Christian History Course

Master of Christian History ~ Lesson #19

(Holy Roman Empire)

by Bro. Jim DeManche

1. What factors contributed to the collapse of the Carolingian Empire?

the Vikings caused havoc in Western Europe from the late 8th century A.D. to the 10 th century. Any town or monastery along the coast or navigable river would get a visit from the Vikings. The Vikings, many of them, finally settled in England and after much fighting joined their kinsmen the Anglo-Saxons who had come earlier. As a result the Christian culture that had been established in Ireland and England during the Dark Ages was destroyed or at least set back. Other Vikings settled in Normandy from whence they came to conquer England under William of Normandy in 1066. Others journeyed across Eastern Europe and gave the foundations for Russia. Still others settled in Sicily and Southern Italy where occasionally they threatened the earthly power of the Roman pontiff. The Slavs and Magyars settled in South-Central Europe.

2. What is feudalism? How was the church influenced by feudalism? How did the church attempt to lessen the excesses of the feudal lords?

Feudalism heavily influenced the church. The church held an enormous amount of land in Western Europe by the late Middle Ages. The church got these lands from people who wanted to gain forgiveness of sins by doing some act of charity as penance. By being a great landowner, the church could not avoid being influenced by feudalism. These gifts were held in feudal tenure by abbots and bishops. As God's servants the clergy could not do military service for their feudal lord. They either had to give part of their lands to vassal knights who could do the military service for them or come up with other services. This made the church more secular, and it took attention away from spiritual things. The ecclesiastical vassal had the dilemma of divided loyalties.

3. What was involved in the investiture controversy? How did this plague church-state relations in the Middle Ages?

The row over whether the feudal lord or the Roman pontiff can invest an ecclesiastical feudal vassal with the symbols of his authority [investiture controversy] plagued the relationships between church and state in the 11 th and 12 th centuries. The ring, staff, and pallium were the symbols of spiritual authority whilst the sword and scepter were the symbols of feudal authority. Occasionally the feudal lord and the Roman pontiff at the same time claimed the right to give all these symbols. This row caused a loss in spiritual life on the part of church leaders. They neglected their spiritual responsibilities. They thought more about worldly affairs than church affairs. The Western church had to fight the influence of feudalism whilst the Eastern church failed to withstand imperial control.

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Christian History Course

Master of Christian History ~ Lesson #18

(The Carolingian Empire)

by Bro. Jim DeManche

1. Is Charlemagne essential for medieval history? Why or why not?

Yes.  Clovis' sons were incompetent rulers. This made it necessary to place royal authority into the hands of a regent known as the "mayor of the palace". These mayors of the palace would exercise royal authority in governmental affairs while Clovis' incompetent successors enjoyed life in the palace. As mayors of the palace, these regents would form what would become the Carolingian dynasty. This dynasty would gain its greatest power during the reign of Charlemagne.

2. What helped the Roman pontiff to become even more powerful and influential in the Carolingian Era?

Pepin the Short ruled jointly with his brother Carloman from A.D. 741 to 747 when the latter went to a monastery. Pepin the Short was the first true Carolingian monarch because in A.D. 751 he took the title of king along with his authority as mayor of the palace. This came about from a request from Pope Zacharias [Zachary] for aid against the Lombards who were threatening papal authority in Italy.

3. How was Charlemagne's imperial reign a "renaissance"?

When Pope Leo III was attacked by a mob in Rome and nearly murdered, he fled Rome for the court of Charlemagne. Charlemagne went back to Rome with him. A council cleared the Roman pontiff of the charges against him. During a holy mass in the cathedral on Christmas Day in A.D. 800, while Charlemagne knelt before the altar, the pope placed the imperial crown upon his head and proclaimed him emperor of the Romans. This event united a universal church with a universal empire. Classical and Christian heritage were joined in a Christian empire. 

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Christian History Course

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1. What was the nature of and what things contributed to a renewal in the Christian church just prior to the Great Schism of 1054?

Whether one terms it a 'renewal' of 'institutional advance', the Catholic church in the West underwent considerable change and reform in the two centuries leading up to the Great Schism, change which underscored the growing gulf between it and the eastern church. The inbuilt tendency towards organization and hierarchy that always operated within the Roman church contrasted sharply with the failure of the eastern patriarchates to move forward. In the West, land grants such as the Donation of Constantine allowed the Papacy to assume the role of independent potentate and to treat equally with kings and emperors whilst documents such as the 'False Decretals' were deployed to 'spin' the claims of the Roman pontiff to spiritual authority within the church and over secular rulers. The Roman church was largely free of secular interference in its affairs and was therefore able to consolidate its control over the faithful without hindrance. The emerging Doctrine of the Mass (verging upon the theology of Transubstantiation formally adopted in 1545), assisted in this process by emphasising the influence of a sacred hierarchy culminating in the Papacy which alone could admit the believer to the redemptive power of God. Continuing success in the mission field, especially in Scandinavia in the ninth and tenth centuries, further underlined Roman prestige whilst the reforms in the monastic orders, in particular the Cluniac houses, helped the papacy by enhancing the knowledge of Latin, setting higher standards for the clergy and educating more learned and devout churchmen. Fortunately, too, the supply of corrupt popes was interrupted from time to time by outstanding incumbents of the papal throne such as Nicholas I and Leo IX who were able to restore the papacy to its proper role.


2. What issues made the Great Schism of 1054 almost inevitable? What event became the 'straw that broke the camel's back'?

The two churches had been growing apart, vexatiously, for centuries before the Great Schism and it is likely that the split would have occurred eventually over some issue or other, whether major or minor. The Eastern Church had had to contend with pressure from the Muslims, interference from the Byzantine emperors who would not accept the primacy of the patriarchs and meddling by the Roman pontiffs who demanded that the weakened patriarchates should recognise their authority. The Eastern church was also riven by internecine disputes over such diverse issues as clerical marriage, independence of bishops in their sees, beards and iconolatry which the emperors had prohibited but which the Roman church continued to promote and practice. The actual schism came about as the result of a dispute over the use in the West of unleavened bread which the eastern church had disallowed. A mission sent from the West to resolve the dispute led to such an escalation of tension as centuries-worth of grievances were raised, that the Pope and the Patriarch formally excommunicated each other (actions which were only rescinded in 1965). Any contacts between the two churches thereafter were generally hostile and unproductive and they grew steadily apart.

3. What were the consequences of the Great Schism of 1054 especially as it related to Eastern Christianity?

After 1054, the Orthodox church remained isolated from the West and did not share in the developments which occurred in Western Europe such as the growth of urban life and culture, the emergence of a middle-class closely associated with the business of the church, the foundation of numerous universities and the cultural efflorescence of the Renaissance in many areas of Europe. The East remained in a time warp with little updating of liturgy or theology and such missionary activity as took place could not rival the success of the western missions. Unsupported by the authority of the wider church and the Roman pontiffs, the eastern church was prey to imperial meddling and remained both superstitious in outlook and highly parochialised.

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The Universal Life Church is a comprehensive online seminary where we have classes in Christianity two courses in , Wicca, several in  Paganism, two courses in Metaphysics and much more. I have been a proud member of the ULC for many years and the Seminary since its inception.

The Universal Life Church offers handfasting ceremonies, funeral ceremonies and free minister training.
 

As a long time member of ULC, Rev. Long created the seminary site to help train our ministers. We also have a huge selection of Universal Life Church  minister supplies. Since being ordained with the Universal Life Church for so many years and it's Seminary since the beginning, I've watch the huge change and growth that has continued to happen.
 

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