POWER OF THE CHURCH

• Feudalism still around, but European monarchies gaining power
• The church and European monarchies were trying to centralize political and religious authority
• The church needed strong organization in order to serve laypeople
• Services included providing people with sacraments
• Church had many different levels of leadership among the clergy

CHURCH ORGANIZATION

• The pope was the spiritual and political leader
• Pope's office is called the Papacy
• Below the pope were various other clergy members
• Many clergy had strong ties to Europe's nobility
• Many Church officials helped European leaders run their kingdoms

Wealth of the pope was greater than that of any

• Church earned income from property it owned
• Wealth of the pope was greater than that of any European monarch
• Papacy's authority was greater than that of kings and emperors
• Pope's power caused conflict
• Pope Gregory VII v. Emperor Henry IV

CONFLICT

• Holy Roman Empire included much of central and Western Europe
• HRE Henry IV had built up power by appointing church officials
• Monarchs relied on literate and efficient Church officials
• 1075 AD - Pope Gregory VII said that laypeople could no longer appoint
• HRE Henry IV was furious

THE OUTCOME

• HRE Henry called together bishops and they invalidated the Pope's decision
• Gregory excommunicated Henry & told his subjects they no longer had to obey
• Many noble and church officials turned against Henry
• Henry asked for forgiveness from Pope Gregory
• Pope Gregory forgave him, and Henry regained control over his empire

RELIGIOUS ORDERS

• Religious order is a group of people who live by specific rules
• Monastic orders separate themselves from society and focus on prayer and service to God
• Men were monks and lived in monasteries; women were nuns and lived in convents
• Friars traveled to preach the word of God; they owned nothing and lived by begging
• Francis of Assisi founded this order and called his followers to live without property

FOUNDING OF UNIVERSITIES

• Schools were established at cathedrals, the center of power for bishops
• Students were usually sons of nobles who became religious or political leaders
• As cities grew, cathedrals expanded to universities
• Instructors taught in Latin
• The Church worked to preserve the Latin language and religious texts

FOUNDING OF UNIVERSITIES

• Scholars studied classical philosophers
• Muslim scholars preserved and interpreted Ancient Greek texts
• Church scholars translated texts into Latin and made them available to universities
• Church officials worried that some classical ideas went against the Church
• An Italian scholar named Thomas Aquinas would help reconcile

THOMAS AQUINAS

• Thomas began studying the writings of Aristotle in the mid 1200s
• Aquinas argued that classical philosophy could exist with Christian faith
• His work is a synthesis of classical philosophy with Christian theology
• He is remembered as a great religious scholar
• The end!

CLASSWORK

HOMEWORK