Gregory VII | |
|---|---|
| Bishop of Rome | |
.jpg) | |
| Church | Catholic Church |
| Papacy began | 22 April 1073 |
| Papacy ended | 25 May 1085 |
| Predecessor | Alexander II |
| Successor | Victor III |
| Previous post(s) | Archdeacon of the Roman church |
| Orders | |
| Ordination | 22 May 1073 |
| Consecration | 30 June 1073 |
| Created cardinal | 6 March 1058 |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Ildebrando di Soana c. 1015[1] |
| Died | 25 May 1085 (aged 69–70) Salerno, Duchy of Apulia |
| Sainthood | |
| Feast day | 25 May |
| Venerated in | Catholic Church |
| Beatified | 25 May 1584 Rome, Papal States by Pope Gregory XIII |
| Canonized | 24 May 1728 Rome, Papal States by Pope Benedict XIII |
| Attributes | |
| Patronage | Diocese of Sovana |
| Other popes named Gregory | |
Pope Gregory VII (Latin: Gregorius VII; c. 1015 – 25 May 1085), born Hildebrand of Sovana (Italian: Ildebrando di Soana), was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 22 April 1073 to his death in 1085. He is venerated as a saint in the Catholic Church.
One of the great reforming popes, he initiated the Gregorian Reform, and is perhaps best known for the part he played in the Investiture Controversy, his dispute with Emperor Henry IV to establish the primacy of papal authority and the new canon law governing the election of the pope by the College of Cardinals. He was also at the forefront of developments in the relationship between the emperor and the papacy during the years before he became pope. He was the first pope to introduce a policy of obligatory celibacy for the clergy, which had until then commonly married,[2][3][4][5] and also attacked the practice of simony.
During the power struggles between the papacy and the Empire, Gregory excommunicated Henry IV three times, and Henry appointed Antipope Clement III to oppose him. Though Gregory was hailed as one of the greatest of the Roman pontiffs after his reforms proved successful, during his own reign he was denounced by some for his autocratic use of papal powers.[6]
In later times, Gregory VII became an exemplar of papal supremacy, and his memory was invoked both positively and negatively, reflecting later writers' attitude to the Catholic Church and the papacy. Beno of Santi Martino e Silvestro, who opposed Gregory VII in the Investiture Controversy, accused him of necromancy, cruelty, tyranny, and blasphemy. This was eagerly repeated by later opponents of the Catholic Church, such as the English Protestant John Foxe.[7] In contrast, the modern historian and Anglican priest H. E. J. Cowdrey writes, "[Gregory VII] was surprisingly flexible, feeling his way and therefore perplexing both rigorous collaborators ... and cautious and steady-minded ones ... His zeal, moral force, and religious conviction, however, ensured that he should retain to a remarkable degree the loyalty and service of a wide variety of men and women."[8]
- ^ Cowdrey 1998, p. 28.
- ^ [Henry Chadwick, The Early Church, ISBN 978-0140231991]
- ^ New Catholic Encyclopedia, vol 3, Catholic University of America: Washington, D.C. 1967, p. 323
- ^ New Catholic Encyclopedia 1967, p. 366
- ^ Parish, Helen (23 May 2016). Clerical Celibacy in the West: C.1100-1700. Routledge. ISBN 9781317165163.
- ^ Beno, Cardinal Priest of Santi Martino e Silvestro. Gesta Romanae ecclesiae contra Hildebrandum. c. 1084. In K. Francke, MGH Libelli de Lite II (Hannover, 1892), pp. 369–373.
- ^ "The acts and monuments of John Fox", Volume 2
- ^ Cowdrey 1998, pp. 495–496.