Antipope
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An antipope is one who, in opposition to the generally recognized Pope, makes a widely accepted claim to be the lawful Pope. In several cases, it is hard to tell which was in fact the lawful Pope and which the antipope. In its list of the Popes, the Holy See's annual directory, Annuario Pontificio, attaches to the name of Pope Leo VIII (963-965) the following note: "At this point, as again in the mid-eleventh century, we come across elections in which problems of harmonizing historical criteria and those of theology and canon law make it impossible to decide clearly which side possessed the legitimacy whose factual existence guarantees the unbroken lawful succession of the Successors of Saint Peter. The uncertainty that in some cases results has made it advisable to abandon the assignation of successive numbers in the list of the Popes."
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History
The earliest antipope, Hippolytus, was elected in protest against Pope Callixtus I by a schismatic group in the city of Rome in the 3rd century. Hippolytus was exiled to the mines on the island of Sardinia in the company of Callixtus' successor Pope Pontian, was reconciled to the Catholic Church before his death, and has been canonized by the Church. The Catholic Encyclopedia also mentions a Natalius[1], before Hippolytus, as first antipope, who, according to Eusebius's EH5.28.8-12, quoting the Little Labyrinth of Hippolytus, after being "scourged all night by the holy angels", covered in ash, dressed in sackcloth, and "after some difficulty", tearfully submitted to Pope Zephyrinus.
The period when antipopes were most numerous was during the struggles between the Popes and the Holy Roman Emperors of the 11th and 12th centuries. The emperors frequently imposed their own nominees, in order to further their cause. (The popes, likewise, sometimes sponsored rival imperial claimants in Germany in order to overcome a particular emperor.)
The Great Western Schism, which, on the grounds of the allegedly invalid election of Pope Urban VI, began in 1378 with the election of Clement VII, who took up residence in Avignon, France, led to two, and eventually three, rival lines of claimants to papacy: the Roman line, the Avignon line, and the Pisan line. The last-mentioned line was named after the town of Pisa, Italy, where the council that elected Alexander V as a third claimant was held. To end the schism, the Council of Constance deposed, in May 1415, John XXIII of the Pisan line, whose claim to legitimacy was based on a council's choice, Pope Gregory XII of the Roman line resigned in July 1415, and the Council formally deposed Benedict XIII of the Avignon line, who refused to resign, in July 1417, after which Pope Martin V was elected and was accepted everywhere except in the small and rapidly diminishing area that remained faithful to Benedict XIII.
The scandal of multiple claimants added to the demands for reform that produced the Protestant Reformation at the turn of the 16th century.
There has not been an antipope since 1449 (unless Sedevacantist antipopes are counted - see below). Other schisms such as those of the Church of England, the Old Catholic Church and the Chinese Patriotic Catholic Association were rejections of papal authority, not the setting up of a rival Pope.
List of antipopes
- St. Hippolytus (reconciled with Pope St. Pontian and died as martyr to the church), 217–235
- Novatian, 251–258
- Felix II (confused with a martyr with the same name and thus considered an authentic pope until recently), 355–365
- Ursicinus (Ursinus), 366–367
- Eulalius, 418–419
- Laurentius, 498–499, 501–506
- Dioscorus (perhaps legitimate, died 22 days after election, opposed to Boniface II), 530
- Theodore (II) (opposed to Conon), 687
- Paschal (I) (opposed to Conon), 687
- Theofylact, 757
- Constantine II, 767–768
- Philip (succeeded antipope Constantine II, but returned to his monastery on the very day of his election), 768
- John VIII, 844
- Anastasius III Bibliothecarius, 855
- Christopher, 903–904
- Boniface VII, 974, 984–985
- John Filagatto (John XVI), 997–998
- Gregory VI, 1012
- Sylvester III, 1045
- John Mincius (Benedict X), 1058–1059
- Pietro Cadalus (Honorius II), 1061–1064
- Guibert of Ravenna (Clement III), 1080, 1084–1100
- Theodoric, 1100–1101
- Adalbert, 1101
- Maginulf (Sylvester IV), 1105–1111
- Maurice Burdanus (Gregory VIII), 1118–1121
- Thebaldus Buccapecuc (Celestine II) 1124
- Pietro Pierleoni (Anacletus II), 1130–1138
- Gregorio Conti (Victor IV), 1138
- Ottavio di Montecelio (Victor IV), 1159–1164
- Guido di Crema (Paschal III), 1164–1168
- Giovanni of Struma (Callixtus III), 1168–1178
- Lanzo of Sezza (Innocent III), 1179–1180
- Pietro Rainalducci (Nicholas V), 1328–1330
- Robert of Geneva (Clement VII), Pope of the Avignon line, 20 September 1378 – 16 September 1394
- Pedro de Luna (Benedict XIII), Pope of the Avignon line, 1394–1423
- Pietro Philarghi Alexander V, Pope of the Pisan line, 1409–1410
- Baldassare Cosa John XXIII, Pope of the Pisan line, 1410–1415
- Gil Sánchez Muñoz (Clement VIII), Pope of the Avignon line, 1423–1429
- Bernard Garnier (the first Benedict XIV), Pope of the Avignon line, 1425–c. 1429
- Jean Carrier (the second Benedict XIV), Pope of the Avignon line, 1430–1437?
- Duke Amadeus VIII of Savoy (Felix V), 5 November 1439 – 7 April 1449
Sedevacantist antipopes
Some breakaway Catholics today, called sedevacantists, claim the current Popes are heretics for various reforms which sedevacantists see as innovations in the practices of Roman Catholic Church which were adopted during the reigns of Pope John XXIII and Pope Paul VI, including aspects of the Second Vatican Council. Chief among these criticized reforms is the replacing of the Tridentine Mass. Many sedevacantists also object to the celebration of the Mass in the vernacular, despite the fact that various provisions existed for the celebration of the Mass in the vernacular before Pope John XXIII. Since the opinion of many Catholic theologians is that a heretical Pope would cease to be Catholic and therefore cease to be Pope, sedevacantists believe the current Bishops of Rome are not actually popes. Some sedevacantist groups have their own popes to replace the popes they reject. They are sometimes called antipopes, but, in contrast to historical antipopes, the number of their followers is minuscule and they do not qualify for the title of "antipope" as defined by the Encyclopaedia Britannica, 1998 CD-ROM edition: "in the Roman Catholic church, one who opposes the legitimately elected bishop of Rome, endeavours to secure the papal throne, and to some degree succeeds materially in the attempt." Some of them have developed their own religious infrastructure, thus being popes of their particular sect, while for the Roman Catholic Church as generally recognized they are merely excommunicated schismatics.
Sedevacantists regard the widely recognized successors of Pope Pius XII as antipopes.
A significant number have taken the name "Peter II", due to its special significance; see Antipope Peter II.
Antipopes of the 20th-21st centuries
Palmarian Catholic Church
- Clemente Domínguez y Gómez (Gregory XVII), mystically self-proclaimed (1978–2005) in Spain, pope of the Palmarian Catholic Church.
- Manuel Alonso Corral (Peter II), succeeded Gregory XVII as the Pope of the Palmarian Catholic Church in 2005 in Spain
Reformed Church of Christ/Apostles of Infinite Love
- Michel-Auguste-Marie Collin (Clement XV), self-proclaimed in 1950 and 1963 in Clémery, France (later at St. Jovite, Canada), Pope of the "Renewed Church of Christ" or "Church of the Magnificat"
- Jean-Gaston Tremblay (Gregory XVII), who in 1968, six years before the death of Clement XV, broke away from him, in Canada; not to be confused with the Canadian politician Gaston Tremblay
Conclavist movements
These antipopes are (for the most part) not self-proclaimed in the strictest sense but organized and held elections of 'faithful' Catholics, none of them recognized as cardinals. The verifiable smallest of these 'Conclaves' was attended by only 6 electors, the size of the largest is not known but claimed to be at least larger than the conclave which elected Pope Pius XII.
- David Bawden (Michael I), self-proclaimed in 1990 in Kansas, United States of America ("conclave" of 6 electors)
- Victor von Pentz (Linus II), either self-proclaimed in 1994 in Hertfordshire, United Kingdom or elected by several Sedevacantists in Assisi (disputed)
- Lucian Pulvermacher (Pius XIII), self-proclaimed in 1998 in Montana, United States of America, Pope of the self-proclaimed "true Catholic Church". Claims to have been elected by a conclave of a secret number but at least 61 electors.
- Reinaldus Michael Benjamins (Antipope Gregory XIX) self-proclaimed in 2001 in New York, United States of America.
People who have taken the name "Peter II"
- Chester Olszewski of Pennsylvania, USA, self-proclaimed in 1980
- Aimé Baudet of Belgium (1984)
- Pierre Henri Buboisof Brussels, Belgium (1985)
- Maurice Archieri of Le Perreux, France, self-proclaimed in 1995
- Julius Tischler of Germany (1998)
- William Kamm of Australia, Pope of the "Order of Saint Charbel" movement
Other self-proclaimed popes
- Gino Frediani (Emmanuel I) (1973-1974–1984) in Italy, Pope of the "New Church of the Holy Heart of Jesus"
- Valeriano Vestini (Valerian I) (1990) in the Chieti, Italy
- Zladko, the artist, in the song "Anti-Pope", as Moldovia's 2005 contributal to the European song-contest, although he has singers in the back to proclaim him aswell.
See also
- Trentidines recognise the Roman pope, but dispute theology. Notable among these is Michael Cox, of Cree, Birr, Co. Offaly, who infamously ordained Sinead O'Connor and Bishop Pat Buckley and conducts weddings of those the regular church refuses to entertain.
Sources and references
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