An encyclical was originally a

circular Circular may refer to: * The shape of a circle * ''Circular'' (album), a 2006 album by Spanish singer Vega * Circular letter (disambiguation), a document addressed to many destinations ** Government circular, a written statement of government pol ...

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 member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of Episcopal polity, authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of di ...

. The word comes from the

Late Latin Late Latin is the scholarly name for the form of Literary Latin of late antiquity.Roberts (1996), p. 537. English dictionary definitions of Late Latin date this period from the 3rd to 6th centuries CE, and continuing into the 7th century in ...

(originally from the

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

, a Latinization of

Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...

(), meaning "circular", "in a circle", or "all-round", also part of the origin of the word

encyclopedia An encyclopedia is a reference work or compendium providing summaries of knowledge, either general or special, in a particular field or discipline. Encyclopedias are divided into article (publishing), articles or entries that are arranged Alp ...

). The term is now primarily associated with

papal encyclicals 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. The word comes from the Late Latin (originally fr ...

. The term has been used by

Catholics The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

Anglicans Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the ...

and the

Eastern Orthodox Church The Eastern Orthodox Church, officially the Orthodox Catholic Church, and also called the Greek Orthodox Church or simply the Orthodox Church, is List of Christian denominations by number of members, one of the three major doctrinal and ...

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 Pope Benedict XIV (; ; 31 March 1675 – 3 May 1758), born Prospero Lorenzo Lambertini, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 17 August 1740 to his death in May 1758. Pope Benedict X (1058–1059) is now con ...

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

Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

, a papal encyclical is a specific category of papal document, a kind of

pastoral The pastoral genre of literature, art, or music depicts an idealised form of the shepherd's lifestyle – herding livestock around open areas of land according to the seasons and the changing availability of water and pasture. The target au ...

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 Holy See (, ; ), also called the See of Rome, the Petrine See or the Apostolic See, is the central governing body of the Catholic Church and Vatican City. It encompasses the office of the pope as the Bishops in the Catholic Church, bishop ...

. 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 A papal brief or breve (from the Latin "''breve'', meaning "short") is a formal document emanating from the pope. History The introduction of briefs, which occurred at the beginning of the pontificate of Pope Eugene IV (3 March 1431 – 23 Februa ...

because of their more personal nature as opposed to the formal

papal bull A papal bull is a type of public decree, letters patent, or charter issued by the pope of the Catholic Church. It is named after the leaden Seal (emblem), seal (''bulla (seal), bulla'') traditionally appended to authenticate it. History Papal ...

. 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 Musical note, notes, having the same purpose. The word ''incipit'' comes from Latin an ...

''). They are usually written in

unless particularly addressed to the Bishops or the church of one region. Papal encyclicals not in Latin include the 1931 Italian

Non abbiamo bisogno ''Non abbiamo bisogno'' ( Italian for "We do not need") is a Roman Catholic encyclical published on 29 June 1931 by Pope Pius XI. Context The encyclical condemned what it perceived as Italian fascism's “ pagan worship of the State” ( sta ...

against Italian fascist suppression of groups like

Catholic Action Catholic Action is a movement of Catholic laity, lay people within the Catholic Church which advocates for increased Catholic influence on society. Catholic Action groups were especially active in the nineteenth century in historically Catholic cou ...

, and the 1937 German

Mit brennender Sorge ''Mit brennender Sorge'' ( , in English "With deep it. 'burning'anxiety") is an encyclical of Pope Pius XI, issued during the Nazi era on 10 March 1937 (but bearing a date of Passion Sunday, 14 March)."Church and state through the centu ...

against the Nazi idolization of race and nation.

Papal use

In the encyclical ''

Humani generis ''Humani generis'' is a papal encyclical that Pope Pius XII promulgated on 12 August 1950, "concerning some false opinions threatening to undermine the foundations of Catholic Doctrine". It primarily discussed, the encyclical says, "new opinion ...

'',

Pope Pius XII Pope Pius XII (; born Eugenio Maria Giuseppe Giovanni Pacelli; 2 March 18769 October 1958) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 2 March 1939 until his death on 9 October 1958. He is the most recent p ...

held that papal encyclicals, even when they are of ordinary

magisterium The magisterium of the Catholic Church is the church's authority or office to give authentic interpretation of the word of God, "whether in its written form or in the form of Tradition". According to the 1992 ''Catechism of the Catholic Church'' ...

, can nonetheless be sufficiently authoritative to end theological debate on a particular question:

Catholic social teaching Catholic social teaching (CST) is an area of Catholic doctrine which is concerned with human dignity and the common good in society. It addresses oppression, the role of the state, subsidiarity, social organization, social justice, and w ...

has advanced 19 encyclicals. On social issues,

Pope Leo XIII Pope Leo XIII (; born Gioacchino Vincenzo Raffaele Luigi Pecci; 2March 181020July 1903) was head of the Catholic Church from 20 February 1878 until his death in July 1903. He had the fourth-longest reign of any pope, behind those of Peter the Ap ...

promulgated the encyclical ''

Rerum novarum ''Rerum novarum'', 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, passed to all Catholic patriarchs, primates, archbishops, and bishops, which addressed the condi ...

'' (1891), which was followed by ''

Quadragesimo anno ''Quadragesimo anno'' () (Latin for "In the 40th Year") is an encyclical issued by Pope Pius XI on 15 May 1931, 40 years after Leo XIII's encyclical '' Rerum novarum'', further developing Catholic social teaching. Unlike Leo XIII, who addre ...

'' (1931) of

Pius XI Pope Pius XI (; born Ambrogio Damiano Achille Ratti, ; 31 May 1857 – 10 February 1939) was head of the Catholic Church from 6 February 1922 until his death in February 1939. He was also the first sovereign of the Vatican City State u ...

and '' Centesimus annus'' (1991) of

John Paul II Pope John Paul II (born Karol Józef Wojtyła; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 16 October 1978 until Death and funeral of Pope John Paul II, his death in 2005. In his you ...

. Pope Pius XII issued ten encyclicals, mostly after 1945, three of them protesting against the

Soviet The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

invasion of

Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...

which suppressed the Hungarian Revolution in 1956: ''

Datis nuperrime ''Datis nuperrime'' is an encyclical of Pope Pius XII dated 5 November 1956 concerning the Soviet invasion of Hungary to suppress the Hungarian Revolution of 1956. This is a second encyclical protesting the oppression of the Hungarian people. Pop ...

'', '' Laetamur admodum'' and '' Luctuosissimi eventus''.

Pope Paul VI Pope Paul VI (born Giovanni Battista Enrico Antonio Maria Montini; 26 September 18976 August 1978) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 21 June 1963 until his death on 6 August 1978. Succeeding John XXII ...

published an encyclical ''

Humanae vitae (Latin, meaning 'Of Human Life') is an encyclical written by Pope Paul VI and dated 25 July 1968. The text was issued at a Vatican press conference on 29 July. Subtitled ''On the Regulation of Birth'', it re-affirmed the teaching of the Catho ...

'' 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 pregnancy. Birth control has been used since ancient times, but effective and safe methods of birth control only be ...

Anglican usage

Amongst

Anglican Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the ...

s the term ''encyclical'' was revived in the late 19th century. It is applied to circular letters issued by the English

primate Primates is an order (biology), order of mammals, which is further divided into the Strepsirrhini, strepsirrhines, which include lemurs, galagos, and Lorisidae, lorisids; and the Haplorhini, haplorhines, which include Tarsiiformes, tarsiers a ...

Important Eastern Orthodox encyclicals

* Encyclical of the Eastern Patriarchs (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