As at the same time ascetic thinkers impressed the minds of the Christians with an inordinate estimate of the virtue of celibacy, conceptions of matrimony also changed considerably. While marriage was not condemned, it was, however, regarded as an inferior state, and it was held, that persons who had not married, but remained pure, were nobler and more exalted beings than those who had married. With the advance of such ascetic ideas a large family came to be regarded almost as a disgrace, as a proof of lasciviousness.— All these doctrines of woman’s inferiority in time corroded the ideas of the Christian nations about woman to such a degree that her position in the religious service as well as in law and in all the customs of the early Middle Ages sank to a very low level. Another reason for the failure of Christianity in regard to woman’s emancipation was that the minds of the leaders of the Church became occupied by aims which to realize seemed to them of far greater value and importance. The early Christian communities had been simple associations of believers in a common faith. They had no settled form of doctrine or rules of discipline. They even had no body of magistrates. But the moment these associations began to advance and became a corporation, they started to mould a form of doctrine. At the same time the elders, who taught and preached, and morally governed the congregation, became priests, while those, who did service as overseers or inspectors, became bishops. Among the latter the bishops of Rome adopted not only the title of Pontiff or High-Priest, but also assumed dictatorship over the bishops of all other dioceses. Professing to be of divine appointment and the representative of Christ they claimed in his name authority over all things, both temporal and spiritual. Accordingly they made the propagation of the Christian faith throughout the world their chief mission and organized for this purpose an army of clerical dignitaries, who held themselves responsible to no other authority but the Pontiff or Pope, to whom they were bound by the strongest vows. Also numerous orders of monks and nuns were established, who assisted greatly in the extension and strengthening of the Church. The influence on human progress and culture of these vast religious armies has always been greatly overrated. No doubt, under the management of the monasteries and nunneries large tracts of virgin soil and forests were cultivated, and that architecture and art, as long as they served the interests of the Church, were patronized. But it is equally true that the Church tried to prevent its followers from thinking independently, that great masses of people, particularly those of the rural districts, were held in strict servitude and mental bondage, and that education and science were grossly neglected. Any attempts to question the authority of the Church or the truth of the Scriptures, were cursed as heresy and punished with death.