Asked by Makayla
Who led the papacy to its height of authority and reach? (select all that apply)
Pope Pius IX
Pope Boniface VIII
Pope Innocent III
Pope Leo III
Pope Gregory VII
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Pope Boniface VIII
Pope Innocent III
Pope Gregory VII
Brief notes:
- Gregory VII (11th c.) initiated the Gregorian Reform and challenged lay investiture, greatly increasing papal authority.
- Innocent III (late 12th–early 13th c.) is usually seen as bringing the papacy to its greatest political and spiritual power.
- Boniface VIII (late 13th–early 14th c.) made extreme claims of papal supremacy (e.g., Unam Sanctam), though his confrontations with monarchs soon led to papal decline.
Pope Leo III and Pope Pius IX did not lead the papacy to that same height (Leo III boosted papal prestige by crowning Charlemagne; Pius IX’s era involved loss of temporal power).
Pope Innocent III
Pope Gregory VII
Brief notes:
- Gregory VII (11th c.) initiated the Gregorian Reform and challenged lay investiture, greatly increasing papal authority.
- Innocent III (late 12th–early 13th c.) is usually seen as bringing the papacy to its greatest political and spiritual power.
- Boniface VIII (late 13th–early 14th c.) made extreme claims of papal supremacy (e.g., Unam Sanctam), though his confrontations with monarchs soon led to papal decline.
Pope Leo III and Pope Pius IX did not lead the papacy to that same height (Leo III boosted papal prestige by crowning Charlemagne; Pius IX’s era involved loss of temporal power).
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