The Medieval Forgery at the Heart of the Church
An audacious forgery in the ninth century helped transform the papacy and the medieval Church. Its influence persists today.
In March 1075 a famous memorandum was produced at the papal court in Rome. Headed with the words Dictatus papae (the ‘Dictation’, or perhaps ‘Theses of the Pope’), it records 27 short statements, apparently spoken by Pope Gregory VII (1073-85), concerning the privileges of the Roman Church. Among these declarations were some extraordinary assertions:
That the pope alone can depose or reinstate bishops.
That he alone may use the imperial insignia.
That he may depose emperors.
That he himself may be judged by no one.
That the Roman Church has never erred, nor,
by the witness of Scripture, will it ever err.
That he who does not agree with the Roman Church is not held to be Catholic.
The Dictatus has often been regarded as a classic expression of medieval papal claims to power. But quite what Gregory intended by it has been much debated – and certainly many of his statements were unprecedented.
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