Biography of George 7

The Russian Historical Library of Pope Gregory VII is a brief biography of Gregory VII - the famous medieval dad, the greatest fighter for the championship of spiritual power over secular. Before the accession to the papal throne, he bore the name of Guildbrand, brought up in Rome and accompanied the dad of Gregory VI into the exile, who had a chaplain, and after his death, they say, lived in the monastery of Kluni.

In Germany, he met with Pope Leo IX, returned to Rome with him, and was dedicated to the cardinal-suicacons. After the death of Leo IX, Gregory went to France, then to Germany to the imperial court, and had a great influence on the election of Bishop Goebgardt von Eichstedt to the pope. At the same time, Pope Victor II Gregory ruled the papal office. After the death of Viktor Gildebrand, being a messenger, earned the location of his successor Stefan IX and the latter before his death made a formal order that before the return of Guildbrand to Rome, they would not proceed to the election of a new pope.

Pope Gregory VII. The drawing from the manuscript of the XI century since then Guildbrand, as the archive of the Roman Church, took all the papal politics, striving on the one hand, to the reform of the church, and, on the other, to the perfectly liberated the papal throne from secular power. Under his influence, the procedure for the election of dads was changed - now they began to be chosen not by the Roman people, but by a narrow collegium of higher church dignitaries - cardinals.

He concluded the Union of Papacy with the Norman princes of Southern Italy, who became vassals of the pope. The rule of Gregory VII received world-historical significance. He set out to make the Roman high priest the ruler of the Universe and subjugate his influence all areas of human life. He wanted not only to establish the infallibility of the pope in the matters of religion and the church, but also to subordinate it to the court all European states.

He wanted immediate recognition of the Supreme Papal power over Spain, Corsica, Sardinia and Hungary.

The Spanish Grandes, Provencal and Savoy Counts, the Dalmatian king brought him an oath in the laid dependence. Gregory threatened the French king with excommunication; In Greece, he negotiated the combination of the eastern and western churches; In Castile and Aragon, he demanded the introduction of the Roman ritual. In Bohemia, Gregory VII prohibited the use of the Slavic language during worship; From Sweden and Norway, at his insistence, they began to send young men for education in Rome.

He turned his concerns even to the state of Christian slaves in Africa, and he was very occupied by the project about the Crusade. But most of all, he sought to approve the predominance of papal power over the imperial. The course of affairs in Germany, where the power of the young emperor Henry IV weakened due to the claims of the princes, as well as good as possible to this enterprise.

Gregory issued two decrees, according to which the existing order in the church and the state was subjected to complete change; This is a decree on the celibacy of clergyman Celibate and the decree on investment. The first to tear the clergy from the main worldly interests, the second was established by his complete independence from secular power. The law on celibacy corresponded to wide public wishes, and Gregory found sympathy for the people under the divorce of previously prisoners of priests.

As for the decree on investment, it was a sharp intervention in the rights of states, since secular authorities were now forbidden to take any participation in the distribution of church posts and property. Since the bishops at that time had secular possessions and the rights received by them with the assistance of the state, and since they, especially in Germany, enjoyed the rights and power of the imperial princes, it is clear that imperial power was supposed to rebel against this order of the pope, for which the participation of the bishop was the issue of the very first importance.

In Grigory, he announced the prohibition of secular investigation of clergy and refused to approve the Archbishop of Milan Tebald appointed by Henry IV. Gregory demanded that Henry obey both his decrees and sharply pronounce him for his misconduct and sins. The furious emperor ordered the dad at the Cathedral in Worms then Gregory excommunicated him from the church and freed his subjects from the oath to him.

At first, this unheard of dad did not make any impression in Germany. But little by little the influence of Gregory increased; The zealous propaganda of the monks acquired more and more adherents to him, and the princes were delighted that they found the support of their opposition to the emperor from the church. They began to threaten Henry IV overthrow from the throne if he did not get rid of the excommunication during the year.

Henry went to Italy to look for reconciliation with dad. The latter himself was already going to Germany to be a judge between the princes and the emperor when he heard that Henry was going to him. Dad then hid in a fortified castle of Cananos, who belonged to his devoted admirer, Marcrapher Tuscan Matilda.Here Henry appeared to him and, having stood for three days, on January 25 - 27, in the clothes of a repentant sinner, barefoot and with a naked head in the courtyard of the castle, made an orally and in writing an oath promise that, according to Gregory, he would reconcile with the princes.

Only after that did dad agree to let the emperor go sins. Miniature from the Life of Matilda, E Gg. But only Henry again acquired the previous power in Germany, he ordered the dad to deposit and choose the antipap of Clement III; He himself hurried to Italy. He besieged Gregory in Rome, took possession of the city, put Antipap on the throne, which Gregory was forced to crown himself, locked in the fortress of the Holy Angel, was in a very dangerous position from which he was liberated by the army of his ally, the Norman prince Robert Gviskar.

But he could not establish himself in Rome, and left with the Norman army south. At first he lived in Monte Cassino, then settled in Salerno, where he died on May 25 with the famous words: "I loved the truth and hated a lie-and therefore I was dying in exile."