Medieval Christianity and Church Influence

Medieval Christianity: Faith and Society

During the Middle Ages, Christianity was the main religion in Europe. The Christian territories became known as Christendom. The Church affected all aspects of life.

Daily Life and Religious Practices

The rites of baptism, marriage, and death were carried out by the clergy. Christians had to go to church and pray every day. They also had to:

• Fast during Lent
• Attend confession
• Receive communion
• If possible, make a pilgrimage to a holy place to obtain eternal life.

Church bells regulated the peasants' working hours, and the calendar followed religious holidays. Years were counted from the time of Christ's birth.

The Church's Extensive Power

The Church held great social, political, and economic power. A significant amount of land was owned by monasteries and bishops. The Church charged its serfs rent, just as the lords did. Peasants also paid a tithe, which was a tenth of their harvest.

The Church organized large armies to fight for religious causes during the Crusades. These were military expeditions, organized by the Pope and European kings, to take the Holy Land from the Muslims.

The Clergy: Structure of the Medieval Church

The Catholic Church was present in all of Western Europe. The Pope in Rome was the head of the Church. He also ruled over the Papal States on the Italian Peninsula.

The Pope had great influence and could excommunicate a king. When a king was excommunicated, his subjects no longer owed him allegiance.

Divisions of the Clergy

Below the Pope, the Church was divided into two main groups:

• The Secular Clergy: Led by bishops, who controlled large areas called dioceses. Within each diocese, there were various parishes where priests worked.
• The Regular Clergy: Members of religious orders. Each order was led by an abbot. Below him were the superiors who managed the monasteries, where friars, monks, and nuns lived.

The parishes and monasteries owned their own lands, where peasants worked.

Religious Orders and Their Rules

The most important religious order in the early Middle Ages was the Order of Saint Benedict.

Each religious order had a rule that explained its members' duties. Some orders were "closed," meaning their members could not leave their monastery. Other rules:

• Required members to beg to collect money for the poor.
• Imposed absolute poverty.

The members of each order wore a distinctive habit that distinguished them from other orders.