Papal Cross
The papal cross is a Christian cross, which serves as an emblem for the office of the Pope in ecclesiastical heraldry. It is depicted as a staff with three horizontal bars near the top, in diminishing order of length as the top is approached. Background The cross is analogous to the two-barred archiepiscopal cross used in heraldry to indicate an archbishop, and seems to have been used precisely to indicate an ecclesiastical rank still higher than that of archbishop. In the past, this design of the cross was often used in ecclesiastical heraldry as a distinctive mark of his office. It was often merely an artistic device, as use of a staff or crosier was not part of the traditional papal insignia. However, at least one staff surmounted with a papal cross does exist. Symbolism connected with the papal powers has been attached to the three crossbars, similar to the symbolism attached to the three bands on the papal tiara The papal tiara is a crown that was worn by popes o ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Pope Pius IX
Pope Pius IX (; born Giovanni Maria Battista Pietro Pellegrino Isidoro Mastai-Ferretti; 13 May 1792 – 7 February 1878) was head of the Catholic Church from 1846 to 1878. His reign of nearly 32 years is the longest verified of any pope in history; if including unverified reigns, his reign was second to that of Peter the Apostle. He was notable for convoking the First Vatican Council in 1868 and for permanently losing control of the Papal States in 1870 to the Kingdom of Italy. Thereafter, he refused to leave Vatican City, declaring himself a "prisoner in the Vatican". At the time of his election, he was a liberal reformer, but his approach changed after the Revolutions of 1848. Upon the assassination of his prime minister, Pellegrino Rossi, Pius fled Rome and excommunicated all participants in the short-lived Roman Republic (1849–1850), Roman Republic. After its suppression by the French army and his return in 1850, his policies and doctrinal pronouncements became increasingl ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Pope Sylvester I
Pope Sylvester I (also Silvester, before 284 – 31 December 335) was the bishop of Rome from 31 January 314 until his death on 31 December 335. He filled the See of Rome at an important era in the history of the Western Church, though very little is known of his life. During his pontificate, he notably convened the Council of Arles in 314, which condemned the separatist Donatist sect, and the First Council of Nicaea in 325, which aimed to resolve the Arian controversy. His pontificate also coincided with the baptism of Roman Emperor Constantine I. Sylvester I's pontificate coincided with the construction of churches including Old St. Peter's Basilica, the Basilica of the Holy Cross in Jerusalem (Santa Croce in Gerusalemme), as well as the Archbasilica of Saint John Lateran. His feast is celebrated as Saint Sylvester's Day, on 31 December in Western Christianity, and on 2 January in Eastern Christianity. Personal biography The accounts of his pontificate preserved in t ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Papal Ferula
The papal ferula (; Latin ''ferula'', 'rod') is the pastoral staff used in the Catholic Church by the pope. It is a rod with a knob on top surmounted by a cross. It differs from a crosier, the staff carried by other Latin Church bishops, which is curved or bent at the top in the style of a shepherd's crook. History Early usage and dispute Traditionally, the popes did not use any ''ferula'', crosier, or pastoral staff as part of the papal liturgy. The use of a staff is not mentioned in descriptions of Papal Masses in the '' Ordines Romani''. In the early days of the Church a pope would sometimes carry a crosier, but this practice disappeared by the time of Pope Innocent III. He noted in his ''De Sacro altaris mysterio'' ("Concerning the Sacred Mystery of the Altar", I, 62): "The Roman Pontiff does not use the shepherd's staff." The reason was that a crosier is often given by the metropolitan archbishop (or another bishop) to a newly elected bishop during his investiture or epis ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Christian Cross
The Christian cross, seen as representing the crucifixion of Jesus, is a religious symbol, symbol of Christianity. It is related to the crucifix, a cross that includes a ''corpus'' (a representation of Jesus' body, usually three-dimensional) and to the more general family of cross, cross symbols. The term '':wikt:cross, cross'' is now detached from its original specifically Christian meaning, in Early Modern English, modern English and many other Western languages. The basic forms of the cross are the Latin cross with unequal arms and the Greek cross with equal arms; there are numerous Christian cross variants, variants, partly with confessional significance—such as the tau cross, the Patriarchal cross, double-barred cross, Papal cross, triple-barred cross, and Jerusalem cross, cross-and-crosslets—and many heraldic cross, heraldic variants, such as the cross potent, cross pattée, and cross moline, cross fleury. Pre-Christian symbolism A version of the cross symbol was use ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Pope
The pope is the bishop of Rome and the Head of the Church#Catholic Church, visible head of the worldwide Catholic Church. He is also known as the supreme pontiff, Roman pontiff, or sovereign pontiff. From the 8th century until 1870, the pope was the sovereign or head of state of the Papal States, and since 1929 of the much smaller Vatican City state. From a Catholic viewpoint, the primacy of the bishop of Rome is largely derived from his role as the apostolic successor to Saint Peter, to whom Petrine primacy, primacy was conferred by Jesus, who gave Peter the Keys of Heaven and the powers of "binding and loosing", naming him as the "rock" upon which the Church would be built. The current pope is Leo XIV, who was elected on 8 May 2025 on the second day of the 2025 papal conclave. Although his office is called the papacy, the ecclesiastical jurisdiction, jurisdiction of the episcopal see is called the Holy See. The word "see" comes from the Latin for 'seat' or 'chair' (, refe ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Archiepiscopal Cross
An archiepiscopal cross (archbishop's cross) is a two-barred cross used by or to signify or dignify an archbishop. Similar to the patriarchal cross The patriarchal cross is a variant of the Christian cross, the religious symbol of Christianity, and is also known as the Cross of Lorraine. Similar to the Latin cross, the patriarchal cross possesses a smaller crossbar placed above the main o ..., it is typically made like a staff with the two barred cross up top and a very long downwards extending arm. References External links See section on Archiepiscopal and papal cross Crosses by function {{Christian crosses ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Heraldry
Heraldry is a discipline relating to the design, display and study of armorial bearings (known as armory), as well as related disciplines, such as vexillology, together with the study of ceremony, Imperial, royal and noble ranks, rank and genealogy, pedigree. Armory, the best-known branch of heraldry, concerns the design and transmission of the Achievement (heraldry), heraldic achievement. The achievement, or armorial bearings usually includes a coat of arms on a escutcheon (heraldry), shield, helmet (heraldry), helmet and Crest (heraldry), crest, together with any accompanying devices, such as supporters, Heraldic badge, badges, Heraldic flag, heraldic banners and mottoes. Although the use of various devices to signify individuals and groups goes back to Ancient history, antiquity, both the form and use of such devices varied widely, as the concept of regular, hereditary designs, constituting the distinguishing feature of heraldry, did not develop until the High Middle Ages. It i ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Archbishop
In Christian denominations, an archbishop is a bishop of higher rank or office. In most cases, such as the Catholic Church, there are many archbishops who either have jurisdiction over an ecclesiastical province in addition to their own archdiocese ( with some exceptions), or are otherwise granted a titular archbishopric. In others, such as the Lutheran Church of Sweden, the title is only borne by the leader of the denomination. Etymology The word ''archbishop'' () comes via the Latin . This in turn comes from the Greek , which has as components the etymons -, meaning 'chief', , 'over', and , 'guardian, watcher'. Early history The earliest appearance of neither the title nor the role can be traced. The title of "metropolitan" was apparently well known by the 4th century, when there are references in the canons of the First Council of Nicæa of 325 and Council of Antioch of 341, though the term seems to be used generally for all higher ranks of bishop, including patriarc ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Crosier
A crozier or crosier (also known as a paterissa, pastoral staff, or bishop's staff) is a stylized staff that is a symbol of the governing office of a bishop or abbot and is carried by high-ranking prelates of Roman Catholic, Eastern Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, Malankara Mar Thoma Syrian Church, Church of South India and some Anglican, Lutheran, United Methodist and Pentecostal churches. In Western Christianity the crozier typically takes the form of a shepherd's crook, a tool used to manage flocks of sheep and herds of goats. In Eastern Christianity, the crozier has two common forms: tau-shaped, with curved arms, surmounted by a small cross; or a pair of sculptured serpents or dragons curled back to face each other, with a small cross between them. Other typical insignia of prelates are the mitre, the pectoral cross, and the episcopal ring. History The origin of the crozier as a staff of authority is uncertain, but there were many secular and r ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Holy See Press Office
The Holy See Press Office (; ) is the press office of the Holy See. It publishes the official news of the activities of the Pope and of the various departments of the Roman Curia. All speeches, messages and documents, as well as the statements issued by the Director, are published in their entirety. The press office is located outside Vatican City, in Via della Conciliazione. Role The press office operates every day in Italian, although texts in other languages are also available. On 27 June 2015, Pope Francis, through an Ecclesiastical letter#Letters of the popes in modern times, apostolic letter issued ''motu proprio'' ("on his own initiative"), established the Secretariat for Communication in the Roman Curia. The Press Office was incorporated into it, but at the same time belongs to the Secretariat of State (Holy See), Secretariat of State. On 21 December 2015, Pope Francis appointed Greg Burke (journalist), Dr. Greg Burke, formerly the Communications Advisor for the Secti ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Papal Tiara
The papal tiara is a crown that was worn by popes of the Catholic Church from as early as the 8th century to the mid–20th century. It was last used by Pope Paul VI in 1963, and only at the beginning of his reign. The name ''tiara'' refers to the entire headpiece, including the various crowns, circlets, and diadems that have adorned it through the ages, while the three-tiered form that it took in the 14th century is also called the triregnum or the triple crown, and sometimes as the triple tiara. From 1143 to 1963, the papal tiara was solemnly placed on the pope's head during a papal coronation. The surviving papal tiaras are all in the triple form, the oldest from 1572. A representation of the triregnum combined with two crossed keys of Saint Peter is used as a symbol of the papacy and appears on papal documents, buildings and insignia, and on the flag of Vatican City. Actual use of the papal tiara has declined since the reign of Pope Paul VI, the last pope to have a corona ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Christian Crosses
The Christian cross, with or without a figure of Jesus, Christ included, is the main religious symbol of Christianity. A cross with a figure of Christ affixed to it is termed a crucifix and the figure is often referred to as the ''corpus'' (Latin for "body"). The term ''Greek cross'' designates a cross with arms of equal length, as in a plus sign, while the Latin cross designates a cross with an elongated descending arm. Numerous other variants have been developed during the Middle Ages, medieval period. Christian crosses are used widely in churches, on top of church buildings, on bibles, in heraldry, in personal jewelry, on hilltops, and elsewhere as an attestation or other symbol of Christianity. Crosses are a prominent feature of Christian Cemetery, cemeteries, either carved on Headstone, gravestones or as sculpted Stele, stelae. Because of this, planting small crosses is sometimes used in countries of Christian culture to mark the site of fatal accidents, or, such as the Z ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |