In Paul’s epistles, he offered an account of cause and effect, and an integrated system of sovereignty, authority, laws, sanctions, and succession. Paul rejected some of the Mosaic Laws, and preached that Jews and Gentiles were equal and would both inherit the kingdom of heaven.

In Peter’s first epistle, he reminded all Christians of their inheritance reserved in heaven. Peter told people to submit to authorities, only if they weren’t forcing you to deny Christ. Peter also described spiritual progression as attaining faith, virtue, knowledge, temperance, patience, godliness, kindness, and charity. Peter knew that his death was coming and prophesied his end. Warning about false prophets and teachers, Peter said that judgment for sinners was coming. 

In James’s epistle, he stated that temptations will test our faith, but faith will produce patience to help fight these temptations. He advised not to rely on wealth because it will not protect you. James also proclaimed that faith without works and repentance is dead, and that a man’s tongue is his worst enemy. 

The New Testament states many times that the Church will never be completely defeated, and to always have faith that God will prevail. It is also written that Christians will be persecuted for Christ’s sake and will be hated by all non-believers. 

There were five Christian patriarchates before the Schism: Rome, Constantinople, Alexandria, Antioch, and Jerusalem. The Pope was the “first among equals,” but over the years he tried to grab more power for himself, and make Western Church dominate the East. As time went on, the West and the East grew apart and even had different languages and liturgies.

Constantinople, the capital of the Byzantine Empire and seat of a patriarch, was the most influential seat in the East. The Patriarch of Constantinople and the Byzantine Emperor became embroiled in a power struggle with the Pope of Rome and the Holy Roman Emperor. When Constantinople attempted to become an apostolic see, Rome tried to stop them, arguing that their only reason was political. In 857, a bishop named Ignatius and Saint Photious feuded over who should become patriarch. After the Pope announced that Ignatius was the rightful patriarch, Photious claimed the Pope was a heretic, citing the filioque.

Subsequently, Photious started an anti-Latin party and wanted to distance Constantinople from the West. In 1053, the Patriarch of Constantinople Michael Cerularius was excommunicated by Rome after he had a disagreement with the West about the Eucharist and the Filioque. As tensions continued to build, other Eastern bishops sided with Cerularius, as well as the Byzantine Emperor. A year later, in 1054, the East split from the Roman Church. 

After the 10th Century Viking invasions, France split off from the Holy Roman Emperor and formed the French Kingdom. In France, the last Carolingian king died in 987 and was replaced by Hugh Capet, the first of the Capetian kings. In order to gain more control, the Capetians put their family members in positions of local power so they could control all of France. In the 12th Century, French kings Phillip I (r. 1068-1108) and Louis the Fat (r. 1108-1137) helped France become less controlled by local dukes and more centralized. King Phillip II Augustus (r. 1180-1223) crushed the Angevin Empire and defeated King John of England, making France the most dominant power in Europe. King Louis IX (r. 1226-1270) was a peacemaker throughout Europe and was canonized as a Saint. 

After the Great Schism, the Catholic Church began different practices than the East. The Catholics believed that some sins needed to be paid for with temporary punishments. This practice was known as indulgences, with some corrupt bishops and priests even forcing people to give them money for “the forgiveness of sins.” Nevertheless, most indulgences did not involve monetary payment, but instead had the person that sinned do some sort of penance for the Church. 

During the 9th and 10th centuries, monastic discipline started to deteriorate and monasteries came under the control of local lords. The Church became entangled in the feudal system because of its need for protection against raids. In Cluny, Duke William of Aquitane declared that the monasteries in Burgundy would no longer be under lay control – a practice which had led to secular subversion – so the monks could govern themselves. The popes had also become corrupt, since they were elected from rich aristocratic families instead of pious bishops. 

These unworthy popes had a contest with the Holy Roman Emperors to determine who could control the Empire. Pope Leo IX (r. 1049-1054) condemned abuses of power and suggested laymen should choose worthy clerical candidates. Pope Nicholas II (r. 1058-1061) stated that a college of cardinals should pick the Pope and urged the laity to go on strike against immoral bishops. 

Noticing that the reforms of the previous popes were not working, Pope Saint Gregory VII (r. 1073-1085) wanted to have more power so he could appoint bishops and priests. This was known as the Gregorian Reform. Pope Gregory claimed he had the right to depose kings or emperors and elect new ones. Consequently, this caused a power struggle between him and Holy Roman Emperor Henry IV. In 1075, Pope Greogry held a council that deposed all bishops who were deemed unfit or corrupt, which caused Emperor Henry to try to appoint the Bishop of Milan. 

Pope Gregory VII excommunicated Emperor Henry IV, so Henry had to beg for his forgiveness until it was lifted. After the sanction was repealed, Henry went back to appointing bishops and even crushed nobles who had sided with the pope, which caused him to be excommunicated again three years later. Henry IV then drove Pope Gregory out of Rome and he died in exile in 1085. After this, the Church came to an agreement that the Emperor would appoint bishops and popes, and the pope would appoint emperors. 

At this point in history, the Church and the State ruled and grew together, and shared similar amounts of power. Western Civilization was built with Christianity, which meant that the faith was ingrained into the laws and society of Western countries. The Church also helped establish most of Europe’s colleges and universities, which were made by an international society of monks and church scholars. The Church did not just participate in ruling one country, but in all of Europe, where it tried to create peace and punished kings for wrongfully invading other kingdoms. The pope would often excommunicate a king who wronged another country or abused his people. The Christianity-based societal network is known as Christendom.