While waiting for the other protagonist, Wu Ling slowly observed everything in the church from a distance. It is indeed the largest force in the world, even if it is a small branch church, the layout inside is much stronger than most organizations, and what attracts Wu Ling's attention the most is the birth history that has been passed down on the murals in the church.

The Emergence and Development of the Holy SeeThe Holy See originated among the Jews in Palestine. In 3 C.E., the Jews living there were conquered by Rome. Under the brutal oppression of the Romans, the Jews staged several uprisings in 66-132 AD, and after their defeats, they were suppressed more brutally. As a result of the failure of the uprising, the oppressed masses felt powerless and pinned their hopes on Zong. Religion is expected to have a savior who will bring the kingdom of heaven to earth to save people from suffering. This reflects their disappointment in the realities of their life of struggle and turns to the spiritual aspect from Zong. The church seeks a way out of its desperate situation. According to relevant historical sources, after B.C., a secret sect appeared among the Jewish lower classes throughout Asia Minor that spread the word that the 'Messiah' was coming. The Holy See actually evolved from this sect.

Most of the earliest believers were slaves, freed slaves, and poor people. They set up small organizations in the city, marked by the cross, and practiced community of property. Later, these small organizations united to form the Church. At first, it was suppressed because of its opposition to Roman rule. Later, as the middle and upper classes of society participated in the Holy See, they preached hope in the afterlife, encouraged loyalty to the state, and deference to their masters. Thus, in 313 AD, the Roman Emperor Constantine issued the Edict of Milan, giving legitimacy to the Holy See. By 380 AD, the Holy See was declared the state religion of the Roman Empire. With the help of the status of the state religion. As a result, papal churches and congregations spread throughout the Roman Empire. The Holy See thus became the ruling instrument of the exploiting classes. At that time, five churches, including Rome, Constantine, Alexandria, Antioch, and Jerusalem, were placed in a prominent position. The development and division of the Holy See after the Roman Empire. Inside the Holy See, from the third and fourth centuries. Two centers were gradually formed: East (Constantinople) and West (Rome). The Orthodox Church was the state religion during the time of the Byzantine Emperor and was directly under the emperor's leadership. The emperor can appoint and dismiss the archbishop of the church. Convene a synod of bishops to approve the sect. The Synod decides to explain the doctrine. In 1453, the Byzantine Empire was destroyed by an attack by the Ottoman Turks. Western Asia, North Africa, and the Balkans all became part of the Ottoman Empire. Due to the Ottoman Empire's embrace of Islam, the Orthodox Church in the region was greatly weakened. The Grand Duke of Moscow took the opportunity to break the Russian Orthodox Church from the control of the Archbishop of Constantinople and form an independent church, the Russian Orthodox Church, and proclaimed himself the head of the Orthodox Church. Tsar Peter I reformed the Church, making it part of the state under the leadership of secular officials. This is the continuation of the tradition of Byzantine centralism in Russia. Russian Orthodox Church after the October Revolution of 1917. The state religion system came to an end as a result of the decree of the state separating the church from the state. There are about 100 million Orthodox Christians, whose geographical distribution is mainly in Romania, Bulgaria, Greece, the former Yugoslavia and Finland, in addition to the former Soviet Union. The Western Roman Empire was crumbling due to the attack of the barbarians, and Emperor Valanianus III, trying to use the Holy See to save the empire from extinction, granted the right to rule the Western Roman Church at the request of Bishop Leo I in 455. Forced Western bishops to obey. The bishop of the Church of Rome becomes the Pope of Rome. The move was opposed by the eastern region. After the fall of the Western Roman Empire, the pope was no longer under the jurisdiction of the secular leaders of the small states of the time. After the establishment of the Papal States, the Pope was at the same time a secular monarch. However, the Eastern Roman Empire was still independent at that time, so the church was still dependent on the emperor. The contradictions between the two sides gradually intensified. From mutual accusations of heresy to excommunication in 1054, all contact was severed. Each became two separate denominations. In the 16th century, there was a sect within the Western Church. The Reformation movement and the emergence of a number of new denominations. It's called 'Protestantism'. Such as the Lutherans in the Nordic countries, and the Calvinists in France, Switzerland, and Scotland. Anglican Church (Anglican Church) in England, etc. In this way, the Holy See was divided into three denominations: the Roman Church, which was controlled by the Pope, called the Celestial Church. Bishop; the Reformed Holy See, known as Protestantism or Romance; The Greek Orthodox Church, or Orthodox Church, centered in Constantinople. Sky. Bishops later spread to many parts of the world as a result of Spanish and Portuguese colonial rule. Its main distribution areas are Italy, Spain, Portugal, France, Belgium, Austria and Poland in Europe; Latin American countries and the province of Quebec in North America; Asia has jasmine country; Africa has Gabon, Burundi, etc. There are about 600 million believers in the world. It ranks first in the number of teachers. Protestants in Europe include Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Finland, the Netherlands, England and Germany. As a result of Britain's overseas colonial relations, it spread to the United States, Canada, South Africa, Australia, and New Zealand. According to statistics, there are about 350 million Christians. Protestant same day. The difference between bishops and Orthodox Christians is that there are many denominations without a unified and strict organization. Its main denominations are Lutheran, Presbyterian, Anglican, Congregational, and Methodist. Major Sects. The religious rites include baptism, confession, eucharism, and marriage. Baptism is a rite of initiation. The officiant may pour a small amount of water over the recipient's forehead or immerse the recipient in a pool of water for a moment. It is believed that this is the sacrament erected by Jesus to forgive the 'original sin' of the converted. Confession is when a believer confesses his sins to a priest and expresses repentance and asks for 'God's forgiveness'. The Eucharist is the bread of consecration. At Mass, the celebrant receives the Eucharist and the Blood (wine) first, and then the faithful receive Holy Communion. The doctrine says that this represents the body and blood of Jesus, which was sacrificed and shed for the forgiveness of sin for all. Marriage is a ceremony in which the priest presides over the marriage ceremony, and after questioning both parties, and after answering in the affirmative, the marriage is officially announced. The main holidays of the Holy See include Christmas, Easter, Pentecost, etc. Christmas commemorates the birth of the so-called Church of Jesus, which is celebrated on December 25 every year. The Orthodox Church has a different calendar, and its December 25 is equivalent to January 6 or 7 in the Gregorian calendar. Easter is a festival that commemorates the so-called 'resurrection' of Jesus after his crucifixion, and is held on the first Sunday after the full moon of the vernal equinox every year. Pentecost refers to Jesus' 'ascension' on the 40th day after the so-called 'resurrection'. On the 50th day, the 'Holy Spirit' descended; After receiving the Holy Spirit, the disciples began to preach. Therefore, the 50th day after Easter is designated as Pentecost.

This huge sect. The origin and development of religion have also gone through various twists and turns. Initially. The Holy See is a sect of Judaism - the Nazarene. In the middle of the first century AD, the Holy See arose in Palestine, on the shores of the Mediterranean. Jews usually used the Messianic doctrine as an ideological weapon to oppose the uprisings of Roman rule, which ended in failure. After the Roman conquest of Jerusalem, Judaism formed different factions within Judaism such as the Sadducees, the Pharisees, the Essenes, the Short Knife Party (Sikanes), and the Zeaist Party due to different attitudes towards Roman rule and popular uprisings. These sects were denounced as heretics for their opposition to the Sadducees and Pharisees, who were orthodox in Judaism, and eventually evolved into a new independent cosmopolitan sect. Church - Holy See.

The founder of the Holy See is Jesus. Jesus, the Son of God Jehovah, was born in Nazareth of Galilee, in northern Palestine, to a mother named Mary and a father named Joseph. Before Mary was married, the Holy Spirit descended on her. Make her pregnant. Joseph wanted to divorce Mary, but the angel instructed him to marry her. Jesus' baptism by John at the age of 30 and his temptation to Satan the Devil in the wilderness strengthened his faith in God. After that, Jesus led Peter, John, and other disciples to spread the gospel. Jesus' ministry caused panic among the Jewish nobles and priests, who bribed Jesus' disciple Judas and crucified Jesus. But three days later, Jesus was resurrected. Miracles were shown to the disciples and the crowd and they were asked to preach the gospel on a wider scale. Since then, more and more people have embraced the Holy See, and they have spread the Holy See to all parts of the world.

The Holy See began as a Jewish sect with no self-consciousness. Its members pretend to be true Jews. From the middle of the l century, as more and more non-Jews were drawn to the community of the Holy See, they gradually formed their own doctrine, organization and etiquette. Such. By the middle of the second century, the Papal Society had developed from an initial stage without self-consciousness to an independent form of the Holy See Society, both ideologically and organizationally.

In the early days, the Holy See was brutally persecuted and suppressed by the Roman emperors. Until after the Roman repression of the Holy See was apparently futile. The rulers of the empire began to realize that any attempt to eliminate the papacy by force was unrealistic; And in order to effectively control the Empire, it is necessary to first maintain peace with the Holy See. Thereupon. Following the Edict of Tolerance in 311, which provided for an end to the persecution of the Holy See, in 313 Constantine and Licinius issued the famous Edict of Milan, declaring that the Holy See was recognized as legitimate in the Roman Empire and that it could be confined to all other sects. Freedom from discrimination. Since then, the Holy See has become an officially recognized legitimate religion. The Roman rulers began to vigorously support the Holy See and gradually made it the official sect of the Roman Empire. Teach. Later, in 392, Theodosius I promulgated a law prohibiting the sacrifice of pagan gods in any place, and made the Holy See the only legitimate sect. Teach. Therefore, the year is generally seen as the beginning of the Holy See becoming the state religion of the Roman Empire.

However, the growing differences between the Eastern and Western churches within the Holy See, and the continuous division of the two churches due to cultural traditions, history, geography and other reasons, but the most fundamental direct cause was the continuous conflict between the two leading groups for the supremacy of the church, which eventually led to a complete split in the Holy See in 1054. The Eastern Church flaunts its "orthodoxy" and is called "Orthodox", and because it is the Eastern Church, it is also called "Orthodox", and Greek liturgy is used in worship services, so it is also called "Greek Orthodoxy". The Western Church emphasizes its "universality" and is called "Catholicism", because its leadership center is in Rome, so it is also called "Roman Catholicism". Bishop".

Trinity: The Holy See believes in a triune God, believing that God in his essence is only one, but has three persons:

The Father, the Creator and Lord of all things in heaven and earth, "the one and only omnipotent God, the God who created all things, visible and invisible"; The Son, the Church of Jesus, is "the only Lord." Born of the Father" and "by him all things in the heavens and on earth were created". He "came to save the world, to take flesh and become a man." "He will come again to judge the living and the dead"; The Holy Spirit, "the Lord and the giver of life, comes out of the Father (the Western church advocates "coming from the Father and the Son"), worshiped and honored with the Father and the Son.

Although these three are not one, they are not three gods, but they are the only true gods who have the same essence.

God's creation: also known as "God's creation". Believe that everything in the universe was created by God. The process by which God created the world is also known as the "six-day project."

Incarnation: The church was with God before the creation of the world, the "Word" of God, also known as Logos. Because the world could not save itself from sin, God sent him to earth to take the flesh of the Virgin Mary, the church of Jesus.

Original sin: the source of human suffering, that is, the primordial sin of the whole human race. In addition to original sin, each person's own sin against God's will is called "this sin" or "present sin."

Savior and Redemption: The Holy See calls the Church of Jesus the "Savior" or "Savior," believing that Jesus was born to save those who believe in Him from their sins. Gain eternal life.

Heaven and Hell: The traditional doctrine of the Holy See holds that the real world is the source of sin, and that there is no escape from human suffering in this world unless you believe in God and His Savior, Jesus. Everything is subject to God's arrangement, and the soul can ascend to heaven after death, otherwise it will be thrown into hell at the last judgment.

The doctrine of the Holy See can be summed up in two words - 'fraternity'. In the eyes of Jesus. There are two aspects of fraternity: loving God and loving your neighbor as yourself. In the doctrine of the Holy See, love for God refers to the love of God in the sect. Teach the whole world to serve God wholeheartedly. The Holy See is a strictly theological religion. Acknowledging only God Yahweh as the supreme deity and opposing polytheism and idolatry. Also against Zong. Teach red tape and grandstanding in life. 'Love your neighbor as yourself' is the basic principle of daily life of the churchgoers, which requires that one should be self-perfecting, should be strict with oneself, be lenient with others, should be patient and forgiving, love the enemy, and from loving the enemy to opposing violent resistance. Only by fulfilling the above requirements can we attain the highest state of fraternity - loving our neighbor as ourselves.

The canon of the Holy See is the Bible. What is described in the Bible is the revelation of God, the general outline of the faith of the papal see, the norms of life, and the eternal truth. The Bible is divided into two parts, the New Testament and the Old Testament. The Old Testament was originally the canon of Judaism, and Jesus put forward his own views on certain aspects of Judaism, which differed from Judaism, and explained them as an important basis for his faith. The Old Testament consists of 39 books in four categories: the Torah, the Prophets, the History, and the Miscellaneous Collections, which record the origin of heaven and earth, the origin and history of the Jews, and the literature of the ancient Jews. The New Testament consists of the Gospels (i.e., Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John), history, the Apostolic Epistles, and the Book of Revelation, in 27 books, which mainly account the words and deeds of Jesus and his disciples, and in the Book of Revelation, the Holy See's prophecies of the Last Judgment.

Sky. BISHOP: Heaven. Bishops are also called "Catholics" because they are centered on Rome, so they are also called "Roman Catholics", and sometimes called "Old Christianity" to distinguish them from "Protestantism" in the Holy See. Sky. Bishops believe in God the Father, the Son, the Holy Spirit (i.e. the Holy Spirit) and the Virgin Mary. Its followers believe that God the Father created heaven, earth, and mankind; The Son became incarnate and was crucified for the redemption of mankind, and then he was resurrected and ascended into heaven, and will come again to judge the world, and the Holy Spirit came out from the Father and the Son to sanctify mankind; The church was established by the Church of Jesus and has the power to forgive the sins of the world, and so on. Sky. The bishop has a strict hierarchy system, which is mainly manifested in his divine qualities, which are divided into seven grades: the priest (the first rank), the chanter (the second rank), the exorcist (the third rank), the celebrant (the fourth rank), the deputy assistant priest (the fifth rank), the assistant priest (the sixth rank), and the priest (the seventh rank). The first four products are low-level divine products (also known as small products), and the last three products are high-level divine products (also known as large products). In addition, its hierarchy includes the ranks of bishops, archbishops, metropolitans, cardinals (cardinals), patriarchs, and popes in the clergy. The papacy was sacrosanct and strictly demarcated the clergy and the laity, stipulating that clergy could not marry.

Orthodoxy: Most of the Eastern churches, centered in Constantinople, call themselves "Orthodox", and the Orthodox Church does not accept the leadership of the Pope of Rome, but only recognizes him as "Bishop of Rome" and "Patriarch of the Western Church". It has its own set of religious hierarchy system, implements the patriarchal system, and its gods are divided into black and white. Except for bishops. Ordinary clergy can get married.

Orthodoxy is more rigid to the doctrines and liturgies of the ancient Holy See, emphasizing the mystical significance of communion with God and the sacred atmosphere of worship activities. The church is solemnly and ornately furnished. Hung with images of saints.

Protestantism: Also known as "Protestantism". Initially detached from the sky. The Protestant denominations of the bishop included Lutheranism, Calvinism, and Anglicanism, and later diverged into more denominations from an early age. At present, there are six main denominations in Protestantism: Lutheran (Lutheranism), Presbyterianism (Calvinism), Anglicanism (Anglicanism), Congregationalism, Baptism, and Methodism (Wesleyanism). Furthermore. There are also some small denominations and churches, such as the Catholics, Pentecostals, Revivalists, Adventists, Salvation Army, etc. These denominations are collectively referred to as "Protestantism." Protestantism regards the Bible as the supreme authority of the faith, and does not recognize the absolute authority of the Pope or accept the unified leadership of the Holy See. It is against the day. The complex hierarchical system of the Episcopal Church advocates the diversity of the church system, and believes that there is no fundamental opposition between the clergy and the laity, and that believers can communicate directly with God without the mediation of the church or priests. Protestantism abolished the prohibition of clergy marriages and simplified the religious tradition. The sacraments of the Rite and the Sacraments are baptism and communion.

During the development of the Holy See in the Middle Ages. One of the most important things was the Crusades. Between 1096 and 1291, the feudal lords, the great merchants and the Holy See of Western Europe, in the name of "saving the Holy Land", called on the papacies and the Holy See. The bishops went to retake Jerusalem, which had been under Islamic control, and launched an aggressive expedition against the countries of the eastern Mediterranean coast that lasted nearly 200 years. During the Crusades, the Church granted each warrior a cross, forming an army called a crusade.

In November 1095, Pope Urban II of Rome was in the French Church of Clemand. "In the East, the Muslims have occupied the 'holy city' (Jerusalem) of our Holy See, and now I command, plead and call you on behalf of God," the synagogue said. Act quickly to wipe out that evil race from our brother's land! The Pope also demagogically said: "Jerusalem is the center of the world, and its abundance is like another paradise." Under God's guidance. Let's be brave and embark on the journey! ”。 The Crusades were carried out nine times before and after, lasting almost 200 years, and the Holy See's attempt to establish a world church was not only completely frustrated. And because of its aggressive atrocities and its original criminal appearance, the prestige of the Church has been greatly diminished. Later historians commented: "In a sense, it is worse than failure." "To modern times. Sky. The Bishop has acknowledged that the Crusades caused hatred and hostility between the Holy See and the Muslims and were wrongdoings that tarnished the reputation of the Church.

From the second half of the 15th century, the capitalist economy in Europe began to develop. The spearhead of the new bourgeoisie is inevitably directed at the Church, and the strengthening of royal power is bound to weaken the power of the Church. At the same time, there was a struggle for power within the church, the clergy was divided, and the clergy were corrupted, which discredited the church. From the 14th century onwards, the Holy See was effectively reduced to a vassal of France. After the European countries gradually broke away from the control of the Holy See, the income of the Holy See fell sharply, but the profligacy of the Pope continued unabated. In order to maintain the huge expenses of the Holy See, the Pope had to use various means to increase the exploitation and plunder in his sphere of influence, so the feudal Germany became the main object of his slaughter. Germany's industry lags behind other European countries. When most of Europe established a centralized government to resist the extortions of the Holy See, the Holy See passed on the economic losses to a divided Germany. Germany became the "Pope's cow". However, with the development of the German capitalist economy, the burgher class continued to grow, the national consciousness gradually awakened, and all strata of German society were strongly dissatisfied with the Holy See.

From the middle of the 15th century onwards, humanism began to spread in Germany, and intellectuals representing the emerging bourgeoisie profoundly exposed and attacked the Holy See. Luther conducts the Sect. Ideological preparations have been made for religious reform. In the 15th and 16th centuries, the printing press revolutionized the Bible and popularized it. In turn, it broke the monopoly of the Church on the Bible and shook the absolute authority of the pope. At that time, three factions formed in the German political scene: conservatives supported the Holy See and opposed the Patriarchal Church. religious reform; Moderate reformers supported Luther, advocating confiscation of ecclesiastical property, abolition of church privileges, rigid hierarchies, and cumbersome worship services, and demanded the establishment of a state church free of pope control, but opposed to violence; Radical reformers in Zong. Under the banner of religious reform, it is necessary to change the entire social system.

Martin. In order to free Germany from the plundering of the Holy See, Luther proposed the establishment of a national and independent national church that was not under the jurisdiction of the Holy See, and advocated the abolition of canon law and ecclesiastical courts. Worship services in the national language are also actively promoted. Year 1526. He compiled the "German Mass and Worship Service". In 1529, Emperor Charles V convened an imperial council in Sbayer to settle the issue of the German Sect. The question of religious reform. The princes who supported the Roman Church were in the majority. Reaffirm the ban of the Imperial Council of Worms in 1521 against heresy and restore all the privileges and estates of the Roman Church. For this. On April 6, the princes who supported the Lutherans jointly submitted a letter of protest to the council, which was called "protesters", "anti-Yizong" or "anti-Luozong", also called "Protestantism", and called the Roman Church "Old Church". In 1555, Kaiser Charles V recognized the legitimacy of the Lutherans. From then on, the Lutheran Protestant church officially enjoyed legal status.

Zong of Germany. The Reformation caused a ripple effect in the Roman Curia. Successive rebellions against the Holy See took place in various European countries. The Reformation movement, which gave rise to a new denomination that broke away from the Holy See. Such as Lutheranism, Calvinism, Anriganism, etc. Sect. The vigorous development of the Reformation movement led to the continuous growth of Protestant forces in Western European countries, forcing the pope to convene a church. The Synod of the Church mobilizes the forces of the old religion in various countries to deal with the sect. Religious Reform Movement.

In December 1545, the Pope convened a meeting in Trento. The Synod, the Nineteenth Council of the Church of Rome. The purpose of the meeting was threefold: to overcome the sect. ecclesiastical schism, opposition to the Protestant movement; Reforming the Roman Church; Organize crusaders against the "unbelievers" in the East. The council lasted 18 years and did not end until 1563. On November 13, 1564, Pius IV published the Confession of the Council of Trento, which was drawn up in accordance with the decisions of the Council of Trento. The Confession affirms the correctness of the tenets and rituals of the Roman Church in the Middle Ages, and that the Pope is the supreme authority of the Church. Protestantism is heretical.

The contradictions and struggles between the old and new religions eventually led to the outbreak of the Chinese New Year's Eve War in 1618. The power of the Roman Church was greatly affected, the Holy See ceased to be the main political force in Europe, and the reputation of the Holy See was affected by the brutal wars, and people turned to science and philosophy for answers to life. This in turn opened the way for rationalism.

In the 18th century, under the influence of the Enlightenment and rationalism, some European countries and France, Portugal, Spain, etc. Centrifugal tendencies towards the Holy See grew, and in 1809 Napoleon annexed the Papal States to France. 1929 year. Pius XI and Mussolini signed the Treaty of Latoran, in which the Pope was officially recognized as the sovereign party of the independent Vatican City State.

1962 year. Pope John XXIII convenes the Second Vatican Council. The meeting emphasized the day. The bishop wanted to keep up with the times, carried out a series of reforms within the church, and adopted a policy of openness to the outside world. Denominations of the Holy See other than bishops and other denominations. Religion and non-believers. Teach people to talk. After the meeting, the day. Bishops have broken the shackles of authoritarianism and dogmatism in theology, and have led to pluralism and secularization in theology.

Now the whole world is the day. There are 130 archdioceses, 628 dioceses, 129 pastoral and vicariaries, with a total of about 1 billion members, accounting for 17.5% of the world's population. The current pope is the Polish John Brown. Paul II, who took office in October 1978, is the 266th pope.

The influence of the Holy See and its role in society:

In the fourth century AD, the first papal emperor of ancient Rome, Constantine, was born, and under his patronage, the papacy was transformed from a persecuted pagan religion into an orthodox state religion. After the unarmed Jesus defeated Caesar with the sword, the Holy See gradually conquered the spirit of Westerners and made many contributions to the development of Western civilization.

From the point of view of the evolution of human nature, especially at the spiritual and ethical level, the Holy See, in addition to the rational spirit of ancient Greece, offers a unified and enduring transcendent faith, the expectation of heaven that appeases earthly suffering, the conscience of the faithful against the brutality of secular power, and the moral model through the martyrdom and confession of the saints. This faith, this exemplar, elevates the spiritual world of Westerners, and also serves as a moral bond that unites society and connects the ethical inheritance of generations. The transcendental ethic, formed by the combination of the Holy See and the metaphysics of ancient Greece, has an absolute value in Western civilization that transcends secular utilitarianism, and has gradually evolved into a universally valid standard of public morality. Supernatural favors and sanctions from Heaven promise eternal blessings to the good to go to heaven, eternal punishment to send evil doers to hell, and the opportunity to atone for sins and rehabilitation through repentance. Jesus, the Son of God, took upon himself the "original sin" of man at the cost of his willingness to go to the cross, and fought violence with absolute non-violence. Absolute love and forgiveness to all sinners. Human beings who are born sinful can only pray and repent to God throughout their lives. Only by doing good deeds and accumulating virtue in deeds can we approach the kingdom of heaven on the infinite path of atonement. It is this transcendental ethic of both mercy and punishment, repentance and atonement, and rebellion of conscience. Gradually, the fierce savage and the greedy mercenary were domesticated into peaceful, temperate and introspective civilized people, that is, the instinctive man was elevated to a rational man with faith.

Historically, the Holy See flourished at a time when the unified Roman Empire began to decline. The invasion of the northern barbarians, the tyrannical rule within, the corruption and luxury, the conspiracy of power struggles and the rebellion of the lower levels, the Roman Empire, which had lost its moral direction, could only bring greater disasters by force. Fortunately, while the Roman Empire was defeated by the barbarians, the Holy See mentally tamed the barbarians and gradually turned them into civilized. The unifying traditions of the ancient Roman Empire clashed with the separatist forces of the northern barbarians. In a secular sense, it contributed to the decline of the Roman Empire and the independence of nation-states, but in a spiritual sense, the unity of the faith and the church under the clergy was equivalent to the continuation of the unity of the former Roman Empire in an alternative sense.

From the perspective of social development, the Holy See has three major functions for the development of Western society:

The Church became the organizational bond and autonomous authority that unites the social family, as well as a source of order and peace. Not only did the Holy See provide the unified authority of the Western spiritual world, but the local churches also became the organizational nucleus of community self-government. This order, with the church at its core, is essential to ending anarchy and chaos. It has far more powerful functions than secular governments.

The faith of the Holy See gradually condensed the consensus of the faith of the entire Western Church, thus forming a transcendent conscience vis-à-vis secular power and its interests. As the Church grew in popularity and expanded, this general moral or spiritual consensus, independent of secular kingship, gradually became highly organized. Teach authority. In secular politics. In the absence of an internal institutionalized check on the supreme power, the Holy See, as a social spiritual authority, played a role in restraining the secular royal power from the outside. Therefrom. The Holy See changed the entire structure of Western society, that is, outside the authority of secular governments. The creation of another independent spiritual authority constitutes the coexistence of two authorities, two sets of laws, and two kinds of responsibilities. The establishment of theocracy and the legitimization of its ecclesiastical property. In the sect that makes Westerners. At the same time, the religious belief changed from polytheism to monotheism, but also caused the monistic society left over from ancient Greece to withdraw from the stage of history, and the power structure of Western society gradually changed from monotheism to duality. The coexistence of religious law and secular law constituted a dualism in the social structure of ancient Rome: first, the coexistence of monks and laity and increasingly moving towards the separation of church and state, and second, the coexistence of top-down feudalism and bottom-up autonomy. It is precisely in the confrontation between the two comparable social forces and their systems that the Western society can gradually form an authoritative equilibrium in which the two ruling forces check each other, thus providing mature social conditions for the evolution of the Western system into a liberal constitutionalism.

It provides a transcendent foundation for the formation of the Western rule of law order. After the Holy See became the state religion of ancient Rome, not only did the canon law technically provide an object for emulator for secular law, but also the canon law from transcendent justice was the transcendent basis for the rule of law order. And if the law comes only from Caesar, it can easily become an evil law that mainly serves the will of the ruler. Second, only when the law is believed can it be respected and voluntarily obeyed, and the whole society can have the public will to be proud of abiding by the law. Otherwise, the law will either become an "evil law" that serves only the will of the ruler; Either it is nothing but a non-existent rule, replaced by unspoken rules outside the law.

From the perspective of the characteristics of the humanistic spirit and the development of culture, the Holy See has provided great spiritual, institutional and material contributions to Western culture.

The teachings of the Holy See and its theological ideas have had a comprehensive and profound impact on the humanities of the West. The doctrine provides universal morality, Latin provides a unified script, and it is almost unthinkable that the West, which has not had a papal background, has been a first-class spiritual product since the martyrdom of Jesus. Whether it is theology, philosophy, literature, painting, music, or architecture, as long as it is the creation of humanities and arts, all of them are marked with a distinct papal imprint. Not to mention that the humanistic spirit of the theocratic era was influenced by the faith of the Holy See, even in the rational and secular modern West, the spirit of the church also provided deep nourishment for humanistic creation. The cultural giants born of the Renaissance, the Enlightenment and the irrationalist movements, although they revived the rational spirit of ancient Greece to fight against the theocratic Middle Ages, from Dante's "Divine Comedy" to the paintings of the Italian Three Masters, from Shakespeare's plays to Goethe's "Faust" to the symphonies of Beethoven and others, from Kant's absolute law to Nietzsche's Superman, people can see the image of the church and hear the bells of heaven. It can be said that the Holy See has infiltrated the flesh and blood of Western culture. In particular, the transcendent spirit that points to absolute values has become the most striking symbol of Western culture.

The Holy See Church and the clergy have made a significant contribution to the preservation of the ancient cultural heritage, not only the classical heritage directly related to the papal heritage, but also the vast collection of pagan and heretical texts. The unique interpretation of classical philosophy by scholastic theologians has the significance of inheriting the classical spirit. The seminary run by the Church laid the foundation for the Western higher education system and is the mother of the modern and modern universities and their research systems in the West. Churches, monasteries and seminaries have produced a large number of teachers, scholars, judges, diplomats and cabinet ministers. The philanthropy of the Church also includes the sponsorship of artistic creation, and the artistic heights reached by music, painting and architecture in the West would have been unimaginable without the spiritual resources and material support provided by the Church.

In modern times, with the help of a powerful economy, advanced technology, and superior institutions, the conquest of faith by the Holy See has expanded from the West to non-Western countries, and has continued into the contemporary world. The Holy See and capitalist civilization have a strong expansion, successively created the Roman Empire, the British Empire and the new American Empire after World War II, and evolved from the colonial expansion of military conquest and occupation to the expansion of capital and the expansion of the gospel (moral expansion), the Holy See injected the moral impetus of "spreading the gospel of God" into the expansion consciousness of Western civilization, and its secularization process is manifested in the globalization of the economic free market and the globalization of political freedom and democracy. In the far-reaching expansion of "capital" for the sake of profit, pious and dedicated missionaries did not hesitate to spread the gospel against all odds, even wherever there were people, there were footprints of Western missionaries. Since the beginning of the twentieth century, the dramatic development of human history has proved that the irresistible expansion of the Holy See, the market economy and the liberal constitutionalism that spontaneously formed in a particular region are that they have an intrinsic fit with human nature that other civilizations lack—kindness to humanity, establishment of human dignity, encouragement of free competition, ensuring peaceful order, and stimulating human initiative. As a result, Western civilization has gradually revealed its universal qualities, and has been accepted by more and more other regions and other civilizations, and has even evolved into an irresistible historical trend. The Holy See, as the most important and influential representative of it, will surely lead the Western sect. The Church continues to expand in the world, and no matter what the Holy See has gone astray in its development, its future is still full of infinite vitality, and it will save groups of people living in difficulty to move towards the holy place of their hearts and seek a bright future. (To be continued......)