. A history of mediaeval and modern Europe for secondary schools. nate ableto rank with the greatest nobles among thelaity. As long as the Christian Emperors hadruled, they had repeatedly meddled in Churchaffairs, appointing and removing bishops, con-vening councils (, assemblies of all theleading ecclesiastics of the world) for the set-tling of Christian faith or conduct, and evenissuing articles of faith which all good sub-jects of the Empire were expected to short when the Church had ceased to bepersecuted by the Roman Government, thatGovernment had captured it for great poli
. A history of mediaeval and modern Europe for secondary schools. nate ableto rank with the greatest nobles among thelaity. As long as the Christian Emperors hadruled, they had repeatedly meddled in Churchaffairs, appointing and removing bishops, con-vening councils (, assemblies of all theleading ecclesiastics of the world) for the set-tling of Christian faith or conduct, and evenissuing articles of faith which all good sub-jects of the Empire were expected to short when the Church had ceased to bepersecuted by the Roman Government, thatGovernment had captured it for great political ends. Thebetter class of churchmen had always deprecated this yokingof Church and State. Better to have the Church poor andpersecuted, than so swamped by worldliness, complainedmany a great Father of the early Middle Ages: but noone seemed able to prevent the evil. The Church was exceed-ingly wealthy. Rich men, dying with vexed consciences, knewno better way to square themselves with Heaven than tobequeath great properties to the Church. Pious women would. A BrSHOP Seventh century(S. Venanzio, Rome) 20 HISTORY OF EUROPE leave their all to the local bishop for hospitals, poor relief,or stately religious edifices. Great provincial lords, Germanicchiefs, Roman Emperors, all had gifts to shower. There wasmuch noble charity, and much perfectly legitimate use for thiswealth; but the fact remained that the Church was very rich,and that usually the office of bishop carried with it, notmerely honor and influence, but a great income. In such anage it was impossible for these high positions always to fallto men of simple piety and zeal. The Roman Emperors hadshown how useful the Church was to the State if properlycontrolled. The barbarian kings controlled and interfered withthe Church even more, although they were often pitiless war-riors whose conduct was a parody on their Christian profes-sions. A large part of the history of the Middle Ages wasto be the story of how the Church st
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