Humbert of Silva Candida

Humbert of Silva Candida (also Humbert of Moyenmoutier, * to 1006 or 1010, † May 5, 1061 ) was a Catholic cardinal and Benedictine. He was an influential clerics in Rome, the closest confidant of several popes and theoretical pioneers of out of Gregory VII battles for the libertas ecclesiae.

Humbert was born about 1006 in Lorraine or to 1010 in Burgundy. 1015 he appeared as a wafer in the monastery Moyenmoutier in the Vosges, where he experienced the power of the cluniazensisch oriented Reformabtes William of Volpiano. He wrote biographies of several saints and a monastery monastery chronicle.

Widrich Abbot of St. Aper overtook him then probably to Toul, where Humbert wrote a Vita Gerhards of Toul, and other records and Responsorien to Holy Monastery. There then arose 1043-1046 his Ecbasis Captivi by tropologiam, a satirical and ironic epic, in which Humbert mocks the monastic life at court and the arrogance of the nobility, as well as the temporal power, perhaps most notably because of the exploitation of monasteries by the Carolingian sentenced. The work also shows the knowledge of many ancient writers and extensive legal knowledge on the part of Humbert's what these identifying them as scholars. Striking is also that Humbert reformist already in these early works claims, eg by pastoral care, the. So Gerhard should have reached Toul by Emperor Otto I. a free election of bishops who are not even needed confirmation of this. In this period probably also the criminal speech Humbert falls to his fellow monks, in which he complains that they would not care what they or the next owed ​​God.

Bishop Bruno of Toul appointed Humbert to his secretary, in this office, he asked him numerous alternating chants together. After Bruno was elected Pope, he took Humbert as officials said the Cluniac reform movement in 1049 with him to Rome. A year later appointed Leo IX. and thus to that dropped him to the titular archbishop of Sicily, which was then under Arab rule and the supremacy of the Byzantine Emperor in the Patriarchate of Constantinople Opel. This followed Leo IX. probably mainly political interests by so according to the Donation of Constantine to claim ownership of Southern Italy and Sicily rose. As Humbert consequently his office could not run, named him Leo IX. 1051 Cardinal Bishop of Silva Candida. From then on, Humbert was constantly in the environment of the pope and was entrusted by him with several Legation travel, eg in the same year to Benevento, where Humbert should represent the Pope. In 1052 he traveled in the papal entourage to Regensburg, took part in the 1053 Norman campaign of Leo IX and was probably 1053 to Trani. There he received access to a letter from Archbishop Leo of Achrida commissioned by Michael Kerullarios, the Patriarch of Constantinople Opel, to Bishop John of Trani, in which violent attacks against liturgical customs of the Western Church, especially against the liturgical use of Azyma ( unleavened bread), were expressed. Humbert translated the letter and wrote in response to the dialogue between a Roman and a Konstantinopolitaner, which he embodied in a treatise on the custom of the Western Church, but initially not yet published.

Leo IX. sent in 1054 a delegation Humberts line to the Byzantine imperial court, where primarily with Emperor Konstantinos Monomachos the future church affiliation of Sicily and southern Italy, levied on both the Pope and the Patriarch of Constantinople Opel claim disputes, and an alliance against the Normans should be closed. Michael Kerullarios called recently from the Latin monasteries and churches, however, the use of the Eastern rite and threatened with excommunication in case of violation. The delegation met on June 24, 1054 in Constantine Opel and moved there the monastery of Studion, in which Humbert came with the monk Nicetas Stethatos on the use of Azymen and other liturgical matters in dispute. Overall, the Roman delegation was so decisive that occurred Kerullarios complained to the Emperor about it. At the same time he did not receive the delegation, since it was not written as an ecumenical patriarch in their epistles. As Humbert then published his Dialogue between a Roman and a Konstantinopolitaner, the clergy took the side of the patriarch. At a Synod of the delegation was then assigned to a place behind the archbishops, while Humbert again protested, which in turn led to discontinuation of compounds, which was also associated with a ban on the trade delegation. All Union plans rejected the patriarch, as it would have meant a recognition of Roman supremacy. On July 16, 1054 Humbert put then on the main altar of the Hagia Sophia excommunication Kerullarios down, left open the excommunication of the entire Eastern Church. On July 20, 1054 Kerullarios sentenced conversely, the Roman legate, who had already departed two days earlier.

In Humbert's return to Rome, Pope Leo IX. already died, Humbert nevertheless took the position of a papal chancellor and librarian, and thus a key point of the papal administration. In this time he wrote probably his First Book against the Simonians and many bulls and letters. In 1056 he accompanied Victor II to Germany and in 1057 he traveled there to prevent the introduction of freely elected abbot as his legate in the monastery of Monte Cassino. When the monks rebelled against him, the abbot resigned voluntarily, after which Frederick of Lorraine took over this post, by the will of Victor II. When Victor II died in 1057, Humbert was proposed by Frederick of Lorraine and Hildebrand as pope. However, this did choose Frederick of Lorraine, and thus kept his previous position at. Friedrich, however, died a year later, after the Roman nobility raised the Tusculans Benedict X to church main. Before him, Humbert had to flee to Monte Cassino, where he. According to the Testament of Stephen IX Desiderius began as abbot. Here he summarized presumably then also from the second and third book against the Simonians. The cardinal bishops voted against Benedict X to Florence Archbishop Gerhard Pope, already. Stephan IX was named as his successor. Under him, Humbert resumed the position of librarian.

1059 ranking Humbert on Easter synod Berengar of Tours the oath to revoke his doctrine of the Eucharist. Here also the papal election decree was passed legislation to implement some of the demands of the three books against simony. The Synod in 1061 turned against simony, above all, against Peter Damian. On April 27, 1061 Humbert wrote his last bull. On May 5, he died and was buried by Nicholas II at the Lateran Basilica of Constantine in the next Rufina and Secunda, the patron saint of Silva Candida.

Teaching

Humbert of Silva Candida is considered the first great literary representatives of the reformed papacy. His treatise De sancta Romana ecclesia from the year 1053 is commonly seen as the first programmatic statement of the papacy, which emanated from the reform papacy itself. His entire theological doctrine primarily deals with four topics:

Humbert is the anonymous traditional collection attributed to 74 titles, which is considered as the first law book of church reform. Probably Humbert saw the need for a church law on the enforcement of the reform efforts. In this collection of 74 tracks Humbert calls for full freedom of the monasteries, even by their bishop. He also shows a strong interest in restoring altkirchlicher ratios, which also Konstantin Opel would resign as patriarchy. The relationship between church and secular power he describes as a unit under the leadership of the church, where he particularly defends itself against worldly influences in the election of bishops, the synod presided and at any investiture. He thus stands out strongly from the currents of his time from that pursued especially the idea of ​​the sacred Empire. Already at the Synod of Reims in 1049 found, among other things Humberts call for a free election of bishops first precipitation.

In his work " Three books against the Simonians " to Humbert turns sharply against simony, the banned since 451, in Humbert's time but still was common, such as the purchase of the papacy of Gregory VI. of Benedict IX. shows. The Humbert sat against a newer and significantly expanded Simoniebegriff, now included not only the sale of offices, but any lay investiture with ring and staff. Also this was Humbert turned against the customs of his time, as the lay investiture was since the 10th century was used due to the Germanic own canon law throughout the West and served as a symbol of the supremacy of the sovereign over the Church. Humbert denied the validity of the ordination of Simonians and thus the validity of the sacraments and thus enters into Unlike Peter Damian, who had declared the ordinations as valid. Theologically he was consequently faced with the problem that the ordination is canonically unrepeatable, what was then called by his opponents for lay investiture. In contrast, stressed Humbert that simony was heresy and as the Simonian did not have the Holy Spirit and therefore could not donate it. Thus, the ordinations were by no Simonists ordinations and consecrations later through proper bishops no Reordinationen. This cyprianischen sacramental theology to Humbert presented in the wake of Augustine. Finally, at the Synod of 1059 he secured a ban an office of lay people to assume for all clergy and demanded by all laity on to resist Simonian priest. The Easter synod of 1060 confirmed this ban again.

Due to concrete disputes Humbert was also associated with the doctrine of the Eucharist position. Background of this dispute was that mainly Azyma ( unleavened bread) for liturgical use prevailed in the Western church during the 9th century, while the Eastern Church continued to use Prozymum ( leavened bread). Since the Eastern Church, the liturgy interprets generally dogmatic, this difference became a point of contention between the two parts of the church. The Eastern Church stressed that Azyma are typically Jewish and the Christians differ just by the use of Prozymum of the Jews. The result was a task to justify the use of Azyma theologically for Humbert. He succeeded, by stating exegetical, that just applies leaven as a symbol of impurity. Generally, he stresses in this regard that between the Old and New Testament there is a unit, though the New Testament the old excessive. However, Humbert recognized body of the Lord in the leaven - that he had referred to this in the excommunication Kerullarios ' as Prozymiten, is more likely to be interpreted to the effect that Humbert so wanted to emphasize the distinction of Rome. His Supper understanding developed Humbert then in dispute against Berengar of Tours, the consecrated bread and wine, especially symbolically understood as a true body and true blood of Christ. In contrast, postulated Humbert, since then, the doctrine of transubstantiation was not yet formulated dogmatically, the substantiality presence of the Body and Blood, without explaining this further. It is also striking that Humbert here already talking long time before the Council of Trent of seven sacraments and Christ instead of the Holy Spirit at the heart of the doctrine of the Eucharist. He interpreted the Eucharist as the sacrament of the Lord's suffering, then in terms of a life-giving sacrament. A comprehensive Sacrifice of teaching, he still does not put on.

Effect story

Above all, Pope Gregory VII continued the reform of the papacy and the Church founded here on the thoughts and writings Humberts. Although the actual investiture controversy did not begin until later, but Gregory attacks against simony and lay investiture in 1075 and the invitation to church strike the laity against simony priest comply with the requirements Humberts. Significant thought Humberts, especially for Peter mysticism can be found in Dictatus Papae again, which was an essential element of the doctrine of the Magisterium of the Church, to the dogma of infallibility. In Simoniestreit finally sat down by the position of Peter Damiani; Simony was indeed further discarded, but the ordination by Simonians was nevertheless recognized. Nevertheless, Humbert had achieved consistently that the administration of the sacraments was free from worldly influences. A great historical impact experienced Humberts doctrine of the Eucharist, which was held the foundation of the doctrine of the Eucharist throughout the Western Church in the Middle Ages and at the Lateran Synod of 1059 in the doctrine of the Real Presence. At the same time Humbert laid the foundation for the further expansion of the Church's teaching regarding the understanding of the breaking of bread and the ratio of bread and wine to the truth of the body and blood. In particular, its focus on the healing effectiveness owes the Western doctrine of the Eucharist Humbert of Silva Candida.