investiture
Investiture (from Latin vestire , to clothe) denotes the practice of assignment to an office or the right to property in property . The use of symbols , which are presented at the corresponding act, is decisive for the investiture . The dispute over the church investiture or the instruction of clergy resulted in the investiture dispute (around 1075–1122). As a secular term, the investiture is rarely used in the cladding of higher offices in the aristocracy and the state as well as in the inauguration of pastors of the Protestant regional churches in Baden and Württemberg .
term
Investiture (literally "clothing", whereby vestitus rather denotes the " costume ") referred to the official clothing and arose as the opposite of revestire , in the church system for a lawful return. At the turn of the first millennium, the verb investire occasionally appeared ; the substantiated positive term investitura originated around 1065.
origin
The investiture practice originates in the Germanic area, where it was common practice to receive instruction from the previous owner after the acquisition of a piece of land. Symbols presented for that practice were, for example, stalk or branch. With increasing long-distance business, the investiture also broke away from the exclusive property purchase. Correspondingly, symbols such as altar cloth , church book or bell ropes were also presented during instruction in the private church system or in Niederkirchen . In return, the landowner of the church was instructed to ensure that the office was regularly filled and that masses were observed.
Investiture in the investiture dispute
Right to invest in high churches
With the rule over a landowner, the king naturally also raised the right to investiture. The private church system was therefore considered a justification. However, kings already had an influence on bishopric elections before the concept of investiture or the private church system existed. In addition to the appeal to private church law, the sacred dignity of the king was a status to which he could also appeal.
The Merovingians already invested bishops, but only the Carolingians handed over the (crooked) staff , a reference to the pastoral office and an imitation of the episcopal ordination . This handover has been the rule since Otto I. This was increased by the additional handing over of the bishop's ring as a teaching symbol, also an originally spiritual authority, by Heinrich III.
Criticism in the context of church reforms
The criticism of the investiture as such arose comparatively late in the period of the investiture dispute during the church reforms of the 11th century . Until 1078 the focus was mainly on simony and Nicolaitism . The side effects of the influence of secular powers on ecclesiastical offices ( lay investiture ) were consequently criticized, but not the practice itself. This can be seen in the formulations of synodal resolutions and the dating of the first lawful prohibition of investiture for lay people in 1078, i.e. after the walk to Canossa . In the context of the intentions of church reform, the expansion and securing of Rome's supremacy in the Christian world are paramount. The eradication of simonist practices therefore had to be the first step, as such feudal ties could be broken and reconnected with Rome. The practice of removing and reinstalling bishops - this time at the grace of Rome - became more common.
The canonical choice
The renewal of the canonical election, i.e. the election by the people and clergy, especially after 1059, when the influence of the king on the pope had been reduced by the papal election decree , represented a good opportunity for the pope to establish his own influence. In fact, the king continued to invest, with the Simonistic advantages, such as financial support and submission, being withdrawn more and more and from now on he had to wait for the approval of Rome by the metropolitan .
Bans on investiture for laypeople
A distinction must be made when it comes to the question of lay investiture:
- Investiture by a layman (king) to a cleric (imperial bishop)
- Investiture by a cleric to a lay person (e.g. buying an apprenticeship position in a monastery )
A distinction must therefore also be made as to whether the ban applies
- an investing layperson (1),
- a cleric investing a lay person (2),
- a lay person who receives the investiture (3), or
- a cleric who receives investiture from a lay person (4),
directs.
From 1078 - and thus after the Canossa - was the clergy to a synod in Poitiers , France, explicitly forbidden to be invested by laymen (hence the fourth case). A legally binding prohibition of the investiture directly and explicitly addressed to the investing layperson, ie implicitly: the king, (case no. 1) was only raised from 1080 at the synod of Lent at that time . The significant difference is that in 1078 the Pope addressed clerics, the group over which he has legal authority. In 1080, however, he turned to laypeople, with which he intervened in the secular sphere.
In the Worms Concordat , Emperor Heinrich V accepted the Pope's claim to the right of investiture and renounced investiture with a ring and staff. In return, Pope Calixt II admitted that the election of the German bishops and abbots should be negotiated in the presence of imperial deputies, but that the elected should be enfeoffed by the emperor through the scepter with the regalia associated with his spiritual office .
Feudal investiture
After the investiture controversy, the term investiture was increasingly used on the feudal level. This means that with the investiture the fiefdom of a vassal to his liege lord was visualized. The corresponding procedure could vary, including the oath of loyalty , handgang or the placing of folded hands in those of the liege lord. The inauguration of higher seculars, e.g. B. referred to a king as an investiture. The Ecumenical Encyclopedia by JG Krünitz (1773-1858) writes: “In beneficiary matters , investiture is actually called the solemn act, which certifies and confirms that the collator quaest on the subject. granted benefices had the right to occupy these benefices. "
present
- The word “investiture” does not appear in the Code of Canon Law , but it is used in particular law. For example in the regulation of the Rottenburg-Stuttgart diocese for the investiture of a pastor for the parishes of a pastoral care unit. The word is also used in both ecclesiastical and secular orders of knights , where the admission of new knights takes place in the form of an investiture.
- In the Protestant church , the investiture exists in the form that a pastor is recognized by the community after ordination . This takes place in an investiture service and is often associated with the delivery of symbols .
- In the secular area, the instruction of a rector into his office at a university is referred to as an investiture. This takes place in a solemn setting and usually in the presence of ministerial representatives .
- In the Basic Law , participation in the actual election, as it happened in the Middle Ages, is explicitly forbidden ( Art. 140 GG, WV 137.3 ).
- In secular English usage is investiture American judge in common for the establishment of the Supreme Court of the United States ( Supreme Court of the United States ) needed.
See also
literature
- Johannes Laudage : The Investiture Controversy. Sources and materials . Böhlau, Cologne 1990, ISBN 3-412-28205-7 .
- Rudolf Schieffer : The emergence of the papal prohibition of investiture for the German king . Hiersemann, Stuttgart 1981, ISBN 3-7772-8108-5 .
- Marion Steinicke: Investiture and Coronation Rituals. Assertions of power in a cultural comparison . Böhlau, Cologne a. a. 2005, ISBN 3-412-09604-0 .
Web links
- Investiture . In: Meyers Konversations-Lexikon . 4th edition. Volume 8, Verlag des Bibliographisches Institut, Leipzig / Vienna 1885–1892, p. 1011.
- Investiture in the Economic Encyclopedia online
- Order of the Investiture of a Pastor ( Memento of February 24, 2017 in the Internet Archive ) In : recht.drs.de . February 2, 2007, archived from the original on February 24, 2017.
Individual evidence
- ↑ That did not change during the reign of Lothar III, the successor of Henry V. Cf. Classen, Peter: The Worms Concordat in German Constitutional History, in: Fleckenstein, Josef (Ed.): Investiturstreit und Reichsverfassungs, Sigmaringen 1973, pp. 411–460, here pp. 422ff.