Anne Van Tilburg
wrote:
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Hi Mike,
Could you please tell me:
- When the Holy See first started?
- Who started it?
- In which year? and
- Also, why is it called the Holy See?
Kind Regards,
Anne
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{
When was the Holy See first established, who started it, and why is it called the Holy See? }
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Mike replied:
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Hi Ann,
I found this article on New Advent that may answer some, if not all, of
your questions:
From this article I deduced the following:
You said:
- Could you please tell me when the Holy See first
started?
The origin of these terms can only be approximately
ascertained.
You said:
It was first used to designate the Churches founded
by the Apostles
You said:
33 A.D. or a few years after
You said:
- Why is it called Holy See?
Holy See comes from the Latin for: Holy Chair [of Peter, like Mose's Chair
in the Old Testament]
The word holy means to be set apart from. . . the world.
I have included the whole article below along with an official definition from the Sunday Visitor's Encyclopedia of Catholic History.
I hope this helps,
Mike
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The term "Holy See"
from New Advent
Holy See
(From the Latin Sancta Sedes, Holy
Chair).
A term derived from the enthronement-ceremony of the
bishops of Rome. The seat or chair in question must not
be confounded with the ancient sedes gestatoria in the
centre of the apse of St. Peter's, and immemorially venerated
as the cathedra Petri, or Chair of Peter; the term means,
in a general sense, the actual seat (i.e. residence)
of the supreme pastor of the Church, together with the
various ecclesiastical authorities who constitute the
central administration.
In this canonical and diplomatic sense, the term is
synonymous with:
- "Apostolic See"
- "Holy
Apostolic See"
- "Roman Church"
- "Roman
Curia".
The origin of these terms can only be approximately
ascertained. The word sedes, "chair", is an
old technical term applicable to all episcopal sees.
It was first used to designate the Churches founded by
the Apostles; later the word was applied to the principal
Christian Churches. These ecclesiae dictae majores were
understood to be the five great patriarchal sees of Christian
antiquity:
- Rome
- Alexandria
- Antioch
- Jerusalem, and
- Constantinople.
To these the word sedes was applied: "quod
in iis episcopi sederent in thronis", and of Rome
it was expressly said: "Romana quidem erat prima
sedes propria dicta." Thus, Gelasius I (492-496)
at a Roman council: "Est ergo prima Petri apostoli
sedes." In the earliest Christian writings, also,
we often find references to the see or chair of Peter: "Sedet
in cathedra Petri". Throughout the early Middle
Ages the term was constantly in official use. Thus, in
the "Liber Pontificalis" (ed. Duchesne, II,
Paris, 1892, 7), under Leo III (795-816): "Nos
sedem apostolicam, quae est caput omnium Dei ecclesiarum,
judicare non audemus." (We dare not judge the Apostolic See,
which is the head of all the Churches of God.) We can
thus readily understand how Holy See came be the technical
term for the pope, the central ecclesiastical government,
and the actual abode of the same.
The papal reservations of benefices, customary in the
Middle Ages, made necessary a more exact knowledge of
the location of the "Holy See", e.g. when the
incumbent of a benefice happened to die "apud sanctam
sedem". Where was the "Holy See", when
the pope lived apart from the ordinary central administration?
From the thirteenth to the fifteenth century we find
no satisfactory solution of this question, and can only
observe the decisions of the Curia in individual cases.
Thus, it was not deemed necessary that the pope should
reside in Rome: "Ubi Papa, ibi Curia", i.e.,
it was taken for granted that the Curia or machinery
of administration always followed the pope. This is clearly
shown by an interesting case under Nicholas III, who
lived at Soriano from 8 June, 1280, till his death on
22 August of the same year. There were with him only
his personal attendants, and the officials in charge
of the papal seal (bullatores). The Curia, properly speaking,
was at Viterbo, whither the pope frequently went to transact
affairs, and where he also gave audiences: "Audientiam
suam fecit." Nevertheless, he ordered Bulls to be
dated from Soriano, which was done (Baumgarten, "Aus
K. und Kammer", Freiburg, 1907, 279). More than
a century later, as appears from the official rules drawn
up under Benedict XIII (Pedro de Luna; rules 148, 151,
158) and John XXIII (rule 68), this important point was
still undecided. The aforesaid rules of Benedict XIII
and John XXIII appeared on 28 November, 1404, and 5 June,
1413, respectively (Von Ottenthal, "Die papstlichen
Kanzleiregeln von Johann XXII bis Nikolaus V", Innsbruck,
1888, pp. 148, 151, 152, and 185). During the journey
of Martin V (1417-1431) from Constance to Rome it frequently
occurred that the pope and ecclesiastical authorities
were separated from each other; even at this late date
the official location of the "Holy See", in
as far as this was legally important, was not yet authoritatively
fixed. This uncertainty, says Bangen, caused Clement
VIII to draw up the Constitution: "Cum ob nonnullas",
in which it is laid down that, if the pope and the pontifical
administration should not reside in the same place, the
utterances of both are authoritative, provided they are
in agreement with each other. Covarruvias and Gonzalez
agree that: "Curia Romana ibi censetur esse, ubi
est papa cum cancellaria et tribunalibus et officialibus
suis, quos ad regimen ecclesiae adhibet" (the Roman
Curia is considered to be where the pope is, with the
chancery, tribunals, and officials whom he employs in
the Government of the Church). (Bangen, "Die römische
Kurie", Münster, 1854, I, i, 5). Hinschius
(System des katholischen Kirchenrechts, III, Berlin,
1883, 135, remark 6) follows the medieval opinion: "Ubi
Papa, ibi Curia"; but this seems no longer tenable. |
From the Sunday Visitor's Encyclopedia of Catholic History on CD-ROM:
Holy See Term considered synonymous with the Apostolic
See that is used to describe the sovereignty, authority,
and jurisdiction wielded by the pope and the central
administration, spiritual and temporal, of the Church.
While the Holy See exercises its jurisdiction in Rome,
it should not be confused or considered the same as the
Stato della Città del Vaticano (State of Vatican
City), which is merely the territorial possession of
the papacy as guaranteed by the Lateran Treaty of 1929
and assuring the independence of the Holy See to conduct
its universal mission. The Holy See has a dual significance:
as a see it denotes the presence of the local bishop's
administration or government over a diocese, but the
use of “Holy” (or Apostolic) makes clear
the unique position of the see. As the successor of St.
Peter, the pope is the sovereign pontiff, visible head
of the Church, and holder of supreme, absolute jurisdiction
over the entire Church, governing with the full authority
of St. Peter.
The pope is assisted in the administration of the Church
by various aides and organs of government. These are
the congregations, the Secretariat of State, tribunals,
and commissions, often collectively called the Roman
Curia or also known as dicasteries. Through them, authority
is transmitted to the entire Church orders or jurisdictions
to the bishops, vicars apostolic, prefects apostolic,
superiors of the religious institutes, superiors of missions,
and others. The function and duties of the Curia are
clearly defined in the Code of Canon Law (Canons 330-367)
and in the apostolic constitution Pastor Bonus, issued
by Pope John Paul II on June 28, 1988.
Although it is common parlance to say that diplomats
from various countries are posted to the Vatican, it
is more correct to state that diplomatic representation
is to the Holy See. The Holy See is the world's oldest
sovereign state to participate in international relations,
remaining so even after the liquidation of the temporal
possessions of the papacy in 1870. The popes are represented
in many lands by diplomats of various ranks, depending
upon the current state of diplomatic relations ¾ representatives
may range from apostolic delegates to pro-nuncios to
nuncios who enjoy senior status in any diplomatic corps.
(For the history of the temporal holdings of the papacy,
see Papal States; also Vatican and Vatican City, State
of; see also Cardinals, College of and Curia, Roman.)
The origin of the term and the understanding of its
authority is somewhat obscure owing to the use of apostolic
see (sedes apostolicae) for those churches founded by
the Apostles; later the word sedes (or “see”)
was applied to the five great patriarchal sees of Christian
antiquity, Rome, Alexandria, Constantinople, Antioch,
and Jerusalem. Rome, however, had clear preeminence as
seen in the declaration of Pope Gelasius I (492-496): “Est
ergo prima Petri apostoli sedes.” The Liber Pontificalis
states under the entry for Pope Leo III (795-816): “Nos
sedem apostolicam, quae est caput omnium Dei ecclesiarum,
judicare non audemus” (“We dare not to judge
the Holy See which is head of all the Churches of God”).
Scholars are thus able to trace the application of the
term Holy See in denoting the pope and the central administration
of the Church. In those times, the 1200s to the 1400s,
when, for various reasons, the popes departed Rome, it
was accepted that the administration went with him ¾ “Ubi
papa, ibi Curia” (“Where there is the pope,
there is the Curia”) ¾ although for a long
time there was uncertainty as to where the Holy See was
actually fixed. To clarify legal questions arising out
of the infrequent but problematic separation of the pope
and the Curia, Pope Clement VIII (r. 1592-1605) issued
the constitution Cum ob nonnullas, establishing the principle
that if the pontiff and Curia are separated, the proclamations
of both are considered legal, provided that they are
in full agreement with each other.
Matthew Buson. Our Sunday Visitor's
Encyclopedia of Catholic History. Copyright © 1995,
Our Sunday Visitor. |
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John replied:
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Hi Ann,
Just to add to what Mike said, I would think that the title Apostolic
See would have come some time after the death of the Apostles to distinguish
the Churches that were established by Apostles.
There were three major Apostolic Sees at the begriming. Interestingly
enough, they were somehow connected to Peter.
- We know that Peter was first
the Bishop of Antioch and then went on to Rome, so Rome became the
first in the order.
- Antioch then became second.
- The third was Alexandria which
was established by Mark. He was not one of the twelve but traveled
with Peter and wrote the Gospel of Mark.
The three primary Sees are all Petrine. Later, Constantinople was established.
Notice that Paul was the first to preach in Ephesus. He
left Timothy as Bishop. Later, the Apostle John came to
Ephesus, yet Ephesus was never an Apostolic See, so
the establishments of Apostolic Sees also had much to do
with the centrality and importance of the city. The title
also is related to the development of Liturgical norms and practices.
Later
these cities became administrative centers for the local Churches. In
some ways, Sees were established to govern the Church. To use a political
analogy, Rome was the capitol of the West and of the whole Church, while
the other sees were capitols of the local Church.
John
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