- Papal appointment
Papal appointment is the oldest method for the selection of the
pope . Until the 11th century, most popes were appointed by secular European rulers or by their predecessors."Christian Chronicler". " [http://www.christianchronicler.com/history1/medieval_papacy.html The Medieval Papacy] ".] The later procedures of thepapal conclave are in large part designed to constrain the interference of secular rulers which characterized the first millennium of theRoman Catholic Church , and persisted in practices such as the creation ofcrown-cardinal s and the "jus exclusivae ". Appointment might have taken several forms, with a variety of roles for thelaity and civic leaders, Byzantine and Germanic emperors, and noble Roman families. [Greeley, 2005, p. 20.] The role of the appointment vis-a-vis the general population and the clergy was prone to vary considerably, with the nomination carrying weight that ranged from near total to a mere suggestion or ratification of a prior election.The institution has its origins in
Ancient Rome , where on more than one occasion the emperor stepped in to resolve disputes over the legitimacy of papal contenders. An important precedent from this period is an edict of Emperor Honorius, issued after asynod he convoked to deposeAntipope Eulalius . The power passed to (and grew with) the King of the Ostrogoths, then the Byzantine Emperor (or his delegate, the Exarch of Ravenna). After an interregnum, the Kings of the Franks and the Holy Roman Emperor (whose selection the pope also sometimes had a hand in), generally assumed the role of confirming the results of papal elections. For a period (today known as the "Pornocracy "), the power passed from the Emperor to powerful Roman nobles—theCrescentii and then theCounts of Tusculum .In many cases, the
papal coronation was delayed until the election had been confirmed. Someantipope s were similarly appointed. The practice ended with the conclusion of theInvestiture Controversy (c.f.confirmation of bishops ) due largely to the efforts of Cardinal Hildebrand (futurePope Gregory VII ), who was a guiding force in the selection of his four predecessors, and the 1059papal bull "In Nomine Domini " ofPope Nicholas II ; some writers consider this practice to be an extreme form of "investiture" in and of itself. [Brauer, Jerald C., and Gerrish, Brian Albert. 1971. "The Westminster Dictionary of Church History". Westminster Press. ISBN:0664212859. p. 216.] According to von Hase et al.::"All this, however, did not prevent the emperor who appointed the pope and the bishops, from prescribing laws for the church, and governing it according to his own views rather than theirs, whenever the empire was free from internal distractions." [Karl August von Hase, Karl von Hase, Charles Edward Blumenthal, Conway Phelps Wing. 1870. " [http://books.google.com/books/pdf/A_History_of_the_Christian_Church.pdf?id=lqVAAAAAIAAJ&output=pdf&sig=ACfU3U24OfhFzXlpDonCpACzH_JIVG_Z5A A History of the Christian Church] ". D. Appleton and company. p. 184.]List of papal appointments
Ancient Rome
Exarchate of Ravenna Kings of the Franks/Holy Roman Empire
Crescentii
Crescentius the Elder , the brother ofPope John XIII , had previously deposed and had strangledPope Benedict VI , and helped installAntipope Boniface VII in Rome in opposition to the imperial candidates,Pope Benedict VII andPope John XIV , the latter of which perished in theCastel Sant'Angelo like Benedict V.Crescentius the Younger , the son of Crescentius the Elder, likely had a strong hand in the election ofPope John XV , although the details of that papacy are incomplete and disputed. However, it is known that Crescentius the Younger deferred toOtto III, Holy Roman Emperor for the choice of the successor of John XV:Pope Gregory V , Otto III's cousin. Yet, not long afterward, disputes with the emperor and Gregory V caused Crescentius the Younger to supportAntipope John XVI , who was deposed with some difficulty by Otto III, who proceeded to have John XVI mutilated and Crescentius the Younger killed.Three years later, after a revolt in Rome involving
John Crescentius , the son of Crescentius the Younger, Otto III andPope Sylvester II were expelled from Rome; the three successors of Sylvester II (who was later permitted to return to Rome) were appointed by John Crescentius before he died in the spring of 1012, nearly simultaneously with Sergius IV, allowing theCounts of Tusculum to displace the Crescentii.List of anti-papal appointments
Notes
References
*Coulombe, Charles A. 2003. "Vicars of Christ: A History of the Popes". Citadel Press. ISBN:0806523700.
*Dahmus, Joseph Henry. 1984. "Dictionary of medieval civilization". Macmillan. ISBN:0029078709.
*Graboïs, Aryeh. 1980. "The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Medieval Civilization". Octopus.
*Greeley, Andrew M. 2005. "The Making of the Pope". Little, Brown and Company. ISBN:0316325600.
*Hill, David Jayne. 1905. " [http://books.google.com/books/pdf/A_history_of_diplomacy_in_the_internatio.pdf?id=Ks8BAAAAYAAJ&output=pdf&sig=ACfU3U0L9Kx_YxKxxOHGwSvQC0bTZeL9kQ A history of diplomacy in the international development of Europe] ". Longmans, Green, and co.
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