Pope St. Gregory The Great Essay

1401 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: The role of the Papacy

In the words of Pope St. Gregory the great, the Pope is “the servant of the servants of God”. The Pope is devoted to serving the people of God by doing three things; interpret God’s word by teaching, protect God’s words from heresy, and pass God’s word to every generation. Many non-Catholic Christians do not understand this role of the Pope, thinking that the Pope is a result of a twisted hierarchical system the Church created in a desire for power. Chapter seven of The Enduring Faith & Timeless Truths of Fulton Sheen by Dr. Mark Zia shows that the Pope wasn’t an invention of early Christians, but that, “by the direct will of God, the apostle Peter was made the visible head of the Church and was entrusted with the authority of God to teach, govern and sanctify the Church until the Second Coming” (Zia 75). This authority is clearly seen given to Peter in Matthew 16:18, disproving that the idea of a pope was invented and showing that Jesus gives Peter this role in the Bible. Sheen tells us the origin of the title Pope, …show more content…

God can write straight with crooked lines and will use whoever He calls to be Pope to bring the clergy and lay people closer to Him. We’ve had Popes in a low spiritual state, but even they have taught truth of the faith. Fulton Sheen said that he “think[s] bishops are strong only when they are united with the Holy Father”, since even the least holy of Pope have taught the infallible truths of Christ (Zia 82, quoting Treasure in Clay 244). When the Bible seem to make no applicable since, the lay people can always look to the Pope to lead us to Christ; whether he was Pope Pius XI, who risked his life to protect the innocent after World War I; or Pope Leo X, who sold indulgences; both had the ability to interpret God’s word to the society they lived in by teaching, protect God’s words from heresy, and pass God’s word to every

Show More
Related

  • Impact Of Pope John Xxiii On Christianity

    819 Words  | 2 Pages

    Elected in 1958 as a ‘caretaker Pope’, Pope John XXIII implemented the greatest reforms in the Church’s history. His involvement within the Church had played a significant contribution to the reforming of social, political and liturgical Christian traditions. During the early twentieth century, the Catholic Church still held the century old conservative beliefs and traditions as they continued to separate the Church from the secular world, therefore, disadvantaging the Church to a world that was modernising. In addition to this, the Church restricted modernist thoughts due to the belief that new theologies would threaten the power and authority of the Church, but ...

    Read More

  • The Road of Joseph Ratzinger t Pope Ementus Benedict

    1271 Words  | 3 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • An Analysis Of Pope Francis's 'Evangelii Gaudium'

    1221 Words  | 3 Pages

    Papal “Bull”? As the head of the Catholic Church, it is expected of a Pope to make grand declarations about social justice and issues that concern the Church . His apostolic decrees call for christians everywhere to uphold workers rights and to provide a living wage to everyone. However, Pope Francis is the first pope who has spoken specifically on how to bring about true equality .

    Read More

  • Rhetorical Analysis On Pope Francis

    524 Words  | 2 Pages

    From this experience, I felt that the Pope was an exemplification of the closest human being to God. Everything he said gave me the same feeling that I get when I read the bible, except this happened in reality instead of my imagination while reading the bible, which magnifies the intensity for my love of God even more.

    Read More

  • Annotated Bibliography On Papacy

    2908 Words  | 6 Pages

    Is an article that explains about papacy in the period between 500 and 1500 CE. Papacy gained a lot of significance which brought about numerous changes both with its followers, the church itself and even political. This was initiated by Pope Leo the Great who left a legacy concerning the Catholic Church. According to this article, the Pope started exercising power on even other councils. He incorporated church leadership and politics too. The article

    Read More

  • Roman Catholic Church Dbq Analysis

    680 Words  | 2 Pages

    In the 21st century, the roman catholic church is a well followed religion with about 1.2 billion followers, the pope is a very famous and well known face around the world. The publicity of the pope comes from the billion followers of Roman Catholicism but, there was a time when the pope of the Roman Catholic church was viewed negatively as a result of permeating lies and encouraging acts of deceit. There was a time where the church was mostly about establishing ways to obtain money in an unfitting manner. As a result, this gave the church even more power and authority. Money is power, so the more money given to the church the more power the church would acquire. This money was given in purchases of indulgences which were pardons given by the priests to people who committed sins. While, Most people did not know or understand the wrongdoings done by Pope Gregory XI. There were few people who did know the wrongdoings by the

    Read More

  • Essay On Pope John Xxiii

    966 Words  | 2 Pages

    Pope John Paul II was one of the most influential leaders of the 20th century. Pope John Paul II had a rough life growing up. He was the only one left alive in his family at age 20. He also lived in Poland during the Nazi occupation of Poland. These events led to him being a great and very strong leader. He was not a shy leader that very often spoke his mind about his beliefs. His motto “Totally Yours” shows that he was a very open person. While Pope he held firm orthodox stances. Pope John Paul II has done many thing to effect the Catholic Church in the 20th Century. He...

    Read More

  • Pope Gregory Controversy

    986 Words  | 2 Pages

    The controversy between papal and imperial authority reaches new heights near the end of the eleventh century as Emperor and Pope argue the right to rule supreme over the other. Pope Gregory VII (d.1085) asserts in the Dictatus Papae, that papal authority is supreme in comparison to the imperial powers of King Henry IV, Holy Roman Emperor (d.1106). The Dictatus Papae decrees that only the papacy can rule and grant investitures to a new abbot or bishop. King Henry opposes the decree and engages Pope Gregory in a series of letters, where each writer claims divine-legitimacy and the right of investiture. Each contender believes in their own authority as supreme and therefore refuse to back down from one another. The difference in papal and

    Read More

  • How Did Pope Gregory The Great Influence Society

    1397 Words  | 3 Pages

    ​Pope Gregory I, who also goes by the name Saint Gregory the Great served as the head of the Roman Catholic Church from the year 590 AD until his demise in 604 AD. Pope Gregory the great is revered in modern times owing to his insight and deliberation on critical issues that were characteristic of the period that he headed the church (Straw 11). It is important to note that his contribution to societal engagements was holistic and focused towards development and sustenance of a just and fair social system that upholds human dignity at all times. According to historians, Pope Gregory the Great exuded a rare insight into the essence of religious piety through his writings that continue to influence human beings

    Read More

  • The Papacy

    615 Words  | 2 Pages

    the pope was questionable and many times overlooked. But once he took on the title of

    Read More

  • The Political and Social Changes in Western Europe

    2439 Words  | 5 Pages

    People faced the rise and the fall of the Catholic Church during the medieval time. The Popes used to hold the final authority for the church and over the state. Pope Gregory VII asserted the Pope had granted the divine power from God because Saint Peter was the first of getting this honor. Pope Gregory VII also suggested people and royals of a kingdom should all look upon Churches because they are the heads of the government. Their decision and opinion should not be questioned and must be followed. On the other hand, Gregory VII has also mentioned the kings and princes were “raised by pride, plunder, treachery, murder” (Perry, 227), which implied churches were the ultimate virtue and people should worship God. Pope Gregory VII had outlined the rules of the Pope in order to protect their rights, including Pope had the right to reform the church by proposing new laws and creating new bishoprics, princes (royals) should kiss the foot of the pope, and the pope had the power to depose emperors. These rules belittled the princes but raised the status of the Pope (1). Thus, Pope held the absolute authority over state. However, Churches had experienced several attempts from the nobles to challenge the authority due to Churches’ unlimited power over the state between 1000 and 1500C...

    Read More

  • The Influence of the Pope

    886 Words  | 2 Pages

    Dante lived in a time of intense political strife and competition over land, resources, and people. Many factions competed for power in the region, including the Holy Roman Emperors, an organization of “german aristocrats who claimed an ancient right to rule Christendom” (Moss, Wilson p. 174), the Papal authorities in Rome, lead by the controversial and power hungry Pope Boniface VIII, and smaller groups in city-states such as Florence, Tuscany and Rome. These groups were often made up of noblemen and other aristocracy in the cities that desired to consolidate local power under a “small, select group” (Moss, Wilson p. 174) that would allow them to exercise their will on the cities’ populace. Another class that emerged in the period was the merchant class, impelled by the increasing move towards urban centers and the lessening control of local feudal lords and vassals, in favor of more overarching rule by kings over a wider area. This rise in consumerism and capitalism lead to a desire for power by the merchant class to “establish a system of rule that would protect their newly acquired wealth.” (Moss, Wilson p. 174)

    Read More

  • Essay On Pope Leo X

    737 Words  | 2 Pages

    After becoming the Pope, Pope Leo X paid no attention to the dangers threatening the papacy, and gave himself into amusing his people (History of Popes). He loved to give banquets and host elaborate dinners night after night, one of his guests wrote to his family, “The meal was exquisite, and there was an endless selection of dishes, for we had sixty-five courses,” (The Medici Popes, PBS). Pope Leo X also hired more than seven hundred servants to take care of the papal household, which mostly included his family, relatives and Florentines, more than ever before (Pope Leo X, the opponent of the reformation). Having wasted the money upon his relatives and parties, it still did not occur to Leo that his extravagance was emptying the churches coffers and the debt was to much to pay. Once Leo was aware of the situation at hand, he decided to find means to get hold of money, however that money too was spent on worldly affairs. The reason why the nobles and many others did not realize this is because he bribed them with money and amused them with dinners, and banquets.

    Read More

  • The Influence of the Roman Catholic Church

    1137 Words  | 3 Pages

    First, there were the ordinary believers, the citizens of the kingdom who followed the Christian faith. Then there was the clergy, the members who devoted their lives to the church. Each group of the clergy was assigned specific functions by the clergy nobles to help run the Church competently. Amongst all the clergy associates, the Pope was at the top, he had the equivalent if not more power than the ruling monarch and was in charge of all political affairs and administered the clergy. He was able to dictate political laws and even comment on the monarch’s decisions.

    Read More

  • The Medieval Church: Its Power and Influence

    987 Words  | 2 Pages

    The medieval Roman Catholic church was extremely powerful and influential through their taxes and ability to control peoples beliefs and religious ideas. The Church acted as a sort of over-lord to the monarchs of the European Christendom, encouraging and in some cases forcing rulers to act by their will and influencing the citizens of the country. The Pope gave himself the power to bestow the power of Holy Roman Emperor, a position which gave the emperor power over a large area of Europe. This ability gave the Pope power over the emperor therefore making the Pope ultimate leader of the continent. Because of all the Popes abilities, the Church became an extremely significant institute and force in the middle ages. Although the church is not nearly as powerful as it was, the remnants of its most powerful times can still be found today.

    Read More

More about Pope St. Gregory The Great Essay

Open Document