The political and social role of the church 1/1

England thought of itself as part of 'Christendom'. Henry looked to the Pope to re-inforce his authority to govern. The Pope had enormous powers and prestige, particularly since he could draw up non-secular (rligious) laws which applied to all of Christendom.

The catholic Church played a central part in politics. Abbots and bishops sat in the House of Lords alongside the nobility, and were instrumental in advising the king. Henry used his welath of the Church to reqard his advisers and give them prestige.

Cardinal Wolsey, Henry's chancellor, simbolized the links between the Church and the State:   -As the principal adviser to the king, he was responsible for the day to day goverment of the country   -As Chancellor he had ultimate authority over the legal system   -As a cardinal he had significant authority in the Church; cardinals elected the Pope   -As Archbishop of York, he held the second most important position in the Church of England   -As legatus a latere he had the right to act on behalf of the pope though not in all things

From 1514 Wolsey was Henry's chief minister and the second most important person in the goverment of England, after Henry. It is clear that Wolsey exploited his position as Henry's first minister and his role in the Church to achieve outcomes that enhanced his and Henry's position.

The Papacy: office of the Pope                                                                            - God's representative on earth

The Secular clergy                                                                                                  - Clergy who provided religious services to the laity

Cardinals                                                                                                                                          - Senior churchmen, elected Popes

Archbishops                                                                                                                - Senior churchmen in each country

Bishops                                                                                                                                             - Regional leaders of the Church

Parish Priests                                                                                                                                   - Ministered to each congregation, special rights kept them apart from the laity

Other Orders                                                                                                                               - Deacons regarded as clergy

Church law was known as canon law. It covered the beliefs of the Church, its teachings and its practices, and the Pope acted as the final arbiter in cases based on canon law. The pope had the authority to excommunicate the king, should he be a heretic or tyrant. 

The interpretation of canon law within England depneded on the Archbishops of Canterbury and York. Beneath the archdioceses, the two provinces which England was seperated into, came the dioceses, headed by bishops and beneath them, the parishes, each with its own priest but owing its loyalty to a bishop and to Rome.

The church had authority over the whole population, everyone was a parishioner in one of the 9000 parishes in England. Church law required them to attend services every Sunday where they celebrated liturgy and they could also be tried and sentanced in the Church courts.

Henry was dependent on the Church as a means of social control. The Church was the physical centre of each parish and each parishoner would know the priest. The law of the land could be reinforced through the Church, inside bulidings, wall paintings were a very visible threat of what might happen to those who sinned and the Ten Commandments provided a clear statement of what the godly should and should not do. Social tensions were eased as the importance of giving to the poor was constantly stressed.

The church was responsible for collecting Church taxes. A significant number of clergy held more than one parish, allowing them to accumulate income from several lands and some of the money went to Rome. In the 1520s Rome received approximately £4500 per year in taxation and religious fees, whereas Henry was amassing £12,500 per year from Church taxes.

Ordinary people also paid taxes to the Church. Every house in England paid an annual tax of one penny to Rome known as Peter's Pence after the first bishop of Rome, Saint Peter. The most significant tax paid was the annual tithe, everyone was required to pay a tenth of what they had produced or earned in that year to the Church. This could include crops, wool or eggs and the produce was stored in the tithe barn which was intended to support the priest and help the poor in the parish but it was often sold.

Communities were served not just by the parish church but by monastic orders. monasteries were extremely wealthy and had great economic, as well as political power. Whilst individual monks had to swear a vow of poverty, some of the institutions were very rich. Members of the nobility and gentry would give gifts of land and silver or gold. Property of one kind or another was also given when a man or woman was accepted into a religious institution. The poor might become lay brothers, working in the monastery.

The Church courts could fine an individual for non-attendance at Church and for breaking the Ten Commandments. Infringements of society's moral code, including cases of slander and adultery were brought before the Church courts. 

Those found guilty in a Church court could be fined or imprisoned but they could not be executed except for the charge of heresy. Heresy was an act against the beliefs and teaching of the Church.

Minor cases might incur fines but what every Christian feared was excommunication. An individual could not attend a church service, obtain forgiveness for their sins or participate in the Mass. Those who refused to renounce their beliefs could be burned in a public ceremony.

Church courts were also used for proving wills. Wills became more frequent as people had more possessions to leave. It was common for people to leave significant amounts to the Church. Wills were often dictated to a priest shortly before a person died.

Most parishes were built of stone and were divided by a screen into the areas where ordianry people and the laity could go and then the area reserved for the choir and clergy. There were no pews for the congregation to sit down, those who were old or sick would 'go to the wall' where there were benches. The open space of the parish church meant that it could be used for activities other than religious services such as; accomodating both people and animals in severe weather, holding markets, social activities and village meetings.

The main focus was the high altar which would be richly decorated with hangings and lit candles infront of the reredos, a screen which was also highly decorated. This was used for masses held on Sundays and holy days and the reserved sacrament was held there so that there was the continous presence of the body of Christ. During the week side altars would be used for masses, often in chantry chaples.

Masses were said for souls of the dead. Some chantry chapels were for the sole benefit of a particular person or family. Sometimes, individuals would join a chantry guild so that a mass would be said for their soul at key times, like the anniversary of their death.

Wealthy people could use the church to impress others with their wealth and piety. Parish churches often received gifts which would be given in the name of the donor and would be recorded as an indication of their generosity.

The monastery would have also been known as a abbey/priory/nunnery. When Henry became king in 1509, there were 850 monasteries in England.

Large, rural, monastic houses were known as abbeys and settlements which were made by the larger abbeys, often in towns, were most commonly known as priories. The location of the institutions were determined by the type of role they undertook. The rural abbeys were places of prayer and learning and often had large land-holdings, whereas monks who lived in the towns in priories worked within the community, to pray and help the poor and sick. 

Monasteries were at the forefront of the fight against disease because of the monks' medical knowledge and they were able to provide some basic health care. They were also valued for their contribution to learning and provided education to the sons of nobility and gentry.

Monasteries had large land-holdings throughout the country, much of it given to monastic orders when sons of the nobility became monks. Land was also given to the monasteries to provide funding for the monksto say prayers for the dead.

Arable land and farms produce food for the monasteries, wider market and provided employment for labourers. Monasteries were also major producers of wool, iron and selective breeding of sheep to improve productivity.