Pope
and Emperor
How might the Norwegians today be compared with the Jews of the time of the Roman empire? (see Ibsen to Bjornson, p. 81)
Why do empires develop?
What are the implications of empire?
How does nationhood relate to empire?
What is legitimacy?
How may a state acquire it?
How might an empire acquire it?
ca. 50-60 Epistles of Paul the apostle
64 Fire in Rome; Neronian persecution
70 Destruction of temple in Jerusalem
ca. 71-100 Gospels of Mark, Matthew, Luke, and John written
104 Christianity declared illegal by Trajan
303 Persecution under Diocletian
313 Edict of Milan (by Constantine) declares toleration of all religions
325 Council of Nicea begins formulation of orthodoxy
331 Constantinople made official capital of Roman Empire
367 St. Athanasius lists the present "canon" of the New Testament.
380 Emperor Theodosius makes Christianity mandatory for all citizens.
381 Council of Constantinople ratifies final formulation of Nicene Creed;
coordinates administrative structure of Church with that of empire.
392 Theodosius prohibits non-Christian rites.
395 Roman Empire divided by sons of Theodosius.
410 Sack of Rome by Alaric, King of Goths
431 Council of Ephesus condemns Nestorianism; designates Mary "Theotokos";forbids additions to the Nicene Creed
451 Council of Chalcedon, last council recognized as "ecumenical" by both East and West, formulates dogma of hypostatic union; condemns monophysitism; consequent schism of Coptic Church and some others
476 Western Roman emperor deposed by Gothic chief
751AD Peppin (father of Charlemagne) asked Patriarch Zacharias to rule on "whether it was just for one to reign and another to rule." When he got the answer he wanted, he deposed the king and seized the throne.
753-754 Pope Stephen II crossed alps to ask Peppin for support against the Lombards. He had tried the Byzantine emperor, who was unable to help because of the Arabs. Stephen's negotiating directly with Peppin was the beginning of a break with the Empire.
756 When Peppin took the Exarchate of Ravenna from the Lombards and gave it to the Patriarch, he created the territorial basis for the Papal State. By accepting it, the Pope revealed that his allegiance to the emperor in Byzantium had been renounced.
Norman Davies: "It would appear, therefore, that the false 'Donation of Constantine' may have been concocted in order to reinforce the genuine donation of Peppin."
794 Carolingian bishops change the Nicene Creed by inserting "filioque" (= "and the Son") where the original had said that the Holy Spirit proceeds (has the origin of His divine being in the being of the Father. They declare the Easter Christians to be defective in their faith because they lack this phrase in their creed. This carries the implication that the original Roman empire (which had moved its capital to Constantinople) is no longer legitimate and that the position of emperor of the Romans is now open to be filled by their own king, Charlemagne.
800 Charlemagne crowned Holy Roman Emperor by Pope Leo III
867 Photius, Patriarch of Constantinople, raises objections to Filioque.
879 Council of 400 Bishops in Constantinople condemns Filioque. Council's decision accepted by Pope John VIII.
972 Otto I in West reaches agreement with Roman Emperor in East for mutual recognition of imperial titles.
1014 Papacy adopts Filioque on occasion of Henry II's coronation in Rome.
1054 Formal breach between East and West with mutual excommunications
1204 Sack of Constantinople by Fourth Crusade
1204-61 Latin Kingdom of Constantinople
1274 Council of Lyons: Filioque and transubstantiation declared dogma in West; failed reunion of Eastern and Western Churches.
1059 Pope Nicholas II decrees that papal elections would be by College of Cardinals. This asserted independence of papacy & insured against multiple popes elected by different factions.
The Roman curia was established shortly afterward.
Pope
Gregory VII (Hildebrand) (r. 1073-1085)
1075 Pope Gregory VII (Hildebrand) (r. 1073-85 AD) claimed supreme legislative and judicial power within Christendom, with the right to depose all princes, temporal and spiritual.
Declares Pope alone can call a general council and can depose bishops and emperors.
Forbade the investiture of ecclesiastical offices by laymen.
Pope
Innocent III (r. 1198-1216)
Organized the Curia into departments headed by men trained in the law and office routine.
Levied income tax on clergy and monasteries.
Chartered the Dominican order
Launched 4th Crusade
He tried to get them not to attack Constantinople, but when they did so, he interpreted it as a miraculous event.
1213 Induced Philip Augustus to lead a crusade against the Albigensians and had Dominic send Dominicans to lead the intellectual battle against them.
Deposed Emperor Otto IV
Pope Boniface
VIII (r. 1294-1303)
Tried to increase the power of the church beyond what it had reached a century before under Innocent III and failed.
1296 He published the bull Clericis laicos ordering clergy not to pay taxes to any secular government.
Philip IV of France blocked all revenues to Italy.
1302 Bull Unam sanctam claimed the pope was the rightful sovereign of Europe and that kings held power only by his permission.
1303 Philip IV of France arrested and imprisoned Pope Boniface, who died a few months later.
Philip had the archbishop of Bordeaux elected Pope as Clement V.
1309 Clement transferred the papal seat to Avignon. (Until 1376)
1302 Boniface VIII was responsible for Dante's exile.
1308-13 Dante writes Inferno (which is represented as taking place in 1300 and makes a place for the arrival of Boniface in it when he dies.