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 the papal conclave are in large part designed to constrain the interference of secular rulers which characterized the first millennium of the Roman Catholic Church, and persisted in practices such as the creation of crown-cardinals and the "jus exclusivae". Appointment might have taken several forms, with a variety of roles for the laity 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 a synod he convoked to depose Antipope 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—the Crescentii and then the Counts of Tusculum.

In many cases, the papal coronation was delayed until the election had been confirmed. Some antipopes were similarly appointed. The practice ended with the conclusion of the Investiture Controversy (c.f. confirmation of bishops) due largely to the efforts of Cardinal Hildebrand (future Pope Gregory VII), who was a guiding force in the selection of his four predecessors, and the 1059 papal bull "In Nomine Domini" of Pope 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 of Pope John XIII, had previously deposed and had strangled Pope Benedict VI, and helped install Antipope Boniface VII in Rome in opposition to the imperial candidates, Pope Benedict VII and Pope John XIV, the latter of which perished in the Castel Sant'Angelo like Benedict V. Crescentius the Younger, the son of Crescentius the Elder, likely had a strong hand in the election of Pope John XV, although the details of that papacy are incomplete and disputed. However, it is known that Crescentius the Younger deferred to Otto 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 support Antipope 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 and Pope 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 the Counts 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.