JOHN ROBRT THEOLOGICAL COLLEGE

ASSIGNMENT
SUB: History of christianity (BHCO1)
TOPICS: A historical study on the development of catholicate and Papacy during
the middle Age.
submitted by: chomkhoi ngaimong submitted to: Dr. Imo Chujang

INTRODUCTION:

Catholicate and papacy are two important heirarchical office within Christian faith, specifically
within the Eastern Orthodox and Roman Catholic Churches, respectively. The catholicate and Papacy
share similar functions in terms of leadership and governance within their respective churches, there
are significant differences between the two. The Catholicate is primarily associated with the Eastern
Orthodox Church, while Papacy is specific to the Roman Catholic Church.They both paly vital roles
in their respective Churches providing spiritual guidance preserving tradition promoting unity and
representing their Churches both internaly and externally. They are seen as important figures in the
Christian faith, and their offices hold significant influence over religions matters within their
respective denominations. so this paper is attempt to bring out the development of the Catholicate
and Papacy during the middle Age.

CATHOLICATE:

The term catholicate refers to the position or office of a catholicos, who is the head of certain
Eastern orthodox or oriental orthodox churches. The Catholicos is generally responsible for the
administration and spiritual leadership of his respectives church. The term Catholicate is often use to
refers specially to the catholicate of the East, which is an eccelesiastical office within the Syriac
Orthodox Chuech and the Malankara Orthodox Syrian church.1

ORIGIN OF CATHOLICATE.

The tradition of the Catholic Church claims it began with Jesus Christ and his teachings,
the Cathpolic tradition considers that the Church is a continuation of the early Christian community.
eatablished by the diciples of Jesus. The Church leader, the Bishop of Rome to be the sole successor
to Saint Peter. who ministered in Rome in the first century AD after his Appointment by the Jesus as
the head of Church.2 The origin of the Catholicate can be traced back to the early centuries of
Christianity. in the 4 century, the Christian Church underwear a mojor devision known as the
Council of Chalcedon in 451 AD. This Council resulted in the splited between the Eastern Orthodox
Church and the Oriental Orthodox Church. In the aftermath, several semi-autonomous regional
Churches emerged within the Eastern Orthodox tradition. The most notables of these is the Armenian
Apostolic Church, which established its own Catholicates in 1441 AD. The Armenians, headquater
in Etchmiadzin, Armenia has been recognized as one of the oldest Catholicates in the world.3

DEVELOPMENT OF CATHOLICATE.
The development of Christianty into the Roman Catholic Church during the Middle Age
was one of the most in its existance. Christianity had already established itself as a significant
1 Friedrich Nippol, The history of catholism since the restoration of the Papacy, Publisher New York, G.P. Putnam’s.`
1
2 Holmes, J. Derek. History of the Catholic church (published, continnum International Publishing Group 2002)
3 Philip Schaff. History of the Christian Church volume V The Middle Ages, WM. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company.
religions, but its development during the Medieval era shaped its into what it is today. Catholicism,
consequentially, began to spread from Jerusalem to Europe as a result of the Crusades, eventually
reaching a majority of the modern world. To this day the Church, lead by popes since its inception,
continues to influence people globally on evolving social and political issues The Catholic Church
led to the establishment of the institution of catholicate. the catholicate emerged as a hierarchical
structure within the Church, granting authority to select regions or territories to exercise
accelesiastical governance. And one of the the important reasons for the development of the
Catholicate during the middle age was the theological and accelesiastical divergences within the
early Christian Church. as the Church grew and expanded, theological disputes arose, leading to
schisms and the emergences of different Christian donomitions. The establishment of the theological
and acclesiastical controversies during the 4th and 5th centuries, particularlythe councils of Niceas
(325) and chalcedon (451). At the council of Chalcedon the Armenian church rejected the
christological definition that was accepted by the majority of the christian of the world. This led to
the doctrinal; disagreement with the Byzantine Orthodox Church and other Eastern Christian
communities. As a result, thew Armanian Church developed its own district theological position,
known as the Armanian Orthodox Church, which was seperated from the Orthodox and Catholic
traditions. the eastablishmennt of the Catholicate was a pivotal step in solidifying the indipendence
and autonomy of the Armanian Church. It provided a centralized religious authority and leadership,
giving the Armanian christian a district identity and organisational structure. The Catholicate helped
in preserving the uniqui traditions, liturgical, practices, and theoilogical teaching of the Armanian
Apostalic Church.4.

From as early as the 5 centur AD, Catholic Monks and Nuns translated many ancients works
into Latin, including Aramaic and Hebrew munuscripts.These monks inspire by St Benedict, created
monasteries which which were value for there education constribution to the surrounding
communities. The importance of these institutions, headed by Abbots, reinforced the Catholic values
in the Feudal system and paved the way for the Church to become aan integral part of the Middle
Age. 5 Dring the middles Ages, the institution of the Catholicae continued to develop and expand
within various Christian denominations. The catholicate is more commonly associated with the
Eastern Orthodox Church rather than Roman Catholic Church.

The Eastern Orthdox tradition.

The Catholicate become synonymous with became synonymous with the office of the
Metropolitian or Patriarch. The title of Metropolitian was given to the heads of certain regional
religional Churches, usually the capital city of a Byzantine province. The Metropolitan had authority
over the bishops within his jurisdiction and played a significant role in the administration of the
church. In the 9th century, the patriarchate of constantinople emerged as the most significant and
influential Catholicate within within the Byzantine Empire. The Contantinople also known as the
Ecumenical patriarch, held a position of greatb prestige and authority, often seen as the first among
equals among the leaders of the Eastern Orthodox communion.6

The Catholicate also expanded beyond the Byzantine Empire. for example the Catholicate of
Antioch was established in the 4th century and gained prominence as one of the five ancient
patriarchates of the Eastern Orthodox Church. similarly, The Catholicate of Alexendria in Egypt
maintained its impotance as a center of Orthodox Christianity. In addition to the Eastern Orthodox
tradition, the catholicate also developed within the Oriental Orthodox tradition. The Orthodox
Tewachedo Church, for instance established its own Catholicate in 1951 as an autonomous
jurisddiction within the Oriental Orthodox communion. overall, the middle age saw the consolidation
4 William Duiker and Jackson Speilvogel, Essentials of World Volume 1 (Mason OH: Wadsworth, 2006)
5 Marthin Luthur and the reformation C.T. Published by the Rev. Dr.Ashish Amos Indian Society for promoting Christian
knowledge.
6 John Antony Mcguckin. The Orthodox church : an introduction to its history, doctrine and spiritual culture Blackwell

published Ltd (hardback 2008)

expansuion of the catholicate institution within different Christain traditions, playing a crucial role
in the spiritual leadership and administration of their respective churches.7

The Church became dominant in Europe following the fall of the Roman Empire. The only
religion recognized in middles Ages Europe was specificaly Catholicism. Christianity in the middles
ages dominated the lives of both peasant and nobility.
The Catholic Church played a significant role in the early Middle ages. This time period was
marked by instablity, as the Roman Empire collapsed, and Europe was devided into smaller
kingdom. The Catholic Church provided stability during time of chaos, and it also helped
Christianity throughout Europe. The Catholic Church had a significant impact on the society in the
middle ages. it was involved in educatrion, charity healthcare. The Church also played a role in
politics, as bishops and popes often serveds as advisors to rulers. in addition the Church owned a
graeat deal of property, and it collected taxes from the people.
Monasteries played a very important role in the societies during the early middle age. They
were centres of learnings and culture, and they presearved classical knowledge during a time when
few people could read and write. Monasteriues were also responsible for helping the poor and sick.
They provided food, shelter, and medical care to those in need. and monesteries operated schools and
orphanages.8

PAPACY.

The papacy ia an additional source of authority for Catholics. While many Catholics often turn
to the Bible for guidance, they are also able to turn to the teachings of the pope. The pope as he
represents a direct line back to Jesus. in this sense, Catholics see Jesus as beings present in the
papacy.The Romam Catholics Church is the largest denomination within the Christianity. This mean
papacy play very important role in how Christianity is perceived glbally.9

ORIGIN OF PAPACY

The papacy is known as the office held by the pope as the head of the Roman Catholic
Church, in accordance to Catholic doctrine. The pope official tittle is ‘Bishop of Rome ,’since the
Vatican is located within Rome, Italy. This thus makes Rome the center of all things Catholic, and it
often seen as the Holy Land. Papal primacy is the concept that the Bishop of Romke the Pope is the
universal pastor and supreme head of the Catholic Church. By this concept the Pope said to have
supreme, immediate. and universal jurisdictional authority to govern the Church. The Pope is often
seen as the earthly successor to Jesus.
Before the Rome was the center of Christianity, Jerisalem was until it was attacked and
destroyed by Titus and his army in 70 AD. This left the faith without its center. At this time, people
of Christian faith started to flock to Rome, as it was the political center of the ancient world. Some
believe that Jesus appointed Peter as the first bishop of Rome around this time. Yet the Bible clearly
teach this, and many others other agree that peter was just a deciple. Even though Rome was seen
with high dignity, it had trouble gaining authority and jurisdiction over Churches of Antioch and
Alexandria. Bishop Victor excommunicated the Eastern Churches for not adhering to the Roman
practices of keeping Easter, and this occured in the second centuhry. It was during the reign of
Contanstine that he blended paganism with christianity, making Rome the religious capital of the
world around 321 AD. It was not untill Constantine removal of the capital in 330AD that the Churfch
garnered a change to assert its dominance. In the same year,` the pope or Bishop of Rome inherited
7 Peter Sarris. Byzantium: A very short story introduction published by Oxfort University press.
8 Cannon, William R. History of Christianity in the middle age. (publisher: Abingdon press)
9 Foote, G. & Wheeler,J. The rise of the Papacy. In crimes of Christianity. London; progressive pub.co.
the power prestige and titles of the Rome emperors. The mokst significant of these titles was
Pontifex Maximus Latin for great bridge builder in the context of the bridge between heaven and
Earth. Between the constant power stuggles and the feuds among rival bishop the necessity of a
central head was prevalent. A long time had lapsed before the ideas was brought to predominance. It
was first asserted at the counsel of sardica in 343 AD at the time that oriental bishops protested and
left. damacus bishop of Rome during the time of Theodosius in the late 4th century, was the first who
took the title of pontiff, while the bishops of Alexandria and Rome were linked together as joint
authorities on orthodoxy.he claimed inhirent authority without any consideration of the scriptures,
while threatening and demanding of others in order to gain more power. Siricius was also the first to
call himself the heir of peter (Pinedo, 2008). There is no doubt that demacus and Siricius were
primary forces behind the need to develop a hierarchy in the C hurch.10
when the Roman Emoire collapesed in 410 AD, the Church was left as the only
stabilizing force in the west. As a result, the Church took on increased power to hold the region
together in the economy and politics. Even through all this the Bishopn of Rome waslooked at with
much respect. Rome was not always the center of all things catholic. It was not until the destruction
of Jerusalem in 70 AD that people started to flock to Rome. Upon this movements people with the
help of Constantinople and Antioch. Popes shortly after this started to take the titles and powers of
the emperors such as Pontifex Maximus. There was a huge misconception that peter was the earthly
successor to Jesus, what the pope ultimately is seen as. As time went on, word of mouth led to people
believing this to be true. Along with this and other Peter tradition , the development for hierarchy in
thr Churchwas vastly influence by this. Following the great schism that occuhred between
Constantinople and Rome and the several Excommunications that took place, Rome took advantage
of this. It was early in the 7th century that the papacy was universally accepted as the head of the
head of the Church. What started some years after the death of Jecsus and continued into coming
centuries finally came full circle, with the earthly world having its successor to jesus. All these
events, spearheaded by many different actors events throughout history, is where papacy originated
and rose to power over the Catholic Church that we are accustomed to seing today.11

DEVELOPMENT OF PAPACY.

The Papacy underwent significant development and evolution during the middle ages.
Several key factors contributed to this process:

1.Rise of the Bishop in Rome: The Bishop of Rome, later referred to as the Pope, gained
prominance and authority during this period. Rome, as the former capital of the Roman Empire, held
political and cultural significace, which help elevate the posimtion of the Bishop of Rome.

2. Conversion of Barbarinan kingdoms: The conversion of the various Germanic and

Barbarian kingdoms, such as Lombards, to Christianity resulted in theies leaders seeking aliances
with the Pope. These conversions strengthened the papacy’s influence and provided it with temporal
power.
3. Donation of pepin and Charlemange: The donation of territories known as the papal
states bt the Frankish kings pepin the shorts and Charlemange in the 8th and 9th centuries further
enhancd the Papacy’s temporal power. The Popes became rulers of these territories and weilded
considerable political and military authority.

4. Conflicts with seculer rulers: During the middle ages conflicts between the Papacy and
various seculer rulers emerged, particularly with the Holy Roman Emperors. These conflicts, known
as the investiture controversy, centered around the appointment of Bishops and control over

10Pinedo, M. (2008). The origins of Papaacy (Apologetics Press, Ed) RTetrives March 9. 2017.
11Martin Luthur and the Reformation-published by the Rev. Dr. Ashish Amos of Indian society for promoting Christian
knowledge.
acclesiastical appointments. The Papacy fought for its independence from secular interferance,
ultimately resulting in its victory and increased authority.

5.Canon Law and Centralization: The Papacy worked to create a unified body of canon
law, which established norms and reguration governing the Church and its members. This efforts
helped centralize the Church’s authority and strengthened the Papal office.

6. Papal Reforms: Various popes initiated reforms to address moral and administratives
issues within the Church. Ntably, pope Gregory VII’s reform in the 11th century aimed to combat
simony ( the buying and selling of Church officers) and clerical marriage, while also asserting the
pope’s supremacy over temporal rulers.
Overall, the development of the papacy during the middle ages saw the Papal office
rising to become a significant political, spiritual, and cultural authority in Europe. The pope’s role
expanded beyond relegious matters to include political and diplomatic influence. This period laid the
foundation for the medieval papacy’s central role in the governance and affairs of the Catholic
Church. 12

RISE OF THE PAPACY.

The collapes of Rome did leaves a void that was quickly filled by the Church. The
Church as discussed in earlier research, responded in a variety of ways includings acts of compassion
and service. Helping thonse whome homes that were destroyed by fire and left with nothing. The
Church stepped in and provided relief and comfort to those affected by the invading horders. The
Church Stepped in and provided reliefs and comforts to those affected by the invaders hordes.
However, with the collapes of Rome, people looked to the leadership of the Church in Rome not only
to help with physical need but also to provided insight and guidance in the different heresies that
were beings taught and promotesd during this time. The church of Rome rose to prominance not
because of power or prestige, but because of its location and history as the head okf religious affairs.
Everything had to come in and out of Rome and that is understandable, but how did the papacy
arise? It was the Church in Rome that emerged to prominance an only than, as part of the eminance
did its leader begin to stand out.13
The Rome Catholic Church regarded Peter as the first Pope. He was also
recognized as the first bishop of Rome and the patriarch of the west. Throughout the early year of
Christianity the Church of rome wasjust one Church of many throughout the Empire. Although
people did look at the Church in Jerusalem as the center of religious affairs, it was destroyed in AD.
70 which left the Church at Rome to be looked at as the new center of religious affairs as it was
already the political capital. Little is known about the papacy in the first three and half centuries, but
Rome eventually began to exercise greater leadership by its bishops throughout the later years.
During the time of Constantine the graeat the Church enjoyed a period of religious freedom never
before experienced. Synods or councils were held frequently in Rome under the chairmanship of the
bishop of rome to discuss views that eventually were formulated in the shapke of canons. Although
the Church at Rome did enjoy a some what superior but purely moral authority in comparison to
other churches, it did not posses any legal or constitutional pre-eminence at that time, but it did play
into the subsequent evolution of papal primacy. 14
Constantine decided to move the capitral of the Rome Empire to the “New Rome,’’
namely constantinople that shifted the power from the west to the east, which caused a split, or a
rivalry between the two cities. One can only imagine the problems this created for the Church. Soon

12 Brett Whalen. The medieval Papacy. publisher Bloomsbury 2017.

13 Bavid wells. ” The Rise of the Papacy’’, Table Talk Magazine, Ligonier Ministers accessed 20 november 2014.
www.ligonier/tabletalk.
14 Walter Ullmann, “ The Papacy in the last Roman Empire,’’ pages 1-29. Short History of the Papacy in the middle age

.accessed 20 november 2014.

after “general council’’ was called for by the Emperor of Constantinople. He invited bishops from
the eastern part of the empire but ignored the bishop of Rome and adclared that the bishop of
Constantinople would be the next bishop of Rome because Constinople was the “New Rome’’.
Meanwhile back in old Rome this was interpreted as achallenge to the authority of the Roman
bishop, and declared in a synod that met a year later that “the Holy Roman Church takes precedence
over the other Churches, not on the grounds of any synodal decisions, but because it was given the
primacy by the lord of our Lord and Redeemer in the Gospel when he said; ‘Thou art peter, and upon
this rock i will build my Church. Because of this statement, when political power in Rome startd to
wane, it didn’t matter what people though about the supremacy of the Church of Rome. Rome could
now claims its superiority on the primary of Peter alone and the bishop could exercise more power.15
The rise of pope Gregory the great who called himself the servant of the God . Led the
way in standerdezing of worship and liturgy in the Church. Through his leadership the Church was
able to expand both in territory and power. He also believed in purgatory and that the mass was
sacrifice of Christ’s body and blood. Pope Gregory was through of as the first of the medieval
popes.The real power of the papacy was demonstrated in the year 800, when charles came to saints
peter’s foe worship and was crowned by pope leo III as Emperor and Augustus. As the canturies
progressed, papal power continued to increase due to the weak politiocal leadership in Europe.The
religious leadership of the pope was replacing the former glory that the emperors enjoyed. Pope
Gregory VII welded so much power that he excommunicated Henry IV and absolved all subjects
from their allegiance to the to the emperor. Soon afterward Henry IV came before the pope asking
for forgiveness and was welcomed back into the Church. Popes kept princesin line by threats of
excommunication that were taken quite seriously.
The papacy grow in power and prestige untill finaly in A.D. 1054 the first major
division of the Church occured. The Eastern Church seperated from the Western church because the
pope took it upon himself to change a church creed on his own authority. The papacy and the
infallibility of the pope was further solidified by the Vatican council in 1870 which affirmed that the
pope possessed full and supreme power of jurisdiction over whole Church, not merely in faith and
morals, but also in Church discipline and in the govrnment of the church.16
The papacy as its stands today has complete authority over all matters. No council
or bishops can overrule the pope on any matter. Nobody is equal or superior to the pope. As Lutzer
writes, when the pope speak ax catheral, he can supersade the scriptures. All protest sre silienced. No
persos should Be place in this position of leadership without some accountability ans can see why
there was a major division in the Church into Chatholic and protestants branches. However, looking
back over history it is easy to see how the rise of the papacy accured as political power balked, the
leadership of the Church who had already axhibited organizational and administrative skills
throughout the course of the early church allowed bishops and eventually Popes to rise to such
prominence within the Church.17

CONCLUSION.

In cunclusion, the middle ages witnessed significant developments in both the

Catholicates and Papacy which shaped the structure and prominance of these institutions within the
Christian World. During this period, the Estern Orthodox Church, experiance a gradual
decentralization of power. The Patriarchates of Constantinople, Alexandria, Antioch and Jerusalem
emerged as major centres of authority, each with district jurisdiction. The East-West Schism of 1054
further cemented the seperation developments of the Catholic and Orthodox traditions, with the
former being centered around the Byzantine Empire. On the other hand, the Papacy based in Rome
steadily ascended to a position to great influence and centralized authority. The emerging of the

15 Erwin Lutzer, “Was Peter the first Pope’’. Doctrines that divide. Kregel publication.
16 Wayne Grudem, “Brief History of organisation Seperation in the Church. Systematic Theology, Zondervan
Publications.
17 Wells David “The Rise of the Papacy’’,Table talk Magazines, Ligonier Ministries accessed 20 November 2014.
Catholicate and Papacy as parrallel but distinct expressed of Christianity in the middle age resulted
in theological doctrinal and political ddifference between the Eastern and Orethodoox and Roman
Catholic Churchs. Overall thee developments of both Catholicate and Papacy durings the middle age
effects on the structure and organigation of Christianity. The Eastern Orthodox Church saw
decentralization of power, while the papacy evolved into centralization and influential instutition.
These developments set the stage for the subsequence religion and political transformation in the
Christian world, ultimately shaping the course of Western civilization.
BIBLIOGRAPHY

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Philip Schaff. History of the Christian Church Volume V The Middle Ages, WM. B. Eerdmans
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Pinedo, M. (2008) The origins of Papacy (Apologetics Press, Ed) Retrives March 9. 2017.
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