1 00:00:07,383 --> 00:00:09,786 male narrator: One of the most powerful men on earth 2 00:00:09,886 --> 00:00:12,922 holds a position that has existed 3 00:00:13,022 --> 00:00:14,457 for nearly 2,000 years. 4 00:00:18,227 --> 00:00:21,631 As the world changes and faith evolves, 5 00:00:21,731 --> 00:00:24,634 his authority remains. 6 00:00:24,734 --> 00:00:27,470 What began with one apostle 7 00:00:27,570 --> 00:00:29,539 has become 1.2 billion followers 8 00:00:29,605 --> 00:00:32,542 under one man. 9 00:00:32,608 --> 00:00:35,311 He is the head of the Catholic Church, 10 00:00:35,411 --> 00:00:37,647 the Pope, 11 00:00:37,747 --> 00:00:39,982 and this is his path to power. 12 00:01:19,589 --> 00:01:21,791 In this episode, 13 00:01:21,858 --> 00:01:24,427 never before seen artifacts 14 00:01:24,494 --> 00:01:28,030 from the earliest days of Christianity 15 00:01:28,131 --> 00:01:30,299 show how a small group of rebels 16 00:01:30,366 --> 00:01:33,369 turned an illegal movement 17 00:01:33,469 --> 00:01:36,139 into the largest religion on the planet, 18 00:01:36,205 --> 00:01:40,143 and how, against all odds... 19 00:01:40,209 --> 00:01:42,612 The papacy endures. 20 00:02:06,536 --> 00:02:09,705 - This is something that has never happened before. 21 00:02:09,805 --> 00:02:12,642 The Vatican, this morning, publicly displayed 22 00:02:12,708 --> 00:02:15,645 what's believed to be bone fragments from St. Peter, 23 00:02:15,711 --> 00:02:19,582 an apostle of Jesus Christ, and the world's first pope. 24 00:02:22,351 --> 00:02:24,754 narrator: Pope Francis is the 266th leader 25 00:02:24,854 --> 00:02:27,757 of the Catholic Church. 26 00:02:27,857 --> 00:02:29,725 For the last 2,000 years, 27 00:02:29,825 --> 00:02:31,761 despite an ever-changing world, 28 00:02:31,861 --> 00:02:33,696 Catholic's have looked to the Pope 29 00:02:33,763 --> 00:02:36,232 as a beacon of faith, morality, 30 00:02:36,332 --> 00:02:38,734 and divine guidance. 31 00:02:38,834 --> 00:02:41,904 But who is this figure that means so much to so many? 32 00:02:42,004 --> 00:02:44,207 And how did he come to be 33 00:02:44,273 --> 00:02:47,109 one of the most powerful men on Earth? 34 00:02:50,947 --> 00:02:53,749 - People look to the Pope to have something to say 35 00:02:53,849 --> 00:02:54,951 on almost everything. 36 00:02:56,886 --> 00:02:58,788 - I don't think there's any other religious figure 37 00:02:58,888 --> 00:03:01,624 that people recognize as much as they recognize the Pope. 38 00:03:03,459 --> 00:03:05,094 narrator: But before the Pope had the ear 39 00:03:05,194 --> 00:03:08,464 of 1.2 billion followers worldwide... 40 00:03:09,899 --> 00:03:12,201 He was a philosopher, 41 00:03:12,268 --> 00:03:16,806 a leader of an underground movement, 42 00:03:16,906 --> 00:03:20,042 and an outlaw. 43 00:03:21,210 --> 00:03:24,647 - Peter was one of the 12 apostles. 44 00:03:26,315 --> 00:03:28,284 He's walked with Jesus, essentially. 45 00:03:28,384 --> 00:03:31,320 So he's an important figure for that reason alone. 46 00:03:31,420 --> 00:03:33,222 - In the Gospels, 47 00:03:33,289 --> 00:03:37,093 when the apostles go fishing in Galilee, 48 00:03:37,159 --> 00:03:39,829 Peter is told, "You are Peter," 49 00:03:39,929 --> 00:03:42,331 which means "rock"... 50 00:03:43,432 --> 00:03:46,135 "And on his rock, I will build my church, 51 00:03:46,235 --> 00:03:46,836 and I will give to you the keys 52 00:03:46,936 --> 00:03:49,171 of the kingdom of heaven." 53 00:03:51,907 --> 00:03:54,944 - Peter himself, as the one who voiced the confession, 54 00:03:55,011 --> 00:03:58,347 becomes a symbol of the unwavering faith 55 00:03:58,447 --> 00:03:59,949 that Jesus is the Son of God, 56 00:04:00,016 --> 00:04:03,119 which is then the center of the Christian Church. 57 00:04:03,185 --> 00:04:05,655 narrator: Though the word "Pope" 58 00:04:05,755 --> 00:04:08,024 is not used for hundreds of years, 59 00:04:08,124 --> 00:04:10,159 the foundation of the sacred office 60 00:04:10,259 --> 00:04:13,362 is entwined in Peter's legacy. 61 00:04:13,462 --> 00:04:14,864 - The Popes are, if you like, 62 00:04:14,964 --> 00:04:18,701 the inheritors of the apostolic generation. 63 00:04:18,801 --> 00:04:22,672 - It's this idea of the papacy being the rock, 64 00:04:22,772 --> 00:04:26,609 a source of permanence in an age of anxiety, 65 00:04:26,676 --> 00:04:29,445 that people know is steady. 66 00:04:31,047 --> 00:04:33,382 narrator: Peter preaches that Jesus Christ died 67 00:04:33,482 --> 00:04:34,950 for the sins of man, 68 00:04:35,017 --> 00:04:37,219 and accepting that truth is the key to salvation. 69 00:04:38,487 --> 00:04:42,792 Others teach different variations of that message. 70 00:04:42,858 --> 00:04:44,727 But regardless of interpretation, 71 00:04:44,827 --> 00:04:47,530 in the first century, any follower of Christ 72 00:04:47,630 --> 00:04:50,166 is seen as a threat to the Roman Empire 73 00:04:50,232 --> 00:04:52,902 and hunted for his beliefs. 74 00:04:54,503 --> 00:04:56,138 - When you think about the beginning 75 00:04:56,205 --> 00:04:57,173 of the Christian movement, it's astonishing 76 00:04:57,239 --> 00:05:00,209 that this movement went anywhere. 77 00:05:00,309 --> 00:05:02,244 People are being arrested, they're being tortured, 78 00:05:02,345 --> 00:05:04,647 they're being killed in public. 79 00:05:04,714 --> 00:05:08,551 You see competition between different disciples, 80 00:05:08,651 --> 00:05:10,820 different versions of the message of Jesus. 81 00:05:12,388 --> 00:05:15,157 narrator: All of Christ's followers spread 82 00:05:15,224 --> 00:05:18,594 throughout the Mediterranean preaching his message, 83 00:05:18,694 --> 00:05:20,529 but they apostles are the men on earth 84 00:05:20,596 --> 00:05:23,933 who actually walked with Jesus himself. 85 00:05:24,033 --> 00:05:25,868 - There were all of these cities 86 00:05:25,935 --> 00:05:28,337 that had healthy Christian churches in them, 87 00:05:28,404 --> 00:05:31,607 but the only one that actually had an apostle at its head 88 00:05:31,707 --> 00:05:33,008 was the church in Rome, 89 00:05:33,075 --> 00:05:35,111 which was where Peter was centered. 90 00:05:38,848 --> 00:05:41,784 - Rome is a giant empire. 91 00:05:41,884 --> 00:05:43,519 If you're a Christian and you're saying that 92 00:05:43,586 --> 00:05:45,588 you believe in a man, Jesus, 93 00:05:45,688 --> 00:05:49,125 who is a king above all kings and not the Roman king, 94 00:05:49,225 --> 00:05:50,593 you are putting yourself 95 00:05:50,693 --> 00:05:53,028 in opposition to the Roman Empire. 96 00:05:53,095 --> 00:05:55,965 And that becomes a really dangerous situation 97 00:05:56,065 --> 00:05:57,800 for early Christians. 98 00:05:57,900 --> 00:06:01,904 narrator: Despite the dangers facing Christians in Rome, 99 00:06:01,971 --> 00:06:03,639 Peter holds secret gatherings 100 00:06:03,739 --> 00:06:06,976 where he preaches the word of Christ. 101 00:06:07,076 --> 00:06:10,913 - Rome is a society which is 75% to 80% slaves. 102 00:06:10,980 --> 00:06:13,449 Slaves are not human, they can't marry, 103 00:06:13,549 --> 00:06:15,918 they can be bought and sold, they can be whipped and raped. 104 00:06:17,153 --> 00:06:19,989 So, suddenly, there's this movement that's saying 105 00:06:20,089 --> 00:06:21,657 "You're a person with dignity 106 00:06:21,757 --> 00:06:23,659 "who's created in the image of God, 107 00:06:23,759 --> 00:06:25,761 and that makes you worthwhile." 108 00:06:25,828 --> 00:06:29,565 So that's part of the power of this Christian movement. 109 00:06:31,267 --> 00:06:33,102 narrator: Christ's message strikes a chord 110 00:06:33,169 --> 00:06:36,338 with the most downtrodden members of Roman society, 111 00:06:36,439 --> 00:06:38,674 and Peter's meetings become more and more popular. 112 00:06:41,177 --> 00:06:43,179 Inevitably, he catches the eye 113 00:06:43,279 --> 00:06:44,847 of one of the cruelest and most sadistic rulers 114 00:06:44,947 --> 00:06:48,184 in Roman history, 115 00:06:48,284 --> 00:06:48,984 Emperor Nero. 116 00:06:53,956 --> 00:06:55,991 In the summer of 64 A.D., 117 00:06:56,091 --> 00:06:59,695 a raging fire burns Rome for six days, 118 00:06:59,795 --> 00:07:02,364 destroying 2/3 of the city. 119 00:07:03,632 --> 00:07:05,534 - People say that Emperor Nero started the fire 120 00:07:05,634 --> 00:07:09,038 so he could advance his own building projects. 121 00:07:10,973 --> 00:07:12,875 - Some of Rome needed to catch on fire 122 00:07:12,975 --> 00:07:14,543 so that he could build the kinds of temples 123 00:07:14,643 --> 00:07:15,711 and things that he wanted to honor himself. 124 00:07:23,385 --> 00:07:26,121 narrator: Rumors that Nero started the fire himself 125 00:07:26,188 --> 00:07:27,790 begin to fly, 126 00:07:27,857 --> 00:07:29,458 and he needs a scapegoat. 127 00:07:29,525 --> 00:07:32,528 - People are already asking a lot of questions 128 00:07:32,628 --> 00:07:33,896 about his sanity, 129 00:07:33,996 --> 00:07:36,332 his capacity to rule, and so on. 130 00:07:36,398 --> 00:07:38,534 He looks around for a bunch of people 131 00:07:38,634 --> 00:07:40,035 that other people don't like... 132 00:07:40,135 --> 00:07:41,003 - And the most convenient people to blame it on 133 00:07:41,070 --> 00:07:43,706 were the Christians. 134 00:07:43,806 --> 00:07:46,509 - Nero says, "These are the people 135 00:07:46,575 --> 00:07:48,911 who are--they're the problem." 136 00:07:49,011 --> 00:07:51,914 They're the ones who set the place on fire. 137 00:07:52,014 --> 00:07:53,482 Let's do terrible things to them. 138 00:07:57,686 --> 00:08:00,322 narrator: Nero orders his soldiers to round up 139 00:08:00,389 --> 00:08:03,592 as many Christians as they can find. 140 00:08:03,692 --> 00:08:06,061 - Nero had them hung to poles 141 00:08:06,161 --> 00:08:08,697 and burned alive in his gardens. 142 00:08:09,365 --> 00:08:11,834 - He had some of them torn up by wild animals. 143 00:08:18,040 --> 00:08:19,575 narrator: It isn't long before Peter 144 00:08:19,675 --> 00:08:21,443 is swept up in the raids. 145 00:08:23,746 --> 00:08:24,580 He is convicted of insurrection 146 00:08:24,680 --> 00:08:27,049 and sentenced to die on the cross. 147 00:08:30,886 --> 00:08:33,088 - He is crucified upside down, 148 00:08:33,188 --> 00:08:36,292 which is a really horrible way to die. 149 00:08:36,392 --> 00:08:37,927 He says that he does not want to die 150 00:08:38,027 --> 00:08:39,128 the same way that his Lord and Savior dies. 151 00:08:39,228 --> 00:08:41,230 He wants to die upside down 152 00:08:41,297 --> 00:08:43,265 because he's not worthy do die 153 00:08:43,365 --> 00:08:45,234 in the same way that Jesus dies. 154 00:08:46,635 --> 00:08:48,971 narrator: Peter's death is a devastating loss 155 00:08:49,071 --> 00:08:50,873 to the early Christian community. 156 00:08:52,908 --> 00:08:56,378 But dying in the name of his God makes him a martyr 157 00:08:56,445 --> 00:08:59,148 and secures his legacy as the first true leader 158 00:08:59,248 --> 00:09:01,283 of the church that will one day become 159 00:09:01,383 --> 00:09:04,587 the most powerful force on the planet. 160 00:09:04,653 --> 00:09:07,656 History names Peter, 161 00:09:07,756 --> 00:09:10,459 the first Pope. 162 00:09:16,765 --> 00:09:20,669 male narrator: After Peter's violent death, 163 00:09:20,769 --> 00:09:22,571 Christians realized they must organize their movement 164 00:09:22,638 --> 00:09:25,774 if they have any hope of survival 165 00:09:25,841 --> 00:09:27,009 in the face of Roman tyranny. 166 00:09:29,845 --> 00:09:32,681 - They thought, rather like the American revolutionaries, 167 00:09:32,781 --> 00:09:34,450 as one of them said, "We all have to hang together 168 00:09:34,516 --> 00:09:36,518 or we shall surely all hang separately." 169 00:09:36,619 --> 00:09:41,590 - They created an agreement with a set of rules. 170 00:09:42,825 --> 00:09:44,493 narrator: Deep within the private library 171 00:09:44,593 --> 00:09:47,696 of the Greek Patriarch in Jerusalem lives 172 00:09:47,796 --> 00:09:51,433 the 2,000-year-old document that outlines 173 00:09:51,500 --> 00:09:54,603 the first cohesive guidelines of Christianity. 174 00:09:55,270 --> 00:09:59,141 It's called the "Didache." 175 00:10:09,652 --> 00:10:12,888 narrator: This sacred text was lost until 1883 176 00:10:12,988 --> 00:10:16,692 when a Greek translation from the 11th century was found. 177 00:10:17,493 --> 00:10:20,729 Out of fear of theft or desecration, 178 00:10:20,829 --> 00:10:24,500 it has never before been seen on camera 179 00:10:24,566 --> 00:10:25,901 until now. 180 00:10:28,470 --> 00:10:30,239 - You don't have a Bible back then. 181 00:10:30,339 --> 00:10:31,573 How do you transmit the faith? 182 00:10:31,674 --> 00:10:34,309 How do you tell them how to behave? 183 00:10:34,376 --> 00:10:37,246 How do you tell them what to do in a service? 184 00:10:37,346 --> 00:10:39,915 The "Didache" does all of that for you. 185 00:10:40,015 --> 00:10:43,585 narrator: But outlining the rules is only the first step. 186 00:10:43,686 --> 00:10:46,422 Christians also need an infrastructure 187 00:10:46,522 --> 00:10:48,090 to enforce those behaviors. 188 00:10:51,527 --> 00:10:53,595 - We tend to think about Christianity 189 00:10:53,696 --> 00:10:56,031 as being all these basilicas around the world, 190 00:10:56,098 --> 00:10:58,767 but before that, what you had were basically house churches. 191 00:10:58,867 --> 00:11:02,438 And if you had a series of small house churches, 192 00:11:02,538 --> 00:11:04,073 you needed somebody to be over that. 193 00:11:04,173 --> 00:11:07,209 - Christians were trying to set up an organized community 194 00:11:07,276 --> 00:11:08,444 so that people would recognize 195 00:11:08,544 --> 00:11:11,413 who the members of that church were. 196 00:11:11,513 --> 00:11:16,118 A kind of hierarchy sort of modeled on the Roman army. 197 00:11:16,218 --> 00:11:18,287 - "Bishop of" means the most senior churchman 198 00:11:18,387 --> 00:11:20,622 in that particular city. 199 00:11:22,391 --> 00:11:24,026 narrator: Because Rome is the capital 200 00:11:24,093 --> 00:11:25,294 and the center of the empire, 201 00:11:25,394 --> 00:11:28,697 the Bishop of Rome becomes the leader of the other bishops, 202 00:11:28,764 --> 00:11:33,035 a position that will eventually become known 203 00:11:33,102 --> 00:11:35,104 as Pope. 204 00:11:38,307 --> 00:11:39,908 In the 200 years after Peter's crucifixion, 205 00:11:39,975 --> 00:11:44,313 bishops and their followers continue to be persecuted 206 00:11:44,413 --> 00:11:48,484 and executed by Roman emperors... 207 00:11:48,584 --> 00:11:51,820 until an unlikely hero emerges. 208 00:11:56,759 --> 00:11:58,961 - Constantine was a great military commander, 209 00:11:59,061 --> 00:12:02,131 and when it was his turn to become a junior emperor, 210 00:12:02,231 --> 00:12:05,567 he decided to fight his competition. 211 00:12:05,634 --> 00:12:08,003 narrator: Constantine, the pagan commander 212 00:12:08,103 --> 00:12:09,004 of Rome's western army, 213 00:12:09,104 --> 00:12:10,906 declares war on the commander of the east 214 00:12:10,973 --> 00:12:15,010 to decide who will be sole emperor of Rome. 215 00:12:17,446 --> 00:12:18,480 On the day before the battle, 216 00:12:18,580 --> 00:12:22,284 he has a startling vision. 217 00:12:22,351 --> 00:12:25,821 - He looks up and he sees a sign of the cross. 218 00:12:28,857 --> 00:12:31,527 - And he thought it was a promise from Jesus 219 00:12:31,627 --> 00:12:33,295 that he would win the battle. 220 00:12:41,170 --> 00:12:44,039 narrator: Constantine does win the battle, 221 00:12:44,139 --> 00:12:47,209 and the new emperor is forever changed by his vision. 222 00:12:50,479 --> 00:12:52,214 - He decides he's gonna be a Christian. 223 00:12:54,516 --> 00:12:55,818 narrator: One of his first official acts 224 00:12:55,884 --> 00:12:58,387 as the first Christian Emperor of Rome 225 00:12:58,487 --> 00:13:00,789 is to issue the Edict of Milan. 226 00:13:00,856 --> 00:13:05,060 This not only makes Christianity legal, 227 00:13:05,160 --> 00:13:06,361 but favored. 228 00:13:06,461 --> 00:13:07,729 - This is the big one. 229 00:13:07,830 --> 00:13:11,200 For the first time, a Roman emperor decided 230 00:13:11,300 --> 00:13:12,568 to ally with the church. 231 00:13:12,668 --> 00:13:14,970 That meant, the whole of the known world 232 00:13:15,037 --> 00:13:17,339 was at the disposal of the church. 233 00:13:19,141 --> 00:13:20,409 narrator: As Constantine moves Christianity 234 00:13:20,509 --> 00:13:22,878 from outlaw to exulted, 235 00:13:22,978 --> 00:13:26,181 church and state become intertwined. 236 00:13:27,182 --> 00:13:28,584 - Constantine saw in Christianity 237 00:13:28,684 --> 00:13:31,220 a way of uniting the empire, 238 00:13:31,320 --> 00:13:34,089 a new ideology 239 00:13:34,189 --> 00:13:36,425 that would give everybody the same God, 240 00:13:36,525 --> 00:13:38,927 the same moral values. 241 00:13:39,027 --> 00:13:41,597 - Constantine, by legalizing Christianity, 242 00:13:41,697 --> 00:13:43,899 opened up a space where the Bishop of Rome 243 00:13:43,999 --> 00:13:44,900 could become a permanent fixture 244 00:13:45,000 --> 00:13:47,870 on both the spiritual and the political scene. 245 00:13:47,936 --> 00:13:51,006 - What Constantine did is take the bishops 246 00:13:51,073 --> 00:13:53,108 who had been previously persecuted 247 00:13:53,208 --> 00:13:54,743 and make them his agents. 248 00:13:54,843 --> 00:13:56,778 He treated them like members of his administration. 249 00:13:56,879 --> 00:13:59,948 So now he would take the Bishop of Egypt, 250 00:14:00,048 --> 00:14:01,783 the Bishop of Jerusalem, and the Bishop of Athens, 251 00:14:01,884 --> 00:14:05,020 and state power would go through them. 252 00:14:05,087 --> 00:14:06,455 - Bishops become important people 253 00:14:06,555 --> 00:14:07,789 in the local community. 254 00:14:07,890 --> 00:14:12,127 If people have disputes with each other, 255 00:14:12,227 --> 00:14:16,798 they are likely to go to a bishop get it sorted out. 256 00:14:16,899 --> 00:14:19,635 - You had to go to him to get the food supply. 257 00:14:19,735 --> 00:14:22,871 That made him enormously wealthy 258 00:14:22,938 --> 00:14:25,908 and enormously influential. 259 00:14:25,974 --> 00:14:26,808 narrator: Constantine gives Romans 260 00:14:26,909 --> 00:14:29,578 a political and financial incentive 261 00:14:29,645 --> 00:14:30,746 to convert to Christianity. 262 00:14:30,812 --> 00:14:33,982 He gives Christians tax breaks 263 00:14:34,082 --> 00:14:37,219 and makes churches tax exempt. 264 00:14:37,286 --> 00:14:39,621 - Constantine is the reason why churches 265 00:14:39,721 --> 00:14:42,257 are now in the U.S. tax free entities. 266 00:14:42,324 --> 00:14:43,792 Constantine is the reason why 267 00:14:43,892 --> 00:14:45,661 churches have this special status. 268 00:14:45,761 --> 00:14:47,663 - From the time of Constantine, 269 00:14:47,763 --> 00:14:50,832 the church had been the ally of the emperor 270 00:14:50,933 --> 00:14:54,303 and the church became the ally of rulers 271 00:14:54,403 --> 00:14:55,904 as rulers became Christian. 272 00:14:55,971 --> 00:14:58,573 There was no feeling that there should be a separation 273 00:14:58,640 --> 00:15:00,442 between church and state. 274 00:15:00,509 --> 00:15:02,778 Church and state work together. 275 00:15:04,479 --> 00:15:06,348 narrator: To honor his newfound faith, 276 00:15:06,448 --> 00:15:08,951 Constantine commissions spectacular building projects 277 00:15:09,017 --> 00:15:12,754 in Christ's name throughout the empire. 278 00:15:14,122 --> 00:15:16,191 Among the most famous of them, 279 00:15:16,291 --> 00:15:18,360 the Church of the Holy Sepulchre 280 00:15:18,460 --> 00:15:19,695 in Jerusalem. 281 00:15:19,795 --> 00:15:22,197 - The Church of the Holy Sepulchre 282 00:15:22,297 --> 00:15:25,834 is one of the holiest places in Christendom. 283 00:15:25,934 --> 00:15:26,868 The slab on the floor is place 284 00:15:26,969 --> 00:15:30,639 where they say Jesus was originally buried. 285 00:15:32,140 --> 00:15:35,377 narrator: But almost as soon as Christians are free 286 00:15:35,477 --> 00:15:37,779 from Roman persecution, 287 00:15:37,846 --> 00:15:39,548 they begin fighting with each other. 288 00:15:42,651 --> 00:15:44,152 - Biggest problem during this time was doctrine. 289 00:15:44,219 --> 00:15:47,389 In some people's eyes, Jesus was born of a woman, 290 00:15:47,489 --> 00:15:48,323 he can't be divine, 291 00:15:48,390 --> 00:15:50,692 and there's big questions about whether-- 292 00:15:50,792 --> 00:15:53,895 is Jesus a human, is he divine, is he both? 293 00:15:53,996 --> 00:15:55,831 - You would think, "Wow, this is kind of hair splitting 294 00:15:55,897 --> 00:15:58,066 doctrinal difference here," but there w-- 295 00:15:58,166 --> 00:16:00,235 you know, some people were willing to kill you for that. 296 00:16:00,335 --> 00:16:00,702 See? So... 297 00:16:00,802 --> 00:16:03,305 Christians... 298 00:16:03,372 --> 00:16:04,906 willing to kill other Christians 299 00:16:05,007 --> 00:16:07,175 for those differences. 300 00:16:07,242 --> 00:16:08,076 narrator: To unite the empire, 301 00:16:08,176 --> 00:16:10,645 Constantine must gather his bishops 302 00:16:10,712 --> 00:16:12,214 under one church 303 00:16:12,314 --> 00:16:15,751 or risk having the Christian Empire he's built 304 00:16:15,851 --> 00:16:19,187 come crashing down. 305 00:16:29,164 --> 00:16:29,664 male narrator: Under Constantine 306 00:16:29,731 --> 00:16:32,601 and the Bishop of Rome, 307 00:16:32,701 --> 00:16:36,171 Christianity has gone from an outlawed sect 308 00:16:36,238 --> 00:16:38,940 to the ruling force of the Western world. 309 00:16:39,041 --> 00:16:41,843 - Constantine was both the head of the state 310 00:16:41,910 --> 00:16:43,612 and he was the head of the church. 311 00:16:43,712 --> 00:16:47,049 He was still a Roman and in the old Roman religion 312 00:16:47,115 --> 00:16:49,684 the emperor was also the chief priest. 313 00:16:49,751 --> 00:16:54,122 Constantine definitely took that approach to his faith 314 00:16:54,222 --> 00:16:56,224 rather than, you know, what we would now think of 315 00:16:56,291 --> 00:16:58,960 as more of a separation of powers. 316 00:16:59,061 --> 00:17:00,562 narrator: But despite Christianity's 317 00:17:00,629 --> 00:17:02,264 new political advantage, 318 00:17:02,364 --> 00:17:04,366 after centuries of being persecuted 319 00:17:04,433 --> 00:17:06,968 for not believing in the Roman gods, 320 00:17:07,069 --> 00:17:09,538 Christians are now killing each other 321 00:17:09,604 --> 00:17:12,441 over disputes in church doctrine. 322 00:17:14,443 --> 00:17:19,047 - Constantine needed a way to bind this empire together. 323 00:17:19,114 --> 00:17:22,484 He conquered it, but it was crumbling. 324 00:17:24,419 --> 00:17:26,254 - He was angry and said, "Look, 325 00:17:26,321 --> 00:17:28,457 these things you're quarreling about are just trivial. 326 00:17:28,557 --> 00:17:31,760 I stopped the persecutions, you should be grateful." 327 00:17:32,461 --> 00:17:35,330 So he called a council to unify the church. 328 00:17:40,635 --> 00:17:42,971 - The Council of Nicaea is the first time you bring 329 00:17:43,071 --> 00:17:44,439 all of the bishops together 330 00:17:44,506 --> 00:17:45,941 and have them start to talk to each other. 331 00:17:46,007 --> 00:17:48,343 narrator: The Council marks 332 00:17:48,443 --> 00:17:50,846 the first meeting of senior church leaders. 333 00:17:50,946 --> 00:17:54,850 The foundation of the Pope's college of cardinals today. 334 00:17:54,950 --> 00:17:55,851 - The bishops were commissioned to write 335 00:17:55,951 --> 00:17:59,287 what a Christian should believe. 336 00:17:59,354 --> 00:18:02,090 - Constantine manages to get the bishops to agree 337 00:18:02,157 --> 00:18:04,359 on one singular statement of faith 338 00:18:04,459 --> 00:18:07,929 still used to unify Christians today, 339 00:18:07,996 --> 00:18:09,531 the Nicene Creed. 340 00:18:09,631 --> 00:18:11,633 - The Creed says, "We believe in Jesus Christ, 341 00:18:11,700 --> 00:18:13,335 the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth," 342 00:18:13,435 --> 00:18:15,871 and the Council decides that Jesus is fully human 343 00:18:15,971 --> 00:18:17,672 and fully divine. 344 00:18:17,772 --> 00:18:19,875 - Constantine declared, "If you sign it, 345 00:18:19,975 --> 00:18:22,210 "you're a Christian and you're part of us, 346 00:18:22,310 --> 00:18:24,112 "and if you don't, you're excommunicated, 347 00:18:24,179 --> 00:18:27,482 you're out. You'll probably go to hell." 348 00:18:27,549 --> 00:18:30,385 So this became the battling cry 349 00:18:30,485 --> 00:18:32,554 for Catholics throughout the world. 350 00:18:40,829 --> 00:18:43,231 narrator: With the church unified after Nicaea, 351 00:18:43,331 --> 00:18:45,700 Constantine looks to further stabilize 352 00:18:45,800 --> 00:18:48,403 the religious foundation of his empire. 353 00:18:50,305 --> 00:18:54,976 He establishes a second hub of church power in the East. 354 00:18:55,043 --> 00:18:58,914 He names the new capital after himself, 355 00:18:59,014 --> 00:19:01,650 and calls it Constantinople. 356 00:19:01,716 --> 00:19:03,919 - There's a bit of back and forth 357 00:19:04,019 --> 00:19:07,055 between Rome and Constantinople. 358 00:19:07,155 --> 00:19:08,823 - The Christians in the East 359 00:19:08,890 --> 00:19:10,926 tend to look at the Christians in the West 360 00:19:11,026 --> 00:19:13,094 as just being barbarians. 361 00:19:13,195 --> 00:19:15,430 They would say that the Catholics in the West 362 00:19:15,530 --> 00:19:18,700 baptize their children in wolf saliva. 363 00:19:18,767 --> 00:19:20,769 The westerners tend to look at the East 364 00:19:20,869 --> 00:19:23,772 as being not strong, you know, of feat. 365 00:19:26,541 --> 00:19:27,609 narrator: The hierarchy of clergy 366 00:19:27,709 --> 00:19:31,079 under bishops who reported to the Bishop of Rome 367 00:19:31,179 --> 00:19:33,248 had been working well, 368 00:19:33,348 --> 00:19:36,685 but now with Constantinople acting as a second capital, 369 00:19:36,751 --> 00:19:38,253 there is a second bishop 370 00:19:38,353 --> 00:19:41,523 who believes that he should be in charge. 371 00:19:42,557 --> 00:19:45,093 - There were disputes between the Bishop of Rome, 372 00:19:45,193 --> 00:19:46,861 the Bishop of Constantinople. 373 00:19:46,928 --> 00:19:50,031 Each one saw himself as a very powerful leader, 374 00:19:50,098 --> 00:19:52,601 and each one was... 375 00:19:52,701 --> 00:19:55,604 competing with the others for authority. 376 00:19:55,704 --> 00:19:57,806 narrator: Despite Constantine's best efforts 377 00:19:57,906 --> 00:20:01,743 to unify his empire under one church, 378 00:20:01,810 --> 00:20:05,313 the East and West remain at odds. 379 00:20:06,915 --> 00:20:09,584 Seven years after the Council of Nicaea, 380 00:20:09,651 --> 00:20:11,786 Constantine dies... 381 00:20:13,488 --> 00:20:15,790 Leaving the church still divided 382 00:20:15,890 --> 00:20:20,295 and Rome without a strong military leader. 383 00:20:25,233 --> 00:20:28,670 For over 100 years following Constantine's death, 384 00:20:28,770 --> 00:20:30,305 Rome is under attack 385 00:20:30,405 --> 00:20:32,641 from pagan barbarians to the north. 386 00:20:37,279 --> 00:20:39,314 After a series of invasions and bloody clashes, 387 00:20:39,414 --> 00:20:44,319 the barbarians overthrow the last emperor of Rome. 388 00:20:46,454 --> 00:20:50,125 The Eternal City, once home to 2 million people, 389 00:20:50,191 --> 00:20:53,995 is reduced to less than 30,000. 390 00:20:56,765 --> 00:20:57,999 Once the political and spiritual 391 00:20:58,099 --> 00:21:00,368 center of the empire, 392 00:21:00,468 --> 00:21:02,470 Rome is now almost abandoned, 393 00:21:02,537 --> 00:21:06,107 and stays that way for nearly 200 years. 394 00:21:07,809 --> 00:21:10,779 - Rome in the sixth century was 395 00:21:10,845 --> 00:21:13,014 muddier and messier 396 00:21:13,114 --> 00:21:16,051 and perhaps less efficiently governed 397 00:21:16,151 --> 00:21:18,987 than it had been in the time of Constantine. 398 00:21:24,626 --> 00:21:27,896 - Rome is not a good place to live. 399 00:21:27,996 --> 00:21:29,297 It's very dangerous, 400 00:21:29,364 --> 00:21:31,733 the standard of living is very low. 401 00:21:31,833 --> 00:21:33,668 - Rome is virtually gone, 402 00:21:33,735 --> 00:21:35,970 the church's center was in Constantinople. 403 00:21:37,906 --> 00:21:39,574 narrator: As Rome falls 404 00:21:39,674 --> 00:21:42,544 and Constantinople flourishes, 405 00:21:42,644 --> 00:21:45,547 much of the churches terminology becomes Greek 406 00:21:45,647 --> 00:21:47,048 instead of Latin. 407 00:21:47,148 --> 00:21:49,551 The Bishop of Rome begins to be referred to 408 00:21:49,651 --> 00:21:51,686 with the Greek word for "father," 409 00:21:51,753 --> 00:21:54,055 Pappas, or "Pope." 410 00:21:55,657 --> 00:21:58,393 During this period of barbarian invasions, 411 00:21:58,493 --> 00:22:01,763 there is no centralized government left in Rome. 412 00:22:01,863 --> 00:22:04,599 The church is the only institution capable 413 00:22:04,699 --> 00:22:07,769 of addressing the needs of its suffering community. 414 00:22:07,869 --> 00:22:09,938 - This is a time when the Pope is not 415 00:22:10,038 --> 00:22:12,507 just the head of the church, he's also the ruler of Rome. 416 00:22:12,574 --> 00:22:14,442 - The people of Rome were enormously dependent 417 00:22:14,542 --> 00:22:16,211 on the church as a state, 418 00:22:16,277 --> 00:22:18,413 so not as a church that oversaw 419 00:22:18,513 --> 00:22:20,215 the relationship between God and man, 420 00:22:20,281 --> 00:22:22,450 but as a church that oversaw 421 00:22:22,550 --> 00:22:25,420 food, water, safety. 422 00:22:27,288 --> 00:22:30,058 narrator: But powerful pagan families 423 00:22:30,125 --> 00:22:32,260 looking to control the fallen city 424 00:22:32,360 --> 00:22:34,696 see an opportunity. 425 00:22:34,763 --> 00:22:37,232 With no official means of protection, 426 00:22:37,298 --> 00:22:40,602 the papacy is about to come under direct attack. 427 00:22:48,877 --> 00:22:50,545 male narrator: By 795, 428 00:22:50,612 --> 00:22:52,881 pagan barbarian families have been battling 429 00:22:52,947 --> 00:22:56,418 for control of Rome for almost two centuries, 430 00:22:56,484 --> 00:22:59,654 and the papacy is all that stands in the way. 431 00:23:08,897 --> 00:23:11,666 - The Lombards are one of the barbarian invaders 432 00:23:11,766 --> 00:23:13,802 of the Italian Peninsula. 433 00:23:13,902 --> 00:23:16,304 They seek to conquer Rome 434 00:23:16,404 --> 00:23:17,972 and take over the territory 435 00:23:18,072 --> 00:23:21,509 that's being ruled by the papacy. 436 00:23:26,681 --> 00:23:28,349 narrator: During an Easter procession, 437 00:23:28,450 --> 00:23:32,320 the Lombards viciously attack Pope Leo III. 438 00:23:32,420 --> 00:23:36,090 - Their faction wrestles him to the ground 439 00:23:36,157 --> 00:23:37,992 and cut off his tongue. 440 00:23:38,092 --> 00:23:41,463 But he lives through it. 441 00:23:43,431 --> 00:23:46,334 narrator: Pope Leo III realizes 442 00:23:46,434 --> 00:23:47,135 that he needs protection, 443 00:23:47,202 --> 00:23:50,305 and with no army of his own, 444 00:23:50,371 --> 00:23:51,706 he must make an alliance. 445 00:23:55,944 --> 00:24:00,515 He chooses the most powerful king in the Western Empire, 446 00:24:00,615 --> 00:24:02,951 Charles the Great of France, 447 00:24:03,017 --> 00:24:05,553 better known as Charlemagne. 448 00:24:08,156 --> 00:24:10,692 On Christmas Day in the year 800, 449 00:24:10,792 --> 00:24:12,460 Pope Leo III calls Charlemagne to Rome 450 00:24:12,527 --> 00:24:16,331 where he crowns him Holy Roman Emperor. 451 00:24:17,632 --> 00:24:20,068 - Charlemagne took on himself 452 00:24:20,168 --> 00:24:22,670 the role of defender of the faith. 453 00:24:24,172 --> 00:24:25,974 - The moment that Leo III crowns Charlemagne 454 00:24:26,040 --> 00:24:27,742 is really important because what it does, 455 00:24:27,842 --> 00:24:30,411 it puts the church back together 456 00:24:30,512 --> 00:24:32,847 with the empire. 457 00:24:32,914 --> 00:24:35,049 If you have the Pope crowning a king, 458 00:24:35,149 --> 00:24:37,185 that means the Pope is giving that earthly king 459 00:24:37,252 --> 00:24:40,555 temporal and divine power. 460 00:24:42,390 --> 00:24:44,225 narrator: Pope Leo III's decision 461 00:24:44,325 --> 00:24:46,995 to crown Charlemagne as Holy Roman Emperor 462 00:24:47,061 --> 00:24:48,263 marks the papacy's conscious pivot 463 00:24:48,363 --> 00:24:51,599 away from the Eastern church. 464 00:24:52,734 --> 00:24:55,103 - The relations between Rome and Eastern Christians 465 00:24:55,203 --> 00:24:58,439 had not been good for a while. 466 00:25:00,041 --> 00:25:01,442 - Charlemagne, in his view, he was now 467 00:25:01,543 --> 00:25:03,878 the only legitimate Christian emperor left. 468 00:25:03,945 --> 00:25:05,280 As he grew in power, 469 00:25:05,380 --> 00:25:08,249 developed a very standoffish relationship 470 00:25:08,349 --> 00:25:11,352 with the ruler of Constantinople. 471 00:25:11,419 --> 00:25:14,122 - And that really is the start of the schism 472 00:25:14,222 --> 00:25:17,859 between the Orthodox Church and the Catholic Church. 473 00:25:20,728 --> 00:25:23,398 narrator: In the two centuries after Charlemagne 474 00:25:23,464 --> 00:25:25,300 and Pope Leo III unite Western Europe 475 00:25:25,400 --> 00:25:29,103 under the papacy in Rome, 476 00:25:29,203 --> 00:25:30,705 the Eastern part of the empire breaks off 477 00:25:30,772 --> 00:25:35,143 and begins to call itself the Greek Orthodox Church 478 00:25:35,243 --> 00:25:37,745 under the Patriarch in Constantinople. 479 00:25:37,812 --> 00:25:40,481 - The word "Catholic" originally meant "universal." 480 00:25:40,582 --> 00:25:43,651 Until the 11th century, there was just the one church. 481 00:25:44,586 --> 00:25:47,722 It wasn't until a church at Constantinople 482 00:25:47,789 --> 00:25:50,558 broke off from its allegiance to the Pope 483 00:25:50,625 --> 00:25:53,428 that we begin to see references to the Roman Catholic Church 484 00:25:53,494 --> 00:25:56,397 as no longer meaning "universal," 485 00:25:56,464 --> 00:25:57,832 but meaning the church centered at Rome. 486 00:26:04,772 --> 00:26:06,574 narrator: 200 years after the historic alliance 487 00:26:06,641 --> 00:26:11,279 between Charlemagne and Pope Leo III, 488 00:26:11,346 --> 00:26:13,982 Pope Urban II rules the Western empire 489 00:26:14,082 --> 00:26:15,817 from Rome 490 00:26:15,917 --> 00:26:19,654 and the Patriarch reigns over the East from Constantinople. 491 00:26:21,289 --> 00:26:24,025 Until Constantinople finds itself facing 492 00:26:24,125 --> 00:26:26,794 an imminent threat. 493 00:26:27,996 --> 00:26:32,033 - Islam is the super power of the Medieval Period. 494 00:26:32,133 --> 00:26:34,669 They are the wealthiest, the most sophisticated. 495 00:26:34,769 --> 00:26:36,371 If I was betting at the time, I would have certainly bet 496 00:26:36,471 --> 00:26:39,807 that Islam-- that the Islamic empires 497 00:26:39,874 --> 00:26:42,377 were the wave of the future. 498 00:26:42,477 --> 00:26:45,046 narrator: Muslim armies had been steadily making their way 499 00:26:45,146 --> 00:26:46,214 through the Arabian Peninsula, 500 00:26:46,314 --> 00:26:51,352 conquering new lands and uniting them under Islam. 501 00:26:51,452 --> 00:26:53,655 They had long-since conquered Jerusalem, 502 00:26:53,721 --> 00:26:56,891 and were headed for the next Christian stronghold. 503 00:26:58,526 --> 00:27:01,129 - Muslims had swept through 504 00:27:01,195 --> 00:27:03,197 what we'd now say is modern Turkey, 505 00:27:03,297 --> 00:27:06,668 and really getting fairly close to Constantinople itself. 506 00:27:07,735 --> 00:27:10,571 - When you can almost see Muslims across the water, 507 00:27:10,672 --> 00:27:12,306 it's time to find the Christians 508 00:27:12,373 --> 00:27:15,143 who are left to help you. 509 00:27:25,653 --> 00:27:28,589 narrator: Emperor Alexios I of Constantinople 510 00:27:28,690 --> 00:27:31,392 writes to Pope Urban II in Rome 511 00:27:31,492 --> 00:27:34,529 pleading for aid against the Muslims. 512 00:27:36,864 --> 00:27:39,534 - Alexios is asking for a few hundred knights 513 00:27:39,600 --> 00:27:41,569 to help him defend his city. 514 00:27:41,669 --> 00:27:44,872 What he gets is something entirely different. 515 00:27:44,939 --> 00:27:47,408 Urban II is in part responding 516 00:27:47,508 --> 00:27:49,377 to an appeal from the Emperor Alexius 517 00:27:49,444 --> 00:27:51,412 As the leader of the church, 518 00:27:51,512 --> 00:27:54,182 he's looking to improve 519 00:27:54,248 --> 00:27:56,050 the spiritual well-being of his people, 520 00:27:56,117 --> 00:27:57,585 but he's also a politician. 521 00:28:03,291 --> 00:28:04,592 narrator: Seeing an opportunity 522 00:28:04,692 --> 00:28:07,361 to unite Eastern and Western Christians, 523 00:28:07,428 --> 00:28:09,797 and solidify his place as their leader, 524 00:28:09,897 --> 00:28:13,234 Pope Urban II calls an emergency gathering 525 00:28:13,301 --> 00:28:16,437 of clergy, knights, and townspeople. 526 00:28:16,537 --> 00:28:18,473 - It was probably the most famous speech made 527 00:28:18,573 --> 00:28:19,974 during the Middle Ages. 528 00:28:20,074 --> 00:28:23,745 Urban told about the plight of Christians in the East 529 00:28:23,811 --> 00:28:25,446 who had had their lands conquered, 530 00:28:25,546 --> 00:28:28,950 horrible mutilations of nuns 531 00:28:29,050 --> 00:28:30,985 and clergy and pilgrims 532 00:28:31,085 --> 00:28:31,886 because of their faith, 533 00:28:31,953 --> 00:28:35,490 and what Urban did was very clever. 534 00:28:35,590 --> 00:28:39,727 Rather than just ask them to go and fight for the East, 535 00:28:39,794 --> 00:28:42,797 he also asked them to go all the way to Jerusalem 536 00:28:42,897 --> 00:28:47,068 to restore the lands that had been taken by Muslims. 537 00:28:47,135 --> 00:28:47,935 - The response is amazing. 538 00:28:48,002 --> 00:28:49,504 - Hold your ground! - People shout, 539 00:28:49,604 --> 00:28:52,507 "Deus vult," "God wills it," 540 00:28:52,607 --> 00:28:55,009 and this is the moment that crusading begins. 541 00:28:55,109 --> 00:28:55,977 They cross Western Europe. 542 00:28:58,946 --> 00:29:02,416 - Pope Urban was an example of a new kind of Pope. 543 00:29:03,317 --> 00:29:06,354 Austere, powerful personality. 544 00:29:06,454 --> 00:29:10,024 The papacy as a self-consciously rallying, 545 00:29:10,124 --> 00:29:12,860 purifying, 546 00:29:12,960 --> 00:29:14,929 inspiring force. 547 00:29:14,996 --> 00:29:16,531 Calling on people 548 00:29:16,631 --> 00:29:19,801 to do something extraordinary for God, 549 00:29:19,867 --> 00:29:22,336 and it had enormous imaginative power. 550 00:29:24,172 --> 00:29:25,873 narrator: For the first time, the Pope, 551 00:29:25,973 --> 00:29:28,976 a religious leader once at the mercy of barbarians 552 00:29:29,043 --> 00:29:30,711 and dependent upon kings for protection, 553 00:29:30,812 --> 00:29:35,349 raises an army and commands a war. 554 00:29:43,891 --> 00:29:46,994 male narrator: In 1094, the Eastern Church calls upon 555 00:29:47,061 --> 00:29:49,463 the Pope and the West to help them fight off 556 00:29:49,530 --> 00:29:51,399 the incoming Muslim armies. 557 00:29:51,499 --> 00:29:54,068 Pope Urban II sees this 558 00:29:54,168 --> 00:29:55,903 as an opportunity to reunite Christians 559 00:29:56,003 --> 00:30:00,474 and restore the reign of the Roman Catholic Church. 560 00:30:02,910 --> 00:30:03,744 - There's a tribal aspect to it. 561 00:30:03,845 --> 00:30:06,747 That our tribe is being attacked. 562 00:30:06,848 --> 00:30:09,650 Just as we still do today. You know, 9/11. 563 00:30:09,717 --> 00:30:11,552 Someone attacks the United States, 564 00:30:11,652 --> 00:30:13,654 people are lined up at induction centers 565 00:30:13,721 --> 00:30:15,256 to go off and fight. 566 00:30:15,356 --> 00:30:17,592 narrator: When he calls for the first Crusade, 567 00:30:17,692 --> 00:30:20,094 Pope Urban II solidifies his role 568 00:30:20,194 --> 00:30:21,896 as a world power. 569 00:30:21,996 --> 00:30:26,434 The Pope is no longer just a spiritual guide, 570 00:30:26,534 --> 00:30:28,269 but a commander at the helm of an army. 571 00:30:30,571 --> 00:30:31,873 A zealous fleet of nearly 40,000 572 00:30:31,939 --> 00:30:35,209 starts the long march east towards Jerusalem. 573 00:30:37,678 --> 00:30:39,347 - The Crusades were, first and foremost, 574 00:30:39,413 --> 00:30:41,182 an act of piety. 575 00:30:41,249 --> 00:30:45,253 The Crusades are the only case I know of in human history 576 00:30:45,353 --> 00:30:48,289 in which you have thousands of warriors 577 00:30:48,389 --> 00:30:51,092 marching thousands of miles 578 00:30:51,192 --> 00:30:52,627 deep into enemy territory 579 00:30:52,727 --> 00:30:54,128 for no good strategic reason. 580 00:30:56,731 --> 00:30:58,266 narrator: The warriors begin their crusade 581 00:30:58,366 --> 00:30:59,267 through the Rhineland 582 00:30:59,367 --> 00:31:01,369 in what will become modern-day Germany. 583 00:31:08,042 --> 00:31:11,379 The destruction in the name of Christ is waged 584 00:31:11,445 --> 00:31:15,149 against all non-believers in their path. 585 00:31:15,249 --> 00:31:17,218 - One of the terrible things that this group does 586 00:31:17,285 --> 00:31:19,820 is that they attack the Jews of the Rhineland. 587 00:31:19,921 --> 00:31:22,757 - They decide that the Jews are the people 588 00:31:22,823 --> 00:31:25,159 who are responsible for the killing of Christ 589 00:31:25,259 --> 00:31:27,328 and that if they are going to act against 590 00:31:27,428 --> 00:31:28,429 the enemies of the church, 591 00:31:28,496 --> 00:31:32,466 they will do so at home before they do so abroad. 592 00:31:33,935 --> 00:31:36,270 narrator: The Rhineland massacres 593 00:31:36,337 --> 00:31:37,638 are only the beginning of what will become 594 00:31:37,738 --> 00:31:39,607 a century of religious warfare 595 00:31:39,674 --> 00:31:42,243 at the command of the Pope. 596 00:31:44,845 --> 00:31:46,647 - Once the first Crusade gets into Asia Minor, 597 00:31:46,747 --> 00:31:49,150 it's into Muslim-held territory. 598 00:31:52,153 --> 00:31:55,022 The Crusaders managed to capture the town of Nicaea... 599 00:31:56,624 --> 00:31:59,827 And then they fight a great battle against the Muslims, 600 00:31:59,927 --> 00:32:03,130 and they capture Antioch. 601 00:32:03,197 --> 00:32:07,034 narrator: Emboldened by their string of unlikely victories, 602 00:32:07,134 --> 00:32:09,971 the Crusaders are now convinced beyond all doubt 603 00:32:10,037 --> 00:32:13,107 that God is on their side. 604 00:32:13,174 --> 00:32:13,874 As they prepare to deliver 605 00:32:13,975 --> 00:32:16,544 the crown jewel of Christianity 606 00:32:16,644 --> 00:32:18,479 back to their Pope. 607 00:32:18,546 --> 00:32:21,182 Jerusalem. 608 00:32:24,318 --> 00:32:27,154 - Their Lord, Jesus Christ, had had his lands taken, 609 00:32:27,221 --> 00:32:30,658 and it was the Crusaders responsibility, therefore, 610 00:32:30,725 --> 00:32:33,894 as his servants, to come to his aid 611 00:32:33,995 --> 00:32:35,730 to restore those lands. 612 00:32:37,965 --> 00:32:41,202 - The Crusaders were extremely violent. 613 00:32:42,203 --> 00:32:45,139 They would attack people in their homes. 614 00:32:45,206 --> 00:32:48,476 There were mass rapes, killing of children. 615 00:32:48,542 --> 00:32:51,812 They would set fire to entire residential neighborhoods. 616 00:32:51,879 --> 00:32:52,346 It was horrible. 617 00:32:55,383 --> 00:32:57,752 - They succeeded in liberating the city of Jerusalem 618 00:32:57,852 --> 00:32:59,420 from the hands of the Muslims. 619 00:33:02,923 --> 00:33:05,192 And this, for generations, 620 00:33:05,259 --> 00:33:07,661 will be hailed and recognized. 621 00:33:09,363 --> 00:33:12,199 narrator: After 400 years as a Muslim temple, 622 00:33:12,266 --> 00:33:13,701 the Crusaders replaced the crescent 623 00:33:13,768 --> 00:33:16,437 atop the sacred Dome of the Rock 624 00:33:16,537 --> 00:33:20,041 with a cross and turn it into a church. 625 00:33:20,107 --> 00:33:22,243 - Partly motivated by religious zeal, 626 00:33:22,343 --> 00:33:25,112 partly motivated by simple desire for conquest. 627 00:33:25,212 --> 00:33:27,281 The Crusaders were exclusionary. 628 00:33:27,381 --> 00:33:31,786 Muslims were not allowed to live in Christian areas. 629 00:33:35,623 --> 00:33:38,859 - Jerusalem remains in Christian hands until 1187 630 00:33:38,926 --> 00:33:41,028 when Saladin, the hero of Islam, 631 00:33:41,095 --> 00:33:44,098 draws together the Muslim nearest 632 00:33:44,198 --> 00:33:45,466 to recover the Holy Land. 633 00:33:50,071 --> 00:33:54,742 narrator: As the Muslims close in on Jerusalem once again, 634 00:33:54,809 --> 00:33:56,710 Pope Urban III realizes 635 00:33:56,777 --> 00:34:00,815 that in his predecessors quest to defend Christianity, 636 00:34:00,915 --> 00:34:03,818 he may have invited its demise. 637 00:34:15,563 --> 00:34:17,965 - The Pope really has to walk a tight wire 638 00:34:18,065 --> 00:34:20,101 when he comes through the Holy Land. 639 00:34:22,136 --> 00:34:25,473 You have Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. 640 00:34:25,573 --> 00:34:29,910 Massive faiths basically living on top of each other here. 641 00:34:31,779 --> 00:34:34,648 male narrator: In 2014, Pope Francis attempts 642 00:34:34,748 --> 00:34:38,519 to unify three major religions in spite of the centuries 643 00:34:38,619 --> 00:34:40,754 of Holy War that has divided them. 644 00:34:43,023 --> 00:34:45,359 Pope Urban II called for violence 645 00:34:45,459 --> 00:34:50,097 in the name of one world under one Catholic church. 646 00:34:50,164 --> 00:34:51,298 And Pope Francis is still working 647 00:34:51,365 --> 00:34:54,969 to heal the wounds his predecessor inflicted 648 00:34:55,035 --> 00:34:58,139 almost 1,000 years earlier. 649 00:34:58,205 --> 00:35:00,875 - Religion produces such varied emotions. 650 00:35:03,477 --> 00:35:06,313 There's tragedy, there are crimes. 651 00:35:06,380 --> 00:35:09,283 It's a story of 2,000 years of such things, 652 00:35:09,350 --> 00:35:12,353 and the Pope's have been part of that story 653 00:35:12,453 --> 00:35:13,787 right from the start. 654 00:35:19,360 --> 00:35:20,327 narrator: In 1187, 655 00:35:20,394 --> 00:35:24,064 after only 88 years under Christian rule... 656 00:35:27,334 --> 00:35:30,504 Saladin's Muslim army defeats the Crusaders 657 00:35:30,571 --> 00:35:33,574 and reclaims the Holy Land for Islam. 658 00:35:35,342 --> 00:35:38,078 - When Saladin recovers Jerusalem in 1187, 659 00:35:38,179 --> 00:35:39,513 some of his people suggest 660 00:35:39,580 --> 00:35:41,515 they should destroy The Holy Sepulchre. 661 00:35:43,250 --> 00:35:45,052 It is Christ's tomb. 662 00:35:45,152 --> 00:35:48,722 And he says, "No, let's let it survive." 663 00:35:48,822 --> 00:35:52,059 Saladin is a man very much aware of the power of mercy. 664 00:35:52,159 --> 00:35:55,763 - His rule was very different from that of the Crusaders. 665 00:35:55,863 --> 00:35:57,765 Saladin was motivated by his belief 666 00:35:57,865 --> 00:35:59,433 that Christians, Jews, and Muslims can 667 00:35:59,533 --> 00:36:03,037 and should be able to live peacefully. 668 00:36:03,103 --> 00:36:05,372 narrator: As a symbol of a new partnership 669 00:36:05,439 --> 00:36:07,908 between Christianity and Islam, 670 00:36:08,008 --> 00:36:09,777 Saladin entrusts the key 671 00:36:09,877 --> 00:36:11,912 to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre 672 00:36:12,012 --> 00:36:14,615 to a Muslim family. 673 00:36:14,715 --> 00:36:17,751 Even today, it's a Muslim's responsibility 674 00:36:17,851 --> 00:36:19,019 to let Christian worshipers in and out 675 00:36:19,086 --> 00:36:22,856 of the holiest church in Christendom. 676 00:36:25,125 --> 00:36:27,127 Pope Urban III is forced to surrender the notion 677 00:36:27,228 --> 00:36:30,564 that Christianity must rule the world, 678 00:36:30,631 --> 00:36:32,533 and negotiate new relationships 679 00:36:32,600 --> 00:36:33,968 with other faiths. 680 00:36:34,068 --> 00:36:37,037 - The recognition that it's a Christian space 681 00:36:37,104 --> 00:36:40,874 that has to be protected by its Muslim rulers, 682 00:36:40,941 --> 00:36:42,142 not in the sense of actually 683 00:36:42,243 --> 00:36:43,811 preventing people from coming in, 684 00:36:43,911 --> 00:36:47,147 but protecting Christians' rights to worship. 685 00:36:52,419 --> 00:36:54,288 narrator: Opening and closing the doors 686 00:36:54,388 --> 00:36:56,724 to the holiest Christian site in Jerusalem 687 00:36:56,790 --> 00:36:59,760 has been the responsibility of the al-Husseini men 688 00:36:59,827 --> 00:37:01,795 for eight centuries. 689 00:37:05,899 --> 00:37:09,770 We are protecting the church since 1187 until now. 690 00:37:11,005 --> 00:37:13,907 narrator: Saladin's gesture has come to symbolize 691 00:37:13,974 --> 00:37:16,744 much of what the modern papacy represents... 692 00:37:18,012 --> 00:37:22,416 Divine leadership in the face of warring religions. 693 00:37:52,346 --> 00:37:55,783 narrator: Today, over 1,000 years after the first Crusade, 694 00:37:55,849 --> 00:37:59,053 the Temple Mount area of the old city of Jerusalem 695 00:37:59,153 --> 00:38:02,656 is still one of the most contested places on earth. 696 00:38:04,491 --> 00:38:05,526 A fragile peace holds 697 00:38:05,626 --> 00:38:08,896 and the site seeks to become a shining example 698 00:38:08,996 --> 00:38:12,733 of three different belief systems ability to coexist. 699 00:38:41,829 --> 00:38:43,764 narrator: Throughout history, the Pope has played 700 00:38:43,864 --> 00:38:46,900 an integral role in the ongoing clash of the devout. 701 00:38:47,000 --> 00:38:50,070 Thousands of years past, 702 00:38:50,170 --> 00:38:52,773 millions of lives lost, 703 00:38:52,873 --> 00:38:54,775 but the calls to battle 704 00:38:54,875 --> 00:38:58,746 and prayers for peace still endure. 705 00:38:58,846 --> 00:39:00,714 - Human beings constantly face a challenge 706 00:39:00,781 --> 00:39:02,616 of trying to live in peace and harmony 707 00:39:02,716 --> 00:39:04,718 with people different from you. 708 00:39:04,785 --> 00:39:07,087 You've seen this throughout history. 709 00:39:08,589 --> 00:39:12,226 narrator: The worlds of Urban II and Francis 710 00:39:12,292 --> 00:39:13,594 are very different, 711 00:39:13,694 --> 00:39:16,296 but their plight remains the same. 712 00:39:16,397 --> 00:39:19,233 Both men are tasked with leading the faithful 713 00:39:19,299 --> 00:39:22,403 in a world dominated by conflicting beliefs. 714 00:39:22,469 --> 00:39:25,806 - The tremendous weight of taking on 715 00:39:25,906 --> 00:39:27,875 the shepherding of the great tradition 716 00:39:27,941 --> 00:39:30,544 and retranslating it for our time, 717 00:39:30,611 --> 00:39:34,047 it's an impossible burden to imagine, 718 00:39:34,114 --> 00:39:37,951 but isn't that also the beauty and simplicity 719 00:39:38,051 --> 00:39:39,887 of the church? 720 00:39:44,224 --> 00:39:45,793 narrator: In March of 2000, 721 00:39:45,893 --> 00:39:49,329 Pope John Paul II apologizes for the Crusades 722 00:39:49,430 --> 00:39:52,433 and the violent campaigns of his predecessors. 723 00:39:54,501 --> 00:39:56,003 - We are asking forgiveness 724 00:39:56,103 --> 00:39:58,472 for the use of violence in the name of truth 725 00:39:58,572 --> 00:40:01,642 and for the attitudes of indifference and hostility 726 00:40:01,742 --> 00:40:03,477 taken towards other religions. 727 00:40:05,813 --> 00:40:07,514 narrator: Modern Popes choose to follow 728 00:40:07,614 --> 00:40:10,918 the example of Saladin and preach coexistence, 729 00:40:10,984 --> 00:40:14,822 unlike Pope Urban II, who chose war. 730 00:40:14,922 --> 00:40:16,957 - The Pope is where you look towards 731 00:40:17,024 --> 00:40:20,461 for an example to how to live your life as a Catholic. 732 00:40:22,296 --> 00:40:25,632 narrator: But despite being a religious leader, 733 00:40:25,699 --> 00:40:29,470 the Pope's reach extends far beyond spiritual faith. 734 00:40:29,536 --> 00:40:32,172 - The Pope survives 735 00:40:32,272 --> 00:40:34,374 because it continues to speak to 736 00:40:34,475 --> 00:40:36,643 the deepest needs that people have. 737 00:40:38,045 --> 00:40:40,981 They need to know that someone is looking out for them, 738 00:40:41,048 --> 00:40:44,284 and all earthly institutions are flawed. 739 00:40:44,351 --> 00:40:46,053 But to have an institution 740 00:40:46,153 --> 00:40:49,056 which is dedicated to 741 00:40:49,156 --> 00:40:51,191 looking out in a fatherly manner 742 00:40:51,291 --> 00:40:54,695 for people who are lost and astray and suffering, 743 00:40:54,795 --> 00:40:56,463 that need will never go away. 744 00:40:58,899 --> 00:41:01,869 - Jesus said to Peter, "You are the rock, 745 00:41:01,969 --> 00:41:04,738 upon this rock, I will build my church." 746 00:41:04,838 --> 00:41:07,541 A rock doesn't move. It's permanent. 747 00:41:07,641 --> 00:41:09,576 So for faithful Catholics, 748 00:41:09,676 --> 00:41:11,144 there seems to be a mysterious 749 00:41:11,211 --> 00:41:13,146 but yet real depth of appreciation 750 00:41:13,213 --> 00:41:15,816 for the stability and permanency 751 00:41:15,883 --> 00:41:17,851 of this ideal of the papacy. 752 00:41:20,020 --> 00:41:21,655 narrator: Against all odds, 753 00:41:21,722 --> 00:41:24,191 in the face of all that has threatened his reign, 754 00:41:24,258 --> 00:41:27,694 2,000 years after the death of St. Peter, 755 00:41:27,761 --> 00:41:29,429 the Pope remains at the head 756 00:41:29,530 --> 00:41:33,600 of one of the most powerful institutions on earth.