The Roman Catholic Church. World History (Wednesday, November 2 nd, 2011)

Transcription

1 The Roman Catholic Church World History (Wednesday, November 2 nd, 2011)

2 Background information... The Roman Catholic Church was and still is the most basic and powerful institutions in the Western World. Its power over both nobleman and serf is a statement of its incredible influence over all aspect of this time period. This lesson is important because it sets up the many issues and events that lead to the Protestant Reformation.

3 Location These next two slides show that the cathedrals were usually in the center of the towns. It is more appropriate to say that the towns literally grew up around the cathedrals. Why do you think this would be the case?

4 Notre Dame Cathedral

5 Chartres Cathedral

6 Size The cathedrals were built on a huge scale. It is said that they were built large so that man was sure to realize that they are small and that God is great...also that the church was great. Why would people need to realize this?

7 Notre Dame Cathedral

8 Chartres Cathedral

9 Chartres Cathedral

10 Questions... After seeing how large these structures are, lets ask a couple of engaging questions... How many homes of brick or other materials could have been built using the material that went into just one of these cathedrals? How long do you think it might have taken the people of the day to build these magnificent structures?

11 Interior height The architecture of the interior of these cathedrals was designed specifically to draw one s attention upward. It was literally designed to lift your eyes up to the heavens.

12 Interior Height

13 Interior Height

14 Stained Glass The purpose of the stained glass windows was to tell the stories of the Bible to an illiterate population. Remember, not many people could real at this point in history. Consequently, people relied on the church to communicate the story of their own salvation.

15 Stained Glass of Chartres Cathedral

16 More stained glass...

17 What is the purpose of a Cathedral? Cathedrals are grand churches and home to the Bishop. They were religious centers for the region and sites of pilgrimages (Tourism of the day). The are used was known as gothic. The gargoyles were actually to show the horrors of hell but also functioned as water spouts. The Flying Buttresses allowed the cathedral to be built bigger and higher while being more stabile and using less material. What is the general shape of a cathedral?

18 Notre Dame Cathedral

19

20 Gargoyles

21 Flying Buttresses

22 General Layout

23 The grandeur, expense, time, and effort that went into creating and maintaining these sites of worship with every feature designed to support a theme. What does that say about this institution in the Middle Ages? i. The incredible power, wealth, and importance of the Church.

24 General Layout What is this screen for?

25 The Screen The screen was actually a very important symbolic tool in the Church of the time. The screen separated the people worshiping from the altar and the priest conducting the service. This is an important metaphor for demonstrating the practical and theological differences between the Catholic Church and the Protestant reforms.

26 Today s activity... Open your book to page 191. Define the vocabulary terms at the top of page 191. Read section 3 and answer the four Reading Focus questions at the top of page 191. This is due at the end of class today.

27 The Roman Catholic Church World History (Thursday, November 3 rd, 2011)

28 How did Christianity advance into Western Europe? The Roman Emperor Constantine converted to Christianity and, after years of persecution, the religion became the official religion of the empire. In 312 AD, the Edict of Milan was signed, thus declaring Christianity to be an approved religion by the emperor. Constantine also created a Christian Council to decide answers to theological questions concerning the Christian faith (i.e. Who was Jesus Christ, what is the holy Trinity, etc). Once these types of questions had been answered, heretics (imprisonment, excommunication, banishment, etc) were removed, thus resulting in a stronger and more organized Roman Catholic Church. The Church provided Christians with a sense of security and a religious community to which they could belong.

29 How did Charlemagne increase the power of the Church? Pepin s son, Charles the Great, continues to expand the Frankish empire into Germany, Spain, and Italy. After conquering most of Western Europe With the Sword and the Cross, Charlemagne went to Rome to pray and on Christmas Day, 800 AD the Pope crowned him King of the Romans. As the person who bestows the title, the Pope claims the power to give that authority. This increases the Pope s political power. The Pope s blessing becomes a de facto must for all Christians. Charlemagne reforms the church by insisting that all priests in the kingdom be able to read and write, thus increasing their importance and value to the manors they serve.

30 How did Charlemagne increase the power of the Church? The Pope reserved the right to appoint church officials throughout Western Europe,even if they were thousands of miles away and did not know the person they were appointing. Many kings sought for lay investiture, which is the king bestowing a religious office (appointing a bishop) instead of the Pope.

31 How else did the Pope exercise political power? The two great weapons of the Pope were Excommunication Removal from the Church and condemnation to hell upon death. 2. Interdict Denial of all the people the right to attend church services, the sacraments such as confession, last rites, Eucharist, and refusal to perform marriage ceremonies. The Popes often would be the person responsible for crowning kings. This established the precedent of church gives the authority for one to be king. How would these two weapons give the people, including the Pope, the idea that the Pope was more powerful than the king of the land?

32 How did the church parallel many of the functions of the government? 1. The church caused conflict with the government (king) because it would hold trials in the cathedrals for any person that the church felt was in their jurisdiction and had violated canon law. This was seen as the church usurping, or undermining, the king s power. 2. The church was a major land owner, controlling vast estate and territory. With land comes power and wealth. At its height it is estimated that the Roman Catholic Church owned up to ¼ of the land in Europe! The church also collected taxes in the form of tithes (1/10 th of the yearly income) from every Christian family within its diocese.

33 What role did the Regular Clergy play? The regular clergy (monks shut away in monasteries) lived simple lives of prayer and labor for the monastery in which they resided. The Monks also were the keepers of knowledge, storing, translating, and copying the Bible and other books and writing of the Roman world. However, books that they felt did not support Christian Doctrine were discarded.

34 What role did the priest play in the lives of the Manor? A priest was the second most important person (behind the lord) on the manor. The priest was responsible for administering the seven sacraments of the church, recording the needed records of serfs (birth, baptism, death), and providing for their religious needs. Seven Sacraments: 1. Baptism 2. Confession / Penance / Reconciliation 3. Eucharist 4. Confirmation 5. Matirmony 6. Holy Orders 7. Unction (Last Rights)

35 How was the church a unifying force? There was a shared and unifying set of spiritual beliefs and rituals. At the local level, the church was the religous and social center. People met there for service, social gatherings, and festive celebrations.

36