When, in 752, Pipin, the king of the Franks, presented to the Pope a large territory in Central Italy, the Pope became a temporal prince. From now on the Popes continually sought to increase their temporal power and speak the decisive word in the councils of the mighty of this earth. The man who raised popery to the highest pinnacle of its power was Pope Gregory VII, formerly a monk called Hildebrand, the son of an artisan. In 1073 he ascended the papal throne. He forbade the priests to marry, and demanded that all bishops, who at that time were also temporal princes, should receive their office and their possessions, even their temporal power, not from their worldly overlords, but from his hands. He asserted: "As the moon receives its light from the sun, so emperors and princes receive their power from the Pope. The Pope is the viceregent of Christ upon earth, where the mighty of this world owe him obedience; he alone has the right and the power to appoint them to office, or to depose them." Gregory died 1085. His successors accepted his principles. Thus Innocent III demeaned himself as the absolute spiritual lord and master over all Christian princes and kings, and forced them to submit to his power. Then the word of Holy Scriptures, concerning the Roman Popes, came to pass, 2 Thess. 2, 4: "Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshiped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God." 2. THE FALSE DOCTRINES OF POPERY. Sad, indeed, grew the condition of the church under the Popes. Many bishops and priests busied themselves more with worldly affairs than with the Word of God and the welfare of the church. The people were shamefully neglected. Generally speaking, they had no schools, no books, and, especially, no Bibles. There was scarcely any Christian knowledge, for the Word of the Lord was hidden in those days. In consequence of this the saddest ignorance prevailed everywhere among the common people. Such being the conditions, it was a small matter for Satan to sow his tares among the wheat. With increasing frequency false doctrines appeared in the church and displaced the Word of God. For some time already mass had been celebrated instead of Holy Communion. For the superstition had arisen, that Christ was sacrificed anew by the priest when mass was celebrated on the altar. This false doctrine was supported by the other superstition that through his consecration the priest changed the bread and the wine into the real body and blood of Christ. Because they feared that the blood of Christ might be spilled they denied the cup to the laity, and thus mutilated the Lord's Supper.