Papal bull
A Papal bull is a special kind of patent or charter issued by a pope. It is named after the seal (bulla) that is appended to the end to authenticate it.
Papal bulls were originally issued by popes for various reasons of public communication, but after the fifteenth century C.E., they were only issued for the most formal or solemn of occasions. Modern scholars have retroactively used the term "bull" to describe any elaborate papal document issued in the form of a decree or privilege (solemn or simple), including some papal letters. Traditionally, papal bulls always used to bear a metal seal although today bulls only do so on the most solemn of occasions.
History
Papal bulls have been in use at least since the sixth century CE, but the term was not used until around the middle of the thirteenth century C.E. and then only for internal un-official papal record keeping purposes; the term became official in the fifteenth century, when one of the offices of the Papal chancery was named the "register of bulls" (registrum bullarum).
Original papal bulls exist in quantity only after the eleventh century onward when the transition from fragile papyrus to the more durable parchment was made. None survives in entirety from before 819 C.E.. Some original leaden seals, however, still survive from as early as the 6th century C.E.
The "bulla" (seal)
The most distinctive characteristic of a bull was its metal seal, which was usually made of lead, but on very solemn occasions was made of gold (as Byzantine imperial deeds often were). The "bulla" depicted the founders of the Church of Rome, the apostles Peter and Paul, identified by the letters Sanctus PAulus and Sanctus PEtrus. The name of the issuing pope was usually on the reverse side. The seal was then attached to the document either by cords of hemp (in the case of letters of justice, and executory) or by red and yellow silk (in the case of letters of grace), which was looped through slits in the vellum of the document. Bulla is the name of this seal, which to ancient observers looked like a bubble floating on water: Latin bullire, "to boil."
Since the late eighteenth century C.E., the lead bulla has been replaced with a red ink stamp of Saints Peter and Paul with the reigning pope's name encircling the picture.
Format, Style and Content
A Papal bull traditionally began with a Latin sentence containing three elements: the pope's name, the papal title episcopus servus servorum Dei, meaning 'bishop, servant of the servants of God', and the few Latin words that constituted the incipit from which the bull would also take its name for record keeping purposes, but which might not be directly indicative of the bull's purpose.
The bull is the only written communication in which the pope refers to himself as episcopus servus servorum Dei, meaning "Bishop, Servant of the Servants of God" (e.g. Benedict XVI, when he issues a decree in bull form, will begin the document with Benedictus, Episcopus, Servus Servorum Dei).
Apart from the above, the body of the text had no specific conventions for its formatting; it was often very simple in layout. The closing section consisted of a short datum, mentioning the place it was issued, the day of the month and the year of the pope's pontificate and signatures, near which was attached the seal.
For the most solemn bulls, the pope would sign the document himself, in which case he used the formula Ego N. Catholicae Ecclesiae Episcopus (I, N., Bishop of the Catholic Church). Following the signature in this case would be an elaborate monogram, the signatures of any witnesses, and then the seal. Nowadays, a member of the Roman Curia signs the document on behalf of the Pope, usually the Cardinal Secretary of State, and thus the monogram is omitted.
In terms of content, the bull is simply the format in which a decree of the pope appears. Any subject may be treated in a bull such as statutory decrees, episcopal appointments, dispensations, excommunications, apostolic constitutions, canonizations and convocations. The bull was the exclusive letter format from the Vatican until the fourteenth century, when the Papal brief began to appear. The Papal brief is the less formal form of papal communication and is authenticated with a wax impression (now a red ink impression) of the Ring of the Fisherman. There has never been an exact distinction of usage between a bull and a brief, but nowadays most letters, including Papal encyclicals, are issued as briefs.
Some Papal Bulls
The following list provides a sample of some Papal bulls by the year in which they were issued (the list is not exhaustive):
| Year | Bull | Issuer | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1079 | Libertas ecclesiae | Gregory VII | |
| 1079 | Antiqua sanctorum patrum | Gregory VII | Granted the church of Lyon primacy over the churches of Gaul |
| c. 1120 | Sicut Judaeis | Callixtus II | Provides protection for the Jews who suffered from the hands of the participants in the First Crusade. |
| 1136 (July 7) | Ex commisso nobis | Innocent II | Bull of Gniezno |
| 1139 (March 29) | Omne Datum Optimum | Innocent II | Endorses the Knights Templar. |
| 1144 | Milites Templi ("Soldiers of the Temple") | Celestine II | Provides clergy protection to the Knights Templar and encourages contributions to their cause. |
| 1145 | Militia Dei ("Soldiers of God") | Eugene III | Allows the Knights Templar to take tithes and burial fees and to bury their dead in their own cemeteries. |
| 1145 (December 1) | Quantum praedecessores | Eugene III | Calls for the Second Crusade. |
| 1155 | Laudabiliter | Adrian IV | Gives the English King Henry II lordship over Ireland. |
| 1184 | Ad Abolendam | Lucius III | Condemns heresy, and lists some punishments (though stops short of death). |
| 1185 | Post Miserabile | Innocent III | Calls for a Crusade. |
| 1187 (October 29) | Audita tremendi | Gregory VIII | Calls for the Third Crusade. |
| 1192 | Cum universi | Celestine III | |
| 1199 (February 19) | Innocent III | Assigns the uniform of a white tunic with a black cross to the Teutonic Knights. | |
| 1205 | Etsi non displaceat | Innocent III | |
| 1213 | Quia maior | Innocent III | Calls for the Fifth Crusade. |
| 1216 (December) | Religiosam vitam | Honorius III | Established the Dominican Order |
| 1218 | In generali concilio | Honorius III | |
| 1219 | Super speculam | Honorius III | |
| 1223 (November 29) | Solet annuere | Honorius III | Approves the Rule of St. Francis. |
| 1231 (April 13) | Parens scientarum ("The Mother of Sciences") | Gregory IX | Guarantees the independence of the University of Paris. |
| 1232 (February 8) | Ille humani generis | Gregory IX | |
| 1233 | Etsi Judaeorum | Gregory IX | |
| 1233 | Licet ad capiendos | Gregory IX | |
| 1239 | Si vera sunt | Gregory IX | |
| 1247 | Lachrymabilem Judaeorum | Innocent IV | |
| 1252 (May 15) | Ad exstirpanda | Innocent IV | Authorizes the use of torture for eliciting confessions from heretics during the Inquisition and executing relapsed heretics by burning them alive. |
| 1254 (October 6) | Querentes in agro | Innocent IV | |
| 1267 | Turbato corde | Clement IV | |
| 1274 | Ubi Periculum | Gregory X | |
| 1296 (February 25) | Clericis Laicos | Boniface VIII | Excommunicates all members of the clergy who, without autorization from the Holy See, pay to laymen any part of their income or the revenue of the Church, and all rulers who receive such payments. |
| 1299 | De Sepulturis | Boniface VIII | Prohibits the dismembering and boiling of the bodies so that the bones, separated from the flesh, may be carried for burial in their own countries. |
| 1302 (November 18) | Unam Sanctam ("The One Holy") | Boniface VIII | Declares that there is no salvation outside the Church (Extra Ecclesiam nulla salus), and that the Church must remain united. |
| 1307 (November 22) | Pastoralis praeminentiæ | Clement V | Orders the arrest of the Knights Templar and the confiscation of their possessions. |
| 1308 | Fasciens misericordiam | Clement V | Sets out the procedure to prosecute the Knights Templar. |
| 1308 | Regnans in coelis]] | Clement V | Convenes the Council of Vienne to discuss the Knights Templar. |
| 1312 (March 22) | Vox in excelso | Clement V | Disbands the Knights Templar. |
| 1312 (May 2) | Ad providam | Clement V | Grants the bulk of Templar property on to the Knights Hospitallers. |
| 1312 (May 6) | Considerantes dudum | Clement V | |
| 1312 (May 16) | Nuper in concilio | Clement V | |
| 1312 (December 18) | Licet dudum | Clement V | |
| 1312 (December 31) | Dudum in generali concilio | Clement V | |
| 1313 (January 13) | Licet pridem | Clement V | |
| 1317 | Sane Considerante | John XXII | |
| 1323 | Cum inter nonnullos | John XXI | |
| 1425 | Martin V | Foundation of the Université Catholique de Louvain | |
| 1439 (July 6) | Laetantur Coeli | Eugene IV | |
| 1452 (June 18) | Dum diversas | Nicholas V | Authorises Afonso V of Portugal to reduce any Muslims, pagans other unbelievers to perpetual slavery. |
| 1455 (January 5) | Romanus Pontifex | Nicholas V | Sanctifies the seizure of non-Christian lands discovered during the Age of Discovery and encourages the enslavement of natives. |
| 1470 (April 19) | Ineffabilis providentia | Paul II | |
| 1478 (November 1) | Exigit sinceræ devotionis | Sixtus IV | |
| 1481 (June 21) | Aeterni regis | Sixtus IV | Confirms the Treaty of Alcáçovas. |
| 1484 (December 5) | Summis desiderantes | Innocent VIII | Condemns an alleged outbreak of witchcraft and heresy in the region of the Rhine River valley, and deputizes Heinrich Kramer and Jacob Sprenger as inquisitors to root out alleged witchcraft in Germany. |
| 1493 (May 4) | Inter caetera | Alexander VI | Divides the New World between Spain and Portugal. |
| 1493 (June 25) | Piis Fidelium | Alexander VI | Grants Spain vicarial power to appoint missionaries to the Indies. |
| 1513 (December 19) | Apostolici Regiminis | Leo X | |
| 1514 | Supernæ | Leo X | Declares that the cardinals in a body should come immediately after the pope and precede all others in the church. |
| 1520 (June 15) | Exsurge Domine ("Arise, O Lord") | Leo X | Demands that Martin Luther retract 41 of his 95 theses, as well as other specified errors, within sixty days of its publication in neighbouring regions to Saxony. |
| 1521 (January 3) | Decet Romanum Pontificem ("[It] befits [the] Roman Pontiff") | Leo X | Excommunicates Martin Luther. |
| 1537 (May 29) | Sublimus Dei | Paul III | Forbids the enslavement of the indigenous peoples of the Americas. |
| 1540 (September 27) | Regimini militantis ecclesiae ("To the Government of the Church Militant") | Paul III | Approves the formation of the Society of Jesus. |
| 1543 (March 14) | Injunctum nobis | Paul III | |
| 1550 (July 21) | Exposcit debitum ("The Duty demands") | Julius III | Second and final approval of the Society of Jesus |
| 1555 (July 14) | Cum nimis absurdum ("Since it is absurd") | Paul IV | Places religious and economic restrictions on Jews in the Papal States. |
| 1559 (February 15) | Cum ex apostolatus officio | Paul IV | Confirms that only Catholics can be elected Popes. |
| 1565 (January 17) | Æquum reputamus | Pius V | |
| 1570 (February 25) | Regnans in Excelsis ("Ruling from on high) | Pius V | Declares Elizabeth I of England a heretic and releases her subjects from any allegiance to her. |
| 1582 (February 24) | Inter gravissimas | Gregory XIII | Establishes the Gregorian calendar. |
| 1586 (January) | Coeli et terrae | Sixtus V | condemned "judicial astrology" as superstitious. |
| 1588 (February 11) | Immensa Aeterni Dei | Sixtus V | |
| 1653 (May 31) | Cum occasione | Innocent X | Condemns 5 Jansenist propositions. |
| 1665 | Ad Sacram | Alexander VII | |
| 1713 | Unigenitus | Clement XI | Condemns Jansenism. |
| 1738 | In eminenti | Clement XII | Bans Catholics from becoming Freemasons. |
| 1814 | Sollicitudo omnium ecclesiarum ("The care of all the churches") | Pius VII | Reestablishes the Society of Jesus. |
| 1850 (September 29) | Universalis Ecclesiae | Pius IX | Recreates the Roman Catholic hierarchy in England. |
| 1868 (June 29) | Aeterni Patris | Pius IX | Summons First Vatican Council. |
| 1869 (October 12) | Apostolicæ Sedis Moderationi | Pius IX | Regulates the system of censures and reservations in the Catholic church. |
| 1871 | Pastor aeternus | Pius IX | Defines papal infallibility. |
| 1880 (July 13) | Dolemus inter alia | Leo XIII | |
| 1896 | Apostolicae Curae | Leo XIII | Declares all Anglican Holy Orders null and void. |
| 1910 | Quam singulari | Pius X | Allows the admittance of Communion to children who have reached the age of reason (about seven years old). |
| 1950 (November 1) | Munificentissimus Deus ("The most bountiful God") | Pius XII | Defines the dogma of the Assumption of Mary. |
| 1961 (December 25) | Humanae salutis | John XXIII | Summons Second Vatican Council. |
| 1965 (November 18) | Dei Verbum ("Word of God") | Paul VI | |
| 1998 (November 29) | Incarnationis mysterium | John Paul II |
Finally, a recurrent papal bull, In Coena Domini ("At the table of the Lord"), was issued annually between 1363 and 1770 at first on Holy Thursday, and later on Easter Monday.
ReferencesISBN links support NWE through referral fees
- Huna, Ludwig. The Bulls of Rome. Kessinger Publishing, 2005. ISBN 978-1419123061
- Signorotto, Gianvittorio and Maria Antonietta Visceglia (Eds.) Court and Politics in Papal Rome. Cambridge University Press, 2002. ISBN 978-0521641463
- Waite, Arthur Edward. Papal Bulls. Kessinger Publishing, LLC, 2006. ISBN 978-1430433293
External links
- This article incorporates text from the public-domain Catholic Encyclopedia of 1913. Bulls and Briefs Retrieved May 8, 2007.
- Papal Encyclicals at Vatican Retrieved May 8, 2007.
- Papal Encyclicals Online Retrieved May 8, 2007.
- Chambers, Ephraim. "Bull." Cyclopaedia. 1728. Retrieved May 8, 2007.
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