Digital Continent Feast of Sts. Peter and Paul 2016 | Page 35
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He and his predecessors associated themselves as ruler with the royalty and figure of Christ.
Parallels have been drawn between his actions at Sutri with that of Christ cleansing the Temple.
As ruler he claimed for himself the authority to correct the Church when necessary even at its
highest levels.60
It is Henry III who “symbolizes theocratic rule, the
guidance of church and state as a single entity by the
divinely elected, anointed emperor described by
many as vicarious Christi”61: the Vicar of Christ.
He ruled over all of earthly creation and typified
Christ the heavenly king. Religious and political
objectives were tightly bound together and he found
Henry III
himself on the side of reform, sharing the opinion of
the reformers on simony and supporting the efforts
of the Church to end it, without sacrificing the dependence of the abbeys on the Empire. Free
abbatial elections were allowed but bestowal of the dignity on the abbot-elect was reserved for
the emperor only.62
60
Ibid., 89-91.
61
Blumenthal, The Investiture Controversy, 49.
62
Ibid., 49-50.