The Investiture Controversy
The Church has had many conflicts throughout the years. Probably
the most important conflicts to know about are The Investiture Controversy
(1059-1122), the Reformation and Counter-Reformation (1522-1563), and the Second
Great Awakening (1800-1840). The Investiture Controversy will be discussed
here.
The Investiture Controversy occurred from 1059 to 1122. It
caused problems of great theological import, especially as regards the separation
of church and state. Further, the Investiture Controversy made the office of
Holy Roman Empire questionable as to its authority. After 63 years of arguments,
the Concordat of Worms settled the dispute. Pope Gregory VII and Holy Roman
Emperor Henry IV were the first instigators of the Investiture Controversy. A
few years later, Pope Paschal II and King Henry I of England took great part in
the conflict.
Pope Gregory VII issued a papal bull entitled In Nomine Domini. A papal bull is a document
which is rather like the instructions a captain would receive upon setting
sail. It gives detailed instructions for a specific occurrence. For instance, Exsurge Domine sentenced Martin Luther
to death unless he recanted 41 items of his writings within 60 days. In Nomine Domini, which means “in the
name of the Lord Jesus”, stated that the nobles would no longer be allowed to take
part in the election of a pope. Instead, the College of Cardinals would be the
electors; this system is still used today with Pope Francis to be the most
recent pope elected by the College of Cardinals.
The change in the Church electoral system was needed
because both ill-advised investiture of popes and simony had increased through
the years. Simony is when one pays for one’s appointment to a Church office or
for receiving the Sacraments. The first occurence of simony was documented in
Acts 8:9-24, where Simon Magnus offered payment to St. Peter and St. John if
they would make it possible for whomever was touched by Simon Magnus to receive
the Holy Spirit. Simony was sometimes used to invest popes, bishops, or
cardinals in the Middle Ages.
Pope Gregory VII made a further attempt in 1075 to keep the
office of the papacy from sin. He did this by forming the Dictatus Papae (“Law
of the Popes”), which is a conglomeration of the various edicts, papal bulls,
and laws given by the previous popes and himself. (This is now called the Canon
Law.) One of the items in the Dictatus Papae declared that the pope could depose
the Holy Roman Emperor. Another item stated that the pope was the sole
universal power. Both of these new institutes were officially and permanently established
during the Third Lateran Council in 1179.
King Henry IV of Germany took great umbrage to these new
laws and regularly went against them. For instance, he installed Tedald as the
Bishop of Milan when there was still another bishop serving there. In an
attempt to counter King Henry IV’s actions, Pope Gregory VII excommunicated him
and deposed him of the kingship.
King Henry IV likely tried to counter Pope Gregory’s claims
because although the Roman Catholic Church was the only church in the Western
World, and thus had great protection over men’s souls, it did not have great
protection over men’s temporal being. The kings, queens, and Holy Roman
Emperors were the only ones who were fully equipped to protect the temporal
body, but they were not equipped to protect the everlasting body.
At the Concordat of Worms (September 23, 1122), kings
were allowed to appoint bishops with secular authority, which is called
investing by the lance. Those bishops were authorities only in the territories
governed by the king who invested the bishops. Any bishop appointed was to give
honor and obedience to both the pope and the king under an oath of fealty. An
oath of fealty was given by one person to another of higher rank. The lower person
would swear upon an item such as a relic that he would defend the higher-ranking
person and come to the other’s aid when needed.
After the Concordat of Worms, the separation of church
and state became more pronounced. The Church no longer had direct authority
over a ruler, though the ruler could still be excommunicated. Also, the state
no longer had such great authority to appoint leaders of the Church. Though the
centuries, the distinction between Church and state has become so large that
there is barely even a tentative connection between the two.
During the Investiture Controversy, the breach of church
and state became more pronounced. Pope Gregory VII and King Henry IV of Germany
were the first two officials to start the controversy. When the controversy
ended, the Church had less direct power of the state and the state less over
the Church.
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