CATH 100 Lecture Notes - Lecture 3: Fourth Council Of The Lateran, Vatican Library, Pope
Document Summary
Supreme pontiff latin: pontis: bridge the pope is the bridge between human beings and god. Originally, all bishops called themselves pappas, or popes. It wasn"t until gregory vii that pope was designated for the bishop of rome. Leo the great (440-61: had an outward-looking perspective of the church. Gregory the great (590-604: a great writer. He wrote an exegesis (interpretation) on the book of job and a biography of st. benedict: was a benedictine monk before he became pope. Carried that monastic sense into his papacy: he sent the first mission to great britain. At the time, it was way on the edge of the roman empire. He sent the first christian missionaries, 40 monks, to strengthen the christian presence. Gregory vii (1073-85: christian name was hildebrand, which means bright flame. He was also a monk before he became pope: he had no tolerance for lavishness in the church. 10th century decadence had seeped into the church.
