Gregorian Reform

The Gregorian Reforms were a series of reforms initiated by Pope Gregory VII and the circle he formed in the papal curia, c. 1050–80, which dealt with the moral integrity and independence of the clergy. These reforms are considered to be named after Pope Gregory VII (1073–85), though he personally denied this and claimed his reforms, like his regnal name, honored Gregory the Great.

Overview

The conciliar approach to implementing papal reform took on an added momentum during Gregory’s pontificate. The authority of the emphatically ‘Roman’ council as the universal legislative assembly was theorised according to the principles of papal primacy contained in Dictatus papae.

There is no explicit mention of Gregory’s reforms against simony or nicolaitism at his Lenten councils of 1075 or 1076; rather, the gravity of these reforms has to be inferred from his general correspondence. By contrast, Gregory's Register entry for the Roman council of November 1078 extensively records Gregory’s legislation against ‘abuses’ such as simony as well as the first ‘full’ prohibition of lay investiture. This record has been interpreted as the essence of the Gregorian ‘reform programme’.