Increase in Political Power of the Church.--Under Philip the Second, the champion of ecclesiasticism, the Spanish crown cemented the union of the monarchy with the church and devoted the resources of the empire, not only to colonial acquisition, but to combating the Protestant revolution on the one hand and heathenism on the other. The Spanish king effected so close a union of the church and state in Spain, that from this time on churchmen rose higher and higher in the Spanish councils, and profoundly influenced the policy and fate of the nation. The policy of Philip the Second, however, brought upon Spain the revolt of the Dutch Lowlands and the wars with England, and her struggle with these two nations drained her resources both on land and sea, and occasioned a physical and moral decline. But while Spain was constantly losing power and prestige in Europe, the king was extending his colonial domain, lending royal aid to the ambitious adventurer and to the ardent missionary friar. Spain's object being to christianize as well as to conquer, the missionary became a very important figure in the history of every colonial enterprise, and these great orders to whom missions were intrusted thus became the central institutions in the history of the Philippines. The Rise of Monasticism.--Monasticism was introduced into Europe from the East at the very commencement of the Middle Ages. The fundamental idea of the old monasticism was retirement from human society in the belief that the world was bad and could not be bettered, and that men could lead holier lives and better please God by forsaking secular employments and family relations, and devoting all their attention to purifying their characters. The first monastic order in Europe were the Benedictines, organized in the seventh century, whose rule and organization were the pattern for those that followed. The clergy of the church were divided thus into two groups,--first, the parish priests, or ministers, who lived among the people over whom they exercised the care of souls, and who, because they were of the people themselves and lived their lives in association with the community, were known as the "secular clergy," and second, the monks, or "regular clergy," were so called because they lived under the "rule" of their order. In the early part of the thirteenth century monasticism, which had waned somewhat during the preceding two centuries, received a new impetus and inspiration from the organization of new orders known as brethren or "Friars." The idea underlying their organization was noble, and above that of the old monasticism; for it was the idea of service, of ministry both to the hearts and bodies of depressed and suffering men.