Early Catholicism and the Rise of the Papacy - Research Paper Example

Section/# Early Catholicism and the Rise of the Papacy The history of the papacy is one that ostensibly stretches back to the time of earliest Christianity. As Catholics, and many other Christians believe, God promised to build a church founded partially upon the “rock” of Peter; one of his original 12 disciples. Says Jesus to Peter in Matthew 16:18-19, “And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven”.1 After the ascension, Peter of course played an active and pivotal role in building the first Christian communities in Judea, Greece, and Rome. Although the earliest forms of Christianity were not “Catholic” per se, the subsequent movement of Catholicism traces its origins back to the very earliest Christians and leverage this understanding as a means of developing a type of ethos with respect to the church’s stature within Christendom. The purpose of this brief essay will focus upon the rise of the papacy and the manner through which the bishops of Rome came to define, and indeed be called, “pope” in the contemporary sense and meaning of the word. It is the hope of this author that such a level of discussion will be beneficial in helping the reader to come to a more profound understanding with respect to how this institution came into being and the causal factors that facilitated the rise of the papacy at the distinct moment in time that it took place. As has previously been referenced within the introduction, the foundations of the papacy can be traced back to the belief that Christ would found a church with Peter as its figurehead. As Christianity grew and Christian communities sprung up throughout the Mediterranean region, and elsewhere, the fundamental need for some type of control structure and/or figure of leadership was abundantly apparent. Peter, Paul, and the other apostles, noted in the New Testament, spent a great deal of time running between these early communities and seeking to avert major crises of faith/doctrine. As a matter of defining the way in which these groups of believers would engage with the gospel, interact with one another, and seek to integrate with the remainder of the Christian communities throughout the world, early forms of Christianity soon began to nominate and promote bishops within these communities as a means of providing a type of regional figurehead that could help to mediate disputes that might arise.2 These bishops were not involved in a formalized structure of power between regions; however, they did meet with one another on occasion to discuss issues relating to the liturgy and doctrinal discussions. Naturally, as organizational theory would suggest, those bishops that held the most power and had the most sway over their contemporaries were not always the best trained or the best educated; rather, the bishops that maintained the most authority and clout within the realm of Christendom were those that administered to the largest and wealthiest communities. Not surprisingly, one of the most influential bishops was the bishop of Rome. It was from this very position that the earliest foundation of what would come to define the papacy was born.3 Under the strict control of the Roman Empire, the range and flexibility of authority that the early Catholic Church could exhibit was naturally limited. After Constantine converted the Roman Empire to Christianity and forcibly integrated his power with that of the Roman Catholic Church, the level and extent to which this religious entity was intrinsically involved in politics and affairs of the state shifted significantly.4 As the Catholic Church came to act in both a religious and political sphere, the influence and centralized level of power that it could project had a formative impact with regards to the way in which the Religion would be understood by leadership and believers in the future. However, if one is to consider the dynamics of politics that contributed to the Catholic Church’s power and dominance within Western Europe up until the time of the reformation, it must be states that this was concentric upon the power vacuum that existed within Europe after the collapse of the Roman Empire. Due to the fact that Europe was little more than a collection of tribes that continually fought for power, one normalizing influence that could be felt amongst all of them was the power and dynamic of the Catholic Church. As such, the church reveled in this position due to the fact that it drastically increased the amount of influence that it could project as well as exposed new populations to the doctrines of Christianity.5 Perhaps the most positive element that was exhibited with regards to the influence of the Catholic Church was the fact that it was able to mediate a number of disputes that might otherwise have ended far more violently than actually occurred. By utilizing the Catholic Church as a go between and mediator of conflict within the Middle Ages, many European conflicts, and would be conflicts, were able to be stymied prior to further blood being spilled. However, all of the impacts of the Catholic Church’s dominance within Europe during this period in time were not as pleasant as one might at first assume. For instance, a review of history reveals the fact that the Catholic Church regularly forcibly converted and expanded within parts of pagan Europe. All of this was done in the name of spreading Christianity; however, the historical record indicates that the methods that were used to convert many of these populations were highly unethical and tended to be predicated upon threat of violence and force as a means of engaging new adherents to the faith. Such a process was a decidedly “unchristian” approach to traditional evangelism. Further, a distinct level of repression and oftentimes inquisition were used against members of the Jewish communities throughout Europe; as it was believed strongly that a curse had been placed on this race of people as the “killers of Christ”.6 Naturally, the discussion that has been engaged up until this point has been concentric upon the ways in which the Catholic Church as a whole behaved. Yet, the fact of the matter is that the head of the Catholic Church, and indeed all of Western Christendom at that time, was in fact the pope; a single individual. As such, a great deal of change was ushered in as the death of one pope would bring the selection of a new pope. Further, the changes in approach that many of these popes urged cannot be categorically reduced to “heavy handed”, “reactionary”, or “liberal”. Instead, the unique personal dynamics of these popes require the reader to engage this topic in a different manner rather than seeking to understand how the Catholic Church as a whole behaved between the end of the Roman Empire and the beginning of the Protestant Reformation. Ultimately, the information that has thus far been presented depicts the growth, development, and actions of both a political and religious institution. If an individual seeks to understand the Catholic Church, or indeed the institution of the papacy, without engaging these two mutually inclusive elements, a great deal of understanding concerning the manners through which this religion evolved will necessarily be lost. Bibliography The Holy Bible : New Internationa version. Grand Rapids, Mich. New York, N.Y: Zondervan Pub. House HarperPaperbacks, 1984. BETHUNE, BRIAN. "THE GOOD AND THE BAD." Macleans 126, no. 13 (April 8, 2013): 52-57. Academic Search Complete, EBSCOhost (accessed February 14, 2014). FINCH, ANDREW. "The Pursuit of Martyrdom in the Catholic Church." Journal Of Ecclesiastical History 60, no. 1 (January 2009): 95-118. Academic Search Complete, EBSCOhost (accessed February 14, 2014). Grossi, V. 2013. "Note on the semantics of the term "Catholic Church" before and after Constantines Edict of Milan of 313." Anuario De Historia De La Iglesia 22, 111-133. Arts & Humanities Citation Index, EBSCOhost (accessed February 14, 2014). Muller, H. n.d. "Emperor and Pope in the Middle Ages." Journal Of Ecclesiastical History 64, no. 1: 135-136. Arts & Humanities Citation Index, EBSCOhost (accessed February 14, 2014). Wulff, David M. 2009. "A War the Jews." International Journal For The Psychology Of Religion 19, no. 4: 290-296. PsycINFO, EBSCOhost (accessed February 14, 2014). Read More