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Gregorian Reform

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Jus novum ( c.  1140 -1563)

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72-461: Jus novissimum ( c.  1563 -1918) Jus codicis (1918-present) Other Sacraments Sacramentals Sacred places Sacred times Supra-diocesan/eparchal structures Particular churches Juridic persons Philosophy, theology, and fundamental theory of Catholic canon law Clerics Office Juridic and physical persons Associations of the faithful Pars dynamica (trial procedure) Canonization Election of

144-498: A secular priest , or to confinement in a stricter monastery if a regular . No distinction seems to have been drawn between the sale of an immediate and of a reversionary interest. The innocent simoniace promotus was, apart from dispensation, liable to the same penalties as though he were guilty. In 1494, a member of the Carmelite order, Adam of Genoa, was found murdered in his bed with twenty wounds after preaching against

216-503: A "permanent" deacon (one not intending to become a priest) is decided by the regional episcopal conference . Matrimony , or Marriage, is another sacrament that consecrates for a particular mission in building up the Church, and that provides grace for accomplishing that mission. This sacrament, seen as a sign of the love uniting Christ and the Church, establishes between the spouses a permanent and exclusive bond, sealed by God. Accordingly,

288-506: A child reaches the age of reason. U.S. dioceses complied but did not bring confirmation forward with it from a subsequent age. The Sacrament of Penance (or Reconciliation) is the first of two sacraments of healing. The Catechism of the Catholic Church mentions in the following order and capitalization different names of the sacrament, calling it the sacrament of conversion, Penance, confession, forgiveness and Reconciliation. It

360-534: A cleric who had obtained their office through simony was validly ordained. The Corpus Juris Canonici , the Decretum and the Decretals of Gregory IX all dealt with the subject. The offender, whether simoniacus (the perpetrator of a simoniacal transaction) or simoniace promotus (the beneficiary of a simoniacal transaction), was liable to deprivation of his benefice and deposition from orders if

432-593: A conciliar approach to implementing papal reform took on an added momentum. Conciliarism properly refers to a later system of power between the Pope, the Roman curia, and secular authorities. During this early period, the scope of Papal authority in the wake of the Investiture Controversy entered into dialogue with developing notions of Papal supremacy . The authority of the emphatically "Roman" council as

504-556: A deacon configures the man in the service of the bishop, especially in the Church's exercise of Christian charity towards the poor, and preaching of the word of God. Men who discern a vocation to the priesthood are required by canon law (canon 1032 of the 1983 Code of Canon Law ) to undertake a seminary program with graduate level philosophical and theological studies and a formation program that includes spiritual direction , retreats , apostolate experience, and learning some Latin. The course of studies in preparation for ordination as

576-412: A grave sin must receive the sacrament of Reconciliation before coming to communion." Regarding marriage, "basing itself on Sacred Scripture, which presents homosexual acts as acts of grave depravity, tradition has always declared that 'homosexual acts are intrinsically disordered' [...] contrary to the natural law." "The ordination of women is not possible." The efficacy of sacraments does not depend on

648-593: A lay person delegated by the diocesan Bishop with the approval of the Episcopal Conference and the permission of the Holy See ) and at least two other witnesses, though in the theological tradition of the Latin Church the ministers of the sacrament uniquely are the couple themselves. For a valid marriage, a man and a woman must express their conscious and free consent to a definitive self-giving to

720-422: A licence to preach, by money or corrupt practices" or, more narrowly, "the corrupt presentation of any one to an ecclesiastical benefice for gift or reward". While English law recognized simony as an offence, it treated it as merely an ecclesiastical matter, rather than a crime, for which the punishment was forfeiture of the office or any advantage from the offence and severance of any patronage relationship with

792-525: A list called Dictatus papae around 1075 or shortly after. The major headings of Gregorian reform can be seen as embodied in the Papal electoral decree (1059), and the temporary resolution of the Investiture Controversy (1075–1122) was an overwhelming papal victory. The resolution of this controversy acknowledged papal superiority over secular rulers by implication. Before the Gregorian Reforms

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864-442: A marriage between baptized people, validly entered into and consummated, cannot be dissolved. The sacrament confers on them the grace they need for attaining holiness in their married life and for responsible acceptance and upbringing of their children. As a condition for validity, the sacrament is celebrated in the presence of the local Ordinary or Parish Priest or of a cleric delegated by them (or in certain limited circumstances

936-490: A sacrament; let him be anathema . CANON IV.- If any one saith, that the sacraments of the New Law are not necessary unto salvation, but superfluous; and that, without them, or without the desire thereof, men obtain of God, through faith alone, the grace of justification; – though all (the sacraments) are not necessary for every individual; let him be anathema. "Sacred tradition and Sacred Scripture form one sacred deposit of

1008-427: A single state, but all states. Thus Gregory, as a politician wanting to achieve some result, was driven in practice to adopt a different standpoint. He acknowledged the existence of the state as a dispensation of Providence , described the coexistence of church and state as a divine ordinance, and emphasized the necessity of union between the sacerdotium and the imperium . But, during no period would he have imagined

1080-513: A term. Important in popularizing the word 'Simony' was Pope Gregory I (590–604), who called such exchanges the "simoniac heresy". Although considered a serious offense against canon law , simony is thought to have become widespread in the Catholic Church during the 9th and 10th centuries. In the eleventh century, it was the focus of a great deal of debate. Central to this debate was the validity of simoniacal orders: that is, whether

1152-494: Is "strengthened and deepened." Like baptism, confirmation may be received only once, and the recipient must be in a state of grace (meaning free from any known unconfessed mortal sin ) in order to receive its effects. The "originating" minister of the sacrament is a validly consecrated bishop ; if a priest (a "presbyter") confers the sacrament – as is done ordinarily in the Eastern Churches and in special cases (such as

1224-540: Is able to confect the sacrament of the Eucharist in the person of Christ is a validly ordained priest alone." The word "priest" here (in Latin sacerdos ) includes both bishops and those priests who are also called presbyters . Deacons as well as priests ( sacerdotes ) are ordinary ministers of Holy Communion, and lay people may be authorized to act as extraordinary ministers of Holy Communion. The Eucharistic celebration

1296-486: Is accepted, provided that the water flows over the skin, since otherwise it is not a washing. Confirmation or Chrismation is the second sacrament of Christian initiation. "It is called Chrismation (in the Eastern Churches: anointing with holy myron or chrism) because the essential rite of the sacrament is anointing with chrism. It is called Confirmation because it confirms and strengthens baptismal grace." It

1368-634: Is being increasingly restored. The Eucharist, also called the Blessed Sacrament , is the sacrament – the third of Christian initiation, the one that the Catechism of the Catholic Church says "completes Christian initiation" – by which Catholics partake of the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ and participate in the Eucharistic memorial of his one sacrifice. The first of these two aspects of

1440-489: Is bound by the " seal of confession ", which is inviolable. "Accordingly, it is absolutely wrong for a confessor in any way to betray the penitent, for any reason whatsoever, whether by word or in any other fashion." A confessor who directly violates the sacramental seal incurs an automatic excommunication whose lifting is reserved to the Holy See . In some dioceses, certain sins are "reserved" which means only certain confessors can absolve them. Some sins, such as violation of

1512-469: Is conferred by "the anointing with Sacred Chrism (oil mixed with balsam and consecrated by the bishop), which is done by the laying on of the hand of the minister who pronounces the sacramental words proper to the rite." These words, in both their Western and Eastern variants, refer to a gift of the Holy Spirit that marks the recipient as with a seal. Through the sacrament the grace given in baptism

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1584-599: Is described in the Acts of the Apostles as having offered two disciples of Jesus payment in exchange for their empowering him to impart the power of the Holy Spirit to anyone on whom he would place his hands . The term extends to other forms of trafficking for money in "spiritual things". The earliest church legislation against simony may be that of the forty-eighth canon of the Synod of Elvira ( c.  305 ), against

1656-458: Is made a deacon , a deacon is made a priest and a priest is made a bishop , dedicated for service to the Church. In descending order of rank, the three degrees are referred to as episcopate, presbyterate and diaconate. The bishop is the only minister of this sacrament. Ordination as a bishop confers the fullness of the sacrament, with membership of the College of Bishops , the successor body in

1728-433: Is seen as "the source and summit" of Christian living, the high point of God's sanctifying action on the faithful and of their worship of God, the point of contact between them and the liturgy of heaven. So important is it that participation in the Eucharistic celebration (see Mass ) is seen as obligatory on every Sunday and holy day of obligation and is recommended on other days. Also recommended for those who participate in

1800-400: Is supreme over all human structures, especially the secular state; and that the pope, in his role as head of the church under the petrine commission, is the vice-regent of God on earth, so that disobedience to him implies disobedience to God: or, in other words, a defection from Christianity. But any attempt to interpret this in terms of action would have bound the church to annihilate not merely

1872-429: Is the sacrament of spiritual healing of a baptized person from the distancing from God resulting from sins committed. When people sin after baptism, they cannot have baptism as a remedy; Baptism, which is a spiritual regeneration, cannot be given a second time. The sacrament involves four elements: "Many sins wrong our neighbour. One must do what is possible in order to repair the harm (e.g., return stolen goods, restore

1944-479: The Clergy Discipline Act 1892 ( 55 & 56 Vict. c. 32). An innocent clerk is under no disability, as he might be by the canon law. Simony may be committed in three ways – in promotion to orders, in presentation to a benefice, and in resignation of a benefice. The common law (with which the canon law is incorporated, as far as it is not contrary to the common or statute law or the prerogative of

2016-472: The Council of Florence (1439) was reaffirmed by the Council of Trent (1545–1563), which stated: CANON I.- If any one saith, that the sacraments of the New Law were not all instituted by Jesus Christ, our Lord; or that they are more, or less, than seven, to wit, Baptism, Confirmation, the Eucharist, Penance, Extreme Unction, Order, and Matrimony; or even that any one of these seven is not truly and properly

2088-694: The Eastern Orthodox Church . Given these events, the Catholic Church had to reassert its importance and authority to its followers. Within the church, important new laws were pronounced on simony , on clerical marriage and from 1059 on extending the prohibited degrees of affinity . Although at each new turn the reforms were presented to contemporaries as a return to the old ways, they are often seen by modern historians as novel. The much later Gregorian calendar of Pope Gregory XIII has no connection to those Gregorian reforms. The reforms are encoded in two major documents: Dictatus papae and

2160-677: The Fourth Council of the Lateran in 1215. The Catechism of the Catholic Church lists the sacraments as follows: "The whole liturgical life of the Church revolves around the Eucharistic sacrifice and the sacraments. There are seven sacraments in the Church: Baptism , Confirmation or Chrismation , Eucharist , Penance , Anointing of the Sick , Holy Orders , and Matrimony ." The list of seven sacraments already given by

2232-567: The Last Rites . The other Last Rites are Confession (if the dying person is physically unable to confess, at least absolution, conditional on the existence of contrition, is given), and the Eucharist, which when administered to the dying is known as "bread for the journey" or by the Latin name " Viaticum ", literally "provisions for a journey". Holy Orders is the Sacrament by which a layman

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2304-642: The bull Libertas ecclesiae . The Gregorian reform depended in new ways and to a new degree on the collections of canon law that were being assembled, in order to buttress the papal position, during the same period. Part of the legacy of the Gregorian Reform was the new figure of the papal legist , exemplified a century later by Pope Innocent III . There is no explicit mention of Gregory's reforms against simony (the selling of church offices and sacred things) or nicolaism (which included ritual fornication) at his Lenten Councils of 1075 or 1076. Rather,

2376-638: The mystical body of Christ ), consisting of Baptism , Confirmation , and the Eucharist ; the sacraments of healing, consisting of the Sacrament of Penance and the Anointing of the Sick ; and the sacraments of service: Holy Orders and Matrimony . Furthermore, Baptism and penance were also known as the "sacraments of the dead" (in the meaning that the souls of the sinners which are regarded dead before God may obtain life through these sacraments), whereas

2448-737: The Acts of the Apostles Baptism, Laying of the Hands (Confirmation/Chrismation) and Breaking of the Bread are administered to the faithful within a short span of time (Acts 2: 42; 8:14; 19:6). The Eastern Churches followed the Sacraments of Initiation from early days. Latin Church, though administered the three sacraments- Baptism, Confirmation and Eucharist- separately, they retained the idea of unity of these sacraments. Thus CCC 1233 implies that

2520-410: The Catholic Church references this order at No. 1212, and at No. 1322 says: "The holy Eucharist completes Christian initiation.". Administering the Eucharist before Confirmation began in the Latin Church, unlike other Christian bodies, due to Pope Pius X 's 1910 decree Quam singulari Christus amore (transl.: "How special was Christ's love"), which said Communion should not be delayed beyond when

2592-401: The Catholic Church , which according to Catholic theology were instituted by Jesus Christ and entrusted to the Church. Sacraments are visible rites seen as signs and efficacious channels of the grace of God to all those who receive them with the proper disposition. The sacraments are often classified into three categories: the sacraments of initiation (into the Catholic Church and

2664-407: The Catholic Church was a heavily decentralized institution, in which the pope held little power outside his position as Bishop of Rome. With that in mind, the papacy up until the twelfth century held little to no authority over the bishops, who were invested with land by lay rulers. Gregory VII's ban on lay investiture was a key element of the reform, ultimately contributing to the centralized papacy of

2736-586: The Christian initiation is completed by years long preparation in the Latin Church. Many of the Eastern Churches have restored their original tradition of Christian initiation which they lost in Latinization. The Roman Catholic Church sees baptism as the first and basic sacrament of Christian initiation. In the Western or Latin Church , baptism is usually conferred today by pouring water three times on

2808-584: The Christian's life of faith". "The Church affirms that for believers the sacraments of the New Covenant are necessary for salvation", although not all are necessary for every individual. The Compendium of the Catechism of the Catholic Church states: "Christian initiation is accomplished by means of the sacraments which establish the foundations of Christian life. The faithful born anew by Baptism are strengthened by Confirmation and are then nourished by

2880-592: The Church to that of the Apostles , and entrusting to him the threefold office to teach, sanctify, and govern the People of God . Ordination as a priest calls the priest to take, in the Eucharistic celebration, the role of Christ , the Head of the Church, the one essential High Priest, and confers on him the power and responsibility, as the bishop's assistant, to celebrate the sacraments except for Holy Orders. Ordination as

2952-534: The Crown ) has been considerably modified by statute. Where no statute applies to the case, the doctrines of the canon law may still be of authority. As of 2011 , simony remains an offence. An unlawfully bestowed office can be declared void by the Crown, and the offender can be disabled from making future appointments and fined up to £1,000. Clergy are no longer required to make a declaration as to simony on ordination , but offences are now likely to be dealt with under

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3024-458: The Eucharist." The Catechism of the Catholic Church says, "In the Eastern rites the Christian initiation of infants also begins with Baptism followed immediately by Confirmation (Chrismation) and the Eucharist, while in the Roman rite it is followed by years of catechesis before being completed later by Confirmation and the Eucharist, the summit of their Christian initiation" ( CCC 1233). Again in

3096-520: The Mass is reception, with the proper dispositions, of Holy Communion. This is seen as obligatory at least once a year, during Eastertide. During the second half of the 2010s some dioceses of Latin Church in the United States, as elsewhere, returned to the original order of the three sacraments of Christian initiation, that is: Baptism, Confirmation and, lastly, first Communion. The Catechism of

3168-667: The Roman Pontiff Academic degrees Journals and Professional Societies Faculties of canon law Canonists Institute of consecrated life Society of apostolic life The Gregorian Reforms were a series of reforms initiated by Pope Gregory VII and the circle he formed in the papal curia , c. 1050–80, which dealt with the moral integrity and independence of the clergy . The reforms are considered to be named after Pope Gregory VII (1073–85), though he personally denied it and claimed his reforms, like his regnal name , honoured Pope Gregory I . The Gregorian reform,

3240-497: The West, where the sacrament is normally reserved for those who can understand its significance, it came to be postponed until the recipient's early adulthood; in the 20th century, after Pope Pius X introduced first Communion for children on reaching the age of discretion , the practice of receiving Confirmation later than the Eucharist became widespread; but the traditional order, with Confirmation administered before First Communion,

3312-522: The baptism of an adult or in danger of the death of a young child) in the Latin Church ( CCC 1312–1313) – the link with the higher order is indicated by the use of oil (known as " chrism " or " myron ") blessed by the bishop on Holy Thursday itself or on a day close to it. In the East, which retains the ancient practice, the sacrament is administered by the parish priest immediately after baptism. In

3384-570: The celebrant's being in the state of grace. Their power comes not from the celebrant nor from the recipient but from God. In them Christ himself is at work. However, the actual effects ("the fruits") of the sacrament depends also on the recipient's disposition: "in order that the liturgy may be able to produce its full effects, it is necessary that the faithful come to it with proper dispositions, that their minds should be attuned to their voices, and that they should cooperate with divine grace lest they receive it in vain". The Catholic Church teaches that

3456-471: The effectiveness of the sacrament in that person. The sacraments presuppose faith and through their words and ritual elements, are meant to nourish, strengthen and give expression to faith. While the Church itself is the universal sacrament of salvation, the sacraments of the Catholic Church in the strict sense are seven sacraments that "touch all the stages and all the important moments of Christian life: they give birth and increase, healing and mission to

3528-513: The faithful Pars dynamica (trial procedure) Canonization Simony Jus novum ( c.  1140 -1563) Jus novissimum ( c.  1563 -1918) Jus codicis (1918-present) Other Sacraments Sacramentals Sacred places Sacred times Supra-diocesan/eparchal structures Particular churches Juridic persons Philosophy, theology, and fundamental theory of Catholic canon law Clerics Office Juridic and physical persons Associations of

3600-402: The faithful Pars dynamica (trial procedure) Canonization Election of the Roman Pontiff Academic degrees Journals and Professional Societies Faculties of canon law Canonists Institute of consecrated life Society of apostolic life Simony ( / ˈ s ɪ m ə n i / ) is the act of selling church offices and roles or sacred things. It is named after Simon Magus , who

3672-571: The gravity of these reforms has to be inferred from his general correspondence. By contrast, Gregory's Register entry for the Roman Council of November 1078 extensively records Gregory's legislation against 'abuses' such as simony as well as the first 'full' prohibition of lay investiture. This record has been interpreted as the essence of the Gregorian 'reform programme'. The powers that the Gregorian papacy gathered to itself are summed up in

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3744-470: The later Middle Ages. The reform of the church, both within it, and in relation to the Holy Roman Emperor and the other lay rulers of Europe, was Gregory VII's life work. It was based on his conviction that the church was founded by God and entrusted with the task of embracing all mankind in a single society in which divine will is the only law; that, in his capacity as a divine institution, he

3816-520: The other five are collectively the "sacraments of the living". The number of the sacraments in the early church was variable and undefined; Peter Damian for example had listed eleven, including the ordination of kings. Hugh of Saint Victor enumerated nearly thirty, although he put Baptism and Holy Communion first with special relevance. The current seven sacraments were set out in the Sentences by Peter Lombard , and these seven were confirmed by

3888-795: The other, excluding none of the essential properties and aims of marriage. If one of the two is a non-Catholic Christian, their marriage is licit only if the permission of the competent authority of the Catholic Church is obtained. If one of the two is not a Christian (i.e. has not been baptized ), the competent authority's dispensation is necessary for validity. Jus novum ( c.  1140 -1563) Jus novissimum ( c.  1563 -1918) Jus codicis (1918-present) Other Sacraments Sacramentals Sacred places Sacred times Supra-diocesan/eparchal structures Particular churches Juridic persons Philosophy, theology, and fundamental theory of Catholic canon law Clerics Office Juridic and physical persons Associations of

3960-501: The people from their obedience to bishops who allowed married priests. The next year he enjoined them to take action against married priests and deprived these clerics of their revenues. Both the campaign against priestly marriage and that against simony provoked widespread resistance. Sacraments in the Catholic Church God Schools Relations with: There are seven sacraments of

4032-563: The person who bestowed the office. Both Edward VI and Elizabeth I promulgated statutes against simony, in the latter case through the Simony Act 1588 ( 31 Eliz. 1 . c. 6). The cases of Bishop of St. David's Thomas Watson in 1699 and of Dean of York William Cockburn in 1841 were particularly notable. By the Benefices Act 1892 , a person guilty of simony is guilty of an offence for which he may be proceeded against under

4104-458: The practice of making a donation following a baptism. Following the Edict of Milan (313), the increased power and wealth of the church hierarchy attracted simony. There are several accusations of simony (not by that name) against Arians , from Athanasius of Alexandria , Hilary of Poitiers , Pope Liberius and Gregory of Nazianzus . Many Church Fathers, such as Ambrose , spoke out against

4176-403: The practice of simony. In the 14th century, Dante Alighieri depicted the punishment of many "clergymen, and popes and cardinals" in hell for being avaricious or miserly. He also criticised certain popes and other simoniacs: Rapacious ones, who take the things of God, that ought to be the brides of Righteousness, and make them fornicate for gold and silver! The time has come to let

4248-671: The recipient's head, while reciting the baptismal formula: "I baptize you in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit " (cf. Matthew 28:19 ). In the Eastern Catholic Churches of Byzantine Rite immersion or submersion is used, and the formula is: "The servant of God, N., is baptized in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit." Though sprinkling is not normally used, its validity

4320-410: The reputation of someone slandered, pay compensation for injuries). Simple justice requires as much. But sin also injures and weakens the sinner himself, as well as his relationships with God and neighbour. Absolution takes away sin, but it does not remedy all the disorders sin has caused. Raised up from sin, the sinner must still recover his full spiritual health by doing something more to make amends for

4392-501: The sacrament is also called Holy Communion. The bread – which must be wheaten, and which is unleavened in the Latin, Armenian and Ethiopic Rites, but is leavened in most Eastern Rites – and wine – which must be from grapes – used in the Eucharistic rite are, in Catholic faith, transformed in their inner reality , though not in appearance , into the Body and Blood of Christ, a change that is called transubstantiation . "The minister who

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4464-525: The sacramental seal, consecration of bishops without authorization by the Holy See, direct physical attacks on the Pope, and intentional desecration of the Eucharist are reserved to the Holy See. A special case-by-case faculty from the Sacred Penitentiary is normally required to absolve these sins. Anointing of the Sick is the second sacrament of healing. In this sacrament a priest anoints

4536-425: The sacraments are "efficacious signs of grace , instituted by Christ and entrusted to the Church, by which divine life is dispensed to us." The Church teaches that the effect of a sacrament comes ex opere operato , by the very fact of being administered, regardless of the personal holiness of the minister administering it. However, a recipient's own lack of proper disposition to receive the grace conveyed can block

4608-595: The selling of ministries. Anti-simony provisions in Church Council canons (and papal bulls ) became common: the First Council of Nicaea , the Synod of Antioch (341) , and the Councils of Serdica (343–344), Chalcedon , and Orléans (533) , etc. The purchase or sale of ecclesiastical office was associated with the figure of Simon Magus in the Acts of the Apostles and his name came into use as

4680-613: The sick with oil blessed specifically for that purpose. "The anointing of the sick can be administered to any member of the faithful who, having reached the use of reason, begins to be in danger by reason of illness or old age" (canon 1004; cf. CCC 1514). A new illness or a worsening of health enables a person to receive the sacrament a further time. When, in the Western Church, the sacrament was conferred only on those in immediate danger of death, it came to be known as " Extreme Unction ", i.e. "Final Anointing", administered as one of

4752-424: The sin: he must 'make satisfaction for' or 'expiate' his sins. This satisfaction is also called 'penance'" (CCC 1459). In early Christian centuries, this element of satisfaction was quite onerous and generally preceded absolution, but now it usually involves a simple task for the penitent to perform later, in order to make some reparation and as a medicinal means of strengthening against further temptation. The priest

4824-526: The trumpet sound for you; ... Simony remains prohibited in Roman Catholic canon law. In the Code of Canon Law, Canon 149.3 notes that "Provision of an office made as a result of simony is invalid by the law itself." The Church of England struggled with the practice after its separation from Rome. For the purposes of English law , simony is defined by William Blackstone as "obtain[ing] orders, or

4896-531: The two powers on an equal footing. The superiority of Church to State was to him a fact which admitted no discussion and which he had never doubted. He wished to see all important matters of dispute referred to Rome; appeals were to be addressed to himself; the centralization of ecclesiastical government in Rome naturally involved a curtailment of the powers of bishops. Since these refused to submit voluntarily and tried to assert their traditional independence, his papacy

4968-652: The universal legislative assembly was theorised according to the principles of papal primacy contained in Dictatus papae . Gregory also had to avoid the Catholic Church slipping back into the abuses that had occurred in Rome, during the Rule of the Harlots , between 904 and 964. Pope Benedict IX had been elected Pope three times and had sold the Papacy. In 1054 the "Great Schism" had divided Western European Christians from

5040-438: The word of God, committed to the Church." "In the liturgy, above all that of the sacraments, there is an immutable part, a part that is divinely instituted and of which the Church is the guardian, and parts that can be changed , which the Church has the power and on occasion also the duty to adapt to the cultures of recently evangelized peoples." Baptism cannot be changed to allow a non-Trinitarian formula. "Anyone conscious of

5112-499: Was a frontal attack against the political-religious collusion dating from the Carolingians, where institutions and church property were largely controlled by secular authorities while the clerics (from the pope and the bishop to the country priest) were subject by customary law to the authority of the emperor, the king, the prince or the lord. The following uses were thus most protested against: During Gregory's pontificate,

5184-415: Was full of struggles against the higher ranks of the clergy. This battle for the foundation of papal supremacy is connected with his championship of compulsory celibacy among the clergy and his attack on simony . Gregory VII did not introduce the celibacy of the priesthood into the church, but he took up the struggle with greater energy than his predecessors. In 1074 he published an encyclical , absolving

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