Pope Gregory VII

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Pope Saint
Gregory VII
Bishop of Rome
Gregorius (Vita Gregorii VII).jpg
Church Catholic Church
Diocese Rome
See Holy See
Papacy began 22 April 1073
Papacy ended 25 May 1085
Predecessor Alexander II
Successor Victor III
Orders
Ordination 22 May 1073
Consecration 30 June 1073
Created cardinal 6 March 1058
by Pope Nicholas II
Personal details
Birth name Ildebrando di Soana
Born c. 1015[1]
Sovana, Tuscany, Holy Roman Empire
Died 25 May 1085 (aged 69–70)
Salerno, Duchy of Apulia
Previous post Cardinal-Deacon of Santa Maria Domnica (1058–73)
Sainthood
Feast day 25 May
Venerated in Catholic Church
Beatified 1584
by Pope Gregory XIII
Canonized 24 May 1728
by Pope Benedict XIII
Attributes
Papal vestments
Papal tiara
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 da Soana), was pope 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 is perhaps best known for the part he played
in the Investiture Controversy, his dispute with Emperor Henry IV that affirmed 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 in several centuries to rigorously enforce the Western
Church's ancient policy of celibacy for the clergy and also attacked the practice
of simony.

Gregory VII excommunicated Henry IV three times. Consequently, Henry IV would

appoint Antipope Clement III to oppose him in the political power struggles between
the Catholic Church and his empire. Hailed as one of the greatest of the Roman
pontiffs after his reforms proved successful, Gregory VII was, during his own
reign, despised by some for his expansive use of papal powers.[2]

Because this pope was such a prominent champion of papal supremacy, his memory was
evoked on many occasions in later generations, both positively and negatively,
often 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, leveled against him charges such as necromancy, torture of a former
friend upon a bed of nails, commissioning an attempted assassination, executions
without trials, unjust excommunication, doubting the Real Presence of the
Eucharist, and even burning the Eucharist.[citation needed] This was eagerly
repeated by later opponents of the Catholic Church, such as the English Protestant
John Foxe.[3] Twentieth century British writer Joseph McCabe describes Gregory as a
"rough and violent peasant, enlisting his brute strength in the service of the
monastic ideal which he embraced."[4] In contrast, the modern historian of the 11th
century 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."[5]

Contents
1 Early life
2 Election to the papacy
3 Start of conflict with the Emperor
3.1 Pope and emperor depose each other
3.2 Walk to Canossa
3.3 Later excommunications of Henry IV
3.4 Exile from Rome
4 Papal policy to the rest of Europe
4.1 England
4.2 Normans in the Kingdom of Sicily
4.3 Claims of Papal sovereignty
4.4 France
4.5 Distant Christian countries
4.6 Byzantine Empire
5 Internal policy and reforms
6 Doctrine of the Eucharist
7 Death
8 Legacy
9 See also
10 References
11 Further reading
12 External links
Early life
Gregory was born as Ildebrando di Sovana in Sovana, in the county of Grosseto, now
southern Tuscany, central Italy. The historian Johann Georg Estor made the claim
that he was the son of a blacksmith.[6] As a youth he was sent to study in Rome at
the monastery of St. Mary on the Aventine, where, according to some unconfirmed
sources, his uncle was abbot of a monastery on the Aventine Hill.[7][8] Among his
masters were the erudite Lawrence, archbishop of Amalfi, and Johannes Gratianus,
the future Pope Gregory VI.[9] When the latter was deposed by Holy Roman Emperor
Henry III and exiled to Germany, Hildebrand followed him to Cologne.[citation
needed]

According to some chroniclers, Hildebrand moved to Cluny after Gregory VI's death,
which occurred in 1048; though his declaration to have become a monk at Cluny must
not be taken literally.[8] He then accompanied Abbot Bruno of Toul to Rome; there,
Bruno was elected pope, choosing the name Leo IX, and named Hildebrand as deacon
and papal administrator. Leo sent Hildebrand as his legate to Tours in France in
the wake of the controversy created by Berengar of Tours.[citation needed] At Leo's
death, the new pope, Victor II, confirmed him as legate, while Victor's successor
Stephen IX sent him and Anselm of Lucca to Germany to obtain recognition from
Empress Agnes.[citation needed] Stephen died before being able to return to Rome,
but Hildebrand was successful; he was then instrumental in overcoming the crisis
caused by the Roman aristocracy's election of an antipope, Benedict X,[10] who,
thanks also to Agnes's support, was replaced by the Bishop of Florence, Nicholas
II.[citation needed] With the help of 300 Norman knights sent by Richard of Aversa,
Hildebrand personally led the conquest of the castle of Galeria Antica where
Benedict had taken refuge.[11] Between 1058 and 1059, he was made archdeacon of the
Roman church, becoming the most important figure in the papal administration.[12]

He was again the most powerful figure behind the election of Anselm of Lucca the
Elder as Pope Alexander II in the papal election of October 1061.[8] The new pope
put forward the reform program devised by Hildebrand and his followers.[citation
needed] In his years as papal advisor, Hildebrand had an important role in the
reconciliation with the Norman kingdom of southern Italy, in the anti-German
alliance with the Pataria movement in northern Italy and, above all, in the
introduction of a law which gave the cardinals exclusive rights concerning the
election of a new pope.[13]

Election to the papacy

Pope Gregory VII was one of the few popes elected by acclamation. On the death of
Alexander II on 21 April 1073, as the obsequies were being performed in the Lateran
Basilica, there arose a loud outcry from the clergy and people: "Let Hildebrand be
pope!", "Blessed Peter has chosen Hildebrand the Archdeacon!" Hildebrand
immediately fled, and hid himself for some time, thereby making it clear that he
had refused the uncanonical election in the Liberian Basilica.[14] He was finally
found at the Church of San Pietro in Vincoli, to which a famous monastery was
attached, and elected pope by the assembled cardinals, with the due consent of the
Roman clergy, amid the repeated acclamations of the people.[15][16]

It was debated at the time—and remains debated by historians—whether this

extraordinary outburst in favour of Hildebrand by clergy and people was wholly
spontaneous or could have been the result of some pre-concerted arrangements.[16]
According to Benizo, Bishop of Sutri, a supporter of Hildebrand, the outcry was
begun by the actions of Cardinal Ugo Candidus, Cardinal Priest of S. Clemente, who
rushed into a pulpit and began to declaim to the people.[17] Certainly, the mode of
his election was highly criticized by his opponents. Many of the charges brought
may have been expressions of personal dislike, liable to suspicion from the very
fact that they were not raised to attack his promotion until several years later.
But it is clear from Gregory's own account of the circumstances of his election,
[18] in his Epistle 1 and Epistle 2, that it was conducted in a very irregular
fashion. First of all, it was contrary to the Constitution of the Pope promulgated
and approved in the Roman Synod of 607, which forbade a papal election to begin
until the third day after a pope's burial.[19] Cardinal Ugo's intervention was
contrary to the Constitution of Nicholas II, which affirmed the exclusive right to
name candidates to the Cardinal Bishops; finally, the requirement of Pope Nicholas
II that the Holy Roman Emperor be consulted in the matter was ignored.[20] However,
what ultimately turned the tide in favor of validity of Gregory VII's election was
the second election at S. Pietro in Vincoli and the acceptance by the Roman people.

Gregory VII's earliest pontifical letters clearly acknowledge this fact, and thus
helped defuse any doubt about his election as immensely popular. On 22 May 1073,
the Feast of Pentecost, he received ordination as a priest, and he was consecrated
a bishop and enthroned as pope on 29 June (the Feast of St. Peter's Chair).[21]

In the decree of election, those who had chosen him as Bishop of Rome proclaimed
Gregory VII “a devout man, a man mighty in human and divine knowledge, a
distinguished lover of equity and justice, a man firm in adversity and temperate in
prosperity, a man, according to the saying of the Apostle, of good behavior,
blameless, modest, sober, chaste, given to hospitality, and one that ruleth well
his own house; a man from his childhood generously brought up in the bosom of this
Mother Church, and for the merit of his life already raised to the archidiaconal
dignity”. “We choose then”, they said to the people, “our Archdeacon Hildebrand to
be pope and successor to the Apostle, and to bear henceforward and forever the name
of Gregory” (22 April 1073).[16]

Gregory VII's first attempts in foreign policy were towards a reconciliation with
the Normans of Robert Guiscard; in the end the two parties did not meet. After a
failed call for a crusade to the princes of northern Europe,[22] and after
obtaining the support of other Norman princes such as Landulf VI of Benevento and
Richard I of Capua, Gregory VII was able to excommunicate Robert in 1074. In the
same year Gregory VII summoned a council in the Lateran palace, which condemned
simony and confirmed celibacy for the Church's clergy. These decrees were further
stressed, under menace of excommunication, the next year (24–28 February).[22] In
particular, Gregory decreed in this second council that only the Pope could appoint
or depose bishops or move them from see to see, an act which was later to cause the
Investiture Controversy.[citation needed]

Start of conflict with the Emperor

See also: Investiture Controversy
The main focus of the ecclesiastico-political projects of Gregory VII is to be
found in his relationship with the Holy Roman Empire. Since the death of Holy Roman
Emperor Henry III, the strength of the German monarchy had been seriously weakened,
and his son Henry IV had to contend with great internal difficulties. This state of
affairs was of material assistance to Gregory VII. His advantage was further
enhanced by the fact that in 1073 Henry IV was only twenty-three years of age.[21]

In the two years following the election of Gregory VII, Henry was forced by the
Saxon Rebellion to come to amicable terms with him at any cost. Consequently, in
May 1074 he did penance at Nuremberg—in the presence of the papal legates—to atone
for his continued friendship with the members of his council who had been banned by
Gregory, took an oath of obedience, and promised his support in the work of
reforming the Church.[citation needed] This attitude, however, which at first won
him the confidence of the pope, was abandoned as soon as he defeated the Saxons at
the First Battle of Langensalza on 9 June 1075 (also called the Battle of Homburg
or Battle of Hohenburg). Henry then tried to reassert his rights as the sovereign
of northern Italy without delay. He sent Count Eberhard to Lombardy to combat the
Patarenes; nominated the cleric Tedald to the archbishopric of Milan, thus settling
a prolonged and contentious question; and finally tried to establish relations with
the Norman duke Robert Guiscard.[21]

Gregory VII replied with a rough letter, dated 8 December 1075, in which, among
other charges, he accused Henry of breaching his word and with his continued
support of excommunicated councillors. At the same time, he sent a verbal message
suggesting that the enormous crimes which would be laid to his account rendered him
liable, not only to the ban of the Church, but to the deprivation of his crown.
Gregory did this at a time when he himself was confronted by a reckless opponent in
the person of Cencio I Frangipane, who on Christmas night surprised him in church
and carried him off as a prisoner, though on the following day Gregory was
released.[21]

Pope and emperor depose each other

The reprimands of the Pope, couched as they were in such an unprecedented form,
infuriated Henry and his court, and their answer was the hastily convened national
council in Worms, Germany (the synod of Worms), which met on 24 January 1076. In
the higher ranks of the German clergy Gregory had many enemies, and a Roman
cardinal, Hugo Candidus, once on intimate terms with him but now his opponent, had
hurried to Germany for the occasion. All the accusations with regard to Gregory
that Candidus could come up with were well received by the assembly, which
committed itself to the resolution that Gregory had forfeited the papacy. In one
document full of accusations, the bishops renounced their allegiance to Gregory. In
another, Henry pronounced him deposed, and the Romans were required to choose a new
pope.[23][21]

The council sent two bishops to Italy, and they procured a similar act of
deposition from the Lombard bishops at the synod of Piacenza. Roland of Parma
informed the pope of these decisions, and he was fortunate enough to gain an
opportunity for speech in the synod, which had just assembled in the Lateran
Basilica, to deliver his message there announcing the dethronement. For the moment
the members were frightened, but soon such a storm of indignation was aroused that
it was only due to the moderation of Gregory himself that the envoy was not
murdered.[21]

On the following day, 22 February 1076, Pope Gregory VII pronounced a sentence of
excommunication against Henry IV with all due solemnity, divested him of his royal
dignity and absolved his subjects from the oaths they had sworn to him. This
sentence purported to eject a ruler from the Church and to strip him of his crown.
Whether it would produce this effect, or would be an idle threat, depended not so
much on Gregory VII as on Henry's subjects, and, above all, on the German princes.
Contemporary evidence suggests that the excommunication of Henry made a profound
impression both in Germany and Italy.[21]

Thirty years before, Henry III had deposed three claimants to the papacy, and
thereby rendered an acknowledged service to the Church. When Henry IV tried to copy
this procedure he was less successful, as he lacked the support of the people. In
Germany there was a rapid and general feeling in favor of Gregory, and the princes
took the opportunity to carry out their anti-regal policy under the cloak of
respect for the papal decision. When at Whitsun the king proposed to discuss the
measures to be taken against Gregory VII in a council of his nobles, only a few
made their appearance; the Saxons snatched at the golden opportunity for renewing
their rebellion, and the anti-royalist party grew in strength from month to month.
[21]

Walk to Canossa
Main article: Walk to Canossa
The situation now became extremely critical for Henry. As a result of the
agitation, which was zealously fostered by the papal legate Bishop Altmann of
Passau, the princes met in October at Trebur to elect a new German ruler. Henry,
who was stationed at Oppenheim on the left bank of the Rhine, was only saved from
the loss of his throne by the failure of the assembled princes to agree on the
question of his successor.[21]

Their dissension, however, merely induced them to postpone the verdict. Henry, they
declared, must make reparation to Gregory VII and pledge himself to obedience; and
they decided that, if, on the anniversary of his excommunication, he still lay
under the ban, the throne should be considered vacant. At the same time they
decided to invite Gregory VII to Augsburg to decide the conflict.[21]

These arrangements showed Henry the course to be pursued. It was imperative under
any circumstances and at any price to secure his absolution from Gregory before the
period named, otherwise he could scarcely foil his opponents in their intention to
pursue their attack against him and justify their measures by an appeal to his
excommunication. At first he attempted to attain his ends by an embassy, but when
Gregory rejected his overtures he took the celebrated step of going to Italy in
person.[21]

Gregory VII had already left Rome and had intimated to the German princes that he
would expect their escort for his journey on 8 January 1077 to Mantua. But this
escort had not appeared when he received the news of Henry's arrival. Henry, who
had travelled through Burgundy, had been greeted with enthusiasm by the Lombards,
but resisted the temptation to employ force against Gregory. He chose the
unexpected course of forcing Gregory to grant him absolution by doing penance
before him at Canossa, where Gregory had taken refuge under the protection of his
close ally, Matilda of Tuscany. The Walk to Canossa soon became legendary.[21]

The reconciliation was only effected after prolonged negotiations and definite
pledges on the part of Henry, and it was with reluctance that Gregory VII at length
gave way, considering the political implications.[24] If Gregory VII granted
absolution, the diet of princes in Augsburg in which he might reasonably hope to
act as arbitrator would either become useless, or, if it met at all, would change
completely in character. It was impossible, however, to deny the penitent re-
entrance into the Church, and Gregory VII's religious obligations overrode his
political interests.[21]

The removal of the ban did not imply a genuine reconciliation, and no basis was
gained for a settlement of the main question that divided Henry and Gregory: that
of investiture. A new conflict was inevitable from the very fact that Henry
considered the sentence of deposition repealed along with that of excommunication.
Gregory, on the other hand, was intent on reserving his freedom of action and gave
no hint on the subject at Canossa.[21]

Later excommunications of Henry IV

That the excommunication of Henry IV was simply a pretext for the opposition of the
rebellious German nobles is transparent. Not only did they persist in their policy
after his absolution, but they took the more decided step of setting up a rival
ruler in the person of Duke Rudolf of Swabia at Forchheim in March 1077. At the
election, the papal legates present observed the appearance of neutrality, and
Gregory VII himself sought to maintain this attitude during the following years.
His task was made easier in that the two parties were of fairly equal strength,
each trying to gain the upper hand by getting the pope on their side. But the
result of his non-committal policy was that he largely lost the confidence of both
parties. Finally he decided for Rudolf of Swabia after his victory at the Battle of
Flarchheim on 27 January 1080. Under pressure from the Saxons, and misinformed as
to the significance of this battle, Gregory abandoned his waiting policy and again
pronounced the excommunication and deposition of King Henry on 7 March 1080.[25]
[21]

But the papal censure now proved a very different thing from the one four years
before. It was widely felt to be an injustice, and people began to ask whether an
excommunication pronounced on frivolous grounds was entitled to respect. The king,
now more experienced, took up the struggle with great vigour. He refused to
acknowledge the ban on the ground of its illegality.[21] He then summoned a council
that met at Brixen, and on 25 June pronounced Gregory deposed. It nominated the
archbishop Guibert (Wibert) of Ravenna as his successor. On 25 June 1080, Guibert
was elected Pope by the thirty bishops who were present at the King's command.[26]
On 15 October 1080, Pope Gregory advised the clergy and laity to elect a new
archbishop in place of the "mad" and "tyrannical" schismatic Wibert.[27] In 1081,
Henry opened the conflict against Gregory in Italy.[21] Gregory's support had by
that time weakened,[28] and thirteen cardinals had deserted him. To make matters
worse, Rudolf of Swabia died on 16 October of the same year. Henry was now in a
stronger position and Gregory a weaker one. A new claimant, Hermann of Luxembourg,
was put forward in August 1081, but his personality was not suitable for a leader
of the Gregorian party in Germany, and the power of Henry IV was at its peak.[21]

The pope's chief military supporter, Matilda of Tuscany,[29] blocked Henry's armies
from the western passages over the Apennines, so he had to approach Rome from
Ravenna. Rome surrendered to the German king in 1084, and Gregory thereupon retired
into the exile of the Castel Sant'Angelo.[30] Gregory refused to entertain Henry's
overtures, although the latter promised to hand over Guibert as a prisoner, if the
sovereign pontiff would only consent to crown him emperor. Gregory, however,
insisted as a necessary preliminary that Henry should appear before a Council and
do penance. The emperor, while pretending to submit to these terms, tried hard to
prevent the meeting of the bishops. A small number assembled nonetheless, and, in
accordance with their wishes, Gregory again excommunicated Henry.[16]

Henry, upon receipt of this news, again entered Rome on 21 March to see that his
supporter, Archbishop Guibert of Ravenna, was enthroned as Pope Clement III on 24
March 1084. Henry was crowned emperor by his creature, but Robert Guiscard, with
whom in the meantime Gregory had formed an alliance, was already marching on the
city.[16] Henry was compelled to flee towards Civita Castellana.

Exile from Rome

The pope was liberated, but after the Roman people became incensed by the excesses
of his Norman allies, he was compelled to withdraw to Monte Cassino,[31] and later
to the castle of Salerno by the sea, where he died on 25 May 1085.[32] Three days
before his death, he withdrew all the censures of excommunication that he had
pronounced, except those against the two chief offenders – Henry and Guibert.[16]

Papal policy to the rest of Europe

England

A map of Gregory VII's papal correspondence

In 1076, Gregory appointed Dol Euen, a monk of Saint-Melaine of Rennes, as bishop
of Dol, rejecting both the incumbent, Iuthael, who had the support of William the
Conqueror, who had recently been conducting military operations in north-eastern
Brittany, and Gilduin, the candidate of the nobles in Dol opposing William. Gregory
rejected Iuthael because he was notorious for simony and Guilden as too young.[33]
Gregory also bestowed on Dol Euen the pallium of a metropolitan archbishop, on the
condition that he would submit to the judgment of the Holy See when the long-
standing case of the right of Dol to be a metropolitan and use the pallium was
finally decided.[34]

King William felt himself so safe that he interfered autocratically with the
management of the church, forbade the bishops to visit Rome, made appointments to
bishoprics and abbeys, and showed little anxiety when the pope lectured him on the
different principles which he had as to the relationship of spiritual and temporal
powers, or when he prohibited him from commerce or commanded him to acknowledge
himself a vassal of the apostolic chair.[21] William was particularly annoyed at
Gregory's insistence on dividing ecclesiastical England into two provinces, in
opposition to William's need to emphasize the unity of his newly acquired kingdom.
Gregory's increasing insistence on church independence from secular authority in
the matter of clerical appointments became a more and more contentious issue.[35]
He sought as well to compel the episcopacy to look to Rome for validation and
direction, demanding the regular attendance of prelates in Rome.[36] Gregory had no
power to compel the English king to an alteration in his ecclesiastical policy, so
he was compelled to ignore what he could not approve, and even considered it
advisable to assure King William of his particular affection.[37][21] On the whole,
William's policy was of great benefit to the Church.[38]

Normans in the Kingdom of Sicily

The relationship of Gregory VII to other European states was strongly influenced by
his German policy, since the Holy Roman Empire, by taking up most of his energies,
often forced him to show to other rulers the very moderation which he withheld from
the German king. The attitude of the Normans brought him a rude awakening. The
great concessions made to them under Nicholas II were not only powerless to stem
their advance into central Italy, but failed to secure even the expected protection
for the papacy. When Gregory VII was hard pressed by Henry IV, Robert Guiscard left
him to his fate, and only intervened when he himself was threatened with German
arms. Then, on the capture of Rome, he abandoned the city to his troops, and the
popular indignation evoked by his act brought about Gregory's exile.[21]

Claims of Papal sovereignty

In the case of several countries, Gregory VII tried to establish a claim of
sovereignty on the part of the Papacy, and to secure the recognition of its self-
asserted rights of possession. On the ground of "immemorial usage", Corsica and
Sardinia were assumed to belong to the Roman Church. Spain, Hungary and Croatia
were also claimed as her property, and an attempt was made to induce the king of
Denmark to hold his realm as a fief from the pope.[21]

In his treatment of ecclesiastical policy and ecclesiastical reform, Gregory did

not stand alone, but found powerful support: in England Archbishop Lanfranc of
Canterbury stood closest to him; in France his champion was Bishop Hugh de Dié, who
afterwards became Archbishop of Lyon.[21][39]

France
Philip I of France, by his practice of simony and the violence of his proceedings
against the Church, provoked a threat of summary measures. Excommunication,
deposition and the interdict appeared to be imminent in 1074. Gregory, however,
refrained from translating his threats into actions, although the attitude of the
king showed no change, for he wished to avoid a dispersion of his strength in the
conflict soon to break out in Germany.[21]

Pope Gregory attempted to organize a crusade into Al-Andalus, led by Count Ebles II
of Roucy.[40]

Distant Christian countries

Gregory, in fact, established some sort of relations with every country in
Christendom; though these relations did not invariably realize the ecclesiastico-
political hopes connected with them. His correspondence extended to Poland, Kievan
Rus' and Bohemia. He unsuccessfully tried to bring Armenia into closer contact with
Rome.[41][21]

Byzantine Empire
Gregory was particularly concerned with the East. The schism between Rome and the
Byzantine Empire was a severe blow to him, and he worked hard to restore the former
amicable relationship. Gregory successfully tried to get in touch with the emperor
Michael VII. When the news of the Muslim attacks on the Christians in the East
filtered through to Rome, and the political embarrassments of the Byzantine emperor
increased, he conceived the project of a great military expedition and exhorted the
faithful to participate in recovering the Church of the Holy Sepulchre[21] –
foreshadowing the First Crusade.[32] In his efforts to recruit for the expedition,
he emphasized the suffering of eastern Christians, arguing western Christians had a
moral obligation to go to their aid.[42]

Internal policy and reforms

Main article: Gregorian Reform
His lifework was based on his conviction that the Church was founded by God and
entrusted with the task of embracing all mankind in a single society in which
divine will is the only law; that, in its capacity as a divine institution, it is
supreme over all human structures, especially the secular state; and that the pope,
in his role as head of the Church, is the vice-regent of God on earth, so that
disobedience to him implies disobedience to God: or, in other words, a defection
from Christianity. But any attempt to interpret this in terms of action would have
bound the Church to annihilate not merely a single state, but all states.[21]
Thus Gregory VII, as a politician wanting to achieve some result, was driven in
practice to adopt a different standpoint. He acknowledged the existence of the
state as a dispensation of Providence, described the coexistence of church and
state as a divine ordinance, and emphasized the necessity of union between the
sacerdotium and the imperium. But at no period would he have dreamed of putting the
two powers on an equal footing; the superiority of church to state was to him a
fact which admitted of no discussion and which he had never doubted.[21]

He wished to see all important matters of dispute referred to Rome; appeals were to
be addressed to himself; the centralization of ecclesiastical government in Rome
naturally involved a curtailment of the powers of bishops. Since these refused to
submit voluntarily and tried to assert their traditional independence, his papacy
is full of struggles against the higher ranks of the clergy.[21] Pope Gregory VII
was critical in promoting and regulating the concept of modern university as his
1079 Papal Decree ordered the regulated establishment of cathedral schools that
transformed themselves into the first European universities.[citation needed]

This battle for the foundation of papal supremacy is connected with his
championship of compulsory celibacy among the clergy and his attack on simony.
Gregory VII did not introduce the celibacy of the priesthood into the Church, but
he took up the struggle with greater energy than his predecessors. In 1074, he
published an encyclical, absolving the people from their obedience to bishops who
allowed married priests. The next year he enjoined them to take action against
married priests, and deprived these clerics of their revenues. Both the campaign
against priestly marriage and that against simony provoked widespread resistance.
[21]

Wax funeral effigy of Gregory VII under glass, Salerno cathedral

His writings treat mainly of the principles and practice of Church government.[16]
They may be found in Mansi's collection under the title "Gregorii VII registri sive
epistolarum libri".[43] Most of his surviving letters are preserved in his
Register, which is now stored in the Vatican Archives.

Doctrine of the Eucharist

Gregory VII was seen by Pope Paul VI as instrumental in affirming the tenet that
Christ is present in the Blessed Sacrament. Gregory's demand that Berengarius
perform a confession of this belief[44] was quoted in Pope Paul VI's historic 1965
encyclical Mysterium fidei:[45]

I believe in my heart and openly profess that the bread and wine that are placed on
the altar are, through the mystery of the sacred prayer and the words of the
Redeemer, substantially changed into the true and proper and lifegiving flesh and
blood of Jesus Christ our Lord, and that after the consecration they are the true
body of Christ.[46]

This profession of faith began a "Eucharistic Renaissance" in the churches of

Europe as of the 12th century.[45]

Death
Pope Gregory VII died in exile in Salerno; the epitaph on his sarcophagus in the
city's Cathedral says: "I have loved justice and hated iniquity; therefore, I die
in exile."[7][47]

Legacy
Gregory VII was beatified by Pope Gregory XIII in 1584 and canonized on 24 May 1728
by Pope Benedict XIII.[16]