Pope

POPE

A name which comes from the Greek word and signifies Father. In the East, this appellation is given to all Christian priests; and in the West, bishops were called by it in ancient times; but now for many centuries it has been appropriated to the bishop of Rome, whom the Roman Catholics look upon as the common father of all Christians. All in communion with the see of Rome unanimously hold that our Saviour Jesus Christ constituted St. Peter the apostle chief pastor under himself, to watch over his whole flock here on earth, and to preserve the unity of it, giving him the power requisite for these ends. They also believe that out Saviour ordained that St. Peter should have successors, with the like charge and power to the end of time. Now, as St. Peter resided at Rome for many years, and suffered martyrdom there, they consider the bishops of Rome as his successors in the dignity and office of the universal pastor of the whole Catholic church. The cardinals have for several ages been the sole electors of the pope. These are seventy in number, when the sacred college, as it is called, is complete. Of these, six are cardinal bishops of the six suburbicarian churches; fifty are cardinal priests, who have all titles from parish churches in Rome; and fourteen are cardinal deacons, who have their titles from churches in Rome of less note, called diaconias, or deaconries. These cardinals are created by the pope when there happen to be vacancies, and sometimes he names one or two only at a time; but commonly he defers the promotion until there be ten or twelve vacancies, or more; and then at every second such promotion, the emperor, the kings of Spain and France, and of Britain, when Catholic, are allowed to present one each, to be made cardinal, whom the pope always admits, if there be not some very great objection.

These cardinals are commonly promoted from among such clergyman as have borne offices in the Roman court; some are assumed from religious orders; eminent ecclesiastics of other countries are likewise often honoured with this dignity. Sons of sovereign princes have frequently been members of the sacred college. Their distinctive dress is scarlet, to signify that they ought to be ready to shed their blood for the faith and church, when the defense and honour of either require it. They wear a scarlet cap and hat: the cap is given to them by the pope if they are at Rome, and is sent to them if they are absent; but the hat is never given but by the pope’s own hand. These cardinals form the pope’s standing council, or consistory, for the management of the public affairs of church and state. They are divided into different congregations for the more easy despatch of business; and some of them have the principal offices in the pontiffical court; as that of cardinal, vicar, penitentiary, chancellor, chamberlain, prefect of the signature of justice, prefect of memorials, and secretary of state. They have the title given them of eminence and most eminent. On the demise of a pope his pontifical seal is immediately broken by the chamberlain, and all public business is interrupted that can be delayed; messengers are despatched to all the Catholic sovereigns to acquaint them of the event, that they may take what measures they think proper: and that the cardinals, in their dominions, if any there be, may hasten to the future election, if they choose to attend; whilst the whole attention of the sacred college is turned to the preservation of tranquillity in the city and state, and to the necessary preparations for the future election.

The cardinal chamberlain has during the vacancy of the holy see, great authority; he coins money with his own arms on it, lodges in the pope’s apartments, and is attended by the body guards. He, and the first cardinal bishop, the first cardinal priest, and the first cardinal deacon, have, during that time, the government almost entirely in their hands. The body of the deceased pope is carried to St. Peter’s, where funeral service is performed for him with great pomp for nine days, and the cardinals attend them every morning. In the mean time, all necessary preparations for the election are made; and the place where they assemble for that purpose, which is called the Conclave, is fitted up in that part of the Vatican palace, which is nearest to St. Peter’s church, as this has long been thought the most convenient situation. Here are formed, by partitions of wood, a number of cells, or chambers, equal to the number of cardinals, with a small distance between every two, and a broad gallery before them. A number is put on every cell, and small papers, with corresponding numbers, are put into a box; every cardinal, or some one for him, draws out one of these papers, which determines in what cell he is to lodge. The cells are lined with cloth; and there is a part of each one separated for the conclavists, or attendants, of whom two are allowed to each cardinal, and three to cardinal princes. They are persons of some rank, and generally of great confidence; but they must carry in their master’s meals, serve him at table, and perform all the offices of a menial servant.

Two physicians, two surgeons, and apothecary, and some other necessary officers, are chosen for the conclave by the cardinals. On the tenth day after the pope’s death, the cardinals who are then at Rome, and in a competent state of health, meet in the chapel of St. Peter’s, which is called the Gregorian chapel, where a sermon on the choice of a pope is preached to them, and mass is said for invoking the grace of the Holy Ghost. Then the cardinals proceed to the conclave in procession, two by two, and take up their abode. When all is properly settled, the conclave is shut up, having boxed wheels, or places of communication, in convenient quarters; there are, also, strong guards placed all around. When any foreign cardinal arrives after the inclosure, the conclave is opened for his admission. In the beginning every cardinal signs a paper, containing an obligation, that, if he shall be raised to the papal chair, he will not alienate any part of the pontifical dominion; that he will not be prodigal to his relations; and any other such stipulations as may have been settled in former times, or framed for that occasion. We now come to the election itself; and that this may be effectual, two-thirds of the cardinals present must vote for the same person. As this is often not easily obtained, they sometimes remain whole months in the conclave. They meet in the chapel twice every day for giving their votes; and the election may be effectuated by scrutiny, accession, or acclamation. Scrutiny is the ordinary method, and consists in this: every cardinal writes his own name on the inner part of a piece of paper, and this is folded up and sealed; on the second fold of the same paper, a conclavist writes the name of the person for whom his master votes.

This, according to agreements observed for some centuries, must be one of the sacred college. On the other side of the paper is written a sentence at random, which the voter must well remember. Every cardinal, on entering into the chapel, goes to the altar, and puts his paper into a large chalice. When all are convened, two cardinals number the votes; and if there be more or less than the number of cardinals present, the voting must be repeated. When this is not the case, the cardinal appointed for the purpose, reads the outer sentence, and the name of the cardinal under it; so that each voter, hearing his own sentence, and the name joined with it, knows that there is no mistake. The names of all the cardinals that are voted for are taken down in writing, with the number of votes for each; and when it appears that any one has two-thirds of the number present in his favour, the election is over; but when this does not happen, the voting papers are all immediately burnt, without opening up the inner part. When several trials of coming to a conclusion by this method of scrutiny have been made in vain, recourse is sometimes had to what is called accession. By it, when a cardinal perceives that when one or very few votes are wanting to any one for whom he has not voted at that time, he must say that he accedes to the one who has near the number of votes requisite; and if his one vote suffices to make up the two-thirds, or if he is followed by a sufficient number of aceeders, or new voters, for the said cardinal, the election is accomplished.

Lastly, a pope is sometimes elected by acclamation; and that is, when a cardinal being pretty sure that he will be joined by a number sufficient, reads out in the open chapel, that such a one shall be pope. If he is properly supported, the election becomes unanimous; those who would, perhaps, oppose it, foreseeing that their opposition would be fruitless, and rather hurtful to themselves. When a pope is chosen in any of the three above-mentioned ways, the election is immediately announced from the balcony in the front of St. Peter’s, homage is paid to the new pontiff, and couriers are sent off with the news to all parts of Christendom. The pope appoints a day for his coronation at St. Peter’s, and for his taking possession of the patriarchal church of St. John Lateran; all which is performed with great solemnity. He is addressed by the expression of holiness, and most holy father. The Roman Catholics believe that the bishop of Rome is, under Christ, supreme pastor of the whole church, and as such is not only the first bishop in order and dignity, but has also a power and jurisdiction over all Christians, in order to preserve unity and purity of faith and moral doctrine, and to maintain order and regularity in all churches.

See SUPREMACY. Some Catholic divines are of opinion that the pope cannot err when he addresses himself to all the faithful on matters of doctrine. They well know that, as a private doctor, he may fall into mistakes as well as any other man; but they think that, when he teaches the whole church, Providence must preserve him from error. We have, however, already examined this sentiment under the article INFALLIBILITY, to which the reader may refer. The see of Rome, according to Roman Catholics, is the centre of Catholic unity. All their bishops communicate with the pope, and by his means with one another, and so form one body. However distant their churches may be, they all meet at Rome either in person or by their delegates, or at least by their letters. And, according to the discipline of the latter ages, though they are presented to the pope for their office from their respective countries, yet from him they must receive their bulls of consecration before they can take possession of their sees.

See POPERY.

Fuente: Theological Dictionary

pope

(Greek: papas, form of pappas, father)

Title of the Supreme Head of the Church founded by Christ. The institution of a Supreme Head is clear from Matthew 16, and from John 21; from the relation of the Apostles to Peter, treating him as their chief and not merely as ranking first among equals; from the fact that he fixed his see at Rome all the head of the Church. Claim of the see to headship has always been acknowledged as defined in the Vatican Council I: to Peter was given a primacy of true and proper jurisdiction, and the Roman pontiff is the successor of Peter in this primacy. The jurisdiction of the pope is universal and immediate, extending to the entire Church, and without intermediary, to the faithful individually and collectively. Similarly, every member of the Church may have recourse to him, as in appeals in ecclesiastical cases, without prohibitive charges or other hindrance. This implies control of every department of the life of the Church: of the faith and the formulas thereof, or Creeds; of the means and methods of imparting religious instruction by books or in schools; of Catholic missions; the foundation of universities and of special institutes and colleges; the condemnation of heresies; the interpretation of the moral law; the prohibition of books injurious to faith or morals. Worship too comes under papal control, the regulation of liturgical services, designation of feasts, canonizations, indulgences, all that concerns the sacredness of the marriage bond, special powers to priests, on occasion, to confirm, or bless holy oils. He can legislate for the entire Church, summon general councils, grant dispensation from any ecclesiastical law, interpret, alter, abrogate any law made by himself or his predecessors. He constitutes new sees, alters the boundaries of those in existence, appoints bishops, approves religious orders and exempts them when need be from diocesan control. All this is done by aid of devout and experienced assistants and advisers, the various tasks being distributed among various congregations or committees, eleven in number, each superintended by one or several cardinals assisted by secretaries, auditors, advocates, and notaries. Besides those who dwell in Rome, many of them chosen from various countries, he has also the cardinals and bishops of the entire Catholic world, of whose suggestions and experience he constantly avails himself.

In no way, therefore, is the pope’s exercise of power absolutist or arbitrary. Besides the check of his own conscience, he is guided by the spirit, practise, and tradition of the Church, its ancient statutes, customs, and precedents, its council; in a word, by strict consistency with its past and by a pious regard for its pastors and the faithful. The pope has also primacy of honor. He is entitled Vicar of Christ, Head of the Church, Father of all the Faithful, Supreme or Sovereign Pontiff, His Holiness, Servant of the Servants of God, the Fisherman, after the calling of the Apostles and their designation by Christ as fishers of men. He wears the tiara, or triple crown. He ranks as first of Christian princes, and his ambassadors have precedence over other members of the diplomatic body. The office of the pope brings him into contact with civil rulers and legislatures insomuch as they may regulate temporal affairs affecting religion. He must superintend the administration of the Vatican State, as formerly his predecessors had to administer the States of the Church. He is constantly sought also by men of affairs, scholars, sociologists. His bishops visit him at regular intervals, visits ad limina, as they are called; priests engaged in special missions must have access to him; no head of a state is more accessible by audiences which are granted to men and women of all faiths, and of every rank. The pope is elected by votes of the College of Cardinals in a session known as the Conclave, two-thirds of those voting being the necessary majority. There was a time when any male Catholic might be elected, but the choice now falls to one of the cardinals.

See also the alphabical list and list by order of reign .

Fuente: New Catholic Dictionary

Pope

Having treated in the article PAPACY SEE PAPACY of the rise and development of the papal dignity and power, we shall speak in the present article of the personal attributes of the incumbent of the Roman see.

I. The Title. The word pope is derived from the Latin papa, Greek , and means father. While the Greek word was used in the Greek Church to designate both bishops and priests, and has gradually come to be reserved for the priests exclusively the Latin term was for several centuries a title applied to all bishops, and was finally reserved for the bishops of Rome. As far as is known, bishop Siricius, in the 4th century, was the first to use the word as a title. After the 5th century it came into more general use, and after the 7th it gradually disappeared from ecclesiastical language for every ecclesiastical dignity except that of the bishop of Rome. It was expressly made the exclusive prerogative of the Roman bishops by Gregory VII. In a like manner several other titles, which at first were applied to the bishops of the principal seats, such as apostolicus, dominus apostolicus, sedes apostolica, were gradually monopolized by the bishops of Rome. The designation servtus sermorum Dei was first used by Gregory I, and though occasionally also bishops, priests, and emperors adopted it, it likewise remained in the course of time the prerogative of the popes. During the 8th and the following centuries it was common to call the bishop of Rome vicarius Petri. The expression occurs in the Pseudo- Isidorian Decretals, in the oath which was taken in 722 by Boniface to Gregory II, in the oath taken by Gregory VII to the king of Germany, in the conclusion of peace between Alexander III and the emperor Frederick Barbarossa; but from the time of Innocent III, when the power of the popes had become more absolute, the vicarius Petri gave way to the vicarius Christi. The title Sanctitas tua or Beatitudo tuc, which came into use in the 3d or 4th century, the pope shares even now with the bishops of the Eastern Church. It is accorded to him even by Protestant governments. (See Brit. and For. Ev. Rev. Jan. 1866, p. 48 sq.)

II. Rights and Functions.

1. Personal Prerogatives. The rights claimed by the popes within the Roman Catholic Church, and accorded to them by the bishops, priests, and laity of the Church, have of course greatly varied according to the degrees of power which the incumbents of the Roman see attained in various periods of Church history. For a long time they claimed and received as bishops of Rome and patriarchs of the West only those rights and honors which also belonged to other bishops and patriarchs. SEE BISHOP; SEE PATRIARCH.

When their superiority over other bishops and patriarchs came finally to be recognized and established, the popes were by no means regarded as absolute rulers of the Church, but their rights were limited and circumscribed by general councils and secular princes. While the popes were with an unyielding consistency endeavoring to develop the extreme papal system which now prevails, many of the greatest scholars of the Church defended an episcopal system which assigned to the pope a position similar to that of a constitutional monarch, and, in particular, maintained the superiority of a general council over the pope. At the general councils of Constance and Basle the friends of this view had an undisputed majority; and in the following centuries the history of Gallicanism, of Febronius, of Joseph II, are some of many proofs that in several countries the episcopal system had numerous adherents, even among bishops. After having been long on the decline, the episcopal system within the Roman Catholic Church was totally extinguished by the Vatican Council, and the extensive rights which the popes, in the course of many centuries, had claimed as their exclusive monopoly, were recognized by the entire Church. A common division of the papal rights is that into primatus jurisdictionis and primatus honoris. The former comprises the sovereign law of legislation, the supreme administration and the final decision on all subjects relating to ecclesiastical offices, especially the right of confirming, consecrating, transferring, and deposing bishops; the regulation of all religious institutions, especially of the religious orders; the supreme ecclesiastical jurisdiction, the supreme right of supervision, and the supreme management of ecclesiastical finances and property; the highest authority in all doctrinal questions. In the decision of doctrinal questions the popes have long claimed infallibility (q.v.), and the Vatican Council has recognized this claim as a doctrine of the Roman Catholic Church. The pope has also the supreme right of regulating the divine worship, of granting indulgences (q.v.), and the sole right of beatifying and canonizing deceased members of the Church. SEE BEATIFICATION; SEE CANONIZATION. The primatus honoris comprises the following distinctions:

(1.) The tiara, also called mitra turbinata cum corona, triregnum, regnum, diadema, phrygium, consisting of the bishop’s cap (mitra) encompassed with a triple golden crown. It is for the first time mentioned in the forged donation of Constantine (8th century), and was for the first time used at the coronation of Nicholas II (858). The third crown was added to the mitra by Urban V (1362-1370). The pope receives it on the day of coronation in the loggia of St. Peter’s Church from two cardinal deacons, who place it upon his head with the words, Accipo tiaram tribus coronis ornatam et scias, patrem te esse principum et regum, rectorem orbis in terra, vicaritum salvatoris nostri Jesu Christi, cui est honor in smecula saeculorum. The pope only wears the timara at great ecclesiastical festivities and processions, but not during the performance of ecclesiastical functions.

(2.) The so-called pedum rectum, the straight bishop’s staff ornamented with a cross, but not the crooked episcopal pastoral staff.

(3.) The pallium, a vestment having the form of a scarf, composed of white wool, and embroidered with six black silken crosses. The pope sends it as a mark of honor to patriarchs, primates, metropolitans, and sometimes to bishops all of whom are only allowed to wear it within their own dioceses and on certain occasions, while the pope wears it always and everywhere on saying mass.

(4.) The so-called adoratio, a homage which in the old Oriental Church was shown to bishops and priests generally. It consists in kneeling down and kissing the pope’s foot. Gregory VII still demanded it from princes, the Dictatus Gregorii saying on this subject, Quod solius papae pedes omnes principes deosculentur. The kiss upon the cross on the pope’s shoes is still demanded from clergymen and laymen, but an exception is made with princes and persons of higher rank. Sovereign princes only kiss the hand, cardinals the foot and the hand, after which they are admitted to an embrace; archbishops and bishops the foot and the knee.

(5.) During the Middle Ages the popes received from the princes the officium strepae, the princes holding the stirrups when the pope mounted the horse, and leading the horse for a while. Among the princes who are recorded to have rendered this homage were Louis II, Henry VI, Henry VII, Frederick III, Charles V, and Philip IV of France. Of Frederick Barbarossa, pope Adrian IV complained that he held the left, instead of the right stirrup.

2. Dress, etc. At home the pope’s habit is a white silk cassock, rochet, and scarlet mantle. In winter he wears a fur cap; in summer a satin one. When he celebrates mass, the color of his habit varies according to the solemnity of the festival. At Whitsuntide, and all festivals of the martyrs, he officiates in red; at Easter, and all festivals of virgins, in white; in Lent, Advent, and eves of fasting-days, in violet; and on Easter-eve, and at all masses for the dead, in black. All these colors are said to be typical: the red expresses the cloven tongues and the blood of the martyrs; the white, the joy caused by our Savior’s resurrection and the chastity of virgins; the violet, the pale aspect of those who fast; and the black, grief and mourning. The tiara is a council-cap, with three coronets rising one above another, and adorned with jewels. Paul II was the first who added the ornaments of precious stones to his crown. The jewels of Clement VIII’s crown were valued, they say, at 500,000 pieces of gold. That of Martin V had five pounds and a half weight of pearls in it. Nor is there anything unreasonable in this (says Father Bonani), since the pope governs the kingdom of Christ in quality of his viceroy: now this kingdom is infinitely superior to all the kingdoms of the universe. The high priest of the Jews wore on his head and breast the riches which were to represent the majesty of the Supreme God. The pope represents that of the Savior of the world, and nothing better expresses it than riches. We must not omit that the two strings of the tiara are said to represent the two different manners of interpreting the Scriptures, the mystical and the literal. The pope has two seals. One is called the fisherman’s ring, and is the impression of Peter holding a line with a bait to it in the water. It is used for briefs sealed with wax. The other seal bears the figures of Peter and Paul, with a cross on one side; and on the other an effigy, with the name of the reigning pope. This is used for the bulls, which are sealed with lead. On the decease of a pope these seals are defaced and broken by the cardinal-chamberlain in the presence of three others. When the pope goes in procession to St. Peter’s, the cross is carried before him on the end of a pike about ten palms long. Many reasons, says Father Bonani, authorize this custom. It is a monument of the sufferings of Jesus Christ, and of the pope’s adherence to the Savior of the world. It is the true mark of the pontifical dignity, and represents the authority of the Church, as the Roman fasces did that of the consuls. At the same time two grooms bear two fans on each side of his holiness’s chair, to drive away the flies. This (according to the above-cited author) represents the seraphim covering the face of God with their wings.

3. Officers. The pope has a Vicar who is always a cardinal. He who manages that charge has jurisdiction over the priests and regulars, over the lay-communities, hospitals, places of piety, and Jews. His place may be worth to him two hundred ducats per month. He has two lieutenants, one for civil and the other for criminal affairs, and a vicegerent, who is a bishop, for the exercise of episcopal functions.

The Penitentiary has jurisdiction in cases referred to the pope; and gives to approved confessors power to absolve. At solemn feasts he goes into one of the churches of Rome, where, sitting in a high chair, he has a switch in his hand, and hears the confession of particular cases. This place is worth eight thousand crowns a year.

The Chancellor was properly secretary to the pope, ab intimis. This charge is now bestowed upon none but a cardinal, and it may be worth to him fifteen or sixteen thousand crowns a year. His business is to dispatch the apostolic letters, except those signed by the pope, which are dispatched by a brief sub annulo piscatoris. He has under him a regent, and twelve abbreviators di parco maggiore, who are all prelates. The regent has power to commit all causes of appeal to the rota and referendaries. The abbreviators di parco maggiore draw the bulls, and send them when they are written. Besides these, there are abbreviators di parco minore, who are scriveners, and other officers of the chancery, appointed to receive and sign bulls. The vice-chancellor keeps a register of the collation of titles given to cardinals, and of promotions to bishoprics and consistorial abbeys.

The Chamberlain is always a cardinal, and has for substitutes the clerks of the apostolic chamber, a treasurer, and a president. This office is worth to him fourteen thousand crowns a year. He takes cognizance of all causes within the verge of the apostolic chamber, and, besides, judges of appeals from the masters of the streets, bridges, and edifices. When the see is vacant, the chamberlain remains in the palace, in the pope’s apartment, goes through the streets with the Swiss guards attending him, coins money with his own arms thereon, and holds a consistory. He is one of the three chief treasurers of the Castle of St. Angelo, whereof the dean is another, and the pope the third. The Prefect of the signature of justice is also one of the cardinals, and has two hundred ducats in gold per month. His business is to make rescripts of all the petitions and the commissions of causes which are delegated by the court. Every Thursday the signature of justice is held in the palace of the cardinal-prefect, where assist twelve prelates-referendaries, that have votes, and all the other referendaries, with power to propose each two causes; as also an auditor of the rota, and the civil auditor of the cardinal- vicar, having no vote, but only to maintain their jurisdiction in what relates to them. The prefect of the signature of grace signs all the petitions and grants which the pope bestows in the congregations held in his own presence once a week. The prefect of the briefs is always a cardinal; he revises and signs the copies of the briefs.

The General of the Holy Church is created by a brief of the pope, who gives him the staff himself in his chamber, and takes his oath. In time of peace he has allowed him a thousand crowns per month, and three thousand in time of war. He commands all the troops and all the governors in the places and fortresses of the ecclesiastical estate. His lieutenant has three thousand crowns a year, and is made also by a brief from the pope, as is the general of the artillery, who has twelve hundred crowns per annum.

The governor of the Castle of St. Angelo has six thousand crowns per annum.

The pope has four Masters of Ceremonies, who are always clad in purple, and have great authority in public affairs. Besides these, there are other masters of the ceremonies, which are in the congregations of privileges, whereof one discharges the office of secretary, and the other dispatches orders.

The Master of the Sacred Palace is always a Dominican. He reviews and approves all the books that are printed, being assisted by two priests of the same order. The palace, besides a table, allows him a coach.

The Major-domo, or steward to the household of the pope, is always a prelate. The chamberlains of honor are persons of quality, who come to the palace when they please.

The Master of the Stables is a gentleman who has the office of master of the horse, without the title of it; for the pope bestows no such upon any person. He is sword-bearer, and sometimes one of the greatest lords in Rome. as was Pompey Frangipani under Leo II. The Vestry-keeper is an Augustine monk, who has the same allowance as the master of the palace. He takes care of all the riches in the pope’s vestry. He goes like a prelate; and if he be a titular bishop, takes place among the assistant bishops.

The pope’s Secretary is always a cardinal, and very often his nephew. This place is united to that of superintendent of the ecclesiastical estate. He writes and subscribes all tile letters sent to the princes and nuncios. All ambassadors and all ministers at Rome, after having negotiated with the pope, are obliged to give him an account of their negotiations. The secretaries of state are subject to the secretary superintendent, or cardinal patron, whose orders they receive, and to whom they send their letters to be subscribed. They live in the palace, and are prelates clad in purple.

There are twenty-four Secretaries of Briefs, the chief of whom lives in the palace. Their business is to subscribe and dispatch all the briefs that are received by the cardinal-prefect of the briefs. The secretary of the secret briefs takes care to prepare them when the cardinal-patron or some one of the secretaries of state commands him. These briefs are shown to nobody, nor signed by the prefect of the briefs, except when they are sealed sub annulo piscatoris, and accompanied with a letter from the cardinal-patron. The copies of these briefs are carefully kept; and, when the pope is dead, they are carried to the Castle of St. Angelo.

The Mareschal of Rome has under him two civil judges, one of whom is called the first collateral judge, and the other the second collateral, with a judge for criminal affairs. He, together with these judges, takes cognizance of matters between the citizens and inhabitants of Rome. He is always a foreigner, and lives in the Capitol: while in the discharge of his office he appears clad like an old senator, having a robe of cloth of gold that hangs down to the earth, with large sleeves to it lined with red taffeta.

4. Official Powers. As we have seen above, the pope of Rome is now the supreme head of what is known as the Roman Catholic world. Held to be the successor of the apostle Peter, the pope is claimed to be Christ’s vicar on earth. The Council of Florence, 1439, says: Definimus, Sanctam apostolicam Sedem et Romanum Pontificem in universum orbem tenere primatum, et ipsum Pontificem Romanum sluccessorem esse B. Petri principis apostolorum et verum Christi vicarium, totiusque Ecclesia caput et omnium Christianorum patrem ac doctorem existere, et ipsi in B. Petro pascendi, regendi ac gubernandi universalem Ecclesiarn a Domino Nostro Jesu Christo plenum potestatem traditam esse, quemadmodum etiam in gestis oecumenicorum conciliorum et in sacris canonibus continetur (Bullarium Romanum [ed. Luxemb.], 1, 336). A similar doctrine is proclaimed by the fifth Lateran Council of 1512 (c. 1, De Conciliis in V, 3, 7), in the Roman Catechism, pt. 1, c. 10, qu. 11, and in the Profession of Faith of the Council of Trent: Sanctam Catholicam et apostolicam Romanam Ecclesiam omnium Ecclesiarum matrem et magistram agnosco; Romanoque Pontifici, beati Petri apostolorum principis successori ac Jesu Christi vicario, veram obedientiam spondeo ac juro. As such he is to be invested with all power necessary for the government of the Universal Church. This embraces authority to examine and decide authoritatively all controversies to convoke councils, to revise and confirm their decrees, to issue general decrees, whether upon discipline and morals or upon doctrine, to appoint bishops in all parts of the Church, to confirm the election when made by the clergy or by the civil authorities, no matter how it may have been made; he call also depose bishops and set others in their place, and even, in cases of great emergency, suppress bishoprics, and change their ecclesiastical limits according to his judgment of the existing requirements of the Church; he is also to judge of the doctrines taught in particular books or by particular individuals, and to pronounce infallibly as to their conformity with the Catholic faith, or the contrary. In addition to these powers, it is still further claimed for him by the Ultramontanes, as we have seen above and in the article INFALLIBILITY SEE INFALLIBILITY , that he is endowed by God with infallibility; so that what he says ex cathedua, i.e. officially and as pope, is of divine authority, and cannot be questioned or denied; and that also, as the vicar of Christ, he has a supreme authority over all civil rulers and civil jurisdiction, the allegiance of all the faithful to him being superior to that which is due to their respective governments. SEE PRIVACY.

The principal scriptural authority for the papacy relied upon by the Roman Catholic Church is Mat 16:18-19. Without entering into a discussion of the meaning of this famous passage, we may here quote from Abbott’s Commentary on the New Testament a statement of the Roman Catholic interpretation, and the grounds on which that view is rejected by all Protestants:

The ordinary Roman Catholic view of this passage is that Christ declared his purpose to found a great ecclesiastical organization; that this organization was to be built upon Peter and his successors as its true foundation; that they were to represent to all time the authority of God upon the earth, being clothed, by virtue of their office, with a continuous inspiration, and authorized by the Word, and fitted by the indwelling Spirit of God, to guide, direct, illumine, and command the disciples of Christ, with the same force and effect as Christ himself (see Phillips, Kirchenrecht, 1, 146). SEE PETER. This view is untenable for the following reasons:

1. Christ does not, as we have seen, refer to a definite ecclesiastical organization by the word church, and would not be so understood by his disciples.

2. Peter was not by nature rock-like; he was, on the contrary, characteristically impulsive and unstable. There must be, therefore, some other significance in the words Thou art a rock’ which the Roman Catholic interpretation loses.

3. Neither he nor the other disciples understood that Christ invested him with any such authority and position. He did not occupy any such place in the Church while he lived. In the first council a; Jerusalem (Act 15:7-11) he was simply an adviser, the office of chief or president being apparently held by James; Paul withstood Peter to his face, as no disciple ever withstood Christ, or would have withstood his acknowledged representative (Gal 2:11-14); and throughout the N.T. the apostles are all treated as co-equals (Mat 18:1; Mat 19:28; Mat 23:8; Joh 15:1-5 Rev 21:14).

4. There is neither here nor anywhere else in the N.T. any hint of a successor to Peter, or of any authority in him to appoint a successor, or of any such authority vested in any of the apostles, or exercised, or assumed to be exercised, by any of them.

5. The N.T. throughout, and the O.T. in all its prophecies, recognizes Christ as the chief corner-stone, the foundation on which the kingdom of God can alone be built.

6. Mark and Luke omit from their account this utterance of Christ; if it really designated Peter as the foundation of the visible Church, and was thus essential and not incidental to the right understanding of the whole incident, it would not be omitted from their accounts. SEE ROCK.

Few Christian governments have ever been willing to recognize to their full extent the rights claimed by and for the Roman popes. The placet (q.v.) was introduced in the Middle Ages by most of the states, and without it no papal bull could be promulgated; and the popes found it necessary to consent to the conclusion of special concordats (q.v.) or conventions, which, in the way of compromise, regulated the papal rights which a state government bound itself to recognize.

Many popes in the Middle Ages also claimed the power of deposing kings, of absolving the subjects of excommunicated princes from their oath of allegiance, and, in general, an unlimited power over temporal as well as spiritual affairs. That a number of popes assumed this right is a fact admitted on all sides; but it is quite common among Roman Catholics to deny that this is a right inherent in the papal dignity, and also that it was ever claimed by the popes as a right belonging to them in virtue of their office. A few samples of pontifical arrogance may suffice for illustration here:

Pope Paschal II, in 1099, deprived Henry IV, and excited enemies to persecute him; telling them they could not offer a more acceptable sacrifice to God than by impugning him who endeavored to take the kingdom from God’s Church. Pope Gregory VII says: For the dignity and defense of God’s holy Church, in the name of Almighty God, the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, I depose from- imperial and royal administration king Henry, son of Henry sometime emperor, who too boldly and rashly hath laid hands on thy Church; and I absolve all Christian subjects to the empire from that oath whereby they were wont to plight their faith unto true kings; for it is right that he should be deprived of dignity who doth endeavor to diminish the majesty of the Church. Go to, therefore, most holy princes of the apostles, and what I said, by interposing your authority, confirm; that all men may know at length, understand, if ye can bind and loose in heaven, that ye also can upon earth take away and give empires, kingdoms, and whatsoever mortals can have; s for if ye can judge things belonging unto God, what is to be deemed concerning these inferior and profane things? And if it is your part to judge angels, who govern proud princes, what becometh it you to do towards their servants? Let kings now, and all secular princes, learn by this man’s example what ye can do in heaven, and in what esteem ye are with God; and let them henceforth fear to slight commands of holy Church, but put forth suddenly his judgment, that all men may understand that not casually, but by your means, this son of iniquity doth fall from his kingdom.

Pope Boniface VIII, in 1294, has a decree extant in the canon law running thus: We declare, say, define, pronounce it to be of necessity to salvation for every human creature to be subject to the Roman pontiff. One sword must be under another, and the temporal authority must be subject to the spiritual power, whence, if the earthly power doth go astray, it must be judged by the spiritual power. Before him, pope Innocent III affirmed the pontifical authority so much to exceed the royal power, as the sun doth the moon; and applies to the former the words of the prophet Jeremiah Ecce, constitui te super gentes et regna See, I have set thee over the nations and over the kingdoms, to root out and to pull down, and to destroy and to throw down, etc. Of this power that pope made experiment by deposing the emperor Otho IV, whom, says Nauclerus, as rebellious to the apostolical see, he first did strike with an anathema; then him persevering in his obstinacy, did, in a council of prelates held at Rome, pronounce deposed from empire. This monstrous authority was avowed by that great council under this pope which, according to the Council of Trent, did represent or constitute the Church, when it was ordained that if a temporal lord, being required and admonished by the Church, should neglect to purge his territory from heretical filth, he should, by the metropolitan and the other co-provincial bishops, be noosed in the band of excommunication; and that if he should slight to make satisfaction within a year, it should be signified to the pope, that he might from that time denounce the subjects absolved from their fealty to him, and expose the territory to be seized on by Catholics, etc. Pope Pius V, in 1570, begins his bull against queen Elizabeth in these words: He that reigneth on high, to whom is given all power in heaven and in earth, hath committed the one holy catholic and apostolic Church, out of which there is no salvation, to one alone on earth, namely, to Peter, prince of the apostles, and to the Roman pontiff, successor of Peter, to be governed with a plenitude, of power. This one he hath constituted prince over all nations and all kingdoms, that he might pluck up, destroy, dissipate, ruinate, plant, and build.

And in the same bull he declares that he thereby deprives the queen of tier pretended right to the kingdom, and of all dominion, dignity, and privilege whatsoever: and absolves all the nobles, subjects, and people of the kingdom, and whoever else have sworn to her, from their oath, and all duty whatsoever, in regard of dominion, fidelity, and obedience. The bull of pope Sixtus V, in 1585, against Henry, king of Navarre, and the prince of Condu, begins thus: The authority given to St. Peter and his successors, by the immense power of the Eternal King, excels all the powers of earthly kings and princes. It passes uncontrollable sentence upon them all; and if it find any of them resisting God’s ordinance, it takes more severe vengeance of them, casting them down from their thrones, though never so puissant, and tumbling them down to the lowest parts of the earth, as the ministers of aspiring Lucifer. He then proceeds to thunder against them, We deprive them and their posterity forever of their dominions and kingdoms; and accordingly he deprives those princes of their kingdoms and dominions, absolves their subjects from their oaths of allegiance, and forbids them to pay any obedience to them. By the authority of these presents, we do absolve and set flee all persons, as well jointly as severally, from any such oath, and from all duty whatsoever in regard of dominion, fealty, and obedience: and do charge and forbid all and every of them that they do not dare to obey them, or any of their admonitions, laws, and commands.

For a full review of this question, SEE GALLICAN CHURCH; SEE INVESTITURE; SEE TEMPORAL POWER.

III. The Election of the Pope. In the 2nd and 3rd centuries the bishops of Rome were, like all the bishops of the ancient Church, elected by the clergy and the people. When Christianity was declared to be the religion of the state, the emperors claimed a share in the election of the pope. The clergy of Rome greatly disliked the interference of the emperors in the election of their bishops. and. after the destruction of the Western Roman empire in 499, a Roman synod under bishop Symmachus vindicated to the Roman clergy the exclusive right of electing the bishop. Three years later, 502, the Roman synod declared a decree issued by Odoacer, who as successor of the Roman emperor demanded that no bishop of Rome should be elected sine nostra consultatione, to be an unwarranted encroachment upon the rights of the Church. That Odoacer paid no attention to these resolutions is proved by the fact that in 514 he had a share in the election of Felix III. The Gothic kings Theodoric and his successors, as well as Justinian I and the Byzantine emperors, likewise disregarded the occasional protests of the Roman bishops. They are known to have appointed or confirmed several popes as Vigilius, Pelagius I, and Pelagius II. The so- called Liber diurnus, a collection of formulas of the Roman Curia, which relates to the time from the 6th to the 8th century, and received its present shape in the 8th century, expressly mentions that the Roman bishops elected by the clergy and the people were confirmed by the Greek emperor, or his representative, the exarch of Ravenna. The weak rule of the last Longobardian kings, and the impotence of the emperors in Constantinople, greatly favored the endeavors of the popes to exclude altogether the influence of princes from the papal elections. During the reign of Pepin the Short and Charlemagne the elections were entirely free, and the report that a Roman synod under Adrian I conferred upon Charlemagne the right of confirming the elected pope is a forgery.

The popes of this time only notified Pepin and Charles of the result of the elections. The baneful influence which was soon after obtained by the Roman nobility upon the elections of the popes induced again an interference of the imperial power, and in 824 Lothaire, the son of Louis le Dibonnaire, entered into an agreement with Eugenius II, according to which the consecration of a newly elected pope was not to take place without the concurrence of an imperial delegate. This agreement remained in force throughout the following century. In the 10th century Otho the Great rescued the Church from the most disgraceful condition in which it had yet found itself, and rid it of some of the most wicked popes which have ever disgraced the see of Rome. It was quite common in the Church then to look upon the emperor as the chief pillar of reform, and it is therefore not to be wondered at that a greater influence was accorded to him than had been possessed by any of his predecessors. When he entered the city of Rome, the people, according to Luitprand, had to take an oath numquam se papam electuros aut ordinaturos praeter consensum atque electionem domini imperatoris Ottonis Caesaris Augusti filiique regis Ottonis. After the Synod of Sutri had, in 1046, deposed all the three popes, the Roman people conferred upon Henry III, for himself and his successors, the right in electione semper ordinandi pontificis principatum. Henry availed himself of this in the appointment of the German popes Clement II, Leo IX, and Victor II, for which he consulted only his German advisers, as if it had been an affair of the German empire. After the death of Henry III, the influence of Hildebrand upon the popes of that time soon brought on the beginning of a new era in the history of the papacy. One of the events which mark the beginning of this new era is the radical change which was made in the papal elections by the famous decree of Nicholas II and the Lateran Synod in 1059. The essential points of the decree are the transfer of the papal election to the cardinal-bishops, the total abolition of the former concurrence of the Roman people and nobility, and virtual abolition of the former imperial right; for the words salvo debito honore et reverentia do not appear to imply more than the right of the emperor to demand a notification of the result of the election. The emperors were to possess the insignificant rights which were left to them only as a personal privilege, for the conferring of which every new emperor had to make an application. The decree of Nicholas I was further developed and defined by that of Alexander III and the Lateran Synod of 1179, which made the validity of the papal election contingent upon a two-thirds vote of the cardinals. The defeat of the emperor Frederick Barbarossa in his struggle with the papacy put an end forever to even the nominal rights of the emperors in regard to the papal elections. The first provisions concerning the conclave were made by Gregory X and the Council of Lyons in 1274. The town for holding the conclave (q.v.) was not to be exclusively Rome, but the city in which the pope died; and in case this city was under an interdict, the next adjacent city. The place for the conclave was the episcopal palace. The provisions of the decree of Gregory X were somewhat, though not essentially, modified by Clement V (1305-1314) and Clement VI (1342- 1356). The councils of Pisa, Constance, and Basle elected new popes, without binding themselves to the papal provisions concerning the conclaves; but in this as in many other respects their proceedings were of an exceptional character, and were without abiding consequences in the law of the Church. In 1621 Gregory XV issued the constitution Eterni Patris filius, which contained all the principal provisions in regard to the conclave that are now in use. In a few points only it was supplemented by bulls of Urban VIII (1625) and Clement XII (1732).

The present mode of electing a pope has been fully described in the article CONCLAVE SEE CONCLAVE . The right of voting is limited to the cardinals who have been ordained deacons. The lack of this ordination may, however, be supplied by a special privilege of the pope. The cardinals do not lose their right of voting even by excommunication, but they can cast their votes only if they are personally present in the conclave. Those who live outside of the city of Rome are not specially invited. Since Boniface IX (1389) all the popes have been taken from the College of Cardinals, but in a legal point of view the eligibility of the pope is not conditioned by his being a cardinal. The decree of Nicholas II abolished a former provision by a Roman synod which demanded it, and since then a number of popes have been elected who were not cardinals. Urban III, elected in 1185, was only archbishop of Milan; Urban IV (1261) was patriarch of Jerusalem; Clement V (1305), archbishop of Bordeaux; Urban VI, with whose election in 1378 the papal schism began, was archbishop of Bari. Celestine V (1294) was an eremite, who after a long conclave was agreed upon by two contending parties as a mere figurehead, and Urban V (1360) was abbot of St. Victor in Marseilles. No pope is allowed to appoint his own successor, and the election by a conclave is an indispensable condition. In troublesome times some popes, as Pius VI (died 1799) and Pius VII (died 1823), provided that at the election of their successors some of the regulations for the holding of the conclave might be dispensed with. Pius IX is reported to have made similar arrangements for the election of his successor. The emperor of Austria, as the successor of the Roman emperor, and the governments of France and Spain, have exercised, and the governments of Naples and Portugal have claimed, the right of excluding some particular cardinal, as persona minus grata, from the papal throne. The right is exercised before an election through a member of the College of Cardinals, who is commissioned for that purpose by the government, and it is limited to one veto at each conclave. It is generally believed at the time of this writing (1877) that, on the death of pope Pius IX, the empire of Germany will claim this right, in order to prevent the election of the candidate of the Jesuits. Long usage causes the selection of the candidate from the Italian cardinals. Several popes, like Celestine V, have resigned the office; quite a number, in the course of the Middle Ages, have been deposed by the emperors; and in the 15th century the councils of Pisa, Constance, and Basle claimed and exercised the right of deposing the pope. The principle, first enounced by the Pseudo-Isidorian Decretals, and ever since maintained by the advocates of the extreme papal system, that the apostolical see is not judged by any one (apostolica sedes a nemine judicatur), has more and more been accepted by the Church; and after the Vatican Council it would appear to be impossible that the Catholic world would ever recognize any vacancy of the papal see except those caused by the voluntary resignation or the death of the incumbent.

The coronation and consecration ceremonies attending the inauguration of the pope are of a very solemn and impressive character. We give a description in the words of an eyewitness:

About eleven o’clock the procession began to arrive from the Quirinal Palace. It was immensely long. Tile cardinals were in their state carriages, and each was accompanied by several carriages full of attendants. The senator and governor of Rome formed part of the train. The pope was in a state coach drawn by six black horses, and preceded by a priest riding on a white mule, and bearing a large crucifix. The procession went round by the back of St. Peter’s, and the pope went up to the Sistine Chapel, where various ceremonies were performed which I did not see. In about half an hour the procession entered the center door of St. Peter’s. In all these processions the lowest orders of the clergy came first, then bishops, archbishops, cardinals, and, lastly, the pope. He was borne aloft on his throne, carried by twelve bearers, the choir singing, Ecce sacerdos magnus Behold the great priest!’ At the chapel of the Sauntissimo lie stopped and adored the host. He was then borne forward to the highaltar, and, passing by the north side of it, alighted in a space enclosed for the use of the pope and the cardinals on the east side. He walked up to the altar, prayed at the foot of it, ascended the steps, and seated himself on the middle of the altar, on the very spot where the ciborium or pyx, containing the host, usually stands. The cardinals in succession went through the ceremony of adoration. This ceremony is performed three times: first, before quitting the conclave; secondly, in the Sistine Chapel before the procession came into St. Peter’s: and now, for the third time, each cardinal prostrated himself before the pope, then kissed his toe, or rather his slipper, next kissed his hand, which was not bare, but covered by the cape of his robes: and, lastly, the pope embraced each twice, and when all had gone through this ceremony, the pope rose and bestowed his blessing on the people present, and retired in a sedan chair, on the back of which there is embroidered in gold a dove, to represent the Holy Spirit. On the Sabbath after his solemn installation his holiness performs mass at an altar of the richest decoration, the pontifical mantle being placed on him by the oldest cardinal-deacon, who addresses him thus: Receive the holy mantle, the plenitude of the pontifical offices, to the honor of Almighty God, and of the most glorious Virgin Mary, his mother, and of the blessed apostles Peter and Paul, and of the holy Roman Church. After this comes the public coronation on the balcony above the great door of St. Peter’s. His mantle as a priest is taken off, and his triple crown as a king is put on, with these words: Receive the tiara adorned with three crowns, and know that thou art the father of princes and kings, the governor of the world, on earth vicar of our Savior Jesus Christ, to whom is honor and glory for ever and ever. Amen. His holiness then pronounces this prayer: May the holy apostles Peter and Paul, ill whose power and authority we confide, intercede for us with the Lord. By the prayers and merits of the blessed Mary, always a virgin, of the blessed Michael, the archangel, of the blessed John the Baptist, and the holy apostles Peter and Paul, and all the saints; may Almighty God have mercy upon you, and may Jesus Christ, having remitted all your sins, lead you to life everlasting. Amen. May the Almighty and merciful Lord grant you indulgence, absolution, and remission of all your sins, space for true and fruitful repentance, a heart always penitent, and amendment of life, the grace and consolation of the Holy Spirit, and final perseverance in good works. Two keys are also given him in the church of St. John Lateran. (See also Wesleyan Mag. 1851.)

IV. List of the Roman Popes. In the article PAPACY SEE PAPACY we have referred to the uncertainty prevailing in regard to the first bishops of Rome. Roman Catholic writers themselves quite generally admit that the statements of ancient Church-writers on the subject are entirely irreconcilable, and that it is impossible to establish with any degree of certainty the order in which they followed each other, the years of their accession to the see of Rome, and the year of their death. The following table is given from the Roman almanac entitled Gerarchia Cattolica (with the original names of the popes, and notices of antipopes, from other sources), and although it is so uncritical in its first part that even the Roman historians do not adopt it, it is of some value, as presenting the claims of the Church of Rome:

[St. stands for Saint, B. for Blessed, M. for Martyr.]

No. Name. Place of Birth. Term.

1. St. Peter, M… Bethsaida in Galilee 42-67

2. St. Linus, M… Volterra…67-78

3. St. Cletus, M… Rome… 78-90

4. St. Clement I, M Rome 90-100

5. St. Anacletus, MAthens 100-112

6. St. Evaristus, M Syria112-121

7. St. Alexander I, M Rome 121-132

8. St. Sixtus I. M Rome 132-142

9. St. Telesphorus, M Greece 142-154

10. St. lyginlus, M Greece 154-158

11. St. Pius I, M Aquileja 158-167

12. St. Anicetus, M Syria 167-175

13. St. Soterus, MCampania 175-182

14. St. Eleutherius, M Epirus 182-193

15. St. Victor I, M Africa 193-203

16. St. Zephyrinns, M Rome 203-220

17. St. Calixtus I, M Rome 221-227

18. St. Urban I, M Rome 227-233

19. St. Pontianus, M Rome 233-238

20. St. Anterus, M Greece238-239

21. St. Fabian, M Rome 240-253

22. St. Cornelius, M Rome 254-255 [Novatian, first antipope.]

23. St. Lucius I, M Rome 255-257

24. St. Stephen I, M Rome 257-260

25. St. Sixtus II, M Athens 260-261

26. St. Dionysius Italy 261-272

27. St. Felix I. M Rome 272-275

28. St. Eltychianus Tuscany 225-283

29. St. Caius, M Dalmatia 283-296

30. St. Marcellinus, M Rome 296-304

31. St. Miarcellus I, M Rome304-309

32. St. Esebius Calabria 309-311

33. St. Melchiades. Africa 311-314

34. St. Sylvester Rome 314-337

35. St. Malrcus Rome 337-340

36. St. Jillius I Rome 341-352

37. St. Liberius Rome 352-363

38. St. Felix II Rome 363-365

39. St. Darnass… Spain… 366-384 [Ursicinus, antipope.]

40. St. Siricius… Rome… 384-398

41. St. Anastasius… Rome 399-402

42. St. Innocet I… Albano… 402-417

43. St. Zosim… Greece… 417-418

44. St. Boniface I… Rome… 418-423

45. St. Celestine I… Campania… 423-432

46. St. Sixts III… Rome… 432-440

47. St. Leo I, the Great… Tuscany… 440-461

48. St. Hilary… Cagilari… 461-468

49. St. Simplicius… Tivoli… 468483

50. St. Felix II… Rome… 483492

51. St. Gelasius I… Africa… 492-496

52. St Anastasius II… Rome… 496-498

53. St. Symnachus… Rome… 498-514

54. St. Hormisdas… Frosinone… 514-523

55. St. John I, M… Tuscany… 523-526

56. St. Felix IV… Benevet… 526-530

57. Boniface II… Rome…530-532

58. John II… Rome… 532-535

59. St. Agapetus I… Rome… 535-536

60. St. Sylverius, M… Frosinone… 536-538

61. Vigilius… Rome… 538-555

62. Pelagius I… Rome… 555-560

63. John III… Rome… 560-573

64. Benedict I… Rome… 574-578

65. Pelagius II… Rome… 578-590

66. St. Gregory I, the Great. Rome… 50-604

67. Sabiniaus… Volterra… 604-606

68. Boniface III… Rome… 607-607

69. St. Boniface IV… The Marches… 608-615

70. St. Adeodatus I… Rome… 615-619

71. Boniface V… Naples… 619-625

72. Honorins I… Campania… 625-638

73. Severinus… Rome… 640-640

74. John IV… Dalmatia… 640-642

75. Theodorus I… Greece… 642-649

76. St. Martin, M… Todi… 649-655

77. St. Engenius I… Rome… 655-656

78. St. Vitalianus… Segi… 657-672

79. Adeodatus II… Rome… 672-676

80. Donus I… Rome… 676-678

81. St. Agathon… Greece… 678-682

82. St. Leo II… Sicily… 682-683

83. St. Benedict II… Rome… 684-685

84. John V… Antiochia… 685-686

85. Conon… Thrace… 686-687

86. St. Sergis I… ?… 687-701

87. John VI… Greece… 701-705

88. John VII… Greece… 705-707

89. Sisinnius… Syria… 708-708

90. Constantine… Syria… 708-715

91. St. Gregory II… Rome… 715-731

92. St. Gregory III… Syria… 731-741

93. St. Zachary… Greece… 741-752

94. St. Stephen II… Rome… 752-752

95. Stephen III… Rome… 752-757

96. St. Paul I… Rome… 757-767

97. Stephen IV… Syracuse… 768-771

98. Adrian I… Rome… 771-795

99. St. Leo III… Rome … 795-816

100. Stephen V… Rome… 816-817

101. St. Paschal I… Rome… 817-824

102. Eugenius II… Rome… 824-827

103. Valentiuns… Rome… 827-827

104. Gregory IV… Rome… 827-844

105. Sergius II… Rome… 844-847

106. St. Leo IV… Rome… 847-855 [Fabulous antipope Joan.]

107. Benedict III… Rome… 855-858

108. St. Nicholas I, the Great Rome… 858-867

109. Adrian II… Rome… 867-872

110. John VIII… Rome… 872-882

111. Marinus I… Gallese…882-884

112. Adrian III… Rome… 884-885

113. Stephen VI… Rome… 885-891

114. Formosus… Ostia… 891-896 [Sergius, antipope.]

115. Boniface VI… Rome… 896-96

116. Stephen VII… Rome… 897-898

117. Romanus… Gallese… 898-898

118. Theodorus II… Gallese…898-898

119. John IX… Tivoli… 898-900

120. Benedict IV… Rome… 900-903

121. Leo V… Ardea… 903-903

122. Christopher… Rome… 903-904

123. Sergius III… Rome… 904-911

124. Anastasius III… Rome… 911-913

125. Lando… Sabine… 913-914

126. John X… Ravenna… 915-928

127. Leo VI… Rome… 928-929

128. Stephen VIII… Rome… 929-931

129. John XI… Rome… 931-936

130. Leo VII… Rome… 936-939

131. Stephen IX… Rome… 939-942

132. Marinus II… Rome… 943-946

133. Agapetus II… Rome… 946-956

134. John XI*… Rome… 956-964 (Octavian Conti.) [Leo 8:antipope.]

135. Benedict V… Rome… 964-965

136. John XIII… Rome… 96S-972 (Bishop John of Ravenna.)

137. Benedict VI… Rome… 972-973

138. Donus II… Rome… 973-975

139. Benedict VII… Rome … 975-984 (Conti, bishop of Sutri.)

140. John XIV… Pavia… 984-985 (Peter, bishop of Pavia.)

141. Boniface VII… ?…985-985 (Cardinal Boniface Franco.)

142. John XV… Rome… 985-996

143. John XVI… … 996-996

144. Gregory V… Germany… 996-999 (Bruno, court chaplain of the emperor.)

145. John XVI… ?… 999-999

146. Sylvester II… France… 999-1003 (Gerbert.) * The first pope who changed his name on ascending the papal throne.

147. John XVIII… Rome… 1003-1003

148. John XIX… Rome… 1003-1009

149. Sergius IV… Rome… 1009-1012

150. Benedict VIII… Rome… 1012-1024 (Conti.)

151. John XX… Rome… 1024-1033 (Conti, a brother of the preceding.)

152. Benedict IX … Rome… 1033-1044 (Theophylact, nephew of the two preceding.) [Sylvester, antipope.]

153. Gregory VI… Rome… 1044-1046 (Archpriest John Gratianus.)

154. Clement II… Germany… 1046-1048 (Bishop Suidger of Bamlberg.)

155. Damasus II… Germany… 1048-1048 (Bishop Pappo of Brixen.)

156. St. Leo IX… Germany… 1049-1055 (Bishop Bruno of Toul.)

157. Victor II… Germany… 1055-1057 (Bishop Gebhard of Eichstidt.)

158. Stephen X… Germany… 1057-1058 (Abbot Frederick of Montecassino.)

159. Benedict X… .?… 1058-1059 (John Mincius Conti, bishop of Velletri.)

160. Nicholas II… France… 1059-1061 (Bishop Gerard of Florence.)

161. Alexander II… Milan… 1061-1073 (Anselm Badagio, bishop of Lucca.)

162. St. Gregory VII… Soana… 1073-1085 (Cardinal Hildebrand.) [Clement III, antipope.]

163. Victor III… Benevent… 1087-1087 (Desiderius, duke of Capua, abbot of Montecassino.)

164. Urban II… France… 1088-1099 (Otto de Lagers, cardinal-bishop of Ostia.)

165. Paschal II… Bieda… 1099-1118 (Cardinal Rainer.) [Albert and Theodoric, antipopes.]

166. Gelasius II… Gaeta… 1… 1118-1119 (Cardinal Johannes Cajetani.)

167. Calixtus II… France…1119-1124 (Guido, count of Burgundy, archbishop of Vienne.)

168. Honorius II… Bologna… 1124-1130 (Lambert, cardinal-bishop of Ostia.)

169. Innocent I… Rome… 1130-1143 (Cardinal Glegory Papy.) [Anacletus, antipope.]

170. Celestine II… Citta di Castello… 1143-1144

171. Lucius II… Bologna… 1144-1145 (Cacciauemici)

172. B. Eugenius III… Montemagno… 1145-1153 (Bernardus, abbot at Rome.)

173. Anastasius IV… Rome… 1153-1154

174. Adrian IV… England… 1154-1159

175. Alexander III… Siena… 1159-1181 (Roland Bandinelli.) [Victor, Paschal, and Callixtus, antipopes.]

176. Lncius III… Lucca… 1181-1185

177. Urban III… Milan… 1185-1187 (Bishop Humbert of Milan.)

178. Gregory VII… Beneventum… 1187-1187

179. Clemelnt III… Rome… 1187-1191

180. Celestinie III… Rome… 1191-1198

181. Innocent III… Anagni. … .1198-1216 (Cardinal Conti.)

182. Honorius III… Rome… 1216-1227 (Savelli.)

183. Gregoury IX… An agni… 1227-1241 (Conti.)

184. Celestine IV… Milan… 1241-1241 (Castislione.)

185. Innocent IV… Genoa… 1243-1254 (Fieschi.)

186. Alexander IV… Anagni… .1254-1261 (Conti.)

187. Urban IV… France… 1261-1264 (Jacob Pantalean, patriarch of Jerusalem.)

188. Clement IV… France… 1265-1269 (Guido Fulcodi.)

189. B. Gregory X… Piacenza… 1271-1276 (Theobald Visconti, archdeacon at Liuge.)

190. Innocent V… … Savoy… 1276-1276 (Peter de Tarantaise.)

191. Adrian V… Genoa… 1276-1276 (Fieschi.)

192. John XXI… Portugal… 1276-1277 (Peter Julian, bishop of Tusculum.)

193. Nicholas III… Rome… 1277-1280 (Cardinal John Cajetan Orfini.)

194. Martin IV… France… 1281-1285 (Simon de Brie.)

195. Honorius IV… Rome… 1285-1287 (Savelli.)

196. Nicholas IV… A… Ascoli… .1288-1292 (Cardinal Jerome, bishop of Tusculum.)

197. St. Celestine V… Isenia… .1294-1294 (Peter, an eremite.)

198. Boniface VIII… Anagni… 1294-1303 (Benedict Cajetan.)

199. B. Benedict XI… Treviso… 1303-1304 (Boccasini.)

200. Clement V… France… 1305-1314 (De Gout, archbishop of Bordeaux.)

201. John XXII… France… 1316-1334 (Cardinal Jacob de Esne.) [Nicholas, antipope.]

202. Benedict XII… France… 1334-1342 (Cardinal Jacob Fournier.)

203. Clement VI… France… 1342-1352 (Cardinal Peter Roger.)

204. Innocent VI… France… .1352-1362 (Cardinal Stephen Aubert.)

205. B. Urban V… France… 1362-1370 (Abbot at Marseilles.)

206. Gregory XI… France… 1370-1378 (Cardinal Peter Roger.)

207. Urban VI… Naples… 1378-1389 (Prignano, archbishop of Bari.) [From 1378 to 1410 occurs the great Western Schism, during which, in conflict with the line of popes inserted in the catalogue, is found a rival line residing at Avignon-Clement VII 1378-1394; Benedict XIII 1394-1410. The Council of Pisa, 1410, deposed both rival popes; but Benedict XIII remained in schism till his death in 1424.]

208. Boniface IX… Naples… 1389-1404 (Cardinal Peter Tomacelli.)

209. Innocent VII… Sulmona… .1404-1406 (Migliorati.)

210. Gregory XII… Venice… 1406-1409 (Coriario.)

211. Alexander V… Bologna… 1409-1410 (Cardinal Peter Philargi.)

212. John XXIII… Naples… 1410-1415 (Cardinal Cossa.)

213. Martin V… Rome… 1417-1431 (Cardinal Otto Colonna.)

214. Eugenius IV… Venice… 1431-1447 (Condulmero.) [Felix, antipope.]

215. Nicholas V… Sarzana… .1447-1455 (Thomas de Sarzano.)

216. Calixtus III… Spain… 1455-1458 (Cardinal Alphons Borgia.)

217. Pius II… Sieia… 1458-1464 (AEneas Sylvius Piccolomini.)

218. Paul II… Venice… 1464-1471 (Barbo.)

219. Sixtus IV… Savona… 1471-1484 (Cardinal Francesco della Rovere.)

220. Innocent VIII… Genoa… 1484-1492 (Cardinal John Baptist Cibo.)

221. Alexander VI… Spain… .1492-1503 (Cardinal Rodrigo Borgia.)

222. Pius III… Siena… 1503-1503 (Cardinal Francis Piccolomini.)

223. Julius II… Savona…1503-1513 (Cardinal Rovere.)

224. Leo X… Florence… 1513-1521 (Cardinal de’ Medici.)

225. Adrian VI… Netherlands… 1522-1523 (Adrian Florent.)

226. Clement VII… Florence… 1523-1534 (Cardinal de’ Medici.)

227. Paul III… Rome… 1534-1549 (Cardinal Alexander Farnese.)

228. Julius III… Tuscany… 1550-1555 (Cardinal del Monte.)

229. Marcellus II… Montepulciano… 1555-1555 (Cardinal Cervino.)

230. Paul IV… Naples… 1555-1559 (Cardinal Caraffa.)

231. Pius IV… Milan… 1559-1565 (Cardinal de’ Medici.)

232. St. Pins V… Bosco… 1566-1572 (Michael Ghisleri, cardinal of Alessandria.)

233. Gregory XIII… Bologna… 1572-1585 (Cardinal Hugo Buoncompagno.)

234. Sixtus V… Marchigiano… 1585-1590 (Felix Peretti, cardinal Montalto.)

235. Urban VII… Rome… 1590-1590 (Cardinal Castagna.)

236. Gregory XIV… Cremona… 1590-1591 (Cardinal Sondrati.)

237. Innocent IX… Bologna… 1591-1592 (Cardinal Fachinetti.)

238. Clement VIII… Florence… 1592-1605 (Cardinal Aldobrandini.)

239. Leo XI… Florence… 1605-1605 (Cardinal Octavian de’ Medici.)

240. Paul V… Rome… 1605-1621 (Cardinal Camillo Borghese.)

241. Gregory XV… Bologna… 1621-1623 (Cardinal Alexander Ludovisio.)

242. Urban VIII… Florence… 1623-1644 (Cardinal Maffeo Barberini.)

243. Innocent X… Rome… 1644-1655 (Cardinal John Pamfili.)

244. Alexander VII… Siena… 1655-1667 (Cardinal Fabio Chigi.)

245. Clement IX… Pistoia… 1667-1669 (Cardinal Rospigliosi.)

246. Clement X… Rome … .1670-1676 (Cardinal Altieri.)

247. Innocent XI… Cono… 1676-1689 (Cardinal Benedict Odescalchi.)

248. Alexander VIII… Venice… 1689-1691 (Cardinal Peter Ottoboni.)

249. Innocent XII… Naples… .1691-1700 (Cardinal Anthony Pignatelli.)

250. Clement XI… Urbino… 1700-1721 (Cardinal Albani.)

251. Innocent XIII… Rome… 1721-1724 (Cardinal Conti.)

252. Benedict XIII… Rome… 1724-1730 (Cardinal Orsini.)

253. Clement XII… Floence… 1730-1740 (Cardinal Colsini.)

254. Benedict XIV… Bologna… .1740-1758 (Cardinal Prosper Lambertini.)

255. Clement XIII… Venice… 1758-1769 (Cardinal Rezzonico.)

256. Clement XIV… St. Angelo in Vado1769-1774 (Cardinal Gianganelli.)

257. Pius VI… Cesena… 1775-1799 (Cardinal Braschi.)

258. Pius VII… Cesena… 1800-1823 (Cardinal Chiaramonte.)

259. Leo XII… Spoleto… 1823-1829 (Cardinal della Genga.)

260. Pius VIII… Cingoli… .1829-1830 (Cardinal Castiglione.)

261. Gregory XVI… Belluno… 1831-1846 (Cardinal Mauro Capellari.)

262. Pius IX… Siniagli… 1846-1878 (Cardinal Mastai Ferretti.)

263. Leo XIII… Carpinetto… 1878 (Cardinal Gioacchino Pesci.)

How uncertain the table of the early Roman bishops is, may be seen by comparing it with the catalogue given in Alzog’s Handbuch der Kirchengeschichte (9th ed. 1872), a work probably more extensively used as a text-book of Church history than any other Roman Catholic’s work. It gives (2, 649) the catalogue of the first Roman bishops, as follows:

St. Peter, 42-67 or 68.St. Anterus, 235-236.

Linus. Fabianus, 235-236.

Anacletus (or Cletus). Cornelius, 251-252.

Clement I, 92, 101 Licius, 253.

Evaristus. Stephen I, 253-257.

Alexander, until 119. Xystus or Sixtus II, 257-258.

Xystus or Sixtus, until 127. Dionysius, 259-269.

Telephorus, 127-139 Felix I, 269-274.

Hyginus, 139-142. Eutychianus, 274-283.

Pius I, 142-157. Caius, 283-296.

Anicetus, 157-168. Marcellinus, until 304.

Soter, 168-177. Marcellus, 308-310.

Eleutherius, 177-192. Melchiades, 311-335.

Victor, 192-202. Sylvester I, 314-335.

Zephyrinus, 202-219.Marcus, 336.

Callistus, 219-223. Julius I, 337-352.

Urbanus, 223-230.Liberius, 352-366.

Pontianus, 230-235

Felix, 355 (antipope)

It will be seen that, according to this list, one of the Roman bishops, whom the Roman list calls St. Felix II, was neither a saint nor even a legitimate pope. In the Roman list of popes, 80 are enumerated as saints, 4 as blessed, and 32 as martyrs. In regard to their nationality, 14 were Frenchmen, 11 Greeks, 6 Germans. 6 Syrians and natives of Asia Minor, 3 Africans, 3 Spaniards, 2 Dalmatians, 1 Thracian, 1 Englishman, 1 Portuguese, 1 Dutchman; all the remainder were Italians. The last non-Italian pope was Adrian VI (1522-23); the last saint, St. Pius V (1566-72). As the Roman legend claimed that the apostle Peter had been 25 years bishop of Rome, although it is very doubtful whether he ever even visited Rome, SEE PETER, a belief gained ground within the Church that no pope would reign 25 years until the last under whom the world would come to and end; but the pontificate of Pius IX, which in 1877 had already lasted 31 years, put an end to this tradition. Besides Pius IX, only the following nine popes reigned 20 years or more: Sylvester I, 23 years; Leo I, 21; Adrian I, 23; Leo III, 20; Alexander II, 21; Urban 8:20; Clement 11:2(); Pius 6:24; Pius 7:23. Sixty-four popes reigned from 10 to 20 years each; and forty-five reigned each less than one year.

The see of Rome was frequently disputed. The first antipope was Novatians, who was chosen by some of the clergy and laity in opposition to Cornelius; the last, Felix V, who was elected in opposition to Eugenius IV. Sometimes the whole Church was for a number of years divided by the rival claims of two popes, and in one instance this division continued for thirty-nine years (1378-1417). SEE ANTIPOPES.

The story that at one time, in the 9th century, the papal chair was filled by a woman, the popess Joan, was quite generally credited from the latter part of the 11th until the opening of the 16th century, but it is now admitted by nearly all writers to be a fable. SEE JOAN.

On the several Latin titles given to the popes, see Ducange, Glossariums. On the rights and functions of the popes, see the manuals of ecclesiastical laws, especially those by Richter, Lehrbuch des Kirchenrechts (7th ed., by Dove, Leipsic, 1874); Meier, Lehrbuch des Kirchenrechts (3rd ed. Gtting. 1869); Schulte, Lehrbuch des kath. Kirchenrechts (3rd ed. Giessen, 1873); Phillips, Kirchenrecht (Ratisbon, 1845-69, 7 vols.). The principal work on the papal elections is by Zopffel, Die Papstvahlen (1872). See also Camarda, Synopsis constitutionum rapost. cum ceremoniali Gregoriano de pertinentibus ad electionem Papae (1732); Menschen, Ceremonialia electionis et coronationis Pontif. Rom. (Frankfort, 1732); Adler, Cer-emonien und Feierlichkeiten bei der Wahl und Kronung eines Papstes (Vienna, 1834); Pipping, De triplici corona Pontif: Rom. (Leipsic, 1642); Hermansen, De com. trip. Pontiff Rom. (Upsala, 1736); Krebs, De mutatione nominum Pontiff Rom. (Leipsic, 1719); Mayer, De osculo pedum Pontiff Rom. (Wittenberg, 1687); Foulkes, Divis. of Christendom, 2. 556; Thompson, Papacy and the Civil Power (N. Y. 1877, 12mo); Brownson’s Rev. July and Oct. 1855; North Brit. Rev. vol. 11; Cath. World, Aug. 1870, art. 11; Lond. Quar. Rev. April, 1871; Oct. 1876, art. 3; Princeton Rev. Jan. 1871, art. 9; Bibl. Sac. Jan. 1871, art. 4; Edinb. Rev. July, 1871, art. 5; July, 1872, art. 4. (A. J. S.)

POPE is the title given in the Russian Church to the secular clergy, and corresponds in import to the (Latin) word curate used in the English Church. We find full information about Russian curates or popes in the earliest times. A passage of Nikon (1, 198) shows plainly that about the year 1094, when Wewolod died, there were priests in Russia. They formed, with the deacons, subdeacons, and the persons belonging to an inferior degree of the ecclesiastic order, what was called the secular clergy, the highest office of it being that of archpriest or protopope. The verger, the bellringer, the lamb-baker, were counted also with the ecclesiastic order, and formed together a special class distinguished from the regular and secular clergies as well by their cloth as by their peculiar privileges. The conditions required for admission into the ecclesiastic state had been set down, among others, by the metropolitan Cyrillus (1274) at the Synod of Wladimir on the Klaisma, celebrated in Russian history. It was decreed there: If the bishops wish to ordain a pope, let them first examine his life from his childhood; only he who has lived temperately and chastely, who has married a virgin, who is proficient in the art of reading and writing, who is neither a gambler nor a cheat, who is not addicted to drinking, swearing, or cursing, who is not quarrelsome, shall receive the consecration. The right to appoint a pope belonged to the bishop in his diocese, and the community seem to have had originally no share whatever in the choice of their pastor. But it was one of the directions of the Stoglawnik (of the year 1551) that the parishioners should elect their pastors and deacons themselves. As the revenue of the popes accrued either from special properties or from the voluntary gifts of the parishioners, it would seem that in the first case the right of nomination was exercised by the bishop, and in the other case by the people. The pope was chosen from the deacons, the deacons from the subdeacons, and the latter were taken from among the sons of the secular clergy. Ordination was bestowed by the bishop who received as a compensation the so-called ordination money. This practice was opposed in Novgorod and Pskow, and occasioned the formation of the sect called Strigolniks (q.v.). At the present time the priests are appointed by the bishop, archbishop, or metropolitan to whose eparchy they belong. Yet the right of the bishop is not of a quite unlimited description: he has to make sure of the consent of the church patron, i.e. the proprietor of the ground on which the church stands, or of the colonel, if the pope to be appointed is to officiate in a regiment. The lower servants of the Church are appointed by the priest or the patron, seldom by the higher dignitaries.

The official duties of the Greek popes are the following: Every Sunday and holyday, and at least three times in tile week, they officiate mechanically and distribute the Eucharist; they give their blessing to confined wives, christen new-born children, administer confession, marry betrothed couples, recite their prayers in uninterrupted series before the bodies of the deceased until they are under ground, and visit from time to time their parishioners in their houses for the purpose of bestowing their benediction, etc. Extemporaneous preaching is severely prohibited. Once in a while they read for the assembled people after worship a homily of the fathers, or some composition sent to them by the bishop. Many liturgical acts cannot be done by the pope alone without the assistance of the deacon. Every pope must have married already as subdeacon, and the reputation of his bride must have been unblemished. If his wife dies, his usefulness as a pastor comes to an end, and, as a rule, he retires to some monastery, where, as a priest monk, he enjoys special honors. But, according to more modern rules, popes of good repute are allowed to remain in office after the death of their wives; but a second marriage is entirely out of the question. If the widowed priest marries again, he renounces ipso facto the ecclesiastical state, for one marriage only is allowed and prescribed to him.

The honors paid to the secular priests do not follow them into private life. Their religious duties performed, the borrowed nimbus falls, and the boyar who devoutly kissed their hand at the altar ignores them in the street. The cause thereof is mostly to be found in their licentious conduct, their coarseness, their ignorance of worldly and spiritual things-in short, in their vices, against which the metropolitans, bishops, and even the councils have accumulated in vain all kinds of prohibitory measures. Witnesses relate that the ignorance of the Greek clergy is indescribable; that out of a thousand priests, scarcely ten are able to sign their names, and that he who can do it can pass himself off for a scholar: it does not seem that the Russian popes can lay claim to a much higher degree of consideration. Most of those who are destined to the Church belong to the lowest class of the population- they are generally the sons of the lower clergy. The sad predicament of the district schools and colleges allows of an inference as to the studies preparatory to them. The first son of a pope belongs by law to the clerical career; and if the necessities of the Church require it, two of his children receive orders. The embryo pastor gets his first education in the church, where he performs the lower church duties, and in the ecclesiastical schools of the district. Then he spends two years in a clerical seminary, where he learns reading, writing, elementary arithmetic, and the ritual: at this stage of his development the black cloak is thrown on his shoulders, and the priest is made. Now he has to marry, if he does not cherish the idea of retiring to a monastery. He has not the least smattering of Latin or Greek, nor indeed any kind of knowledge. The sum of his acquirements is the ability to read and write the liturgy of the Church. Even the little he has learned in school is slowly obliterated by the frequent mechanical performance of ceremonies and the toils of agriculture, to which he must devote his spare time to avoid starvation.

The income of the popes and inferior ecclesiastics is very scanty. As a rule they dwell in a house belonging to the parish, till with their own hands the land conceded to them for their maintenance, and have mostly to depend on their casual fees. It follows that everything-baptism, blessings, exorcisms, visits to the sick, celebration of the Eucharist, even confessions- must be paid for according to the rank and wealth of the parishioner, else the pope could not maintain himself and his family with a salary of $100 at the utmost. The dress of the popes differs little from that of laymen. Their long beard (which they consider sinful to shave off), their uncombed hair, hanging wildly about their neck and shoulders, give them all untidy appearance. In the church alone the popes appear bareheaded; outside they wear a kind of cap or a round hat, with a broad, flat border. A long stick is their constant companion.

The ordination of popes (hierey, presbyters, priests) is observed in the following way: The bishop makes the sign of the cross over the head of the candidate, while the latter kisses the bishop’s knees. He then, with the other ecclesiastics, walks three times processionally around the altar, kneels down before the same, and lays his forehead between his hands, which he rests crosswise on the altar. The bishop lays his right hand on the head of the young priest, and says, The divine grace promotes the most pious deacon to the order of priesthood. Then the ordinated youth receives the benediction, and kisses the hand of the bishop. As to priestly garments, he receives, instead of the crarion, a similar stripe, four inches wide and four ells long, around the neck: this ornament is called epibrachelion; further, a belt and a round cloak, the great phelonion (the casula of the Latins), which reaches to his feet.

The secular clergy stand under the control of the diocesan bishop, but are in many respects also amenable to the worldly authorities. See for literature the art. SEE RUSSIA.

Fuente: Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature