The Gregorian Reforms refer to a chain of reforms launched by Pope Gregory VII that largely affected the moral integrity and independence of the clergy in the Roman Catholic Church. Gregory VII claimed that, like his royal name, the reforms were in honor of Gregory the Great. The reforms he initiated were based on his belief that God founded the church and gave it the task of embracing all humanity in one law where His divine will is the only law (Robinson, 2004, p. 12) . The goal of the reforms was to restore the church to its original purity and ban simony and clerical marriages. The reforms revised the organization of the Church to establish a hierarchical structure with the Pope at the top (Cushin, 2005, p.19). The reforms emphasize the central role of the priesthood and the sacraments in the life of Christians and the utmost importance of morally upright clergy. Furthermore, reformists emphasized the separation of church and state. An interesting thing to note about Gregory VII is that he believed in the supremacy of the Church over the State, and at no point did he refer to them as equals (Thatcher and McNeal, 2014 p. 136). the papal reforms began when Pope Leo IX was appointed pope in 1049 and introduced the concept of papal authority. Leo at the time of his appointment asked the bishops to confirm that they were innocent of having committed simony. He condemned both simony and clerical marriages. Leo's reign faced many setbacks, but he is particularly important in church history because his legislation formed the basis for later reforms. He brought in like-minded clerics who were committed to important reforms to note is Humbert a......middle of paper......I included. The Gregorian reforms succeeded in introducing compulsory celibacy among the clergy and eradicating simony in due course. ii. Simony, a common practice, was eradicated through the Gregorian reforms. “...who belong to that kingdom, they will be made in your presence, without simony or any violence; provided that...” (Primary sources for the investiture conference p. 1). iii. Pope Nicholas II (1058-1061) had issued a decree that entrusted the election of popes in the hands of the cardinal and Gregory promoted this decree, eliminating the investiture of lay people. iv. The reformers successfully established the hierarchical structure in the church with the pope as the supreme leader. Gregory's failure is seen in his bad relationship with Henry which threatened to overshadow his reforms. Gregory died in exile but the cardinal voted his successor a clear success over Henry.