The title of the Bishop of Rome as head or Supreme Pontiff of the Roman Catholic Church; also, the title given to the head of the Coptic Church. The Bishop of Rome is elected by a conclave of the College of Cardinals, his authority deriving from the belief that he represents Christ in direct descendancy from the Apostle Peter, said to be the first Bishop of Rome. After the decline of the ancient churches of the Eastern Roman Empire, resulting from the spread of Islam, the pope in Rome became the undisputed centre of the Christian Church, and enjoyed considerable political power as the temporal sovereign of extensive papal states in Europe (now restricted to the Vatican City in Rome). The claim to infallibility was formalized at the First Vatican Council in 1870.
This article is about the head of the Roman Catholic Church. For other uses, see Pope (disambiguation).| Christianity Portal |
The Pope (from Latin: papa, Papa, father; The office of the Pope is called the Papacy; this designation was first used by the Roman Synod of 495 to refer to Pope Gelasius I, an advocate of papal supremacy among the patriarchs. 304) is the first Bishop of Rome whom sources show used the title of Pope.
In addition to his service in this spiritual role, the Pope is also Head of State of the independent sovereign State of the Vatican City, a city-state and nation entirely enclaved by the city of Rome. Before 1870 the Pope's temporal authority extended over a large area of central Italy: the territory of the Papal States.
During the first century of the Christian Church, the Roman capital became recognized as a Christian center of exceptional note since it was founded by St. Peter, the "prince of the apostles";
In the second century (AD 189), the primacy of the Church of Rome is clearly indicated in St. Irenaeus of Lyon's Against Heresies (3:3:2): "With [the Church of Rome], because of its superior origin, all the churches must agree...
The third century is marked by many references to the primacy of the Church of Rome. (add authors)
The First Council of Constantinople (AD 381) suggested strongly that Roman primacy was already established, but was not until 440 that Leo the Great more clearly articulated the extension of papal authority as doctrine, promulgating in edicts and in councils his right to exert "the full range of apostolic powers that Jesus had first bestowed on the apostle Peter".
The dogmas and traditions of the Catholic Church teach that the institution of the papacy was first mandated by the Biblical passages:
Matt.16:18-19: "And I also say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of the netherworld will not prevail against it.Election, death and abdication
Election
The Pope was originally chosen by those senior clergymen resident in and near Rome. Pope Urban VI, elected 1378, was the last Pope who was not already a cardinal at the time of his election. Under present canon law, the Pope is elected by the cardinal electors, comprising those cardinals who are under the age of 80.
The Second Council of Lyons was convened on May 7, 1274, to regulate the election of the Pope. This Council decreed that the cardinal electors must meet within ten days of the Pope's death, and that they must remain in seclusion until a Pope has been elected; By the mid-sixteenth century, the electoral process had more or less evolved into its present form, allowing for alteration in the time between the death of the Pope and the meeting of the cardinal electors. Pope John Paul II abolished vote by acclamation and by selection by committee, and henceforth all Popes will be elected by full vote of the Sacred College of Cardinals by ballot.
The election of the Pope almost always takes place in the Sistine Chapel, in a meeting called a "conclave" (so called because the cardinal electors are theoretically locked in, cum clavi, until they elect a new Pope). Balloting continues until a Pope is elected by a two-thirds majority (since the promulgation of Universi Dominici Gregis, the rules allow for a simple majority after a deadlock of twelve days). (Traditionally, wet straw was used to help create the black smoke, but a number of "false alarms" in past conclaves have brought about this concession to modern chemistry.) When a vote is successful, the ballots are burned alone, sending white smoke (fumata bianca) through the chimney and announcing to the world the election of a new Pope. At the end of the conclave that elected Pope Benedict XVI, church bells were also rung to signal that a new Pope had been chosen. The new Pope then announces the regnal name he has chosen for himself. (If the Dean himself is elected Pope, the Vice Dean performs this duty).
The new Pope is led through the "Door of Tears" to a dressing room in which three sets of white Papal vestments ("immantatio") await: small, medium, and large. Donning the appropriate vestments and reemerging into the Sistine Chapel, the new Pope is given the "Fisherman's Ring" by the Cardinal Camerlengo, whom he either reconfirms or reappoints. The Pope then assumes a place of honor as the rest of the Cardinals wait in turn to offer their first "obedience" ("adoratio") and to receive his blessing. He then announces the new Pope's Christian name along with the new name he has adopted as his regnal name.
Until 1978 the Pope's election was followed in a few days by a procession in great pomp and circumstance from the Sistine Chapel to St. Peter's Basilica, with the newly elected Pope borne in the sedia gestatoria. There the Pope was crowned with the triregnum and he gave his first blessing as Pope, the famous Urbi et Orbi ("to the City [Rome] and to the World"). Beginning with Pope John Paul I's election, this has been discontinued.
Some traditionalist Catholics claim the existence of a Papal oath (the so-called "Oath against modernism") which they assert that Popes up from John Paul I refused to swear, but there is no reliable authority for this claim.
The Latin term sede vacante ("vacant seat") refers to a papal interregnum, the period between the death of the Pope and the election of his successor. From this term is derived the name Sedevacantist, which designates a category of dissident, schismatic Catholics who maintain that there is no canonically and legitimately elected Pope, and that there is therefore a Sede Vacante; one of the most common reasons for holding this belief is the idea that the reforms of the Second Vatican Council and especially the replacement of the Tridentine Mass with the Mass of Paul VI are heretical, and that, per the dogma of Papal infallibility (see above), it is impossible for a valid Pope to have done these things. Before the election of the non-Italian Karol Wojtyla as Pope John Paul II in 1978, the last non-Italian was the Dutch-German Pope Adrian VI of the Netherlands, elected in 1522. During the "Sede Vacante", the Sacred College of Cardinals, composed of the Pope's principal advisors and assistants, is collectively responsible for the government of the Church and of the Vatican itself, under the direction of the Cardinal Chamberlain; Any decision that needs the assent of the Pope has to wait until a new Pope has been elected and takes office.
It has long been claimed that a Pope's death is officially determined by the Cardinal Chamberlain by gently tapping the late Pope's head thrice with a silver hammer and calling his birth name three times, though this is disputed and has never been confirmed by the Vatican; The deceased Pope's seals are defaced, to keep them from ever being used again, and his personal apartment is sealed.
The body then lies in state for a number of days before being interred in the crypt of a leading church or cathedral; the Popes of the 20th century were all interred in St. Peter's Basilica. A nine-day period of mourning (novem dialis) follows after the interment of the late Pope.
This right has been exercised by Pope Celestine V in 1294 and Pope Gregory XII in 1409, Gregory XII being the last to do so.
It was widely reported in June and July 2002 that Pope John Paul II firmly refuted the speculation of his resignation using Canon 332, in a letter to the Milan daily newspaper Corriere della Sera.
Pope John Paul II did not resign.
Titles of the Pope
Currently used
The titles of His Holiness, the Pope, in the order they are used in the Annuario Pontificio:
Bishop of Rome Vicar of Christ Successor of the Prince of the Apostles Supreme Pontiff of the Universal Church Primate of Italy Archbishop and Metropolitan of the Roman Province Sovereign of the State of the Vatican City Servant of the Servants of GodFormerly used
Patriarch of the West (dropped 2006) Vicar of the Apostolic SeeHistory of Papal titles
As mentioned above, the Pope's titles include: Bishop of Rome, Vicar of Christ, Successor of the Prince of the Apostles, Supreme Pontiff of the Universal Church, Primate of Italy, Archbishop and Metropolitan of the Roman province, Sovereign of the State of the Vatican City, and Servant of the Servants of God.
The title "Vicar of Christ" refers to the Pope's divine commission.
Finally, the title attached to the Pope, "Servant of the Servants of God", although used by Church leaders including St. Augustine and St. Benedict, was first used by Pope Gregory the Great' in his dispute with the Patriarch of Constantinople after the latter assumed the title Ecumenical Patriarch. It was not reserved for the Pope until the 13th century. The documents of Vatican II reinforced the understanding of this title as a reference to the Pope's role as a function of collegial authority, in which the Bishop of Rome serves the world's bishops.
The titles "Primate of Italy", "Archbishop and Metropolitan of the Roman province", and "Sovereign of the State of the Vatican City" are references to the legal and canonical authority of the Pope as defined by the laws of the Church and the Lateran Treaties of 1929.
The Pope's signature is usually in the format NN. x (e.g., Pope Paul VI signed his name as "Paulus PP. This title, however, was not abandoned altogether: the Pope is still referred to as "Dominum Apostolicum" in the Latin version of the Litany of the Saints, a solemn Catholic prayer.
The Pope's official seat or cathedral is the Basilica of St. John Lateran, and his official residence is the Palace of the Vatican. Historically, the official residence of the Pope was the Lateran Palace, donated by the Roman Emperor Constantine the Great.
The Pope's ecclesiastical jurisdiction (the Holy See) is distinct from his secular jurisdiction (Vatican City). for hundreds of years, the Pope's court (the Roman Curia) has functioned as the government of the Catholic Church. the Pope's various honors, powers, and privileges within the Catholic Church and the international community derive from his Episcopate of Rome in lineal succession from the Apostle St. Peter (see Apostolic Succession). The Pope derives his Pontificate from being Bishop of Rome but is not required to live there; according to the Latin formula ubi Papa, ibi Curia, wherever the Pope resides is the central government of the Church, provided that the Pope is Bishop of Rome. As such, between 1309 and 1378, the Popes lived in Avignon (the Avignon Papacy), a period often called the Babylonian Captivity in allusion to the Biblical exile of Israel. The title Patriarch of the West was first used by Pope Theodore in 642, and was only used occasionally. The title Patriarch of the West symbolized the Pope's special relationship with, and jurisdiction over, the Latin Church — and the omission of the title neither symbolizes in any way a change in this relationship, nor distorts the relationship between the Holy See and the Eastern churches, as solemnly proclaimed by Vatican II.
Since in the Eastern Churches the title "Pope" does not unambiguously refer to the Bishop of Rome, within them the construction "Pope of Rome" is frequently used whether they are in communion with Rome or not. recent Popes have not, however, worn the triregnum, though it remains the symbol of the Papacy and has not been abolished. Fisherman's Ring, a gold ring decorated with a depiction of St. Peter in a boat casting his net, with the name of the reigning Pope around it. The use of the sedia gestatoria and of the flabella was discontinued by Pope John Paul II, with the former being replaced by the so-called Popemobile.
In heraldry each Pope has his own Papal Coat of Arms. Though unique for each Pope, the arms are always surmounted by the aforementioned two keys in saltire (i.e., crossed over one another so as to form an X) behind the escutcheon (one key silver and one key gold, tied with a red cord), and above them a silver triregnum with three gold crowns and red infulae, or the red strips of fabric hanging from the back over the shoulders when worn ("two keys in saltire or and argent, interlacing in the rings or, beneath a tiara argent, crowned or"). The flag most frequently associated with the Pope is the yellow and white flag of Vatican City, with the arms of the Holy See ("Gules, two keys in saltire or and argent, interlacing in the rings or, beneath a tiara argent, crowned or") on the right hand side in the white half of the flag. The omission of the tiara in the Pope's personal coat of arms, however, did not mean the total disappearance of it from papal heraldry, since the coat of arms of the Holy See was kept unaltered.
Status and authority
The status and authority of the Pope in the Catholic Church was dogmatically defined by the First Vatican Council in its Dogmatic Constitution of the Church of Christ (July 18, 1870). The first chapter of this document is entitled "On the institution of the apostolic primacy in blessed Peter", and states that (s.1) "according to the Gospel evidence, a primacy of jurisdiction over the whole church of God was immediately and directly promised to the blessed apostle Peter and conferred on him by Christ the Lord" and that (s.6) "if anyone says that blessed Peter the apostle was not appointed by Christ the Lord as prince of all the apostles and visible head of the whole church militant;
The Dogmatic Constitution's second chapter, "On the permanence of the primacy of blessed Peter in the Roman pontiffs", states that (s.1) "that which our Lord Jesus Christ [...] established in the blessed apostle Peter [...] must of necessity remain forever, by Christ's authority, in the church which, founded as it is upon a rock, will stand firm until the end of time," that (s.3) "whoever succeeds to the chair of Peter obtains by the institution of Christ Himself, the primacy of Peter over the whole church", and that (s.5) "if anyone says that it is not by the institution of Christ the Lord Himself (that is to say, by divine law) that blessed Peter should have perpetual successors in the primacy over the whole church;
The Dogmatic Constitution's third chapter, "On the power and character of the primacy of the Roman pontiff," states that (s.1) "the definition of the ecumenical council of Florence, which must be believed by all faithful Christians, namely that the apostolic see and the Roman pontiff hold a worldwide primacy, and that the Roman pontiff is the successor of blessed Peter, the prince of the apostles, true vicar of Christ, head of the whole church and father and teacher of all Christian people," that (s.2) "by divine ordinance, the Roman church possesses a preeminence of ordinary power over every other church, and that the jurisdictional power of the Roman pontiff is both episcopal and immediate" and that "clergy and faithful, of whatever rite and dignity, both singly and collectively, are bound to submit to this power by the duty of hierarchical subordination and true obedience, and this not only in matters concerning faith and morals, but also in those which regard the discipline and government of the church throughout the world."
The powers of the Pope are defined by the Dogmatic Constitution (ch.3, s.8) such that "he is the supreme judge of the faithful, and that in all cases which fall under ecclesiastical jurisdiction recourse may be had to his judgment" and that "the sentence of the apostolic see (than which there is no higher authority) is not subject to revision by anyone, nor may anyone lawfully pass judgment thereupon" (can. 331 defines the power of the Pope as "supreme, full, immediate and universal ordinary power in the Church, and he can always freely exercise this power"). It also dogmatically defined (ch.4, s.9) the doctrine of Papal infallibility, sc. such that
when the Roman Pontiff speaks ex cathedra, that is, when in the exercise of his office as shepherd and teacher of all Christians, in virtue of his supreme apostolic authority, he defines a doctrine concerning faith or morals to be held by the whole church, he possesses, by the divine assistance promised to him in blessed Peter, that infallibility which the divine Redeemer willed His church to enjoy in defining doctrine concerning faith or morals.The Catholic Church teaches that "it is absolutely necessary for the salvation of every creature to be united to the Roman Pontiff" (Pope Boniface VIII). This teaching is often summarized by the phrase "extra Ecclesiam nulla salus" (outside the Church exists no salvation), which has been reaffirmed by many Popes throughout the centuries. Pope Paul VI also said: "Those outside the Church do not possess the Holy Spirit. Many Popes stressed that those who are "invincibly ignorant of the Catholic religion" can still obtain salvation. Pope Pius IX stated in his encyclical Quanto conficiamur moeror (1868): "We all know that those who are afflicted with invincible ignorance with regard to our holy religion, if they carefully keep the precepts of the natural law that have been written by God in the hearts of all men, if they are prepared to obey God, and if they lead a virtuous and dutiful life, can attain eternal life by the power of divine light and grace." Pope John Paul II wrote in his encyclical Redemptoris Missio: "But it is clear that today, as in the past, many people do not have an opportunity to come to know or accept the Gospel revelation or to enter the Church....
Moreover, the Catholic Church teaches that all Christians are "mysteriously" united through Baptism and the "invisible Church" (body of believers).
As stated in the Catechism of the Catholic Church:
817 In fact, "in this one and only Church of God from its very beginnings there arose certain rifts, which the Apostle strongly censures as damnable.
819 "Furthermore, many elements of sanctification and of truth" (LG 8 2) are found outside the visible confines of the Catholic Church: "the written Word of God;
The Pope has many powers which he exercises. Most of these functions are performed by and through the various dicasteries of the Roman Curia, with the Pope simply approving their actions prior to becoming official.
Political role
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Though the progressive Christianisation of the Roman Empire in the fourth century did not confer upon bishops civil authority within the state, the gradual withdrawal of imperial authority during the fifth century left the Pope the senior Imperial civilian official in Rome, as bishops were increasingly directing civil affairs in other cities of the Western Empire. This status as a secular and civil leader was vividly displayed by Pope Leo I's confrontation with Attila in 452 and was substantially increased in 754, when the Frankish ruler Pippin the Younger donated to the Pope a strip of territory which formed the core of the so-called Papal States (properly, the Patrimony of St. Peter). In 800 Pope Leo III crowned the Frankish ruler Charlemagne as Roman Emperor, a major step toward establishing what later became known as the Holy Roman Empire; from that date it became the Pope's prerogative to crown the Emperor or any monarch with affiliations with the church until the crowning of Napoleon. As has been hitherto mentioned, the Pope's sovereignty over the Papal States ended in 1870 with their annexation by Italy.
In addition to the Pope's position as a territorial ruler and foremost prince bishop of Christianity (especially prominent with the Renaissance Popes like Pope Alexander VI, an ambitious if spectacularly corrupt politico, and Pope Julius II, a formidable general and statesman) and as the spiritual head of the Holy Roman Empire (especially prominent during periods of contention with the Emperors, such as during the Pontificates of Pope Gregory VII and Pope Alexander III), the Pope also possessed a degree of political and temporal authority in his capacity as Supreme Pontiff.
Objections to the Papacy
The Pope's position as Supreme Pontiff of the Universal Church is dogmatic and therefore not open to debate or dispute within the Catholic Church; the First Vatican Council anathematized all who dispute the Pope's primacy of honor and of jurisdiction (it is lawful to discuss the precise nature of that primacy, provided that such discussion does not violate the terms of the Council's Dogmatic Constitution). However, the Pope's authority is not undisputed outside the Catholic Church; these objections differ from denomination to denomination, but can roughly be outlined as (1) objections to the extent of the primacy of the Pope;
Some non-Roman-Catholic Christian communities, such as the Assyrian Church of the East, the Oriental Orthodox Church, the Eastern Orthodox Church, the Old Catholic Church, the Anglican Communion, the Independent Catholic Churches, and even some Lutherans, accept the doctrine of Apostolic Succession, and therefore accept (to varying extents) the papal claims to a primacy of honour. However, these churches generally reject that the Pope is the successor to St. Peter in any unique sense not true of any other bishop, or raise questions about whether St. Peter was ever bishop of Rome at all. The primacy is therefore regarded primarily as a consequence of the Pope's position as bishop of the original capital city of the Roman Empire, a definition explicitly spelled out in the 28th canon of the Council of Chalcedon.
Other non-Catholic Christian denominations do not accept the doctrine of Apostolic Succession, or do not understand it in hierarchical terms, and therefore do not accept the claim that the Pope is heir either to Petrine primacy of honor or to Petrine primacy of jurisdiction, or they reject both claims of honor or jurisdiction, as well as claims of Papal Infallibility, as unscriptural. as is the monarchical character of the office of Pope. These denominations vary from simply not accepting the Pope's authority as legitimate and valid, to believing that the Pope is the Antichrist or the False Prophet spoken in the Book of Revelation . They also argue that not even the worst of the corrupt Popes used the office to try to rip the doctrine of the Church from its apostolic roots, and that their failure to achieve that goal is evidence that the office is divinely protected.
Some objectors to the papacy habitually refer to the Catholic Church and its members by the pejorative term papist to point up what they believe to be an inappropriate focus of attention on the office and an improper attribution of certain divine favors ex officio.
Other Popes
In the earlier centuries of Christianity, the title "Pope," meaning "father," had been used by all Bishops. Today, the heads of the Coptic Orthodox Church, Coptic Catholic Church, and the Eastern Orthodox Church of Alexandria continue to be called "Popes", the former two being called "Coptic Pope" or, more properly, "Pope of Alexandria and Patriarch of the Holy See of St. Mark" and the last called "Pope and Patriarch of Alexandria and All Africa". The existence of an antipope is usually due either to doctrinal controversy within the Church or to confusion as to who is the legitimate Pope at the time (see Papal Schism).
"The Black Pope" is a derogatory name given to the Superior General of the Society of Jesus due to the Jesuits' practice of wearing black cassocks (compared to the Pope's always wearing white robes), and to the order's specific allegiance to the Roman pontiff. Pope, because he has almost absolute power over mission territories for Catholicism, essentially the Churches of Africa and Asia" (Sandro Magister, www.chiesa).
In the Russian Orthodox Church and Serbian Orthodox Church, it is not unusual for a village priest to be called a "pope" (поп).
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