Christianity and the Church at the dawn of the Middle Ages
Christianity appeared in the Roman era, but the world religion became in the Middle Ages, when its organization – the church was formed and strengthened.
At the dawn of the Middle Ages the Church hierarchy already existed. In the Western Roman Empire, the head of the church was the pope, and in the Eastern Roman Empire – the patriarchs. Both positions were elected. The rest of the clergy was divided into higher and lower ranks. To the highest rank belonged the cardinals, bishops and other princes of the church, to the lowest rank belonged to those to whom spiritual authority was granted not by the pope, but by the bishops.
The church with the support of the state became rich and became very influential. The clergy improved the Christian doctrine, developed the norms of Christian conduct, the rules for conducting worship services, etc.
An outstanding role in the formation of Christianity and the church played in the IV-V centuries. Bishop Aurelius Augustine. His work “Confession” became a spiritual guide for Christians. He proclaimed the church as a single mediator between people and God, he claimed that Christians should live according to the rules developed by her, that is, under the guidance of the church. In the understanding of Aurelius Augustine, the church is an organization built on the division of clergy into ranks and harsh discipline. With his reflections, the popes reinforced their desire to rule in society.
The church hierarchy is the pyramid of church offices, the order of subordination of the lower clergy to the higher.
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