Lessons
from
Religious
History
Lessons from Catholic Church
Lesson 8: The Expansion of the Papacy and
the Great Schism
Lessons from Catholic Church
• 400-1500—dramatic expansion of papal authority
and influence
• Initially, Roman bishops were nothing like pope
• Clement (96 AD)—Bishop of Rome who gave
authoritative counsel to Corinthian church
• Victor (189-198 AD)—Tried to settle Quartodeciman
controversy by excommunicating eastern bishops,
yet was ignored and opposed
• Stephen (254-257)—Argued heretic baptism was
valid, used Matt 16:18 to assert his superiority
• Notably, Cyprian strongly opposed assertion that
Stephen was right because he was Roman bishop:
Lessons from Catholic Church
• ―Peter—whom the Lord chose first and upon
whom He built His church—did not insolently claim
anything to himself. Nor did he arrogantly assume
anything when Paul later disputed with him about
circumcision. He did not say that he held the
primacy and the he needed to be obeyed by
novices and those lately come!‖
Lessons from Catholic Church
• ―However, those who are at Rome do not always
observe those things that were handed down from
the beginning. Yet, they vainly pretend the
authority of the apostles. Anyone may know also
from the fact that, concerning the celebration of
Easter…he may see there are some
diversities…Nevertheless there is no departure at
all from the peace and unity of the catholic church
on this account—such as Stephen has dared to
make‖(Firmilian)
• Cyprian’s and Firmilian’s words show the Roman
push to expand power and the resistance it met in
some quarters
Lessons from Catholic Church
• Leo (―the Great‖) (440-461)—Drew on growing
respect for Roman authority
• Part of delegation that convinced Attila the Hun not
to attack Rome, successfully took credit
• Wrote his Tome on the person of Christ that
greatly influenced the decision of the Council of
Chalcedon (451)
• Chalcedon included statement (Canon 28) that
Constantinople and Rome were equal in
importance, which dismayed Leo
• Argued Matt 16:18 as foundation for authority of
Roman bishops
Lessons from Catholic Church
• Leo (―the Great‖) (440-461)
• Obtained a decree from Emperor Valentinian:
primacy of Rome based on merits of Peter, dignity
of the city, Nicene Creed; any opposition to this is
treason
• Gregory (―the Great‖) (590-604)
• First pope who is a former monk
• Promoted Benedictine monasticism and liturgical
reform (―Gregorian chant‖)
• Sent missionaries to England to convert Angles
and Saxons—successful in conversion as well as
expansion of peculiarly Roman influence
Lessons from Catholic Church
• Expansion of papal authority goes hand in hand
with decline of Roman power
• 324—Constantine transfers capital from Rome to
Constantinople
• 476—Rome conquered by ―barbarians‖
• 632-750—Islam spreads across North Africa, into
Spain and modern France
• With these areas no longer ―Christian,‖ focus of
Roman church turns north—to England and
Frankish empires
• 800—Alliance with Frankish kings, Pope Leo III
crowns Charlemagne ―Holy Roman Emperor‖
Lessons from Catholic Church
• We are now in ―Medieval Europe‖ where land is
the main currency
• Church begins to accumulate lands, emperors
want to exercise control over them
• Both church and emperor are weak, and want to
use the other to expand power
• Simony (buying of church office) and lay
investiture (laymen appointing priests) common
• Leo IX (1049-1054)—Elected by college of
cardinals, bans clerical marriage, concubinage,
simony, actually enforces
• Unprecedented—pope has right to judge other
bishops and clergy
Lessons from Catholic Church
• Gregory VII (1073-1085)
• Playing politics with various kings, forces Henry
(king of Germany) to come to him as penitent
sinner asking forgiveness for defying church
• Henry, after a military victory, runs Gregory out of
Rome
• Both invoke precedent for supremacy over the
other
• Gregory—the pope can name the emperor!
• Claims priestly authority because soul is better
than body, and priests can do more than emperors
(like make the body and blood appear)
Lessons from Catholic Church
• Gregory VII (1073-1085)
• Ultimately unsuccessful in his quest, but advanced
papal claims nonetheless
• ―Dictatus Papae‖ particularly aggressive
• Innocent III (1198-1216)
• Deposed emperor in 1212
• Ordered King Philip II of France to take back his
divorced wife
• Commanded King Alfonso of Leon to give up his
marriage to a relative
• Forced King John of England to submit through
excommunication
Lessons from Catholic Church
• Boniface VII (1294-1303)
• It is necessary for salvation for every human being
to be subject to the pope
• Accumulation of land and relation to governments
make the Catholic Church a pseudo-state with a
religious angle
Lessons from Catholic Church
• Great Schism (1054)
• Differences in East and West had persisted from
the beginning—philosophical vs. legal disposition
• Many eastern disputes (Arianism, monophysitism)
meant little to the west
• Language also began to separate the two as
Tertullian, Jerome, and Augustine began writing
important works in Latin
• Moving of the capital to Constantinople increased
the influence of the eastern churches
Lessons from Catholic Church
• Great Schism (1054)
• ―Iconoclast‖ controversy—probably precipitated by
spread of Islam with its strong stance against icons
• Though both east and west churches used icons,
the east began to repudiate them as Islam spread
• ―Iconoclasts‖(icon destroyers)—believed icons were
wrong because could not display both human and
divine natures of Christ
• 725—Emperor Leo III forbids use of icons in
worship
• 731—Roman synod excommunicates iconoclasts
Lessons from Catholic Church
• Great Schism (1054)
• Doctrinal disputes--extra wording to the Nicene
Creed in West: ―The Holy Spirit proceeds from the
Father and the Son‖ (aka ―filioque‖ phrase)
• The Holy Spirit proceeding from the Son was never
accepted in East
• Eastern church condemned fasting on Saturdays,
using dairy products during Lent, priestly celibacy,
confirmation being restricted to bishops, use of
unleavened bread in Eucharist
• Unique doctrinal traditions were developing in both
East and West, seemed destined for a break
Lessons from Catholic Church
• Great Schism (1054)
• Growing power of Rome resisted by Constantinople
• 1050s—Emperors and pope agree to give pope
control over the few Greek churches in Italy
• Michael Cerularius (patriarch of Constantinople)
writes Pope Leo IX, addresses him as brother
(rather than father), demands that Latin churches in
Constantinople fall under his control
• Cerularius shuts down uncooperative Roman
churches
• Leo sends letter to Cerularius:
Lessons from Catholic Church
• Great Schism (1054)
• ―as a hinge, remaining unmoved opens and shuts a
door, so Peter and his successors [at Rome] have
an unfettered jurisdiction over the whole Church,
since no one ought to interfere with their position,
because the highest See is judged by none‖
• Cardinal enters church of Hagia Sophia and lays
papal bull on altar, excommunicating Cerularius
and his followers: ―Let them be anathema with all
heretics…yes, with devils‖
• Cerularius excommunicates pope and his followers
Lessons from Catholic Church
Lessons from Catholic Church
• Great Schism (1054)
• This division still exists today, fundamental breaking
point between Catholic Church and Orthodox
Churches
Lessons from Catholic Church
• Summary
• The Roman church grew from a separate,
independent entity into one that taught it had the
right to dictate belief for all Christians everywhere
and depose rulers
• The East-West split occurred as a result of longdormant differences that came to a head as a result
of the expansion of the papacy
Lessons from Catholic Church
Lessons from Papacy and Great Schism
• How to deal with error
– We must acknowledge our ability to be wrong
– If tradition is the standard, we will be unable to
be unified with Christians from different cultures
– There will always be those who long to enforce
opinions as if they are God (2 Thess 2:3-4); we
must not be like them!
Lessons from Catholic Church
Lessons from Papacy and Great Schism
• Tendencies
– Pride
– Unwillingness to make peace
– Desire to accumulate power and prestige
– Submitting to leadership, even when it’s wrong
Lessons from Catholic Church
Lessons from Papacy and Great Schism
• The Bigger Picture
– The combination of religious and governmental
authority is potent and dangerous
– The more worldly the church becomes, the more
it strays from Christ
– Focus on culture and tradition leads to breaks
with other cultures and traditions rather than
unity