Digital Continent Feast of Sts. Peter and Paul 2016 | Page 16

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The Byzantine Empire, invasion, the
thirst for power of the Roman families, and the
tumultuous and ever changing relationship with
the German monarchy cloaked the papacy with
a sense of instability and uncertainty. Eleventh
century popes were anxious to maintain the
patronage and protection of the German
emperor because their position was weak without his support. King Henry III also exerted his
power and influence over the selection of popes but this particular Holy Roman Emperor was an
ally of reform and fit the definition of a Christian king. The reign of his son, Henry IV, would
prove to be the opposite. Dying unexpectedly with a child-successor, Henry III left the papacy
unprotected.14 The future appeared uncertain. Compromised over the centuries by the powerful
cast of characters that surrounded it, the papacy experienced difficulty when it attempted to
exercise its authority over Christendom, despite a rich history that testified otherwise.
Consolidation of Papal Authority
The days of Peter and Paul instructing and correcting the fledging Church through letters
and visits were long gone. Throughout the early centuries of the Church, popes did not exercise
close supervision over the rapidly growing episcopate. Early popes entrusted much power and
authority to the hands of the metropolitans and the bishops because there was no quick and
reliable way to communicate over great distances. However, the letters between popes and
bishops recognized the administrative structure of the church as monarchical with a growing
tendency toward centralization. Close contact with the metropolitans granted the popes direct
14

I. S. Robinson, The Papal Reform of the Eleventh Century: Lives of Pope Leo IX and Pope Gregory VII,
(New York: Manchester University Press, 2004), 9-10.