Henry believed that this would empower the church over the monarchy and disputed this. There was a dispute over who would control the bishopric of Milan and the Pope Gregory would excommunicate King Henry and King Henry would have his bishops depose the pope. These conflicts of growing papal power over the state would be the issues of many conflicts throughout the middle ages. Pope Urban II would continue with the reforms of Pope Gregory but in a less drastic way. Pope Urban organized the church into different office and divisions that were each responsible for different tasks, much like our branches of government. His reforms however, did organize the church into a very strong, organized, hierarchical system that would make the church a threat to the power of the monarchs. The structure of the church was much like that of the government. The pope was at the top of the hierarchical system. The pope was advised by a counsel of cardinals known as the papal curia. This counsel would elect new popes when they died. The archbishops were under the cardinals and they controlled large regions called archdioceses. These archdioceses were divided into smaller dioceses controlled by a bishop. These smaller dioceses were divided yet again in to parishes that were controlled by priests chosen by the bishop. This bishop was supposed to responsible only to the pope (Speilvogel 248). In the thirteenth century, the church reached the apex of its power, this was made most evident by the influence Pope Innocent III had over the monarchs of Europe. Pope Innocent believed that the Pope was the supreme judge of all European affairs (Speilvogel 248), and intervened on the business of the European monarchs. He forced King Phillip II of France to take back his wife after his marriage had been annulled. The pope made it possible for the emperor of his choice to become emperor of Germany. He also forced King John of England to accept his choice ...
