Papal supremacy

(noun)

The doctrine of the Roman Catholic Church that the pope, by reason of his office as Vicar of Christ and as pastor of the entire Christian Church, has full, supreme, and universal power over the whole church.

Related Terms

Examples of Papal supremacy in the following topics:

  • The Development of Papal Supremacy

    • Papal supremacy is the doctrine of the Roman Catholic Church that the pope, by reason of his office as Vicar of Christ and as pastor of the entire Christian Church, has full, supreme, and universal power over the whole church, a power which he can always exercise unhindered—that, in brief, "the Pope enjoys, by divine institution, supreme, full, immediate, and universal power in the care of souls."
    • The creation of the term "papal supremacy" dates back to the 6th century, at the time of the fall of the Western Roman Empire, which was the beginning of the rise of the bishops of Rome to not just the position religious authority, but the power to be the ultimate ruler of the kingdoms within the Christian community (Christendom), which it has since retained.
    • The second great phase in the process of papal supremacy's rise to prominence extended from the mid-11th to the mid-13th century.
    • Papal supremacy was also increased by Urban II's launching in 1095 of the Crusades, which, in an attempt to liberate the Holy Land from Muslim domination, marshaled under papal leadership the aggressive energies of the European nobility.
    • Both these efforts, although ultimately unsuccessful, greatly enhanced papal prestige in the 12th and 13th centuries.

  • The Anglican Church

    • Cromwell was a lawyer and a member of Parliament—a Protestant who saw how Parliament could be used to advance the Royal Supremacy, which Henry wanted, and to further Protestant beliefs and practices Cromwell and his friends wanted.
    • Cranmer introduced a series of religious reforms that revolutionised the English church from one that—while rejecting papal supremacy—remained essentially Catholic, to one that was institutionally Protestant.
    • Wrightson shows how the jurisdictional transformation of the royal supremacy over the church resulted, gradually, in the introduction of true religious change.
    • The Royal Supremacy 20:12 - Chapter 4.

  • The First Stuarts and Catholicism

    • The break with Rome was effected by a series of acts of Parliament but Catholic Mary I restored papal jurisdiction in 1553.
    • However, Mary's successor, Elizabeth I, restored the Church of England and reasserted the royal supremacy in 1559.

  • Elizabeth I and English Patriotism

    • The new Act of Supremacy became law in 1559.
    • England established a trading relationship with Morocco in opposition to Spain, selling armor, ammunition, timber, and metal in exchange for Moroccan sugar, in spite of a Papal ban.
    • England established a trading relationship with Morocco in opposition to Spain, selling armor, ammunition, timber, and metal in exchange for Moroccan sugar, in spite of a Papal ban.

  • Italian Politics

    • Rome was a city of ancient ruins, and the Papal States were loosely administered, and vulnerable to external interference such as that of France, and later Spain.
    • High Medieval Northern Italy was further divided by the long-running battle for supremacy between the forces of the Papacy and of the Holy Roman Empire: each city aligned itself with one faction or the other, yet was divided internally between the two warring parties, Guelfs and Ghibellines.

  • The Western Schism

    • The Western Schism, or Papal Schism, was a split within the Roman Catholic Church that lasted from 1378 to 1417.
    • For a time these rival claims to the papal throne damaged the reputation of the office.
    • This reputation can be attributed to perceptions of predominant French influence and to the papal curia's efforts to extend its powers of patronage and increase its revenues.
    • Urban had been a respected administrator in the papal chancery at Avignon, but as pope he proved suspicious, reformist, and prone to violent outbursts of temper.
    • Robert took the name Clement VII and reestablished a papal court in Avignon.

  • Discontent with the Roman Catholic Church

    • Following the breakdown of monastic institutions and scholasticism in late medieval Europe, accentuated by the Avignon Papacy, the Papal Schism, and the failure of the Conciliar movement, the sixteenth century saw a great cultural debate about religious reforms and later fundamental religious values.
    • To many, papal institutions were rigid, especially regarding their views on just price and usury.
    • The first of a series of disruptive and new perspectives came from John Wycliffe at Oxford University, one of the earliest opponents of papal authority influencing secular power and an early advocate for translation of the Bible into the common language.
    • A few days afterward, some of Hus's followers burnt the Papal bulls.
    • The tumults at Prague had stirred up a sensation; papal legates and Archbishop Albik tried to persuade Hus to give up his opposition to the papal bulls, and the king made an unsuccessful attempt to reconcile the two parties.

  • The Church During the Italian Renaissance

    • In October 1517 Luther published the 95 Theses, challenging papal authority and criticizing its perceived corruption, particularly with regard to instances of sold indulgences.
    • Pope Paul III came to the papal throne (1534–1549) after the sack of Rome in 1527, with uncertainties prevalent in the Catholic Church following the Protestant Reformation.
    • The City of Rome, the Papacy, and the Papal States were all affected by the Renaissance.

  • Louis XIV and the Huguenots

    • Louis initially supported traditional Gallicanism, which limited papal authority in France, and convened an Assembly of the French clergy in November 1681.
    • Before its dissolution eight months later, the Assembly had accepted the Declaration of the Clergy of France, which increased royal authority at the expense of papal power.
    • Although the king could not make ecclesiastical law, all papal regulations without royal assent were invalid in France.

  • The Great Schism of 1054

    • In response Leo confiscated papal estates and placed them under the governance of Constantinople.
    • The papal legate sent by Leo IX traveled to Constantinople for purposes that included refusing to Cerularius the title of "Ecumenical Patriarch" and insisting that he recognize the Pope's claim to be the head of all the churches.
    • The main purpose of the papal legation was to seek help from the Byzantine Emperor in view of the Norman conquest of southern Italy and to deal with recent attacks by Leo of Ohrid against the use of unleavened bread and other Western customs, attacks that had the support of Cerularius.