church, while the people within the Church must be viewed as their children. Gregory discovered, through twenty-five years of reformation, that such rules were absolutely required to guarantee the power of the Roman Pontiff's throne. The more Gregory pushed against the power of the imperial throne, the more Henry IV returned his aggression. Believing his own power and influence throughout the empire to be much stronger then that of the Pope, Henry IV continued to challenge the Pope's authority on such matters. Henry IV, having the backing of the German clergy and nobility, declared Hildebrand to be a False Monk and usurper of the Holy See. He further demanded that Gregory resign the holy throne accusing him that his aspiration to the papal throne was unlawful. Infuriated by these words of the emperor, Henry IV was now excommunicated. The rift between the two empires became even greater until finally Henry IV was willing to humbly accept defeat by bowing himself to the authority of the Roman Pontiff. This public act of submission found the grace and mercy of the Pope but was shortly afterwards discarded. Henry IV began to oppose the Pope again in an attempt to regain the respect that his public humiliation had lost. As a result, Henry IV lost his German crown to Rudolph due to a civil war and supposed apostolic authority. The Pope once again pronounced Henry IV to be excommunicated and declared Rudolph to be the new king in his stead. The German clergy unified to declare Clement III to be the Anti-Pope, deposing Gregory VII. The German clergy blamed Gregory for all of the tragedies that followed as a result of Germany's civil war, declaring Henry IV the sovereign king over the empire. War between the Pope and the King of Germany continued until Rome itself was captured. Clement III was now installed as Pope and Henry IV recovered his imperial crown by the new Pontiff's decree.
The threat of Islam probably began by the Saracens conquest of Palestine in A.D. 637. Although the Mohammedans had conquered the Holy land, were especially tolerant of both Judaism and Christianity. Idolaters and false religion were considered to be the enemies of Allah, but because of Judaism and Christianity were founded upon the worship of Allah (the God of the biblical Abraham), it would be tolerated, as long as they would acknowledge the political sovereignty of their Islam rulers and pay any tribute as required. New churches were not allowed to be founded, and the cross had to be removed from the outside of the Church buildings, but otherwise the people were free to worship. It wasn't until Hakam, the mad Sultan of Egypt, attempted to completely destroy Christianity in Jerusalem (A.D. 1010), that the threat became no longer bearable. As a result of the increased persecution against the Christians in Jerusalem, Jews were persecuted throughout Europe, being blamed for the travesties in Jerusalem. On A.D. 1076 Jerusalem was captured by the Seljukian Turks. Christians were again being killed as more churches were destroyed. Christians who had once sought to make their holy pilgrimages to Jerusalem could no longer do so without the threat of robbery, brutal punishment, or possibly the loss of life. Although such had been known for centuries when traveling through Mohammedan lands, the increase of such travesties became alarming, and was now beginning to reach the ears of everyone throughout Europe. What was God's answer to rid the world of this enemy of Christ? Everywhere throughout the land voices echoed their desire and support of a holy war, later materializing in the form of the Crusades. It was by far the popes, rather then the kings or emperors, who sought to unite the whole of the Christian world against Islam. It is the papacy who had the most to gain which had been realized by the Greek Emperor from early on. It is the popes who had desired the Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem and Constantinople, who had declared the new religious military orders as being found acceptable to the cause of Christ, and therefore under the divine protection of the Roman See. Beyond this, they also increased the practice of granting Indulgences as a means by which they might encourage many to join themselves to the Crusades.
There were many who desired the Crusades for reasons other than the cause of Christ. Merchants believed that new fields of commerce and trade would be established. Such lucrative trade routes that had once existed with the Eastern world had since been lost as a result of the recent Turkish conquests. Kings and princes on the other hand had imagined that the rich Mohammedan provinces might somehow be gained for their own personal material wealth and gain. The Eastern Emperor sought to rid his kingdom of the daily threat against their own existence. The Pope had envisioned the eventual subjection of the entire Eastern Church under papal authority. Those who possessed no wealth, believed that they might somehow enrich themselves through the spoil of the infidels. Criminals had been promised a pardon of their crimes and sins through their faithful service against these enemies of the Church. Others were attracted by the superstition of obtaining one of the holy relics now in possession of the infidel. For the others, perhaps it was the many legends of such shameless tortures and barbaric inhumanities upon their fellow Christians. Such stories, whether true or exaggerated, or even being completely fictional, had now incited them to a wild frenzy, from which they would only be quenched by the realization and satisfaction of revenge. Whatever their personal reasons, the whole of Europe was becoming united to rid the world of the infidels and thereby achieve the great reward of faithful Christian service.
Obviously, some were motivated by an authentic Christian zeal to extend the true faith throughout the world. Gregory VII called upon all Christians to unite under the one true Holy Banner of Christ, to liberate the Holy Land of Palestine from the Turks. Victor III promised a remission of all sins for all would take part in this Crusade. As a result such propaganda, Christians Knights and foot soldiers set out to fight the Holy War convinced that God himself had decreed it to liberate the world from Islam. Surly there must have been many who had dreamed that through their efforts, the whole of the Mohammedan world might be converted. The cries from Christians in Jerusalem were therefore heard throughout all of Europe. It seemed the right thing to do, the holy duty of the Church.
The Crusades lasted for approximately two centuries beginning A.D. 1096 and lasting till 1291. The first major Crusade was intended to liberate the Holy Land from the Mohammedans and restore it to Christianity. It seemed as if the whole Christian world had been willing to die in that city where Christ had died for them. It was absolutely necessary that a new government be established in Jerusalem so that the future defense of the Holy City might therein be guaranteed. The route through Antioch and Syria leading to the Holy City must also be protected. It was now apparent that the world could not rely upon the Greek Emperors to adequately defend these against the barbaric enemies of God. Through their efforts, Jerusalem had eventually been captured in A.D. 1099 resulting in the massacre of both Jews and Mohammedans. The new Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem had now been created. Godfrey of Bouillon accepted the title of Protector of the Holy Sepulchre after refusing to be crowned as king. After his death however, count Baldwin of Edessa did receive the crown as the proclaimed King of Jerusalem. The second Crusade was inspired with the fall of Edessa (A.D. 1145) into Mohammedan hands as Jerusalem was now being threatened. The Pope (Eugenius III) had encouraged King Louis VII of France to join forces with the Western Emperor, Conrad III, to establish a new Crusade. The Greek Emperor greatly distrusted the Pope's intentions and therefore resisted the crusade as much as he was able. In this crusade they had also been ambushed by the Saracens resulting in a complete failure for the West. It is generally agreed that nothing had successfully been accomplished as a result of this second Crusade. Finally Jerusalem had been captured (A.D. 1187) by the fierce Saracen ruler, Saladin. The new Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem had been given a death blow to the head. Emperor Frederick Barbarossa joined Richard I of England and the French King Philip Augustus in the third major Crusade. During this crusade, Emperor Barbarossa had drowned in Asia Minor. Although Jerusalem was not regained, Richard of England had managed to solidify a certain truce with Saladin. The agreement was that Christians would be allowed to visit the holy places with their safety and comfort guaranteed. The fourth Crusade, being the inspiration of Innocent III, never succeeded in conquering the Holy Land, but he did manage to acquire Constantinople allowing the establishment of a new Latin Empire of Constantinople. The Crusades would probably have enjoyed much greater success if they had not been hindered by the Greek Emperors who imagined that the true goal of these holy wars was not so much to rid the world of the Muslim threat, but to recover lost Greek provinces for the Roman Church, as well as for the Pope to gain exclusive possession of the Holy Places, especially Jerusalem. Admittedly, if such ambitions had not been totally true, they were at least partially true.
Of the four minor Crusades, the first, inspired by Innocent III, ended in a miserable defeat. The second was inspired by the Emperor Frederick II who managed to successfully capture Jerusalem. The fall of Jerusalem again led to Louis IX inspiring the third Crusade which as the first ended in failure. The fourth and last Crusade was inspired jointly by the dream of Prince Edward and the vow of Louis IX. The results this time were favorable, Nazareth was captured, and a new treaty had been secured for the Christians. The period of these Crusades ends around A.D. 1291.
The Crusades had given birth to new religious orders combining monasticism with chivalry. The end product was manifested as the Hospitalers, Templars, and Teutonic Knights. During the first Crusade, the establishment of the hospital, its master being Gerard, became extremely important, and as such had been awarded the special protection of the Holy See. The Templars had been founded by Hugh de Payen around A.D. 1118 A.D. Being a Burgundian knight, he had joined with other knights for the sole purpose of protecting the roadways making possible the pilgrimages to Jerusalem. These knights have been described as lions of war against the enemies of Christ, while remaining as kind and gracious lambs in their treatment of the Christians. King Baldwin II had given these Templar Knights a permanent home in the Temple of Solomon and it was because of this that they were called the Templars. The Teutonic Knights was a military order founded at the siege of Acre (A.D. 1190) by the German Knights who first accompanied Frederick Barbarossa. They devoted themselves to fighting for the cross of Christ against the heathen and infidels who would dare to resist or stand against Christianity. Their primary goal had been the conversion of the heathen and the caring of the sick and wounded.
During the next three centuries to follow, various popes declared other Crusades, calling upon Christians to arm themselves against the Moslem infidels, but it seems likely that these were often called as a means to levy heavy taxation upon the unsuspecting Christians. After many centuries and repeated battles to keep the Holy land free of Mohammedanism, it was concluded that such efforts had altogether failed, although the threat of Europe being swallowed up by Mohammedanism no longer existed. There was however a little success in the establishment of the Latin Kingdoms of Jerusalem and Constantinople, and it is said that the Eastern Empire was prolonged at least three hundred and fifty years as a result. Faith and support of the new Crusades continued to dwindle, as many realized the great expense of material wealth and human life. The great losses of land and properties, and the death of so many of the feudal lords, slowly led to the end of feudalism. As the Moslem threat had now been successfully checked throughout Europe, the zeal of Christians began to lessen, and the old fire that kept the Crusades alive, finally gave up the ghost.
Another byproduct of the Crusades was the great intellectual awakening throughout Europe and the Church. The Arab culture was far superior to the Grecian-European civilizations. Europe therefore benefited greatly through social intercourse with these new civilizations. Such areas of improvement were noticeable in education, science, literature, art, and culture. With the breakdown of feudalism came the liberation of whole cities. Further advances in geography and sociology lead to increased trade, agriculture, literature, medicine and drugs. Knowledge of the various sciences continued to increase in all areas such as chemistry, physics, zoology, astronomy, etc. The great abuses and corruptions of the Church became the subject of every herald. This eventually lead to internal reformation brought about chiefly by the Franciscans and Dominicans.
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The Mendicant Orders
As we have already shown, the Crusades had produced a new form of monasticism that attempted to combine monk and knight together, giving a new order that sought through charity to provide shelter and medical care for the sick and hungry, and to provide protection to the pilgrims to the Holy Land. These not only included men but also included convents for women. Such various orders had multiplied in number and had rapidly gained much wealth, especially from the Papacy. As a result of their increased wealth, decay and degeneration began to pollute the orders internally. Eventually the vow of poverty had been forgotten, and the desire to minister help and protection to their neighbor had changed to ruthlessly taking advantage and lording over them. The nunneries were slowly becoming houses of prostitution as the vows of chastity seemed to change to vows of licentious living. Great sworn allegiance to the Roman See now replaced the vows of separation and holiness to Christ. The new form of monasticism served to strengthen the power of the Pope while degenerating the holiness and discipline of the various orders. Inmates of these new monasteries were no longer those who sought to live a consecrated life to Christ, but rather those of a more vicious and immoral class. The term monk began to become associated with deception, crime, fraud, false relics, begging, and stealing. The priests despised the monks and the people eventually began to mistrust both. An overwhelming dissatisfaction with the Church of Rome began to spread throughout Europe, as new Christian sects began to spring up throughout the kingdom. Rome of course did her best to suppress by force any of the new sects known to them. Heretical teachings began to attract many who had been greatly displeased by the internal corruption within the Church. Such teachers had exhibited attractive lifestyles in comparison with the clergy and the monks. Rome seemed not to concern itself with any attempts at internal reformation.Many hoped for internal reformation through means of the newly established begging orders. Their purpose was (1) to reform the Church from within without need for revolution, (2) to avoid the corruption of wealth through avowed sanctified poverty, (3) to send out missionaries into the world and the Church to proclaim the truth, (4) to keep a harmonious order within the new order, (5) to attempt reform by turning the Church away from idols to a purer and more primitive Christianity.
Among these begging orders, two were the most prominent and successful. The first of these was the Dominican Friars, a new order founded by Dominic de Guzman. Dominic was appalled at the gross ignorance throughout the clergy, their inability to preach the true message of the Church, and their gross inability to stand up against the teachings of the heretics. Dominic once rebuked the abbots of his day saying, "It is not by the display of pomp and power, cavalcades of retainers and richly houseled palfreys, nor by gorgeous apparel, that the heretics win proselytes; it is by zealous preaching, by apostolic humility, by austerity and seeming holiness. Zeal must be met by zeal, humility by humility, false sanctity by real sanctity, preaching falsehood by preaching truth." Such then was the foundation upon which the Dominican order would be built. After Dominic founded the monastery of St. Rouen with moneys gifted him by a rich man, he gathered devout men to join his new monastery. The monastery had been financed by the Bishop of Toulouse who had pledged a sixth of his tithes for this new work. Dominic was able to acquire papal sanction for his new organization by Innocent III who had been given a dream from God. The new organization was not originally devoted to poverty, but to preaching the truth, the saving of souls, the battle against heresy, and the educating of the people in all truth. They founded their own religious schools and their recruits came from these schools. As a result of their growth, the new order became very influential and was considered to be very dangerous to the clergy. Many of their missionaries were sent into the world and had become martyrs for Christ's sake in various places.
The second most prominent of the begging orders was the Franciscan Friars, an order founded by Francis of Assisi. Francis did not have any idea in his mind at first to establish a new brotherhood or a new religious order. He sought only to purify himself and to live an ascetic life of preaching repentance to a world entrenched in sin. His strange holy life style began to attract others who wanted to join with him. He put them likewise under vows of poverty and preaching. He then began to send forth his disciples into all the world to preach a gospel of love, compassion, peace, and patience. Eventually, Francis sought a meeting with the Pope to obtain Papal confirmation of his new order. With some doubt and hesitation the Pope submitted Francis' request to the cardinals who approved the new order. The members of this new order would be required to willingly sell all that they have to be given to the poor, and willfully take upon themselves vows of solemn chastity, poverty, and obedience. They would wear no shoes, receive no money for themselves, and earn their own food and clothing by laboring with their own hands. These men were then sent out as missionaries to the whole world.
In contrast, the Dominicans elevated education and encouraged skillful training to produce a highly aggressive preacher with the ability to convert the heretics and instruct the orthodox clergy. The Franciscans elevated a life of simplicity, purity, and poverty above all. Both organizations had a governor-general at Rome, who had been appointed as overseer of the new orders. The Dominicans denied the immaculate conception and were considered to be nominalists. The Franciscans believed in the immaculate conception and were said to be realists.
These two orders were directly responsible to the Pope alone, and as such, they were often used by him to raise special moneys, to preach crusades, and to sell indulgences. They likewise would be called upon to execute any excommunications as decreed by the Pope. Often they would act as the Pope's exclusive secret police serving as his personal spies throughout the earth. In the beginning they had authority to preach the gospel but no authority to offer the mass. When the Pope had awarded them the power to do so they became a special elite priesthood dedicated to his service. They became a vast army for the Pope throughout the whole of Europe and were very instrumental in carrying out the work of the Inquisition. Around the thirteenth century they likewise became corrupt within. Both orders had now departed from their original ideals. The more worldly they became, the more unpopular they also became.
By the time of Pope Innocent III the Papacy had been well established. After the death of the Imperial Emperor Henry VI, the whole of the empire was reduced to anarchy as rivals struggled to gain control of the throne. In France, Philip Augustus being a tyrannical ruler, had been violently opposed by both the nobles and the people. In Spain, there was such a great lack of centralized power, that rival kings were requesting the Pope to interfere. In England, following the death of Richard I, King John warred against his own nobles. In the East, the Slavic nations were ripe to accept Roman rule. As for the Eastern Empire, it was on the brink of complete collapse. If there ever would be a more opportune time for the Papacy to gain control over the whole world, that time seemed to be now.
Pope Innocent III believed the Roman Church to be the only true Church of God upon the earth, and further considered himself to be appointed by God to govern his Church throughout the world. Such circumstances could not be accidental. The greatest crime throughout the world was the crime of heresy against God's Church and the Pope had now been given the divine responsibility and opportunity of ridding the earth of this gross disease forever. Such heresy might be defined, as anything or any circumstances that would tend to break up the unity of the world Church, which might easily be further defined as anything at all which stood in opposition to Papal authority. Heresy was viewed by the masses of the Christian populace as that which was more than a mere religious controversy or difference of philosophical opinion, but a grave social danger and menace to society, that must be rooted out completely for the sake of Christ and all of mankind. It was viewed in every way as a direct challenge set against all God given authority or divine order, being especially dangerous and absolutely necessary to repress. Heresy was not merely treason against the Pope and the Church of Rome. It was nothing short of treason against Almighty God. It must surely be the duty of the Church to rid the earth of this terrible work of Satan. For the person living in those days, the notion of the Kingdom of God was not so much an image of something to come in the future by Christ's second appearing, but was rather a visible and present reality. The Kingdom of God had already come, as that kingdom was clearly and unquestionably the visible Church of Rome, the Pope sitting upon Christ's own throne as his one and only Vicar.
To promote the transition from paganism to Christianity, much leniency had been authorized by Rome to allow the continuance of such festivals by transforming the most ancient or firmly rooted of such pagan customs to a new christianized form. In doing so, pagan wells for instance, which had once been considered as being especially sacred, were now taught to be divinely protected by a Christian saint. The aspects of the lives of such saints were in some cases extremely exaggerated to promote these ideas among the people, and often times such accounts had been completely fabricated, to the extent that some of the saints had never really existed at all, their very lives being completely fictional. Such saints were claimed by many, to perform great miraculous healings at their shrines or sacred wells. As for the activities associated with the pagan ritual, in many cases all remained unchanged except for the name of the demigod, now called by the surname "Saint", who was said to be being honored by such rituals of superstition. Such powers as granting bountiful rains or fruitful harvests were transferred from the mythical pagan deity to their new mythical Christian saint. While it may be true that in many such cases, the transference of the worship of a pagan deity might have been initially promulgated by a devoted worshipper among the populace rather than the organized Church, eventually the Church found itself being forced to compromise by accepting the false claims of the devotees of such saints, rather than attempt to fight that which stubbornly refused to be uprooted. On the whole, the evidence suggests that such pagan myths and rituals remained along side Christianity, and continued to be practiced by those who claimed themselves to be Christian.
As early as the fourth century, reports began to be heard throughout the Christian world of miracles being performed or received at the tomb sites of the Christian martyrs. After these reports, others also began to flood the earth reporting equally great miracles being associated with certain relics belonging to these saints, even such miracles as that of raising the dead. As miraculous stories of such martyrs and the relics associated with them continued to increase, graves were opened so that the bodies of the now dead martyrs might be dismembered. Their bones, clothing, or any other relic being in their possession at the time of their death might now be distributed throughout the empire and beyond. Churches were often erected upon the grave or tomb of a martyr or his bones. Such saints would then become the special guardian of that particular Church body, town or city. Soon the ancient practice of lighting candles or lamps before the shrines of saints was spread throughout the world. Although many within the Church complained that such activity and worshipping of these saints was no different then pagan idolatry, the majority had readily accepted God's sanction of these rituals being evidenced by the manifestations of such glorious powers that had accompanied the many saints and their relics. As more unconverted pagans ushered into the churches, many concessions were granted to allow their feast days and holy festivals to be maintained or continued by attributing and transferring them to one of the holy saints. Already by the fourth century such christianized pagan festivals were openly celebrated accompanied by the same pagan behaviors including: revelry, dancing, and drunkenness. St. Augustine openly admits that in his day a certain amount of compromise with paganism was considered as essential for the conversion of the rest of the world. In the days to come, these Christian saints would come to be regarded as patron gods and heroes of various towns and countries just as the pagan gods and heroes of old had been honored and worshipped of times before Christianity had penetrated the towns and countries. Although the whole of the world was slowly becoming Christian, such conversion was in mouth only as external behavior, superstition, and acts of pagan worship and practice had hardly changed at all, except of course in name and even in some cases the name remained the same, only the hero and the mythology associated with him was now said to have been canonized by the Church.
Pagan superstition had also been transferred over to Christianity along with its ritual and practices of magic. The masses of people were becoming consumed with a passion for obtaining various relics that were once possessed by any of these newly christianized saints. People everywhere worshipped the several different shrines that had been set up to honor these individual saints, and the people fully expected the same miraculous benefits to follow their worship, much as they had been accustomed to expect from their pagan counterparts. The common household deities of the old dispensation had now simply become the household saints of the new. For all practical purposes, the people stubbornly refused to let go of their personal gods or idols; and the Church, often while admittedly not always, had merely accepted such practices, rather than expending the great effort that it would have taken to attempt to outwardly oppose and condemn these abominable idolatries.
The worship of the Virgin began to spread throughout both the Eastern and Western parts of the Church. Such worship of the Virgin seems to extend from as early as the end of the fourth century. Persons of strong influence and reputation even claimed that St. Mary herself had appeared to them in a vision. Ildefonsus, Bishop of Toledo, had not only claimed such a visitation by the Virgin, but had further claimed that she had give him a particular vestment to wear while performing a Mass in honor of her festival. Four of the main festivals being practiced by the sixth century in honor of the Virgin were: the Annunciation, the Falling Asleep also called the Assumption, and the Nativity. Another festival that occurs around the eighth century was the Feast of the Conception of the Virgin. Most of these festivals in honor of the Virgin appear to have had their origin in the East rather than the West although they were readily accepted and practiced in the West as well. One of the major new testament apocryphal works is the Protevangelium, a book claiming to have been authored by James. Being written possibly as early as the second century, it tells the miraculous birth of Mary through one who had been otherwise barren. It also proclaims the steadfast dedication and loyalty of Mary, and the gift of perpetual virginity while yet giving birth to Jesus. It was further taught that Mary's own birth was not only miraculous but also virginal and immaculate. It was held by many that Mary was also born sinless and continued throughout her life to be preserved sinless, so that she might also not bear the original sin passed down to all mankind through the first man, Adam.
With the worship of the perpetual Virgin now being recognized and practiced throughout the Church, the pagans would easily perceive her as their own virgin goddess of heaven of whom they had worshipped under various names of old. The power of the mediatrix was now easily transferred to this new virgin goddess of Christianity, as she was awarded the same pagan title, Divine Mediatrix. The power and acceptance of this virgin goddess cult was great throughout the world Church. In A.D. 754 the Council of Constantinople declared that all of mankind who refused to acknowledge her supreme power, by merely refusing to seek her intercession on their behalf, would now be anathematized.
The familiar Ave Maria was added to the Lord's prayer by the tenth century. Although the Old Testament declared the seventh day of the week to be especially holy, sanctified, and set apart by God as the day of worship, a strict Sunday worship had now been imposed on the Church by Rome's influence, extending as early as the second century, and was now especially forced upon the whole Christian Church under the direct influence of the Roman imperial government during the time of Constantine and thereafter. The seventh day worship seems to have been ignorantly abandoned by most Christians except for a few who continued to be persecuted as Judaizers. This now left the seventh day open for the worship of a new deity. In A.D. 1095, Urban II had awarded the day as especially sacred to the Virgin and Etienne de Bourbon in his writings dated A.D. 1225, tells us how many during his time had kept the seventh day as a fast day, allowing themselves only bread and water, some merely abstaining from the flesh of animals, being especially sacred and holy to the worship of the Virgin. The day which God had sanctioned and set apart as his own day of worship had remarkably been transferred to the Virgin Goddess of Heaven, while the day of the blasphemous Sun God had now become the day honored by Christians everywhere as the Lord's day. The whole appears to have the stench of paganism clinging to it, and as such, one must truly question the validity of transferring this holy day without any biblical authority, while the commandment in question regarding the Lord's sacred seventh day was meant to be an eternal, unchangeable, and unrevocable seal of the eternal covenant to Israel, (Ex. 31:16-17 KJV) the Church being merely as one grafted in her roots as mere branches of the same.
The powers of mercy and forgiveness obtained through the Virgin were more powerful than that which might be obtained or received through Christ alone. It was taught that the Virgin herself had power over Christ, to enforce and insure his forgiveness upon the sinner. It was further reasoned that without the Virgin's intercession, the sinner might suddenly find himself in a face to face confrontation with the wrath of an angry Go