The era of the Middle Ages: what is the hierarchy of the "three whales". Orthodox hierarchy

What is the hierarchy of heaven and the hierarchy of the earth in the era of the Middle Ages? It was on the principle of the first "erected" the second, which was headed by kings and popes, all the rest obeyed them. Churchmen tried to calculate exactly the same nine human categories, so that the world of the earth fully corresponded to the world of Heaven. As it turned out, they did not quite understand what a hierarchy is on earth. After all, if with the highest hierarchs - monarchs and popes - everything was clear, then the rest of the people did not "fit" into this pyramid. Then scientists joined in, who were able to divide society into "three whales" - those who pray, those who fight, and those who sow and plow.

What is the hierarchy of the "three whales" of the Middle Ages

The first step . Since people of that era believed that the most important thing is the relationship with God, then the first step of the earthly hierarchy was the higher and lower spiritual ranks. This is the highest clergy, representatives of monastic orders and monasteries, urban and rural clergymen, as well as poor monks. These people were very many - a whole army! It was believed that the clergy - it is more pleasing to the Lord occupation of earthly people, than any other.

The second step . Of course, the clergy must follow the earthly power, that is, those who are at war. In the Middle Ages, these were knights. But the concept of "knight" (as, indeed, the meaning of the word "hierarchy") is ambiguous. For someone it's a robber, thoroughly impregnated with greed, and for someone - the personification of courage, nobility and chivalry in relations with the ladies. And in all these representations there is a certain amount of truth. Among the knights were different people - scoundrels, poets, noble gentlemen, religious fanatics, and courageous soldiers. Whatever the knights, each of us the concept of "chivalry" is associated with valor and courage, and the saying "knight on a white horse" to this day, no one cancels!

The third step . This is the basis of the "three whales". The basis of the society of that era was, of course, the peasantry - those people who sow and feed. No matter how paradoxical it may sound, but to those who fed the lords, the latter were particularly unfair and biased. Although some peasants also were not a blunder and paid such a gentleman, as they say, "with the same coin." The owners of the best lands at that time were secular lords and the church.

This is the hierarchy of the "three whales" in the Middle Ages. And now imagine how many other people there were (philosophers, merchants, buffoons, pirates, artists, craftsmen, etc.), which did not belong to any of the three levels of the terrestrial hierarchical ladder! At the same time, do not confuse the profession of man and his "suit." For example, a student will never raise a coin, which the baron throws him, because he is a schoolboy, not a beggar!

Church hierarchy in our day

Today, the church hierarchy in Orthodoxy is very different from the medieval hierarchy , but nevertheless it is not a "table of ranks" for you. The church is organized according to the principle of the human body, and therefore every person belonging to it has its place there. The hierarchical system here has several steps. The two highest of them are angels and people who know the Lord. The mind that thinks outside the body, and the body containing the intelligent human soul. To the three lower levels belong animals, plants and inanimate nature.