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Byzantium And Religious Power Essay

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The middle ages of Europe saw a resurgence of political reorganization mostly as a result of large religious bodies asserting governing forces where secular powers already existed. This clash of authoritative bodies had a variety of outcomes depending on who and when the confrontation took place. While the relationship of Church and state in Byzantium favored patriarchal power over the Church, in the West, efforts to consolidate secular and religious power led to a conflict between the two sides that could not be solved for several hundred years.
In Byzantium, secular power held control of the Church. Upon taking the Byzantium throne, Emperor Isaac I Comnenus began a period of great change for the empire. One of the changes enacted by Isaac I was to reallocate funds from the church to public funds. Isaac I quickly created reforms that nullified the actions of the previous ruler Michael VI, chanced the political status quo, and led people to hate him. One person in particular, Patriarch Michael I Cerularius, was displeased with Emperor Isaac for removing funding from the …show more content…

Believing that he was the ultimate authority of the Church and state, Charlemagne created a set of rules that focused on morals and religious concepts that would be enforced upon the Church. Charlemagne would further expound upon his concept of control over spiritual and secular power in his letter to Pope Leo III in which he is told the Pope’s power is nothing more than that of a feudal lord. However, Charlemagne still recognized Pope Leo III’s religious authority by requesting that the Pope pray for him in return for Charlemagne’s protection. Charlemagne recognizes that the Pope has some religious authority but ultimately, the power of the Pope was limited to Charlemagne’s

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