Carolingian Renaissance
Carolingian Renaissance
Reform of the Frankish Church under Carolingians
-By 741, the Frankish Church had held no councils for a long time, Pope Zacharias said that ‘priests hardly know was priesthood is’ and Boniface said that Frankish clergy had a reputation for adultery
-It needed reform and Carloman I recognized this, asking Boniface to convene a synod ‘to correct and amend ecclesiastical discipline’
-742/3 Concilium Germanicum, 744 council at Leptinnes both summoned by Carloman and one summoned by brother Pippin at Soissons for his Neustrian lands, same year; working in partnership
-Brothers decided that from then on synods would be held annually, to ensure that the Church functioned ‘according to the canons’
-These councils however were more ‘statements not of achievement but of intent’-if there were ensuing annual councils there is no sign of them
-Only 7 bishops were called to attend Concilium germanicum, at least 3 of whom were Boniface’s disciples and perhaps only one of whom was a Frank-not a healthy church!
-Neustria better though with as many as 27 bishops at Soissons
-Aims to de-secularise and reconstitute the Church as ‘an independent, distinctive institution’ with clerics who lived and dressed distinctly, didn’t carry arms and most importantly were celibate
-Candidates for priesthood and bishoprics to be examined by Synod
-Priests to be subject to bishops, both of whom ensured pagan practice and heretics repressed
-Monks and nuns to follow rule of St Benedict, have enough land to fulfill their vocation and rent any surplus to support milites
-Laymen were not to forcinate, swear force oaths; were to look after the Church, counts would co-operate with bishops in pastoral work-‘urged to see themselves as office-holders with a key role to play’…’protectors of the Church’
-At Soissons, secular authority stressed as ‘ready to discipline anyone who disregards this decree’
-‘A conception of the different orders of the Christian society’
-If
Reform of the Frankish Church under Carolingians
-By 741, the Frankish Church had held no councils for a long time, Pope Zacharias said that ‘priests hardly know was priesthood is’ and Boniface said that Frankish clergy had a reputation for adultery
-It needed reform and Carloman I recognized this, asking Boniface to convene a synod ‘to correct and amend ecclesiastical discipline’
-742/3 Concilium Germanicum, 744 council at Leptinnes both summoned by Carloman and one summoned by brother Pippin at Soissons for his Neustrian lands, same year; working in partnership
-Brothers decided that from then on synods would be held annually, to ensure that the Church functioned ‘according to the canons’
-These councils however were more ‘statements not of achievement but of intent’-if there were ensuing annual councils there is no sign of them
-Only 7 bishops were called to attend Concilium germanicum, at least 3 of whom were Boniface’s disciples and perhaps only one of whom was a Frank-not a healthy church!
-Neustria better though with as many as 27 bishops at Soissons
-Aims to de-secularise and reconstitute the Church as ‘an independent, distinctive institution’ with clerics who lived and dressed distinctly, didn’t carry arms and most importantly were celibate
-Candidates for priesthood and bishoprics to be examined by Synod
-Priests to be subject to bishops, both of whom ensured pagan practice and heretics repressed
-Monks and nuns to follow rule of St Benedict, have enough land to fulfill their vocation and rent any surplus to support milites
-Laymen were not to forcinate, swear force oaths; were to look after the Church, counts would co-operate with bishops in pastoral work-‘urged to see themselves as office-holders with a key role to play’…’protectors of the Church’
-At Soissons, secular authority stressed as ‘ready to discipline anyone who disregards this decree’
-‘A conception of the different orders of the Christian society’
-If