To the question: In what year did the church officially recognize that the Earth is round? given by the author Elena Yarchevskaya the best answer is The church overturned the verdict of Galileo's trial in 1972. And after another 20 years Roman Catholic Church, represented by Pope John Paul II, recognized both the verdict and the trial as a mistake.
On October 31, 1992, 359 years after the trial of Galileo Galilei, Pope John Paul II admitted that the persecution to which the scientist was subjected was a mistake: Galileo was not guilty of anything, since the teachings of Copernicus were not heresy. As is known, based on his observations of the sky, Galileo concluded that the heliocentric system of the world (the idea that the Sun is the central celestial body around which the Earth and other planets revolve) proposed by Nicolaus Copernicus is correct. Since the theory was at odds with the literal reading of some of the psalms, as well as one verse of Ecclesiastes, which speaks of the immobility of the Earth, Galileo was summoned to Rome and demanded to stop its propaganda, and the scientist was forced to comply. Since 1979, Pope John Paul II has been involved in the rehabilitation of Galileo. Now, in one of the Vatican gardens, a monument to Galileo Galilei, the Italian physicist and astronomer, will be erected. Thus the present ministers catholic church they want to apologize for the mistakes of their predecessors and recognize the merits of the scientist.
In 1990, a sculpture was placed in the courtyard of the Vatican Museum " Earth". The artist, sculptor Arnoldo Pomodoro put a special philosophical meaning into his work. A smaller ball inside a large ball means planet Earth - our planet, a large ball around it - the universe, which is inextricably linked with the Earth. Humanity, by destroying the planet with its actions, is destroying the entire universe, thereby inevitably leading to the death of oneself. The surface of the ball is deliberately made mirror-like, so that everyone looking at it sees his own reflection, feels integral part sculpture and, accordingly, the action depicted with its help.
The ban imposed by the Catholic Church on Copernicus's main work, On the Revolutions of the Celestial Spheres, was lifted much earlier - in 1828. But still, it lasted for more than two hundred years, which gave many historians of science the right to claim that Rome delayed the spread of the main scientific truth among Catholic believers for two centuries.
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Glandoder
Connoisseur
(330)
Elena, you are in vain to admire. The answer is completely wrong.
The Church never believed that the Earth was flat and therefore could never give up this idea.
The trial of Galileo had nothing to do with the shape of the Earth. There they talked about whether the Sun revolves around the earth or vice versa, as well as about insulting the Pope. Moreover, at the first trial, Galileo was acquitted and the future Pope was his lawyer. At the second trial, he was unable to prove the validity of his theory, which was based on false premises. For example, Galileo proved the rotation of the Earth around the Sun by ebb and flow of tides.
Answer from Segun78rus[guru]
Catholics or Christians in General? Then in the Bible there are also lines written about round earth. That is, Christianity recognized the crowned earth earlier than scientists came to this conclusion.
Answer from Alexey Nikolaevich[guru]
in 1979, if sclerosis does not change.
Answer from Renat Zagidulin[guru]
1985
Answer from Janelle[guru]
not so long ago
Answer from Ivanov Ivan[guru]
And contrary to popular belief, the church never delved into such issues.
The conflict with Galileo and the execution of Bruno had more deep reasons- a statement about the plurality of inhabited worlds...
Answer from Ivan Jenev[guru]
Here's a hammer!
Indeed, quite recently, but everyone is taught how to live. Council laws thousand years ago they poke you in the nose, but they themselves didn’t even know that they were living on a balloon flying in the universe.
“And yet she spins!” This phrase, according to legend, uttered by Galileo Galilei after the verdict of the Inquisition, was remembered by many in 1992, when the Vatican officially rehabilitated the great scientist. Speaking at a session of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences, John Paul II admitted the mistake that the Catholic Church made almost four centuries ago.
In 1981, the Vatican created a commission to review the Galileo case.
After 8 years, dad went to Pisa, where the great Italian was born.
And finally, the “heretic” was rehabilitated.
The history of the unequal struggle of the rebellious scientist with Catholic dogmatists began in 1613. A letter from Galileo to Abbot Castelli dates back to this time, in which he defended the heliocentric system of Copernicus. This document served as the basis for a denunciation sent straight to the Congregation of the Holy Office, in other words, the Inquisition. On March 20, 1615, the Dominican Tomaso Cechini declared Galileo's views to be contrary to the Bible, since he dared to assert that the Earth revolves around the Sun. It seemed that the “first mathematician” of the University of Florence could not escape the auto-da-fé. However, then fate turned out to be favorable to the scientist: one of the inquisitors, either out of laziness or thoughtlessness, did not see in Galileo’s views a “deviation from Catholic doctrine.” But less than a year had passed before the Inquisition declared the teachings of Copernicus heretical, and his works were included in the “index of prohibited books.” Now the sinister figure of Roberto Bellarmino, head of the Holy Office, appears for the first time in this story. The fact is that Galileo’s name was not mentioned in the Inquisition resolution. However, he was privately ordered to forget about Copernicus' theory. Bellarmino himself took on the burden of “explaining” Galileo his mistakes. In May 1616, the Jesuit cardinal published a letter to the scientist, in which he strongly advised not to “support or defend” the disgraced teaching of the heretical Pole. Galileo was forced to remain silent. Not a single line came from his brilliant pen until 1623, when Cardinal Maffeo Barberini ascended the Apostolic See. The new pope, who took the name Urban VSH, was considered a friend. Inspired by the changes in the Vatican, Galileo abandoned his “vow of silence” and wrote his famous “Dialogues on the two most important systems of the world - Ptolemaic and Copernican.” In this ingenious work, the scientist, in the form of a conversation between three interlocutors, outlined both theories of the structure of the Universe, presenting the views of Copernicus in the form of one of the hypotheses.
In 1632, after lengthy censorship delays, the book was finally published in Florence. But, of course, Galileo’s position could not escape the gaze of Cardinal Bellarmino. Catholic theologians also suffered in his “Dialogue,” whose point of view was expressed through the mouth of one of the three interlocutors with the eloquent name of Simplicio (Simplicio). Contemporaries saw in this character a hint of the pope himself.
The patience of church dogmatists was overflowing: by personal order of Urban VIII, the Inquisition summoned the 69-year-old scientist to Rome. Under plausible pretexts, Galileo tried to stall for time, hoping that the inquisitors would leave him alone, but in February 1633 he was forced to appear for trial. He still hoped for something, trying to hide behind the walls of the Florentine embassy on the Roman hill of Pincio. But it was too late. In April, Galileo was taken to the Palace of the Holy Office. After four interrogations, which lasted two and a half months, he renounced the teachings of Copernicus. June 22, 1633 Galileo brought public repentance on his knees in the Roman church of Santa Maria sopra Minerva. His “Dialogue” was banned, and until the end of his life he was officially considered a “prisoner of the Inquisition.” At first, he was indeed sentenced to prison, but two days after repentance, the sick old man was transferred to the Roman palace of the Grand Duke of Tuscany, Cosimo de' Medici, who patronized the scientist. For some time Galileo was under the supervision of the Archbishop of Siena, and finally in December 1633 he was allowed to return to his Villa Arcetri near Florence. Here the already blind scientist died on January 8, 1642. He was buried in the Church of Santa Croce, not far from Michelangelo's crypt. But even the Duke of Tuscany was not allowed to erect a tombstone over Galileo's grave. Thus ended the first act of this historical drama.
As the years passed, Galileo's correctness became obvious to many. It cannot be said, however, that the church did not react to this in any way. In 1820, the “Galileo case” was brought to light again. Then the “Lectures on Astronomy”, written by Canon Giuseppe Settele, who adhered to heliocentric system. But even at that time, the question of the admissibility of publishing this book was discussed in the Holy Office for three whole years. Finally, Pope Pius VII personally authorized the publication of the lectures. Thus, the Holy See made it clear that the recognition of the fact around the Sun no longer undermines church doctrines. However, there could be no talk of any rehabilitation of Galileo at that time.
Voices about the need to restore historical justice were heard at the Second Vatican Council (1962-1965). Radical-minded hierarchs appealed to the reason of their colleagues in the hope that they would understand the unnaturalness of the situation. The verdict in the “Galileo case”, which was not overturned by anyone, frankly speaking, compromised the Vatican in the eyes of the scientific world and the entire intelligentsia. Seeking to renew the church, the radicals demanded the official rehabilitation of the great scientist. But it took the election of Karol Wojtyla to the papal throne for the solution to this problem to move to a practical level.
On November 10, 1979, at a session of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences dedicated to the 100th anniversary of his birth, John Paul II remembered Galileo and made a sensational statement: “I propose that theologians, scientists and historians, in a spirit of sincere cooperation, subject Galileo’s case to in-depth analysis and impartially admitted mistakes, no matter who made them.” Thus, the pope decided to “eliminate the mistrust that this matter still generates in many souls, contrasting it with a fruitful harmony between science and faith, between the Church and the world.” In other words, the closure of the “Galileo case” was supposed to show the whole world that there is no contradiction between science and religion.
In July 1981, a special commission was created in the Vatican, headed by the chairman of the Pontifical Councils for Culture and Dialogue with Non-believers, Cardinal Paul Poupart. Three years later, the secret archive of the Holy See for the first time “declassified” part of the documents relating to the trial of Galileo. By the way, they testified that the scientist was fatally mistaken when Pope Urban VIII appeared in the Dialogue under the name Simpleton.
Next important step was made by John Paul II in September 1989, when he visited Pisa, the homeland of Galileo. But the end to this protracted story was put only at the session of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences. This happened just a year ago 350th anniversary of the death of the great Italian (1992). Here are the words spoken by Cardinal Poupart at the session: “In condemning Galileo, the Holy Office acted sincerely, fearing that recognition of the Copernican revolution would threaten Catholic tradition. But it was a mistake, and it must be honestly admitted. Today we know that Galileo was right in defending the Copernican theory, although the debate over the arguments he made continues to this day.".
So, the Catholic Church recognized the correctness of the verdict passed long ago by history. But if we ignore the very fact of “posthumous rehabilitation” and turn to the arguments of the Vatican, we can make a number of interesting observations. Paul Poupart, not without reason, refers to the need to defend the “Catholic tradition.” After all, Galileo’s “Dialogues” appeared precisely at a time when the foundations of the Catholic Church were being undermined by the ideology of Protestantism, which was experiencing the rise of the Reformation. Therefore, the zealots of the purity of faith “could not sacrifice principles” and dogmas, which in their understanding were inextricably linked with the Holy Scriptures.
It is noteworthy that Cardinal Poupard emphasized the “sincerity” of the errors of Inquisitor Bellarmino and at the same time questioned Galileo’s arguments from the point of view latest achievements scientific thought. This position received its logical conclusion in the speech of the pontiff himself. John Paul II recalled that in the time of Galileo it was impossible to imagine, for example, that the world would go far beyond solar system and laws of a completely different order operate in it. At the same time, dad referred to the discoveries of Einstein. Naturally, all this has nothing to do with the question of the correctness of the position taken by Galileo, the pontiff noted. This means something else: often, in addition to two biased and opposing views, there is a third - a broader one, which includes both of these views and even surpasses them.
What is the main conclusion made by the head of the Roman Catholic Church? “There is no contradiction between science and faith,” he said. - “The Case of Galileo” for a long time served as a symbol of the church's refusal to scientific progress and even its dogmatic obscurantism, opposed to the free search for truth. This myth has led many scientists to sincerely believe that the spirit of science and its research ethics are incompatible with the Christian faith. Such a painful misunderstanding was interpreted as evidence of the opposition between science and faith. Clarifications made as a result of recent historical research, allow us to say that this painful misunderstanding is now a thing of the past.”
It took the church 359 years, 4 months and 9 days to admit its mistake. “So much time! Amazing! - exclaimed the famous Italian astronomer Margherita Hack. - But what is even more scandalous and ridiculous is that it took the Vatican commission 13 years to reach a verdict! Over the centuries scientific truth triumphed in the end even without the permission of the church...” Well, it seems that the relationship is still far from an idyll.
As is known, very long time scientific world argued that the Earth is the center of the Universe. There was no evidence for this theory and they relied entirely on blind faith. In this regard, it was not much different from religion.
Galileo lived during this period of history. From childhood he was interested in mathematics. Later he received and became a professor natural sciences. He made changes to telescopes and even invented his own, which was better than its predecessors. Galileo discovered several laws of inertia. Using his telescope, he managed to discover four satellites of Jupiter. The Roman College recognized these discoveries of Galileo.
But not all of Galileo's discoveries went so smoothly. The Catholic Church rejected Galileo's claims that everything exists according to its own specific laws, most of which people have not yet discovered.
Over time, the entire scientific world joined the opinion of the church. Scientists argued that one should not draw conclusions based on what is seen through telescopes, since they can distort reality. One of the bishops even claimed that the stars visible through the telescope were optical illusions, and in fact Galileo inserted something into the lenses. Galileo saw mountains on the Moon through a telescope and concluded that celestial bodies could not be spheres. But the priests objected to this that the Moon is in a crystal and if the mountains are visible, then they are inside a glass ball.
Having stumbled upon the works of Nicolaus Copernicus, Galileo was able to prove his theory that the Earth revolves around the Sun. By this he brought upon himself the persecution of the political, scientific and religious world.
The position of the church was twofold. On the one hand, they did not recognize the views of Copernicus, but used his discoveries to calculate dates, for example, Easter. And officially the church recognized Aristotle’s theory that the Earth is the center of our Universe.
Scientists also used the discoveries of Copernicus, but did not officially recognize him, fearing oppression from the Catholic Church.
Galileo, unlike them, on the contrary, tried to attract the public to the discoveries of Copernicus. He wrote on Italian, to simple people could understand his discoveries and those of Copernicus. The Catholic Church began to accuse Galileo of blaspheming and disputing the Bible.
Galileo argued with the bishops and convinced them that the Word of God does not teach how heaven works, it only tells how to get to heaven. It was a conflict with the Catholic Church, which ended only 350 years later, when the Church officially admitted that it was wrong.
In 1623, the situation changed for Galileo. Pope Urban VIII came to power. He was a reflective man and sympathized with Galileo. This led to Galileo receiving an audience with the pope.
In 1632, Galileo's book was published, but, strangely enough, immediately after this, the pope ceased to admire the scientist. And another wave of the Inquisition hit Galileo. Seventy-year-old Galileo was accused of the conspiracy that led to the publication of this book. Galileo defended himself by saying that in the book, he criticized the forbidden discoveries of Copernicus. But in fact, in the book, Galileo gave evidence for Copernicus' theories. Therefore, all of Galileo's excuses were useless.
As a result, under threat of torture, Galileo renounced his discoveries, recognizing them as heresy. There is a legend that after his public renunciation, he stamped his foot and said famous phrase: “And yet she spins!”
Galileo was sentenced to prison for the rest of his days. He spent 9 years in prison until his death. As time passed, the ban on Galileo's works was lifted. In 1979, Pope John Paul II acknowledged the church's guilt in relation to Galileo.
Unfortunately, due to the attitude of the church towards the discoveries of scientists, many do not consider the Bible to be a serious book. But people who have read the Bible understand that what it says about our Universe and Earth does not contradict the discoveries of Galileo and Copernicus, but rather confirms them.
Atheist scientists point to the conflict between Galileo and the church as an example of how religion suppresses science. But it is important to understand that it is misinterpretations of the Bible that are at odds with the facts, not the Bible itself. And in the case of Galileo, Catholics in the Middle Ages opposed Galileo not to the Bible, but to the theory of Aristotle.
Video: "Galileo Galilei. Encyclopedia Project"
The shape of the Earth - our home - has worried humanity for quite some time. Today, every schoolchild has no doubt that the planet is spherical. But it took a long time to get to this knowledge, going through church anathemas and the courts of the Inquisition. Today people are wondering who proved that the Earth is round. After all, not everyone liked history and geography lessons. Let's try to find the answer to this interesting question.
Excursion into history
Many scientific works confirms our thoughts that before the famous Christopher Columbus, humanity believed that it lived on flat earth. However, this hypothesis does not stand up to criticism for two reasons.
- opened new continent, and did not sail to Asia. If he had dropped anchor off the coast real India, then he could be called the person who proved the sphericity of the planet. The discovery of the New World is not confirmation round shape Earth.
- Long before Columbus's epoch-making voyage, there were people who doubted that the planet was flat and presented their arguments as proof. It is likely that the navigator was familiar with the works of some ancient authors, and the knowledge of the ancient sages was not lost.
Is the Earth round?
Different peoples had their own ideas about the structure of the world and space. Before answering the question of who proved that the Earth is round, you should familiarize yourself with other versions. The earliest theories of worldbuilding claimed that the earth was flat (as people saw it). Movement heavenly bodies(sun, moon, stars) they explained by the fact that it was their planet that was the center of the Cosmos and the Universe.
IN Ancient Egypt The earth was represented as a disk lying on four elephants. They, in turn, stood on a giant turtle floating in the sea. The one who discovered that the Earth is round has not yet been born, but the theory of the sages of Pharaoh could explain the causes of earthquakes and floods, the rising and setting of the sun.
The Greeks also had their own ideas about the world. In their understanding, the earth's disk was covered celestial spheres, to which the stars were tied with invisible threads. They considered the moon and the sun to be gods - Selene and Helios. Nevertheless, the books of Pannekoek and Dreyer contain the works of ancient Greek sages who contradicted the generally accepted views of that time. Eratosthenes and Aristotle were the ones who discovered that the Earth is round.
Arab teachings were also famous for their accurate knowledge of astronomy. The tables of star movements they created were so accurate that they even raised doubts about their authenticity. The Arabs, with their observations, pushed society to change its ideas about the structure of the world and the Universe.
Evidence of the sphericity of celestial bodies
I wonder what motivated the scientists when they denied the observations of the people around them? The one who proved that the Earth is round drew attention to the fact that if it were flat, then the luminaries would be visible in the sky at the same time for everyone. But in practice, everyone knew that many of the stars that were visible in the Nile Valley were impossible to see above Athens. Sunny day in Greek capital longer than, for example, in Alexandria (this is due to the curvature in the north-south and east-west directions).
The scientist who proved that the Earth is round noticed that an object, moving away while moving, leaves only its upper part visible (for example, on the shore, the masts of a ship are visible, not its hull). This is only logical if the planet is spherical and not flat. Plato also considered the fact that a ball is an ideal shape to be a compelling argument in favor of sphericity.
Modern evidence for sphericity
Today we have technical devices that allow us not only to observe celestial bodies, but also to rise into the sky and see our planet from the outside. Here's some more evidence that it's not flat. As is known, during blue planet covers the night star with itself. And the shadow is round. And also various masses, of which the Earth is composed, tend downward, giving it a spherical shape.
Science and the Church
The Vatican admitted that the Earth is round rather late. Then, when it was impossible to deny the obvious. Early European authors initially rejected this theory as one who contradicted Holy Scripture. During the spread of Christianity, not only other religions and pagan cults succumbed to persecution. All scientists who conducted various experiments, made observations, but did not believe in one God, were considered heretics. At that time, manuscripts and entire libraries were destroyed, temples and statues, and objects of art were destroyed. The Holy Fathers believed that people do not need science, only Jesus Christ is the source of the greatest wisdom, and the holy books contain enough information for life. The geocentric theory of the structure of the world was also considered by the church to be incorrect and dangerous.
Kozma Indicopleustes described the Earth as a kind of box, at the bottom of which rested a stronghold inhabited by people. The sky served as a “lid”, but it was motionless. The moon, stars and sun moved like angels across the sky and hid behind high mountain. Above this complex structure The Kingdom of Heaven rested.
An unknown geographer from Ravenna described our planet as a flat object surrounded by an ocean, an endless desert and mountains, behind which the sun, moon and stars are hidden. Isidore (Bishop of Seville) in 600 AD in his works did not exclude the spherical shape of the Earth. The Venerable Bede was based on the works of Pliny, therefore he stated that the Sun more than Earth that they are spherical in shape, and that space is not geocentric.
Let's sum it up
So, returning to Columbus, it can be argued that his path was not based solely on intuition. Without wanting to diminish his merits, we can say that the knowledge of his era should have brought him to India. And society no longer rejected the spherical shape of our house.
The first idea about the Earth-sphere was expressed by the Greek philosopher Eratosthenes, who already measured the radius of the planet in the fourth century BC. The error in his calculations was only one percent! He tested his guesses in the sixteenth century, making his famous Who proved that the Earth is round? Theoretically, this was done by Galileo Galilei, who, by the way, was sure that it was she who was spinning around the sun, and not vice versa.