religious history

[Xue Sheng]

OK, I’m going out on a limb here, I try not to start posts in the Study but;

I have read a lot of discussions here about religion and the lack thereof.

Although this is not really a religious debate issue, I do my best to avoid those; it is a religious history question.

During the early days of the Catholic Church, I believe around the 5th century, there were multiple popes. Does anyone know who played a big hand in the Roman Catholic Popes rise to power?

 

[Rich Parsons]

OK, I’m going out on a limb here, I try not to start posts in the Study but;

I have read a lot of discussions here about religion and the lack thereof.

Although this is not really a religious debate issue, I do my best to avoid those; it is a religious history question.

During the early days of the Catholic Church, I believe around the 5th century, there were multiple popes. Does anyone know who played a big hand in the Roman Catholic Popes rise to power?

Are you speaking of the time frame when there were three separate Popes?

The Pope in Rome. This became the accepted Pope
The Exiled Pope in Avignon France. the initial Pope exiled, had his college that choose new Popes. After 5 I think, they all fell in line with the new chosen Popes in Rome.
The Pope in Constantinople. This became the Eastern Orthadox Church


A quick Google Search on Time of Three Popes http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=Time+of+three+Popes

 

[Xue Sheng]

Are you speaking of the time frame when there were three separate Popes?

The Pope in Rome. This became the accepted Pope
The Exiled Pope in Avignon France. the initial Pope exiled, had his college that choose new Popes. After 5 I think, they all fell in line with the new chosen Popes in Rome.
The Pope in Constantinople. This became the Eastern Orthadox Church


A quick Google Search on Time of Three Popes http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=Time+of+three+Popes

No I believe that was much later, 14th or 15th century.

This occured in the 5th century.

 

[Xue Sheng]

OK, I give up. (Impatient aren’t I)

The answer is Attila the Hun

When Attila invaded Italy and headed for Rome he was meant outside of Rome by Pope Leo the first who pleaded with Attila not to attack Rome and gave Attila a rather hefty amount of Gold as payment. Attila whose men were tired and far from home took the payment with every intension of returning the following year to sack Rome. The pope though a bit of Spin doctoring made it out to be what stopped Attila was the fear of God and the Roman Catholic Church, Angels came down the whole nine yards.

The following year as Attila was planning his next invasion of Rome he died of a nose bleed on his wedding night. This was also used by the Roman Catholic Church as a sigh that God was with them and the Roman Catholic Pope was the true pope.

This is also I suspect why, if you have seen Monty Python and the Holly Grail there is a reference to Saint Attila

“And Saint Attila raised the hand grenade up on high, saying, "O Lord, bless this thy hand grenade, that with it thou mayst blow thine enemies to tiny bits, in thy mercy." And the Lord did grin. And the people did feast upon the lambs and sloths, and carp and anchovies, and orangutans and breakfast cereals, and fruit-bats and large chu...”

I have brought this up not as an attack on religion but to point out that it is not all it appears to be on either side of the fence. Both the religious and the non-religious are guilty of cover-ups and little white lies when it was in their best interest.

Also it should be at least mentioned that almost every major society throughout history began to fall apart when its central religion began to fall apart. So religion can also be an important part of any successful society.