CHHI-301-D10 LUO FALL2013
PAPER 2

The Rise of the Papacy

INTRO
In the void left by the collapse of the Roman Empire, the bishop of Rome grew even more in both power and prestige beginning in the sixth century and continuing to the reformation in the ninth century. It is the aim of this paper to explain how and why the papacy in Rome became the center of power of the medieval world, the factors contributing to this dominance over Western Europe, and the positive and negative ramifications of the position becoming so powerful. Through this paper you will discover how papacy was able to fill the vacuum of power left by the fall of an empire.

THE HOW AND WHY When the Roman Empire fell services that it previously …show more content…

They saw the Pope as the God directed leader of the Christian church and the person delegated by Christ through Saint Peter to be the head of the church, guiding its people to fulfill the will of God. The increase in reverence is not due solely to the positions biblical roots though. The papacy offered many services to its people. It provided them with relief, safety, and education. IT had control over many sovereign tribes and countries, and with them came armies to protect Christians, eliminated persecution, and guard against heresies. The papacy held me power than the Emperor of Rome ever had. It used the reverence of its subject to increase its dominance in Europe and spread to neighboring regions. The third factor that is responsible for an escalation of authority in Western Europe was the control the church had over the education system at the time. Monasteries were places of teaching and learning. Their educational services extended beyond Christian doctrines and theology to topics that were essential to life in Europe at the time. With many regions falling under the control of the church, the spread of knowledge exploded and the church state spread that knowledge throughout its areas of interest. The newly gained knowledge made life easier for all people under control of the church, and all recognized the papacy as being responsible for a better standard of