History and Influence of the Roman Catholic Church

How Did Christianity Advance Into Western Europe? Emperor Constantine converted, and after years of persecution it became the official religion of the empire 312 AD – Edict of Milan declares Christianity an approved religion; church hierarchy is established, and Rome is made the center of the church Constantine created a Christian Council to answer theoretical questions regarding the Christian Faith (remember the words canonized, heretics, etc) Church grows in strength when heretics removed; also gives people a sense of security and a community to belong to

What Significant Events Took Place, Adding to the growth of Christianity and Strength of the Church? Clovis, King of the Franks converts around 500 AD; all people in kingdom must convert Charles “The Hammer” Martel stops advancing Muslims at Battle of Tours Pepin the Short becomes King of the Franks, advances into the Italian Peninsula, and gives the Donation of Pepin

What Did Charlemagne do to increase the power of the church? Pepin’s son (Charlemagne) expands Frankish kingdom further, most of Western Europe, “With the sword and the cross.” Christmas Day, 800 AD crowned King of the Romans – Pope now has authority to do this based on precedent, and increases the power of the office – The pope’s blessing becomes an unwritten must for all Christian Kings

What Did Charlemagne do to increase the power of the church? (continued) Charlemagne reforms church; insists that all priests be able to read and write, increasing their importance and values to the manors they serve Pope retains right to appoint church officials in the Empire, even if 1000s of miles away; many kings will seek lay investiture

How Else Did the Popes Exercise Political Power? The Pope had 2 great weapons: Excommunication and Interdict – Excommunication = Individual – Interdict = All the people of the land

How Did the Church Parallel Many Functions of Government? Church was a major land owner – Remember, land is wealth and power – Church owned estimate ¼ of Europe at one point – Collected tithe from all Christian families Church Courts – Caused conflict as the church would try anyone it felt was in their jurisdiction and had violated canon law

Separating Church and State? The courts weren’t the only issues of separation – Henry II of England appointed Thomas Beckett as Archbishop of Canterbury; Beckett turns away from helping Henry; large conflict started; Beckett assassinated during service by Henry’s knights; Henry has monks publicly flog him as penance to escape excommunication; Becket becomes martyr, and saint in church

What Role Did the Regular Clergy Play? Monks had simple lives of prayer and labor on the monastery where they lived Keepers of knowledge, storing, translating, and copying the Bible and other books of the Roman world Books they felt did not support Christian Doctrine were discarded

What Role Did the Priests Play in the Lives of the Manor? Second most important person on the manor Administered Sacraments Kept records (births, baptism, death) Provided for all religious needs

How Was the Church a Unifying Force Shared and Unifying set of spiritual beliefs and rituals Local religious and social center