Gregory VII's Letter to the Bishop of Metz

Historical Context

Class Response:

In between the beginning and the conclusion of the Lay Investiture controversy we have the First Crusade (1096 - 1099) under Pope Urban II.

Significance?

http://www.google.ca/imgres?q=1st+crusade&num=10&um=1&hl=en&client=firefox-a&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&biw=1280&bih=920&tbm=isch&tbnid=EGXwBGFOrTEtHM:&imgrefurl=http://www.medievalists.net/2011/07/28/ideology-and-motivations-in-the-first-crusade/&docid=3aKXppsLXv6O8M&imgurl=http://www.medievalists.net/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/crusades.jpg&w=390&h=380&ei=MwC7TsaAGeLl0QH5ro3eCQ&zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx=587&vpy=584&dur=3844&hovh=222&hovw=227&tx=189&ty=90&sig=116771291685333786156&sqi=2&page=1&tbnh=172&tbnw=177&start=0&ndsp=23&ved=1t:429,r:19,s:0

Coincidence?

In groups of three or four please discuss these points, and using what you already know about the state of European affairs at this time and the knowledge of this document for reference, please explain whether you find this letter significant or purely coincidental in regards to the onset of the First Crusade.

Arguements from Rome:

Henry IV, Holy Roman Emperor

Reference to Matt. 16: 18-19 From Gregory's Letter:

Pope Gregory VII

Holy Roman Empire c. 1100 CE

Papal Authority

Medieval Kingship

Gregory VII's Letter to the Bishop of Metz, 1081 CE

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/81/Emblem_of_the_Papacy_SE.svg/200px-Emblem_of_the_Papacy_SE.svg.png

'Thou art Peter and upon this rock will I build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it; and I will give unto thee the keys to the kingdom of Heaven; and whatsoever thou shalt bind upon earth shall be bound in Heaven, and whatsoever thou shalt loose upon earth shall be loosed in Heaven'? (Matthew XVI, 18, 19) Are kings excepted here? Or are they not included among the sheep which the Son of God committed to Saint Peter? "

Political/Religious

The Holy Roman Emperor

Pinnacle of Fuedal Power

Pinnacle of Religious Heirarchy

(Divine Succession)

Expand:

(shameless reference to apostolic succession and papal authority, especially in regards to Henry IV's investiture of bishops at his own discretion)

How does this trancend Medieval Lordship?

Links to the theology behind the First Crusade:

(Henry Bettensen, and Chris Maunder, Documents of the Christian Church, (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1999), 115.)

Pope Gregory VII (http://www.culturalcatholic.com.PopeGregoryVii.jpg)

Henry IV (http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7b/Heinrich_4_g.jpg)

http://www.euratlas.net/history/europe/1100/entity_2160.jpg

Church and State

(European Affairs)

Religious War

(Conquest of the Holy Land; eschatology)

Gregory on the dominance of Papal authority:

General War Mongering

(somehow unrelated to religion; bloodthirsty Europeans)

Near Eastern Politics

(colonization? Church or HRE?)

Others.....

"...Shall not an authority founded by laymen--even by those who do not know God,--be subject to that authority which the providence of God Almighty has for His own honour established and in his mercy given to the world?"

"[...] Who can doubt but that the priests of Christ are to be considered the fathers and masters of kings and princes and of all of the faithful?"

"This the emperor Constantine the Great, lord of all the kings and princes of nearly the whole world, plainly understood [...] when, sitting last after all the bishops in the holy council of Nicea, he presumed to give no sentence of judgement over them, but addressed them as gods and decreed that they should not be subject to his judgement but that he should be dependent upon their will."

Setting the Stage:

The duality of the power structure in Europe c.1100 CE was a major point of contention between Pope Gregory VII and Henry IV.

"Gregory annoyed Henry IV by suspending certain German bishops. Henry retorted by nominating bishops to Italian sees. The Pope threatened excommunication, and Henry then made common cause with the dissafected German bishops"

The tension climaxed in the investiture of bishops by the authority of Henry (hence "Lay" investiture), a conflict inherited by both Henry and Gregory, since the issue of investiture had arisen prior to both of their respective authorities. This fact seems to only further the pervasive action of both parties, the Pope and the emperor, neither of whom would make any initial concession.

(Henry Bettensen, and Chris Maunder, Documents of the Christian Church, (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1999), 111.)

Your group will be given one or more of these themes. You are now asked to establish or speculate as to any linkage/legacy/influence that Gregory's letter (and the theology it entails) may have on these topics, these being some of the debated causes behind the First Crusade. As before, draw on your knowledge of Europe at this time, as well as your understanding of the significance or coincidence of the letter to this more all encompassing, larger scale event.

(Henry Bettensen, and Chris Maunder, Documents of the Christian Church, (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1999), 116.)

Closing Questions:

Context of the Letter:

Do you see any continuity today in regards to struggle/conflict between church clergy/officials and laity?

Papal dominance con't:

What are some more modern theological grounds for laity to challenge the authority of church officials/clergy?

"The struggle with Henry IV was going against Gregory at this time. His depostion of Henry had provoked sympathy for the Emperor, and at councils at Mainz and Brixen, called by Henry, the Pope was declared deposed. This letter to Bishop Hermann is the fullest exposition of the papalist point of view."

"[...] what king or emperor is able, by reason of the office he holds, to rescue a Christian from the power of the devil through holy baptism [...] who of them posses the power of binding and loosing in heaven and on earth? From all these considerations it is clear how greatly the priestly office excels in power."

"Who of them can ordain a single clerk in the holy Chuch, much less depose him for any fault? [...] Who, therefore, of even moderate understanding, can hesitate to give priests the precedence over kings? Then, if kings are to be judged by priests for their sins, by whom can they be judged with better right than by the Roman pontiff?"

"Let kings and other princes fear lest the more they rejoice at being placed over other men in this life, the more they will be subjected to eternal fires."

In your opinion, have some churches/denominations over-stepped their boundaries today within the same context that Henry IV did as outlined in Gregory VII's letter?

- and -

Can conflicts similar to the Investiture controversy arise in todays context? Or is it too far-fetched to think of today's Church in terms of the 11th/12th century?

(Henry Bettensen, and Chris Maunder, Documents of the Christian Church, (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1999), 114.)

(Henry Bettensen, and Chris Maunder, Documents of the Christian Church, (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1999), 117 - 119.)

Who is more clearly the villian?

Eventual Result:

Henry or Gregory?

"The Concordat of Worms, September 1122. [...] Concessions were made on both sides; but the papacy [Pope Calixtus II, 5 Popes later!] had the best of it, for Henry V [Henry IV's successor] agreed to surrender existing practice." [Thus essentially ending lay investiture of bishops, abbots, etc., with some exceptions]

Sources Cited:

(Henry Bettensen, and Chris Maunder, Documents of the Christian Church, (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1999), 121.)

Bettensen, Henry, and Chris Maunder. Documents of the Christian Church. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1999.