CtimbentS of the Roman see attained in various periods of Church history, for a long time they claimed and receh ed as bishops of Rome and patriarchs of the West only those rights and honors which also belonged to oilier bishops and patriarchs. See BlSHOP; PATRI- ARCH. When their superiority over other bishops and patriarchs came finally to be recognised and established, the popes were by no means regarded as absolute rulers of the Church, but their rights were limited and cir- cumscribed by general councils and secular princes. While the popes were with an unyielding consistency endeavoring to develop the extreme papal system which now prevails, many of the greatest scholars of the Church defended an episcopal system which as- signed to the pope a position similar to that of a con- stitutional monarch, and. in particular, maintained the superiority of a general council over the pope. At the general councils of Constance and Basle the friends of this view had an undisputed majority; and in the fol- lowing centuries the history of Gallicanism, of Febro- nius, of Joseph II. are some of many proofs that in several countries the episcopal system had numerous ad- herent-, even among bishops. After having been long on the decline, the episcopal system within the Roman Catholic Church was totally extinguished by the Vat- ican < 'ouncil. and the extensive rights which the popes. in the course of many centuries, had claimed as their exclusive monopoly, were recognised by the entire Church. A common division of the papal rights is thai into primtifn.tjitri.<ilir/iii)ii.i and primatus honoris. The former comprises the sovereign law of legislation, the supreme administration and the final decision on all Subjects relating to ecclesiastical offices, especially the right, of confirming, consecrating, transferring, and de- posing hishops; the regulation of all religious institu- tions, especially of the religious orders; the supreme ecclesiastical jurisdiction, the supreme right of super- vision, and the Bupreme management of ecclesiastical finance: and property; the highest authority in all doc- trinal questions. In the decisi if doctrinal questions
the popes have long claimed infallibility (q. v. I, and the Vatican Council has recognised this claim as a doctrine of the Roman < latholic < Ihurch. The pope has also the supreme righl of regulating the divine worship, of grant- ing indulgences i q. \ .), and the sole righ( of beatifi ing and canonizing deceased members of the Church. See
BEATIFK ITION; CANONIZATION. The jn iiim/iis honO-
ris comprises the following distinctions: l. The tiara, also called mitra turbinata cum corona, triregnum, reg-
hum, diadana, phrygium, < sisting of the bishop's cap
(mitra i encompassed with a triple golden crown. It is for the first time mentioned in the forged donation of Constantine (8th century), and was im- the first time used at the coronation of Nicholas II (858). The third
Regalia of the Pope of Rome.
crown was added to the mitra by Urban V (1362 1370 \. The pope receives it OH the day of coronation in the loggia of St. Peter's Church from two cardinal deacons, who place it upon his head with the words, "Accipe tiaram trihus coronis ornatam el scias, patrem te esse principum el regum, rectorem orbis in terra, vicarium ealvatoris nostri Jesu Christi, cui est honor in sseuula savulorum." The pope only wears the tiara at great ecclesiastical festivities and processions, but nol during the performance of ecclesiastical functions. •_>. The so- called pedum rectum, the straight bishop's staff orna- mented w ith a cross, but nol the crooked episcopal pas- toral staff. •">. The pallium, a vestment having the form of a scarf, composed of white wool, and embroid- ered with six black silken crosses. The pope sends it as a mark of honor to patriarchs, primates, metropol- itans, and sometimes to hishops. all of whom are only allowed to wear it within their own dioceses and on certain Occasions, while the pope wears it always and e\er\ u lure mi savin- mass. 1. The so-called adoratio, a homage which in the old < Oriental < Ihurch was shown to bishops and priests generally. It consists in kneel- ing down and kissing the pope's foot Gregory VII slid demanded it from princes, the Dictatus Gregorii saying on this subject, " Quod solius paps pedes omnes principes deosculentiir." The kiss upon the cross on the
pope's shoes is si ill demanded from clergymen and lay- men, but an exception is made with princes and persons of higher rank. Sovereign princes only kiss the hand. cardinals the foot and the hand, after which they are admitted to an embrace; archbishops and bishops the foot and the knee. 6. During the .Middle Ages the popes received from the princes the officium strepm, the
prince- holding the slirrups when the pope mounted
the horse, and leading the horse for a while. Among the princes who arc recorded to have rendered this homage were Louis II. Henry VI. Henry VII. Frederick III, Charles V, and Philip IN' of France. Of Frederick Barbarossa, pope Adrian IV complained that he held the
left, instead of the ri^hl stirrup.
2. Dress, etc. At home the pope's habit ts a white-ailk
cassock, rochet, and scarlet mantle. In winter In wears
a fur cap ; in summer b satin one. Winn lie celebrates mass, the color of Ids habit varies according to the so-
POPE
405
POPE
The Pope seated in the Pontifical Chair.