Part 81 (1/2)

COMING OF THE FRIARS

The history of Christian monasticism exhibits an ever-widening social outlook. The early hermits [22] had devoted themselves, as they believed, to the service of G.o.d by retiring desert for prayer, meditation, and bodily mortification. St. Benedict's wise Rule, as followed by the medieval monastic orders, marked a change for the better. It did away with extreme forms of self-denial, brought the monks together in a common house, and required them to engage in daily manual labor. Yet even the Benedictine system had its limitations. The monks lived apart from the world and sought chiefly the salvation of their own souls. A new conception of the monastic life arose early in the thirteenth century, with the coming of the friars. [23] The aim of the friars was social service. They lived active lives in the world and devoted themselves entirely to the salvation of others. The foundation of the orders of friars was the work of two men, St. Francis in Italy and St. Dominic in Spain.

ST. FRANCIS, 1181(?)-1226 A.D.

Twenty-eight years after the death of St. Bernard, St. Francis was born at a.s.sisi. As the son of a rich and prominent merchant St. Francis had before him the prospect of a fine career in the world. But he put away all thoughts of fame and wealth, deserted his gay companions, and, choosing ”Lady Poverty” as his bride, started out to minister to lepers and social outcasts. One day, while attending Ma.s.s, the call came to him to preach the Gospel, as Christ had preached it, among the poor and lowly. The man's earnestness and charm of manner soon drew about him devoted followers.

After some years St. Francis went to Rome and obtained Pope Innocent III's sanction of his work. The Franciscan order spread so rapidly that even in the founder's lifetime there were several thousand members in Italy and other European countries.

[Ill.u.s.tration: ST. FRANCIS BLESSING THE BIRDS From a painting by the Italian artist Giotto.]

ST. FRANCIS, THE MAN

St. Francis is one of the most attractive figures in all history. Perhaps no other man has ever tried so seriously to imitate in his own life the life of Christ. St. Francis went about doing good. He resembled, in some respects, the social workers and revivalist preachers of to-day. In other respects he was a true child of the Middle Ages. An ascetic, he fasted, wore a hair-cloth s.h.i.+rt, mixed ashes with his food to make it disagreeable, wept daily, so that his eyesight was nearly destroyed, and every night flogged himself with iron chains. A mystic, he lived so close to G.o.d and nature that he could include within the bonds of his love not only men and women, but also animals, trees, and flowers. He preached a sermon to the birds and once wrote a hymn to praise G.o.d for his ”brothers,” sun, wind, and fire, and for his ”sisters,” moon, water, and earth. When told that he had but a short time to live, he exclaimed, ”Welcome, Sister Death!” He died at the age of forty-five, worn out by his exertions and self-denial. Two years later the pope made him a saint.

ST. DOMINIC, 1170-1221 A.D.

St. Dominic, unlike St. Francis, was a clergyman and a student of theology. After being ordained he went to southern France and labored there for ten years among a heretical sect known as the Albigenses. The order of Dominicans grew out of the little band of volunteers who a.s.sisted him in the mission. St. Dominic sent his followers--at first only sixteen in number--out into the world to combat heresy. They met with great success, and at the founder's death the Dominicans had as many as sixty friaries in various European cities.

CHARACTERISTICS OF THE FRIARS

The Franciscans and Dominicans resembled each other in many ways. They were ”itinerant,” going on foot from place to place, and wearing coa.r.s.e robes tied round the waist with a rope. They were ”mendicants,” [24] who possessed no property but lived on the alms of the charitable. They were also preachers, who spoke to the people, not in Latin, but in the common language of each country which they visited. The Franciscans worked especially in the ”slums” of the cities; the Dominicans addressed themselves rather to educated people and the upper cla.s.ses. As time went on, both orders relaxed the rule of poverty and became very wealthy. They still survive, scattered all over the world and employed in teaching and missionary activity. [25]

THE FRIARS AND THE PAPACY

The friars by their preaching and ministrations did a great deal to call forth a religious revival in Europe during the thirteenth century. In particular they helped to strengthen the papal authority. Both orders received the sanction of the pope; both enjoyed many privileges at his hands; and both looked to him for direction. The pope employed them to raise money, to preach crusades, and to impose excommunications and interdicts. The Franciscans and Dominicans formed, in fact, the agents of the Papacy.

165. POWER OF THE PAPACY

THE POPE'S EXALTED POSITION

The name ”pope” [26] seems at first to have been applied to all priests as a t.i.tle of respect and affection. The Greek Church still continues this use of the word. In the West it gradually came to be reserved to the bishop of Rome as his official t.i.tle. The pope was addressed in speaking as ”Your Holiness.” His exalted position was further indicated by the tiara, or headdress with triple crowns, worn by him in processions. [27]

He went to solemn ceremonies sitting in a chair supported on the shoulders of his guard. He gave audience from an elevated throne, and all who approached him kissed his feet in reverence. As ”Christ's Vicar” he claimed to be the representative on earth of the Almighty.

THE POPE AS THE HEAD OF WESTERN CHRISTENDOM

The pope was the supreme lawgiver of the Church. His decrees might not be set aside by any other person. He made new laws in the form of ”bulls”

[28] and by his ”dispensations” could in particular cases set aside old laws, such as those forbidding cousins to marry or monks to obtain release from their vows. The pope was also the supreme judge of the Church, for all appeals from the lower ecclesiastical courts came before him for decision. Finally, the pope was the supreme administrator of the Church.

He confirmed the election of bishops, deposed them, when necessary, or transferred them from one diocese to another. No archbishop might perform the functions of his office until he had received the _pallium_ from the pope's hands. The pope also exercised control over the monastic orders and called general councils of the Church.

THE PAPAL LEGATES

The authority of the pope was commonly exercised by the ”legates,” [29]

whom he sent out as his representatives at the various European courts.

These officers kept the pope in close touch with the condition of the Church in every part of western Europe. A similar function is performed in modern times by the papal amba.s.sadors known as ”nuncios.”

THE CARDINALS