Pope election decree

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The papal election decree of April 13, 1059 was promulgated at the Easter Synod in the Lateran by the papal bull In nomine Domini . Pope Nicholas II regulated the election of future popes . For the first time, the circle of papal voters was restricted to cardinals (this regulation is still in force today). Later modifications extended the papal election system to include a two-thirds majority (at the 3rd Lateran Council in 1179) and the conclave (at the 2nd Council of Lyon in 1274), which created the cornerstones of the form of papal election that is still valid today.

With this decree, the right to vote was initially transferred to the cardinal bishops , the lower-ranking cardinal priests and deacons were to approve retrospectively. The emperor and his successors were given a more generally formulated right of confirmation ("royal paragraph"). The adoption of this document was intended to counteract the election of antipopes and create a legally binding mode of future papal elections .

The reason for the promulgation of the first papal election decree

The decree was issued because there was an antipope with Benedict X due to the schism within the church . According to the old custom, as demanded in the canons , he had achieved the dignity of the Pope. However, the Roman nobles who wanted him in the chair of Peter had apparently not saved up on money to ensure that he received the laudation despite the rejection by the cardinal bishops by the clergy and the people . For this reason, Benedict X was accused of simony . The papal election decree was therefore issued in order to prevent future simonistic circumstances in the papal elevation. However, since Nicholas II himself was elected Pope by some of the cardinals, the majority of historical research sees the emergence of the first papal electoral decree also from the political background, which served to legitimize Nicholas II.

The formal and factual structure of the decree

The external form of the decree is a synodal canon . It is largely based on the model of a papal chancellery document . Its components are the entry protocol , the context and the escha protocol . The entry protocol gives information about those present at the synod and the presidency of Pope Nicholas, including the date and location. In the eschat protocol there are the signatures of the Pope, the members of the Roman Church, the archbishops and the bishops - in that order. The context is introduced by the words of the input protocol "pontifex (sc. Nikolaus) ... inquit" and gives direct speech what Nikolaus had presented to those present. The context is divided into three parts: the history ( narratio ), the actual provisions ( dispositio ) and the threat of punishment if these provisions are violated ( Poenformel , comminatio).

The narratio contains the legal justification of the decree: it is intended to ensure that similar processes as after the death of Stephen IX are not repeated. enter. The dispositio deals with the process of election and with the powers of the elected person prior to his enthronement.

In addition to the actual provisions of the papal election decree, Nicholas II sent the detailed synodal letter Vigilantia Universalis, largely formulated by Petrus Damiani , for the general dissemination of the resolutions within Western Christianity.

Provisions on election

  1. Election regulations (ordo electionis): The cardinal bishops should give careful advice and the cardinal clerics should be consulted. The rest of the clergy and the people should subsequently vote in favor of the election.
  2. Candidate: There is the possibility that the future Pope does not come from the Roman Church if there is no suitable personality for this position.
  3. Location: If for certain reasons the election cannot take place in Rome , it can also take place in any other location.

literature

  • Bernhard Hülsebusch, The Representative of Jesus - Mystery and Truth of the Pope Election , St. Benno Buch- und Zeitschriftenverlagsgesellschaft, Leipzig, 2002, ISBN 3-7462-1501-3
  • Detlev Jasper, The Papal Election Decree of 1059. Tradition and text form , Sigmaringen: Thorbecke 1986 (Contributions to the history and source studies of the Middle Ages, 12) ISBN 3-7995-5712-1
  • Hans-Georg Krause, The papal election decree of 1059 and its role in the investiture dispute . Rome 1960
  • Johannes Laudage / Matthias Schrör (Ed.), The Investiture Controversy. Sources and materials. 2nd, completely revised and greatly expanded edition. Böhlau, Cologne / Weimar / Vienna 2006, ISBN 3-8252-2769-3 , text no. 10, p. 67 ff. (Latin / German)

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Matthias Schrör: Metropolitan violence and the turn of the pope in history (=  historical studies . No. 494 ). Matthiesen, Husum 2009, ISBN 978-3-7868-1494-8 , pp. 113 .