Editing Reformation (section)

====Clergy====

[[Western Christianity]] displayed a remarkable unity. This was the outcome of the Gregorian Reform that established [[papal supremacy]] over the [[Catholic Church]], and achieved the legal separation of the [[Priesthood in the Catholic Church|Catholic clergy]] from [[Catholic laity|laity]].{{sfn|MacCulloch|2003|pp=26–27}}{{refn|group=note|
The medieval Church operated its own legal system and Roman-law-derived [[Legal_history_of_the_Catholic_Church#Jus_Novum|laws and procedures]] in parallel with the local secular state's legal system: bishops had courts, officers, guards, prisons, etc. These [[Ecclesiastical_court|ecclesiastical courts]] protected priests and religious in various ways from the reach of the distrusted local secular courts and laws, or dealt with laity on issues relating to sacraments, notably marriage and divorce. As well, the Church claimed, but was not always allowed, jurisdiction "over any dispute that arose because one person allegedly wronged another, jurisdiction to protect the poor and unbefriended, and jurisdiction to compensate for the failure of the civil authorities to do justice,[...]and over hard and doubtful cases."<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Rodes |first1=Robert |title=Secular Cases in the Church Courts: A Historical Survey |journal=Journal Articles |date=1 January 1989 |url=https://scholarship.law.nd.edu/law_faculty_scholarship/76}}</ref>  On many issues, appeals could be made to the Pope. In England, a parallel parliament for the clergy even arose, largely to keep their taxes independent, but  distinct from the citizens' Parliament: the [[Convocations of Canterbury and York]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Convocation |url=https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/3cb4163c-fa18-4efc-955e-f774d44b5e87 |website=U.K. National Archives |language=English}}</ref> }} [[Clerical celibacy]] was reinforced through the prohibition of [[clerical marriage]]; [[ecclesiastical court]]s were granted exclusive jurisdiction over clerics, and also over matrimonial causes.{{sfn|Hamilton|2003|pp=34–38}} Priests were [[Holy orders in the Catholic Church|ordained]] by bishops in accordance with the principle of [[apostolic succession]]—a claim to the uninterrupted transmission of their consecrating power from Christ's [[Apostles in the New Testament|Apostles]] through generations of bishops.{{sfn|Hamilton|2003|p=33}} Bishops, [[abbot]]s, [[abbess]]es, and other [[prelate]]s might possess remarkable wealth.{{sfn|Gordon|2022|p=2}} Some of the ecclesiastic leaders also functioned as local secular princes, such as the [[prince-bishop]]s in [[Kingdom of Germany]] and the English [[County Palatine of Durham]], and the [[Grand Masters of the Teutonic Knights]] in their [[Baltic region|Baltic]] {{lang|de|[[Ordensstaat]]}}. Other prelates might be regents or the power behind the throne.{{refn|group=note|Examples of exceptionally influential prelates include the Spanish cardinal [[Francisco Jiménez de Cisneros]] (d. 1517), and the German archbishop [[Matthäus Lang von Wellenburg|Matthäus Lang]] (d. 1540).{{sfn|Cameron|2012|p=29}}}}{{sfn|Cameron|2012|p=29}} Believers were expected to pay the [[tithe]] (one tenth of their income) to the Church.{{sfn|MacCulloch|2003|p=35}} Pluralism—the practice of holding multiple Church offices (or [[benefice]]s)—was not unusual. This led to non-residence, and the absent priests' deputies were often poorly educated and underpaid.{{sfn|Hamilton|2003|p=39}}

The clergy consisted of two major groups, the [[regular clergy]] and the [[secular clergy]]. Regular clerics lived under a [[Christian monasticism|monastic]] rule within the framework of a [[Religious order (Catholic)|religious order]];{{sfn|Hamilton|2003|pp=33, 42}} secular clerics were responsible for pastoral care. The Church was a hierarchical organisation. The pope was elected by high-ranking clergymen, the [[Cardinal (Catholic Church)|cardinals]], and assisted by the professional staff of the [[Roman Curia]]. Secular clerics were organised into territorial units known as [[diocese]]s, each ruled by a [[Bishops in the Catholic Church|bishop]] or [[archbishop]].{{refn|group=note|The archbishops were also the heads of [[ecclesiastical province]]s that included several dioceses.{{sfn|Hamilton|2003|p=33}}}} Each diocese was divided into [[Parish (Catholic Church)|parishes]] headed by parish priests who administered most [[sacrament]]s to the faithful.{{sfn|MacCulloch|2003|pp=26–30}} These were sacred rites thought to transfer [[Grace in Christianity|divine grace]] to humankind. The [[Council of Florence]] declared [[Baptism#Catholicism|baptism]], [[Confirmation in the Catholic Church|confirmation]], [[Marriage in the Catholic Church|marriage]], [[Anointing of the Sick in the Catholic Church|extreme unction]], [[Sacrament of Penance|penance]], the [[Eucharist in the Catholic Church|Eucharist]], and priestly ordination as the seven [[sacraments of the Catholic Church]].{{sfn|Cameron|2012|p=12}} Women were not ordained priests but could live as [[nun]]s in [[convent]]s after taking the three monastic vows of [[Evangelical counsels|poverty, chastity, and obedience]].{{sfn|Hamilton|2003|pp=41, 48–49, 88, 97}}