Early European History

by Hutton Webster

160. CHURCH DOCTRINE AND WORSHIP

"THE GATE OF HEAVEN."

In medieval times every loyal member of the Church accepted without question its authority in religious matters. The Church taught a belief in a personal God, all-wise, all-good, all-powerful, to know whom was the highest goal of life. The avenue to this knowledge lay through faith in the revelation of God, as found in the Scriptures. Since the unaided human reason could not properly interpret the Scriptures, it was necessary for the Church, through her officers, to declare their meaning and set forth what doctrines were essential to salvation. The Church thus appeared as the sole repository of religious knowledge, as "the gate of heaven."

THE SACRAMENTAL SYSTEM

Salvation did not depend only on the acceptance of certain beliefs. There were also certain acts, called "sacraments," in which the faithful Christian must participate, if he was not to be cut off eternally from God. These acts formed channels of heavenly grace; they saved man from the consequences of his sinful nature and filled him with "the fullness of divine life." Since priests alone could administer the sacraments, [2] the Church presented itself as the necessary mediator between God and man.

BAPTISM, CONFIRMATION, MATRIMONY, AND EXTREME UNCTION

By the thirteenth century seven sacraments were generally recognized. Four of these marked critical stages in human life, from the cradle to the grave. Baptism cleansed the child from the taint of original sin and admitted him into the Christian community. Confirmation gave him full Church fellowship. Matrimony united husband and wife in holy bonds which might never be broken. Extreme Unction, the anointing with oil of one mortally ill, purified the soul and endowed it with strength to meet death.

PENANCE

Penance held an especially important place in the sacramental system. At least once a year the Christian must confess his sins to a priest. If he seemed to be truly repentant, the priest pronounced the solemn words of absolution and then required him to accept some punishment, which varied according to the nature of the offense. There was a regular code of penalties for such sins as drunkenness, avarice, perjury, murder, and heresy. Penances often consisted in fasting, reciting prayers, abstaining from one's ordinary amusements, or beating oneself with bundles of rods. A man who had sinned grievously might be ordered to engage in charitable work, to make a contribution in money for the support of the Church, or to go on a pilgrimage to a sacred shrine. The more distant and difficult a pilgrimage, the more meritorious it was, especially if it led to some very holy place, such as Rome or Jerusalem. People might also become monks in order to atone for evil-doing. This system of penitential punishment referred only to the earthly life; it was not supposed to cleanse the soul for eternity.

HOLY EUCHARIST

The sacrament of the Holy Eucharist, generally known as the Mass, formed the central feature of worship. It was more than a common meal in commemoration of the Last Supper of Christ with the Apostles. It was a solemn ceremony, by which the Christian believed himself to receive the body and blood of Christ, under the form of bread and wine. [3] The right of the priest to withhold the Eucharist from any person, for good cause, gave the Church great power, because the failure to partake of this sacrament imperiled one's chances of future salvation. It was also supposed that the benefits of the ceremony in purifying from sin might be enjoyed by the dead in Purgatory; hence masses were often said for the repose of their souls.

ORDINATION

The seventh and last sacrament, that of Ordination, or "Holy Orders," admitted persons to the priesthood. According to the view of the Church the rite had been instituted by Christ, when He chose the Apostles and sent them forth to preach the Gospel. From the Apostles, who ordained their successors, the clergy in all later times received their exalted authority. [4] Ordination conferred spiritual power and set such an indelible mark on the character that one who had been ordained could never become a simple layman again.

[Illustration: PILGRIMS TO CANTERBURY From a medieval manuscript. Canterbury with its cathedral appears in the background. The shrine of Thomas Becket, archbishop of Canterbury, formed a celebrated resort for medieval pilgrims. The archbishop had been murdered in the church (1180 A.D.), if not at the instigation, at any rate without the opposition of King Henry II, whose policies he opposed. Becket, who was regarded as a martyr, soon received canonization. Miracles were said to be worked at his grave and at the well in which his bloody garments had been washed. He remained the most popular saint in England until the Protestant Reformation in the sixteenth century, when his shrine was destroyed.]

REVERENCE FOR SAINTS

The Church did not rely solely on the sacramental system as a means to salvation. It was believed that holy persons, called saints, [5] who had died and gone to Heaven, offered to God their prayers for men. Hence the practice arose of invoking the aid of the saints in all the concerns of life. The earliest saints were Christian martyrs, [6] who had sealed their faith with their blood. In course of time many other persons, renowned for pious deeds, were exalted to sainthood. The making of a new saint, after a rigid inquiry into the merits of the person whom it is proposed to honor, is now a privilege reserved to the pope.

DEVOTION TO THE VIRGIN

High above all the saints stood the Virgin Mary, the Mother of God. Devotion to her as the "Queen of Heaven" increased rapidly in the Church after the time of Gregory the Great. The popularity of her cult owed not a little to the influence of chivalry, [7] for the knight, who vowed to cherish womanhood, saw in the Virgin the ideal woman. Everywhere churches arose in her honor, and no cathedral or abbey lacked a chapel dedicated to Our Lady.

RELICS

The growing reverence for saints led to an increased interest in relics. These included the bones of a saint and shreds of his garments, besides such objects as the wood or nails of the cross on which Christ suffered. Relics were not simply mementos; they were supposed to possess miraculous power which passed into them through contact with holy persons. This belief explains the use of relics to heal diseases, to ward off danger, and, in general, to bring good fortune. An oath taken upon relics was especially sacred. [8] Every church building contained a collection of relics, sometimes amounting to thousands in number, and even private persons often owned them.

PURGATORY

The Church also taught a belief in Purgatory as a state or place of probation. [9] Here dwelt the souls of those who were guilty of no mortal sins which would condemn them to Hell, but yet were burdened with imperfections which prevented them from entering Heaven. Such imperfections, it was held, might be removed by the prayers of the living, and hence the practice arose of praying for the dead.