Partakers Christian Podcasts

Church History Part 22

Part 22

Unrest Leading To Renaissance

Today we see the influence of the Church wane amidst both religious and societal turmoil and a brief look at two men rising in opposition to the Church.

We are now in the 14th & 15th Century! The church has grown exponentially from the original 12 apostles of Jesus Christ. It has spread far and wide in the known world. However, this period in history shows that the Church is now declining rapidly – both numerically and in its influence. We look briefly today at the reasons for this.

1. Rapid Decline

a. Avignon Popes (1309-1378)
Firstly we look at that Agivnon Popes or as some term it “Babylonian Captivity of the Papacy.” Pressure from the French monarchy in conflict with the Papacy, caused the Papacy to move to Avignon, France from Rome in Italy. This was due to the elected Pope, Clement V refusing to move to Rome and remained in France, finally moving the whole of his court to Avignon in 1309. From here there were 7 successive Popes, elected by the French rather than Italians as before.

b. Great Schism
Now we have the ‘Great Schism’ or the ‘Western Schism’ occurred with the Catholic Church from 1378 to 1417. The Pope returned to Rome from France in 1377, after a riot in Rome to ensure that the next Pope was Italian in 1378. The French then elected a Pope of their own. There was much disputation and at one stage there were 3 Popes - the Avignon Pope: Benedict XIII; the Roman Pope: Gregory XII; the Pisa Pope: John XXIII. A Council was called by the Pisa Pope John XXIII in 1414 and agreement was reached as to the procedure of the election of a new Pope.
All these events though caused a great loss of confidence in the Church. Wealth, corruption, immorality and the scandalous indulgences were rife throughout the Church, which led to much discontent and uncertainty. In the year 1453, Turkish Muslims attacked the Eastern Empire and the great Christian city of Constantinople fell.

c. Bubonic Plague
Bubonic Plague broke out in 1347 and killed one third of the Catholic west in 3 years. The Rise of national consciousness and strong monarchies developed in England, France & Spain resisting pressure from Rome.

d. Rise in Personal Devotion
There was in Northern Europe a growing movement around personal devotion to God, and therefore less reliance on the Church for spiritual insight. But more about that next week! It was also an area of global exploration with the likes of exploring greats of Magellan and Columbus.

2. Outspoken Critics of the Church
There was also growing criticism of the church, particularly from within!

John Wycliffe (1320-1384) - Wycliffe was a Priest in the Roman Catholic Church and a leading philosopher at Oxford University. He spoke out against church corruption, transubstantiation, confession to the priest and infallibility of the church & Pope. Many travelling bands of teachers and preachers were organised and sent out by him.

Wycliffe is commonly described as the 'Morning Star of the English Reformation', who had a great desire to ensure that the Bible was made available to everyone in their own language. Therefore he initiated the translation of the Latin Vulgate Bible into English, and it was completed by his followers. He was protected by the English monarchy from Church persecution and inquisition. If you read your Bible in any language but Latin and the original languages of Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek - you have much to be thankful to God for the life and work of John Wycliffe! They still do great work today and you can find out more by visiting their website: http://wycliffe.org.uk/

To get a hint of the disturbance to the Church caused by Wyclif, here are some of the things he said.

• Private confession... was not ordered by Christ and was not used by the apostles.
• Englishmen learn Christ's law best in English. Moses heard God's law in his own tongue; so did Christ's apostles.
• It is plain to me that our prelates in granting indulgences do commonly blaspheme the wisdom of God. Our clerics neither evangelize like the apostles, nor go to war like the secular lords, nor toil like labourers.
  
• The bread while becoming by virtue of Christ’s words the body of Christ does not cease to be bread. The gospel alone is sufficient to rule the lives of Christians everywhere. Any additional rules made to govern men’s conduct added nothing to the perfection already found in the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Jan Hus (1374-1415) - The other main critic was the Bohemian man, Jan Hus. Hus was a priest in the Catholic Church and Rector of Prague University. Hus was strongly influenced by Wycliffe, and much to the chagrin of the Catholic Church hierarchy, he promoted personal devotion and piety; the supreme authority of the Bible; taught that the Church is the body of Christ and the head is Jesus Christ - not the Pope; and that only God can forgive sin, not the Church.

Again, Hus was another man ahead of his time and one of the pioneers of the protestant church to come. Hus, because of his condemnation of much Church teaching and practise was imprisoned, tried, condemned and executed in 1415 following the Council of Constance.

Again some quotes from this protesting pioneer:

• "Has not God himself instituted marriage, as a means to satisfy the craving for love in all men. ... For those are speaking lies in hypocrisy, who have a seared conscience, who forbid a life in marriage and abstain from foods which God has created (1 Timothy 4:1-5). I hold this to be the seed of iniquity and the root of all evil."
• “Many centuries have passed since the foundation of Christianity and bishops and priests have wedded and permitted themselves to be wed in honour and decency, until some Primates, Gregory VII (also called Hildebrand) and Innocent III, thousand years after the death of Jesus the Nazarene, conceived the thought to forbid marriage to priests, so that they would not love their families, would not honour their home and would be compelled to seek salvation under the wing of Rome only, remembering the protection which was to come from there against worldly powers.”

Tap or click here to download this as an audio mp3 file

Church History Part 21

Part 21

Rising Opposition

Last time we looked at the man Thomas Aquinas before going on to see the Eastern and Western Churches separate spectacularly! Today we see rising opposition to the Roman Catholic Church – from outside it and from within!

Persecution & Inquisition.

In the 12th century, a number of groups started questioning important Church doctrines. Itinerant and wandering monks preached to the imagination and consciences of people. People were starting to read the Bible for themselves and also pray to God without relying on the prayers of the Clergy. Which Jesus are people to follow was in a lot of people’s minds. “Do we look to – the all-conquering ascended Christ who is ruling earth through his vicar, the Pope or do we look to the opposite of this image – the Jesus who said “Foxes have holes, and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to sleep.” (Matthew 8:20)

Asking questions as to why the church hierarchy feast while the common people starved? Where is the church people started questioning – is it in the sacramental institution or is it in the people? People such as Robert Grosseteste, the Bishop of Lincoln, who decried the laziness, greed and immorality of the Roman Catholic clergy. To question the Pope and the Roman Catholic church was regarded then as heresy. These people, baptized members of the church, who were questioning the Church, were seen to be turning their back on the Church. What was the church to do?

The Church responded by means to purify the Church of heresy. This was conducted through trials and the Inquisition. There was some conflict within the Church itself. How can the Church, employ violence to ensure peace within society and maintain a heresy-free Church? A pure church was the Will of God – reigning through His representative on earth, the Pope. Innocent III labelled heresy, as treason in 1199. He made the Dominicans the main order to search out heresy.

At the time, faith was not a private matter but a public faith upon which the whole of society was built. To commit any heresy was therefore also to commit treason against the State. Disobedience therefore against the State, was therefore also heresy. Hence a dark time in Church history with the Inquisition, which involved the deliberate and prolonged torture of both heretics and infidels. This was as a means to eliminate the heretics and maintain strict doctrine, teaching and practise.

In 1224, execution by secular authorities became papal policy. Innocent IV condoned torture (1252) to 'help people find the truth'. A court went from town to town searching for heretics. An opportunity was given for confession and recantation, but the resistant were often burned at the stake. The Inquisition was extensive in Italy, Spain & France for several centuries.

Arise Arnold!

However, questions were starting to be raised about how far the Church had strayed from the clear Apostolic teachings of the Bible – particularly in regard to non-violence and poverty. Arnold, an Italian churchman urged the Church to sell its riches and give the proceeds to the poor – helping return the Church to its New Testament roots.

He was also at the forefront of movements to overthrow the Pope. When Pope Innocent II was on tour for the Second Crusade, Arnold seized his chance and with the help of the Romans took power. Romans dreaming of a return to the glories of the Roman Empire! Arnold decreed that clergy were to live in poverty. This lasted about 10 years until Pope Hadrian IV overthrew Arnold and Arnold was executed for heresy. But his voice wasn’t alone! There were more to come.

Arise Waldo!

Peter Waldo of Lyons, France, was a rich merchant and converted to Christianity in 1175-1176. Soon after he gave away his wealth in order to follow Christ with a lifestyle of simplicity, poverty and preaching. He gained a large following and was approved by the Pope in 1179. A group we now call the Waldensians grew from this with a mission to the poor. Waldo sent out Christians, two by two, in order to teach and explain the Scriptures to people.

Once when ordered to stop, Waldo quoted the Apostle Peter in rebuttal “We must obey God rather than men.” (Acts 5:29). These were laymen – not trained by the Church and therefore not allowed to go about preaching and speaking without invitation by Bishops and church hierarchy.

They were a living condemnation of the Church and in 1181 they were condemned. In the year 1184 they were excommunicated. Pope Lucius III ordered their elimination by inquisition and secular punishment. They formed their 'own true' church which spread throughout most of Europe except Britain.

The main objections of the Church to the Waldensians, was that they engaged in unauthorised preaching of the Bible; rejection of the intermediary role of the clergy; and the rejection of purgatory. Reformation had not yet come to the Church, particularly in matters of salvation by grace alone through faith alone. The Waldensians didn’t teach this but reformation of the Church and of Church teaching was coming. But not yet…

Tap or click here to download this as an audio mp3 file

Church History Part 20

Part 20

Church in the Middle Ages 3

Today we continue looking there by looking at the man Thomas Aquinas before going on to see the Eastern and Western Churches fall apart spectacularly.
Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274)

Thomas Aquinas was born in Italy in 1225. Starting his clerical career with the Dominicans, he quickly established himself as a theologian and philosopher of note. Indeed, he is perhaps the greatest theologian of this period. Aquinas was well noted for being an orator and debater, renowned for having a keen and quick intellect. With his intellect, he continued to attempt to reconcile faith with reason and the Scriptures. He also sought to prove the existence of God and developed the 'Five Ways', a system of natural theology.

Here is a very crude summary of the “Five Ways” taken from his work “Summa Theologica”.
1. The first way is an argument from motion. It is certain, and in accordance with sense experience, that some things in this world are moved. He concludes with this section with: We are therefore bound to arrive at a first mover which is not moved by anything, and all men understand that this is God.

2. The second way is from the nature of an efficient cause. We find that there is a sequence of efficient causes in sensible things. He concludes this section with: We are therefore bound to suppose that there is a first efficient cause. And all men call this God.

3. The third way is from the nature of possibility and necessity. There are some things which may either exist or not exist, since some things come to be and pass away, and may therefore be or not be. He concludes this section with: We are therefore bound to suppose something necessary in itself, which does not owe its necessity to anything else, but which is the cause of the necessity of other things. And all men call this God.

4. The fourth way is from the degrees that occur in things, which are found to be more and less good, true, noble, and so on. He concludes this section with: There is therefore something which is the cause of the being of all things that are, as well as of their goodness and their every perfection. This we call God.

5. The fifth way is from the governance of things. We see how some things, like natural bodies, work for an end even though they have no knowledge. He concludes this section with: There is therefore an intelligent being by whom all natural things are directed to their end. This we call God.

Thomism (Aquinas theology) was declared eternally valid by the Pope in 1879. You can download a copy of perhaps Aquinas’ greatest work, 'Summa Theologica' freely at Christian Classics Ethereal Library

Here is one of his prayers. You will see the richness of his theology and faith – much of which formed our theology today! Perhaps you can pray it, even now!

A prayer of Thomas Aquinas

O Almighty and all-knowing God,
Who is without beginning or end!
Who is the giver, preserver, and rewarder of all virtue!

Grant me to stand firm on the solid foundation of faith,
be protected by the invincible shield of hope,
and be adorned by the nuptial garment of charity.

Grant me by justice to obey you,
by prudence to resist the crafts of the Devil,
by temperance to hold to moderation,
by fortitude to bear adversity with patience.

Grant that the goods I have I may share liberally
with those who have not,
and the goods which I do not have I may seek with
humility from those who have.

Grant that I may truly recognise the guilt of the evil I have done,
and bear with equanimity the punishments I have deserved;
that I may never lust after the goods of my neighbour,
but always give thanks to you for all thy good gifts.

Plant in me, O Lord, all thy virtues,
that in divine matters I might be devout,
in human affairs wise,
and in the proper needs of the flesh onerous to no one.

And grant that I may never rush to do things hastily,
nor balk to do things demanding,
so that I neither yearn for things too soon,
nor desert things before they are finished.

Eastern Orthodox Church

During this time there was also upheaval coming in the Eastern church. The Slavic nations of Eastern Europe were Christianised during the 10th & 12th centuries. Christianity spread to Russia in the 10th century. According to legend, the prince Vladimir sent envoys to investigate Islam, Judaism & Christianity. They were so impressed with Christianity in Constantinople, that Vladimir ordered a mass baptism of Russians.
We saw earlier in this series, how the Eastern and Western churches were moving apart. Now we approach the official parting of ways. In the year 1054, papal representatives of Pope Leo XV entered the Church of Holy Wisdom in Constantinople. Cardinal Humbert was sent initially to work out a conciliatory agreement with the Eastern Orthodox leadership.
However, while the Russian emperor was willing, the Patriarch Michael Cerularius was intractable. With similar personalities and intolerance, Ceralarius and Humbert clashed. The clash provoked Humber to issue an official document which excommunicated the Eastern Church from the Roman Catholic Church. Humber and his colleagues marched into Constantinople’s Church of Holy Wisdom and issued a Papal document excommunicating the Eastern Church. The impact of this is still felt even today.

But a greater chasm was to come to the Roman Catholic church, and we will see that later in our series.

Tap or click here to download this as an audio mp3 file

Bible Reading - Psalm 94

Psalm 94

¹ O Lord, the God of vengeance, O God of vengeance, let your glorious justice shine forth!

² Arise, O judge of the earth. Give the proud what they deserve.

³ How long, O Lord? How long will the wicked be allowed to gloat?
⁴ How long will they speak with arrogance? How long will these evil people boast?
⁵ They crush your people, Lord, hurting those you claim as your own.
⁶ They kill widows and foreigners and murder orphans.
⁷ "The Lord isn't looking," they say, "and besides, the God of Israel doesn't care."
⁸ Think again, you fools! When will you finally catch on?
⁹ Is he deaf-the one who made your ears? Is he blind-the one who formed your eyes?
¹⁰ He punishes the nations-won't he also punish you? He knows everything-doesn't he also know what you are doing?
¹¹ The Lord knows people's thoughts; he knows they are worthless!
¹² Joyful are those you discipline, Lord, those you teach with your instructions.
¹³ You give them relief from troubled times until a pit is dug to capture the wicked.
¹⁴ The Lord will not reject his people; he will not abandon his special possession.
¹⁵ Judgment will again be founded on justice, and those with virtuous hearts will pursue it.
¹⁶ Who will protect me from the wicked? Who will stand up for me against evildoers?
¹⁷ Unless the Lord had helped me, I would soon have settled in the silence of the grave.
¹⁸ I cried out, "I am slipping!" but your unfailing love, O Lord, supported me.
¹⁹ When doubts filled my mind, your comfort gave me renewed hope and cheer.
²⁰ Can unjust leaders claim that God is on their side - leaders whose decrees permit injustice?
²¹ They gang up against the righteous and condemn the innocent to death.
²² But the Lord is my fortress; my God is the mighty rock where I hide.
²³ God will turn the sins of evil people back on them. He will destroy them for their sins. The Lord our God will destroy them.

Right mouse click or tap here to save this Podcast as a MP3.

Church History Part 19

Church History Part 19

Church in the Middle Ages 2

During this time, there was a growing restlessness. Some people were starting to think about separating the church from institutional monarchies – particularly with England.

The Scholastics - The papal reforms in the 11th - 13th centuries saw a rise in interest in education. The Cathedral schools surpassed the monastic schools by the 12th century. The universities rose from the Cathedral schools. Oxford, Cambridge & Paris Universities date back to this period. All education was in the hands of the Church. The great thinkers were monks or clergy. There was great debate over theology & philosophy with many attempts to harmonise the thinking of Greek philosophers such as Aristotle with theology.

Anselm (1033-1109) – Anselm was born in Italy and raised in Normandy. Prior to becoming the Archbishop of Canterbury in 1093, he was a Benedictine monk, teacher, and abbot before continuing his church career in England. He is renowned as a great philosopher and theologian and during his time as Archbishop saw that the church was at least partly independent from the civil government. This was very radical for its time! Such a reformer, even before the reformation to come and worked to suppress the slave trade.

One of the things, amongst many, which we as 21st century church remember Anselm for is the satisfaction theory of the atonement, where God becoming man in the birth of Jesus Christ, the incarnation, guaranteed relief from God’s demands for strict divine justice.

He is also renowned for being the first to use the Ontological argument for the existence of God through philosophy, rationality and logic, in the book Proslogion. He did this on the basis of "that than which nothing greater can be conceived", or if it could exist in the mind, it could therefore exist in reality. If it only existed in the mind, then something or someone greater is possible – one which exists in both mind and reality. You can read more about it here as well as download some of his writings freely by visiting the CCEL website.

Thomas Beckett – Thomas Beckett was born in 1118 to a middle class family, was well educated including a time at the University of Paris. He was integrated into the household of the Archbishop of Canterbury, Theobald and completed several missions for him. In 1154 he was ordained as a deacon and appointed archdeacon of Canterbury. With this ordination by Theobold and the king, Henry II, Beckett would have been expected to represent their interests vocally.

Following the death of Theobald in 1161, King Henry II was hoping to stunt the demand for separation of church and state as well as cutting back on the power of the church. Beckett was quickly ordained a priest in 1162 before shortly after becoming Archbishop of Canterbury.

Despite opposition from King Henry II and others, Thomas Beckett endeavoured to make the church independent of the government. He took a form of ascetism upon himself, resigned from working for the King and put all his efforts and work tion the interests of the church alone. This led to frequent clashes with the English monarchy and under Henry II.

It subsequently led to his exile in 1164. Upon his return to England in 1170, he excommunicated several bishops who had opposed him. Later that year, he was killed in the cathedral by four knights under he orders of King Henry II.

That’s it for this time! Next time in our series HAHA, we will finalise our look at the Middle Ages, with a look at one of the supreme thinkers of the historical Church, Thomas Aquinas, as well as looking briefly to the East and the Orthodox church.

Tap or click here to download/ save this as an audio mp3 file

Bible Reading - Psalm 87

Psalm 87

A Psalm by the sons of Korah; a Song.

His foundation is in the holy mountains.
Yahweh loves the gates of Zion more than all the dwellings of Jacob.
Glorious things are spoken about you, city of God.

Selah.

I will record Rahab and Babylon among those who acknowledge me.
Behold, Philistia, Tyre, and also Ethiopia:
“This one was born there.”
Yes, of Zion it will be said, “This one and that one was born in her”;
the Most High himself will establish her.
Yahweh will count, when he writes up the peoples,
“This one was born there.”

Selah.

Those who sing as well as those who dance say,“All my springs are in you.”

Right mouse click or tap here to save this Podcast as a MP3.

 

Church History Part 18

Church History - Part 18

Church in the Middle Ages 1

Today we look briefly at a monastic revival in the Middle Ages! As we saw last time, under the leadership of Hildebrande and Innocent III, there was a revival of monastic orders. Let us look briefly at some of the prime people from this period of our Church History.

Cistercians

This order of monks was founded in 1097 in France, the village we know now as Cîteaux, by a group of Benedictine Monks including Robert of Molesme, Alberic of Citeaux and Stephen Harding. The Cistericans are also known as the White Monks due to the colour of their clothing over which a black head-dress is worn. The Cistercians lifestyle emphasizes a manual labour rather than scholarship, an ascetic lifestyle and self-sufficiency. Many Cistercian abbeys supported themselves through brewing ales and from agriculture. One man who helped them spread rapidly throughout Europe was the next person we will learn about – Bernard of Clairvaux, who entered the monastery in the early 1100s with 30 companions.

Bernard of Clairveaux (1097-1153)

He was one of the most influential leaders and stressed a devotional relationship with God, and led many men into a monastic lifestyle.

Here are some quotes attributed to him, which reflect this:

• “The road to hell is paved with good intentions.”
• “There are those who seek knowledge for the sake of knowledge; that is Curiosity. There are those who seek knowledge to be known by others; that is Vanity. There are those who seek knowledge in order to serve; that is Love.”
• “Many of those who are humiliated are not humble. Some react to humiliation with anger, others with patience, and others with freedom. The first are culpable, the next harmless, the last just.”

By the end of the 12th century, wealth & laxity had crept into the monastic movement and as a result, declined rapidly. However, the preaching monks soon became more important.

Preaching Monks

These monks lived together under a strict rule, but went into the community to teach and preach. Friars were the most important preaching monks. Two such orders were the Franciscans (Grey Friars, Lesser Friars) and the Dominicans

Francis of Assisi (1182-1276)

The founder of the Franciscans was probably the man who is one of the most known monks of all. Francis was born the son of a wealthy Italian cloth merchant Pietro di Bernardone. During his early adulthood, Francis lived a typical life of most young and wealthy men, and even fought as a soldier. He had a vision when at war in 1204, which directed him back to Assisi. Here he lost his taste for his wealth and worldly life.
Francis gave away his possessions to live a simple lifestyle, begging and giving to the poor and caring for the sick. He gained many followers and was given his official status by Pope Gregory IX, when on July 16, 1228, he was pronounced a saint. Francis’ lifestyle and teaching stressed simplicity, poverty, genuine devotion to God, preaching and charity.

Here is a copy of his famous prayer:

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace,
Where there is hatred, let me sow love;
Where there is injury, pardon;
Where there is doubt, faith;
Where there is despair, hope;
Where there is darkness, light;
Where there is sadness, joy.
O Divine Master,
grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled, as to console;
to be understood, as to understand;
to be loved, as to love.
For it is in giving that we receive.
It is in pardoning that we are pardoned,
and it is in dying that we are born to Eternal Life.
Amen.

Dominicans

(Black Friars, founded 1220). This order of Monks was founded by a Spanish priest, Dominic de Guzman. While he made his headquarters in Rome, he did travel widely to visit the growing brotherhood of friars under the Dominican movement. They were renowned for the fact that they owned no property and had no revenues – simply trusting in God to provide. He emphasised the Friars role of teaching and they rapidly spread throughout the lands. They quickly became known as the "Watchdogs of the Lord", and were renowned for hunting down heretics.

Here are some quotes attributed to him:

• Arm yourself with prayer rather than a sword; wear humility rather than fine clothes.
• A man who governs his passions is master of his world. We must either command them or be enslaved by them. It is better to be a hammer than an anvil.

Tap or click here to save download this as an audio mp3 file

Bible Reading - Psalm 117

Psalm 117

Praise God, everybody!

Applaud God, all people!

His love has taken over our lives;

God's faithful ways are eternal.

Hallelujah!

Right mouse click to save/download this Psalm as a MP3 file

Church History Part 17

HAHA Part 17

The Papacy at its Height

Today we look at the papacy at the height of its power…

After Charlemagne, the church declined rapidly into its lowest point - immorality, corruption, simony (buying positions in the Church). However that was soon to change! Throughout Europe, civil authorities sought power over the church and endeavoured to limit the power of the Pope. However, reform was coming and the church started to get its own house in order.

The Cluniac Monastic Movement -  This as a reform movement started by Duke William 1 in the year 910, in a monastery in Cluny, France to purify the monastic movement. Most of the needed reforms were undertaken by Odo and quickly spread throughout France, England, Spain and Italy.

The catalyst for this reform was the large scale corruption with the church. Simony and concubinage were rife and resulted from secular interference and the Church’s strict integration with the ruling systems.

The reforms set in place, quickly spread quickly, to over 350 houses in the 10th century. This produced many prominent leaders who set out to reform the Church. We will see more of those leaders in coming episodes of this series. In 1059, the papacy was removed from interference from secular powers. The creation of the College of Cardinals was formed to elect new Popes.

Hildebrand – He is also known as Pope Gregory VII. Before he came to power, he was an archdeacon. He strongly advocated the celibacy of the clergy and attacked simony and corruption. Hildebrand fought for freedom of the church from the state. He claimed everyone was to be subject primarily to the Pope, before they were subject to the civil authorities.
He had a long battle with the Holy Roman Emperor Henry IV, and was eventually placed in exile. He did perpetuate the thought that pope was the visible head of the church and the presence of Peter in all bishops of Rome, the Pope. The church attained a state of power and authority over the lives of all people and sought to influence every aspect of their lives.

The Crusades (1095 - 1270) - These were religious wars fought by the Western empire to recover Holy Land from Islam and to protect Constantinople. There were 7-8 major crusades, although this was a continual flow of people. People were offered incentives to join - miraculous provision; no tax; free from purgatory etc. Thousands died on the long journeys. Only the 1st crusade was successful in regaining Jerusalem. They arrived in 1099, and subsequently lost it in 1150, and it was never regained. The remaining crusades achieved very little despite the great efforts. Chief behind these crusades was Pope Innocent III.

Innocent III (1198 - 1216) - Pope Innocent III humiliated the kings of England and France, and forced them to be obedient to himself and his whims. This shows that he had great power and control over nearly all Christian kings in Europe. Innocent III had the same policies as Hildebrande, but carried them out to a greater success rate He presided over the 4th Lateran Council - one of the Roman Catholic churches greatest councils.

4th Lateran Council - This Council called by Pope Innocent III and began November 11, 1215 in Rome’s Lateran Palace. It is also sometimes called the General Council of Lateran with over 1400 participants from the breadth of the church clergy, as well as representatives of several monarchies.

Innocent III presented 71 decrees over the course of the Council. This included the decree to free the holy Land from Islam rule, which was part of the Crusades. Those decrees were ratified with little discussion and enacted upon.

Some of the things ratified at the Council included:

• Procedures to penalise heretics and their protectors
• Great encouragement to the Orthodox church to reunite with the Roman Church and accept its decrees, that there may visibly be only one church.
• The decree Omnis Utriusque Sexus, whereby all Christians were to confess their sins at least once a year to their own priest. This was ratification of earlier decrees, therefore making confession before a priest a sacramental obligation.
• Jews and Muslim peoples were to wear special clothing in order to distinguish them from Christians.
• Christian authorities were to take action against blasphemous behaviour.

That’s it for this time! Next time in our series we will start to look at the Church in the Middle Ages. Thanks for listening! Come back to Partakers, where every day there is something new to encourage your walk as a Christian in the 21st century.

Tap or click here to save this as an audio mp3 file

Bible Reading - Psalm 90

Psalm 90

90:1 Lord, you have been our dwelling place for all generations.
90:2 Before the mountains were brought forth, before you had formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, you are God.
90:3 You turn man to destruction, saying, “Return, you children of men.”

90:4 For a thousand years in your sight are just like yesterday when it is past, like a watch in the night.
90:5 You sweep them away as they sleep. In the morning they sprout like new grass.
90:6 In the morning it sprouts and springs up. By evening, it is withered and dry.
90:7 For we are consumed in your anger. We are troubled in your wrath.

90:8 You have set our iniquities before you, our secret sins in the light of your presence.
90:9 For all our days have passed away in your wrath. We bring our years to an end as a sigh.
90:10 The days of our years are seventy, or even by reason of strength eighty years; yet their pride is but labor and sorrow, for it passes quickly, and we fly away.

90:11 Who knows the power of your anger, your wrath according to the fear that is due to you?
90:12 So teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.
90:13 Relent, Yahweh! How long? Have compassion on your servants!
90:14 Satisfy us in the morning with your loving kindness, that we may rejoice and be glad all our days.

90:15 Make us glad for as many days as you have afflicted us, for as many years as we have seen evil.
90:16 Let your work appear to your servants; your glory to their children.
90:17 Let the favor of the Lord our God be on us; establish the work of our hands for us; yes, establish the work of our hands.

 

Click or tap here to save this Podcast as a MP3.