Papal bull

A Papal bull is a special kind of patent or charter issued by a pope and named for the seal (bulla) that was appended to the end to authenticate it. Papal bulls were originally issued by the pope for many kinds of communication of a public nature, but after the 15th century, only for the more 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), and to some less elaborate ones issued in the form of a letter. Popularly, the name is used for any papal document that contains a metal seal.

Papal bull's have been in use since at least the 6th century, but the term was not first used until around the middle of the 13th century and then only for internal un-official papal record keeping purposes; by the 15th century the term had become official when one of the offices of the chancery was named the "register of bulls" (registrum bullarum).

Contents

1 Format 2 Content 3 Examples of papal bulls 4 See also 5 External links

Format

The bull's format began with one-line in tall elongated letters containing three elements: the pope's name, the pope's title (episcopus servus servorum Dei), and a phrase indicative of the bulls purpose for record keeping purposes (the incipit), from which the bull would also take its name. The body of the text had no special formating and 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 pontification, signatures, and finally the seal.

The Pope, for the most solemn bulls, 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 signature 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 omited.

The most distinctive characteristic of a bull was the metal seal. This seal was usually made of lead but on very solemn occasions was made of gold. It 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 is on the reverse side. This was then attached to the document by either cords of hemp or red and yellow silk that was looped through slits in the document. The term bulla actually is the name of this seal, which to ancient observers looked like a bubble floating on water. Bullire in Latin means "to boil". Since the late 18th century, the lead bulla has been replaced with a red ink stamp of Sts. Peter and Paul with the reigning pope's name encircling the picture, though very formal letters, e.g. the bull of John XXIII convoking the Second Vatican Council, still receive the lead seal.

Original papal bull's exist in quantity only after the 11th century onward when the transition from fragile papyrus to the more durable parchment was made. None survives in entirety from before 819. Some original leaden seals, however, still survive from as early as the 6th century.

Content

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, and many were and are, including statutory decrees, episcopal appointments, dispensations, excommunications, constitutions, canonizations and convocations. The bull was the exclusive letter format from the Vatican until the 14th 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.

Today, the bull is the only written communication in which the pope will address himself as episcopus servus servorum Dei, meaning "Bishop, Servant of the Servants of God." For instance, Benedict XVI, when he issues a decree in bull form, will begin the document with Benedictus, Episcopus, Servus Servorum Dei. While it used to always bear a metal seal, it now does so only on the most solemn occasions. It is today the most formal type of patent issued by the Vatican Chancery in the name of the pope.

Examples of papal bulls

• Omne Datum Optimum, 1139 (recognizing the Knights Templar)
• Milites Templi, 1144—Celestine II (granting privileges to the Templars)
• Militia Dei, 1145—Eugenius III (granting more privileges to the Templars)
• Quantum praedecessores, 1145—Eugenius III (calling for the Second Crusade)
• Ad extirpanda, May 15, 1252—Innocent IV (authorizing torture of heretics)
• Clericis Laicos, 1296—Boniface VIII (prohibiting seizure of clerical revenues by the state)
• Unam Sanctam, 1302—Boniface VIII (supremacy of the Church over the state)
• Fasciens misericordiam, 1308—Clement V
• Regnans in coelis, 1308—Clement V
• Cum inter nonnullos, 1323—Pope John XXII (rejecting the Franciscan doctrine of the poverty of Christ)
• Dum diversas, 1452—Pope Nicholas V (authorizing Alfonso V of Portugal to enslave infidels in West Africa)
• Romanus Pontifex 1455—Pope Nicholas V (follow up to Dum diversas, authorizing conquest and enslavement of all people south of Cape Bojador)
• Aeterni regis, 1481—Sixtus IV (dividing the New World between Spain and Portugal)
• Summis desiderantes, 1484—Innocent VIII (suppressing witchcraft along the Rhein river).
• Inter caetera, 1493—Alexander VI (realigning the New World division between Spain and Portugal)
• Exsurge Domine, 1520—Leo X (warning Martin Luther)
• Docet Romanum Pontificem, 1521—Leo X (excommunicating Martin Luther)
• Sublimis Deus, June 2, 1537—Pope Paul III (all but revoked the following year, on orders of Charles V)
• Regimini militantis, September 27, 1540—Paul III (establishing the Jesuits)
• Injunctum nobis, March 14, 1543—Paul III
• In Coena Domini, 1568—Pius V
• Regnans in Excelsis, 1570—Pius V (anathemising Elizabeth I)
• Inter gravissimas, 1582—Gregory XIII (calendar reform)
• Immensa Aeterni Dei, 1588—Pope Sixtus V
• Gratia Divina, 1656
• Unigenitus, 1713—Clement XI (condemning Jansenism)
• Sollicitudo omnium ecclesiarum, 1814—Pope Pius VII (re-establishing the Jesuits after the suppression)
• Quanta cura, 1864—Pope Pius IX (introducing the Syllabus errorum)
• Pastor aeternus, 1871—Pope Pius IX from the First Vatican Council (papal infallibility)
• Munificentissimus Deus, 1950—Pope Pius XII (defining the dogma of the Assumption of Mary)
• Dei Verbum, 1965—Pope Paul VI from the Second Vatican Council

See also

• Abbreviator
• Golden Bull

External links

• Bulls and Briefs (http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/03052b.htm)
• Papal Encyclicals at Vatican (http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/john_paul_ii/encyclicals/index.htm)
• Papal Encyclicals Online (http://www.papalencyclicals.net/)es:Bula

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