The History of the Church in the Thought of Marsilius of Padua
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.15633/tes.01103Keywords:
state, papacy, politics, Donation of Constantine, temporal and spiritual powerAbstract
The History of the Church in the Thought of Marsilius of Padua The article discusses the issue of Church history in the thought of Marsilius of Padua, one of the most original thinkers of the Middle Ages. The author of the article presents the specific vision of the history of Christianity outlined by Marsilius, beginning with his view of the early Church as the community in which the primacy of Roman bishops emerged gradually – not by the will of God, but with a human decision motivated by pragmatic reasons. According to Marsilius, the reign of Constantine the Great marked a turning point in the history of Christianity, since it enabled identification of the Church and the state, as a result of which the communitas fidelium became a perfect community. On the other hand, Constantine supposedly initiated a process of gradual degeneration of the Church through his reckless donation given to Pope Sylvester and his successors. Taking into account the thought Marsilius of Padua in its entirety, the author tries to demonstrate that this vision of the history of Christianity was in fact an instrument of political propaganda, aimed at justifying the full subordination of the Church to the state.
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