Pope Gregory IX and the Order
The pontificate of Pope Gregory IX (1227-1241) was, a foundational period in the relations of the Teutonic Order with the Holy See, and it was, the period in which the Order’s privileges, its constitutional position, and its Prussian mission were, in their essentials, defined. Gregory was a vigorous promoter of the crusading movement in the Baltic, and Gregory was a substantial supporter of the Order’s mission in Prussia. The Order’s relations with Gregory were, on the whole, cordial, but the relations were, complicated by the dispute over the Order’s exemption from the jurisdiction of the local bishops.
The Election of Gregory IX
Pope Gregory IX was elected to the papacy in March 1227, in the aftermath of the disputed pontificate of Honorius III. Gregory was, in this period, a cardinal of substantial administrative experience, and Gregory was a vigorous promoter of the reform programme of the papacy. Gregory was, in addition, a vigorous promoter of the crusading movement, both in the Holy Land and in the Baltic, and Gregory was, in the Baltic, a substantial supporter of the Order’s mission.
The Order’s relations with Gregory began, generally in the period of the Order’s Prussian mission, in the late 1220s. The Order had, by this time, accepted the offer of Duke Konrad I of Masovia and had obtained the imperial confirmation of the Order’s possession of the Culmer Land, and the Order was, in this period, in the process of establishing the Order’s position in the Prussian territories. Gregory’s support for the Order’s mission was, in this period, a central element in the Order’s constitutional security.
The Bull of 1230
The principal document of Gregory’s relations with the Order is the bull of 1230, by which Gregory confirmed the Order’s possession of the Prussian territories and granted the Order the right to acquire new territories in the Baltic. The bull of 1230 was, in the Order’s constitutional history, a foundational document, and the bull of 1230 , was the principal legal basis of the Order’s claim to the Prussian territories.
The bull of 1230 was, in addition to the confirmation of the Order’s possession of the Prussian territories, a confirmation of the Order’s broader privileges in the Baltic. Gregory confirmed, in the bull, the Order’s right to hold churches, to collect tithes, to appoint priests, and to exercise the other ordinary functions of the diocesan bishop within the Order’s territories. The bull of 1230 was, a substantial extension of the Order’s ecclesiastical privileges.
The bull of 1230 was, however, not the only bull that Gregory issued in favour of the Order. Gregory issued, in the course of his pontificate, a substantial number of bulls that confirmed the Order’s privileges, granted the Order new rights, and provided the Order with substantial revenues from the tithes and the indulgences of the Baltic region. The cumulative effect of these bulls was, in the course of Gregory’s pontificate, to constitute the Order as one of the most privileged religious institutions in Latin Christendom.
The Dispute over Exemption
The principal dispute between the Order and Gregory was the dispute over the Order’s exemption from the jurisdiction of the local bishops. The Order claimed, on the basis of its Augustinian vocation, the right to be directly subject to the Holy See, without the intermediation of the local bishops. Gregory was generally sympathetic to the Order’s claim, but Gregory was also concerned that the Order’s exemption should not become a pretext for the Order’s defiance of the ordinary ecclesiastical authority.
The dispute came to a head, generally in the early 1230s, in connection with the Order’s administration of the Prussian dioceses. The Order claimed, on the basis of the bull of 1230, the right to administer the Prussian dioceses without the intermediation of the local bishops, and the Order claimed, in consequence, the right to appoint the bishops of the new Prussian dioceses without the papal confirmation. Gregory, however, claimed, generally that the appointment of the bishops of the new Prussian dioceses was a right that was reserved to the papacy.
The dispute was, in the end, resolved by compromise. The Order acknowledged, generally the papal right to confirm the appointment of the bishops of the new Prussian dioceses, and Gregory acknowledged, generally the Order’s right to nominate the bishops of the new Prussian dioceses. The compromise was, a central element in the Order’s constitutional stability in the Baltic.
The Later Years of Gregory’s Pontificate
The later years of Gregory’s pontificate were, generally dominated by the dispute with Emperor Frederick II, and the Order’s relations with Gregory were, in this period, complicated by the Order’s traditional connection with the imperial house. The Order had, since the pontificate of Innocent III, been a substantial supporter of the imperial cause in the Empire, and the Order’s support for the imperial cause was, a central element in the Order’s constitutional position in the Empire. The Order’s support for the imperial cause was, however, a source of substantial tension with the papacy.
Gregory died in August 1241, in the middle of the dispute with the Empire, and the Order’s relations with the papacy were, generally continued by his successors. The Order’s constitutional position in the Baltic was generally secured by the bulls of Gregory’s pontificate.
Sources
- Biskup, Marian. Der Deutsche Orden im Zeitalter der Reformation. Marburg: Elwert, 1989.
- Boockmann, Hartmut. Der Deutsche Orden: Zwölf Kapitel aus seiner Geschichte. Munich: Beck, 1981.
- Housley, Norman. Contesting the Crusades. Oxford: Blackwell, 2006.
Related Reading
For the Prussian mission of the Order, see the article on the Baltic mission. For the founding of the Order at Acre, see the article on the founding. For the conflicts with the papacy, see the cluster on the conflicts with the papacy. For the conflict with Pope John XXII, see the article on the conflict with John XXII. For the Prussian state, see the pillar on the Teutonic State. For the Augustinian framework of the Order, see the cluster on the Rule of St Augustine.