The Church 13-3 .....The Rise of the Middle Ages

In this section you will:

1. Explain how the church hierarchy fit into medieval society.

2. Describe the way of life in convents and monasteries, and how it changed during this period.

3. Discuss how the church influenced life in medieval Europe.

--------------------------------------------------

Focus Questions

1. Why was the role of the parish priest among the most

important within the hierarchy of the church?

2. How was the church involved in the political and economic life of the

Middle Ages?

(answers can be found at the bottom of this page)

----------------------------------------------------------

Vocabulary

Clergy - people who hold official positions in a church (ex. priests, monks, nuns).

sacraments: Ceremonies at which participants receive God’s direct favor, or grace, to ward off the consequences of sin

cardinals: Catholic officials ranking next below the pope

monasticism: Way of life in convents and monasteries

Saint Patrick: Missionary credited with bringing Christianity to Ireland in 432

canon law: The code of law in the Catholic Church

interdict: The Catholic Church’s punishment of a region, involving closing churches and withholding sacraments

heretics: People who denied the truth of official church principles or preached beliefs not approved by the church

tithe: Church tax collected from Christians that represented one-tenth of their income

Inquisition: Institution of the Roman Catholic Church that sought to eliminate heresy by seeking out and punishing heretics

-----------------------------------

Section 3: The Church

Church clergy were organized in a hierarchy. The parish priest, at the lowest rank, was responsible for the religious instruction and moral and spiritual life of the community.

The priest also had the important role of administering five of the seven sacraments, ceremonies which are considered sacred to Catholics. Some of these are baptism, communion, penance, marriage, and anointing the sick.

Each bishop managed a group of parishes, called a diocese. The Pope held supreme authority and is said to represent God's voice. The Pope is said to be infallible. The highest ranking member of the clergy were cardinals, who elected and advised the pope. Monks were members of the clergy who lived inmonasteries according to strict rules.

Nuns lived similar lives in convents. Monks and nuns served God through fasting, prayer, and self-denial. Monasticism is the way of life in convents and monasteries. Saint Patrick was a monk who worked as a missionary. He is credited with bringing Christianity to Ireland.

The church had its own courts and code of law, called canon law. The courts could excommunicate people, cutting them off from the church, sacraments, and church burial. The court could issue an interdict to punish an entire region. All churches would be closed, and clergy could not perform marriages, burials, or other sacraments. Interdiction was used to control rulers who opposed church policies. Heretics were people who were considered to be untrue Christians.

The parish priest collected a tax called a tithe, consisting of one-tenth of a Christian person’s income. The church also received income from its lands. By the 1200s it was the wealthiest institution in Europe.

The Inquisition was an effort by the church to seek out Heretics. Heretics who did not confess were punished or executed.

-------------------------------

Answers to Focus Questions

1. Why was the role of the parish priest among the most important within the hierarchy of the church?

• The role of the parish priest was important within the hierarchy of the church because he could administer the sacraments and was responsible for the community’s moral and spiritual life.

2. How was the church involved in the political and economic life of the Middle Ages?

• The church had great political and economic influence during the Middle Ages. The church had its own code of law and its own courts, and it could control rulers with threats of excommunication or an interdict. The church had the power to tax and was a large landowner. Church teachings also helped shape the European economy.