Gregory's Great Monastery
In his exchanges with King Henry IV during the later eleventh century, Pope Gregory VII proclaimed that he held the authority to remove the mighty King from the throne of the Roman Empire. Pope Gregory VII, having already excommunicated the King from the Church for various crimes against it, believed it was his religious duty to instill a Christian ruler who was loyal to the Church to govern the predominately Christian society. Pope Gregory VII argued that it was the power Christ gave to St. Peter that allowed him to possess such impressive authority, as he was a successor to St. Peter. St. Benedict of Nursia wrote his Rule for Monasteries nearly 600 years before the conflict between King Henry IV and Pope Gregory VII erupted. Within Benedict's Rule is his ideal structure for people living in Christian communities known as monasteries. When St. Benedict wrote his Rule for Monasteries the Christian Church had nowhere near the unity it possessed during the reign of Pope Gregory VII. It was the unity experienced by Pope Gregory VII that allows us to examine the entire Roman Empire as a "monastery." St. Benedict would have been pleased to see such a unified church, operating under the decree of a single man, which still held th
This is to say, he should show them all that is good and holy by his deeds even more than by his words, expounding the Lord's commandments in words to the intelligent among his disciples, but demonstrating the divine precepts by his actions for those of harder hearts and ruder minds (Benedict 160). If any brother presumes without an order from the Abbot to associate in any way with an excommunicated brother, or to speak with him, or to send him a message, let him incur a similar punishment of excommunication (Benedict 171). The Abbot and the Pope both led the men that follow them to salvation, sometimes through punishing those who misunderstood their instructions. The principal task of their job was to lead their followers towards a life of humility that would eventually result in their salvation. It was the responsibility of the Abbot to correct men when they were wrong so they did not develop poor habits. "And let him not shut his eyes to the faults of offenders; but, since he has the authority, let him cut out those faults by the roots as soon as they begin to appear" (Benedict 161). One way for the Abbot to ensure that his men were living a proper Christian life was to reprimand those who did not obey his instructions, which is exactly what Pope Gregory VII did to King Henry IV. [F]irst, that he refused to give up his relations with those who had been excommunicated for sacrilege and the heresy of Simony; second, because he was not willing, I will not say to perform, but even to promise repentance for his crimes, for the penance which he had sworn to in the hands of our legates was a fraudulent one; finally because he had dared to divide the body of Christ, that is the unity of the Church - for all these crimes, I say, we excommunicated him (Pope Gregory VII 585). In comparing St. Benedict's ideals for an Abbot and the Pope, it is apparent that each of the positions requires the respective man to look at all his followers equally. The Abbot was not to treat one man living in the monastery with more or less respect than another. "Let him make no distinction of persons in the monastery. Let him not love one more than another, unless it be one whom he finds better in good works or in obedience" (Benedict 160). Pope Gregory VII maintained it was essential that he persecute King Henry IV as he would any other man under his direction. "Why do they not see, or rather confess with shame that, when God gave to Peter heaven and on earth he excepted no one, withheld no one from his power?" (Pope Gregory VII 587). This authority of the Pope was essential to maintaining a unified Church. Both the Abbot and the Pope had absolute authority over their respective followers, treating every man with an equal amount of respect. Saint Benedict would have supported Pope Gregory VII in his decision to excommunicate King Henry IV from the Church. Having one true leader of a monastery, the Abbot, or the entire Christian Church organization, the Pope, serves to help unify the people of the religion, thus making it stronger. There is no question
Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 2071
Approximate Pages = 8 (250 words per page double spaced)
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