History of the papacy

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This article or section needs to be revised: the history of an institution that spans almost two millennia cannot be adequately represented in 13 kB. In addition, there are numerous inaccuracies and errors that cannot be eliminated immediately. Important aspects such as the primacy of jurisdiction or benefice policy are missing, and the history of the papacy is closely linked to the papal administration, its offices and tasks. You must be expressly warned against uncritical adoption of the information mentioned here. - Enzian44 ( discussion ) 01:34, 7th Nov. 2013 (CET)
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Simon Petrus, partial view of the picture The Four Apostles by Albrecht Dürer

The office and the institution of the head of the Catholic Church in Rome and thus the history of the papacy can be traced back to the 4th century and documented. The title " Pope " can first be proven with Siricius (384-399) as an official title. Since Gregory I (590–604), the Roman bishops have been claiming the exclusive right to use the title Pope . In late antiquity and in the Middle Ages, the legality of individual popes was controversial and their opponents accused them of having been installed through violence or unlawful papal elections . In such cases, anti-popes appeared again and again . The life stories of some popes are lost, have been passed down unclearly, or have been made up in hagiography or have been changed by chroniclers for reasons of church policy. The Roman Catholic Church itself has for some time not counted the rightful popes.

Antiquity

According to the teaching of the Roman Catholic Church , the Pope is the successor of the Apostle Peter , who in this sense is regarded as the first bishop of Rome . His presence in Rome and his martyrdom under the Roman emperor Nero are derived in particular from the testimony of Clement's First Epistle and are controversial among historians. In this letter to the congregation of Corinth, the congregation of Rome asks the Corinthians to reinstate deposed presbyters . The letter, which was written around the turn of the first century and whose author was identified with Clement of Rome as early as the second century , contains formulations that are traditionally interpreted as references to the martyrdom of the apostles Peter and Paul in Rome. It is controversial whether the first letter of Clement already documents a primacy of the community of Rome or is to be regarded as a fraternal admonition among equals.

In Rome, the Monepiscopate, which emerged in the east at the turn of the first century, only gained acceptance late, probably in the last quarter of the 2nd century. Over time, the bishops of the state and provincial capitals gradually assumed the position of high bishops, who were called archbishops or, in the east, metropolitans. Out of these were those whose congregations were traced back to the foundation by an apostle or apostle student, these were v. a. the bishops of Rome, Constantinople , Alexandria , Antioch and Jerusalem, also known as "Patriarchs" .

In the 3rd century, the title of Pope emerged as an honorary title for bishops , patriarchs and abbots , especially in the Orient . The first known connection of the title "Pope" with the Bishop of Rome is from the time of Marcellinus († 304), who is so named in the epitaph of the deacon Severus. Siricius of Rome (384 to 399) was the first to describe himself as papa . The title of Pope was legally established by Gregory I (590 to 604) as an exclusive official title .

Since the 4th century, the Roman bishop claimed for himself a position of priority among the patriarchs and all Christian bishops, but this was only enforced in the western church . Leo the Great , Bishop of Rome from 440 to 461, was declared first among the patriarchs by the 4th Council of Chalcedon (451). Since then, the Pope has been using the name Pontifex Maximus ("supreme bridge builder"), which the Roman emperor carried as the supreme Roman priest until Emperor Gratian . Under Pope Leo, both the spiritual and the political authority of the Roman bishop grew.

middle Ages

During the Lombard invasion of Italy in 754 and 756 , Pope Stephen II called the Frankish King Pippin III. to help. After the victory over the Lombards, Stephan von Pippin was given an area in central Italy, which was to become the basis of the later Papal States. This Pippin donation was confirmed by Charlemagne . This was thereupon by Pope Leo III. crowned emperor .

A dispute between popes and emperors in 1054 led to the so-called church split between the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches . The patriarchs on both sides excommunicated one another. Regardless of this, there were also disputes in Western Europe itself, such as above all between Pope Gregory VII and the Roman-German King and later Emperor Henry IV. The main issue was the competence regarding the appointment of the bishops, which until now was largely based on the secular Violence (see Reichskirche ) had occurred. After Heinrich's excommunication, there followed a dispute called the investiture dispute . This was to last almost half a century until Heinrich's son of the same name and Pope Kalixt II concluded the Worms Concordat , which only granted the Pope the right of investiture . The emperor was only allowed to exercise his right of decision in the event of a disagreement. With this, a strengthening of the power-political position of the popes was prepared, which, however, came to an end with the imprisonment of Boniface VIII by the French King Philip IV in 1303 and the forced relocation of the residence from Rome to Avignon .

In the next two centuries further armed conflicts followed. After the death of Henry VI. Politically troubled times began in 1197. Meanwhile, Innocent III. Pope. He interfered in the affairs of the Holy Roman Empire and put Friedrich II , a son of Heinrich, on the throne. Innocent was also the first Pope to call himself the representative of Christ on earth. Under him the papacy reached its greatest power. After his death, however, the conflict between emperors and popes broke out again.

Throughout the Middle Ages , it was more common for several popes to hold office at the same time, as an antipope was raised during the lifetime of a canonically elected pope . This happened because, for example, the college of cardinals split up, the emperor or city-Roman noble families intervened in the election of the pope . Such interventions are now prohibited under threat of excommunication . In addition, in the 14th century the residence was moved to Avignon ( Avignon Papacy ). Pope Clement V , a Frenchman, moved his seat to Avignon in 1309 because he was under the influence of the French King Philip IV and because he had helped him to become pope. King Philip IV took advantage of the proximity of the Pope to influence the occupation of high church offices and to fight the Knights Templar . Until 1377, all subsequent popes stayed in Avignon. First Gregor XI. returned to Rome. After his death, a dispute developed between Urban VI. and Clemens VII . Both did not recognize each other as Pope. The occidental schism came about , which was to be ended in a council in 1409. Both popes were deposed and replaced by a third. However, this plan did not work. Only the Council of Constance from 1414 to 1418 ended the misery. All three popes were deposed and Martin V became the new head of the church.

In the 15th and 16th centuries, the increasing secularization of the papacy led to a crisis, the ultimate consequence of which was the Reformation . Various personalities initially tried to carry out reforms within the church. Among them were Erasmus von Rotterdam , Martin Luther , Ulrich Zwingli and Johannes Calvin . These attempts at reform led to conflicts within the church, as they received no support from the popes. Ultimately, these conflicts resulted in a further split in the church, into today's Roman Catholic and Protestant churches .

Modern times

During the Renaissance and Baroque periods , the popes used the services of artists such as Michelangelo , Raphael , Gian Lorenzo Bernini to renovate churches, squares, aristocratic houses, etc. or to build new buildings. One example is St. Peter's Basilica , built in the 16th century on Mons Vaticanus .

In the 17th and 18th centuries, the popes built a structured administration. As an absolutist ruler, the Pope headed the Papal States . Its end came in 1870 when Vittorio Emanuele conquered Rome and united Italy into one state. Pope Pius IX lost his territory and holed up as a voluntary prisoner in the Vatican. It was not until the Lateran Treaty in 1929 between Pope Pius XI. and Benito Mussolini established the sovereignty of the Vatican State.

In the First Vatican Council in 1869/70 Pope Pius IX. the infallibility dogma for his person in doctrines, which subsequently led to the Kulturkampf in some countries .

In the age of industrialization and capitalism, the papacy made a remarkable dogmatic turnaround after the Russian October Revolution of 1917: Had the social encyclical of Leo XIII. 1891 emphasized that " alms are to be given from abundance ", which is "not a duty of justice", so emphasized that of Pius XI. 1931, the state could "order what the owners are allowed to do with regard to their property use and what is forbidden to them".

Pope Pius XII played a controversial role . during the Second World War . The Pope and the Curia are accused of failing to condemn the National Socialist crimes clearly enough. A fundamental reform of Catholicism was led by Pope John XXIII. with the convocation of the Second Vatican Council . In 1978, with the Polish Cardinal Karol Wojtyla, a non-Italian was elected Pope for the first time in centuries. His pontificate was marked by an emphasis on papal authority. A worldwide sympathy was with his death and the election of his successor Benedict XVI. - previously Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger - from Germany. As the first Pope after more than 700 years, he voluntarily announced his resignation on February 11, 2013, with effect from February 28, 2013 at 8 p.m. (CET). His successor is the Argentine Jorge Bergoglio . Bergoglio belongs to the Jesuit order and gave himself the name Francis.

See also

literature

Further references can be found in the bibliographies of the works mentioned.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Urs Küry : Church History , Christkatholischer Schriftenverlag, 1968
  2. ↑ a b dtv-Atlas Weltgeschichte, Volume 1, 31st edition 1997
  3. ↑ Thomas Ribi: The Power of the Popes: Why is the Pope still so powerful? In: Neue Zürcher Zeitung from June 8, 2017
  4. ^ Dtv documents: property and freedom ; ed. by Friedhelm Forwick, 1972
  5. ↑ Hubert Wolf: How the Pope stood when Hitler came to power. In: FAZ.net . March 28, 2008, accessed October 13, 2018 .

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