papacy

pa·pa·cy

noun \ˈpā-pə-sē\

the papacy : the office or position of the pope

: the time when a particular pope is in power

plural pa·pa·cies

Full Definition of PAPACY

1

:  the office of pope

2

:  a succession or line of popes

3

:  the term of a pope's reign

4

capitalized :  the system of government of the Roman Catholic Church of which the pope is the supreme head

Examples of PAPACY

1. He was selected by the cardinals for the papacy.

Origin of PAPACY

Middle English papacie, from Medieval Latin papatia, from Late Latin papa pope — more at pope

First Known Use: 14th century

Other Christian Religious Terms

Pentateuch, blasphemy, curate, doxology, eremite, iconoclasm, liturgy, orison, pneuma, reliquary

papacy

noun    (Concise Encyclopedia)

System of central government of the Roman Catholic church. Bishops led the early church, the bishop of Rome being accorded special respect by the end of the 1st century AD in part because of the belief that St. Peter was the first bishop of that city. St. Cyprian challenged that position of honour in the 3rd century, and in the 4th–5th century the power of the see of Constantinople rose to challenge that of Rome; the rivalry would culminate in the Schism of 1054 between the Eastern and Western churches. After the collapse of the Roman Empire, the papacy found protection under the wing of Charlemagne and his successors; in the 9th–10th century the German emperors controlled it. In 1059 Pope Nicholas II responded by vesting the right to name a new pope exclusively with the College of Cardinals. To establish the papacy's supremacy in Christian society, Gregory VII excommunicated Henry IV of Germany for disobedience to papal commands and decreed that civil rulers could not invest churchmen with temporal power (see Investiture Controversy). In the next centuries, the papacy developed into one of the most important and influential institutions in Europe, and Urban II, Innocent III, and Gregory IX were among the most significant popes of the period. The worldliness and corruption of the papal court that emerged at the same time and the “Babylonian Captivity” of the papacy at Avignon (see Avignon papacy) led to the Western Schism and eventually to the Reformation. The Council of Trent inaugurated the Counter-Reformation. In the 19th century the papacy lost its remaining temporal powers when the Papal States were incorporated into the new Kingdom of Italy. It maintained a conservative religious position, proclaiming infallibility in doctrinal matters and espousing the idea that the pope is the absolute ruler of the church. The Second Vatican Council gave the bishops, clergy, and laity more voice. See also Roman Catholicism.