Medieval Religious Practices and Institutions
The Catholic Church: or as it was called, the universal
church was perhaps the most influential institution of the medieval era. The Catholic Church teaches the gospel
of Jesus Christ and practices sacraments such as the holy Eucharist, baptisms,
and also performs various charities. All people (including peasants – who often worked for
free on Church properties) were required to pay taxes or “Tithes” to the Church
either in money or in goods.
However, the Church itself was not required to pay taxes. Thus, the Holy institution was easily
wealthier than any King or noble family.
Much of this money was used to build beautiful cathedrals, churches, and
monasteries of which some are still revered as some of the most elegant
structures in Europe today.
Church Hierarchy:
The pecking order of the church begins with the Pope – which is a Greek
term meaning ‘father.’ It has been
said that Saint Peter, the apostle, was the very first Pope. Duties of the Pope during medieval
times included simply to represent the sacred authority of the church. With the declaration of the Doctrine of
Two Swords in 1302, this authority was extended from the church itself to the
state as well. The doctrine
declared that all people, in order to attain eternal salvation, must be
entirely submissive to the will of the Pope. It also stated that the two ‘swords’ of Catholicism were
spiritual and secular and sought to reconcile the two by demanding the
submission of the state under the church.
Thus, all institutions, though they may be carried out by men of the
state, were ultimately under the direction of the church.
Under
the Pope, the next highest power of the church was that of Cardinals. The word Cardinal itself is Latin for
‘hinge’ which suggests their influential nature. Duties of the Cardinal now include the election of Popes,
but historically this duty belonged to the clergymen and diocese of Rome up
until about 1059.
Under
the Pope and Cardinals, there were Archbishops and Bishops, who levied taxes
and were deeply involved in the undertakings of feudal society. Priests conducted mass and because they
were often the only people of the village (besides Monks – who often kept to
themselves) who could read and write; priests were responsible for the keeping
of records.
Finally,
Monks were the most humble of the Catholic Church hierarchy. Historically, they often
lived alone, but eventually many came to live in Monasteries and became very
well educated. Most bibles came
out of Monasteries – as Monks were responsible for making copies of the Holy
texts. Monasteries were
self-supporting, so Monks were usually not allowed to leave them. The life of a Monk was therefore
devoted entirely to prayer, education, and obedience under God. Monks were required to take three
solemn vows of chastity, of poverty, and of obedience. They could not keep money or own
property and more often than not, were banned from communicating with the
outside world even with their families.
Monastic Orders:
The emergence of Monastic orders was a result of the Church’s need for
organization and designated leadership.
In the West, there were orders such as that under the rule of St.
Augustine or St. Benedict.
Mendicant Orders:
Mendicant
orders developed in an effort to ‘reinvigorated’ the life of Catholics. There were five great orders of the
medieval era: Francisians, Carmelites, Dominicans, Servites, and Augustinians. Many were established in popular towns
and revived the practice of public preaching and serving the poor and the sick
– as followers of Jesus Christ.
Although the friars of the orders were not allowed to own property, the
orders were funded by charity and as time went on, the Church gradually began
to allow collective ownership of a property by friars.
Sources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christian_monasticism#Roman_Catholicism
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catholic_Church
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