Power of the Papacy Between Sixth and Eleventh Century Popes - Research Paper Example

The land was devastated by famine,inundations, and pestilence. This, combined with the invasion of the Lombards. Additionally, the position of the Church threatened by the claims of Constantinople for imperial power of the church.  Much is owed to Gregory, to whomstrength and firmness of character were complimented by charity and gentleness. It is through this exhibition of power, authority of the papacy that many of the evils were conquered.  Of particular significance were the Pope’s relations to the Lombards.

The Pope used his position as Pope, in 592–3, to reach what amounted to a separate peace with them. Through such an unprecedented step he defined the authority of the papacy.   It was throughout this period characterized by unrest, treachery of the Byzantine authorities and aggravated by the weakness that the Pope followed a course of independent action. Gregory the great appointed governors to the Italian cities. He further provided war materials. This is what that established the temporal power of the papacy.

  In his administration the church established vast estates. This is where the Pope spent great sums on charity work. The Pope Gregory exhibited conspicuous ability. Although his relations with the East were strained, he upheld the supremacy of the Roman church. He refused to recognize the title of ‘Oecumenical Patriarch’ that had earlier been adopted by the Patriarch of Constantinople.  Pope Gregory’s greatest achievement when head of the pontificate was the conversion of England. He selected St.

Augustine, later of Canterbury, delegating to him about 40 missionaries from the Pope’s own monastery. He also intervened with great effect in strengthening the Church in Spain, Gaul, and Northern Italy.it was during the time of Gregory the Great and all through to the Popes of the 11th century that the papacy really established itself as a center of power in Rome. It is this power that has been important to the activities of the papacy up to today. Scanty evidence pieces that date back to the 11thcentury AD point to the church in Rome already attaining some form of prominence in matters doctrinal.

This was among the few churches that could lay claim to the apostolic foundation. By the 3rd century, roman bishops began presenting themselves as successors of the primacy that was enjoyed by Saint Peter. They wanted to wield the universal church’s primacy of authority in all matters doctrinal. After the roman emperor granted a toleration to Christianity in the 4th and 5th century, (the Edict of Milan, 313) Christianity rose to a status of an official religion. A series of Popes, chief among them Leo l (r 440 – 61) then translated this to be a claim to the primacy of jurisdiction over the church.

This claim was, however, matched by a rival. The church at Constantinople claimed jurisdictional primacy in the East that was equal to that of Rome in the west. It was the Byzantine emperor of Constantinople, for at least another century who could claim to be the functioning supreme leader of Christians in temporal and spiritual matters (Miller 89). It was during the 11thto the 16thcentury that the papacy was to rise to a position of unique prominence within the community of Christians. This position, despite vicissitudes, it has managed to retain.

Pope John Paul II’s effect on our times is something conceded by critics and admirers alike. The