The City of God

MEDIEVAL CHRISTIANTY

The Papacy

In the Middle Ages there was a conflict between the Emperor and the Pope that was known as the Investiture Struggle. What was the nature of this conflict between church and state? It concentrates on the papacy and the papal claims to universal authority.

Investiture is defined as the ceremony or act of investing or installing someone in high office. Having that understanding it is easy to see why the question would be asked by the emperor, on what basis and by what authority, did the Bishop of Rome claim power over all other bishops and indeed over all Christians ? Some of the claim was based on biblical passages, but some of it derived from political and cultural realities.

Until Constantine moved the seat of power in the 4the century Rome was the most important city in the western world, suffice it to say being the bishop of an important city such as Rome would certainly gave increased stature to the holder of that office. It certainly gave the Roman bishop automatic prestige in the western Mediterranean, where there were no other cities to rival it. In the east in the east it was another story altogether, rivals included Alexandria, Antioch, Jerusalem and Constantinople and the bishop of Constantinople would never did bow to Roman claims.

Tradition conferred upon Rome a certain amount of special prestige. After all Rome was the city of martyrs. The first persecutions, instigated by Nero, took place in Rome and the list of martyrs reads as a veritable hall of fame in Christendom. Ignatius, Ploycarp, Justin, Perpetua, Falicitas and Peter just to name a few. (Gonzalez 43, 46 & 84) In addition the claim could be made that heresy never took root in Rome which was in direct contrast to the east which was a hotbed of heresy and cities such as Alexandria were permanently tainted by this fact, especially since some of their own bishops had been leading figures in the heresies. The Bishops of Rome, and their flock, had generally remained constant. Prestige builds prestige, especially in the west, so Rome gradually became the arbiter of theology and church authority. By the 5th century, it was generally acknowledged that any bishop deposed by a local council could appeal his case to the bishop of Rome. Eastern bishops would avail themselves of this arbitration as well. However none of this would have supported papal claims later in the age when the city of Rome no longer commanded such automatic respect. But the bishop of Rome could always point to the Bible to buttress his claims.

In the Bible, there are passages in which Jesus gives some very specific instructions to Peter. One such passage is recorded in Matthew 16:18-19, it is the reply of Jesus to Peter when Peter acknowledged him as the Christ:

And I say to thee, thou art Peter and upon this rock I will build my Church and the gates of Hell shall not prevail against it. And I will give thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth it shall be bound in Heaven and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth it shall be loosed in Heaven. Another charge frequently quoted was in John 21: 15-17, where Christ gave Peter the threefold command: "Feed my lambs. . . . Feed my lambs. . . . Feed my sheep." Clearly, the popes were the custodians of the .Roman Catholic church and their teaching always placed St. Peter as the first Bishop of Rome. Roman tradition also had Peter pass on his authority to his successor, and medieval popes claimed to be in this direct line of inheritance from the Christ himself. (Gonzalez 242)

"The Church" was understood to be the body of all believers. Meaning that "the Church" was not merely the formal administration and government of bishops and priests, but the entire society of Christians. If the traditional inheritance of power and authority directly from the apostles were taken seriously, the popes could claim vast powers.

Then came the miracle of Constantine's conversion, and suddenly the church at Rome was saved. However, Constantine created an even more serious threat to Rome's primacy by removing the capitol to Byzantium. The prestige of the city itself was no longer sufficient; but in the doctrine of apostolic succession the popes had an unassailable position. Therefore, it was claimed that Rome's primacy rested solely on Peter. (Gonzalez 65-66)

Christianity was finally tolerated under Constantine, with the church enjoying most favored status although other religions were also tolerated. Rome benefited from the emperor's attentions. The Lateran palace was handed over to Bishop Miltiades as an Episcopal residence. (Gonzalez 123) The way was cleared, but there were no remarkable popes for many years. It has been suggested that in the early years Rome didn't have a single bishop but rather a "collegiate episcopacy" - a group of bishops who jointly led the church. In fact, it took a crisis, the barbarian invasions before one emerged. (Gonzalez 242)

The first "pope" in the modern sense is considered to be Leo who was Bishop of Rome and it was he who negotiated with the Huns in 453 and averted a sack. He also negotiated with the Vandals in 455 and avoided the burning of the city. These episodes convinced Leo that Peter's direct successors were to head the church. Leo was the first to state the Petrine doctrine outright, saying that he was the "heir" of St. Peter and that Christ had appointed Peter as head of his church. He said that all bishops were heirs to the apostles (this was general belief at the time), and that Peter was the chief of the apostles. The Bishop of Rome was therefore the chief of all bishops. (Gonzalez 243)

Upon the death of Pope Pelagius Gregory was elected Bishop of Rome. Gregory used the resources of the Church to buttress the failing city. He actively intervened in the affairs of other bishops, settling disputes, and further elevated the status of the Church of Rome above that of other cities. Gregory did not claim for himself universal authority, as Leo had done earlier. But he took more practical steps, which did in fact increase his authority in the west. For instance, in Spain, he was instrumental in the conversion of the Visgothic King Recared to Nicene Catholicism. Gregory dispatched Augustine to England, who converted the English king a few years later. England has remained Christian ever since. (Gonzalez 246) This mission began an unbroken tradition of the popes as the sponsors of missions to the pagans. This, too, buttressed the authority of the papacy, for the popes had a direct authority over the missionary territories.

When Pope Leo III crowned Charlemagne on Christmas