The Church’s Mission

The church had long sought to reform the secular world. In the eleventh century, during the Gregorian reform, it focused on the king. In the thirteenth century, it hoped to purify all of society. It tried to strengthen its institutions of law and justice to combat heresy and heretics, and it supported preachers who would bring the official views of the church to the streets. In this way, the church attempted to reorder the world in the image of heaven, with everyone following the laws of God as set forth by the church. It succeeded in this endeavor to some degree, but it also came up against the limits of control as dissident voices and forces clashed with its vision.