ETYM as. pâpa, Latin papa father, bishop. Related to Papa, Papal.
The bishop of Rome, head of the Roman Catholic Church, which claims he is the spiritual descendant of St Peter. Elected by the Sacred College of Cardinals, a pope dates his pontificate from his coronation with the tiara, or triple crown, at St Peter's Basilica, Rome. The pope had great political power in Europe from the early Middle Ages until the Reformation.
History.
11th–13th centuries The papacy enjoyed its greatest temporal power under Gregory vii and Innocent iii.
1309–78 The papacy came under French control (headquarters Avignon rather than Rome), “the Babylonian Captivity”.
1378–1417 The “Great Schism” followed, with rival popes in Avignon and Rome.
16th century Papal political power further declined with the withdrawal of allegiance by the Protestant states at the Reformation.
1870 The Papal States in central Italy, which had been under the pope’s direct rule from 756, merged with the newly united Italian state. At the Vatican Council the doctrine of papal infallibility was proclaimed.
1929 The Lateran Treaty recognized papal territorial sovereignty, even in Italy, only within the Vatican City.
1978 John Paul ii became the first non-Italian pope since 1542.
The head of the Roman Catholic Church; SYN. pontiff, Holy Father, Vicar of Christ. + prikaži više

Pope.