www.byzcath.org Forums General Discussions Town Hall Byzantine Pope?

Good Morning,
I was wondering if there has ever been a pope from the Byzantine tradition? Could it be possible in the future? I think the West could learn immensely from the richness & depth of the Byzantine tradtion .

Use this link and you will see that there are quite a few popes who were from the Byzantine Empire...many Greeks, especially in the early days of the Church and from Anatolia and other places.

http://www.trosch.org/for/popes-ca.htm

In His great mercy,
+Fr. Gregory

It is indeed possible Wolfgang and Pope John XXIII only just won the election for the See of Peter against the Armenian Patriarch, Cardinal Gregory Peter Agajanian XV.

Eastern Popes and those who were influenced by the East:

The Greek popes were: Cletus (91), Telesphorus (139), Hyginus (142), Eleutherius (192), Anterus (235), Sixtus II (258), Eusebius (310), Zosimus (418), Theodore I (649), Agatho (681), Leo II (683), John VI (705), John VII (707), and Zacharias (752).


The Syrian popes were: Evaristus (107), Anicetus (168), John V (687), Serguis I (701), Sisinnius (708), Constantine I (715), and Gregory III (732). I shall give brief biographical sketches of the Eastern popes among these who distinguished themselves in the government of the universal Church.


St. Anicetus (155-166) was an inhabitant of Hims, Syria and most likely was martyred under Marcus Aurelius. He is particularly noted for his efforts against the heresies of Valentine and Marcion. It was during his pontificate that St. Polycarp, the great Bishop of Smyrna, came to Rome in connection with the controversy about the date of Easter. His relics are kept now in the chapel of the Pontifical Spanish Institute and are venerated publicly with great ceremony on his annual feast day, April 17th.


John V (685-686), before his election, was the representative of the pope at Constantinople. He was a peacemaker and obtained tax exemption for the Roman domains of Sicily and Calabria from the Emperor of Constantinople.


Sergius I (687-701) came from a Syrian family, which had settled at Palermo, Sicily. Leo II appointed him the titular priest of the Church of St. Suzanna (he was responsible for its restoration). He championed the prerogatives of St. Peter against the Byzantine emperor Justinian II. As pope, he encouraged missionary work in France, England and Ireland. (He baptized the King of Wessex� Caedwalla.) He introduced into the Latin Liturgy, the prayer "Agnus Dei" at the moment of the breaking of the bread; he also solemnized the celebration of the four principal feasts of the Blessed Virgin: The Nativity, the Purification, the Annunciation, and the Dormition.


John VII (705-707) was a patron of the arts, responsible for the early mosaics of St. Peter's Basilica and the frescoes at St. Mary Antiqua, the finest extant examples of the art of his time.


Constantine I (708-715) was a champion of papal rights against the tyranny of the Byzantine emperors and against the Monothelite heresy, which taught that there was only one will in Christ. He was the first to wear the Tiara of Eastern origin. Most likely the lozenge shaped Greek "Epigonation" was adopted at this time. The pope alone among Western bishops wears it.


Gregory III (731-741) was a Benedictine of Syrian origin. He was noted for his linguistic abilities and his subtle sense of humor. A great missionary pope, he organized the religious structure of Germany under St. Boniface as Metropolitan. In 732, he condemned the Iconoclastic heresy and proclaimed his veneration for the holy images and relics by building a beautiful oratory, dedicated to all the saints, at Rome. It was he who obtained the political sovereignty of Rome (with himself as temporal ruler) from Pepin the Short. This sovereignty existed until 1870.


Zacharias (741-752) was last but not least of the great Eastern popes. He was a mild, meek man of great diplomacy and administration. An accomplished linguist, he translated into Greek the Dialogues of St. Gregory the Great. He was also a peacemaker with the emperor and furthered the work of St. Boniface in the final conversion of Germany.

In His Holy Name,
+Fr. Gregory

Dear Friends,

I think the reason this was possible was that the idea of a "particular church" hadn't taken hold and the liturgical tradition was, in the early years, rather similar i.e. the Litury of St Clement.

Plus the fact that the unity of the Church was tied to the unity of the New Roman/Byzantine Empire under the Emperor.

Alex

Myles,

You are correct in that after the repose of Pope Pius XII, His Beatitude and Eminence Gregory Peter (Krikor Bedros) XV Cardinal Aghagianian, Catholicos & Patriarch of Cilicia of the Armenias for All the Catholic Armenians & Archbishop of Cilicia of the Armenians, was considered a principal contender to be elected.

A full-length color photo of him appeared in a Life Magazine spread on those who were considered prime likelihoods for election.

He was a very handsome man and cast an imposing picture in his full patriarchal regalia - it was likely the first time that much of America had been exposed to a picture of an Eastern Patriarch and I remember hearing comments of amazement at the time. You can see a photo of him here [geocities.com] , albeit not the one that appeared, which was much more elegant.

Father Gregory and a few others of our ilk (and age) may recollect this as well.

Many years,

Neil

You forgot one! Pope Peter I was also from the East.

You got me! LOL But, I don't think we could really call him a Byzantine by Rite...could he???

Your poor brother in the Lord,
+Fr. Gregory

Here are the Eastern Cardinals eligible for election as the next Pope:

Cardinal-Bishops (Cardinal-Patriarchs):

H.B. Pierre Sfeir Nasrallah of the Maronites, 83
H.B. Ignace Moussa I Daoud of the Syrians (Ret.), 73
H.B. C.M. Stephanos II Ghattas of the Copts, 83

N.B. The respective Patriarchs of the Armenians, the Chaldeans, and the Melkites are not Cardinals (some say "refused" to be created Cardinals).

Cardinal-Priests:

Cardinal Vithayathil of the Syro-Malabars, 76
Cardinal Husar of the Ukrainians, 70

Cardinal-Deacon: None

Cardinals Daoud, Vithayathil and Husar, being under 80, are Cardinal electors, and also are eligible for election. While the others, although over 80, are still eligible for election under current Church laws.

As of today, there are 119 Cardinal electors out of the living 183 Cardinals of the Sacred College (64 Cardinals are 80 or over).

Other Cardinals who are Latin Rite but Eastern-born:

Josef Tomko, over 80, Slovakia
Janis Pujats, 75, Latvia
Vinko Puljic, 55, Bosnia-Herzegovina
Kazimierz Swiatek, over 80, Belarus
Marian Jaworski, 79, Lviv, Ukraine
Jan Chryzostom Korec, over 80, Slovakia
Audrys Juozas Backis, 63, Lithuania
Josip Bozanic, 51, Croatia
Thomas Spidlik, over 80, Czech Republic

N.B. I excluded Cardinals from Poland and Hungary.

Take your pick!

Amado

Dear Amado,

The only Popes of "different Rites" be have been elected in recent years were Pope Paul VI and Pope Pius XI who were Ambrosians.

The Pope is first and foremost the Patriarch of the West and of the Particular Latin Church.

In fact, his role as universal pastor is the only one that connects him to the Catholic East (the Vatican is much more connected . . .).

We of the East are in communion with him only as such - and not as "bishop of Rome, Metropolitan, Primate of Italy etc."

Frankly, it would be best for all the Eastern Primates and Patriarchs to follow the Armenian lead (and that of Met. Andrey Sheptytsky) and refuse to be nominated as Cardinals.

That title does more harm to our rights as Particular Churches than good, in my estimation.

Alex

Dear Alex:

I beg to disagree with your charaterization of the Pope as first and foremost a "Patriarch of the West."

As Supreme Pontiff, the Pope is first and foremost the Pastor of the universal Catholic Church.

His election as "Roman Pontiff" under the Apostolic Constitution UDG speaks towards his exercise of the "Petrine Ministry" as "Supreme Pontiff."

I might be misreading the provisions of the UDG, in conjunction with those of the Codes of Canons (East and West), but these current Church laws point to the "universality" of the Pope's office (the "Petrine Office").

In this vein, I personally think that Eastern Rite hierarchs should have a positive view on the Cardinalate.

But I am Latin!

Amado

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Amadeus:
Dear Alex:

I beg to disagree with your charaterization of the Pope as first and foremost a "Patriarch of the West."

As Supreme Pontiff, the Pope is first and foremost the Pastor of the universal Catholic Church.

His election as "Roman Pontiff" under the Apostolic Constitution UDG speaks towards his exercise of the "Petrine Ministry" as "Supreme Pontiff."

I might be misreading the provisions of the UDG, in conjunction with those of the Codes of Canons (East and West), but these current Church laws point to the "universality" of the Pope's office (the "Petrine Office").

In this vein, I personally think that Eastern Rite hierarchs should have a positive view on the Cardinalate.

But I am Latin!

Amado [/QUOTe

Amado,

This is also how it seems to me.

But I am also Latin even though leaning East.

Bless you,

Porter

Dear Amado,

Certainly, the Pope's greatest title (of the nine he bears) is "universal pontiff."

And it is ONLY with respect to this one title, great as it is, that EC's are in communion with him.

There is much for him to do in fulfilling the other 8 titles and roles for the Latin Church.

There is no reason for Eastern hierarchs to get involved therefore.

To put it another way, why should a Latin Cardinal wish to become head of an EC Particular Church as a Patriarch?

Not a good comparison, but it would if that Patriarch were like the Melkite Patriarch, in charge of a large territory.

What purpose would that serve?

The Eastern Patriarchs are really EQUALS in status to the Patriarch of the West - even though he is first.

The only reason why the East would want to have Cardinals is to try and elect a papal candidate who would be "nice" toward the East.

But one cannot ever predict those things anyway!

Again, why would the East want to have Cardinals, which is a title of the specifically Roman Church and why would the Catholic East concern itself with the election of the Pope who is the head of the Particular Latin Church and who should therefore reflect the spiritual culture of that Church?

Alex

First and foremost, the pope is the Bishop of Rome. In their capacity as clergy of the Local Church of Rome, the Cardinals elect the Bishop of Rome, not a Supreme Pontiff or Universal Pastor. Everything else (eg, Supreme Pontiff, Patriarch of the West, etc) flows from his being the Bishop of Rome.

Dear Father Deacon John,

I appreciate your support!

Alex