Download WHICh13Sec3-The Church in the Middle Ages-2015

The Church in the Middle Ages
Importance of the Roman Catholic
Church
• Almost everyone in Western Europe belonged
to the Roman Catholic Church ( although
Scandinavia didn’t become Christian until
about 1000AD)
• Almost everyone deeply believed in the
Church’s teachings, in God, heaven and hell
Importance of the Roman Catholic
Church
• The R. C. Church was the only unifying force
throughout Europe
• The R. C. Church filled the need for leadership
when governments were weak and it did
many of the things that modern governments
do today.
• Actually, it is probably more correct to refer to
the R. C. Church in the Middle Ages as simply
the Church (because there was only 1)
Importance of the Sacraments
• Sacraments: holy rituals of the Church
• Included 7 Sacraments:
– Baptism-performed a.s.a.p. after birth
– Holy Communion
– Confession (Reconciliation)
– Confirmation
– Marriage
– Holy Orders
– Last Rites (Anointing of the Sick)
• Saints and
Angels
• Satan and his
demons
• In addition to heaven
and hell, there was an
intermediate place –
purgatory-where a
soul went after death
if he had committed
too many sins to
immediately go to
heaven, but not so
many that he should
go permanently to
hell. In purgatory, the
soul was punished for
sins, and then could
go to heaven
• Relics: Bits of bone, a
tooth, etc. of the saintsa bit of the cross, a piece
of the Virgin Mary’s veil,
were thought by many
to have miraculous
power.
Importance of the Sacraments
• The Sacraments followed each person from
birth to death
• The Church taught that without these
sacraments you could not go to heaven
– A priest could pronounce forgiveness of sins in the
name of the Church
–.
• The Church could compel almost any
Christian person to obey its orders by the
threat of:
– Excommunication: cutting an individual off
from the sacraments because of some serious
ongoing sin (the person could be granted
forgiveness and be re-communicated)
– Interdict-cutting a whole region or country
off from most sacraments (except Last Rites)
to compel a ruler to obey an order of the
Church
Hierarchy of the Church
• Pope: head of the whole Church and the
most powerful person in W. Europe
• Cardinals: Princes of the Church; members
of the Curia who advised and elected the
Pope
• Archbishops: Leader of an Archdiocese
(several Dioceses). Usually a member of the
nobility and often a Feudal Lord as well
• Bishop: Leader of a group of parishes called
a Diocese; had a large church called a
Cathedral
• Parish Priest: Responsible for a Parish;
directly served the people
Hierarchy of the Church
• Usually the only way a commoner of great
ability could move up in the world was by
becoming a member of the Church hierarchy
MONASTICISM
• The Medieval Church had 2 types of clergy:
– “secular” (in the world-this included parish priests
and the hierarchy just mentioned)
– monks and nuns (people who lived apart from the
world in monasteries or convents). Monks and
nuns were called “regular” clergy (not meaning
ordinary. It means they followed a “regulation”).
MONASTICISM
• Monasteries and Convents were places where
men and women withdrew to devote themselves
to God
– Monks-men-monastery-headed by an Abbot
– Nuns-women-convent-headed by an Abbess
• People were so religious that about 10% of the
population became monks or nuns
MONASTICISM
• Both monasteries and convents followed a set
of rules called the Benedictine Rule, which
was developed by St. Benedict at a monastery
called Monte Cassino, in Italy in the 500sAD
MONASTICISM
• Benedictine Rule: strict daily schedule of
work and prayer
– Prayer 8 times a day, beginning at 5:00 a.m.,
ending at 2:00 a.m.in the middle of the night
– Useful work: farming, caring for the poor and
sick, copying manuscripts, etc.
– Took vows of poverty (no individual property),
chastity (no sex) and obedience (to the head of
the monastery & the Church)
– Some strict monasteries even had vows of not
talking. They used a form of sign language
MONASTICISM
• Important functions of monasteries &
convents: praying for the souls of people:
caring for the poor and sick; establishing
hospitals; hospitality to travelers;
establishing schools; copying manuscripts.
They also farmed and served as models in
agriculture.
• Some monasteries became very rich,
because often nobles gave them money or
land in order to gain spiritual favor.
POLITICAL ROLE OF THE CHURCH
• Popes had great spiritual and
political power across Europe.
– He could usually force almost anyone,
including a ruler or king, to obey an
order of the Church through threat of
excommunication and interdict.
• The Pope was also the actual ruler
of the Papal States
POLITICAL ROLE OF THE CHURCH
• Canon Law– Church law the governed
matters such as marriage and
annulment (divorce as such as
not allowed, and only the
Church could grant an
annulment;
– Canon law also governed all
matters involving clergy
POLITICAL ROLE OF
THE CHURCH
• The Church
could also
punish heretics –
people who held
beliefs contrary
to the Church.
They could be
persecuted or
even executed.
ECONOMIC ROLE
• The Church had great wealth from the tithe-10% paid
by every person, and other special taxes, as well as the
income from its land. Also, people often left money or
land to the Church in their wills
• The Church became the greatest land-owner in Europe
• Monasteries were often leaders in agriculture and
produced goods for trade.
• Influenced the economy by their rule that Christians
could not charge interest on loans. Interest on loans
was called usury
PROBLEMS
• Much, probably most, of what the Church did
was good, but not always
• As time went on, problems developed in the
Church.
– Lay investiture-practice of a lay (non-clergy) ruler
choosing and “investing” (giving the symbols of
office) to a bishop or archbishop
– Simony-basically requiring that a person pay a
large fee, in effect buying, a high Church office
REFORMERS and SAINTS
• In response to problems, and to the general
feeling that the Church was loosing its original
devotion to God, reformers arose.
REFORMERS and SAINTS
• St. Francis of Assisi:
– 1200s-Italy. Became a wandering
preacher, a “holy hippie”, who lived
in absolute poverty and preached
among the poor.
– He also wrote poetry and even
preached to animals. He was really
“far out there”, but in a beautiful,
holy way.
– Founded the order of Franciscans,
who lived and preached among the
people. They were called
Franciscan Friars.
REFORMERS and SAINTS
• St. Dominic
– Became a preacher deeply concerned
about “heresy” (beliefs other than
those officially held by the Church).
– Founded the Dominicans, who sought
out heresy and tried to stamp it out
– Some of what they did was good, but
unfortunately, it also lead to the
“inquisition”, a Church court that put
suspected heretics on trial and
punished them (sometimes burned
them at the stake)
REFORMERS and SAINTS
• St. Hildegard of Bingen
– Germany, 1100’s
– A woman who from childhood had
holy visions.
– She became the Abbess of a great
convent that was very idealistic
– Even the Pope turned to her for
advice
– She turned her holy visions into
great works of art: visual art
(paintings) as well as music that is
still heard today.
REFORMERS