Pope Gregory IIV
Pope Gregory was born of a nobel and wealthy Italian family. As a child he was educated in priest hood. He was the first monk to become a pope in 590. Pope Gregory was the leader of the Catholic Church. He was one of the most powerful and greatest men in all of Western Europe. His papacy lasted 14 years. Papacy is the system of ecclesiastical government in which the pope is recognized as the supreme head. Pope Gregory was the head of the chruch and he was in charge of everything that happened in the church and in the Roman governement. Pope Gregory overruled the king which caused many conflicts. The pope was also in charge of the king. He could remove the King from office if he believed he was doing something wrong. He appointed and controlled who became bishops. When Gregory VII became pope, he decided to put an end to civil authority over the Church. He decreed that only the Church had the right to install, transfer, or remove a bishop. He created a series of reforms which created a turning point for the history of the church. Pope Gregory had many jobs as the head ruler of the church, such as controlling everything that happens within. In the primary source, titled “Pope Gregory VII, 11c” it lists 10 things the Pope is in charge of fulfilling, such as the roman pontiff alone is rightly called universe, he has the power to depose and reinstate bishops and emperors, and his decree can be annulled by no one, and that he can annul the decrees of anyone. This is saying that the pope has complete power in the church and controls the people below him, such as the archbishops. Also, an important statement that the pope believes is as follows, “The Roman Church has never erred and will never err to all eternity, according to the testimony of the holy scriptures.” This is important because he believes that the church has never in the past done anything wrong and will continue this by not doing anything wrong in the future. The pope believes in his church and does his best to fulfill his jobs as head ruler. The church acted as their form of government, making it very important to the society. The pope had these specific and strict laws because he wants the best for the church and for everything to run smoothly. If one were to disagree with him, they would suffer consequences. If the king disagreed with the pope, he could lose his position as the king easily. The middle ages could be called a time of church rule or roman religion solely because the whole society functioned based off of the church. No one could be regarded as Catholic if they did not agree with the Roman Church. If a citizen was not a part of the Roman Church and did not follow the Christian religion, they would be disconnected from their surroundings and it would not suit them to stay in a society revolving around the church.