NationMaster - Encyclopedia: Gregorian Reform

The Gregorian Reform was a series of reforms initiated by Pope Gregory VII and the circle he formed in the papal curia, circa 1050–1080, which dealt with the moral integrity and independence of the clergy. These reforms are considered to be named after Pope Gregory VII (1073-1085), however he personally denied this and claimed his reforms, like his regnal name, honored Gregory the Great. Pope Gregory VII (c. ... The Roman Curia â€” usually called the Vatican â€” is the administrative apparatus of the Holy See, coordinating and providing the necessary organisation for the correct functioning of the Catholic Church and the achievement of its goals. ... Pope Gregory VII (c. ... A regnal name, or reign name, is a formal name used by some popes and monarchs during their reigns. ... Saint Gregory I, or Gregory the Great (called the Dialogist in Eastern Orthodoxy) (circa 540 - March 12, 604) was pope of the Catholic Church from September 3, 590 until his death. ...

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 the first European Revolution. The powers that the Gregorian papacy arrogated to itself were summed up in a list called Dictatus papae about 1075 or somewhat later. The major headings of Gregorian reform can be seen as embodied in the Papal electoral decree (1059), the resolution of the Investiture Controversy in the form of an overwhelming papal victory, and the resolution of issues within the Church, notably of Simony—the purchasing of positions relating to the church— and of clerical marriage. The reforms are encoded in two major documents: Dictatus papae and the bulla Libertas ecclesiae. The Gregorian revolution 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. Dictatus papae is a compilation of 27 axiomatic statements of powers arrogated to the Pope that was included in Pope Gregory VIIs register under the year 1075. ... The Investiture Controversy, also known as the lay investiture controversy, was the most significant conflict between secular and religious powers in medieval Europe. ... Topics in Christianity Movements Â· Denominations Ecumenism Â· Preaching Â· Prayer Music Â· Liturgy Â· Calendar Symbols Â· Art Â· Criticism Important figures Apostle Paul Â· Church Fathers Constantine Â· Athanasius Â· Augustine Anselm Â· Aquinas Â· Palamas Â· Wycliffe Tyndale Â· Luther Â· Calvin Â· Wesley Arius Â· Marcion of Sinope Pope Â· Archbishop of Canterbury Patriarch of Constantinople Christianity Portal This box: The Roman Catholic Church... Look up simony in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Clerical marriage is the practice, followed in most Protestant and Orthodox churches, of allowing clergy to marry and have a family. ... Papal bull of Pope Urban VIII, 1637, sealed with a leaden bulla. ... Canon Law is the ecclesiastical law of the Roman Catholic Church. ... Pope Innocent III (c. ...

The reform of the Church, both within it, and in relation to the 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 her capacity as a divine institution, she is supreme over all human structures, especially the secular state; and that the pope, in his role as head of the Church, 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 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 at no period would he have dreamed of putting the two powers on an equal footing; the superiority of church to state was to him a fact which admitted of no discussion and which he had never doubted. The Holy Roman Emperor was, with some variation, the ruler of the Holy Roman Empire, the predecessor of modern Germany, during its existence from the 10th century until its collapse in 1806. ... In theology, Divine Providence, or simply Providence, is the sovereignty, superintendence, or agency of God over events in peoples lives and throughout history. ...

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 is 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 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. Clerical celibacy is the practice of various religious traditions in which clergy, monastics and those in religious orders (female or male) adopt a celibate life, refraining from marriage and sexual relationships, including masturbation and impure thoughts (such as sexual visualisation and fantasies). ... Look up simony in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... An encyclical was a circular letter sent to all the churches of a particular area in the ancient Christian church. ...

The Pope was to be the absolute head of the church. This was a unique, universalist idea of the church. He was to be judged by no one, and the Roman Church had never been and would never be wrong. The Pope was given authority to depose Emperors. It is also closely linked with the Investiture Controversy. The Investiture Controversy, also known as the lay investiture controversy, was the most significant conflict between secular and religious powers in medieval Europe. ...

The Gregorian calendar, decreed on 24 February 1582 by Pope Gregory XIII, bears no connection to these Gregorian reforms. The Gregorian calendar is the most widely used calendar in the world. ... Gregory XIII, born Ugo Boncompagni (January 7, 1502 â€“ April 10, 1585) was pope from 1572 to 1585. ...