>>672082
>Why does he need to own all of that land just to be “safe?”
One of the most interesting faucets of western culture (and I will make a Spenglarian distinction between Western and Classical culture is that Western culture has a separation between church and state. In Roman times the Emperor was the head of the Church. The Eastern Roman empire also maintained this, with the only councils recognized by them being presided over or sanctioned by the Emperor. In Chinese culture the emperor was the "Son of Heaven". Most Islamic Caliphs derived their authority from the territory they controlled. The only times when the Caliph was not a powerful ruler were when he was the client of a powerful ruler (e.g. Seljuk and Mameluke times) and today.
Western culture's separation was only possible because the Pope himself had his own territory from which he could defend his independence. He wasn't simply a courtier of a king who could force him to do his bidding. Though the Pope held little territory, it was enough to hold off against a King who would attack him long enough for other Kings (not wishing for the Pope to be dominated by a rival) to come to his defense. When this did happen, the Pope was no longer recognized as a spiritual father. The French kidnanpped the Pope and set him up in Avignon, but the Germans and the English no longer recognized him and the new Pope in Rome was instead recognized. Thus the Pope's temporal power ensured that all Western Christians could appeal to an outside authority for spiritual guidance.
This is demonstrated further by the Protestant reformation. What did states and rulers do when they became Protestant? They confiscated all of the monasteries and churches, and set up their own national church with themselves as the head. In the case of the Church of England, theology was bent to suit the needs of the ruler. And these days, the national "churches" of Scandinavia are removing crosses and electing lesbian bishops to please the state.
So when governments today demand that the separation of church and state requires the church to submit to state authority, you know that they are absolute bollocks. What they want is a cucked church that represents "modern" "values" and is useless at attracting new converts because it is both of this world and a part of it.