The bishop of Rome soon became the most powerful among the bishops and
was called pope, that is, papa (father). Some popes were pious,
God-fearing men, who were zealous for the advancement of God’s kingdom
on earth; others endeavored only to extend their own power and
importance; and some were downright wicked.
The popes claimed and claim to this day that they are the
representatives of Christ on earth. They made the claim that Christ had
placed Peter over the other apostles and over the whole Christian
Church. Furthermore, that Peter was the first bishop in Rome, and that
his power was inherited by the following bishops. As the vicegerents of
Christ they, of course, must be infallible in doctrine; but they have
nevertheless often advanced doctrines that were only human opinions, and
even in direct opposition to the Scriptures. They established the
doctrine to worship the virgin Mary and other dead men and women, and
canonized them as saints. They claimed that these saints prevailed
greatly with God, and therefore prayers must be offered to them for
intercession and help. These saints were said through works of penitence
and good deeds to have done not only enough to be saved themselves, but
to have had a surplus of holiness. This treasure of sanctity the popes
had a right to dispose of, and could even sell it for money. Thus arose
the horrible sale of indulgences.
Baptism and the old confession of faith, or the three Articles of Faith,
remained unchanged; but the Lord’s Supper had been greatly changed.
Laymen may only eat of the bread, but must not drink of the wine.
The popes tyrannized conscience and assumed the power to release any one
from the oath he had sworn. Whosoever would not submit to the command of
the pope were placed under the ban, that is, they were in a solemn
manner excommunicated from all the blessings of the Church and
surrendered to eternal damnation.--The worst of all was, that the people
were prohibited from reading the Bible, so they could not see how
erroneous the doctrines of the Church were in many respects.
Besides the regular priesthood, the monks were also considered servants
of the Church. Some of the monks dwelt alone in secluded places, and
were then called hermits. Others dwelt together in large buildings,
called convents or monasteries. Their superior is called abbot. The
abbot is under the control of the pope, who thus has the monks in his
service. Women dwelling in convents, and in general subject to the same
rules as the monks, are called nuns. Their female superior is called
abbess. The monks were in the beginning pious and God-fearing men;
besides this they were industrious, and labored for education. Later on
they became worse, they were indolent and riotous, and too many of them
broke their promise of chastity. No one else spread so many
superstitions and errors among the people as the monks.