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Activism

2023-09-21T12:32:38Z

ThereseH43: Activism

{{Short description|Efforts to make change in society toward a perceived greater good}}
{{Redirect|Activist|similar titles|The Activist (disambiguation)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2020}}
[[File:Barricade18March1871.jpg|thumb|[[Barricade]] at the [[Paris Commune]], March 1871.]]
[[File:1963 march on washington.jpg|thumb|Civil rights activists at the [[March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom]] during the [[civil rights movement]] in August 1963.]]
[[File:Leffler - WomensLib1970 WashingtonDC.jpg|thumb|A [[Feminist movement|women's liberation]] march in Washington, D.C., August 1970.]]
'''Activism''' (or [[advocacy]]) consists of efforts to promote, impede, direct or intervene in [[Social change|social]], [[Political campaign|political]], economic or [[Natural environment|environmental]] reform with the desire to make [[Social change|changes in society]] toward a perceived greater good. Forms of activism range from [[Mandate (politics)|mandate]] building in a community (including writing letters to newspapers), [[petition]]ing [[elected officials]], running or contributing to a [[political campaign]], preferential patronage (or [[boycott]]) of businesses, and demonstrative forms of activism like [[Demonstration (protest)|rallies]], [[Demonstration (people)|street marches]], strikes, [[sit-in]]s, or [[hunger strike]]s.

Activism may be performed on a day-to-day basis in a wide variety of ways, including through the creation of art ([[artivism]]), computer hacking ([[hacktivism]]), or simply in how one chooses to spend their money ([[economic activism]]). For example, the refusal to buy clothes or other merchandise from a company as a protest against the [[Exploitation of labour|exploitation of workers]] by that company could be considered an expression of activism. However, the most highly visible and impactful activism often comes in the form of [[collective action]], in which numerous individuals coordinate an act of protest together in order to make a bigger impact.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Power in Movement: Social Movements and Contentious Politics|last=Tarrow|first=Sidney|date=1998|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=9781139076807|edition=2nd|location=Cambridge, UK|oclc=727948411|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/powerinmovements0000tarr}}</ref> Collective action that is purposeful, organized, and sustained over a period of time becomes known as a [[social movement]].<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|title=The Social Movements Reader: Cases and Concepts|last1=Goodwin|first1=Jeff|last2=Jasper|first2=James|publisher=Wiley-Blackwell|year=2009|isbn=9781405187640|edition=2nd|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/socialmovementsr2edunse}}</ref>

Historically, activists have used literature, including pamphlets, tracts, and books to disseminate or propagate their messages and attempt to persuade their readers of the [[Social justice|justice]] of their cause. Research has now begun to explore how contemporary activist groups use social media to facilitate [[civic engagement]] and collective action combining [[Politics and technology|politics with technology]].<ref name="Advocacy 2.0">{{cite journal|last= Obar|first= Jonathan|title= Advocacy 2.0: An Analysis of How Advocacy Groups in the United States Perceive and Use Social Media as Tools for Facilitating Civic Engagement and Collective Action|journal= Journal of Information Policy|year= 2012|volume= 2|pages= 1–25|doi= 10.5325/jinfopoli.2.2012.1|ssrn= 1956352|s2cid= 246628982|display-authors=etal|doi-access= free}}</ref><ref name="Obar">{{Cite journal|last= Obar|first= Jonathan|title= Canadian Advocacy 2.0: A Study of Social Media Use by Social Movement Groups and Activists in Canada|journal= Canadian Journal of Communication|year= 2014|ssrn= 2254742|doi= 10.22230/cjc.2014v39n2a2678|doi-access= free|volume= 39}}
</ref> Left-wing and right-wing online activists often use different tactics. [[Hashtag activism]] and offline protest are more common on the left. Working strategically with partisan media, migrating to [[Alt-tech|alternative platforms]], and manipulation of [[mainstream media]] are more common on the right.<ref name=":3" /> In addition, the perception of increased left-wing activism in science and academia may decrease conservative [[Institutional trust (social sciences)|trust]] in science and motivate some forms of conservative activism, including on college campuses.<ref name=":4" /><ref name=":5" /> Some scholars have also shown how the [[Social influence|influence]] of very wealthy Americans is a form of activism.<ref name=":6" /><ref name=":7" />

Separating activism and [[terrorism]] can be difficult and has been described as a 'fine line'.<ref>{{Cite book |first=Carol |last=Bohmer |url=http://worldcat.org/oclc/743396687 |title=Rejecting refugees: political asylum in the 21st century |date=2010 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-0-415-77375-1 |pages=258 |oclc=743396687}}</ref>

==Definitions of activism==
The ''[[Online Etymology Dictionary]]'' records the English words "activism" and "activist" as in use in the political sense from the year 1920<ref>{{OEtymD|activism|accessdate=17 December 2015}}</ref> or 1915<ref>{{OEtymD|activist|accessdate=17 December 2015}}</ref> respectively. The history of the word ''activism'' traces back to earlier understandings of [[collective behavior]]<ref>{{Cite book|title=Introduction to the Science of Sociology|url=https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.107514|last1=Park|first1=Robert|last2=Burgess|first2=Ernest|publisher=University of Chicago Press|year=1921 |location=Chicago}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|title=Social Theory and Social Structure|last=Merton|first=Robert|publisher=Free Press|year=1945|location=New York}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|title=The True Believer: Thoughts on the Nature of Mass Movements |last=Hoffer|first=Eric|publisher=Harper & Row|year=1951|location=New York}}</ref> and [[Social action theory|social action]].<ref>{{Cite book|title=The Structure of Social Action|last=Parsons|first=Talcott|publisher=Free Press|year=1937 |location=New York}}</ref> As late as 1969 ''activism was'' defined as "the policy or practice of doing things with decision and energy", without regard to a political signification, whereas ''social action was'' defined as "organized action taken by a group to improve social conditions", without regard to normative status. Following the surge of so-called "new social movements" in the United States in the 1960s, a new understanding of activism emerged as a rational and acceptable democratic option of protest or appeal.<ref>{{Cite book|title=The Logic of Collective Action: Public Goods and the Theory of Groups|url=https://archive.org/details/logicofcollectiv0124olso|url-access=registration|last=Olson|first= Mancur|publisher= Harvard University Press|year=1965|location=Cambridge, Mass.}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|title=The Strategy of Social Protest|last=Gamson|first=William A.|publisher=Dorsey Press|year=1975|isbn=9780256016840|location=Homewood, IL|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/strategyofsocial0000gams}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|title=From Mobilization to Revolution|url=https://archive.org/details/frommobilization00till|url-access=registration|last=Tilly|first=Charles|publisher=Addison-Wesley|year=1978|location=Reading, Mass.|isbn=9780201075717}}</ref> However, the history of the existence of revolt through organized or unified protest in recorded history dates back to the [[Slave rebellion|slave revolts]] of the 1st century BC(E) in the [[Roman Empire]], where under the leadership of former gladiator [[Spartacus]] 6,000 slaves rebelled and were crucified from Capua to [[Rome]] in what became known as the [[Third Servile War]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.historynet.com/spartacus.htm|title=Ancient History: Spartacus and the Slave Rebellion|last=Czech|first=Kenneth P.|date=Apr 1994|website=HistoryNet|access-date=12 August 2018|archive-date=27 March 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190327102642/https://www.historynet.com/spartacus.htm|url-status=live}}</ref>

In English history, the [[Peasants' Revolt]] erupted in response to the imposition of a [[Poll tax riots|poll tax]],<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.britannica.com/event/Peasants-Revolt|title=Peasants' Revolt|website=Encyclopædia Britannica|access-date=12 August 2018|archive-date=9 September 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190909022504/https://www.britannica.com/event/Peasants-Revolt|url-status=live}}</ref> and has been paralleled by other rebellions and revolutions in Hungary, Russia, and more recently, for example, [[Umbrella Revolution|Hong Kong]]. In 1930 under the leadership of [[Mahatma Gandhi]] thousands of protesting Indians participated in the [[Salt March]],<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |url=https://www.britannica.com/event/Salt-March |title = Salt March|encyclopedia = Encyclopaedia Britannica|first = Kenneth|last = Pletcher |date = 14 December 2015}}</ref> as a protest against the oppressive taxes of their government, resulting in the imprisonment of 60,000 people and eventually independence of their nation. In nations throughout Asia, Africa and South America, the prominence of activism organized by [[social movement]]s and especially under the leadership of [[Civil and political rights|civil activists]] or [[social revolution]]aries has pushed for increasing national self-reliance or, in some parts of the developing world, collectivist communist or socialist organization and affiliation.<ref>{{Cite book|title=No Other Way Out: States and Revolutionary Movements, 1945–1991|url=https://archive.org/details/nootherwayout00jeff|url-access=registration|last= Goodwin |first=Jeff|publisher=Cambridge University Press|year=2001|location=Cambridge, UK}}</ref> Activism has had major impacts on Western societies as well, particularly over the past century through social movements such as the [[Labour movement]], the [[Women's rights|women's rights movement]], and the [[civil rights movement]].<ref>{{Cite book|title=The Social Movement Society: Contentious Politics for a New Century|last1=Meyer|first1=David|last2=Tarrow|first2=Sidney|publisher=Rowman & Littlefield |year=1998}}</ref>

==Types of activism==
Activism has often been thought to address either human rights or environmental concerns, but [[Libertarianism|libertarian]] and [[Religious right in the United States|religious right]] activism are also important types.<ref name=":8">{{Cite journal|last1=Keckler|first1=Charles|last2=Rozell|first2=Mark J.|date=2015-04-03|title=The Libertarian Right and the Religious Right|url=https://doi.org/10.1080/10457097.2015.1011476|journal=Perspectives on Political Science|volume=44|issue=2|pages=92–99|doi=10.1080/10457097.2015.1011476|s2cid=145428669|issn=1045-7097|access-date=19 February 2022|archive-date=29 June 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230629163034/https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/10457097.2015.1011476|url-status=live}}</ref> Human rights and environmental issues have historically been treated separately both within international law and as activist movements;<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Boyle|first=Alan|date=October 11, 2012|title=Human Rights and the Environment: Where Next?|url=https://academic.oup.com/ejil/article/23/3/613/399894|journal=European Journal of International Law|volume=23|issue=3|pages=613–642|doi=10.1093/ejil/chs054|via=Oxford Academic|doi-access=free|access-date=19 October 2021|archive-date=5 June 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180605004937/https://academic.oup.com/ejil/article/23/3/613/399894|url-status=live}}</ref> prior to the 21st century, most human rights movements did not explicitly treat environmental issues, and likewise, human rights concerns were not typically integrated into early environmental activism.<ref>{{Cite journal|date=Spring 2004|title=Introduction|url=https://www.carnegiecouncil.org/publications/archive/dialogue/2_11/index/_res/id=Attachments/index=0/Human_Rights_Dialogue_Environment.pdf|journal=Human Rights Dialogue|volume=2|issue=11 |pages=2|access-date=19 October 2021|archive-date=10 January 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220110100149/https://www.carnegiecouncil.org/publications/archive/dialogue/2_11/index/_res/id=Attachments/index=0/Human_Rights_Dialogue_Environment.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref> In the 21st century, the intersection between human rights and environmentalism has become increasingly important, leading to criticism of the mainstream environmentalist movement<ref>{{Cite news|last=Britton-Purdy|first=Jedediah|date=September 7, 2016|title=Environmentalism Was Once a Social-Justice Movement|work=The Atlantic|url=https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2016/12/how-the-environmental-movement-can-recover-its-soul/509831/|access-date=19 October 2021|archive-date=19 October 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211019041533/https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2016/12/how-the-environmental-movement-can-recover-its-soul/509831/|url-status=live}}</ref> and the development of the [[environmental justice]] and [[climate justice]] movements.

=== Human rights ===
{{Main article|Human rights movement}}
Human rights activism seeks to protect basic rights such as those laid out in the [[Universal Declaration of Human Rights]] including such liberties as: right to life, citizenship, and property, freedom of movement; constitutional freedoms of thought, expression, religion, peaceful assembly; and others.<ref>{{Cite web|year=1948|title=Universal Declaration of Human Rights|url=https://www.un.org/en/documents/udhr/|url-status=live|publisher=United Nations|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090504133757/http://www.un.org:80/en/documents/udhr/ |archive-date=4 May 2009 }}</ref> The foundations of the global human rights movement involve resistance to colonialism, imperialism, slavery, racism, segregation, patriarchy, and oppression of indigenous peoples.<ref>Clapham, ''Human Rights'' (2007), p. 19. "In fact, the modern [[civil rights movement]] and the complex normative international framework have grown out of a number of transnational and widespread movements. Human rights were invoked and claimed in the contexts of anti-colonialism, anti-imperialism, anti-slavery, anti-apartheid, anti-racism, and feminist and indigenous struggles everywhere."</ref>

=== Environment ===
{{Main article|Environmentalism}}

Environmental activism takes quite a few forms:
* the protection of nature or the natural environment [[Environmentalism#Preservation and conservation|driven by a utilitarian conservation ethic or a nature oriented preservationist ethic]]
* the protection of the human environment (by pollution prevention or the protection of [[Conservation-restoration of cultural heritage|cultural]] heritage or quality of life)
* the conservation of depletable [[natural resource]]s
* the protection of the function of critical [[Earth system science|earth system]] elements or processes such as the [[climate]].

=== Animal rights ===
{{Main article|Animal Rights Movement}}

=== Libertarian and conservative ===
Activism is increasingly important on the political right in the United States and other countries, and some scholars have found: "the main split in conservatism has not been the long-standing one between economic and social conservatives detected in previous surveys (i.e., approximately the [[Libertarian right]] and the [[Christian right]]). Instead, it is between an emergent group (Activists) that fuses ''both ideologies'' and a less ideological category of 'somewhat conservative' Establishment Republicans."<ref name=":8" /> One example of this activism is the [[Tea Party movement]].<ref name=":8" />

[[Pew Research Center|Pew Research]] identified a "group of 'Staunch Conservatives' (11 percent of the electorate) who are strongly religious, across-the-board socially and economically conservative, and more politically active than other groups on the Right. They support the [[Tea Party movement|Tea Party]] at 72 percent, far higher than the next most favorable group."<ref name=":8" /> One analysis found a group estimated to be 4% of the electorate who identified both as libertarians and staunch religious [[Conservatism in the United States|conservatives]] "to be the core of this group of high-engagement voters" and labeled this group "Activists."<ref name=":8" />

==Methods==
[[File:PeacePark.jpg|thumb|right|The longest running [[White House Peace Vigil|peace vigil]] in U.S. history, started by activist [[Thomas (activist)|Thomas]] in 1981]]

Activists employ many different methods, or tactics, in pursuit of their goals.<ref name=":0" /> The tactics chosen are significant because they can determine how activists are perceived and what they are capable of accomplishing. For example, nonviolent tactics generally tend to garner more public sympathy than violent ones.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Nonviolent Social Movements: A Geographical Perspective|last1=Zunes|first1=Stephen|last2=Asher|first2=Sarah Beth|last3=Kurtz|first3=Lester|date=1999|publisher=Blackwell|isbn=978-1577180753|location=Malden, Mass.|oclc=40753886|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/nonviolentsocial0000unse}}</ref> and are more than twice as effective in achieving stated goals.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Why Civil Resistance Works: The Strategic Logic of Nonviolent Conflict|last1=Chenoweth|first1=Erica|last2=Stephan|first2=Maria J.|author-link1=Erica Chenoweth|author-link2=Maria Stephan|publisher=Columbia University Press|year=2013|isbn=9780231156837|location=New York|oclc=810145714}}</ref>

Historically, most activism has focused on creating substantive changes in the policy or practice of a government or industry. Some activists try to persuade people to change their behavior directly (see also [[direct action]]), rather than to persuade governments to change laws.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Direct action |url=http://www.activisthandbook.org/en/tactics/direct-action |access-date=2022-07-13 |website=Activist Handbook |language=en |archive-date=13 July 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220713071802/https://www.activisthandbook.org/en/tactics/direct-action |url-status=live }}</ref> For example, the [[cooperative movement]] seeks to build new institutions which conform to cooperative principles, and generally does not lobby or protest politically. Other activists try to persuade people or government policy to remain the same, in an effort to [[Countermovement|counter change]].

[[Charles Tilly]] developed the concept of a "[[repertoire of contention]]", which describes the full range of tactics available to activists at a given time and place.<ref name=":2">{{Cite book|title=Contentious Politics|last1=Tilly|first1=Charles|last2=Tarrow|first2=Sidney|publisher=Oxford University Press|year=2015|isbn=9780190255053|edition= Second revised |location=New York, NY|oclc=909883395}}</ref> This repertoire consists of all of the tactics which have been proven to be successful by activists in the past, such as boycotts, petitions, marches, and sit-ins, and can be drawn upon by any new activists and social movements. Activists may also innovate new tactics of protest. These may be entirely novel, such as Douglas Schuler's idea of an "activist road trip",<ref>{{cite book|title=Liberating Voices: A Pattern Language for Communication Revolution|last1=Schuler|first1=Douglas|date=2008|publisher=MIT Press|isbn=9780262693660|location=Cambridge, Massachusetts}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.publicsphereproject.org/content/activist-road-trip|title=Activist Road Trip|year=2008|website=Public Sphere Project|access-date=1 November 2015|archive-date=27 March 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190327090151/http://www.publicsphereproject.org/content/activist-road-trip|url-status=live}}</ref> or may occur in response to police [[oppression]] or [[countermovement]] resistance.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=McAdam|first=Doug|year=1983|title=Tactical Innovation and the Pace of Insurgency|journal=American Sociological Review|volume=48|issue=6|pages=735–754|doi=10.2307/2095322|jstor=2095322}}</ref> New tactics then spread to others through a social process known as [[Diffusion of innovations|diffusion]], and if successful, may become new additions to the activist repertoire.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Ayres|first=Jeffrey M.|year=1999|title=From the Streets to the Internet: The Cyber-Diffusion of Contention|journal=The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science|volume=566|issue=1|pages=132–143|doi=10.1177/000271629956600111|s2cid=154834235|issn=0002-7162}}</ref>

Activism is not an activity always performed by those who profess activism as a profession.<ref>{{cite web|title=Introduction to Activism|url=http://www.permanentculturenow.com/what-is-activism/|access-date=20 December 2011|publisher=Permanent Culture Now|archive-date=25 February 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210225044808/https://www.permanentculturenow.com/what-is-activism/|url-status=live}}</ref> The term "activist" may apply broadly to anyone who engages in activism, or narrowly limited to those who choose political or social activism as a vocation or characteristic practice.

=== Political activism ===
{{Main|Political movement}}

Judges may employ [[judicial activism]] to promote their own conception of the social good. The definition of judicial activism and whether a specific decisions is activist are controversial political issues.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Kmiec|first=Keenan D.|date=October 2004|title=The Origin and Current Meanings of Judicial Activism|url=https://scholarship.law.berkeley.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1324&context=californialawreview|url-status=dead|journal=California Law Review|volume=92|issue=5|pages=1441–1478|doi=10.2307/3481421|jstor=3481421|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191217052001/https://scholarship.law.berkeley.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1324&context=californialawreview|archive-date=17 December 2019|access-date=25 January 2019}}</ref> The legal systems of different nations vary in the extent that judicial activism may be permitted.

{{See also|Judicial activist|Judicial activism in Canada|Judicial activism in India|Judicial activism in the European Union}}

Activists can also be public [[Consumer organization|watchdogs]] and [[whistle blower]]s by holding government agencies accountable to oversight and transparency.<ref name="pat">{{cite web|date=27 February 2017|title=Politically Active? 4 Tips for Incorporating Self-Care, US News|url=http://health.usnews.com/health-care/for-better/articles/2017-02-27/politically-active-4-tips-for-incorporating-self-care|access-date=5 March 2017|work=US News|archive-date=6 April 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190406042142/https://health.usnews.com/health-care/for-better/articles/2017-02-27/politically-active-4-tips-for-incorporating-self-care|url-status=live}}</ref>

Political activism may also include [[political campaign]]ing, [[lobbying]], [[voting]], or [[petition]]ing.

Political activism does not depend on a specific ideology or national history, as can be seen, for example, in the importance of conservative British women in the 1920s on issues of tariffs.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Thackeray|first=David|date=October 2010|title=Home and Politics: Women and Conservative Activism in Early Twentieth-Century Britain|url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/journal-of-british-studies/article/abs/home-and-politics-women-and-conservative-activism-in-early-twentiethcentury-britain/61F919C0C2F8F8FB8179E6BB5BFC495A|journal=Journal of British Studies|language=en|volume=49|issue=4|pages=826–848|doi=10.1086/654913|pmid=20941876|s2cid=27993371|issn=1545-6986|access-date=27 January 2022|archive-date=27 January 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220127114026/https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/journal-of-british-studies/article/abs/home-and-politics-women-and-conservative-activism-in-early-twentiethcentury-britain/61F919C0C2F8F8FB8179E6BB5BFC495A|url-status=live}}</ref>

Political activism, although often identified with young adults, occurs across peoples entire life-courses.<ref>{{Cite book |date=2019-12-18 |editor-last=Nolas |editor-first=Sevasti-Melissa |editor2-last=Varvantakis |editor2-first=Christos |editor3-last=Aruldoss |editor3-first=Vinnarasan |title=Political Activism across the Life Course |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.4324/9781351201797 |doi=10.4324/9781351201797 |isbn=9781351201797 |access-date=29 May 2023 |archive-date=29 June 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230629163032/https://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/edit/10.4324/9781351201797/political-activism-across-life-course-sevasti-melissa-nolas-christos-varvantakis-vinnarasan-aruldoss |url-status=live }}</ref> Research from 2019 suggested that [[Generation Alpha]] are more likely to be activists than previous generations.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Carter |first=Christine Michel |title=How Consumer Brands- And America- Can Prepare Themselves For Generation Alpha |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/christinecarter/2019/12/09/how-consumer-brandsand-americacan-prepare-themselves-for-generation-alpha/ |access-date=2023-06-20 |website=Forbes |language=en |archive-date=19 June 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230619231022/https://www.forbes.com/sites/christinecarter/2019/12/09/how-consumer-brandsand-americacan-prepare-themselves-for-generation-alpha/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Many within the generation have taken part in a march or protest on an issue they care about. [[Christine Michel Carter]], a writer who has reported on generation Alpha for ''Forbes'' since 2016 commented "Generation Alpha will form, project and take pride in social identities based on their own individual feelings, thoughts and interests as opposed to those dictated to them by external forces... using their persistence, entrepreneurship and curiosity for positive change." Political activists may use digital and legacy media to achieve political goals, however Carter reported that one-third of Generation Alpha can decipher [[Fake news|false or misleading information]] in the media.

Political activism on college campuses has been influential in left-wing politics since the 1960s, and recently there has been "a rise in conservative activism on US college campuses" and "it is common for conservative political organizations to donate money to relatively small conservative students groups".<ref name=":5">{{Cite journal|last1=Ince|first1=Jelani|last2=Finlay|first2=Brandon M.|last3=Rojas|first3=Fabio|year=2018|title=College campus activism: Distinguishing between liberal reformers and conservative crusaders|url=https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/soc4.12603|journal=Sociology Compass|language=en|volume=12|issue=9|pages=e12603|doi=10.1111/soc4.12603|s2cid=150160691|issn=1751-9020|access-date=27 January 2022|archive-date=27 January 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220127120320/https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/soc4.12603|url-status=live}}</ref>

While people's motivations for political activism may vary, one model examined activism in the British Conservative party and found three primary motivations: (1) "incentives, such as ambitions for elective office", (2) "a desire for the party to achieve policy goals" and (3) "expressive concerns, as measured by the strength of the respondent's partisanship".<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Whiteley|first1=Paul F.|last2=Seyd|first2=Patrick|last3=Richardson|first3=Jeremy|last4=Bissell|first4=Paul|date=January 1994|title=Explaining Party Activism: The Case of the British Conservative Party|url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/british-journal-of-political-science/article/abs/explaining-party-activism-the-case-of-the-british-conservative-party/4DBBB9C3276D3C71071BAE596341AED0|journal=British Journal of Political Science|language=en|volume=24|issue=1|pages=79–94|doi=10.1017/S0007123400006797|s2cid=154681634|issn=1469-2112|access-date=27 January 2022|archive-date=27 January 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220127121606/https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/british-journal-of-political-science/article/abs/explaining-party-activism-the-case-of-the-british-conservative-party/4DBBB9C3276D3C71071BAE596341AED0|url-status=live}}</ref>

In addition, very wealthy Americans can exercise political activism through massive financial support of political causes, and one study of the 400 richest Americans found "substantial evidence of liberal or right-wing activism that went beyond making contributions to political candidates."<ref name=":6">{{Cite journal|last=Burris|first=Val|date=2000-08-01|title=The Myth of Old Money Liberalism: The Politics of the Forbes 400 Richest Americans|url=https://doi.org/10.2307/3097235|journal=Social Problems|volume=47|issue=3|pages=360–378|doi=10.2307/3097235|jstor=3097235|issn=0037-7791|access-date=4 February 2022|archive-date=29 June 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230629163030/https://academic.oup.com/socpro/article-abstract/47/3/360/1627899?redirectedFrom=fulltext|url-status=live}}</ref> This study also found, in general, "old money is, if anything, more uniformly conservative than new money."<ref name=":6" /> Another study examined how "activism of the wealthy" has often increased inequality but is now sometimes used to decrease [[economic inequality]].<ref name=":7">{{Cite journal|last1=Scully|first1=Maureen|last2=Rothenberg|first2=Sandra|last3=Beaton|first3=Erynn E.|last4=Tang|first4=Zhi|date=2017-03-20|title=Mobilizing the Wealthy: Doing "Privilege Work" and Challenging the Roots of Inequality|url=https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/0007650317698941|journal=Business & Society|volume=57|issue=6|pages=1075–1113|doi=10.1177/0007650317698941|s2cid=157605628 |issn=0007-6503}}</ref>

===Internet activism===
{{Further|Internet activism|Hacktivism|Online social movement|Anonymous (group)|Digital rights|Category:Internet activism}}
The power of [[Internet Activism|Internet activism]] came into a global lens with the [[Arab Spring]] protests starting in late 2010. People living in the Middle East and North African countries that were experiencing revolutions used social networking to communicate information about protests, including videos recorded on smart phones, which put the issues in front of an international audience.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Sliwinski|first=Michael|date=21 January 2016|title=The Evolution of Activism: From the Streets to Social Media|url=http://lawstreetmedia.com/issues/politics/evolution-activism-streets-social-media/|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160130020535/http://lawstreetmedia.com/issues/politics/evolution-activism-streets-social-media/|archive-date=30 January 2016|access-date=6 February 2016|website=Law Street}}</ref> This was one of the first occasions in which social networking technology was used by citizen-activists to circumvent state-controlled media and communicate directly with the rest of the world. These types of practices of Internet activism were later picked up and used by other activists in subsequent mass mobilizations, such as the [[Anti-austerity movement in Spain|15-M Movement]] in Spain in 2011, [[Gezi Park protests|Occupy Gezi]] in Turkey in 2013, and more.<ref name=":1" />

Online "left- and right-wing activists use digital and legacy media differently to achieve political goals".<ref name=":3">{{Cite journal|last1=Freelon|first1=Deen|last2=Marwick|first2=Alice|last3=Kreiss|first3=Daniel|date=2020-09-04|title=False equivalencies: Online activism from left to right|url=https://www.science.org/doi/abs/10.1126/science.abb2428|journal=Science|volume=369|issue=6508|pages=1197–1201|language=EN|doi=10.1126/science.abb2428|pmid=32883863|bibcode=2020Sci...369.1197F|s2cid=221471947|access-date=27 January 2022|archive-date=21 October 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211021142705/https://www.science.org/doi/abs/10.1126/science.abb2428|url-status=live}}</ref> Left-wing online activists are usually more involved in traditional "hashtag activism" and offline protest, while right-wing activists may "manipulate legacy media, migrate to alternative platforms, and work strategically with partisan media to spread their messages".<ref name=":3" /> Research suggests right-wing online activists are more likely to use "strategic disinformation and conspiracy theories".<ref name=":3" />

Internet activism may also refer to activism which focuses on protecting or changing the Internet itself, also known as [[digital rights]]. The Digital Rights movement<ref>{{Cite book|last=Hector|first=Postigo|title=The digital rights movement : the role of technology in subverting digital copyright|date=2012|publisher=The MIT Press|isbn=9780262305334|location=Cambridge, Mass.|oclc=812346336}}</ref> consists of activists and organizations, such as the [[Electronic Frontier Foundation]], who work to protect the rights of people in relation to new technologies, particularly concerning the Internet and other [[Information and communications technology|information and communications technologies]].

Many contemporary activists now utilize new tactics through the Internet and other information and communication technologies (ICTs), also known as [[Internet activism]] or cyber-activism. Some scholars argue that many of these new tactics are digitally analogous to the traditional offline tools of contention.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Future Active: Media Activism and the Internet|last=Meikle|first=Graham|publisher=Pluto Press|year=2002|isbn=978-1864031485|location=Annandale, N.S.W.|oclc=50165391}}</ref> Other digital tactics may be entire new and unique, such as certain types of [[hacktivism]].<ref name=":2" /><ref>{{Cite book|title=Hacktivism and the Future of Political Participation|last=Samuel|first=Alexandra|publisher=Doctoral Dissertation|year=2004|location=Harvard University}}</ref> Together they form a new "digital repertoire of contention" alongside the existing offline one.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Digitally Enabled Social Change: Activism in the Internet Age|last1=Earl|first1=Jennifer|last2=Kimport|first2=Katrina|publisher=MIT Press|year=2011|isbn=9780262295352|location=Cambridge, Mass.|oclc=727948420}}</ref> The rising use of digital tools and platforms by activists<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Rolfe|first=Brett|year=2005|title=Building an Electronic Repertoire of Contention|journal=Social Movement Studies|volume=4|issue=1|pages=65–74|doi=10.1080/14742830500051945|issn=1474-2837|citeseerx=10.1.1.457.9077|s2cid=10619520}}</ref> has also increasingly led to the creation of decentralized networks of activists that are self-organized<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Fuchs|first=Christian|year=2006|title=The Self-Organization of Social Movements|journal=Systemic Practice and Action Research|volume=19|issue=1|pages=101–137|doi=10.1007/s11213-005-9006-0|s2cid=38385359|issn=1094-429X}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|title=Here Comes Everybody: The Power of Organizing without Organizations|last=Clay|first=Shirky|publisher=Penguin Press|year=2008|isbn=9781594201530|location=New York|oclc=168716646|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/herecomeseverybo0000shir}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|title=Networks of Outrage and Hope: Social Movements in the Internet Age|last=Castells|first=Manuel|publisher=Polity|year=2015|isbn=9780745695754|edition= 2nd|location=Cambridge, UK|oclc=896126968}}</ref> and [[Leaderless resistance|leaderless]],<ref name=":1">{{Cite book|last=Zeynep|first=Tufekci|title=Twitter and Tear Gas: The Power and Fragility of Networked Protest|publisher=Yale University Press|year=2017|isbn=9780300215120|location=New Haven|oclc=961312425}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|title=The Leaderless Revolution: How Ordinary People will Take Power and Change Politics in the 21st Century|last=Carne|first=Ross|publisher=Plume|year=2013|isbn=9780452298941|location=New York|oclc=795168105}}</ref> or what is known as [[franchise activism]].

=== Economic activism ===
{{Further|Economic activism}}
[[Economic activism]] involves using the economic power of government, consumers, and businesses for social and economic policy change.<ref>Lin, Tom C. W., [https://ssrn.com/abstract=3294317 Incorporating Social Activism] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210201044724/https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3294317 |date=1 February 2021 }} (1 December 2018). 98 Boston University Law Review 1535 (2018)</ref> Both conservative and liberal groups use economic activism to as a form of pressure to influence companies and organizations to oppose or support particular political, religious, or social values and behaviors.<ref>White, Ben and Romm, Tony, [https://www.politico.com/story/2017/02/corporate-america-challenges-trump-234704 Corporate America Tackles Trump] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191104083709/https://www.politico.com/story/2017/02/corporate-america-challenges-trump-234704 |date=4 November 2019 }}, ''Politico'', (6 February 2017)</ref> This may be done through [[ethical consumerism]] to reinforce "good" behavior and support companies one would like to succeed, or through boycott or [[divestment]] to penalize "bad" behavior and pressure companies to change or go out of business.

[[Brand activism]]<ref>{{cite book|last1=Sarkar|first1=Christian|title=Brand Activism: From Purpose to Action|last2=Kotler|first2=Philip|date=October 2018|isbn=978-0-9905767-9-2}}</ref> is the type of activism in which business plays a leading role in the processes of [[social change]]. Applying brand activism, businesses show concern for the communities they serve, and their economic, social, and environmental problems, which allows businesses to build sustainable and long-term relationships with the customers and prospects. [[Philip Kotler|Kotler]] and Sarkar defined the phenomenon as an attempt by firms to solve the global problems its future customers and employees care about.<ref>{{Cite web|title=WHAT IS BRAND ACTIVISM? – ActivistBrands.com|url=http://www.activistbrands.com/what-is-brand-activism/|access-date=1 April 2020|archive-date=29 November 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201129134906/http://www.activistbrands.com/what-is-brand-activism/|url-status=live}}</ref>

[[Consumer activism]] consists of activism carried out on behalf of consumers for [[consumer protection]] or by consumers themselves. For instance, activists in the [[free produce movement]] of the late 1700s protested against [[slavery]] by boycotting goods produced with slave labor. Today, vegetarianism, [[veganism]], and [[freeganism]] are all forms of consumer activism which boycott certain types of products. Other examples of consumer activism include [[simple living]], a minimalist lifestyle intended to reduce [[Economic materialism|materialism]] and [[conspicuous consumption]], and [[tax resistance]], a form of [[direct action]] and [[civil disobedience]] in opposition to the government that is imposing the tax, to government policy, or as [[Taxation as theft|opposition to taxation in itself]].

[[Activist shareholder|Shareholder activism]] involves [[shareholder]]s using an [[Equity (finance)|equity]] stake in a corporation to put pressure on its management.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Lin|first=Tom C. W.|date=2015-03-18|title=Reasonable Investor(s)|language=en|location=Rochester, NY|ssrn=2579510}}</ref> The goals of activist shareholders range from financial (increase of [[shareholder value]] through changes in corporate policy, financing structure, cost cutting, etc.) to non-financial ([[disinvestment]] from particular countries, adoption of [[environmentalism|environmentally friendly]] policies, etc.).<ref>{{cite web|title=Activist Investor Definition|url=https://www.carriedin.com/activist-investor|access-date=17 July 2015|website=Carried Interest|archive-date=25 June 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190625230601/https://www.carriedin.com/activist-investor|url-status=live}}</ref>

=== Art activism ===
Design activism locates design at the center of promoting social change, raising awareness on social/political issues, or questioning problems associated with mass production and [[consumerism]]. Design Activism is not limited to one type of design.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Markussen|first1=T|year=2013|title=The Disruptive Aesthetics of Design Activism: Enacting Design Between Art and Politics|journal=Design Issues|volume=29|issue=1|page=38|doi=10.1162/DESI_a_00195|s2cid=17301556}}</ref><ref>Tom Bieling (Ed.): Design (&) Activism – Perspectives on Design as Activism and Activism as Design. Mimesis, Milano, 2019, {{ISBN|978-88-6977-241-2}}.</ref>

Art activism or [[artivism]] utilizes the medium of visual art as a method of social or political commentary.

Fashion activism was coined by Celine Semaan.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Fashion Activism: Changing the World One Trend at a Time {{!}} Peacock Plume|url=http://peacockplume.fr/fashion/fashion-activism-changing-world-one-trend-time|access-date=2020-04-24|website=peacockplume.fr|archive-date=23 November 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201123193406/http://peacockplume.fr/fashion/fashion-activism-changing-world-one-trend-time|url-status=live}}</ref> Fashion activism is a type of activism that ignites awareness by giving consumers tools to support change, specifically in the fashion industry.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Hirscher|first=Anja-Lisa|year=2013|title=Fashion Activism Evaluation and Application of Fashion Activism Strategies to Ease Transition Towards Sustainable Consumption Behaviour|journal=Research Journal of Textile and Apparel|volume=17|pages=23–38|doi=10.1108/RJTA-17-01-2013-B003}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Mazzarella|first1=Francesco|last2=Storey|first2=Helen|last3=Williams|first3=Dilys|date=2019-04-01|title=Counter-narratives Towards Sustainability in Fashion. Scoping an Academic Discourse on Fashion Activism through a Case Study on the Centre for Sustainable Fashion|journal=The Design Journal|volume=22|issue=sup1|pages=821–833|doi=10.1080/14606925.2019.1595402|issn=1460-6925|doi-access=free}}</ref> It has been used as an umbrella term for many social and political movements that have taken place in the industry.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Fuad-Lake|first=Alastair|title=Design activism : beautiful strangeness for a sustainable world|publisher=Earthscan|year=2009|isbn=9781844076444|location=Sterling, VA}}</ref> Fashion Activism uses a participatory approach to a political activity.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Hirscher|first1=Anja-Lisa|last2=Niinimäki|first2=Kirsi|year=2013|title=Fashion Activism through Participatory Design|journal=European Academy of Design}}</ref>

Craft activism or [[craftivism]] is a type of visual activism that allows people to bring awareness to political or social discourse.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Youngson|first=Bel|date=2019-02-05|title=Craftivism for occupational therapists: finding our political voice|url=http://insight.cumbria.ac.uk/id/eprint/4464/1/Youngson_CraftivismFor.pdf|journal=British Journal of Occupational Therapy|volume=82|issue=6|pages=383–385|doi=10.1177/0308022619825807|issn=0308-0226|s2cid=86850023|access-date=30 April 2020|archive-date=27 September 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200927075514/http://insight.cumbria.ac.uk/id/eprint/4464/1/Youngson_CraftivismFor.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> It is a creative approach to activism as it allows people to send short and clear messages to society.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Corbett|first1=Sarah|last2=Housely|first2=Sarah|year=2011|title=The Craftivist Collective Guide to Craftivism|journal=Utopian Studies|volume=22|issue=2 |pages=344–351 |doi=10.5325/utopianstudies.22.2.0344 |s2cid=141667893 }}</ref> People who contribute to craftivism are called "craftivists".<ref>{{Cite book|title=Craftivism : the art of craft and activism|date=21 April 2014|editor=Greer, Betsy|isbn=978-1-55152-535-8|location=Vancouver|oclc=1032507461}}</ref>

Activism in literature may publish written works that express intended or advocated reforms. Alternatively, [[literary activism]] may also seek to reform perceived corruption or entrenched systems of power within the publishing industry.

=== Science activism ===
Science activism may include efforts to better [[Science communication|communicate the benefits of science]] or ensure continued funding for scientific research.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Daie|first1=Jaleh|year=1996|title=The Activist Scientist|journal=Science|volume=272|issue=5265|page=1081|doi=10.1126/science.272.5265.1081|doi-access=free}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last1=Hernandez|first1=Daniela|date=22 April 2017|title=Why Some Scientists Are Embracing Activism|website=The Wall Street Journal|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/why-some-scientists-are-embracing-activism-1492862410|url-status=live|access-date=10 November 2019|archive-url=https://archive.today/20181211030103/https://www.wsj.com/articles/why-some-scientists-are-embracing-activism-1492862410|archive-date=11 December 2018}}</ref> It may also include efforts to increase perceived legitimacy of particular scientific fields or respond to the politicization of particular fields.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Scheitle|first1=Christopher P.|year=2018|title=Politics and the Perceived Boundaries of Science: Activism, Sociology, and Scientific Legitimacy|journal=Socius: Sociological Research for a Dynamic World|volume=4|pages=237802311876954|doi=10.1177/2378023118769544|doi-access=free}}</ref> The [[March for Science]] held around the world in 2017 and 2018 were notable examples of science activism. Approaches to science activism vary from protests to more psychological, marketing-oriented approaches that takes into account such factors as individual sense of self, aversion to solutions to problems, and social perceptions.<ref>{{cite magazine|last=Campbell|first=Troy H.|year=2019|title=Team Science: Building Better Science Activists with Insights from Disney, Marketing, and Psychological Research|url=https://skepticalinquirer.org/2019/07/team-science-building-better-science-activists-with-insights-from-disney-marketing-and-psychological-research/|magazine=[[Skeptical Inquirer]]|publisher=[[Center for Inquiry]]|volume=43|issue=4|pages=34–39|access-date=10 November 2019}}</ref>

Conservatives have become "less trustful of scientists since the 1970s".<ref name=":4">{{Cite journal|last1=Cofnas|first1=Nathan|last2=Carl|first2=Noah|last3=Woodley of Menie|first3=Michael A.|date=2018-03-01|title=Does Activism in Social Science Explain Conservatives' Distrust of Scientists?|url=https://doi.org/10.1007/s12108-017-9362-0|journal=The American Sociologist|language=en|volume=49|issue=1|pages=135–148|doi=10.1007/s12108-017-9362-0|s2cid=148765659|issn=1936-4784|access-date=27 January 2022|archive-date=29 June 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230629163038/https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12108-017-9362-0|url-status=live}}</ref> Some scholars explain this distrust as conservatives seeing "scientific findings as threatening to their worldview".<ref name=":4" /> Other scholars attribute conservative distrust to liberal activism in science and finding "scientists in certain fields, particularly social science, have increasingly adopted a liberal-activist stance".<ref name=":4" />

=== Other methods ===
* [[Community building]]
** [[Community of practice|Communities of practice]]
** [[Cooperative]]
** [[History of the cooperative movement|Cooperative movement]]
** [[Grassroots]]
** [[Guerrilla gardening]]
** [[Transition town|Transition movement]]
* [[Media activism]]
** [[Culture jamming]]
* [[Peace movement|Peace activism]]
** [[Nonviolent resistance]]
** [[Peace camp]]s
** [[White House Peace Vigil|Peace vigil]]
* Propaganda
** [[Guerrilla communication]]
* Protest
** [[Demonstration (people)|Demonstration]]
** [[Direct action]]
** [[Theatre for development|Performance Theater]]
** [[Protest songs]]
** [[Sit-in]]
* Strike action
** [[Hunger strike]]

==Activism industry==
Some groups and organizations participate in activism to such an extent that it can be considered as an industry. In these cases, activism is often done full-time, as part of an organization's [[core business]]. Many organizations in the activism industry are either [[non-profit|non-profit organizations]] or non-governmental organizations with specific aims and objectives in mind. Most activist organizations do not manufacture goods,{{Citation needed|date=January 2009}} but rather mobilize personnel to recruit funds and gain media coverage.

The term ''activism industry'' has often been used to refer to outsourced [[fundraising]] operations. However, activist organizations engage in other activities as well.<ref>{{cite web|first =Dana R.|last = Fisher|url=https://prospect.org/article/activism-industry|title = The Activism Industry|url-status =live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101205162211/http://prospect.org/cs/articles?articleId=11993 |archive-date= 5 December 2010|website = [[The American Prospect]]|date=14 September 2006}}</ref> [[Lobbying]], or the influencing of decisions made by government, is another activist tactic. Many groups, including law firms, have designated staff assigned specifically for lobbying purposes. In the United States, lobbying is regulated by the federal government.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.gklaw.com/publication.cfm?publication_id=724|title=Do Pay-For-Placement Search Engines engage in Trademark "Use"?, IP Law360 – Godfrey and Kahn|date=11 July 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110711095632/http://www.gklaw.com/publication.cfm?publication_id=724|archive-date=11 July 2011}}</ref>

Many government systems encourage public support of non-profit organizations by granting various forms of [[income tax|tax]] relief for donations to charitable organizations. Governments may attempt to deny these benefits to activists by restricting the political activity of tax-exempt organizations.

==See also==
{{cmn|
* [[Advocacy]]
* [[List of activists]]
* [[List of peace activists]]
* [[Advocacy Evaluation]]
* [[Advocacy group]]
* [[Demonstration (protest)|Agitator]]
* [[Civil disobedience]]
* [[Counterculture of the 1960s]]
* [[Community leader]]
* [[Dissident]]
* [[Human rights activists]]
* [[Media manipulation]]
* [[Restorationism]]
* [[Animal rights]]
* [[Slacktivism]]
* [[Social engineering (political science)]]
* [[Student activism]]
* [[Youth activism]]
* [[Spiritual activism]]
* [[Enlightenment (spiritual)|Enlightenment]]
* [[Asian American activism]]}}

==References==
{{reflist}}

==Further reading==
* [[Paul Rogat Loeb]], ''Soul of a Citizen: Living With Conviction in a Cynical Time'' ([[St Martin's Press]], 2010). {{ISBN|978-0-312-59537-1}}.
* [[Brian Martin (social scientist)|Brian Martin]] with Wendy Varney. [https://books.google.com/books?id=jarZAAAAMAAJ ''Nonviolence Speaks: Communicating against Repression''], (Cresskill, NJ: Hampton Press, 2003).
* [[Randy Shaw]], ''The Activist's Handbook: A Primer for the 1990s and Beyond'' ([[University of California Press]], 1996). {{ISBN|0-520-20317-8}}.
* [[David Walls (academic)|David Walls]], ''The Activist's Almanac: The Concerned Citizen's Guide to the Leading Advocacy Organizations in America'' (Simon & Schuster/Fireside, 1993). {{ISBN|0-671-74634-0}}.
* Deflem, Mathieu. 2022. [https://deflem.blogspot.com/2022/02/celebrity-activism-racial-justice.html "Celebrity Activism on Racial Justice during COVID-19: The Death of George Floyd, the Rise of Naomi Osaka, and the Celebritization of Race in Pandemic Times."] ''International Review of Sociology'' (Published online: March 16, 2022). DOI: 10.1080/03906701.2022.2052457
* Deflem, Mathieu. 2019. [https://deflem.blogspot.com/2019/01/the-new-ethics-of-pop-celebrity.html "The New Ethics of Pop: Celebrity Activism Since Lady Gaga."] pp. 113–129 in ''Pop Cultures: Sconfinamenti Alterdisciplinari'', edited by Massimiliano Stramaglia. Lecce-Rovato, Italy: Pensa Multimedia.
* [[Victor Gold (journalist)|Victor Gold]], ''Liberwocky'' (Thomas Nelson, 2004). {{ISBN|978-0-7852-6057-8}}.
* [https://commonslibrary.org/ Commons Social Change Library]

[[Category:Activism| ]]
[[Category:Community organizing]]
[[Category:Activism by issue]]

Infant Jesus Church, Selliampatti

2023-09-14T18:46:49Z

ThereseH43: Create Infant Jesus Church

{{Short description|Roman Catholic Church in Tamil Nadu, India}}
{{Infobox church
| name = Infant Jesus Church
| other name =
| coordinates = {{coord|12.1844|78.1260|display=inline,title}}
| fullname =
| native_name = அற்புதர் குழந்தை இயேசு ஆலயம்
| native_name_lang = ta
| image = 
| caption = 
| location = [[Selliampatti, Dharamapuri|Selliampatti]], [[Dharamapuri district]], [[Tamil Nadu]]
| country = [[India]]
| denomination = [[Catholic Church|Catholic]]
| religious institute =
| membership = 400 Families
| cult = [[Latin liturgical rites|Latin Rite]]
| founded date = 1935
| founder = Fr. George
| status = [[Parish]]
| functional status = Active
| former name =
| dedication = [[Our Lady of Lourdes|Saint Mary]]
| architectural type = [[Church (building)|Church]]
| style = Modern Architecture
| groundbreaking = 2017
| completed date = 2022

| parish = [[Selliampatti, Dharamapuri|Selliampatti]]
| deanery = [[Dharmapuri]]
| archdiocese = [[Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Pondicherry and Cuddalore|Pondicherry and Cuddalore]]
| diocese = [[Roman Catholic Diocese of Dharmapuri|Dharmapuri]]
| episcopalarea = [[Catholic Bishops' Conference of India|TNBC]]

| archbishop = [[Francis Kalist]]
| bishop = Lawrence Pius Dorairaj
| priest = Fr. Madhalaimuthu
}}
'''Infant Jesus Church''' is a Roman Catholic church situated in [[Selliampatti, Dharamapuri|Selliampatti]] village, located on the Dharmapuri Palacode highway in the Dharmapuri district of the state of Tamil Nadu, India. This church is a newly established parish, separate from the [[Kadagathur, Dharamapuri|Kadagathur]] parish, primarily serving the Catholic communities of Selliampatti and Gollapatti as its two main substations. The administration of this church falls under the jurisdiction of the [[Roman Catholic Diocese of Dharmapuri|Dharmapuri Diocese]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://dharmapuridiocese.com/cms/public_view/list-parishes.html|title=Dharmapuri Diocese}}</ref>

==History==

During the riot in [[Pennagaram]] against the Catholics, many of them scattered to various places. Some of them found refuge in Gollapatti and Selliampatti. These resilient Catholics continued their religious practices with the assistance of [[St. Francis Xavier Church, Kovilur|Kovilur MEP missionaries]]. In 1840, the Kadagthur Sebastian Church was built, and villagers from Selliampatti and Gollapatti began attending Mass there. For over a century, they followed the traditions of the Kadagathur church. In 1930, a new church was erected in Kadagthur in honor of the Queen of Angels. Subsequently, Saint Francis Xavier Chapel was constructed in Selliampatti, and Mary Magdalene Chapel was built in Gollapatti. These chapels fell under the administration of the Kadagthur parish, with weekly Masses held in these two chapels and Sunday Masses conducted in the Kadagthur Parish Church.<ref>{{cite book |author=Staff writer(s) |title=Saritha Surukkam|url= |location=Salem, India |publisher= Salem Diocese|page=112 |isbn=}}</ref>

Despite the absence of a proper parish church in this village, in 1932, the Salem Diocese established a primary school in Selliampatti for the villagers, contributing significantly to the village's social development. From 1938 onwards, the villagers of Selliampatti began celebrating the feast of Saint Francis, a tradition that continues to this day. Then, in 1985, the Sacred Heart Higher Secondary School was inaugurated in Gollapatti. During this event, [[Roman Catholic Diocese of Salem|Salem Diocese]] Bishop [[Michael Bosco Duraisamy]] expressed a wish for a church dedicated to Infant Jesus in the area.<ref>{{cite book |author=Staff writer(s) |title=Salem Diocese Jublee Magazene|url= |location=Salem, India |publisher= Salem Diocese|page=33 |isbn=}}</ref>

In 1999, four acres of land were acquired on Palacode's main road for the construction of this church. Initially, a primary school was built on the premises. In 2004, construction of the church began under the guidance of Fr. Xavier, the parish priest of Kadagathur at the time. Subsequently, Fr. Susairaj, the succeeding Kadagthur Parish priest, resumed the construction of the church. However, construction was halted due to unsuitable soil conditions.<ref>History of Dharamapuri Diocese - Fr A. Susairaj</ref>

Recognizing that the [[Queen of Angels Church, Kadagathur|Kadagthur church]] lacked sufficient space for all its parishioners, Fr. George, Kadagthur Parish priest, advised the Diocese and the villagers of Selliampatti, Gollapatti, Valan Nagar, and Andhoniyar Nagar to construct a new church to overcome space limitations and the difficulties of traveling long distances. In 2017, the Seliampatti parish was established, separate from Karagathur parish, with Fr. George serving as its first parish priest. During this time, a temporary chapel was set up within the school building for Masses. In 2017, the incomplete church building was dismantled, and construction of the new church began on a stronger foundation. With the unwavering support of the community, the church construction was completed in 2022. On January 14, 2002, with a grand ceremony, the church was opened to the public and blessed by Bishop Lawrence Pius of the Dharmapuri Diocese.<ref>{{cite magazine| date = January 13, 2022| title = அற்புதர் குழந்தை இயேசு | trans-title = Infant Jesus| language = ta | magazine = செல்லியம்பட்டி பங்கு ஆலயம்| location = Selliampatti, Dharamapuri, Tamil Nadu, India | publisher = Dharamapur Diocese }}</ref>

==Convents==
* Congregation of the Immaculate Conception, Madurai (CIC)
* Missionary of Charity (Mother Theresa Convent)
* Cluny Sisters Convent
* Salesian Sisters Missionaries of Mary Immaculate (SSMI) Convent

==Schools==
* R.C Primary School
* Sacred Heart Hr. Sec. School
* Arokiya Anni CBSC School

==See also==
* [[Christ the King Church, Palacode]]
* [[Queen of Angels Church, Kadagathur]]

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

{{Roman Catholic Diocese of Dharmapuri}}

[[Category:Roman Catholic churches in Tamil Nadu]]
[[Category:Churches in Krishnagiri District]]
[[Category:Archdiocese of Pondicherry and Cuddalore]]

Koli Mahasabha

2023-07-10T07:45:47Z

ThereseH43: Article formulated.

{{Short description|Social organisation}}
The '''Koli Mahasabha''' ([[Hindi]]: कोली महासभा) or '''''All India Kshatriya Koli Mahasabha''''' ([[Hindi]]: अखिल भारतीय क्षत्रिय कोली महासभा) was a social organisation of [[Koli people|Koli]] community formed in [[Ajmer]] city of [[Rajputana]] (now [[Rajasthan]]) in [[Presidencies and provinces of British India|British India]] to promote the interests of Kolis for seeking social upliftment into [[Kshatriya]] [[Varna (Hinduism)|varna]] and to raise awareness about the social and economic problems faced by Kolis.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Sharma |first=Brij Kishore |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tlsPnV87QLoC&q=Koli+Mahasabha |title=Social, Economic and Political Contribution of Caste Associations in Northern India: A Case Study of All India Jat Mahasabha |publisher=Har-Anand Publications |isbn=978-81-241-1412-4 |location=New Delhi, India, Asia |pages=31–33 |language=en}}</ref> in the November and December 1939, Koli Mahasabha filled the petition to be counted as separated Kshatriya [[Caste system in India|caste]] by British Indian Government.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Gould |first=William |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=K2oexn_mLPIC&q=Koli+Mahasabha |title=Religion and Conflict in Modern South Asia |publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]] |isbn=978-1-139-49869-2 |location=New Delhi, India, Asia |pages=158 |language=en}}</ref> [[B. R. Ambedkar]] was not in support of the ABKKM because of the use of Kshatriya word and opposed the Koli leader by many ways.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Shyamlal |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4jXhAAAAMAAJ |title=Ambedkar and Dalit Movement: Special Reference to Rajasthan |publisher=Rawat Publications |isbn=978-81-316-0203-4 |location=New Delhi, India, Asia |pages=98 |language=en}}</ref>

{{Infobox organization
| name = Koli Mahasabha
| formation = 1927
| full_name = Akhil Bharatiya Kshatriya Koli Mahasabha
| native name = अखिल भारतीय क्षत्रिय कोली महासभा
| native_name_lang = Hi
| abbreviation = ABKKM
| named_after = [[Koli people]]
| founding_location = [[Ajmer]], [[Ajmer-Merwara]], [[British India]]
| type = Non - Profit Social organisation
| status = Social Organisation
| headquarters = Ajmer
| location_country = {{flag|India}}
| services = Social activities
| language = *[[Kachi Koli language|Koli]]
*[[Hindi]]
*[[Himachali language|Himachali]]
*[[Braj Bhasa]]
*[[English language|English]]
| leader_title = President & Vice - President
| leader_name = *[[Pratap Shivram Singh]]
*[[Hukam Chand Kachwai]]
| key_people = *Chandan Singh Mahor of [[Bharatpur]]
*Mohan Kumar Nathu Singh Tanwar
| affiliations = *[[Mahawar Koli]]
*[[Sankhwar|Sankhwar Koli]]
*Ahirwar Kori
*[[Shakya]] Koli
*Shakyawar Kori
*Jaiswar Kori
}}

Akhil Bhartiya Kshatriya Koli Mahasabha was a social organisation initiated in Ajmer by a group of kolis of Rajasthan in 1927 and spread throughout the [[Uttar Pradesh]], [[Madhya Pradesh]], [[Himachal Pradesh]] and [[Rajasthan]]. Koli leaders of Mahasabha claimed Kshatriya status because of the [[List of Koli states and clans|Koli Princely states]] and [[Jagir]]s of Kolis in [[Gujarat]], [[Maharashtra]] and [[Himachal Pradesh]]. At that time, there were 52 [[princely state]]s of kolis in Gujarat but all of them were minor or petty states, several of koli principlities were in Maharashtra and [[Kullu district|Kullu state]] in Himachal. After the [[Indian independence movement|Independence of India]] from [[British Raj|British rule]] in 1947, The leaders of Mahasabha in 1952 invited the [[Koli people|Koli]] [[Maharaja]] [[Yashwantrao Martandrao Mukne]] of [[Jawhar State|Jawhar state]], Maharaja [[Deshmukh#Deshmukh as a title|Deshmukh]] Dhairyashilrao [[Pawar]] of [[Surgana State|Surgana state]] and the Koli [[Thakur (title)|Thakurs]] of Jagirs in Gujarat to take a meating in Ajmer to discuss for upliftment of Koli society. Maharaja Mukne sent his [[Prime minister|Prime Minister]] to the meeting with a grateful thank.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Molund |first=Stefan |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8vItAAAAMAAJ |title=First We are People--: The Koris of Kanpur Between Caste and Class |publisher=Department of Social Anthropology, [[University of Stockholm]] |isbn=978-91-7146-701-0 |location=New Delhi, India, Asia |pages=220–245 |language=en}}</ref>

In 1939, The '''ABKKM''' published a book named '''''Koli Kshatriya Jaati Ka Sanchhipta Parichay''''' to promote the history of Kolis.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Gupta |first=Dipankar |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bgpEIb4tNjgC&q=Koli+Mahasabha |title=Caste in Question: Identity Or Hierarchy? |publisher=SAGE Publications |isbn=978-0-7619-3324-3 |location=New Delhi, India, Asia |pages=2068 |language=en}}</ref> this book was written by a [[Arya Samaj]]i Nand Kumar Shastri and published by Ram Krishna Printing Press.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Narayan |first=Badri |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9bmGAwAAQBAJ&q=Koli+Mahasabha |title=Fascinating Hindutva: Saffron Politics and Dalit Mobilisation |publisher=SAGE Publications India |isbn=978-81-321-0105-5 |location=New Delhi, India, Asia |pages=25 |language=en}}</ref>

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

{{Uncategorized}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mahasabha, Koli}}

Part IVA of the Constitution of India

2023-03-20T04:15:56Z

ThereseH43: Designed a fresh article.

#REDIRECT [[Fundamental Rights, Directive Principles and Fundamental Duties of India#Fundamental Duties]]
{{r to subsection}}

Pope

2023-02-02T03:39:21Z

ThereseH43: Published a well-researched resource.

{{Short description|Head of the Catholic Church}}

{{About||the current pope|Pope Francis|other uses}}
{{redirect2|Papacy|Papal|the historic state controlled by the Pope|Papal States}}

{{Use dmy dates}}
{{Infobox diocese
| jurisdiction = Bishop
| name = Rome
| local = Pope
| latin = Pontifex maximus
| border = Catholic
| image = Portrait of Pope Francis (2021).jpg
| caption = [[Pope Francis]] in 2021
| coat = Coat of arms Holy See.svg
| coat_size = 150px
| coat_alt = Coats of arms of the Holy See and Vatican City
| coat_caption = Holy See (Emblem)
| incumbent = {{Incumbent pope}}
| incumbent_note = {{nobold|[[2013 papal conclave|since 13 March 2013]]}}
| style = [[His Holiness]]

| province = [[List of Catholic dioceses (structured view)#Episcopal Conference of Italy, including San Marino and Vatican City State|Ecclesiastical Province of Rome]]
| residence = {{ublist|[[Apostolic Palace]] {{small|(Official residence of the Pope)}}|[[Domus Sanctae Marthae]] {{small|(Current and preferred residence of Pope Francis)}}}}

| established = [[Timeline of the Catholic Church|1st century]]
| cathedral = [[Archbasilica of Saint John Lateran]]
| first_incumbent = [[Saint Peter]]<ref name="Wilken">Wilken, p. 281, quote: "Some (Christian communities) had been founded by Peter, the disciple Jesus designated as the founder of his church. ... Once the position was institutionalized, historians looked back and recognized Peter as the first Pope of the Christian church in Rome"</ref>
| denomination = [[Catholic Church]]
| diocese = [[Diocese of Rome|Rome]]
| headquarters = [[Apostolic Palace]], Vatican City
| governance = [[Holy See]]

| website = [https://www.vatican.va/holy_father/index.htm Holy Father]
}}
{{Infobox Pope styles
| image = Coat of arms of Franciscus.svg
| dipstyle=[[His Holiness]]
| offstyle=Your Holiness
| relstyle=Holy Father
| deathstyle=}}
{{Catholic Church Hierarchy}}
The '''Pope''' ({{lang-la|Papa}}, from {{lang-el|πάππας|translit=Páppas|lit=father}}),<ref>{{cite web|url=http://education.yahoo.com/reference/dictionary/entry/pope |title=American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language |publisher=Education.yahoo.com |access-date=11 August 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110606061848/http://education.yahoo.com/reference/dictionary/entry/pope |archive-date=6 June 2011 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://nlp.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.04.0057:entry=pa/ppas |title=Liddell and Scott |publisher=Oxford University Press |access-date=18 February 2013 |archive-date=30 July 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130730131356/http://nlp.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.04.0057%3Aentry%3Dpa%2Fppas |url-status=live }}</ref> also known as '''supreme pontiff''' ({{lang|la|[[pontifex maximus]]}} or {{lang|la|[[Pontifex maximus|summus pontifex]]}}), '''Roman pontiff''' ({{lang|la|Romanus pontifex}}) or '''sovereign pontiff''', is the '''bishop of Rome''' (or historically the '''patriarch of Rome'''),<ref>{{Cite web |title=Rome, Patriarchate of {{!}} Encyclopedia.com |url=https://www.encyclopedia.com/religion/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/rome-patriarchate |access-date=2022-03-05 |website=encyclopedia.com}}</ref> head of the worldwide [[Catholic Church]], and has also served as the [[head of state]] or [[sovereign]] of the [[Papal States]] and later the [[Vatican City State]] since the eighth century.<ref name="section880">{{cite web|url=https://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG0015/_P2A.HTM#PZ|work=[[Catechism of the Catholic Church]]|title=Christ's Faithful – Hierarchy, Laity, Consecrated Life: The episcopal college and its head, the pope|publisher=Libreria Editrice Vaticana|location=Vatican City|year=1993|access-date=14 April 2013|archive-date=3 March 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210303075200/https://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG0015/_P2A.HTM#PZ|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=In Biden's visit with the pope, a page from Reagan's playbook? |url=https://theconversation.com/in-bidens-visit-with-the-pope-a-page-from-reagans-playbook-170077|access-date=2022-05-08 |website=theconversation.com}}</ref> From a Catholic viewpoint, the [[primacy of the bishop of Rome]] is largely derived from his role as the [[apostolic successor]] to [[Saint Peter]], to whom [[Petrine primacy|primacy]] was conferred by Jesus, who gave Peter the [[Keys of Heaven]] and the powers of "binding and loosing", naming him as the "rock" upon which the Church would be built. The current pope is [[Pope Francis|Francis]], who was [[2013 papal conclave|elected]] on 13 March 2013.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/E/EU_VATICAN_POPE?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2013-03-13-14-10-46|title=News from The Associated Press|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130315070123/http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/E/EU_VATICAN_POPE?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2013-03-13-14-10-46|archive-date=15 March 2013}}</ref>

While his office is called the '''papacy''', the [[ecclesiastical jurisdiction|jurisdiction]] of the [[episcopal see]] is called the [[Holy See]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/holy%20see |title=Definition of Holy See |access-date=17 January 2017 |archive-date=18 January 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170118222107/https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/Holy%20See |url-status=live }}</ref> It is the Holy See that is the [[sovereign entity]] by [[international law]] headquartered in the distinctively independent Vatican City State, a [[city-state]] which forms a geographical [[enclave]] within the conurbation of [[Rome]], established by the [[Lateran Treaty]] in 1929 between [[Italy]] and the Holy See to ensure its {{linktext|temporal}} and spiritual independence. The Holy See is recognized by its adherence at various levels to international organizations and by means of its diplomatic relations and political accords with many independent states.

According to [[Catholic tradition]], the [[apostolic see]] of [[Diocese of Rome|Rome]] was founded by Saint Peter and [[Saint Paul]] in the first century. The papacy is one of the most enduring institutions in the world and has had a prominent part in [[human history]].<ref>Collins, Roger. ''Keepers of the keys of heaven: a history of the papacy''. Introduction (One of the most enduring and influential of all human institutions, (...) No one who seeks to make sense of modern issues within Christendom – or, indeed, world history – can neglect the vital shaping role of the popes.) Basic Books. 2009. {{ISBN|978-0-465-01195-7}}.</ref> In ancient times, the popes helped spread Christianity and intervened to find resolutions in various doctrinal disputes.<ref name="World History" /> In the [[Middle Ages]], they played a role of secular importance in Western Europe, often acting as arbitrators between Christian monarchs.<ref name="Faus">Faus, José Ignacio Gonzáles. "''Autoridade da Verdade – Momentos Obscuros do Magistério Eclesiástico''". Capítulo VIII: Os papas repartem terras – Pág.: 64–65 e Capítulo VI: O papa tem poder temporal absoluto – Pág.: 49–55. Edições Loyola. {{ISBN|85-15-01750-4}}. Embora Faus critique profundamente o poder temporal dos papas ("''Mais uma vez isso salienta um dos maiores inconvenientes do status político dos sucessores de Pedro''" – pág.: 64), ele também admite um papel secular positivo por parte dos papas ("''Não podemos negar que intervenções papais desse gênero evitaram mais de uma guerra na Europa''" – pág.: 65).</ref><ref name="Papal Arbitration">{{cathEncy|wstitle=Papal Arbitration|author=Jarrett, Bede}}</ref>{{efn|The papacy was an influence in regulating the [[colonization]] of the [[New World]]. See [[Treaty of Tordesillas]] and [[Inter caetera]].}} In addition to the expansion of [[Christian theology|Christian faith and doctrine]], modern popes are involved in [[ecumenism]] and [[interfaith dialogue]], [[Catholic charities|charitable work]], and the defense of human rights.<ref>''História das Religiões. Crenças e práticas religiosas do século XII aos nossos dias''. Grandes Livros da Religião. Editora Folio. 2008. Pág.: 89, 156–157. {{ISBN|978-84-413-2489-3}}</ref>

Over time, the papacy accrued [[Temporal power of the Holy See|broad secular and political influence]], eventually rivaling those of territorial rulers. In recent centuries, the temporal authority of the papacy has declined and the office is now largely focused on religious matters.<ref name="World History" /> By contrast, papal claims of spiritual authority have been increasingly firmly expressed over time, culminating in 1870 with the proclamation of the [[Catholic dogma|dogma]] of [[papal infallibility]] for rare occasions when the pope speaks {{lang|la|[[ex cathedra]]}}—literally "from the [[Chair of Saint Peter|chair (of Saint Peter)]]"—to issue a formal definition of [[dogma|faith]] or morals.<ref name="World History" /> The pope is considered one of the world's most powerful people due to the extensive diplomatic, cultural, and spiritual influence of his position on both 1.3 billion Catholics and those outside the Catholic faith,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.ewtn.com/library/HUMANITY/VATMOD.HTM |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050504134930/https://www.ewtn.com/library/HUMANITY/VATMOD.HTM |url-status=dead |archive-date=2005-05-04 |title=The Role of the Vatican in the Modern World }}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title= The World's Most Powerful People|url= https://www.forbes.com/powerful-people/#tab:overall/|newspaper= Forbes|access-date= 6 November 2014|archive-date= 30 December 2012|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20121230133410/http://www.forbes.com/powerful-people/#tab:overall/|url-status= live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title= The World's Most Powerful People|url= https://www.forbes.com/powerful-people/|newspaper= Forbes|access-date= 21 January 2013|archive-date= 30 December 2012|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20121230133410/http://www.forbes.com/powerful-people/|url-status= live}}</ref> and because he heads the world's largest non-government provider of [[Catholic education|education]] and [[Catholic Church and health care|health care]],<ref name=Geopolitics>{{cite journal|last=Agnew|first=John|title=Deus Vult: The Geopolitics of Catholic Church|journal=Geopolitics|volume=15|issue=1|pages=39–61|doi=10.1080/14650040903420388|s2cid=144793259}}</ref> with a vast network of charities.

== History ==
{{Main|History of the papacy}}
=== Title and etymology ===
{{Main|Pope (title)|l1=''Pope'' (title)}}
The word ''[[Pope (title)|pope]]'' derives from [[Greek language|Greek]] {{lang|el|[[wikt:πάππας|πάππας]]}} ({{transl|el|'páppas'}}), meaning 'father'. In the early centuries of Christianity, this title was applied, especially in the East, to all [[bishop]]s<ref name=ODCC:Pope>{{citation |title=Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2005 |isbn=978-0-19-280290-3 |contribution=Pope}}</ref> and other senior clergy, and later became reserved in the West to the bishop of Rome during the reign of [[Pope Leo I]] (440–461),<ref>Asimov, Isaac (1967) ''The Roman Empire'', Houghton Mifflin: Boston, p. 236</ref> a reservation made official only in the 11th century.<ref>{{cite book|last=Elwell|first=Walter A.|url=|title=Evangelical Dictionary of Theology|publisher=Baker Academic|year=2001|isbn=978-0-8010-2075-9|page=888|access-date=}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Greer|first=Thomas H.|url=|title=A Brief History of the Western World|author2=Gavin Lewis|publisher=Cengage Learning|year=2004|isbn=978-0-534-64236-5|page=172|access-date=}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Mazza|first=Enrico|url=|title=The Eucharistic Prayers of the Roman Rite|publisher=Liturgical Press|year=2004|isbn=978-0-8146-6078-2|page=63|access-date=}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=O'Malley|first=John W.|url=|title=A History of the Popes|publisher=Government Institutes|year=2009|isbn=978-1-58051-227-5|page=xv|access-date=}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Schatz|first=Klaus|url=|title=Papal Primacy|publisher=Liturgical Press|year=1996|isbn=978-0-8146-5522-1|pages=28–29|access-date=}}</ref> The earliest record of the use of the title of 'pope' was in regard to the by then deceased [[patriarch of Alexandria]], [[Pope Heraclas of Alexandria|Heraclas]] (232–248).<ref>Eusebius, ''Historia Ecclesiastica'' Book VII, chapter 7.4</ref> The earliest recorded use of the title "pope" in English dates to the mid-10th century, when it was used in reference to the 7th century Roman [[Pope Vitalian]] in an Old English translation of [[Bede]]'s {{lang|la|[[Historia ecclesiastica gentis Anglorum]]}}.<ref>"pope, n.1". Oxford English Dictionary Online. September 2011. Oxford University Press. 21 November 2011</ref>

=== Position within the Church ===
The Catholic Church teaches that the pastoral office, the office of [[pastor#History|shepherding]] the Church, that was held by the apostles, as a group or "college" with [[Saint Peter]] as their head, is now held by their successors, the bishops, with the bishop of Rome (the pope) as their head.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.vatican.va/archive/ccc_css/archive/catechism/p123a9p4.htm|title=Catechism of the Catholic Church – Christ's Faithful – Hierarchy, Laity, Consecrated Life|access-date=15 March 2020|archive-date=6 September 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100906142233/https://www.vatican.va/archive/ccc_css/archive/catechism/p123a9p4.htm|url-status=live}}</ref> Thus is derived another title by which the pope is known, that of "supreme pontiff".

The Catholic Church teaches that Jesus personally appointed Peter as the visible head of the Church,{{efn|"Continuing in that same undertaking, this Council is resolved to declare and proclaim before all men the doctrine concerning bishops, the successors of the apostles, who together with the successor of Peter, the Vicar of Christ, the visible Head of the whole Church, govern the house of the living God."<ref name=quote>(Lumen Gentium, Pope Paul VI 1964, Chapter 3)</ref>}} and the Catholic Church's dogmatic constitution {{lang|la|[[Lumen gentium]]}} makes a clear distinction between apostles and bishops, presenting the latter as the successors of the former, with the pope as successor of Peter, in that he is head of the bishops as Peter was head of the apostles.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.vatican.va/archive/hist_councils/ii_vatican_council/documents/vat-ii_const_19641121_lumen-gentium_en.html |title=''Lumen gentium'', 22 |publisher=Vatican.va |access-date=11 August 2010 |archive-date=6 September 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140906031754/https://www.vatican.va/archive/hist_councils/ii_vatican_council/documents/vat-ii_const_19641121_lumen-gentium_en.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Some historians argue against the notion that Peter was the first bishop of Rome, noting that the episcopal see in Rome can be traced back no earlier than the 3rd century.<ref name="O'Grady 146">{{cite book |first=John |last=O'Grady |title=The Catholic church: its origins and nature |page=[https://archive.org/details/romancatholicchu0000ogra/page/146 146] |isbn=978-0-8091-3740-4 |year=1997 |url=https://archive.org/details/romancatholicchu0000ogra/page/146 }}</ref>

The writings of the [[Church Father]] [[Irenaeus]], who wrote around 180 AD, reflect a belief that Peter "founded and organized" the Church at Rome.<ref>{{cite book |first=J |last=Stevenson |title=A New Eusebius |page=[https://archive.org/details/neweusebiusdocum00euse/page/114 114] |isbn=978-0-281-00802-5 |year=1957 |url=https://archive.org/details/neweusebiusdocum00euse/page/114 }}</ref> Moreover, Irenaeus was not the first to write of Peter's presence in the early Roman Church. The Church of Rome wrote in a letter to the Corinthians (which is traditionally attributed to [[Pope Clement I|Clement of Rome]] {{circa|96}}<ref name="fn_2">{{cite encyclopedia|url=http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/1010.htm|title=Letter to the Corinthians (Clement)|publisher=New Advent|encyclopedia=Catholic Encyclopedia: The Fathers of the Church|access-date=14 April 2013|archive-date=25 November 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191125012820/http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/1010.htm|url-status=live}}</ref>) about the persecution of Christians in Rome as the "struggles in our time" and presented to the Corinthians its heroes, "first, the greatest and most just columns", the "good apostles" Peter and Paul.<ref name="Gröber, 510">Gröber, 510</ref> [[Ignatius of Antioch|St. Ignatius of Antioch]] wrote shortly after Clement; in his letter from the city of Smyrna to the Romans, he said he would not command them as Peter and Paul did.<ref name="fn_3">{{cite web |url=http://www.crossroadsinitiative.com/library_article/244/Letter_of_Ignatius_of_Antioch_to_the_Romans.html |title=Letter of Ignatius of Antioch to the Romans |publisher=Crossroads Initiative |access-date=21 February 2006 |archive-date=8 July 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110708205615/http://www.crossroadsinitiative.com/library_article/244/Letter_of_Ignatius_of_Antioch_to_the_Romans.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

Given this and other evidence, such as Emperor Constantine's erection of the "Old St. Peter's Basilica" on the location of St. Peter's tomb, as held and given to him by Rome's Christian community, many scholars agree that Peter was martyred in Rome under [[Nero]], although some scholars argue that he may have been martyred in Palestine.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia|title=Saint Peter the Apostle|year=2013|author=O'Connor, Daniel William|encyclopedia=[[Encyclopædia Britannica]]|publisher=Encyclopædia Britannica Online|url=http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/453832/Saint-Peter-the-Apostle/5632/Tradition-of-Peter-in-Rome|page=5|access-date=14 April 2013|quote=[M]any scholars... accept Rome as the location of the martyrdom and the reign of Nero as the time.|archive-date=6 January 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190106221941/https://www.britannica.com/biography/Saint-Peter-the-Apostle|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{citation |language=de |title=Zeitschr. fur Kirchengesch. |year=1901 |pages=1 sqq., 161 sqq}}</ref><ref>''The Secrets of the 12 Disciples'', [[Channel 4]], transmitted on 23 March 2008.</ref>

Though open to historical debate, first-century Christian communities may have had a group of presbyter-bishops functioning as guides of their local churches. Gradually, episcopal sees were established in metropolitan areas.<ref name="O'Grady 140">{{cite book |first=John |last=O'Grady |title=The Catholic church: its origins and nature |page=[https://archive.org/details/romancatholicchu0000ogra/page/140 140] |isbn=978-0-8091-3740-4 |year=1997 |url=https://archive.org/details/romancatholicchu0000ogra/page/140 }}</ref> Antioch may have developed such a structure before Rome.<ref name="O'Grady 140" /> In Rome, there were over time at various junctures rival claimants to be the rightful bishop, though again Irenaeus stressed the validity of one line of bishops from the time of St. Peter up to his contemporary [[Pope Victor I]] and listed them.<ref>{{cite book |first=J |last=Stevenson |title=A New Eusebius |pages=[https://archive.org/details/neweusebiusdocum00euse/page/114 114–115] |isbn=978-0-281-00802-5 |year=1957 |url=https://archive.org/details/neweusebiusdocum00euse/page/114 }}</ref> Some writers claim that the emergence of a single bishop in Rome probably did not occur until the middle of the 2nd century. In their view, Linus, Cletus and Clement were possibly prominent presbyter-bishops, but not necessarily monarchical bishops.<ref name="O'Grady 146" />

Documents of the 1st century and early second century indicate that the bishop of Rome had some kind of pre-eminence and prominence in the Church as a whole, as even a letter from the bishop, or patriarch, of Antioch acknowledged the Bishop of Rome as "a first among equals",<ref>''The Early Christian Church'' by Chadwick</ref> though the detail of what this meant is unclear.{{efn|"From an historical perspective, there is no conclusive documentary evidence from the first century or the early decades of the second century of the exercise of, or even the claim to, a primacy of the Roman bishop or to a connection with Peter, although documents from this period accord the church at Rome some kind of pre‑eminence";<ref>([http://www.goarch.org/ourfaith/ourfaith8523 Emmanuel Clapsis, Papal Primacy] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081203104411/http://www.goarch.org/ourfaith/ourfaith8523 |date=3 December 2008 }}, extract from ''Orthodoxy in Conversation'' (2000), p. 110)</ref> and "The see of Rome, whose prominence was associated with the deaths of Peter and Paul, became the principal center in matters concerning the universal Church".<ref>(Clapsis, p. 102)</ref> The same writer quotes with approval the words of [[Pope Benedict XVI|Joseph Ratzinger]]: "In Phanar, on 25 July 1976, when [[Patriarch Athenagoras I of Constantinople|Patriarch Athenegoras]] addressed [[Pope Paul VI|the visiting pope]] as Peter's successor, the first in honor among us, and the presider over charity, this great church leader was expressing the essential content of the declarations of the primacy of the first millennium".<ref>(Clapsis, p. 113)</ref>}}

=== Early Christianity ({{circa|30–325}}) ===

Sources suggest that at first, the terms 'episcopos' and 'presbyter' were used interchangeably,<ref>''Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church'', 1997 edition revised 2005, page 211</ref> with the consensus among scholars being that by the turn of the 1st and 2nd centuries, local congregations were led by bishops and presbyters, whose duties of office overlapped or were indistinguishable from one another.<ref>''Cambridge History of Christianity'', volume 1, 2006</ref> Some{{who}} say that there was probably "no single 'monarchical' bishop in Rome before the middle of the 2nd century...and likely later."<ref>''Cambridge History of Christianity'', volume 1, 2006, page 418</ref>

In the early Christian era, Rome and a few other cities had claims on the leadership of worldwide Church. [[James the Just]], known as "the brother of the Lord", served as head of the [[Jerusalem]] church, which is still honored as the "Mother Church" in Orthodox tradition. [[Alexandria]] had been a center of Jewish learning and became a center of Christian learning. Rome had a large congregation early in the apostolic period whom Paul the Apostle addressed in his [[Epistle to the Romans]], and according to tradition Paul was martyred there.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Saint Paul the Apostle {{!}} Biography & Facts|url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Saint-Paul-the-Apostle|access-date=2021-01-22|website=Encyclopedia Britannica|language=en|archive-date=30 April 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150430191730/http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/447019/Saint-Paul-the-Apostle/259968/Life|url-status=live}}</ref>

During the 1st century of the Church ({{circa|30–130}}), the Roman capital became recognized as a Christian center of exceptional importance. The church there, at the end of the century, wrote an epistle to the Church in [[Ancient Corinth|Corinth]] intervening in a major dispute, and apologizing for not having taken action earlier.<ref>Chadwick, Henry, ''Oxford History of Christianity'', Oxford University Press, quote: "Towards the latter part of the 1st century, Rome's presiding cleric, named Clement, wrote on behalf of his church to remonstrate with the Corinthian Christians who had ejected clergy without either financial or charismatic endowment in favor of a fresh lot; Clement apologized not for intervening but for not having acted sooner. Moreover, during the 2nd century the Roman community's leadership was evident in its generous alms to poorer churches. About 165, they erected monuments to their martyred apostles, to Peter in a necropolis on the Vatican Hill, to Paul on the road to Ostia, at the traditional sites of their burial. Roman bishops were already conscious of being custodians of the authentic tradition of true interpretation of the apostolic writings. In the conflict with Gnosticism Rome played a decisive role, and likewise in the deep division in Asia Minor created by the claims of the Montanist prophets."</ref> There are a few other references of that time to recognition of the [[Primacy of the Bishop of Rome|authoritative primacy]] of the [[Holy See|Roman See]] outside of Rome.

In the [[Declaration of Ravenna|Ravenna Document]] of 13 October 2007, theologians chosen by the Catholic and the Eastern Orthodox Churches stated: "41. Both sides agree ... that Rome, as the Church that 'presides in love' according to the phrase of St Ignatius of Antioch,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.crossroadsinitiative.com/library_article/244/Letter_of_Ignatius_of_Antioch_to_the_Romans.html |title=Letter of Ignatius of Antioch to the Romans: Prologue |publisher=Crossroads Productions |access-date=22 May 2013 |archive-date=8 July 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110708205615/http://www.crossroadsinitiative.com/library_article/244/Letter_of_Ignatius_of_Antioch_to_the_Romans.html |url-status=live }}</ref> occupied the first place in the {{lang|la|taxis}}, and that the bishop of Rome was therefore the {{lang|la|protos}} among the patriarchs. Translated into English, the statement means "first among equals".

What form that should take is still a matter of disagreement, just as it was when the Catholic and Orthodox Churches split in the Great East-West Schism. They also disagree on the interpretation of the historical evidence from this era regarding the prerogatives of the bishop of Rome as {{lang|la|protos}}, a matter that was already understood in different ways in the first millennium."<ref name=vatican>{{cite web|title=Ravenna Document |url=https://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/pontifical_councils/chrstuni/ch_orthodox_docs/rc_pc_chrstuni_doc_20071013_documento-ravenna_en.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201112013709/http://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/pontifical_councils/chrstuni/ch_orthodox_docs/rc_pc_chrstuni_doc_20071013_documento-ravenna_en.html |archive-date=12 November 2020 |work=Joint International Commission for the Theological Dialogue between the Roman Catholic Church and the Orthodox Church|publisher=Vatican Publishing House|accessdate=24 July 2021}}</ref>

In AD 195, Pope Victor I, in what is seen as an exercise of Roman authority over other churches, excommunicated the [[Quartodecimans]] for observing Easter on the 14th of [[Nisan]], the date of the Jewish [[Passover]], a tradition handed down by [[John the Evangelist]] (see [[Easter controversy]]). Celebration of Easter on a Sunday, as insisted on by the pope, is the system that has prevailed (see [[computus]]).

=== Nicaea to East-West Schism (325–1054) ===
{{See also|Papacy in late antiquity}}
The [[Edict of Milan]] in 313 granted freedom to all religions in the Roman Empire,<ref>Davidson, Ivor (2005). ''The Birth of the Church''. Monarch. p. 341. {{ISBN|1-85424-658-5}}.</ref> beginning the [[Peace of the Church]]. In 325, the [[First Council of Nicaea]] condemned [[Arianism]], declaring [[trinitarianism]] dogmatic, and in its sixth canon recognized the special role of the Sees of Rome, Alexandria, and Antioch.<ref>"Let the ancient customs in Egypt, Libya and Pentapolis prevail, that the Bishop of Alexandria has jurisdiction over them all, since a similar arrangement is the custom for the Bishop of Rome. Likewise let the churches in Antioch and the other provinces retain their privileges" ([http://www.fourthcentury.com/index.php/nicaea-325-canons Canons of the Council of Nicaea] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120215233640/http://www.fourthcentury.com/index.php/nicaea-325-canons }}).</ref> Great defenders of Trinitarian faith included the popes, especially [[Pope Liberius|Liberius]], who was exiled to [[Veria|Berea]] by [[Constantius II]] for his Trinitarian faith,<ref>{{cathEncy|wstitle=Pope Liberius|author=Chapman, Henry Palmer}}</ref> [[Damasus I]], and several other bishops.<ref name="Alves J.">Alves J. ''Os Santos de Cada Dia'' (10 edição). Editora Paulinas.pp. 296, 696, 736. {{ISBN|978-85-356-0648-5}}.</ref>

In 380, the [[Edict of Thessalonica]] declared [[Nicene Christianity]] to be the state religion of the empire, with the name "Catholic Christians" reserved for those who accepted that faith.<ref>[http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/theodcodeXVI.html Theodosian Code] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070227120555/http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/theodcodeXVI.html }} XVI.i.2, Medieval Sourcebook: Banning of Other Religions by Paul Halsall, June 1997, Fordham University, retrieved 4 September 2007</ref><ref>Wilken, Robert (2004). "Christianity". in Hitchcock, Susan Tyler; Esposito, John. Geography of Religion. National Geographic Society. Pág.: 286. {{ISBN|0-7922-7317-6}}.</ref> While the civil power in the [[Eastern Roman Empire]] controlled the church, and the [[patriarch of Constantinople]], the capital, wielded much power,<ref name="GAETA">Gaeta, Franco; Villani, Pasquale. ''Corso di Storia, per le scuole medie superiori''. Milão. Editora Principato. 1986.</ref> in the [[Western Roman Empire]], the bishops of Rome were able to consolidate the influence and power they already possessed.<ref name="GAETA" /> After the [[fall of the Western Roman Empire]], [[barbarian]] tribes were converted to Arian Christianity or Nicene Christianity;<ref name="Le Goff">Le Goff, Jacques (2000). ''Medieval Civilization''. Barnes & Noble. p. 14, 21. {{ISBN|0-631-17566-0}}.</ref> [[Clovis I]], king of the [[Franks]], was the first important barbarian ruler to convert to the mainstream church rather than Arianism, allying himself with the papacy. Other tribes, such as the [[Visigoths]], later abandoned Arianism in favour of the established church.<ref name="Le Goff" />

==== Middle Ages ====
[[File:Gregorythegreat.jpg|thumb|upright|Gregory the Great ({{circa|540–604}}), in a painting by [[Carlo Saraceni]], {{circa|1610}}, Rome.]]
After the fall of the Western Roman Empire, the pope served as a source of authority and continuity. [[Pope Gregory I]] ({{circa|540–604}}) administered the church with strict reform. From an ancient senatorial family, Gregory worked with the stern judgement and discipline typical of ancient Roman rule. Theologically, he represents the shift from the classical to the medieval outlook; his popular writings are full of dramatic [[miracle]]s, potent [[relic]]s, [[demon]]s, [[angel]]s, ghosts, and the [[Eschatology|approaching end of the world]].{{sfn|Durant|1950|pp=517–551}}

Gregory's successors were largely dominated by the [[exarch of Ravenna]], the [[List of Byzantine emperors|Byzantine emperor]]'s representative in the [[Italian Peninsula]]. These humiliations, the weakening of the [[Byzantine Empire]] in the face of the [[Early Muslim conquests|Muslim conquests]], and the inability of the emperor to protect the papal estates against the [[Lombards]], made [[Pope Stephen II]] turn from Emperor [[Constantine V]]. He appealed to the Franks to protect his lands. [[Pepin the Short]] subdued the Lombards and donated Italian land to the papacy. When [[Pope Leo III]] crowned [[Charlemagne]] (800) as emperor, he established the precedent that, in Western Europe, no man would be emperor without being crowned by a pope.{{sfn|Durant|1950|pp=517–551}}

The low point of the papacy was 867–1049.{{sfn|Durant|1950|loc=chpt. 4}} This period includes the [[Saeculum obscurum]], the [[Crescentii]] era, and the [[Tusculan Papacy]]. The papacy came under the control of vying political factions. Popes were variously imprisoned, starved, killed, and deposed by force. The family of a certain papal official made and unmade popes for fifty years. The official's great-grandson, [[Pope John XII]], held orgies of debauchery in the [[Lateran Palace]]. Emperor [[Otto I]] had John accused in an ecclesiastical court, which deposed him and elected a layman as [[Pope Leo VIII]]. John mutilated the Imperial representatives in Rome and had himself reinstated as pope. [[History of the papacy (1048–1257)|Conflict between the Emperor and the papacy]] continued, and eventually dukes in league with the emperor were buying bishops and popes almost openly.{{sfn|Durant|1950|loc=chpt. 4}}

In 1049, [[Leo IX]] traveled to the major cities of Europe to deal with the church's moral problems firsthand, notably [[simony]] and [[clerical marriage]] and [[concubinage]]. With his long journey, he restored the prestige of the papacy in Northern Europe.{{sfn|Durant|1950|loc=chpt. 4}}

From the 7th century it became common for European monarchies and nobility to found churches and perform [[investiture]] or deposition of clergy in their states and fiefdoms, their personal interests causing corruption among the clergy.<ref name="H.G.B">''História Global Brasil e Geral''. Pág.: 101, 130, 149, 151, 159. Volume único. Gilberto Cotrim. {{ISBN|978-85-02-05256-7}}</ref><ref name="Missão Jovem">[http://www.pime.org.br/missaojovem/mjhistdaigrejareforma.htm MOVIMENTOS DE RENOVAÇÃO E REFORMA] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120116233149/http://www.pime.org.br/missaojovem/mjhistdaigrejareforma.htm }}. 1 October 2009.</ref> This practice had become common because often the prelates and secular rulers were also participants in public life.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.portalsaofrancisco.com.br/alfa/feudalismo/feudalismo.php |title=Feudalismo |publisher=Portalsaofrancisco.com.br |access-date=18 February 2013 |archive-date=4 February 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130204210934/http://www.portalsaofrancisco.com.br/alfa/feudalismo/feudalismo.php |url-status=live }}</ref>

To combat this and other practices that had been seen as corrupting the Church between the years 900 and 1050, centres emerged promoting ecclesiastical reform, the most important being the [[Abbey of Cluny]], which spread its ideals throughout Europe.<ref name="Missão Jovem" /> This reform movement gained strength with the election of [[Pope Gregory VII]] in 1073, who adopted a series of measures in the movement known as the [[Gregorian Reform]], in order to fight strongly against simony and the abuse of civil power and try to restore ecclesiastical discipline, including [[clerical celibacy]].<ref name="Alves J." />

This conflict between popes and secular autocratic rulers such as the Holy Roman Emperor [[Henry IV, Holy Roman Emperor|Henry IV]] and King [[Henry I of England]], known as the [[Investiture controversy]], was only resolved in 1122, by the [[Concordat of Worms]], in which [[Pope Callixtus II]] decreed that clerics were to be invested by clerical leaders, and temporal rulers by lay investiture.<ref name="H.G.B" /> Soon after, [[Pope Alexander III]] began reforms that would lead to the establishment of [[canon law]].{{sfn|Durant|1950|pp=517–551}}

Since the beginning of the 7th century, [[Early Muslim conquests|Islamic conquests]] had succeeded in controlling much of the southern [[Mediterranean]], and represented a threat to Christianity.<ref>Vidmar, John (2005). ''The Catholic Church Through the Ages''. Paulist Press. p. 94. {{ISBN|0-8091-4234-1}}.</ref> In 1095, the Byzantine emperor, [[Alexios I Komnenos]], asked for military aid from [[Pope Urban II]] in the ongoing [[Byzantine–Seljuq wars]].<ref>Riley-Smith, Jonathan (1997). ''The First Crusaders''. Cambridge University Press. P. 6. {{ISBN|978-0-511-00308-0}}.</ref> Urban, at the [[council of Clermont]], called the [[First Crusade]] to assist the Byzantine Empire to regain the old Christian territories, especially Jerusalem.{{sfn|Bokenkotter|2004|pp=140–141, 192}}

=== East–West Schism to Reformation (1054–1517) ===
[[File:Mediterranean1400.png|thumb|upright=1.8|A historical map of the Mediterranean states in 1400. The [[Western Schism]] lasted from 1378 to 1417.]]
With the [[East–West Schism]], the [[Eastern Orthodox Church]] and the Catholic Church split definitively in 1054. This fracture was caused more by political events than by [[Eastern Orthodox – Catholic theological differences|slight divergences of creed]]. Popes had galled the Byzantine emperors by siding with the king of the Franks, crowning a rival Roman emperor, appropriating the [[Exarchate of Ravenna]], and driving into Greek Italy.{{sfn|Durant|1950|loc=chpt. 4}}

In the [[Middle Ages]], popes struggled with monarchs over power.<ref name="World History" />

From 1309 to 1377, the pope resided not in Rome but in [[Avignon]]. The [[Avignon Papacy]] was notorious for greed and corruption.{{sfn|Durant|1957|pp=3–25}} During this period, the pope was effectively an ally of the [[Kingdom of France]], alienating France's enemies, such as the [[Kingdom of England]].{{sfn|Durant|1957|pp=26–57}}

The pope was understood to have the power to draw on the [[Treasury of Merit]] built up by the saints and by Christ, so that he could grant [[indulgence]]s, reducing one's time in [[purgatory]]. The concept that a monetary fine or donation accompanied contrition, confession, and prayer eventually gave way to the common assumption that indulgences depended on a simple monetary contribution. The popes condemned misunderstandings and abuses, but were too pressed for income to exercise effective control over indulgences.{{sfn|Durant|1957|pp=3–25}}

Popes also contended with the [[Cardinal (Catholicism)|cardinals]], who sometimes attempted to assert the authority of [[Catholic Ecumenical Councils]] over the pope's. [[Conciliarism]] holds that the supreme authority of the church lies with a General Council, not with the pope. Its foundations were laid early in the 13th century, and it culminated in the 15th century with [[Jean Gerson]] as its leading spokesman. The failure of Conciliarism to gain broad acceptance after the 15th century is taken as a factor in the [[Protestant Reformation]].<ref name="ReferenceA">"Conciliar theory". Cross, FL, ed. ''The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church''. New York: Oxford University Press. 2005.</ref>

Various [[Antipope]]s challenged papal authority, especially during the [[Western Schism]] (1378–1417). It came to a close when the [[Council of Constance]], at the high-point of Concilliarism, decided among the papal claimants.

The Eastern Church continued to decline with the Eastern Roman (Byzantine) Empire, undercutting Constantinople's claim to equality with Rome. Twice an Eastern Emperor tried to force the Eastern Church to reunify with the West. First in the [[Second Council of Lyon]] (1272–1274) and secondly in the [[Council of Florence]] (1431–1449). Papal claims of superiority were a sticking point in reunification, which failed in any event. In the 15th century, the [[Ottoman Empire]] captured [[Fall of Constantinople|Constantinople]] and ended the Byzantine Empire.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.britannica.com/event/Fall-of-Constantinople-1453|title=Fall of Constantinople {{!}} Summary|website=Encyclopedia Britannica|language=en|access-date=2019-06-13|archive-date=19 August 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200819143934/https://www.britannica.com/event/Fall-of-Constantinople-1453|url-status=live}}</ref>

=== Reformation to present (1517 to today) ===
[[File:Council Trent.jpg|thumb|As part of the Catholic Reformation, [[Pope Paul III]] (1534–49) initiated the [[Council of Trent]] (1545–63), which established the triumph of the papacy over those who sought to reconcile with Protestants or oppose papal claims.]]
[[Protestant Reformers]] criticized the papacy as corrupt and characterized the pope as the [[antichrist]].<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FyTeW7vQ8K4C&pg=PA61 |page=61; cf. pp. 62, 274 |title=When Time Shall be No More: Prophecy Belief in Modern American Culture |isbn=978-0-674-02861-6 |last1=Boyer |first1=Paul |access-date=15 August 2015 |archive-date=19 August 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200819074246/https://books.google.com/books?id=FyTeW7vQ8K4C&pg=PA61 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=toXLsJ28BvAC&pg=PA90|first=Mark U. Jr.|last=Edwards|title=Printing, Propaganda and Martin Luther|publisher=Fortress Press|year=2004|isbn=978-1-4514-1399-1|page=90|access-date=18 February 2013|archive-date=19 March 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210319004016/https://books.google.com/books?id=toXLsJ28BvAC&pg=PA90|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=Hillerbrand+%22identified+the+Pope%22|first=Hans Joachim|last=Hillerbrand|title=Encyclopedia of Protestantism|publisher=Taylor & Francis|year=2004|volume=1|page=124|access-date=18 February 2013|archive-date=8 March 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210308194716/https://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=Hillerbrand+%22identified+the+Pope%22|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1lMOAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA301|first=John|last=Osborne|title=Luther|publisher=Taylor & Francis|year=1967|page=301|access-date=18 February 2013|archive-date=19 March 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210319005301/https://books.google.com/books?id=1lMOAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA301|url-status=live}}</ref>

Popes instituted a [[Counter-Reformation|Catholic Reformation]]<ref name="World History" /> (1560–1648), which addressed the challenges of the Protestant Reformation and instituted internal reforms. [[Pope Paul III]] initiated the [[Council of Trent]] (1545–1563), whose definitions of doctrine and whose reforms sealed the triumph of the papacy over elements in the church that sought conciliation with Protestants and opposed papal claims.<ref>"Counter-Reformation". Cross, FL, ed., ''The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church''. New York: Oxford University Press. 2005</ref>

Gradually forced to give up secular power to the increasingly assertive [[History of Europe#Nations rising|European nation states]], the popes focused on spiritual issues.<ref name="World History" /> In 1870, the [[First Vatican Council]] proclaimed the [[dogma]] of [[papal infallibility]] for the most solemn occasions when the pope speaks {{lang|la|[[ex cathedra]]}} when issuing a definition of faith or morals.<ref name="World History">Wetterau, Bruce. World history. New York: Henry Holt & co. 1994.</ref> Later the same year, [[Victor Emmanuel II of Italy]] [[Capture of Rome|seized Rome]] from the pope's control and substantially completed the [[Italian unification|unification of Italy]].<ref name="World History" />

In 1929, the [[Lateran Treaty]] between the [[Kingdom of Italy]] and the Holy See established [[Vatican City]] as an independent [[city-state]], guaranteeing papal independence from secular rule.<ref name="World History" />

In 1950, [[Pope Pius XII]] defined the [[Assumption of Mary]] as dogma, the only time a pope has spoken {{lang|la|ex cathedra}} since papal infallibility was explicitly declared.

The [[Primacy of Simon Peter|Primacy of St. Peter]], the controversial doctrinal basis of the pope's authority, continues to divide the eastern and western churches and to separate Protestants from Rome.

== Early Christian mentions ==
{{See also|History of papal primacy}}

=== Church Fathers ===
The writings of several Early Church fathers contain references to the authority and unique position held by the Bishops of Rome, providing valuable insight into the recognition and significance of the papacy during the early Christian era.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Authority of the Pope |url=https://www.churchfathers.org/authority-of-the-pope |access-date=2023-03-29 |website=Church Fathers |language=en-US}}</ref> These sources attest to the acknowledgement of the Bishop of Rome as an influential figure within the Church, with some emphasizing the importance of adherence to Rome's teachings and decisions. Such references served to establish the concept of papal primacy and have continued to inform Catholic theology and practice.<ref>{{Cite web |title=What the Early Church Believed: The Authority of the Pope |url=https://www.catholic.com/tract/the-authority-of-the-pope-part-i |access-date=2023-03-29 |website=Catholic Answers}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Wilken |first=Robert Louis |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=iW1-JImrwQUC |title=The First Thousand Years: A Global History of Christianity |publisher=Yale University Press |isbn=978-0-300-11884-1 |pages=47–48 |language=en}}</ref>

[[Cyprian|'''Cyprian of Carthage''']], in his letters, acknowledges the primacy of the Roman Church and its Bishop, stating that "the Bishop of Rome is the successor of Peter, who received the [[Keys of Heaven|keys]] of the kingdom from the Lord."<ref>{{Citation |title=Cyprian and the Bishops at the Council of Carthage to Cornelius |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.2307/j.ctt284z4s.60 |work=Letters (1–81) (The Fathers of the Church, Volume 51) |pages=156–162 |access-date=2023-03-01 |publisher=Catholic University of America Press |doi=10.2307/j.ctt284z4s.60}}</ref> He also recognized the bishop of Rome as the successor of St. Peter in his ''Letter 55'' (c. 251 AD), which is addressed to [[Pope Cornelius|Cornelius]],<ref>{{Cite book |last=Cartago) |first=Cipriano (Santo, Obispo de |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7lZZBPSo9t4C&dq=Cornelius+was+made+bishop+by+the+choice+of+God+and+of+His+Christ&pg=PA38 |title=The Letters of St. Cyprian of Carthage |publisher=Paulist Press |isbn=978-0-8091-0369-0 |pages=38 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Fisher |first=George Park |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=46UvAAAAYAAJ&dq=Cornelius+was+made+bishop+by+the+choice+of+God+and+of+His+Christ&pg=PA147 |title=Discussions in History and Theology |publisher=Scribner |isbn=978-0-7905-4033-7 |pages=147 |language=en}}</ref> and affirmed his unique authority in the early Christian Church.<ref>{{Citation |title=Cyprian and Other Bishops at the Council of Carthage to Stephen |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.2307/j.ctt284z4s.75 |work=Letters (1–81) (The Fathers of the Church, Volume 51) |pages=265–268 |access-date=2023-03-01 |publisher=Catholic University of America Press |doi=10.2307/j.ctt284z4s.75}}</ref>

{{Blockquote|text=Cornelius [the Bishop of Rome] was made bishop by the choice of God and of His Christ, by the favorable witness of almost all the clergy, by the votes of the people who were present, and by the assembly of ancient priests and good men. And he was made bishop when no one else had been made bishop before him when the position of [[Pope Fabian|Fabian]], that is to say, the position of Peter and the office of the bishop's chair, was vacant. But the position once has been filled by the will of God and that appointment has been ratified by the consent of us all, if anyone wants to be made bishop after that, it has to be done outside the church; if a man does not uphold the unity of the Church's unity, it is not possible for him to have the Church's ordination.|author=Cyprian of Carthage|title=Letter 55|source=8.4}}

'''[[Irenaeus of Lyons]]''', a prominent Christian theologian of the second century, provided a list of early Popes in his work [[Against Heresies (Irenaeus)|''Against Heresies III'']]. The list covers the period from Saint Peter to [[Pope Eleutherius]] who served from 174 to 189 AD.<ref>{{Cite web |title=CHURCH FATHERS: Against Heresies, III.3 (St. Irenaeus) |url=https://www.newadvent.org/fathers/0103303.htm |access-date=2023-05-08 |website=www.newadvent.org}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Irenaeus |url=https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Ante-Nicene_Fathers/Volume_I/IRENAEUS/Against_Heresies:_Book_III/Chapter_III. |title=Ante-Nicene Fathers Vol. I, Against Heresies: Book III}}</ref>

{{Quote|text=The blessed apostles [Peter and Paul], then, having founded and built up the Church [in Rome], committed into the hands of [[Pope Linus|Linus]] the office of the episcopate. Of this Linus, Paul makes mention in the Epistles to Timothy. To him succeeded [[Pope Anacletus|Anacletus]]; and after him, in the third place from the apostles, [[Pope Clement I|Clement]] was allotted the bishopric. [...] To this Clement there succeeded [[Pope Evaristus|Eviristus]]. [[Pope Alexander I|Alexander]] followed Evaristus; then, sixth from the apostles, [[Pope Sixtus I|Sixtus]] was appointed; after him, [[Pope Telesphorus|Telephorus]], who was gloriously martyred; then [[Pope Hyginus|Hyginus]]; after him, [[Pope Pius I|Pius]]; then after him, [[Pope Anicetus|Anicetus]]. [[Pope Soter|Soter]] having succeeded Anicetus, Eleutherius does now, in the twelfth place from the apostles, hold the inheritance of the episcopate.|author=Irenaeus of Lyons|title=Against Heresies III|source=Chapter 3.2}}

'''[[Ignatius of Antioch]]''' wrote in his "''Epistle to the Romans"'' that the church in Rome is "the church that presides over love". Both the [[Eastern Orthodox Church|Eastern Orthodox]]<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Nicol |first=D. M. |title=The Orthodox Church. By Timothy Ware. (Pelican Books A592). Harmondsworth: Penguin Books, 1963. 6s. |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0022046900053756 |journal=The Journal of Ecclesiastical History |volume=16 |issue=1 |pages=119–120 |doi=10.1017/s0022046900053756 |issn=0022-0469 |s2cid=163641062}}</ref> and Roman Catholic Churches recognize this concept as referring to the Bishop of Rome, who is regarded as the successor of St. Peter and has a special role in maintaining unity within the Church.<ref>{{Citation |title=Ignatius to the Romans |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.2307/j.ctvb936zj.10 |work=Ignatius of Antioch |pages=163–192 |access-date=2023-03-08 |publisher=1517 Media |doi=10.2307/j.ctvb936zj.10}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=CHURCH FATHERS: Epistle to the Romans (St. Ignatius) |url=https://www.newadvent.org/fathers/0107.htm |access-date=2023-03-08 |website=www.newadvent.org}}</ref>

{{Quote|text=...the Church which is beloved and enlightened by the will of Him that wills all things which are according to the love of Jesus Christ our God, which also presides in the place of the region of the Romans, worthy of God, worthy of honour, worthy of the highest happiness, worthy of praise, worthy of obtaining her every desire, worthy of being deemed holy, and which presides over love, is named from Christ, and from the Father, which I also salute in the name of Jesus Christ, the Son of the Father: to those who are united, both according to the flesh and spirit, to every one of His commandments;|author=Ignatius of Antioch|title=Epistle to Romans}}

However, the Orthodox Church rejects the Roman Catholic notion of [[papal infallibility]] or the universal jurisdiction of the Pope over the entire Church. Rather, the Orthodox Church holds that the Bishop of Rome is [[Primus inter pares|first among equals]], and that decisions that affect the whole Church should be determined by [[Ecumenical council|Ecumenical Councils]].

'''[[Augustine of Hippo]]''' believed that the unity of the Church was dependent on the authority of the Pope. In his Sermon 295, delivered in 411 AD, he stated, ''"For wherever Peter is, there is the Church. And wherever the Church is, no death is there, but life eternal."''<ref>{{Cite book |last=Hippo.) |first=Saint Augustine (Bishop of |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XLgwAQAAMAAJ&q=Sermons+on+the+Liturgical+Seasons |title=Writings of Saint Augustine: Sermons on the liturgical seasons |publisher=Catholic University of America Press |language=en |chapter=Sermon 295}}</ref><ref>Sermon 295 of Saint Augustine of hippo</ref> In his letter 53 Augustine wrote a line of 38 Popes from Saint Peter to [[Pope Siricius|Siricius]] affirming the authority of the bishop of Rome as the successor of Peter.<ref>{{Cite web |title=CHURCH FATHERS: Letter 53 (St. Augustine) |url=https://www.newadvent.org/fathers/1102053.htm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230328120223/https://www.newadvent.org/fathers/1102053.htm |archive-date=2023 |access-date=2023-03-28 |website=www.newadvent.org}}</ref>

{{Quote|text=For if the lineal succession of bishops is to be taken into account, with how much more certainty and benefit to the Church do we reckon back till we reach Peter himself, to whom, as bearing in a figure the whole Church, the Lord said: Upon this rock will I build my Church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it! Matthew 16:18. The successor of Peter was Linus, and his successors in unbroken continuity were these:— Clement, Anacletus, Evaristus...|author=Augustine of Hippo|title=Letter 53|source=Paragraph 2}}

'''[[Tertullian]]''' wrote in his work "''The Prescription Against Heretics''" about the primacy of the church in Rome. In this work, Tertullian argued that the Church in Rome had a special position of authority because of its apostolic foundation and that other churches should look to it for guidance in matters of faith which is considered as an emphasis of the primacy of the bishop of Rome.<ref>{{Cite web |title=CHURCH FATHERS: The Prescription Against Heretics (Tertullian) |url=https://www.newadvent.org/fathers/0311.htm |access-date=2023-03-08 |website=www.newadvent.org}}</ref>

{{Quote|text=If thou art near Italy, thou hast Rome where authority is ever within reach. How fortunate is this Church for which the apostles have poured out their whole doctrine with their blood; where Peter has emulated the passion of the Lord; where Paul was crowned with the death of John [the Baptist]...|author=Tertullian|title=The Prescription Against Heretics}}

=== Other early Christian mentions ===
[[Optatus]] the bishop of [[Mila (city)|Milevis]] in South Africa and a contemporary of the [[Donatism|Donatist schism]], presents a detailed analysis of the origins, beliefs, and practices of the Donatists, as well as the events and debates surrounding the schism, in his book ''The Schism of the Donatists'' (367 A.D)''.'' In the book, Optatus wrote about the position of the bishop of Rome in maintaining the unity of the Church.<ref>{{Cite web |title=CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA: St. Optatus |url=https://www.newadvent.org/cathen/11262b.htm |access-date=2023-04-09 |website=www.newadvent.org}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=What the Early Church Believed: Peter's Roman Residency |url=https://www.catholic.com/tract/peters-roman-residency |access-date=2023-04-09 |website=Catholic Answers}}</ref>
{{Blockquote|text=You cannot deny that you are aware that in the city of Rome the episcopal chair was given first to Peter; the chair in which Peter sat, the same who was head—that is why he is also called Cephas [‘Rock’]—of all the apostles; the one chair in which unity is maintained by all|author=Optatus|title=The Schism of the Donatists|source=2:2}}

== Saint Peter and the origin of the papal office ==
{{See also|Primacy of Simon Peter}}
The [[Catholic Church]] teaches that, within the Christian community, the bishops as a body have succeeded to the body of the apostles (''[[apostolic succession]]'') and the bishop of Rome has succeeded to Saint Peter.<ref name="section880" />

Scriptural texts proposed in support of Peter's special position in relation to the church include:
* [[Matthew 16]]: {{quote|I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.<ref>{{bibleverse||Matthew|16:18–19|ESV}}</ref>}}
* [[Luke 22]]: {{quote|Simon, Simon, behold, Satan demanded to have you, that he might sift you like wheat, but I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned again, strengthen your brothers.<ref>{{bibleverse||Luke|22:31–32|ESV}}</ref>}}
* [[John 21]]:{{quote|Feed my sheep.<ref>{{bibleverse||John|21:17|ESV}}</ref>}}

The symbolic keys in the [[Papal coats of arms]] are a reference to the phrase "[[Keys of Heaven|the keys of the kingdom of heaven]]" in the first of these texts. Some Protestant writers have maintained that the "rock" that Jesus speaks of in this text is Jesus himself or the faith expressed by Peter.<ref>{{cite web |last=Lightfoot |first=John |author-link=John Lightfoot |title=Commentary on Matthew 16:18 |url=http://www.studylight.org/com/jlc/view.cgi?book=mt&chapter=16&verse=18#Mt16_18 |work=Commentary on the Gospels |access-date=23 May 2013 |publisher=StudyLight.org |quote=It is readily answered by the Papists, that "Peter was the rock." But let them tell me why Matthew used not the same word in Greek, if our Saviour used the same word in Syriac. If he had intimated that the church should be built upon Peter, it had been plainer and more agreeable to be the vulgar idiom to have said, "Thou art Peter, and upon thee I will build my church. |archive-date=14 May 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130514155559/http://www.studylight.org/com/jlc/view.cgi?book=mt&chapter=16&verse=18#Mt16_18 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.studylight.org/com/rwp/view.cgi?book=mt&chapter=16&verse=18 |title=Commentary on Matthew 16:18 |first=Archibald Thomas |last=Robertson |author-link=Archibald Thomas Robertson |work=Word Pictures of the New Testament |publisher=StudyLight.org |access-date=23 May 2013 |archive-date=14 May 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130514160409/http://www.studylight.org/com/rwp/view.cgi?book=mt&chapter=16&verse=18 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=Gill|first=John|title=Commentary on Matthew 16:18|url=http://www.studylight.org/com/geb/view.cgi?book=mt&chapter=016&verse=018|work=Exposition of the Whole Bible|publisher=StudyLight.org|access-date=23 May 2013|author-link=John Gill (theologian)|quote=by the rock, is meant, either the confession of faith made by Peter; not the act, nor form, but the matter of it, it containing the prime articles of Christianity, and which are as immoveable as a rock; or rather Christ himself, who points, as it were, with his finger to himself, and whom Peter had made such a glorious confession of; and who was prefigured by the rock the Israelites drank water out of in the wilderness; and is comparable to any rock for height, shelter, strength, firmness, and duration; and is the one and only foundation of his church and people, and on whom their security, salvation, and happiness entirely depend.|archive-date=14 May 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130514160249/http://www.studylight.org/com/geb/view.cgi?book=mt&chapter=016&verse=018|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=Wesley|first=John|title=Commentary on Matthew 16:18|url=http://www.ccel.org/ccel/wesley/notes.i.ii.xviii.html|work=Wesley's Notes on the Bible|publisher=[[Christian Classics Ethereal Library]]|access-date=23 May 2013|author-link=John Wesley|quote=On this rock – Alluding to his name, which signifies a rock, namely, the faith which thou hast now professed; I will build my Church – But perhaps when our Lord uttered these words, he pointed to himself, in like manner as when he said, Destroy this temple, John 2:19; meaning the temple of his body. And it is certain, that as he is spoken of in Scripture, as the only foundation of the Church, so this is that which the apostles and evangelists laid in their preaching. It is in respect of laying this, that the names of the twelve apostles (not of St. Peter only) were equally inscribed on the twelve foundations of the city of God, Revelation 21:14. The gates of here – As gates and walls were the strength of cities, and as courts of judicature were held in their gates, this phrase properly signifies the power and policy of Satan and his instruments. Shall not prevail against it – Not against the Church universal, so as to destroy it. And they never did. There hath been a small remnant in all ages.|archive-date=13 November 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121113154746/http://www.ccel.org/ccel/wesley/notes.i.ii.xviii.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Scofield |first=C. I |author-link=C. I. Scofield |title=Commentary on Matthew 16:18 |url=http://studylight.org/com/srn/view.cgi?book=mt&chapter=16&verse=18#Mt16_18 |work=Scofield's Reference Notes |series=1917 edition |publisher=StudyLight.org |access-date=23 May 2013 |quote=There is the Greek a play upon the words, "thou art Peter petros-- literally 'a little rock', and upon this rock Petra I will build my church." He does not promise to build His church upon Peter, but upon Himself, as Peter is careful to tell us (1 Peter 2:4–9). |archive-date=14 May 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130514155311/http://www.studylight.org/com/srn/view.cgi?book=mt&chapter=16&verse=18#Mt16_18 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Henry |first=Matthew |title=Commentary on Matthew 16:18 |url=http://www.studylight.org/com/mhm/view.cgi?book=mt&chapter=16&verse=18#Mt16_18 |work=Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary on the Bible |publisher=StudyLight.org |access-date=23 May 2013 |author-link=Matthew Henry |quote=First, Some by this rock understand Peter himself as an apostle, the chief, though not the prince, of the twelve, senior among them, but not superior over them. The church is built upon the foundation of the apostles, Ephesians 2:20. The first stones of that building were laid in and by their ministry; hence their names are said to be written in the foundations of the new Jerusalem, Revelation 21:14...First, Some by this rock understand Peter himself as an apostle, the chief, though not the prince, of the twelve, senior among them, but not superior over them. The church is built upon the foundation of the apostles, Ephesians 2:20. The first stones of that building were laid in and by their ministry; hence their names are said to be written in the foundations of the new Jerusalem, Revelation 21:14. ... Thirdly, Others by this rock understand this confession which Peter made of Christ, and this comes all to one with understanding it of Christ himself. It was a good confession which Peter witnessed, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God; the rest concurred with him in it. "Now", saith Christ, "this is that great truth upon which I will build my church." 1. Take away this truth itself, and the universal church falls to the ground. If Christ be not the Son of God, Christianity is a cheat, and the church is a mere chimera; our preaching is vain, your faith is vain, and you are yet in your sins, 1 Corinthians 15:14–17. If Jesus be not the Christ, those that own him are not of the church, but deceivers and deceived. 2. Take away the faith and confession of this truth from any particular church, and it ceases to be a part of Christ's church, and relapses to the state and character of infidelity. This is articulus stantis et cadentis ecclesia—that article, with the admission or the denial of which the church either rises or falls; "the main hinge on which the door of salvation turns;" those who let go this, do not hold the foundation; and though they may call themselves Christians, they give themselves the lie; for the church is a sacred society, incorporated upon the certainty and assurance of this great truth; and great it is, and has prevailed. |archive-date=14 May 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130514163042/http://www.studylight.org/com/mhm/view.cgi?book=mt&chapter=16&verse=18#Mt16_18 |url-status=live }}</ref> This idea is undermined by the Biblical usage of "Cephas", which is the masculine form of "rock" in [[Aramaic language|Aramaic]], to describe Peter.<ref>[http://biblehub.com/john/1-42.htm John 1:42] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140116071436/http://biblehub.com/john/1-42.htm }}. Bible Hub.</ref><ref>[http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/Cephas "Cephas"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140116070946/http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/Cephas }}. Dictionary.com.</ref><ref>[http://www.behindthename.com/name/cephas "Cephas"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140116085745/http://www.behindthename.com/name/cephas }}. Behind the Name.</ref> The ''[[Encyclopædia Britannica]]'' comments that "the consensus of the great majority of scholars today is that the most obvious and traditional understanding should be construed, namely, that rock refers to the person of Peter".<ref name="britannicapeter">{{cite encyclopedia|title=Saint Peter the Apostle|year=2013|author=O'Connor, Daniel William|encyclopedia=[[Encyclopædia Britannica]]|publisher=Encyclopædia Britannica Online|url=http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/453832/Saint-Peter-the-Apostle|access-date=14 April 2013|archive-date=28 March 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130328083026/http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/453832/Saint-Peter-the-Apostle|url-status=live}}</ref>

== New Eliakim ==
According to the Catholic church, the Pope is also the new [[Eliakim, son of Hilkiah|Eliakim]], a figure in the [[Old Testament]] of the Bible who directed the affairs of the [[royal court]], managed the palace staff, and handled state affairs. [[Isaiah]] also describes him as having the key to the house of David, which symbolizes his authority and power.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Where Is the Papacy in the Old Testament? |url=https://www.catholic.com/magazine/online-edition/where-is-the-papacy-in-the-old-testament |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230316042825/https://www.catholic.com/magazine/online-edition/where-is-the-papacy-in-the-old-testament |archive-date=2023 |access-date=2023-03-16 |website=Catholic Answers}}</ref>
[[File:Michelangelo, lunetta, Zerubbabel - Abiud - Eliakim 01.jpg|alt=A painting of Eliakim in Sistine Chapel, Vatican City|thumb|242x242px|A fresco of Eliakim in [[Sistine Chapel]], Vatican City]]
Both Matthew 16:18-19 and Isaiah 22:22 show similarities between Eliakim and Peter getting keys which symbolise power. Eliakim gets the power to close and open, while Peter gets the power to bind and loose.

According to the [[Book of Isaiah]], Eliakim receives the keys and power to close and open.
{{Quote|text=I will place the key of the House of David on his shoulder; what he opens, no one will shut, what he shuts, no one will open.<ref>{{bibleverse||Isaiah|22:22|ESV}}</ref>|title=Isaiah|source=22:22}}
According to book of Matthew Peter also gets keys and power to bind and loose.
{{Quote|text=I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.” <ref>{{bibleverse||Matthew|16:19|ESV}}</ref>|title=Matthew|source=16:19}}
In the Books of Isaiah 22:3 and Matthew 16:18, both Eliakim and Peter are compared to an object. Eliakim to a Peg (a structure that is driven into a wall or other structure to provide support and stability) while Peter to a Rock.
{{Quote|text=And I will fasten him like a peg in a secure place, and he will become a throne of honor to his father's house.<ref>{{bibleverse||Isaiah|22:23|ESV}}</ref>|title=Isaiah|source=22:23}}
In Mattew 16:18 Peter was compared to a rock.

{{Quote|text=And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it <ref>{{bibleverse||Matthew|16:18|ESV}}</ref>|title=Matthew|source=16:18}}
== Election, death and resignation ==
=== Election ===
{{Main|Papal conclave}}
[[File:Christ Handing the Keys to St. Peter by Pietro Perugino.jpg|thumb|The ''[[Delivery of the Keys (Perugino)|Delivery of the Keys]]'' painted by [[Pietro Perugino]] (1492)]]
The pope was originally chosen by those senior clergymen resident in and near Rome. In 1059, the electorate was restricted to the cardinals of the Holy Roman Church, and the individual votes of all cardinal electors were made equal in 1179. The electors are now limited to those who have not reached 80 on the day before the death or resignation of a pope.{{sfn|John Paul II|1996|p=Introduction}} The pope does not need to be a cardinal elector or indeed a cardinal; since the pope is the bishop of Rome, only those who can be ordained a bishop can be elected, which means that any male baptized Catholic is eligible. The last to be elected when not yet a bishop was [[Gregory XVI]] in 1831, the last to be elected when not even a priest was [[Leo X]] in 1513, and the last to be elected when not a cardinal was [[Urban VI]] in 1378.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://religionnews.com/2013/03/03/everything-you-need-to-know-about-popes-and-conclaves/|title=Popes and conclaves: everything you need to know|access-date=17 January 2017|archive-date=15 July 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170715213743/http://religionnews.com/2013/03/03/everything-you-need-to-know-about-popes-and-conclaves/|url-status=live}}</ref> If someone who is not a bishop is elected, he must be given episcopal ordination before the election is announced to the people.{{sfn|John Paul II|1996|pp=88–89}}

The [[Second Council of Lyon]] was convened on 7 May 1274, to regulate the election of the pope. This Council decreed that the cardinal electors must meet within ten days of the pope's death, and that they must remain in seclusion until a pope has been elected; this was prompted by the three-year ''[[sede vacante]]'' following the death of [[Clement IV]] in 1268. By the mid-16th century, the electoral process had evolved into its present form, allowing for variation in the time between the death of the pope and the meeting of the cardinal electors.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Kelly |first=Joseph Francis |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jLrn2Nx-g2YC&q=lyons+ii |title=The Ecumenical Councils of the Catholic Church: A History |publisher=Liturgical Press |isbn=978-0-8146-5376-0 |pages=96 |language=en}}</ref> Traditionally, the vote was conducted by [[acclamation (Papal elections)|acclamation]], by selection (by committee), or by plenary vote. Acclamation was the simplest procedure, consisting entirely of a voice vote.

[[File:Konklave Konzilsgebaude Konstanz.jpg|thumb|left|The conclave in [[Konstanz]] where [[Pope Martin V]] was elected]]
The election of the pope almost always takes place in the [[Sistine Chapel]], in a sequestered meeting called a "[[Papal conclave|conclave]]" (so called because the cardinal electors are theoretically locked in, ''cum clave'', i.e., with key, until they elect a new pope). Three cardinals are chosen by lot to collect the votes of absent cardinal electors (by reason of illness), three are chosen by lot to count the votes, and three are chosen by lot to review the count of the votes. The ballots are distributed and each cardinal elector writes the name of his choice on it and pledges aloud that he is voting for "one whom under God I think ought to be elected" before folding and depositing his vote on a plate atop a large chalice placed on the altar. For the [[Papal conclave, 2005]], a special urn was used for this purpose instead of a chalice and plate. The plate is then used to drop the ballot into the chalice, making it difficult for electors to insert multiple ballots. Before being read, the ballots are counted while still folded; if the number of ballots does not match the number of electors, the ballots are burned unopened and a new vote is held. Otherwise, each ballot is read aloud by the presiding Cardinal, who pierces the ballot with a needle and thread, stringing all the ballots together and tying the ends of the thread to ensure accuracy and honesty. Balloting continues until someone is elected by a two-thirds majority. (With the promulgation of ''[[Universi Dominici Gregis]]'' in 1996, a simple majority after a deadlock of twelve days was allowed, but this was revoked by [[Pope Benedict XVI]] by ''[[motu proprio]]'' in 2007.)
[[File:Habemus Papam 1415.jpg|thumb|The formal declaration of "[[Habemus Papam]]" after the election of Pope Martin V]]

One of the most prominent aspects of the papal election process is the means by which the results of a ballot are announced to the world. Once the ballots are counted and bound together, they are burned in a special stove erected in the Sistine Chapel, with the smoke escaping through a small chimney visible from [[Saint Peter's Square]]. The ballots from an unsuccessful vote are burned along with a chemical compound to create black smoke, or ''[[fumata nera]]''. (Traditionally, wet straw was used to produce the black smoke, but this was not completely reliable. The chemical compound is more reliable than the straw.) When a vote is successful, the ballots are burned alone, sending white smoke (''[[fumata bianca]]'') through the chimney and announcing to the world the election of a new pope.<ref>{{Cite web|url = https://abcnews.go.com/International/white-smoke-pope-black-smoke-nope-conclave-smoke/story?id=18719208|title = White Smoke, Pope; Black Smoke, Nope: How Conclave Smoke Gets Its Color|date = March 2013|website = ABC News|last = Effron|first = Lauren|access-date = 28 June 2020|archive-date = 6 August 2020|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20200806114812/https://abcnews.go.com/International/white-smoke-pope-black-smoke-nope-conclave-smoke/story?id=18719208|url-status = live}}</ref> Starting with the Papal conclave, 2005,<ref>{{cite web|title=Press Conference on the Tenth General Congregations of the College of Cardinals (11 March) and Regarding Events of the Coming Days: Tenth and Last General Congregation|url=http://press.catholica.va/news_services/bulletin/news/30611.php?index=30611&lang=en|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130505172837/http://press.catholica.va/news_services/bulletin/news/30611.php?index=30611&lang=en|url-status=dead|archive-date=5 May 2013|publisher=Holy See Press Office|access-date=15 April 2013}}</ref> [[church bell]]s are also rung as a signal that a new pope has been chosen.<ref>[https://www.voanews.com/archive/vatican-bells-will-also-announce-election-new-pope "Vatican: Bells Will Also Announce Election of New Pope".] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210725041252/https://www.voanews.com/archive/vatican-bells-will-also-announce-election-new-pope }} ''voanews.com.'' 30 October 2009. Retrieved 24 July 2021.</ref><ref>[https://www.ncronline.org/blogs/all-things-catholic/quick-course-conclave-101 "A quick course in 'Conclave 101'"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210725041252/https://www.ncronline.org/blogs/all-things-catholic/quick-course-conclave-101 }}. ''Ncronline.com.'' 15 February 2013. Retrieved 24 July 2021.</ref>

The [[dean of the College of Cardinals]] then asks two solemn questions of the man who has been elected. First he asks, "Do you freely accept your election as supreme pontiff?" If he replies with the word ''"Accepto"'', his reign begins at that instant. In practice, any cardinal who intends not to accept will explicitly state this ''before'' he receives a sufficient number of votes to become pope.<ref>Thomas J. Reese SJ, ''Inside The Vatican: The Politics and Organization of the Catholic Church'', Harvard University Press (1996), p. 99.</ref><ref>Menachery George, Vatican Adventure http://www.indianchristianity.com/html/menachery/html/GeorgeMenachery.htm {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171214041643/http://www.indianchristianity.com/html/menachery/html/GeorgeMenachery.htm}}</ref>

The dean asks next, "By what name shall you be called?" The new pope announces the [[regnal name]] he has chosen. If the dean himself is elected pope, the vice dean performs this task.<ref>[https://www.ncregister.com/news/what-does-cardinal-sodano-s-departure-as-dean-of-the-college-of-cardinals-mean "What Does Cardinal Sodano's Departure as Dean of the College of Cardinals Mean?"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210713162738/https://www.ncregister.com/news/what-does-cardinal-sodano-s-departure-as-dean-of-the-college-of-cardinals-mean }} ''ncregister.com.'' 27 December 2019. Retrieved 24 July 2021.</ref>

The new pope is led to the [[Room of Tears]], a dressing room where three sets of white papal vestments (''immantatio'') await in three sizes.<ref>[https://www.nytimes.com/2005/04/02/world/europe/papal-transition-traditional-path-sharply-defined.html "Papal Transition: Traditional Path Sharply Defined"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210725041252/https://www.nytimes.com/2005/04/02/world/europe/papal-transition-traditional-path-sharply-defined.html }}. ''nytimes.com''. 2 April 2005. Retrieved July 24 2021.</ref> Donning the appropriate vestments and reemerging into the Sistine Chapel, the new pope is given the "[[Fisherman's Ring]]" by the [[camerlengo of the Holy Roman Church]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.catholic.org/encyclopedia/view.php?id=4697|title=The Ring of the Fisherman|author=Catholic Online|access-date=25 July 2021|archive-date=25 July 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210725041252/https://www.catholic.org/encyclopedia/view.php?id=4697|url-status=live}}</ref> The pope assumes a place of honor as the rest of the cardinals wait in turn to offer their first "obedience" (''adoratio'') and to receive his blessing.<ref>[https://www.americamagazine.org/papal-transition#afterelection "Papal Transition"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210725041252/https://www.americamagazine.org/papal-transition#afterelection }}. ''americamagazine.org.'' 24 January 2013. Retrieved 24 July 2021.</ref>

The [[cardinal protodeacon]] announces from a balcony over [[St. Peter's Square]] the following proclamation: ''Annuntio vobis gaudium magnum! [[Habemus Papam]]!'' ("I announce to you a great joy! We have a pope!"). He announces the new pope's [[Christian name]] along with his newly chosen regnal name.<ref>[https://www.christiantoday.com/article/the.process.of.electing.the.new.pope/2492.htm "The Process of Electing the New Pope"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210725041253/https://www.christiantoday.com/article/the.process.of.electing.the.new.pope/2492.htm }}. ''christianitytoday.com''. 05 April 2005. Retrieved 25 July 2021.</ref><ref>Ap. Const. [https://www.vatican.va/holy_father/john_paul_ii/apost_constitutions/documents/hf_jp-ii_apc_22021996_universi-dominici-gregis_en.html Universi Dominici Gregis, No. 89] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120408114224/http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/john_paul_ii/apost_constitutions/documents/hf_jp-ii_apc_22021996_universi-dominici-gregis_en.html }}.</ref>

Until 1978, the pope's election was followed in a few days by the [[papal coronation]], which started with a procession with great pomp and circumstance from the Sistine Chapel to [[St. Peter's Basilica]], with the newly elected pope borne in the ''[[sedia gestatoria]]''. After a solemn [[Papal Mass]], the new pope was crowned with the ''[[Papal tiara|triregnum]]'' (papal tiara) and he gave for the first time as pope the famous blessing ''[[Urbi et Orbi]]'' ("to the City [Rome] and to the World"). Another renowned part of the coronation was the lighting of a bundle of [[flax]] at the top of a gilded pole, which would flare brightly for a moment and then promptly extinguish, as he said, ''[[Sic transit gloria mundi]]'' ("Thus passes worldly glory"). A similar warning against papal [[hubris]] made on this occasion was the traditional exclamation, ''"Annos Petri non-videbis"'', reminding the newly crowned pope that he would not live to see his rule lasting as long as that of St. Peter. According to tradition, he headed the church for 35 years and has thus far been the longest-reigning pope in the history of the Catholic Church.<ref>St [[Augustine of Hippo]], speaking of the honours paid to bishops in his time, mentions the ''absides gradatae'' ([[Apse]]s with steps, a reference to the seating arrangement for the presbyters in the apse of the church, with the bishop in the middle ([https://books.google.com/books?id=LTb6zWm5PMcC&pg=PA186 William Smith, Samuel Cheetham, ''Encyclopaedic Dictionary of Christian Antiquities''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200819142844/https://books.google.com/books?id=LTb6zWm5PMcC&pg=PA186 }}, "elevated stalls" in the [https://www.scribd.com/doc/2512021/Letters-of-Augustine-of-Hippo Sparrow-Simpson translation] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160305055309/https://www.scribd.com/doc/2512021/Letters-of-Augustine-of-Hippo }} (p. 83), and appearing as "thrones ascended by flights of steps" in [http://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf101.vii.1.XXIII.html the Cunningham translation] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110628213136/http://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf101.vii.1.XXIII.html }}), and ''[[cathedra]]e velatae'' (canopied thrones, appearing as "canopied pulpits" in both those translations) – [https://books.g. oogle.com/books?id=_Ms7AAAAcAAJ Letter 203 in the old arrangement], 23 in the chronological rearrangement</ref>

The [[Latin]] term, ''sede vacante'' ("while the see is vacant"),<ref>[[Ablative absolute]], equivalent to a temporal clause</ref> refers to a papal [[interregnum]], the period between the death or resignation of a pope and the election of his successor. From this term is derived the term [[sedevacantism]], which designates a category of dissident Catholics who maintain that there is no canonically and legitimately elected pope, and that there is therefore a ''sede vacante''.

For centuries, from 1378 on, those elected to the papacy were predominantly Italians. Prior to the election of the Polish-born John Paul II in 1978, the last non-Italian was [[Adrian VI]] of the Netherlands, elected in 1522. John Paul II was followed by election of the German-born [[Benedict XVI]], who was in turn followed by Argentine-born [[Pope Francis|Francis]], the first non-European after 1272 years and the first Latin American (albeit of Italian ancestry).<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-21777141|title=Profile: Pope Francis|work=BBC News|access-date=2018-05-19|language=en-GB|archive-date=19 July 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180719070821/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-21777141|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Fisher |first1=Max |title=Sorry, Jorge Mario Bergoglio is not the first non-European pope |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2013/03/13/sorry-jorge-mario-bergoglio-is-not-the-first-non-european-pope/?noredirect=on |newspaper=The Washington Post |access-date=21 April 2019 |archive-date=18 July 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210718063026/https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2013/03/13/sorry-jorge-mario-bergoglio-is-not-the-first-non-european-pope/?noredirect=on |url-status=live }}</ref>

=== Death ===
[[File:Pope John Paul II funeral.jpg|thumb|Funeral of [[Pope John Paul II]] at the Vatican in April 2005, presided over by Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, the future Pope Benedict XVI]]
The current regulations regarding a papal interregnum—that is, a ''sede vacante'' ("vacant seat")—were promulgated by [[Pope John Paul II]] in his 1996 document ''Universi Dominici Gregis''. During the "sede vacante" period, the [[College of Cardinals]] is collectively responsible for the government of the Church and of the Vatican itself, under the direction of the Camerlengo of the Holy Roman Church. Canon law specifically forbids the cardinals from introducing any innovation in the government of the Church during the vacancy of the Holy See. Any decision that requires the assent of the pope has to wait until the new pope has been elected and accepts office.<ref>{{Cite web|title= John Paul II. ''Universi Dominici Gregis'', Chapter 1.|url=https://www.vatican.va/content/john-paul-ii/en/apost_constitutions/documents/hf_jp-ii_apc_22021996_universi-dominici-gregis.html}}</ref>

In recent centuries, when a pope was judged to have died, it was reportedly traditional for the cardinal camerlengo to confirm the death ceremonially by gently tapping the pope's head thrice with a silver hammer, calling his birth name each time.<ref>{{Cite web|url = http://www.snopes.com/religion/hammer.asp|title = Hammer Time|date = 5 April 2005|access-date = 2 November 2014|website = Snopes.com}}</ref> This was not done on the deaths of popes [[John Paul I]]<ref>Sullivan, George E. ''Pope John Paul II: The People's Pope''. Boston: Walker & Company, 1984.</ref> and John Paul II.<ref>{{cite news|author= |url=http://www.time.com/time/covers/1101050411/path.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050406020745/http://www.time.com/time/covers/1101050411/path.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=6 April 2005 |title=''The Path to a New Pontiff'' Retrieved: 2010-03-29 |publisher=Time.com |access-date=11 August 2010}}</ref> The cardinal camerlengo retrieves the [[Ring of the Fisherman]] and cuts it in two in the presence of the cardinals. The pope's seals are defaced, to keep them from ever being used again, and his [[Papal Apartments|personal apartment]] is sealed.<ref name="Global Catholic Network {{!}} EWTN">{{Cite web|url=https://www.ewtn.com/catholicism/holysee/interregnum|title=Global Catholic Network {{!}} EWTN|website=ewtn.com|access-date=2020-01-15|archive-date=15 January 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200115040946/https://www.ewtn.com/catholicism/holysee/interregnum|url-status=live}}</ref>

The body [[lies in state]] for several days before being interred in the [[crypt]] of a leading church or cathedral; all popes who have died in the 20th and 21st centuries have been interred in St. Peter's Basilica. A nine-day period of [[mourning]] (''novendialis'') follows the interment.<ref name="Global Catholic Network {{!}} EWTN" />

=== Resignation ===
{{Main|Papal resignation}}
It is highly unusual for a pope to resign.<ref>As the reign of the pope has conventionally been from election until death, papal resignation is an uncommon event. Before the 21st century, only five popes unambiguously resigned with historical certainty, all between the 10th and 15th centuries.</ref> The [[1983 Code of Canon Law]]<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG1104/_P16.HTM|title=Code of Canon Law – IntraText|access-date=15 March 2020|archive-date=16 May 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200516193905/http://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG1104/_P16.HTM|url-status=live}}</ref> states, "If it happens that the Roman Pontiff resigns his office, it is required for validity that the resignation is made freely and properly manifested but not that it is accepted by anyone." Benedict XVI, who vacated the Holy See on 28 February 2013, was the most recent to do so, and the first since [[Gregory XII]]'s resignation in 1415.<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/feb/11/benedict-placehold-pope-weakened-church | title=Benedict, the placeholder pope who leaves a battered, weakened church | work=The Guardian | date=11 February 2013 | access-date=12 February 2013 | author=Brown, Andrew | archive-date=1 March 2013 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130301180614/http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2013/feb/11/benedict-placehold-pope-weakened-church | url-status=live }}</ref>

== Titles ==
{{Infobox manner of address
|background=#F7D79C
|name=The Pope
|image=[[File:Emblem of the Papacy SE.svg|60px]]
|reference=[[His Holiness]]
|spoken=Your Holiness
|religious=Holy Father
|posthumous=''See [[Canonization#Since 1983|here]]''
}}

=== Regnal name ===
Popes adopt a new name on their accession, known as [[papal name]], in Italian and Latin. Currently, after a new pope is elected and accepts the election, he is asked, "By what name shall you be called?" The new pope chooses the name by which he will be known from that point on. The senior cardinal deacon, or cardinal protodeacon, then appears on the balcony of Saint Peter's to proclaim the new pope by his birth name, and announce his papal name in Latin. It's customary when referring to popes to translate the regnal name into all local languages. For example, the current pope bears the papal name Papa Franciscus in Latin and Papa Francesco in Italian, but Papa Francisco in his native Spanish, Pope Francis in English, etc.

=== Official list of titles ===
{{Main|Papal titles}}
The official list of titles of the pope, in the order in which they are given in the ''[[Annuario Pontificio]]'', is:

{{quote|Bishop of [[Diocese of Rome|Rome]], [[Vicar of Christ|Vicar of Jesus Christ]], Successor of the Prince of the Apostles, [[Pontifex Maximus|Supreme]] [[Pontiff#Christianity|Pontiff]] of the Universal Church, [[Primate (bishop)|Primate]] of Italy, [[Metropolitan bishop|Archbishop and Metropolitan]] of the [[List of Catholic dioceses in Italy#Ecclesiastical Province of Rome|Roman]] [[Ecclesiastical province#Catholic Church|Province]], [[List of sovereigns of Vatican City State|Sovereign]] of the Vatican City State, [[Servant of the servants of God]].<ref>''Annuario Pontificio'', published annually by Libreria Editrice Vaticana, p. 23*. ISBN of the 2012 edition: 978-88-209-8722-0.</ref>}}

The best-known title, that of "pope", does not appear in the official list, but is commonly used in the titles of documents, and appears, in abbreviated form, in their signatures. Thus [[Paul VI]] signed as "Paulus PP. VI", the "PP." standing for "''papa pontifex''" ("pope and pontiff").<ref>{{cathEncy|author=Shahan, Thomas Joseph|wstitle=Ecclesiastical Abbreviations|volume=1}}</ref><ref>{{cite encyclopedia|year= 2013|title= Pope|encyclopedia= [[Encyclopædia Britannica]]|publisher= Encyclopædia Britannica Online|access-date= 14 April 2013|url= http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/469994/pope|archive-date= 12 June 2013|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20130612233836/http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/469994/pope|url-status= live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://inkunabeln.ub.uni-koeln.de/vdibDevelop/handapparat/nachs_w/cappelli/cappelli.html |author=Adriano Cappelli |title=Lexicon Abbreviaturarum |page=283 |access-date=18 February 2013 |archive-date=25 July 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130725080258/http://inkunabeln.ub.uni-koeln.de/vdibDevelop/handapparat/nachs_w/cappelli/cappelli.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ndl.go.jp/incunabula/e/glossary/glo_11.html |title=Contractions and Abbreviations |publisher=Ndl.go.jp |access-date=21 November 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111210050234/http://www.ndl.go.jp/incunabula/e/glossary/glo_11.html |archive-date=10 December 2011 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://acronyms.thefreedictionary.com/Papa+Pontifex |title=What Does PP Stand For? |publisher=Acronyms.thefreedictionary.com |access-date=21 November 2011 |archive-date=30 November 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111130042409/http://acronyms.thefreedictionary.com/Papa+Pontifex |url-status=live }}</ref>

The title "pope" was from the early 3rd century an honorific designation used for ''any'' bishop in the West.<ref name=ODCC:Pope /> In the East, it was used only for the [[bishop of Alexandria]].<ref name=ODCC:Pope /> [[Pope Marcellinus|Marcellinus]] (d. 304) is the first bishop of Rome shown in sources to have had the title "pope" used of him. From the 6th century, the imperial chancery of [[Constantinople]] normally reserved this designation for the bishop of Rome.<ref name=ODCC:Pope /> From the early 6th century, it began to be confined in the West to the bishop of Rome, a practice that was firmly in place by the 11th century.<ref name=ODCC:Pope />

In [[Eastern Christianity]], where the title "pope" is used also of the bishop of Alexandria, the bishop of Rome is often referred to as the "pope of Rome", regardless of whether the speaker or writer is in communion with Rome or not.<ref>{{Cite web|title=pope {{!}} Definition, Title, & List of Popes|url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/pope|access-date=2021-02-17|website=Encyclopedia Britannica|language=en|archive-date=11 July 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170711193542/https://www.britannica.com/topic/pope|url-status=live}}</ref>

=== Vicar of Jesus Christ ===
"Vicar of Jesus Christ" (''Vicarius Iesu Christi'') is one of the official titles of the pope given in the ''Annuario Pontificio''. It is commonly used in the slightly abbreviated form "vicar of Christ" (''vicarius Christi''). While it is only one of the terms with which the pope is referred to as "vicar", it is "more expressive of his supreme headship of the Church on Earth, which he bears in virtue of the commission of Christ and with vicarial power derived from him", a vicarial power believed to have been conferred on Saint Peter when Christ said to him: "Feed my lambs...Feed my sheep".<ref>{{bibleverse||John|21:16–17}}</ref><ref name="New Advent – Vicar of Christ">{{cathEncy|wstitle=Vicar of Christ|author=Fanning, William Henry Windsor}}</ref>

The first record of the application of this title to a bishop of Rome appears in a synod of 495 with reference to [[Gelasius I]].<ref name="Macbrien">McBrien, Richard P. ''Os Papas. Os Pontífices de São Pedro a João Paulo II'' (original title: ''Lives of the Popes. The Pontiffs from St. Peter to John Paul II'' 1997. {{ISBN|0-06-065303-5}}), pp. 37, 85.</ref> But at that time, and down to the 9th century, other bishops too referred to themselves as vicars of Christ, and for another four centuries this description was sometimes used of kings and even judges,<ref>''Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church'' (Oxford University Press 2005 {{ISBN|978-0-19-280290-3}}), article ''Vicar of Christ''</ref> as it had been used in the 5th and 6th centuries to refer to the [[Byzantine emperor]].<ref name="New Commentary" /> Earlier still, in the 3rd century, [[Tertullian]] used "vicar of Christ" to refer to the [[Holy Spirit]]<ref>{{cite encyclopedia| url= http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/0311.htm| title= Prescription against Heretics (Chapter 28)| access-date= 14 April 2013| publisher= New Advent| encyclopedia= Catholic Encyclopedia: The Fathers of the Church| archive-date= 17 October 2012| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20121017062415/http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/0311.htm| url-status= live}}</ref><ref>{{cite encyclopedia| url= http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/0403.htm| title= On the Veiling of Virgins (Chapter 1)| access-date= 14 April 2013| publisher= New Advent| encyclopedia= Catholic Encyclopedia: The Fathers of the Church| archive-date= 20 May 2013| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20130520080041/http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/0403.htm| url-status= live}}</ref> sent by Jesus.<ref>see {{bibleverse||John|16:7–14}}</ref> Its use specifically for the pope appears in the 13th century in connection with the reforms of [[Pope Innocent III]],<ref name="New Commentary">{{cite book |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=JKgZEjvB5cEC&pg=PA432 |title= New Commentary on the Code of Canon Law |page= 432 |access-date= 18 February 2010 |isbn= 978-0-8091-4066-4 |last1= Beal |first1= John P. |last2= Coriden |first2= James A. |last3= Green |first3= Thomas J. |archive-date= 19 March 2021 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20210319004236/https://books.google.com/books?id=JKgZEjvB5cEC&pg=PA432 |url-status= live }}</ref> as can be observed already in his 1199 letter to [[Leo I, King of Armenia]].<ref>Faus, José Ignacio Gonzáles. "''Autoridade da Verdade – Momentos Obscuros do Magistério Eclesiástico''" (Edições Loyola. {{ISBN|85-15-01750-4}}), p. 33.</ref> Other historians suggest that this title was already used in this way in association with the pontificate of [[Eugene III]] (1145–1153).<ref name="Macbrien" />

This title "vicar of Christ" is thus not used of the pope alone and has been used of all bishops since the early centuries.<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7bjDsZHPiSYC&pg=PA264 |title=The Practical Prophet: Pastoral Writings |page=264 |publisher=Paulist Press |location=New York |year=2007 |author1=Untener, Ken |author2=Picken, Elizabeth |access-date=21 November 2011 |isbn=978-0-8091-4429-7 |archive-date=19 March 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210319005223/https://books.google.com/books?id=7bjDsZHPiSYC&pg=PA264 |url-status=live }}</ref> The Second Vatican Council referred to all bishops as "vicars and ambassadors of Christ",<ref>{{cite web | url= https://www.vatican.va/archive/hist_councils/ii_vatican_council/documents/vat-ii_const_19641121_lumen-gentium_en.html | title= Second Vatican Council, Dogmatic Constitution ''Lumen gentium'', 27 | access-date= 27 January 2010 | archive-date= 6 September 2014 | archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20140906031754/https://www.vatican.va/archive/hist_councils/ii_vatican_council/documents/vat-ii_const_19641121_lumen-gentium_en.html | url-status= live }}</ref> and this description of the bishops was repeated by John Paul II in his encyclical ''Ut unum sint,'' 95. The difference is that the other bishops are vicars of Christ for their own local churches, the pope is vicar of Christ for the whole Church.<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vJ78Vd4O9d4C&pg=PA991 |page=991 |first=Russell B. |last=Shaw |location=Huntington, Ind |publisher=Our Sunday Visitor |year=1979 |title=Church & State: A Novel of Politics and Power |access-date=14 April 2013 |isbn=978-0-87973-669-9 |archive-date=26 May 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130526034011/http://books.google.com/books?id=vJ78Vd4O9d4C&pg=PA991 |url-status=live }}</ref>

On at least one occasion the title "vicar of God" (a reference to Christ as God) was used of the pope.<ref name="New Advent – Vicar of Christ" />

The title "vicar of Peter" (''vicarius Petri'') is used only of the pope, not of other bishops. Variations of it include: "Vicar of the Prince of the Apostles" (''Vicarius Principis Apostolorum'') and "Vicar of the Apostolic See" (''Vicarius Sedis Apostolicae'').<ref name="New Advent – Vicar of Christ" /> [[Saint Boniface]] described [[Pope Gregory II]] as vicar of Peter in the oath of fealty that he took in 722.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/boniface1.html |title=Medieval Sourcebook |publisher=Fordham.edu |access-date=21 November 2011 |archive-date=27 November 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111127185446/http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/boniface1.html |url-status=live }}</ref> In today's [[Roman Missal]], the description "vicar of Peter" is found also in the [[collect]] of the [[Mass (liturgy)|Mass]] for a saint who was a pope.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.clerus.org/bibliaclerusonline/en/end.htm#cml |title=''Missale Romanum'', Vatican City, 2008, p. 928 |publisher=Clerus.org |access-date=21 November 2011 |archive-date=30 November 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111130050255/http://www.clerus.org/bibliaclerusonline/en/end.htm#cml |url-status=live }}</ref>

=== Supreme pontiff ===
[[File:Benedictus XVI Pont Max Pontif I.jpg|thumb|Entrance to [[Vatican City]], with inscription "Benedictus XVI Pont(ifex) Max(imus) Anno Domini MMV Pont(ificatus) I.", i.e., "[[Benedict XVI]], Pontifex Maximus, in the year of Our Lord 2005, the first year of his pontificate."]]
The term "[[pontiff]]" is derived from the {{lang-la|pontifex}}, which literally means "bridge builder" (''pons'' + ''facere'') and which designated a member of the [[College of Pontiffs|principal college of priests]] in pagan Rome.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia|year= 2013|title= Pontifex|encyclopedia= [[Encyclopædia Britannica]]|publisher= Encyclopædia Britannica Online|access-date= 14 April 2013|url= http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/469745/pontifex|archive-date= 13 June 2013|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20130613003622/http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/469745/pontifex|url-status= live}}</ref><ref>The bridge making has been interpreted in terms of "one who smoothes the way for the gods and to the gods" (Van Haeperen, Françoise, 2002. ''Le collège pontifical: 3ème s. a. C. – 4ème s. p. C.'' in series '' Études de Philologie, d'Archéologie et d'Histoire Anciennes'', no. 39. (Brussels: Brepols) {{ISBN|90-74461-49-2}}, reviewed in [http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/bmcr/2003/2003-10-16.html Bryn Mawr Classical review, 2003] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20031107152321/http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/bmcr/2003/2003-10-16.html }})</ref> The Latin word was translated into ancient Greek variously: as {{lang-grc|ἱεροδιδάσκαλος}}, {{lang-grc|ἱερονόμος|link=no}}, {{lang-grc|ἱεροφύλαξ|link=no}}, {{lang-grc|ἱεροφάντης|link=no}} ([[hierophant]]),<ref name="smithpontifex">{{cite encyclopedia |year= 1875|title =Pontifex |encyclopedia=[[Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities]] |publisher=J. Murray |location=London |editor-first=William |editor-last=Smith |editor-link=William Smith (lexicographer)|pages=939–942|url=https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/secondary/SMIGRA*/Pontifex.html }}</ref> or {{lang-grc|ἀρχιερεύς|link=no}} ([[archiereus]], [[high priest]])<ref name=L&S>{{cite book |url=http://perseus.uchicago.edu/cgi-bin/philologic/getobject.pl?c.8:10:135.LSJ |editor-first=Henry George |editor-last=Liddell |editor-first2=Robert |editor-last2=Scott |title=A Greek English Lexicon |publisher=Oxford University Press |access-date=18 February 2013 |via=perseus.uchicago.edu |archive-date=21 May 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130521153349/http://perseus.uchicago.edu/cgi-bin/philologic/getobject.pl?c.8:10:135.LSJ |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>[[Polybius]] 23.1.2 and 32.22.5; ''Corpus Inscriptionum Atticarum'' 3.43, 3.428 und 3.458</ref> The head of the college was known as the {{lang-la|Pontifex Maximus|link=no}} (the greatest pontiff).<ref>Translated literally into Greek as {{lang-grc|ἀρχιερεὺς μέγιστος}} (greatest high priest) in ''Corpus Inscriptionum Graecarum'' 2.2696 and 3.346; [[Plutarch]] ''Numa'' 9.4 – [http://perseus.uchicago.edu/cgi-bin/philologic/getobject.pl?c.8:10:135.LSJ Liddell and Scott: ἀρχιερεύς] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130521153349/http://perseus.uchicago.edu/cgi-bin/philologic/getobject.pl?c.8:10:135.LSJ }}</ref>

In Christian use, ''pontifex'' appears in the [[Vulgate]] translation of the [[New Testament]] to indicate the [[High Priest of Israel]] (in the original [[Koine Greek]], {{lang|grc-x-koine|ἀρχιερεύς}}).<ref>There are 35 instances of the use of this term in the Vulgate: {{bibleverse||Mark|15:11}}; {{bibleverse||John|7:45}}, {{bibleverse-nb||John|11:47}},{{bibleverse-nb||John|11:49}}, {{bibleverse-nb||John|11:51}}, {{bibleverse-nb||John|11:57}}, {{bibleverse-nb||John|18:3}}, {{bibleverse-nb||John|18:10}}, {{bibleverse-nb||John|18:13}}, {{bibleverse-nb||John|18:15–16}}, {{bibleverse-nb||John|18:22}}, {{bibleverse-nb||John|18:24}}, {{bibleverse-nb||John|18:26}}, {{bibleverse-nb||John|18:35}}, {{bibleverse-nb||John|19:6}}, {{bibleverse-nb||John|19:15}}, {{bibleverse-nb||John|19:21}}; {{bibleverse||Hebrews|2:17}}, {{bibleverse-nb||Hebrews|3:1}}, {{bibleverse-nb||Hebrews|4:14–15}}, {{bibleverse-nb||Hebrews|5:1}}, {{bibleverse-nb||Hebrews|5:5}}, {{bibleverse-nb||Hebrews|5:10}}, {{bibleverse-nb||Hebrews|6:20}}, {{bibleverse-nb||Hebrews|7:26}}, {{bibleverse-nb||Hebrews|8:1}}, {{bibleverse-nb||Hebrews|8:3}}, {{bibleverse-nb||Hebrews|9:7}}, {{bibleverse-nb||Hebrews|9:11}}, {{bibleverse-nb||Hebrews|9:25}}, {{bibleverse-nb||Hebrews|13:11}}</ref> The term came to be applied to any Christian bishop,<ref name="New Advent – Pope">{{cathEncy|wstitle=Pope|author=Joyce, G. H.}}</ref> but since the 11th century commonly refers specifically to the bishop of Rome,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/Pontiff |title=Dictionary definition |publisher=Dictionary.reference.com |access-date=7 November 2010 |archive-date=22 November 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101122162728/http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/pontiff |url-status=live }}</ref> who is more strictly called the "Roman Pontiff". The use of the term to refer to bishops in general is reflected in the terms "[[Roman Pontifical]]" (a book containing rites reserved for bishops, such as [[confirmation]] and [[ordination]]), and "pontificals" (the insignia of bishops).<ref>{{cite web |title=pontifical |url=http://oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/pontifical |work=Oxford Dictionaries |publisher=Oxford University Press |access-date=15 April 2013 |archive-date=27 April 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130427091618/http://oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/pontifical |url-status=dead }}</ref>

The ''Annuario Pontificio'' lists as one of the official titles of the pope that of "Supreme Pontiff of the Universal Church" ({{lang-la|Summus Pontifex Ecclesiae Universalis|link=no}}).<ref>Annuario Pontificio 2008 (Libreria Editrice Vaticana {{ISBN|978-88-209-8021-4}}), p. 23*</ref> He is also commonly called the Supreme Pontiff or the Sovereign Pontiff ({{lang-la|Summus Pontifex|link=no}}).<ref>{{Cite book | url=https://archive.org/details/worlddictionaryo00adel_0 | url-access=registration | page=[https://archive.org/details/worlddictionaryo00adel_0/page/375 375] |title=World Dictionary of Foreign Expressions: A Resource for Readers and Writers| publisher=Bolchazy-Carducci Publishers | isbn=978-0-86516-423-9| last1=Adeleye| first1=Gabriel| last2=Acquah-Dadzie| first2=Kofi| authorlink2=Kofi Acquah-Dadzie| date=January 1999}}</ref>

''Pontifex Maximus'', similar in meaning to ''Summus Pontifex'', is a title commonly found in inscriptions on papal buildings, paintings, statues and coins, usually abbreviated as "Pont. Max" or "P.M." The office of Pontifex Maximus, or head of the College of Pontiffs, was held by [[Julius Caesar]] and thereafter, by the Roman emperors, until [[Gratian]] (375–383) relinquished it.<ref name="smithpontifex" /><ref>{{cite encyclopedia|title=Gratian|year=2013|encyclopedia=[[Encyclopædia Britannica]]|publisher=Encyclopædia Britannica Online|url=http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/242251/Gratian|access-date=14 April 2013|archive-date=18 March 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130318124237/http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/242251/Gratian|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>[https://www.livius.org/pn-po/pontifex/maximus.html Pontifex Maximus] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130303013139/http://www.livius.org/pn-po/pontifex/maximus.html }} Livius.org article by Jona Lendering retrieved 15 August 2006</ref> Tertullian, when he had become a [[Montanist]], used the title derisively of either the pope or the [[bishop of Carthage]].<ref name=ODCC:PM /> The popes began to use this title regularly only in the 15th century.<ref name=ODCC:PM>''Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church'' (Oxford University Press 2005 {{ISBN|978-0-19-280290-3}}), article ''Pontifex Maximus''</ref>

=== Servant of the servants of God ===
Although the description "servant of the servants of God" ({{lang-la|servus servorum Dei|link=no}}) was also used by other Church leaders, including [[Augustine of Hippo]] and [[Benedict of Nursia]], it was first used extensively as a papal title by [[Gregory the Great]], reportedly as a lesson in humility for the patriarch of Constantinople, [[John the Faster]], who had assumed the title "[[Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople|ecumenical patriarch]]". It became reserved for the pope in the 12th century and is used in [[papal bull]]s and similar important papal documents.<ref>{{CathEncy|wstitle=Servus servorum Dei|author=Meehan, Andrew Brennan}}</ref>

=== Patriarch of the West ===
{{See also|Patriarch|Pentarchy}}
From 1863 until 2005, the ''Annuario Pontificio'' also included the title "[[patriarch]] of the West". This title was first used by [[Pope Theodore I]] in 642, and was only used occasionally. Indeed, it did not begin to appear in the pontifical yearbook until 1863. On 22 March 2006, the Vatican released a statement explaining this omission on the grounds of expressing a "historical and theological reality" and of "being useful to ecumenical dialogue". The title patriarch of the West symbolized the pope's special relationship with, and jurisdiction over, the [[Latin Church]]—and the omission of the title neither symbolizes in any way a change in this relationship, nor distorts the relationship between the Holy See and the [[Eastern Churches]], as solemnly proclaimed by the Second Vatican Council.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/pontifical_councils/chrstuni/general-docs/rc_pc_chrstuni_doc_20060322_patriarca-occidente_fr.html |title=Communiqué concernant la suppression du titre "Patriarche d'Occident" dans l'Annuaire pontifical 2006 |publisher=Vatican.va |access-date=11 August 2010 |archive-date=3 March 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210303075224/https://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/pontifical_councils/chrstuni/general-docs/rc_pc_chrstuni_doc_20060322_patriarca-occidente_fr.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

=== Other titles ===
Other titles commonly used are "[[His Holiness]]" (either used alone or as an honorific prefix as in "His Holiness Pope Francis"; and as "Your Holiness" as a form of address), "Holy Father". In Spanish and Italian, "''Beatísimo/Beatissimo Padre''" (Most Blessed Father) is often used in preference to "''Santísimo/Santissimo Padre''" (Most Holy Father). In the medieval period, "''[[Dominus Apostolicus]]''" ("the Apostolic Lord") was also used.

=== Signature ===
{{multiple image
|align = right
|direction = vertical
|image1 = FirmaPapaFrancisco.svg
|alt1 = The signature of Pope Francis
|caption1 = The signature of [[Pope Francis]]
|image2 = Pope Benedict XVI Signature.svg
|alt2 = The signature of Pope Benedict XVI
|caption2 = The signature of [[Pope Benedict XVI]] during his pontificate
}}
Pope Francis signs some documents with his name alone, either in Latin ("Franciscus", as in an [[encyclical]] dated 29 June 2013)<ref>{{cite web| url = https://www.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/encyclicals/documents/papa-francesco_20130629_enciclica-lumen-fidei.html| title = Encyclical letter ''Lumen fidei''| access-date = 15 January 2021| archive-date = 15 January 2021| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20210115115142/http://www.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/encyclicals/documents/papa-francesco_20130629_enciclica-lumen-fidei.html| url-status = live}}</ref> or in another language.<ref>Examples are "Francesco" in the frontispiece of the 2013 ''[[Annuario Pontificio]]'' published in Italian shortly after his election (''Annuario Pontificio 2013'', Libreria Editrice Vaticana, 2013, {{ISBN|978-88-209-9070-1}}) and [https://www.vatican.va/content/francesco/it/letters/2014/documents/papa-francesco_20140401_cardinale-baldisseri.html a letter in Italian dated 1 April 2014] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210224141237/http://www.vatican.va/content/francesco/it/letters/2014/documents/papa-francesco_20140401_cardinale-baldisseri.html }}.</ref> Other documents he signs in accordance with the tradition of using Latin only and including the abbreviated form "PP.", for the Latin ''Papa'' ("Pope").<ref>{{cite web| url = http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/01022a.htm| title = Catholic Encyclopedia:''Ecclesiastical Abbreviations''| access-date = 14 May 2014| archive-date = 7 July 2014| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20140707080820/http://newadvent.org/cathen/01022a.htm| url-status = live}}</ref> Popes who have an ordinal numeral in their name traditionally place the abbreviation "PP." before the ordinal numeral, as in "Benedictus PP. XVI" (Pope Benedict XVI), except in papal bulls of canonization and decrees of ecumenical councils, which a pope signs with the formula, "Ego N. Episcopus Ecclesiae catholicae", without the numeral, as in "Ego Benedictus Episcopus Ecclesiae catholicae" (I, Benedict, Bishop of the Catholic Church).

== Regalia and insignia ==
{{Main|Papal regalia and insignia}}
* [[Ring of the Fisherman]], a gold or gilt ring decorated with a depiction of St. Peter in a boat casting his net, with the pope's name around it.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Dictionary : RING OF THE FISHERMAN|url=https://www.catholicculture.org/culture/library/dictionary/index.cfm?id=36109|access-date=2020-10-23|website=catholicculture.org|archive-date=28 March 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190328120435/https://www.catholicculture.org/culture/library/dictionary/index.cfm?id=36109|url-status=live}}</ref>
* ''[[Umbraculum]]'' (better known in the Italian form ''ombrellino'') is a canopy or umbrella consisting of alternating red and gold stripes, which used to be carried above the pope in processions.<ref>{{Cite web|title=UMBRACULUM – Definition and synonyms of umbraculum in the English dictionary|url=https://educalingo.com/en/dic-en/umbraculum|access-date=2020-10-23|website=educalingo.com|language=en|archive-date=19 March 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210319005244/https://educalingo.com/en/dic-en/umbraculum|url-status=live}}</ref>
* ''[[Sedia gestatoria]]'', a mobile throne carried by twelve [[footmen]] (''palafrenieri'') in red uniforms, accompanied by two attendants bearing ''[[flabella]]'' (fans made of white ostrich feathers), and sometimes a large [[baldachin|canopy]], carried by eight attendants. The use of the ''flabella'' was discontinued by [[Pope John Paul I]]. The use of the ''sedia gestatoria'' was discontinued by [[Pope John Paul II]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Vatican: The Possible Return of the Sedia Gestatoria |url=https://fsspx.news/en/news-events/news/vatican-possible-return-sedia-gestatoria-56887 |website=Society of Saint Pius X |access-date=2 December 2020 |language=en |archive-date=22 September 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200922052644/https://fsspx.news/en/news-events/news/vatican-possible-return-sedia-gestatoria-56887 |url-status=live }}</ref>
[[File:Coat of arms Holy See.svg|thumb|upright|The [[coat of arms]] of the Holy See. That of the State of Vatican City is the same except that the positions of the gold and silver keys are interchanged.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.fotw.info/flags/va).html |title=Vatican City (Holy See) – The Keys and Coat of Arms |publisher=Fotw.net |access-date=11 August 2010 |archive-date=23 September 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100923005401/https://www.fotw.info/flags/va).html |url-status=live }}</ref>]]

In [[heraldry]], each pope has his own personal coat of arms. Though unique for each pope, the arms have for several centuries been traditionally accompanied by two keys in [[saltire]] (i.e., crossed over one another so as to form an ''X'') behind the [[Escutcheon (heraldry)|escutcheon]] (shield) (one silver key and one gold key, tied with a red cord), and above them a silver ''triregnum'' with three gold crowns and red ''infulae'' ([[lappet]]s—two strips of fabric hanging from the back of the triregnum which fall over the neck and shoulders when worn). This is [[blazon]]ed: "two keys in saltire or and argent, interlacing in the rings or, beneath a tiara argent, crowned or". The 21st century has seen departures from this tradition. In 2005, Pope Benedict XVI, while maintaining the crossed keys behind the shield, omitted the papal tiara from his personal coat of arms, replacing it with a [[mitre]] with three horizontal lines. Beneath the shield he added the pallium, a papal symbol of authority more ancient than the tiara, the use of which is also granted to metropolitan [[archbishop]]s as a sign of communion with the See of Rome. Although the tiara was omitted in the pope's personal coat of arms, the coat of arms of the Holy See, which includes the tiara, remained unaltered. In 2013, Pope Francis maintained the mitre that replaced the tiara, but omitted the pallium.

The [[flag]] most frequently associated with the pope is the yellow and white [[flag of Vatican City]], with the arms of the Holy See (blazoned: "Gules, two keys in saltire or and argent, interlacing in the rings or, beneath a tiara argent, crowned or") on the right-hand side (the "fly") in the white half of the flag (the left-hand side—the "hoist"—is yellow). The pope's escucheon does not appear on the flag. This flag was first adopted in 1808, whereas the previous flag had been red and gold. Although Pope Benedict XVI replaced the triregnum with a mitre on his personal coat of arms, it has been retained on the flag.<ref>{{cite web| url = http://www.vatican.va/content/benedict-xvi/en/elezione/documents/stemma-benedict-xvi.html| title = The Vatican (Holy See)| access-date = 15 April 2020| archive-date = 26 February 2020| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20200226173537/http://www.vatican.va/content/benedict-xvi/en/elezione/documents/stemma-benedict-xvi.html| url-status = live}}</ref>

=== Papal garments ===
[[Pope Pius V]] (reigned 1566–1572), is often credited with having originated the custom whereby the pope wears white, by continuing after his election to wear the white [[Religious habit|habit]] of the [[Dominican order]]. In reality, the basic papal attire was white long before. The earliest document that describes it as such is the ''Ordo XIII'', a book of ceremonies compiled in about 1274. Later books of ceremonies describe the pope as wearing a red mantle, [[mozzetta]], [[camauro]] and shoes, and a white [[cassock]] and stockings.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Bagliani|first1=Agostino Paravicini|title=From red to white|url=http://www.osservatoreromano.va/en/news/from-red-to-white|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140817001848/http://www.osservatoreromano.va/en/news/from-red-to-white|url-status=dead|archive-date=17 August 2014|access-date=29 June 2014|work=Osservatore Romano}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Vatican newspaper examines history of red, white papal garb|url=http://www.catholicculture.org/news/headlines/index.cfm?storyid=18897|access-date=29 June 2014|work=Catholic Culture|archive-date=24 December 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141224101919/http://www.catholicculture.org/news/headlines/index.cfm?storyid=18897|url-status=live}}</ref> Many contemporary portraits of 15th and 16th-century predecessors of Pius V show them wearing a white cassock similar to his.<ref>Compare the portrait reproduced in the article on Pius V with those in the articles on his immediate predecessors [[Pope Pius IV]] and [[Pope Paul IV]] and in the articles on [[Pope Julius III]], [[Pope Paul III]], [[Pope Clement VII]], [[Pope Adrian VI]], [[Pope Leo X]], [[Pope Julius II]], [[Pope Pius II]], [[Pope Callixtus III]], [[Pope Nicholas V]], and [[Pope Eugene IV]].</ref>

== Status and authority ==
=== Development ===
{{Empty section}}

=== First Vatican Council ===
{{Main|Papal supremacy|Papal infallibility}}
[[File:Illustration for Papal Infallibility page 131 Christ in His Church by Lucas Caspar Businger.jpg|thumb|1881 illustration depicting papal infallibility]]The status and authority of the pope in the Catholic Church was dogmatically defined by the First Vatican Council on 18 July 1870. In its Dogmatic Constitution of the Church of Christ, the council established the following canons:<ref>The texts of these canons are given in [[Enchiridion symbolorum, definitionum et declarationum de rebus fidei et morum|Denzinger]], [http://catho.org/9.php?d=byj#dez Latin original] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080203190611/http://catho.org/9.php?d=byj#dez }}; [http://denzinger.patristica.net/ English translation] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130423150303/http://denzinger.patristica.net/ }}</ref>

<blockquote>If anyone says that the blessed Apostle Peter was not established by the Lord Christ as the chief of all the [[twelve apostles|apostles]], and the visible head of the whole [[Church militant and church triumphant|militant Church]], or, that the same received great honour but did not receive from the same our Lord Jesus Christ directly and immediately the primacy in true and proper jurisdiction: let him be [[anathema]].<ref>Denzinger 3055 (old numbering, 1823)</ref>

If anyone says that it is not from the institution of Christ the Lord Himself, or by divine right that the blessed Peter has perpetual successors in the primacy over the universal Church, or that the Roman Pontiff is not the successor of blessed Peter in the same primacy, let him be anathema.<ref>Denzinger 3058 (old numbering, 1825)</ref>

If anyone thus speaks, that the Roman pontiff has only the office of inspection or direction, but not the full and supreme power of jurisdiction over the universal Church, not only in things which pertain to faith and morals, but also in those which pertain to the discipline and government of the Church spread over the whole world; or, that he possesses only the more important parts, but not the whole plenitude of this supreme power; or that this power of his is not ordinary and immediate, or over the churches altogether and individually, and over the pastors and the faithful altogether and individually: let him be anathema.<ref>Denzinger 3064 (old numbering, 1831)</ref>

We, adhering faithfully to the tradition received from the beginning of the Christian faith, to the glory of God, our Saviour, the elevation of the Catholic religion and the salvation of Christian peoples, with the approbation of the sacred Council, teach and explain that the dogma has been divinely revealed: that the Roman Pontiff, when he speaks ex cathedra, that is, when carrying out the duty of the pastor and teacher of all Christians by his supreme apostolic authority he defines a doctrine of faith or morals to be held by the universal Church, through the divine assistance promised him in blessed Peter, operates with that infallibility with which the divine Redeemer wished that His church be instructed in defining doctrine on faith and morals; and so such definitions of the Roman Pontiff from himself, but not from the consensus of the Church, are unalterable. But if anyone presumes to contradict this definition of Ours, which may God forbid: let him be anathema.<ref>Denzinger 3073–3075 (old numbering, 1839–1840)</ref></blockquote>

=== Second Vatican Council ===
[[File:GestatorialChair1.jpg|thumb|[[Pope Pius XII]], wearing the traditional 1877 [[Papal tiara]], is carried through St. Peter's Basilica on a ''[[sedia gestatoria]]'' {{Circa|1955}}.]]
In its Dogmatic Constitution on the Church (1964), the Second Vatican Council declared:

{{quote|Among the principal duties of bishops the [[Evangelism|preaching of the Gospel]] occupies an eminent place. For bishops are preachers of the faith, who lead new disciples to Christ, and they are authentic teachers, that is, teachers endowed with the authority of Christ, who preach to the people committed to them the faith they must believe and put into practice, and by the light of the Holy Spirit illustrate that faith. They bring forth from the treasury of Revelation new things and old, making it bear fruit and vigilantly warding off any errors that threaten their flock. Bishops, teaching in communion with the Roman Pontiff, are to be respected by all as witnesses to divine and Catholic truth. In matters of faith and morals, the bishops speak in the name of Christ and the faithful are to accept their teaching and adhere to it with a religious assent. This religious submission of mind and will must be shown in a special way to the authentic [[magisterium]] of the Roman Pontiff, even when he is not speaking ex cathedra; that is, it must be shown so that his supreme magisterium is acknowledged with reverence, the judgments made by him are sincerely adhered to, according to his manifest mind and will. His mind and will in the matter may be known either from the character of the documents, from his frequent repetition of the same doctrine, or from his manner of speaking.

... this infallibility with which the Divine Redeemer willed His Church to be endowed in defining doctrine of faith and morals, extends as far as the deposit of Revelation extends, which must be religiously guarded and faithfully expounded. And this is the infallibility which the Roman Pontiff, the head of the [[College of Bishops]], enjoys in virtue of his office, when, as the supreme shepherd and teacher of all the faithful, who confirms his brethren in their faith, by a definitive act he proclaims a doctrine of faith or morals. And therefore his definitions, of themselves, and not from the consent of the Church, are justly styled irreformable, since they are pronounced with the assistance of the Holy Spirit, promised to him in blessed Peter, and therefore they need no approval of others, nor do they allow an appeal to any other judgment. For then the Roman Pontiff is not pronouncing judgment as a private person, but as the supreme teacher of the universal Church, in whom the [[charism]] of infallibility of the Church itself is individually present, he is expounding or defending a doctrine of Catholic faith. The infallibility promised to the Church resides also in the body of Bishops, when that body exercises the supreme magisterium with the successor of Peter. To these definitions the assent of the Church can never be wanting, on account of the activity of that same Holy Spirit, by which the whole flock of Christ is preserved and progresses in unity of faith.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.vatican.va/archive/hist_councils/ii_vatican_council/documents/vat-ii_const_19641121_lumen-gentium_en.html |title=''Lumen gentium'', 25 |publisher=Vatican.va |access-date=11 August 2010 |archive-date=6 September 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140906031754/https://www.vatican.va/archive/hist_councils/ii_vatican_council/documents/vat-ii_const_19641121_lumen-gentium_en.html |url-status=live }}</ref>}}

On 11 October 2012, on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the opening of the Second Vatican Council 60 prominent theologians, (including [[Hans Küng]]), put out a Declaration, stating that the intention of Vatican II to balance authority in the Church has not been realised. "Many of the key insights of Vatican II have not at all, or only partially, been implemented... A principal source of present-day stagnation lies in misunderstanding and abuse affecting the exercise of authority in our Church."<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.churchauthority.org/index.asp |title=the Jubilee Declaration |access-date=5 November 2012 |archive-date=15 October 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121015022156/http://www.churchauthority.org/index.asp |url-status=live }}</ref>

== Politics of the Holy See ==
{{Politics of the Holy See}}
[[File:433px-Pope Pius VII.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Pope Pius VII]], bishop of Rome, seated, and [[Cardinal (Catholicism)|Cardinal]] Caprara.]]
=== Residence and jurisdiction ===
The pope's [[cathedra|official seat]] is in the [[Archbasilica of Saint John Lateran]], considered the cathedral of the Diocese of Rome, and his official residence is the [[Apostolic Palace]]. He also possesses [[Papal Palace of Castel Gandolfo|a summer residence]] at [[Castel Gandolfo]], situated on the site of the ancient city of [[Alba Longa]].

The names "Holy See" and "[[Apostolic See]]" are ecclesiastical terminology for the [[ordinary jurisdiction]] of the bishop of Rome (including the Roman Curia); the pope's various honors, powers, and privileges within the Catholic Church and the international community derive from his Episcopate of Rome in lineal succession from the Saint Peter, one of the twelve apostles.<ref>see [[Apostolic succession]]</ref> Consequently, Rome has traditionally occupied a central position in the Catholic Church, although this is not necessarily so. The pope derives his pontificate from being the bishop of Rome but is not required to live there; according to the Latin formula ''ubi Papa, ibi Curia'', wherever the pope resides is the central government of the Church. As such, between 1309 and 1378, the popes lived in Avignon, France,<ref>see [[Avignon Papacy]]</ref> a period often called the "Babylonian captivity" in allusion to the [[Bible|Biblical]] narrative of Jews of the ancient [[Kingdom of Judah]] living as captives in [[Babylonia]].

Though the pope is the diocesan bishop of Rome, he delegates most of the day-to-day work of leading the diocese to the [[cardinal vicar]], who assures direct episcopal oversight of the diocese's pastoral needs, not in his own name but in that of the pope. The current cardinal vicar is [[Angelo De Donatis]], who was appointed to the office in June 2017.

=== Political role ===
{{Main|Politics of Vatican City}}
{{Infobox
| above = Sovereign of the Vatican City State
| image = [[File:Coat of arms of the Vatican City.svg|120px]]
| caption = Coat of Arms of the Vatican
| label1 = Incumbent | data1 = {{Incumbent pope}}
| label2 = Style | data2 = [[His Holiness]]
| label3 = Residence | data3 = [[Apostolic Palace]]
| label4 = First Sovereign | data4 = [[Pope Pius XI]]
| label5 = Formation | data5 = 11 February 1929
| label6 = Website | data6 = {{URL|vaticanstate.va/}}
}}
[[File:PapalPolitics2.JPG|left|thumb|upright|''Antichristus'', a woodcut by Lucas Cranach of the pope using the temporal power to grant authority to a generously contributing ruler]]

Though the progressive [[Christianisation]] of the [[Roman Empire]] in the 4th century did not confer upon bishops civil authority within the state, the gradual withdrawal of imperial authority during the 5th century left the pope the senior imperial civilian official in Rome, as bishops were increasingly directing civil affairs in other cities of the Western Empire. This status as a secular and civil ruler was vividly displayed by Pope Leo I's confrontation with [[Attila]] in 452. The first expansion of papal rule outside of Rome came in 728 with the [[Donation of Sutri]], which in turn was substantially increased in 754, when the Frankish ruler [[Pippin the Younger]] gave to the pope the land from his conquest of the Lombards. The pope may have utilized the forged [[Donation of Constantine]] to gain this land, which formed the core of the [[Papal States]]. This document, accepted as genuine until the 15th century, states that Constantine the Great placed the entire Western Empire of Rome under papal rule. In 800, Pope Leo III [[coronation|crowned]] the Frankish ruler Charlemagne as [[Roman emperor]], a major step toward establishing what later became known as the [[Holy Roman Empire]]; from that date onward the popes claimed the prerogative to crown the emperor, though the right fell into disuse after the coronation of [[Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor|Charles V]] in 1530. [[Pius VII]] was present at the [[coronation of Napoleon I]] in 1804 but did not actually perform the crowning. As mentioned above, the pope's sovereignty over the Papal States ended in 1870 with their annexation by Italy.

Popes like [[Alexander VI]], an ambitious if spectacularly corrupt politician, and [[Julius II]], a formidable general and statesman, were not afraid to use power to achieve their own ends, which included increasing the power of the papacy. This political and temporal authority was demonstrated through the papal role in the Holy Roman Empire (especially prominent during periods of contention with the emperors, such as during the pontificates of Pope Gregory VII and Pope Alexander III).

Papal bulls, [[interdict]], and [[excommunication]] (or the threat thereof) have been used many times to exercise papal power. The bull ''[[Laudabiliter]]'' in 1155 authorized King [[Henry II of England]] to invade Ireland. In 1207, [[Innocent III]] placed England under interdict until [[John, King of England|King John]] made his kingdom a [[fiefdom]] to the Pope, complete with yearly [[tribute]], saying, "we offer and freely yield...to our lord Pope Innocent III and his catholic successors, the whole kingdom of England and the whole kingdom of Ireland with all their rights and appurtenences for the remission of our sins".<ref>Quoted from the [http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/innIII-policies.html Medieval Sourcebook] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140814182618/http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/innIII-policies.html }}</ref> The Bull ''[[Inter caetera]]'' in 1493 led to the [[Treaty of Tordesillas]] in 1494, which divided the world into areas of Spanish and Portuguese rule. The bull ''[[Regnans in Excelsis]]'' in 1570 excommunicated Queen [[Elizabeth I of England]] and declared that all her subjects were released from allegiance to her. The bull ''[[Inter gravissimas]]'' in 1582 established the [[Gregorian calendar]].<ref>See [http://tera-3.ul.cs.cmu.edu/cgi-bin/getImage.pl?target=/data/www/NASD/4a7f1db4-5792-415c-be79-266f41eef20a/009/499/PTIFF/00000673.tif&rs=2 selection from ''Concordia Cyclopedia'': Roman Catholic Church, History of] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110716144949/http://tera-3.ul.cs.cmu.edu/cgi-bin/getImage.pl?target=%2Fdata%2Fwww%2FNASD%2F4a7f1db4-5792-415c-be79-266f41eef20a%2F009%2F499%2FPTIFF%2F00000673.tif&rs=2 }}</ref>

=== International position ===
{{Main|List of diplomatic missions of the Holy See}}
Under international law, a serving [[head of state]] has [[sovereign immunity]] from the jurisdiction of the courts of other countries, though not from that of international tribunals.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.crimesofwar.org/commentary/the-icc-bashir-and-the-immunity-of-heads-of-state/ |first1=Anthony |last1=Dworkin |first2=Katherine |last2=Iliopoulos |title=The International Criminal Court, Bashir, and the Immunity of Heads of State |publisher=Crimesofwar.org |access-date=11 August 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110809081228/http://www.crimesofwar.org/commentary/the-icc-bashir-and-the-immunity-of-heads-of-state/ |archive-date=9 August 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fZNZ7r4hYL8C |first=Yitiha |last=Simbeye |title=Immunity and International Criminal Law |year=2004 |page=94 |isbn=9780754624332 |access-date=14 November 2015 |archive-date=28 July 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200728141538/https://books.google.com/books?id=fZNZ7r4hYL8C |url-status=live }}</ref> This immunity is sometimes loosely referred to as "[[diplomatic immunity]]", which is, strictly speaking, the immunity enjoyed by the ''diplomatic representatives'' of a head of state.

International law treats the Holy See, essentially the central government of the Catholic Church, as the juridical equal of a state. It is distinct from the state of Vatican City, existing for many centuries before the foundation of the latter. (It is common for publications and news media to use "the Vatican", "Vatican City", and even "Rome" as [[metonym]]s for the Holy See.) Most countries of the world maintain the same form of diplomatic relations with the Holy See that they entertain with other states. Even countries without those diplomatic relations participate in international organizations of which the Holy See is a full member.

It is as head of the state-equivalent worldwide religious jurisdiction of the Holy See (not of the territory of Vatican City) that the [[U.S. Justice Department]] ruled that the pope enjoys head-of-state immunity.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,169909,00.html |title=U.S. Says Pope Immune From Molestation Lawsuit, 2005 |publisher=Fox News |access-date=11 August 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110128045143/http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,169909,00.html |archive-date=28 January 2011 |url-status=dead }}</ref> This head-of-state immunity, recognized by the United States, must be distinguished from that envisaged under the United States' [[Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act]] of 1976, which, while recognizing the basic immunity of foreign governments from being sued in American courts, lays down nine exceptions, including commercial activity and actions in the United States by agents or employees of the foreign governments. It was in relation to the latter that, in November 2008, the [[United States Court of Appeals]] in [[Cincinnati]] decided that a case over [[Catholic sex abuse cases|sexual abuse by Catholic priests]] could proceed, provided the plaintiffs could prove that the bishops accused of negligent supervision were acting as employees or agents of the Holy See and were following official Holy See policy.<ref>{{cite web |last=Allen |first=John L. |url=http://ncronline.org/news/autonomy-bishops-and-suing-vatican |title=The autonomy of bishops, and suing the Vatican |work=National Catholic Review |access-date=23 May 2010 |archive-date=24 May 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100524063006/http://ncronline.org/news/autonomy-bishops-and-suing-vatican |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.sexualabuseclaimsblog.com/2008/11/vatican_can_be_sued_for_priest_sexual_abuse_us_court_of_appeals.html |title=Vatican Can Be Sued For Priest Sexual Abuse: U.S. Court of Appeals |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160822014429/http://www.sexualabuseclaimsblog.com/2008/11/vatican_can_be_sued_for_priest_sexual_abuse_us_court_of_appeals.html |archive-date=22 August 2016 |first=John |last=McKiggan |publisher=McKiggan Hebert Lawyers |work=Sexual Abuse Claims Blog}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last=Winfield|first=Nicole|title=Vatican offers 3 reasons it's not liable in U.S. abuse case|url=http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/religion/2010-03-30-catholic-abuse_N.htm|access-date=15 April 2013|newspaper=USA Today|archive-date=13 April 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130413232009/http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/religion/2010-03-30-catholic-abuse_N.htm|url-status=live}}</ref>

In April 2010, there was press coverage in Britain concerning a proposed plan by [[atheist]] campaigners and a prominent [[barrister]]{{who}} to have Pope Benedict XVI arrested and prosecuted in the UK for alleged offences, dating from several decades before, in failing to take appropriate action regarding Catholic sex abuse cases and concerning their disputing his immunity from prosecution in that country.<ref>{{cite news |last=Horne |first=Mark |title=Richard Dawkins calls for arrest of Pope Benedict XVI |url=http://old.richarddawkins.net/articles/5415 |work=The Times |location=London |access-date=15 April 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140423111338/http://old.richarddawkins.net/articles/5415 |archive-date=23 April 2014 |via=Richard Dawkins}}</ref> This was generally dismissed as "unrealistic and spurious".<ref>{{cite news |last=Roberts |first=Ivor |title=Is the Holy See above the law? |url=http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/news/article2475567.ece |access-date=15 April 2013 |newspaper=The Times |location=London |url-access=subscription |archive-date=23 February 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150223011623/http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/news/article2475567.ece |url-status=live }}</ref> Another barrister said that it was a "matter of embarrassment that a senior British lawyer would want to allow himself to be associated with such a silly idea".<ref name=Zenit>{{cite news |agency=[[Zenit News Agency]] |url=http://zenit.org/article-28914?l=english |title=Arrest the Pope? |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100420025614/http://www.zenit.org/article-28914?l=english |archive-date=20 April 2010 |first=Edward |last=Pentin}}</ref>

Sovereign immunity does not apply to disputes relating to commercial transactions, and governmental units of the Holy See can face trial in foreign commercial courts. The first such trial to take place in the English courts is likely to occur in 2022 or 2023.<ref name=telegraph-20220806>{{cite news |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2022/08/06/vaticans-124m-property-case-heard-uk-trial-century/ |title=Vatican's £124m property case to be heard in UK in 'trial of the century' |last=Hymas |first=Charles |newspaper=The Daily Telegraph |url-access=limited |access-date=8 August 2022}}</ref><ref name=littletonchambers-20220726>{{cite web |url=https://littletonchambers.com/court-of-appeal-sets-aside-stay-of-proceedings-in-vatican-london-property-dispute/ |title=Court of Appeal sets aside stay of proceedings in Vatican London property dispute |website=Littleton Chambers |access-date=8 August 2022}}</ref>

== Objections to the papacy ==
[[File:Antichrist1.jpg|thumb|upright|''Antichristus'', by [[Lucas Cranach the Elder]], from Luther's 1521 ''Passionary of the Christ and Antichrist''. The pope is signing and selling [[indulgence]]s.]]
The pope's claim to authority is either disputed or rejected outright by other churches, for various reasons.

=== Orthodox, Anglican and Old Catholic churches ===
Other traditional Christian churches ([[Assyrian Church of the East]], the [[Oriental Orthodox Church]], the Eastern Orthodox Church, the [[Old Catholic Church]], the [[Anglican Communion]], the [[Independent Catholic churches]], etc.) accept the doctrine of Apostolic succession and, to varying extents, papal claims to a primacy of honour, while generally rejecting the pope as the successor to Peter in any other sense than that of other bishops. Primacy is regarded as a consequence of the pope's position as bishop of the original capital city of the Roman Empire, a definition explicitly spelled out in the 28th canon of the [[Council of Chalcedon]]. These churches see no foundation to papal claims of ''universal immediate jurisdiction'', or to claims of papal infallibility. Several of these churches refer to such claims as ''[[ultramontanism]]''.

=== Protestant denominations ===
{{Main|Historicism (Christianity)}}
In 1973, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops' [[Committee on Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs]] and the USA National Committee of the [[Lutheran World Federation]] in the official [[Catholic–Lutheran dialogue]] included this passage in a larger statement on papal primacy:

{{quote|In calling the pope the "Antichrist", the early [[Lutheranism|Lutherans]] stood in a [[Antichrist#Pre-Reformation Western Church accusers|tradition that reached back into the eleventh century]]. Not only dissidents and [[Heresy in Christianity|heretics]] but even saints had called the bishop of Rome the "Antichrist" when they wished to castigate his [[abuse of power]]. What Lutherans understood as a [[Papal supremacy|papal claim to unlimited authority]] [[Temporal power (papal)|over everything and everyone]] reminded them of the [[Apocalypticism|apocalyptic imagery]] of [[Daniel 11]], a passage that even prior to the Reformation had been applied to the pope as the Antichrist of the [[Eschatology|last days]].<ref>{{cite web| url = http://www.usccb.org/beliefs-and-teachings/ecumenical-and-interreligious/ecumenical/lutheran/attitudes-papal-primacy.cfm| title = Differing Attitudes Toward Papal Primacy| access-date = 17 December 2018| archive-date = 18 December 2018| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20181218054544/http://www.usccb.org/beliefs-and-teachings/ecumenical-and-interreligious/ecumenical/lutheran/attitudes-papal-primacy.cfm| url-status = live}}</ref>}}

[[Protestant]] denominations of Christianity reject the claims of Petrine primacy of honor, Petrine primacy of jurisdiction, and papal infallibility. These denominations vary from denying the legitimacy of the pope's claim to authority, to believing that the pope is the Antichrist<ref>"Therefore, on the basis of a renewed study of the pertinent Scriptures we reaffirm the statement of the Lutheran Confessions, that 'the Pope is the very Antichrist'" from [http://www.wels.net/about-wels/doctrinal-statements/antichrist Statement on the Antichrist] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130222233710/http://www.wels.net/about-wels/doctrinal-statements/antichrist }} from the [[Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod]], also ''[http://www.ianpaisley.org/antichrist.asp Ian Paisley, The Pope is the Antichrist] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170916080636/http://www.ianpaisley.org/antichrist.asp }}''</ref> from 1 John 2:18, the [[Man of Sin]] from 2 Thessalonians 2:3–12,<ref>See Kretzmann's [http://www.kretzmannproject.org/EP_MINOR/2TH_2.htm ''Popular Commentary''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070912222729/http://www.kretzmannproject.org/EP_MINOR/2TH_2.htm }}, 2 Thessalonians chapter two and [http://www.wlsessays.net/files/JeskeThessalonians.pdf An Exegesis of 2 Thessalonians 2:1–10] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140321144249/http://www.wlsessays.net/files/JeskeThessalonians.pdf }} by Mark Jeske</ref> and the [[The Beast (Revelation)|Beast out of the Earth]] from Revelation 13:11–18.<ref>See See Kretzmann's [http://www.kretzmannproject.org/REV/REV_13.htm ''Popular Commentary''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070912222710/http://www.kretzmannproject.org/REV/REV_13.htm }}, Revelation Chapter 13</ref>
[[File:ChristWashingFeet.JPG|thumb|upright|''Christus'', by Lucas Cranach. This woodcut of John 13:14–17 is from ''Passionary of the Christ and Antichrist''.<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=NMQ_Ar84DCcC Passional Christi und Antichristi] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190719171303/https://books.google.com/books?id=NMQ_Ar84DCcC }} Full view on Google Books</ref> Cranach shows Jesus kissing Peter's foot during the footwashing. This stands in contrast to the opposing woodcut, where the pope demands others kiss his foot.]]
[[File:PopeKissing Feet.JPG|thumb|left|upright|''Antichristus'', by the Lutheran [[Lucas Cranach the Elder]]. This woodcut of the traditional practice of kissing the pope's foot is from ''Passionary of the Christ and Antichrist''.]]
This sweeping rejection is held by, among others, some denominations of Lutherans: [[Confessional Lutheran]]s hold that the pope is the Antichrist, stating that this article of faith is part of a ''quia'' ("because") rather than ''quatenus'' ("insofar as") subscription to the [[Book of Concord]]. In 1932, one of these Confessional churches, the [[Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod]] (LCMS), adopted ''A Brief Statement of the Doctrinal Position of the Missouri Synod'', which a small number of Lutheran church bodies now hold. The [[Lutheran Churches of the Reformation]],<ref>{{Cite web |title=Brief Statement of the Doctrinal Position of the Missouri Synod |publisher=Lutheran Churches of the Reformation |url= http://lcrusa.org/a-brief-statement-of-doctrinal-position.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190121115032/http://www.lcrusa.org/a-brief-statement-of-doctrinal-position.html|archive-date=21 January 2019 }}</ref> the [[Concordia Lutheran Conference]],<ref>{{Cite web |title=Brief Statement of the Doctrinal Position of the Missouri Synod in the By-Gone Days of Its Orthodoxy (1932): Still by God's Grace the Scriptural Position of the Concordia Lutheran Conference |publisher=Concordia Lutheran Conference |url=http://www.concordialutheranconf.com/doctrine/1932-2.cfm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151203092955/http://www.concordialutheranconf.com/doctrine/1932-2.cfm |archive-date=3 December 2015 |access-date=24 February 2013 |url-status=live }}</ref> the [[Church of the Lutheran Confession]],<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Brief Statement of 1932 |publisher=Church of the Lutheran Confession |url=http://clclutheran.org/2011/12/the-brief-statement-of-1932/ |access-date=4 August 2020 |archive-date=13 August 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200813000702/http://clclutheran.org/2011/12/the-brief-statement-of-1932/ |url-status=live }}</ref> and the Illinois Lutheran Conference<ref>{{Cite web |title=Doctrinal Position |publisher=The Illinois Lutheran Conference |url= https://www.illinoislutheranconference.org/our-solid-foundation/doctrinal-position-of-the-ilc.lwp/odyframe.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070819173407/http://www.illinoislutheranconference.org/our-solid-foundation/doctrinal-position-of-the-ilc.lwp/odyframe.htm |archive-date=19 August 2007 }}</ref> all hold to the ''Brief Statement'', which the LCMS places on its website.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.lcms.org/page.aspx?pid=415|title=Doctrinal Position – The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod|access-date=18 February 2013|archive-date=15 January 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130115074152/http://lcms.org/page.aspx?pid=415|url-status=live}}</ref> The [[Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod]] (WELS), another Confessional Lutheran church that declares the Papacy to be the Antichrist, released its own statement, the "Statement on the Antichrist", in 1959. The WELS still holds to this statement.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://wels.net/about-wels/what-we-believe/doctrinal-statements/antichrist/|title=Antichrist|access-date=1 December 2016|archive-date=17 November 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161117214757/https://wels.net/about-wels/what-we-believe/doctrinal-statements/antichrist/|url-status=live}}</ref>

Historically, Protestants objected to the papacy's claim of temporal power over all secular governments, including territorial claims in Italy,<ref>See the [https://books.google.com/books?id=Zr3lGJei6fkC Baltimore Catechism] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150919114345/https://books.google.com/books?id=Zr3lGJei6fkC&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_summary_r#PPA168,M1 }} on the temporal power of the pope over governments and Innocent III's [http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/innIII-policies.html Letter to the prefect Acerbius and the nobles of Tuscany] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140814182618/http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/innIII-policies.html }}. For objection to this, see the [https://archive.org/details/concordiacyclope009499mbp Concordia Cyclopedia], p. 564 and 750.</ref> the papacy's complex relationship with secular states such as the Roman and Byzantine empires, and the autocratic character of the papal office.<ref>See Luther, [http://www.bookofconcord.com/smalcald.html#article4 Smalcald Articles, Article four] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081010210703/http://www.bookofconcord.com/smalcald.html#article4 }}</ref> In [[Western Christianity]] these objections both contributed to and are products of the Protestant Reformation.

== Antipopes ==
{{Main|Antipope|Western Schism}}
Groups sometimes form around antipopes, who claim the Pontificate without being canonically and properly elected to it.

Traditionally, this term was reserved for claimants with a significant following of cardinals or other clergy. The existence of an antipope is usually due either to doctrinal controversy within the Church ([[heresy]]) or to confusion as to who is the legitimate pope at the time (schism). Briefly in the 15th century, three separate lines of popes claimed authenticity.<ref>see [[Western Schism|Papal Schism]]</ref>

== Other uses of the title "Pope" ==
In the earlier centuries of Christianity, the title "Pope", meaning "father", had been used by all bishops. Some popes used the term and others did not. Eventually, the title became associated especially with the Bishop of Rome. In a few cases, the term is used for other Christian clerical authorities.

In English, Catholic priests are still addressed as "father", but the term "pope" is reserved for the head of the church hierarchy.

=== In the Catholic Church ===
"Black Pope" is a name that was popularly, but unofficially, given to the [[superior general of the Society of Jesus]] due to the [[Society of Jesus|Jesuits']] importance within the Church. This name, based on the black colour of his cassock, was used to suggest a parallel between him and the "White Pope" (since the time of [[Pius V]] the popes dress in white) and the cardinal prefect of the [[Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples]] (formerly called the Sacred Congregation for the Propagation of the Faith), whose red cardinal's cassock gave him the name of the "Red Pope" in view of the authority over all territories that were not considered in some way Catholic. In the present time this cardinal has power over mission territories for Catholicism, essentially the Churches of Africa and Asia,<ref name="Magister">[http://www.chiesa.espressonline.it/dettaglio.jsp?id=7049&eng=ylink Sandro Magister] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060621082856/http://www.chiesa.espressonline.it/dettaglio.jsp?id=7049 }}, Espresso Online.</ref> but in the past his competence extended also to all lands where Protestants or Eastern Christianity was dominant. Some remnants of this situation remain, with the result that, for instance, New Zealand is still in the care of this Congregation.

=== In the Eastern Churches ===
Since the papacy of Heraclas in the 3rd century, the bishop of Alexandria in both the [[Coptic Orthodox Church]] and the [[Greek Orthodox Church of Alexandria]] continues to be called "pope", the former being called "Coptic pope" or, more properly, "[[Pope of the Coptic Orthodox Church|Pope and Patriarch of All Africa on the Holy Orthodox and Apostolic Throne of Saint Mark the Evangelist and Holy Apostle]]" and the latter called "[[List of Greek Orthodox Patriarchs of Alexandria|Pope and Patriarch of Alexandria and All Africa]]".<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.patriarchateofalexandria.com/index.php?lang=en |title=The Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Alexandria and All Africa |access-date=25 June 2013 |archive-date=5 July 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130705151714/http://www.patriarchateofalexandria.com/index.php?lang=en |url-status=live }}</ref>

In the [[Bulgarian Orthodox Church]], [[Russian Orthodox Church]], [[Serbian Orthodox Church]] and [[Macedonian Orthodox Church]], it is not unusual for a village priest to be called a "pope" ("поп" ''pop''). This is different from the words used for the head of the Catholic Church (Bulgarian "папа" ''papa'', Russian "папа римский" ''papa rimskiy'').

=== In new religious movements and other Christian-related new religious movements ===
Some [[new religious movement]]s within Christianity, especially those that have [[Independent Catholicism|disassociated themselves from the Catholic Church]] yet retain a Catholic hierarchical framework, have used the designation "pope" for a founder or current leader. Examples include the African [[Legio Maria]] Church and the European [[Palmarian Catholic Church]] in Spain. The [[Cao Dai]], a Vietnamese faith that duplicates the Catholic hierarchy, is similarly headed by a pope.

== Lengths of papal reign ==
=== Longest-reigning popes ===
[[File:Popepiusix.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Pope Pius IX]], the pope with the longest verifiable reign]]
The longest papal reigns of those whose reign lengths can be determined from contemporary historical data are the following:

# [[Saint Peter]] ({{Circa|30}}–64/68): c. 34 – c. 38 years (Around 12,000–14,000 days)<ref>{{cite web | url=https://cnewsliveenglish.com/news/19843/saint-peter-the-first-pope-sm | title=Saint Peter : The First Pope (Successors of Peter - Part 1) }}</ref>
# [[Pope Pius IX|Bl. Pius IX]] (1846–1878): 31 years, 7 months and 23 days (11,560 days)
# [[Pope John Paul II|St. John Paul II]] (1978–2005): 26 years, 5 months and 18 days (9,665 days)
# [[Pope Leo XIII|Leo XIII]] (1878–1903): 25 years, 5 months and 1 day (9,281 days)
# [[Pope Pius VI|Pius VI]] (1775–1799): 24 years, 6 months and 15 days (8,962 days)
# [[Pope Adrian I|Adrian I]] (772–795): 23 years, 10 months and 25 days (8,729 days)
# [[Pope Pius VII|Pius VII]] (1800–1823): 23 years, 5 months and 7 days (8,560 days)
# [[Pope Alexander III|Alexander III]] (1159–1181): 21 years, 11 months and 24 days (8,029 days)
# [[Pope Sylvester I|St. Sylvester I]] (314–335): 21 years, 11 months and 1 day (8,005 days)
# [[Pope Leo I|St. Leo I]] (440–461): 21 years, 1 month, and 13 days (7,713 days)

During the Western Schism, [[Avignon Pope Benedict XIII]] (1394–1423) ruled for 28 years, 7 months and 12 days, which would place him third in the above list. Since he is regarded as an [[anti-pope]], he is not included there.

=== Shortest-reigning popes ===
[[File:Urban VII.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Pope Urban VII]], the shortest-reigning pope]]
There have been a number of popes whose reign lasted about a month or less. In the following list the number of calendar days includes partial days. Thus, for example, if a pope's reign commenced on 1 August and he died on 2 August, this counts as reigning for two calendar days.
# [[Pope Urban VII|Urban VII]] (15–27 September 1590): reigned for 13 calendar days, died before [[papal coronation|coronation]].
# [[Pope Boniface VI|Boniface VI]] (April 896): reigned for 16 calendar days
# [[Pope Celestine IV|Celestine IV]] (25 October – 10 November 1241): reigned for 17 calendar days, died before coronation.
# [[Pope Theodore II|Theodore II]] (December 897): reigned for 20 calendar days
# [[Pope Sisinnius|Sisinnius]] (15 January – 4 February 708): reigned for 21 calendar days
# [[Pope Marcellus II|Marcellus II]] (9 April – 1 May 1555): reigned for 23 calendar days
# [[Pope Damasus II|Damasus II]] (17 July – 9 August 1048): reigned for 24 calendar days
# [[Pope Pius III|Pius III]] (22 September – 18 October 1503) and [[Pope Leo XI|Leo XI]] (1–27 April 1605): both reigned for 27 calendar days
# [[Pope Benedict V|Benedict V]] (22 May – 23 June 964): reigned for 33 calendar days
# [[Pope John Paul I|Bl. John Paul I]] (26 August – 28 September 1978): reigned for 34 calendar days

[[Pope-elect Stephen|Stephen]] (23–26 March 752) died of stroke three days after his election, and before his [[consecration]] as a bishop. He is not recognized as a valid pope, but was added to the lists of popes in the 15th century as ''Stephen II'', causing difficulties in enumerating later popes named Stephen. The Holy See's ''Annuario Pontificio'', in its [[list of popes]] and antipopes, attaches a footnote to its mention of Pope Stephen II:

{{quote|On the death of [[Pope Zachary|Zachary]] the Roman priest Stephen was elected; but, since four days later he died, before his ''[[episcopal consecration|consecratio]]'', which according to the [[canon law (Catholic Church)|canon law]] of the time was the true commencement of his pontificate, his name is not registered in the ''Liber Pontificalis'' nor in other lists of the popes.<ref>Annuario Pontificio 2012 (Libreria Editrice Vaticana 2012 {{ISBN|978-88-209-8722-0}}), p. 11*</ref>}}

Published every year by the Roman Curia, the ''Annuario Pontificio'' attaches no consecutive numbers to the popes, stating that it is impossible to decide which side represented at various times the legitimate succession, in particular regarding Pope Leo VIII, [[Pope Benedict V]] and some mid-11th-century popes.<ref>''Annuario Pontificio 2012'' (Libreria Editrice Vaticana 2012 {{ISBN|978-88-209-8722-0}}), p. 12*</ref>

== See also ==
{{div col|colwidth=30em}}
* [[Bishops in the Catholic Church]]
* [[Caesaropapism]]
* [[Index of Vatican City-related articles]]
* [[Legends surrounding the papacy]]
* [[List of canonised popes]]
* [[List of current Christian leaders]]
* [[List of popes]]
* [[Papal inauguration]]
* [[Papal name]]
* [[Papal slippers]]
* [[Prophecy of the Popes]]
* [[Pope Night]]
{{div col end}}

== Notes ==
{{notelist}}

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

== Bibliography ==
{{Refbegin|30em}}
* {{cite book|title=One Faith, One Lord: A Study of Basic Catholic Belief|last=Barry|first=Rev. Msgr. John F.|year=2002|publisher=William H. Sadlier|location=New York|isbn=978-0-8215-2207-3}}
* {{cite book|title=A Concise History of the Catholic Church|last=Bokenkotter|first=Thomas|year=2004|publisher=Doubleday|location=New York|isbn=978-0-385-50584-0|url=https://archive.org/details/concisehistoryof00boke}}
* {{cite encyclopedia|last=Chadwick|first=Henry|author-link=Henry Chadwick (theologian)|editor=John McManners|encyclopedia=The Oxford Illustrated History of Christianity|title=The Early Christian Community|year=1990|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-822928-5}}
* {{cite book|title=Saints and Sinners, a History of the Popes|last=Duffy|first=Eamon|author-link=Eamon Duffy|year=1997|publisher=Yale University Press|isbn=978-0-300-07332-4|url=https://archive.org/details/saintssinnershis00duff}}
* {{cite book |last=Durant |first=William James |author-link=Will Durant |title=The Story of Civilization |volume=IV. The Age of Faith: A History of Medieval Civilization – Christian, Islamic, and Judaic – from Constantine to Dante, A.D. 325–1300 |year=1950 |publisher=Simon & Schuster |location=New York |isbn=978-0-671-01200-7 |title-link=The Age of Faith }}
* {{cite book |last=Durant |first=William James |author-link=Will Durant |title=The Story of Civilization |volume=VI. The Reformation |year=1957 |publisher=Simon & Schuster |location=New York |isbn=978-0-671-61050-0 |title-link=The Reformation (Story of Civilization) }}
* {{cite book |last1=Franzen |first1=August |author2=Dolan, John |title=A History of the Church |url=https://archive.org/details/historyofchurch0000fran |url-access=registration |publisher=Herder and Herder |year=1969 }}
* {{cite book |last=Granfield |first=Patrick |title=The Limits of the Papacy: Authority and Autonomy in the Church |year=1987 |publisher=Crossroad |location=New York |isbn=978-0-8245-0839-5 |url=https://archive.org/details/limitsofpapacy00gran }}
* {{cite book |last=Grisar |first=Hartmann |title=History of Rome and the Popes in the Middle Ages |year=1912 |publisher=Kegan Paul, Trench, Trübner |location=London |oclc=11025456 }}
* {{cite web |url=https://www.vatican.va/holy_father/john_paul_ii/apost_constitutions/documents/hf_jp-ii_apc_22021996_universi-dominici-gregis_en.html |title=Universi Dominici Gregis |last=John Paul II |first=Pope |author-link=Pope John Paul II |publisher=[[Vatican Publishing House]] |access-date=15 March 2020 |archive-date=8 April 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120408114224/http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/john_paul_ii/apost_constitutions/documents/hf_jp-ii_apc_22021996_universi-dominici-gregis_en.html |url-status=live }}
* {{cite book|last=Kelly|first=J. N.|title=Oxford Dictionary of the Popes|year=1986|publisher=Prentice Hall|isbn=978-0-19-190935-1 }}
* {{cite book |last=Kerr |first=William Shaw |author-link=William Kerr (bishop) |title=A Handbook on the Papacy |year=1950 |publisher=Marshall, Morgan & Scott |location=London |oclc=51018118 }}
* {{cite book|title=The Catholic Church: A Short History|last=Küng|first=Hans|author-link=Hans Küng|year=2003|publisher=Random House|isbn=978-0-8129-6762-3|url=https://archive.org/details/catholicchurch00sama}}
* {{cite book |author=Loomis, Louise Ropes |title=The Book of the Popes (Liber Pontificalis): To the Pontificate of Gregory I |publisher=Evolution Publishing |location=Merchantville, New Jersey |orig-year=1916 |year=2006 |isbn=978-1-889758-86-2}}
* {{cite book |last1=Noble |first1=Thomas |author2=Strauss, Barry |title=Western Civilization |year=2005 |publisher=Houghton Mifflin |isbn=978-0-618-43277-6}}
* {{cite book|title=A Short History of the Catholic Church|last=Orlandis|first=José|author-link=José Orlandis|year=1993|publisher=Scepter |isbn=978-1-85182-125-9}}
* {{cite book|last=Pastor|first=Ludwig von|title=The History of the Popes, from the Close of the Middle Ages: Drawn from the Secret Archives of the Vatican and Other Original Sources|url=https://archive.org/details/historypopesfro01antrgoog|year=1891–1930|publisher=J. Hodges|location=London|oclc=270566224|author-link=Ludwig von Pastor}}
* {{cite book |last=Walsh |first=James Joseph |author-link=James Joseph Walsh |title=The Popes and Science: The History of the Papal Relations to Science During the Middle Ages and Down to Our Own Time |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FltHAAAAYAAJ |year=1908 |publisher=Fordham University Press |location=New York |oclc=08015255 |access-date=15 August 2015 |archive-date=25 January 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220125022025/https://books.google.com/books?id=FltHAAAAYAAJ |url-status=live }}
{{Refend}}

== Further reading ==
* {{cite book|last=Brusher|first=Joseph S.|title=Popes Through the Ages|url=https://archive.org/details/popesthroughages00brus|url-access=registration|year=1959|publisher=Van Nostrand|location=Princeton, N.J|oclc=742355324}}
* {{cite book|last=Chamberlin|first=E. R.|title=The Bad Popes|year=1969|publisher=Dial Press|location=New York|oclc=647415773}}
* {{cite book|last=Dollison|first=John|title=Pope-pourri|year=1994|publisher=Simon & Schuster|location=New York|isbn=978-0-671-88615-8|url=https://archive.org/details/popepourri00doll}}
* {{cite book|last=Maxwell-Stuart|first=P. G.|title=Chronicle of the Popes: The Reign-by-Reign Record of the Papacy from St. Peter to the Present|year=1997|publisher=Thames and Hudson|location=London|isbn=978-0-500-01798-2|url=https://archive.org/details/chronicleofpopes00maxw}}
* {{cite book|last=Norwich|first=John Julius |author-link=John Julius Norwich |title=The Popes: A History |year=2011|publisher=Chatto & Windus|location=London|isbn=978-0-7011-8290-8}}

== External links ==
{{CE poster|Pope}}
{{EB1911 poster|Papacy}}
* [http://kolonisera.rymden.nu/pope/popes.php?l=1 Pope Endurance League – Sortable list of Popes]
* [http://www.documentacatholicaomnia.eu/01_01_Magisterium_Paparum.html Data Base of more than 23,000 documents of the Popes in Latin and modern languages]
* [https://www.vatican.va/holy_father/index.htm The Holy See – The Holy Father]—website for the past and present Holy Fathers (since [[Pope Leo XIII]])
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20111006060757/http://www.catholic.com/tracts/origins-of-peter-as-pope Origins of Peter as Pope] (archived 6 October 2011)
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20111030153010/http://www.catholic.com/tracts/the-authority-of-the-pope-part-i The Authority of the Pope: Part I] (archived 30 October 2011)
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20111021035634/http://www.catholic.com/tracts/the-authority-of-the-pope-part-ii The Authority of the Pope: Part II] (archived 21 October 2011)

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Taz (singer)

2022-12-22T02:01:16Z

ThereseH43: Redirected Taz (singer) to Tarsame Singh Saini: That is his real name as given in the reputed newspaper cited in the article.

#REDIRECT [[Tarsame Singh Saini]]

Sikhism in Bangladesh

2022-12-04T06:58:02Z

ThereseH43: Fresh page draft.

{{infobox religious group
| group = Bangladeshi Sikhs বাংলাদেশী শিখ
| image = Gurdwara NanakShahi Dhaka by Ragib Hasan.jpg
| caption = [[Gurdwara Nanak Shahi]] in [[Dhaka]]
| population =
| regions = [[Dhaka]] [[Chittagong]] [[Mymensingh]]
| founder = [[Guru Nanak]]
| scriptures = [[Guru Granth Sahib]]
| languages = [[Sant Bhasha]] ([[Sacred language|sacred]]) [[Punjabi language|Punjabi]] (cultural) [[Bengali language|Bengali]] (national)
}}
{{Sikhism sidebar}}

'''Sikhism in [[Bangladesh]]''' has an extensive heritage and history, although [[Sikhs]] had always been a minority community in Bengal. Their founder, [[Guru Nanak]] visited a number of places in Bengal in the early sixteenth century where he introduced Sikhism to locals and founded numerous establishments. In its early history, the [[Sikh gurus]] despatched their followers to propagate Sikh teachings in Bengal and issued [[hukamnama]]s to that region. [[Guru Tegh Bahadur]] lived in Bengal for two years, and his successor [[Guru Gobind Singh]] also visited the region. Sikhism in Bengal continued to exist during the colonial period as Sikhs found employment in the region, but it declined after [[Partition of India|the partition]] in 1947.<ref>{{Cite news |url=http://archive.thedailystar.net/magazine/2012/07/01/heritage.htm|title=Prayers from Punjab|newspaper=The Daily Star|access-date=2016-12-20}}</ref> Among the eighteen historical ''[[gurdwara]]s'' (Sikh places of worship) in Bangladesh, only five are extant. The [[Gurdwara Nanak Shahi]] of [[Dhaka]] is the principal and largest ''gurdwara'' in the country. The Sikh population in the country almost entirely consists of businessmen and government officials from the neighbouring [[Republic of India]].<ref name="banglapedia" />

== History ==
Sikhism first emerged in [[Bengal]] when its founder, [[Guru Nanak]], visited the [[Bengal Sultanate]] in 1504 during the reign of Sultan [[Alauddin Husain Shah]]. He passed through [[Kaharole Upazila|Kantanagar]] and [[Sylhet]]. [[Kahn Singh Nabha]] credits the establishment of [[Gurdwara Sahib Sylhet]] to Nanak himself. Mughal courtier [[Abu'l-Fazl ibn Mubarak]] also records in his ''[[Akbarnama]]'' that Nanak had entered Sylhet from [[Kamrup region|Kamrup]] with his followers. He further narrates a story in which a ''[[Fakir|faqir]]'' (Sufi ascetic) called [[Nur Shah]] [[shapeshifting|transmorphed]] Nanak's senior companion [[Bhai Mardana]] into a [[sheep|lamb]] although Nanak was able to undo the spell later on.<ref name="banglapedia" />

Nanak then sailed into [[Dhaka]], where he stopped at the village of [[Dhanmondi Thana|Shivpur]] and also visited [[Faridpur, Bangladesh|Faridpur]]. He first preached to the potters of [[Rayer Bazaar]], for whom he dug and consecrated a well in Jafarabad village for. Nanak was also said to have constructed a [[gurdwara]] in Jafarabad.<ref name=ism>{{Cite Banglapedia|article=Sikhism|author=Chandra, Mohanta Sambaru}}</ref> The ruins of the well in Jafarabad is still visited by Sikhs, who believe that its waters have curative powers.<ref name=allen/> Nanak then left Dhaka as he intended to travel to [[Calcutta]] and subsequently the [[Deccan Plateau|Deccan]]. He passed through [[Chittagong]], where he established a ''[[Manji (Sikhism)|manji]]'' (religious headquarter) in [[Chawkbazar Thana|Chawkbazar]] and made [[Bhai Jhanda]] its first ''[[masand]]''. Raja Sudhir Sen of Chittagong converted to Sikhism as a result of his converted son, Indra Singh, and became a disciple of Guru Nanak. This manji later became the [[Chittagong Gurdwara]] (Joy Nagar Lane, [[Panchlaish Thana|Panchlaish]]) through the effort of [[Dewan Mohan Singh]], the [[Biharis|Bihari]]-[[Sikh]] ''[[dewan]]'' of the [[Nawab of Bengal]] [[Murshid Quli Khan]]. The Nawab had also allowed the entire property to be rent-free. The Dewan also established the Gurdwara of English Road in [[Dhaka]] which later collapsed.<ref name="banglapedia" /><ref>{{Cite Banglapedia|article=Panchlaish Thana|author=Bhuiyan, Golam Kibria}}</ref>

[[Baba Gurditta]] later visited Bengal, where he established a ''manji'' in Shujatpur (presently the [[University of Dhaka]] campus) which Gurditta traced to be the location in which Nanak resided during his stay in Bengal. During the reign of [[Mughal emperor]] [[Jahangir]], [[Guru Hargobind]] dispatched [[Bhai Nattha]] ([[Bhai Almast]]'s successor) to Bengal, who dug another well and also laid the foundation stone for the Shujatpur Sikh Sangat, a religious congregation. The ''sangat'' commemorated the footsteps of Guru Nanak.<ref name="banglapedia" />

[[Guru Tegh Bahadur]] stayed in [[Dhaka]] between 1666 and 1668 after visiting [[Assam]]. During this time, Bulaki Das was the ''[[masand]]'' (Sikh minister) of Dhaka. He established the [[Gurdwara Sangat Tola]] (14 Sreesh Das Lane) in [[Bangla Bazar]].<ref name=allen>{{cite book|title=Eastern Bengal District Gazetteers: Dacca|url=https://archive.org/details/daccaallen00alle/page/70/mode/2up|year=1912|first=Basil Copleston|last=Allen|publisher=The Pioneer Press|location=[[Allahabad]]|page=70|chapter=The People}}</ref> His wooden sandals are preserved at the [[Gurdwara Nanak Shahi]].<ref name=nanakshahi/> He also visited the [[Gurdwara Sahib Sylhet]] twice. His successor, [[Guru Gobind Singh]], issued many [[hukamnama]]s to the Sylhet temple and also visited Dhaka. The [[Gurdwara Sahib Sylhet]] provided war elephants for him too.<ref name=ism/><ref>{{cite book|page=681|title=History of Sikh Gurus Retold: 1606-1708 C.E|chapter=Guru Tegh Bahadur|author=Singh Gandhi, Surjit|year=2007|isbn=9788126908585|publisher=[[Atlantic Books|Atlantic Publishers]]}}</ref>

Overtime, the Shujatpur ''sangat'' developed into what is now the [[Gurdwara Nanak Shahi]] from 1830 onwards. Under the initiative of Mahant Prem Daas, Bhai Nattha's well was reformed in 1833.<ref name="banglapedia" /> A large number of [[Sikhs]] found employment with the [[Assam Bengal Railway]] and a ''gurdwara'' was established for them in [[Pahartali Thana|Pahartali, Chittagong]].<ref name=cachar>{{cite book|title=Assam District Gazetteers|volume=1: Cachar|year=1905|location=[[Calcutta]]|author=B C Allen|publisher=[[Government of Assam]]|url=https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.463827}}</ref> The [[Gurdwara Sahib Sylhet]] was destroyed as result of the [[1897 Assam earthquake|1897 earthquake]]. The [[Sangat Sutrashashi]] at Urdu Road was later destroyed by the Sutra Sadhus. There is also a gurdwara in [[Banshkhali Upazila|Banigram, Banshkhali]].<ref>{{Cite Banglapedia|article=Banshkhali Upazila|author=Bishwas, Ujjal}}</ref>

In 1945, Sikhs established the [[Gurdwara Guru Nanak Sahib]] in [[Mymensingh]] which continues to be used by ten local families today. A [[Bengalis|Bengali]] Sikh called Here Singh was appointed as its inaugural chief. From 1915 to 1947, Sri Chandrajyoti served as the ''[[granthi]]'' of [[Gurdwara Nanak Shahi]] in Dhaka. After the [[Independence of Pakistan]], most of the Sikh community left for the [[Dominion of India]] and the Dhaka gurdwara was looked after by Bhai Swaran Singh.<ref name=banglapedia>{{Cite Banglapedia|article=Sikhs, The|author=Nasrin Akhter}}</ref> After the [[Indo-Pakistani War of 1971]] and [[Bangladesh Liberation War]], Indian Sikh soldiers helped renovate the extant [[gurdwara]]s of Bangladesh including the Gurdwara Nanak Shahi.<ref name=nanakshahi>{{Cite Banglapedia|article=Gurdwara Nanak Shahi|author=Chandra, Mohanta Sambaru}}</ref>

==Demographics==
The Sikh population almost entirely consists of [[Punjabis|Punjabi]] businessmen and government officials from the neighbouring [[Republic of India]]. There exists a small ancient [[Balmiki]] community who retain fluency in the [[Punjabi language]] from the time of [[Guru Nanak]]. Despite the direct propagation from four of the [[Sikh gurus]], the religion was unable to profoundly influence the [[Bengali people]] due to its seemingly [[Punjab]]i-centric nature.<ref name="banglapedia" />

==Government recognition==
The [[Government of Pakistan]] requisitioned this part of Jafarabad under Sikh supervision until 1959. A handwritten copy of the [[Guru Granth Sahib]] from the time of [[Guru Arjan]] was kept at the [[Gurdwara Sangat Tola]] and later moved to the [[Gurdwara Nanak Shahi]] in 1985.<ref>{{Cite Banglapedia|article=Granth Sahib|author=Chandra, Mohanta Sambaru}}</ref> After the [[independence of Bangladesh]], Bhai Kartar Singh and the Bangladesh Gurdwara Management Board seized control of all the gurdwaras in the country including the central [[Gurdwara Nanak Shahi]] of [[Dhaka]].<ref name="banglapedia" />

== References ==
{{reflist|2}}

{{Asia topic|Sikhism in}}
{{Religion in Bangladesh topics}}

[[Category:Religion in Bangladesh]]
[[Category:Sikhism by country|Bangladesh]]

National Voluntary Guidelines on Social, Environmental and Economic Responsibilities of Business

2022-10-22T21:29:44Z

ThereseH43: Fresh addition.

[[File:Responsible Business India Logo.png|thumbnail|right|Logo: Responsible Business India]]

India's '''National Voluntary Guidelines on Social, Environmental and Economic Responsibilities of Business (NVGs)'''<ref name="NVG">{{cite web|url= http://www.mca.gov.in/Ministry/latestnews/National_Voluntary_Guidelines_2011_12jul2011.pdf|title= National Voluntary Guidelines on Social, Environmental and Economic Responsibilities of Business (NVGs)|publisher=Ministry of Corporate Affairs|year=2011|access-date=2014-02-03}}</ref> were released by the [[Ministry of Corporate Affairs (India)|Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA)]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mca.gov.in/ |title=Ministry of Corporate Affairs, Government of India |publisher=mca.gov.in |access-date=2014-05-06}}</ref> in July 2011 by Mr. Murli Deora, the former Honourable Minister for Corporate Affairs. The national framework on Business Responsibility is essentially a set of nine principles that offer businesses an Indian understanding and approach to inculcating '''responsible business''' conduct.

“Responsible Business” conduct refers to the commitment of businesses to operating in an economically, socially and environmentally sustainable manner while balancing the demands of shareholders and other interest groups. It's about managing risks and impacts, which affect business’ ability to meet its objectives. The NVGs are formulated with the objective of creating positive framework conditions to advance the role of business in economic growth which is socially and environmentally sustainable, while also ensuring enhanced competitiveness and integration into the global markets.

The NVGs serves as a guidance document for businesses of all size, ownership, sector, and geography to achieve the [[triple bottom line]]. In 2012, subsequent to the release of the NVGs the [[Securities and Exchange Board of India| Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI)]],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.sebi.gov.in/sebiweb/ |title=Securities and Exchange Board of India |publisher=sebi.gov.in |access-date=2014-05-06}}</ref> a market regulator, mandated the Annual Business Responsibility Reporting (ABRR), a reporting framework based on the NVGs.

The NVGs are unique, not just in what they represent, which is “an India specific comprehensive understanding of business responsibility”, but also in the way they have been formulated. The “process” was premised on widespread intensive stakeholder consultations to bring out the commonly agreed elements of business responsibility in keeping with India's unique developmental challenges and priorities.

==Drafting process==

The NVGs are the revised version of the CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) Voluntary Guidelines 2009, released in December, 2009 by the Honourable President of India, Smt. Pratibha Patil at the India Corporate Week organised by the Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA). The CSR Voluntary Guidelines served as a statement of intent by the Government of India to encourage businesses to adopt responsible business practices. The CSR Guidelines provided for review and elaboration which was undertaken by the Indian Institute of Corporate Affairs, a think-tank and capacity development institution set up by the MCA.

The Guidelines Drafting Committee (GDC), appointed by the MCA in 2009, started its work on the new mandate for review and elaboration of the 2009 Guidelines. The process was completed in October 2010 and the final draft was presented to the MCA on 3 November 2010. The revised guidelines were the National Voluntary Guidelines on Social, Environmental and Economic Responsibilities of Business. Stakeholders consulted during the period recommended that since the Guidelines look at a comprehensive framework of responsible business action the title of the Guideline must depict the understanding and hence they were called the NVGs. These were released by the MCA on 8 July 2011.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://pib.nic.in/newsite/erelease.aspx?relid=73107 |title=National Voluntary Guidelines on Social, Environmental & Economic Responsibilities of Business Released - Press Information Bureau, Government of India - Press Release |publisher=pib.nic.in |access-date=2014-05-06}}</ref>

=== Drafting committee ===
The GDC comprised experts/practitioners from diverse stakeholder groups such as industry associations, regulatory bodies, sector experts, government, financial institutions, etc. It consisted of eleven members who were supported by an anchor team. The drafting process involved extensive consultations, conducted across cities and regions in India: Bangalore (South), New Delhi (North), Kolkata (East) and Mumbai (West). In addition to consultations, written feedback was also solicited. The Indian Institute of Corporate Affairs (IICA),<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.iica.in/ |title=Indian Institute of Corporate Affairs - Partners in Knowledge, Governance, Transformation |publisher=Iica.in |access-date=2014-02-03}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.india-briefing.com/news/india-releases-voluntary-national-responsibility-guidelines-4925.html/ |title=India Releases Voluntary National Responsibility Guidelines - India Briefing News |publisher=India-briefing.com |access-date=2014-02-03}}</ref> led the entire process. It worked towards developing a consensus on various ideas and perspectives that emerged from various stakeholder groups. The Guidelines were also published on the MCA website for public comments.

The brief before the GDC was to develop these guidelines to provide a distinctively 'Indian'<ref>{{cite web|url=http://india.carbon-outlook.com/content/national-voluntary-guidelines-india-inc-csr-responsible-business |title=National Voluntary Guidelines for India Inc.: from CSR to Responsible Business | India Carbon Outlook | Tracking Actions Towards a Low Carbon Economy |publisher=India Carbon Outlook |access-date=2014-02-03}}</ref> approach on business responsibility (BR), which is also aligned with international norms and frameworks.

== Business responsibility ==

Since the 1990s, liberalisation and deregulation have boosted the development of the private sector making it the forerunner of economic growth. Frenetic expansion and growth of the private sector has also therefore thrown up challenges necessitating proactive action towards making it sustainable and equitable. Encouraged by the Prime Minister's ten Point Charter, the MCA, in the recent past, has sharpened its focus on encouraging businesses to play a proactive role in ensuring sustainable and inclusive growth.

While Indian business traditionally stuck to corporate philanthropy, today business leaders understand that practicing responsible business is of strategic importance to their growth, longevity and competitiveness. The NVGs are an embodiment of an integrated and comprehensive understanding of responsible business. The Guidelines encourage and enable businesses to go beyond compliance and embrace sustainability as part of their business ethos. The nine principles and the corresponding indicators encompass all the elements of what constitutes responsible business conduct. It also delineates the fundamentals of implementing the NVGs.

These are:

#Leadership: the commitment and role of leadership,
#Integration: the weaving in of the principles and core elements into the very DNA of the business,
#Engagement: continuous engagement with relevant stakeholders,
#Reporting: measuring the impact of business activities on all the nine principles and communicating these to their stakeholders.

==Corporate social responsibility in India==

Traditionally, [[Corporate Social Responsibility|Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)]] has been widely practiced by Indian corporates - taking the form of philanthropic activities. The new CSR legislation under section 135 of the [[Companies Act, 2013|Companies Act 2013]] requires companies of a certain size to spend 2% of their net profit <ref>{{cite web|url=http://in.reuters.com/article/companies-bill-csr-idINDEE97C02Q20130813 |title=Companies bill would require firms to spend 2 percent profits on poor |publisher=reuters.com |access-date=2014-05-06}}</ref> on activities as prescribed under schedule VII, which are primarily aimed at community development. The canvas of CSR remains narrow and de-linked from the core-business activities of a company. However, the more progressive businesses view the legislation as opportunity to address the developmental challenges of India through sustainable innovations and creation of shared value. Principle 8 of the NVGs expounds on this very concept, while also acknowledging the need for community development as articulated under the new CSR law. Principle 8 of the NVGs on “inclusive and equitable growth” focuses on encouraging business action on national development priorities, including community development initiatives and strategic CSR<ref>{{cite web|url=http://greencleanguide.com/2011/10/02/csr-voluntary-guidelines/ |title=CSR Voluntary Guidelines by the Ministry of Corporate Affairs, Government of India | For the Changing Planet |publisher=Greencleanguide.com |access-date=2014-02-03}}</ref> based on the shared value concept.

==Principles on responsible business==

The NVGs are an aspirational and comprehensive guideline to encourage responsible business behaviour in India. The NVGs, a set of 9 principles,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.sustainabilityoutlook.in/content/library/national-voluntary-guidelines-social-environmental-and-economic-responsibilities-bus |title=National Voluntary Guidelines for the Social, Environmental and Economic Responsibilities of Business (NVG-SEE) 2011 |publisher=sustainabilityoutlook.in |access-date=2014-02-03}}</ref> cover a broad array of social, economic, environmental and governance issues and developmental priorities. To actualise the principles a corresponding set of core elements have also been developed. The NVGs also offer guidance on implementation, through its four integral actions – leadership, integration, engagement and reporting. The annexes articulate the business case for adopting the NVGs, existing legislation relevant to the various principles and a set of resources. A special section has been dedicated on the applicability of the principles for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs), to ensure inclusivity irrespective of scale.

=== The nine principles ===
[[File:The NVG Package.png|thumbnail|right|The NVG Package]]

:: '''Principle 1:''' ''Businesses should conduct and govern themselves with ethics, transparency and accountability''
:: '''Principle 2:''' ''Businesses should provide goods and services that are safe and contribute to sustainability throughout their life cycle''
:: '''Principle 3:''' ''Businesses should promote the wellbeing of all employees''
:: '''Principle 4:''' ''Businesses should respect the interests of, and be responsive towards all stakeholders, especially those who are disadvantaged, vulnerable and marginalised''
:: '''Principle 5:''' ''Businesses should respect and promote human rights''
:: '''Principle 6:''' ''Businesses should respect, protect, and make efforts to restore the environment''
:: '''Principle 7:''' ''Businesses, when engaged in influencing public and regulatory policy, should do so in a responsible manner''
:: '''Principle 8:''' ''Businesses should support inclusive growth and equitable development''
:: '''Principle 9:''' ''Businesses should engage with and provide value to their customers and consumers in a responsible manner''

==Adopting the guidelines==

The NVGs help Indian businesses at multiple levels. They enable businesses to create value, encourage healthy labour practices, minimise operational risks, attract and retain customers, motivate investments and financial markets and stimulate growth. Overall, the NVGs enable companies to leave a positive footprint on the environment and society while remaining competitive. The private sector is the economic engine of India. Poverty alleviation, job-creation, innovation at grassroots, protection of scarce resources are not only impacts of sustainable businesses but cater to nation building. With globalisation and a varied range of stakeholders demanding answers, responsible business action is gaining traction.

While the business case was considered to be the biggest motivation for adoption of the guidelines, the guidelines also underscore the importance of ‘values/ethics’ in business conduct as a driver to pursue sustainable management practices as a means to reaching sustainable development goals.

== Annual Business Responsibility Report ==

Following the release of the NVGs, the MCA reconstituted the GDC as the Disclosures Framework Committee with two additional members and tasked it with develop a disclosure framework based on the NVGs. The disclosure framework, 'Annual Business Responsibility Report' (ABRR), was formulated by the Disclosure Framework Committee to ensure wider evidence based uptake of the NVGs. The ABRR is a reporting format that requires principle-wise (NVGs) disclosure by businesses. This reporting framework helps Indian companies implement the NVGs and communicate the same to its stakeholders. It is designed on an ‘Apply or Explain’ methodology and aims at assisting companies to re-examine their processes and align them with the ethos of the NVGs.

The ‘Apply-or-Explain’ principle is an enabling measure that encourages companies to do three things:
#Disclose the current status of sustainability driven performance at whatever stage that may be.
#Disclose reasons for non-adoption of any of the principles, which may include non-applicability as per their understanding, or future plans of implementation.
#Ideally undertake a process of review to identify and manage sustainability gaps and risks in line with the future outlook of the company.

The ABRR reports can be accessed on the website of the National Stock Exchange and the Bombay Stock Exchange. The 100 companies that report are currently the top listed companies based on market capitalization at BSE and NSE. 98 companies have filed their Business Responsibility Reports (BRRs) on the websites of the National and Bombay Stock Exchanges. A linkage document was also developed and launched internationally at the GRI ([[Global Reporting Initiative]]) Conference on Sustainability in Amsterdam 2013. The document serves as a tool for businesses to map their performance against the NVGs, ABRR and GRI G3<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.globalreporting.org/network/regional-networks/gri-focal-points/focal-point-india/Pages/default.aspx |title=GRI Focal Point India |publisher=globalreporting.org |access-date=2014-05-06}}</ref> guidelines.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.csridentity.com/india/gri.asp |title=GRI in India |publisher=csridentity.com |access-date=2014-02-03}}</ref>

== Securities and Exchange Board Of India directive==

The Guidelines were released by the Ministry of Corporate Affairs, Government of India on 8 July 2011. Soon after, on 24 November 2011, a Board resolution was passed by the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), wherein they mandated the top 100 listed companies to report on their Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) performance through a Business Responsibility Report (BRR),<ref>{{cite web|url=http://indianexpress.com/article/news-archive/web/sebi-asks-for-business-responsibility-reports/ |title=Sebi asks for business responsibility reports |publisher=The Indian Express |access-date=2014-02-03}}</ref>{{rp|2}}<ref name="SEBI">{{cite web|url=http://www.ckinetics.com/publications/Preparedness_of_India_inc_for_NVG.pdf |title=Preparedness of Indian Public Equities for Business Sustainability (Environmental, Social and Governance) Disclosure and Reporting |publisher=Ckinetics.com |access-date=2014-02-03}}</ref>{{rp|3}}<ref>{{cite web|url=http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2012-09-14/news/33844340_1_business-responsibility-annual-reports-national-voluntary-guidelines |title=Thanks to SEBI, shareholders will have access to critical information from the next fiscal - Economic Times |publisher=Articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com |access-date=2014-02-03}}</ref> which would then form a part of their annual report/filings. The BRR<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bseindia.com/downloads1/BRR_FAQs%2010052013.pdf |title=Business Responsibility Reports - Frequently Asked Questions |publisher=Bseindia.com |access-date=2014-02-03}}</ref> is envisioned as an annual document describing the measures taken by companies against the nine principles of the NVGs. The SEBI directive took effect at the start of the fiscal year 2013/2014 for the top 100 companies.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.sebi.gov.in/cms/sebi_data/attachdocs/1344915990072.pdf |title=Securities and Exchange Board of India, Circular - 'Business Responsibility Reports' |publisher=sebi.gov.in |access-date=2014-05-06}}</ref> Companies falling under the purview of the mandate have filed their BR reports along with the Annual Reports in the financial year 2013/14 which is available as public knowledge on National and Bombay Stock exchange websites. (See also: [[Sustainability Reporting]])

==Future plans==
SEBI encourages all companies to adopt the ABRR. With NVGs now in place,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.asiafuturesmag.com/Article/ItemId/88/nvgs-aligned-globally-yet-are-very-indian-in-character.aspx |title=NVGs Aligned Globally, Yet are Very Indian in Character — Asia Futures Magazine Online |publisher=Asiafuturesmag.com |access-date=2014-02-03}}</ref> development of sector-specific guidelines on BRR is underway. The IICA in 2014-2015 will offer training of trainer modules on the NVGs and the BRR for multiplier institutions such as academia, industrial associations and other intermediary organisations.

==See also==
*[[Climate Change]]
*[[Corporate Citizenship]]
*[[Corporate Social Responsibility]]
*[[Ministry of Corporate Affairs]]
*[[Securities and Exchange Board of India]]
*[[Sustainability]]
*[[Sustainability Reporting]]

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}

== External links ==
*[http://www.responsiblebusinessindia.com/ Responsible Business India]
*[http://www.iica.in/ Indian Institute of Corporate Affairs]
*[http://www.mca.gov.in/ Ministry of Corporate Affairs]
*[http://www.sebi.gov.in/ Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI)]
*[http://www.giz.de/en/ Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ)]
*[http://www.mca.gov.in/Ministry/latestnews/National_Voluntary_Guidelines_2011_12jul2011.pdf National Voluntary Guidelines on Social, Environmental and Economic Responsibilities of Business (NVGs), Ministry of Corporate Affairs, 2011]
*[http://responsiblebusinessindia.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/NVG-FAQs.pdf FAQs on NVGs]

{{Economy of India}}
{{Social accountability}}

[[Category:Ethical codes]]
[[Category:Ministry of Corporate Affairs]]

Punjab India

2022-05-07T17:57:26Z

ThereseH43: Redirected page to Punjab, India

#REDIRECT [[Punjab, India]]