An encyclical was originally a
circular letter sent to all the churches of a particular area in the ancient
Roman Church. At that time, the word could be used for a letter sent out by any
bishop
A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution.
In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ...
. The word comes from the
Late Latin (originally from the
Latin , a Latinization of
Greek (), meaning "circular", "in a circle", or "all-round", also part of the origin of the word
encyclopedia
An encyclopedia (American English) or encyclopædia (British English) is a reference work or compendium providing summaries of knowledge either general or special to a particular field or discipline. Encyclopedias are divided into articles ...
). The term has been used by
Catholics
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
,
Anglicans and the
Eastern Orthodox Church.
Catholic usage
Although the term "encyclical" originally simply meant a circulating letter, it acquired a more specific meaning within the context of the Catholic Church. In 1740,
Pope Benedict XIV wrote a letter titled ''Ubi primum'', which is generally regarded as the first encyclical. The term is now used almost exclusively for a kind of letter sent out by the pope.
For the modern Roman Catholic Church, a papal encyclical is a specific category of papal document, a kind of
pastoral
A pastoral lifestyle is that of shepherds herding livestock around open areas of land according to seasons and the changing availability of water and pasture. It lends its name to a genre of literature, art, and music (pastorale) that depicts ...
letter concerning Catholic doctrine, sent by the pope and usually addressed especially to patriarchs, primates, archbishops and bishops who are in
communion with the
Holy See. The form of the address can vary widely and may concern bishops in a particular area, or designate a wider audience.
Papal encyclicals usually take the form of a
papal brief because of their more personal nature as opposed to the formal
papal bull. They are usually written in
Latin, and like most papal documents the title of the encyclical is usually taken from its
first few words (its ''
incipit
The incipit () of a text is the first few words of the text, employed as an identifying label. In a musical composition, an incipit is an initial sequence of notes, having the same purpose. The word ''incipit'' comes from Latin and means "it beg ...
'').
Papal use
In the encyclical ''
Humani generis'',
Pope Pius XII
Pope Pius XII ( it, Pio XII), born Eugenio Maria Giuseppe Giovanni Pacelli (; 2 March 18769 October 1958), was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 2 March 1939 until his death in October 1958. Before his e ...
held that papal encyclicals, even when they are of ordinary
magisterium, can nonetheless be sufficiently authoritative to end theological debate on a particular question:
On social issues,
Pope Leo XIII promulgated the encyclical ''
Rerum novarum
''Rerum novarum'' (from its incipit, with the direct translation of the Latin meaning "of revolutionary change"), or ''Rights and Duties of Capital and Labor'', is an encyclical issued by Pope Leo XIII on 15 May 1891. It is an open letter, pass ...
'' (1891), which was followed by ''
Quadragesimo anno'' (1931) of
Pius XI and ''
Centesimus annus'' (1991) of
John Paul II.
Pope Pius XII issued ten encyclicals, mostly after 1945, three of them protesting against the
Soviet invasion of
Hungary which suppressed the
Hungarian Revolution in 1956: ''
Datis nuperrime'', ''
Sertum laetitiae'' and ''
Luctuosissimi eventus ''Luctuosissimi eventus'', issued October 28, 1956, is an encyclical of Pope Pius XII urging public prayers for peace and freedom for the people of Hungary.
The Pope is "deeply moved by the sorrowful events which have befallen the people of Eas ...
''.
Pope Paul VI published an encyclical ''
Humanae vitae'' on the topic of
birth control
Birth control, also known as contraception, anticonception, and fertility control, is the use of methods or devices to prevent unwanted pregnancy. Birth control has been used since ancient times, but effective and safe methods of birth contr ...
.
Anglican usage
Amongst
Anglican
Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of th ...
s the term ''encyclical'' was revived in the late 19th century. It is applied to circular letters issued by the English
primates.
Important Eastern Orthodox encyclicals
*
Encyclical of the Eastern Patriarchs
The Encyclical of the Eastern Patriarchs is a letter issued in May 1848 by the four Eastern patriarchs of the Eastern Orthodox Church, who met at Council in Constantinople. It was addressed to all Eastern Orthodox Christians, as a response against ...
(1848)
* Patriarchal encyclical of 1895
* Patriarchal encyclical of 1920
* Patriarchal encyclical of 2012
References
Sources
* ''The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church'' (3rd. ed.), p. 545.
External links
List of papal documents at the Theology Library
a
GCatholicwww.papalencyclicals.net
texts of most of the encyclicals from recent centuries
{{Authority control
Christian literary genres