''Quartus supra'' ('' wenty-our'') is an

encyclical 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 ...

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 po ...

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 hist ...

, dated 6 January 1873, addressed to the

Armenian Catholic Church The Armenian Catholic Church is an Eastern Catholic Churches, Eastern Catholic particular church ''sui iuris'' of the Catholic Church. It accepts the papal supremacy, leadership of the bishop of Rome, and is therefore in full communion with ...

. The encyclical discusses the then-ongoing

schism A schism ( , , or, less commonly, ) is a division between people, usually belonging to an organization, movement, or religious denomination. The word is most frequently applied to a split in what had previously been a single religious body, suc ...

within the Patriarchate of Cilicia, the election of bishops, and supremacy of 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 ...

Context

In 1867, the

bull A bull is an intact (i.e., not Castration, castrated) adult male of the species ''Bos taurus'' (cattle). More muscular and aggressive than the females of the same species (i.e. cows proper), bulls have long been an important symbol cattle in r ...

''Reversurus'' imposed 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 ...

standards for electing bishops onto the

, specifically by barring the

laity In religious organizations, the laity () — individually a layperson, layman or laywoman — consists of all Church membership, members who are not part of the clergy, usually including any non-Ordination, ordained members of religious orders, e ...

from the elections. This led to dissension among the Armenian Catholic laity. Additionally, the bull merged the Eparchy of Constantinople with the Patriarchate of Cilicia. In 1870, the

First Vatican Council The First Ecumenical Council of the Vatican, commonly known as the First Vatican Council or Vatican I, was the 20th ecumenical council of the Catholic Church, held three centuries after the preceding Council of Trent which was adjourned in 156 ...

ruled that the

is preserved from error when speaking ''

ex cathedra Papal infallibility is a Dogma in the Catholic Church, dogma of the Catholic Church which states that, in virtue of the promise of Jesus to Saint Peter, Peter, the Pope when he speaks is preserved from the possibility of error on doctrine "in ...

''. This prompted a

within the Armenian Catholic Church in 1871 and the election of the rival Catholic Armenian

patriarch The highest-ranking bishops in Eastern Orthodoxy, Oriental Orthodoxy, the Roman Catholic Church (above major archbishop and primate), the Hussite Church, Church of the East, and some Independent Catholic Churches are termed patriarchs (and ...

Jacob Pahtiarian whom the Holy See considers, along with his followers, as schismatic. Followers of Jacob Pahtiarian seized local churches and forced the Patriarch Andon Bedros IX Hassoun into exile. Consequently Jacob Pahtiarian and his followers were

excommunicated Excommunication is an institutional act of religious censure used to deprive, suspend, or limit membership in a religious community or to restrict certain rights within it, in particular those of being in communion with other members of the con ...

in 1872.

Content

Pope Pius IX addresses the encyclical to the "Patriarch of Cilicia, and the Archbishops, Bishops, Clergy and Laity, Our Beloved Children of the

Armenian Rite The Armenian Rite () is a liturgical rite used by both the Armenian Apostolic and the Armenian Catholic churches. Isaac of Armenia, the Catholicos of All Armenians, initiated a series of reforms with help from Mesrop Mashtots in the 5th cent ...

Who are in Loving Communion with the

Apostolic See An apostolic see is an episcopal see whose foundation is attributed to one or more of the apostles of Jesus or to one of their close associates. In Catholicism, the phrase "The Apostolic See" when capitalized refers specifically to the See of ...

". The encyclical can be summarized into the following sections: * A summary of the events leading to the

Constantinople Constantinople (#Names of Constantinople, see other names) was a historical city located on the Bosporus that served as the capital of the Roman Empire, Roman, Byzantine Empire, Byzantine, Latin Empire, Latin, and Ottoman Empire, Ottoman empire ...

. * An appeal to the Ottoman Sultan Abdulaziz to end the

. * A warning that the schismatics may prevail due to their deceptive use of the word "Catholic". * An assertion of

papal primacy Papal primacy, also known as the primacy of the bishop of Rome, is an ecclesiological doctrine in the Catholic Church concerning the respect and authority that is due to the pope from other bishops and their episcopal sees. While the doctri ...

. * A defense of

papal supremacy Papal supremacy is the doctrine of the Catholic Church that the Pope, by reason of his office as Vicar of Christ, the visible source and foundation of the unity both of the bishops and of the whole company of the faithful, and as priest of the ...

and the authority of the

to declare schismatics separate from the

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 ...

. * An explanation of the creation of the Eparchy of Constantinople and its subsequent merger with the Patriarchate of Cilicia. * An explanation of the means of electing a

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 reason for excluding the laity, and a defense of the

's right to appoint bishops in time of necessity. * The distinction between civil law and ecclesial law, and the Holy See's respect for the Ottoman government's civil authority.

References

External links

{{Wikisource, la:Quartus supra, Quartus supra
Original Latin text
* iarchive:encyclical-quartus-supra-pope-pius-ix/, ''The Tablet'' English translation (from the 22 and 29 March 1873 issues) Documents of Pope Pius IX 19th-century Christian texts 19th-century Catholicism Papal encyclicals 1873 documents 1873 in Christianity

Context

Content

See also

References

External links