The Role of the Church

• With all the danger after the fall of Rome, people turned to military leaders and the Church for help.

• The church was politically organized, modeled after Rome & was able to govern people. (Pope, Cardinals, Archbishops, Bishops, Priests, Deacons)

• Majority in Europe became Christian during the Roman Empire and many respected the Church’s power.

• A leader or king approved by the Pope would tell his people that they are approved by God/Jesus, thus giving the Pope and the Church lots of power.

• The Pope/Church also could excommunicate people out of the Church (no admittance into heaven). This threat again gave the Pope/Church lots of power.

• The Church’s power grew (being able to raise armies now) and became a threat to Kings and caused power struggles at times.

• One struggle lead the Church to split in two, The Roman Catholic Church and what is now called The Orthodox Church.

• Another struggle was over an appointment of a Bishop leading to a king being excommunicated and begged for forgiveness.

• The church also greatly influenced the people by uniting them through sacraments of the religion (baptism, 1st holy communion, confirmation, confessions, marriage, & funerals).

• People also were told to give one-tenth of their earnings called a tithe to the church making some wealthy.

• Christian teachings helped people accept the hardships of life and to obey because of the importance of the soul.

• The only culture coming out of this time reflected the Church; for example Stained glass windows, gothic style architecture, religious art, epic poems, and the Canterbury tales.