who was the very first person to be named "Pope"

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I am doing research in my Bible class and one of my questions that I must answer is "What is the name of the very first Pope. Thank you for your help.

-- Eldress Vivian Barnes (Eldressvb@aol.com), September 07, 1999

Answers

Well, you have in fact asked two questions. The name of the first pope of course is Peter (or Kephas or Petrus), being his "ex-name" Simon.

But that is not probably what you asked. The term "Papa" was used by both greek and latin-speakers to denote "father", or, more exactly, "daddy". It4s use in the Church on the West (Latin) went on being more and more restricted to higher and higher dignitaries, and eventually got restricted to the bishop of Rome in the V century. So, in a manner of speaking, all popes have allways been called popes, but the first ones had not the "monopoly" on the term.

-- Atila (me@somewhere.com), September 07, 1999.


Eldress, let me put my two cents in: besides what has already been expressed we know that in 1073 Pope Gregory VII ordered that only the Bishop of Rome should use such title.

Enrique

-- ENRIQUE ORTIZ (eaortiz@yahoo.com), September 09, 1999.


Sure, Henrique? Where did you find that information? This site really amazes me for the deep knowledge its frequenters have! What are your sources? I have searched for this very answer, but was not able to find anything! (I mean, the first "exclusive" pope).

-- Atila (me@somewhere.com), September 09, 1999.

I realize this might be a little late to help Eldress, but for anyone else who might be curious, I enclose a section (Section V, Sub- section 1) of an article from the Catholic Encyclopedia which sheds some light on the title of "Pope". It reads as follows:

V. PRIMACY OF HONOUR: TITLES AND INSIGNIA Certain titles and distinctive marks of honour are assigned to the pope alone; these constitute what is termed his primacy of honour. These prerogatives are not, as are his jurisdictional rights, attached jure divino to his office. They have grown up in the course of history, and are consecrated by the usage of centuries; yet they are not incapable of modification.

(1) Titles

The most noteworthy of the titles are Papa, Summus Pontifex, Pontifex Maximus, Servus servorum Dei. The title pope (papa) was, as has been stated, at one time employed with far more latitude. In the East it has always been used to designate simple priests. In the Western Church, however, it seems from the beginning to have been restricted to bishops (Tertullian, "De Pud." 13). It was apparently in the fourth century that it began to become a distinctive title of the Roman Pontiff. Pope Siricius (d. 398) seems so to use it (Ep. vi in P. L., XIII, 1164), and Ennodius of Pavia (d. 473) employs it still more clearly in this sense in a letter to Pope Symmachus (P. L., LXIII, 69). Yet as late as the seventh century St. Gall (d. 640) addresses Desiderius of Cahors as papa (P. L., LXXXVII, 265). Gregory VII finally prescribed that it should be confined to the successors of Peter. The terms Pontifex Maximus, Summus Pontifex, were doubtless originally employed with reference to the Jewish high-priest, whose place the Christian bishops were regarded as holding each in his own diocese (I Clement 40). As regards the title Pontifex Maximus, especially in its application to the pope, there was further a reminiscence of the dignity attached to that title in pagan Rome. Tertullian, as has already been said, uses the phrase of Pope Callistus. Though his words are ironical, they probably indicate that Catholics already applied it to the pope. But here too the terms were once less narrowly restricted in their use. Pontifex summus was used of the bishop of some notable see in relation to those of less importance. Hilary of Arles (d. 449) is so styled by Eucherius of Lyons (P. L., L, 773), and Lanfranc is termed "primas et pontifex summus" by his biographer, Milo Crispin (P. L., CL, 10). Pope Nicholas I is termed "summus pontifex et universalis papa" by his legate Arsenius (Hardouin, "Conc.", V, 280), and subsequent examples are common. After the eleventh century it appears to be only used of the popes. The phrase Servus servorum Dei is now so entirely a papal title that a Bull in which it should be wanting would be reckoned unauthentic. Yet this designation also was once applied to others. Augustine (Ep. 217 a. d. Vitalem) entitles himself "servus Christi et per Ipsum servus servorum Ipsius". Desiderius of Cahors made use of it (Thomassin, "Ecclesiae nov. et vet. disc.", pt. I, I. I, c. iv, n. 4): so also did St. Boniface (740), the apostle of Germany (P. L., LXXIX, 700). The first of the popes to adopt it was seemingly Gregory I; he appears to have done co in contrast to the claim put forward by the Patriarch of Constantinople to the title of universal bishop (P. L., LXXV, 87). The restriction of the term to the pope alone began in the ninth century.

The entire article can be read at this site: http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/12260a.htm

Peace! Ed

-- Ed Lauzon (grader@accglobal.net), October 26, 2001.


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