Agnosticism / Atheism: What's Hot Now: Investiture Conflict

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Investiture Conflict Dec 9th 2011, 11:01 Investiture Conflict Back to Last Page >     Glossary Index>  Related Terms • simony • Cluniastic Reforms • Holy Roman Empire   Definition: The "Investiture Conflict" developed out of the desire by secular rulers to expand their authority by having church officials be dependent upon them for their lands and their religious offices. This had the desired effect of increasing the power of the state, but only at the expense of taking power away from the church. Naturally, the pope and other church officials were not happy with this situation and fought against it. The secular grab for power began under Otto I, who forced the pope to crown him emperor of the Holy Roman Empire. The religious backlash began in earnest as a result of the reforms which developed out of the monastery at Cluny. The conflict itself came to head during the rule of Henry IV (1056 - 1106). Only a chlid when he took the throne, several popes took advantage of his weakness an thereby worked to assert their independence from the state. In 1073, Pope Gregory VII took office, and he was determined to make the church as independent as possible from the secular rulers, hoping instead to place them under his authority. He wanted a world where everyone acknowledged the final and ultimate authority of the Christian Church - with the pope as head of that church, of course. In 1075 Gregory forbade any further lay investiture, declaring it a form of simony. Moreover, he also declared that any secular leaders who tried to invest someone with a clerical office would suffer excommunication. Henry IV, who had long seethed under the pressures from the church, refused to accept this change which undercut significant aspects of his power. As a test case, Henry deposed the bishop of Milan and invested someone else with the office. Gregory demanded that Henry appear in Rome to repent of his sins. Henry convened a meeting in Worms where German bishops loyal to him labeled Gregory a "false monk" who was no longer worthy of the office of pope. Gregory, in turn, excommunicated Henry - this had the effect of making all of the oaths sworn to Henry were no longer valid. Henry couldn't have been in a worse position - enemies at home would use this to ensure his permanent removal from power and all he could do was seek forgiveness from the Pope Gregory. He reached Gregory at Canossa, a stronghold belonging to the countess of Tuscany, while he was already on his way to Germany for the election of a new emperor and. Dressed in the poor clothing of a penitent, Henry begged for forgiveness. Gregory, however, was not ready to give in easily. He made Henry stand barefoot in the snow for three days until he allowed Henry to come in and kiss the papal ring. Actually, Gregory wanted to make Henry wait longer and beg for forgiveness at the diet in Germany - an act which would be even more public and humiliating. However, by appearing so penitent Henry was doing the right thing because Gregory could not appear to be too unforgiving. Nevertheless, by forcing Henry to beg forgiveness at all he effectively demonstrated to the world that the religious leaders had authority over secular leaders. Henry's son, Henry V, was not satisfied with this situation and he took Pope Callistus II captive in order to force a compromise which was more sympathetic to his own political position. Put into effect in 1122 and known as the Concordat of Worms, it established that the church had the right to elect bishops and invest them with their religious authority with ring and staff. However, these elections were to take place in the presence of the king and the king would invest them with political authority and control of lands with a scepter, a symbol lacking any spiritual meanings. Also Known As: none Alternate Spellings: none Common Misspellings: none Related Resources: What is Christianity? What are the various Christian groups, denominations, sects and heresies? What are some key concepts in Christian theology? What are some of the most important events in Christian history? All of this and more are covered in the Christianity FAQ. What is the Philosophy of Religion? Sometimes confused with theology, the Philosophy of Religion is the philosophical study of religious beliefs, religious doctrines, religious arguments and religious history. The line between theology and the philosophy of religion isn't always sharp, but the primary difference is that theology tends to be apologetical in nature, committed to the defense of particular religious positions, whereas Philosophy of Religion is committed to the investigation of religion itself, rather than the truth of any particular religion. What is Theism? What is the difference between monotheism and monolatry? Between pantheism and panentheism? How about between animism and shamanism? Or theism and deism? What the heck is henotheism? What is Religion? A system of human beliefs, ideals and practices which is harder to define than it may at first appear. Read more about how dictionaries, scholars and others have tried to define and explain religion. Back to Last Page >     Glossary Index>

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