page_title: Pontifex maximus
section_title: Catholic Church use of the title
hierarchical_section_title: Pontifex maximus / Catholic Church use of the title
caption_attribution_description: Neu-eröffnete Welt-Galleria. ..., Nürnberg 1703. 1. Clemens XI. Pontifex Maximus.
context_page_description: The pontifex maximus was the chief high priest of the College of Pontiffs in ancient Rome. This was the most important position in the ancient Roman religion, open only to patricians until 254 BC, when a plebeian first occupied this post. A distinctly religious office under the early Roman Republic, it gradually became politicized until, beginning with Augustus, it was subsumed into the Imperial office. Its last use with reference to the emperors is in inscriptions of Gratian who, however, then decided to omit the words "pontifex maximus" from his title. Although in fact the most powerful office of Roman priesthood, the pontifex maximus was officially ranked fifth in the ranking of the highest Roman priests, behind the rex sacrorum and the flamines maiores.
  The word "pontifex" and its derivative "pontiff" later became terms used for Catholic bishops, including the Bishop of Rome, and the title of "pontifex maximus" was applied within the Catholic Church to the pope as its chief bishop and appears on buildings, monuments and coins of popes of Renaissance and modern times.
context_section_description: When Tertullian, a Montanist, furiously applied the term to some bishop with whom he was at odds (either Pope Callixtus I or Agrippinus of Carthage), c 220, over a relaxation of the Church's penitential discipline allowing repentant adulterers and fornicators back into the Church, it was in bitter irony:
  In opposition to this [modesty], could I not have acted the dissembler? I hear that there has even been an edict sent forth, and a peremptory one too. The "Pontifex Maximus," that is the "bishop of bishops," issues an edict: "I remit, to such as have discharged [the requirements of] repentance, the sins both of adultery and of fornication." O edict, on which cannot be inscribed, "Good deed!"... Far, far from Christ's betrothed be such a proclamation!
  — Tertullian, On Modesty ch. 1
  The last traces of Emperors being at the same time chief pontiffs are found in inscriptions of Valentinian I, Valens, and Gratian (Orelli, Inscript. n1117, 1118). From the time of Theodosius I (r 379–395), the emperors no longer appear in the dignity of pontiff, but the title was later applied to the Christian bishop of Rome. In 382, the Emperor Gratian, at the urging of Ambrose, removed the Altar of Victory from the Forum, withdrew the state subsidies that funded many pagan activities and formally renounced the title of Pontifex Maximus.
  In the 15th century, when the Renaissance stirred up new interest in ancient Rome, "Pontifex Maximus" became a regular title of honour for Popes.
  While the title Pontifex Maximus has for some centuries been used in inscriptions referring to the Popes, it has never been included in the official list of papal titles published in the Annuario Pontificio.
  The title of "Pontifex Maximus" thus has a very ancient history, dating back to the times of the Roman Republic, but it does not predate the word "pope" itself (in Greek, "πάππας"), which is found already in the time of Homer as a name used by a child for addressing a father. This title likewise is not included in the official list of his titles, but is used in official documents such as the headings of encyclicals and similar documents, while the title "Pontifex Maximus" appears in inscriptions on buildings and on coins and medallions.
caption: Engraving by Christoph Weigel the Elder of Pope Clement XI, giving him the title Pontifex Maximus
exif: {"Image Orientation": "Horizontal (normal)", "Image XResolution": "72", "Image YResolution": "72", "Image ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Image YCbCrPositioning": "Centered", "Image ExifOffset": "102", "EXIF ExifVersion": "0200", "EXIF ComponentsConfiguration": "YCbCr", "EXIF FlashPixVersion": "0101", "EXIF ColorSpace": "sRGB", "EXIF ExifImageWidth": "1695", "EXIF ExifImageLength": "2564"}