Mediaeval Church History # 3
THE
TRIUMPH OF POVERTY MOVEMENT
The Spiritual
Development in the Life of Mediaeval Man
A) Introduction: The Context and the New Challenge:
The 9th - 10th
centuries (850 - 950 AD) were undoubtedly marred by political and spiritual
decadence in the
This was the time when a legendary woman pope arose. This was the time when popes brought their sons into the papal court and ordained them bishops and even became their successors. What? They had sons! That's another story. It was the time when popes, bishops and priests bought ecclesiastical offices. It was this time when a dead pope was exhumed, tried in court, found guilty, deposed being a pope and thrown into the Tiber River. It was the time when a certain person became pope for three times.
Such was the situation when honest people started to hunger for the salvation of their souls. Great saints are always God's answer to the particular needs and difficulties of the Church in a particular time. The Church needs reform with-in, not with-out. These people respond to that call.
As early as 10th and 11th centuries, monastic reformers demanded the return to the apostolic poverty of the early church and the ideal of living a simple life like the Apostles. These reforms are placed against the background of wealth and affluence of the mediaeval Church. While monks and clerics devoted themselves to reading the Scriptures, the members of the laity also formed small circles where Scriptures were read and explained to them. There was a hunger for the Word of God at this time. In the course of their search, the people encountered the poor Christ. Since then, many had a vivid image of the poor Christ contrasted in the avarice which was very evident in the Church.
And so, the centuries following this age saw a great spiritual upheaval that would change the direction of the life of the Church from the papacy down to the ordinary member of the Church.
B) Content: The Poverty
Movement in the life of Priests and
of the monks
'Religious' refers to a Christian who wishes
to follow Christ professing the three vows exemplified by Christ: chastity,
poverty and obedience. 'Religious' people are therefore professional in
Religion, for that is precisely where they are 'expert' of. In addition, they
live in community following a common 'rule' of life. That's why, 'religious'
people are also called 'regulars' (regula, meaning 'rule'). The Regulars
developed into two kinds: first, the monastic orders, and second, the Friars.
B. 1 - Monastic Orders
It started with the monastery of Cluny, where the great reform of the Church happened. The monastery of Cluny restored the strict observance of the Benedictine Rule (remember the previous discussion on monasticism in the Ancient Church History). This monastery became the center of spiritual renewal in the mediaeval life of the Church. It was the spiritual oasis where people, wary of the world's politics and worldly power, found refuge and serenity of soul.
Literally speaking, it was also a central monastery for many other monasteries. It had its prominence among other existing monasteries. Consequently, different monasteries were group together in a religious 'order' under the central authority of the Abbot of Cluny. Their way of Christian life was based on the Rule of St. Benedict. Simply speaking, the Rule gave importance on silence in the church, exclusion of meat from their daily diet, and possessing no private property. By the year 1100, it was noted that there were 2,000 abbeys, priories and cells existing under the monastery of Cluny.
Nonetheless, in a later development, some monks felt that Cluny itself needed reform. Monasteries were established and centralized under the monastery at Citeaux. These were the Cistercians whose order was founded by Stephen Harding. During the time of St. Bernard of Clairvaux, the Cistercian order became famous all over Europe with monasteries numbering about 600.
The Camaldolese monks of St. Romuald (d. 1027), reformed the Cistercians by minimizing the life in community and making seclusion their trademark. They were known for living a very austere life.
The Order of Carthusians (1084) founded by St. Bruno of Cologne (c. 1030 - 1101) was stricter than the Camaldolese. In fact, they practiced austerity to the limit of human endurance. It was characterized by long fasts and diet on vegetables only. By 15th century, there were about 150 monasteries under the Carthusian order.
B.
2 - Order of Friars
The ideal of the monastic orders was a complete withdrawal from the world. A new type of religious, however, arose in the thirteenth century. Their aim was to pursue the monastic ideals of renunciation, poverty and self-sacrifice while staying in the world and preached the urban migrants.
They were called Friars (from Latin, fratres, brothers). They were also called 'mendicant orders' because they survive through begging. These friars were originally the Franciscans, the Dominicans, the Carmelites and the Augustinians. These mendicant orders proved to be the urban missionaries of their time.
The Franciscan Friars was founded by the famous St. Francis of Asisi (b. 1181). He was the son of a rich cloth merchant who, prior to his conversion, was enjoying the pleasure of the world. God, however, changed his life. He was drawn to the Gospel of the Lord and literally followed what the Bible wrote. He stripped himself of anything and went around begging. He gathered around him some disciples and drew a simple rule for these 'brothers'. The rule was approved by Innocent III. Today, Francis' order was known by the name of Friars Minor (OFM conventuals). This order excelled in the practice of poverty. It was just after his death that a new understanding of his ideal was adjusted. By now, the order was able to own properties, which was unheard of during Francis' lifetime.
The Dominican Friars was founded by St. Dominic de Guzman (d. 1221). He was of Castilian (Spanish) nobility who was impressed by Francis' order. He drew up his own rule based on the rule of St. Augustine. In his order, he emphasized intellectual training for the sake of preaching. His order is an answer to the challenges of the Albigensian heretics. No wonder the Dominicans were popularly called 'Order of Preachers'.
The Dominicans tends to be scholarly, orthodox preachers and writers while the Franciscans will more likely to be activists and even radicals.
The mendicant orders made so much contribution to the Church at this time:
a) Revival of the mediaeval spirituality especially after the Dark Ages.
b) They provided centers of learning: Scholasticism - this time, many Universities were founded, with the Universities of Paris (philosophy and theology) and of Bologna (canon law) took the prominent roles. Dominicans like St. Albert the Great (d. 1280); St. Thomas Aquinas (d. 1274); Meister Eckhard d. 1328) were on the center stage of Scholasticism. Together with them were other Scholastics like the Franciscans Dun Scotus (d. 1308) and St. Bonaventure (d. 1274).
It was also this time that other famous universities were established: Padua, Cologne, Oxford, Cambridge, Valencia, Salamanca, Vienna, Heidelberg, and many other centers of learning.
c) These orders were also outstanding in providing social services of the Church.
B. 3 - The Secular Clergy
Who were these secular clergy? These were the priests assigned in the cathedral and constitute the cathedral chapter. But, they were often called 'canons'. Unlike the monks or the mendicants, they were allowed to own properties, and did not have any vows. They followed the rule of St. Augustine imposed on his priests. Their community did not mean submission to authorities. With this structure, these canons were more inclined to commit abuses.
Some emperors had imposed on them rules found in canon law. One was the law to give up private property and have a definite rule. Those who accepted these provisions were called 'canons regular', while those who did not, ‘canons secular’. Some communities worth mentioning were the Premonstratesians founded by St. Norbert; Augustinian canons of the Great St. Bernard and the congregation of St. Victor.
C) Content: The Poverty
Movement in the Life of the Lay People
Accordingly, great preachers abound at this time, both heretical and orthodox. Unfortunately, the Church was not prepared for this movement. It was not a practice before wherein lay people, both men and women, preach. In the mind of the Church, only priests and monks can do the work of preaching. As long as the search took place within the limits of the Church and be utilized for an inward reform, its results would be beneficial. But the danger was, when it accommodated heretical and anti-ecclesiastical ideas and produce ill effects.
Examples of these heretical movements were:
§ Dutch reformer Tanchelm who spoke against possession of property by clerics and opposed the hierarchy and sacramental life of the Church. He was killed by the people but his heresies did not die.
§ Arnold of Brescia called for the Church without property and criticized the papacy. Emperor Frederick Barbarossa had him executed in 1155.
Aside from these people, there were two main heresies that were born out of the Poverty Movement:
C. 1 - The Waldensians
The Waldensians have their origin with the rich merchant Peter Waldes of Lyon. He, too, gave up his wealth upon reading Mt. 10: 5 ff and devoted to strict apostolic poverty. They were called pauperis Christi, who meant to call for reform in the Church. At first, they were praised by the pope. However, certain misunderstandings arose which made Peter adamant against the censure to preach
by the pope. That was the start of their hostility. Later, they adapted heretical teachings which considered them outside the Church. The Waldensians became underground and later joined the Italian Protestants.
C. 2 - The Cathars
The teachings of the Cathars were basically heretical. They believed that the world was ruled by the devil, and that the god of the Old Testament was evil. They considered themselves the 'Perfect Ones' and avoid marriage, sexual intercourse and eating meat as belonging to the devil. The Catholic Church was synagogue of Satan and the priests are hypocritical sinners. Added to these insults against the Church, they also attacked the Emperor as governor of Satan. With all these attacks both against the Church and the State, what else would they expect but suppression?
These rebellions paved the way for the Inquisition. The Papal Inquisition (different from the Spanish Inquisition) was established in order to try a person in court whether he is guilty of heresy or not. The idea here was that, heresy divides the Empire. A person who aimed to divide the Empire is a criminal; therefore he should be tried. Where? In the office of the papal inquisitors. In 1252, Innocent IV empowered the inquisitors to employ torture if necessary to obtain confession.
Thus start of the inhumane practices of brutal tortures. Much innocent blood was shed because of this practice, especially when this was applied to the suppression of superstitions like witchcraft.
D: CONCLUSION:
1)
The presence of these holy men and women reminds us that the Lord Jesus
did not abandon the Church. The Holy
Spirit was much alive at this time as it is alive from the beginning up to now.
2)
The Papacy is not THE Church. And so, the duty to reform and renew the
Church rest on each and everyone of us. It
is therefore wrong to say that when the popes entertained corruption, the
Church has already lost her mission and identity.
3)
The test of true sanctity is shown in the sanctity of the people around
us. We cannot go to heaven alone. We
bring with us the people we have inspired. Likewise, we cannot go to hell
alone, we also bring the people we affected with our sinfulness.
E: Guides for
Reflections:
1) Our community (school, family, barkada) is a microcosm of the Universal Church. What are some of its elements that need renewal and reform, for it to become more significant for all of us?
2) Each of us represents the Church. How would you strive for holiness?
3) The sexual misconduct of priests shows the human element of the Church today. It also reflects the mediaeval life of the Church yesterday? What do you think are the reasons why this happened? Can you suggest ways of renewal and reform for the Church in the future?