3 articles.
This brief essay will examine some of the distinctives of Baptist leadership in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries and compare them with Baptist convictions today. The primary focus will be on lay leadership, which is explicitly concerned with the Baptist doctrines of regenerate church membership and the priesthood of all believers.
The Medieval Era, also known as the Middle Ages, spanned from the late fifth century to the late fifteenth century. After the fall of the Roman Empire in 476 AD, Europe entered a period of profound change, affecting various aspects of society, including religion. Of course, "the church itself was a political and culture-shaping enterprise," entangled with society, yet changing along with it, developing in new ways while striving to remain faithful to the Christian message of Christ crucified for the salvation of sinners.
In the fourteenth and early fifteenth century, the Roman Catholic church was haunted by a period of papal contest. The papacy's move to Avignon was one that was supported by many and condemned by others. These events lead to two popes within Catholicism: a pope in Rome and another in Avignon.