The Role of The Papacy: The Early Church to Present Day

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This essay gives a brief outline of the major developments in the role of the Papacy between the Early Church and the present day. It will cover four aspects. The development of the papacy as a temporal ruler, Papal elections, the Curia and the development of the ‘mission role’ of the Papacy. It will explore how the papacy changed from being an organisation that had the influence to appoint kings and arrange state borders to one with a billion followers. These followers see the papacy as being responsible for the administration, pastoral and spiritual care of their membership. The development of the papacy as a temporal ruler. The temporal power is the dealings of the popes of the Roman Catholic Church in government, state and political affairs. This secular power is exercised in the here and now rather than eternity. It is notable as being separate from the pastoral and spiritual action of the pope, which is often called the eternal power. The beginning of this temporal power can be traced back to Pope Zacharis who gave the order that Pippin should be crowned King of the Franks. In 751 Pippin was anointed King, this was the first time that a secular King was crowned sovereign by a pope. This led to an alliance between the Franks and the Church, which would last for over 500 years, this agreement offered military protection for the papacy . Not only did the early popes have the power to appoint Kings and rulers it acted as secular administrators, which looked after such things as education and welfare. In this regard, the main aim of the western papacy was concerned in accumulating land but also gaining sovereign independence from the empire in Constantinople. The development of papal elections. This gainin... ... middle of paper ... ... the world. The pope is the final arbiter of both administrative and doctrinal issues, the papacy may not rule nations or appoint kings anymore, but with so many followers it still has great influence on world affairs. Bibliography. Barraclough, G., The Medieval Papacy, (London: Thames and Hudson, 1968). Bossy, J., Rome and the Elizabethan Catholics: a Question of Geography, Historical Journal, vol 6, 1964. Cameron, E., The European Reformation, (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1991). Fenlon, D., The Origins of Modern Catholicism, Journal of Ecclesiastical History, vol 43, 1992. Heyer, F., The Catholic Church from 1648 to 1870, (London: Adam & Charles Blac, 1969). Morris, C., The Papal Monarchy, The Western Church from 1050 to 1250, (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1989). Ullmann, W., A Short History of the Papacy in the Middle Ages, (London: Methuen & Co. Ltd., 1972).

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