Junior Religion Star Terms

✮ Papel States ✮

The Papal States, mid 8th century, (756–1870) were territories in central Italy ruled by the popes, formed when Pepin the Short, king of the Carolingian dynasty, gave land to Pope Stephen II after defeating the Lombards, who were threatening Rome and the Church. This gift, known as the Donation of Pepin, became one of the most sacred moments in Church history because it joined political protection with spiritual authority. Pepin presented the pope with the keys to the cities he had conquered, laying them on the tomb of St. Peter the Apostle in Rome. The keys represented the handing over of earthly authority to the successor of Peter, who was given the “keys of the Kingdom of Heaven” by Jesus.

• Just as Christ entrusted Peter with spiritual leadership, Pepin was entrusting the pope with temporal power and guardianship over God’s people on earth.

• The Papal States thus began as both a political and sacred trust — land ruled not by a king for himself, but by the pope for the good of the Church and all Christians. Over the centuries, popes such as Gregory VII, Innocent III, and Julius II expanded and defended these lands, using them to secure the independence of the Church from earthly rulers. Yet the mix of spiritual and worldly power also brought challenges, as the Church struggled to remain holy while governing territory.

✮Carolingian Dynasty✮

In the mid-8th century, in the Western European Frankish kingdom, the mayor of the palace, Pepin, son of the legendary Charles Martel, took over the kingship from the Merovingian line, establishing the Carolingian Frankish kingdom. The greatest of these kings was Charlemagne, Pepin’s son. Charlemagne attracted to his capital in Aachen the greatest scholars in Europe. He regularized education and monastic life in his realm. He expanded the realm, helped the pope, and was crowned Holy Roman Emperor in 800. Charlemagne’s son Pepin left the kingdom to be divided among his three sons, and by the late 9th century, the once great Frankish empire had been fragmented.

• The Papal States and the future national boundaries of Europe are in part an outgrowth of Carolingian actions. From the Carolingian renaissance of learning, future generations have received normalized script, many manuscripts of classical texts that were preserved that elsewise had been lost, and a standardization of Latin and the liturgy. Lay appointment of bishops and abbots only became more accepted.

✮ Alfred the Great ✮

• Alfred the Great was the King of Wessex, in southern England, in the late 9th c.) who ruled during a time of Viking and Dane invasions that struck his kingdom.

• Alfred believed the real problem was not just the attacks, but the deep corruption spreading through the Church and society—lords, bishops, and nobles caring more about land, wealth, and rank than about faith. The Church was filled with feudalism, nepotism, and simony, and the people had lost their ability to read or understand Latin, the holy language of Scripture and rituals.

• Alfred saw that even Christians were becoming “Christians without Christian virtue,” no longer living faithfully or wisely. He believed that both sacred and secular orders—the Church and rulers—must work together for God, and that all must have learning and virtue to keep the kingdom strong.

• Inspired by Pope Gregory the Great’s Pastoral Care, Alfred spent 12 years translating it into English as an instruction manual for Christian living and leadership. He said those with wealth and leisure had a duty to learn, and should know English, while those capable learn Latin, because ignorance leads to sin and God’s punishment.

• Since learning in England had collapsed and monasteries were weak, he had to bring in foreign scholars from places like Wales and the Frankish lands, though he felt ashamed that his own people were too uneducated to teach themselves.

• Alfred believed that true survival was not just fighting off the Vikings but restoring faith, knowledge, and culture so his people would remember who they were.

• Through his wisdom, holiness, and scholarship, Alfred joined the sacred and secular together, ruling as both a strong king and a faithful servant of God.

✮ Alfred the Great ✮ more

• Alfred the Great was the King of Wessex in the late 9th century, in southern England, who fought to defend his kingdom from the Viking and Danish invasions while also restoring Christian learning and moral order.

• He ruled during a time when many church leaders and nobles had fallen into corruption, feudalism, nepotism, and simony, caring more about land and power than faith.

• Alfred believed the loss of education and virtue was even more dangerous than the Viking armies. Few people could still read Latin, which meant most Christians could no longer understand Scripture or the Church’s teachings. Wanting to fix this, Alfred turned to Pope Gregory the Great’s Pastoral Care, a guide for bishops and rulers on how to lead with wisdom and holiness. Alfred personally translated the entire work from Latin into English, spending around 12 years on it, because he wanted every Christian—especially those with wealth and time—to study God’s word and live rightly.

• He said that culture and faith must come before war, because without knowing who you are, you cannot truly survive.

• He also brought in foreign scholars (mostly from Wales and Frankish lands) to rebuild schools and monasteries in England, since the Vikings had destroyed many learning centers and most English monks no longer had proper training.

• Alfred believed that both sacred and secular leaders had duties to God, and that ruling wisely was part of serving Him. When not scholarly, Christians were without Cristian virtue. He warned that when Christians stop learning and living with virtue, God will punish the nation, but when they seek wisdom and truth, they will prosper.

• Alfred became known not only as a warrior-king but as a holy and scholarly ruler who saw knowledge, virtue, and faith as the foundation of a strong Christian kingdom.

✮ Hildebrand/ Pope Gregory VII ✮

• Gregory, 11th c., was a major Church reformer in Rome.

• Before becoming pope, he served as archdeacon and helped guide the reform movement under earlier popes, including Alexander II.

• He supported free papal elections and gained help from the Normans outside Rome to protect the Church from outside interference.

• When imperial bishops tried to create an antipope, Hildebrand resisted and pushed reforms against simony and corruption.

• As pope, Gregory VII believed the Church had to be independent from kings, which brought him into conflict with Henry IV, who had appointed bishops improperly. After Henry opposed him, Gregory excommunicated him and released Henry’s vassals from loyalty. Henry later came to Canossa to seek forgiveness.

• Gregory’s reform efforts and this conflict became central to the Investiture Controversy, which strengthened papal authority and never stopped.

✮ Cluny ✮

• Cluny was founded in 909/910 when William the Pious, Duke of Aquitaine, donated land at Cluny in Burgundy, France, to establish a new monastery dedicated to reform.

• Under its first abbot, St. Berno, the monks strictly renewed the Rule of St. Benedict, embraced austerity, and devoted themselves almost entirely to giving glory to God.

• Cluny’s reputation for holiness spread quickly, and before Berno’s death several nearby monasteries adopted the Cluniac model. His successor, St. Odo, expanded Cluny’s influence across southern France and into Italy, and Cluny developed a unique structure in which all affiliated houses shared one abbot, preventing local abuses and creating a unified network.

• Over the next 2 centuries, Cluny’s prestige grew, producing major church leaders, including Pope Urban II, and receiving a papal privilegium that freed it from the authority of kings and nobles.

• Cluniac spirituality emphasized long, elaborate liturgy, strict silence, reduced manual labor, and an intense focus on prayer, shaping a monastic life centered on continual worship rather than work.

• By 1100, Cluny oversaw more than 1,400 houses, making it one of the most powerful religious institutions in Europe.

• Its great abbey church was the largest in Christendom at the time.

• Though its influence declined after the rise of the Cistercians and it was eventually destroyed during the French Revolution, Cluny’s reforms profoundly shaped medieval monasticism and strengthened the wider Church.

✮ cluny shorter ✮

• Cluny was a monastery founded in early 900’s when William the Pious, Duke of Aquitaine, donated land in Burgundy, France, to start a reforming community.

• Its first abbot, St. Berno, and twelve monks followed the Rule of St. Benedict very strictly, focusing on prayer, discipline, and holiness. Cluny quickly became known for its high standards, and other monasteries adopted its model.

• Under its next abbot, St. Odo, Cluny expanded across France and Italy.

• A key feature was that all Cluniac monasteries had one abbot, the abbot of Cluny, which prevented local corruption.

• Cluny emphasized long liturgy, strict silence, and reduced manual labor so monks could devote more time to worship.

• By 1100, Cluny led about 1,400 monasteries with over 10,000 monks, making it one of the most influential religious centers in Europe.

• Its massive church was the largest in Christendom.

• Cluny’s movement helped purify the Church and supported the wider reforms of the 10th and 11th centuries.

✮ Alfred the Great short ✮

• Alfred the Great was the King of Wessex, in southern England, in the late 9th c. ruled during a time of Viking invasions.

• Alfred believed the real problem was not just the attacks, but that people had lost their ability to read or understand Latin, the holy language of Scripture and rituals.

• He believed that both sacred and secular orders must work together for God.

• Inspired by Pope Gregory the Great’s Pastoral Care, Alfred spent 12 years translating it into English as an instruction manual for Christian living and leadership. He said those with wealth and leisure had a duty to learn, and should know English, while those capable learn Latin, because ignorance leads to sin and God’s punishment.

• Since monasteries were weak, he had to bring in foreign scholars.

• Alfred believed that true survival was not just fighting off the Vikings but restoring faith, knowledge, and culture so his people would remember who they were.

• Alfred joined the sacred and secular together, ruling as both a strong king and a faithful servant of God.

✮ Papel States ✮ short

The Papal States, mid 8th century, were territories in central Italy ruled by the popes, formed when Pepin the Short, king of the Carolingian dynasty, gave land to Pope Stephen II after defeating the Lombards, who were threatening Rome and the Church. This gift, known as the Donation of Pepin, joined political protection with spiritual authority.

• Just as Christ entrusted Peter with spiritual leadership, Pepin was entrusting the pope with temporal power and guardianship over God’s people on earth.

• The Papal States thus began as both a political and sacred trust — land ruled not by a king for himself, but by the pope for the good of the Church and all Christians. Over the centuries, popes such as Gregory VII, Innocent III, and Julius II expanded and defended these lands, using them to secure the independence of the Church from earthly rulers. Yet the mix of spiritual and worldly power also brought challenges, as the Church struggled to remain holy while governing territory.

✮Gregory the Great✮ short

• Hildebrand, who became Pope Gregory VII in 1073, was a major Church reformer in Rome.

• Before becoming pope, he served as archdeacon and helped guide the reform movement under earlier popes, including Alexander II.

• He supported free papal elections and gained help from the Normans outside Rome to protect the Church from outside interference.

• When imperial bishops tried to create an antipope, Hildebrand resisted and pushed reforms against simony and corruption.

• As pope, Gregory VII believed the Church had to be independent from kings, which brought him into conflict with Henry IV, who had appointed bishops improperly. After Henry opposed him, Gregory excommunicated him and released Henry’s vassals from loyalty. Henry later came to Canossa to seek forgiveness.

• Gregory’s reform efforts and this conflict became central to the Investiture Controversy, which strengthened papal authority and never stopped.

✮ Constantine ✮

Constantine was a Roman emperor of the early 4th century who ruled during a time when Christianity was still persecuted and the empire was politically unstable.

Before the Battle of the Milvian Bridge in 312 AD, Constantine experienced a vision of the Christian symbol and won the battle, leading him to credit the Christian God for his victory.

A year later, he issued the Edict of Milan, legalizing Christianity and ending imperial persecution, which allowed the Church to worship publicly and grow openly.

Believing religious unity was necessary for political unity, Constantine called the Council of Nicaea in 325 AD, where the Church affirmed the divinity of Christ and condemned Arianism.

Constantine’s reign transformed Christianity from a persecuted sect into a public institution and permanently shaped Catholic history by linking Church authority with imperial power.