Pope

== History ==
{{Main|History of the papacy}}

=== Title and etymology ===
{{Main|Pope (title)|l1=''Pope'' (title)}}
The word ''[[Pope (title)|pope]]'' derives from the [[Ancient Greek language|Greek]] {{lang|grc|[[wikt:πάππας|πάππας]]}} ({{transliteration|grc|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 |publisher=Paulist Press |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]] 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{{nbsp}}[...> 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 |publisher=Paulist Press |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 {{transliteration|grc|episcopos}} and ''presbyter'' were used interchangeably,<ref>''Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church'', 1997 edition revised 2005, p. 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|date=January 2022}} 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, p. 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 honoured 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=22 January 2021|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:

{{blockquote|41. Both sides agree{{nbsp}}[...] 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|date=13 October 2007}}</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 |date=15 February 2012 }}).</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 |date=27 February 2007 }} 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. p. 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. pp. 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 {{lang|la|[[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{{who|date=January 2024}} 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=chapter 4}}

In 1049, [[Leo IX]] travelled 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=chapter 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''. pp. 101, 130, 149, 151, 159. Volume one. Gilberto Cotrim. {{ISBN|978-85-02-05256-7}}</ref><ref name="Missão Jovem">[http://www.pime.org.br/missaojovem/mjhistdaigrejareforma.htm Movimentos  de Rennovação  e Reforma] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120116233149/http://www.pime.org.br/missaojovem/mjhistdaigrejareforma.htm |date=16 January 2012 }}. 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=chapter 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. {{page?|date=March 2024}}</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=13 June 2019|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]] (1534–1549) initiated the [[Council of Trent]] (1545–1563), 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 |date=2009 |publisher=Harvard University Press |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.