Why was pope innocent iii important
Innokentiy III
| Pope since Country: Vatican |
Content:
- Biography of Innocent III
- Restoring Papal Authority
- The Crusades and Heretical Movements
Biography of Innocent III
Innocent III, born Lotario dei Conti di Segni, was born around or in Gavignano, Lazio, Italy.
Pope innocent iv: Celestine III. Innocent III was considered a strenuous opponent of heresy, and had campaigns to force the heretics to convert, or be executed. He had the Papal States cleared of the Manichean heretics. Frederick made the same promises as Otto IV and his election was ratified by Innocent and he was crowned at Aachen on 12 July,
He was the son of Trasimondo dei Conti di Segni and Clarice Scotti. Lotario belonged to the noble family of the Counts of Segni and was the nephew of Pope Clement III.
Lotario received his early education in Rome and studied theology in Paris and law in Bologna, becoming one of the most renowned experts in theology and law of his time. After the death of Pope Alexander III, Lotario returned to Rome and held various spiritual positions under subsequent popes.
Gregory VIII made him a subdeacon, and Clement III appointed him as cardinal-deacon.
During the pontificate of Pope Celestine III, Lotario, who was one of the fiercest enemies of the Segni family, lived in exile in Anagni, where he devoted himself to contemplation and literary work.
Biography of pope innocent iii biography pdf Popes of the Catholic Church. Innocent III took advantage of the confusion to lessen imperial German influence in Italy; his first act was the restoration of the papal power in Rome. Innocent played a further role in the politics of France, Sweden, Bulgaria, Spain and especially England. In , Innocent brought together the church's bishops and cardinals in a meeting called the Fourth Lateran Council.However, before his death, Celestine convinced the cardinals to elect the year-old Lotario as the new pope. Reluctantly, he accepted the tiara and took the name Innocent III.
Restoring Papal Authority
Taking advantage of the weakened imperial power after the death of Emperor Henry VI, Innocent III vigorously sought to restore papal authority.
The Prefect of Rome, who ruled the city on behalf of the emperor, and the Senator, who defended the rights of the citizens, pledged their loyalty to the pope. Innocent restored papal sovereignty over Rome and began to bring the surrounding regions under his control, including Romagna, Ancona, Spoleto, Assisi, and Sora.
Innocent was approached by Constance, the widow of Henry VI, who was unable to secure the Sicilian throne for her young son, Frederick II.
Innocent demanded her recognition of papal suzerainty over Sicily and the renunciation of privileges granted to the Normans by Adrian IV. In November , Innocent issued a bull proclaiming Frederick as the king. However, before the bull reached Sicily, Constance died, appointing Innocent as Frederick's guardian. Even the enemies of the papacy acknowledged that Innocent selflessly helped the young king and skillfully governed Sicily for nine years.
In Germany, two rival parties, the Guelphs and the Ghibellines, had elected two different kings.
Innocent sent Bishop Sutri to one of the candidates, Philip of Swabia, with an offer of support in exchange for territorial concessions in Tuscany and the release of Sibylla of Sicily from prison. Philip responded ambiguously, and Innocent refused to recognize his election.
Biography of pope innocent iii biography In , Innocent brought together the church's bishops and cardinals in a meeting called the Fourth Lateran Council. The Venetians then re-directed it into the sacking of Zara in and of Constantinople in C. Crusades [ change change source ]. Contents move to sidebar hide.The other candidate, Otto IV, also appealed to the pope. Before making his choice, Innocent called for a peaceful resolution among the contenders. When they resorted to armed conflict, Innocent solemnly declared Otto as the king on July 3, , threatening excommunication for those who did not submit to his choice.
In addition to his involvement in Germany, Innocent resolved issues in France and England.
He enforced a five-year truce between John Lackland and Philip Augustus through his legate Pietro Capuano.
In , Innocent imposed an interdict on all of France when Philip abandoned his lawful wife Ingeborg for his mistress Agnes. In , a conflict arose in England regarding the election of the Archbishop of Canterbury. Innocent recommended Stephen Langton and refused the three thousand marks offered by John for the approval of his candidate, ultimately leading to the signing of the Magna Carta.
The Crusades and Heretical Movements
Like his predecessors, Innocent III was fervently committed to the liberation of the Holy Land.
He organized the Fourth Crusade, but instead of battling for the Holy Sepulchre, the crusaders became embroiled in Byzantine disputes and sacked Constantinople in The Latin Empire, led by Baldwin of Flanders, was established in place of Byzantium, and the reunion of the Western and Eastern churches was proclaimed.
Biography of pope innocent iii biography wikipedia He also invaded the Kingdom of Sicily. It decided to send another crusade to the Holy Land Fifth Crusade and issued some seventy reformatory decrees. Crusades [ change change source ]. Innocent was enraged at the assault on Constantinople that countermanded his expressed orders, and he excommunicated all participating Crusaders.Innocent was disappointed that the crusaders deviated from their original goal, but he had no power to change the outcome.
Innocent also fiercely fought against various heresies. His main adversary was the Albigensians, a large sect in southern France. They not only professed heretical doctrines but also sought to spread them by force.
In , the Albigensians murdered one of the missionaries sent by the pope to preach the true faith. Innocent imposed an interdict on several cities and called on the King of France to wage war against the heretics, which turned from a religious conflict into a straightforward conquest.
Throughout his pontificate, Innocent intervened in the affairs of various countries.
He annulled the marriages of Leo of Armenia and Portugal, recognized Pedro II of Aragon as his vassal, defended the Norwegians against their King Sverre, and acted as a mediator in the Hungarian civil strife.
Pope innocent iii action figure It has been called one of the great failures of his pontificate that he believed this devastating shattering of the Byzantine Empire would reunite the estranged Eastern and Western churches. He was educated in Rome, Paris under Peter of Corbeil , and Bologna under Huguccio , he was considered an intellectual and one of the greatest canon lawyers of his time. Innocent was enraged at the assault on Constantinople that countermanded his expressed orders, and he excommunicated all participating Crusaders. The Byzantines recovered their shaken capital and empire approximately fifty years later, and hostility between the Greek and Catholic churches only grew bitterly worse as a result of the miscarried Fourth Crusade.In , Innocent sent Cardinal Leo to Bulgaria to crown Kaloyan as the "King of the Bulgarians and Vlachs." He restored ecclesiastical discipline in Poland, intervened in the dispute between Sverker II and Eric X in Sweden, and attempted to restore unity with the Eastern Church.
In addition to his political endeavors, Innocent III founded universities in Paris and Oxford and approved the establishment of mendicant orders according to the rules of St.
Francis and St. Dominic. With a well-organized administrative and fiscal apparatus, including the curial council and legates sent throughout Europe, Innocent's papal capital became the most powerful financial conglomerate in Europe, thanks to the economic progress and thriving trade between developing cities. The Franciscans' "movement of the poor," which was subservient to the papacy, neutralized the threat from socio-religious movements that undermined the authority of the church hierarchy.
Towards the end of his life, Innocent organized the Fourth Lateran Council, which opened on November 15, It was the most important council of the Middle Ages, where 70 canons were accepted, forming the foundation of new ecclesiastical legislation.
The council condemned all religious and social doctrines propagated by the Cathars and Waldensians, who were heretics advocating for the rights of the poor. The council fathers called on the Christian people to reform their customs, criticized the corruption and immorality of the clergy, and tightened the requirement of celibacy for priests.
Believers were obliged to confess to their parish priest and receive communion at least once a year during Lent. Confidentiality in confession was mandated. In the doctrinal realm, the council formulated theological aspects of the sacraments in the spirit of medieval scholasticism. The council also addressed the issue of church tithes and imposed special clothing on Jews, prohibiting them from going out in the streets during Holy Week.
The council expressed support for the creation of separate quarters (known as ghettos) for Jews.
Innocent III died in Perugia during one of his apostolic journeys.
His body, dressed in papal garments, was displayed on a catafalque in the local cathedral. During the night, thieves broke into the cathedral and stole the symbols of papal authority. When the cardinals gathered the next day to celebrate the requiem Mass, they found only the naked remains of the man who had ruled over the Christian world for 18 years.
Innocent was buried in the cathedral, and it was only in December that his remains were transferred to the Basilica of St. John Lateran in Rome.