During the Middle Ages, the Roman Catholic Church became a unifying institution in Western Europe as it filled the void left by the decline of Roman authority, serving social, political, and religious needs. The church's structure included various ranks, with the Pope at the top, and it played a significant role in education and the preservation of Greco-Roman culture through monasteries. However, the church faced corruption issues, including the sale of church positions and the abuse of power during the Inquisition.

1. The Church in the Middle
Ages

2. The Church
The Roman Catholic Church
grew in importance after
Roman authority declined.
It became the unifying
force in western Europe.
Missionaries spread
Christianity to the
Germanic Tribes, and
bring with them the
remains of Roman culture.

3. The Church, being the only
organization left standing after the
fall of Rome, becomes the central
institution of the Middle Ages.
The Church served the social,
political, and religious needs of the
people.
The Church was the cultural center
of the manor

4. Church Organization/Hierarchy
Pope
Archbishops
Bishops
Priests
Administered the Sacraments, gave
advice, taught about right and wrong
Monks and Nuns
Lived apart from society in monasteries or convents. Devoted their
lives to prayer and good works. Might teach skills like carpentry and
weaving. Often set up hospitals and gave shelter to travelers. These
were also the missionaries of their day.
Supervised priests,
settled disputes over
Church teachings and
practices
Supervised bishops
and elected Popes
Head of the Roman
Catholic Church

5. The Church and Medieval Life
Canon Law – church’s code of laws
Excommunication – to be cut off
from the church
Heretics – people who denied the truth of
the church’s principles or who preached
beliefs not approved by the church

6. The Church and Medieval Life
Church also had the power to tax
Tithe – 1/10 of a Christian person’s income

7. Church Problems
Corruption in the church
People could buy high positions in the
church
Some monks and nuns lived in luxury
even though they had vowed to live in
poverty
Inquisition – the search for heretics
(Church’s Justice System)
During the inquisition, those who did not
confess were punished (execution)

8. http://
www.youtube.com/watch?v=un2qxIlqLP8
http://
www.youtube.com/watch?v=fKE8X4piyKw

9. Inquisitions (torture was used to
get people to confess.

10. The Pope could interdict a
noble which excludes an entire
town, region or kingdom from
receiving sacraments.
If you were excommunicated
you would not receive proper
burial and the belief was you
would not go to heaven

11. Influence of the Church
The Church reached
out across Europe in
several ways:
As Roman
authority declined,
the authority of the
Church grew
Popes claimed
Papal Supremacy
(authority over all
religious rulers)

12. Influence of the Church
The Church
reached out across
Europe in several
ways:
Missionaries carried
Christianity and the
Latin alphabet to the
Germanic tribes

13. Influence of the Church
The Church reached
out across Europe in
several ways:
Like Byzantine
libraries, and Islamic
universities,
monasteries preserved
Greco-Roman culture

14. Influence of the Church
A monastery is a place
where a community of
monks live
Monks are men who have
taken vows of poverty,
chastity and obedience
http://www.cleanvideosearch.
com/media/action/yt/watch?vi
deoId=9wVTP2016G0

15. Influence of the Church
Parish priests, the local
priests, served the
religious and social
needs of the people.
Parish priest would
baptize babies, perform
weddings, and administer
final death rites.

16. Church and Education
Education was confined
to the clergy during the
Middle Ages.
The peasants were too
busy working the lord’s
land (uneducated)
The Nobility were too
busy fighting and taking
care of their feudal
obligations (uneducated)

17. Church and Education
Church scholars
preserved classical
literature in monasteries
throughout the
Christian world.
This is the time before
copy machines. Many
monks’ job was to copy
and recopy the ancient
texts.

19. Church and Education
Over a long period of
time, church scholars
slowly became interested
in the knowledge of the
ancients.
European church
scholars began to
interpret and value this
ancient learning.

20. The Role of Church Scholars
 Church scholars were
among the few in the
Middle Ages who could
read and write
Church scholars usually
worked in monasteries.
Church scholars would
translate Greek and
Arabic works into Latin.

21. The Role of Church Scholars
Monks made available
knowledge in the fields
of philosophy,
medicine, and science,
which had been
imported from the East
(Byzantium and Islam)
Church scholars laid
the foundation for the
rise of universities in
Europe

22. Review Questions
1. How did monks serve god?
2. Who was in charge of a group of parish
priests?
3. What was Canon law?
4. What was the purpose of the inquisition,
and how were people treated during it?
5. Why was the church such a powerful
force in the Middle ages?