RETURNING to the history of the Roman church, much may be passed over in silence as not being of particular interest. Stephen II became pope, A.D. 752. It was not at that time an enviable post, because of the Lombards, who under their active king Astolfo, seized on the lands of the church and threatened Rome. Appeals to Constantinople were useless, for although the emperor claimed Italy as a part of his dominions, he did little or nothing to protect its inhabitants.
Stephen turned to France for protection, and hurried in person to visit Pepin, who then reigned. He was received with all humility, Pepin and his noble attendants prostrating themselves to the earth before the pope.
The request was granted. An army was sent against the Lombards, and Astolfo was compelled to shut himself up in the town of Pavia. But as soon as the French troops were withdrawn, he again with fire and sword laid waste the district around Rome, and threatened the city itself.
Appeal was again urgently made to Pepin. We give the words used that the reader may judge of the shocking way in which the pope applied scripture. “I conjure you," he wrote, "by the Lord our God, by His glorious mother, by all the heavenly virtues, and by St. Peter, who has consecrated you a king, to make the spoiler restore to the church of God what he has taken. You will have, at the day of judgment, to give an account of the manner in which you have defended us. It is you whom God has chosen for this great work by His own eternal prescience; for those whom He hath, predestinated He hath called, and those whom He hath called He hath, justified."
Indeed, the letters of Stephen are shocking—for he does not hesitate to call himself, not the successor of Peter, but Peter himself. Over and over again he calls himself, "I, Peter, apostle, called by Christ." He explains that they are to believe that the apostle invites them, for though he is absent in body, he is spiritually present! They were invited also by "our Lady, the mother of God, the ever-virgin Mary." It was to rescue "the holy church of God, in which ye hope to receive eternal life."
Again a French army routed the Lombards, and then arose the question to whom were the estates to be given. The envoy of the emperor claimed them for him. But Pepin, knowing his own power, granted the conquered territory to Stephen and his successors for ever.
This has been taken as the commencement of the temporal dominion of the church, which was added to from time to time; though long before, it had lands under its control and a revenue from the same. This made the pope a temporal prince, and was in direct opposition to the word of our Lord, " My kingdom is not of this world: else would my servants fight." The kingdom of the pope was now, at least in part, of this world, and his servants had from time to time to fight for his earthly possession.
Charlemagne.
This powerful French king was also called in by the successors of Stephen to protect the possessions of the pope. In A.D. 795 Leo III became pope. He had enemies in Rome, who were offended at his elevation, and watched their opportunity to attack him. Such was the little restraint on the inhabitants of the "holy city," that one day when the pope was in a procession, he was thrown from his horse, and efforts were made to deprive him of his eyes and his tongue. This was not accomplished, but he was dragged into a monastery and again attacked, and left weltering in his blood. But he still retained his sight and his speech. He was able to escape to Charles at Paderborn.
While here, messengers arrived with serious charges against Leo. Charles said he would inquire into them at Rome. When he reached the city, an assembly of archbishops, bishops, &c., was called together to judge of the accusations. But they came to the conclusion, that the successor of St. Peter was not answerable to any human judgment! Leo swore on the Gospels that he was not guilty of the charges.
A memorable incident followed this. On Christmas day—the first day of the ninth century, as it was then reckoned in the West—while Charles knelt at the altar, Leo placed a splendid crown on his head, and the congregation shouted, "Life and victory to Charles, crowned by God emperor of Rome!"
Charles protested against the act, but it is doubted if it were not all pre-arranged and with his consent. This severed Rome from the Greek empire (to which it was nominally attached), and made it a sort of capital of the West.
Charles had many successful wars with the Saxons, but on their chief, Widikind, submitting and being baptized, these wars ceased. Time after time, Charles had induced numbers to be baptized, but no sooner did they feel themselves strong enough to revolt than they again professed the religion of their fathers. Now that peace was proclaimed, it was enacted that death was the penalty against all who refused baptism; against burning the bodies of the dead; against eating flesh in Lent, if done in contempt of Christianity, &c. A tenth of the people's incomes was demanded for the church.
This was making Christians after a new fashion. Alcuin, an Englishman who was settled in France, protested against such conversions. He said the people should be instructed before being baptized; but thousands were forced to become Christians in the above way.
Charles, whose education had been neglected, was anxious for the instruction of his subjects. Amongst those chosen was the above-named Alcuin, who had had a school in England of great repute. On a visit to the continent he met with Charles, who urged him to remain in France and teach. This he was permitted to do, and became teacher to Charles himself, his sons and daughters, and some of his courtiers. He taught theology as well as the sciences.
After being head of this school for fourteen years, he became tired of teaching, and was made abbot of St. Martin at Tours. He took part afterwards in the controversies of the church.
Charles ordered schools to be opened all over his dominions, not forgetting the great need also in this respects of the monks and the clergy. "We have often received," said he, "from different monasteries letters which contained, indeed, many good things, but of which the style was so gross and rude, and so marked with ignorance, that it might reasonably be doubted whether the writers were capable of understanding the holy scriptures."
Charles—or Charlemagne, as he was called after the death of his father—took the lead in all ecclesiastical as well as in temporal matters. He considered it his duty to watch over the spiritual well-being of his people. In spiritual matters he was chief. He considered the pope the highest of bishops, and consulted him, and at times acted on his advice; but when he did, he gave the orders in his own name and not in that of the pope. It was not till later times that all spiritual matters in France were referred to the Pope.