The Church’s Role in Feudalism
In the last post, the system of feudalism was explained. This week we want to look at the role of the church in feudalism.
To review: Feudalism was a system created to provide land, resources(food), and service(military) to those who needed it. But how did the church relate to this system.
Christianity became the official religion of the Roman Empire in 391AD. With this protection, the church grew in numbers and influence and became the most powerful institution in the Europe.
The church was organized in much the same way the feudal system was with the pope on top, then bishops and abbots, then priests and superiors of convents and monasteries, then friars, monks, and nuns. Do you see something missing in the diagram to the left? Where are the believers, the average Christians? In many ways, they were considered so unimportant that they did not need to be on the chart.
The church leaders were the most educated individuals in society. They were called upon to help the secular leaders as advisors on political, financial, judicial, and military issues in addition to spiritual matters.
Most important the church with its structure helped to legitimize the feudal system structure. The church taught that God appointed the pope and kings (divine right of kings). This meant that each person was born into their divinely determined position in society. If you were a king, you and your descendants would always be 
kings. If you were a peasant, you and your descendants would always be peasants. God wanted it that way!
Land was given to the church by Nobles as indulgences(to buy their way into heaven). By the end of the Medieval period, the church was largest landowner in the Europe owning one-third of the land. With that much land, the church became very powerful and with power comes the abuse of power.