The Pope

Although the people in western Europe believed that the pope was the head of the church, the people in eastern Europe disagreed. There, bishops controlled religious matters with little or no guidance from the pope. Beginning in the mid-1000s, however, a series of clever and able popes sought to increase their authority over eastern bishops. They believed all religious officials should answer to the pope.

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The King

As the popes began to increase in power the kings said that they should be able to choose the bishops but the popes argued saying that they had the right to choose the religious leaders. When pope Gregory came and disagreed with emperor Henry IV. That made the emperor angry, so he tried to convince the German bishops that they needed to remove Gregory as a pope. As a result the pope excommunicated Henry. he called the emperors nobles to over throw Henry. Desperate to stay in power Henry went to Italy to ask the pope for forgiveness.

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