Pope Gregory the 7th started the Gregorian Reform. Lay control was a corrupt merger between the state and the church, giving unordained men the authority to appoint abbots, bishops, and popes. It became prominent during the 10th and 11th centuries in Europe as feudalism created a noble-centered political atmosphere. The merits of feudalism can be debated, but the nobles’ participation in church affairs was wrong. He also resisted lay investiture. Similar to lay control, lay investiture was when unordained men led the religious ceremonies to invest them with the ring and staff. It was a religious ceremony reserved for ordained bishops, but lords and vassals participated in it anyway. Pope Gregory despised lay control and lay investiture. Under his leadership, he led the radical reforms to separate state and church power. King Henry the 4th relied on his appointed bishops to maintain power over his kingdom and establish supremacy over the lords. The two men had a dissension, resulting in an infamous feud between the King and the Pope.
Pope Gregory launched many reform initiatives, but they were not upheld. The reason dawned on him. It was because he could not appoint religious allies to enforce his reforms. King Henry the 4th appointed them instead. Naturally, they did not enforce anything restricting the king’s ability to appoint church officials. In response, Gregory reconfirmed that the king’s role was to establish peace and order so his subjects could pursue the Christian journey. Anything beyond that was a breach of authority. A breach of authority was tyranny. Pope Gregory was accusing Henry of being a tyrant and stated that the pope had the authority to declare tyrants and depose them.
As a direct attack on Henry’s backbone—his allied bishops—Gregory held a council in AD 1075. It concluded that clerics invested by laymen were illegitimate and immediately deposed and that laymen participating in investiture were immediately excommunicated. Overnight, all of Henry’s appointed bishops were deposed. However, Henry rejected the Pope’s authority and the council’s conclusion. Gregory cited the Dictatus Pape, giving him such authority. In response, the king appointed another bishop in Milan. Gregory gave him one final warning to stop exercising illegitimate authority in the church. Henry refused, and Gregory excommunicated him. The excommunication was very problematic as the nobles launched a rebellion to replace King Henry. Frantically, he traveled to Canossa to meet with Gregory in AD 1077. With a kingdom in shambles and assassination at the front door, he did penance before the Pope. He appeared genuinely sorry. Whatever was said during their meeting, Gregory lifted the excommunication. However, Henry’s motives were an illegitimate farce. Without hesitating, he launched a campaign to purge the nation of his rebelling nobles. All of them were crushed. As soon as he reclaimed power and regained allegiances with the remaining fearful nobles, he continued practicing investiture. Within three years, Gregory excommunicated him again. However, this time, he marched with the power of a king’s scepter. Gregory was deposed and exiled by the king. In exile, he uttered the famous words, “I have loved justice and hated iniquity, therefore I die in exile.”
In AD 1122, years after Gregory’s death, the Concordat of Worms was written. It established the authority of the king and the pope. While Gregory may have been overcome with pessimism after his exile, his influence in separating the church and state’s authority cannot be undermined. His efforts will be revered throughout history as he was one of the influential men who contributed to Western liberty.
In conclusion, Pope Gregory was against lay investiture and lay control. He pushed for reforms, but they were ignored by King Henry’s puppets. Gregory attempted to separate the state from the church, but after excommunicating Henry twice, he was exiled. The movement was resolved in the Concordat of Worms. The entire movement during that period to separate the state and the church was named the Gregorian Reform in honor of Pope Gregory the 7th. The East and Byzantium did not follow in the West’s footsteps by making the distinction of offices, but the distinction embraced by the West was responsible for advancing human prosperity through liberty.
Asher Sisneros 