Gregorian Reforms

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Gregorian Reforms

• 1073-1085

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East-West split The Great Schism

• 1054
• Causes
• Political/cultural
• Doctrinal
• Western addition to the creed Holy Spirit
  proceeds from the Father and the Son (Latin
  filioque)
• Ecclesiological
• Primacy of bishops together v. growing authority
  of Bishop of Rome

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Development of Papacy

• Up to 300s/400s Five Patriarchs
• Rome, Constantinople, Jerusalem, Antioch,
  Alexandria
• Bishop of Rome is first among equals
• first in honor, as successor to Apostle Peter,
  who died at Rome
• works in cooperation with other bishops
• Other titles Vicar of Peter (ca. 300), Vicar of
  Christ (ca. 1150)
• 400s onward
• Weakening of Roman political authority led to
  increasing church authority
• Pope Gelasius I political power is subordinate
  to spiritual power
• Post-1054
• Bishop of Rome only Patriarch in West

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Background to Gregorian Reforms

• Need for reform
• Lay investiture
• Simony
• Nepotism
• Stand off between Emperor Henry IV and Pope
  Gregory VII
• Pretty nasty on both sides
• Question who had authority over the other?
• Could Gregory excommunicate Henry?
• Could Henry depose Greg as pope?

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Henry and Greg what went wrong

• Henry appointed bishops in Germany and Italy
• 1076 Henry convened German bishops to depose
  Pope Gregory
• Pope Greg excommunicates Henry
• released kings subjects from their oath of
  fealty
• 1077-1080 Greg absolves Henry
• Henry gets dirty again
• Greg excommunicates again
• Henry convenes HRE bishops
• Depose Greg and elect another pope
• 1084 Henry seizes Rome
• Romans elect HRE pope as their pope, Clement III
• Clement crowned Henry as emperor in St. Peters
• French come into Rome to rescue Gregory, but he
  died in exile

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Gregory VII (pope 1073-85)

• Spiritual authority above secular authority
• Concerns salvation
• Has sacramental power 322
• Secular authority is dirty
• Uses pride, plunder, treachery, and murder to
  gain power 321
• Dangerous, few find salvation 322
• Send thousands to death in war, out of desire for
  glory 323
• Good Christians more like kings than evil princes
  are
• Spiritual authority divinely given
• By Jesus to Peter
• Affirmed by popes
• Gregory I (ca. 600) , Ambrose (ca. 380)
  excommunicated kings

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Legacy

• Reforms corrected abuses
• But in time, abuses of these new reforms arose
• Papacy became a legalistic monarchy with MUCH
  more authority
• Developed bureaucracy in Rome (the Curia)
• 1302 actually claimed temporal authority, too
• Clerical celibacy created further problems by
  1500s
• Addressed in Protestant and Catholic reformations
  of 1500s
• Also at Vatican II (1962-65)

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For next time

• Spiritual writing
• Francis of Assisi
• What is his conversion story? What gestures
  does he use to signify change? What does he give
  up?
• How is his spirituality different from what we
  have seen?
• How does he interpret imitation of Christ?