Chapter 436 The Roman Empire Finally Has Rome
Peter re-established the Roman province and the Roman Patriarchate. Although his secular status was transferred, his status in the church could not be transferred by a single ecumenical council. Another meeting was needed to discuss the final status.
However, the confiscation of property was still carried out. The churches, monasteries and other reformed churches were returned to the imperial treasury. At the same time, the city walls were repaired to see if there would be further actions in the north.
The kings and princes also knew that the situation was over. It was not that they did not dare to declare war on Rome, but that the enemy's army was too terrible and victorious in every battle. Moreover, they looked at their own soldiers with shining eyes, wishing to capture them alive or behead them. Who dared to face them alone?
Although they did not respond for the time being, they also promoted the expansion of the anti-Roman alliance, and Bavaria, Florence and England also joined in. The Kalmar Union also sent representatives because of Novgorod's behavior. They gathered in Brussels to discuss how to disintegrate the Roman Empire.
It can only be said that their behavior was too big, and the big emperor knew it, but he was not afraid, anyway, it was Peter's business.
I still remember that the day before Peter set off, he told his son that he was going to abdicate.
"It has been 23 years since I became the Grand Duke. I am really tired in these years. I never thought that being an emperor is also a tiring job."
"You have shown the qualities that a ruler should have in these years. This position will be yours sooner or later. When you return victorious, you will wear the crown and become the new master of this empire."
Mircea decided to abdicate. Years of monarchy made him tired, and Peter also proved his talent. He decided to hand over this burden to the next generation.
But before he abdicated, he had to take care of things for his son.
The Khan of the Cossacks met with the emperor. Mircea offered to expand trade in exchange for Rome's request to continue building fortresses on the eastern land. At the same time, he also found a wife for his grandson.
In recent years, many people have recommended wives to Alexander, including those from England, Burgundy, Aragon, Poland, and everything from princesses to noble daughters. But Mircea has another very important point in selecting people. No matter who marries into Rome, they must convert.
This condition scared away many people. Rome currently does not need a powerful ally, but a controllable pawn. Who knows if there is a risk of being annexed by Rome? For the sake of his own grand cause, he can only give up with pain.
The King of Aragon welcomed the arrival of the Pope. In his view, the arrival of the Pope means that he can also control the Holy See like France, but he is a devout believer. How can he do this? He still has to rely on the Pope to recover the lost territory.
When King Juan of Castile heard that the Pope was coming, he hurried to meet with the Pope. Juan also needed the power of the Pope to help him conquer Granada. In the eyes of the peninsula, God is their own people, and everything is for them. In return, he must be loyal to God, which will benefit them in the long run. And he can also go to war with the French heretics, and then gradually unify Western Europe, then go to war with Eastern Europe, and finally unify Europe.
The idea is really good, but it’s just an idea.
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The news of the fall of Rome swept the entire Catholic world like a hurricane, and the escape of Pope Gregory XII proved this.
The holy city was gone, and their holy city was occupied by heretics. The call to retake the holy city spread among monks and believers, and the Duke of Burgundy even proposed to retake Constantinople, directly letting the people in France support him.
The duke played the public sentiment by threatening with public opinion. But support is support. The specific situation is that only monks and some truly fanatical believers took action. Other people also need to live. Those who can't live directly immigrated to Normandy, where the duke stipulated that they can be exempted from paying taxes for three years.
As for the Berlin Alliance, the six electors had long wanted to deal with it, so they took this opportunity to attack them and asked them to disband, otherwise they would lead the army to attack Berlin.
As soon as the order came out, dozens of fief bishops and hundreds of monasteries responded, which had a taste of the Northern Crusades. But among the participants, the northern religious princes did not respond. Did they disappear?
This is certainly not gone, but disarmed by secular princes. The emperor is far away, not to mention that the leader is in exile. If not now, when will it be killed?
So, the princes of the alliance used the corruption of the Catholic Church as an excuse and passed the church land return decree at the alliance meeting, stipulating that local churches considered corrupt need to return the land to the princes, and at the same time, the right to appoint bishops, priests and other clergy was transferred from the date of identification.
It is always right to use corruption as an excuse, and the church in Bohemia was also turbulent. Wenzel wanted to regain power, so he supported the call for religious reform in the country and allowed the new president of Prague University to preach in the Bethlehem Church.
John learned a lot from Constantinople, especially the integrity of the local church, which was simply the benchmark of the Catholic Church. In addition to the influence of Wycliffe's works, he directly changed his track and became a missionary, firing at the corrupt Catholic Church every day, and gained a lot of supporters from it. His name is often mentioned by supporters: John Hus, or Jan Hus.
"Indulgences are nothing more than a trick for them to make money. These unworthy people are squandering our wealth, squandering our hard work, and trampling on our piety. They should not be here, they should go to hell to repent."
Hus promoted his ideas to the citizens of Prague in the Bethlehem Church. Since the local Catholic Church was too oppressive, they were all attracted by Hus's ideas.
The city council, which was mainly composed of nobles, ordered Hus to retract these remarks, but the other party obviously insisted on the end. They put pressure on the University of Prague, but the local students were supporters of Hus, and the result was a reactionary force, and Hus's reputation became higher.
Wenzel used his remaining little influence to protect Hus. He understood that the Catholic Church and the nobles were in collusion, and he could not seize power with them. It was better to cooperate with Hus so that he could defeat the parliament again.
The Orthodox Church also helped Hus. The saying that the enemy of my enemy is my friend also applies to the current situation. Since the common goal is to overthrow Catholicism, it is better to cooperate temporarily and put aside other differences.
The whole of Bohemia has been caught in a religious struggle. Catholicism, Orthodoxy, and the Hussite movement are all competing for their own sphere of influence. In the current situation, this situation will not be resolved unless there is a major change.