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For specific bulls, see List of papal bulls. This is a very incomplete list of Papal bulls by the year in which they were issued
Papal bull of Pope Urban VIII, 1637, sealed with a leaden bulla.
Papal bull of Pope Urban VIII, 1637, sealed with a leaden bulla. Pope Bulla (plural Bullae) is a lump of clay molded around a cord and stamped with a seal.

A Papal bull is a particular type of letters patent or charter issued by a pope. Letters patent are a type of Legal instrument in the form of an Open letter issued by a Monarch or Government, granting an office right History See also History of the Papacy Catholics recognize the Pope as a successor to Saint Peter, who Jesus named as the "shepherd" and It is named after the bulla that was appended to the end to authenticate it. Bulla (plural Bullae) is a lump of clay molded around a cord and stamped with a seal.

Papal bulls were originally issued by the pope for many kinds of communication of a public nature, but after the fifteenth century, only 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), and to some less elaborate ones issued in the form of a letter. A decree is an order made by a Head of state or government and having the force of Law. A privilege &mdashetymologically "private law" or law relating to a specific individual&mdashis a special Entitlement or immunity granted by a government Popularly, the name is used for any papal document that contains a metal seal.

Papal bulls have been in use at least since the sixth century, but the term was not first used until around the middle of the thirteenth century and then only for internal un-official papal record keeping purposes; the term had become official by the fifteenth century, when one of the offices of the Papal chancery was named the "register of bulls" (registrum bullarum). The Chancery of Apostolic Briefs (also known as the Papal, Apostolic or Roman Chanc(ellery) is a former office of the Roman Curia, merged into

Today, the bull is the only written communication in which the pope will refer to himself as episcopus servus servorum Dei, meaning "Bishop, Servant of the Servants of God. Servus Servorum Dei is a Latin phrase meaning 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. Pope Benedict XVI ( Latin: Benedictus PP XVI; Italian: Benedetto XVI; German: Benedikt XVI; born Joseph Alois Ratzinger 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 letters patent issued by the Vatican Chancery in the name of the pope. Letters patent are a type of Legal instrument in the form of an Open letter issued by a Monarch or Government, granting an office right The Holy See is the episcopal jurisdiction of the Bishop of Rome, commonly known as the Pope, and is the preeminent Episcopal see of the Roman Catholic

Contents

Format

The bull's format began with one line in tall elongated letters 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 incipit of a text such as a Poem, Song, or Book, is its first few words or opening line

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. A monogram is a motif made by overlapping or combining two or more letters or other Graphemes to form one Symbol. 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. The Roman Curia is the administrative apparatus of the Holy See and the central governing body of the entire Roman Catholic Church, together with the Pope The Cardinal Secretary of State &mdashofficially Secretary of State of His Holiness The Pope &mdashpresides over the Vatican Secretariat of State, which

The "bulla" (seal)

The most distinctive characteristic of a bull was the metal seal, which was usually made of lead, but on very solemn occasions was made of gold (as Byzantine imperial deeds often were). Characteristics Lead has a dull luster and is a dense, Ductile, very soft highly Gold (ˈɡoʊld is a Chemical element with the symbol Au (from its Latin name aurum) and Atomic number 79 It depicted the founders of the Church of Rome, the apostles Peter and Paul, identified by the letters Sanctus PAulus and Sanctus PEtrus. The Twelve Apostles (Greek apostolos, "someone sent out" e Paul the apostle (שאול התרסי Šaʾul HaTarsi, meaning " Saul of Tarsus " Σαούλ Saul and Σαῦλος Saulos and The name of the issuing pope is on the reverse side. This 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) that was looped through slits in the vellum of the document. This article is about the cultivation and uses of industrial hemp not its psychoactive cousin Cannabis (drug. Silk is a natural Protein Fiber, some forms of which can be woven into Textiles The best-known type of silk is obtained from cocoons Vellum (from the Old French Vélin for "calfskin" is mammal skin prepared for writing or printing on single pages scrolls codices or books 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, 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, though very formal letters, e. g. the bull of Pope John XXIII convoking the Second Vatican Council, still receive the lead seal. Pope John (numberingBlessed The Second Ecumenical Council of the Vatican, or Vatican II, was the twentieth century Ecumenical Council of the Roman Catholic Church.

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. Papyrus (/pəˈpaɪrəs/ (Rhymes -aɪrəs)is a thick paper-like material produced from the Pith of the papyrus plant Cyperus papyrus Parchment is a thin material made from Calfskin, Sheepskin or goatskin. 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, apostolic constitutions, canonizations and convocations. Excommunication is a religious Censure used to deprive or suspend membership in a religious community Canonization is the act by which a particular Christian church declares a deceased person to be a Saint and is included in the canon or list of recognized saints A Convocation ( Latin 'calling together' translating the Greek Ecclesia) is a group of people formally assembled for a special purpose 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 a formal document emanating from the Pope, in a somewhat simpler and more modern form than a Papal Bull. 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. Ring of the Fisherman, also known as the Piscatory Ring and the Pescatorio (in Italian) is an official part of the regalia worn by the 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. An encyclical was originally a circular letter sent to all the churches of a particular area in the ancient Christian church

See also

Sources and external links

Dictionary

papal bull

-noun

  1. An official document or edict from the Pope.
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