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What were the provisions of the Concordat of Worms?

User BaronS
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Final answer:

The Concordat of Worms was an agreement in 1122 that resolved the Investiture Controversy by allowing the Church to elect and invest bishops while giving the Emperor limited secular influence over the process.

Step-by-step explanation:

The Concordat of Worms

The provisions of the Concordat of Worms, which was an agreement reached in 1122, effectively ended the Investiture Controversy, a conflict between the papacy and the Holy Roman Emperor over who had the authority to appoint church officials such as bishops and abbots.

The Concordat established a compromise where the Emperor gave up the right to invest ecclesiastical officials with the ring and the crosier, symbols of their spiritual power, and allowed the Church to elect and invest bishops. However, the Emperor would still have some influence as he retained the power to give the temporal symbols of office, like staffs and scepters, and in some cases, decide disputes in the election process.

Moreover, the agreement allowed for both a spiritual and secular influence on the appointment process, essentially balancing the power between the Emperor and the Church. This significantly shaped the political structure of the Holy Roman Empire and the nature of church-state relations for years to come.

User Kavindu Ravishka
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