Why is Pope Gregory the Great important to the Church?

Answer 1

A:

Hildebrand of Sovana became pope in 1073, taking the regnal name Gregory VII, and occupied the papal chair until 1085. He had been instrumental in having previous popes appointed and was the power behind the throne during their reigns.

Gregory VII claimed that the deposal of an emperor was under the sole power of the pope amd that only the pope ould appoint or depose churchmen or move them from see to see. The result was that he became a political adversary of Emperor Henry IV, whom he excommunicated twice, while Henry deposed Gregory once. Gregory died in exile in Salerno.

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Gregory was the first pope in several centuries to rigorously enforce the Church's ancient policy of celibacy for the Catholic clergy and attacked the practice of simony. In 1074, he issued an edict ordering his priests to abandon their wives, yet he himself was reputedly the lover the beautiful Countess Matilda. There is no proof that he did have a sexual relationship with Matilda, but there is good circumstantial evidence to support the claim.

Answer 2

In 1073 Gregory VII was elected pope. He wanted to stop nobles and kings from interfering in Church affairs. He issued a decree, or order, forbidding kings from appointing high-ranking Church officials.

Answer 3

Pope Gregory VII is most famous for leading the "Investiture Controversy", this will be explained below.

Before Pope Gregory VII, the positions in the Catholic church were appointed by the Emperor (usually one of the european kings). This way of doing things was filled with corruption, for example, some people were buying their way to the powerful position in the church through paying, or making promises to the Emperor.

Pope Gregory VII insisted that the authority to appoint people to positions in the church should come from within the church alone, not non-church governments. This is a change the Pope Gregory VII pushed through. It created conflict between church and governments/kings for a few decades. This battle over who had the power to appoint people to positions within the church was called the "Investiture Controversy".

In the end, Pope Gregory VII's plan worked, and even today positions within the church are granted by the church alone, including the position of pope, who is elected by church members called the College of Cardinals.

Answer 4

Pope Saint Gregory the Great, one of the four great doctors of the Church was an outstanding monk and Pope. Below is a eulogy written by a non-Catholic author, for the complete Catholic Encyclopedia article on Pope St. Gregory the Great, please see the link below the answer.

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from The Catholic Encyclopedia:

Doctor of the Church; born at Rome about 540; died 12 March 604. Gregory is certainly one of the most notable figures in Ecclesiastical History. He has exercised in many respects a momentous influence on the doctrine, the organization, and the discipline of the Catholic Church. To him we must look for an explanation of the religious situation of the Middle Ages; indeed, if no account were taken of his work, the evolution of the form of medieval Christianity would be almost inexplicable. And further, in so far as the modern Catholic system is a legitimate development of medieval Catholicism, of this too Gregory may not unreasonably be termed the Father. Almost all the leading principles of the later Catholicism are found, at any rate in germ, in Gregory the Great. (F.H. Dudden, "Gregory the Great", 1, p. v).

Answer 5

There have been 17 popes named Gregory. Please specify one of them.