Unwitting secularizers

Gregory VII won his battle, but lost the war. Joseph Strayer ( On the Medieval Origins of the Modern State (Princeton Classic Editions) ) notes that “by separating itself so clearly from lay governments, the Church unwittingly sharpened concepts about the nature of secular authority. Definitions and arguments might vary, but the most ardent Gregorian had to admit that the Church could not perform all political functions, that lay rulers were necessary and had a sphere in which they should operate. They might be subject to the guidance and correction of the Church, but they were not part of the administrative structure of the church . . . . In short, the Gregorian concept of the Church almost demanded the invention of the concept of the State.” And the State was seen as having a particular role, the “guarantor and distributor of justice.”

Gregory’s reformed ended up solidifying a political nature/grace duality, separated the sphere of love from the sphere of justice.