In honor of his empirical coronation by Pope Benedict VIII in 1014, Holy Roman Emperor Henry II donated a golden pulpit to the Cathedral in Aachen, Germany, the seat of his empirical court. Known as "Henry's Ambon", this pulpit of gold is embossed with, among other things, depictions of Dionysius, or Bacchus, the effeminate god of wine, drunkenness and impure revelry:
Aachen Cathedral, Germany 1014 A.D.
Standing in the Cathedral for over a thousand years, this pulpit has raised its silent voice in testimony of the age it represents: the Age of Rome's Apostasy. Over the centuries, the more men became enamored of the ancient world, the more society came to resemble it. In his book The Desecration of Catholic Places, 2014, (heretic) Richard Ibranyi points out the significance and number of nominally Catholic Churches throughout Europe, which have been desecrated with idolatrous depictions of false gods, mythological figures, and astrological symbols, as well as heretical grotesque and immodest images. Ibranyi writes that Henry's Ambon at Aachen is the earliest known desecration.
But there are at least two earlier desecrations, going all the way back to the Basilica of St. Denis, Paris, 875 A. D:
"Screen of Charlemagne"
In 875, Charlemagne's grandson, Charles II (the Bald), traveled to Pavia, Italy to be crowned Holy Roman Emperor by Pope John VIII on the Feast of the Nativity (like Charlemagne himself). In honor of his empirical accession, Charles the Bald presented St. Denis Basilica with the reliquary "Screen of Charlemagne", which remained in the church until the French Revolution. The Screen was surmounted by a well-known, costly 1st century antique - an aquamarine cameo - beautiful, but etched with an image of the disreputable polytheist Julia Flavia, who was "deified" by the ancient Romans upon her untimely death:
Julia Flavia: the daughter of Emperor Titus; married to Titus Flavius Sabinus, who was executed by her uncle, the Emperor Domitian; Julia died from a botched abortion, a result of her incestuous relationship with Domitian. She was deified, and her ashes were later mixed with those of Domitian’s by Domitian’s former nurse. -Wikipedia
"Cross of Lothar"
Another earlier desecration was the processional Cross of Lothar, containing a cameo of Caesar Augustus, also considered divine by the ancient Romans:
The Lothar Cross, is named after the large rock crystal cameo of the Carolingian ruler of Lotharingia, Lothar II (near its base). The cross itself was wrought in gold almost a century after Lothar’s rule, by one of the Ottonian dynasty (Otto III). It was given as a gift to the important cathedral of Aachen very soon after its production...One of the most striking gems is a reused Roman cameo of Emperor Augustus dated to the 1st century A.D. Lothar’s rock crystal is accompanied by an inscription:
+XPE ADIVVA HLOTARIVM REG
(O Christ, help King Lothar)
The ‘back’ of the cross is much simpler, and depicts the Crucifixion.
https://arts.st-andrews.ac.uk/after-empire/2018/03/29/lothar-cross/
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There is a correlation between these three early desecrations. They are all gifts in honor of being crowned Holy Roman Emperor by the Pope:
- Screen of Charlemagne, Emperor Charles II, crowned by Pope John VIII in 875
- Cross of Lothar, Emperor Otto III, crowned by Pope Gregory V in 996
- Ambon of Aachen, Emperor Henry II, crowned by Pope Benedict VIII in 1014
Do these desecrations point to the error of caesaro-papism, in which Emperors believed they, by divine right, were the head of the Church and all Christian kingdoms? Or do they represent the mixing, contrary to the Church canons, of sacred and temporal powers? I do not mean to imply that the spiritual power is not above the temporal, or that there should not be Christian kingdoms. Rather, secular rulers of the Middle Ages often stopped at nothing in their quest for power, which meant interfering in Church elections, lay investiture, falsifying documents. and deposing Patriarchs and even Popes. On the other hand, Bishops, as well, debased themselves by adopting secular positions, contrary to the Canons, and politics wended its way into church elections and decisions.
Apostolic Canon VI: A Bishop, or Presbyter, or Deacon must not undertake worldly cares. If he does, let him he deposed from office.
4th Ecumenical Council, Canon III: It is come to the (knowledge of the) Council that some of those who had been listed in the roll of the Clergy hire other men's estates for the sake of filthy lucre, and undertake to negotiate secular affairs, to the neglect of the Divine liturgy, and betake themselves to the families of secular men, whose estates they undertake to manage out of love of money. Therefore the holy and great Council decrees that no Bishop, Clergyman, or Monk shall henceforth be allowed to farm any estate or office, or to involve himself in secular cares, unless he be unavoidably called by laws to the guardianship of minors, or the Bishop permit him to take care of the affairs of the church, or of those of orphans or widows unprovided for, and of persons in especial need of ecclesiastical assistance, for the fear of God. If anyone presume to transgress hereafter any of the rules herein decreed, that person shall be liable to ecclesiastical penalties (or penances).
4th Ecumenical Council, Canon VII: We have decreed in regard to those who have once been enrolled in the Clergy or who have become Monks shall not join the army nor obtain any secular position of dignity. Let those be anathematized who dare to do this and fail to repent, so as to return to that which they had previously chosen on God's account.
7th Ecumenical Council, Canon X: Inasmuch as some of the Clergymen flouting the canonical ordinance and leaving their own parish, run off into another parish, and for the most part into this God-guarded and imperial city, and become attached to civil magistrates, conducting services in their oratories...As for any of the Priests who do this notwithstanding what has been said in the foregoing, it is not for them to undertake secular and mundane cares, as they are forbidden to do so by the divine Canons. But if anyone be caught red-handed in the employ of the so-called magnates (meizoteri), let him be dismissed, or let him be deposed from office...
First-Second Council of Constantinople, Canon XI: The divine and sacred Canons impose the penalty of deposition on presbyters or deacons who undertake secular offices or worldly cares...For, according to the most veracious utterance pronounced by Christ Himself, our true God, "no one can serve two masters" (Matt. 6:24; Luke 16:13).
Council of Carthage, Canon 18. It has pleased the Council to decree that Bishops, and Presbyters, and Deacons shall not become farmers or procurators, nor derive any profit from anything that is shameful and dishonorable. For they ought to take into consideration that which is written: "No one campaigning for God will entangle himself in worldly affairs" (II Tim. 2:4).
Antipope Sylvester II (999-1003) wrongly believed that the political philosophy of Roman Pagan Boethius, could meld with Christianity, and rectify the precarious state of the Church in the west. He had great hopes for his pontificacy, along with his protégé, Holy Roman Emperor Otto III. Sylvester fancied Otto as the new Constantine:
Britannica, "Otto III": ...The Emperor marched back into Italy in late 997; taking Rome in February 998, he executed Crescentius, deposed John [XVI], and reinstated [Pope] Gregory. Otto then proceeded to make Rome his official residence and the administrative centre of the empire. Instituting elaborate Byzantine court ceremonies and reviving ancient Roman customs, he assumed the titles “the servant of Jesus Christ,” “the servant of the apostles,” and “emperor of the world” and saw himself as the leader of world Christianity. When Gregory V died (999), Otto had the Frenchman Gerbert of Aurillac, his former tutor who agreed with his concept of a theocratic emperor, installed as Pope Sylvester II.
Such were the plans of the humanist Sylvester, until his golden boy Otto unexpectedly died of a fever at age 21. Far from being taken as a sign of God's displeasure, and focusing on the spiritual transformation of hearts through penance and asceticism, the quest for fleeting temporal power and security continued. And, at Holy Roman Emperor Henry II's insistence, Pope Benedict VIII changed the Creed to assert his power. Benedict and Henry could not see it, and did not believe it, but by trying to secure their earthly kingdom, they fell away from the spiritual kingdom of Christ, taking the entire west down with them.
Luke 17:20-21 And being asked by the Pharisees, when the kingdom of God should come? He answered them, and said: "The kingdom of God cometh not with observation: Neither shall they say: Behold here, or behold there. For lo, the kingdom of God is within you."