THE INFLUENCE AND RISE OF THE PAPACY

William Smith CHHI 301 October 10, 2012

Following the disintegration of the mighty Roman Empire the people sought after leaders that could provide them with a stabile sense of security. This stability was found in the leaders of the church, resulting in the papacy very quickly rising to a position of power and dominance. This need for assurance and the rise of the papacy had many contributing factors. The invasion of Germanic tribes, the Huns, and the erosion of the political infrastructure of the Empire will be the focus. A major factor in the papacys quick ascension to a position of power throughout Europe is the invasion of Germanic tribes. In the West, the church acted as a guide for what used to be the empire: ancient civilization, order, and justice. In the East, the empire endured to remain unchanged.1 As a result, the bishop evolved into a beacon of hope for the people as well as a means of maintaining the unity that had been seriously jeopardized by the invasion. This sense of security and stability was precisely what the people were yearning for. Leo the Great is considered to be one of the first modern popes. One of Leos major strengths is considered to be is political savvy. His opinions were not only respected because of his position as the pope, but also for their sound political sense. The focus of Leo the Greats attention was on matters primarily in the East. The concerns of numerous church leaders and bishops from the East were that Leo was primarily focused on gaining more authority and spreading the reach of his power. This thought process was for the most part dispelled shortly after other likeable emperors came into power and wholeheartedly agreed with and supported Leos ideas and positions.2 This imperial acceptance of Leos positions regarding politics and the church encouraged to expand the legitimacy and power of the papacy. When the various

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Gon le , Justo L, The story of Christiany, (New York: HarperOne, 2010), 282. Gon le , Justo L, The story of Christiany, 282.

regions of the decaying Roman Empire were attacked by outside forces, such as Attila and the Huns, Leo appeared to be the steadying, ever present voice of calm that made everything seem better. His abilities as a negotiator also proved useful in, not always staying the surge of the invaders, but in most cases saving populated areas from utter destruction. Leo was consistently able to prove himself while increasing his authority throughout the land. Leo was moving forward quickly due to the times political situation and his belief that Jesus had divinely ordained him to the position of bishop. Leo lived until 461; his successor was Hilarious, who mirrored his political policies.3 Following the fall of the Roman Empire, the wheels began to fall off of the well-oiled political machine that had previously existed. In 476, Odoacer created chaos in Italy by removing the last western emperor from office. Because Italy was not part of the eastern empire, there was disagreement between popes and eastern roman emperors, resulting in a schism. Overtime, after violent riots and invasions, this schism healed.4 The church, for a time, experienced many changes when the Byzantine Empire took control over Italy. Justo Gonzales noted that The Byzantine Empire enjoyed a brief resurgence under the leadership of Emperor Justinian. It was then that Belisarius invaded Italy and put an end to the kingdom of the Ostrogoths. But this did not bring a favorable change for the church in Italy, for the emperor and his functionaries tried to impose there a situation similar to that which existed in the Eastern empire, where the church was almost completely subject to the state. 5 While the Byzantines were in power the papacy yielded a parade of leaders that acted only as figure head. The actual range of their authority was extremely limited. The attempts at molding

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Gon le , Justo L, The story of Christiany, 283. Gon le , Justo L, The story of Christiany, 283. 5 Gon le , Justo L, The story of Christiany, 284.

the church into the model of the Eastern European church were not successful, nor were the states puppets that held the reigns of the papacy during Byzantine rule. Byzantines dominance was short-lived. After only a few short years, the Lombards invaded, but were not able to continuously support a united front. If not for the fact that these invaders eventually split into various disagreeing factions, this group of Germanic people would have been more successful in their attempt at rule. At this time Byzantine power began to fade away, and the areas of Italy that had not been taken over by the Lombards needed to regain stability.6 Stability was sought after by the papacy. They became responsible for protecting the city against the threat of the Lombards. Pelagius II paid off the Lombards in attempt to save the city of Rome. No help was coming from Constantinople at this time, so Pellagius II sought assistance from the Franks. He hoped that they would fight off the Lombards. Eventually the Franks became the main supporter of the Roman Catholic papacy.7 Over time, the papacy continued to endure withstanding invasions from multiple foreign powers and various political controversies. Gregory became Pelagiuss successor, thus beginning a long line of popes. Gregorys tenure saw floods destroy a large portion of the crops; as well as a sickness that caused rumors to begin circulating. During this time, Gregory made sure that food stores were being distributed to the less fortunate, and he began the rebuilding of the aqueducts. This was followed by negotiations that resulted in a period of peace with the Lombards. Justo L. Gonzales notes in The Story of Christianity (2010) that there was nobody else, at that time, to take on these daunting tasks and since there was little help from Constantinople, he opened direct

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Gon le , Justo L, The story of Christianity, 284. Gon le , Justo L, The story of Christianity, 285.

negotiations with the Lombards, with whom he secured peace. Because of Gregory, morale was restored.8 Gregory was a very effective political leader, but he also strived to be a great religious leader. He preached often and encouraged celibacy among the clergy, as a way to glorify them spiritually and to serve the alpha and omega.9 Unlike Leo, Gregory did not claim authority over all the people.10 This contributed greatly to the reason why the people held him in such high esteem as a leader. He was not overbearing or strong handed in his governance of the people and this factored into his impressive ability to make political decisions that were agreeable to the masses. The political approval that he gained allowed for the support of his religious opinions as well. He is held favorably responsible for sending Augustines Mission: a missionary like effort of forty monks sent to England to create a church foundation, provide hospital care, and agricultural knowledge to the people living there.11 This contributed to the extension of Roman authority into the British Isles. Gregory did an extraordinary job of growing the papacy. Because of Gregorys actions, political decisions, and good morals, he proved to be the type of leader that people trusted and liked. After the fall of the Roman Empire, Western Europe was overtaken by chaos.12 The balance, stability, and hope that the Catholic Church and the papacy provided were a comfort to the people. War, famine, and invasion were prominent in Western Europe, especially Italy.13 The Catholic Church gained an unprecedented amount of power in Western Europe as a result of

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Gon le , Justo L, The story of Christianity, 287. Beet, William Ernest, The rise of the papacy: A.D. 385-461, (London: C.H. Kelly, 1910), 4. 10 Gon le , Justo L, The story of Christianity, 287. 11 Hicks, Dom B. "Augustine's Mission to England," http://www.osb.org/gen/hicks/ben-02.html, (2001). 12 Arnold, Jack L. "Church History: The Enrichment of the Roman Catholic Church http://thirdmill.org/newfiles/jac_arnold /CH.Arnold.CH.17.html, (2009). 13 Arnold, Jack L. "Church History: The Enrichment of the Roman Catholic Church," (2009).

the sense of security and well-being offered to the people by the papacy. For a time, popes were seen as the only real power in Western Europe.14 Rivalries between religious figure heads began to break out, such as Sergius III, Leo V, and Christopher I. Popular, wealthy political families began supporting the religious leaders that they most favored. Imprisonment and murder were not uncommon ways to gain the papal throne.15 Popes such as Sylvester II tried to make improvements within the Catholic Church, but their attempts at reform failed. 16 This power struggle led to a controlling religious organization that implemented its opinion in political, moral, and personal issues of the people. Overtime, unfairness and greed would take over, creating an unhappy population, a corrupt church, and finally a fed-up, free thinker who would post his 95 Theses on the door of the Castle Church of Wittenberg.17 The 95 Theses was a list of complaints for the Roman Catholic Church containing grievances about issues such as indulgences being sold as pardoning for sins.18 Following the decline and eventual collapse the of the Roman Empire, the Roman Catholic papacy enjoyed a period of burgeoning hope where it thrived with great political leaders who continually endeavored to do what was in the best interests of the people; but as with the majority of great things, the papacy began to flounder due to corruption, greed, and leaders who sought after and craved power more than the best interests of the society in which they lived.

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Gon le , Justo L, The story of Christianity, 323. Gon le , Justo L, The story of Christianity, 324. 16 Gon le , Justo L, The story of Christianity, 325. 17 Oberman, Heiko Augustinus, Luther: Man between God and the Devil, (New York: Doubleday, 1992), 190-92. 18 Zantine, Empire. "Martin Luther and the 95 Theses," http://www.history.com/topics/martin-luther-and-the-95theses, (n.d.).

Bibliography Arnold, Jack. "Church History: The Enrichment of the Roman Catholic Church." Third Millennium Ministries. 2009. Accessed October 10, 2012. http://thirdmill.org/newfiles/jac_arnold /CH.Arnold.CH.17.html. Beet, William Ernest. "Section II." In The Rise of the Papacy: A.D. 385-461, 2-64. London: C.H. Kelly, 1910. Gon le , Justo L. The New Order. In The Story of Christianity, 281-325. Vol. 1. New York, NY: HarperOne/HarperCollins, 2010. Hicks, Dom B. "Augustine's Mission to England." OSB.org. 2001. Accessed October 22, 2012. http://www.osb.org/gen/hicks/ben-02.html. Oberman, Heiko Augustinus. Luther: Man between God and the Devil. New York: Doubleday, 1992. 190-92. Zantine, Empire. "Martin Luther and the 95 Theses." History.com. Accessed October 22, 2012. http://www.history.com/topics/martin-luther-and-the-95-theses.