An Internet Resource for the beliefs and churches of liturgical Christians
His Holiness
BENEDICT XVI
Pope of Rome
Patriarch of the West
Church of Rome
Pope of Rome and Patriarch of the West
According to tradition the first bishop of Rome was Saint Peter the apostle.
By the time of Pope Leo I (who reigned 440-61), the bishops of Rome were the most powerful figures in western Christianity.
It was Leo who began officially using the title pope (Latin papa, from Greek pappas "father"), though it was originally used by other bishops besides him, such as the pope of Alexandria. In the 11th century, Pope Gregory VII decreed that the title should belong only to the Bishops of Rome.
The title pope is an informal one; the formal title of the pope is "bishop of Rome, vicar of Jesus Christ, successor of the prince of the apostles, supreme pontiff of the universal Church, patriarch of the West, primate of Italy, archbishop and metropolitan of the Roman province, sovereign of the state of the Vatican City, servant of the servants of God." In canon law he is referred to as the "Roman Pontiff" (Pontifex Romanus). The pope is styled "Your Holiness" (Sanctitas Vestra) and is frequently referred to as "the Holy Father".
The pope's signature is usually in the format "NN. PP. x" (e.g., Pope Paul VI signed his name as "Paulus PP. VI"), and his name is frequently accompanied in inscriptions by the abbreviation "Pont. Max." or "P.M." (abbreviation of the ancient title pontifex maximus, literally "greatest bridge-maker", but usually translated "supreme pontiff"). The signature of papal bulls is customarily NN. Episcopus Ecclesia Catholicae ("NN. bishop of the catholic Church"), while the heading is NN. Episcopus Servus Servorum Dei ("NN. bishop and servant of the servants of God"), the latter title dating to the time of St. Gregorius PP. I, the Great. Other titles used in some official capacity include summus pontifex ("highest pontiff"), sanctissimus pater and beatissimus pater ("most holy father" and "most blessed father"), sanctissimus dominus noster ("our most holy lord"), and, in the Mediaeval period, dominus apostolicus ("apostolic lord").
The pope's official residence is the palace of the Vatican, and he also possesses a summer palace at Castel Gandolfo (believed to be situated on the site of the ancient city-state Alba Longa). Historically the official residence of the pope was the Lateran Palace, donated by the Roman Emperor Constantine; the Lateran Palace and Castel Gandolfo are integral parts of Vatican City. The former papal summer palace, the Quirinal Palace, has subsequently been the official residence of the kings of Italy and presidents of the Italian Republic. It is the pope's ecclesiastical jurisdiction (the "Holy See") and not his secular jurisdiction (Vatican City) that conducts international relations; for hundreds of years, the pope's court (the Roman curia) has functioned as the government of the Roman Catholic Church.
The name "Holy See" (also "Apostolic See") is, in ecclesiastical terminology, the ordinary jurisdiction of the bishop of Rome (including the Roman curia); the pope's various honors, powers, and privileges within the Roman Catholic Church and the international community derive from his episcopate of Rome in lineal succession from Saint Peter. Consequently, Rome has traditionally occupied a central position in the Catholic Church, although this is not necessarily so. The pope derives his pontificate from being bishop of Rome but is not obligated to reside in Rome; according to the Latin formula ubi papa, ubi 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 resided not in Rome but in Avignon.
Roman Catholic tradition maintains that the institution of the pontificate can be found in the Bible, and cites certain key passages in support of this contention. Chief among these passages is Matthew 16: 18-19, wherein Jesus says to Peter,
And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.
The Roman Catholic Church's doctrine as to the pope was authoritatively declared in the First Vatican Council (1869-1870) in the constitution "Pastor aeternus". The four chapters of that constitution deal respectively with the office of supreme head conferred on Saint Peter, the perpetuity of this office in the person of the Roman pontiff, the pope's jurisdiction over the faithful and his supreme authority to define in all questions of faith and morals.
More recently, in Lumen gentium, the dogmatic constitution on the Roman Catholic Church, the Second Vatican Council (1962-1965) clarified that "[the Roman pontiff's] definitions, of themselves, and not from the consent of the Church, are justly styled irreformable, since they are pronounced with assistance of the Holy Spirit, promised to him in Blessed Peter, and therefore they need no approval of others, nor do they allow an appeal to any other judgment."
