Secular Church Hierarchy. As the organization of the church grew during the Middle Ages, so too did the social stratification of the secular clergy. Parishes were established and priests appointed to take care of these tiniest jurisdictions. The bishop, the next rank up in the secular church echelon, ruled over many parishes. The independence and political aggressivity of medieval bishops often made them ineffective in functioning as part of the larger church. At certain intervals the position of archbishop was established to group bishops into provinces under more direct supervision than that of the Pope. After all, the Pope in Rome was the leader of the whole Christian Church, and while he was in charge of all the bishops, he could not have his entire attention diverted to overseeing an obstreperous bishop or two.

Hierarchy in the Regular Clergy...