The Role of The Papacy: The Early Church to Present Day

1075 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Rise and fall of papacy

This essay gives a brief outline of the major developments in the role of the Papacy between the Early Church and the present day. It will cover four aspects. The development of the papacy as a temporal ruler, Papal elections, the Curia and the development of the ‘mission role’ of the Papacy. It will explore how the papacy changed from being an organisation that had the influence to appoint kings and arrange state borders to one with a billion followers. These followers see the papacy as being responsible for the administration, pastoral and spiritual care of their membership. The development of the papacy as a temporal ruler. The temporal power is the dealings of the popes of the Roman Catholic Church in government, state and political affairs. This secular power is exercised in the here and now rather than eternity. It is notable as being separate from the pastoral and spiritual action of the pope, which is often called the eternal power. The beginning of this temporal power can be traced back to Pope Zacharis who gave the order that Pippin should be crowned King of the Franks. In 751 Pippin was anointed King, this was the first time that a secular King was crowned sovereign by a pope. This led to an alliance between the Franks and the Church, which would last for over 500 years, this agreement offered military protection for the papacy . Not only did the early popes have the power to appoint Kings and rulers it acted as secular administrators, which looked after such things as education and welfare. In this regard, the main aim of the western papacy was concerned in accumulating land but also gaining sovereign independence from the empire in Constantinople. The development of papal elections. This gainin... ... middle of paper ... ... the world. The pope is the final arbiter of both administrative and doctrinal issues, the papacy may not rule nations or appoint kings anymore, but with so many followers it still has great influence on world affairs. Bibliography. Barraclough, G., The Medieval Papacy, (London: Thames and Hudson, 1968). Bossy, J., Rome and the Elizabethan Catholics: a Question of Geography, Historical Journal, vol 6, 1964. Cameron, E., The European Reformation, (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1991). Fenlon, D., The Origins of Modern Catholicism, Journal of Ecclesiastical History, vol 43, 1992. Heyer, F., The Catholic Church from 1648 to 1870, (London: Adam & Charles Blac, 1969). Morris, C., The Papal Monarchy, The Western Church from 1050 to 1250, (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1989). Ullmann, W., A Short History of the Papacy in the Middle Ages, (London: Methuen & Co. Ltd., 1972).

Show More
Related

  • The Influence of Pope Urban II

    1114 Words  | 3 Pages

    Pope Urban II was sought by Alexius Comnenus, a Byzantine Emperor who wanted the papacy to help his army hold off the advancing Seljuk Turks in Asia Minor. The reason for Alexius Comnenus contacting the pope rather than another emperor or monarch wasn’t just the fact they were secular, but because the pope would have more power to persuade the people. The Gregorian movement in 1050-80 was ultimately was responsible for the new instilled power of the papacy’s position over nonreligious rulers. The pope agreed to aid the Byzantine emperor, but he also had his own agenda when it came to the military advances and the new power of his position. The papacy did not intend to only help the Byzantine Empire but to further save all of Christendom from being overrun.

    Read More

  • Gender Construction in "Book of Showings"

    1200 Words  | 3 Pages

    Lynch, Joseph H. The Medieval church: A Brief History. New York: Longman Group UK Limited, 1992.

    Read More

  • Geocentricism In The Catholic Church

    1396 Words  | 3 Pages

    Through the years from the medieval ages up until now, the Roman Catholic Church has always had a major influential presence in all walks of life for European people, whether it was for taxation, the establishing of laws, the rise and fall of monarchs, and even daily social life. Furthermore, the Catholic Church held such power that they could even appoint and dispose of great kings with just the writing of the pen. However, their power started to wane once human curiosity overcome ignorance and blind obedience. For example, the Enlightenment Age brought a series of shocking blows to the Church’s power such as disproving the Church’s theory of geocentricism and presented an age of questioning and secularism. In essence, by looking at the Church’s

    Read More

  • Research Paper On Mary 1

    948 Words  | 2 Pages

    Loach, Jennifer. “Mary Tudor And The Re-Catholicisation Of England.” History Today 44.11 (1994): 16. World History Collection. Web. 18 Nov.2013

    Read More

  • German Unification Dbq

    1210 Words  | 3 Pages

    Not only was the pope the spiritual leader of the Catholic Church, he was also the political ruler of part of central Italy. This had been true since the Middle Ages. Pope Pius IX (r. 1846-1878) refused to give up any of his secular authority and did not recognize the Kingdom of Italy. This issue would not be resolved until 1929, with the creation of the Vatican

    Read More

  • How Did The Crusades Crave For Power?

    1570 Words  | 4 Pages

    As a pope of the Western Empire, Pope Urban II wanted more power over earthly rulers, such as kings and noble vassals. This conflict was known as the Investiture Controversy, which was the struggle of power between the Pope and the political system. This controversy started after the Kings had intruded the pope’s sacred right to run his own business by picking the men who constituted the church. As a result, in order to gain more papal authority over the kings, Urban II decided to shift “the theatre of action in this political conflict to an arena where medieval kings had traditionally reigned supreme, the battlefield. In doing so, Urban usurped the prerogative most secular rulers had claimed traditionally to declare an enemy and muster troops for battle,” conveying how Pope Urban II used the Crusades to assert more authority over the secular rulers by claiming their prerogative of declaring an enemy and mustering troops for battle (Crusades). Through these actions, Pope Urban II was able to boost his position and take control of the battlefield, despite the fact that it was originally meant to be ruled by kings. Moreover, another pope who wanted to assert papal authority over others was Innocent III, who during the Fourth Crusade, wanted to, “impose a Christian monarchy over the whole of the known world. He had long wanted the Eastern Orthodox Church to bow to the authority of Rome,” thereby indicating how like Urban II, Innocent III had also used the Crusades to his political advantage as a way to take control of the Eastern Orthodox Church (Crusades). Innocent III had realized, by using the Crusades, he would be able to gain papal leadership not just over kings, but also over papal leadership in the East as well, thus causing this to serve as a motivation for him in the Crusades. By

    Read More

  • The Papacy

    615 Words  | 2 Pages

    the pope was questionable and many times overlooked. But once he took on the title of

    Read More

  • Christinaity In Middle Ages

    1133 Words  | 3 Pages

    ...ecline of papal power. The First Crusade was a successful venture for the papacy as it was considered an "armed pilgrimage" (325). To gain the support of the Christian community, Urban II promised an afterlife without purgatory and a direct ascent to heaven for Crusade participation. This "plenary indulgence" (325) made the First Crusade a favorable undertaking. On the other hand, the papal monarchy suffered from the additional Crusades that forced people to question the unity of the Christian Church. Christianity was an effective theme in the Middle Ages because it implemented most people and events of the time period. Socially, Christianity effected people's daily lives because faith offered another consideration for how life progressed. The introduction of new intellect and innovative advancements were growing with religious influenced. Politically, the emperor's were aided and impaired. The support of the papacy was useful in the coronation of emperors and the influence over the common people. On the counter-side, the papal monarchy offered competition for power. Christianity was always present in the Middle Ages, and it changed concepts and faith for all.

    Read More

  • The Apostolic Tradition (past) + Catholic Liturgy (present) = An Eternal Legend

    1363 Words  | 3 Pages

    Shopp, John B, ET al, The Harper Collins Encyclopedia of Catholicism. New York: Harper Collins Publishers Inc, 1995.

    Read More

  • The Reformation and the Church

    1602 Words  | 4 Pages

    The Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company. Retrieved February 21, 2010 from New Advent: http://www.newadvent.org

    Read More

  • The Rise Of The Papacy

    1447 Words  | 3 Pages

    The positive and negative factors of the Roman papacy’s rise to power in Western Europe was centuries in the making. The Roman pope gained theological, political and military power, wealth, and land ownership which made it the preeminent force in all of Europe. Monarchs sought God’s blessing to their rule through the Roman pope, in turn the Roman pope accessed monarchial support and political clout. The strength of the papacy is demonstrated by its centuries of staying power, growth, and impact on society.

    Read More

  • Corruption In Church In The Middle Ages

    1759 Words  | 4 Pages

    Throughout this paper, we will look into the disappointing church corruption of the middle ages, more specifically, the unbiblical practices, serious problems, hypocritical popes, and finally, the people trying to fight the corruption!

    Read More

  • Socialism and Thomas More's Utopia

    2357 Words  | 5 Pages

    Rice, Eugene E. and Anthony Grafton. The Foundations of Early Modern Europe, 1460-1559. 2nd. ed. New York: W. W. Norton and Co., 1994.

    Read More

  • Comparing Plato's Republic and Thomas More's Utopia

    2965 Words  | 6 Pages

    Rice, Eugene E. and Anthony Grafton. The Foundations of Early Modern Europe, 1460-1559. 2nd. ed. New York: W. W. Norton and Co., 1994.

    Read More

  • THE RISE OF THE PAPACY

    1635 Words  | 4 Pages

    Ullmann, Walter. A Short History of the Papacy in the Middle Ages. 2nd ed. New York City, NY: Routledge, 2003.

    Read More

More about The Role of The Papacy: The Early Church to Present Day

Open Document