Antipope

The Antipape Felix II

Antipapa is the person who, with the intention of being recognized as such or taking his place, usurps or intends to usurp the functions and powers that correspond to the legitimately elected Pope of the Catholic Church. Historically, the antipopes and their followers were not considered usurpers but the legitimate persons to hold the position of pontiff, pointing to the bishop of Rome as the one who lacked legitimacy to hold the position.

The title is used especially when it comes to the pope as the visible head of the Church as bishop of Rome, either in opposition to a pontiff or in periods of vacant see. The title of antipope does not imply adherence to a doctrine contrary to the Catholic faith, but the claim to seize jurisdiction that does not belong to him according to this Church.

Sometimes it is difficult to distinguish which of the two claimants should be called pope and which is antipope, as was the case with Leo VIII and Benedict V.

Causes

Historically, antipopes arose for various reasons, three main ones being:

• Doctrinal discordance.
• Political interference with temporary power.
• Double choice.

The first antipope was Saint Hippolytus of Rome, whose papacy lasted from 217 to 235, and the last canonically recognized by the Catholic Church was Felix V (1440-1449), elected by the Council of Basel.

Doctrinal disagreement

Occurs when one of the parties (most likely the antipope) differs doctrinally from the legitimate pontiff and is favored by the authorities or the people. The first antipope, (St. Hippolytus of Rome), was proclaimed due to his opposition to the popes San Ceferino and San Calixto I, whom he accused of laxity. Antipope Novatian also proclaimed himself for doctrinal disagreement by adopting Montanism, while Antipope Felix V was elected for favoring the conciliar theory of the Church.

In the 20th and 21st centuries, some antipopes appeared as a reaction against the Second Vatican Council. Some of them were supporters of sedevacantism for postulating that the see is vacant and therefore supported the need for an imperfect council or conclave to elect a new pontiff, this theory is called conclavism, for example Lucian Pulvermacher (Pius XIII), David Bawden (Michael I). Other modern antipopes claim to have received the position by mystical revelation, as is the case with the popes of the Palmarian Church.

Political interference of temporal power

It happened when temporal power actively intervened in the Catholic Church. Almost always the emperors (of the Roman Empire and later of the Holy Roman Empire) deposed the legitimate pontiff, exiled him or imprisoned him and put in his place one of his favorites if he contradicted them. Antipope Felix II was a clear example; Elevated to the papacy by Emperor Constantius II who leaned towards Arianism to the detriment of the legitimate Pope Liberius who was not an Arian. For purely political reasons, Pascual III can be cited, appointed by Federico I Barbarossa and installed in the Holy See, while the true pope, Alexander III, had to go into exile.

It has also happened that the provisions of temporal power influenced a legitimately elected pope, after his death, in order to collect old affronts. Such was the case with Pope Formoso, whose corpse was judged at the cadaverous council by Pope Stephen VI (who supported Lambert of Spoleto for the crown of the Holy Empire) for alleged ecclesiastical errors and heresy: he had him remove the pontifical garments, mutilate him and throw his remains into the Tiber, declaring him antipope. The Popes Teodoro II and Juan IX rehabilitated the figure of Formoso.

Double Choice

Occurs when two or more factions in the Church face each other and each organizes a conclave and elects its own pontiff. Given this situation, it is common for both popes to fight to seize Rome. It is the most complex of all situations, because there were times when it was difficult to determine which pope was the legitimate one.

Between the years 896 and 904 several popes and antipopes were elected. The situation came to a head when Rome found itself seriously divided between the supporters of Pope Leo V and the antipope Christopher. The situation was saved after Sergio III (third to claim the pontificate) seized the two disputants and had them strangled, leaving him as the only suitor.

The situation is best exemplified by studying the Great Western Schism, which broke out after Urban VI's election in 1378, due to his behavior, the vices of his court, and doubts about his orthodoxy. The cardinals met again in the city of Fondi, Italy and in a conclave they deposed Urban VI to elect the antipope Clement VII, who moved to Avignon. The schism lasted for half a century, during which several solutions were tried, from the dismissal of both suitors to the convocation of a council. Finally, the bishops and cardinals of both sides met in the city of Pisa, but only added another suitor. After long disputes, the Council of Constanza met, which deposed all the claimants and elected Martin V.

Uncanonically recognized antipopes

The Catholic Church does not recognize three antipopes and, therefore, they do not appear in the Annuario Pontificio, since their existence is doubted or has never been officially demonstrated; Below is information from those three antipopes:

Natalius 199-200

Dono II 973-974

This section is an extract from Dono II (antipapa).[chuckles]edit]

Papal image of the antipapapapa Dono II

Dono II is the name with which an antipape is identified that would have reigned between December 973 and March 974 (according to the Anuario Pontificio 1871) or December 973 and June 974 (according to Annales Ceccalenses). Despite this, it is currently believed that it never existed.

Clement VIII 1423-1429

This section is an extract of Clemente VIII (antipapa).[chuckles]edit]

Tomb of the Clement VIII anti-pape in Palma de Mallorca.

Clemente VIII, called in the century Gil Sánchez Muñoz y Carbón (Teruel, 1370 - Mallorca, December 28, 1447), was the anti-papapa, not officially recognized by the Catholic Church, which replaced Benedict XIII on June 10, 1423 and who would last in that position until July 26, 1429, year in which he would abandon his claims definitively.

List of antipopes

The following list contains the names of the antipopes included in the list of popes and antipopes that appears in the Annuario Pontificio.

The names of the antipopes in italics refer to those whose historical existence is doubted and, therefore, do not appear in the Annuario Pontificio.

Antipopes prior to the Great Western Schism

Antipopes of the Great Western Schism

The Western Schism was a division of the Catholic Church as a result of the opposition of a series of cardinals to the criticisms of Pope Urban VI. As a consequence, these cardinals declared the papal seat vacant (declaration of Anagni) and elected Clement VII in the Fondi conclave. The new pope (antipope) established his residence in Avignon under the protection of the kings of France. The European Christian world divided its obedience between the two sees. The attempts to solve the schism did not prosper, thus, Benedict XIII was elected in Avignon after the death of Clement VII; in Rome the conclave of 1389 elected Boniface IX as successor to Urban VI, and later Innocent VII (Conclave of 1404) and Gregory XII (conclave of 1406).

To further complicate the situation, the Council of Pisa, which was trying to end the schism, deposed both popes, and a subsequent council appointed Alexander V as sole pope. However, since they were dissident cardinals, neither of the two popes recognized him. Given this, the Catholic Church found itself with three leading heads: Benedict XIII, Gregory XII and Alexander V. After his death, the latter was replaced by John XXIII. The end of the schism came with the Council of Constance (1414-1418), which deposed the three popes, only Benedict XIII did not accept the decision, and named Martin V in 1417 as the only pope of the Catholic Church.

Last Antipopes of the Catholic Church