1 Joshua Lumpkin CHHI 301-D01 24 April 2011 Rise of the Papacy In A.D.

380, Emperor Theodosius declared Christianity to be the official religion of the Roman Empire. Not long after this, in an effort to normalize Christianity, the bishops established a chain of command within its leadership structure that would become known as the Patriarchs, with the bishop of Rome at the top, known as the Pope.1 Although it would not be instituted until the eleventh century by Pope Gregory VII, the title of popea derivative of the Latin word meaning fatherhad been used since the early church to refer to bishops in the Eastern Church.2 Besides the Pope, the Patriarchs included the bishops of Alexandria, Antioch, Jerusalem, and Constantinople. This standardization of Christianity would be a first stride in the proliferation of authority being vested in the Roman popes, a long-awaited victory after centuries of Christian persecution. The papacy began with Peter, a disciple of Jesus, who is considered to be the first of the Roman popes, because of the charge given to him by Christ.3 Nearly all scholars concede that Peter visited Rome, and that he likely died there. A notable successor of Peter was Clement, though it is unclear whether or not Clement followed Peter immediately.4 What is undeniable is that throughout the times of the early church, leading up to the end of the fourth century A.D., Christianity suffered round after round of persecution. It appears that the moment one persecution was being laid to rest, another arose. This created in the hearts of Christians not only a deep-seated fear of government authority, but a devotion to and an utter reliance upon each
1

Jerry H. Bentley and Herbert F. Ziegler, Traditions & Encounters: A Global Perspective on the Past, 2nd Ed. (New York, NY: McGraw-Hill, 2003): 318. 2 J. Van Engen, Papacy, Evangelical Dictionary of Theology (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker, 2001): 888. 3 Matthew 16:18-19 4 Justo L. Gonzalez, The Story of Christianity, Volume 1: The Early Church to the Dawn of the Reformation (New York, NY: HarperCollins, 1984): 282.

2 other. Near the end of the third century A.D., the power structure of the Western Roman Empire began to wane, and by 306, Constantine, son of Constantiusone of the four tetrarchs of the Roman Empire, had become emperor.5 Constantine, a pagan at the time, was in favor of unifying the Western and Eastern empires. His conquests brought him to the battle of the Milvian bridge, where his attempt to take Rome and its emperor, Maxentius, proved successful.6 There Constantine had what can only be described as an intense spiritual experience, and was converted to Christianity. In 312, Constantine issued the Edict of Milan, making it legal for Christians to practice their faith within the empire. With Maxentius defeat, Constantine became the emperor of the entire Roman Empire. Some time after 324, he moved the capital of the empire from Rome to his newly constructed city, Constantinople.7 This newfound freedom of faith-expression led Christians to spread their Gospel message throughout not only the empire, but beyond its borders, to Germanic people groups like the Visigoths. While for years the Visigoths lived in relative harmony with the Romans, the advent of the Huns near the end of the fourth century A.D. created real political chaos on through the mid-fifth century, when Attila mobilized a crusade across Hungary.8 While Attila the Hun died only yearsnot decadesinto his campaign, it is almost impossible to overemphasize the affect his conquest had on the fall of the Western Roman Empire. Ironically, he never ventured heavily into the empire, and there is no evidence to suggest he even visited Rome. However, because Attila began his campaign through Hungary and then moved into the borderlands of the Roman

Jerry H. Bentley and Herbert F. Ziegler, Traditions & Encounters: A Global Perspective on the Past, 2nd Ed. (New York, NY: McGraw-Hill, 2003): 314. 6 Justo L. Gonzalez, The Story of Christianity, Volume 1: The Early Church to the Dawn of the Reformation (New York, NY: HarperCollins, 1984): 126. 7 Jerry H. Bentley and Herbert F. Ziegler, 314. 8 Ibid., 315.

3 Empire, he pushed the Germanic tribes further into Roman territories, causing an uprising that led to the sacking of many cities by the Visigoths, Franks and Vandals, including Rome herself.9 With the future of the Western Roman Empire in uncertainty, the papacy seized its opportunity for power and influence. Reasoning for the cause of papal primacy, Gonzalez notes: It was the Germanic invasions that brought about the great upsurge in the popes authority. In the East, the empire continued existing for another thousand years. But in the West the church became the guardian of what was left of ancient civilization, as well as of order and justice. Thus, the most prestigious bishop in the West, that of Rome, became the focal point for regaining a unity that had been shattered by the invasions.10 The people found themselves in social chaos, standing on the brink of a thousand years of a medieval Europe. Given the circumstances, it is not difficult to see why the church would be considered the light in the Dark Ages. Several grueling years would drag by before there became some semblance of order in the West. After the fall of the western part of the empire, the western church, for all intents and purposes, came under the authority of the church in the East. As a result, the Roman popes squabbled endlessly with the Eastern emperors, in an effort to maintain some sense of control over how the western church was ruled. Power changed hands incessantly, eventually resulting in the Acacian Schism between the East and West that would last for thirty-seven years.11 Though the schism ended in 519, the hostility would exist for two hundred more years until the mid-eighth century, when the Roman popes completely separated from the Eastern Roman Empire and came under the authority of surrounding kingdoms.12 In 768, Charles I, who was also known as Charles the Great, or Charlemagne, became King of the Franks. He began his reign with a series of military campaigns, eventually

9 10 11 12

Ibid., 316. Justo L. Gonzalez, 282. Ibid., 283. J. Van Engen, Papacy, Evangelical Dictionary of Theology (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker, 2001): 888.

4 conquering modern-day France and large portions of Germany, Spain and Italy, including Rome.13 Charlemagnes military skills were matched only by his willingness to constantly travel the breadth of his realm to ensure its preservation.14 While his kingdom was expanding, Charlemagne hesitated to take upon himself the title of emperor. He knew that such a title would fly in the face of the Eastern emperors.15 However, on the 25th of December, 800, Pope Leo III finally crowned Charlemagne emperor of the Holy Roman Empire, solidifying not only a resurrection of the West, but a sacred relationship between royal power and the Roman church. While Charlemagnes empire was glorious, it did not last long after his death in 814. Along with the decline of the empire came the crumbling of the papacy. This created a downward spiral of papal succession. After the Frankish kingdom was divided amongst Charlemagnes heirs, the authority of the papacy seemed to go with it. Thus began a long period of dark years of the papacy known as Saeculum obscurum, or dark age. This episode of the papal rule was one of lies, murder, lust, and greed.16 Though the Holy Roman Empire would last for another thousand years, the galvanization of the papacys power came in 1096 with the First Crusade. Just shortly following the Great Schism of 1054 between the East and Westan event which occurred after both the Roman pope, Leo IX, and the Byzantine emperor, Michael Cerularius excommunicated one anotherPope Urban II sent western troops to Jerusalem to aid the Eastern emperor in defend the Holy Land from Muslim advancements.17 While several crusaders were sent to fight, the popes retained the power to call for the crusades in the first place. The rationale that would allow for the utilization of such violent force in an effort to
13 14 15 16 17

Jerry H. Bentley and Herbert F. Ziegler, 448. Ibid., 447. Ibid. Justo L. Gonzalez, 324. Jerry H. Combee, The History of the World in Christian Perspective, (Pensacola, FL: A Beka Book, 1979):

373.

5 spread the Gospel serves as a sign of the times in Medieval Europe. The crusades lasted for 200 years, yielding little if any real fruit for Christianity. Papal primacy held sway over Europe during the Middle Ages until the Reformation in the sixteenth century, when Martin Luther challenged the papacy by nailing his 95 Theses to the church door in Wittenberg, Germany. The history of the papacy and its rise is a saga of power struggles and political stratagem. There are, however, some positive outcomes to its long-lasting supremacy. The Christian church, for better or for worse, survived the rape of her doctrines, influence and authority perpetrated by those who were purported to be vicars of Christ. The Faith spread throughout Rome before and after the fall of the West, and continued to grow in Europe during the Middle Ages, despite Germanic invasions and schisms between the two halves of the empire, which polarized authority and well as loyalty among its subjects. Because of this sore spot in the history of the Church, many encouraging things can be directly attributed to it. For instance, the Protestant Reformation would never have occurred if there were not a Church in need of reform. It could even be argued that America, as it is known today, with such religious freedom, may never have been conceived. This case can be supported because of the Anglican Churchs break from the papacy, which, when it made its way to America, attempted to set up state churches. This eventually led to the Constitution, which contains the First Amendment that grants the right to religious freedom. In the end, God used corruption and greed to create glory for His name. While Jesus may not have been the ultimate focus during the years concerning the papacy, books are still being written about Him and sermons are still being preached about Him. All is not lost because He is alive. Bibliography

6 Bentley, Jerry H. and Herbert F. Ziegler. Traditions & Encounters: A Global Perspective on the Past, 2nd Ed., New York: McGraw-Hill, 2003. Combee, Jerry H. The History of the World in Christian Perspective, Pensacola: A Beka Book, 1984. Gonzalez, Justo L. The Story of Christianity, Volume 1: The Early Church to the Dawn of the Reformation, New York: HarperCollins, 1984. Van Engen, J. Papacy, Evangelical Dictionary of Theology, Grand Rapids, MI: Baker, 2001.