The Papacy and the Barbarians

Transcription

1 A. T. Jones, Ecclesiastical Empire The Papacy and the Barbarians Chapter 14, Part 2!1

2 The Catholic Church first sought, and then gained, rulership of the Roman State. She then she sought headship of the secular world, and the first major accomplishment in this quest was the pope crowning Charlemagne emperor of the Holy Roman Empire. The process leading up to this crowning is usually spoken of, according to Jones, as the conversion of the barbarians, but he states conversion is really a misnomer, for the church only gained rulership through transgression or by means of iniquity, which the Bible describes as the mystery of iniquity.!2

3 But we completed Part 1 with the entrance of Roman Catholicism, by Augustine and forty monks, into Anglo- Saxon territory in Angle-land. England had a form of Christianity, but it had been driven into the far recesses of the land by the invasions (and slaughters) of the Anglo- Saxons. The wrath of the invaders had been on all Britons, Christian or no, and whatever Christianity there was among the Britons, it was pushed back into the far corners of the land, where the Britons retreated to avoid the violent Anglo-Saxons. So, after Augustine and his party arrived and were accepted by the Anglo-Saxon king of Kent, Augustine inquired about Christianity in other parts of Britain.!3

4 !4

5 !5

6 !6

7 Augustine had not been long in the island before he made inquiries respecting the Christians among the Britons. The Britons likewise were interested to know what this new invasion might mean for them. Communication was opened between them. A conference was arranged, at which the Romans demanded submission to their discipline, and the implicit adoption of the Western ceremonial on the contested points. The Britons were not satisfied, and asked for opportunity to consult their own people, and that then there be another conference. This was agreed to. (Jones 263)!7

8 In the interval, the British delegates consulted one of their wise men as to what they had better do. He told them: If the man is of God, follow him. They asked: How are we to know that he is of God? He answered: Our Lord saith, Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly of heart. If, therefore, Augustine is meek and lowly of heart, it is to be believed that he has taken upon himself the yoke of Christ, and offers it to you to take upon yourselves. But if he is haughty and proud, it is manifest that he is not of God, and that we need not regard his words. Again they asked: How shall we discern this? He replied: Arrange it so that he first arrive with his company at the place of conference; and if, at your approach, he shall rise up to meet you, do you, being then assured that he is the servant of Christ, hear him obediently. But if he shall despise you, and not rise up to you, who are the greater in number, let him also be contemned of you. (Jones 264)!8

9 They did so, and so came to the conference. Augustine sat, as they drew near, in unbending dignity. The Britons at once refused obedience to his commands, and disclaimed him The indignant Augustine (to prove his more genuine Christianity) burst out into stern denunciations of their guilt [and] prophesied (a prophecy which could hardly fail to hasten its own fulfillment) the divine vengeance by the arms of the Saxons. Milman. The vengeance with which they were threatened finally came upon them in the massacre of Bangor. On that terrible day, when Ethelfrith, the Bernician, advanced against the Britons, the monks of Bangor knelt upon the battlefield, and prayed for the safety of their countrymen. The pagan Saxon ordered the unarmed band to be massacred, for if they are crying to God for my enemies, then they fight against me, though without arms. Knight. (Jones 264.2)!9

10 Thus did the religion of Rome enter Britain; and in its own anti-christian way it proceeded, until, in a hundred years, the Anglo-Saxons had become Catholic from one end of the land to the other. Then the religion of Rome moved to Germany.!10

11 Into the converted barbarians, the Catholic system instilled all of its superstition, and its bigoted hatred of heretics and unbelievers. It thus destroyed what of generosity still remained in their minds, while it only intensified their native ferocity; and the shameful licentiousness of the papal system likewise corrupted the purity, and the native respect for women and marriage which had always been a noble characteristic of the German nations. (Jones 267.2)!11

12 It is difficult to conceive a more dark and odious state of society than that of France under her Merovingian kings, the descendants of Clovis In the conflict of barbarism with Roman Christianity, barbarism has introduced into Christianity all its ferocity, with none of its generosity or magnanimity; its energy shows itself in atrocity of cruelty and even of sensuality. [Roman] Christianity has given to barbarism hardly more than its superstition and its hatred of heretics and unbelievers. Throughout, assassinations, parricides, and fratricides intermingle with adulteries and rapes. (Jones 268.2, quoting Milman)!12

13 The cruelty might seem the mere inevitable result of this violent and unnatural fusion; but the extent to which this cruelty spreads throughout the whole society almost surpasses belief. That King Chlotaire [son of Clovis] should burn alive his rebellious son with his wife and daughter, is fearful enough; but we are astounded, even in these times, that a bishop of Tours should burn a man alive to obtain the deeds of an estate which he coveted. (Jones 268.3, quoting Milman)!13

14 The Kingdom of the Franks was the largest post- Roman Barbarian kingdom in Western Europe. It is the predecessor of the modern states of France and Germany.!14

15 Carloman [king of the Franks] was obliged to enact severe laws against the whoredom of the clergy, monks, and nuns. Charlemagne [brother to Carloman] had to enact laws against clergymen s loaning money for twelve per cent interest; against their haunting taverns; against their practicing magic; against their receiving bribes to ordain improper persons; against bishops, abbots, and abbesses keeping packs of hounds, or hawks, or falcons; against clerical drunkenness, concubinage, tavernhaunting, and profane swearing. But all this was in vain; for abundant and indisputable evidence demonstrates that in the next century the deplorable condition was even worse. Thus did the papacy for the barbarians whom she converted; and such as she could not thus corrupt she destroyed. (Jones 271.2)!15

16 Next: The Holy Roman Empire!16