Week 10 · AD 901–1000
Monks, Popes, and Kings
Cluny, Kiev, and a synod that removed a pope
This week
Reform, rivalry, and the sacraments
- William of Aquitaine founds the monastery of Cluny in 910
- Prince Vladimir has his people baptized at Kiev in 988
- A Roman synod, a church court, removes Pope John XII in 963
- Otto I defeats Hungarian raiders at the Lechfeld in 955
- No council that Rome or the East counts as ecumenical (worldwide) met
The Entry into Jerusalem
Unknown Winchester artist, 971–984. From the Benedictional of St Æthelwold, a book of blessings.
Church life
Monks, a prince, and baptism
Church life
A monastery that becomes a network
- William of Aquitaine gives land to monks who follow the Rule of Benedict
- The Rule of Benedict is the sixth-century guide to monastic life
- Cluny’s abbot names the heads of its daughter houses
- The charter asks the monks to pray for the donors’ souls
Christ and the sacraments
Christ’s own Baptism
- The second page shows Christ in the Jordan, with John pouring water on his head
- The Father and the Spirit show him to be the Son of God
- Lutherans link this to the Baptism Christ commands for all nations
- In that Baptism he gives forgiveness and new life by water and his Word
Church life
Baptism at Kiev, 988
- Prince Vladimir has the idol of Perun thrown down
- He orders the people of Kiev into the Dnieper river to be baptized
- The Primary Chronicle, a Russian history written long after, tells the story
- Baptism here is the church’s entry rite, not only a political act
Controversy
A pope removed, and the sacraments
Controversy
Accusations against a pope
- A synod at Rome removes Pope John XII in 963 and elects Leo VIII
- Liutprand of Cremona, who backed Emperor Otto, reports murder and adultery charges
- Treat these as accusations, not as proven facts
- John refused to accept the synod’s decision
Christ and the sacraments
Reform or invalid?
- Reforming a corrupt office is one response to scandal
- Calling a corrupt minister’s sacraments invalid is a different claim
- The popes presided over the sacraments, so the question is real
Councils and events
No ecumenical council met here
Councils and events
Rome, 963: a local synod
- A local synod, a regional church court, met in Rome on 6 November 963
- Otto, crowned by the pope in February 962, was in Rome with his army
- The synod removed John XII on 4 December
- It judged office and discipline, not teaching about Christ or the sacraments
- Lutheran classification: Not classified
Councils and events
Charroux, 989: the Peace of God
- Archbishop Gunbald of Bordeaux and his bishops met at Charroux
- They threatened to cut off anyone who robbed churches, robbed the poor, or struck unarmed clergy
- The synod began the Peace of God, church efforts to limit private warfare
- It used church discipline to protect the weak, not new teaching
- Lutheran classification: Not classified
Major people
A monk writes about a count’s holiness
Major people
Odo’s Life of Gerald
- Odo, abbot of Cluny, wrote the Life of Gerald of Aurillac
- Gerald was a count who died in 909, and Odo never met him
- Gerald forgave an enemy and gave him gifts
- In one scene he stays at Mass while his castle is threatened
- The Life shows holiness outside the monastery
Wider world
Battles, kings, and a voyage beyond the church’s centers
Wider world
Kings, raiders, and a voyage
- 937: King Athelstan defeats Scots, Britons, and Dublin Vikings at Brunanburh
- 955: Otto I defeats the Hungarian raiders at the Lechfeld on 10 August
- 987: Nobles choose Hugh Capet as king of the West Franks at Senlis
- About 1000: Leif Erikson sails to Vinland, in North America, as the sagas tell it
Confessional Lutheran connection
How the Confessions judge these events
Christ and the sacraments
Baptism is God’s gift
- Vladimir’s people were baptized at their ruler’s order
- Baptism is God’s gift in water joined to his Word
- It gives forgiveness and new life to each person baptized
- A ruler’s choice does not give or remove that gift
Christ and the sacraments
The Lord’s Supper
- An unworthy minister does not cancel Christ’s promise in the Supper
- The sacrament rests on Christ’s institution, not on the minister’s holiness
- The Confessions also say that false teachers must be removed
Confessional Lutheran connection
Church and emperor
- The church’s power is to preach the Gospel and give the sacraments
- The ruler’s power is to keep peace
- Neither ruler nor bishop takes over the other’s task, as in the quarrel of Otto and John XII
For discussion
Can reform fix a corrupt office, and does a corrupt minister make Christ’s sacraments invalid?