Pope Innocent the III reign from January 1198-July 1218 was an important time in history as many events occurred within his reign that no other popes before him could claim happened in there's. Pope Innocent was one of the most powerful and influential popes in Europe at the time as he stood at the center of all other kings and proclaimed his supremacy. Innocent the III was right in doing so as he was an integral part in supporting the Catholic Church reforms of ecclesiastical affairs through his letters and the Fourth Council of the Lateran. Throughout his tenor, Innocent the III had an excellent career as he refined canon law, organized the fourth crusade, among many other things.
To give some details to Innocent the III pontificate, it
Pope Urban II was sought by Alexius Comnenus, a Byzantine Emperor who wanted the papacy to help his army hold off the advancing Seljuk Turks in Asia Minor. The reason for Alexius Comnenus contacting the pope rather than another emperor or monarch wasn’t just the fact they were secular, but because the pope would have more power to persuade the people. The Gregorian movement in 1050-80 was ultimately was responsible for the new instilled power of the papacy’s position over nonreligious rulers. The pope agreed to aid the Byzantine emperor, but he also had his own agenda when it came to the military advances and the new power of his position. The papacy did not intend to only help the Byzantine Empire but to further save all of Christendom from being overrun.
The Pope is the Bishop of Rome and the leader of the Catholic Church. This is something that started right after the death of Jesus. When Jesus resurrected, he said to St. Peter, “Feed my lambs.... Tend my sheep.... Feed my sheep.” This command given to Peter made him the head of the apostles, henceforth, making him the first Pope. Peter would rule for approximately 34 years, and when he died he was succeeded by St. Linus. The tradition of serving as Pope until death was started by Peter and has been carried on for centuries. Since Peter, there have been 264 Popes and very few have not stayed in power until their death. Most recently, and most commonly known, is Pope Benedict XVI. As the successor of John Paul II, Benedict chose to step down due to old age. Despite this, Pope Benedict did great things during his papacy.
The Crusades were the first tactical mission by Western Christianity in order to recapture the Muslim conquered Holy Lands. Several people have been accredited with the launch of the crusades including Peter the Hermit however it is now understood that this responsibility rested primarily with Pope Urban II . The main goal of the Crusades was the results of an appeal from Alexius II, who had pleaded for Western Volunteers help with the prevention of any further invasions. The Pope’s actions are viewed as him answering the pleas of help of another in need, fulfilling his Christian right. However, from reading the documents it is apparent that Pope Urban had ulterior motives for encouraging engagement in the war against the Turks. The documents and supporting arguments now highlight that the Pope not only sought to recruit soldiers to help but also to challenge those who had harmed the Christians community and annihilate the Muslims. He put forth the idea that failure to recapture this lands would anger God and that by participating, God would redeem them of their previous sins.in a time of deep devoutness, it is clear this would have been a huge enticement for men to engage in the battle. Whether his motives were clear or not to his people, Pope Urban’s speeches claiming that “Deus vult!” (God wills it) encouraged many Christians to participate and take the cross.
In short, disestablishment is the most literal form of separation of Church and State; it prohibited the state from funding or establishing a religion. This was a continuation of the fight for the freedom on conscience. James Madison was very influential in this fight, “Religion was not invented by human policy” thus he argued that it should never be subjected to human policy (Maddison, 120). Maddison expresses that a person’s religion is to be determined by his own conviction and conscience, “and it is the right of every man to exercise it” (Maddison, 118). Freedom of religion, the first amendment, existed before disestablishment, but in it’s entirety was dependent on disestablishment. Establishment was achieved through imposing taxes on
In the book The Rule of Benedict, written by Saint Benedict, he provided outlines of how things should go in the monastery, and day to day life for monks. Saint Benedict uses biblical references and also his own thoughts. Through his writings, he believes that there should be very strict guidelines to follow, in order to be a good monk and/or person. Although Saint Benedict means well when he gives his thoughts on how things should be gone about, he sometimes seems arrogant, by giving the abbot so much power. In addition to this, at some points, it seems as if the abbot has more control and power over the people, than God himself. Three things stuck out to me when reading Saint Benedict’s thoughts. First, his use of violence, when disciplining.
Pope Benedict XVI spoke of creation in January of 1990. Pope Benedict was the pope for the Roman Catholic Church from 2005-2013. Pope benedict discussed many important things in this homily. The importance of taking care of the world and the environment humans live in is very apparent. It also emphasizes that even though humans do not always take proper care of the world, they are worth the gift that has been given by God. God had a plan for all of the things he created and the things he created should be respected.
There are many great women who have influenced contemporary philosophy as we know it today, the most influential of these women being Saint Catherine of Siena. Catherine lived during the Medieval period of philosophy around the 14th century. She was a Catholic mystic who devoted her life to Christ, and during her service to the Catholic Church, her most famous work The Dialogue was created while in state of meditation. It is not surprising that St. Catherine of Siena has had a large impact on the current era of philosophy, along side many well known ancient philosophers such as: Plato, Aristotle, Epicurus, Plotinus, and Xenophanes. Frank Magil, author of Masterpieces of Christian literature in summary form, stresses her importance by saying,
Clement was a French born pope with close ties to Philip IV. It is easy to deduce that he was the first pope to take up residency in Avignon. Despite being often asked to take up residency in Rome, he refused to leave his home of France. According to The Story of Christianity Vol. 1 by Gonzalez, Clement was the only pope during the Avignon Papacy to elect the most French cardinals. All but of his cardinals were of French descent. By electing almost all French cardinals he was proving to the King of France where his allegiance was and where the papacy should continue. His allegiance towards France did not stop there. As stated above Philip IV had many trials and tribulations with past popes not defending his rule. Clement V did not defend himself again the King as did he predecessors. Clement was weak in leadership. Often when disobeying the ideas of King Philip IV, he was shamed into changing his decisions. An example of his weakness would be his overthrowing of the bulls put into effect by Pope Boniface III. As touched upon above, King Philip IV once had tensions with King Edward I of England. According to Lectures for a Medieval Survey by Nelson, Boniface had issued the bull Clericis laicos. This made it illegal to any member of clergy to support either of the Kings. Later he issued the bull Unam Sanctam, which gave the papacy supreme power. It was this bull that led to his council in Rome to discuss King Philip.
An American Jew cured of a brain tumour after attending Mass with Pope John Paul II. A Mexican boy stricken with leukemia who recovered after a papal kiss. Even a cardinal who regained his ability to speak after John Paul touched his throat.
Son of a copper miner, Martin Luther was born in November 10, 1483 in Eisleben.He decided to study in the University of Erfurt to become a lawyer and increase the Luther’s family success, but before long, after a terrifying thunderstorm, Martin promised that if he ended up save he would become a monk, and he did so. Luther ended up joining the monastic order, and soon became an Augustinian friar. In 1510, he visited Rome to support a group of augustinian monasteries and he didn’t like what he saw. He was angry with all that corruption in Rome, especially when the minister sold indulgences.
On May 18, 1920, in a small Polish town just outside of Wadowice, a child was born to Karol Wojtyla (1879-1941, and Emilia Kaczorosks (1884-1929). His name was Karol Jozef Wojtyla. Little did his parents know that one day their child was destined not only to become a priest and a bishop, but the 264th pope of the Roman Catholic Church, and only the second non-Italian pope.
Pope Innocent III began a sequence of changes that influenced the face of secular and ecclesiastical Europe through careful use of law and political manipulation. It has been remarked that the papacy acquired and retained the most power under the leadership of Pope Innocent III during the late 12th and early 13th centuries. I plan to examine sources primarily pertaining to the Fourth Lateran Council in 1215 and secondly to a collection of Innocent III’s papal letters. In my analysis, I hope to draw a correlation between Innocent III's actions and these actions influence on medieval society and why this period is considered to be the height of papal power since its inception.
Galileo in his letter to the Grand Duchess Christina states “If I am not mistaken they would extend such authorities until even in purely physical matters- where faith is not involved,” (Galileo as quoted in Spielvogel, 485). Galileo is stating that the church would continue to expand their authority until they have total control over all knowledge. If they were to control the knowledge, they could get rid of anything that might threaten the legitimacy of the bible. Galileo backs that up when he says “They would have us altogether abandon reason and the evidence of our senses in favor of some biblical passage, though under the surface mean of its words this passage may contain a different sense” (Galileo as quoted in Spielvogel, 485).
Francis was famous for his love of all creation. He called for simplicity of life, poverty, and humility before God. He worked to care for the poor. Thousands were drawn to his sincerity, piety, and joy. In all his actions, Francis sought to follow fully and literally the way of life demonstrated by Christ in the Gospels. He died in 1226, at the age of 44.
Early in history, the Roman papacy consolidated its power. It became one of the most influential organizations in the medieval period. This rise to power resulted from the decline in the Western Empire, the leadership of Roman bishops, and special grants that gave the church land holdings. This rise to power caused some positive ramifications, such as the protection of the church from heresy. However, the absolute power of the pope also caused corruption and abuses, many of which would eventually spark the reformation.