Aachen Cathedral (836)

During the reign of Louis the Pious (814-840), the process of the collapse of the state of Charlemagne began , culminating in a section in 843. The Catholic Church took an active part in the process of comprehending these events, which was expressed in treatises of church leaders and decisions of local cathedrals. During this period, on the one hand, the concept of a single Frankish state was formed as a new Roman and Christian empire and, on the other hand, the rationale for its division into parts between the sons of Louis the Pious. In turn, the clergy rethought their historical role in favor of the idea of ​​God's representation on Earth, instead of the old concept of protecting the poor ^[1] .

In the period after the Council of Paris in 829, the concept of " tyranny ", existing in the early church , as a power aimed at oppressing the Christian faith, was developed. Shortly before the Paris Cathedral, the Lyon Archbishop Agobard wrote a pamphlet in which he urged Louis not to abandon the obligations assumed in the Ordinatio imperii (817), which would violate his oath before God. In this regard, Agobard was the main supporter of the unity of the empire, and the duty of the emperor, in his opinion, was to expand its borders in order to spread Christianity. However, in 830, a revolt of the sons of Louis began, as a result of which Louis was temporarily removed from power. According to Agobard, these events could lead to nothing else but the “barbarization” of the state and its division between tyrants ^[2] .

Another attack on the power of Louis took place in 833, when Pope Gregory IV supported the Italian king Lothar . Abandoned by nobles and bishops, Louis left the throne. Soon after, in Compiegne, Louis repented , was deprived of armor and weapons, and pledged to withdraw from public life and public administration. Agobard was directly involved in this ceremony. In the interpretation associated with tyranny, Louis was deposed as a tyrant sent by God to punish the people for his sins, and the clergy were interpreters and executors of God's will ^[3] .

In 834, Louis gradually regained his power and was again crowned. Earlier charges against him were found to be false, and the following year Agobard was removed from the pulpit of Lyon. To consolidate this success in the struggle against the clergy, Louis convened a council in Aachen in 836 ^[4] .

The cathedral was held in February 836 under the chairmanship of Bishop Jonah of Orleans at the secretariat of Notre Dame Cathedral in Aachen. The deeds of the cathedral, containing numerous decisions, have been preserved. Their text began with the assertion that Pope Gelasius (492–496) ruled that “the world is governed by two forces, priestly and imperial,” and that the responsibility of priests is greater, since they must answer before God about the kings themselves ^[5] . This problem was the subject of consideration of the previous Paris Council in 829, and the Council of Aachen returned to this question, since it was necessary to determine the division of powers between these authorities according to the "ancient fathers". The bishops who gathered in Aachen declared that they did not invent anything new in this matter, but wished to restore the ancient order, since the king and bishops forgot their duties ^[6] .

The first part of the deeds of the cathedral consists of three chapters. The first two of them are devoted to the organization of life and the duties of the bishop. Along with responsibilities such as providing hospitality to the poor and being highly educated in matters of faith, it is the duty of bishops to maintain loyalty to King Louis. The second chapter is also devoted to the duties of the abbots and choreographers . Priests were forbidden to visit taverns and behave inappropriately. The third part mainly repeats the decisions of the Paris and Worms Cathedrals on the relations of bishops and the emperor. New rules were added that the emperor should not interfere in the activities of bishops. The intra-church subordination also intensified: no priest could appear before the emperor without the permission of his bishop, and no monk could leave the monastery without good reason ^[7] . The second and third parts include the theological substantiation of the statements from the first part according to the texts of the Old and New Testaments, respectively ^[8] .

• Hefele ch. J., H. Leclercq. Histoire des conciles. - 1911. - T. IV.I. - 612 p.
• Moore ME A Sacred kingdom. Bishops and the Rise of Frankish Kingship, 300-800. - 2011 .-- 434 p. - ISBN 978-0-8132-1877-9 .