Libertas ecclesiae
Encyclopedia
Libertas ecclesiae is the notion of emancipation from ecclesiastical authority in relation to the temporal power, which guided the movement of Reform
Gregorian Reform
The Gregorian Reforms were a series of reforms initiated by Pope Gregory VII and the circle he formed in the papal curia, circa 1050–80, which dealt with the moral integrity and independence of the clergy...

 begun in the 11th century. It is also the name of a papal bull issued by Gregory VII
Pope Gregory VII
Pope St. Gregory VII , born Hildebrand of Sovana , was Pope from April 22, 1073, until his death. One of the great reforming popes, he is perhaps best known for the part he played in the Investiture Controversy, his dispute with Henry IV, Holy Roman Emperor affirming the primacy of the papal...

 in 1079.

After the decentralization of the post-Carolingian period, this became the slogan of the Church in light of disapproval over lay warlords installing themselves as abbots and other high-profile churchmen. Unfit to perform theological functions, much less to defend the interests of the Church, these warlords viewed Church property as an extension of their own landholdings.

What resulted was the plunder of movable wealth (of which the monasteries had become the keepers during the period of Viking invasion) and the parcelling out of land and office as the temporal powers saw fit. This sorry state of the Church prompted enthusiasm for 'freeing' it from the direct control of these milites; Gregory VII helped frame this goal through the specifics of his reform program.

In addition to calling for spiritually pure figures at the helm of the Church, Gregory VII addressed the practical problems of pluralism (holding more than one church office) and poorly-educated clerics.

See also

  • Dictatus papae
    Dictatus papae
    Dictatus papae is a compilation of 27 axiomatic statements of powers arrogated to the Pope that was included in Pope Gregory VII's register under the year 1075. Some historians argue that it was written by Gregory VII himself; others argue that it has been inserted in the register at a later...

  • Papal primacy: from its origins to the present by Klaus Schatz. Litugical Press, 1996. ISBN 978-0-8146-5522-1
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