Page 43 - History of Christianity I - Student Textbook

a holy person such as Jesus, Mary, saints, angels, or the cross. Other icons could be the bones of a person who
was sainted by the church. One church said they had the “foreskin of Jesus” under glass. These icons came
under sharp criticism by some in the church. The Council of Nicaea II condemned destruction of such “holy
relics” which led to the acceptance of the veneration of images in Christianity.

To demonstrate how outlandish these icons can become, today you can tour the Flying House of Mary in Loreto,
Italy. Supposedly, in 1291 the house was transported by angels from Nazareth to Dalmatia (present day
Yugoslavia). In Dalmatia, St. Peter put an alter in the house and a figure of Mary was carved by St. Luke. Angels
move the house two other times to protect it from plunderers. It finally “flew” to a field in Italy owned by a lady
named Loreto. Today you can tour the house in Loreto which has been recognized by the Catholic Church as the
actual house in which Mary grew up in Nazareth. Supposedly many people who have come to the house have
been miraculously cured of ailments.

By this time in history, the many doctrines of the apostles had been ignored or denied, and the church’s
authority superseded the authority of the Scriptures. Mary was being worshipped as a mediator between God
and man. Icons were being kissed with the thought that the icon’s image could have a connection with God and
provide assistance to the worshipper. The organized church had walked away from the foundation of the Word
of God.

Charlemagne Crowned Emperor 800 AD

Should the church and state be one? Was ultimate authority to lie in the hands of the
king or the religious leaders (pope)? By the middle of the 8 century, the papacy had
th
become powerful. In 756 the Frankish king Pepin II, son of Charles Martel, decided to
take Ravenna from the Lombards and give it to the pope. Though the pope has gained
his own territory, he never achieved direct imperial control. In 771, Charlemagne,
Pepin’s son, took his throne, and began three decades of conquering. He pushed east
and eventually controlled Burgundy, much of Italy, Alamania, Bavaria, and Thurginia.
To the north he gained power over Saxony and Frisia. Basically, his power stretched from the Baltic Sea to the
Adriatic. For the first time in a long time, a large part of Europe had a stable leadership.

Until Christmas Day, 800, Charlemagne held the title king. On that holiday,
Pope Leo II crowned him emperor. This was significant in that the Pope
was authorized to crown the emperor, thus establishing the pope with
greater authority under God than the emperor. With a strong hand he
ruled the vast empire, establishing schools and shoring the Christian faith
in every area of his empire. He never ceded his power to the pope. His
reasoning – “Was he not a Christian emperor whose ultimate loyalty was to
God?” When Charlemagne died in 814, his empire began to gradually
disintegrate. It was divided among his three sons, and slowly the pope
gained more and more power.

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