The decline of the papacy
In the thirteenth century, through the combined action of many factors, the great synthesis of philosophy, theology, government governance and society was slowly completed. These factors include purely Greek philosophy, but also Eastern beliefs.
Christianity integrates all aspects of the favorable factors. It received the Bible from the Jews and adopted the doctrine that everything but its own religion was evil, and it rejected the racial exclusivity of Judaism and the inconveniences of the Mosaic Law. Persian dualism was also absorbed and refined by Christianity, which made good the ultimate all-powerful principle. In addition, Christianity made great strides in philosophy, developing a scholastic philosophy applicable to it. The Church also continually consolidates their power. The Old Testament, mystical religion, Greek philosophy, and the Roman administrative system were organically combined by the Catholic Church and gave the Church a power that no social organization had ever had before.
Beginning with the collapse of the Catholic system in the fourteenth century AD, the acceleration of some external events became more important than philosophy. In the fourteenth century, the pope existed most of the time as an instrument of the French emperor. The rise of the wealthy merchant class and the increase in the knowledge of ordinary believers are two other important factors. And both started with Italy. Some cities in northern Italy had a strong urban spirit, and the Roman emperors were no longer a threat to them at that time, so their spirit of independence was mainly used against the pope. Elsewhere outside Italy there has also been a strong tendency to call it democracy in the broad sense, along with a strong nationalist tendency. The church is increasingly secularized, like a taxing institution. Popes no longer possess moral authority commensurate with the supreme power they were given. In the fourteenth century, most of the zealous people were forced to fight the Holy See.
All of these situations occur in a gradual process, which begins with the reach of the power of the Holy See. Pope Boniface VIII in Woodham. The Shaman's orders imposed more demanding demands than all his predecessors. He also created the amnesty year system in 1300 AD, which was actually a practice of wealth accumulation at that time. The first amnesty ceremony in 1300 marked both the culmination of papal power and the beginning of the weakening of the papacy's power.
Bonifers VIII, who had always been nepotistic and insatiable, had a fierce dispute with the King of France, and in the end, the King of France deposed him through the Synod of the Synod and arrested him. Bonifers VIII eventually fled to Rome, where he died.
Later, in 1305 AD, cardinals in France elected Archbishop of Bordeaux as Pope, Clement V. The Pope and the King of France, both in desperate need of money, colluded to launch a persecution of the Knights Templar. The Templars were beaten as heretics and had all their property confiscated.
In most cases, the interests of the Pope and the Emperor were in conflict. When the Pope submitted to the King of France, some monarchs who hated France naturally hated the Pope.
At this time, the bishops were fully under the control of the Pope, and the proportion of bishops appointed by the Pope was increasing. With the exception of the Francis Order, which held fast to its own spirit of independence, other monastic orders were obedient.
The forms of resistance to the papacy vary from place to place, either in combination with the nationalism of the monarchical dictatorship, in others with the Puritan abhorrence of the corruption and secularization of the papacy, and in others with retro democracy.
It is clear that if the Holy See is to remain effective in maintaining its central position in the Catholic Church as a whole, it must break free from the shackles of France and return to Rome as soon as possible. According to the wishes of the Romans, they elected Pope Urban VI. But the cardinals claimed that the election was contrary to canon law, and they elected the new pope Clement VII. This led to a forty-year period of great division in the Holy See.
The solution to the division was the convening of a synod of all religions, and the University of Paris, led by Geissen, developed a new set of theories. This doctrine grants the synod the right to move. But the synod that followed in Pisa in 1409 AD was so failed that it could even be described as absurd. In 1414 AD, another synod was held in Constance. The Council declared that the Pope had no right to dissolve the doctrine of the Synod and that in some respects it was subject to the Synod. The Council also required that the Pope must convene a synod of the congregation of the whole religion every seven years.
In addition to the schistos that constituency succeeded in eliminating divisions, the synod wanted to replace papal absolutism with a constitutional monarchy. Since then, the struggle between the Synod and the Pope has become more frequent. In the end, although the Holy See won, their moral prestige was greatly reduced.
Wycliffe
The life and doctrine of Wycliffe (1320-1384 AD) are a true portrayal of the decline of the authority of the Holy See in the fourteenth century AD. Wycliffe was a secular priest who held a doctorate in theology from Oxford University and enjoyed great prestige at Oxford University. He was the last important scholastic scholar. He was a Platonist, a realist. He argues that the real world is not one of all possible worlds, but the only one that is possible, because God must choose the best.
Wycliffe's change of thought was rather abrupt, and he was a staunch advocate of orthodoxy in his fifties, but driven by strong moral feelings, namely his infinite sympathy for the poor and his extreme dislike of the wealthy secular monks, made him quickly change his mind and become a heretic. At first, he attacked only the governance and moral aspects of the Holy See, and did not deal with doctrine, but soon he was forced to embark on the path of total resistance.
Wycliffe's break with orthodoxy was marked by his lecture On the Right of The Citizen to Rule and the theory developed from it: that only the righteous deserve the right to rule and property; that the unjust monk does not have these rights; and that it is up to the citizen to decide whether a priest should retain his property. He pointed out that property is the result of sin, that Christ and his disciples have no property, and that the monks should therefore have no property.
His above views drew opposition from all the clergy except the dervishes, and he was summoned to a court of bishops for trial, but the empress and the populace succeeded in protecting him. It is also important to note that even in those days, Oxford refused to recognize the Pope's right to judge its teachers, a powerful protection of academic freedom.
Later, Wycliffe published a number of scholarly works, arguing that the king was God's agent and that bishops should submit to the king's rule. After the Great Schism, he further branded the Pope as a false Christ. He formed the "Poor Priesthood" order, whose members were secular believers, through whom they preached among the poor.
It is worth noting that Wycliffe did not invite more persecution because of his views and the democratic activities he engaged in. Both Oxford and the House of Representatives protected him as much as possible. He was not even formally convicted until his death in 1384, and he was not even formally convicted until his death in 1414 at the Synod of Constance, where his skeleton was exhumed and burned.
In the fifteenth century AD, in addition to the decline of the Holy See, many other factors contributed to social and cultural mutations. Centralization was strengthened. France and England ended anarchy. Italy has made great strides in economic and cultural terms.
The emerging culture was pagan in nature, admiring Greek and Roman culture and despising medieval culture. People have a lot more first-hand information to know Plato. What social life presents is no longer a place of anguish on a pilgrimage to another world, but a place full of opportunities that can offer pagan joy, honor, adventure, and beauty. Amid the clamor of art, poetry, and pleasure, the centuries-long asceticism that has dominated the West is gradually forgotten. Spiritual freedom is ecstatic, and people usher in the birth of the modern world.