Unit 4: The Rise of the Papacy

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1 T h e A r t i o s H o m e C o m p a n i o n S e r i e s Unit 4: The Rise of the Papacy T e a c h e r O v e r v i e w Reading and Assignments Gregory the Great The Papacy helped to shape the medieval and modern eras; however, its rise didn t happen immediately and the papacy didn t always his its temporal authority. The rise of the Papacy came out of the vacuum that followed the fall of the Roman Empire. In this unit we will be studying the Rise of the Papacy, its temporal power, and one of its greatest Popes, Gregory the Great. Leading Ideas An individual s character will be reflected in his leadership. As a man thinketh in his heart, so is he There is power in the spoken word to do evil or to do good. Out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaketh The rise and fall of nations and leaders is determined by God. In this unit, students will: Complete one lesson in which they will learn about The Growth of the Papacy, journaling and answering discussion questions as they read. Define vocabulary words. Complete a biography notebook page on Gregory the Great. Read selected chapters from City of God, journaling as they read. Students will explore the following websites Key People and Events Innocent I Leo I Gregory I Pelagius Augustine Jerome Ambrose Vocabulary Lesson 1: Lesson 2: orthodoxy Exarch remonstrance populace prelate temporal Unit 4: The Rise of the Papacy - Page 1

2 Unit 4 - Assignments L i t e r a t u r e a n d C o m p o s i t i o n City of God Literature for Units 1-4 by St. Augustine from The Ancient Literary Period Glorious things are spoken of you, O City of God. Psalm 87:3 Finish reading City of God and writing notes in your reading journal. Use your notes and any new information and quotes to edit the rough draft of your essay. Make sure that your thesis or narrative is clear to the reader and that your essay is wellorganized and free of mechanical errors. Use the evaluation rubric in the Resources section of the Artios Home Companion website to check your work. Unit 4 Assignment Background A Synopsis of the Christian Teaching in City of God In point form, this site gives an overview of the Christian teaching of the City of God. Augustine s Ideas of God s Grace and Predestination Information on God s Grace can be found here: Information on Predestination can be found here: Unit 4: The Rise of the Papacy - Page 2

3 L e s s o n O n e H i s t o r y O v e r v i e w a n d A s s i g n m e n t s The Growth of the Papacy Reading and Assignments Gregory the Great Lays the Foundation of Papal Power When Rome fell, there left a vacuum in power that allowed for the slow rise of the temporal power of the Papacy. In this lesson we will learn the rise of the Papacy, its origins, and one of its greatest popes, Gregory the Great. Vocabulary Review the discussion questions and vocabulary, then read the article: The Growth of the Papacy pages 4-6. Narrate about today s reading using the appropriate notebook page. Be sure to answer the discussion questions and include key people, events, and dates within the narration. Define the vocabulary words for today s reading and put them in the vocabulary section of your history notebook. Choose one individual from the list below on whom you will do personal research. Augustine Jerome Ambrose Explore the website Key People and Events orthodoxy remonstrance Innocent I Gregory I Augustine Ambrose Leo I Pelagius Jerome Discussion Questions 1. Each one of the men listed as key people for this unit contributed to the growth of the papacy. Describe how each man aided in this growth? 2. Pelagius was considered a heretic during his day. Would you consider him a heretic? Why or why not? Be sure that you have scripture on which to base your conclusion. 3. Pelagius believed that man had the ability, apart from God, to lead a sinless life and that Adam had simply been a bad example. What worldview holds to this belief system? Unit 4: The Rise of the Papacy - Page 3

4 From the book: The Great Events in History William Francis Collier The Origins in Papal Power CHAPTER II. THE GROWTH OF THE PAPACY Central Point: GREGORT S LETTER TO THE PATRIARCH OP CONSTANTINOPLE, 595 A.D. Origin of popes' temporal power OUR knowledge of the Papacy in its earliest days is very dim and uncertain. Peter, the fisherman of Galilee, who, as tradition relates, was crucified with his head downwards about 66 A.D., is claimed by the advocates of the Papal system, but without a shadow of historical proof, as first Bishop of Rome. No doubt for many a day the Bishops of Rome were humble dwellers in a mean suburb, scouted as Jews, and despised as the apostles of some wild Eastern heresy by the magnificent priesthood of Jupiter and Apollo; and, when they did gain a place in the public eye, it was as noble witnesses for the truth, sealing their faith with their blood. Out of thirty Roman bishops of the first three centuries, nineteen suffered martyrdom. Thus cradled in darkness and baptized in blood, the great power of the imperial see struggled through the years of its infancy. At first the history of the Roman Church is identical with the history of Christian truth. But unhappily there came a time when streams of poison began to flow from the once pure fountain. Before the close of the first, century Christian churches were scattered over the entire known world. These were at first essentially Greek in their language, their Scriptures, and their forms of worship. It was in Africa where, about 200, flourished Tertullian, first of the great Fathers who wrote in Latin that Latin Christianity might be said to have had its birth. But Rome being the centre of the civilized world, the Christian communities everywhere began naturally to look to the Roman Bishop as a leader in the Church. PONTIFICATE OF INNOCENT I. A great step in this direction was taken, when at the Council of Sardica in 343 the right of appeal to the Bishop of Rome was, though at first probably only as a temporary expedient, formally conceded. In the time of Damasus the bishopric had become a prize worth contesting, and blood flowed freely during the election. Year after A.D. year consolidated and extended the power of this central see, although a powerful rival had sprung up on the Bosphorus. Innocent I., Leo I., and Gregory the Great, were the three great founders of the Papacy.While Honorius was disgracing the name of Emperor, Innocent began his pontificate.* It was soon clear from his letters to the bishops in the West, that he Innocent I. was bent on claiming for the see of Rome a complete supremacy in all matters of discipline A.D. and usage. In the midst of his efforts to secure this end, a terrible event occurred, which had the effect of investing him with grandeur unknown to his predecessors. Unit 4: The Rise of the Papacy - Page 4

5 Alaric and his Goths besieged Rome. Honorius was trembling amid the swamps of Ravenna; but Innocent was within the walls of the capital; and, deserted by her emperor, Rome centred all hope in her bishop. A ransom bought off the enemy for a while; and, when, soon after, the great disaster of wreck and pillage fell upon the city, Innocent was absent in Ravenna, striving to stir the coward emperor to some show of manliness. He returned to evoke from the black ashes of Pagan Rome the temples of a Christian city. Thenceforward the pope was the greatest man in Rome. FATHERS OF THE LATIN CHURCH In the latter days of Innocent the great heresy of Pelagius began to agitate the West This man was a Briton, who passed through Rome, Africa, and Palestine, preaching that there was no original sin; that men, having perfect free-will, could keep all Divine commands, by the power of nature, unaided by grace. These doctrines were combated by Augustine, Bishop of Hippo in Africa, one of the great Fathers of the Church, whose opinions soon became the standard of orthodoxy throughout the West. Innocent, leaning towards Augustine, declared Pelagius a heretic, but death prevented him from doing more. By Zozimus, the next pope, Pelagius was banished, and of his end nothing is known. Leo I., a Roman by birth, was unanimously raised to the popedom in 440. Distinguished for his stern dealings with heretics, and his energetic efforts to extend the spiritual dominion of Rome, he owes his great place in history to the bold front he twice showed to the barbarians A.D. menacing Rome. The savage Attila was turned away by his majestic remonstrance; and, although his intercession with Genseric the Vandal, three years later, had less avail, it yet broke the force of the blow that fell on the hapless city. While the Papacy was thus laying the deep foundations of its authority, a host of active intellects were busy moulding its doctrines and discipline into shape. Chief among these were Jerome, Ambrose, and Augustine. Jerome, the secretary of Pope Damasus, and afterwards a monk of Bethlehem, gave the first great impulse to that monastic system which has been so powerful an agent in spreading the doctrines of Popery. Ambrose, Archbishop of Milan, vindicated the authority of the priesthood even over emperors and kings, by condemning Theodosius I. to a long and weary penance for his massacre of the Thessalonians. Augustine, already noticed, is justly called the Father of the Latin Theology. It must not be forgotten that the barbarians, who overthrew the Roman Empire, had already, with few exceptions, been converted to Christianity. The Goths were the first to receive the gospel; other tribes followed in quick succession, for the Teutonic character had, even in its barbaric phase, groundwork of deep thoughtfulness, which secured a ready acceptance for Christianity. And when the barbaric flood had swept away every vestige of Roman temporal power, the Papacy, cherished by that very destroying power, continued to grow, gathering every year new strength and life, a new Rome rising from the ashes of the old, far mightier than the vanished Empire, for it claimed dominion Unit 4: The Rise of the Papacy - Page 5

6 over the spirits of men. GREGORY THE GREAT In Gregory the Great, who became pope in 590, we behold the third great founder of the Papacy, and the fourth of the great Fathers of Latin Christianity. He it was, who, while yet a humble monk of St. Andrew, being struck with the beauty of some English boys in the Roman slave market, formed the design of sending a mission to Britain; and some years afterwards degregory I. spatched Augustine to these shores. The entire West felt his energy. Spain, Africa, and Britain, A.D. was brought within the pale of the Church, while Jews and heretics were treated with mild toleration. A notable fact of this pontificate was Gregory's letter to John, Patriarch of Constantinople, who openly claimed the title of Universal Bishop. Gregory branded it as a blasphemous name, once applied, in honour of 595 St. Peter, by the Council of Chalcedon to the Roman A.D. Bishop, but by all succeeding pontiffs rejected as injurious to the rest of the priesthood. War with the Lombards filled Gregory's hands with troubles; but in no long time these fierce warriors felt a power, against which their swords were worthless, casting its spells over them. In the days of Gregory they were converted from being heathens, or at best reckless Arians, to orthodox Christianity. He died in 604, leaving a name, as priest, ruler, and writer, second to none in the long roll of popes. One hundred and fifty years later, when Pepin the Short made Pope Stephen II a present of the Exarchate and Pentapolis in North Italy, the temporal power of the popes began. Unit 4: The Rise of the Papacy - Page 6

7 L e s s o n T w o H i s t o r y O v e r v i e w a n d A s s i g n m e n t s Gregory the Great Reading and Assignments Christ Handing the Keys to St. Peter When Rome fell, there left a vacuum in power, which allowed for the slow rise of the temporal power of the Papacy. In this lesson we will learn the rise of the Papacy, its origins, and one of its greatest popes, Gregory the Great Review the discussion question and vocabulary, the read the article: Gregory the Great Lays the Foundation of Papal Power, pages 8-10 Narrate about today s reading using the appropriate notebook page. Be sure to answer the discussion question and include key people, events, and dates within the narration. Define the vocabulary words in the context of the reading and put the word and its definition in the vocabulary section of your history notebook. Vocabulary exarch populace prelate temporal Discussion Question Describe in detail the life of Gregory the Great. Unit 4: The Rise of the Papacy - Page 7

8 From the book: The Story of Europe H.E. Marshall Gregory the Great Lays the Foundation of Papal Power Lombards in Italy THE Lombards or Longbeards, so called either because of their long axes or long beards, invaded Italy less than three years after the death of Justinian. They were a terrible people, "a race fierce with more than the ordinary fierceness of the Germans." They fought for the mere love of bloodshed and destruction. They had not even the beginnings of art and learning when they swarmed over Italy, and they brought nothing with them save savagery and a cruel love of slaughter. The name of their king at this time was Albion, and with his brutish host he quickly overran all the north of the peninsula, made Pavia his capital, and called himself Lord of Italy. In no long time, however, Albion was murdered by his own people. His successor also was murdered. Then for ten years there followed a "kingless time," during which thirty-six barbarian dukes oppressed the unhappy land. Soon the whole peninsula was theirs save Ravenna, Rome, Naples, Venice, and a few other coast towns with the territory round them. All Italy was still in name part of the Eastern Empire, and an exarch ruled in Ravenna in the name of the emperor. But he could give little help to the rest of Italy against the Lombards, for he had scarce troops enough to defend Ravenna itself. Now again and again in their misery the Romans sent messengers to Constantinople, praying the emperors who succeeded Justinian to grant them aid. But they prayed [20] in vain. The emperors were busy with their wars against the Persians and the Avars, enemies at their gates. To them Constantinople was the heart of the Empire, Italy but an outlying province, for which it was not well to sacrifice safety at home. Such was the state of Italy when, in 590, much against his will, Gregory I became pope. "For my sins," he writes, "I find myself bishop, not of the Romans but of the Lombards, men whose promises stab like swords, and whose kindness is bitter punishment." In his youth Gregory had been a brilliant man of the world, and had been made prefect of the city, an office which entitled him to wear the imperial purple. We may picture him, young and handsome, dashing through the streets of Rome in a gilded chariot, while the populace bow before him, or clad in robes of purple presiding at the Senate, or in the courts of justice. But amidst this splendor Gregory felt the call of religion. Suddenly he broke off his brilliant career, devoted all his fortune to the founding of convents and monasteries, and himself became a monk. But Gregory had a true genius for business, and his great abilities could not be altogether hid beneath the humble garb of a monk. He soon became an abbot, and at length the supreme office of pope was thrust upon him. As pope he showed himself to be a great pastor and great Unit 4: The Rise of the Papacy - Page 8

9 statesman. His love for, and pride in, Rome was unbounded. To him there was no question but that Rome was the city of the world, and that the bishop of Rome was by divine right the head of the Church. And by insisting on that right he laid the foundations of the absolute spiritual power which future popes were to enjoy. The Temporal Power of the Papacy He also laid the foundations of their temporal power. This was not so much sought by him as forced upon him by circumstances. His appeals for help against the Lombards were disregarded both by the exarch of Ravenna and by the emperor. He saw then that he must either take to himself regal power or suffer the oppression of the Lombards. He chose the former, and boldly took the reins of government into his own hands. He carried on the war against the Lombards, he gave orders to generals, he appointed governors, and did not hesitate to declare that his rank was higher than that of the exarch, even although the latter was the representative of the emperor. Finally he made peace on his own account with one of the Lombard chiefs. This roused the Emperor Maurice to wrath, and he called Gregory in so many words a disloyal, presumptuous fool. He could, or would, do nothing himself to relieve his distressed province, but neither would he recognize the act of another which seemed to usurp his imperial authority, and he refused to ratify the peace. Only after years had passed could he be brought to own that the Lombards had come to stay, and see the impossibility of ousting them without strong measures. For strong measures he was not prepared, and at length a general peace was signed. Peace brought added work to Gregory both in Church and State. For now that his messengers could travel safely through Italy he made rebellious or lax clergy feel his authority, rousing them to zeal or bringing them back to obedience. He settled disputes over boundaries, and arbitrated in many ways between Lombards and Romans. Now, too, he carried out his long cherished plan and sent St. Augustine to convert the heathen Angles of England. Gregory's days and nights were full, his manifold labors leaving him scant rest. Yet all this work in Church and state, at home and abroad, was carried on by a man in constant pain, so ill indeed that for weeks at a time he could not leave his bed. "I live in such misery and pain," he writes, "that I grieve to see the light of returning day. My [22] only comfort is in the hope of death." Or again, "I die daily, yet never die." Before many years had passed his labors for peace seemed to be brought to naught by the folly of the exarch. War broke out again and ended in further triumphs for the Lombards. Yet from this time dates a more settled state in the affairs of Italy. The peace was often disturbed, often broken, but on the whole it was maintained, or renewed, from year to year. Still, for nearly two hundred years this obscure and savage Teuton race held sway over the fair lands of Italy which today still bear the name of Lombardy. Meanwhile the great prelate drew near his end. A moment of peace had come to his beloved land when peace came to him too, and death set him free from his labors Unit 4: The Rise of the Papacy - Page 9

10 and his pains. He was not as men count years an aged man, but he was worn out by his great labors and great suffering. He left his mark not only on his own times but on times to come. For he had advanced the Roman see to a far higher position than it had ever before attained, and for good or ill had laid the foundations of the temporal power of the popes. Unit 4: The Rise of the Papacy - Page 10