NOTE: Free essay sample provided on this page should be used for references or sample purposes only. The sample essay is available to anyone, so any direct quoting without mentioning the source will be considered plagiarism by schools, colleges and universities that use plagiarism detection software. To get a completely brand-new, plagiarism-free essay, please use our essay writing service.
One click instant price quote
... independance for the Papacy so that the unhindered administration of the universal Church would be assured. " (Baldwin, p 76) Beneath the Papacy are the Cardinals, who assist the Pope in making rules for the Catholic Church, and even vote-in the new Pope at the Sistine Chapel. The Bishop is the leader of the Church in his diocese, under the influence of the Archbishops. The success of the Papal Monarchy depended on the relationship between the Cardinals and Bishops - their positions require frequent interaction.
Beneath the Bishops, are the Priests who are the leaders of the Church in their parish / community . They are helped in such duties by Nuns and Brothers. At the very bottom of the hierarchy, are the laity - the common people. The hierarchy is often described in that the higher and lower members all share the same characteristics, just "not in like measure. " (Tellenbach, p 48) However, it was also said that the higher members "belonged to the same order as the angels, and in consequence possessed all that the angels possessed. " (Tellenbach, p 48) The more a man succeeded in climbing the heavenly hierarchy, "the more exalted does he become in the metaphysical sense. " (Tellenbach, p 47) But not all men were equal. Tradition was one of the main ways the common people were kept in the lowest rank. They were unable to read scripture, which forced them to depend on the Church's interpretations.
The Church claimed that tradition was sufficient to guarantee their salvation, as the whole purpose of Apostolic Succession was so that the "original teaching would be preserved and translated without error. " (O'Grady, p 127) The Middle Ages saw Abelard produce his work Sic et Non, which displayed apparent contradictory passages in scripture. How then could scripture be sufficient? The Church was in charge of interpreting the scriptures and making sure the people followed what that interpretation stated. This was largely done through the seven Sacraments: Baptism, Confirmation, The Eurachrist (Mass), Penance, Unction, Ordination and Marriage.
The first five refer to the spiritual perfection of each man in himself, while the last two involve the administration and expansion of the Church. One thing they focused on, was confession. It was an important step, as it was linked to the Sacraments which required purity. The idea, is that when one commits a mortal sin, they must confess to their Priest.
However, before the confession is of any value, they need to be truly sorry, resolve in their heart not to repeat it, and be willing to accept the Penance the Priest subscribe for that deed. The Priest gives absolution for that sin. They did, however, distinguish between the guilt incurred by the sin, which could be removed by the Priest, and the penalty for that sin, which was still due and would be paid-for in a state called Purgatory. It was "the payment of an expiation by bitter suffering, an agony like the agony of Hell. " (Pullan, p 3) The only way to remove such penalties, was to get an Indulgence, which was taken from the Treasury of the merits of the Saints.
In a lifetime, they had accumulated more merit than they ever needed for salvation and "these credits were stored in celestial deposits, from which the Pope could make transfers to those whose accounts were deficient. " (Bainton, 1967, p 65) Towards the end of the fifteenth century, Indulgences were also bought for the dead. The monetary donation was considered a recommendation to God for a remission of punishment, taking into consideration the individuals help with the Church's finances. Although, "strictly speaking, Indulgences were not sold... granting of a pardon was timed to coincide with a contribution of money by the sinner. " (Bainton, 1967, p 65) One of the most important of the seven Sacraments, was the Eurachrist, or Mass. This is "a sacred meal through which the unique sacrifice of Christ... is brought into the present. " (whiterobedmonks.
org) The bread and wine did not merely represent Christ, but were mystically trans substantiated into his body and blood. The sacrifice was being performed again - Christ was dying for the Church's sins all over again, at each Mass. A number of these things were things that Dr Martin Luther had problems with. Luther claimed that the Catholic Church had lost something over time, it had become corrupt and needed reform. It was not that he wanted a revolutionary change to something new, but he wanted to recover something that had been lost. Luther had originally been a r enunciate monk, quite happy to follow the Catholic Church wherever it went, until he had a vision and his Father questioned it, suggesting it could have been a message from an angel of light. (See 2 Cor 11: 14) Luther realised that Scripture had more to offer than he had been taught to believe - it warned of such things, and provided ways of testing the Spirits.
From here, he came to a number of conclusions about Catholic doctrine, which he wrote-up in his ninety-five Theses and nailed them to the door of his Church. Within these Theses were three main points - he objected to a vowed object of the expenditure, the powers of the Pope over purgatory, and the welfare of the sinner. Nailing such objections to the Church was a way of inviting scholarly debate on the topics, but Luthers own Bishop sent the material to the Pope "who promptly ordered Luther to appear at Rome for trial and discipline. " (Noss, p 471) This was not for questioning Catholic practices, but for attempting to diminish the power of the Pope. Searching the scriptures even more, in order to prove himself, it was made even more obvious to him that "the Catholic Church had departed so far from its scriptural basis that many of its practices were actually anti-Christian. (Jones, p 50) The thing Luther objected to the most, was the Catholic Church teaching that Tradition was pre-eminent over Scripture.
As he pointed out, Scripture was inspired by God - the word used in the Hebrew is reach, which means air, wind or breath - it comes straight from the mouth of God. In both Matthew (15: 1 - 20) and Mark (7: 1 - 23), Jesus states that Scripture alone is infallible. The Catholic Church stated that there was also a hierarchy of Holy authority: the Pope, the Church Magisterium, local Priests, Tradition and then Scripture. Luther said that the Bible can stand without the Church.
It belongs to all Christians to know and judge doctrine. From this, he reduced the Sacraments from seven, to two - leaving only the Lords Supper and Baptism. The principle that dictated the reduction was that a Sacrament must have been directly instituted by Christ and be distinctly Christian in nature. Most of the Catholic Sacraments that did not meet these criterion were considered to be useful, but should not be institutionalised. Another Protestant question, was whether the Catholic method of confession was scriptural. The whole idea of a Priest forgiving an individual for sins against God, infers mans need for an intermediary between him and Christ.
The Old Testaments sacrificial system showed man needing an intermediary - the Levitical Priesthood - who brought the nations sins to God, so that they could be forgiven. Christs sacrifice on the Cross, however, resulted in the veil of the temple being torn in two (Matt 27: 51) - the veil no longer hid the place of mercy. Man could reach the Father himself, through the son, Christ, who was the only intermediary. 2 The idea that Christ gave his Apostles the power to forgive sin, as the Catholic Church preached, is by some oversight not mentioned in the Bible. Such a role is reserved for God alone.
Penance is another concept Luther found to be useful, but unnecessary. Repent meant to change course, not to do the type of act that the Church had been teaching. Scripture says quite clearly that "if we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. " (Matt 27: 51) Therefore, there is no need for Purgatory. The fear of Hell and Purgatory ruled the people for the church, terrorising Christians, and making them buy Indulgences for time-off a place that did not even exist - It is unlikely anyone would claim the Church did not know a profitable business enterprise when it came along. The Church claimed that the penalty for sin remained, although 2 Corinthians (5: 17 - 21) states that "old things are passed away... all things are become new. " One could also take into account Christs words on the Cross - "today thou shalt be with Me in Paradise. " (Luke 23: 43) Or did He mean to say after a period of punishment then thou shalt be with Me in Paradise. ?
Luther attacked the practice of granting Indulgences, in the sense that the Church charged money for them. It seemed man could now buy his way to Heaven. He stated that the Pope had no control over Purgatory, and even if he did, he should empty it of its inhabitants, but overall, could not reduce the penalties of purgatory, as such penalties were imposed by God - if at all. Luther also charged that the Priest was not in the position to do what the Catholic Church claimed - he did not sacrifice Christ. He said that the sacrifice was done only once, but cleansed the whole human race - it did not need to be repeated, that was the whole idea behind Christ offering Himself. Therefore, transubstantiation, the actual transformation of the bread and wine into the flesh and blood of Christ, does not occur.
Luther claimed that Mass was intended to be a giving of Thanks to God, not a sacrifice. There were two types of Service in the time of St Paul - Meetings, where a group gathered and read, prayed, preached and sang Psalms, and a Feast, where they recalled the Last Supper - commemorating the sacrifice of Christ. Luthers concerns were originally religious, only accidently ecclesiastical or social. His attack on the Church, in the hope of reforming it, failed, as he did not replace it with another Church that people accepted.
Lutheranism, and Protestantism in general, came to light, but did not manage to replace the Roman Catholic Church, who showed a religious unity in the midst of a Reformation causing great disunity. Overall, it can be seen that the Middle Ages added quite a bit to the religious world. Not only did it produce one of the greatest religious, and perhaps political, powers that this world has ever seen, but people of the Church also "distorted Christianity to such an extent that it has led them to act in direct contradiction to its fundamental principles. We can read about this in past eras and see it happening now. Because religious convictions have such emotional power, they can lead to more bitterness and hatred than anything else in the world. " (O'Grady, p 2)
Heretical truth or Orthodox Error?" ; 1985; Element Books Ltd; Great Britain; Pullan, Leighton; "Religion since the Reformation"; 1924; Oxford University Press; England; Tellenbach, Gerd; "Church, State and Christian Society"; 1959; Basil Blackwell & Mott Ltd; England; "Old & Roland Catholic & Protestant Schema" ( web >)
Free research essays on topics related to: middle ages, catholic church, martin luther, bread and wine, seven sacraments
Research essay sample on Bread And Wine Catholic Church
