Gregory VII

Chris Berger
Gregory VII Background Information
• Hildebrand Bonizi was born in Tuscany, Italy in 1020.
• He was educated for priesthood in Rome and was later selected by Pope Gregory
VI to be his personal chaplain.
• After Pope Gregory VI died, Hildebrand went into exile only to be called back to
Rome three years later.
• Back in Rome, he was an advisor to Pope Leo IX along with seven other popes
after that.
• In 1073, he was elected Pope and chose the name Gregory VII.
• The church was in need of great reform at the time so Gregory VII determined
there were three issues
• Simony, which is the buying and selling of sacred things.
• The unlawful marriage of clergy members.
• Lay investiture which was a practice where emperors and kings appoint
Hildebrand Bonizi bishops and other high-up officials.
 Background Information
Cont.….
• Pope Gregory wrote official letters saying that the Pope should be the
only one with the power to appoint bishops.
• Emperor Henry IV of Germany disagreed with Pope Gregory and was
excommunicated from the church.
• Emperor Henry IV was later allowed back into the church and again
challenged Pope Gregory saying that emperors and kings should
appoint bishops.
• This time, he had a group of bishops who supported him and Pope
Gregory was forced into exile.
• He died while he was in exile and was given the name ”The Great
Reformer” because of his courage while attempting to fix what was
wrong with the church.
• Pope Gregory was honored as a saint in 1606.

Henry IV
 • King Henry IV of Germany and Gregory VII
wrote letters back and forth during the time
of their disagreement regarding who should
be appointing bishops.
• King Henry writes the first letter to Pope
Gregory saying that Pope Gregory is a "false
monk” and should step down from being the
Pope.
• Pope Gregory writes back saying that the
excommunication of King Henry is justified
in the Bible. He uses scripture in order to
sway public opinion towards him.
• In these letters, Pope Gregory is casting a
much more positive self-image as opposed
to King Henry who seems to be irritable.
• In total, King Henry was excommunicated
and absolved a total of 3 times but
ultimately, Pope Gregory would be forced
into exile by the Roman people.

Gregory VII and King Henry • Pope Gregory died in 1085 in Salerno.

IV Letters
Accomplishments as Pope
• Pope Gregory VII was able to establish a claim of
sovereignty on part of the Papacy and get control of
Sardinia, Spain, Hungary.
• He tried to bring other countries like Armenia closer to
Rome.
• After the schism between Rome and the Byzantine Empire,
he worked extremely hard to mend that relationship.
• Pope Gregory struggled to put many of his words into
action as much of his papacy was a struggle against higher
ranks of clergy.
Other Letters Written by Pope
Gregory VII
• Pope Gregory wrote a letter to King Alfonso VI treating him as an ally
and glorifying him. He scorns him slightly in the letter but ultimately
gives praise for all the King has brought to the church.
• Pope Gregory wrote to the Archbishop of Salzburg and the Abbot of
Cluny apologizing for not writing a lot of letters because he had no
one to carry the letters.
• He wrote to the German faithful after he excommunicated King
Henry justifying his action and explaining the sentence.
• He wrote to his supporters in Germany saying that he is coming into
town and he expects to be received well upon arrival.
• He wrote to Cardinal Peter of Albano and Bishop Ulrich of Padua
saying he has heard complaints about conduct and counsels them
about their dealing with Henry IV in Germany.
Bibliography
• “Eval(ez_write_tag([[468,60],'newworldencyclopedia_org-Box-
2','ezslot_1',106,'0']));Gregory VII.” Gregory VII - New World
Encyclopedia, www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Gregory_VII.
• “Gregory VII (Hildebrand Bonizi), Pope: Saints Resource.” Gregory VII
(Hildebrand Bonizi), Pope | Saints Resource,
saintsresource.com/gregory-vii.
• “The Epistolae Vagantes of Gregory VII.” Gregory VII's Letters
Extravagantes,
legalhistorysources.com/ChurchHistory220/TopicFive/GregoryVIILette
rs2.htm.