Gregory VII, Saint (1020?-1085), was elected pope in 1073. He renewed the papal decrees that forbade marriage of the clergy and simony (selling of church offices). He also began a reform program that prohibited lay investiture, by which laymen granted churchmen the symbols of their offices. The right to perform this ceremony gave laymen control over who received church offices.
The prohibition of lay investiture brought Gregory into conflict with Emperor Henry IV. For centuries, the Holy Roman emperors had appointed priests, abbots, and bishops. Gregory claimed that only the church had this right. After disputes over several church appointments, Henry called a council of bishops and declared the pope deposed. In response, Gregory excommunicated Henry and released his subjects from obedience to him. Because many of the German princes supported the pope, Henry submitted to Gregory at the castle of Canossa in 1077. But the dispute flared up again. In 1080, Gregory again excommunicated Henry and declared him deposed. No pope had ever tried to depose an emperor. That year, Henry and a council of German bishops elected an antipope, Clement III. Henry had him crowned pope in 1084 after the emperor captured Rome. Gregory died in exile on May 25, 1085.
Gregory was born in Tuscany, Italy. His given name was Hildebrand.
