The Rise of Papacy in Rome - Coursework Example

THE RISE OF PAPACY IN ROME (COLLEGE Table of Content I. INTRODUCTION………………………………………………………..2 II. THE RISE OFPAPACY………………………………………………...2 III. GOOD FORTUNE BEGINS……………………………………………2 IV. THE FALL OF ROME AND RISE OF POPE…………………………3 V. ROMAN BISHOP BECOMES KING…………………………………..4 V. Efforts to control the world………………………………4 VI. The impact of papal dominance……………………………..6 VII. CONCLUSION………………………………………………………….7 VIII. BIBLIOGRAPHY………………………………………………………8 Introduction A look into the growth of Church will make one believe that God favored it considerably after its initial period of suffering. Similar is the case of papacy. The religion which was a subject of torture and humiliation in Rome rose to such immeasurable power and influence in no time. History proves that the rise of Pope to power was even dramatic. It becomes evident from a look into the history of Church that Pope became the center of power as a result of a number of factors: Constantine’s acceptance of Christianity as his state religion, Constantine’s acceptance of the pre-eminence of the Bishop of Rome, the fall of Rome, the greed for power exhibited by various European kings, and the need to stop Muslim invasion and aggression. As the Pope was powerful enough to meet all these needs, Rome became the center of power. The rise of papacy- the early miserable days Church had a humbler beginning than most other organizations on earth. However, it has reached such heights that no other organization can even dream of. The early Christians had a rough time under the Roman authorities. The Christians were cruelly persecuted by the authorities. The persecuted Christians were sent to underground sewers called catacombs. Once a Christian was caught, he was forced to bow to an idol; and if he refused, he met his end in Coliseum as he was thrown to hungry lions. In fact, this was holiday entertainment to the Romans1. Good fortune begins The image of Church altered as Emperor Constantine made Christianity the state religion. This was the beginning of a dramatic growth. As Emperor Constantine moved his capital from Rome to Constantinople, the Bishop of Rome gained more power, authority, and autonomy, away from the shadows of the Emperor. Thus, soon, the Bishop of Rome became the most powerful figure in Rome2. Despite the movement of the Emperor to Constantinople, Rome retained its prestige as the center of the Roman Empire. At that time, there were five patriarchs who ruled five patriarchates. The patriarchates wee Antioch, Alexandria, Jerusalem, Constantinople, and Rome. In the beginning, all patriarchates had equal importance. However, as time passed, the patriarchs of Rome and Constantinople gained more importance. According to records, the rivalry and competition among patriarchs remained alive for many years. However, the issue was settled by an imperial edict in AD 608, which gave pre-eminence to Rome3. Thus, the power and influence of the Roman bishop continued growing uncontrollably. Soon, the Roman Bishop felt uncomfortable with his appointment by the Emperor. Soon, there came the claim that the Roman Bishop was appointed by God as his vicar. Thus, it was claimed that the Emperor could not appoint God’s vicar. Thus, the election of Pope was handed over to cardinals. Since then, even now, cardinals around the world gather and elect the new Pope4. The fall of Rome and the rise of Pope During the period from AD 400 to 500, various pagan tribes continuously assaulted Rome. This led to the collapse of Rome. On the collapse of Roman Empire, the pagans entered Rome. However, they were stunned by the way the Roman church lived: gorgeous cathedrals, fascinating rituals, prosperous and powerful priests. Though the pagans conquered Rome, they became seriously addicted to, and dependent on, Roman Church. Thus, the power and influence of the Roman Bishop grew across much of Western Europe. As he was considered ‘Father’ of all those nations, he was given the name ‘pope’ which means ‘papa’; in Italy, pope is still called papa5. Roman Bishop becomes king Though the Roman Bishop gained power as the bishop of bishops, he lacked a specific earthly territory under his control. The problem was solved in AD 774 when the Roman Bishop was granted total control over a territory around Rome. Since then, Rome became the kingdom of Pope. In other words, Pope became the king of an earthly territory too. Efforts to control the world- Western Europe under papal control The Popes were not ready to get satisfied by the title of the spiritual father of many nations. Nor were they happy controlling a piece of Italian territory. The desire was to control all the temporal issues of the world. A perfect example is Gregory VII who was the Pope in AD 1000. In order to declare his supremacy over other rulers, he introduced the concept of papal omnipotence in his Dictatus; and according to him, the rule of Pope was equal to the rule of God6. Thus, Pope took away the right to appoint clergy from kings of nations. Though the kings were reluctant, they surrendered to superstition and the wealth and power of Pope. A perfect example comes from Emperor Henry IV of Germany. At first, he resisted the Pope’s efforts to take away power which was followed by his excommunication from the church. As the king feared eternal damnation, he wore sack and stood barefooted for three long days at the Pope’s gate in the winter cold. In fact, churches were not to confine themselves into controlling spiritual affairs. They intruded into all the affairs of the society. They functioned as the libraries of secular knowledge too. They preserved non-religious philosophical writings, science and technology. However, the problem was that the church suppressed and twisted all these factors to promote its own welfare. The result was the retardation of science, technology, and literature during the Dark Ages. In fact, the period witnessed an unholy attachment between church and the state throughout much of Europe. In fact, the collapse of Rome left a considerable Christian population ‘nationless’. So, the kings, especially the Germanic ones, conquered these Roman provinces and adopted Christianity as their state religion. To illustrate, the Ostrogoths converted after gaining control over Italy; the Franks converted after conquering France; and the Visigoths after the capturing of control over Spain and Portugal. By adopting Christianity, the kings found it is easy to control the masses of the newly conquered territories. In return, the Church was enjoying a lot of wealth and influence. The kings had to ensure the approval of church to retain power, and many a times; the kings had to rely on the public relations service offered by the Church because for the people, what the church put forward was the rule to be obeyed. Thus, approval of the church meant the approval of people. In return, the clergy enjoyed important positions in courts and other administrative posts. The effect was a number of laws which included forced conversions, increased tithes, and the killing of anti-Church groups. With the title as a Christian nation, kings enjoyed trade partnerships with other Christian kingdoms. Thus, as the relationship benefited both the groups, and the relation continued unaffected. The church did not even fear to use military power to control the kings and emperors who failed to obey. A perfect example is the German Holy Roman Empire of the 11th century. In addition, the Pope was utilizing his authority to eliminate the ones who stood against the Church. A perfect example is the crusades. In order to stop the encroaching Muslim armies, the Pope announced that any willing participant in the crusade would be given a total remission of their sins. Thus, the crusaders marched to Jerusalem and killed a large number of people as the mentality was that all opposing ideologies including Islamism and Judaism should be eliminated. Thus, Pope was both directly and indirectly involved in creating religious rivalry in Europe. The impact of papal dominance The world politics changed forever as a result of the papal dominance of Western Europe in the Medieval Ages. First of all, it hindered science, technology and secular philosophy for a significant period of time. A perfect example is Galileo who was loyal to the Church till his death. He was under house arrest for many years on the ground that he adopted the Copernican model of the solar system. Similar was the case of Giordano Bruno who went even further to believe that the universe is infinite and that everything is made up of tiny particles called atoms. Thus, the first impact of papal dominance was on science and technology. The second important point was the subordination of peasants and slaves. As the Pope and his church had aligned with the nobles and the leaders, rules and regulations were developed to exploit the downtrodden. Thus, slaves and peasants suffered a lot as both state and religion did not come for their rescue. The third serious impact was the segregation of populations on religious grounds. Admittedly, the world was not peaceful before papal supremacy. However, papal interventions resulted in even deeper cuts on the basis of religion. Conclusion In total, it becomes evident that the rise of papacy to power did not happen piecemeal. It took place as a result of perfect planning and implementation. Popes throughout history managed to conquer the minds of people and fill them with the fear of divine damnation. Even kings and emperors were not exempted. Thus, by feeding on superstition, Popes amassed wealth and power and became the centers of power. Bibliography Arakaki, R. “Constantine the Great: Roman emperor, Christian Saint, historys turning point,” Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese, (n.d), http://www.antiochian.org/1110388342 (Accessed 18 May 2012). Flow of History, “Introduction: The plight of the church in the early middle ages,” (2007), http://www.flowofhistory.com/units/west/10/FC66 (Accessed 18 May 2012). Kalmin, R. & Schwards, S. Jewish Culture and Society under the Christian Roman Empire, Belgium: Peeters Publishers, 2003. Sophie, L. R. “Christianity and the Roman Empire,” BBC: History, (2011), http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/ancient/romans/christianityromanempire_article_01.shtml (Accessed 18 May 2012). Novak, R. M. Christianity and the Roman Empire: Background Texts. USA: Continuum International Publishing Group, 2001. Odahl, C. M. Constantine and the Christian Empire. USA: Routledge, 2004. Outline Introduction It seems that Church enjoyed God’s special protection. Pope’s rise to power is linked to a number of factors ranging from Constantine’s acceptance of Christianity as his state religion, Constantine’s acceptance of the pre-eminence of the Bishop of Rome, the fall of Rome, the greed for power exhibited by various European kings, and the need to stop Muslim invasion and aggression. The rise of papacy- the early miserable days Christians were cruelly tortured and killed in the ancient Rome. Good fortune begins Emperor Constantine accepted Christianity as his state religion and the good times of the Church started. The fall of Rome and the rise of Pope As a result of the attack by various pagan tribes, Rome fell but the pagans were taken away by the power and influence of the Church in Rome. Roman Bishop becomes king In AD 774, Roman bishop was offered control over an earthly territory around Rome. Thus, the kingdom of Pope took birth. Efforts to control the world- Western Europe under papal control Popes relentlessly tried to control the whole world and such concepts like papal omnipotence were introduced. Also, the European kings found it easy to control the Christian people of the newly conquered parts with the help of Church. Thus, bishops and priests played active role in nation-ruling. Church suppressed and biased science, technology, literature, and philosophy. During the Muslim invasions, Church introduced tactics like crusades by exploiting the superstition of people. The impact of papal dominance Science and technology ruined. Peasants and slaves suffered as both Church and government collaborated to exploit the poor. Religions cuts on the basis of religion grew wider. Conclusion Read More